RTHK: Russia's Lavrov warns of 'real' danger of world war Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that peace talks with Ukraine would continue, while warning there was a "real" danger of a third world war. Speaking to Russian news agencies, he criticised Kyiv's approach to the talks, adding: "Good will has its limits. But if it isn't reciprocal, that doesn't help the negotiation process. "But we are continuing to engage in negotiations with the team delegated by (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, and these contacts will go on." But Lavrov accused former actor Zelenskyy of "pretending" to negotiate. "He's a good actor," he said. But he added: "If you watch attentively and read attentively what he says, you'll find a thousand contradictions." Given the current tensions, Lavrov said the danger of a third world war was "real". "The danger is serious, it is real, you can't underestimate it," Lavrov told the Interfax news agency. Of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, he said he was confident that "everything will of course finish with the signing of an accord. "But the parameters of this accord will be defined by the state of the fighting that will have taken place at the moment the accord becomes reality," he added. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-04-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Immediate Military Class Action Relief Needed NEWS PROVIDED BY Liberty Counsel April 26, 2022 TAMPA, Fla., April 26, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Liberty Counsel filed a memo today urging federal Judge Steven Merryday to issue a class-wide preliminary injunction in Navy SEAL 1 v. Austin for the entire class of the service members in every branch of the military and provide relief from the unlawful shot mandates. Liberty Counsel represents plaintiffs from all branches of the military who were denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate. The legal memorandum of law argues that the request for class certification meets all the legal requirements and is necessary to prevent irreparable harm. The legal brief also states that Liberty Counsel is working directly with 1,061 service members, of which 384 have received denials. The class certification requests protection for the more than 24,000 service members who have filed a Religious Accommodation Request and have been denied. The memo states in part: "Every day our staff communicates with service members and their spouses. Every week one of our attorneys communicates with hundreds of service members on conference calls in which they share heart-wrenching stories of the pressure, abuse, and unlawful violations of their religious free exercise rights protected under the First Amendment and RFRA. We can affirm to this Court that these service members are desperate. Very desperate. Some have self-admitted to the ER because of the overwhelming stress they face. Each day they hope for this Court to grant class certification, so they too can have similar court-ordered protection as do some of the Plaintiffs in this case. However, each day that passes their hopes fade as they wait, and wait, and wait for relief. These honorable service members are looking to this Court for relief. This Court has before it the only case in which there is a class certification request that covers every branch of the military." Liberty Counsel's legal memorandum of law concludes with these words: "Plaintiffs could come to this Court each day with a new emergency motion seeking injunctive relief to prevent the harm that is imminently facing each service member who has requested accommodation for their sincerely held religious beliefs. Absent class-wide relief, the list grows every day, the harm increases every day, and servicemembers face separation and discipline every day. Only class-wide relief can prevent this irreparable harm from occurring to the heroes who sacrifice all so that the Nation would enjoy religious freedom. They merely ask that we return the favor and uphold the law for which they are willing to sacrifice even their lives. We urge this Court to use the pen to protect those who carry the sword." The brief also overviews the many plaintiffs and putative class members that are currently facing irreparable harm and who need immediate relief. Below is a sample of the consequences facing plaintiffs, putative class members, and service members seeking a religious accommodation: Plaintiff Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, United States Marine Corps, has been forced into the Individual Ready Reserve, which made her inactive, unable to drill, unable to earn points towards advancement or benefits, and imposed substantial burdens on her religious beliefs; Plaintiffs Captain 2 and Captain 3, United States Marine Corps, have been removed from Expeditionary War School a mere 75 days from graduation, and been placed on the Officer Disciplinary Notebook, which is a fatal blow to a Marine's career, and Captain 2 has been slated for a Board of Inquiry, which is the last step in the separation process; Plaintiff First Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps, has been relieved of his command, ordered to attend a Transition Readiness Seminar, and issued a Report of Misconduct and Notification of Separation with a recommendation that he be immediately separated from the Marine Corps for failure to accept a COVID-19 shot that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs; Plaintiff Chaplain, United States Air Force, has sustained a Letter of Counseling and a Letter of Reprimand for failing to accept a COVID-19 shot in violation of his sincerely held religious beliefs, and has been removed him from instructor duty responsibilities and assigned behind-the-scenes duties, which precludes him from engaging in his duties to tend to the sincerely held religious beliefs of Air Force service members (ironically for following his own sincerely held religious beliefs); Plaintiff Reserve Lieutenant Colonel 1, United States Air Force, has been issued a Letter of Reprimand for failure to obey an order to vaccinate and sent her to Individual Ready Reserve, denying her a Board of Inquiry, access to the Transition Assistance Program and a referral to a medical specialist at a military medical center; Plaintiff Reserve Lieutenant Colonel 2, United States Air Force, has been issued a Letter of Reprimand, issued a negative referral for Officer Performance Report, and has been posted to the Unfavorable Information File, which begins the process of separating him from the Active Guard Reserve and involuntarily transferring him to the Individual Ready Reserve; Plaintiff Master Sergeant Sere Specialist, United States Air Force, has been removed from his leadership position, issued two separate Letters of Reprimand, effectively beginning his separation process, all while requiring him to continue as "mission essential personnel" for the execution and carrying on of critical mission requirements; Putative Class Member Lance Corporal Administrative Specialist, United States Marine Corps, was separated from military service for her failure to receive a COVID-19 shot that violates her sincerely held religious beliefs; Putative Class Member Lance Corporal Administrative Specialist, United States Marine Corps, was separated from military service for her failure to receive a COVID-19 shot that violates her sincerely held religious beliefs; Putative Class Member Captain 4, United States Marine Corps, was removed from command, issued an administrative counseling order, and was given a written promotion hold, effectively ending his career; Putative Class Member Staff Sergeant, United States Marine Corps, was served with Article 90 violation papers and administrative separation papers for failure to receive a COVID-19 injection that violates her sincerely held religious beliefs; Putative Class Member Major 1, United States Air Force, has been stripped of all duties and titles, removed from flight status and his $1,000 per month flight pay, and notified that he is going to be placed on the Individual Ready Reserve; Putative Class Member Tech Sergeant, United States Air Force, has been given three separate orders to vaccinate or separate, despite his sincerely held religious beliefs, and expects that, despite 18.5 years of service, he will be involuntarily separated from the military at any moment; Putative Class Member Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Colonel 2 was given a Notification of Involuntary Reassignment - Non-participating Individual Ready Reserve from his commander recommending him for an involuntary reassignment to the Individual Ready Reserve and faces impending separation; Putative Class Member ROTC Midshipman, United States Navy, has received an order from the Navy disenrolling him from college and placing him on leave of absence pending disenrollment; and Putative Class Member Brigadier General (SELECT), United States Air Force, Director of Cyberspace Operations and Warfighter Communications was forced to retire at a lower rank (after 26 years of service) rather than violate her sincerely held religious beliefs. Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "The U.S. military will continue to lose highly qualified and experienced personnel simply because they choose to serve God and America. With more than 24,000 servicemembers expecting denials of their religious accommodations, every service member deserves protection from this unlawful abuse." Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost. SOURCE Liberty Counsel CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org Related Links lc.org/ Share Tweet Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), in partnership with RAK Ports, has announced the appointment of Zaiton Consultancy to support the Emirates cruise tourism. Dubai-headquartered Zaiton Consultancy, a leader in developing and promoting cruise services, will be responsible for developing and marketing Ras Al Khaimahs burgeoning cruise sector. The announcement comes as the global industry gathers at the Seatrade Cruise Global event in Miami until April 28, where Zaiton Consultancy is participating as Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authoritys representative. One of the fastest growing sectors in tourism, cruising saw an annual passenger growth rate of 5.4% from 2009 to 2019, with services now close to pre-pandemic levels owing to immediate action and thoughtful planning. In recognition of the importance of cruise tourism, the Authority and RAK Ports have worked together on a number of projects to further develop the Emirates offering. This includes the transformation of its old ferry terminal into a modern and efficient boutique cruise passenger terminal and the development of marine transport infrastructure around it. The Authority has also invested in designing bespoke visitor itineraries for arrivals to attract a larger segment of leisure cruise passengers and welcome new audiences from across the world to the destination. Considered as one of the most diverse and fastest growing destinations in the region, a key part of the Authoritys strategy to attract three million visitors a year by 2030 is to ensure accessibility via all means of transport, including luxury cruise ships. These passengers will be welcomed to the Emirate via the dedicated terminal, which is able to accommodate multiple cruise ships of up to 214m in length docking simultaneously. To ensure a continuation of the service levels luxury cruise passengers expect, the terminal features cutting-edge security measures such as facial recognition CCTV, luggage and personal baggage X-ray machines, delivering a seamless, hassle-free experience. We are ready to receive the worlds most elite cruise ships and showcase our beautiful nature Emirate to this growing segment of travellers, said Iyad Rasbey, Executive Director, Destination Tourism Development & MICE at Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority. Weve seen first-hand the significance of cruises to the destinations overall tourism eco-system. We also recognize that water transportation is becoming increasingly important in terms of connectivity and will support our aviation strategy in bringing tourists directly to Ras Al Khaimah. He further added: With its wealth of experience and recognition within the cruise industry, Zaiton Consultancy is the perfect partner to take our strategy to the next stage. We look forward to working with the team to boost cruise tourism in the Emirate and attract new audiences from across the world. It is a huge honour to work with Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority and RAK Ports to develop and market the Emirates growing cruise proposition, said Executive Director of Zaiton Consultancy, Jasem Zaiton. With an initial strategy based around smaller passenger ships before moving our focus to mainstream cruise liners, we will bring our global expertise to market Ras Al Khaimahs truly unique offering and one-of-a-kind experiences to cruise passengers around the world, he added. While the port facilities are currently suited to Luxury, Discovery and Expedition cruises, these smaller passenger ships suit the Emirates commitment to sustainability, supporting its mission to ensure that every aspect of its travel and tourism sector is developed with environmental protection front of mind. With the aim of attracting 50 cruise ship calls each season, and some 10,000 passengers within the next few years, the focus will be on Explorer/Expedition Cruises, where emphasis is placed on the experience ashore, excursions and ports of call. Ras Al Khaimah is perfectly suited to this segment, offering an experience of a lifetime where travellers can feel the Emirates beating heart across a range of landscapes from the sea and beach, desert and mountain range. With over 7,000 years of fascinating history, traditions and culture, Ras Al Khaimah promises an authentic and easily accessible Arabian experience. A haven of year-round sunshine, the Emirate features pristine beaches, lush mangroves and terracotta dunes, as well as the dramatic, awe-inspiring vistas of the majestic Hajjar mountains, including the UAEs highest mountain peak Jebel Jais. Named the Gulf Tourism Capital for both 2020 and 2021 by the Gulf Cooperation Council, the destination set a global benchmark in becoming the first city in the world to secure the Bureau Veritas Safeguard Label and World Travel and Tourism Councils Safe Travel Stamp. TradeArabia News Service 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 KEARNEY An Arapahoe liquor distillery wants to be among vendors when the Kearney Farmers Market resumes in a few weeks at Hilltop Mall. Long Dogs Distillery of Arapahoe produces a variety of spirits, according to the companys website, and would dispense those products at the farmers market. According to a memo from Kearney City Clerk Lauren Brandt to the Kearney City Council, which meets on Tuesday, a 2021 Nebraska statute makes it possible for Nebraska craft breweries, micro distilleries and farm wineries to sell their products at farmers markets. Long Dogs application lists 2-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays as hours of operation at the farmers market. Part of this license becoming valid requires approval of a permit from the local governing body, following issuance of the license by the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, Brandt wrote to the council. She said Long Dogs contacted her on April 13 to indicate the distillerys interest in participating in the farmers market. In response to Long Dogs interest, Brandt said a local permit application and local permit have been created that will be sent to the liquor license holder after the Liquor Control Commission provides a copy of the license to the city clerks office. The liquor license holder must complete the local permit application and return to the city clerks office for final processing, Brandt said. The city clerks office will then process the permit application, and as long as the application is complete, a local permit will be generated and provided to the liquor license holder at no cost. The city clerks office then will notify the liquor commission of approval of the local permit. The Kearney Police Department also will be notified. Brandt concluded her memo to the council by saying city staff recommends the council approve the permit for Long Dogs Distillery. The council meeting is open to the public and begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers at City Hall. Will Musks hands-off ideal for Twitter have broad appeal? Coming up with $44 billion to buy Twitter was the easy part for Elon Musk. Next comes the real challenge for the worlds richest person: fulfilling his promise to make Twitter better than ever as a lightly regulated haven for free speech. Many of Musks proposed changes reflect his own experience as a high-profile and outspoken Twitter user with more than 85 million followers and a swarm of pesky impersonator accounts. But a key question is how the changes he is prioritizing will be received by the more than 200 million other users who arent getting banned or flooded with spam. US urges more arms for Ukraine amid fears of expanding war TORETSK, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. is pressing its allies to move heaven and earth to keep Kyiv well-supplied with the weapons it needs to repel Russian forces, as Moscow rains fire on eastern and southern Ukraine. In other developments, Poland and Bulgaria say the Kremlin is cutting off natural gas supplies to the two NATO countries starting Wednesday, the first such actions of the war. Moscow has warned that the flow of weapons could trigger a wider war. Those concerns grew in Moldova, where explosions hit the separatist region of Trans-Dniester for a second straight day. Russian forces also hit a strategic railroad bridge in the south. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that more help for Ukraine is on the way and that the West wants to ensure Russia won't be able to bully its neighbors. Poland, Bulgaria say Russia suspending natural gas supplies WARSAW, Poland (AP) Officials in Poland and Bulgaria say Russia is suspending deliveries of natural gas to their countries starting Wednesday. The cutoffs would be the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that unfriendly foreign buyers would have to pay in rubles instead of dollars and euros. That demand came after sanctions were levied against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. Europe imports large amounts of Russian natural gas for residential heating, electricity generation and the fuel industry. The imports so far have continued despite the war. Polish and Bulgarian authorities say they don't anticipate restrictions on domestic gas consumption due to the cutoffs. CDC estimates 3 in 4 kids have had coronavirus infections NEW YORK (AP) Government researchers say three out of every four U.S. children have been infected with the coronavirus. Among Americans of all ages, more than half had signs of previous infection. The figures come from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Tuesday. It looked in the blood of more than 200,000 Americans for virus-fighting antibodies made from infections, not vaccines. They found that signs of past infection rose dramatically between December and February, when the omicron variant surged. CDC officials stress that the previously infected should still get COVID-19 vaccines. The CDC report came out the same day one vaccine manufacturer, Pfizer, sought permission to offer a booster dose to kids ages 5 to 11 just like people 12 and older can get. What Musk's past tweets reveal about Twitter's next owner PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Brash, outspoken and sometimes juvenile, Elon Musk has long been a prolific user of Twitter, the social media platform he now hopes to buy. Musks past tweets show how the worlds richest man has used social media to craft his public image as a billionaire unafraid to offend people. They could also provide a glimpse into how Musk might run the platform. For Musk, Twitter has been a tool to promote his enterprises and punch back at critics. His tweeting has also gotten him in trouble with government regulators and led to big fines for Musk and his company Tesla. Deputies protect school killer after potential juror threat FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Deputies protecting Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz had to pull him aside and surround him after members of a jury pool became potentially threatening. Judge Elizabeth Scherer said a potential juror had to be removed by bailiffs after he began mouthing possible threats toward Cruz. Others also started acting threatening, so deputies moved in to protect Cruz. The entire 70-person panel was then dismissed. Scherer said they became belligerent in the hallway. Cruz is facing a possible death sentence for murdering 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland four years ago. Oklahoma governor signs ban on nonbinary birth certificates OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill prohibiting the use of nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates. The first-term Republican signed the bill Tuesday. Experts say some states only offer male or female gender options on birth certificates, but Oklahoma is the first to write the prohibition into law. It follows a flap last year over the state health agencys agreement in a civil case to allow a nonbinary gender option. The birth certificate in that case was issued to an Oklahoma-born Oregon resident. People who are nonbinary do not identify with traditional male or female gender assignments. TSA: Airport security finds loaded gun in Cawthorn's bag Officials say a loaded gun was found in North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorns carry-on bag at an airport security checkpoint. It's the second time in a little more than a year that a weapon has been found in his possession at an airport in his home state. Transportation Security Administration spokesperson R. Carter Langston said that when Cawthorn went through a Charlotte Douglas International Airport checkpoint with the gun Tuesday morning, TSA officers notified Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Police say Cawthorn acknowledged that the gun was his and he was issued a citation for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property. Harris positive for COVID-19, Biden not a 'close contact' WASHINGTON (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House says. It's a sharp new reminder of the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to revert to pre-pandemic normalcy. Neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a close contact of Harris in recent days. The White House says Harris has exhibited no symptoms. After consulting with her physicians, Harris is taking Paxlovid, the Pfizer antiviral pill. Harris will isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely, and will only return to the White House once she tests negative for the virus. Delta to begin paying flight attendants during boarding Delta Air Lines will start paying flight attendants during the time that passengers are boarding. That's a first for a major U.S. airline. Flight attendants in the U.S. generally don't begin getting paid by the hour until the doors close after boarding. Delta said Tuesday that the change will take effect in June, and it comes on top of pay raises for flight attendants. The pay increase comes as Delta faces another attempt by unions to organize its non-union flight attendants. Delta said the new boarding pay would be on top of 4% raises that it granted to flight attendants last month. 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 POKROVSK, Ukraine As Russian forces intensify their shelling of eastern Ukraine, more people are leaving their homes in search of safety. In Pokrovsk, a town in the Donetsk region, people lined up Tuesday to board a train headed to the far west of the country along the border with Hungary and Slovakia. One person was lifted onto the train in a wheelchair, another on a stretcher. The passengers took with them cats, dogs, a few bags and boxes, and the memory of those who did not flee in time. We were in the basement, but my daughter didnt make it and was hit with shrapnel on the doorstep during shelling on Monday, said Mykola Kharchenko, 74. We had to bury her in the garden near the pear tree. He said his village, Vremivka, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Pokrovsk, was under heavy fire for four days and everything was destroyed. With tears in his eyes, Kharchenko said he somehow held himself together at home, but once he reached the train station he fell apart. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Putin gets what he didnt want: Ukraine army closer to West Top Russian diplomat warns Ukraine against provoking WWIII Frances victorious Macron boosts weapons, stakes in Ukraine Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra organized by Met, Polish operas Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be involved in the evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in Ukraines southeastern city of Mariupol. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that during their one-on-one meeting Tuesday, Guterres and Putin discussed the proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, namely in relation to the situation in Mariupol. The sprawling Azovstal steel plant has been almost completely destroyed by Russian attacks but it is the last pocket of organized Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. An estimated 2,000 troops and 1,000 civilians are said to be holed up in bunkers underneath the wrecked structure. Dujarric said that following the Guterres-Putin agreement in principle, discussions will be held with the U.N. humanitarian office and the Russian Defense Ministry on the evacuation. WASHINGTON The State Department says U.S. diplomats have begun returning to Ukraine by making day trips to temporary offices in the western city of Lviv from neighboring Poland. The department said the first group of diplomats crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border and traveled to Lviv on Tuesday morning before returning to Poland later in the day. The step came just two days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Ukrainian leaders during a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv that the U.S. would start restaffing its diplomatic facilities in Ukraine this week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agency has accelerated its review of re-opening the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, which was closed shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. He said operations at the embassy would resume as soon as possible depending on the security situation in the capital. UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned about reports of new security incidents in a Russian-backed separatist region of Moldova and urges all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions that could escalate tensions. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Tuesday that Guterres has called for efforts to lower tensions throughout Trans-Dniester. Explosions rocked the region for the second day in a row, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Ukraine all but blamed Russia. Russian speakers of the strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine nominally seceded from Moldova in 1990, one year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fearing the country might shortly merge with Romania, whose language and culture it broadly shares. The separatist region fought a brief war with Moldova in 1992 and declared itself an independent state, though it remains unrecognized by any country, including Russia which bases about 1,500 troops there, calling them peacekeepers. Concerns are high that those forces could be used to invade Ukraine from the west. Haq said the U.N. continues to fully support efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to reach a political settlement of the Trans-Dniester conflict in the so-called 5+2 process which comprises Trans-Dniester, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE with the United States and the European Union as observers. The aim is to strengthen Moldovas independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, with a special status for Trans-Dniester. BERLIN Germanys vice chancellor says his country has come very, very close to independence from Russian oil and an embargo on deliveries would now be manageable. Germany, which has Europes biggest economy, has said so far that it aims to end Russian oil imports by the end of this year. Speaking Tuesday during a visit to Poland, Economy Minister Robert Habeck who is also the vice chancellor and responsible for energy said that his country has cut Russias share of its oil supply from 35% before the war in Ukraine to about 12%. Habeck said the situation is such that an embargo has become manageable for Germany. He added that the problem that just a few weeks ago seemed very big for Germany has become significantly smaller so that independence from Russian oil imports has come very, very close. Russian gas imports, however, are a bigger issue for Germany. Berlin has said that it will need longer to do without gas supplies from Russia. LONDON Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain does not want war to escalate beyond Ukraines borders, and rejected an allegation by Moscow that the West is fighting a proxy conflict with Russia. But Johnson said Ukrainians are being attacked from within Russian territory and have a right to protect and defend themselves by striking inside Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused NATO of pouring oil on the fire with its support for Ukraine, and said the risk of World War III should not be underestimated. Russia has singled Britain out for criticism after a U.K. government minister said it was legitimate for Ukraine to hit fuel depots in Russia with U.K.-supplied weapons. In an interview with British station Talk TV, Johnson said its very, very important that we dont accept the way that the Russians are trying to frame what is happening in Ukraine. He said: They are trying to frame this as a conflict between Russia and the West, or Russia and NATO. Thats not what is going on. BRATISLAVA, Slovakia Slovakias President Zuzana Caputova released a video addressing the invading Russian soldiers, their commanders and all whom it may concern, urging them to stop the war in Ukraine. In the three-minute video in Russian with the subtitles in Slovak, Caputova condemned war crimes against women, children and civilians. You justify your invasion by talking about liberation, Caputova told them. How were you intending to liberate Tatiana from Irpin, killed by a Russian grenade together with her two children? Or Olena from Hostomel, raped by one of you in a car? she asked. Referring to testimonies of women who have survived, Caputova says they find that words are not enough when they try to describe the pain you have made a part of their lives simply because... Well, why even? None of us knows Do you? She says with each passing day, you are only increasing the army of wounded souls and bodies of women, children and innocent people. If you still feel any leftover of humanity in you, bring it to life and end this horrible war. MOSCOW Russias President Vladimir Putin says Moscow still hopes to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Ukraine, even as the fighting has continued. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting Tuesday with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Putin noted that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made what he described as a serious breakthrough in their talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month. He claimed, however, that the Ukrainian side later walked back on some of the tentative agreements reached in Istanbul. In particular, Putin said Ukrainian negotiators have changed their position on the issue of the status of Crimea and separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, offering to leave it for the countries presidents to discuss. Putin charged that the shift in the Ukrainian stand makes it hard to negotiate a future deal. Ukrainian officials have been evasive about the details of talks and the Russian claims of Ukraine walking back from its earlier proposals. Putin has demanded that Ukraine recognize Russias sovereignty over Crimea and recognize independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as part of a future agreement on ending the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that those issues could only be decided by a future nationwide vote. During Tuesdays Kremlin meeting, Guterres criticized Russias military action in Ukraine as a flagrant violation of its neighbors territorial integrity. He also urged Russia to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped at a giant steel mill in Mariupol surrounded by the Russian forces. Putin responded by claiming that the Russian forces have offered humanitarian corridors to civilians holed up at the Azovstal steel plant, charging that the Ukrainian defenders of the plant were using civilians as shields and not allowing them to leave. KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern about the tensions in a Moscow-backed separatist region of Moldova. The ministry noted that an attack on an administrative building in Tiraspol, the center of the separatist Trans-Dniester province of Moldova, along with explosions that hit broadcast antennas and other facilities in the region follow a Russian officers statement about Moscows intention to fully take control of Ukraines south and build a land corridor to Trans-Dniester. It said in a Tuesday statement that Ukraine resolutely supports Moldovas territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and condemn attempts to draw the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova into the full-fledged war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and call for deescalating tensions. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land with about 470,000 people, has been under the control of separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops in the breakaway region, nominally as peacekeepers. WARSAW, Poland The Polish climate minister gave assurances on Tuesday that the country has plenty of natural gas on reserve, following reports that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland. Anna Moskwa, minister for climate and environment, tweeted: Poland has the necessary gas reserves and sources of supply that protect our security we have been effectively independent from Russia for years. Our warehouses are 76% full. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes. Her tweet followed reports by the Onet news portal that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland under the Yamal contract. Onet reported that a crisis team had gathered at the Ministry of Climate to deal with the matter. Onet said, citing unnamed sources, that Russia had insisted on a Friday deadline for payment in rubles and that Poland has said it would not pay in rubles. Poland has been working to wean itself off of Russian energy sources and was due to end its reliance on Russian gas this year. RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the war in Ukraine has already weakened Russias military capability. Austin said after meeting allies and partners at the United States Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday that, since Russia began the invasion, its land forces have sustained pretty substantial casualties, as well as lost a lot of equipment and used a lot of precision-guided munitions. He said that they are, in fact, in terms of military capability, weaker than when they started, and itll be harder for them to replace some of this capability as they go forward because of the sanctions and the trade restrictions that have been placed on them. Austin reiterated that we would like to make sure, again, that they dont have the same type of capability to bully their neighbors that we saw at the outset of this conflict. He criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs warning that the threat of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. Austin said that its unhelpful and dangerous to rattle sabers and speculate about the use of nuclear weapons. MOSCOW A senior Kremlin official says that Ukraine may split into several parts. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said in remarks published Tuesday that the policies of the West and the Kyiv regime controlled by it would only be the breakup of Ukraine into several states. The statement comes as Russia says it has focused on expanding control over Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian troops there since 2014 when conflict erupted following Russias annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. Moscow launched military action in Ukraine on Feb. 24, days after recognizing the separatist regions independence. Last week, a senior Russian military officer said that along with taking control over Donbas, Russia also wants to overtake southern Ukraine, saying such a move would also open a land corridor between Russia and the separatist Trans-Dniester region of Moldova. MADRID Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said Tuesday he was very worried by the explosions this week in the separatist region of Trans-Dniester, adding that they reminded him too much of occurrences in the Donbas region immediately prior to Russias invasion of Ukraine late February. I remember before Feb. 21, there have been some series of false-flag operations in Donbas region, so called people republics, that were used as the pretext by Russia to recognize and then to sign the so-called friendship and assistance treaties and then to start the military operation, Rinkevics told reporters in Madrid. Im very worried about the current trend in Trans-Dniester because that resembles a little bit that pattern that we have seen, he added. Police in Trans-Dniester say two explosions Tuesday in a radio facility close to the Ukrainian border knocked two antennas out of service. On Monday, several explosions were reported to have hit the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, the regions capital. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land in Moldova, has been under the control of separatists since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops there. The United States has warned that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops to those nations. Rinkevics was in Madrid to meet his Spanish counterpart and discuss the Ukraine war and the upcoming NATO summit in the Spanish capital. The Russian military has warned it could strike Ukrainian decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital and said wouldnt be stopped by the possible presence of Western advisers there. The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused the U.K. of making statements encouraging Ukraine to use Western weapons to carry out strikes on the Russian territory, warning that if it happens the Russian military could retaliate by hitting government structures in Kyiv. It directly pointed at U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, who told Times Radio that it was not necessarily a problem if Ukraine British-donated weapons were used to hit sites on Russian soil. The ministry said in a statement that the Russian armed forces are ready to deal retaliatory strikes with long-range precision guided weapons on Kyiv centers that would make such decisions. It noted that the presence of citizens of one of Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centers wont necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action. The Russian military so far has avoided striking presidential, government and military headquarters in Kyiv during its campaign in Ukraine that has entered a third month. WASHINGTON Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging Congress to fully fund the Biden administrations proposed budget for the State Department, telling lawmakers the spending is critical to ensuring that the war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for Russia and a message to other countries that might invade their neighbors. Blinken said his weekend visit to Kyiv with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had left him with the indelible impression that Ukraine is winning, particularly in the capital. It was right in front of us: the Ukrainians have won the battle for Kyiv, he said. Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that the U.S.-led global response to Russias invasion had underscored the power and purpose of American diplomacy. He said the $60.4 billion budget proposal for the next fiscal year was needed to continue to rally partners and allies in the cause. We will, we have to continue to drive that diplomacy forward to seize what I believe are the strategic opportunities and address risks presented by Russias overreach, as countries reconsider their policies, priorities, their relationships, Blinken said. The budget request before you predated this crisis, but fully funding it is critical in my judgment to ensuring Russias war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for the Kremlin and serves as a powerful lesson to those who might consider following its path. Blinken did not name other nations that might be considering following Russias lead but his comment was seen as a veiled reference to China, which has sided with Russia in the Ukraine conflict and has made no secret of its desire to re-unify the island of Taiwan with the mainland. CHERNOBYL, Ukraine The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency says it was possible that an accident could have occurred when Russian troops seized control of the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster during the war in Ukraine. Speaking on a visit to the former nuclear power plant Tuesday on the 36th anniversary of the meltdown, Rafael Mariano Grossi said the situation in 1986 was completely different. In this case, what we had was a nuclear safety situation which was not normal, and could have developed into an accident. Russian troops moved into the radiation-contaminated Chernobyl exclusion zone in February on their way toward the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and withdrew late last month as Russia switched its focus to fighting in eastern Ukraine. The site is now back in Ukrainian hands and communications which were disrupted have been restored. Russian forces continue to hold a working nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia plant, where there was fighting nearby in early March which damaged the plants training facility. Clearly, the physical integrity of one nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, was compromised, we also had situations where the external power was interrupted including here (Chernobyl) so there were a number of events that were compromising the normal operations of any nuclear power facility, Grossi said. Those were avoided but of course, as I was saying, the situation was not stable and we have to stay on alert. 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 ongoing review into Wisconsins 2020 election appears poised to continue beyond the end of its latest contract extension, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said following growing pressure among some Republicans, including Donald Trump, to keep the GOP-ordered probe alive. Vos, who had previously indicated plans to begin wrapping up Michael Gablemans review by the time his contract expires on Saturday, issued a statement Tuesday that Gablemans office will remain open as we guarantee the legal power of our legislative subpoenas and get through the other lawsuits that have gridlocked this investigation. We are grateful for Justice Gablemans offer to reduce his salary as we are all concerned about the judicious use of taxpayers dollars, said Vos, R-Rochester. Our intention is to remain within the original budget allocated for the investigation. Vos did not say what Gablemans reduced pay will entail or provide further details on the new agreement. The former justice has been receiving $11,000 a month for his work as part of the $676,000 taxpayer-funded review. Vos spokesperson Angela Joyce said the details of Gablemans new agreement are being finalized. Gableman has missed multiple deadlines to conclude the review since it launched last year, prompting a bipartisan call from some state lawmakers for him to wrap up the probe. Vos comments come one day after Assembly elections committee chair Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, issued a statement urging him to keep Gablemans review open. Gableman told former Trump adviser Steve Bannon earlier this month that Vos staff had notified him of plans to dismantle his Brookfield office by the end of April. If Speaker Vos shuts down the Office of Special Counsels investigation now, not only will he be condoning cheating, hell be legalizing it, Brandtjen said. A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Trump, who has continued to make unfounded claims of election fraud, also issued a statement Monday directed at RINOs, an acronym for Republican in Name Only. The statement does not directly name Vos. Anyone calling themselves a Republican in Wisconsin should support the continued investigation in Wisconsin without interference, Trump said. After all of the evidence the report brought to light, how could anyone want to stop it? I understand some RINOs have primary challengers in Wisconsin. Im sure their primary opponents would get a huge bump in the polls if these RINOs interfere. Media reports and the statement put out by Representative Brandtjen were incorrect, Vos said Tuesday. The offices for Gableman and Brandtjen did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Focus pivots Vos hired Gableman last year to lead the review at a cost of $676,000 in taxpayer funds, but said earlier this month he would like to see the effort come to a conclusion in the near future. As weve said before, the investigation will now turn its focus to resolving the lawsuits that have been brought against our efforts by liberal activists, Vos said on April 8. We hope to have Justice Gableman help us do that so we can once again focus on reforming the election process. After extending Gablemans contract through the end of April, Vos later said he was 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. The latest contract maintains Gablemans existing budget, but does allow for the possibility of added funds to cover the costs of legal battles related to the probe. Gableman has pushed back against withdrawing his subpoenas, which he wants to see pursued in court. He has issued subpoenas to local and state election officials, the mayors of the states five largest cities and two companies that make vote-counting systems, Election Systems & Software and Dominion Voting Systems. Many of the subpoenaed parties have rejected Gablemans requests for in-person meetings or documents, while the former state Supreme Court justice has also withdrawn some requests, including one filed with immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera Action. Legal challenges Gablemans subpoenas have been met with a slew of legal challenges, with Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filing a lawsuit in October challenging Gablemans authority to demand in-person interviews. Kaul has argued demanding private interviews outside a public setting is illegal. A Waukesha County Circuit Judge has scheduled a July 11 hearing to decide if Gableman has the authority to demand that the mayors of the states five largest cities and other officials be jailed for not cooperating with his subpoenas. In addition to his subpoenas, Gableman and Vos have become the target of three open records lawsuits filed by liberal watchdog group American Oversight seeking records related to the election review. In one case, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington ordered Gableman last week 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. The order was issued after an attorney representing Gableman indicated in court filings that the office routinely deletes documents, including emails and text messages, that are deemed irrelevant or useless to the investigation. 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. Remington on Tuesday scheduled a hearing for June 10 to determine if Gablemans team should be held in contempt of court for the deletion of any requested records. In a separate case, Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn in March held Vos in contempt of court for failing to provide requested public documents related to the probe. A hearing in that case has been scheduled for next month. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 I stop scrolling, look up from my phone, and out the window. I see a complicated but beautiful world. Its still going to be there no matter who owns Twitter. And we'll continue to find ways to live in it, talk about it, and share with each other our thoughts, fears, and dreams. Having lost their loved ones, the deceased families hope for justice is fading and their battle has now turned to earning two square meals a day. Tarique Anwar | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles Firozabad/Meerut/Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh)/New Delhi It has already been over two years, but not even an FIR has been registered so far. So, justice appears to be a distant dream for us. Salahuddin Ansari, 43, has lost hope that killers of his younger brother Aleem Ansari, 24, would be punished. A resident of Ahmadnagar in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, Aleem was shot dead allegedly by the police on December 20, 2019 as the protest against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 turned bloody. Passed by the Parliament on December 11, 2019, the CAA overtly introduced religion as the basis for Indian citizenship, allowing Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to get the citizenship if they entered India before the end of December 31, 2014. The law was globally criticised as discriminatory and unconstitutional as it does not grant such eligibility to Muslims from the three Muslim-majority countries. Aleem, the sole breadwinner of his family, succumbed to bullet injuries in his head during the police crackdown at Hapur Road. It was Friday. He dialed and informed me that a few people in civilian clothes were barging into shops and forcing them to shut. He asked me to go home as the situation was tense. But he didnt return. Later, we came to know that he died of gunshots. We were given no time by the police to perform his last rites properly. The police asked for quick, midnight burials, Salahuddin told TwoCircles.net. Salahuddin, who is partially disabled, has approached the police station, district magistrates office, the magisterial enquiry committee and the Human Rights Commission to get an FIR registered. All in vain. On the day Aleem was killed, various towns and cities of Uttar Pradesh saw protests against the CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). With five deaths, Meerut recorded the second-highest toll (officially five and unofficially six) after Firozabad where seven died. They included a scrap dealer, a worker at a roadside eatery, an e-rickshaw driver and a tyre repairman. At least 25 Muslims were killed across the country after the police opened fire on the protestors. Twenty three deaths were reported in Uttar Pradesh alone and hundreds suffered injuries. But in its compliance report to the Allahabad High Court, the government acknowledged 22 deaths injured included 83 people, 455 police personnel; 833 people were arrested. Having lost their loved ones, the hope for justice for families of the deceased is fading. Survival has become their priority. TwoCircles.net spoke to several such families in Firozabad, Meerut, Bijnor, Lucknow and Kanpur. In addition to the governments apathy, what hurts them most is the death of public memory over the loss of their loved ones. Life no longer is the same for the family of 22-year-old Nabi Jaan, who allegedly fell prey to police bullets. He was a worker at a bangle manufacturing unit in Firozabads Urvashi Road and the youngest of six siblings. While his father Ayyub still hopes for justice, it has remained elusive so far. My son was shot in the chest while returning home from his workshop. Its been over two years. We are still waiting for justice. We dont even have enough money to make ends meet, how can one expect us to continue fighting the case for so long? said Ayyub, adding that the FIR makes no mention of bullet injury as he allegedly wrote what the police wanted him to write. Salman, a civil services aspirant in Bijnor, was killed when he was returning from Friday prayers. Na mera bachha laut kar kabhi aayega, aur na hi hamen kabhi insaf milega, ye maine taslim kar liya hai (Neither my son will ever never return, nor will I get justice. And I have accepted the truth), said the deceased father, asking what will happen now when nothing happened in the past two years. Rashid, 25, was the eldest among four sons and two daughters of 55-year-old Noor Mohammed alias Kallu. A resident of Ferozabads Kashmiri Gate under Ramgarh police station, Rashid was partially handicapped and earned Rs 150-200 per day serving water at bangle workshops. He had gone to collect his wages when he was hit by a bullet during the police crackdown on the anti-CAA protesters. He had nothing to do with the protests, said Kallu, accusing the police of forcing them to bury his body around 4 in the morning. Denying that he was hit by a bullet, a police officer told TwoCircles.net that Rashid suffered head injury because of stone pelting. And therefore, a case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section of 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was registered. Kallu, however, said, His brain had spilled out. This cannot happen due to stone-pelting. His medical record suggested a serious skull injury without any bullet marks. A resident of Nagla Kothi under Ramgarh police station in Firozabad, Muqeem died at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on the night of December 23, 2020. The eldest of eight children of Mubeen, he did zari work on bangles for a living. Mubeen said that his son was returning from work when shot in the stomach, and was first taken to SN Hospital, where he was referred to Delhis Safdarjung Hospital. We were told that all the important documents related to his death were handed over to the police. We were given only a panchnama, he added. Two years later, whats the status of cases? It has been over two years, and not a single FIR has been registered yet against the policemen who were involved in killing five in Meerut, said Advocate Riyasat Ali, a senior criminal lawyer in the district who is representing families of the five dead men pro bono. We moved an application under Section 156(36) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC) the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Meerut, pleading the court to order registration of an FIR for each of the five killings. The proceedings are going on, he said. Section 156(3) of the Cr.PC) empowers magistrates to order a probe. But Salahuddun said justice delayed is justice denied. He said six people died in the police firing, but police records reflect five deaths. The police killed six people. Five postmortems took place here and no autopsy was carried out on the one who succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment in Delhi, he said and alleged, Eyewitnesses have clearly said police directly fired on protesters. The lawyer said the families of the five deceased lodged complaints in Brahmpuri, Lisadi Gate and Nauchandi police stations in Meerut within a week of the incident, naming the cops who fired at the victims. When a complaint is lodged, it becomes mandatory for the police to file an FIR. But in this case, the police are flouting due process of law, he added. A team of the National Human Rights Commission visited Meerut in October 2021 for an inquiry into the December 2019 killings. NHRC investigation is underway, said Ali. Following our cases and the petitions in the high court, the police finally conceded in affidavits to Allahabad HC that police bullets caused the deaths, but the police didnt receive any such complaint on the day of the incident, said Ali. Goli police ki taraf se hi chali thi (The bullets were fired only by the police). The lawyer representing the deceased in Firozabad alleged the police did not record the sequence of events described by them and concocted a story to protect the men in uniform. Referring to their post-mortem reports, which mentioned that they died of bullet wounds, we argued in court that how can the police file FIRs under Section 304 instead of Section 302 (murder) of the IPC. Sensing trouble, the investigators, without wasting time, filed a closure report and concluded that the seven were shot dead by co-protesters, alleged Advocate Saghir Khan, who is representing few of the deceased in Firozabad. Subsequently, Khan filed a protest petition in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, who ordered a reinvestigation into one of the cases. Lets see what happens now, Khan said, adding that the police registered a separate FIR and arrested 14 people after the court pressured them to act due to their botched-up investigations. At least four petitions were filed in the Allahabad High Court in January 2020, appealing it to order a judicial probe into the violent crackdown. Two hearings were held in the case before the lockdowns in 2020, but no hearing has been held since then. A public interest litigation (PIL) demanding an investigation into police and the deaths in UP is also pending in the high court. Tarique Anwar is a Delhi-based journalist. He tweets at @TariqueReports Vice President Kamala Harris Tests Positive for COVID-19 WASHINGTON (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. Harris press secretary Kirsten Allen said neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a close contact of Harris in recent days. Harris had been scheduled to attend Bidens Tuesday morning Presidential Daily Brief but was not present, the White House said. Because of their travel schedules, the last time Harris saw Biden was Monday, April 18. The vice president returned on Monday from a weeklong trip to the West Coast. Harris tested positive on both rapid and PCR tests but has exhibited no symptoms, the White House said. She will isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely, and will return to the White House only when she tests negative for the virus. ADVERTISEMENT Harris, 57, received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine weeks before taking office and a second dose just days after Inauguration Day in 2021. She received a booster shot in late October and an additional booster on April 1. Fully vaccinated and boosted people have a high degree of protection against serious illness and death from COVID-19, particularly from the most common and highly transmissible omicron variant. Harris diagnosis comes a month after her husband, Doug Emhoff, recovered from the virus, as a wave of cases of the highly transmissible omicron subvariant has spread through Washingtons political class, infecting Cabinet members, White House staffers and lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Allen said Harris would follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and the advice of her physicians. It was not immediately clear whether she is being prescribed any antiviral treatments. The White House has put in place strict COVID-19 protocols around the president, vice president and their spouses, including daily testing for those expected to be in close contact with them. Biden is tested regularly on the advice of his physician, the White House has said. After more than two years and nearly a million deaths in the U.S., the virus is still killing more than 300 people a day in the U.S., according to the CDC. The unvaccinated are at a far greater risk, more than three times as likely to test positive and 20 times as likely to die from the virus than those who have received at least a primary dose of the vaccines, according to the public health agency. Harris diagnosis comes as the Biden administration is taking steps to expand availability of the life-saving COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, reassuring doctors that there is ample supply for people at high risk of severe illness or death from the virus. ADVERTISEMENT Paxlovid, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease. Tuesday, April 26, 2022 A justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has concluded that indefinite suspension, rather than disbarment, is appropriate for an attorney's intentional misappropriation of funds entrusted by longtime clients I have considered carefully the parties' arguments and reviewed the respondent's answer, the parties' proposed findings of fact and rulings of law, the voluminous exhibits and record of proceedings before the hearing committee and the board, and the hearing committee's report. I conclude that the record provides ample bases for the hearing committee's conclusions, which the board adopted, that the respondent intentionally misused client funds, with deprivation resulting, and committed a number of other violations. Nevertheless, I conclude that on the facts of this case, including the respondent's efforts at near-total voluntary restitution and the absence of evidence of fraudulent or deceitful conduct by the respondent, indefinite suspension is warranted. I therefore order that the respondent be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law. The clients The respondent knew and provided legal services to Paul and Lorraine Higginbottom (Higginbottoms) for more than forty years. Over the years, he represented them in various matters involving family law, collections, real estate transactions, and other real estate matters. The respondent represented the Higginbottoms in the purchase of a condominium in December 2017. When he agreed to represent them in this new transaction, the respondent did not provide the Higginbottoms with a written communication setting out the scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fees and expenses for which they would be responsible. The respondent and the Higginbottoms discussed the terms of the representation and came to an oral agreement. The misappropriated funds related to the transaction. Respondent had no prior discipline. Sanction While the defendant committed multiple acts of misconduct, the bulk of these violations occurred with respect to a single representation of one set of clients over the course of less than a year. The cases on which the hearing committee relied, like many others in which multiple violations were weighed in aggravation, involved violations over a number of years and with respect to multiple clients. (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2022/04/a-justice-of-the-massachusetts-supreme-judicial-court-has-concluded-that-indefinite-suspension-rather-than-disbarment-is-ap.html Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin was arrested earlier in April 2022 for threatening to kidnap and rape Muslim women, but was soon released on bail. In this profile of the controversial priest, what emerges is a pattern: of repeated hate-filled comments against Indias Muslims and other minorities. Vipul Kumar | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles NEW DELHI Within ten days of his arrest for publicly threatening to kidnap and rape Muslim women, a local court in Uttar Pradesh granted bail to Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin and on April 24, he was released. Right after his release, Muni told the media, If I have to go to jail a thousand times, I will. I feel no guilt or regret about what I did. Everything I said was to protect my religion and our Hindu women. Muni was arrested on charges of sexual harassment through words, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman, uttering words with deliberate intent to hurt the religious feelings of any person. Many journalists have observed a pattern in the arrests and bail cases related to communal charges. The pattern reveals clear bias in granting bail based on religion. Bail granted: Bajrang Muni (10 days), Yati Narsinghanand (1 month), Rambhakt Gopal (1 month), Pinky Chaudhary (1 month), Deepak Singh Hindu (2 months), Vinod Sharma (2 months) Bail denied & in jail since almost 2 years: Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Kaushik Raj (@kaushikrj6) April 24, 2022 Bajrang Muni and his idols Muni is the chief priest of Badi Sangat Ashram in the Khairabad area of Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh. Son of a sub-inspector in Madhya Pradesh Police, he claims to have pursued Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) and worked for Jet Airways before deciding to quit his job and work for religion, according to a 2017 Bhaskar report. In the latest Uttar Pradesh elections, Muni campaigned for Rakesh Rathore who emerged as a winner from the same seat. He also expressed his desire for Yogi Adityanath to be re-elected as the CM. In a video uploaded on 19 December 2016, Muni was threatening Muslims and Christians to learn a lesson. He said, We young saints are not here to run a shop, we are here to protect our religion. He gave examples of Dara Singh who shook Christians abroad and Pragya Singh who taught lessons to the Muslims in India. There are still many others like them who can annihilate you, destroy you, he said, threatening Muslims and Christians. Dara Singh is serving a life sentence for leading a mob that set fire to the station wagon in which Graham Staines, a Christian Missionary and his two sonsa ten-year-old and a seven-year-old were sleeping. All three were burnt to death on January 23, 1999. Pragya Singh is accused of September 2006, Malegaon bomb blast. The blast took place in a Muslim cemetery, adjacent to a mosque in Malegaon, in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. The blast left ten people dead and several injured. In a video uploaded on January 23, 2017, on the 18th anniversary of Stains murder, Bajrang Muni recorded a video garlanding a photo of Dara Singh, saying, This is our revered, god-like and warrior Dara Singh Ji, who burnt to death a sinner like Graham Stains in the same way as lord Ram did to Ravan. He celebrated 23rd January as Vijay Diwas (Victory Day). Muni calls Yati Narsinghanand his idol. Narsinghanand is accused of giving hate speeches in Haridwar Dharma Sansad held on 17-18-19 December 2021. In a video from November 19, 2018, Muni was seen showing support for Yatis demand for a population control bill. He also said, I want to tell the Central and state governments that if they dont listen to Yati Narsinghanand then monks will come out from each corner of India and will burn politicians and bureaucrats alive in their homes. Bajrang Munis anti-minority videos and assaults On April 2, a video went viral in which Muni was seen threatening Muslim women with mass sexual violence in the presence of the police. The video was shot on the occasion of Hindu New Year in Sitapur. On April 2, he was also heard speaking to a gathering of hundreds of people, in which he raised provocative slogans like Jab Mulle kaate jayenge toh Ram Ram chillayenge (When Muslims will be murdered, they will scream Lord Rams name). In the same video, he can also be heard asking his supporters to sing praises of Prabhu (God) and make mullahs(Muslims) sing it too In another video which surfaced on the internet after Munis April 2 hate speech video, he can be heard saying, If you kill one Hindu, I will kill 10 Muslims. If you commit atrocities on one Hindu girl by trapping her into love jihad, I will trap 10 Muslim girls into loving Sanatan and persecute them. You will dupe them but I want to say this openly that I will abduct them in broad daylight. Later, in the same video, he talks about grabbing Muslim land in the ratio of 1:10, if Muslims capture Hindu land. He also suggested violence against those Hindus who vote for Muslims. He termed such Hindus as Jaichands which is a commonly used terminology for traitors. While he speaks, police could be seen present on the spot. On February 16, 2022, there was an alleged altercation between Muni and a group of Muslim men for possession of land nearby an ashram. After that, the Mahant was admitted to a trauma centre in Lucknow. Muni alleged Piyush Kumar Singh, Circle Officer, City of Sitapur, of plotting his murder. In another video from October 2020, Muni was seen leading a mob and assaulting a person brutally in the Khairabad area in Uttar Pradesh. BJP leader Saket Mishra has protested against Munis alleged land grabbing. The leader suspected that Mahant was complicit in an attack on his house. Prominent Muslim leaders have been targeted by Muni too. In a video uploaded on June 29, 2017, flashing an axe, Muni announced a reward of 5 lakhs to any soldier of the Indian army who chops off Azam Khans tongue. Mahant Udasin has also used Indias most communally charged, sub judice topics in his speech and has suggested violence. Before the Ram Mandir verdict was given by the Supreme Court on November 9, 2019, Udasin said, I believe Ram Mandir can not be built until Hindus pick arms and execute every hurdle coming in the way and make ladders of their corpses leading to Ayodhya. This video was uploaded on December 11, 2018. In another video from August 15, 2017, Muni was seen addressing a gathering of Bajrang Dal members where he was flashing a weapon in his hand. He suggested violence for the construction of Ram Mandir. Our religion wont be defended unless Muslims are killed, he added. Vipul Kumar is a freelance journalist and a student at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He tweets at @vipulizm Since the beginning of 2021, at least 17 states have passed measures aimed at how public schools can teach highly debated subjects, says the publication EducationWeek . These efforts, however, have caused concern among some teachers of Advanced Placement, or AP, classes. These are college-level classes taught to high school students. AP classes in U.S. History, for example, require discussion of subjects like slavery and European colonization. Legislative measures aimed at limiting disputed ideas in schools have been mainly led by Republican Party lawmakers. Some of the measures are aimed at preventing the teaching of Critical Race Theory, or CRT. CRT is a way of understanding American society that places great importance on how race shaped its politics and culture. It is taught in universities. Some officials say there is little evidence that CRT is being taught a lot in American public schools. EducationWeek says several other states have similar bills currently under consideration. It has been following efforts to pass these kinds of education measures around the country. The measures are different depending on where they are being introduced. In Ohio, for example, a bill that was introduced last May would ban school districts from teaching, advocating, or promoting divisive concepts. Divisive concepts are ideas that cause a lot of disagreement between people. A New Hampshire bill would ban teaching a negative account or representation of the founding and history of the United States of America But some teachers doubt it is possible to teach some subjects without raising questions that cause people to disagree. Tassie Zahner is an AP American history teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland. She told VOA last year that it would be very hard to teach her class without teaching Americas history of racism. In order to teach an AP U.S. history class correctly you have to talk about those things, she said. You cant prepare studentsif youre not teaching the truth about U.S. history. AP is a nationwide program that provides high school students with college-level classes. Through the AP program, students can, in many cases, earn credit towards a college degree. Classes offered include history, English, math and art. The College Board is the non-profit organization based in New York City that creates the curriculum for high school AP classes. AP classes are unlike other classes in American high schools. The curriculum of most classes is set by local school districts. The College Board told EducationWeek in January that it does not know of any examples in which state requirements conflict with the standards of college-level AP courses. But in March, the group sent teachers a reminder of APs most important ideas and values, called principles. The principles suggest the organization could bar schools from offering AP classes in districts where teachers are limited in what they can teach. Students are expected to analyze different perspectives from their own, the principles state. The AP statement of principles also says: if a school bans required topics from their AP courses, the AP Program removes the AP designation from that course and its inclusion in the AP Course Ledger provided to colleges and universities. Most of the legislative measures are aimed at kindergarten through 12th grade schools. But the New York-based non-profit organization PEN America says it found 40 bills that target what can be taught at colleges and universities. Some political officials have said they oppose the teaching of disputed ideas in colleges. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on Twitter in February: I will not stand by and let looney Marxist (University of Texas) professors poison the minds of young students with Critical Race Theory. He added: We banned it in publicly funded K-12 and we will ban it in publicly funded higher ed. Some college professors oppose many of the bills. In a statement last year, the American Association of University Professors said that when politicians mandate the academic content that faculty can and cannot teach they prevent colleges and universities from fulfilling their missions. Frank Scott is an AP U.S. history teacher in Texas. He said discussing topics like racism and violence in the U.S. do not make students dislike the country. He told EducationWeek that When youre honest with the things that are not very pleasantyou have students that come around to loving this country even more, because of what its been through. Im Dan Novak. Dan Novak wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Quiz- Advanced Classes Might Be at Risk in Some US High Schools Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story advocate v. to support or argue for negative adj. harmful or bad curriculum n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc. district n. an area or section of a country, city, or town standard n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable perspective n. a way of thinking about and understanding something looney adj. crazy or foolish faculty n. the group of teachers in a school or college The first private astronaut crew to visit the International Space Station (ISS) has returned safely to Earth. The team flew to the ISS and back on the spaceship Crew Dragon. The SpaceX company vehicle landed as planned in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida on Monday. SpaceX also provided the Falcon 9 rocket that carried the team to orbit. The return to Earth marked the end of a two-week science mission aboard the ISS. The flight was the first to be organized and operated by a private company involving a completely commercial astronaut crew. Welcome back to planet Earth," SpaceX Mission Control said in a radio message to the crew. We hope you enjoyed the extra few days in space. The ISS mission was supposed to last just over a week. But weather conditions kept the crew in space for more than two weeks. Before departing the space station on Sunday night, the group thanked their seven ISS hosts, including three NASA astronauts whose own mission will end soon. The crew was led by Michael Lopez-Alegria, a retired astronaut for the American space agency NASA. He now works as the vice president of Axiom Space, which organized and operated the ISS mission. The 63-year-old Lopez-Alegria was described as the mission commander. He was joined by the mission pilot, Larry Conner, a 72-year-old businessman and private pilot from Ohio. The other members were 64-year-old Israeli man Eytan Stibbe, a fighter pilot and 52-year-old Mark Pathy, a Canadian businessman. Stibbe and Pathy served as mission specialists. After being helped out of the capsule, the crew members were picked up by a recovery ship and given a quick health examine. The team was then flown to NASA in Florida for more detailed medical check-ups. "Everybody looks great and is doing reasonably well," Axiom operations director Derek Hassmann told reporters. He described the astronauts as being "in great spirits." Connor called the experience an amazing mission. Lopez-Alegria said his adventure aboard the ISS was even longer and more exciting than he imagined it would be. Pathy said the mission was eye-opening in so many ways, and would surely have a lasting impact on my life. The mission was praised by Axiom, NASA and industry officials as a turning point in the latest expansion of commercial space activities. "We proved that we can prepare the crew in a way that makes them effective and productive on orbit," Hassmann said. "What it demonstrates to the world is that there is a new avenue to get to low-Earth orbit." In the past, the ISS has accepted some visits by private citizens. But the latest mission marked the first all-commercial team of astronauts sent to use the station as an orbiting laboratory. The crew brought 25 science and biomedical experiments with them to carry out in orbit. It was the sixth human spaceflight for SpaceX in nearly two years. The company has a contract to fly three more Axiom astronaut missions to the ISS over the next two years. Axioms second flight is planned for next spring. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. _____________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story mission n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel commercial adj. related to buying and selling things host n. a person who organizes a party or special event for guests amazing adj. very surprising adventure n. an exciting and sometimes dangerous experience impact n. the effect that a person, event or situation has on someone or something avenue n. a possible way of doing or achieving something We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Ngoc Anh of Vietnam knows the value of trees. For years, he worked as a logger. He cut trees down illegally to sell as timber. He often worked with others to carry 100-kilogram logs out of a quickly thinning forest. But very high rainfall and floods increasingly damaged his community in the central province of Quang Binh. The 36-year-old Ngoc started reading about the climate and nature crises. He changed his work and became involved in tourism and environmental conservation. Now, Ngoc Anh is one of 250 former loggers to receive training from a tourism company. He works as a travel guide. He mostly leads foreign tourists through forests and into some of the worlds largest caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. "Before, whenever I saw a large tree, my head calculated how tall the tree was and how to cut it into logs of different sizes." Ngoc Anh said, "But now that I'm in the tourism business, when I see such a tree, I tell the tour group how valuable this tree is because there aren't many left. Global Forest Watch estimates that Vietnam lost about 3 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2020. That is a 20 percent decrease in 20 years. The losses were mostly driven by logging. In 2007, the government started taking more measures to prevent illegal logging, which has helped slow the rate of deforestation. Vietnam has also joined an international promise to end deforestation by 2030. Joined by a park official, Ngoc Anh and other tour guides help guard the trails to keep poachers away. They remove animal traps and clean up any waste. Ngoc works for less than half the money of what he earned as a logger. But he hopes to earn more as tourism and travel return to Vietnam. Im Jill Robbins. Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters. ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story logger n. someone whose job is to cut down trees for wood timber n. trees that are grown in order to produce wood conservation n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources calculate v. to find (a number, answer, etc.) by using mathematical processes poacher v. to hunt or fish illegally In the early 1900s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested an order of Callery pear tree seeds from China. The agency hoped the seeds might be a solution for a bacterial disease harming American pear production. Today, however, experts from the USDA are studying the best ways to kill Callery pear trees. The flowering fruit trees have become aggressive, invasive plants. University of Cincinnati researchers Theresa M. Culley and Nicole A. Hardiman wrote about the plants history in 2007 for the publication BioScience. They said that, in the early 1900s, a bacteria called fire blight was badly hurting the production of pears in the U.S. Scientists discovered that combining a pear tree that produced the edible fruit with the Callery pear tree created a specimen that could survive the bacteria. Over the years, 25 different kinds of ornamental trees were created from this combination. The well-known Bradford pear tree was one of them. All of them were able to survive difficult conditions and were planted across the United States. In 1971, the U.S. Department of Agriculture even created a small publication about their care. The agency described them as trees that flower several times during the year and do well in many climates and soils. That ability to survive easily is part of what makes the trees invasive. Seeds from the inedible fruit that the trees produce can spread easily. In addition, the roots can produce above-ground growth. If the growth is not cut down often to stop it from flowering, it can create a fertile seed with the rest of the tree. It is possible for a wild population to come from a single tree that someone plants on their property, said Culley, one of the University of Cincinnati researchers. Callery pear trees are the third most common kind of tree planted along New York City streets, said city parks department spokesman Dan Kastanis. But the city is no longer planting them, Kastanis said. Cities in Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana have also banned or are banning the sale of all kinds of Callery pear trees. Some states, including Missouri and Alabama, are asking homeowners and landowners to stop planting them or to cut existing ones down and use chemicals on what remains. Other states, including North Carolina, are offering free native trees to landowners who show photographic evidence that they have cut down Callery pears on their property. Without regular work and attention, fields near seed-producing trees can be covered with small seedlings within a couple of years, said scientist James J.T. Vogt. He is a scientist at the U.S. Forest Services Southern Research Station in Athens, Georgia. Theyre a real menace, said Jerrod Carlisle. He lives in southern Indiana. He discovered that four trees on his property and one on his neighbors property had created thousands more of the trees on 20 hectares of land. He and his 17-year-old son have cut down an estimated 1,400 Callery pears. But he estimates that there are about 1,000 more to go. Carlisle thinks he is finally getting ahead of his invasion. Native trees that have been planted for reforestation are creating enough shade to finally slow the growth of Callery seedlings. Im Gregory Stachel. Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story edible adj. suitable or safe to eat specimen n. something (such as an animal or plant) collected as an example of a particular kind of thing ornamental adj. used to make something more attractive: used for decoration seedling n. a young plant that is grown from seed menace n. a dangerous or possibly harmful person or thing shade n. an area of slight darkness that is produced when something blocks the light of the sun We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Since October 2020, Rebekah Gasperino the Albany mom accused of killing her 3-year-old daughter and her husband Scott Gasperino have been going through a divorce, and court paperwork shows both he and the Oregon Department of Human Services sounded the alarm on the suspect's potential mental health issues. Rebekah has a spiritual vision in which Sophia is dead and she is unsure how Sophia is killed in her vision, a Department of Human Services caseworker wrote in a March 23 protective action plan. Meanwhile, twice during Linn County Circuit Court proceedings, Scott Gasperino filed motions seeking custody of their daughter Sophia Saffron Gasperino by asserting that she was in immediate danger from her mother, court paperwork shows. The alleged murder The Albany Police Department arrested Rebekah Gasperino, 32, Saturday, April 23 on suspicion of first-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree criminal mistreatment. At around 2:30 a.m., according to a news release, an officer stopped a vehicle occupied by Rebekah Gasperino. During the traffic stop, police learned the suspect could pose a danger to herself or others and officers decided to check on Sophia immediately. Arriving to the 2000 block of Sun Place Southeast in Albany, officers searched the cul-de-sac home where they found Sophia already dead. No other children were in the home. Court documents filed Monday, April 25 allege the murder was unlawful, intentional and premeditated. In the news release, Albany police said Scott Gasperino and extended family members were cooperating with the investigation. Sophia's death comes after more than a year of marital conflicts in court between her parents during which Scott Gasperino expressed concern for his daughter's safety. Divorce and custody battles In November 2020 court filings, Scott Gasperino said he believed the marriage could be repaired with help, but he also reported his wifes alleged mental health problems. My wife has been observed to be unfit to be alone with our daughter by her family and by others at Mercy House Shelter. She had been hearing voices, and obeyed said voices to make dangerous choices, Scott Gasperino wrote. In related paperwork, he wrote there was an Oregon Department of Human Services case against Rebekah Gasperino. She was not seeking the counseling the agency wanted her to get or the psychological evaluation it had recommended multiple times, he said. Based upon a preponderance of the evidence presented in 2020, Judge Thomas McHill ruled that Sophia Gasperino was not in immediate danger at the time, and he denied the motion. The court process to dissolve their marriage continued, and on March 31, Scott Gasperino again signed a motion for order of immediate danger against his wife. He wrote that DHS had created a protective action plan that called for Sophia to live with him at his parents house, and for Rebekahs parenting time to be supervised. DHS has requested I take legal action to extend the plan past its expiration date of April 3, 2022, Scott Gasperino added. The protective action plan, attached to the court filing, included details about Rebekah Gasperinos aforementioned vision of her daughters death. A hearing on the motion was held on April 1 before Judge Rachel Kittson-MaQatish, and the parties stipulated that Scott Gasperino would move back to the family residence and that his motion for an order of immediate danger would be dismissed. However, in an April 12 letter to Kittson-MaQatish, Rebekah Gasperino requested that the dissolution of marriage proceed to trial because she had concerns that werent being addressed. She claimed it was her husband who had mental health issues and said she tried to file for a restraining order when Scott Gasperino took custody of Sophia between March 21 and April 3. Scott has been saying I have poor mental health, he used that as an excuse to have Sophia and keep her from me for the most part, Rebekah Gasperino wrote. I feel like Scott is robbing me of parenting Sophia because of his claims about my mental health and I feel like he is not being fair. He stopped letting me watch Sophia like I normally would. He also wont let me take Sophia to the store and to Church (sic), she wrote, later in the letter to the judge. Rebekah Gasperino believed that if she finalized the divorce without a trial, her husband would try to bully her and keep Sophia from her in the future, like he did when he took Sophia to live with his parents for two weeks from March 21 and April 3, she added. Kittson-MaQatish responded on April 13 via letter: Because you have an attorney, I need you to communicate with your attorney. I believe the court is waiting for one of the attorneys to file a stipulated general judgment of dissolution with the court, Kittson-MaQatish wrote. That divorce case remains open, according to Oregons online court database. Arraignment More than a dozen family and friends of Scott Gasperino gathered in a Linn County courtroom Monday afternoon for Rebekah Gasperino's arraignment. During the proceedings, Rebekah Gasperino was arraigned on one charge of aggravated murder, the conviction of which could result in a sentence of 30 years to life. Linn County Circuit Court Judge Keith Stein ordered Gasperino be held without bail at the Linn County Jail. During the court proceedings, prosecutor Jessica Cooney alleged Rebekah Gasperino admitted to killing Sophia in a probable cause affidavit for the case. Stein ordered that an attorney from the Oregon Office of Public Defense Services be appointed as Rebekah Gasperino's defense attorney. The next court appearance in the matter is scheduled for at 8:30 a.m. May 9. Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_ Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 8 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 Mason City truck-washing business was caught by a state environmental officer illegally dumping diluted corn oil on the ground when the officer went to the site to follow up on the business illegal dumping of a green agricultural chemical the day before, according to a recent Iowa Department of Natural Resources administrative order that imposed a $10,000 fine on the company. Those back-to-back violations followed the DNRs first investigation of Brookstone Specialty Services in December 2020, not long after it opened, when someone reported a petroleum smell in a nearby creek and dead fish. Brookstone cleans large trucks and their trailers after they haul various items. A DNR investigation revealed the creek contamination was, in part, brown sludge left over from distilling grain that had been cleaned from one of the trucks. The business mistakenly allowed the material to drain into a basin that empties into Cheslea Creek, thinking that it went into the citys sewer system instead, the administrative order said. A DNR environmental specialist evaluated the creek and found that a significant amount of livestock bedding had also been washed into the creek. Brookstone was required to hire someone to scoop the bedding from the creek, and that company hauled four truckloads of material from it, totaling about 12 cubic yards. Then, in June 2021, someone reported the illegal dumping of a neon green liquid at the site. We had a complaint that they were dumping this green stuff out back, said Jacob Donaghy, an environmental specialist for the DNR who investigated the complaint. We went there and sure enough, there was green stuff out back. It was just being dumped on the soil. Workers had been transferring the chemical which is used to keep nitrogen from leeching from farm fields into a larger container, Donaghy said. Someone cleaned out the equipment used to transfer the chemical with about 1,000 gallons of water and then dumped that water. The company said it was a mistake by a new employee. But when Donaghy followed up the next day, he arrived to find a trailer with a tank that was discharging a yellow liquid into the same area. This time, it was corn oil wash water. We were very surprised because we had just been there the previous day, Donaghy said. Brookstone agreed to pay a $10,000 fine to settle the matter, the maximum allowed under the departments administrative agreements. The company saved up to an estimated $11,000 by dumping the liquids rather than paying to dispose of them properly, the administrative order said. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter. Press Release University of Nebraska - Kearney KEARNEY Vanessa Lo was willing to pitch in wherever she was needed Saturday, even if it meant handling a nail gun for the first time. The University of Nebraska at Kearney student admits that part of her community service project was a little nerve-wracking, but she enjoyed learning to install siding at the Habitat for Humanity build site at 17th Street and Avenue P. I want to help as much as I can so when I drive by this house I can say, I did that, said Lo, a junior from Lexington who will start pharmacy school this fall. It makes you feel good when you can do something like this to help other people. About 25 members of UNKs Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP) assisted with the house construction as part of The Big Event, the universitys largest single-day service project. Organized by UNK Student Government, the annual event allows Lopers to give back to the community and say thanks for all the support Kearney provides. Roughly 550 students from a variety of campus organizations participated this year. The Kearney community does a lot for us and its important for us to give back, said UNK senior Henrique Adabo, a pre-medical student from Columbus. Adabo, a member of KHOP and the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, also signed up for The Big Event as a freshman. He believes it exemplifies the UNK student body and their dedication. The fact that nearly 600 students are participating is a very special thing, Adabo said. I dont think youll see that at many other universities. UNK students volunteered at about 60 job sites in the Kearney area, completing spring cleaning, assisting with yardwork, landscaping and painting, building picnic tables and tackling other tasks. Chapter President Taryn Hadwiger and 12 more members of the Alpha Phi sorority walked the ditches along U.S. Highway 30 while collecting aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other discarded items in big, orange trash bags. The cleanup covered a 1-mile section on the citys east edge adopted by Kearney Elks Lodge #984. Hadwiger was also part of a similar project a couple weeks ago just west of Kearney, where the Order of Omega Greek honor society sponsors a stretch of highway. At UNK, we want to get involved in the Kearney community. Were here to help and were here to support them as much as they support us, said Hadwiger, a junior from Amherst. Around 60 members of Alpha Phi took part in Saturdays event, with students spread across multiple locations. Spencer Kuhl was happy to have them at the highway cleanup site. Our Kearney Elks Lodge members are aging and its harder and harder to get volunteers, he said. This allows us to continue doing this project. Without them, it would be harder to accomplish, thats for sure. For students like Lo, The Big Event serves as inspiration by showing them how to stay involved in community service after graduation. Were literally building a house for somebody, she said. Thats proof that we can make an impact in the community. CAMBRIDGE Fifteen days after a wildfire consumed 35,000 acres in Gosper and Furnas counties, a wildfire that broke out on Friday, April 22 forced the evacuation of several southwestern Nebraska communities and has burned over 40,000 acres, so far. While the fire weather situation has been volatile for weeks, April 22 featured a number of factors that brought fire conditions to a peak. The prior lack of rainfall had extended Extreme Drought Conditions (D3) down into the local area and where the fires occurred in Red Willow and Furnas counties. Some areas havent seen an inch of precipitation between March 1 and April 20. The National Weather Service Hastings had also issued a high wind warning on Friday due to the wind gusts. Maximum wind gusts were around 60 to 70 mph. The NWS Goodland, Kan., office reported an 82 mph gusts near Trenton. The fire began in Norton County, Kan. and quickly spread across the state line, driven by the high winds out of the south. Cambridge, Bartley, Indianola and Wilsonville, communities in Furnas and Red Willow counties, were given evacuation orders Friday evening after a fire began to spread north and eventually west as strong winds gusting over 70 mph fueled the flames. Lexington Fire Chief Bo Berry said they received a call around 7 p.m. to help fight the fire. A crew of four in a grass rig was operating near Cambridge until midnight when they suffered tire trouble. More firefighters went down to help get the rig back up and running by midnight. Berry said he was in communication with the crew once every hour, owning to the extremely dangerous situation. In total, the crew was on scene for around 12 hours. Berry said the situation was similar to the Gosper/Furnas County wildfire earlier this month, owning to the high winds and dangerous fire conditions. Evacuation orders were lifted for all towns around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. However, around 1:15 p.m., officials said the fire flared up again south of Cambridge, along the border of Furnas and Red Willow counties. Residents of Cambridge were told to be on standby in case the evacuation order was reinstated. A retired Cambridge fire chief was killed as a result of the fire. Alyssa Sanders, with NEMA, said 66-year-old John P. Trumble, of Arapahoe, was overcome by smoke and fire after his vehicle left the road Friday because of poor visibility from smoke and dust, his body was found early Saturday, according to the Associated Press. At least 15 firefighters have been injured battling the blazes, including five who were hurt in the fire that killed Trumble. The fire had burned more than 78 square miles in Red Willow, Furnas and Frontier counties by Sunday afternoon. The Road 702 Fire is estimated at 50,000 acres. A Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) from Colorado is currently flying the fire and will be able to provide a more accurate size as well as identify locations within the fire area where hot spots exist. This will allow firefighters to focus on areas that still pose a risk to life and property, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). As a fire gets larger and additional resources are brought in, the fire is broken into geographic areas called Branches and Divisions to help focus suppression efforts and to help with supervisory span of control. We will use these terms in our updates to provide specific information about each part of the fire perimeter, NEMA stated. Branch One encompasses the area from Cambridge west along the fire edge and south to Lebanon. Firefighters in this area are continuing to secure existing fire lines by mopping up any hotspots that remain. Primary areas of concern are timbered draws especially in the Republican River breaks, according to NEMA. Branch Three encompasses east and south perimeters of the fire from Cambridge south to Wilsonville and into Kansas. Firefighters in this area are continuing to mop up and secure the fire line along the Republican River and US-6 working south towards Wilsonville, NEMA stated. Areas of concern are timbered draws and hay bales near the fire edge. Additional operations personnel are scouting the fire edge south of Wilsonville and coordinating with resources in Kansas. The public is being asked to avoid the area and to use caution when driving in areas with reduced visibility due to smoke and dust. There was 47 percent containment of the fire as of Tuesday morning according to the Nebraska Forest Service. In wildfire response, "containment" refers to a line built or established around a fires perimeter that will keep it from growing under almost any conditions. The most common and effective way of achieving that perimeter line sometimes called a fire line is to remove all vegetation and burnable fuel in the fire's path, making any further expansion impossible, the Nebraska Forest Service stated. Blazes have been reported in 14 counties in around the state since Friday, including Perkins, Dundy, Burt, Butler, Scotts Bluff, Cheyenne, Duele, Blaine, Cherry, Brown and Thomas counties. NEMA said those other fires had either been extinguished or mostly contained by Sunday afternoon. 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 The leader of the Holmen School Board apologized Tuesday for using a fake social media account to engage in discourse about the spring election. Cheryl Hancock confirmed with the Tribune Tuesday that she used a Facebook profile, which she called an "alter ego," under the pseudonym of "Annie Allmaras," during a particularly contentious election for the Holmen School Board. "I can do better and be better," Hancock said in a statement. "While my intention was to use the profile to correct misinformation, I recognize it was a lapse in judgment which I regret and apologize for." Hancock, who was not up for reelection, said the account has since been deactivated and that she will step away from social media for a while. "Although we're all entitled to our thoughts and opinions, I know that I can do better," Hancock said. She emphasized in her statement that the opinions she shared using the page were her own, and do not reflect the opinion of the school board, district, or its staff and students. A document that was shared with the Tribune by Bill Feehan, chairman of the La Crosse County Republican Party, appears to show the Facebook profile engaging with residents and school board candidates. The comments ranged from the spring election, COVID-19 and mask policy and other school board and district matters. Josh Neumann, who lost in the election for school board earlier this month, said on his campaign Facebook page on Tuesday that he had 87 messages with Hancock's fake account and at times asked her to stop engaging with him on social media. "She doubled down on the deception over and over and made deceiving statements to the very public she's sworn to represent. She felt invincible and above the rules," Neumann wrote. Neumann stated he was made aware the profile was being run by Hancock in early February and reported the matter to the police. The document shared by Feehan, which was also circulated online on Monday, also stated that sensitive details uncovered by "investigators" were shared with the police. It was reported that Hancock told the school board about the profile just before the board meeting Monday night, but it was not broadcast on the board's livestream. Hancock was reelected as board president at the meeting. "I'm grateful for the reelection as president and your confidence in me in doing that and I look forward, again, working with you," Hancock said. In her statement, Hancock pointed to a board workshop on the books for the summer that will address "this very type of situation and how to move forward and unite." Hancock said, "I am sorry that my actions may have affected our progress but am committed to being a better person and regain the trust of many of our staff, community members and other stakeholders." Coming up with $44 billion to buy Twitter was the easy part for Elon Musk. Next comes the real challenge for the worlds richest person: fulfilling his promise to make Twitter better than ever as a lightly regulated haven for free speech. His vision for improving the 16-year-old company leans heavily on a pledge to make speech as free as reasonably possible on the platform -- a commitment thats been celebrated on the political right and among followers of former President Donald Trump, whose account last year was permanently banned. And for others who worry that Musk will open the floodgates to agitators who spew hate, lies and other harmful content, making the platform too toxic for advertisers and average users Musk has offered few assurances. The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all, he tweeted Tuesday. Many of Musks proposed changes reflect his own experience as a high-profile and outspoken Twitter user with more than 85 million followers and a swarm of pesky impersonator accounts that use his name and photo to promote cryptocurrency schemes. For example, he has highlighted the need to defeat spambots that mimic real users. But what about Twitters more than 200 million other users who arent getting banned or flooded with spam? Theres still a lot of uncertainty about whether his ideas are technologically possible and how well know if these changes would benefit most regular users, or serve some other purpose. Hes made it pretty clear hes not interested in making Twitter a profitable enterprise," said Joan Donovan, who studies misinformation at Harvard University. Its about the power and the influence of Twitter itself and its importance in our culture." Experts who have studied content moderation and researched Twitter for years have expressed doubt that Musk knows exactly what he is getting into. And some of the problems he has identified aren't felt by most users. The spambots, for him, are highly visible and somewhat personal, said Donovan. Most people dont see a lot of these spammy accounts. And for those unhappy with the company's crackdown on hate, harassment and misinformation, there are plenty of fledgling examples of free speech focused platforms that have been launched in the past few years as Twitter antidotes, largely by conservatives. Many have struggled to deal with toxic content, and at least one has been cut off by its own technology providers in protest. This move just shows how effective (moderation features) have been to annoy those in power, said Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame. I would be worried as to how this would change Twitters values. The fact that no other bidders emerged in public before Musks deal was a sign that other would-be acquirers might find Twitter too difficult to improve, said Third Bridge analyst Scott Kessler. This platform is pretty much the same one weve had over the last decade or so," Kessler said. "Youve had a lot of smart people trying to figure out what they should do, and theyve had trouble. Its probably going to be tough to make a lot of headway. Musk received some effusive, if highly abstract, praise from an unexpected quarter Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who praised Musk's decision to take Twitter back from Wall Street and tweeted that he trusts Musk's mission to extend the light of consciousness a reference to Dorsey's notion that Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness. But others familiar with Twitter say they're still dismayed at Musk's successful bid for the company. Twitter is going to let a man-child essentially take over their platform, said Leslie Miley, a former Twitter employee who has also worked for Google and Apple. Miley, who was the only Black engineer at Twitter in a leadership position when he left the company in 2015, echoed doubts about Musk's grasp of the platform's complexities. I am not sure if Elon knows what he is getting, Miley said. He may just find that having Twitter is a lot different than wanting Twitter. The more hands-off approach to content moderation that Musk envisions has many users concerned that the platform will become more of a safe place for disinformation, hate speech and bullying, something it has worked hard in recent years to mitigate. Wall Street analysts said if he goes too far, it could also alienate advertisers. In Europe, officials reminded Musk about a new law, the Digital Services Act, that will force tech companies to step up policing of their online platforms. Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules regardless of their shareholding, tweeted Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner in charge of the blocs internal market. Mr. Musk knows this well. He is familiar with European rules on automotive, and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act. Musk's takeover is not yet a done deal and still awaits stockholder approval. Twitter previously scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for May 25, but a vote on the takeover is not yet on the agenda. It will take six-to-eight months for the purchase to go through, and while there are likely to be some bumps along the way, there don't appear to be serious enough obstacles to stop the deal, according to Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, sees as serious enough to stop the deal. Normally when companies go private, dissenting shareholders are forcibly cashed out. Some could challenge the stock price in court, contending that Musk should pay more, but that probably wont hold up the sale, Elson said. Its likely that Musk would dissolve the current board and replace it with a new one that would agree with his management direction. And once Twitter is private, Musk will face fewer gripes from shareholders that often bring lawsuits, Elson said. Private companies also dont face as much scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been a finger in Musks eye for years, often because of statements he's made on Twitter. On Tuesday, shares of Twitter traded around $50, a touch below the $54.20 purchase price. Twitter will offer a glimpse into the health of its business when it reports its quarterly financial results Thursday. An annual shareholder meeting is set for May. Twitter's constituents aren't the only ones anxious about Musk's $44 billion investment. Shares of Musk's electric car company, Tesla, have lost about 17% of their value since Musk announced his stake in Twitter, including about a 10% decline on Tuesday. Analysts say investors are fearful that Musk will be distracted by the social media company and less engaged in running Tesla. Hes going to be spending more time with another venture, Edward Jones Senior Equity Analyst Jeff Windau said of Musk, who also runs SpaceX, The Boring Co., which digs tunnels, and Neuralink, a computer-brain interface company. Theres a potential limit on the amount of bandwidth that you can apply to each of these companies, Windau said. Krisher reported from Detroit. O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island. AP Business Writers Marcy Gordon in Washington, Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, Kelvin Chan in London and Sam Petrequin in Brussels contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Following an independent investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct and questionable leadership, Daniel Hardman will return to his positions with the Village of Lake Delton. The Dells-Delton EMS and Delton Fire Commissions agreed Tuesday to a unanimous decision made a day before by the Village Board of Trustees to reinstate Hardman as the police chief and director of public safety effective Wednesday. After a two-plus month investigation by an outside law firm that included interviews with members of IAFF Local 5026, the union which issued a vote of no confidence against Hardman on Feb. 7, Hardman was cleared of any wrongdoing. In this case, I believe that a very fair and thorough investigation was done into the allegations against Chief Hardman and he was exonerated, said Lake Delton Village Attorney Benoit LeTendre, of West & Dunn law firm. Local 5026 represents emergency medical technicians and paramedics working for Dells-Delton Emergency Medical Services. Stafford Rosenbaum LLP conducted the investigation, and attorney Ted Waskowski presented the findings orally to the Village Board during a closed session Tuesday. Ultimately, Ted Waskowski found one: Absolutely no evidence of criminal misconduct, said LeTendre. Second: There was no substantiating evidence related to any kind of sexual or workplace harassment. Accordingly, he recommended that no disciplinary action be taken. Attempts to reach Hardman for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful. LeTendre added that after extensive deliberations from the Village Board and the two commissions, the decision was made to fully reinstate Hardman to his positions. Sometimes he is a little abrupt and he can be harsh in his criticism at times, but nothing rising to the level of certainly sexual misconduct and certainly nothing rising to the level of actual workplace harassment, LeTendre said. The Village Board, in conjunction with the commissions, changed the grievance process for Dells-Delton EMS employees. All complaints will be addressed to the services director, Dillon Gavinski. Prior to the investigation, such complaints went to Hardman. If any availability conflicts arise with Gavinski, the complaints will go to Lake Delton village administrator Tim McCumber, and then village President John Webb if McCumber is not available. Gavinski declined to comment on the reinstatement of Hardman. This is to avoid a lot of the friction that seems to exist between, right now, Dan Hardman and EMS, said LeTendre. He will no longer entertain or review those complaints and grievances. McCumber, after conversations with Waskowski and Gavinski, said that he anticipates employee departures from Dells-Delton EMS as a result of the decision to reinstate Hardman. He said the losses should be minimal at best. As far as the relationship with EMS, obviously, we have to work to rebuild their trust in the organization, said McCumber. At the same time, were giving them new avenues to address their grievances directly to the EMS director rather than Mr. Hardman to try and keep those internal to the department. Hardman was placed on paid administrative leave on Feb. 8 during an emergency meeting of the Village Board and the two commissions after a letter signed by all 16 current Dells-Delton EMS employees was released by IAFF Local 5026 President Spencer Nett detailing allegations of discrimination, harassment, sexism and unwanted physical touching in Hardmans role as director of public safety. Attempts to reach Nett for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful. Even on face value, while the initial complaint somewhat caught us off guard, reading it, there was nothing there that would have risen to the level of needing to terminate the chief for any reason, McCumber said. One of the primary reasons we hired Stafford Rosenbaum was to make sure that we did not have a systemic or deeper problem we werent aware of. Another finding of the investigation were allegations of misconduct by Delton Fire Department Fire Chief Darren Jorgenson. With the findings, Jorgenson has been placed on paid administrative leave while another investigation by Stafford Rosenbaum LLP is conducted. As director of public safety, Hardman oversees day-to-day operations of emergency medical and fire services for the local area along with his role as police chief. Signaling a recommitment to teaching the histories of First Nations peoples, the Madison School District on Monday acknowledged in a ceremony organized by students that the land its schools occupy was once home to the Ho-Chunk Nation. Marena Fox Baker and Isa Saiz, student leaders of Native American Student Associations at East and West high schools, led the charge to have plaques installed at Madison schools to acknowledge the Ho-Chunk people as the areas original inhabitants and to better incorporate Indigenous history into the districts curriculum. Indigenous students in our community wanted to feel safe, seen and acknowledged, Fox Baker said. The art on the walls did not reflect us, nor did the curriculum that was taught. This is known as Indigenous invisibility. Throughout her time in the district, Fox Baker, now a junior at East, said she saw little to no representation of Indigenous people in her schools. That feeling of invisibility led to the formation of the Native American Student Association, which began to explore ways to honor and acknowledge Indigenous history and students. The land-acknowledgement plaque project was the first the organization tackled. Her concerns come despite 30-year-old state law that requires Indigenous history education in the public schools. Wisconsins 1989-91 biennial budget bill included provisions that required the study of American Indian history, culture and tribal sovereignty of the 11 federally recognized nations and tribal communities in Wisconsin. The budget also allocated funding for the American Indian Studies Program at the Department of Public Instruction. Mondays ceremony at the districts Holtzman Building, 333 Holtzman Road, which is used for special education services and professional development for teachers and staff, included speakers from the Ho-Chunk Nation as well as drums, songs and the exchange of gifts. This project is much more than the plaques themselves, Fox Baker said. To us, they represent the commitment that (the district) is making and a step toward being acknowledged in our community. The plaques, to be affixed to all district schools over the next three years, read: It is with great respect that our school acknowledges and celebrates the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation and the 11 indigenous First Nations within what is now referred to as the State of Wisconsin. The land you are standing on is the sacred ancestral land of the Ho-Chunk people. Our school will continue to grow and build upon our partnerships with the Ho-Chunk Nation and all First Nations. A path forward Along with the land acknowledgement, the district committed to further bringing awareness to Indigenous history as well as to current Indigenous presence and to providing additional professional development for teachers, although it did not specify how it would do so. This is the beginning of us looking at wrong done and a path forward, Superintendent Carlton Jenkins said. Now its time to dig deeper into our curriculum and make sure those things are acknowledged in a different way. Its not just for our Indigenous students; its for all students. The Madison area was known as Teejop, or Four Lakes, by the Ho-Chunk before they were forcibly removed under an 1832 treaty. According to oral histories, the Ho-Chunk tribe had lived in the region since the glaciers receded, which was about 11,000 years ago. For decades after the 1832 treaty, both the state and federal governments engaged in ethnic cleansing by repeatedly forcing the Ho-Chunk people out of their homes in Wisconsin. Many died during the forced removals and during the arduous journeys to new states. Despite several removals, the Ho-Chunk people kept returning to Wisconsin by foot or canoe. Tara Tindall, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and the districts Native American Teacher Leader, said her ancestors were removed repeatedly from the area and returned each time out of love and dedication to the land. Accurate history We know this and were teaching our kids about the first peoples who were here before this land was taken, district deputy superintendent and former state superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor said. Its providing an accurate history. The land acknowledgement ceremony was the first to be held by a school district in Wisconsin, according to Stanford Taylor. The Native American Student Association began planning for the event, in partnership with the districts Title VI American Indian Parent Committee, in 2019 but the ceremony was delayed due to COVID-19. Each day when Im here in this community, Im always happy and cheerful because my feet are walking the path that my ancestors once walked, Janice Rice, a Ho-Chunk elder said. Every day when I see the birds and hear the songs and see the waters of the age-old area, I feel blessed and comforted and happy because Im walking the lands that my grandparents and great-great-grandparents walked. State Journal reporter Emilie Heidemann contributed to this report. 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. Documents unveiled last week in the Republican investigation of the November 2020 election show election officials from Milwaukee and other Democratic-leaning Wisconsin cities working closely on election administration matters with various outside election-related interest groups some with clear Democratic leanings or past connections. But there doesnt appear to be evidence that the coordination gave interest groups access to confidential voter information or otherwise broke state law. In fact, at one point in 11 months worth of email correspondence, Milwaukees elections chief rebuffs an attempt by one outside group to get closer to state elections records than she felt was appropriate. Among the more than 300 files Special Counsel Michael Gablemans office posted online last week are copies of subpoenas and other legal documents, pages of law books, drafts of Gablemans remarks or reports, and contracts or reimbursement logs for people working for the conservative former state Supreme Court justice. The files also contain thousands of pages of emails. One 120-page tranche titled Milwaukee Hearing Document includes an 18-page table presumably created by Gablemans office that raises questions about some of the interactions between elections officials and outsiders in the emails that follow. Why is the city receiving training from NVAHI on how to conduct Central Count? reads one question in the table, referring to a Sept. 29-30 exchange about NVAHI the National Vote at Home Institute reportedly training Milwaukee elections workers on how to run their central location for counting ballots once polls closed on Election Day. In another interaction highlighted in the table, Josh Goldman of the nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life says in a July 28, 2020, email that his group has a lead on an experienced elections staffer that could potentially embed with your staff in Milwaukee. A Gableman staffer notes next to it: Putting people on Milwaukee staff. The Chicago-based and Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life, or CTCL, has drawn particular scorn from Gableman, who sees it as the main player in a conspiracy among left-leaning nonprofits and Democratic activists to boost turnout in Democratic-leaning areas of the state by flooding them with money to help safely run elections during a pandemic. The five Democratic-leaning municipalities Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Kenosha and Green Bay did get from two to four times more money per capita than other state municipalities that got the CTCL grants, but CTCL has said no one who applied for the money was denied and federal courts have ruled there is nothing illegal about outside elections funding. Not comfortable Gablemans investigators appear to have paid particular attention to one interaction in the documents between Claire Woodall-Vogg, Milwaukees elections administrator, and Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein, a former Democratic activist who at the time was working for NVAHI and has become a favorite target of conservatives for his persistent efforts to insert himself into elections administration in Green Bay, including directing poll workers and asking if he could help correct missing information on absentee ballot envelopes. The city has said employees of private election groups never had any decision-making power over the election or access to ballots, and Woodall-Vogg seemed to draw a similar line when Spitzer-Rubenstein suggested in a Sept. 16, 2020, email that nonprofit U.S. Digital Response be given a walkthrough of the states voter database, WisVote. It would be helpful to just understand the system and maybe the USDR folks can figure out a way to simplify something for you, he writes. USDR is a volunteer-driven civic tech nonprofit that helps government with the technology side of its various responsibilities, including running elections. Among its advisers are people who worked in the Obama administration. Woodall-Voggs response is polite but definitive: While I completely understand and appreciate the assistance that is trying to be provided, I am definitely not comfortable having a non-staff member involved in the functions of our voter database, much less recording it. Neither Gablemans office, Woodall-Vogg nor Spitzer-Rubenstein responded to requests for comment for this story. Constitutional amendment There is nothing in state law to prohibit the kinds of funding or other help provided to state elections officials by outside groups in 2020, although Gableman has contended the CTCL grants amount to illegal election bribery. In February, state Republicans introduced a constitutional amendment that would ban outside funding for elections and ban anyone who is not employed by state or local government from helping to carry them out. The amendment passed the Legislature on party-line votes later that month and would need to be approved by the Legislature seated next year before going to statewide referendum. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would not be able to veto it. 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 ongoing review into Wisconsins 2020 election appears poised to continue beyond the end of its latest contract extension, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said following growing pressure among some Republicans, including Donald Trump, to keep the GOP-ordered probe alive. Vos, who had previously indicated plans to begin wrapping up Michael Gablemans review by the time his contract expires on Saturday, issued a statement Tuesday that Gablemans office will remain open as we guarantee the legal power of our legislative subpoenas and get through the other lawsuits that have gridlocked this investigation. We are grateful for Justice Gablemans offer to reduce his salary as we are all concerned about the judicious use of taxpayers dollars, said Vos, R-Rochester. Our intention is to remain within the original budget allocated for the investigation. Vos did not say what Gablemans reduced pay will entail or provide further details on the new agreement. The former justice has been receiving $11,000 a month for his work as part of the $676,000 taxpayer-funded review. Vos spokesperson Angela Joyce said the details of Gablemans new agreement are being finalized. Gableman has missed multiple deadlines to conclude the review since it launched last year, prompting a bipartisan call from some state lawmakers for him to wrap up the probe. Vos comments come one day after Assembly elections committee chair Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, issued a statement urging him to keep Gablemans review open. Gableman told former Trump adviser Steve Bannon earlier this month that Vos staff had notified him of plans to dismantle his Brookfield office by the end of April. If Speaker Vos shuts down the Office of Special Counsels investigation now, not only will he be condoning cheating, hell be legalizing it, Brandtjen said. A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Trump, who has continued to make unfounded claims of election fraud, also issued a statement Monday directed at RINOs, an acronym for Republican in Name Only. The statement does not directly name Vos. Anyone calling themselves a Republican in Wisconsin should support the continued investigation in Wisconsin without interference, Trump said. After all of the evidence the report brought to light, how could anyone want to stop it? I understand some RINOs have primary challengers in Wisconsin. Im sure their primary opponents would get a huge bump in the polls if these RINOs interfere. Media reports and the statement put out by Representative Brandtjen were incorrect, Vos said Tuesday. The offices for Gableman and Brandtjen did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Focus pivots Vos hired Gableman last year to lead the review at a cost of $676,000 in taxpayer funds, but said earlier this month he would like to see the effort come to a conclusion in the near future. As weve said before, the investigation will now turn its focus to resolving the lawsuits that have been brought against our efforts by liberal activists, Vos said on April 8. We hope to have Justice Gableman help us do that so we can once again focus on reforming the election process. After extending Gablemans contract through the end of April, Vos later said he was 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. The latest contract maintains Gablemans existing budget, but does allow for the possibility of added funds to cover the costs of legal battles related to the probe. Gableman has pushed back against withdrawing his subpoenas, which he wants to see pursued in court. He has issued subpoenas to local and state election officials, the mayors of the states five largest cities and two companies that make vote-counting systems, Election Systems & Software and Dominion Voting Systems. Many of the subpoenaed parties have rejected Gablemans requests for in-person meetings or documents, while the former state Supreme Court justice has also withdrawn some requests, including one filed with immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera Action. Legal challenges Gablemans subpoenas have been met with a slew of legal challenges, with Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filing a lawsuit in October challenging Gablemans authority to demand in-person interviews. Kaul has argued demanding private interviews outside a public setting is illegal. A Waukesha County Circuit Judge has scheduled a July 11 hearing to decide if Gableman has the authority to demand that the mayors of the states five largest cities and other officials be jailed for not cooperating with his subpoenas. In addition to his subpoenas, Gableman and Vos have become the target of three open records lawsuits filed by liberal watchdog group American Oversight seeking records related to the election review. In one case, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington ordered Gableman last week 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. The order was issued after an attorney representing Gableman indicated in court filings that the office routinely deletes documents, including emails and text messages, that are deemed irrelevant or useless to the investigation. 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. Remington on Tuesday scheduled a hearing for June 10 to determine if Gablemans team should be held in contempt of court for the deletion of any requested records. In a separate case, Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn in March held Vos in contempt of court for failing to provide requested public documents related to the probe. A hearing in that case has been scheduled for next month. 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. Business owner Tim Michels, the latest entrant in the crowded Republican gubernatorial field, said Monday he will not seek large individual donations and will refuse contributions from political action committees and lobbyists underscoring that the millionaire plans to run a largely self-funded campaign. Michels, 59, joins former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, business owner Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, in the Aug. 9 GOP primary. The winner will face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is seeking a second term this year, in the general election on Nov. 8. Today begins a new era in Wisconsin, Michels told a crowd of about 200 supporters, family members, Michels Corp. employees and others gathered inside a company maintenance building in Brownsville on Monday. Enough of the political bickering, Michels said. Enough of the left and right not getting along. We need to bring people together. In a Monday interview with WISN-AM, Michels positioned himself as a political outsider seeking to address weak leadership in Madison, similar to campaign stances already taken by Nicholson and Ramthun, who entered the race earlier this year. The U.S. Army veteran, who registered his gubernatorial campaign on Friday and launched a television ad buy over the weekend, said he will never ask anyone for a donation and will limit individual contributions, which can be as large as $20,000 under state law, to no more than $500. Im not going to owe anyone anything, Michels said. I dont give a rip about the lobbyists, the special interests, the PACs. Michels 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. Speaking with conservative radio host Jay Weber Monday, Michels confirmed he had recently met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago and he would certainly welcome any support from the former president. Trump has not formally endorsed a candidate in the race. Michels said he aims to turn Madison upside down in a campaign video posted online over the weekend. The radical left, theyre destroying everything we love about America, Michels said. And too many establishment Republicans, theyre along for the ride. Im not some career politician, Im a self-made businessman who doesnt give a rip about the special interests or their money. The candidates Kleefisch a former television journalist who served eight years as lieutenant governor under Scott Walker and who strategists say is the odds-on favorite to win the nomination 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 in 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. A February Marquette Law School Poll found that 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 or have no opinion of Kleefisch, compared with 80% for Nicholson and 86% for Ramthun. The other Republicans in the race have remained quiet on Michels since he entered the field, but Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement Monday the field of GOP candidates represents a case of quantity over quality. Tim Michels is the fourth candidate to enter this mess of a nomination fight and the Republicans still dont have a single candidate who isnt too divisive for Wisconsin, Wikler said. Michels positions Michels served on Kleefischs advocacy group, the 1848 Project, a nonprofit she launched in 2020 leading up to her gubernatorial campaign. The group put out a list of more than 50 policy ideas last year dubbed The Forward Agenda. They include a few that have riled up the partys base recently, such as banning critical race theory from classrooms and shifting responsibility for election rules from the Wisconsin Elections Commission to the state Legislature. A lot of people have questions about the last election. So do I, Michels told Weber. We have to have, in Wisconsin, in any state, in the United States, fair and transparent elections. Michels said he would also support GOP efforts to ban private funding for administering elections, expand private school vouchers and prohibit instruction about systemic racism. He also said he would back anti-abortion bills and efforts to limit firearm restrictions measures Evers has adamantly opposed. Michels also defended his previous stance on state labor laws, a topic that could result in GOP criticism as the primary election heats up. Michels Corp. was a member of the Wisconsin Contractor Coalition, which fought Wisconsins right to work law, which prohibits employers and unions from requiring the payment of monthly union dues by nonunion members at unionized worksites. The law was passed in 2015 under the Walker/Kleefisch administration. Michels told Weber he supports right-to-work laws, but added he also works with unions. Michels Corp. is also a member of the Construction Business Group, which partners with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139. The union launched ads in 2018 targeting Walker over the former governors level of transportation funding. The ads accused Walker of failing to properly address potholes, which were dubbed Scottholes. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. Public Health Madison and Dane County is seeking information about a dog bite that occurred on Madison's far East Side early Sunday morning. The dog, described as a large shepherd or lab mix with a black and brown coat, bit the victim near the intersection of Littlemore and East Hill Parkway by Milwaukee Street and Sprecher Road at around 9 a.m. Sunday. A stray dog that was wearing a dark colored collar with multiple tags allegedly bit the victim as they walked their own dog on a leash. Anyone with information about the dog is asked to call (608) 255-2345 and ask for animal services officers. If the dog is not found, the bite victim may be required to complete a series of costly injections to prevent rabies. Further details about the bite victim have not been released. 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. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Candidates for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvanias open U.S. Senate seat charged into Monday night's live-televised prime-time debate with extra incentive to attack Mehmet Oz after the celebrity heart surgeon received former President Donald Trump's endorsement. And attack they did, almost solidly throughout the one-hour debate at the studio of WHTM-TV with barely three weeks to go to the May 17 primary election. Ex-hedge fund CEO David McCormick called Oz a flip-flopper to suggest that he is pretending to be a conservative. Former Trump ambassador Carla Sands called him Turkey First as a play on Trump's America First" governing philosophy to highlight Oz's Turkish citizenship. And conservative activist Kathy Barnette said Trump only endorsed Oz because Oz is well-known. Trump earlier this month endorsed Oz best known as daytime TVs host of The Dr. Oz Show" and the Trump endorsement hovered over the debate. Oz raised it repeatedly, just hours after Trump announced that he will come to western Pennsylvania next week for a rally to promote Oz. Oz gamely defended himself. People care about what he stands for, not where hes from, he said. Trump endorsed him because he is a true conservative, he said. And he keeps his Turkish citizenship to visit his ailing mother in Turkey, he said. He also counterpunched, primarily against McCormick. He accused McCormick of lying about his record and repeating Trump's suggestion that McCormick is pro-China because of McCormick's former hedge funds portfolio that catered to Chinese investors investing in China. Dishonest Dave is at it again," Oz said. He went groveling to President Trump with again these types of allegations. President Trump saw right through him, did not endorse him, and then he endorsed me. McCormick repeatedly attacked Oz, turning practically every question to Ozs long public past as a TV show host and accusing him of having long-advocated liberal positions. The reason Mehmet keeps talking about President Trumps endorsement is because he cant run on his own positions and his own records, and what's true is that he has flip-flopped on every major issue we're talking about in this campaign, McCormick said. Then McCormick slipped in a reference to criticism that Oz promoted quack treatments and cures on his show. And the problem doctor, is theres no miracle cure for flip-flopping, McCormick said. The race is primarily an expensive duel between McCormick and Oz, who combined with super PACs that support them have reported spending more than $37 million out of the more than $50 million reported being spent on the GOP primary. The five candidates on stage met the polling threshold set by the stations parent company as they vie for the nomination in a seven-person field to succeed retiring two-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in the presidential battleground state. The campaign is one of this years premier Senate contests, with carpetbaggery a prominent and persistent issue following the recent arrival of three wealthy and well-connected candidates from other states McCormick, Oz and Sands. Real estate investor Jeff Bartos summed up the debate in his closing remarks as out-of-state candidates fighting with each other as he pressed his case as the only lifelong Pennsylvanian in the race. Otherwise, the candidates all seemed to agree with party talking points, including on the question of banning abortion, banning transgender women from competing in women's sports, criticizing President Joe Biden's handling of the economy and the border and promoting Trump's baseless conspiracy that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election. They also took pains to demonstrate their devotion to Trump principles. Sands maintained that her service on a Trump's economic council and as his ambassador to Denmark makes her the only proven America First candidate. I actually did it, Sands said. "Everyone talks about it." On a question about how to deal with supply chain issues, McCormick took umbrage over Bartos' suggestion that out-of-state candidates "cannot help save Main Street Pennsylvania if you cannot find Main Street Pennsylvania. I'm not going to be out-Pennsylvania'd or out-America First by anybody on this stage," McCormick said. Barnette who has allied herself with pro-Trump conservatives took a different tack: Trump's Make America Great slogan, or MAGA, doesn't belong to Trump, she said. MAGA does not belong to President Trump, Barnette said. "MAGA, although he coined the word, MAGA actually belongs to the people. Our values never, never shifted to President Trumps values. It was President Trump who shifted and aligned with our values. Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. POKROVSK, Ukraine As Russian forces intensify their shelling of eastern Ukraine, more people are leaving their homes in search of safety. In Pokrovsk, a town in the Donetsk region, people lined up Tuesday to board a train headed to the far west of the country along the border with Hungary and Slovakia. One person was lifted onto the train in a wheelchair, another on a stretcher. The passengers took with them cats, dogs, a few bags and boxes, and the memory of those who did not flee in time. We were in the basement, but my daughter didnt make it and was hit with shrapnel on the doorstep during shelling on Monday, said Mykola Kharchenko, 74. We had to bury her in the garden near the pear tree. He said his village, Vremivka, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Pokrovsk, was under heavy fire for four days and everything was destroyed. With tears in his eyes, Kharchenko said he somehow held himself together at home, but once he reached the train station he fell apart. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Putin gets what he didnt want: Ukraine army closer to West Top Russian diplomat warns Ukraine against provoking WWIII Frances victorious Macron boosts weapons, stakes in Ukraine Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra organized by Met, Polish operas Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be involved in the evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in Ukraines southeastern city of Mariupol. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that during their one-on-one meeting Tuesday, Guterres and Putin discussed the proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, namely in relation to the situation in Mariupol. The sprawling Azovstal steel plant has been almost completely destroyed by Russian attacks but it is the last pocket of organized Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. An estimated 2,000 troops and 1,000 civilians are said to be holed up in bunkers underneath the wrecked structure. Dujarric said that following the Guterres-Putin agreement in principle, discussions will be held with the U.N. humanitarian office and the Russian Defense Ministry on the evacuation. WASHINGTON The State Department says U.S. diplomats have begun returning to Ukraine by making day trips to temporary offices in the western city of Lviv from neighboring Poland. The department said the first group of diplomats crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border and traveled to Lviv on Tuesday morning before returning to Poland later in the day. The step came just two days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Ukrainian leaders during a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv that the U.S. would start restaffing its diplomatic facilities in Ukraine this week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agency has accelerated its review of re-opening the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, which was closed shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. He said operations at the embassy would resume as soon as possible depending on the security situation in the capital. UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned about reports of new security incidents in a Russian-backed separatist region of Moldova and urges all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions that could escalate tensions. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Tuesday that Guterres has called for efforts to lower tensions throughout Trans-Dniester. Explosions rocked the region for the second day in a row, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Ukraine all but blamed Russia. Russian speakers of the strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine nominally seceded from Moldova in 1990, one year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fearing the country might shortly merge with Romania, whose language and culture it broadly shares. The separatist region fought a brief war with Moldova in 1992 and declared itself an independent state, though it remains unrecognized by any country, including Russia which bases about 1,500 troops there, calling them peacekeepers. Concerns are high that those forces could be used to invade Ukraine from the west. Haq said the U.N. continues to fully support efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to reach a political settlement of the Trans-Dniester conflict in the so-called 5+2 process which comprises Trans-Dniester, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE with the United States and the European Union as observers. The aim is to strengthen Moldovas independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, with a special status for Trans-Dniester. BERLIN Germanys vice chancellor says his country has come very, very close to independence from Russian oil and an embargo on deliveries would now be manageable. Germany, which has Europes biggest economy, has said so far that it aims to end Russian oil imports by the end of this year. Speaking Tuesday during a visit to Poland, Economy Minister Robert Habeck who is also the vice chancellor and responsible for energy said that his country has cut Russias share of its oil supply from 35% before the war in Ukraine to about 12%. Habeck said the situation is such that an embargo has become manageable for Germany. He added that the problem that just a few weeks ago seemed very big for Germany has become significantly smaller so that independence from Russian oil imports has come very, very close. Russian gas imports, however, are a bigger issue for Germany. Berlin has said that it will need longer to do without gas supplies from Russia. LONDON Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain does not want war to escalate beyond Ukraines borders, and rejected an allegation by Moscow that the West is fighting a proxy conflict with Russia. But Johnson said Ukrainians are being attacked from within Russian territory and have a right to protect and defend themselves by striking inside Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused NATO of pouring oil on the fire with its support for Ukraine, and said the risk of World War III should not be underestimated. Russia has singled Britain out for criticism after a U.K. government minister said it was legitimate for Ukraine to hit fuel depots in Russia with U.K.-supplied weapons. In an interview with British station Talk TV, Johnson said its very, very important that we dont accept the way that the Russians are trying to frame what is happening in Ukraine. He said: They are trying to frame this as a conflict between Russia and the West, or Russia and NATO. Thats not what is going on. BRATISLAVA, Slovakia Slovakias President Zuzana Caputova released a video addressing the invading Russian soldiers, their commanders and all whom it may concern, urging them to stop the war in Ukraine. In the three-minute video in Russian with the subtitles in Slovak, Caputova condemned war crimes against women, children and civilians. You justify your invasion by talking about liberation, Caputova told them. How were you intending to liberate Tatiana from Irpin, killed by a Russian grenade together with her two children? Or Olena from Hostomel, raped by one of you in a car? she asked. Referring to testimonies of women who have survived, Caputova says they find that words are not enough when they try to describe the pain you have made a part of their lives simply because... Well, why even? None of us knows Do you? She says with each passing day, you are only increasing the army of wounded souls and bodies of women, children and innocent people. If you still feel any leftover of humanity in you, bring it to life and end this horrible war. MOSCOW Russias President Vladimir Putin says Moscow still hopes to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Ukraine, even as the fighting has continued. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting Tuesday with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Putin noted that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made what he described as a serious breakthrough in their talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month. He claimed, however, that the Ukrainian side later walked back on some of the tentative agreements reached in Istanbul. In particular, Putin said Ukrainian negotiators have changed their position on the issue of the status of Crimea and separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, offering to leave it for the countries presidents to discuss. Putin charged that the shift in the Ukrainian stand makes it hard to negotiate a future deal. Ukrainian officials have been evasive about the details of talks and the Russian claims of Ukraine walking back from its earlier proposals. Putin has demanded that Ukraine recognize Russias sovereignty over Crimea and recognize independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as part of a future agreement on ending the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that those issues could only be decided by a future nationwide vote. During Tuesdays Kremlin meeting, Guterres criticized Russias military action in Ukraine as a flagrant violation of its neighbors territorial integrity. He also urged Russia to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped at a giant steel mill in Mariupol surrounded by the Russian forces. Putin responded by claiming that the Russian forces have offered humanitarian corridors to civilians holed up at the Azovstal steel plant, charging that the Ukrainian defenders of the plant were using civilians as shields and not allowing them to leave. KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern about the tensions in a Moscow-backed separatist region of Moldova. The ministry noted that an attack on an administrative building in Tiraspol, the center of the separatist Trans-Dniester province of Moldova, along with explosions that hit broadcast antennas and other facilities in the region follow a Russian officers statement about Moscows intention to fully take control of Ukraines south and build a land corridor to Trans-Dniester. It said in a Tuesday statement that Ukraine resolutely supports Moldovas territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and condemn attempts to draw the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova into the full-fledged war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and call for deescalating tensions. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land with about 470,000 people, has been under the control of separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops in the breakaway region, nominally as peacekeepers. WARSAW, Poland The Polish climate minister gave assurances on Tuesday that the country has plenty of natural gas on reserve, following reports that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland. Anna Moskwa, minister for climate and environment, tweeted: Poland has the necessary gas reserves and sources of supply that protect our security we have been effectively independent from Russia for years. Our warehouses are 76% full. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes. Her tweet followed reports by the Onet news portal that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland under the Yamal contract. Onet reported that a crisis team had gathered at the Ministry of Climate to deal with the matter. Onet said, citing unnamed sources, that Russia had insisted on a Friday deadline for payment in rubles and that Poland has said it would not pay in rubles. Poland has been working to wean itself off of Russian energy sources and was due to end its reliance on Russian gas this year. RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the war in Ukraine has already weakened Russias military capability. Austin said after meeting allies and partners at the United States Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday that, since Russia began the invasion, its land forces have sustained pretty substantial casualties, as well as lost a lot of equipment and used a lot of precision-guided munitions. He said that they are, in fact, in terms of military capability, weaker than when they started, and itll be harder for them to replace some of this capability as they go forward because of the sanctions and the trade restrictions that have been placed on them. Austin reiterated that we would like to make sure, again, that they dont have the same type of capability to bully their neighbors that we saw at the outset of this conflict. He criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs warning that the threat of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. Austin said that its unhelpful and dangerous to rattle sabers and speculate about the use of nuclear weapons. MOSCOW A senior Kremlin official says that Ukraine may split into several parts. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said in remarks published Tuesday that the policies of the West and the Kyiv regime controlled by it would only be the breakup of Ukraine into several states. The statement comes as Russia says it has focused on expanding control over Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian troops there since 2014 when conflict erupted following Russias annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. Moscow launched military action in Ukraine on Feb. 24, days after recognizing the separatist regions independence. Last week, a senior Russian military officer said that along with taking control over Donbas, Russia also wants to overtake southern Ukraine, saying such a move would also open a land corridor between Russia and the separatist Trans-Dniester region of Moldova. MADRID Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said Tuesday he was very worried by the explosions this week in the separatist region of Trans-Dniester, adding that they reminded him too much of occurrences in the Donbas region immediately prior to Russias invasion of Ukraine late February. I remember before Feb. 21, there have been some series of false-flag operations in Donbas region, so called people republics, that were used as the pretext by Russia to recognize and then to sign the so-called friendship and assistance treaties and then to start the military operation, Rinkevics told reporters in Madrid. Im very worried about the current trend in Trans-Dniester because that resembles a little bit that pattern that we have seen, he added. Police in Trans-Dniester say two explosions Tuesday in a radio facility close to the Ukrainian border knocked two antennas out of service. On Monday, several explosions were reported to have hit the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, the regions capital. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land in Moldova, has been under the control of separatists since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops there. The United States has warned that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops to those nations. Rinkevics was in Madrid to meet his Spanish counterpart and discuss the Ukraine war and the upcoming NATO summit in the Spanish capital. The Russian military has warned it could strike Ukrainian decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital and said wouldnt be stopped by the possible presence of Western advisers there. The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused the U.K. of making statements encouraging Ukraine to use Western weapons to carry out strikes on the Russian territory, warning that if it happens the Russian military could retaliate by hitting government structures in Kyiv. It directly pointed at U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, who told Times Radio that it was not necessarily a problem if Ukraine British-donated weapons were used to hit sites on Russian soil. The ministry said in a statement that the Russian armed forces are ready to deal retaliatory strikes with long-range precision guided weapons on Kyiv centers that would make such decisions. It noted that the presence of citizens of one of Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centers wont necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action. The Russian military so far has avoided striking presidential, government and military headquarters in Kyiv during its campaign in Ukraine that has entered a third month. WASHINGTON Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging Congress to fully fund the Biden administrations proposed budget for the State Department, telling lawmakers the spending is critical to ensuring that the war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for Russia and a message to other countries that might invade their neighbors. Blinken said his weekend visit to Kyiv with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had left him with the indelible impression that Ukraine is winning, particularly in the capital. It was right in front of us: the Ukrainians have won the battle for Kyiv, he said. Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that the U.S.-led global response to Russias invasion had underscored the power and purpose of American diplomacy. He said the $60.4 billion budget proposal for the next fiscal year was needed to continue to rally partners and allies in the cause. We will, we have to continue to drive that diplomacy forward to seize what I believe are the strategic opportunities and address risks presented by Russias overreach, as countries reconsider their policies, priorities, their relationships, Blinken said. The budget request before you predated this crisis, but fully funding it is critical in my judgment to ensuring Russias war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for the Kremlin and serves as a powerful lesson to those who might consider following its path. Blinken did not name other nations that might be considering following Russias lead but his comment was seen as a veiled reference to China, which has sided with Russia in the Ukraine conflict and has made no secret of its desire to re-unify the island of Taiwan with the mainland. CHERNOBYL, Ukraine The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency says it was possible that an accident could have occurred when Russian troops seized control of the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster during the war in Ukraine. Speaking on a visit to the former nuclear power plant Tuesday on the 36th anniversary of the meltdown, Rafael Mariano Grossi said the situation in 1986 was completely different. In this case, what we had was a nuclear safety situation which was not normal, and could have developed into an accident. Russian troops moved into the radiation-contaminated Chernobyl exclusion zone in February on their way toward the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and withdrew late last month as Russia switched its focus to fighting in eastern Ukraine. The site is now back in Ukrainian hands and communications which were disrupted have been restored. Russian forces continue to hold a working nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia plant, where there was fighting nearby in early March which damaged the plants training facility. Clearly, the physical integrity of one nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, was compromised, we also had situations where the external power was interrupted including here (Chernobyl) so there were a number of events that were compromising the normal operations of any nuclear power facility, Grossi said. Those were avoided but of course, as I was saying, the situation was not stable and we have to stay on alert. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A Mount Pleasant couple has been federally charged for allegedly trafficking guns and drugs. The defendants are Deandre L. Rodgers, 36, of Mount Pleasant, and Viridiana Garcia-Ramirez, 24, of Los Angeles. In a Monday release from the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling announced that the DOJ was charging Rodgers and Garcia-Ramirez "with conspiring to violate the laws of the United States in ... dealing in firearms without a license ... making a false statement to a federal firearms licensee ... unlawful possession of a firearm by a prohibited person ... distribution of a controlled substance ... using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime ... and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance." According to prosecutors, the duo "engaged in a conspiracy" in which they would purchase guns from Wisconsin stores, then "alter or obliterate the serial numbers" on the guns and then sell those guns. The release continued: "As part of the conspiracy, Rodgers and Garcia-Ramirez purchased 11 handguns and 1 rifle from local gun stores between December 2021 and March 2022." On April 5, federal agents reported executing a warrant on a Mount Pleasant hotel; inside Garcia-Ramirez's and Rodgers' room, they said they found 29 bags containing crack cocaine, a pair of digital scales and $800 in cash, but none of the guns. Rodgers is a felon and thus cannot legally possess a firearm. Investigating the case was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is to be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip T. Kovoor. BURLEY A non-profit organization, Simply Hope, designed to offer support to families struggling with divorce, codependency, addiction and suicide asked the Cassia County Commissioners on Monday for a portion of the federal American Rescue Plan Funding it received. Cassia County Clerk Joe Larsen said the county received $2.3 million last month in ARPF money and will receive a similar second payment next year. In December, Simply Hope asked the commissioners for $500,000 to hire staff for the center and a youth-based program implemented last year called Teen Hope. Along with support groups, the outreach also connect people with professional resources within the community. The ARPA funds can be used for water, sewer and broadband infrastructure and other uses along with support for public health expenditures. Simply Hope Project Director Sheri Allred said the organization would use the money to staff the Simply Hope center and Teen Hope, which currently operates solely through volunteers. They would also hire a grant writer. In the last four weeks, there were 43 volunteers who worked 282 hours, she said. I support Simply Hope financially and otherwise, community member Mike Ramsey said. Ramsey said many of the drug problems in the community stem from issues with mental health. The reason we need more police officers and a jail comes from mental health issues, he said. Ramsey said there is not a lot of free mental health care in the community and by supporting Simply Hope and Teen Hope the county can ultimately save money. Cassia County Commissioner Board Chairman Leonard Beck asked if the organization had also asked for money from Burley, Rupert and Minidoka County. Allred said many people have issues finding transportation from Rupert and Minidoka County, so they cant fully extend services to them. The group is working on writing a transportation grant to address that issue. Allred said they intend to visit with the Burley City Council in the next few weeks. Beck also asked if any of the volunteers had professional credentials. Simply Hope Administrative Director Nancy Winmill said they were asking for funding to help pay for professionals. Allred said the center works with licensed professionals in the community and refers individuals requiring more than support to them. Cassia County Commissioner Bob Kunau said the ARPA funding is finite money, and asked how they would pay for the staff in the future. Allred said during an interview with the Times-News that the organization would hire a grant writer and they would also continue to fundraise, to cover the costs of staff in the future. The commissioners did not make any decisions. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A former Idaho lawmaker has been convicted of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern after a dramatic trial in which the young woman fled the witness stand during testimony, saying I cant do this. The verdict was returned Friday. The intern told a Statehouse supervisor that Aaron von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a Boise restaurant in March 2021. He said the sex was consensual. At the time, von Ehlinger was a Republican state representative from Lewiston, but he later resigned. Von Ehlinger was found guilty of rape. He was found not guilty of sexual penetration with a foreign object. Afterwards, prosecutors lauded the victim for her courage in coming forward. A Magna Vista student died Monday night after falling out of the back of a pickup truck. Logan Smith, 18, of Martinsville was pronounced dead at the scene of a single-vehicle traffic incident that occurred at 10:20 p.m. on Route 683 (Meadowood Trail in the Preston area), one tenth of a mile north of Route 859 (Tanyard Road), a Virginia State Police release stated. There were two males in the back of a 2001 Dodge Dakota driven by Trinity L. Davis, 18, of Martinsville when Smith fell from the back of the truck onto the roadway, the release stated. The other male, also a high school student, was not injured. The release did not state who the other male was or what high school he attends. The incident remains under investigation, the release stated. We were deeply saddened to learn of Logan Smiths passing and are working to support Magna Vista High School students and staff as they remember him. We appreciate the communitys thoughts for the Warrior community in the days ahead, said Henry County Schools Communications Director Monica Hatchett by text. No other details were made available. Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 2360. Follow him @billdwyatt. 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 early voting period for the May 17 primary elections starts on Thursday and will last for more than two weeks. The one-stop absentee voting for the primary starts at 8 a.m. Thursday and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 14. Early voting will be held at the McDowell County Board of Elections office at 2458 N.C. 226 South in Marion. Early voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, and Friday, April 29. The early voting will continue Monday, May 2, through Friday, May 13, from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The last day of the early voting period in the primary is Saturday, May 14, and it will last from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The actual primary elections will be held on Tuesday, May 17, and voting will take place on that day in all 17 precincts of McDowell. Throughout North Carolina, Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians alike will go to the polls to select their respective candidates for the general election in November. Here in McDowell, three local races will be on the ballot for the primary election and they are all for Republican candidates. In the race for the clerk of Superior Court, incumbent Melissa Adams is facing opposition from fellow Republican Geneva Jennie Rhom. In the race for the office of district attorney, incumbent Ted Bell will face opposition from fellow Republican Krinn Evans. In the race for the McDowell County Board of Commissioners, three seats are up for election. Incumbents Tony Brown, David Walker and Brenda Vaughn are facing opposition from fellow Republicans Lynn Greene, Robert Toney McCall and Mike Seay. The top three vote-getters from either party will face Democrat Phillip Price in the November election for the County Commission. In addition, a District Court judgeship will be contested in the local GOP primary. The candidates are Anthony Morrow and Ellen Shelley. Two Republicans are seeking the nomination of their party for the District 46 seat in the N.C. Senate. They are Mark Crawford and Warren Daniel. This race appears on both GOP ballots. McDowell County is now split into different N.C. House districts, so there is not just one Republican ballot. The ballot depends on where the voter lives in the county, said Deputy Director Jane Dale Propst. But some parts of McDowell are now in District 113 for the N.C. House of Representatives. Two Republicans are seeking the nomination of their party for the District 113 seat in the N.C. House of Representatives. They are Jake Johnson and David Rogers. Other offices in the primary election are the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the N.C. Court of Appeals and the N.C. Supreme Court. As for the Democratic primary in McDowell, only the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives will appear on the local ballot. The deadline to request an absentee ballot form is 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 10. The deadline to return an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 17. Propst said any voter can go to https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/ and get more information. This link will give the voter all of their information, how they are registered, their precinct, as well as their sample ballot. For more information, contact the McDowell County Board of Elections at 659-0834. The work to transform the old Marianna Hotel in downtown Marion into a new apartment building and small business location is underway. Allen Roderick, the new owner, said he plans to transform the historic landmark into an attractive place to live as well for new and updated spaces for small businesses. A licensed contractor for more than 30 years, he has rebuilt and renovated numerous old structures in downtown Asheville and is now doing the same for one of Marions most historic and iconic buildings. Its all I have ever done, he said. After working on buildings in Asheville, Roderick heard about the old Marianna Hotel (later named the Hotel James) from one of his clients. He became interested in the potential of the large brick structure at 14 N. Main St. The Marianna Hotel was designed by North Carolina architect James McMichael, and constructed in 1909 to serve as a central focus for Marion. It was for many years one of the finest places to stay and eat in McDowell County, if not all of western North Carolina, during the early 20th century. It opened for business before the Grove Park Inn. This multi-level brick structure offered lots of rooms and a top-quality restaurant typical of the finer inns of the era. Roderick estimated it had around 40 to 50 rooms for guests and they were quite small compared to hotel rooms today. The famous author Sinclair Lewis stayed there when he came to Marion to write about the bloody strike at Marion Manufacturing in 1929. The hotel with its bay windows and graceful front porch quickly became a downtown Marion landmark. In later years, it became known as the Hotel James, and this is the name that is more familiar to local folks today. But the name Marianna still graces the entrance. In recent decades, this four-level building stood mostly empty at the corner of North Main and East Court streets and has gone through one owner after another. After the hotel closed, the building became the home of Johnsons Book Store in the 1970s. The lower level along courthouse hill was the home of a taxicab business and a barbers shop back then. In the 1990s, the bay windows, the front porch and the decorative railing along the rooftop were all removed and the building lost much of its charm. Many of the windows on the upper levels were covered over but pigeons still found a way to get inside. This structure then became the home of Carolina Chocolatiers. When that popular eatery closed more than a decade ago, the structure stood empty for years. The most recent use of this building occurred when it was the location of the Big Orange Hoagie Factory, which was owned and operated by Creed Burleson. In mid-January 2018, Burleson took ownership of the old Hotel James building from the previous owners Dogan Don Altuner and his wife Kathy. Not long after that, Earth and Soul Studio opened in one section of the building followed by Blooming Iris florist shop in another storefront. The Big Orange Hoagie Factory, Earth and Soul Studio and Blooming Iris all closed or vacated the building. These previous owners used only the main level that fronts along the street. They were not able to make renovations to the rest of this multi-level building. Roderick and the crews from D.H. Griffin Companies are doing just that. On the second floor, they are working to remove old electrical wiring and plumbing that has been inside it for more than 100 years. They are leaving the original wood frame in place. Light fixtures that were installed during the long history of the building have been removed and debris from the demolition of the interior is piling up. Roderick said this is an historic building tax credit project, similar to ones he has already done. To take advantage of the tax credits, you have to be income producing for five years, he said to The McDowell News. The best way to do that is to put in apartments but also this town needs downtown living space. To fill that need, he plans to install 16 apartments in the old hotel building with three on the street level, three on the lower level, five on the second floor and five more on the third floor. He also plans to install two commercial spaces on the street level. When asked what they will be, Roderick said he doesnt know yet. But he added these businesses will not be a restaurant or a bar. Thats because people will be living in the apartments elsewhere in the structure and they will not want to hear the noise from those types of businesses at night. Other property owners in downtown Marion are doing similar projects. For instance, the building across the street at 44 S. Main St., now owned by Ledbetter Properties, will have upstairs apartments, too. It fills up vacant buildings with places to live for folks, said Roderick. That happened in Asheville. Roderick believes it can happen here, too. To prove his commitment, he has purchased a house in Marion where he can more closely supervise what is happening to the old Marianna Hotel. As part of the renovation, he plans to put the bay windows and the decorative railing back and restore the old Marianna Hotel to its former glory. He hopes to have this project completed in a year and a half. When news of the new ownership was announced in November, Mayor Steve Little said, This will be the greatest enhancement to downtown Marion in years, as it will remove the blighted, abandoned appearance of this stately vintage building and apply historic exterior restoration. City Planning Director Heather Cotton said in November the city of Marion, McDowell County, Marion Business Association and McDowell Economic Development Association have all been working with Roderick during 2021 while he has conducted his due diligence on the purchase of property at 14 N. Main St. The old hotel was identified as a contributing building in Marions Main Street Historic District in 1991. Over the years, a number of alterations have been made to the building, especially on the upper floors. In order for this project to be financially viable, it will require both state and federal historic tax credits. The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service are the two agencies responsible for determining if a rehabilitation project is eligible for state and federal historic tax credits, according to Cotton. An application is first sent to the State Historic Preservation Office for review. If approved, that application is forwarded to the National Park Service for final consideration. The evaluation considers the condition of the building and whether the historical integrity is still intact and if the proposed rehabilitation will preserve the historical integrity. Last year, Roderick submitted an application to the State Historic Preservation Office. The city of Marion, McDowell County, McDowell Economic Development Association and the Marion Business Association signed a joint resolution of support to accompany the application in favor of Rodericks redevelopment plans. Roderick told The McDowell News how much he appreciates the help from Cotton, Building Inspector Spencer Elliott, City Manager Bob Boyette, Economic Development Director Chuck Abernathy, Marion Business Association Director Freddie Killough and McDowell County officials in getting this project underway. The state confirmed that the building was located in the boundaries of a nationally registered historic district, and considered it to be a certified historic structure for the purpose of rehabilitation. The application was forwarded to the National Park Service for consideration, and on Wednesday, Aug. 4, local officials were notified that the National Park Service had approved the application. This cleared a path forward for the project to receive both state and federal historic tax credits for the rehabilitation of the old hotel building. In November, the mayor, whose law office is just a couple of doors away from the old Marianna Hotel, said the long-awaited renovation of this historic and large structure in the middle of downtown Marion could help other downtown buildings get new life. It should encourage other downtown building owners to move forward on creating living space in the upper levels, for which there can be significant tax advantages, Little told The McDowell News in November. Based on recent developments, several building owners in downtown Marion are doing just that. The main jihadist alliance in the Sahel is holding a Russian member of the private military company Wagner, captured in central Mali, according to a claim on behalf of the movement. This is the first time that the al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM) has announced the capture of a Russian engaged in the anti-jihadist struggle in Mali. However, the GSIM did not provide any evidence to prove the veracity of its announcement made in a statement on Sunday night. Mali, which has been run by the military since 2020, has made massive use of what it describes as instructors from Russia to support its army, while Paris and Washington regularly denounce the presence in the country of mercenaries from the private Russian group Wagner, accusations firmly denied by Bamako. It was during the first week of April that the GSIM claimed to have captured a soldier from the Russian Wagner forces in the Segou region in central Mali. These murderous forces participated with the Malian army in a parachuting operation on a market in the village of Moura where they confronted several mujahideen before surrounding this locality for five days and killing hundreds of innocent civilians, the GSIM communique added, in Arabic, without further details on the link between the capture of the Russian and the events in Moura. According to corroborating sources, a Russian national operating with Malian soldiers was killed on April 19 in central Mali. This is the first confirmed death of a Russian in military operations in the country since the junta took power in 2020. On Monday, according to military sources and a local politician, four Malian soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device in the Bandiagara-Bankass area (center), but the toll of this attack could still be only provisional, the politician stressed. On Sunday, the Malian army announced the death of six soldiers in three simultaneous attacks with vehicles packed with explosives against three military camps in the center of the country. The attacks were claimed by a group of GSIM fighters, and, among other damage, the Malian army reported a slightly damaged helicopter. The African Union congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on his brilliant re-election after his victory Sunday over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, calling for continued establishment of renewed and mutually beneficial relations between France and Africa. I extend my warm congratulations to President Emmanuel Macron on his brilliant re-election, AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on Twitter. I am happy to continue with him our commitment to build between Africa and France, and more broadly Europe, renewed and mutually beneficial relations, he added. For his part, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, very involved in the fight against jihadism in the Sahel, also congratulated Emmanuel Macron for his brilliant re-election that crystallizes a crowning achievement of his internal political action and his international commitment. The outgoing president was re-elected to the presidency of France with more than 58.5% of the vote, against 41.4% for Marine Le Pen, who recorded a historic score passing for the first time the 40% mark. During his first term, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to dust off the relationship between France, a former colonial power, and the continent, addressing particularly the youth, especially during the speech of Ouagadougou in November 2017 where he had promised a break in French policy in Africa. The trial of one of the alleged killers of Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara began on Monday 25 April in Celle, Germany. Bai Lowe is a former jungler, a military corps created in the early 2000s to protect and serve President Yahya Jammeh. The 46-year-old suspect, Bai Lowe, arrived at the hearing with his face hidden by a green briefcase and his head covered by a black hood. Arrested in Hanover in March 2021, he must answer before the court in Celle (Lower Saxony) for crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder between 2003 and 2006. This is something we have waited almost 18 years for. We never thought it would come true, says Baba Hydara, son of journalist Deyda Hydara. This trial will bring us a part of the justice we have waited so long for, only a part () But it is the beginning of a whole process because Bai Lowe is someone who obeyed orders. Lowe is accused of being involved in two murders and one attempted murder while working as a driver for the hit squad, known as the Junglers, between December 2003 and December 2006. This unit was used by the then-president of Gambia to carry out illegal killing orders, among other things with the aim of intimidating the Gambian population and suppressing the opposition, according to federal prosecutors. Spains foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares told Algeria that his countrys position in support for Moroccos autonomy plan is a sovereign decision. This came in a reaction to multiple statements by Algerian officials and President Tebboune himself who blamed Spain for its new position in support of Moroccos territorial integrity. Without fueling sterile debates, Spain took a sovereign decision within the framework of the international law and there is nothing to add, Albares told radio Onda Cero. Algeria has once again shown its real face as the main party behind the perpetuation of the Sahara conflict when it recalled its ambassador from Madrid, after the Spanish Prime Minister sent a letter to King Mohammed VI describing Moroccos autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible solution to the Sahara conflict. President Tebboune told his regimes media that the decision was that of Sanchez and had nothing to do with the Spanish state, a statement that shows his ignorance of how decisions are made in a democracy. Sanchez had said that support for Moroccos autonomy plan is a state policy and that the Spanish government would act accordingly. Albares, in his radio interview, said however that what matters for Spain is that Algeria would uphold its gas supply deals with Spain. El Confidencial in a recent article said that Spain and Europe are supporting Morocco, a source of stability and a gate to Africa, while dealing with Algeria only as a mere gas supplier. It wrote that Algeria cannot cut gas because that is what it lives on! Manish V. Bais, a BU Goldman School of Dental Medicine assistant professor of translational dental medicine, has found the lysine-specific demethylase 1 protein is a potential oral cancer druggable target, knowledge that may one day help doctors take down tumors. Credit: Cydney Scott for Boston University Photography The most common head and neck canceroral squamous cell carcinomaoften starts off, as many other cancers do, quite innocently. Perhaps as a little white patch in the mouth or a small red bump on the gums. Easy to ignore, to downplay. But then something changes, and the little blotch becomes more ominous, starts growing, burrowing into connective tissue. Patients who are lucky enough to see a dentist before things take a nasty turn have a shot at being able to prevent the lesions from turning cancerousor can at least make sure treatment starts when it's most effective. But for those who aren't that lucky, the outlook can be bleak: the five-year survival rate of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is around 66 percent. More than 10,000 Americans die of oral cancer every year; smokers and drinkers are hardest hit. Now, researchers at Boston University's Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine have found that dialing backor even genetically deletinga protein that seems to spur the cancer's growth might help limit a tumor's development and spread. They say their findings make the protein, an enzyme called lysine-specific demethylase 1, a potential "druggable target"something that doctors could aim chemo and immuno-oncology therapies at to take down a tumor. The study was published in February in Molecular Cancer Research. Given that at least one-third of Americans don't visit a dentist regularly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the discovery could be a future lifesaver for those who miss out on preventative care. "These findings have significant implications for new and potentially more effective therapies for oral cancer patients," says Manish V. Bais, a lead author on the study and SDM assistant professor of translational dental medicine. "This study is an important step toward the development of novel groundbreaking therapies to treat oral cancer." Maria Kukuruzinska, SDM's associate dean for research and a coauthor on the study, says it was rare in the past for dental schools to be diving into the science behind head and neck cancers, with most of the research happening in cancer centers. But that's changing and "dental schools have an advantage over traditional cancer centers when it comes to investigating the science behind the development of OSCC," she says, "because we can get access to premalignant lesions, where cancer centers basically just see patients who are presenting with fully developed disease." Helping the body fight back: Anti-tumor immunity Once OSCC takes hold, says Bais, there's little chance of eliminating it completely. Clinicians can try chemotherapy and radiotherapy, even cutting out a tumor. "But there is no cureyou can shrink the tumor, but not eliminate it," Bais says. In previous research, Bais had found that lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1)an enzyme that typically plays a crucial role in normal cell and embryo developmentgoes out of control, or is "inappropriately upregulated," in a range of cancers, including in the head and neck, as well as those in the brain, esophagus, liver, and lung. "The expression of this enzyme goes up with each tumor stage," says Bais, who's also a member of BU's Center for Multiscale & Translational Mechanobiology. "The worse the tumor, the higher the expression of this protein." In his lab, Bais began testing what would happen to tumors in the tongue if LSD1 was blocked. To restrict the enzyme, the researchers either knocked it outby manipulating genes so LSD1 is effectively switched offor used a type of drug called a small molecule inhibitor, which enters a cell and impedes its normal function. Already in clinical trials for treating other cancers, small molecule inhibitors haven't previously been tested against oral cancer. Bais found that disrupting LSD1 curbed the tumor's growth. "The aggressiveness, or bad behavior, of the tumor went down," he says. "We found that when we inhibit this protein, it promotes anti-tumor immunityour body tries to fight by itself." But LSD1 isn't the only troublemaker in the tumor: when it's upregulated, it messes with a cell communication processthe Hippo signaling pathway-YAPthat normally helps control organ growth and tissue regeneration. Bais says YAP, LSD1, and a couple of other proteins then get stuck in a vicious cycle, each one pushing the other into increasingly aggressive and harmful moves. "We need to break this cycle," says Bais. To find a new way of doing that, the researchers coupled the effort to inhibit LSD1 by targeting YAP with a different inhibitor, a drug called verteporfin. Originally developed to help treat serious eye conditions like macular degeneration, verteporfin is being tested by other researchers as a potential cancer treatment, including in ovarian cancer. The combination proved effective, according to Bais. He also threw a third drug into the mix. Bais says using the LSD1 inhibitor in combination with a common immunotherapy drug that helps white blood cells in the immune system kill cancer cellsan immune checkpoint inhibitor called anti-Programmed Death 1 ligand antibody"showed a favorable response." "Our findings provide a basis for future clinical studies based on the inhibition of LSD1, either as monotherapy or in combination with other agents to treat oral cancer in humans," he says. The work was recently boosted with a new $2.6 million National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research grant. "Although our studies are preclinical, restricted to mice and some human tissue, we want to expand to look at human clinical trial samples." Predict success in humans According to Kukuruzinska, Bais' focus on the biology of oral cancer may also help make the development of other future treatments more efficient. "People get very excited when you have a drug that may show some positive preliminary results, but very frequently, these studies move forward to humans, cost billions of dollars, and then eventually fail," says Kukuruzinska, who's also director of SDM's predoctoral research program and a professor of translational dental medicine. "If you really understand what pathways, what cell processes are impacted by these inhibitors, then it allows you to predict in advance whether something is going to be successful in human patients." At BU, the dental school has a teaching clinic on site and shares a campus with the BU School of Medicine and its primary teaching hospital, Boston Medical Center. It's also home to BU's Head & Neck Cancer Programwhich pairs basic science researchers with clinicians to look at the underlying mechanisms of oral cancersand Center for Oral Diseases, a multidisciplinary clinical-research collaborative. "So, we can think about disease interception," says Kukuruzinska. "And perhaps think about preventing the tumor from happening." With access to a clinicas well as head and neck surgeons from the neighboring hospitalresearchers like Bais can test any new treatments and approaches on human tissue samples. "It's a holy grail," Kukuruzinska says of the human samples. "We can interrogate them for responses to small molecule inhibitors, by capturing tumor slices and trying to treat them with different inhibitors to see the response." Eventually, it could also open the door to personalized, precision medicine, with researchers trialing different therapies on tissue from individual patients. "And then it will predict whether this person can be treated with this study," says Kukuruzinska. "This is something we really want to develop." With students involved in many of the research projectsthree were coauthors on Bais' paper and another, Thabet Alhousami (SDM'22), was a lead authorit means future dentists produced at BU will head into the clinic with a sharper eye for potential malicious bumps and blotches. "They will be able to say, 'This is precancerous or cancerous'it will impact their diagnoses," says Bais. "Then, in terms of therapy, because they're now aware of what can work, what immunotherapy can work, they can make specific reference to where patients should go next. It can improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment in the long term." Explore further Anti-cancer dream cream shrinks oral tumors More information: Thabet Alhousami et al, Inhibition of LSD1 attenuates oral cancer development and promotes therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade and Yap/Taz inhibition, Molecular Cancer Research (2022). Journal information: Molecular Cancer Research Thabet Alhousami et al, Inhibition of LSD1 attenuates oral cancer development and promotes therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade and Yap/Taz inhibition,(2022). DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-21-0310 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Anna Lynn Heine has thought about dropping out of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg more times than she cares to admit. Or she'll work on an essay and wonder what is even the point. Anxiety about the planet's future has also kept the 21-year-old from enjoying dinner with family or drinks with friends. A plastic cup can send her into an existential spiral. "Where did this food come from? Where's this plastic going to go and how many fossil fuels were burned for it to arrive at my table?" she'll ask herself. "And is this going to go to a landfill if I don't finish it?" Mental health professionals have a term for the stress and grief many feel about the planet's future: eco-anxiety. The American Psychiatric Association defines it as "chronic fear of environmental doom." It can lead to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. A Nature study published in September surveyed 10,000 young people in 10 countries and found that most respondents are "very worried" or "extremely worried" about climate change. Nearly half of them said climate anxiety impacts their daily lives. Heine is an environmental studies major in Jo Huxster's climate change communications class at Eckerd College. The assistant environmental studies professor said almost every student in her class has eco-anxiety. Huxster's course examines the psychology of climate denial and the ways different sectorsthe media, government, corporationsdiscuss climate change. Students learn how to run an organizing campaign to address climate policy and ways to talk about it with climate denialists and the apathetic. Heine, who mostly grew up in Miami and Key West, said she's most anxious about the rising threat of natural disasters due to climate change and the suffering that will occur along class and racial lines. She mourns for her hometown of Miami, where scientists predict sea level rise will displace nearly a third of the current population by the end of the century. "It's going to be a painful ending," Heine said, "and it's going to happen in an unjust way." 'What do you have control over?' Anxiety about the planet's future increasingly comes up in Orlando therapist Kaley Sinclair's sessions with clients. Sinclair, a licensed mental health counselor and trauma specialist, said her adolescent and young adult clients discuss feeling a sense of doom about the environment. Those with young children, or thoughts of having kids, contend with the guilt of forcing the next generation to inherit a hotter, less inhabitable world. Many, she said, are childhood trauma survivors, who struggle with a pervasive feeling of being unsafe. Sinclair didn't learn to treat climate anxiety or grief in graduate school, but realized that the number of clients needing professional help will only grow. In February, she registered with the Climate Psychiatry Alliance, a professional group that offers resources and training. The Alliance created the Climate-Aware Therapist Directory, a resource to help people find therapists who have pledged to recognize the climate crisis is a threat to physical and mental health. There are about 100 therapists in the directory, but Sinclair is one of just two in Florida. About a third of her clients have shared anxiety or grief about the environment. Her response is tailored to each client, but she encourages them to stay grounded in the present and think about constructive ways to improve their feelings. "Okay, what do you have control over?" Sinclair tells them. "What can you do to try to make an impact while validating that a lot of things are outside of your control?" Huxster tells her students the best thing any individual can do is to talk about the climate crisis. About 70 percent of the U.S. population knows climate change is real, she said, but only 30 percent talk about it. She hopes to direct attention towards effective climate action: transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy and electrifying transportation. "Your own carbon footprint is very small," Huxster said. "What's most important about your actions is how they affect the actions of the people around you." 'We didn't create this problem' Love for the ocean brought one of Huxster's Eckerd students, Anya Cervantes, from suburban Massachusetts to Florida to study the environment. Fear for the oceans fuels her eco-anxiety. The 22-year-old is a licensed scuba diver. She finds peace underwater, among swaying coral, a vibrant ecosystem that supports a quarter of all marine life. "It's a spiritual experience for me," she said. Her dream is to see Australia's Great Barrier Reef, which is already 60 percent bleached due to heat stress. She hopes she'll make it in time to see what remains, but she also feels guilty for wanting to go at all (The United Nations predicts that airplane emissions of carbon dioxide will triple by 2050). Huxster's class has helped Cervantes think about ways she can combine her passion for environmental justice and her second major, visual arts, into a career that could help address the problems the world faces. While the 22-year-old can't imagine not dedicating herself to alleviating the climate crisis, she's also frustrated about the pressures placed on her generation to solve it. "The younger generation is almost put on a pedestal to save the planet," she said. "It's like, we didn't create this problem." 'I would rather try' For Huxster, researching climate changecontending with the dire data on a near daily basiscreates a source of anxiety. She has a 2 year old son and worries about what the future will look like for him and the people he will know. But her work also makes her feel good. This semester, she said three students decided to pursue careers in translating climate science to different audiences. Every year, more students sign up for her 25-person course than it has space for. The professor dedicates the last week of her class to discussing eco-anxiety and grief. Students share how they feel and read a chapter of Per Espen Stoknes' book "What We Think About When We're Trying Not To Think About Global Warming." The chapter, titled "It's Hopeless but I'll Give It My All," discusses taking action even when the odds are overwhelming. Heine admits that she needs to find a way to care about the climate that's sustainable for her mental health. And so that she can continue to wake up every day and do the work. She knows she won't drop out. She will finish the essay. And she plans to have kids. "I wouldn't prevent new life that could build things to be better just because of fear. I would rather try to continue to build the future." Explore further Americans report mental health effects of climate change, worry about future 2022 Tampa Bay Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID New research to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal (23-26 April), suggests that the clinical trajectories and characteristics of long COVID may be different depending on the severity of the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. The large population-based study conducted during the first three waves of the pandemic, by Dr. Pontus Hedberg from the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and colleagues, also found a substantially higher rate of outpatient primary care use among individuals with long COVID-19, indicating persistence of the condition well beyond the initial infection. The occurrence and risk factors of post COVID-19 condition, more commonly known as long COVID, and associated healthcare use before and after initial infection remain poorly understood. To find out more, researchers conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study of 205,241 adult residents (aged 18 or older) of the Stockholm Region who had received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test between 1st March 2020 and 31st July 2021, and were alive 90 days after their test result, with and without a long COVID diagnosis. Individuals were determined to have long COVID if they received a diagnosis of post COVID-19 condition anytime between 90 and 360 days after their first positive test. Modeling was used to analyze associations between age, sex, severity of infection, underlying medical conditions, previous healthcare usage, sociodemographic factors (eg, region of birth, education level and residential area type) and long COVID in non-hospitalized, hospitalized patients, and ICU-treated individuals. In addition, individuals with long COVID-19 were propensity score matched to individuals without long COVID-19 by these factors as well as month of first positive test to assess healthcare use before and after the initial infection. Among 205,241 adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection, almost a third (32%) of those treated for COVID-19 in ICU developed long COVID, as well as 6% of those hospitalized, and 1% of outpatients. Fatigue was the most common registered symptom diagnosis among non-hospitalized patients (26%); while shortness of breath was the most frequently registered symptom diagnosis in both hospitalized patients (23%) and those treated in ICU (39%). Analyses suggest that women were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with long COVID compared to men among individuals with milder forms of initial infection, who did not require hospital care. A weaker association with female sex was also found among hospitalized but not ICU-treated individuals. A history of mental illness or asthma was associated with twice the risk of being diagnosed with long COVID in people with initially mild COVID-19. This association was less pronounced among hospitalized individuals, and not seen among ICU-treated individuals. The study also found a strong association between a history of outpatient primary care visits and long COVID-19 in those with initially mild COVID-19, but not in those who were treated in hospital or the ICU. In addition, the researchers found the rate of outpatient care visits in people with long COVID-19 were substantially higher in the 10-12 months after the initial infection compared to before, indicating persistence well beyond the acute infection. According to Dr. Hedberg, "Many of the symptoms and risk factors reported in this study have been previously implicated in long COVID, but different study populations, assessment windows, and definitions of long COVID-19 prevents direct comparison between different studies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the long COVID diagnosis issued by the WHO has been investigated across different severities of the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection." He continues, "Our findings reveal different associations between age, sex, comorbidities, symptoms, and healthcare use in people with more severe and milder forms of disease, which indicates different clinical trajectories and characteristics of long COVID. Future research should focus on better understanding the persistence of this debilitating condition across different groups of individuals." Despite the important findings, this is a retrospective observational study of a new diagnosis, and as such the observed associations do not necessarily indicate causation. In addition, the researchers acknowledge that they were unable to explore the impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or the recent Omicron variant on long COVID, or to rule out the possibility that other unmeasured factors may have affected the results. Provided by European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Researchers with IU's Observatory on Social Media considered the question of how misinformation affects COVID-19 vaccination behavior. Credit: Liz Kaye, Indiana University Misinformation posted online about the COVID-19 vaccine was associated with hesitancy toward inoculation and lower vaccination rates in some geographical areas of the United States, according to a paper written by a team of researchers from Indiana University's Observatory on Social Media, known as OSoMe. "Online misinformation is linked to early COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and refusal," published April 26 in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, also found that counties whose residents were more hesitant to receive vaccinations were more likely to have a higher number of Republican voters or Black residents. The research was a collaboration between OSoMe and the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy. The researchers studied the relationship between misinformation, behaviors and health outcomes, specifically the way COVID-19 vaccination rates and vaccine hesitancy correlate with levels of misinformation online. "Misinformation is generally assumed to have a big impact on behavior, but there are few studies that investigate this topic," said John Bryden, executive director of OSoMe. "We hope this work adds to the picture." Bryden said the researchers considered the question of how misinformation affects vaccination behavior after seeing a lot of misinformation posted online during the vaccine rollout and wondering why some states were lagging behind others in vaccination rates. In 2021, the OSoMe team developed CoVaxxy, a publicly available dashboard, to explore the relationship between misinformation on Twitter and attitudes about COVID-19 vaccines. They used CoVaxxy to collect data from Twitter from Jan. 4 to March 25, 2021. The timeline was chosen because once the vaccine became available to everyone, the issue was no longer supply but demand, said Filippo Menczer, director of OSoMe. Vaccination has been the key to fighting the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and populations must reach a threshold rate to achieve herd immunity. However, examples of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine have included claims that they genetically manipulate the population, or contain microchips that interact with 5G networks, the researchers said in the paper. Misinformation was identified by considering tweets that contained links to articles from a list of low-credibility sources, as compiled by a politically neutral third party. The researchers also collected vaccine hesitancy results from surveys posted on Facebook, and obtained state- and county-level vaccination rates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine uptake was measured by the number of daily vaccinations in each state from March 19 to 25, 2021, according to CDC measurements. The research shows a link between online misinformation and lower vaccination rates. Credit: Francesco Pierri More than 22 million individual responses to daily surveys on Facebook in February and March 2021 found high levels of vaccine hesitancy, with about 40 to 47 percent of American adults hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine, the researchers wrote. The research found that political partisanship was strongly associated with lower vaccination rates, notably in conservative regions. Republican-majority states and counties showed higher levels of misinformation, greater vaccine hesitancy and lower vaccination rates. "It was not initially obvious that there would be a connection with politics, but it turned out to be," Menczer said. Ethnicity also had a big impact on hesitancy, with Black Americans having a lower vaccination rate. Historical disparities in how Black people and other minorities have been treated in the U.S. health care system compared to white people could have been an additional factor contributing to hesitancy and lower vaccination rates, Menczer said. The study, for the time period examined, confirmed previous results that linked a number of factors to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, the researchers said, with hesitancy rates in the U.S. highest among three groups: African Americans, women and conservatives. The researchers wrote that the data predict COVID-19 will remain a problem in the U.S., and they explain the importance of combating misinformation. "While people have a constitutional right to free speech, it is important to maintain an environment where individuals have access to good information that benefits public health," the researchers said. Francesco Pierri, the paper's first author and a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan, was brought into the research as a visiting scholar at OSoMe because of his research on understanding the spread of misinformation, disinformation and digital misbehavior in online social networks. The paper's other authors were Matthew R. DeVerna, Kai-Cheng Yang and Alessandro Flammini, from OSoMe, and Brea L. Perry, from the Department of Sociology in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak More information: Francesco Pierri et al, Online misinformation is linked to early COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and refusal, Scientific Reports (2022). Journal information: Scientific Reports Francesco Pierri et al, Online misinformation is linked to early COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and refusal,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10070-w Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain People who have high premeditated or impulsive aggressive tendencies online are likely to cyberbully others, according to a new University of Michigan study. But anyone can be an online offendernot just certain groups of people, the study indicated. Researchers from the School of Information and the Law School examined what psychological characteristics predicted how internet users behaved in aggressive online conflict. Online harassment can range from a brief, single incident between strangers to sustained threats. U-M researchers sought to learn more about these behaviors and their consequences. "We focus on specific behaviors that are most likely harmful rather than the label 'harassment,'" said Song Mi Lee, the paper's lead author and School of Information doctoral student. More than 300 adults completed self-reports about situations of disapproval or anger against other people. About 162 of them engaged in at least one harassing behavior. Among the factors studied included impulsivity, moral disagreements, disinhibition, reactive/proactive aggression and impulsive/premeditated aggression. The respondents were asked if they have called someone an offensive name, have spread reputation-damaging rumors about someone, have shared embarrassing photos or videos of someone without their permission and more. Credit: University of Michigan "This approach, we believe, captures more accurate self-reports than bluntly yet ambiguously asking, "Have you ever harassed others online?'" Lee said. "We want to get rid of the idea that harassers are a particular group, or a special species. Everyone has the capacity to cause harm to others in online spaces." Some common assumptions about perpetrators of online harassment have been tied to demographic factors, such as white men or those with certain political views. Many previous studies focused on how particular populations tend to engage in harassing behavior, Lee said. But the study shows a different picturepsychological factors such as aggressive tendencies are stronger predictors of online harassing behavior. The current iteration of the survey with a nationally representative sample also supports this finding. Lee said social media platforms have relied on after-the-fact remediation of online harassment, such as deleting posts or banning reported usersafter the harm has already been done. "We explore if we can have preemptive measures against online harm, which requires a more in-depth understanding of who harasses others online, and why," she said. Explore further Survey: 4 in 10 US adults have experienced online harassment More information: Characteristics of People Who Engage in Online Harassing Behavior. Characteristics of People Who Engage in Online Harassing Behavior. programs.sigchi.org/chi/2022/program/content/73298 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A newly discovered gene defect among people of Inuit ancestry in Greenland, Canada and Alaska will possibly lead to screening of all newborn Inuits as they will otherwise be at risk of dying from child vaccines or simple viral infections. The gene defect was discovered in close collaboration between researchers from Aarhus University and Newcastle University as well as pediatricians and clinical immunologists in Denmark, Greenland, Alaska and Montreal in Canada. For several weeks, medical doctors at Rigshospitalet had difficulty diagnosing a very ill 22-month-old Greenlandic child. The child showed signs of meningitis, and there was also a suspicion of tuberculosis, which is relatively common in Greenland. The treatment did not work as intended and the child's condition was serious. So the medical doctors contacted Professor Trine Hyrup Mogensen at the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University in March 2021. Trine Hyrup Mogensen's group has extensive expertise in diagnostics conducted via whole genome sequencinga method in which the researchers map the entire genome of a person based on a laboratory analysis of blood or tissue. The results of the analysis of the child's genetic genome were surprising. Must not lead to vaccine hesitancy "A whole genome sequencing was carried out and this revealed a defect in the gene IFNAR2. Initially we didn't think that the defect was responsible for causing the disease, because it's a new mutation that doesn't appear in databases as pathogenic," explains Trine Hyrup Mogensen. The researchers carried out analyses of the patient's cells and infected these with herpesvirus and measles virus. It quickly became apparent that the patient's cells were unable to mount any kind of antiviral response. The cells could not form the signal molecule interferon, which is normally released by cells during viral infections to mobilize the body's antiviral defense mechanisms. There was uncontrolled viral production in the patient's cells and the cells simply died. Trine Hyrup Mogensen's group came into contact with colleagues in Newcastle, who also work with gene defects in the immune system. The British researchers were focusing on children from Alaska and Canada. "The children died or became very ill after COVID-19 infection, influenza or two or three weeks after the MMR vaccine. This is very unusual, but when we compared gene sequences, there was a match," says Trine Hyrup Mogensen. "The new mutation is not classified as being pathogenic, but it's quite clear that it is a gene defect," she explains. The next step was to examine how frequent the serious defect is, and this was possible in collaboration with University of Copenhagen, which has a biobank of blood samples from 4600 Greenlanders. It turned out that 1 out of 1500 had inherited the gene defect from both parents and were therefore extremely susceptible to viral infections and vaccines with live viruses such as the MMR vaccine. This led to both a research effort and a preventive initiative to protect Inuit families from being affected by the gene defect and suffering serious viral infections. "The discovery means that screening ought to be carried out. At the same time, it's extremely important that this doesn't lead to vaccine hesitancy among the populations affected. In Greenland, 80% are MMR vaccinated, but the figure is only 40% in more remote areas," explains Trine Hyrup Mogensen, who is in contact with the chief medical officer in Greenland. Deaths can be avoided "The gene defect is so frequent in the population that we're able to publish the study and hopefully create a change for many families. Deaths can be avoided. It's a question of the families allowing themselves to be vaccinated and examined. Children with the gene defect shouldn't be given live vaccines, and they must be given preventive, antiviral drugs and non-living, safe vaccines against influenza and COVID-19 at an early stage," she says. The researchers are currently applying for access to the heel prick blood test that all Greenlandic newbornslike Danish newbornsundergo when 2-3 days old. "In collaboration with the pediatricians from Rigshospitalet, we're ready to conduct analyses of heel prick test samples as soon as we get the green light. If all goes well we'll be given permission within six months and new guidelines will be ready within a year," says Trine Hyrup Mogensen. Inuit is the shared name for a number of Arctic peoples living in Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Trine Hyrup Mogensen does not know exactly why this gene defect is common here rather than in e.g. Europe or the U.S.. "The Inuit population in Greenland originated from Northern Alaska more than a thousand years ago, and the genes from that time must have been selected in the remote societies, perhaps because they had a protective effect and have thus been beneficial in relation to other diseases," she says. "It's quite possible that some of the children who have so far died under unexplained circumstances in these regions have died as a result of serious viral infections after natural infection or vaccination with live-attenuated vaccines due to the gene defect." The research was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Explore further Chickenpox virus fatal in newly discovered immunodeficiency More information: Christopher J.A. Duncan et al, Life-threatening viral disease in a novel form of autosomal recessive IFNAR2 deficiency in the Arctic, Journal of Experimental Medicine (2022). Journal information: Journal of Experimental Medicine Christopher J.A. Duncan et al, Life-threatening viral disease in a novel form of autosomal recessive IFNAR2 deficiency in the Arctic,(2022). DOI: 10.1084/jem.20212427 The energy of pump signal at 1.55m band was converted to the idler signal at 1.9m via four-wave mixing (FWM) and then it was amplified by a thulium-doped fiber (TDF) to output. Credit: Jiawei Shi, Mingsheng Li, Huajun Tang, Jiqiang Kang, Najia Sharmin, Amir Rosenthal, Kenneth K. Y. Wong An advancement in ultrasound imaging is photoacoustic imaging (PAI), in which the skin or tissue absorbs pulses of laser light. The thermoelastic expansion of the skin or tissue emits sound, which is processed by the machinery to develop high-resolution images. Recent developments have theorized the existence of vibrational PAI, which could penetrate further into the skin. In a new paper published in eLight, a team of scientists led by Professor Kenneth K. Y. Wong of the University of Hong Kong has developed a high-power hybrid laser emitter designed to penetrate deep into the skin. The paper, titled "Hybrid optical parametrically oscillating emitter at 1,930 nm for volumetric photoacoustic imaging of water content," sought to map out the water content in the body to analyze the biological properties of cells, tissues, and organs. The PAI technique needs to generate high-resolution images with a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The laser needs to have a high laser pulse energy, fast pulse repetition rate, and accurate wavelength tunability to achieve this goal. Water absorbs energy at a relatively low wavelength of about 1000 nm, which usually requires milli-joule level pulse energy. That sort of energy can burn the skin, while the lasers that operate at that level are expensive. The research team developed a high-power all-fiber hybrid optical parametrically-oscillating emitter (HOPE) at 1930 nm. It is the best wavelength for determining the water content of tissue and fats. The HOPE emits laser pulses every 15 nanoseconds (ns), with a 1 nm bandwidth. The research team verified the performance of their system through a proof-of-concept optical-resolution PA microscope system. A same piece of pork sample was scanned at both 1930 nm and 1750 nm for volumetric visualization of lipid-rich and watery components respectively. Credit: Jiawei Shi, Mingsheng Li, Huajun Tang, Jiqiang Kang, Najia Sharmin, Amir Rosenthal, Kenneth K. Y. Wong The team found that the 1930 nm system improved penetration depth by 2.4 mm. The research team owed it to reducing photon scattering in the tissue within the shorter wavelength near-infrared lasers. The improved penetration ability could facilitate measurable imaging of water content in the deep tissue. A piece of fresh salmon fish was imaged in a step of 30m. The imaging depth is around 2.4 mm, which is a result from the compromise between low scattering coefficient and high absorption coefficient of the water at 1930 nm. Credit: Jiawei Shi, Mingsheng Li, Huajun Tang, Jiqiang Kang, Najia Sharmin, Amir Rosenthal, Kenneth K. Y. Wong Better measuring of water content could improve the quality of medical diagnosis going forward. These excellent advantages could help open broad biological research and disease diagnosis avenues. Explore further Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy innovation enables simultaneous multicontrast imaging More information: Jiawei Shi et al, Hybrid optical parametrically-oscillating emitter at 1930 nm for volumetric photoacoustic imaging of water content, eLight (2022). Jiawei Shi et al, Hybrid optical parametrically-oscillating emitter at 1930 nm for volumetric photoacoustic imaging of water content,(2022). DOI: 10.1186/s43593-022-00014-2 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Despite the ability of any Michigan pharmacy to dispense medication to combat opioid overdose without writing prescriptions, slightly more than half of pharmacies in the state offer the drug in such a way. The standing order for naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, was passed by the Michigan legislature in 2016. This allows any pharmacist to dispense the overdose reversal drug without a prescriptionallowing friends, family members or other individuals to obtain naloxone for emergency use. Researchers at Michigan Medicine conducted a survey of 662 standing order pharmacies for the paper published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Findings reveal that just 54% of Michigan pharmacies offer naloxone without requiring a prescription. "Our county maps reveal that areas with higher fatality rates had fewer pharmacies participating in the standing order or lacked any nearby pharmacy access," said Chin Hwa (Gina) Dahlem, Ph.D., FNP-C, FAANP, lead author of the paper, nurse practitioner and a researcher at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. "Naloxone is a life-saving medication for a person experiencing an opioid overdose. We need to continue our efforts to expand naloxone access through pharmacies, hospitals and community naloxone distribution programs to prevent overdose deaths." Among pharmacies participating in the standing order in eight southeastern Michigan counties, 85% percent actually had naloxone available and 82% had ever dispensed it. "It's not just enough to participate in the standing order, but you also have to have naloxone available on the shelves in those moments when somebody asks for it," said Keith Kocher, M.D., M.P.H., senior author of the paper and an emergency physician at University of Michigan Health. "The more pharmacies make naloxone available and have it on the shelves, the more likely we can get it into the hands of individuals at risk for an overdose to reduce harm and death from opioids." Explore further Rapid increase in naloxone distribution after kits became available at Ontario pharmacies More information: Chin Hwa Dahlem et al, Factors associated with naloxone availability and dispensing through Michigan's pharmacy standing order, The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (2022). Chin Hwa Dahlem et al, Factors associated with naloxone availability and dispensing through Michigan's pharmacy standing order,(2022). DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2022.2047714 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A new study in breast cancer survivors has found that chemotherapy, while a critical part of breast cancer therapy, may also have some lasting dampening effects on natural immunity, but moderate fitness improvements can offer some protection against this effect. Ohio State University researchers assessed participants' immune response to a typhoid vaccine, which was used in the study to stimulate the immune system in the same way unfamiliar disease-causing bacteria or viruses do. The study measured same-day changes in inflammatory proteins and white blood cells that occurred during the women's innate immune responsethe first line of defense when an unrecognized substance invades the body. While all study participants produced the expected signs of inflammation after receiving the vaccine, three conditions led to a smaller response: previous chemo treatment, greater abdominal obesity (belly fat), and a low fitness level. The fitness-related findings, however, also showed that participants whose fitness level exceeded the average by just a bitas measured by peak oxygen consumption during exerciseproduced a significantly larger immune response. "As a group, breast cancer survivors, on average, have a lower level of fitness than their peers. In this study, women representing the average were in a low fitness category. Even within this group, moderate differences in fitness were associated with a better vaccine response," said lead author Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research (IBMR), professor of psychiatry in the College of Medicine and a member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ohio State. "It's important to tell breast cancer survivors, and others, that this doesn't mean you have to be at an Arnold Schwarzenegger level of fitness to benefit innate immunity. Relatively mild fitness can make a difference in response to a vaccine, and probably in response to an infection in real life." The research is published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Of the 158 postmenopausal participants, 108 had received chemo treatment between one and 10 years before the study began. Researchers assessed the women for central obesity based on abdominal fat composition and cardiorespiratory fitness level based on their maximum oxygen consumption while riding a stationary bike. The uniform dose of the typhoid vaccine functioned as a model immune challenge, Kiecolt-Glaser said, which offered a window into how breast cancer survivors' innate immunity would respond to a viral or bacterial pathogen. Participants received either the vaccine or placebo over the course of two visits. As expected, the vaccine produced a significantly higher inflammatory response than the placebo. To gauge the participants' natural immune response in the 7 1/2 hours after vaccination, researchers measured levels of two pro-inflammatory proteins, IL-6 and IL-1Ra, and white blood cells in blood draws taken every 90 minutes and compared them to pre-vaccination levels. "We are born with innate immunity. As soon as you inject something that's foreign, you're going to stimulate these responses," said study co-author John Sheridan, associate director of the IBMR and professor of biosciences in Ohio State's College of Dentistry. "You need that inflammatory response, which is associated with immediate protection, to ultimately generate the other forms of the adaptive immune response. "Anything that knocks down the early proinflammatory response puts you at risk for delayed development of adaptive immunity." The adaptive immune response is specific to invading pathogens and is carried out by neutralizing antibodies and specialized white blood cells called T cells and B cells. After controlling for participants' baseline differences in inflammatory markers, the results showed past chemo treatment, greater abdominal obesity and lower fitness were associated with lower IL-6 and white blood cell responses. Prior chemo had the strongest effectgenerating 44% and 35% lower levels of IL-6 and white blood cells, respectively, than levels produced by participants who did not receive chemo. This effect was consistent, regardless of how long ago the women had undergone treatment. More promising, however, were results showing that a fitness level just slightly above the average increased IL-6 and the white blood cell count by at least 33%. Kiecolt-Glaser said the study has important public health implications: greater awareness that innate immunity against infections may be reduced in breast cancer survivors even 10 years out from chemo treatment, and the health upside for just about anybody to engaging in a daily walkor even sitting less. "The paper gives us more data in terms of why cancer survivors may have additional risks," she said. "And the findings send a clear message of just how important physical activity and minimizing belly fat is for robust immune function among breast cancer survivors, and particularly for those who received chemotherapy." Kiecolt-Glaser also said that routine vaccinations, as recommended by a physician, are important for maximizing protective immunity in breast cancer survivors. "Chemotherapy is life-saving for so many breast cancer patients, but there is a trade-off with some long-term side effects," said Dr. Peter Shields, deputy director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. "While we do not know if the immune effects in this study translate to actual later illness, exercise is an important antidote." Explore further Third COVID-19 vaccination improves immune response in blood cancer patients More information: Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser et al, Breast cancer survivors' typhoid vaccine responses: Chemotherapy, obesity, and fitness make a difference, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2022). Journal information: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser et al, Breast cancer survivors' typhoid vaccine responses: Chemotherapy, obesity, and fitness make a difference,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.03.019 Credit: CC0 Public Domain For individuals in a committed relationship, there is a well-established two-way association between relationship quality and each partner's mental health. But what exactly about relationships shapes mental health? And which direction is strongerfrom mental health to relationship quality or relationship quality to mental health? A new study from the University of Illinois and the University of Georgia sought to answer those questions by investigating associations between relationship factors and depressive symptoms among African American couples. "This study aims to really understand what is it about relationship quality that seems to influence individuals' depressive symptoms, concurrently and over time. Relationship quality is a very broad term, and we wanted to look at more specific processes," says Allen Barton, assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at U of I and lead author on the paper, published in the Journal of Family Psychology. The researchers surveyed 174 African American couples (348 individuals) four times over a 25-month period. The couples were part of a larger study on a family-centered relationship intervention program, selected from the control group that did not receive the intervention for the duration of the study. All couples were either married or cohabitating, and they were co-parenting at least one pre-adolescent child. All couples lived in rural Georgia and were mostly low-income families. In the current study, the authors examined the effects of three aspects of relationship qualityrelationship satisfaction, ineffective arguing, and partner supportand their respective associations with depressive symptoms over time. Effects were considered in comparison to levels of other individuals ("between-person") as well as fluctuations relative to individuals' average levels ("within-person"). The authors found between individuals, higher relationship satisfaction and lower levels of ineffective arguing were associated fewer depressive symptoms, consistent with prior research. However, when looking at patterns of change over time within individuals, only partner support emerged as a significant factor. "When an individual experienced higher than typical levels of partner support, relative to their personal average, they reported decreases in depressive symptoms over the next eight months. And conversely when an individual reported higher than average levels of depressive symptoms, they reported decreased partner support over time," Barton explains. While the association between relationship factors and mental health goes both ways, the researchers found one direction to be more influential than the other. "Our results also indicated partner support had a stronger effect on changes in depressive symptoms over time than depressive symptoms had on changes in partner support. The causal direction is stronger from relationships to mental health than the other way around," Barton says. These findings have implications for research and practice. "As researchers, we need to be methodologically rigorous in thinking about change over time. When working with complex bidirectional associations, we have to make sure we have the right modeling to be able to make causal inferences," Barton notes. "For practitioners, these findings suggest partner support is a very relevant construct to target that influences mental health for individuals in a committed relationship. When looking to help couples, strengthening the sense of their partner being there for them, and they can turn to their partner in times of need, seems to have positive effects immediately and over time," he explains. "Relationships and mental health are complex issues. When someone has mental health concerns, fixing their relationship will not necessarily be exhaustive. But our study provides strong evidence that relationship factors do influence mental health." Barton notes there may be unique factors pertaining to minority couples, who often encounter external stress factors that could influence both relationship quality and mental health. "Although not the focus of this research, it is possible partner support is particularly influential for African American couples because of specific challenges they face, such as racial discrimination and other stressors. It's a question for future research to show whether these findings hold across other populations," he says. Barton is director of the Illinois Strong Couples project, an online research-based program offered in partnership with University of Illinois Extension. Couples seeking relationship assistance can sign up online to participate in the program, which is free of charge for qualifying couples in Illinois and other states. The Department of Human Development and Family Studies is in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. The paper, "African Americans' Relationship Quality and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Marital Discord Model," is published in the Journal of Family Psychology. Authors include Allen Barton, Justin Lavner, Naya Sutton, Sharde Smith, and Steven Beach. Explore further New program for African American couples leads to stronger relationships, improved health More information: Allen W. Barton et al, African Americans' relationship quality and depressive symptoms: A longitudinal investigation of the Marital Discord Model., Journal of Family Psychology (2022). Journal information: Journal of Family Psychology Allen W. Barton et al, African Americans' relationship quality and depressive symptoms: A longitudinal investigation of the Marital Discord Model.,(2022). DOI: 10.1037/fam0000967 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Obesity gaps are larger between segregated schools and smaller in racially-integrated schools among child populations, according to a new study in Obesity journal. This is the first study to examine childhood obesity disparities specifically within integrated schools to begin to elucidate the role of school segregation in the racial/ethnic patterning of obesity among youth. "School-level racial segregation matters for child health disparities. Programs and policies to reduce gaps in obesity early in life must prioritize socioeconomically disadvantaged schools, and segregated schools attended primarily by children of color," said Brisa N. Sanchez, Ph.D., MS, MSc, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pa. Sanchez is the corresponding author of the study. Recent studies have observed that racial or ethnic adult health disparities revealed in national data dissipate in racially integrated communities, supporting the theory that "place, not race" is a key driver of racial/ethnic health disparities. In other words, the characteristics of places and the systems or policies that influence place characteristics are more important than personal characteristics of individuals. This study tested this theory among children. Publicly available overweight/obesity rates obtained from the California Department of Education (CDE) for fifth, seventh and ninth grade students attending state public schools in the 2018-2019 school year who participated in the California FitnessGram test were evaluated in this cross-sectional study for childhood obesity disparities. The FitnessGram is a physical fitness test required for all children in the aforementioned grades that is administered in the spring of the academic year. The main outcome of interest is the body-composition assessment of the FitnessGram test. For this assessment, objectively measured height and weight are used to obtain children's body mass index (BMI). BMI is then compared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's age- and sex-specific BMI reference distributions to categorize children into three groups: healthy fitness zone, needs improvement and high risk, which correspond to the BMI categories of normal weight, overweight and obese. More than 1.3 million students were involved in the body composition assessment of the FitnessGram test of whom 54% were Latino, 23% were White, 9.5% were Asian, 5.4% were Black and 2.4% were Filipino. Data for the five major racial/ethnic groups included in the study was collected in more than 8,900 schools. Other races/ethnicities were excluded from the study due to small sample sizes within schools that led to masking of most of their data. Results showed disparities within integrated schools and between segregated schools. The overweight/obesity gap between Latino, Black and Filipino children compared with White children was larger between segregated schools, relative to disparities within integrated schools: Whereas the disparity in overweight/obesity between Latino and White children was 22% when comparing Latino children in Latino-segregated schools to White children in White-segregated schools, the disparity narrowed to 11% when comparing rates between White and Latino children in integrated schools. The statewide disparity in overweight/obesity prevalence between Black and White children was 18% when comparing Black children in Black-segregated schools to White children in White-segregated schools, but narrowed to 6% within integrated schools. The disparity between Filipino and White children was 8% between segregated schools, but reversed to -1% within integrated schools. Overweight/obesity differences between Asian and White children were similar statewide and between segregated schools. "Findings from this study suggest school segregation can foster the development of obesogenic conditions that disproportionately affect Latino, Black and Filipino childrens' obesity risks. While this study sheds light into the importance of school segregation, further research is needed to identify the mechanisms through which racial/ethnic integration and segregation in schools influence the current disparities in childhood obesity rates," said Liliana Aguayo, Ph.D., MPH, an expert in childhood obesity disparities, TOS member and research assistant professor at Emory University's Hubert Department of Global Health in Atlanta, Ga. Aguayo was not associated with the research. The study's authors add that future research should examine the joint role of individual-level economic factors and racial/ethnic segregation to shed additional light on disparities and ways to reduce them. The researchers add that they were unable to conduct analyses that jointly examine economic and racial/ethnic disparities because the publicly available data from the CDE does not allow cross-classification of these factors within schools. Future research should also employ analytical approaches to disentangle the confounding effects of segregation and person-level race/ethnicity and produce valid estimates of individual-level disparities attributable to person-level factors, and, thus amenable to individual-level interventions, instead of disparities driven by segregation and concomitant place-based or structural interventions. Given findings from this and previous studies, estimating disparities within more granular levels of geography is critical to more accurately assess environmental determinants of disparities. Other authors of the study include Nuha Mahmood of the University of Michigan Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Emma Sanchez-Vaznaugh, San Francisco University, San Francisco, Calif; and Mika Matsuzaki of Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. The study, titled "Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Obesity: The Role of School Segregation," will be published in the May 2022 print issue. More information: Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Obesity: The Role of School Segregation, Obesity (2022). Journal information: Obesity Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Obesity: The Role of School Segregation,(2022). onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.23416 It seemed a simple prospecttake a low-dose baby aspirin tablet once a day and reduce your risk of ever suffering a heart attack or stroke. But new science has shown it's not that simple. Noting the drug's risk of dangerous bleeding, the nation's leading panel of preventive health experts has reversed course and now recommends that most people not start taking daily low-dose aspirin to prevent their first heart attack or stroke. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated its guidelines Tuesday to recommend against initiating daily low-dose aspirin in people 60 and older. The choice for people between 40 and 59 would be between themselves and their doctor, but the task force warns that the "net benefit of aspirin use in this group is small." The guidelines' change is mainly based on data from three large clinical trials published in 2018, all of which showed that the benefits of aspirin were minimal and definitely outweighed by the increased risk of gastrointestinal and brain bleeding. "Those trials really showed essentially no benefit in reducing cardiovascular events but showed increased rates of bleeding," said Dr. Eugene Yang, chair of the American College of Cardiology's Prevention Section Leadership Council. "I think what we have really learned is that the benefit is really not apparent, and the harm has been consistently demonstrated in terms of increased major bleeding." The task force also gathered data from 14 other randomized controlled trials regarding the potential bleeding harms of aspirin, said task force member Dr. John Wong, chief of clinical decision making and interim science officer at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Those trials involved more than 300,000 patients. "We found that the taking of an aspirin on a daily basis might increase the odds of having a major gastrointestinal bleed, such as an ulcer, by about 60%," he said. "It also looks like the risk of bleeding within the brain is increased, between 20% to 30% depending on the type of bleeding." Aspirin thins the blood by blocking the action of platelets, the blood cells that clump together to form clots and scabs. Doctors had hoped that by reducing clotting, low-dose aspirin would also reduce the risk of clot-related heart attacks and strokes. A low dose is between 81 milligrams and 100 milligrams. The update brings the task force recommendations closer in line with the primary prevention guidelines of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. Those guidelines were revised in 2019 to recommend that no one 70 or older start taking aspirin to prevent a stroke or heart attack, Yang and Wong said. The new recommendation does not apply to people with existing heart problems who are taking low-dose aspirin, Yang said. That includes people who have had open heart surgery, undergone angioplasty, have had a stroke or heart attack, or have diagnosed blockages in major arteries. "For those patients, where aspirin is clearly beneficial, the recommendation does not change," Yang said. In addition, people who are already taking daily low-dose aspirin to prevent their first heart attack or stroke shouldn't just drop the practice without discussing it with their doctor, Wong said. "Before any patient considers whether to stop a medication, I would strongly urge them to have a conversation with a trusted clinician," he said. For his part, Yang said he will generally recommend that his patients stop taking daily aspirin. "In my practice, if the patient is taking it, I will generally have a discussion and tell them that there really isn't a clinical need to continue taking it because there's no benefit, and most of the time the patients will stop based on my recommendation and our discussion," Yang said. "Some will elect to continue, but most patients will say, 'I don't want to take all these extra pills.'" The new USPSTF guidelines were published April 26 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Explore further Should you take aspirin to prevent heart attacks? Copyright 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. MaR1 reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines in the spinal cord of EAE mice. Plot showing the fold change in cytokine protein levels of different cytokines in the spinal cord of EAE mice treated with MaR1 relative to those treated with vehicle (dotted line). Gray bars highlight those cytokines that are significantly regulated by MaR1. *p Journal of Neuroinflammation (2022). DOI: 10.1186/s12974-022-02386-1 A team led by the Institut de Neurociencies at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) managed to reduce chronic inflammation associated with multiple sclerosis in mice thanks to the administration of a type of lipid that mediates inflammation. The team found that these types of mediator substances, responsible for resolving the inflammatory process when it is no longer beneficial, are minimized in people with multiple sclerosis as well as in animal models of the disease. The use of these mediators could become a good strategy for the treatment of this autoimmune disease. Acute inflammation is a protective response to infection that promotes tissue regeneration after injury. Once its function has been performed, a series of mechanisms regulated by lipids acting as mediators are responsible for resolving it. An error in the resolution response results in uncontrolled inflammation that is detrimental for the tissues. In multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disorder in which the body's defense cells attack the lining of the tail of neurons (myelin), the inflammation is persistent and plays a key role in the development of the disease. A research team led by Ruben Lopez-Vales, Professor of Physiology at the UAB and researcher at the Neuroplasticity and Regeneration Group, INC-UAB, has managed to reduce the chronic inflammation associated with multiple sclerosis in a mice model of the disease, by administering one of the resolving lipid mediators of inflammation, Maresin-1. The substance exerted a therapeutic effect on mice, drastically reducing the amount of proteins promoting inflammation (cytokines), as well as the number of cells in the immune system in both the spinal cord and the blood. A continuous administration of the lipid over time also protected neurons from demyelination and improved the effects of neurological deterioration caused by the disease. In the study, published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, researchers looked at samples from patients with multiple sclerosis and from mice models, and found that there was insufficient production of Maresin-1 and other lipid mediators that end inflammation. The levels of these immunosuppressive substances, which were almost undetectable, prevented the inflammatory process from stopping. "Our results suggest that one of the body's mechanisms for resolving inflammation is not working properly in patients with multiple sclerosis, which could partly explain the episodes of autoimmunity they experience," says Dr. Lopez-Vales. The study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Montreal and the Universidad de La Republica in Uruguay, points to therapy with inflammatory-resolving mediators as an innovative and promising strategy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases needing further research. Finally, Lopez-Vales explains that the next steps will be a series of tests and experiments to demonstrate the safety of the administration of this lipid, which could allow them to address possible efficacy studies in humans. Explore further Study shows that intranasal Rx halts memory decay in experimental Alzheimer's model More information: Alba Sanchez-Fernandez et al, Administration of Maresin-1 ameliorates the physiopathology of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, Journal of Neuroinflammation (2022). Journal information: Journal of Neuroinflammation Alba Sanchez-Fernandez et al, Administration of Maresin-1 ameliorates the physiopathology of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis,(2022). DOI: 10.1186/s12974-022-02386-1 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Turkey on Tuesday lifted one of its last remaining COVID-19 restrictions, the wearing of masks in crowded indoor locations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the relaxation in a televised meeting of the scientific board that has guided Turkey through two years of the pandemic. He said the board would not reconvene unless "extraordinary" circumstances arose. "The obligation to use masks in closed spaces has been completely removed," Erdogan said from Ankara. "Mask application will be continued for a while only on public transport vehicles and in health institutions until the number of (daily) cases falls below 1,000." Over-65s and those with other health problems would be advised to continue wearing masks, he added. The number of daily cases has dropped dramatically since early February, when more than 110,000 infections were recorded. Monday's daily data from the Health Ministry showed 2,604 cases and 15 deaths. At the start of March the government lifted rules on wearing masks outside or in indoor areas with sufficient air circulation and social distancing. It also ended the need for people to show a cell phone app logging their personal health record when entering venues such as shopping malls. Some 53 million of Turkey's population of 84.6 million have received at least two doses of vaccine, with nearly 28 million having had a third dose. Explore further Turkey reports record daily number of COVID-19 deaths 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The number of people living with atrial fibrillationa dangerous heart condition and major cause of strokehas increased by 72% in England over the last two decades, according to new research. Atrial fibrillation (AF) now outstrips the combined number of people diagnosed with the four most common types of cancer (breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer) and exceeds the number of people living with heart failure. In the largest and most detailed study into AF, Leeds researchers used anonymized GP and hospital data from 3.4 million people in England to analyze those diagnosed with AF for the first time between 1998 and 2017. The participants included were representative of age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status for the UK. The number of people diagnosed with AF in England each year increased 72% from 117,880 in 1998 to 202,333 in 2017. Cases increased in men and women across all age groups. The researchers, led by Chris Gale, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine in Leeds' School of Medicine, found that the increase in AF is largely due to an aging and more unhealthy population, putting immense pressure on healthcare services. Over the study, more people were living with other health conditions at the time of their diagnosis, including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, and the number of people with three or more other health conditions increased from 48% in 1998 to 68% in 2017. After adjusting for age and sex, they found that the number of people diagnosed with AF increased by 30% across the two decades. More men were diagnosed with AF and at an average of five years earlier than women, which is thought to be partly due to more men having diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, coronary heart disease and having smoked. The youngest and oldest individuals were most likely to be diagnosed in hospital. This suggests that new-onset AF is particularly troublesome in these groups, and measures should be put in place to prevent and detect AF early to reduce hospital admissions. Health inequalities The researchers also found that compared to the most affluent patients, people from the most deprived communities were 20% more likely to have AF, were diagnosed at an earlier age and had more health conditions at the time of diagnosis. They also revealed regional differences across England. Despite these numbers, many more people will be living with hidden and poorly managed AF as not everyone experiences symptoms and detecting it is difficult. AF comes and goes, and so an episode might not happen during the patient's appointment. It can also occur without symptoms, so a person may not know they have AF until they have a related cardiovascular event such as a strokearguably when it is too late. AF happens when the electrical impulses in the top chambers of the heart fire chaotically when they should be steady and regular, causing them to quiver or twitch. This can cause blood to pool in these chambers which increases the risk of clots, life-threatening strokes and a decline in brain function. People with AF are five times more likely to have a stroke, and the stroke is more likely to be debilitatingwith a lower chance of survival. Now, the team say that unveiling this "blueprint" should lead to changes in the way AF is prevented, detected and treated to bring cases, and the growing burden, back down. Professor Gale and his team have already developed a new digital prediction tool for AF that aims to detect it early, which they hope can soon be trialed in the NHS. Professor Gale says that "changes to healthcare are driven by data, and we've created the first blueprint of AF that lays bare the growing impact it is having on society. Our study paints a clear picture of the trends and gaps that need to be urgently addressed to achieve health equity and prevent unnecessary strokes. We hope that it can be used as a reference point to determine if new interventions and health strategies are successful in curtailing the rising tide of cases and burden that comes with AF." Staggering rise The research, which was published today in The Lancet Regional HealthEurope, was funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, BHF Medical Director, says that "the sheer rise in the number of people now living with AF is staggering, and yet on top of this, many more people will be unaware that they also have this hidden stroke risk in their heart." "This research also highlights the health inequity that exists in AF and other health conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure that contribute to its development. It emphasizes that we need more targeted prevention strategies and new innovations to equip doctors to better detect the condition early so people can benefit from anti-clotting drugs and other life-saving treatment." Dr. Jianhua Wu, Associate Professor of Biostatistics in Leeds's Faculty of Medicine and Health, says that "the increasing burden of AF is not just ringfenced to England. Population structures and health trends in England are similar to those seen across the rest of the UK, Europe, North America and Australasia, and so we can safely assume that the burden of AF is at an all-time high in these countries too." Explore further Heart complications after a stroke increase the risk of future cardiovascular events More information: Jianhua Wu et al, Temporal trends and patterns in atrial fibrillation incidence: A population-based study of 3.4 million individuals, The Lancet Regional HealthEurope (2022). Jianhua Wu et al, Temporal trends and patterns in atrial fibrillation incidence: A population-based study of 3.4 million individuals,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100386 AFTER THE controversial flyover issue, now the rice purchase made by the local government for Zamboanguenos at the height of the Covid-19 pa... You brush your teeth twice a day to keep plaque from building up and see a dentist regularly for extra maintenance. It's just good hygiene. But how often are you practicing mental hygiene? Whether you have a specific concern or are just trying to get through your day a little better, taking about 15 minutes each morning to maintain your mental health is something everyone could benefit from, said Broderick Sawyer, a clinical psychologist in Louisville, Kentucky. "This is the mental health equivalent of brushing your teeth before you need a root canal," he said. The hygiene comes in the form of lowering levels of cortisol, the main stress hormone. An intentional daily practice for stress relief not only makes you feel better today -- studies suggest it could improve your well-being later in life. Increased cortisol levels can lead to a number of physical health complications, according to research from 2020. And a study from 2016 found that emotional regulation has been shown to improve health resilience in older age. Sawyer has culled together a method for mental health hygiene. He explained why it should be part of your routine and how you can build it into your life. Yes, you do have 15 minutes If you are stressed and overwhelmed, carving out 15 minutes in your morning for relaxation sounds like just another hurdle on your to-do list. That addition, however, will make the rest of the list easier to get through, Sawyer said. "It's not about I don't have time, you have time for a lot of things," he said. "If we really can (practice mindfulness) throughout the day, then our mental health needs less of our energy, less of our juice." Taking time to reset your mental space at the start means that the stressors of the day aren't piling on top of an already overwhelmed system. And if you start the day stressed, that is often the baseline you come back to the rest of the day, Sawyer said. When you start with a clear, relaxed mind, you have a calm reference point to which you can return. "Having a practice of mental health hygiene is like cleaning your mirror and looking into it, and you look in it and know what is and is not you," Sawyer said. That understanding of what a relaxed baseline feels like and what brings you away from that can help you have compassion for yourself and others who may also get anxious or upset, he added. "When we do these things every day, we essentially 'practice feeling happy,'" Sawyer said. "Then in turn, this can make us feel more confident when stressful life situations come up -- because we do a good job nourishing ourselves." Here's how to build in your daily practice. 1. Try new activities The first step in improving your mental health hygiene is experimenting with different activities -- anything that brings calm and lowers cortisol, Sawyer said. "It's just learning to treat and cultivate that inner space with awareness," he added. To start, set aside 15 minutes in the morning every day as time to slow down and intentionally focus on your inner well-being. The things you fill that time with could be ones you do every day anyway but made more relaxing -- like drinking your morning coffee slowly with some deep breaths or swapping talk radio for music you enjoy on your commute, Sawyer said. But it also could help to switch things up, like sitting outside, going for a walk or stretching, he added. The important thing is to continue trying new activities until you find something that works for you -- and don't be discouraged if it takes some time to see the benefit. 2. Track how it makes you feel An important part of the experimentation is journaling, Sawyer said. After trying a new activity in your 15 minutes, making note of how you felt afterward and during the rest of the day can help you discern what kind of things work best for you. Are you calmer throughout the day? More energized? Better able to handle stress? The feeling you are looking for may change, but the aim is to cultivate a baseline feeling that helps you feel better as you go about the day. Journaling can also help keep a positive attitude if you don't immediately get the results you are hoping for from your practice, he said. "You just sort of trip onto those things through your own practice of intuitively trying things out. Then if they don't work, that's OK and just write that down," Sawyer said. 3. Pay attention to what you need at different times No one action will work all the time, Sawyer said. It can make a big difference to keep an eye on what you need in different contexts. "So, if I have a workday with a lot of meetings, maybe I need to be a little more chipper and buoyant. Maybe I need to be more laser-focused because it is a heavy writing day. Those are different energies," Sawyer said. That could mean ending your 15 minutes with a shot of espresso on one day or doing a concentration meditation another day, he added. 4. Add through the day as needed Eventually, that 15 minutes in the morning might not seem like such a chore. In fact, you might start to crave some check-ins with your mental state at more points throughout the day. At any time that feels good, but at least three days a week, Sawyer suggested adding in some low-impact physical activity, like walking, biking or yoga. It's also helpful to add in some time to wind down at the end of the day if you can, turning off work notifications, stepping away from screens and taking time to decompress, he added. "Once we find that tool or collection of tools for ourselves, we then get to master how well we use it," Sawyer said. The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 NEW ORLEANS (AP) State House members in Louisiana voted Monday to fine-tune a law enabling either the House or the Senate to end or alter a governors emergency declarations. The bill by Abita Springs Republican Lawrence Frieman follows clashes between Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and some GOP officials over now-expired mitigation efforts, such as mask mandates and public gathering limits, against COVID-19. Current law already allows either chamber of the Legislature to cancel an entire emergency declaration by using a petition signed by a majority of its members. The bill approved Monday at the Capitol in Baton Rouge would allow partial cancellation a move backers said is needed because a complete cancellation could endanger federal funds. It allows us to go in with a scalpel, Frieman said. The bill was approved on a 65-31 vote over the objections of opponents who said the concept of allowing a single legislative body to cancel an emergency without the assent of the other is unconstitutional. They also questioned language in Frieman's bill that changes a requirement that the legislative bodies consult with the state Health Department secretary before moving to end a public health emergency. The bill requires consultation with a public health specialist" with a degree from an accredited public health school. Frieman argued that the the law shouldn't require consultation with an appointee of the governor who makes the declaration. Rep. Dustin Miller, an Opelousas Democrat, said Frieman should consider requiring consultation with a panel of experts as the bill moves through the legislative process. The bill goes next to the Senate. House members voted in 2020 to end an Edwards public health emergency declaration. A state judge ruled that the law enabling one legislative body to cancel the declaration was unconstitutional, but the case never ended with a definitive appellate or Supreme Court ruling. An appellate court ruled the issue moot after the emergency order in question had expired. If Frieman's bill becomes law, it would take effect on Jan. 8, 2024, when a new governor takes office, succeeding the term-limited Edwards. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. As home prices continue to climb to record highs in Missoula, community nonprofits are turning modular homes that were once intended for workers in the Bakken oil fields into permanently affordable housing for two lifelong area residents. Homeword and Habitat for Humanity of Missoula are working together to help two East Missoulians attain homeownership using money from Missoulas new Affordable Housing Trust Fund and a long-term lease that ensures permanent affordability. The modular homes will be available for two residents a retired house painter and a working diesel mechanic to purchase at a fifth of the cost of Missoulas median home price, said Heather Harp, the executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Missoula. The project comes as home prices in Missoula continue to rise. The median home price in Missoula County has climbed to a new high of $510,000, according to a report released recently by the Missoula Organization of Realtors. This is a beautiful partnership because youve got two nonprofits that are working on an innovative solution, said Andrea Davis, the executive director of Homeword. Is it only two homes? Yes, but every household that gets impacted is a win. And this is a model that can be used by other people and inspire other land sellers. The homes will be placed on permanent foundations on land in East Missoula that a family sold at a discounted price to Habitat for Humanity. Homeword bought the modular homes from a surplus that was intended for workers in the once-booming Bakken oil fields of western North Dakota and northeastern Montana. Habitat will use $190,000 from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund that the Missoula City Council unanimously approved spending to purchase the structures from Homeword and pay for costs associated with moving and repairing the homes. After placing the homes on foundations and making any necessary repairs, Habitat will sell the homes to the new owners and hand over land stewardship to Trust Montana, a statewide community trust working to increase affordable properties for Montanans. Homeword will also help prepare the prospective homeowners by providing them with financial education. Harp said the homes will be available for purchase by the prospective homeowners who make under 80% of the area median income. The area median income (AMI) is the midpoint of an areas income distribution, meaning half of the families in the area earn more than the median and half of the families earn less. Harp also said the mortgages for the homes will not exceed 30% of each households income. A model for success The project is based on a model that has proved successful in the past. Several years ago, Homeword purchased 10 modular homes that originally were meant for oil workers and placed six of those homes on permanent foundations in what was called the Montana Street Homes project. The six homes were sold to households earning 80% or less of the area median income, which was about $36,900 or less for one person or $56,300 or less for a family of four in 2018, according to the American Community Survey. The 450-square-foot, one-bedroom home sold for $98,000 and the 550-square-foot two-bedrooms sold for $120,000. The land under the homes is permanently owned by Trust Montana, and the homebuyers lease it via renewable and inheritable 75-year agreements, according to Homewords website. Homeword is no longer affiliated with the project because the land was transferred to Trust Montana after Homeword developed the properties. But Davis said that, to her understanding, all of the original homeowners from 2018 have remained. The model of homeownership using a community land trust ensures long-term affordability for current and future homeowners and helps them build equity, Davis said. But Davis also noted that community land trusts are only one tool for helping create affordable housing for Missoulians and said that many other changes, such as more development and changes to zoning that allow for more townhome development, are needed. For their part, community land trusts are an effective way for Habitat for Humanity and its affiliates across the country to house more families, Harp said. The nonprofit will be able to place both the homes on the same lot because Missoula Countys zoning regulations allow developers to increase density for the purpose of permanent affordability. The use of modular homes will allow Habitat for Humanity to house the two residents in East Missoula in a quarter of the construction time it typically takes the organization to complete a project. Habitat is trying to pivot so that we can increase our production above and beyond two homes per year, Harp said. In order to do that, it requires us to be innovative so were looking at our construction methods. In addition to conventionally built homes, Harp said Habitat for Humanity plans to pursue more modular homes. Apart from the quick construction timeline, the use of modular homes also helps address a lack of homes for people who live alone. According to AARP, the percentage of nuclear family households, or households that consist of two parents and one or more children, has been on a steady decline over the past 50 years while the percentage of single-person households has been on the rise. But the housing market hasnt kept up with the shift. With this particular project, we got to do something weve never done before, Harp said. We got to focus on the single people, and this is the first time in our history that weve been able to do that and its in large part because these were already designed to be one bedrooms. Davis said Homeword still has two modular homes that the organization is looking to place on land, and added that it would like to hear from anyone who might be interested in donating or selling land at a discount to nonprofits. Harp also said Habitat for Humanity of Missoula will be holding a town hall meeting to educate the public about community land trusts on May 25. We need to inform and educate people about the work we do, and we also need to inspire people to be the change we need to see happen, Harp said. Just like (those) who donated the lots to us a few years ago, we hope to inspire others to do the same. This story was originally published in the Montana Free Press. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Authorities arrested over a dozen people on Monday in connection to an all-day drug raid in Polson. Polson police identified three houses throughout city limits believed to be interconnected in the use and distribution of meth and fentanyl, according to a Polson Police Department press release. In the two and a half week investigation, police determined there were kids living in one of the homes. "We are committed to drug endangered children and to that end, residential search warrants were executed to safely remove these children from an atrocious environment," the press release said. The operation started at 8:30 a.m. on Monday and wrapped up around 6 p.m. The homes targeted by law enforcement were located at 13th Avenue West, Seventh Avenue East and 12th Avenue East, Polson Police Captain George Simpson said. Thirteen individuals were taken into custody on charges ranging from criminal possession of dangerous drugs, endangering the welfare of children, drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest, the release said. Four additional people were arrested but are not in custody due to jail overcrowding. Two children were removed as part of a simultaneous CPS investigation. Searches of the properties turned up suspected fentanyl and meth, along with multiple firearms and drug paraphernalia. Decaying wildlife parts were located and seized, prompting a Flathead Tribal Game Warden investigation for possible wildlife violations. Multiple junk vehicles were also towed from the houses. Names of the arrested individuals haven't been released yet to protect the privacy of the children and ongoing investigations, the release said. Assisting agencies included Northwest MT regional SWAT team, Kalispell Special Response Team, Two Bear Air, Flathead Tribal Police, Tribal CPS, Tribal Game Warden, Flathead K-9 Foundation and Lake County Emergency Dispatch Center. This would not have been possible without the cooperation from our community, assistance from our northwest Montana law enforcement partners and investigation by your outstanding Polson Officers," Police Chief Wade Nash said. 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. A University of Montana official got to brag on Tuesday about improved freshman enrollment numbers for the first time in a decade. Missoulas mayor, at the same event, called for state tax reform measures to reduce the increasing burden on property owners as Missoula sees unprecedented demand for housing. Kelly Webster, the associate vice president for strategic planning and implementation at the University of Montana, joined Missoula Mayor John Engen and others at the annual State of Missoula presentation hosted by the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce. Webster noted that theres a lot of positive news in terms of student enrollment and retention at the institution. Over the past four years this is going to sound like a small number, but in higher education and public education its a huge number the retention rate of our students at the University of Montana has grown by 7%, she said. Thats exceeded by only one of our peer institutions across the region." About 75% of new students at UM are now continuing to their second year, up from about 68% four years ago. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the retention rate at public four-year institutions in the U.S. was 81% overall from the fall of 2018 to the fall of 2019. Webster also noted that this years freshman class was 30% larger than last years freshman class, the first time that UM enrollment has rebounded in 10 years. And all indications are it looks good for next year as well, Webster said. The Missoula economy is closely intertwined with the University of Montana's fortunes, she observed, after noting that almost everyone in the crowd of over 200 had either graduated from UM, had family members who did or employed a UM grad. Webster concluded her remarks by reiterating that the university also hit a historic milestone this past February when it earned the top-tier "R1" research status, which only about 3.7% of degree-granting institutions in America have obtained. Mayor John Engen spoke to the crowd about what his constituents constantly ask him about. Property tax is the third thing he hears most about from Missoulians, he said, behind only housing and homelessness. If I didnt have to charge (property taxes) I wouldnt, Engen said. Thats the short version. But I do. We have a broken tax system in the state of Montana. The tax system has crumbled over time. He said that Montana used to rely on corporate taxpayers, industrial taxpayers and resource extraction taxes. The economy of this state is much different than what it was 50, 75, 25 years ago, Engen said. Which has resulted in residential taxpayers paying more than their fair share of keeping the wheels on the bus, keeping the basic services that we rely on every day in the community, maintaining a level of service that allows us to be safe, sound and healthy, a place where people want to live. Engen said local government has to find a balance between relying on Montanas tax system, which he called antiquated, challenging and upsetting, and getting work done. Making sure that when you call 911, somebody shows up, he said. Making sure that when the toilets flush, it goes somewhere. He said the city needs to make sure streets are kept up, public lighting works and parks are maintained. The burden of paying for all that, Engen said, falls heavily on property owners in Montana because Montana has no statewide sales tax. That means that renters, by extension, are also saddled with that tax through the rents charged by their landlords. Montana also has the 15th highest individual income tax rate, according to WalletHub. Engen said that the Montana Legislature needs to hear from people, especially property owners who have seen the value of their property rise, that a local option sales tax would benefit communities. A (local option sales tax) is a creative tool that is deployed around the state in creative fashion, Engen said. In Whitefish, for example, infrastructure gets built all day long and property owners get a rebate at the end of the year. That is a system that works in Whitefish, it works in Red Lodge, it works in St. Regis and it can work in the city of Missoula. The states current laws allow only small resort communities to implement a resort tax. Elected officials from Missoula and Bozeman have repeatedly pushed state lawmakers to allow larger cities to implement a local option sales tax, but bills that would do so have repeatedly died in the Legislature. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 3 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 6 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. If youve been looking for a way to foster pets and support fellow Missoulians, the YWCA needs local families to temporarily house pets while their owners transition into safety. YWCA staff are looking to fill pet advocate positions. An advocate is a volunteer and can be anyone who lives in the Missoula vicinity, as long as they have the time and space to host a dog, cat or small mammal. Pet foster families take in animals while their owners are getting services they need to be safe from domestic violence, YWCA Volunteer Coordinator Alena Haugo explained. Animals know when their humans are in crisis, Haugo said. (Were looking for people who) have the time and energy to slow down with that animal and to give them the time and space while their human is getting the resources they need through us. Stays typically range from 60 to 90 days, but can be as brief as two weeks. A person interested in housing survivors pets will go through a brief, one-on-one training with Haugo. The training includes going over policies and guidance on how to care for the animal and avoid situations that might put them in harms way. Haugo noted the YWCA hopes local landlords can be more pet-friendly. Thats such a huge barrier both for people wanting to be pet advocates and for our survivors and un-housed families who want to go to permanent housing and keep their pet companions with them, Haugo said. Some survivors cant part with their animals when they come to the shelter. The YWCA is looking to accommodate this through renovating three rooms in its on-site domestic violence shelter to make them pet-friendly. Staff noticed individuals werent accessing YWCA emergency services because they couldnt bring their pets with them. Its really hard to be separated from your pet in a time of crisis, Haugo said. Thats when we really started exploring the option of what we could do to remove that barrier." Haugo brought the Humane Society of Western Montana in to consult on how to make the rooms friendly to four-legged mammals. The renovation will include installation of wood and tile floors as well as finding a designated outdoor area for animals. Along with volunteers for foster families, Haugo says the YWCA needs pet supply donations and a veterinarian partnership. The YWCA hopes this volunteer program can offer survivors peace of mind about their pets well-being while they seek emergency services, Haugo said. Wed love to be able to offer that respite of making sure their animal is loved while theyre trying to put together the pieces, she said. To sign up or get more information on volunteer advocate positions, call the main YWCA phone line at 406-543-6691. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 7 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. SHONTO, Ariz. (AP) Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, whose tenure has been dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, is seeking a second term in office. Nez made the announcement over the weekend from his hometown of Shonto. Nez, 46, highlighted his administration's handling of COVID-19 and said he wants to ensure that plans to rebuild the economy, and extend power and water lines continues. We must continue on the path of recovery and healing together, he said in a statement. A handful of others also have said they'll seek the position, including Buu Van Nygren, Ethel Branch, Frank Dayish Jr. and Earl Sombrero. Nygren, a vice presidential candidate in the tribe's 2018 election, recently resigned as chief commercial officer at the Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority. Branch, who served as Navajo Nation attorney general while Nez was vice president, launched a COVID-19 relief fund for Navajo and Hopi families that has raised over $18 million, according to its website. Dayish lost a bid for the tribal presidency in 2006 after serving as vice president under Joe Shirley Jr. Dayish has since worked in administrative positions in the health care and housing industries. Sombrero is the manager of a Navajo chapter, or precinct, near the Arizona-Utah border. The deadline to file for the tribe's top elected post is May 4. More than a dozen people typically run for president of the Navajo Nation, which has the largest land mass of any Native American tribe in the U.S. and is second in population with about 400,000 tribal members. The primary election is Aug. 2. The top two vote-getters move on to the November general election. 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 HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Candidates for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvanias open U.S. Senate seat charged into Monday night's live-televised prime-time debate with extra incentive to attack Mehmet Oz after the celebrity heart surgeon received former President Donald Trump's endorsement. And attack they did, almost solidly throughout the one-hour debate at the studio of WHTM-TV with barely three weeks to go to the May 17 primary election. Ex-hedge fund CEO David McCormick called Oz a flip-flopper to suggest that he is pretending to be a conservative. Former Trump ambassador Carla Sands called him Turkey First as a play on Trump's America First" governing philosophy to highlight Oz's Turkish citizenship. And conservative activist Kathy Barnette said Trump only endorsed Oz because Oz is well-known. Trump earlier this month endorsed Oz best known as daytime TVs host of The Dr. Oz Show" and the Trump endorsement hovered over the debate. Oz raised it repeatedly, just hours after Trump announced that he will come to western Pennsylvania next week for a rally to promote Oz. Oz gamely defended himself. People care about what he stands for, not where hes from, he said. Trump endorsed him because he is a true conservative, he said. And he keeps his Turkish citizenship to visit his ailing mother in Turkey, he said. He also counterpunched, primarily against McCormick. He accused McCormick of lying about his record and repeating Trump's suggestion that McCormick is pro-China because of McCormick's former hedge funds portfolio that catered to Chinese investors investing in China. Dishonest Dave is at it again," Oz said. He went groveling to President Trump with again these types of allegations. President Trump saw right through him, did not endorse him, and then he endorsed me. McCormick repeatedly attacked Oz, turning practically every question to Ozs long public past as a TV show host and accusing him of having long-advocated liberal positions. The reason Mehmet keeps talking about President Trumps endorsement is because he cant run on his own positions and his own records, and what's true is that he has flip-flopped on every major issue we're talking about in this campaign, McCormick said. Then McCormick slipped in a reference to criticism that Oz promoted quack treatments and cures on his show. And the problem doctor, is theres no miracle cure for flip-flopping, McCormick said. The race is primarily an expensive duel between McCormick and Oz, who combined with super PACs that support them have reported spending more than $37 million out of the more than $50 million reported being spent on the GOP primary. The five candidates on stage met the polling threshold set by the stations parent company as they vie for the nomination in a seven-person field to succeed retiring two-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in the presidential battleground state. The campaign is one of this years premier Senate contests, with carpetbaggery a prominent and persistent issue following the recent arrival of three wealthy and well-connected candidates from other states McCormick, Oz and Sands. Real estate investor Jeff Bartos summed up the debate in his closing remarks as out-of-state candidates fighting with each other as he pressed his case as the only lifelong Pennsylvanian in the race. Otherwise, the candidates all seemed to agree with party talking points, including on the question of banning abortion, banning transgender women from competing in women's sports, criticizing President Joe Biden's handling of the economy and the border and promoting Trump's baseless conspiracy that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election. They also took pains to demonstrate their devotion to Trump principles. Sands maintained that her service on a Trump's economic council and as his ambassador to Denmark makes her the only proven America First candidate. I actually did it, Sands said. "Everyone talks about it." On a question about how to deal with supply chain issues, McCormick took umbrage over Bartos' suggestion that out-of-state candidates "cannot help save Main Street Pennsylvania if you cannot find Main Street Pennsylvania. I'm not going to be out-Pennsylvania'd or out-America First by anybody on this stage," McCormick said. Barnette who has allied herself with pro-Trump conservatives took a different tack: Trump's Make America Great slogan, or MAGA, doesn't belong to Trump, she said. MAGA does not belong to President Trump, Barnette said. "MAGA, although he coined the word, MAGA actually belongs to the people. Our values never, never shifted to President Trumps values. It was President Trump who shifted and aligned with our values. Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter 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 NEW YORK (AP) Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he has no intention of rejoining Twitter even if his account is reinstated following Elon Musks agreement to buy the social media giant for roughly $44 billion. Trump told Fox News that he will instead focus on his own platform, Truth Social, which has been mired in problems since its launch earlier this year. I am not going on Twitter. I am going to stay on Truth, Trump was quoted telling the network. I hope Elon buys Twitter because hell make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth. Trump was barred from major social media platforms after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, with Twitter citing the risk of further incitement of violence." The decision denied him the megaphone he had used to generate media attention and speak directly to his followers, which had been integral to his political rise. At the time, the former president had roughly 89 million followers on Twitter alone. Musk, the worlds wealthiest person and a self-described free-speech absolutist, had said he wanted to buy and privatize Twitter because he believed it wasnt living up to its potential as a free speech platform. It raised questions about whether he might reinstate Trumps account as the former president lays the groundwork for another White House run in 2024. Trump has continued to spread lies about his 2020 election defeat in speeches and statements since leaving office, and it is unclear how Musk would approach those statements if Trump were ever to return to the site. In recent weeks, Musk has voiced a number of proposed changes for the company, including relaxing its content restrictions, and said he would be very reluctant to delete content and cautious of permanent bans. After being kicked off social media platforms, Trump launched his own social media app and sued Twitter, Facebook and Google's YouTube, claiming he and other conservatives had been wrongfully censored, even though posts by conservative commentators are routinely the most widely shared. On Monday, he said he welcomed Musk's purchase and told Fox News he didnt see Twitter as his own product's competition. Truth Social will be a voice for me, he said. And thats something nobody else can get. At a rally in Ohio on Saturday, Trump also urged his supporters to join him on Truth Social. Go out and sign up now," he told them. "Have a lot of fun. 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 A weekend blizzard that brought snow, rain, ice and strong winds to western North Dakota downed hundreds and possibly thousands of electrical poles, destruction that might be among the worst ever seen. "The damage we have assessed so far is unprecedented. Its the worst damage Montana-Dakota Utilities has had on its system," spokesman Mark Hanson said. "We have hundreds of cross arms broken and miles of poles down." MDU's history dates to 1924. The utility will have at least 15 crews -- up to 60 workers -- in northwestern North Dakota this week, possibly more if aerial surveys Monday show even more damage than anticipated. "Well get a look at the lines our crews could not view from the ground," Hanson said. Thousands out At one point during the two-day blizzard MDU had about 18,000 customers in western North Dakota and eastern Montana without power. By late afternoon Monday that figure had been cut to about 1,300, according to the utility's outage map and poweroutage.us. Poweroutage.us does not track all electrical providers, however, and there are several in western North Dakota that are not on the list and whose outages are not included in the state tally. North Dakota Emergency Services spokesman Eric Jensen told The Associated Press that more than 19,000 people were without power Monday and it could be even more that, noting that tracking the outages is a complicated process. Rural electric cooperatives provide power to parts of the state hit hardest by the storm, and linemen from elsewhere in North Dakota were traveling to their territories Monday to help restore electricity. Private contractors also were working with co-ops. "One of the great benefits of our electric cooperative system is during disasters of this magnitude, cooperatives lean on other cooperatives to aid in restoring the power," said Josh Kramer, executive vice president and general manager for the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives. Bismarck-based Capital Electric Cooperative, for one, sent linemen west to help with damage in McLean Electric Co-op's territory, Capital Electric spokesperson Wes Engbrecht said. Bakken blasted The outages hit much of the Bakken oil patch, causing the phone of North Dakota Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad to ring off the hook Monday as energy companies called in to report on how the storm had impacted their operations. Kringstad estimated that the state's daily oil output fell by as much as 60% relative to the start of April, due to a loss of electricity across the region and snowy roads making it impossible for trucks to reach energy infrastructure. North Dakota recently had been producing 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, a figure that he believed had already fallen 25% a week and a half earlier when another blizzard hit the state. North Dakota's oil industry was just starting to recover from that drop when the storm hit this past weekend and sent production plummeting again, Kringstad said. Everything from pump jacks to small pipelines that gather oil and natural gas from well sites to major oil transmission lines and gas processing plants rely on electricity to operate. How long their operations will be curtailed will depend on how quickly power is restored, he said. Restoration efforts For some parts of western North Dakota, that could be a matter of days or weeks. The northwestern communities of Hamlet, Wildrose, Epping, Wheelock and Springbrook were expected to have power restored late Monday or Tuesday, Hanson said. MDU anticipated restoring power to Crosby, Noonan, Kincaid, Northgate and Zahl by Thursday and to Corinth and McGregor by the end of the week. Other communities such as Alamo, Ambrose, Hanks and Appam were expected to be without electricity until next week, given extensive damage to MDU's infrastructure in the area, Hanson said. Williston State College, which closed on Monday, announced that with power being restored, it would resume classes on Tuesday. Burke-Divide Electric Cooperative serves the far northwestern corner of the state. The co-op tallied more than 650 broken power poles and hundreds of broken cross arms, which are pieces of equipment attached to poles that hold up power lines. Members without electricity could be in the dark for several days, the co-op posted to its Facebook page Monday. Sheridan Electric Cooperative straddles the Montana-North Dakota border, serving both states. The co-op estimated it had 500 broken poles. Verendrye Electric Cooperative, which serves about 12,000 customers in north central North Dakota, had about 250 power poles down and about 350 meters out, according to spokesman Tom Rafferty. Some customers, such as farms, have more than one meter, he said. At the peak of the storm, the co-op had about 1,500 meters out. "We're going to work all day," he said early Monday. "Conditions are a lot better -- it's sunny at least and not as windy. We're hoping to get some work done today, but there are still issues with roads. It's kind of hard to say what will happen, but we're still expecting people to be out for several days." Basin Electric Power Cooperative and the Western Area Power Administration operate large transmission lines that carry electricity to the region. Basin Electric spokesman Andy Buntrock on Monday said that the co-op was working to repair damage to its transmission system, which he said was nearly fully operational and was expected to be back to normal by Wednesday. One of WAPA's high-voltage lines that runs from the Montana-North Dakota border to Williston sustained damage, and another was already out for scheduled maintenance, spokesperson Lisa Meiman said. Several other lines operated by WAPA on behalf of local utilities were damaged as well, she said. Meiman attributed most of the outages to icing issues. Flooding concerns The blizzard dropped as much as 1 feet of snow on western North Dakota, and also brought widespread freezing rain that coated trees and power lines, and winds gusting around 50 mph. Snowfall totals from the National Weather Service included 2 inches in Minot -- which had received 4 feet of snow from two earlier snowstorms this month -- 7 inches in Regent, 12.5 in Watford City, 13 in Dickinson, 16 in Grassy Butte and 18 in Niobe. Bismarck-Mandan did not get any snow, but it did get about an inch of rain. The precipitation from the three storms the past two weeks could lead to ponding of water due to ditches and other natural drains being filled with snow, according to the weather service. There's also a small chance of overland flooding and minor stream flooding, but dry, thawed soils should soak up a lot of the moisture. Much of the area is still in some form of drought, even after the earlier storms, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnernship of the National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The next drought map update is Thursday. Another weather system late this week could bring another inch or two of rain to North Dakota, though it might not worsen flooding concerns in the west and central regions. "It's kind of just dependent on the week; if we're able to dry out, the ground might absorb the moisture," weather service Meteorologist Matthew Johnson said. "If not, it could turn into runoff. At the moment, our hydrologist is not too concerned." Flooding was occurring Monday in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, which saw heavy rain over the weekend. Some highways were closed. Moderate river flooding is expected in many locations this week, according to the weather service. Some county roads in the region are water-covered or washed out. Volunteers and National Guard members in northwestern Minnesota spent two days sandbagging to fortify Crookston from an expected record flood along the Red Lake River, AP reported. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz authorized 100 Guard soldiers to assist with the flood fight after heavy rains forced the tributary of the Red River to spill its banks. Officials in Grand Forks and neighboring East Grand Forks, Minnesota, have started to activate some of their permanent flood protection measures put into place after the devastating 1997 Red River flood, according to AP. Forecasters expect a crest of 48 feet later this week on the Red in Grand Forks. Flood stage is 18 feet. Officials on Monday planned to close one of the bridges that connects the two cities. Built-in floodwalls were being activated on both sides of the river, officials from the two cities said. People in Valley City have been sandbagging to protect against the rising Sheyenne River. Fargo officials donated 29,000 sandbags to help, according to AP. Valley City Mayor Dave Carlsrud said the community pride was evident in the number of people, including students from Valley City State University, who volunteered. People are just, thats why I like living in North Dakota. Last week, when it was blowing snow in my face, I wasnt too sure. But today, I am again, Carlsrud said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Tyre Sampson's mom on fatal fall from ride: "My personal opinion, it's murder" Nekia Dodd can't stop thinking about the last conversation she had with her 14-year-old son, Tyre Sampson. "He turns around and says, 'I'll see you Saturday or either Sunday.' And that was my last time speaking to my son," Dodd said during a news conference on Tuesday in St. Louis, Missouri. Sampson died last month after he slipped through the seat of the Orlando Free Fall ride. His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Icon Park as well as the manufacturer and the operator of the ride. "It came out as a tragic accident. It's not an accident," Dodd told CBS News. "My personal opinion, it's murder." The phone call she received about the incident broke her heart, Dodd said. "I'm like, it's a movie. I'm thinking I'm in a movie. Am I dreaming?" she said. "I mean, worst nightmare ever. You see your child on a vacation with family and friends, and he didn't return from a vacation. That's, oh, that's gruesome. That's horrible." A makeshift memorial for Tyre Sampson is viewed outside the Orlando Free Fall ride at the ICON Park entertainment complex, Sunday, March 27, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. Sampson fell to his death while on the ride. / Credit: Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP Sampson's family believes a $22 seatbelt could have saved Sampson's life and is calling for them to be installed on similar rides. Dodd wants accountability for the son who was affectionately called a "gentle giant." "He didn't deserve this. He did not deserve this," she said. A recent safety report concluded Sampson's seat's safety sensors were manually adjusted to allow for larger riders, leaving a gap between the harness and the seat more than twice the typical size. Sampson weighed 380 pounds, according to the medical examiner. But the ride had a 287-pound maximum, according to the ride's safety manual. Michael Haggard, an attorney for the family, said there were no warning signs that someone of Sampson's size should not have been allowed on the ride. "And that's the problem," Haggard told CBS News. Orlando Slingshot, which operates the Free Fall, said it's cooperating with the investigation, adding "all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided by the manufacturer of the ride were followed." Story continues First-of-its-kind heart transplant in infant could possibly prevent organ rejection North Carolina police seize loaded gun from Congressman Madison Cawthorn at Charlotte airport Beijing orders more than 20 million people to test for COVID to try and avoid a full lockdown A pair of hikers reported missing has been found. The mother and her 8-year-old son were reported missing Monday morning in Caldwell County. April Tester and her son Desmond parted ways from their family in the Harper Creek Trail area in Collettsville around 5 p.m. Sunday. Tester and Desmond had not been seen by family by early Monday, prompting a search, a Facebook post from Caldwell County government said. The mother and son are novice hikers and were not prepared for an overnight stay, the post said. Tester was wearing shorts, a pink tank top and flip-flops. Desmond was wearing black shorts, a T-shirt and sneakers. Caldwell emergency workers searched the area for the hikers. Tester and Desmond were found safe, an updated Facebook post said. No more details were released. Caldwell County Emergency Management, the Caldwell County Sheriffs Office, surrounding fire departments and an emergency services special operations team were involved in the search. Ramsay School sixth-grader Adelaide Thomson won a gold ribbon at the 67th Annual Montana State Science Fair March 28 for her project Dirty Pipes. But thats not all. She also won the Peterson Grand Award for sixth grade physical science and was nominated to compete in the 2022 Broadcom MASTERS, a national middle school STEM competition put on by the Society for Science. MASTERS stands for Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars. When asked how she felt about earning these awards, Thomson said, I didnt really think about that. I just had a lot of fun. The inspiration behind Thomsons project came from her noticing the water from the modules, where the sixth- through eighth-graders go to class, tasted different than the water in the main building. Thomson said that some of her friends also thought the water in the modules tasted soapy, like chemicals or left a lingering nausea headache after drinking it. When her school science fair came around, she thought it would be a great opportunity to get to the bottom of why the water from the modules tasted different than the water in the main building. She tested for chlorine, lead and copper in the modules, and compared it against data for the different water sources in the main building that were provided by her father, who works at Water & Environmental Technologies. She also asked students from each grade what the water in the modules tasted like to them and graphed the results. Thomson said the reason she chose to test for these contaminants was because she saw some of the signs that indicated the contaminants might be in the water, such as foggy water, scum and discolored rings around the sink. I actually had a lot of fun with the chlorine because we could self-test it, Thomson said. I had a testing kit, and its a colorimeter, so it was a lot of fun because I liked watching the colors change. The results? Inconclusive. The water samples she collected from the modules were low for all three contaminants she tested for, whereas the data from WET for the main building were higher, but below action levels. She won first place in her grade for physical science at her school science fair for her project, and the first place winners for the grades were invited to compete at the Montana State Science Fair at the University of Montana. Thomson chose to go, and spent a long day waiting for her work to be judged. The categories at the state fair were divided by grade level and whether the project was physical or biological science. The next day, the results of the fair were announced on a Zoom call. Thomson herself was unable to tune in because she was in class, but her mom, Amy Thomson participated. I just had it going in the background, and I had no expectations, Amy Thomson said of the Zoom call. And then I heard her name. Adelaide Thomson wasnt the only Ramsay School student to receive a ribbon at the Montana State Science Fair, but she was the only one to receive a Peterson Grand Award and a nomination to the Broadcom MASTERS. "I was really impressed with the science projects this year," said Ramsay School teacher Kim Snodgrass, who helped the students with their science projects. "And I knew the students would excel from all grades." At the Montana State Science Fair, Ramsay School students Alex Cranney won a silver ribbon in sixth-grade biological science, Trace Knighten won a gold ribbon in seventh-grade physical science, Karissa Shope won a bronze ribbon in seventh-grade physical science and Shayna Callarman won a gold ribbon in eighth-grade physical science. They all did great, said Ramsay School Principal Chris Kellogg. Were pretty happy with it. If Thomson were to do this project again next year, she said she would test the water for iron, hydrogen sulfide and coliform bacteria. Although she will be going to another school next year, she said she could pass the project on to a younger student who wants to take it on, or she could come back and do it herself. To be part of the Broadcom MASTERS, students must fill out an application and submit their project. The top 300 projects submitted will be chosen and announced on Sept. 7. Thomson said she intends to apply. Of the 300, 30 finalists will be chosen to receive $500 and go on an all-expenses-paid to Washington D.C. with a parent or guardian to showcase their projects, compete in teams and visit sites that celebrate innovation through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, according to the Society for Sciences website. If selected to be in the top 30 finalists, Thomson will be eligible to win more prizes at the Broadcom MASTERS. "We're proud of Addie," Snodgrass said. "And I hope she takes this as far as she can." Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In the many years I had the privilege of teaching Montana history, one of my absolute favorite chapters was on the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention. The diversity of people gathered at our state capitol during the wintry months of 1972 created a document that has stood the test of time and been admired and emulated across this nation. Tragically, in this year of celebrating the 50th anniversary of that document, our Montana Constitution is facing unprecedented attacks by the very people who have sworn to uphold it. Our Declaration of Rights is broader and bigger than the Bill of Rights and its Right to Know guarantees that all Montanans have the ability to examine government operations and exercise citizen influence against government power. This Right to Know along with the Right of Participation are affectionately, and appropriately, known as the Sunshine Laws. Recently, a legislative committee met to discuss and examine how the courts respond to the publics requests for information on their inner workings. As it turns out, not just the courts but the Legislature and state agencies are doing a lot of work to make sure the public can exercise its Right to Know. One glaring omission from that examination was the Governor's office. Republicans have done much hand-wringing over the judiciarys practices, but have failed to look into whether Governor Gianforte maintains the same standards of transparency and accountability to the public. This week, we learned more about Governor Gianfortes attempt to deny the Right to Know to Montanans seeking information on how and why he decided which bills to support or oppose during the most recent legislative session. The Governor's office wouldnt hand over the memos tracking that decision making, claiming that these documents are under attorney-client privilege. But thats not how the Right to Know works. You cant defeat our rights just by having a lawyer write your documents or copying one on an email. The public has the Right to Know what policy advice the Governor asks for and receives. We also know that the Governor's office has been charging exorbitant fees to avoid giving members of the public access to their government records. Requests have been made for the Lieutenant Governors emails, which are unquestionably information the public has a Right to Know. The decisions and communications of senior government officials are at the heart of what Right to Know means. But these requests were effectively denied when the Governor's Office said the records would be handed over only after charging the citizens tens of thousands of dollars. The records have been compiled, but the Governor wont give them over without a massive payout. Finally, the Governor's office has obstructed the publics Right to Know through unconscionable delays. For example, a citizen wanted to discover why the Governor decided to drop bad actor actions against Hecla Mining, which had previously stopped that corporation from continuing to poison our land and water. The Governor's office staff and their compensation have grown massively, so it shouldnt take long for someone to perform one simple search on their email server. But months later, the Governor's office still hasnt handed over the documents the public clearly has a right to see. With these indefensible actions, the Governor is betraying our history, our Constitution and our rights, including the Right to Know what hes up to behind closed doors. This is what we need to investigate and change if we care about upholding our Constitution, and if were serious about limiting government power. Rep. Moffie Funk (D-Helena) is a retired teacher and represents House District 82 in the Montana Legislature. Love 7 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Fifty years ago I was unbelievably blessed to be the research staff for the Declaration of Rights Committee of the Montana Constitutional Convention. As we approach the 50th anniversary, I must give a solemn nod to the recent passing of two giants: Bill of Rights Committee Chairman Wade Dahood and Committee member Bob Campbell, primary reasons Montana has such a spectacular document. They had a lot of help, from committee members Chet Blaylock, Dorothy Eck, George James, Don Foster, Marshall Murray and Lyle Monroe as well as other delegates, including Mae Nan Ellingson, Arlyne Reichert, and Leo Graybill. While only ten of the original 100 are still with us, they left a legacy unmatched in any state or national constitutions. The Montana Constitutions Declaration of Rights remains the strongest assemblage of protections of civil liberties and political freedoms ever put to paper and adopted. In Sources of Democracy, renowned constitutional scholar Saul Padover surveyed hundreds of years of historical documents and concluded his book with Montana's Declaration of Rights. He saw it as the very best in the long history of documents designed to favor rule by the governed over control by elites or monarchs, by the privileged, or by authoritarians and other deniers of the belief that principled citizens are the best guides in public life, so long as they search for the common good. Wade, Bob and their fellow delegates monumentally succeeded in that. Montanas declaration of rights includes: the fundamental rights of free speech, assembly and religion; an inalienable right of all citizens to a clean and healthful environment; the right to pursue life's basic necessities. Here the dignity of the individual is an inviolable right. Montanas strong right of individual privacy can be infringed only on showing of a compelling state interest. Our right to know and obtain documents is limited only when the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure. Montana is the only state with a Constitutional right of participation in governmental decision-making before the decisions occur. Citizen access and ability to participate is a requirement placed upon all levels of government in Montana, including the previously secretive legislature. Government often fights that, but the Constitution prevails. There are limits on the ability of the government to shield itself from lawsuits brought by citizens who have been harmed by government, overcoming the ancient rationalization that the "king can do no wrong." Our strong anti-discrimination provision applies to government, but also to private entities that can and have denied civil or political rights on account of race, color, sex, culture, social origin or condition or political or religious views. The Equal Rights Amendment is enshrined right there the delegates made it clear on the floor that Montana should not stand by and wait for the federal government to see the light and constitutionally guarantee women equal rights, something that still has not happened. There is a clear guarantee of equal protection of the laws. The right of suffrage is not to be impaired in any way, an issue that is maddeningly still under attack, a threat all too real in our discomfiting history. Persons under the age of majority are guaranteed the same rights as adults unless special protections are warranted. The criminal justice system is required to prevent crime, promote reformation, public safety and restitution. Felons are to obtain full rights upon completion of their penalty. There is an individual right to keep and bear arms that provides the same individual right that was found in the 1889 Montana Constitution. In fact, the 1972 Constitutional Convention adopted all rights in the earlier Constitution and built upon them. To the ends of the earth, you will look in vain for another comparably broad and inclusive Declaration of Rights. No one has more rights and protections than the citizens of Montana. While some lightly or cavalierly attack our Constitution and Declaration of Rights for political advantage, the late, great Chairman Wade Dahood, the man I have called the shepherd of the Bill of Rights, bluntly stated in his last recorded interview that Montanas Declaration of Rights should be left alone, respected and protected by citizens and public officials alike. For the ages. In addition to his work at Montanas 1972 Constitutional Convention, Rick Applegate, originally from Libby, has over the last half century worked in Montana, in Congress and the Northwest on a broad range of critical natural resource issues. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 I met Russian-American dual-citizen Andre Kamenshikov, representative of Nonviolence International (NI), at a 1992 peace conference in Iowa hosted by my employer, the Muscatine-based Stanley Foundation. In August 1994 I traveled throughout Russias Stavropol krai as member of an Iowa Sister States delegation and then stayed on and joined Andre in a war prevention visit to the border region of nearby Chechnya. Weve kept in touch over the years as he did civil society human-rights activism throughout the former U.S.S.R. punctuated by trips here and elsewhere on behalf of NI and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict. Andre has resided in Kyiv for the past six years since Moscow-based operations became impossible due to the banning of foreign agents as his work was branded. He last came here in 2018 when he served as interpreter for a visiting delegation from Muscatines Ukrainian sister city Drohobych. A few days ago he wrote: While in the past I made numerous visits to areas suffering from conflict and war, this winter war decided to pay a return visit to the city where I live. Personally I've been lucky to live in one of the city suburbs least affected by the conflict. Ive known and admired and trusted this professional peacebuilder for three decades. Now I commend to you his appeal to all Iowans. Daniel G. Clark, Muscatine Two months ago, on February 24, I woke up at 5 a.m. to the sounds of explosions and realized that I woke up to a new reality, at least a new reality for Europe. Not the war as such; wars, unfortunately, have happened many times before, and I have been to some. But for one country to openly attack a neighbor with its full arsenal of modern weapons (except for weapons of mass destruction, so far) without any reason whatsoever this is something the European continent has not witnessed for nearly 80 years. Now in a matter of weeks, I fear, maybe a month or so, not just Europe but the whole world may awaken to a new reality, the reality of nuclear war. The Russian side is failing. The Ukrainian side, with western support, is heading toward a military victory. I was confident this would happen, based on my previous experiences in former-Soviet conflict zones. The near future worries me deeply. It is not unimaginable that, facing the prospect of military defeat that will inevitably put in jeopardy his political regime, the Russian dictator will turn to his only remaining trump card weapons of mass destruction, most likely tactical nuclear weapons. While all-out nuclear holocaust is unlikely soon (dictators and those around them prefer to live, after all), the use of tactical nukes on non-NATO soil is something Kremlin planners do contemplate. From their perspective this may help them reach two objectives: 1) avoid a complete military disaster in the field; 2) demonstrate to the world that they are insane enough to carry out whatever threats they make. If it does happen, our entire world will have entered a new, uncharted territory where nuclear weapons can be used on the battlefield. No one can predict the future limits of our new reality once nukes have been used and will likely be used again. Its hardly necessary to point out that such a turn of events would lead to immense loss of life and human suffering. We must apply all possible means to avoid that disaster. However insignificant our actions may appear, even with a microscopic chance of success, we must all do whatever we can. If there is any person in the world today whose advice the dictator may find difficult to ignore, it is his Chinese friend Xi Jinping. There is a still a reasonable chance that friendly advice not to cross a particular red line, when it comes from the leader of China, may become a decisive factor influencing Putins decision. The current U.S.-China relationship is far from ideal, but the goal of preventing the war in Ukraine from going nuclear is worth putting aside disagreements. For U.S. officials who deal with Chinese counterparts on a vast web of complex, sensitive, and entangled matters concerning human rights, coronavirus, trade, sanctions, and so on, it is understandably difficult to swiftly change priorities. However, the world knows about President Xis special fondness for Iowa. Therefore, I conclude that a letter from a group of friends, including Iowa people who happen to personally know Xi, could be useful at this moment. After all, for Mr. Xi Jinping to perform a key role in preventing a nuclear disaster would be important for in his international standing and benefit future relationships. I am not sure what would be the best practical way to move forward. Perhaps a letter to Xi may be combined with a letter to U.S. leaders to prioritize this particular matter in relationships with China at the current moment, to put it above all others. What I do know is that time is critical. It is time for everyone to think about what can be done to avoid an unthinkable outcome. And who knows, it just may be that the lovely town of Muscatine on the banks of the Mississippi will employ its unique and important links and help avert disaster. Andre Kamenshikov, Kyiv, Ukraine 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 On the afternoon of Dec. 8, frantic text messages and phone calls began to spread among a group of active and retired teachers from Lafayette High School and P.S. 65 in Buffalo. This was hours after an international audience had watched, captivated, as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer dangling from a helicopter pulled a woman from a vehicle lodged in the raging Niagara River, just yards from the brink of the American Falls, and carried her in bracing winds to the riverbank. Now, colleagues were asking each other in disbelief: Was that Miss Bell who went into the water? Amanda Jordan, who taught English to refugee students at P.S. 65 with Bell, tried reaching her friend. I knew when Miss Bell didnt answer her phone that thats what happened, Jordan said in an interview. Authorities determined a 69-year-old Williamsville woman drowned after intentionally driving into the river but otherwise have shared little about her and declined to reveal her name. A police report released in response to a public-records request, along with interviews with family and former colleagues, offer previously untold details about the victim and that day's events. Beverly C. Bell is described as a bright, talented musician who grew up downstate and later taught French, Spanish and English as a second language here for 20 years. At an age when many peers are long retired, Bell continued teaching through the Covid-19 pandemic before going on medical leave last fall. An only child who never married or had children, Bell had suffered health issues. But friends and family dont understand what led her to steer her sedan into the river on that frigid morning. And they struggle to reconcile their warm memories of Bell in life with the painfully public way she died. Things had to have been impossible for her to bear, said Patricia Laing, who taught with Bell for several years. I just, I just can't imagine. Long Island to Buffalo Bell's mother, Wavie Maye Cook, moved to this country from Canada after marrying Edward Bell, who worked for the Long Island Rail Road, said Geoffrey Drew-Brook, a first cousin of Bells. Drew-Brook remembered her regular visits to Canada and the occasional trips his Canadian contingent made to visit Bells family and spend time on Long Islands beaches. She liked playing with the younger cousins. And she was also very active on the piano, said Drew-Brook, who was six years younger than the cousin known as "Cheri" for her middle name, Cheryl. Drew-Brook said he doesnt know when she moved to Western New York. Records show she lived on East Spring Street in Williamsville. Bell began teaching in Buffalo in 2001, according to district records. She initially taught French and Spanish but transitioned to English as a new language primarily working with refugee students. Bell spent many years as a substitute and thats one reason she kept teaching into her late 60s, colleagues said. A quiet talent The longest stretch of Bells time with the district was spent at Lafayette and, most recently, at P.S. 65, the Roosevelt Early Childhood Center, in Riverside. She was quirky. A lot of quirks. But she was also very intelligent and talented, especially with music, said Alyssa Wallace, who taught English as a new language with Bell at Lafayette. Her colleague shunned the spotlight but, Wallace said, everyone knew Beverly. On one occasion, Laing and Bell were in a classroom during a planning period at Lafayette when a skeptical colleague asked Bell if she really could sing. Challenged, Bell launched into a beautiful rendition, in the original French, of Dominique, a 1963 hit by the performer known as the Singing Nun, Laing recalled, stunning their colleague. She was not a joiner. She was kind of a quiet person, said Laing, who worked with Bell from around 2011 to 2015 and remembered anxiety that drove Bell to arrive at school 90 minutes early. During the pandemic, when classes shifted online, Jordan invited Bell to her Town of Tonawanda home, where she helped Bell teach virtually. It was an adventure, I'll say that, said Jordan, who was decades younger but considered Bell always Miss Bell, not Beverly a friend. Jordan said Bell didnt like to cook, loved showing off clothes she bought on sale at Macys and occasionally purchased stuffed animals to give to her elementary-age students. She taught me a lot and I taught her a lot, said Jordan, recalling Bells flashes of wit. Recent health concerns In mid-September, Bell hurt herself when she fell, or fainted, in a bathroom at P.S. 65, Jordan said, badly injuring her hip. This came on top of other health issues Bell developed in recent years, friends said, including vision problems and a diabetes diagnosis that prompted her to throw all sugary items out of her apartment. Bell went out on medical leave and moved into Beechwood Continuing Care for rehabilitation to try to return to the classroom, friends said. To be honest with you, she should have retired, Laing said. But she did not want to retire. She wanted to keep teaching. Drew-Brook said he had talked to his cousin several times in November. He said he was aware of some of her health issues but Bell didnt seem overwhelmed by any of it. On Dec. 6, Bell called to ask Jordan to take a day off from work to ferry her from Beechwood to a medical appointment. Jordans husband and mother ended up taking her. Before they left, an employee at Beechwood urged them to take Bell directly from the rehab unit to the appointment and back again even if Bell asks to stop somewhere else, Jordan recalled. This instruction sticks in Jordans mind given what happened two days later. Retracing her steps A State Park Police incident report shows that a friend of Bells, whose name is redacted, had picked Bell up from Beechwood about 8:35 a.m. Dec. 8 to take her to another medical appointment. Afterward, this friend who wasn't Jordan took Bell to her apartment. The friend went inside to get clothes and mail for Bell, presumably to take to Beechwood, while Bell remained in the friends vehicle. By the time the friend returned, around 10:30 a.m., Bell had driven off in her own car and was gone. Bells car wasn't spotted again until 11:45 a.m., when a witness saw it in downtown Niagara Falls, with its trunk open, near the Seneca Niagara Casino and about to enter Niagara Falls State Park. Police found no evidence she had been inside the casino. Witnesses did not see the vehicle enter the river, but investigators found tire tracks in the snow on the riverbank, between the Goat Island pedestrian and vehicle bridges, with no skid marks or other indications Bell tried to stop. The responding officer found Bells 2018 Toyota Camry sedan in the rapids, about 60 yards from the brink. Witnesses said they saw at least one woman yelling for help in the car. Officials, after determining it wasnt safe to attempt a rescue from shore, called in a Coast Guard rescue copter from Detroit, setting up the scene replayed on social media and on the news around the world. Park Police said she had drowned before the swimmer reached Bell, who had an iPhone, a bank card and medical discharge papers on her. Three days later, her vehicle was swept over the Falls in a windstorm. Hard to understand Drew-Brook said Park Police called him as a family contact to inform him of Bells death. I was shocked, and so were the rest of the cousins, Drew-Brook said. We just didnt see that coming. All these months later, friends and family say theyre still grappling with Bells death. She did not leave a suicide note. I couldnt imagine her doing that because she was scared of a lot of things, Wallace said. So I couldnt imagine her, like, willing herself to do that. Celia Spacone, coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County, said suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States but the rate declined from 2019 to 2020. This trend, also seen in Erie County, might appear counterintuitive, Spacone said, given the myriad pandemic-induced personal and professional stresses. But, she said, she suspected more people grew comfortable discussing mental health concerns and reaching out for help. Loved ones tend to look for one specific trigger for a suicide attempt but, Spacone said, Its usually multifaceted and very complex. Jordan, in hindsight, pointed to her friends lingering concerns about her health. She recalled Bell telling her: I tried praying. I tried going to the doctors. Nobody can tell me what's wrong. I don't understand. Jordan remembered her friend as stubborn, once she made up her mind, but she still wonders about Bells intentions. I'm not even sure If she knew what she wanted to do, as she did it, Jordan said. She could have just, in frustration, hit the gas and really didn't mean it. Drew-Brook is left to plan a memorial service for his cousin that should take place later this spring or early summer. It just doesn't make any sense, he said. Anyone contemplating self-harm can call the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. Harris press secretary Kirsten Allen said neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a "close contact" of Harris in recent days. Because of their travel schedules, the last time Harris saw Biden was Monday, April 18. The vice president recently returned from a weeklong trip to the West coast. Harris tested positive on both rapid and PCR tests but "has exhibited no symptoms," the White House said. She will isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely, and will return to the White House only when she tests negative for the virus. Harris, 57, received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine weeks before taking office and a second dose just days after Inauguration Day in 2021. She received a booster shot in late October and an additional booster on April 1. Fully vaccinated and boosted people have a high degree of protection against serious illness and death from COVID-19, particularly from the most common and highly transmissible omicron variant. Harris' diagnosis comes a month after her husband, Doug Emhoff, recovered from the virus, as a wave of cases of the highly transmissible omicron subvariant has spread through Washington's political class, infecting Cabinet members, White House staffers and lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Allen said Harris would follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines "and the advice of her physicians." It was not immediately clear whether she is being prescribed any antiviral treatments. After more than two years and nearly a million deaths in the U.S., the virus is still killing more than 300 people a day in the U.S., according to the CDC. The unvaccinated are at a far greater risk, more than three times as likely to test positive and 20 times as likely to die from the virus than those who have received at least a primary dose of the vaccines, according to the public health agency. The Easter Bunny was representing the prosecution in several hundred Polk County criminal cases. At least thats what Iowa Courts Online, the court systems official, statewide web-based repository of court records, indicated for most of April. On April 4, the online docket sheets for hundreds of Polk County cases primarily misdemeanors and drunken-driving cases were revised to indicate the prosecution of those cases had been transferred from one particular assistant county attorney, Kailey Gray, to another prosecutor in the county attorneys office by the name of Easter Santa Bunny. And thats where the cases remained as of Thursday morning. Bret Lucas, an assistant county attorney, said Thursday the situation stemmed from a recent realignment of cases within the county attorneys office. Gray took over a colleagues cases, and Iowa Courts Online accurately reflects the transfer of those cases. But Grays old cases, he said, were transferred to the Easter Bunny until all of the work on the digital case transfer could be completed. We had contacted the Judicial Branch and they worked with their information technology department to facilitate the mass transfer of cases, Lucas said. Apparently, the Judicial Branch and the IT department decided to put that placeholder in there because, obviously, no one else would have that name. So they were all aware of that, and it sounds like they must still be in the middle of that transfer process. Stacy Curtis, a supervisor for the criminal division of the Polk County Clerk of Courts Office, said the references to the Easter Bunny should not be visible to the public either through a name search or in the docket sheets for the individual cases. She said the office took extra steps to make sure members of the public didnt see any reference to the Easter Bunny and only clerks, lawyers, judges and others with higher security clearance could see it. It appears that the opposite may have occurred, as the Easter Bunny references could be seen by members of the public who werent even logged into the site. This has been a nightmare for me, Curtis said. We moved everything from Kaylie to the Easter Bunny, and those should have all been cleaned up so you wouldnt be able to see that. Many of the cases that were publicly assigned to the Easter Bunny are open, active cases, but hundreds of others are dormant, though not technically closed because of probationary sentences that have yet to be completed or fines that have yet to be paid. The only practical effect of the Easter Bunny designation is that some defendants may see that information online and not know who to contact at the county attorneys office about their case. After being contacted by the Iowa Capital Dispatch on Thursday, court officials were working to erase from the website any mention of the Easter Bunny, and by late afternoon it appeared they had succeeded. Santa bailed out by Rudolph The Easter Bunny cases are not the only criminal matters listed on the court systems official website to have featured nonexistent lawyers or defendants. In what appear to be training exercises for clerical staff, fictitious test cases are sometimes created and then posted to the public website but never removed. For example, a December 1997 case shows Santa Claus being convicted of felony burglary and kidnapping, with a charge of assault on a peace officer dismissed by the court. The court records indicate a sentence of 999 years in prison was imposed. As part of that same test case, the court imposed a no-contact order prohibiting Santa from having any contact with Mickey Mouse. Santas bail listed as one million bucks in a possible punning reference to Santas reindeer is stated to have been posted by Rudolph. In 2014, Santa Claus was charged with second-degree robbery in Scott County, according to the Iowa Courts Online site. Although theres no record of a conviction in that case, Claus right to carry a gun was revoked. The court systems website also shows that in 2014, Mickey Mouse filed a small claims case against Donald Duck in Marion County. For more information, visit iowacapitaldispatch.com. MultiChoice and eMedia Holdings are fighting it out over DStvs plan to cut four E-tv channels. On Monday, the Competition Tribunal heard eMedias application for interim relief against MultiChoices decision to drop the eMovies, eMovies Extra, eExtra and eToonz channels from its DStv packages. The broadcaster planned to suspend these channels from its service at the end of March 2022. It delayed the removals by two months after E-tv decided to take the issue to the Competition Commission. eMedia Holdings legal counsel Tembeka Ngcukaitobi argued that MultiChoices decision amounted to a dominant player refusing to supply a scarce service, in contravention of the Competition Act Section 8. The company believes it will lose as much as 19% of its advertising revenue should the channels be suspended. In his opening arguments on the matter, Ngcukaitobi stated that MultiChoice did not justify its decision during negotiations or in response to a letter of demand from eMedia. MultiChoice had only stated the decision was based purely on commercial considerations. It was only in its first answering affidavit to the case brought before the Competition Tribunal that MultiChoice elaborated. Initially, its rebuttal included that it had satellite capacity constraints. MultiChoice said it had to cut eMedias four channels so it could accommodate three yet-to-be-launched SABC channels that it must carry under South African broadcasting laws. But eMedia disputed this, claiming that its calculations showed MultiChoice had more than enough bandwidth on one of the satellites it has capacity on. eMedia alleged MultiChoice held satellite bandwidth broadcast capacity from 23 transponders on Intelsat IS-20 and 28 more on the Intelsat IS-36 satellite. MultiChoices initial affidavits didnt reveal which satellite it uses for the four E-tv channels. It also disputed eMedias calculations and said it had only 21 transponders on IS-20. Curiously, it included data on the IS-20 satellites capacity to try and support its case, implying that this was the satellite on which E-tvs channels were broadcast. When E-tvs experts performed calculations based on this input, it worked out that E-tvs 720p HD Ready channels would take up between 3.5Mbps and 5Mbps of capacity. That means they would occupy a combined maximum of 20Mbps of bandwidth out of an estimated 1,150Mbps on IS-20 or a 1.7% share. MultiChoice had claimed that IS-20 could host four more channels for uplink from South Africa. Ngcukaitobi also stressed that DStv doesnt have to carry SABCs additional channels immediately, but only sometime in the future following negotiations with the SABC. Confusion over satellite in question However, MultiChoice subsequently claimed that the channels took up more than 11% of capacity, with each drawing up to 6.5Mbps for 26Mbps in total. While DStv did not directly clarify which of the satellites it hosts E-tvs channels, its new data suggested they were actually broadcast on IS-36. Ngcukaitobi repeatedly emphasised that MultiChoices first affidavits seemed to completely ignore the broadcasters capacity on the IS-36 satellite, continually suggesting that IS-20 was the satellite being used. In another affidavit, MultiChoice backtracked on the capacity constraint argument and said it was never told to specify details around bandwidth capacity on the actual satellite used for E-tvs broadcasts. Ngcukaitobi described MultiChoices apparent flip-flop as astonishing and an attempt to turn the litigation into a game of catch me if you can. The only reason why the capacity defence is abandoned is because it has been shown to be unsustainable in their evidence, Ngcukaitobi stated. E-tv needs DStv eMedia contends under the prevailing market dynamics, its channels were dependent on DStv to remain competitive. Ngcukaitobi argued presence on the DStv platforms allows E-tv to maintain customer contact, generate advertising revenue, and ensure a high-quality broadcasting service. The company has also argued that carrying the four E-tv channels was economically feasible for MultiChoice, as eMedia provided them for free, and two were in DStvs top 10 most popular channels. MultiChoices other reasons for denying a carriage renewal agreement included that the channels did not meet its strategic objectives for local content, black empowerment, value propositions, and its aim to decrease the frequency of repeats. Ngcukaitobi said MultiChoices claims that the decision was based on E-tv not meeting DStvs strategic objectives were contrived. He argued two of the four channels were sharply focused on local content, while eMedia was a majority black-owned business. He also maintained MultiChoice had not provided evidence it would replace the channels with other offerings that met its criteria. Ngcukaitobi surmised that MultiChoices action was done from a desire to inflict harm on a potential rival by undercutting its revenue. The hearing continued this morning from 10:00. DStv subscribers will no longer have access to the Lifetime TV channel (DStv 131) from 31 May 2022, after eight years on the platform. A+E Networks UK the broadcast company responsible for Lifetime announced that it was closing the African version of the channel following the closure of Lifetime in Great Britain, Ireland, and Malta. A+E Networks Africa is closing its Lifetime Africa channel, on both linear and non-linear platforms on 31 May 2022, TV journalist Thinus Ferreira quoted A+E Networks Africas regional manager, Nazarene Khan, as saying. This will coincide with the shutdown of the channel in Poland. Lifetime is known for shows such as Married at First Sight, Love at Second Swipe, and Four Weddings South Africa. Khan explained that A+E Networks Africas History channel and Crime and Investigation would remain on DStv. This is not the first time DStv lost access to a channel this year. The broadcaster dropped Russian state-controlled RT News in March 2022 after its distributor for the region stopped providing the feed due to sanctions imposed on Russia. As of 2 March 2021, Russia Today (Channel 407) shall not be carried on the DStv platform until further notice, MultiChoice said. Sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union have led to the global distributor of the channel ceasing to provide the broadcast feed to all suppliers, including MultiChoice. DStv also plans to cut four E-tv channels from its offerings. However, eMedia has taken the matter to the Competition Commission, and hearings are ongoing. Now read: Amazon streaming video hiring spree in South Africa Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos posed a provocative question after Elon Musk clinched a $44 billion (R690 billion) takeover of Twitter Inc.: whether that will make things difficult for Tesla Inc. in China. In a series of tweets, Bezos drew attention to the EV giants close ties with China, the worlds biggest electric vehicle market and home to Teslas first overseas factory. About half the companys cars sold globally last year were produced at its plant in Shanghai, and Musk has said that figure may double. Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square? tweeted Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post. My own answer to this question is probably not, he added in a follow-up. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter. A representative of Musks family office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours. Musk championed free speech on the platform in one of his first tweets after sealing the take-private deal. But Twitter like most American social media platforms is banned in China by officials wary of the impact on public discourse. Tesla has boomed in China thanks in part to tax breaks, cheap loans and the green light to wholly own its domestic operations. But the company last year came under fire after state media and regulators questioned Teslas attitude toward customers. Bezoss company also operates in the country, but its a distant competitor to local leaders Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022 Now read: Elon Musk to buy Twitter MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita has said that although newly assigned spectrum helps South Africas mobile network operators, more spectrum will likely be needed as technology advances. He also said that delays in releasing spectrum might have severely hurt network development in South Africa. We are very happy that we have had this multi-band spectrum auction finally come through, Mupita said during an online interview with Bruce Whitfield. We probably lost a decade and a half of development in South Africa, he added. Mupita spoke to Whitfield during the What is the future of the mobile industry segment of PSGs Think Big webinar series. The spectrum auction helps a bit. What we secured now will help us for the next three or four years, Mupita said. He added that he believes mobile network operators will need to be provided with a lot more spectrum as new technologies emerge. South Africas long-awaited spectrum auction was concluded in March 2022, generating R14.5 billion for the national fiscus. MTN won 100MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz, 2,600Mhz, and 3,500MHz bands for R5.2 billion. The biggest winner Vodacom spent almost R5.4 billion to acquire 110MHz in the 700MHz, 2,600MHz, and 3,500MHz bands. Mupita said he expects less infrastructure-level competition in South Africa and that network operators and service providers would compete on products. This is because he expects fewer mobile network operators in the country. Using the US as an example, Mupita said he expects there to only be two or three very strong mobile network competitors in South Africa in the future. The US has three prominent mobile network operators T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. Mupita also spoke briefly on the future of 2G and 3G services in South Africa, saying he doesnt expect them to be available in the country in five years. LTE and 5G will replace 2G and 3G in the country, with voice over data platforms (like WhatsApp) shifting to voice over LTE. MTN previously told MyBroadband that it would take several years to decommission its old 2G and 3G networks. It also expects to switch off 3G first as there are a lot of telemetry applications that still rely on 2G networks. The mobile network also stated that, currently, LTE is MTNs dominant data technology, which it expects to continue to grow as compatible handsets become more accessible in the market. Now read: Data price reality check for South Africa Six global trends that will shape Vietnams future: HSBC Vietnam is recovering strongly and there are signs that the economy is shifting from survival to growth mode, said CEO of HSBC Vietnam Tim Evans, stressing the need for the country to effectively navigate global megatrends that will shape its future and ensure that it reaches its full potential in the coming years. Vietnam is an example with a high coverage rate. (Photo: VNA) The first trend is climate change. According to Evans, climate change is both an opportunity and a challenge for a country like Vietnam. As a nation with an extensive coastline and one of the worlds most important rice producers, the prospect of rising sea levels and falling crop yields is a threat to its well-being and prosperity. The Mekong Delta is on the front line of climate change. If action is not taken now, Asia could face between 2.8 trillion USD and 4.7 trillion USD in lost annual GDP by 2050, accounting for two thirds of the worlds loss caused by climate change, he said, adding that the negative impacts of climate change could reduce Vietnams national income by up to 3.5 percent by 2050. He emphasised the importance for Vietnam to work hard to reduce its dependence on coal both as a source of power generation and as a major export. Coal currently accounts for about a third of the countrys operating energy mix but the government has recently committed to cutting it to less than 10 percent by 2045 and boosting renewables to more than half from todays 12 percent. The second trend is digitalisation, as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a seamless digital world and has triggered changes in consumers behaviour that are likely to have lasting effects. CEO of HSBC Vietnam Tim Evans (Photo: VNA) According to Evans, one of the most powerful effects of the digital revolution is the way that it has levelled the global playing field, allowing countries like Vietnam to compete with more advanced economies. Companies like VNG, MoMo, and VNPay all unicorns founded in the country are world-class competitors, but if the nation is to continue to build on their success, it needs to continue to invest in building a thriving digital ecosystem that drives innovation. Regarding vaccine equity, recent events have shown that unless every country and community can obtain vaccines quickly and fairly, no one will be able to return to normal, and a truly global economic recovery will not be possible. Vietnam has been a model in this regard. Almost 80 percent of the population has already been vaccinated, one of the highest rates in the world. The Ministry of Health has set a target to complete the vaccination campaign for children aged 5 to 11 in the second quarter of this year. This is a significant achievement considering the position the nation was in 12 months ago. There is an opportunity to use this expertise to help neighbouring countries to reach herd immunity. Unless they can achieve similar rates, Southeast Asias regional recovery will fail to reach its full potential. A prime example is Thailand, a major hub for tourists en route to Vietnam, where the rates are still high. Strengthening global cooperation in vaccine research and development would help countries that struggle to compete with richer nations to obtain affordable vaccines and key medical supplies, he said. The fourth trend is trade, Evans said, noting that trade still offers the shortest and most direct route back to economic growth. So far, Vietnam has signed 15 free trade agreements (FTAs) including the recent Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership which has been in force since the beginning of this year making it one of the most open economies globally. These FTAs are expected to play a major role in boosting economic growth this year. Since the nation has fully opened its borders for international travel since March, the government wants to ensure that the country returns to its pre-pandemic growth cadence. This strategic goal can be achieved with the aid of Vietnams FTAs and other bilateral agreements. The ratification of these agreements will open up a world of opportunities for Vietnamese corporates. Challenges remain as the country will need to embark on further domestic reforms to ensure it can remain competitive. The country will also need to continue to work with other Asian nations to facilitate cross-regional investment flows and dismantle non-tariff barriers if the region is to reach its full trade potential, he said. Regarding geopolitics, the HSBC Vietnam leader said that the ongoing geopolitical tensions are expected to continue to inject unwelcome uncertainty into the global economy. Vietnams openness and principled stand on settling international disputes by peaceful means and in accordance with international law is a valuable voice in a confused international environment. The inclination to withdraw within ones own borders at times of turmoil and uncertainty is natural but misguided. The biggest issues can only be overcome with greater collaboration. Finally, for inequality and an inclusive recovery, Evans stressed that the impact of the pandemic has been profound, leaving a legacy of increased inequality and elevated debt. It hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest, pushing millions more into poverty and entrenching inequality. It is imperative that low-income developing countries are given the vaccines and support they need to recover. This is also an opportunity to build community resilience to minimise the impact of natural disasters and prevent future crises, he added./. According to a tweet published by Sea Waves Magazine on April 22, 2022, Spain sent the Roro (troopship) Reina Ysabel to Poland with weapons to support Ukraine. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link Spanish Roro Reina Ysabel (Picture source: Portalmorski) Reina Ysabel has a length of 149,38 m, a draft of 5.85 m, and a beam of 21 m. She can reach a top speed of 18 knots, a cruising range of 7200 miles and she can carry a crew of 18 sailors and 110 trailers. She is powered by two Wartsila 9L32 engines with a power of 11,258 horsepower, has a displacement of 16,361 tons, and is based at the Carthagena Arsenal. Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter. In March and April 2022, Spain already delivered VAMTAC 4x4 armored vehicles, Instalaza C-90 anti-tank grenade launchers, and unspecified ammunition. The URO VAMTAC is a multi-role light tactical vehicle that can be used for a wide range of missions for military and security forces. Granted, the URO VAMTAC can be configured as an anti-tank guided missiles carrier, with radars and very short-range air defense equipment, and as a command and control vehicle. The vehicle has a length of 4.845 m, a width of 2.175 m, and a height of 1.9 m. The curb weight of the vehicle ranges from 3,000 kilograms to 3,500 kilograms and has a payload capacity ranging from 1,500 kg to 2,000 kg. 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 During the plenary session of the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), a debate took place between the Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish delegates. The debate arose after Eduard Aghajanyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to the PACE and a member of the ruling majority "Civil Contract" Faction of the National Assembly of Armenia, stated in his speech that Azerbaijan was taking advantage of the situation in Ukraine and had been putting psychological pressure on the people of Artsakh's (Nagorno-Karabakh) border areas since February 2022, creating a humanitarian crisis, and violating the European Convention on Human Rights and fundamental human rights. After Eduard Aghajanyan, another member of the Armenian delegation to the PACE Vladimir Vardanyan, a member of the "Civil Contract" Faction, reminded that on April 24, when all Armenians commemorated the victims of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had made the sign of the Gray Wolvesthe Turkish ultra nationaliststo the peaceful demonstrators participating in the commemoration ceremony in Uruguay of the Armenian Genocide victims. Vardanyan stated that such actions endanger the process of possible formation of trust between the two societies. Vladimir Vardanyan also noted that Armenia is committed to European values and continues to do everything possible to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations, hoping that the Turkish associates will have enough will to reciprocally open the border and establish normal relations with Armeniapromoting de-escalation and the establishment of lasting peace in the region. After Vladimir Vardanyan, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE Samad Seyidov made a speech, accusing the Armenian delegates of deviating from the topic, noting that everything is presented in black. He also asked why the Armenian delegates do not declare that Cavusoglu was attacked. Then he stated that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had agreed on a peace agenda under the auspices of Charles Michel, the President of the European Council. "I have a cognitive dissonance in my mind because your prime minister said that We agree with Azerbaijan's proposals, we agreed to accept Azerbaijan's proposals which we passed on to our Armenian colleagues, and now the representatives of the Armenian delegation to PACE speak against the position of their prime minister. They are speaking against the national interests of Armenians, who are striving for peace in the region," he said, adding that Azerbaijan has done and will do everything to establish peace. And after the aforesaid Azerbaijani delegate, Turkish delegate Kamil Aydin made a speech, noting that the topic of the current PACE session was the Russian aggression in Ukraine, whereas the colleagues were deviating from this agenda. He also noted that Vladimir Vardanyan made baseless accusations against Cavusoglu in connection with the Grey Wolves sign. The Turkish delegate noted that this sign is used by all Turkish politicians. On April 24, Armenians around the world and many other nations commemorated the Armenian Genocide. A crime against humanity, which is denied by the two members of the Council of Europe: Turkey and Azerbaijan. Armen Gevorgyan, an MP of the opposition Armenia Faction in the National Assembly of Armenia, stated this in his remarks at the PACE spring session on Monday. He added as follows, in particular: "The International Association of Genocide Scholars calls denial the last stage of the same genocide crime. There is another thing that these days Azerbaijan denies, with the support of Turkey; that is, the right of Armenians to live in their historical homeland. After the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan in the fall of 2020 in the Artsakh Republicin Nagorno-Karabakhthe Armenian people are facing a dilemma. Either to continue on the path of its independent development and dignified life, preserving the national identity, or to repeat the terrible fate of our compatriots who once lived in the region called Nakhichevan, which is now part of Azerbaijan. During 70 years within Soviet Azerbaijan, the entire Armenian population of Nakhichevan has completely disappeared. The Armenian cultural and religious heritage of Nakhichevan has been completely destroyed. Now Azerbaijan is trying to force the Armenians of Artsakh to suffer the same fate. I call on the Council of Europe to send a clear and strong signal to all parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that the international community will continue to support the three key principlesset out by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairsfor the settlement of the conflict. I believe peace in our region has no alternative. For long and sustainable peace solutions are needed that must be mutually acceptable. The important challenge for our organization is to limit Azerbaijani efforts to secure the silent consent of Europe in its business of denying the right of people of Artsakh to self-determination in exchange for [natural] gas and oil. And finally, Mr. President, it was a shock to see yesterday that Turkish Foreign Minister [Mevlut] Cavusoglu, who has been the President of this Assembly for two years, communicates with the descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors through the gestures of a well-known Turkish nationalist terrorist organization. Such behavior should be unacceptable and condemned by the Council of Europe. I call on the Turkish representatives to work with the same diligence to recognize the Armenian Genocide." The Resistance Movement of Armenia held an awareness march in the capital Yerevan Monday, and today it will continue from 7.30pm. Also, a march to Yerevan started from Ijevan city Monday morning, in which the MPs of the opposition "Armenia" Faction in the National Assembly (NA) are also taking part. And this morning, the next group of the Resistance Movement will start marching from Tigranashen village of Ararat Province to Yerevan. Before the start of the Resistance Movement, a group of members of the Youth Union and Nikol Aghbalyan Student Union of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun Party of Armenia blocked a Yerevan intersection Monday. The situation there became tense and a large number of special police forces apprehended four participants of this protest action. A number of other youth disobedience actions also took place in Yerevan. During this time, Artur Vanetsyanthe leader of the opposition "With Honor" Faction of the NA and chairman of the opposition Homeland party of Armenia who has been on a sit-in at Freedom Square in downtown Yerevan since April 17and his supporters also carried out acts of disobedience. Also, they have closed off a number of streets in Yerevan since Monday evening and staged held a sit-in. And in the end, the Resistance Movement and the marches led by Vanetsyan met each other at France Square in downtown Yerevan. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsperson) of Armenia, Kristinne Grigoryan, on Monday participated in the discussion entitled "Security Sector Governance and the Reform - Ensuring Effective Security Sector Oversight in Geneva, Switzerland. The discussion was organized by the Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF). The Defender made a speech within the panel entitled "Human Rights in the Armed Forces and the Role of Defense Institutions," the Human Rights Defenders office informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Grigoryan presented the constitutional mandate and the toolkit of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia to protect human rights in the armed forces. The ombudsperson presented the challenges and activities implemented by the Human Rights Defenders Office during the COVID-19 and 44-day war in 2020, especially the fact finding activities on war crimes of Azerbaijan, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of Armenian prisoners of war and captives. Highlighting the importance of close cooperation between the National Assembly and the Human Rights Defender elected by the National Assembly, the Defender presented concrete recommendations jointly with the National Assembly. Reference was also made to the international experience related to the Military Ombudsman Institute. The Armenian-Indian business forum was held Tuesday on the margins of the working visit to India by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan of Armenia, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. At the opening ceremony of the event, the FM delivered remarks, in which, he particularly noted: I am delighted to welcome you all to the Armenian-Indian business forum and I thank the Confederation of Indian Industry for hosting us today. It is the first time that such numerous and solid Armenian business and investment delegations travel to India to meet and greet their counterparts, establish mutually beneficial cooperation, collaborate to overcome the challenges of todays world and create value for our societies. Indeed, today we open a new page in the history of Armenian-Indian economic cooperation and let me say, revive excellent traditions of trade, development, and shared prosperity between our nations. Throughout the years, India has become an important economic partner of ours. At the same time, there is a huge untapped potential, for the utilization of which we must work together. India - the worlds sixth-largest country by nominal GDP and the fastest-growing economy among major powers, can become a land of unlimited opportunities for Armenian businessmen, technologists, and startupers. In its turn, Armenia, being situated at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, has a lot to offer to India. Armenia's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union with a population of around 200 million and 1.8 trillion US dollars GDP, Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the European Union, as well as the GSP regime with the US, Japan, Canada, Norway and Switzerland, are tangible advantages in the investment attractiveness of Armenia and for effective cooperation with foreign partners. I would also like to note that our Government is continuously undertaking the necessary steps to ensure a positive business environment in Armenia so that businessmen, entrepreneurs, and investors can have favourable conditions to work and create. In this regard, I would like to mention the ambitious reforms aimed at the promotion of rule of law, the fight against corruption, and the establishment of a free, truly competitive economy and market relations. Armenia and India can establish mutually beneficial cooperation in nearly every sphere of the economy, but especially high-tech, IT, education, tourism, aviation, logistics, and pharmaceuticals are among the most promising and forward-looking areas for partnership. Today all the best and the brightest people from these spheres are gathered here, hence I am sure that the success of todays event is guaranteed. In conclusion, dear participants, I wish you productive and interesting work. And I think this is the very correct time for politicians to step back and give the floor to businesses. Representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry, the director of the Enterprise Armenia Foundation, the director of the Tumo Creative Technology Center, and several others delivered presentations and remarks during the business forum. Philippine Senator Ramon Revilla Jr has demanded clarification from Facebook over a series of blocks on his posts and information shared by officials and ordinary netizens, the Philippine News Agency reported on Tuesday. In a letter to Facebook Philippine Office Director John Rubio, the senator is said to have stressed that he "joins government and media concerns about unmotivated incidents in the performance of official functions and their impact on national security, sovereignty and fundamental freedoms." According to the agency, the Deputy Secretary of the President of the Philippines for Communications, Lorraine Badoy, criticized the manifestations of censorship on Facebook, but messages about this were then blocked both on media accounts and ordinary users. The Philippine National Press Club called the incident not only an act of humiliation and shameless violation of civil liberties, but also a violation of the country's sovereignty, the agency said. According to him, the posts of government bodies, including the agency itself, are blocked on Facebook with the addition that they violate "public standards." The Philippine agency specifically mentions that under the same pretext, the account of lawyer Vic Rodriguez, who represents presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the upcoming May 9 elections, was blocked for 30 days from April 25. In the Philippines, they do not rule out that this is an attempt to influence the outcome of the elections in the country. Facebook, represented by Meta, explained what was happening only as a technical problem, which is being worked on. More detailed explanations, as stated, did not follow. Political activity differs from business, in that in business, as a rule, they do not blindly follow the demand, but try to generate supply. Political scientist Garnik Gevorgyan stated this during a debate Tuesday. According to him, the society longs for populism, and this causes conceptual problem. "How are we going to overcome the situation? If we want to replace the current Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan with another Nikol Pashinyan, that is the easiest way. But in that case, the existing problems will not be solved in any way. Today's problem is in the mechanism of the political process. The current political process is based on frustration, shows, and insults," Gevorgyan said. As per the political scientist, the Armenian society is quite able to find a replacement for the current PM, but that will not solve essence of the problem, and therefore Gevorgyan proposed going along a more difficult and longer way. "The reason because of which Nikol Pashinyan was able to come to power must be eliminated; that is, the political mechanism must pass from the format of a showdown to a format which presupposes the existence of an idea, ideology, program," Garnik Gevorgyan explained. 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. Azerbaijan took advantage of the international community's total concern about the crisis in Ukraine and took rude actions in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Eduard Aghajanyan, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations, said addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) during the spring session. Based on the governments request, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) indicated temporary measures, calling on Azerbaijan to refrain from actions that may contribute to the violation of the conventional rights of civilians, the deputy said. However, he noted that, even after the indication of interim measures by the Court, Azerbaijan continues to violate its obligations under the Convention. Since February 2022, the Azerbaijani armed forces have been constantly terrorizing the population of the border villages of Artsakh through various criminal acts of physical threat and psychological pressure, through direct, threatening and intimidating statements against the civilian population using loudspeakers. In regularly played statements, the population of the border villages is asked to stop farming and leave their homes, otherwise they are threatened with physical reprisals against their families, Aghajanyan said. He also noted that during the same period, on March 7, the gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh was disrupted, as a result of which more than 150,000 people were left without heating, with 1.5 meters of snow on the ground and unprecedented frosty conditions. All of the above is a classic example of an act of ethnic cleansing. And if on international platforms Azerbaijani officials often state that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is over and the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh can live peacefully in their homes, on the ground Azerbaijan is trying to speed up the last round of ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, taking advantage of the fact that the international community has been distracted from Ukrainian crisis, the MP added. Armenia remains committed to the peace agenda in the South Caucasus and sees a final and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group, Aghajanyan concluded. Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 25.04.22: During the PACE spring session in Strasbourg, Armenian MP Armen Gevorgyan touched upon the issues of Armenian rights in Karabakh and Turkish FMs recent nationalist gesture of Gray Wolves organization. First, Gevorgyan noted that the international community cannot demand the Armenian people of Artsakh to live under the rule of Azerbaijan. According to him, Azerbaijan has been carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians, a state that has unleashed three large-scale wars against them in three decades. He said Azerbaijan is a state trying to rewrite the history of the region in order to deny the mere existence of Armenian heritage and culture, a state that is not shy to publicly declare territorial ambitions against the Republic of Armenia. He further said it was shocking to see that the person who was the President of this Assembly for two years, the Minister of Foreign of a member state Mevlut Cavusoglu flashing the gesture of a Turkish nationalist terrorist organizations to Armenians. Such behavior should be unacceptable and condemned by the Council of Europe, he noted. Meanwhile, Eduard Aghajanyan, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations, noted that Azerbaijan took advantage of the international community's total concern about the crisis in Ukraine and took rude actions in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. And if on international platforms Azerbaijani officials often state that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is over and the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh can live peacefully in their homes, on the ground Azerbaijan is trying to speed up the last round of ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, taking advantage of the fact that the international community has been distracted from Ukrainian crisis, he added. It has been highly active in recent weeks after they announced protests against the current governments actions to protect Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Opposition "Armenia" Faction MP Anna Grigoryan, a group of youth from the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun Party of Armenia, as well as ordinary citizens today marched to the capital Yerevan from Tigranashen village of Ararat Province. Ishkhan Saghatelyan, the National Assembly deputy speaker from the opposition "Armenia" Faction, said the opposition will march to Yerevan from the symbolic places in Armenia. One of these places is Ijevan citythe hometown of PM Nikol Pashinyan, and an opposition march to Yerevan started from there Monday. Also, an awareness march of the Resistance Movement is scheduled today in Yerevan. The opposition youth held protest actions, with the flags of Artsakh Nagorno-Karabakh), at the Yerevan universities. First, they placed the flag of Artsakh at the yard of the Armenian State University of Economics, after which they released colored smoke into the airand as a sign of their fight. The participants of this protest action urged the university students to join the fight that has started for Artsakh and sovereignty. Holding a huge flag of Artsakh, they then continued their awareness campaign in the other Yerevan universities as well. However, the police dragged and apprehended an opposition member participating in this demonstration. The other participants were shouting "Shame on you," "fight," and "We will not retreat, we will fight!" Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that the conflict in Ukraine risked escalating into a third world war and that NATO was in essence engaged in a proxy war with Moscow by supplying Kyiv with weapons. In a wide-ranging interview broadcast on state television on Monday, Lavrov said the risk of a nuclear conflict must not be underestimated and that the core of any agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine would depend largely on the military situation on the ground. About 5.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, the UN says, noting that the outflow has slowed since the start of the war. As Europe mobilises to accommodate the growing number of Ukrainians fleeing the country now more than four million stateless Ukrainians are fighting a losing battle for protection and recognition. Not recognised as nationals by Ukraine or any other state under the operation of its laws, stateless Ukrainians, who number approximately 40,000, are denied access to basic rights and have been the targets of pervasive discrimination as they seek refuge abroad The UK government says it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion two months ago. The UK defense secretary, Ben Wallace, estimated Russia's losses on Monday as a quarter of its pre-invasion strength, with more than 2,000 armored vehicles knocked out, including at least 530 tanks, as well as 60 aircraft Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Putins spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the sides discussed the Ukrainian conflict. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Expressing that they are ready to provide all possible assistance during the negotiation process and offer the necessary support, including mediation, Erdogan said that Ankara is positively considering providing security guarantees to Kyiv. Finland and Sweden can jointly decide whether to join NATO, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Reuters reported. "Now that Sweden has decided to bring forward somewhat their own parliamentary process, it is possible that the decisions related to joining, if they are taken, will take place on the same days or at least within the same weeks," Haavisto told reporters, commenting on media reports on Monday about the timing of the move He did not give an exact date for the decision, citing the need to give the parliaments of both countries time to discuss the issue. Stockholm is conducting a security policy review that includes a position on possible NATO membership, with results due by mid-May. Its eastern neighbor Finland said it plans to decide whether to apply to join the alliance within a few weeks. Haavisto acknowledged that applying for membership alone would not bring the two Scandinavian countries under NATO Article 5, which ensures that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. "But at the same time NATO member countries have an interest in that no security breaches would take place during the application period," Haavisto said. According to him, Finland is in talks with various NATO member countries to strengthen joint exercises that can improve the country's security during the transition period. Member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, head of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration Armen Gevorgyan and PACE President Tiny Kox discussed recent developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In a separate meeting, Gevorgyan and Kox discussed the need to ensure guarantees for Gevorgyan's parliamentary activities in the context of Armenia's commitments, the RA NA Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration informed NEWS.am. The direct participation of Armen Gevorgyan in the works of PACE was mutually highlighted. During the meeting, the parties also discussed regional developments, particularly the issue of Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the necessary attention of the Council of Europe to the solution of that issue. The sides highlighted the consistent institutional work of the opposition with the PACE structure in order to have full information about the events taking place in Armenia. Faculty who advanced the innovation enterprise with their discoveries recently were honored by Emory Universitys Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) at its 16th Annual Celebration of Technology and Innovation. The ceremony was held in person for the first time since COVID-19. Three new awards were added this year for corporate partnerships, female entrepreneurship, and inclusion, diversity and equity taking the total number of categories to seven. Read about the winning work here and visit the OTT website for interviews with the winners. Innovation of the year KeyStrike: Securing communications from an untrusted computer Ymir Vigfusson Modern cybersecurity is unable to detect if an end-user is physically sitting at an authorized device, or if it has been compromised by a hacker seeking to gain further access into a remote server. To help address this issue, Vigfusson developed KeyStrike, a small USB device that connects to the USB port of a computer. When an end-user enters a key on their keyboard, KeyStrike will forward the keystroke with additional keystrokes. If the server receives a keystroke from the user without the corresponding additional characters, it can be known immediately that the computer may be compromised. Without access to the secret key, the hack would be detected with overwhelming probability. Deal of the year License with Eli Lilly & Company: Specific JAK inhibitors as potential antiviral agents Raymond Schinazi, PhD; Christina Gavegnano, PhD The COVID-19 pandemic has left a devastating impact throughout the world, putting pressure on hospitals and health care systems everywhere. At many times, hospitals found themselves overwhelmed with severely ill COVID-19 patients in need of care. Schinazi and Gavegnano originally intended for this therapeutic to treat HIV with reduced likelihood of resistance and an enhanced safety profile. However, through more research, it was discovered that baricitinib could be used to treat COVID-19 in individuals who require supplemental oxygen or a ventilator. In November 2020, baricitinib was given Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2021, Emory University entered into a non-exclusive license agreement with Eli Lilly & Company to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients with baricitinib. Start-up of the year Cambium Medical Technologies: Preparation and usage of heparin-conjugated fibrinogen- depleted pooled human platelet lysate for regenerative medicine Edmund Waller, MD, PhD; John Roback, MD, PhD Cambium Medical Technologies was founded in 2013 by four professionals from Emory University. They are focused on developing and commercializing regenerative therapeutics created from novel processed human platelets. Since the licensing of the Emory technology in 2014, Cambium Medical Technologies has successfully completed a Phase 1 and 2 FDA dry eye clinical study for their product Elate Ocular. In 2021, Cambium received approval from the FDA to begin two Phase 3 clinical trials for their biologic. Significant event of the year FDA emergency use authorization of molnupiravir Gregory Bluemling, PhD; George Painter III, PhD; Michael Natchus, PhD; David Guthrie, PhD; David Perryman, JD Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an incredibly large strain across the globe. Molnupiravir, an antiviral oral therapeutic against certain RNA viruses, was invented at Emory through the Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE). The therapeutic was sub-licensed to Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in 2020. It was found that molnupiravir could treat mild to moderate COVID-19 infections in those who are at a high risk for hospitalization or death, with the goal of keeping COVID-19 patients out of the hospital. In December 2021, the FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization of molnupiravir for the treatment of COVID-19. Corporate partnership of the year Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD; Greg Martin, MD; Julie Sullivan In 2020, Emory University, along with other partners, received a $31 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health for the purpose of rapidly transforming innovative technologies into easily accessible diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Researchers at Emory, Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta and Georgia Institute of Technology were selected to lead a national effort in testing validation under the umbrella of the RADx program. More than 100 companies participated with RADx to get their tests validated, de-risked, and deployed to market. RADx has since expanded to meet the needs created by the increasing number of variants and the shortage of available tests available to the public, bringing in a total of $64 million of funding. The efforts of the RADx program have helped facilitate FDA authorization for 41 diagnostic tests and have increased testing capacity in the U.S. by more than one billion. Emory OTT provides ongoing support for RADx by efficiently managing the more than 75 research contracts needed to continue their collaborative work with industry and academic partner organizations. EmpowHER award Chemo/immuno precision medicine software app for leukemia Nicki Panoskaltsis, MD, PhD The Emory community is proud to have some of the most cutting-edge research teams led by women. Female scientists at Emory are responsible for a variety of innovative discoveries in biomedical sciences and technology. Some of their inventions have had profound positive impact on the scientific community and society. Panoskaltis and a team of researchers have developed an algorithm that utilizes patient, leukemia and treatment-specific data from standard clinical chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. Her goal is to dynamically predict disease progression before, during and after treatment, as well as optimize treatment outcomes through the personalization of drug selection, dosage and schedule. Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity award (IDEAward) Interleukin-37 enhances the effectiveness of car t-cell therapy Curtis Henry, PhD; Sunil Raikar, MD; Sarwish Rafiq, PhD A diverse team of researchers at Emory have developed IL-37-expressing CAR T-cells to treat B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. These cells not only boost the function of aged T-cells, but also enhance the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapy. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a highly aggressive type of leukemia and requires very early treatment. Unfortunately, CAR T-cell therapy leads to unsustainable remissions in many patients, and major toxicity due to cytokine release syndrome. Inventor Henry also serves on the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Advancement committee within the Cancer Biology graduate program. The goal of the scientists on this project is to take a proactive stance in the creation of an academic environment that is inclusive, welcoming, and celebrates contributions of brilliant scientists from underrepresented groups. About Emorys Office of Technology Transfer MIAMIA new study found that when red tides began in early summer and continued into the fall, low oxygen areasor dead zones were more likely to also occur. This study by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and NOAA collaborators is the first study to link low oxygenor hypoxiato red tides across the west coast of Florida and offers new information to better understand the conditions favorable for combined events as they are expected to increase as Earth continues to warm. Red tides are becoming a near annual occurrence off the west coast of Florida, which are caused by massive blooms of the algae Karenia brevis fueled in part by excess nutrients in the ocean. These algae blooms turn the ocean surface red and produce toxins that are harmful to marine mammals, sharks, seabirds and humans causing a range of issues from respiratory irritation, localized fish kills to large-scale massive mortalities to marine life. Hypoxic areas are typically referred to as dead zones. These events are so disruptive they are being incorporated in population assessments of some grouper species for use in fishery management decisions. During the 2005 red tide that also had hypoxia, it was estimated that about 30% of the red grouper population was killed, said Brendan Turley, an assistant scientist at the UM Rosenstiel School and NOAAs Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies. There are also concerns that the conditions favorable for combined red tide and hypoxia events will increase with climate change projections into the future. The study, conducted as part of NOAAs Gulf of Mexico Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Program, examined nearly 20 years of oceanographic data that included temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen from the surface to the seafloor across the West Florida Shelf to determine the frequency of hypoxia and association with known red tides. The researchers found that hypoxia was present in five of the 16 years examined, three of which occurred concurrently with extreme red tides in 2005, 2014, and 2018. There is an ongoing effort to collaborate with commercial fishermen in Southwest Florida to monitor for red tide blooms and formation of hypoxia, which incorporates data collected during various NOAA surveys conducted in the region annually. The study, titled Relationships between blooms of Karenia brevis and hypoxia across the West Florida Shelf, will appear in the May issue of the journal Harmful Algae, which is currently online. The studys authors include: Brendan Turley from the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies; Mandy Karnauskas, Matthew Campbell, David Hanisko from NOAAs Southeast Fisheries Science Center and Christopher Kelble from NOAAs Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. This research was carried out, in part, under the auspices of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, cooperative agreement # NA20OAR4320472. The patients arrived at the largest emergency hospital in Lviv by the dozens, transported hundreds of miles via ambulance and other vehicles from the eastern region of war-torn Ukraine. Seventy casualties arrived on one day, 30 on another, nearly 100 on yet another occasion. Most were civiliansmen and women with the worst of injuries: a 40-year-old woman whose arm was so badly mutilated it may have to be amputated; a man with shrapnel wounds to his arms, back, and feet; and a woman with a severely fractured skull. Their wounds were quite familiar to trauma surgeon Enrique Ginzburg. After more than 30 years working at one of the nations top trauma centers, hes seen his fair share of life-threatening injuries. But one difference stood out. These were large projectile wounds. So, the injuries to the extremities, chest wall, and abdominal areas were much more massive, said Ginzburg, a professor of surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and trauma medical director and chief of surgery at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson South Medical Center. He and two other physiciansJohn Holcomb, a retired Army colonel who is now a professor of trauma and acute care surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Steven Wolf, professor and chief of burn and trauma surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branchhad traveled nearly 6,000 miles from Miami to the Lviv Clinical Emergency Hospital to mentor and train the young Ukrainian trauma surgeons who are treating civilian casualties of the now two-month-old Russia-Ukraine war. Many of the surgeons they mentored only recently completed their residencies, and ever since Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, they have been dealing with an influx of serious war injuries. The hospitals director of trauma, a position at U.S. medical centers thats typically occupied by someone in their late 40s or even early 50s, is only 33, Ginzburg said. But he and the other Ukrainian surgeons are all good, exceptionally good. And theyre doing a wonderful job. Ginzburg deployed to the region in early April as a volunteer physician with the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit of trauma surgeons and other health care providers who train doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel working in high-threat conflict areas around the world. Buffalo, New York, surgeon Aaron Epstein founded the organization. Miller School of Medicine surgeon Enrique Ginzburg, right, and John Holcomb, center, a surgeon from the University of Alabama Birmingham, consult with Hnat Herych, chief of surgery at a Ukrainian hospital. During Ginzburgs stint at the 1,200-bed hospital, he, Holcomb, and Wolf toured the wards of the wounded, looking in on patients and sharing with their young Ukrainian counterparts their knowledge of treating combat injuries. And that knowledge is extensive. The doctors who volunteer through GSMSG practice emergency and trauma medicine in some of the leading hospitals in the U.S. and have deployed to hot spots from Afghanistan and Iraq to Syria and Somalia. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Ginzburg spent a week at a medical facility in Kurdistan. And in 2010, as part of renowned Miller School neurosurgeon Barth Greens Project Medishare, he helped establish and operate a 250-bed field hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated that country, killing tens of thousands of people and injuring a multitude of others. When this came about, I wanted to help, he said of the opportunity to go to Ukraine. He was still in the first week of a 14-day vacation at the time and wrestled with the idea of whether he should go. I spoke to my wife and said, What am I going to do? Just stay here in Miami for another week? recalled Ginzburg, whose grandparents emigrated from Europe in the 1940shis grandfather from Kyiv and his grandmother from Poland, both making new lives for themselves in Cuba. In Ukraine, I knew Id have a chance to do something meaningful, both personally and perhaps to set an example, he said. So, he decided to go, reaching out to Epstein, who was already in Lviv, to work out the logistics. Along with his wife, Barbara, a licensed occupational therapist, and Holcomb and Wolf, Ginzburg flew into Warsaw, then took a regional flight to Rzeszow, where members of the 82nd Airborne Division were stationed. From there, GSMSG security personnel transported them from the Polish border to a secure location in Ukraine, clearing a multitude of checkpoints. Once in Lviv, they hit the ground running. From visiting patients to observing surgical procedures in the operating room to discussing administrative details such as mass casualty triage, equipment, and staffing, their days at Lviv Clinical Emergency Hospital started early and ended late. They lectured to Ukranian medical students on combat casualties. And they met with the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Ivanovych Sadovyi; the World Health Organizations regional director for Europe, Hans Henri P. Kluge; and Ukraines minister of health, Viktor Lyashko. At last count, close to 280 hospitals in Ukraine have been damaged, with 19 of them destroyed. As such, the needs of Lviv Clinical Emergency Hospital and a local burn center are immense. During meetings with high-ranking hospital officials, Ginzburg and his colleagues discussed how GSMSG could help Ukraine meet those needs. Among the projects they discussed: developing a telemedicine infrastructure that would expand throughout the country to eastern-front hospitals and clinics that are still standing; instituting a two-week ongoing rotational schedule for trauma surgeons at several Lviv-area hospitals; and providing extensive training for the hospitals administration and trauma network. During their stay, Lviv had been largely spared from Russian attacks, making the city a refuge for people fleeing the violence. But still, occasional air-raid sirens rang out, though no bombs or missiles ever hit the center of town while Ginzburg and the others were at the hospital, he said. The injured civilians with whom Ginzburg spoke during patient rounds had received initial medical help at health care facilities in the east and were transferred to Lviv for definitive care. One case in particular hit him hard, he admitted. Olga Zhuchenko, who operated a grocery store in Ukraines Luhansk region with her husband, had been sitting in her apartment when seven Russian bombs hit her neighborhood, destroying everything she owned. She seemed so vulnerable, Ginzburg said of the 40-year-old woman. It was just heartbreaking that one minute she was sitting in her home, and then a massive weapon almost takes her life. But were amazed at the incredible resolve of the patients we saw, Ginzburg continued. Theyre very strong emotionally. What they told us was that even if Putin destroys the whole country, theyre not going to give up. Theyre not going to become slaves. Members of the new leadership team of Student Government hails from Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Florida, but a common interest brought them together at the University of Miami. Today, Jamie Williams-Smith, Chika Nwosu, and Tatiana Alvarado each draw from their campus involvement to formulate initiatives that will enhance student and campus life, academics, and health and wellness. With her involvement as the junior class senator and the vice president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Williams-Smith, a double major in business technology and strategic communication, brings a wealth of leadership knowledge to her new role as president. Nwosu previously served as Student Government director of outreach, resident assistant, and as a member of Presidents 100providing her with a wealth of experience to advocate for student voices on campus as vice president. And Alvarado, who is the treasurer, plans to dedicate her time and knowledge to ensure all students feel that they are heard and empowered. This dedicated team has its sights now clearly focused on its future and the future of its classmates. Sworn into office during a ceremony on the Foote University Green on April 5, the leaders are busy formulating their strategy to achieve the platform they ran onworking closely with the Universitys administration to make a difference. They will spend the summer collaborating with the other branches and agencies that make up the Student Governmentincluding Category 5, the Environment and Conservation Organization (ECO), the Elections Commission, and What Matters to U. When they return to campus in August for the start of the fall semester, Williams-Smith, Nwosu, and Alvarado will be primed to implement their campus-wide initiatives. Among them will be the syllabus bank, which will provide more details about some of the Universitys most popular courses. This will give students more information before they build their schedules. Normally a syllabus for a class will outline what you're going to learn, what you should know coming in, etc., said Williams-Smith. So, let's say you're a transfer student and you want to see if a class you took last semester kind of aligns with something you want to take, or is the next sequencethe syllabus bank will be really helpful for students to see what they're getting into before getting in the class then possibly having to withdraw. Maria Galli Stampino, dean of undergraduate affairs, whose role includes working closely with the Student Government executive board on its proposed initiatives, recently met with the elected officers to discuss their ideasincluding the syllabus bank, an initiative the University supports. UM has acquired an electronic tool that will allow faculty to post syllabus templates that students will be able to peruse, said Stampino, who believes working with Student Government is significant to her position at the University. I appreciate the student perspective: I want to support all students, but I cannot talk to all 11,000. Student Government is critical in making me aware of what is a priority and what has the deepest impact on undergraduate students. Additionally, Williams-Smith, Nwosu, and Alvarado indicated that by providing more resources for students to gain knowledge about what the University has to offer them, there will be better individualized experiences. One of the main concerns a lot of students always have is that they sometimes don't know where to find certain resources or certain information, said Alvarado, a junior majoring in business legal studies and political science. Were working toward making sure Student Government is putting out information, so that students know what's going on. Nwosu, a junior studying biology and psychology, said she has been working toward her position since she was a first-year student. Ive known Ive wanted to be VP since I was on the Freshman Leadership Council, said Nwosu. Its a full-circle moment of realizing that Ive accomplished what Ive been dreaming of doing for the past two years. Alvarado said the realization of her new role hit her on the day the trio was inaugurated. Just to see everyone standing together, raising our right hands, and looking at our families in the crowd, it was a moment, said Alvarado. Already, we have worked so well together and the work we have done foreshadows all that we could really do together, noted Williams-Smith. As a trio of amazing women of color, we are looking forward to everything next year has to offer. The annual University of Miami Canes Day of Service was held on Saturday, April 23, with 10 participating Canes Communities hosting events, including Atlanta, Broward County, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Tallahassee, and the Tampa Bay area. The flagship event was hosted at Virginia Key Outdoor Center, where volunteers participated in shoreline and coastal cleanup. At an interactive lunch and learn following the debris removal, researchers from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science provided information about the impactful efforts of coral reef restoration. Following the official launch of the Climate Resilience Academythe new interdisciplinary research and instructional hubon Earth Day, the University hosted the inaugural symposium at Lakeside Village Expo Hall on Monday that featured Miami-Dade Countys first chief heat officer as the keynote speaker and presentations of 10 University Laboratory for Integrative Knowledge (ULINK) funded projects that propose solutions for climate-related challenges. Rodolphe el-Khoury, dean of the School of Architecture, and Sharan Majumdar, professor in the Rosenstiel Schools Department of Atmospheric Sciences, who together led the planning process that established the foundations of the academy, welcomed students and community guests to the symposium geared to promote a resilience culture and to build momentum for the new initiative. Jeffrey Duerk, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, noted that the inaugural symposiuma green certified eventrepresented the aims of the academy to address climate and resilience issues collaboratively and across multiple disciplines. This first symposium, which brings together a community of scholars, serves the Universitys mission as a convener but even more importantly extends beyond convening and studying to ultimately deploying solutions and finding solutions that are actionable, Duerk said. Eric T. Levin, a former University trustee and former member of the University of Miami Citizens Board, described his motivation to donate $5 million toward the initiative, a gift that propelled the formation of the academy. Climate change is the challenge of a lifetime, and here in Miami we sit at the epicenter of the climate challenge, Levin said. Its imperative to get others involved to work collaboratively to tackle these big problems, he added. The academy is designed to complement and enhance the Universitys existing strength, to create more dialogue and form an organization platform that will foster long-lasting relationships and partnerships with stakeholders in South Florida and well beyond, explained Levin. He suggested that many of the projects fostered through the academy will ultimately become entrepreneurial ventures which will implement business solutions to the stressors of climate change, create more revenue, and become self-sustaining and financially additive to the overall mission of the University. Keynote speaker Jane Gilbert, named the countys chief heat officer 10 months ago and who served previously as the City of Miamis first chief resilience officer, welcomed the call to engage a new army of advocates and experts to develop solutions for climate change and related stressors. Its going to take people from across all fieldsdesign, architecture, education, law, policy, business, said Gilbert. The increasing costs of extreme heat create an urgency and gives us the opportunity to reinvent how we live, move, work, and play in a resilient way. In contrast to the property damages from environment disasters like flooding and hurricanes that are so visually compelling, Gilbert noted that extreme heatwhich impacts health, lives, and livelihoodis the deadliest weather-related killer, more devastating and pervasive than any of the other climate-related hazards combined. In South Florida we have chronic rising heat, and it doesnt hit us all equally, Gilbert pointed out. Some people are more exposed day in and day out, and most [threatening conditions] are preventable through education, mitigation, and communication. She noted that her office and a recently convened climate and heat health task force are focused on developing solutions, such as a heat vulnerability assessment, and a resilience tool kit. Ten different teams presented TED-like talks on their ULINK projects. These projects, which have been funded in their incubator phase by the University, seek broader support and financial backing that may well be provided through the partnership focus of the new Climate Resilience Academy. This years projects include Living with Spinal Cord Injuries and Climate Change: Risk and Resilience in Miami, Climate Gentrification: Creating Tools to Drive Community-Lead Neighborhood Resilience, Comprehensive Approaches to Heat-Related Equity in Miami-Dade, and The Future of Miamis Main Artery: PortMiami, among others. View a full listing of the projects. Elvis Baffoe, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering, attended the symposium to learn more about the Universitys sustainability efforts and said that he was glad he did. Baffoe maintained that looking for solutions to climate change is a practical response that many Universities should be doing. If we can come up with strategies to combat climate change through a symposium like this, I think it will be very beneficial to the world. And I hope the University will do this annually, he said. Claudio Rizzi, a Ph.D. student in finance, was at the forum to present a poster about his research on climate risk for the financial markets. However, he also enjoyed listening to the keynote speech, along with the U-LINK presentations. It was good to meet others doing similar work and to integrate other ideas into my finance research, he said. For example, I am learning that the ways different researchers are calculating pollution or assessing flood risk could be very useful to me. Oklahoma State University announces inaugural Hamm Institute for American Energy executive director Media Contact: Jordan Bishop | Editor, Department of Brand Management | 405-744-7193 | jordan.bishop@okstate.edu Oklahoma State University announced the appointment of Kenneth Wagner as the inaugural executive director of the Hamm Institute for American Energy on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. With 23 years of experience in the energy industry, including serving as Oklahomas secretary of energy and environment, Wagner brings a high level of expertise to the role. Kenneth Wagner Kens appointment to lead the Hamm Institute for American Energy represents a strong investment and commitment to the institutes mission to become a global energy leader, OSU President Kayse Shrum said. Kens experience and deep knowledge of the energy industry will serve the institute well as it lives out its mission to educate the next generation of energy leaders and position Oklahoma as a global energy leader. I look forward to Ken making an immediate impact as he works to help shape energy leadership in Oklahoma, the United States and beyond. On behalf of Oklahoma State University and the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, I want to congratulate Ken on being named executive director of the Hamm Institute for American Energy. The Hamm Institute for American Energy is founded on the guiding principle of solving humanitys greatest energy needs. The Hamm Institute will develop the energy leaders of tomorrow by engaging industry and academia and developing practical, global, science-based solutions through collaboration, research and development. Kens knowledge of the industry and Oklahomas energy landscape makes him the perfect fit to work with energy leaders from around the world and help live out the institutes mission, said Hamm Institute Founder and Continental Resources Chairman Harold Hamm. I am confident with Kens leadership the Hamm Institute will be recognized as the global leader for all things energy. The Hamm Institute will be a place where the best and brightest come together to responsibly solve the worlds energy needs. The announcement was made at Tuesdays 15th Annual Oklahoma State University Energy Conference, which was hosted at the Hamm Institute for American Energy. Serving the people of this great state and country has been an honor. That service will continue as I have the privilege to lead the Hamm Institute in solving the worlds energy needs. With the current state of energy globally, there has never been a more important time for the Hamm Institute than now, Wagner said. I am grateful to President Shrum and Mr. Hamm for trusting me to step into this role and am ready to hit the ground running. Wagners experience includes a variety of regional and national energy industry positions. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, he attended the University of Tulsa College of Law before founding a full-service law firm that focused on corporate, energy and environmental cases. He then served as senior advisor to the administrator of regional and state affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since 2019, he has served as Oklahomas secretary of energy and environment for Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, promoting the growth of responsible, clean and affordable energy while protecting Oklahomas natural resources and biodiversity. He will continue in this role until a replacement is named. Having worked with Ken as Oklahomas secretary of energy and environment, I can confirm firsthand that his leadership, knowledge and dedication to energy will serve the Hamm Institute well as it lives out its mission to champion energy and educate future generations, Stitt said. I am confident this appointment will allow the Institute to thrive and further elevate Oklahoma as a national leader in energy stewardship, research and education. I look forward to seeing how Kens leadership helps grow and strengthen the energy industry in Oklahoma. From left: Harold Hamm, Kenneth Wagner, Dr. Kayse Shrum and Jerome Loughridge. (Photo by Piper Reese) In December 2021, an historic donation from the Harold Hamm Foundation and Continental Resources established the Hamm Institute for American Energy at Oklahoma State University. A popular location to host symposiums, authors, speakers, summits and global conversations and with a state-of-the art lab featuring wells drilled below the building, an auditorium and classrooms the institute will be the premier hub of energy innovation. For more information about the Hamm Institute for American Energy, visit go.okstate.edu/hamm-institute. Three Chinese nationals killed in Pakistan bombing The remains of the van that was carrying three Chinese nationals when it was hit by a bomb blast in Karachi. Photo: AP A bomb blast ripped through a passenger van carrying Chinese nationals in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Tuesday, killing three of them and a Pakistani, police said. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the blast, which took place near a university campus, adding in an email sent to a Reuters reporter that it had been carried out by a woman suicide bomber. The blast was the first major attack against Chinese nationals in Pakistan since last year when a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus in northern Pakistan that killed 13 people, including nine Chinese. Tuesday's attack on citizens of longtime ally China appears to be the first big challenge for newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of Chinese nationals. Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi told reporters the blast killed three foreigners and a local. "The reports we have got is that they're Chinese," he said in comments telecast live from the scene of crime. He said the three Chinese were teachers at Karachi University. The BLA attacked two army bases in southwestern Balochistan province earlier this year, killing seven soldiers, and it lost 13 of the attackers in an hours long gun-battle with Pakistan army. Baloch separatist guerrillas, who say they are fighting for a greater share in regional resources of mines and minerals, usually attack gas projects, infrastructure and the security forces. They also attack Chinese projects, and occasionally kill Chinese workers despite Pakistani assurances that it is doing everything it can to protect the projects. (Reuters) Western advisers in Ukrainian decision-making centres will not be a problem as part of the response, Russia said, RT reported. "The Russian Ministry of Defense drew attention to the statement of the deputy head of the British defense department, James Hippie, that 'it will not necessarily be a problem' if the weapons provided by the UK to Kiev are used to strike targets on Russian territory," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Such provocation in the event of an attempt to implement such strikes by Ukraine "will immediately lead to a proportional response", the ministry stressed. "Advisers from among the nationals of one of the Western countries, located in Ukrainian decision-making centers in Kiev, 'will not necessarily be a problem' when Russia makes decisions on retaliatory actions," the Ministry of Defense said. Earlier developments show that the British authorities will send 120 armoured vehicles and anti-ship systems to Ukraine as part of the next package of military assistance. --IANS san/arm ( 200 Words) 2022-04-26-21:54:04 (IANS) Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 26 (ANI/PRNewswire): Quest Global, one of the world's fastest growing engineering services firms, unveiled its new corporate brand purpose and logo today. The visual splash of striking rich colors and new design marks the 25-year old company's declaration to be and remain the most trusted partner for the world's hardest engineering problems. Currently hiring over 125 engineers a week, the new look is one of many steps Quest Global is taking to build a brand even more meaningful to its customers, employees, and exponentially-growing recruits. "2022 is a landmark year for Quest Global, we turned 25!," exclaimed Quest Global's Chairman and CEO, Ajit Prabhu. "As we celebrate this glorious occasion, our new identity reflects our ambition and passion to be a centenary organization. It reflects how we have evolved over the years and how we continue to push ourselves to be better for society, our people and our customers. We embrace this new chapter with both humility and pride, while continuing to create a better future." A Revitalized Look for a Traditional Field The new logo retains the magnifying glass in a nod to the company's original logo in 1997, and its reputation for being skillfully precise. "Our new corporate brand identity paves the way to engage better with our people, our customers and the community. It helps us communicate that we are not just service providers, we go beyond. Our relentless drive is to be the most trusted partner for the world's hardest engineering problems and reach newer heights. This new identity perfectly illustrates our passion and commitment, but with links to our heritage," said Yumi Clevenger-Lee, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Quest Global. Optimistic yellow and harmonious purple combine with various new visually encoded elements to capture a global company of achievers and caregivers working with customers across many industries to solve engineering's hardest problems all around the world. The new logo truly embodies Quest Global's belief that the business of engineering is really about building a brighter future--of solving the problems of today that stand in the way of tomorrow. "We wanted to make sure Quest Global's brand marque not only stood out from the sea of black and blue competitors, but also stood for their unique positioning of 100 per cent Achiever blended with 100 per cent Caregiver. It needed to be both modern and timeless, relevant but different, dependable but daring. The results speak for themselves," said David Buchan, Founder and Creative Director at Ocean Branding, the agency that designed Quest Global's logo. We are Quest Global. We're in the business of engineering, but what we're really building is a brighter future. It's not just what we do, but why we do it that makes us different. We believe engineering has the unique opportunity to solve the problems of today that stand in the way of tomorrow. For 25 years, we have strived to be the most trusted partner for the world's hardest engineering problems. As a global organization headquartered in Singapore, we live and work in 17 countries, with 56 global delivery centers, driven by 13,000+ extraordinary employees who make the impossible possible every day. Quest Global brings deep industry knowledge and digital expertise to deliver E2E global product engineering services. We bring together technologies and industries alongside the contributions of diverse individuals and their areas of expertise to solve problems better, faster. This multi-dimensional approach enables us to solve the most important and large-scale challenges across the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Healthcare, Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. 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 26 (ANI/OP Jindal University): "Legal aid to the poor does not mean poor legal aid. What does one require for that? The contribution from the members of the Bar. The members of the bar, the leaders at the Bar, those who are established senior advocates, must render pro bono services," said Hon'ble Justice U.U. Lalit, Judge, Supreme Court of India, delivering the Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Memorial Lecture on the theme of 'Constitutionalism, Rule of Law & Access to Justice'. The Memorial Lecture was also marked by the Presentation of the Award to Jindal Global Law School for being ranked 70th globally and 1st in India for the third time in a row. The Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has once again retained the No.1 position in India while its global ranking this year improved to 70th, a jump of six places from 2021, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject (Law) 2022 released recently. "Do we really have legal aid programmes which satisfy what Justice Iyer had thought of? Day in and day out what we find is an empty ritualistic kind of approach which is exhibited by those who are given the charge and briefs to appear in legal aid issues. We as judges, who man the process, we are only facilitators, we can lay down laws, we can engage the services. The final dispensation of legal aid in court is only through lawyers. What we find is, in India, court based litigation legal aid is just about 5% of all the matters. If 60% of our population is below the poverty line, then that percentage doesn't match with reality. Where have the 55 other percent people gone?" Justice Lalit added. Highlighting and bringing forth the significant role of legal education and law schools, in the context of India, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University said, "Legal education bears the foundation for building the new generation of lawyers who are going to shape the future of legal education and legal profession. We simply cannot address the challenges of access to justice and also focus on dispute resolution mechanisms that can instil faith among the people on protecting the rule of law unless and until we are able to train law students who end up becoming law graduates and become lawyers and judges and that's why we need to focus on legal education. The third aspect why we need to focus on legal education is that law as we know is a dynamic social institution, it requires constant evolution, re-examination, reinterpretation and examine its impact on life itself. The journey of law is not about logic but experience. It means that we need to constantly evolve when it comes to legal interpretation. One of the ways by which this has happened is the work of academic scholars, researchers and those who are involved in publishing serious articles and have an impact with their work. Unfortunately, a good part of Indian legal academia, has not contributed sufficiently towards advancing this aspect of legal education. At best, the leading Indian law schools are reasonably good when it comes to teaching, but largely mediocre when it comes to research. At worst, they do both teaching and research in a mediocre manner. There are numerous data banks that will talk about the fact that there are 1,700 law schools in India, nearly 13 national law schools, all of them having huge challenges when it comes to ensuring academic excellence. Paying tribute to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar said, "This lecture is a tribute to an extraordinary man who till his death remained committed to the idea of the rule of law and also to be deeply sensitised about access to justice." Presenting the QS World University Rankings by Subject - Law 2022 Edition Award to Jindal Global Law School, Dr Ashwin Fernandes, Regional Director, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, QS Quacquarelli Symonds, said, "Today we are here to celebrate a great milestone by the Jindal Global Law School of the O.P. Jindal Global University, which has been ranked 70th amongst the best law schools in the world. Not just that, it is ranked No.1 in India and to add on it jumped six places from its global position of 76th to 70th this year, as well as ranked 6th in the BRICs economies and 12th across the whole of Asia." On receiving the award, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar said, "I want to thank our Founding Chancellor and benefactor Naveen Jindal for not only making a contribution to build this university philanthropically but also committing himself to ensure there is academic freedom, autonomy, independence which are so critical for development of the institution." Giving the vote of thanks, Professor Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, O.P. Jindal Global University, said, "Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer has been a great friend and a mentor to the University and supported the initiative since the very beginning. In a short span of time, O.P. Jindal Global University has achieved many milestones and there are many more to come. And we will continue to provide world class education benchmarking with the best in the world faculty, education, research, collaboration." This story is provided by OP Jindal University. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/OP Jindal University) Kochi (Kerala) [India], April 26 (ANI/BusinessWireIndia): Ayatana and WelcomHeritage, part of the ITC Group, partner to bring to Kerala, its newest hotel, Azora by Ayatana. Situated on Calvathy Road, Fort Kochi, the heritage hotel was inaugurated on April 25 by Hibi Eden (MP, Kochi), KJ Maxi (MLA, Kochi), and Roji M John (MLA, Angamally). "We are excited to be a part of Azora, a heritage hotel conceptualized to preserve history and celebrate luxury and modernity together," said Saravana RG Kumar, Director of Operations, Ayatana Resort. The Historic old courthouse dated more than 200 years, has played many roles. Constructed during the Portuguese reign, the building witnessed decades of court proceedings before taking on a new avatar as the first banking office of Gridlays. Later, the structure like many others situated on the iconic Bazaar road, duly served as a warehouse for spices and teas. After undergoing a complete art deco renovation in 2016, the old courthouse took on its current role as a heritage hotel, accommodating 16 rooms, a rooftop pool, and a gym. The hotel hosts Cafe Noir, an urbane cafe chain operating in Mumbai and Bengaluru specializing in French casual cuisine. The boutique hotel offers specialized services with houseboat cruises and expert-guided tours of Fort Kochi and its culinary landscape. 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 26 (ANI/NewsVoir): Dalmia Group has announced that it has planned to support 20,000 medical professionals every year, adding upto 2 lac doctors in 10 years timeframe, under their exclusive program for Foreign Medical Students from CIS countries. The group will further place these medical professionals in the group-owned hospitals or help them finance their clinics, pathology labs, healthcare centers etc. Dalmia Biz Education Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with several medical universities in CIS countries that are recognized by World Health Organization and offer 5 years course in Doctor of Medicine (MD) in English language. Under the arrangement, the company will facilitate Indian students to study medicine abroad and prepare them to pass the Indian National Medical Commission exams namely Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE)/National Exit Test (NExT). Dalmia Biz Education will identify, shortlist and screen the students as per the eligibility criteria and standards of the University. Finally, the most competent student profiles will be forwarded for university program enrolments. Post successful completion of the program, Dalmia Healthcare Limited - a Dalmia group venture into healthcare domain will provide 100% assistance to these professionals for their placements or setting up their healthcare centers in India. Sanjay Dalmia, the Chairman of Dalmia group commented, "We have an unprecedented opportunity to create a world-class medical education system, well equipped with modern and technologically advanced infrastructure. We are on a mission to contribute in developing a strong foundation in medical education domain to support India in harnessing its demographic dividend to become a "Vishwa Guru" once again." He further stated that "Over 50% of the students from CIS countries, who aren't able to clear the FMGE or NEXT examination, conducted by NMC every year, fail to fulfill their career goals. Dalmia Group has proposed to setup an online facility, for the best in-class training of these students, through especially designed courses mapped to the Indian requirements to qualify the test." Dalmia Group's move is in line with government's objective of transforming medical education and making it affordable and accessible for every aspiring student. Recently, PM Narendra Modi in his speech said that the nation is set to have a record number of doctors in the next 10 years. Dalmia Biz Education is set to build a strong presence in the education space with the Foreign Medical Students Program with CIS countries. The company is also entering into the school business from April-June quarter with the sole aim of transforming education and to make it affordable for all. Dalmia Healthcare Limited is set to build a robust presence across the healthcare ecosystem, including Hospitals, Diagnostic Clinics, Pharmacies (Ayurvedic & Allopathic) and Medical Tourism. The company provides plant-based formulations (Ayurvedic/herbal) and allopathic drugs, that have undergone rigorous scientific validation and clinical trials, conducted at its research centre, Dalmia Centre for Research and Development (DCRD). The company has a presence in more than 30 countries globally, including South-Eastern European countries, Latin America, CIS countries etc. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC Ltd (TA'ZIZ) have signed a formal shareholder agreement for setting up a chemical project at TA'ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a joint statement issued by the companies on Tuesday. Reliance is India's largest diversified conglomerate and a strategic partner with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, in TA'ZIZ EDC & PVC, a world-scale chemicals development at the TA'ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais, UAE. The TA'ZIZ EDC & PVC joint venture will construct and operate a Chlor-Alkali, Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) production facility, with a total investment of over $2 billion (AED 7.34 billion), according to a joint statement issued by Reliance Industries, TA'ZIZ and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). These chemicals will be produced in the UAE for the first time, unlocking new revenue streams and opportunities for local manufacturers to "Make it in the Emirates", it said. The formal shareholder agreement was signed by senior executives during a visit of Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, to ADNOC headquarters. During the visit, Ambani met with Sultan Al Jaber, UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and discussed opportunities for partnership and growth in upstream, new energies and decarbonisation across the hydrocarbon value chain. "I am happy to see the quick progress made by The TA'ZIZ EDC and PVC joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited and TA'ZIZ in a short time. This joint venture is a testimony to the strong and growing ties between India and the UAE and will be a benchmark for more such projects built on strengths of the two nations. I am looking forward to implementation of the project at an accelerated pace, taking a step further in enhancing lives of our people in the region," Mukesh Ambani said in the statement. The TA'ZIZ EDC & PVC project is well-positioned to strengthen domestic supply chains and support the UAE's national strategy to empower the industrial sector and become the driving force of a dynamic and robust domestic economy over the next 50 years. It is anticipated that the TA'ZIZ complex will benefit from the free trade agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates, which was signed in February of this year. Bilateral trade between both nations will be boosted as new trade and development opportunities, such as TA'ZIZ, are further unlocked. Commenting on the deal, Sultan Al Jaber, UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said, "Reliance is a valued strategic partner and our collaboration at TA'ZIZ underscores the important role of industrial and energy cooperation as a means of strengthening the deep-rooted and friendly ties between the UAE and India. We are building on this partnership and the progress at TA'ZIZ to unlock more opportunities to drive the UAE's industrial and manufacturing growth, while advancing cooperation on decarbonisation, new energies and upstream production." TA'ZIZ EDC & PVC project is making solid progress towards the detailed design phase in advance of the Final Investment Decision (FID) which is expected to be taken later this year, the statement said. During their meeting, Al Jaber and Mukesh Ambani exchanged a signed framework agreement between ADNOC and Reliance to explore collaboration in the exploration, development and production of conventional and unconventional resources in Abu Dhabi as well as in decarbonisation of operations, including in carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. During his visit to the UAE, Mukesh Ambani also met Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, to explore potential opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy and green hydrogen, both of which are key priorities for the UAE and India. (ANI) New Delhi [India], April 26 (ANI/SRV): Organised by the Tool & Gauge Manufacturers Association of India (TAGMA India), India's most sought-after platform for the die mould industry is scheduled to take place from April 27 - 30, 2022 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. With the regular participation of leading brands who showcase their latest proven technologies and visitors like CEOs, Consultants, and Decision Makers; DMI is today known to be a one-stop shop for die mould professionals. DM Sheregar, President of TAGMA India, said, "With the ongoing pandemic still posing challenges, Indian manufacturers are taking a variety of approaches to radically transform their businesses and find new ways to differentiate themselves. Companies are continually looking for technologies that can help them achieve accuracy and reduce cycle time. The 2022 edition of Die Mould India is going to highlight the latest development in the field of tooling as companies are gearing up to showcase smart manufacturing solutions, newer tool geometries, the latest CNC machines, and additive manufacturing solutions, integrated automation solutions, among others. With over 300+ exhibitors showcasing their technologies and solutions, we expect this edition to be a grand success." The tooling industry plays a critical role in the manufacturing value chain by providing dies and moulds needed for mass production of various parts and thereby forms the backbone of industrial growth. As per the latest Indian Tooling Report compiled by TAGMA India and Nomura Research Institute, Ltd., the market size of the Indian tooling industry stands at ~INR 18,000 crore with more than half of the total demand attributed to the automotive and auto components sector. Most major global auto manufacturing hubs have a strong domestic tooling industry with India being a notable exception, where a significant portion of tool demand is still met via imports. Looking at the prevailing positive sentiment of the industry after the challenging two years, the show, which will be held after a gap of four years, is likely to get a good response from various industry verticals. D Shanmugasundaram, Vice President, TAGMA India said, "The die mould India exhibition is the only dedicated event for tool and die makers which makes it unique and attracts visitors from diverse industries. In this edition, we are inviting delegates from 50+ OEMs and the public sector, and 10+ user industry associations to explore business opportunities for tool makers. On behalf of TAGMA India, I invite industry professionals to visit the show and witness some of the latest developments in the industry" India is seeing growing demand for tooling in the last few years. However, a significant number of tools are still imported. This is not a desirable scenario since it results in significant value addition happening outside the borders. Promoting indigenous manufacturing provides advantages such as employment creation; development of domestic machinery manufacturers; boost in R&D and reduction in supply chain inefficiencies and risks. Thus, having a strong tooling industry is a must for India to enhance its manufacturing industry. At the upcoming Die Mould India show, the Indian tooling industry will showcase its capabilities and preparedness for growth opportunities. Exhibit range of the show includes Dies & Moulds, Press Tools, Mould base & standard parts of Dies & Moulds, Hot Runner System, Tool Steel, Heat Treatment, Texturizing, Gauges, Additive Manufacturing, CAD/CAM system related to Dies & Moulds, Die Spotting, Digitizing, Additive Manufacturing/ 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping & Modeling, Machine Tools for Dies & Moulds, CNC Milling/Machining Centre, EDM, etc. Moulding machine/ Die Casting machine, Accessories for Machine Tools, Die/moulding polishing machines, Cutting Tools, Measuring Machines, materials, equipment, accessories & services covering Die & Mould industry. TAGMA India established in 1990 serves as a forum for the Indian Tool Room & Die and Mould Industry whose activity involves design, sales or manufacture of dies for pressing, stamping, punching and forming; injection and compression moulds; die casting dies; patterns and pattern equipment; jigs and fixtures; standard tooling components; CAD/CAM; rapid prototyping; gauges; precision machining; special machines and related products. Some of the important objectives of TAGMA are -- To promote training and the diffusion of knowledge relating to standards in the manufacture of Tools and Gauges to improve the standards or the connected trade therewith or with allied industries and to impart relevant and appropriate training to all those engaged in the manufacture of tools and gauges. To promote and encourage improvements in tool room industries for greater efficiency. To organize relevant seminars, workshops and exhibitions etc. to impart useful knowledge to the tool and gauge manufacturers. To establish, run and maintain a library connected with the industry To enhance the contribution of tool room industry to the growth and development of the Indian National Economy and to encourage members to be progressive. To publish a directory of members with details of products manufactured and services offered TAGMA over the years has been successful in achieving some of the objectives mentioned above, prominent amongst them are -- Diemould India International Exhibition is the most popular mould & die show in India showcasing the capabilities of the industry Established Online library for members via Internet and Computer Based Training (CBT) modules at NTTF-TAGMA Library, Bangalore Periodical surveys of the Tool Room industry Delegations/Country Pavilion at the overseas exhibitions Facilitators for Joint Venture by circulating Outsourcing enquiries For more information, visit - www.diemouldindia.org and www.tagmaindia.org This story is provided by SRV Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV) Surat (Gujarat) [India], April 26 (ANI/NewsVoir): The Surat Chapter of the 2022 IIMUN conference was inaugurated at Surat Indoor Stadium on 22 April commencing the three-day event hosted by Shantaben Haribhai Gajera Trust which manages various schools and educational institutions in and around Surat. The inauguration ceremony was attended by former Ambassador to Kazakhstan for India His Excellency Ashok Sajjanhar, Director General of Indian Council of Cultural Relations and former Ambassador Suresh Goel, MLA Darshana Jardosh, MLA Smt. Zakhnaben Patel and Smt. Hemali Boghawala mayor of surat, noted media personalities Terence Lewis and Cyrus Broacha, Trustees Chunibhai Gajera and Kinjal Gajera and thousands of learners and educationists from all over the city. The inauguration commenced with Trustee Chunibhai Gajera welcoming the gathering to celebrate life and learning. He expressed happiness for being able to come together once again with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. Speakers and educationists present at the ceremony spoke to the learners about the need for the youth to take active interest in politics and governance. They averred that conferences like this offer the young a springboard to help their careers. The three-day IIMUN conference came to an end on 24 April, Sunday with prize distribution with also doubled up as the closing ceremony. The previous day, that is, on 23 April the delegates socialised after the conference closed for the day. The three-day event was a success for it achieved what it sought to achieve - learners took active interest in the workings of the government and the constitutional process. With mock sessions like these, they will be better able to answer when the call to lead comes. We need better leaders, better policy makers and better thinkers who have the best interest of the society in mind. We believe we have been able to plant the seed. Time will tell when this acorn grows into an oak. For more information, please visit gajeratrust.org. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 26 (ANI/NewsVoir): After 2 years of virtual editions, the 25th edition of India's most prestigious and sought-after technology event ''Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022' will be held physically from November 16 to 18 in Bengaluru. Karnataka's Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai yesterday hosted a pre-summit gathering with over 100 CEOs and executives from the electronics, IT & biotech industries and invited them to participate in the 'Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022'. The Chief Minister also reviewed infrastructure, regulatory improvements, rule simplification, and the need for qualified workers during a three-hour closed-door meeting. The doors of our government are open, the doors of my heart are open. We will march ahead with you lending shoulder to shoulder. Government is always ready to cooperate with you, the Chief Minister assured the industry stalwarts during the interaction. The tech summit, Co-hosted by STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) and organised by the department of electronics, IT, BT, and S&T, brings together businesses, talented individuals, researchers, consultants, academia, professionals, and other stakeholders. "Our government will lend shoulder to shoulder for the IT, BT industry to march ahead together. We will provide every possible help. Karnataka is in a command position in the IT, BT sector. The Bengaluru Tech Summit is celebrating its silver jubilee. Over 100 heads and CEOs in the IT, BT and Startup sectors participated in the interaction and appreciated the initiatives of the State government," Shri Bommai said. "The State government would walk hand in hand and lend shoulder to shoulder with the companies in IT, BT and other sectors to create more and more startup clusters and attract research talent," he added. "India is different from the western countries. India has its own social structure. Hunger and hurry for progress is a natural instinct of man. There is tremendous interest for integrated development of all industrial sectors in the country and it is supplementing state's growth," Shri Bommai said. "We all need to work together to develop Bengaluru as the number one Silicon City in the world. Growth of every sector is a challenge and provides opportunities for the government. We need to use the challenges and opportunities as the springboard to reach greater heights," Shri Bommai said. "CEOs of various companies have conveyed the need for policy changes, simplification of rules and the need for skilled human resources. We have started working on these aspects in our own way," he added. "HSR Layout, Koramangala and Indiranagar have a high concentration of IT, BT companies and Startups. These areas have evolved into Technology hubs. But they are not planned layouts. Plans have been drawn up to ramp up infrastructure facilities in Bengaluru to give a big boost for IT, BT, Research and Startup sectors," Shri Bommai added. "About Rs. 8000 cr has been provided for this purpose in the budget. Work to fix the roads would be taken up immediately after the monsoon season. Metro Third Phase, Bengaluru Suburban Rail, Peripheral Ring Road and STRR works would be taken up. Tumakuru, Hubballi, Mysuru and other cities are being provided with good infrastructure under the 'Beyond Bengaluru' project to ensure fair spread of companies all over the state," the Chief Minister said. "Recently the State government has implemented its Data Centre Policy-2022 with a target of attracting Rs. 10,000 cr investments in the next 5 years," he added. Minister for Higher Education; IT & BT, Science & Technology; Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Govt. of Karnataka, Dr CN Ashwathnarayan said, "Preparations for the big event has already started in all seriousness and programmes would be organised in USA, England, Japan and other countries as supplementary events to make Bengaluru Tech Summit to be held at Palace Grounds a grand success." "Karnataka has set a target of contributing USD 1.5 Trillion in making India a USD 5 Trillion economy, he added. Karnataka has drawn the biggest share of 40% of the Foreign Direct Investment India drew in the last financial year. It amounts to USD 17.3 Billion. Karnataka is at the top spot in exports too in the country," Dr Ashwathnarayan added. Head of State IT Vision Group Kris Gopalakrishnan, Startup Vision Group head Prashanth Prakash and other senior officials were also present during the event. 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 26 (ANI/NewsVoir): Once Upon a Trunk, the affordable e-commerce marketplace and a home-grown brand, has announced its rebranding to 'Taggd'. Founded by Shivaani and Saanchi Jain, Taggd has made a mark in the fashion space as the fastest-growing indigenous home-grown and D2C delivery e-retailer. Keeping in mind its brand ethos, the fashion aggregator has entered the next phase of development and is a company that connects brands with customers through digital celebrities and new-age influencers, the fresh and vibrant rebranding was a conscious effort to create a new wave in the business. Further, the new identity connects with GenZ, whose members are bolder and love to explore new trends in fashion. "We at Taggd are tagging our customers with the best of fashion and style guides from digital celebrities. It's a terminology that sits very popular amongst the millennials and we've created quite a collection on the platform that will truly satiate the fashion needs of our patrons. So let's all be Taggd together," said, Shivaani Jain, Founder, Taggd. 'Taggd' will continue to create opportunities for exclusive home-grown brands. The unique model of i-commerce (influencer commerce) and virtual stores offers its services to emerging brands while simultaneously targetting home-grown and fledgling young D2C brands and Instagram boutiques. In addition to apparel, it also offers studios, stylists, content, and merchandise for influencers, making it not just a store but an experience. Besides, Taggd will seek to aid influencers in content creation while also facilitating engagement with consumers. Fashion never fades away, and like fashion, Taggd is here to stay. And with its new identity, this brand is all set to be the new face of fashion. Taggd, a venture of Shivaani Jain and Saanchi Jain, is an e-commerce marketplace that exhibits the collections of India's home-grown brands at affordable prices. Based in Delhi, the platform was launched in 2015 with a vision to become the fastest home-grown delivery e-retailer brand. The portal caters to the fashion aspirations of women in the age group of 25 to 45 years. The online portal reaches out to 22,000+ pin codes of Metropolitan and Tier 1 cities. Boosting the fashion quotient in the market, Taggd has been manifesting designers' true potential and offering customers a vast range of apparel, jewellery, home decor, and kidswear. Delivering to the farthest regions, the platform is catering to consumers across the country and further envisions to reach out to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the near future. Website Link: www.taggd.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) The price band for the much-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO) of India's largest insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has been set at Rs 902-Rs 949 per share. A discount of Rs 45 has been set for retail and employees, while the bid lot size has been fixed for 15 shares per lot, sources told ANI. According to the sources, LIC has decided to give a discount to policyholders of the company. "A discount of Rs 60 per share has been set for the policyholders of LIC." On April 23, 2022, the LIC board gave its nod to cut down the issue size to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent due to the market condition. A proposal to reduce the size of LIC's IPO to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent proposed in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) was tabled and approved at a board meeting held on Saturday. A total of 22.13 crore shares will be offered in this IPO. Out of the total shares, 10 per cent or 2.21 crore shares are reserved for the policyholders. LIC's IPO is to open on May 4 and close on May 9, sources told ANI. Last month, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved the initial public offering proposal of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The company has filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It has time until May 12 to launch the IPO. If it is not done by May 12, the company would be required to file fresh papers with the market regulator. The government had initially wanted to list LIC in the last financial year that ended March 31 but had to delay the sale after the Russia-Ukraine war triggered a market rout. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered the interim release of the youth who was detained in the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) centre on the basis of an Aadhar and an Indian Passport. He was lifted by the Bangladeshi deportation cell and was in the FRRO's custody and was to be deported to Bangladesh. He had challenged the deportation order. Justice Jasmeet Singh on Monday ordered the release of Mohammad Sahil, a resident of the New Seemapuri area of Delhi after considering the copies of documents attached with the petition. The bench observed, "The prima facie view is that the petitioner Mohammad Sahil is an Indian citizen. For the said reasons, the criminal application is allowed and the petitioner is directed to be released from the detention centre of FRRO till further orders." Justice Jasmeet Singh noted in the order, "The petitioner Mohmmad Sahil has filed with the petition, a photocopy of his Adhaar card and passport. As per the passport, the address of the petitioner is New Seemapuri, Delhi." The High Court directed that the petitioner shall report to the Foreigner Cell, Shahdara district, Delhi every Monday at 11 am and mark his presence. He shall not be kept waiting for more than an hour. He shall give his mobile number and the same shall be operated throughout the pendency of the petition. The petitioner Mohammad Sahil along with his father Shah Alam, mother and minor brother in January 2022, had challenged the deportation order issued by the authorities by moving a petition through Advocate Nikita Sharma. The petition had stated that the petitioner Mohammad Sahil who is an Indian citizen was illegally lifted by the Bangladeshi cell deportation centre in November 2021. On November 18, 2021, his father made a representation before authorities for the release of Sahil. The petition alleged that the family produced all the documents including a passport. Even after that, the authorities chose to pick the petitioner for deportation and ignored the legality of the documents being presented before them. It is also alleged that the address of Bangladesh mentioned in the deportation order has no connection with the petitioners. It is fabricated and concocted tale of the deportation cell. The petitioner through Advocate Nikita Sharma moved an application seeking release from the deportation centre till the disposal of the petition. It was submitted that the applicant was in the custody of the Bangladesh deportation cell since November 9, 2021. It will take a long time for the disposal of the petition in which the deportation order has been challenged. Injustice would be caused to him if he is kept in custody during the pendency of the petition. (ANI) "We received a call around 6 p.m. regarding a bomb being planted at Jhandu Park, Mohammadpur, RK Puram," a Fire Department official said, adding that one fire tender was immediately pressed into service. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Southwest, Manoj C., however, told IANS that no explosives were found. "It just seems like an old toy of a round shape," he said, denying reports that a hand-grenade was found from the spot. "We are still examining it," he said. Meanwhile, the police personnel have cordoned off the area and a bomb disposal squad was called to examine the toy. --IANS uj/vd ( 133 Words) 2022-04-25-20:06:02 (IANS) The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by independent MP-MLA couple Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana, respectively, seeking to quash the second of two FIRs registered against them for resisting arrest on Saturday after a huge row over their plans to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside the private home of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. A division bench of Justice P. B. Varale and Justice S. M. Modak also observed that there was considerable merit in the submissions made by Special Public Prosecutor Pradip Gharat. The judges upheld his contention on the FIR pertaining to chant religious verses near the personal home of the CM since such an act at the residence of another person or at a public place is a breach of personal liberty of the other person, and the Maharashtra government was justified in its apprehensions that it could lead to a law and order situation in Mumbai. "Persons in public life are expected to act responsibly. With great power comes great responsibility... that those who are active in public life are expected to act responsibly is not an extra but a basic expectation," the court said in its strong observations while dismissing the Rana couple's plea. The judges said that in case the state government wanted to initiate action against the Ranas under the second FIR, then they would give 72 hours notice to the petitioners (Ranas) before initiating any such measures. The Ranas' lawyer Rizwan Merchant said that after they receive the 72-hour notice from the police, they would decide their further course of action, and moved sessions court for bail. After two days of high political drama, police in suburban Mumbai's Khar booked and arrested the Rana couple on Saturday under Indian Penal Code Section's 153 (A) (promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion race, etc), and the stringent IPC Section 124 (A), pertaining to sedition. The Mumbai Police also filed a second FIR around 2 a.m. on Sunday, against the Ranas invoking IPC's Section 353 for alleged assault of a public servant and obstructing public servant from discharging their official duties. Merchant argued that the second FIR was "an abuse" of the legal process and the subsequent addition of the offence of sedition was unsustainable. SPP Gharat countered this, saying that the second FIR was registered for a separate offence relating to obstructing police from discharging their duties, for which the court has granted relief to the extent of serving the Ranas a 72-hour notice for any action. On Saturday, the Ranas were served with a notice under Bombay Police Act's Section 149, requesting them to refrain from carrying out their plans, but they did not heed, after which they were detained and arrested that evening. SPP Gharat said that despite the notice, the Ranas continued to give media and online interviews, creating apprehensions in society, and their statements posing a serious threat to the law and order situation after which the action was taken against them. Later, amid high drama at their Khar home, the Rana couple was arrested on Saturday evening and produced before a Bandra holiday Magistrate Court which remanded them to 14 days' judicial custody while posting their bail plea for hearing on April 29. Through her lawyer, Navneet Rana has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about alleged harassment by the police, even as the couple moved a bail plea before the Sessions Court which is likely to be heard on Tuesday. Later, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged that in police custody, she was mistreated, abused, subjected to casteist slurs, and even denied water or permission to go to the washroom. However, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil denied the allegations as totally "baseless". --IANS qn/vd ( 639 Words) 2022-04-25-20:20:05 (IANS) A team of senior leaders including Union Minister Anurag Thakur met on Monday to discuss the programme at party national headquarters here. A committee has been formed by the BJP for the purpose. Union ministers Thakur and Rajeev Chandrashekhar, BJP general secretaries Arun Singh, C.T. Ravi and D. Purandareswari and chief spokesperson Anil Baluni, Member of Parliament Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Rajdeep Roy and Aparajita Sarangi besides other party leaders Shiv Prakash and Lal Singh Arya are part of the committee. The committee is expected to draw plans for the celebration by May 5. The Covid outbreak in 2020 ruled out any major celebration and public programmes during the first two anniversaries of the second term of Modi government. A party source said that as of now, a draft has been prepared, and the list of programmes and activities will be finalised in the coming days to highlight various achievements of the government. Prime Minister Modi took oath for the second term on May 30, 2019. In his second term, several of BJP's core ideological issues including the removal of Article 370 and the starting construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya has been fulfilled. With the Covid situation under control despite a recent spike in its numbers in a few states, the ruling party hopes that it can finally mark the government's eighth anniversary, including Modi's first term, at a much grander scale. --IANS ssb/pgh ( 272 Words) 2022-04-25-21:52:03 (IANS) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lashed out at the Tory MP who likened Angela Rayner to Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct' on Monday, saying whoever was behind the 'sexist, misogynist tripe' would suffer 'the terrors of the earth' if identified, Daily Mail reported. The UK Prime Minister lashed out amid controversy over the anonymous Conservative backbencher who accused Labour's deputy leader of putting the PM off at Prime Minister's Questions by crossing and uncrossing her legs. A Conservative MP suggested Rayner likes to distract the Prime Minister when he is at the despatch box by deploying a Parliamentary equivalent of Sharon Stone's police interview scene in the 1992 erotic thriller, Daily Mail reported. They said Rayner "knows she can't compete with Boris' Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks". On the election trail in Bury, Johnson was asked whether there was a cultural problem in the Parliament. He told reporters: "It's hard to say on the basis of that particular story. But I have to say I thought it was the most appalling load of sexist, misogynist tripe. "I immediately got in touch with Angela and we had a very friendly exchange. If we ever find who is responsible for it, I don't know what we will do, but they will be the terrors of the earth. It's totally intolerable, that kind of thing." --IANS san/arm ( 251 Words) 2022-04-25-22:08:03 (IANS) Assam police on Monday re-arrested Independent Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, soon after a court in Kokrajhar district granted bail to him, six days after he was arrested by Assam police in connection with an "objectionable" tweet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The police from Barpeta district arrested Mevani on different charges, including outraging the modesty of a woman police officer. The other charges levelled against the legislator include IPC 294 (obscene acts or words in public), IPC 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 354 (Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will there by outrage her modesty). A woman sub-inspector had filed a complaint with the Barpeta Road police station on April 21 against Mevani alleging "on April 21 while I was escorting the arrested accused person, Jignesh Mevani, from Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar along with other police officials, the arrested accused person uttered slang words towards me". "When I asked him to behave, he got agitated and used more slang words. He pointed finger towards me and tried to frighten me and pushed me on my seat with force. He thus assaulted me during the execution of my legal duty of being a public servant and outraged my modesty by touching me inappropriately while pushing. After reaching Kokrajhar, I immediately informed the matter to my senior officers," read the complaint, which is available with IANS. The Gujarat legislator was first arrested on Wednesday night in connection with an "objectionable" comment against the Prime Minister he made through a tweet on April 18. Mevani was flown to Guwahati on Thursday morning from where he was taken to Kokrajhar by road. The Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Kokrajhar district on Thursday rejected the bail petition of the Dalit activist and sent him to three-day police custody. On Sunday, after hearing his bail petition, the court reserved its order and sent him to one-day judicial custody and asked the police to produce Mevani again in the court on Monday. Before his re-arrest, Mevani said that it is a deep-rooted conspiracy by the BJP and RSS. "They (BJP and RSS) are doing this to tarnish my image and are doing this systematically. They did it to Rohit Vemula, they did it to Chandrasekhar Azad, now they are targeting me," he told the media outside the court complex. The Gujarat legislator was arrested last week from his home state following a complaint filed by an Assam BJP leader seeking action against him under the IT Act. Ever since the arrest of Mevani, who had earlier pledged outside support to the Congress, the party has been holding demonstrations in different parts of Assam, terming the arrest as a 'conspiracy'. It also sent its legal team to Kokrajhar to look into the matter. Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah had alleged that it is a conspiracy and 'Goonda Giri' by the police, while accusing the BJP government of misusing the state's police force to deal with a simple tweet. A delegation of the All India United Democratic Front also visited Mevani at the police station. CPI-M legislator Manoranjan Talukdar and Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi too had met Mevani at the police station. The 41-year-old lawmaker was charged with criminal conspiracy, offence related to place of worship, outraging religious feelings, and provocation that might cause breach of peace. In his complaint, BJP leader Arup Kumar Dey had alleged that Mevani's comments could "incite a section of the people belonging to a certain community". --IANS sc/arm ( 618 Words) 2022-04-25-22:18:05 (IANS) BJP workers protested in front of the Coimbatore Collectorate on Monday in protest against the removal of a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Vellalor panchayat office near here a few days ago. The party workers raised slogans against Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and condemned the DMK government for having removed the photograph of the Prime Minister. The protesters, led by the party's state treasurer S.R. Segar and Coimbatore south district vice-president K. Vasantharajan, demanded that the photograph of the Prime Minister is reinstated in the panchayat office. The BJP workers also demanded action against DMK councilor Kanagaraj and party worker Kannan. Vasantharajan in his petition demanded the Coimbatore district collector to install photograph of the Prime Minister in all panchayat offices in the district. He said that otherwise the district administration must grant permission to the BJP to install the photograph of the Prime Minister in all panchayat offices. The BJP leader said that the district administration must initiate action against DMK councilor Kanagaraj and party worker Kannan for removing the photograph of the Prime Minister. He said that the party had approached the town panchayat executive officer and only with his permission they had hung the photograph in the room. He said that it was removed and thrown away by the DMK councilor and party worker. --IANS aal/arm ( 235 Words) 2022-04-25-22:28:32 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has called for a national policy on natural farming. Addressing the NITI Aayog virtual meet on Natural Farming on Monday, Reddy said that while there has been a quantitative increase in the production of food grains through the green revolution, there is a need for qualitative measurement to keep the society healthy by reducing the usage of synthetic chemicals in agriculture, in the present time. Noting that it would take 3-5 years for farmers to follow the natural farming methods, Reddy emphasised on the need for a national policy for natural farming to ensure that more incentives are given to the farmers, thus facilitating their gradual and smooth transition. He also spoke in favour of setting up mechanisms to reward states that are actively taking up natural farming. "I request that states having larger areas in natural farming should be given higher weightage in finance commission recommendations. Since they are helping the country in climate change mitigation and carbon neutrality goals. Further, the syllabus in agriculture universities should include natural/organic farming in the curriculum. There is a need for systematic research for natural farming," said Jagan Mohan Reddy. He also noted that funding for state governments transmitting into natural farming should be liberal and norms should be different. At present, the centrally sponsored schemes are at 60-40 ratio but I would strongly recommend it should be 90-10 at least, Reddy said. Andhra Pradesh has enrolled 6.31 lakh farmers utilising natural farming techniques in 2021-22, covering 2.9 lakh hectare and these initiatives are being implemented through 3,009 out of 10,778 Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK) in the state, the chief minister said. "After seeing the efforts of Andhra Pradesh in natural farming, the German government has agreed to fund setting up Indo-German Global Centre for Agro-Ecology Research and Learning (IGGARL) and the project is in the final approval stage. The German government has agreed in principle to provide a grant of 20 million euros over a period of five years. Together, we have committed to set up world-class agro-ecological research and learning centre which would produce graduates and post-graduates to integrate scientific knowledge with natural farming," said the Chief Minister. --IANS pvn/pgh ( 379 Words) 2022-04-25-23:08:04 (IANS) Visiting Singaporean Minister Dr. Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman on Monday met Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur and discussed various issues related to digital media, youth exchanges and bilateral relations, an official statement said. Dr Maliki, who is the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, as well as the Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs, informed him about the regulatory framework of digital platforms and digital media in Singapore and Thakur, discussing India's version of regulations, told him that India has a three tier mechanism for regulation, an Information and Broadcasting Ministry statement said. Thakur also apprised him of India's experiment with fact checking in form of a dedicated Fact Check Unit under Press Information Bureau and said that this is easily accessible to anyone on WhatsApp or email. He also told Maliki that India was in its 75th year of independence and since Singapore got independence on August 9, 1965, both the countries could explore celebrating a week as India-Singapore Independence Week and this could include cultural and knowledge exchange, among other things. "India is a country with a huge youth population with aspirations and I believe it is the actions taken by the youth today that will transform India for the next hundred years," Thakur said, and also informed the visiting dignitary about India's efforts to skill its young population through various skilling initiatives. Dr Maliki also invited Thakur to pay a visit to Singapore. --IANS ssb/vd ( 255 Words) 2022-04-25-23:18:06 (IANS) Raising concerns over the surplus sugarcane production in Solapur, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday urged sugar mills owners to reduce the production of sugar and increase the production of ethanol. Gadkari was in Solapur on Monday for the foundation stone-laying ceremony of national highway projects. The minister said if the production goes on like this, then farmers would have no option other than suicide. Meanwhile, India's sugar exports surged by 64.9 per cent to $4.6 billion in the financial year 2021-22 from $2.79 billion recorded in the previous year, according to the latest government data. As per data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), India exported sugar to 121 countries across the world during the financial year ended March 2022. India is the world's second-largest sugar producer after Brazil. Since 2010-11, India has consistently produced surplus sugar, comfortably exceeding the domestic requirements. The record exports would enable the sugar producers to reduce their stocks and would also benefit the sugarcane farmers, as the increased demand for Indian sugar is likely to improve their realisations, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka account for nearly 80 per cent of the total sugar production in the country. The other major sugarcane-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab. (ANI) The body of the woman was found in a well. "A woman was allegedly gang-raped and murdered at a village in Dausa district. The Woman's body was found in a well. She was walking towards her parents' house when the accused offered her a lift in their vehicle," said Dausa Additional Superintendant of Police Lal Chand Kayal. The investigation is underway. (ANI) The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, informed on Tuesday that the country's cumulative vaccination coverage has exceeded 187.95 crore (1,87,95,76,423) through 2,30,89,167 sessions, as per the provisional reports till 7 am. According to the ministry, the COVID-19 vaccination for the age group of 12-14 years was started on 16 March 2022 and 2,70,96,975 (1st dose) and 37,27,130 (2nd dose) have been administered to them. The people of the age group 15-18 years have been provided with 5,82,03,865 1st dose and 4,15,67,113 2nd dose of the Coronavirus vaccine, said the ministry. Of this cumulative vaccine coverage, 2,69,76,618 precaution doses have been administered to the ones eligible. As many as 47,15,948 precaution doses have been given to the health care workers (HCWs) and 74,02,619 jabs of it were given to the front line workers (FLWs). 1,02,702 precaution doses have been given to the people belonging to the age group 18-44 years, and 3,65,509, and 1,43,89,840 were given to the ones belonging to the age group 45-59 years and over 60 years, respectively. However, the HCWs were given with the 1,04,04,823 (1st Dose) and 1,00,13,086 (2nd Dose) against Covid-19, whereas 1,84,15,129 (1st Dose) and 1,75,33,583 (2nd Dose) were given to the FLWs. The people in the age group were administered with 55,55,33,820 (1st Dose) and 47,60,68,522 (2nd Dose) against Covid-19, whereas 20,28,90,196 (1st Dose) and 18,74,97,026 (2nd Dose) were given to the ones in the age group 45-59 years. The senior citizens (with the age of more than 60 years) have been given 12,68,43,833 (1st Dose) and 11,68,04,704 (2nd Dose) vaccines against the Coronavirus. With India's current active caseload at 15,636, the active cases now constitute 0.04 per cent of the total positive cases in the country. "Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 98.75 per cent. 1,970 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients (since the beginning of the pandemic) is now at 4,25,23,311," it said. With 2,483 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the country saw a total of 4,49,197 COVID-19 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 83.54 Crore (83,54,69,014) cumulative tests. The weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 0.58 per cent and the Daily Positivity rate is also reported to be 0.55 per cent. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to launch a mega drive across the country to spread Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message urging farmers to take up organic farming. BJP Kisan Morcha chief Rajkumar Chahar will launch the Jan Abhiyan Yatra (people's movement) on April 28 from Bihar. He will lead a 5 km Yatra with the participation of around 2000 farmers from the Bakhtiarpur area of Patna district in Bihar. "In the first phase of this public awareness campaign, the Yatra will make its way through villages on the banks of the river Ganga in Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand," Chahar told ANI. The BJP Kisan Morcha will also be organizing Kisan Sammelans and Kisan Sabhas to educate farmers about the benefits of organic farming and the schemes of the Central government supporting it. "It will be a mass movement. We will connect with farmers and inform them about the schemes of the Central Government related to organic farming. We will tell them about the support government is extending to farmers and how in the long run they will reap huge benefits from this," said Chahar to ANI. The Lok Sabha MP from Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh, Chahar, further said that since 2015 the Central Government has extended the support of Rs 1,632 cores to encourage farmers to opt for organic farming. "From financial year 2015-16 to 2019-2020, the central government has given funds worth 1,632 crores to encourage farmers to take up organic farming. Through the government support about Rs 50,000 per hectare is also being provided via different schemes for organic farming," he said. The BJP leader further said that PM Modi on many occasions has warned about the dangers of pesticides and imported fertilizers, urging small farmers to turn to organic or natural farming. "He has also emphasized the perils of using pesticides and chemicals pesticides leading to increase in the input cost and impact on the health of human beings," he added. Earlier, while addressing a webinar on the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 in the Agriculture sector, PM Modi had said, "We are encouraging organic farming because of which the market for organic products has reached Rs 11,000 crore. Organic exports have risen to more than Rs 7,000 crore from Rs 2,000 crore rupees six years ago." (ANI) The BJP leader said Mumbai police circulated a fake FIR against him on April 23 for assault. He will file a complaint regarding this today at Khar Police Station. Taking to Twitter, Somaiya on Monday wrote, "Mumbai Police circulated a FAKE FIR of mine on April 23 for assault. I have not filed any FIR. Bandra Police Station refused to register my FIR on 23 April. I will file a complaint tomorrow at 12 noon at Khar Police Station against this criminal conspiracy of bogus manipulated FIR. Earlier on Saturday, Somaiya claimed he was injured in alleged stone-pelting by Shiv Sena workers in Mumbai. In a series of Twitter posts, Somaiya said, "Heavy stone-throwing at Khar Police Station by Shiv Sena gundas (goons), my car window glass broken, I am injured, rushing to Bandra police station," Somaiya said. Following that BJP leader on Sunday said Mumbai Police has refused to register his FIR after he was allegedly attacked by Shiv Sena goons. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Manjunath Shinge said a case has been registered based on Somaiya's complaint. (ANI) Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Monday accepted the request of the organizers for taking out a religious procession on Parshuram Jayanti in the coming days. This year, Parashuram Jayanti will be celebrated on May 3. Addressing the reporters on Monday, Mishra said, "I have given instructions to the District Collector and Police Commissioner of Indore to ensure that the procession is taken out peacefully. Complete arrangements will be made soon." Highlighting about the recent communal violence that broke out in the Khargone area of the state, the minister said, "The situation is completely normal in Khargone. The day and night curfew has been completely lifted." Narottam Mishra further said on the BJP and Shiv Sena are locking horns in the Hanuman Chalisa controversy in Maharashtra. "MVA government in Maharashtra is getting shaken. It is getting difficult for Shiv Sainiks to run the government there," he said. Earlier on Monday, Misra and MLA Mahendra Hardia reached the hospital to meet Shivam Shukla, a victim of Khargone violence. While talking to the injured admitted to CHL Hospital in Indore, Narottam Mishra inquired about his condition and discussed it with his family members. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on a petition seeking direction to prepare the layout and execute the work of construction of the "Judicial Vista" over the land adjoining the present premises of the apex court. A bench of Justices Vineet Saran and JK Maheshwari listed the matter for further hearing on July 20. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India, had made a statement that the problems pointed out can be looked into by the Central Government in consultation with the Registry and petitioner, the Court observed. The Court also said that the Senior Advocate V Giri, appearing for top court may coordinate with SG Mehta and apprise him of problems that need to be resolved. The court was hearing a petition filed by Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad seeking to prepare the layout and execute the work of construction of "Judicial Vista" over the land adjoining the present premises of this Court enabling access to better and dignified working conditions for the Judges, the members of the Bar and the officials of the registry of this court as well as to provide better facilities to the litigants visiting the premises of this court for the hearing of their cases. The petition also sought to direct the Government of India to Constitute an independent Central Authority for the sole purposes of judicial infrastructure exclusively funded by the Consolidated Funds of India, for the purpose of ensuring that the infrastructure in the Courts/Tribunals in India is adequate for the Judges, Advocates, and the Litigants, so as to ensure that the quality of dispensation of justice is further improved. The present matter is being filed in the public interest, raising several important issues that are faced by the court, the registry, and the advocates, primarily practising at the Supreme Court of India. The petitioner said that he is seeking the realisation of the rights guaranteed under Article 14/19(1)(g)/21 of the Advocates, the staff, and the litigants at large. "The present writ petition in the public interest is being filed in view of the infrastructural deficit in this Court in terms of the space and other infrastructure for the smooth functioning of this Hon'ble Court, keeping in mind the needs of the Judges, the Registry and its staff, the Senior Advocates, Advocates on Record and the Advocates, their staff, and most importantly the Litigants, and seeks a direction for the construction and development of a "Judicial Vista", " the court said. The petition has sought to issue direction to the Centre to redevelop and construct a "Judicial Vista" and to constitute a Central Authority, fully funded by the Consolidated Fund of India, to cater to the peculiar and specific needs of judicial infrastructure at the Subordinate Judiciary, Statutory Tribunal, High Courts and this Court, under the Administrative Control of the Chief Justice of India. The petitioner said that there is a grave need for a Central Authority dedicated to the infrastructural needs of the Judiciary at the Apex level, the High Court level, the Subordinate Judiciary level, the Statutory Tribunal level etc. He said that the Judicial Vista and other projects ought to be undertaken by such authority, in furtherance of the peculiar and specific need for judicial infrastructure. (ANI) A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao dismissed the plea asking the lawyer not to ask for reliefs which cannot be granted by the court. As advocate Vishal Tiwari, who also filed the plea, submitted that the situation is alarming and only a one-sided investigation was going on, Justice Rao said, "You want an inquiry to be headed by former Chief Justice of India? Is anybody free? Find out. What kind of relief is this... Don't ask for such reliefs which can't be granted by this court. Dismissed." The plea sought directions to hold an inquiry into the clashes that took place in Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti. The PIL sought directions to set up a similar committee to inquire into the arbitrary action of 'Bulldozer Justice' in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. (ANI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that a Knowledge Sharing Agreement has been signed between the state government of Delhi and Punjab. Addressing a press conference in the national capital in this regard, Kejriwal said, "We have just signed the knowledge sharing agreement. It is a new step in the history of India that we have signed an agreement to share knowledge. It is wrong to say that till now, only we have done good work. We know that many state governments have done good work. But till date, we have not done the work of learning from each other. Several states chose to remain divided among the parties." "Good work done in the field of education and healthcare in Delhi is being discussed all over the world. CM Bhagwant Mann was on a two-day visit to Delhi with his ministers and officials in this regard. He visited the schools, hospitals, Mohalla clinics etc here," he said. Earlier on Monday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that the Punjab government will replicate Delhi's education model in the state where students from all economic backgrounds will get quality education. The Delhi Chief Minister also slammed those who opposed Delhi's model of education. He said today, "Our leader Manish Sisodia is on a visit to Finland to know about their education system. Sisodia, after garnering information, will try to implement Finland's model of education here. However, some say that Delhi's government is being run from Finland, Italy. What is the matter with them? Later, such critics will say that Tamil Nadu government is being run from Delhi, is it?" Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin visited the national capital and lauded Delhi's model of education. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its dissatisfaction with the Uttarakhand government for allowing the Dharm Sansad event despite prior notice and asked the state's Chief Secretary to ensure that "no hate speeches are made" at the event to be held in Roorkee on Wednesday. A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar also asked the top official to file an affidavit and explain the preventive steps taken so far and no untoward statement will be made at the event. When senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioners, informed the apex court about another scheduled Dharm Sansad event in Roorkee tomorrow, the bench told counsel of Uttarakhand, "We are now informing you about an event tomorrow. Take action." It even warned that the Chief Secretary would be asked to be present if the state failed to take preventive steps in view of Dharm Sansad proposed in Roorkee, Uttarakhand. "There is no confidence that such a thing will not happen again. You know what is said at these Dharm Sansad," the bench observed. "You know what are preventive measures... you will have to do it. And if it still happens, we will ask the Chief Secretary to remain present. We are directing you to take all these steps. You are bound to. You are not doing a favour on us by following the directions," the bench told the counsel appearing for the Uttarakhand government. It also recorded the statement of the counsel for Uttarakhand that the Dharm Sansad event which is set to take place tomorrow will not have any "untoward incident". While the state of Uttarakhand's counsel told the apex court to have "trust and faith in them", the bench reminded the Uttarakhand government about the judgment passed by the Supreme Court regarding preventive measures. It said, "Trust is for everyone but things are different on the ground. Despite the repeated pronouncement of this court, there is the Poonawala judgment and subsequent judgment enlarging the precautionary measures to be taken and corrective measures to be taken, yet things are happening." Sibal said another application has been filed by the petitioners against the proposed Dharm Sansad event in Roorkee tomorrow. The apex court also asked the Himachal Pradesh's Secretary of Home Department to file an affidavit regarding the preventive and corrective measures taken after the Dharm Sansad event which took place from April 17 to April 19 in Himachal Pradesh's Una. It directed that the affidavit be filed on or before May 7 and posted the matter for hearing on May 9. Counsel for Himachal Pradesh submitted that preventive measures were taken by the government. "We have taken preventive measures. Then we have undertaken an investigation," counsel said. To this, Justice Khanwilkar said, "You have to stop the activity and not just do the investigation. File an affidavit disclosing what steps you have taken to prevent it thereafter". "These incidents don't happen suddenly. They are announced well in advance. The local police have to get into action immediately. You file an affidavit explaining those steps. Did you spring into action immediately or not?" the bench asked. Sibal told the court that as per the permission of the bench the petitioners informed the Collector and Superintendent of Police (SP) about the Dharm Sansad event in Una, Himachal Pradesh but nothing was done. "They have been holding Dharm Sansad throughout the country. It was in Una. The Collector and the SP did nothing," added the senior counsel. The bench was hearing a plea 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. Later, an application was filed against a similar event in Himachal Pradesh. Earlier, the top court had expressed dissatisfaction at 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 on 19 December 2021, and asked it to file a "better affidavit". Delhi Police conceded before the bench 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 delivered by the 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." Counsel appearing for the Uttarkhand government had submitted that the investigation in the cases have been completed and the charge sheets have been filed. 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 plea said that it is relevant to note that no action has been taken by the Uttarakhand government and Delhi Police in relation to the event held there, despite the fact that open calls for genocide (that are available on the internet) were made therein. The plea also highlighted a video that had gone viral where a police officer was seen acknowledging his allegiance to the offenders. (ANI) Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis of misleading the people on the Hanuman Chalisa row in Mumbai. "Devendra Fadnavis is misleading people. No one is punished for chanting Hanuman Chalisa. If anyone wants to chant it, they can do it in their homes or temples. Trying to get inside someone else's home and destroying their peace is wrong," said Raut. Raut's reply came after Fadnavis (on Monday) alleged that the state government has "taken up the role of Hitler." The police took action against MP Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana after they threatened to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence in Mumbai. "The Maharashtra government wants to crush and kill the Opposition. Will Hanuman Chalisa be spoken in Pakistan, if not in Maharashtra? If sedition charges get imposed on Navneet and Ravi Rana, we will all chant Hanuman Chalisa. If the government has the guts, try charging us with sedition," Fadnavis said on Monday. Meanwhile, on the same day, the Bombay High Court also dismissed the petition moved by the couple for quashing the FIR registered against them for allegedly assaulting the police officer who came to arrest the couple. The MP-MLA couple was arrested in Mumbai on Sunday. Currently, MLA Ravi Rana is lodged in Taloja Jail and MP Naveneet Rana is lodged in Byculla Jail. On Saturday, a row started when the MP-MLA couple stated that they plan to chant Hanuman Chalisa outside 'Matoshree' (Maharashtra CM's Mumbai Residence), after which a huge crowd gathered outside the residence of the political couple waving flags with an aim to prevent them from reaching the CM's residence. The Ranas withdrew their plan to chant Hanuman Chalisa amid the protests from Shiv Sainiks that culminated in their arrest on the charge of creating enmity between different groups. Notably, issuing clarification over the row, Navneet Rana wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla stating that she wanted to ignite the flame of 'Hindutva' in Shiv Sena, not to create any religious tensions by chanting the "Hanuman Chalisa" outside the residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. (ANI) Just a day after the Delhi Police found an unidentified bag with a grenade in the Mohammadpur area of South West Delhi, a local BJP councilor Bhagat Singh Tokas has reportedly received a threat call. Tokas on Tuesday said that the hand grenade that was found on Monday in the Mohammadpur area in Delhi is the mischief of an anti-social element to threaten him and the people of Mohammadpur. "Yesterday, a hand grenade was found in Mohammadpur. So, this is the mischief of an anti-social element to threaten me and the people of my village. The investigation is going on. Someone has brought an old grenade and has kept it near my house, but I would like to say that we are celebrating the 75th Azaadi's Amrit Mahotsav and these elements should have been abolished at the time of independence. I would like to thank Delhi state BJP President Adesh Gupta that a big campaign under his leadership will be held soon for the remaining 40 more places that are named after Mughals who looted us," Tokas told ANI. Speaking about the resolution passed in the corporation for changing the name of Mohammadpur village to Madhavpuram, Tokas said, "Last year, we passed a resolution of renaming Mohhamadpur in the Zonal committee. Keeping the sentiments of the people of our village in mind, the resolution was passed by the corporation." He further spoke about the threats that he received after the resolution was passed. He said, " From then onwards, I have been receiving threat calls asking me why do I want to rename Mohammadpur to Madhavpuram. FIR was also registered for that threat and that call came from Hyderabad." "Two days before, our Delhi BJP State President Adesh Gupta held a press conference in which he asked Kejriwal that the file of renaming the place has been sent by the Chief Town Planner of MCD and yesterday a hand grenade was found in Mohammadpur," he said. "We have passed the name from the corporation. Delhi government does only appeasement politics," added the BJP leader. (ANI) Soon after Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sought a detailed factual report from the Maharashtra government regarding independent Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana's allegation about her arrest and "inhumane treatment" at Khar Police Station, Mumbai police chief shared a video of the couple to counter the MP's allegation. In the video, with the caption "Do we say anything more" shared by the Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey, Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana are seen very comfortably sipping a drink at the police station. In her letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, the MP accused Mumbai Police of not providing her drinking water in custody while allegedly citing her "neechi zaat" (lower caste), and abusing her on the basis of caste. Navneet and her husband Ravi Rana, who is an independent MLA, were arrested on Saturday from their Mumbai residence after declaring that they would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's home in Bandra. Rana was lodged after her arrest at Khar Police Station. She was later moved to the Byculla women's prison on Sunday evening. The two were booked in two FIRs lodged on charges of sedition, promoting enmity, and assaulting a public servant to prevent discharge of duty. Earlier today, officials said the MHA took the action following a request made by Lok Sabha Privilege and Ethics Committee. "MHA has sought a factual report from the Maharashtra government regarding independent Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana's allegation about her arrest and "inhumane treatment" meted out at Khar PS. Lok Sabha Privilege and Ethics Committee had asked MHA to seek a report earlier," said the officials. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has also sought details from the Maharashtra government within 24 hours on the arrest of independent MP Navneet Rana in Mumbai, after receiving a letter from the Amravati lawmaker that she had been subjected to "inhuman treatment" by the police following her "illegal" arrest two days ago. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday appointed former IPS officer Kiran Bedi to supervise a committee, formed to monitor the functioning of Rohini Ashram Housing Women. The court last week had expressed its unhappiness over the management of Rohini ashram housing several women who were alleged to be living in animal-like conditions. The bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla on Tuesday directed to constitute a committee led by a concerned District Judge having jurisdiction of the area, comprised of Concerned District Magistrate, DCP (Women Cell), Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, one nominee of Delhi Commission for Women and District officer of Women and Child Department, who shall be the convenor and shall also act as the Nodal Officer. The court also said the functioning of the said committee shall be supervised by Kiran Bedi, a retired IPS officer and it shall be the obligation of the GNCTD to provide whatever assistance is required by her in the discharge of her functions. The court while issuing direction to form a committee also said there should a proper inspection and vigilance and Government of NCT Delhi should strictly enforce the Women's and Children's Institutions (Licensing) Act, 1956. Earlier, the Court observed that prima facie the institute/ashram is functioning in violation of the Women's and Children's Institutions (Licensing) Act, 1956. The court had allowed the petitioners' parents to meet their daughters and asked the DCP concerned to ensure their protection. The bench had also expressed grave concern over the condition of over 100 girls alleged to be illegally confined in Adhyatmik Vidyalaya, a spiritual ashram in Rohini led by absconding self-styled godman Virendra Dev Dixit. The court was hearing a plea filed by an NGO, Foundation of Social Empowerment, alleging that the girls living in the premises of the educational institution were not allowed to leave the area or meet their respective families. Taking note of this, the High Court had asked the police, Delhi government and Delhi Commission for Women, to visit the place and assess the situation. (ANI) Celebrations are to be held from 11 am to 5 pm in Hyderabad. More than 3000 members have been invited to the meeting. The general body meeting will be held where elected representatives, MLA, MPs and ministers will come and Hyderabad corporators, Zilla Parishad Chairman and Municipal Chairman, ZPTC and MPP. "We apologise for not inviting the party Karyakartas," said KTR. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will release the vision and introduce 11 resolutions tomorrow at the TRS formation day. "We will discuss how the COVID-19 situation was dealt. Demonetisation and Centre's incompetence will be discussed. Discussion on farmers' problems and unemployment will also be held," he added. KTR has asked all the panchayats heads and district division heads to hoist the party flag across 12,900 Gram Panchayats and celebrate it as a festival. (ANI) Mumbai Sessions Court on Tuesday asked the Special Public Prosecutor to file a reply on April 29 to the bail plea of jailed independent MP Navneet Rana and MLA Ravi Rana in connection with the Hanuman Chalisa recital row. The court will hear the bail pleas of the Rana couple on April 29. "The court has a lot of workload, so we have accepted a reply to the bail application on April 29, after which the court will decide on further hearing. It can happen on April 29 and later as well," said Rizwan Merchant, lawyer of the Rana couple. In her application, Navneet argued that the arrest is illegal as she was not told on what grounds she was arrested. Also, notice under 141CrPC was not served before the arrest. The Mumbai police had on Saturday arrested Navneet and her husband Ravi Rana, who is an independent MLA. They were arrested on Saturday from their Mumbai residence after declaring that they would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's home in Bandra. The Rana couple was booked on charges of sedition, promoting enmity, and assaulting a public servant to prevent discharge of duty. Earlier on Monday, the Ranas approached the Bombay High Court seeking cancellation of the FIR in connection with the Matoshree (Maharashtra CM's Mumbai Residence) Hanuman Chalisa row. However, the High Court dismissed the petition moved by the Rana couple for quashing the FIR registered against them for allegedly assaulting the police officer who came to arrest the couple. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sought a detailed factual report from the Maharashtra government regarding independent Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana's allegation about her arrest and "inhumane treatment" meted out at Khar Police Station in Mumbai, top government officials said on Tuesday. The officials said the MHA took the action following a request made by Lok Sabha Privilege and Ethics Committee. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has also sought details from the Maharashtra government within 24 hours on the arrest of independent MP Navneet Rana in Mumbai, after receiving a letter from the Amravati lawmaker that she had been subjected to "inhuman treatment" by the police following her "illegal" arrest two days ago. (ANI) The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday took suo-motu cognizance of the alleged gang-rape and murder of a woman murdered at a village in the Dausa district of Rajasthan. NCW has also announced that a team led by Chairperson Rekha Sharma will visit the crime scene on April 28, and will also meet the police officials and the family of the victim. Directing the Director-General of Police, Rajasthan to immediately file an FIR, the body has sought the arrest of all accused at the earliest. "The National Commission for Women has come across several articles regarding the alleged gang rape and murder of women at a village in Dausa district of Rajasthan. It has also been reported that the accused after murdering her, dumped the body of the victim in a well. The police have so far managed to arrest only one accused. The commission has taken serious note of the heinous crime," NCW said in an official statement. "The chairperson of NCW Rekha Sharma has written to the Director-General of Police, Rajasthan to immediately file an FIR in the natter under relevant provisions of the law. NCW has also sought the arrest of all the accused at the earliest. A team led by NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma will be visiting the crime scene on Thursday that is April 28, 2022. The NCW team will also meet the concerned police officials and the family of the victim," the notice further stated. A copy of NCW's letter has been sent to Superintendent of Police, Dausa and the commission has sought a report on the action taken in the matter within three days. According to the police, a woman was allegedly gang-raped and murdered at a village in the Dausa district, said police on Monday. The body of the woman was found in a well. "A woman was allegedly gang-raped and murdered at a village in Dausa district. The Woman's body was found in a well. She was walking towards her parents' house when the accused offered her a lift in their vehicle," said Dausa Additional Superintendant of Police Lal Chand Kayal. (ANI) The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday granted an emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for the age group of 6-12 years. The Hyderabad-based Pharma company Bharat Biotech in a statement said that it had conducted phase II/III, open-label, and multicenter studies to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of Covaxin in healthy children and adolescents in the 2-18 age group. The clinical trials conducted in the paediatric population between June 2021 to September 2021 have shown robust safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity. "The data readouts were submitted to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) during October 2021, and received emergency use nod for children aged 12-18 from DCGI during December 2021," it said. Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, "We have established COVAXIN as a universal vaccine for adults and children. Safety of the vaccine is critical for children and we are glad to share that Covaxin has now proven data for safety and immunogenicity in children. We have achieved our goal of developing a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine for adults and children." Clinical trials in children documented seroconversion at 95-98 per cent, four weeks after the second dose, indicating superior antibody responses in children when compared to adults and also displayed Th1 bias. "In earlier Covaxin studies in adults, cross-reactive memory T cells against all variants of concern was reported. Data from neutralization studies against Delta and Omicron variants have been published along with the impact of cell-mediated immune responses. Since Covaxin, is an inactivated vaccine corroborative results are expected in children similar to that of adults," the statement further reads. A booster dose of COVAXIN in adults, generated robust neutralizing antibody responses against both Omicron (B.1.529) and Delta (B.1.617.2) using a live virus neutralization assay. "100 per cent of test serum samples showed neutralization of the Delta variant and more than 90 per cent of serum samples showed neutralization of the Omicron variant. These data add to the body of evidence that the broad-spectrum mechanism of action of a whole virus inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, like Covaxin (BBV152), is a viable option in this continuously evolving pandemic," it added. Covaxin is formulated uniquely such that the same dosage can be administered to adults and children alike. Covaxin is a ready-to-use liquid vaccine, stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, with 12 months shelf life and a multi-dose vial policy. It further said that the same vaccine can also be used for two-dose primary immunization and for booster dose vaccinations, making it truly a universal vaccine. Bharat Biotech has readily available more than 50 million doses of COVAXIN in vials, and more than 200 million doses as a drug substance. Additional production capacity is also available to meet product demand. (ANI) Earlier on Monday, Mevani was re-arrested by Barpeta Police for assaulting a policewoman, soon after he was granted bail in the matter connected to his tweets about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mevani was arrested by an Assam police team from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday over a couple of his tweets. An FIR was filed against him after a complaint was filed by an Assam BJP leader, Arup Kumar Dey. A case was lodged against Mevani under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), section 153(A) (promoting enmity between two communities), 295(A), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and sections of the IT Act. A couple of tweets on Mevani's Twitter handle are not visible on his feed with a message displaying that the tweets have been withheld in India based on a "legal demand". Mevani claimed that he was arrested out of a political vendetta against him. The Assam state Congress unit had protested the arrest of the Gujarat legislator. Elected as an independent MLA, Mevani had extended his support to Congress in September 2019. (ANI) West Bengal Police used water cannon to disperse BJP workers who were taking out a protest rally against the state government towards Bikash Bhavan in Kolkata on Tuesday. Lok Sabha MP and BJYM national president Tejasvi Surya was leading the protest rally while West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar, BJP MP Raju Bista, BJYM State In-charge Shakti Singh, MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato and Priyanka Tibrewal were also present at the rally. State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar alleged lathi-charge by the police. "Mamata Banerjee has killed democracy in West Bengal. We told the police to arrest or detain us but not resort to lathi-charge. But they did not. Male cops attacked our women workers. As per my info, four workers need hospitalisation, one is already hospitalised", said Sukanta Majumdar. He added, "Mamata Banerjee is a fascist and a photocopy of Hitler. The state police's only job is to stop the BJP, they do not have any other work. Mamata Banerjee, being a woman said that the woman who was raped was pregnant and had an affair." Speaking to ANI about the rally, Surya said, "Land of Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore, land that had guided the country in education in the context of the freedom movement is now sinking as far as the education system is concerned. Yuva Morcha is protesting against the politicisation and corruption in our education system". According to Surya, job recruitment in Bengal takes place based on nepotism and political connection. "It is our endeavour that we will go to Vikas Bhavan, gherao there and demand our rights. This is TMC's police and they won't work as per the Constitution. We will do our work and the police will do their work," he added. (ANI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured that the Centre will give positive consideration to the state government's request for inclusion of the Hatti community in the Scheduled Tribes list. Thakur told ANI on Tuesday that all the formalities to include the Hatti community in the tribal community list will be completed soon. The community has been demanding tribal status since 1968. Thakur met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday. The Hatti community is demographically spread in four Assembly constituencies of the Sirmour district - Shillai, Paonta, Renuka and Pachhad. The community has tribal status in Uttarakhand which shares a border with the Sirmour district. "They were accorded this status long back in 1968 and share similar culture and socio-economic conditions with those residing in district Sirmour," Thakur said. "In 1967, half of their family members who went to the Jaunsar area of Uttarakhand became tribals and those who remained on the Himachal side were not included. We have been trying to address the matter for some time," he added. The Chief Minister said that the move will benefit about three lakh population of 154 panchayats of Trans Giri area in the state. The Chief Minister said the state government has provided the Union Home Ministry all the technical information that was sought by the Registrar General of India. "The Hatti community in Himachal Pradesh has been demanding tribal status for a long time. I met Union Home Minister and discussed this. All technicalities will be fulfilled soon and the Hatti community will be given the status of the tribal community," Thakur told ANI. The Chief Minister referred to the long struggle for getting the tribal status during Congress governments and said it was turned down many times. However, he said, that BJP governments at the Centre and state always took a favourable stand for the cause of the Hatti Community and the present central government has understood the genuineness of the long-pending demand and struggle of the community. Thakur said that the BJP is ready for the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh later this year. "We will come back to power again in the state," he said. Himachal Pradesh Energy Minister Sukhram Chaudhary, who represents Sirmaur said people of the Hatti community have struggled for a long time. "We have raised this demand from time to time. Today, the Chief Minister of the state took up this matter again and we are happy that the Centre has agreed to fulfil the demand," he said. (ANI) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that the state is witnessing a "slight" rise in COVID-19 cases, but there is "no need to panic". "The state is witnessing a slight rise in COVID-19 cases. But there is no need to panic. Precautionary measures would be taken in border areas to control the pandemic", Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. Karnataka logged 85 new COVID cases taking the total active cases in the state to 1686, stated the bulletin on Tuesday. Speaking to mediapersons at the Vijayapura, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a video conference with the Chief Ministers of all states tomorrow to review the COVID-19 situation." He will be presenting his details on measures taken to control COVID-19 in the state. Effective measures like screening at airports and precautionary measures especially at the state's borders with Maharashtra and Kerala would be taken, he added. "Recently two countries have witnessed an upsurge in COVID cases. The numbers are increasing in neighboring countries like Thailand, Indonesia and China. Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed for preventive measures in the country. We held a meeting with our Technical Advisory Committee yesterday and decided to reintroduce some of the precautionary measures. Wearing a face mask has been made compulsory, and instructions have been issued to maintain social distance", Bommai said. (ANI) On Tuesday, CM KCR paid a visit to the multi-super speciality hospitals at Kothapet (LB Nagar), Erragadda Chest Hospital (Sainath Nagar), and Alwal in Hyderabad city. He addressed the gathering after laying the foundation stone for super speciality hospitals in Alwal. "We will further strengthen the medical system in the state and provide medical services to Hyderabad from all directions," he said. He said that the number of beds and facilities in rural hospitals has increased. He said that 6,000 beds are going to be increased in the hospitals in Hyderabad, Not only that, KCR assured that special ambulances would be set up. It is worth mentioning that the Telangana Chief Minister will release the vision and introduce 11 resolutions tomorrow at the TRS formation day. (ANI) A Delhi Court on Tuesday in a case related to Northeast Delhi violence framed charges against 10 accused persons for rioting, arson and vandalism including other sections. The case pertains to violence in the area of the Police Station of Gokul Puri in February 2020. Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhatt framed the charges against 10 accused, namely, Mohd. Shahnawaz @ Shanu, Mohd Shoaib, Shahrukh, Rashid, Azad, Ashraf Ali, Parvez, Md. Faisal, Rashid@ Monu and Mohd. Tahir for alleged rioting, arson and vandalism including others. The Court said, "In the case at hand, the material on record prima facie discloses that the accused were the members of an unlawful assembly on 24 February 2020 which had been formed with the objective to create fear and panic amongst the people belonging to Hindu community, to threaten them to leave the country and to cause arson, loot etc. as well as to set ablaze the shops/houses belonging to them. The material on record also disclosed the commission of offences of rioting, looting, and setting ablaze the house of the complainant by the accused. The Court observed, "Undoubtedly if the evidence collected during the course of investigation as annexed with the charge sheet remains unrebutted, the conviction of the accused is reasonably possible. Thus there is no escape from the conclusion at this stage that the accused were members of unlawful assembly which resorted to vandalization, rioting etc. and in the process robbed and set ablaze the house of the complainant. No case for discharge is made out. It is, thus, held that the charges under sections 147, 148, 436, 452, 454, 392, and 427 read with 149 IPC are liable to be framed against all the accused. Special Public Prosecutor R C Bhadauria argued that there is sufficient material on record to frame charges against all accused. All the above named accused constituted an unlawful assembly on 24 February 2020 at about 2.30 PM and in furtherance of the object of the assembly, they vandalised, robbed and set ablaze the house of the complainant Satish Kumar. In this case, the FIR was registered on 4 March 2020 on the complaint dated 1 March 2020 lodged by the complainant Satish Kumar. During the investigation, it was found that all the 10 accused are in custody in another case of Police Station Gokulpuri. They were interrogated in the jail and statements were recorded. The court rejected the contention of the defence counsel that there is an unexplained delay of nine days in the registration of FIR and none of the accused named in the same which indicates that the accused have been named as assailants in this case later on falsely. (ANI) Muslim scholar Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi has urged religious bodies to take note of the Supreme Court and reduce the decibel of loudspeakers to a "permissible" level. "There is a necessity to think about the matter of loudspeaker volume coming from mosques and temples. Being a religious scholar, I request everyone should take note of the Supreme Court guidelines and reduce the volume of loudspeakers", said Maulana Shahabuddin who is also Secretary-General of All India Tanzeem Ulama-e-Islam.He added, "No one needs to feel insulted as there will be no harm to their dignity. Rather it will be good for our society and favourable to the people living in cities and villages".The Supreme Court's June 2005 order had banned the use of loudspeakers and music systems in public between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (except in cases of public emergencies), citing the serious effects of noise pollution on the health of those residents who live in such areas.Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi said in his video statement, "Lot of problems are being faced due to loudspeakers, so there is no harm in reducing the volume. In some mosques, like Jama Masjid Al Shams at Mira Road in Mumbai, the mosque's trustee Muzaffar Hussain has made a beginning".He added, "Similarly, the ulemas of various mosques in Mumbai in a meeting have decided to fix the noise level of loudspeakers at the permissible level during 'Azaan'. They have already implemented it. Similarly, I request all the people that they themselves should decrease the volume so that we can ease noise pollution".Several religious organisations and members of the Muslim community are appealing to the mosque trustees to abide by the Supreme Court guidelines related to playing loudspeakers at religious places.The issue of Azaan giving on loudspeakers has been gaining traction ever since MNS chief Raj Thackeray gave an ultimatum for the removal of loudspeakers at mosques by May 3. (ANI) The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday granted an emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for the age group of 6-12 years. Following the DCGI's move, Paediatric Pulmonologist at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr Dhiren Gupta welcomed the decision and urged parents not to hesitate to get their children vaccinated. Meanwhile, Corbevax has been granted emergency use authorisation for the age group 5-12 years while Zydus Cadila's two-dose Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for children more than 12 years of age. "It is a good move to approve vaccines for kids. Our vaccine system has been elaborated and now we have vaccines for kids also. In the past one month, since the kids are going to school, they are getting infections. The vaccine doesn't prevent the infection but definitely helps in confidence-building for the family. Secondly, Omicron is a milder variant but in future, it will help in other variants," Dr Dhiren told ANI. The Paediatric Pulmonologist clarified that these approved vaccines are safe as experts have reviewed the data several times. He said, "This vaccine is not like experimentation. This vaccine has been there for four months. Scientists have stated its efficacy and that is why it has been rolled out for 5-12 years. We want a safe vaccine for this age group. There is no doubt that we should vaccinate our kids." Commenting on the uptick in COVID cases, Dr Dhiren termed it a "mini-surge." Speaking about the symptoms witnessed in children, the doctor said, "In April, we witnessed high-grade fever, cold and cough as the main symptoms. Not a single patient got admitted. Many who got infections in January-February are getting reinfected so don't get complacent. Prevention is going to be the cure. In the paediatric age group, other symptoms are loose motions, vomiting and nasal blockage." Dr Sameer Bhati, Public Health Expert, Member Vaccination Awareness Committee said, "During the surge in cases, this step of government will help in herd immunity. This will support reopening of schools and will be helpful for parents. People have confidence in Covaxin because it has been administered on children of 15-18 years and real-time data is also available. Corbevax is also efficacious and administered in the age group of 12-14 yrs old. Similarly, ZycovD was earlier approved for three doses, but now the DCGI has approved a two-dose regime that will improve the production. Overall the decision taken by the government will boost vaccination in India." Welcoming the vaccination for kids, Dr Nita Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor and HOD, Department of Paediatric Hematology-Oncology, Post Graduate Institute of Child Health, Noida said, "The approval for COVAXIN for children of 6 to 12 year-old kids in India could not have come at a better time than this. For children, this is a boon as it ensures protection from the virus and helps them continue schooling as it should be. These vaccines have a good safety record and have been shown to have efficacy in clinical trials. It is also helpful for children with compromised immunity as it allows them to continue treatment for cancer, bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplantation, immunosuppression for many autoimmune diseases etc. without the fear of severe COVID." Covaxin is formulated uniquely such that the same dosage can be administered to adults and children alike. Covaxin is a ready-to-use liquid vaccine, stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, with 12 months shelf life and a multi-dose vial policy.(ANI) The report was initially submitted before Home Department and was handed over to Chief Minister today. The controversy came to the fore on March 20, 2021, when Param Bir Singh levelled serious 'extortion' charges against Anil Deshmukh. In a letter to CM Thackeray in March last year, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh was involved in several wrongdoings, including asking Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. However, Deshmukh rejected these claims and announced that he will file a defamation suit against Singh. However, he stepped down as the Home Minister after the Bombay High Court directed the CBI to carry out a preliminary enquiry into these allegations. On April 21, the CBI registered an FIR against the NCP leader and unknown individuals under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120 B of the IPC. Later, the former Maharashtra Home Minister was arrested by ED in November, last year in connection with the alleged Rs 100-crore extortion and money laundering case. The special PMLA court in Mumbai has refused to grant him relief and as a result, Deshmukh continues to languish in the Arthur Road Jail. Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested the dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in March 2021 in connection with the investigation into the recovery of explosives from a car parked near Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's house Antilia in Mumbai. (ANI) The South East Central Railway, Bilaspur issued an order on April 23, 2022, stating that the operation of a total of 23 express and local trains passing through Chhattisgarh has been stopped for the next one month from April 24, 2022. In a telephonic conversation with Vaishnaw, the Chief Minister apprised him of the difficulties faced by commuters due to the cancellation of these trains. "Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel had a telephonic conversation with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and apprised him of the problems being faced by the passengers of the state due to cancellation of operation of about 23 passenger trains passing through the state," said CMO. Baghel urged the Railway Minister to resume the operation of these trains in view of public interest. The Railway Minister assured that the demand of the CM would be resolved soon after taking a suitable decision. Earlier, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister objected to the decision of the Railways to halt the operation of 23 local trains passing through the state from April 24, 2022, for track upgradation work. Chhattisgarh government wrote to Railway Board urging it to continue the operation of local trains passing through the state. According to the state government, no alternative arrangement has been made for the passengers before the closure of services of these trains. The Chhattisgarh government said earlier a total of 10 trains were discontinued by a similar kind of order by the South East Central Railway issued on March 2022. The state government wrote to Railways on April 5 requesting to continue the operation of the above trains but the request of the state government was ignored. (ANI) Speaking at the Assembly, the Chief Minister said a statue of the former chief minister Karunanidhi will be installed at Chennai Omandurar government estate in Chennai. "Karunanidhi has implemented many good schemes for Tamil Nadu which is an identity of our state. Karunanidhi was a role model for many in our country. Karunanidhi loved and lived for Tamils. Karunanidhi's birthday on June 3 will be celebrated as a government function in the state. His statue will be installed at Chennai Omandurar government estate," announced Stalin at the State Assembly, while listing out the various pro-people initiatives of his late father in various sectors. Karunanidhi, whose political career spanned over 60 years, passed away at 94 due to an age-related illness in Chennai in 2018. (ANI) Preparing for the year-end assembly polls, the youth wing in Himachal Pradesh BJP unit has completed the 'One Booth 20 Youth' campaign. The BJP youth wing has planned to connect with 20 youth who are not politically associated with any party, in each polling booth in the states. "In four phases, we have completed 'One Booth 20 Youth' in all the 7,792 polling booths of Himachal Pradesh and throughout the campaign, the BJYM has enrolled around 1.53 lakh youth across the state," Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Himachal Pradesh president Amit Thakur told IANS. During the campaign, BJYM Himachal Pradesh workers reached out to 20 youths who are not associated with any parties and explained to them about BJP ideology and agenda for the youth and the country, and motivated them to volunteer for us. "Among the 1.53 lakh youth who joined us, about 1 lakh are those who are not politically associated with any political party," Thakur said. Talking about the verification of new youth associated with the party, Thakur said that it was done digitally. "To make Himachal Pradesh BJYM paperless, we have completed the verification process digitally by using a mobile app to reduce the chances of human error while compiling the data. Even the enrolment process was done digitally," Thakur said. Now, the party will form WhatsApp groups of these youth to share the content which will be further spread by them to different social media platforms. In the recent assembly polls the BJYM has successfully executed the 'one booth-20 youth' in Uttar Pradesh, where it has formed 5,000 WhatsApp groups of youth who were not politically affiliated to any party. "Today youth play an important political role in deciding the fate of any political party and incumbent government. Through the campaign, our workers reached out to 20 youth and motivated them to volunteer for us," a BJYM functionary said. --IANS ssb/pgh ( 330 Words) 2022-04-26-19:12:05 (IANS) After the meeting, Sidhu tweeted: "Had a wonderful meeting with my old friend PK... Old wine, Old gold and Old friends still the best!!!" Sidhu has been left out in the cold ever since the party lost the elections in Punjab earlier this year. He was asked to resign after the party appointed Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as the new President of Punjab Congress. Since then the Congress has set up a new team in Punjab, reportedly annoying the former state Congress chief. Meanwhile, after declining the offer to join the Congress on Tuesday, Kishor said the party needs leadership and collective will to fix deep-rooted structural problems. "I declined the generous offer of #Congress to join the party as part of the EAG & take responsibility for the elections," Kishor tweeted. "In my humble opinion, more than me, the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," he added. The Congress on Tuesday officially announced that election Kishor will not be working for the party as he declined to be part of the empowered action group for the 2024 general elections. The declaration came a day after Sonia Gandhi had announced the constitution of the group. --IANS miz/arm ( 242 Words) 2022-04-26-19:25:07 (IANS) The Supreme Court said that fair investigation is undoubtedly imperative to protect the rights of the victims, as it expressed discontent over the investigation conducted into the death of a 17-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district. The top court handed over the probe to the Inspector General of Police on a complaint by his mother alleging brutal murder in police custody in May last year. A bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M. Trivedi said: "We are prima facie of the view that the manner in which the investigation has been conducted by the investigating officer cannot be said to be fair and impartial and the complaint of the petitioner, in our considered view, deserves indulgence of this court." The bench added that it cannot endorse its satisfaction of a fair and independent investigation and the manner in which the investigation has been conducted by the circle officer of the police station, under whose jurisdiction the charge-sheet was filed on the basis of the charges later been framed under Section 302 IPC on December 2, 2021. The bench said: "The need to ensure fair investigation of crime is undoubtedly imperative because it protects at one level the rights of the victim and the fundamental rights of every citizen in ensuring that crime is investigated and dealt with in accordance with law." The bench said it has gone through the statements recorded by the investigating officer during investigation of various police officers under Section 161 Cr.P.C. "No one has supported the case of the prosecution, but still the charge-sheet was filed under Section 304 IPC and the Sessions Judge has framed charges later under Section 302/34 IPC," it noted. The boy was allegedly assaulted in police custody for violating coronavirus restrictions in the state. The bench noted that fair investigation is the backbone of the criminal justice system and the object of the probe is to search for the truth so that it would help in meeting the ends of justice by way of fair trial in court. The bench said it has an option either to send the matter to CBI for further re-investigation, but after it heard counsel for the parties, consider it appropriate at this stage to let a senior police officer, Bhagwan Swarup, Inspector General of Police, Intelligence, HQ, Lucknow to personally undertake further investigation. The bench emphasised that the investigation on the complaint made by the petitioner on which FIR was registered, should be in a fair and impartial manner and report be furnished before it within a period of eight weeks. The bench has listed the matter for further hearing on July 19. Deceased Mohammad Faisal was reportedly selling vegetables outside his house in Bangarmau town in Unnao beyond curfew timings. According to the boy's father, the accused policeman Vijay Chowdhary and homeguard Satyaprakash allegedly started beating him for breaking curfew rules. The family alleged that he was arrested and taken to the local police station, and the police officials assaulted him further. Later, he was taken to the community health centre, where he was declared dead. --IANS ss/pgh ( 534 Words) 2022-04-26-19:32:41 (IANS) A unique megalithic burial site, dating back to around 800 BC, has been discovered at a cashew nut plantation near Ramakunja village in Kadaba taluk of Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district, it was announced on Tuesday. Based on the information provided by villagers, a team of experts visited what is known as the "Pandavara Guhe" (cave of Pandavas) and found the megalithic site, which had some startling feastures. "Usually, megalithic burials are marked by stone circles, menhirs, and stone cairns. But, it is the first time in India, a sepulchre is marked by a circle or zero. It brings up interesting questions like did megalith era people knew zero or did they invent it first?" Prof. Murugeshi T., Associate Professor and Dean of the Department of History and Archaeology, MSRS College, said. In the case which is presently under study, there is no central opening but, a huge engraving of a circle, of about 7 feet diameter, was found above the laterite surface and exactly below this in same dimension, a hemispherical cave with a side opening of about 2 feet in height, he said. This side entrance is designed like a doorframe and it's oriented to the north-east direction, he added. Perhaps, it was the first rock engraving of megalithic period found from Dakshina Kannada, says Prof Murugeshi T., adding that no grave goods were found inside the cave, but, in the centre, an altar-like pit was noticed and it is also curious. Also very small pieces of red, black, and red pottery were found in small quantities in the cave. Most probably, the cave had been robbed by the locals, the professor said. There are 2.5 or 3 feet circular openings in the centre cut into the laterite about a metre deep and the bottom is cut into a hemispherical shape with the various depths and circumferences, he said, adding that this type of rock-cut caves are common in the southern west coast of Karnataka. A small variation is found in Kerala, with side openings in the subsurfce, but central opening was common in both the cases. Evidence of megalithic culture, including its burial sites and other unique features, has been frequently found in south India, including Karnataka. Coastal Karnataka and Kerala recorded a very special type of megalith phenomenon like rock-cut caves, scooped out in the laterite earth. "I am thankful to Nischith and his family for their local hospitality and grateful to Yusuf Haider of National Gold and Diamonds, Mangalore for providing the vehicle. I also appreciate my students, Shreyas, Goutham, Shariq, Karthik, Dishanth and Vishal Rai for their 2 days of hard work in excavating the cave," Prof. Murugeshi added. --IANS mka/vd ( 466 Words) 2022-04-26-19:54:05 (IANS) Clashes broke out between police and BJP activists, on Tuesday afternoon, after the latter tried to approach West Bengal Education Department headquarters at Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake to protest against the alleged irregularities in West Bengal State Service Commission recruitments. The police used water cannons in a number of phases to stop approaching BJP activists led by BJP youth wing BJP Yuva Morcha national President Tejasvi Surya, and West Bengal unit President, Sukanta Majumdar. However, the police, which was already ready with a three-layered barricade in front of Bikah Bhavan, was ready much before the protesters reached. However, after the BJP supporters broke through the first layer of the barricades, police used water cannons to disperse the mob. Speaking to the media persons, Surya accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of ruining the education system in the state. "And now we are organising a protest demonstration in a democratic manner, we are being stopped by police," he added. After being stopped by police, Majumdar, along with his associates organized a sit-in demonstration in front of Bikash Bhavan. "There had been massive irregularities in recruitment in WBSSC, where genuine and eligible candidates were denied jobs and instead confidants of the state's ruling party were offered berths. So naturally as the state's principal opposition party we will protest. But the police throttled our democratic movement by using police in an undemocratic manner," he claimed. State Education Minister, Bratya Basu, however, said that BJP has no right to speak about alleged WBSSC irregularities, when Madhya Pradesh, under the BJP's rule, witnessed the Vyapam entrance examination scam. The CBI is probing the scam, which reportedly took place when current state Commerce and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee was Education Minister. --IANS src/vd ( 299 Words) 2022-04-26-20:04:04 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said no citizen should be deprived of his or her property without authority of law, as it would be a violation of the Constitution. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Vikram Nath said: "Construction/widening of road no doubt would be a public purpose but there being no justification for not paying compensation, the action of the respondents would be arbitrary, unreasonable and clearly violative of Article 300-A of the Constitutiona. The bench said Article 300A though not a fundamental right but nevertheless it has status of being a constitutional or a statutory right and it provides that no citizen would be deprived of his property save without authority of law. "Depriving somebody of his property, where it is land, can be made by number of modes e.g. by acquisition, surrender or by transfer and other facets also," it said, adding that in the present case, land being utilised for the road to be owned by the panchayat/municipality, could either have been voluntarily surrendered, transferred by way of title deeds, or by way of acquisition as may be provided under the statute. The top court's judgment came on a plea filed by eight farmers challenging a Kerala High Court judgment, which dismissed their appeals for compensation for taking over their 1.7 hectares of land for widening of road by Sulthan Bathery Municipality. The high court relied on the Panchayat's contention that they had voluntarily surrendered their land for no consideration. The top court noted that the high court proceeded on a wrong premise on shifting the burden on the appellants. "The assertion that it was surrendered voluntarily without any claim for consideration is by the panchayat/municipality. The PWD has only stated that it received the land from the panchayat and that it was given to understand that the land was surrendered voluntarily. Thus, it is the stand of the panchayat/ municipality which is to be taken note of," it noted. The bench said the panchayat and the PWD have failed to produce a single piece of document or evidence in any other form in support of their defense that the appellants have surrendered their land voluntarily. "The consistent stand of the appellants, on the other hand, has been that they have not given their land to the panchayat voluntarily and that they were assured that they would be suitably compensated," it noted. The top court said in this matter there is neither any acquisition proceedings nor any transfer of rights by the appellants by way of sale, gift or otherwise. "The appellants are farmers and the land utilised is agricultural land. It was part of their livelihood. Depriving them of their part of their livelihood and also of their property without authority of law would be violative of Article 21 and Article 300A of the Constitution," it said, as it set aside the judgment passed by the division bench of the high court in 2018, and maintained the single judge bench's decision, which directed for disbursal of amount as may be determined by the Collector after ascertaining the market value of the property to the parties concerned. --IANS ss/vd ( 541 Words) 2022-04-26-20:08:03 (IANS) Senior officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs have told the police of the four eastern Indian states -- West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha to remain alert during the next 15 days over possible Maoist activities. The alert was issued by senior officials of the Union ministry of home affairs at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eastern Zonal Council that took place at the West Bengal state secretariat of Nabanna here on Tuesday. Besides senior officers of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the meeting was also attended by the chief secretaries and home secretaries of the four eastern Indian states, among others. Although, none of the attendees in the meeting was ready to face the media to detail the discussions on the meeting, highly placed sources from the West Bengal government told IANS on the condition of anonymity that as the alerts of MHA officials the next 15 days are extremely crucial for these four states as there are central intelligence inputs of resurgent Maoist activities in the region during that period. Although there had been no Maoist activities in West Bengal recently, the West Bengal police is worried about the recovery of Maoist posters in the once Maoist stronghold of Junglemahal area scattered over the three districts of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore. Even the state police director general, Manoj Malviya had visited the Junglemahal area and reviewed the security arrangements there. It is learned that in Tuesday's meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eastern Zonal Council, the West Bengal government representatives complained about withdrawal of central armed forces from the erstwhile Maoist bastions without prior discussions with the state government concerned. The state government also presented the details of the current security arrangements in the Junglemahal area. In the meeting, the representatives of the West Bengal government also stressed on greater coordination between Border Security Force and local police personnel in the Indo-Bangladesh bordering villages in the state. The issue of raising barbed fencing at the borders was also discussed. --IANS src/pgh ( 349 Words) 2022-04-26-20:30:03 (IANS) Ca Mau Airport upgrade may need over VND100 billion The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has just proposed a plan to upgrade the Ca Mau Airport which may need VND100 billion (USD4.56 million) in funding. Ca Mau Airport In a report recently sent to the Ministry of Transport, CAAV said that Ca Mau Airport now has a 1,500-metre-long runway, a taxiway and plane parking area with two slots. The airport can now only serve the ATR 72-500, AN-2, MIA-17, King Air B200 and similar planes. Only VASCO currently operates these models. The ATR 72-500 is already being used for the direct Ca Mau-HCM City flights. According to CAAV, Bamboo Airways has proposed to operate the Embraer 190 plane from Ca Mau Airport to Hanoi and HCM City. To serve that plane, it is necessary to upgrade the runway, taxiway, and parking area at the airport, which is estimated to take two and a half months and cost VND105 billion. Ca Mau Airport functions as both a commercial and military facility. Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee previously proposed to the PM to approve the decision to upgrade Ca Mau Airport in the 2021 to 2025 period and create favourable conditions for airlines to invest, open new air routes and encourage healthy competition. "In order to build the master transportation plan with a view to 2030, it's an urgent matter to upgrade Ca Mau Airport including a longer runway and larger civil terminal to receive Airbus 320 and Airbus 321 and similar planes for Ca Mau-Hanoi and Ca Mau-Danang routes," the committee proposed. The Central government has told the Supreme Court that there is no provision under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, to release funds to state governments, yet for the effective implementation of the Act, funds are released for schemes pertaining to safety and security of women and children. In a counter affidavit, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said: "Though under the PWDV Act, there is no provision to release funds from Central government directly in the name of PWDV Act, yet for effective implementation of the Act, funds are released to states/UTs under various central schemes/ programmes pertaining to safety and security of women and children." The ministry emphasised that it is working in tandem with state governments and UTs for effective implementation of the PWDV Act and "also constantly endeavouring to combat all the crimes against the women including cases of domestic violence". The top court had asked the government to indicate broadly what are the desirable qualifications and eligible terms for the creation of a regular cadre of protection officers, as well as the nature of their training and other standards. To this, the Centre said it may not be in position to prescribe a uniform and regular cadre structure for appointment of protection officers as their appointments are by states, depending on their requirements - such as the number of districts, number cases, and number of magistrates to look after domestic violence cases etc., The affidavit added: "As per information received from states/UTs, a total of 2,95,601 complaints/litigations have been registered under PWDV Act, whereas number of courts for the purpose has been reported as 6,289. There are 807 shelter homes and over 700 one stop centres (OSCs) to take care of women affected by violence and in distress across the country." It said as per the provisions of PWDV Act, the responsibility of its implementation mainly lies with the state governments and UT administrations, as they have been authorised to appoint protection officers in each district by notification. "As per information received from states/UTs, total number of protection officers notified under PWDV Act in the country is 3,637 and out of which 710 are holding regular charge, 272 are working on contract basis and remaining are holding additional charge," it added. The ministry said states/UTs have assigned additional charges of the post of protection officer to the departmental officers looking after child welfare or protection, or women welfare. It added that the protection officers are appointed by the state governments and they can be selected/appointed from a non-government organisation also. On the aspect of a separate cadre for protection officer for various Acts for women - The Dowry Prohibition Act, the PWDV Act, The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013, The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, etc, the ministry said: "Majority of states/UTs have proposed for a separate cadre structure for protection officer for effective implementation of PWDV Act, as per information received from them so far." According to the Centre, there are 35 projects or schemes being implemented by various ministries, under Nirbhaya Fund. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati represented the Central government in the top court. The Centre's response came on a plea filed by NGO 'We the Women of India" seeking to plug massive gaps in infrastructure under PWDV Act, across the country for providing effective legal aid to females abused in matrimonial homes. The NGO also sought creation of shelter homes for women post lodging of complaints against husbands and in-laws. The NGO was represented by advocate Shobha Gupta. On February 25, a bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit and comprising Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and P.S. Narasimha noted that the Union has indicated that in some states, if not all, the situation is far from satisfactory. "Many states have chosen to designate Revenue Officers or members of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) as protection officers. This clearly was not the intent of the lawmakers, since such revenue or administrative officials would be unable to devote time to discharge the fairly intense work required and expected of protection officers," noted the bench, in its order. The top court had asked the Centre to file an affidavit on the nature of central programmes/plans outlining assistances to support the efforts under the domestic violence act by various states, collect state-wise relevant data of litigation under the Act with respect to the complaints made, number of courts, and, the relative number of protection officers (POs), and other aspects connected with POs. --IANS ss/vd ( 776 Words) 2022-04-26-20:50:03 (IANS) Opposing the appeal filed by JNU scholar-activist Umar Khalid for denying bail to him, the Delhi Police on Tuesday argued that the trial court rightly dismissed his bail application by a well-reasoned order. In its reply, the Delhi Police said the Appellant before the Trial Court raised dogmatic arguments seeking to conduct a mini-trial at the stage of deciding the bail application and to view the Appellant's role in isolation in the case of conspiracy which is impermissible in law. The Trial Court rightly dismissed the bail application of the Appellant by a well-reasoned order dealing with each and every speculative argument raised by the Appellant. At the cost of repetition, it is humbly submitted that the impugned order suffers from no illegality which merits interference by this Court, the Delhi Police submitted. On March 24, a Delhi court dismissed the bail application of former JNU student-activist Umar Khalid in a case related to the alleged "larger conspiracy" behind the Delhi riots. Denying bail, the court observed that the contention that he is a researcher and his bent of mind can be assessed from his doctoral thesis on welfare aspects of tribals of Jharkhand and other writings is not a relevant consideration while deciding the bail application. In the order, the court held that if the bent of mind is to be assessed in this manner, then the co-accused Sharjeel Imam has written a thesis on riots but any thesis or research work done by any accused, by itself, cannot be a ground for assessing his bent of mind. A bail application must be decided on facts presented in the charge sheet, it said. The court said it agreed with counsel that there are some inconsistencies in the statements of some protected witnesses, however, a finding has to be given on a cumulative reading of statements of all the witnesses and other events presented in the charge sheet. --IANS jw/pgh ( 335 Words) 2022-04-26-21:22:02 (IANS) Following Delhi High Court's order, nurses of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) called off the strike on Tuesday night. "We are accepting the decision of the Delhi High Court. We have been asked to appear in court on Wednesday. We will do so and based on the decision of the court, we will chalk our future course of action," said a representative of the AIIMS nurses union. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the AIIMS nurses union to ensure that the employees including nurses who are on strike join duties immediately. On Tuesday AIIMS moved Delhi HC seeking direction to the Nurses Union and any staff of AIIMS to desist from resorting to strike or in any manner disrupting the general functioning of the petitioner's institute and hospital. The bench of Justice Yashwant Varma on Tuesday directed Nurses Union to ensure that its workers including nursing officers immediately start working and issued notice to the nurses union. The court listed the matter for a detailed hearing on Wednesday morning while hearing a petition moved by the AIIMS administration against the ongoing strike by nurses. In response to the suspension of the President of AIIMS Nurses Union, Harish Kajila, the nursing staff of the hospital on Tuesday went on an indefinite strike. The nurses union has demanded the immediate revocation of Kajla's suspension. In a letter addressed to the AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, the Union wrote, "In response to your unilateral decision to suspend Harish Kajila, president of AllMS Nurses Union, without even citing proper reasons, the union called an emergency executive meeting and took the decision to go on indefinite strike from 8 AM on April 26 demanding immediate revocation of suspension of Harish Kumar Kajla and stopping of all kinds of retaliative measures against union executives and Union members of main operation theatre (OT)." "The union has always been receptive and open to expressing our genuine concerns and version throughout this issue. But unfortunately, we were neither called, nor contacted via any communication which forced us to go on an indefinite strike to safeguard the basic rights of our members. We would like to remind you that the undemocratic AllMS administration will be solely responsible for the consequences if any," the letter read. On April 23, AIIMS witnessed a dispute between the nursing officer Harish Kajila and the Resident Doctors Association. The nursing staff were protesting over the lack of manpower and late duty hours in the main operation theatre. (ANI) Google on Tuesday said it is rolling out a new data safety section in the Play Store, where developers will be required to give people more information about how apps collect, share and secure users' data. App developers have till July 20 to add the information to their listings. "As app developers update their functionality or change their data handling practices, they will show the latest in the apps' Data safety section," the company said in a blog post. Users will start seeing the Data safety section in Google Play from Wednesday. The new initiative on Google Play Store follows the launch of a similar feature on Apple's App Store in late 2020. "We designed the Data safety section to allow developers to clearly mark what data is being collected and for what purpose it's being used. Users can also see whether the app needs this data to function or if this data collection is optional," said Google. Google said it has also worked hard to give users control of installed apps through simple permissions features. "The taxonomy and framework of the Data safety section on Google Play may differ materially from those used in other app stores," the company said. The initiative is meant to "help people understand the data an app collects or shares, if that data is secured, and additional details that impact privacy and security." --IANS na/ ( 244 Words) 2022-04-26-21:44:03 (IANS) On the 33rd birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the United States on Monday (local time) urged the People's Republic of China (PRC) to account for his whereabouts, who remains missing since 1995. "Today marks the 33rd birthday of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, who remains missing since PRC authorities abducted him as a six-year-old child on May 17, 1995," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. The PRC continues to deny members of the Tibetan community access to the Dalai Lama-designated Panchen Lama, the second most revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism, and instead continues to promote a state-selected proxy, said the statement. "We urge PRC authorities to account for Gedhun Choekyi Nyima's whereabouts and well-being immediately and to allow him to fully exercise his human rights and fundamental freedoms, in line with the PRC's international commitments," the statement said. According to the statement, the United States supports Tibetans' religious freedom and their unique religious, cultural, and linguistic identity, including Tibetans' right to select, educate, and venerate their own leaders, like the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, according to their own beliefs and without government interference. After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, Dalai Lama and his search party (in Tibet) started searching for the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and finally on May 14, 1995, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a 6-year-old boy in Tibet was recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama, reported Tibet Rights Collective. However, things turned worst when the 6-year-old boy and his family were kidnapped on May 17. For nearly 27 years, Tibetans have not seen their 11th Panchen Lama pictures. The Chinese officials have only given words to the world that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family are doing well, reported Tibet Rights Collective. Last Panchen Lama, the 10th Panchen Lama stayed back in the region after the revolt broke out between Tibet and Chinese officials. While he was in the region, he submitted a 70,000-word petition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which led to his arrest. Dalai Lama, another head of the Gelugpa sect, took shelter in India and garnered international support, and made the people of the world aware of the atrocious acts that were happening in Chinese occupied Tibet. (ANI) The speculation of a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan amid Beijing's support for Russia's military operation in Ukraine has triggered an unprecedented capital flight from China with a large offloading of Chinese government bonds by overseas investors in recent months, said a media report. China is facing a huge trust deficit from international investors as it witnessed portfolio outflow worth nearly USD 18 billion last month, reported The Hong Kong Post. The country witnessed a record bond-market retreat by foreign investors in recent months with an offloading of Chinese bonds worth USD 5.5 billion in February, reported CNN citing data from the Chinese government. This comes as China's ambiguity concerning the Ukraine-Russia war is scaring away the investors. Though the communist country refuses to criticize "friend" Russia's actions in Ukraine, Beijing has not done anything to help Moscow for the fear of attracting crippling sanctions from the West. "There is nervousness about China's ambiguous, but Russia-leaning stance on the Ukraine conflict, which raises worries that China could be targeted by sanctions if it helps Russia," CNN quoted Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, as saying. The American media outlet also cited "rate hike in the United States and China's strict COVI-related lockdowns" as a reason behind the capital flight. China's rigid 'Zero-COVID' policy that led to the complete shutdown of scores of cities and towns, including Shanghai, its ports and airports, halting manufacturing and trade, has increased "uncertainties about future growth", reported The Hong Kong Post. According to analysts, the Chinese government's crackdown on private businesses late last year to instil fiscal discipline also had a cascading effect on the economy, affecting industry morale and making foreign investors more nervous as they don't want to play regulatory guessing games or worry that tomorrow's news may deplete another company or business model in China. Amid such a situation, international organizations and investment banks have slashed their growth projections for China this year with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reducing its prediction from 4.8 to 4.4 per cent. (ANI) Lavrov spoke with various Russian news agencies where he criticized Ukraine's approach to the peace talks, reported The Moscow Times. He said: "Goodwill has its limits. But if it isn't reciprocal, that doesn't help the negotiation process." On the recent meeting between Russia and Ukraine, held in Istanbul, Turkey, Lavrov mentioned that Kyiv had presented a draft agreement which marked a departure from its previous stand. Further, Lavrov asserted that Russia will continue to engage in negotiations with the team assigned by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But, he added that Zelenskyy was pretending on peace talks. Lavrov warned that the danger of World War III is as real as it sounds. "The danger is serious, it is real, you can't underestimate it," the Russian Foreign Minister quoted by The Moscow Times. (ANI) Alarmed by the critical humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, independent UN human rights experts on Monday called for the United States to end its freeze on Afghanistan's foreign assets. The Da Afghanistan Bank has more than USD 7 billion in blocked reserves that could be used to provide desperately-needed humanitarian relief to tens of millions in the country, said the group of experts. "We are gravely concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, which puts at serious risk the lives of more than half of the country's population, with disproportionate impact on women and children," they said. In February, US President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order to continue to block the cash and reportedly use part of the funds for purposes within the US, instead of the immediate and longer-term humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. The rights experts appealed to Washington in a statement, saying that humanitarian exemptions to Afghan sanctions - agreed to by UN Security Council last December - has led to "no significant progress" in financial or commercial aid to Afghanistan, as many foreign banks were concerned about breaching restrictions. Gravely concerned about the humanitarian crisis in the country, the experts added that it "puts at serious risk the lives of more than half of the country's population". "While gender-based violence has been a long-standing and severe threat to women and girls, it has been exacerbated by the measures imposed by the US, together with the drought and widening gender-based discrimination adopted by the de facto authorities", the statement continued. Echoing the words of the UN Secretary-General, who recently called it an 'epic humanitarian crisis on the verge of a development catastrophe', the experts urged States to re-assess any adopted unilateral measure and lift all obstacles in providing the necessary financial and humanitarian aid. In January, the UN launched its largest-ever humanitarian appeal for a single country, requiring more than USD 5 billion this year to help the Afghan people. According to international assessments, Afghanistan has now the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world, with more than 23 million in need of assistance, and approximately 95 per cent of the population having insufficient food consumption. Of particular concern is the vulnerability of more than four million internally displaced, including people belonging to minorities and over 3.5 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Furthermore, the experts highlighted that since the December adoption of Security Council resolution 2651 and the establishment of humanitarian exemptions to existing sanctions, there has been no significant progress in financial or commercial flows for development and humanitarian purposes to Afghanistan by States or international financial institutions. The uncertainty caused by banks' zero-risk policies and over-compliance with sanctions has left humanitarian actors facing serious operational challenges. According to the experts, the US Executive Order may "exacerbate the climate of uncertainty among relevant actors...resulting in over-zealous compliance with sanctions," thus preventing Afghans from "access to basic humanitarian goods". The UN experts called on the US to seriously consider the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and re-assess its decision to block the Da Afghanistan Bank's foreign assets, recalling that States have an obligation under international human rights law to guarantee that activity under their jurisdiction does not result in human rights violations. They concluded by calling US authorities to take all appropriate action to reverse the unilateral measure and contribute to international efforts in addressing the growing humanitarian crisis in the country. Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. They are independent from any government and are not paid for their work. (ANI) The ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, which is the worst in the country's history, is a man-made problem while warning signs visible for a year were ignored, said Professor Mick Moore, a highly acclaimed political economist and professorial fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. In an interview with Amsterdam based think tank European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) last week, Moore said the Sri Lankan economic crisis is almost entirely caused by government decisions that were extremely unwise. Moore in the interview analysed the prevailing political and economic situation in Sri Lanka and the possible trajectories in the coming months. Professor Moore suggested that the current economic conditions in Sri Lanka translate into the country's worst economic crisis in recorded history and that this crisis, although exacerbated by falling tourism revenues due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and rising food and fuel prices, was caused almost entirely by unwise policy decisions made by the Rajapaksa administration. Professor Moore outlined that a rapid decrease in national foreign exchange reserves has created major restrictions on the availability of imported everyday goods, creating fuel, energy, food, and medicine shortages. The decrease in foreign exchange reserves has come as the result of the government taking on a growing number of loans in foreign currencies without being financially capable of servicing the debt, according to the Professor. Moore highlighted that this growing payment pressure has not been sprung on the Rajapaksa government suddenly, as it was already evident for more than a year that the national foreign exchange reserves would run out soon, and response to this looming balance of payments crisis robbed the country of its valuable negotiation time. Most of the acquired debt has been accumulated due to the government taking out significant loans to fund domestic infrastructure projects that were politically popular, which practically reinforced rent-seeking behaviour and patronage networks, while economically they made very less sense. Domestically, Professor Moore pointed out, the Rajapaksas, who have inserted several family members into key political positions, have enjoyed significant support due to their role in the civil war. This base of popular support, however, has been rapidly eroded by economic and financial mismanagement and the Rajapaksa's assumption that the family could push through any kind of policy. When discussing the role of Chinese investments in infrastructure and their alleged contribution to the economic and political crisis in the country, Moore stated that it is important to mention that China is not the only funding body in those projects and thus the responsibility for the status quo is shared together with other actors. According to him, the current unfavourable circumstances are the result of debt accumulation, policy missteps and ill-conceived infrastructure projects built with Chinese funds. Professor Moore further explained how given the geostrategic importance of Sri Lanka, the competition for economic and political influence on behalf of foreign actors is inevitable; hence, the involvement of China is not isolated. Answering a question on long-term structural reforms, Professor Moore argued that the long-term economic outlook for Sri Lanka is not at all bleak, as the country has benefited greatly from Asia's economic growth, and there are new economic activities emerging. When it comes to the fiscal crisis, he said one conceivable solution would be to reverse the recent changes made by the government regarding the tax cut. (ANI) The Russia-Ukraine war has brought a new evolution in the geopolitics of energy. In the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the European Union and other western countries imposed sanctions on Russia after which, the countries are looking towards Central Asian countries as an alternative for the supply of gas. The Repower EU initiative has three objectives with an aim at strengthening the EU's energy structure and they are--(i) increase natural gas imports from non-Russian sources, (ii) enhance the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from non-Russian sources, and (iii) boost the development of bio-energy and promote the production of renewable energy. With the aim to achieve the third objective, which focuses on boosting the development of bio-energy and promotion of the production of renewable energy, EU countries are looking towards Central Asian countries and it seems that Turkmenistan is their primary choice for gas supply to Europe. The gas supply for the EU from other countries (except Central Asian Countries) is unfeasible. Israel, which has gas export agreements with a number of countries, its own gas supply is fragile. Qatar, on other hand, transports only 10 to 15 per cent of LNG to Europe, according to a report in the European Times. After all this, Turkmenistan seems the right option but China will become a major competition for Europe as the Communist country is the largest buyer of Turkmen gas accounting for over 60 per cent of pipeline imports in 2019. The payment dispute with Russia and Iran in 2016 and 2017 respectively, left China as the only major export market for Turkmenistan. Not only this, but the Communist country is also Turkmenistan's primary international lender, having provided over USD 8 billion in loans to develop the country's gas infrastructure. Turkmenistan repays the loan with the revenue which Beijing give due to its gas deal, this enables China to have a continued influence on Turkmenistan, European Times reported. Beijing has apparently monopolized exports of Turkmen natural gas to such an extent that gas has been used as a de-facto form of currency in economic contracts between the two countries. In the view of the current limited gas capacity of Turkmenistan, the supply of natural gas to Europe will lead to a situation where the "fighting for gas" can be created and even the cost of China's gas imports may also go up as the Turkmen gas price will go high due to its huge demand. Once the EU enters the Central Asian gas market, the United States may follow the same path. Therefore, the Central Asian Caspian region could face a new round of geopolitical risks, which may negatively impact China's political diplomacy, trade and economic investments, and many more. (ANI) "Yes, the EAM will pay a one-day visit to Dhaka on Thursday," Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters in Delhi on Monday. "He will carry a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit India," Shringla was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune. Shringla made these remarks in response to queries from journalists at an event at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Foreign Secretary and Bangladesh High Commissioner Muhammad Imran on Monday attended the award-giving ceremony for felicitating winners of a competition conducted on the occasion of India-Bangladesh Friendship Day. During the event, Shringla shared views on strengthening the bilateral partnership. Both representatives felicitated the winners of the Maitri Diwas logo and backdrop competition conducted on the occasion of India-Bangladesh Maitri Diwas. "FS @harshvshringla and Bangladesh High Commissioner Muhammad Imran felicitated the winners of the India-Bangladesh #MaitreeDiwas logo and backdrop competition. Also shared views on further strengthening bilateral ties, including youth connect, innovation and emerging areas," said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted. (ANI) The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned 46 dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the National and Punjab assemblies to appear before it on April 28 and May 6 respectively, reported local media. The ECP on Monday issued notices to 20 PTI members of the National Assembly and 26 members of the Punjab Assembly, asking them to appear before the commission, reported the Dawn newspaper. The decision was taken at an ECP meeting where the commission deliberated upon a letter written by the PTI chairman Imran Khan. Notably, ahead of the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan-led government, the PTI had filed a reference against its 20 dissident members of the National Assembly, seeking their disqualification. Further, Punjab Assembly speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is also said to have sent references against 26 dissident members to the ECP. However, after his ouster, Imran Khan, in a letter, informed the ECP over a week ago that the party lawmakers had resigned from the National Assembly and asked the commission not to appoint any of them as Leader of the Opposition or a member of any parliamentary committee, according to the media outlet. In the letter, Imran Khan said that the PTI refused to recognize the "imported government" formed in an "unconstitutional way" and thus, the party had resigned from all the seats in the National Assembly on April 11, while references had also been filed for action against the defiant members under Article 63-A of the Constitution. "I hereby withdraw the names of women and minority members on the reserved seats of PTI MNAs, the party will not be responsible for any action taken by these members. PTI MNAs have resigned, so no member should be nominated in the name of PTI as the Leader of the Opposition or member of the parliamentary committee," the media outlet quoted Khan as saying. Notably, the letter, submitted by Babar Awan to the ECP, also demanded strict action against those who use PTI's name at any forum. (ANI) Senior executives, business leaders of private sectors, venture capitalists, the institutional investors, who represented combined assets under management of over USD 1 trillion, attended the meeting with Sitharaman. In the meeting with the investors in the clean energy sector, the minister discussed topics pertaining to India's potential for producing sustainable energy, waste-to-energy, and energy alternatives. The minister told the investors that over the next few years, India is prepared to be the world's fastest-growing major economy. President of USIBC, Atul Keshap moderated the meeting while the Chief Economic Advisor, V Ananth Nageswaran, India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, along with other senior officials attended the roundtable. "Where technology and capital converge! Excellent exchange of ideas at @USIBC @FollowCII #fintech roundtable w FM @nsitharaman in #SiliconValley. Friends frm industry deliberated on opportunities that #India's fast digital journey & reforms offer to VCs, funds & asset managers." Sandhu tweeted. After a roundtable with the members of the semiconductor industry, the Finance Minister visited Applied Materials', Maydan Technology Centre, located in the Silicon Valley, to observe research in the field of semiconductors. Earlier, the Finance Minister also met with World Bank President, David Malpass, in Washington on Friday, discussing important economic issues, India's continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (ANI) Dismissing the news alleging that the former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's both sons were part of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's official delegation to Saudi Arabia, Hassan Nawaz Sharif, son of Nawaz Sharif said that the news about his trip is fake and run with malicious intentions. "The news run about my Saudi visit is completely fake and run with malicious intentions. I never had any plan to go to Saudi Arabia. I didn't apply for a visa and I am very much in London. I am in London with my father and I have no plans of visiting Saudi Arabia anytime soon," Hassan was quoted as saying by Geo TV. When the publication contacted Nawaz's other son, Hussain Nawaz then he also denied the news and said that he arrived in Saudi Arabia on March 25 at his own expense and alone. "I came to Jeddah at my own expense and am staying at my own house which is an hour away from Haram. Madinah Pak is only 3.5 hours away from my house. We have our own cars, I have no idea who added me to the list and for whatever purpose. I have never used state expense for anything. We have been living and working in Saudi Arabia for over two decades and it's a well-known fact," Hussain Nawaz was quoted as saying by Geo TV. Pakistan PM Sharif's son-in-law Imran Ali, who lives in London, also reacted to the list of travellers going along with the PM to Saudi Arabia and said, "I am surprised that my name was added to the list. I am not part of any official delegation and I have no immediate travel plans for any place. Someone has published fake news about me." The delegation, according to sources, will include the following individuals, among others: PM Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Balochistan National Party (Mengal) (BNP-M) chief Akhtar Mengal, BAP (Balochistan Awami Party) leader Khalid Magsi and many others, reported Geo TV. The same list claimed that from London to Jeddah, Hussain Nawaz and his wife will be part of the delegation. A private TV channel claimed that Hassan Nawaz will also be travelling. Both of them have denied the news. Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the next few days. Dozens of officials and political leaders will accompany the Pakistan Prime Minister on his maiden visit to the Kingdom. Meanwhile, on Monday, the newly-elected Pakistan PM presided over a meeting here to review preparations for his official visit to Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, he said that Pakistan valued its long-standing brotherly ties with Saudi Arabia and it was looking forward to enhancing the same in future. According to The News International, he directed the relevant authorities to make effective recommendations for strengthening the Pak-Saudi Arabia bilateral ties. (ANI) Afghanistan's former President Hamid Karzai has raised concerns over the closure of schools for girls, above grade 6, by the Taliban regime, stating that the people of Afghanistan want their girls to return to schools. "There is no way... that the country can live without our girls going to school. It can't be. The Afghan people will not allow that and I am sure the schools for girls will reopen because that is what the Afghan people want and want clearly," Karzai said as cited by Tolo News. The Taliban has received constant backlash from other countries as well owing to its decision to shut schools for girls from grades 7 to 12 and it has been about 120 days since Afghan girls have been barred from going to school. Several Afghan clerics, notable politicians and members of the civil society have urged the Taliban to consider the reopening of schools for the female students and grant them access to education, reported Tolo News. Further, Human Rights Watch has expressed concerns that banning girls from going to school will lead to a rise in early marriages for them. Associate Director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, Heather Barr said that thousands of Afghan girls have been denied education for almost a year, emphasizing that blocking them from receiving education will become the cause of child marriage and forced marriage. "They are imposing a new law with each passing day, but there is a serious will to reopen the schools," said Naveeda Khurasani, a women's rights activist as reported by Tolo News. Earlier, the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said that the closing of secondary and high schools for girl students is a serious issue. It has also planned on paying a two-month emergency cash support of about 200,000 to the teachers across Afghanistan and has provided over 35 million textbooks in the country so far. (ANI) Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the next few days. Dozens of officials and political leaders will accompany the Pakistan Prime Minister on his maiden visit to the Kingdom. After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) raised questions about this visit, Pakistan Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb responded on Monday, saying Shehbaz Sharif would travel to Saudi Arabia at his own expenses. She slammed PTI leaders for spreading "lies" about the trip set to take place later this week. "Contrary to lies being propagated by PTI, Prime Minister will be travelling to Saudi Arabia later this week on a commercial flight at his own expense," Marriyum said on Twitter. "Even during his 10 years as CM Punjab during 2008-18, he always travelled commercially and at his own expense," she added. Earlier on Monday, the newly-elected Pak PM presided over a meeting here to review preparations for his official visit to Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, he said that Pakistan valued its long-standing brotherly ties with Saudi Arabia and it was looking forward to enhancing the same in future. According to The News International, he directed the relevant authorities to make effective recommendations for strengthening the Pak-Saudi Arabia bilateral ties. (ANI) "It was a pleasure meeting Mr @HonTonyAbbott, former PM & current Australian PM's Special Representative. Had a fruitful discussion on issues of trade & strategic importance to further strengthen the bilateral relations, following the success of #IndAusECTA," tweeted Scindia. Notably, earlier this month, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met Tony Abbott, the Australian Prime Minister's Special Trade Envoy, in Melbourne during his three-day Australia visit. Goyal had said that Abbott has played a key role in realizing the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). ECTA is the first trade agreement of India with a developed country after more than a decade and provides for an institutional mechanism to improve trade between the two countries. Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia's 9th largest trading partner. The ECTA is expected to almost double the bilateral trade from USD 27.5 bn (2021) to about USD 45 to USD 50 Billion in the next five years. ECTA is expected to create new employment opportunities, raise living standards and enhance the overall welfare of the people of both countries. Additional employment generation is expected to be 10 lakhs within the next five years. (ANI) Humanitarians have launched a renewed appeal for war-ravaged Ukraine calling for USD 2.25 billion to provide assistance and protection to nearly nine million people, the United Nations announced on Monday. The figure is more than double the initial appeal published just days after Russia invaded the country on February 24, UN News reported. "Two months on, needs have continued to rise, while the humanitarian response has expanded significantly in scale and scope - enabled by the rapid funding allocated against the initial Flash Appeal - prompting a revision and extension of the Ukraine Flash Appeal until August 2022," they wrote. The conflict has caused the world's fastest-growing displacement crisis since the Second World War, uprooting nearly 13 million people. More than seven million are internally displaced while 5.2 million have crossed into neighbouring countries, such as Poland, and beyond. The massive devastation of urban centres and the destruction of civilian infrastructure have severely disrupted healthcare and other critical services. Last week, the UN Office in Ukraine reported that some 136 attacks on health care facilities have been recorded since the start of the war, representing nearly 70 per cent of worldwide attacks on the sector so far this year. It is organized under five main strategies, which include delivering aid in the hardest-to-reach areas. UN-led convoys have so far delivered supplies on five occasions, and more are planned in the coming weeks and months. The plan further calls for providing assistance as close as possible to people in need, including supporting organizations working in areas under threat and ensuring supplies are available in the event pipelines are cut off. Humanitarians are also scaling up cash transfers to displaced people, with the number of people reached rising from just under 18,500 to more than 263,000 in the past three weeks alone. The appeal places people, gender equality and protection at the centre of the response, and includes measures aimed at enhancing accountability and preventing sexual exploitation and abuse. Humanitarians also will ensure their work is principled, realistic and feasible, as well as suitable and accessible for all gender and age groups. The revised plan comes ahead of the UN Secretary-General's meetings this week with both the Foreign Ministers and Presidents of Ukraine and Russia. UN chief Antonio Guterres is travelling to Moscow, after having met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday. (ANI) Negligence of authorities in Pakistan's Karachi has resulted in the worst cholera outbreak in the city, affecting both children and adults, reported local media. Karachi has been witnessing a massive increase in the number of cholera cases as observed in the past two months, reported The News International. According to experts, hundreds of civilians, including children and adults, are being treated for cholera in public and private hospitals. But, even as the city is suffering from the worst-hit cholera outbreak, some health authorities are concealing facts from the public. As a result, Karachi civilians are unable to take precautionary measures to prevent themselves from getting infected by this disease. Various officials at the Karachi hospitals have already declared that the city is experiencing the worst outbreak of cholera in recent years, reported the media outlet. The medical superintendent of the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Center (SIDH&RC), Abdul Wahid Rajput, confirmed that they were receiving lab-confirmed cholera cases for the last few weeks, adding that at least five children and an adult had tested positive for cholera at their health facility. Meanwhile, confirming the cholera outbreak in Karachi, another health expert at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), said they were witnessing an increase in diarrhoea and cholera cases as reported from different parts of the city. However, turning a blind eye to the plight of the people and contradicting the statement of health centres, Azra Pechuho, the Health Minister of Sindh said that there has been no evidence of any lab-confirmed case of cholera in Karachi so far. (ANI) The people of Balochistan protested against the Pakistan security forces over the killing of civilians in the Chagai district of the province. The protest, which was organized in the third week of April, witnessed people demonstrating against the firing that took place over peace protestors in the Nok Kundi area of Chagai and left at least five people injured. The people also protested against the killing of a driver in the desert area of Chagai, who died in firing by troops of the Frontier Corps. The protest was held outside a camp of Frontier Corps in Balochistan. Notably, following these incidents, many people on April 21 took to the streets against the atrocities on Balochis in different parts of the country with the slogan of "Stop Baloch Genocide". The local people also took part in a rally from Degree College to the University of Balochistan against the Chagai incident. Further, a large number of people gathered outside the National Press Club, Islamabad on April 21 with placards of 'Chagai Bleeds' and 'Will I Get Justice'. Earlier on Wednesday, various political parties staged a protest in several parts of Pakistan's Balochistan province against the killing of a truck driver in Chagai as well as injuries to those who had taken to the streets against the incident. Workers of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-Mengal), National Party (NP) and Baloch Students Organisation-Pajjar (BSO-Pajjar) staged a joint protest outside the Dalbandin Press Club, demanding justice for the recently killed truck driver, Dawn newspaper reported. BNP-M Nushki district president Haji Bahadur Khan Mengal and Kharan district's Nadeem Siapad also called upon the authorities to lodge an FIR against those officials who opened fire on protesters in Nokkundi and Chagai towns. Further, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) boycotted the National Assembly proceedings on April 18 over the killings of civilians by security forces in their province. In the absence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from the house, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif responded to the protesting BNP-M lawmakers, stating that the Balochistan issue had been there since the 1960s. He admitted that excesses had been committed with the people of Balochistan and agreements with them were violated, according to Dawn. (ANI) Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn on Tuesday said that the sanctions imposed by European Union on Russia are the only possible way to remind President Vladimir Putin that they can be excluded from the international community if they won't stop the attack in Ukraine. Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Asselborn acknowledged that the financial sanction on Russia will be effective for only a few months. "We know that if we discussed the sanctions with Security Council then we have no chance of getting approval as China and Russia who are permanent members of UNSC would never give the vote to our sanction. So this was in our means, and only possible way to say to the Russian President that if you do this then you will be excluded from the international community," the Luxembourg Foreign Minister said. Asselborn said that he knows the sanctions, especially financial sanctions will be effective for three-four months but still he finds that this is the only way of restricting Moscow. He further stated that if NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) intervened in Ukraine, then it will have a negative impact on Europe's peace. Earlier, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar reiterated India's position amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and asked the western countries not to forget other important issues in the world like Afghanistan. Jaishankar said the Russia-Ukraine conflict is a dominant issue, not alone in principle and values but also for its practical consequences. (ANI) The two PTI workers- Attaullah Niazi and Faheem Khan- were arrested by the Pakistan police soon after Tariq Mehmood Jahangir, Judge of Islamabad HC annulled their pre-arrest interim bail. At the court hearing today, complainant Jamal Mandokhail's counsel Raja Nazeer accompanied by Advocate Faisal Siddique put forward their arguments before the court, reported the News International. Upon hearing the arguments from both parties, the court decided to revoke the pre-arrest bail of the two accused PTI members. They were taken into custody outside the courtroom. Last month, PTI lawmakers and workers stormed into the Sindh House as a form of protest against the dissident members of the ruling party post the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. A mob of PTI workers, including MNA Ataullah Niazi and Faheem Khan, took part in the agitation, chanting slogans, supporting the ex-Prime Minister. (ANI) In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Lucknow-based Shia Muslims group while expressing concern over attacks on the community in neighbouring countries has stated that Pakistan is nursing terrorism. In a letter dated April 26, All India Shia Husaini Fund (AISHF) in Lucknow said that the terrorist organizations operating in Pakistan are engaged in the blood bath of Shia minorities for the last 35 years. "During the same time period, approximately 30,000 Shias have lost their lives while offering Namaz at Shia mosques, which had been targeted by the terrorist organizations of Pakistan. In another neighbouring country Afghanistan, Shia Hazara community had been targeted while schools and mosques belonging to the Shia community are attacked to massacre the people," read the letter by the secretary-general of the group Syed Hasan Mehdi. Noting that the terrorists in Pakistan and those around the world are the common enemies of India and the Shia community, he stated, "We Shia Muslims of India had sought permission from the Government of India to kindly allow us to enter Pakistan and Afghanistan to lay down our lives while fighting with terrorists." The AISHF further said that Pakistan is "nurse of terrorism". "We hope our government will allow us to lay down our lives graciously while fighting the terrorists," it added. Notably, a blast in a Shia mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar on March 4 resulted in the death of over 60 people, including seven children below 10, and left nearly 200 people injured. The attack also laid bare intolerance against Shia Muslims in Pakistan. (ANI) Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that they discussed the challenges in the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict. "Glad to meet FM @WBHoekstra of Netherlands. A good discussion on bilateral cooperation, including water and agriculture. Also spoke about the challenges in the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict," Jaishankar tweeted. Earlier on Monday, Jaishankar held talks with Poland counterpart Zbigniew Rau where both sides shared their commitment to growing India-Poland partnership. The EAM also expressed gratitude to the Poland FM for facilitating the evacuation of Indians from conflict-ridden Ukraine under 'Operation Ganga'. (ANI) As per Geo TV, the blast took place at 1:52 pm in a van near Confucius Institute -- a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University. Following the blast, rescue and security agencies reached the location and cordoned off the areas, initiating rescue operations, the media outlet reported. As per Geo TV, the deceased Chinese nationals have been identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver Khalid. Two of the injured have been identified as Chinese national Wang Yuqing and a guard named Hamid. Meanwhile, three people are said to be in critical condition, as per sources. As per police sources, there were seven to eight people in the van; however, the exact number of casualties is yet to be reported. Last year, nine Chinese nationals were killed in a blast in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa. Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have arrested two men for their alleged involvement in the blasts on a bus carrying Chinese nationals in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa in August and in Lahore's Johar Town in the last week of June 2021. Beijing has also stepped in to probe this bus attack. The Chinese forces were allowed to investigate this matter despite the fact that the previous Imran Khan government repeatedly stated that it won't allow foreign security set up on its land. (ANI) Brussels [Belgium], April 26 (ANI/Sputnik): The European Union commends countries supporting sanctions imposed on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine and expects those seeking to become member states to also fully implement them, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said on Tuesday. "We commend those countries who have implemented EU sanctions against Russia. We further emphasize however that sanctions must continue to be implemented in full. This is what is expected from every country aspiring to become a member of the EU," Metsola said at the EU Meets the Balkans Forum in Sofia. On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after recognizing the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent republics". Western countries and their allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia. The European Union has vowed to reduce its dependency on Russian energy. On April 8, the bloc announced the fifth package of anti-Russian sanctions, which included a ban on imports of coal and other solid fossil fuels from the country starting from August 2022, a ban on the entry of Russian ships into EU ports and restrictions on Russian and Belarusian road transport companies. (ANI/Sputnik) Iran has accepted new Afghan diplomats at Afghanistan's embassy in Tehran and has accredited three diplomats sent by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to the country, according to media reports. Citing sources, Khaama Press on Tuesday reported that the new diplomats included the third secretary of the embassy and the other two are normal employees of the embassy. Afghanistan's embassy has not been closed yet despite the change of regime in the country and is led by the previous envoy, as per the Afghan media citing BBC. Quoting the spokesperson of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzada, Khaama Press reported that the exchange of diplomats between Afghanistan and Iran is compatible with international conventions and has nothing to do with recognition. Meanwhile, an Afghan delegation led by the Taliban's acting minister of refugees and repatriations is set to visit Iran's capital Tehran to hold talks over refugee-related challenges and the border tension, local media reported. "We are trying to visit Iran to talk about all the problems that Afghans are struggling with there. We hope we can talk and solve the problems," said Khalilurahman Haqqani, acting minister of refugee and repatriations, according to TOLOnews. Afghan students and refugees residing in Iran said that they have always faced visa issues as well as residence and employment problems across Iran. Notably, the financial situation of Afghanistan is getting worse day by day. The World Food Program (WFP) on Twitter has earlier announced the continuation of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. WFP continues to help people in need across Afghanistan, helping 900,000 people in Badakhshan in the past three months alone, reported Tolo News. According to UN figures, 23 million people in Afghanistan are currently starving and 95 per cent of Afghans do not have enough food to eat three times in 24 hours. (ANI) Regional authorities later confirmed that the shooting had taken place in the village of Veshkayma, reported Moscow Times. Notably, Russia has been rocked by a series of deadly school and university shootings in recent years, prompting the authorities to crack down on online communities they blame for the incidents. (ANI) According to Express Tribune, this move comes after Iqbal on Sunday, said Pakistan wanted to become a strong country for which it needed a strong economy at the global level, adding that he did not want Pakistan to turn into Cuba or North Korea. In a response to Iqbal's comments, Ambassador Caro tweeted: "Fortunately, Minister Ahsan Iqbal's disrespectful mention of Cuba in his press conference in Lahore does not represent and has nothing to do with Pakistanis' true respect and deep affection for Cuba." Following the ambassador's tweet, Iqbal clarified on Twitter that his remarks were "only in the context of foreign policy". He said: "We have deep respect for the people of Cuba and deep affectionate relations with Cuba," The Express Tribune reported. (ANI) China is exploiting the security vacuum in Iraq that was created after US's withdrawal from the West Asian country, with its companies aligning with militia groups to gain a strong foothold in the oil industry of the country, a media report said. China has relied on its close ties with Iran-backed militia groups operating within Iraq to create a security blanket for Chinese interests in the region while leaving competitors exposed to a number of difficulties associated with corruption and outright violence against their interests, Geopolitca reported. Over the years, Iraq has become China's third-largest source of oil imports. In 2021 alone, Beijing struck infrastructure deals in excess of USD 10 billion in Iraq and Baghdad is keen to secure further Chinese investment in its infrastructure sector. The impetus and timing of these investments aren't coincidental, the report said, adding that the ongoing withdrawal of the USA from the region leaves a profound vacuum in a resource-rich region with instability, violence and endemic corruption. A key driver for the favourable deals China has been able to secure is a relative lack of competition due to the unfavourable business environment, in part driven by the concerted actions of Iran-backed Shiite militia groups. These militias are often in direct physical control of Iraqi oilfields and cannot be challenged, as their permission, in return for commissions, is essential to operating the oil business in this region, the report said. International oil companies have been unfavourably impressed with the risk-to-reward presented by the circumstances in Iraq, especially when confronted by the risk of violence and instability in the region. On the contrary, China's close ties with Iran and cooperation with Iran-backed militias within Iraq means that Beijing's own interests are much less affected by the adverse business conditions than those of its competitors. Earlier this year, the report said, Exxon Mobil finalized a deal to sell its 33 per cent stake in the West Qurna-1 oilfield, one of the world's largest oilfields with an expected recoverable reserve of more than 20 billion barrels. As things stand, it looks as if the targeted violence and corruption in the region are being weaponized to create a lack of competition, which in turn is allowing favourable terms for Chinese corporations in their dealings, as well as the development of strategic strongholds, the report said. Beijing has demonstrated a resolve to create a sphere of influence notwithstanding the instability and violence in the region, which China likely regards as endemic, the report said. This represents a judgement that the rewards outweigh the risks and instability, and warrant a departure from their traditional policy of dealing only with governments while committing to external investments, the report further said citing the alacrity of Chinese corporations to begin mineral prospecting in Afghanistan after Taliban takeover as another example of the same. This state of affairs has been exacerbated by the recent developments in Ukraine, which have caused drastic spikes in the demand for oil and other scarce natural resources, the report said. The newfound willingness of China to align itself with militia groups, while convenient in this instance, can only have the effect of undermining confidence in sovereignty and represents a serious and growing threat to the rules-based international order, the report concluded. (ANI) Local media reported that during a courtesy call at the prime minister's office, Kishida said bilateral ties must be improved, while the visiting delegation handed him a letter from Yoon. "We have no time to spare in improving Japan-South Korea relations," the Japanese leader said, adding that "we need to resolve issues lying between Japan and South Korea including the wartime labor of Koreans, which has been a major sticking point." The delegation, for its part, said that bilateral relations are important and it hopes that both sides work together to improve them. The delegation is here on a five-day trip to Japan through Thursday ahead of Yoon's inauguration on May 10. Kishida's attendance at Yoon's inauguration ceremony was not requested, a Japanese government source was quoted as saying. (ANI/Xinhua) Wealth of Farah Khan, a close friend of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, grew exponentially during the PTI government and does not match with the declared source of income, as per the reports. The reports reveal that Farhat Shahzadi also known as Farah Khan and her husband Ahsan Iqbal Jameel exchanged millions of rupees' gifts and loans during the Imran Khan government, reported The New International. This comes at a time when Farah Khan left Pakistan for Dubai amid corruption allegations and Imran Khan in a recent presser ducked a question about his relationship with Farah and simply walked away. Both husband and wife are the alleged beneficiaries of the whitening of the black money scheme during the PTI government. They had declared Rs 328.7 million and Rs 20 million respectively under the Tax Amnesty Scheme 2019. The corruption saga is not limited to Farah and her husband. The assets of Farah Khan's family, including her husband, her sister, and her father-in-law, also grew rapidly within a year after the Imran Khan government came into power. Farah's sister Musarrat Khan also bought 15 residential plots in the LDA City in Lahore and three residential plots in DHA, Lahore. She had received Rs 84 million in foreign remittances in two years despite having no declared assets/business abroad. Musarrat Khan told News International that her assets had been declared with the tax authorities and all her sources of income were legitimate. Apart from that, the investigation by the media outlet unveils that Farah Khan's father-in-law Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, who publically disassociates himself from Farah Khan and Ahsan Jameel, was also a beneficiary of their growing fortune. Earlier a photograph of Farah Khan seen on a flight with a handbag that is claimed to costs USD 90,000, had gone viral on social media. According to reports in local Pakistan media, PMLN leader and former finance minister Miftah Ismail alleged that the handbag was worth USD 90,000 (Rs16.5 million). (ANI) Pakistan People's Party Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hit out at former Pakistan PM Imran Khan for "bullying" the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to influence the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) foreign funding case. The PPP chairman's comments came in the wake of the PTI announcing protests outside the offices of the ECP throughout the country on Tuesday against the CEC over his allegedly biased behaviour, demanding his resignation, Dawn reported. However, CEC Raja said he had no intentions of doing so and that he would continue working in the best interests of the country. Continuing his tirade, Bilawal said that people knew that the only reason Khan was targeting the ECP was that the CEC, who had been selected by the PTI itself, had refused to turn the commission into the former ruling party's "Tiger Force". Raja has stood with his institution and the Constitution, and if this continued then there were hopes of seeing an empowered ECP in the future, the PPP chairman added. He also chastised Imran Khan for giving a protest called at ECP offices, saying it was a blatant pressure tactic to further "bully, blackmail and pressure" the institution into not releasing the "damning" decision in the PTI's foreign funding case. A two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the single-bench ruling in PTI foreign funding case till the next hearing on May 17, said the media reports. The foreign funding case was filed by PTI founding member Akbar S Babar who had alleged that there are some financial irregularities in the PTI's funding from Pakistan and abroad and is pending since November 14, 2014. However, he also asked the ECP to probe into the funds of all political parties under the law. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had filed a petition on Saturday in Islamabad High Court against the alleged bias of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the prohibited funding case. (ANI) Tibetan community in France protested in Paris to mark the 33rd birthday of Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Around 200 members of the Tibetan community in France participated in the demonstration on Monday. Speaking at the event, President of the Tibetan Community Karma Thinlay described the abduction of the Dalai Lama selected 11th Panchen Lama, by the Chinese authorities. He said that the time has come to intensify the campaign to pressurise China to release the Panchen Lama in order to allow him and his family to live a free life. Anti-Chinese slogans were also raised at the event. The participants also prayed for the long life of Panchen Lama and celebrated his birthday by performing traditional Tibetan dances. After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, Dalai Lama and his search party (in Tibet) started searching for the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and finally on May 14, 1995, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a 6-year-old boy in Tibet was recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama, reported Tibet Rights Collective. However, things turned worst when the 6-year-old boy and his family were kidnapped on May 17. For nearly 27 years, Tibetans have not seen their 11th Panchen Lama pictures. The Chinese officials have only given words to the world that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family are doing well, reported Tibet Rights Collective. Last Panchen Lama, the 10th Panchen Lama stayed back in the region after the revolt broke out between Tibet and Chinese officials. While he was in the region, he submitted a 70,000-word petition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which led to his arrest. Dalai Lama, another head of the Gelugpa sect, took shelter in India and garnered international support, and made the people of the world aware of the atrocious acts that were happening in Chinese occupied Tibet. (ANI) First round of India-UAE UN consultations at the Director General (DG) level was held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday where both sides resolved their commitment to work closely on key issues on the UNSC agenda and mutual support on multilateral issues. The Indian delegation was led by Prakash Gupta, Joint Secretary (UN- Political) along with officials from the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi, while the UAE delegation was led by Ahood Al Zaabi, Director of the United Nations Department of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. "Both sides exchanged views on areas of priority during their ongoing UNSC tenure. In keeping with their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, they agreed to work closely together on key issues on the UNSC agenda, in particular on their shared commitment to reformed multilateralism and counter-terrorism," said the press release by the Ministry of External Affairs. India also congratulated UAE on its successful Presidency of the UNSC in March 2022. Both sides welcomed their convergences and mutual support on multilateral issues. (ANI) With a spate of attacks in minority-dominated areas of Afghanistan in recent weeks, the assurances that the Taliban regime gave to the world after the takeover of Kabul in August last year seem to be falling apart, a media report said. The series of attacks in the last few days all over Afghanistan killed at least 77 people, including children, the Frontier Post reported. The devastating attacks are further destabilizing a nation already in economic free fall and further increase doubt that the Taliban can protect the Afghan people -- especially minorities -- from violence and terror, the report said. The attacks started last Tuesday, with double bombings at the Abdul Rahim Shaheed High School and in the vicinity of the Mumtaz Education Center, both in the capital Kabul, the report said, adding that there were at least six deaths and 17 injuries at the Abdul Rahim Shaheed High School in the predominantly Shia and Hazara Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood. Attacks continued, with a bombing at a Shia mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan that was claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K). The attack killed at least 31 people and injured many more, the report said citing Washington Post. ISIS-K said that the bomb was in a bag that was left in the mosque; it exploded when the mosque was filled with worshippers. "When the mosque was filled with prayers, the explosives were detonated remotely," the ISIS-K statement claimed, also alleging that 100 worshippers were injured. Around the same time, ISIS-K attacked a bus in Kunduz province, killing four and injuring 18, the report said. This week's attacks indicate that the Taliban either doesn't have as much control over the security situation in Afghanistan as the leadership had indicated it would after US and NATO forces left the country in August, or isn't particularly interested in providing protection to minorities, the report said. It doesn't help matters that the country is facing destabilization wrought by economic sanctions against Taliban leaders, coupled with the Taliban's persecution of women, journalists, human rights workers, and other groups, the report further said. The Taliban has a history of targeting Afghanistan's Shias, however, the group agreed in the lead-up to its takeover that minorities would be protected under a new Taliban government. The Hazara, an ethnic minority group that mostly practices Shia Islam, has been historically marginalized, with few opportunities for education or employment. They are Afghanistan's third-largest ethnic group, behind Pashtuns and Tajiks. While the Taliban has said it would not interfere with Shia worship and will protect all ethnic groups, the group is responsible for the deaths of dozens of Hazara over the past eight months, as well as mass forced displacements of Hazara people, the report said. "When the Taliban are pushed on issues of rights and economic well-being of the Afghan people, they push back by touting their ability to provide security for all Afghans, including minorities," Asfandyar Mir, a senior expert at the US Institute of Peace was quoted as saying. "Yet under the Taliban, vulnerable minorities -- in particular the Hazara -- continue to be one of the main targets of violence. This is a source of enormous insecurity and raises questions about the Taliban's ability to provide security in general and against minorities in particular," Mir further said. If the point is to use terror to create further instability, chaos, doubt, and violence to delegitimize the Taliban government, the attacks on civilians this past week could certainly have that effect -- whether or not they were all perpetrated by ISIS-K, the report concluded. (ANI) The monitor overseeing the British government's use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras has asked the UK government to clarify its positions on buying surveillance cameras from controversial tech company Hikvision implicated for its involvement with the Chinese state's human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Hikvision cameras and facial recognition technology have been implicated in systematic human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other minorities in the Xinjiang province of China. This persecution is known to rely heavily on surveillance technology including facial recognition software designed to detect racial characteristics. The Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner Fraser Sampson has challenged central and local government ministers to clarify their position on Hikvision which is part-owned by the Chinese state. The British Government has already formally recognised the widespread, systematic persecution in Xinjiang, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities, reported the UK Press release. Professor Sampson said: "If it is the case that the Department of Health has ruled out Hikvision from future procurement exercises, then that is a step in the right direction as far as I am concerned. "There are serious unanswered questions about Hikvision's involvement in appalling human rights abuses in China. The company seems unwilling or unable to provide assurances about the ethics of some of its operations and about security concerns associated with its equipment," he added. The move comes after media reports quoted an unnamed Whitehall source saying that Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, had banned Hikvision for competing for new business in the Department of Health after a procurement review revealed "ethical concerns" about the company. "If companies won't provide the information needed to do proper due diligence in relation to ethics and security, then they clearly should not be allowed to bid for contracts within government, or anywhere else in the public sector for that matter. If Mr Javid has banned Hikvision for those reasons, then he should be congratulated," Professor Sampson said, as per the press release. "If the decision as reported is true, the same considerations would apply equally to all branches of government, and, arguably, the whole of the public sector. If other areas of national and local government have carried out due diligence in relation to their human rights obligations, I'd be interested to see the information they used; if they haven't then I'd be interested to understand how the risks are being properly addressed," he added. Sampson also raises concerns about potential security implications of the use of surveillance equipment with dormant functions, such as voice recording and facial recognition, which can be switched on remotely. Professor Sampson, the independent Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner has repeatedly challenged Hikvision to come clean about the extent of its involvement with the Chinese state's human rights abuses in Xinjiang. However, Hikvision has, for more than eight months, failed to answer the questions put to them. Professor Sampson has raised the matter in a formal letter sent to the Michael Ellis QC MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, and to Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who is the minister responsible for local government. Javid was also copied into the correspondence, as per the release by the UK government. (ANI) Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's dream institution, Al Qadir University, which is receiving millions of rupees in donations, has only 37 students enrolled in the so-called college. Constructed and launched with land donated by a real estate giant during Khan's rule in 2019, the University is run by a trust which includes trustees -- Imran Khan, Bushra Khan, Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari and Zaheer ud din Babar Awan, The News International reported. Al Qadir management claims it is a university, but it has not yet been recognised by the Punjab Higher Education Department. It has so far been allowed to teach only one subject Bs-MS (Management Sciences) and can enrol maximum of 50 students with its affiliation with Government College University Punjab. All sorts of expenses were being taken care of by the donor as per their agreement. Al-Qadir institute also charged tuition fee from these students, as per the Pakistani publication. Notably, from January 2021 to December 2021, trust received donations of 180 million rupees. From July 2020 to June 2021, the total income of the trust was 101 million rupees. However, the total expenditure including the salaries of the staff and workers was around rupees 8.58 million only, The News International reported. On March 12, 2021, Imran Khan launched plantation drive in Al Qadir University, Sohawa, Jhelum. On November 29, 2021, Imran Khan inaugurated university's academic blocks. On April 22, 2020, Imran Khan as chairperson of Al Qadir Trust Islamabad wrote a letter to the joint sub registrar, Islamabad, informing him that Zaheer ud Din Babar Awan and Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari have been dropped or deleted from the trust. As part of the donation, the real estate company purchased land measuring 458 Kanals situated in Mouza Bakrala, Tehsil Sohawa, District Jhelum in the name of Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari as custodian of Al Qadir Trust project and on 22 January 2021, after creation of the trust, Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari transferred this land in the name of the trust. On March 2, 2022, a trust deed titled 'Endowment Fund for Al-Qadir Institute" was registered in the office of the sub-registrar Sohawa. The name of the trustees in this deed are "Bushra Khan, Farhat Shahzadi and Dr Arif Nazeer Butt while the author of this deed is Imran Khan. (ANI) Pakistan's Masih minority community staged a demonstration outside police station Sukkur in Sindh province against the country's disregard for the community and the kidnapping of Aftab Masih, one of the community members, even when the court decision was in his favour over a dispute regarding monetary transactions. On Thursday last week, people belonging to the Masih community of Pakistan gathered outside Police Station to stage a protest and raise their voices over the complete abandonment of the Masih minority in the country. Aftab Masih, who belongs to the minority community in Pakistan, was allegedly abducted by one Muhammad Shahid Omar and his friends from outside District and Sessions Court in Sukkur. People were protesting outside the Sukkur police station and blamed the police officials who refused to lodge a complaint regarding the abduction of the youth, Aftab Masih. According to reports, Shahid Omar and Aftab Masih had some disputes regarding monetary transactions and the Court had given the decision in favour of Aftab Masih. After this Aftab was abducted. Some Masih leaders also attended the protest and said that the Masih Community is an abandoned community in Pakistan and blamed the Police officials for not cooperating with them. (ANI) India-Norway Blue Economy Cooperation consists of Maritime Cooperation, Cooperation on Fisheries and Aquaculture, Research and Science, Marine Pollution Initiative among others. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar wrote, "A good meeting with FM @AHuitfeldt of Norway. Our health and education partnership advances steadily. Discussed further cooperation in blue economy and energy. Shared perspectives on Myanmar, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Agreed to continue our close cooperation in the UNSC." The then Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, paid a visit to India on January 7-9, 2019, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Solberg was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising State Secretaries, senior officials and business leaders. The two Prime Ministers noted the importance of sustainable use of the oceans, including for food security, energy sources, mineral exploration and climate-friendly maritime transport. They welcomed the signing of the MoU on the India-Norway Ocean Dialogue and the establishment of the Joint Task Force on Blue Economy under the aegis of the MoU, in order to promote multi-sectoral cooperation in various aspects of Blue Economy. Huitfeldt is on a three-day official visit to India from April 25-27. Earlier, the Norwegian FM highlighted the cooperation between India and Norway in various fields over the years including "a number of joint projects on climate change and the environment." (ANI) Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister expressed grief over the death of Chinese nationals who were killed in the explosion near Confucius Institute -- a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University. "I am deeply grieved on the loss of precious lives including of our Chinese friends in the heinous attack in Karachi today. My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families. I strongly condemn this cowardly act of terrorism. The perpetrators will surely be brought to justice," Sharif said in a Tweet. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan also took Twitter to condemn the blast. "Strongly condemn the terrorist attack targeting Chinese teachers of Karachi University. This is yet another attack with a specific agenda of trying to undermine Pak-China strategic r'ship. We must ensure defeat of this foreign-backed agenda of our enemies," Imran Khan tweeted. Four people including three Chinese nationals were killed in a car explosion today. As per Geo TV, the blast took place at 1:52 pm in a van near Confucius Institute -- a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University. As per Geo TV, the deceased Chinese nationals have been identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver Khalid. Last year, nine Chinese nationals were killed in a blast in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa. Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have arrested two men for their alleged involvement in the blasts on a bus carrying Chinese nationals in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa in August and in Lahore's Johar Town in the last week of June 2021. Beijing has also stepped in to probe this bus attack. The Chinese forces were allowed to investigate this matter despite the fact that the previous Imran Khan government repeatedly stated that it won't allow foreign security set up on its land. (ANI) After talks with International Monetary Fund (IMF) amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country, Sri Lanka's Mass Media Minister Nalaka Godahewa on Tuesday said that the country is in talks with China as well for refinancing its debt. "Now that IMF (International Monetary Fund) is ready to cooperate with Sri Lanka, other countries are aware that we have support. We were guaranteed the support of the World Bank and other (financial) agencies," Godahewa said, adding that the negotiations with Beijing are at an early stage, Sputnik reported. China is Sri Lanka's biggest creditor having provided the Island nation with USD 3.5 billion of credit, the report said citing local media. Last Tuesday, the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry said the IMF and India pledged assistance to mitigate the economic crisis that has gripped the country. An IMF official on Tuesday advised Sri Lanka to tighten its monetary policy, raise taxes and adopt flexible exchange rates to overcome its debt crisis, according to media reports. Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst economic crises resulting in widespread protests against the Rajapaksa family leaders, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reckless economic policies, which have resulted in the country being unable to buy enough fuel, and people facing an acute scarcity of food and basic necessities, heating fuel, and gas. (ANI) India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) is coordinating with the Bangladeshi officials to dismantle the network run by Pakistan's ISI-backed syndicate and pumping fake currency into India via Bangladesh, local media reported. India is actively working with Bangladesh to track and curb the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) network in the country. Recent recoveries of fake notes in Bangladesh have exposed Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI of its involvement in running the network for pumping fake notes inside Indian borders. In addition to the ISI, some transnational criminal gangs are also involved in carrying out the smuggling, reported Bangladesh Live News. In November 2021, Dhaka Police arrested two Bangladeshi nationals namely, Fatema Akter and Sheikh Md. Abu Talab for smuggling FICN and recovered a consignment worth 7.35 crores. Using its bases in Bangladesh, the network was smuggling fake currencies into India. Another such incident came to light in February 2022 when Dhaka police seized some gunny bags filled with a large quantity of FICN and arrested some people suspected to have been involved in the racket. Upon investigation, it was found that the arrested individuals were a part of a transnational FICN syndicate, being guided and handled by Pak ISI and operating in at least seven countries including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and UAE, reported Bangladesh Live News. Investigation in the recent cases confirms the years old mode of operation: FICN is printed in Pakistan and then illicitly imported into India either directly through the border with Nepal and Bangladesh or through other routes linking Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Colombo. ISI-backed FICN network received global attention in 2011. In 2011, the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report of the US State Department confirmed the flow of counterfeit currency produced in Pakistan to India and that terrorist and criminal networks used this money to finance their activities in the country. (ANI) As Pakistan's foreign currency continues to witness a drop-down, the crisis-hit country requires dollar inflows of USD 9 to USD 12 billion in the shape of rollovers and fresh loans from bilateral donors and commercial banks to get a breathing space. The revival of the IMF will only be possible till the end of June 2022 if everything goes well between the two sides. Pakistan and the IMF will have to strike a staff-level agreement after holding talks in mid-May and then the Fund's Executive Board requires a 4 to 6 weeks period to get approval on the next tranche of USD 960 million under the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), media reports stated. Without the support of bilateral partners and seeking more loans from commercial banks, this gap cannot be fulfilled on a short-term basis, the report stated further. Pakistan has sought a nine-month extension into an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with an increase in the size of the program by USD 2 billion to jack up total funding of USD 8 billion. The IMF program was going to expire in September 2022 but with the request for an extension now it would be matured in June 2023. Keeping in view the conservative estimates, the current account deficit might touch USD 16 to USD 17 billion by the end of the current fiscal year. However, some independent economists suggest that it might touch $18 to $20 billion for the current fiscal year. "Pakistan will have muster up dollar inflows of USD 9 to USD 12 billion depending upon the level of current account deficit in remaining months so the government will have to ensure rollover of commercial loans and deposits from China, seeking more generous package from Saudi Arabia and securing commercial loans from a consortium of banks in the remaining period of the current fiscal year," top official sources confirmed while talking to The News, on Monday. Seeking fresh deposits and utilization of oil facilities on deferred payments, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting Saudi Arabia this week. The Ministry of Finance has worked out a proposal for seeking an extension in deposits of USD 3 billion in line with the extension into the IMF programme, reported The News. Saudi Arabia has previously deposited USD 3 billion in Pakistan's central bank to help the cash strapped country with the foreign reserves, suggested a statement by Saudi Fund for Development. (ANI) Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged on April 26, 1964, to form the United Republic of Tanzania, a deal which was witnessed by Tanganyika's founding President Julius Nyerere and Zanzibar's founding President Abeid Karume. A statement by the Minister for Home Affairs, Hamad Masauni, said the presidential amnesty benefitted prisoners who have served over a quarter of their jail terms and those that were jailed before Feb. 22, 2022. The statement mentioned other inmates to benefit from the presidential amnesty as those suffering from chronic diseases and approved by qualified medical personnel. Prisoners aged over 70 years and women with breastfeeding children and pregnant women will also gain the presidential pardon, said the statement. According to the statement, other beneficiaries of the presidential amnesty include prisoners jailed for economic sabotage but have served more than 20 years, those jailed for money laundering who served more than 20 years in jail and those convicted of embezzlement of public funds and property who have served over 15 years jail terms. (ANI/Xinhua) A helicopter has been deployed to control the raging forest fire at a section of the conservation area lying on the outskirts of Kathmandu as Nepal continues to witness a rise in forest fire incidents with the onset of the dry season. A forest fire broke out in Shivapuri National Park in Budhanilkantha and has been raging high since Tuesday afternoon, police confirmed. "The fire broke out in the forest on the south side of Jogal Danda Nani Gumba in ward 2 of Budhanilkantha Municipality. It still is out of control and we are attempting to douse it. Past dawn, the helicopter has been returned back to the hangar as it would pose more risk to fly it during night time," Metropolitan Police Circle, Teku Superintendent of Police Dineshraj Mainali said. The personnel of the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police along with the locals are at work to control the fire that broke out this afternoon. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. (ANI) Chinese Embassy in Pakistan condemned the blast inside the premises of a University in Karachi in which three of its nationals were among the four who were killed in Tuesday's explosion. In a statement, China expressed condolences to the victims from both countries. "The Embassy and Consulates General of China in Pakistan express deep condolences to the victims from both countries and sincere sympathy to the injured and the bereaved families, and will make every effort to handle the incident with the Pakistani side," the statement said, according to Xinhua News Agency. Four people including three Chinese nationals were killed in a car explosion today around 1:52 pm in a van near Confucius Institute -- a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the blast today. "I am deeply grieved on the loss of precious lives including of our Chinese friends in the heinous attack in Karachi today. My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families. I strongly condemn this cowardly act of terrorism. The perpetrators will surely be brought to justice," Sharif said in a Tweet. "Strongly condemn the terrorist attack targeting Chinese teachers of Karachi University. This is yet another attack with a specific agenda of trying to undermine Pak-China strategic r'ship. We must ensure defeat of this foreign-backed agenda of our enemies," Imran Khan tweeted. As per Geo TV, the deceased Chinese nationals have been identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver Khalid. Last year, nine Chinese nationals were killed in a blast in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa. Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have arrested two men for their alleged involvement in the blasts on a bus carrying Chinese nationals in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa in August and in Lahore's Johar Town in the last week of June 2021. Beijing has also stepped in to probe this bus attack. The Chinese forces were allowed to investigate this matter despite the fact that the previous Imran Khan government repeatedly stated that it won't allow foreign security set up on its land. (ANI) During the combat, the terrorists opened fire on the security forces in the Sararogha area of the tribal district, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Among the ones killed were 26-year-old Lance Naik Umar Ali Khan, a resident of Bannu, and 23-year-old Sepoy Muhammad Siraj ud Din, a resident of DI Khan, reported ARY News. Following the input received on the presence of terrorists, the security forces launched an operation in the area. "Pakistan Army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve," the ISPR said. (ANI) Owing to the difference in economic and geographic size between the two neighbours, it is easy to perceive the India-Bhutan relationship as being tilted in favour of one but the truth is that the relationship is a mutually beneficial relationship based on shared cultural values and genuine all-weather friendship. The India-Bhutan relationship is unique in more ways than one. Compared to other bilateral ties in India's neighbourhood, the relationship with Bhutan is relatively trouble-free and cordial. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were formally established in 1968 with the appointment of a resident representative of India in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu. The India House (Embassy of India in Bhutan) was inaugurated on May 14, 1968, and Resident Representatives were exchanged in 1971. Ambassadorial level relations began with the upgrading of residents to embassies in 1978. The basis for bilateral relations between India and Bhutan is formed by the Indo-Bhutan Treaty of 1949, which provides for, among others, "perpetual peace and friendship, free trade and commerce and equal justice to each other's citizens." This relationship becomes even more important because four Indian states, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, and West Bengal - share a 699-kilometre-long boundary with Bhutan. India is important to Bhutan in multiple ways. India is Bhutan's largest trading partner - both as a source and a market for its goods. As a landlocked country, most of Bhutan's third-country exports also transit through Indian ports. Similarly, Bhutan is also important to India. Bhutan was one of the first nations to recognize the independence of India in 1947. India considers Nepal and Bhutan as important frontiers in its Himalayan foreign policy of mutual trust and cooperation. Democratic development started in Bhutan only in the 21st century. The kingdom held its first elections in 2007 and the following year it became a constitutional monarchy guided by Buddhism. The Constitution is based on values derived from Buddhist philosophy, and the International Convention of Human Rights and inspired by a comparative analysis of 20 other modern constitutions. Buddhism provides a strong foundational basis for the friendship between India and Bhutan. Both countries' belief in peace and democratic values solidifies this foundation. History was made once again in 2018 when LotayTshering became the Prime Minister of Bhutan. His party, which only began in 2013, swept 30 out of the 47 seats in Bhutan's Parliament. He was congratulated on his election victory by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also invited him to visit India. The state visit took place on December 27-29, 2018. PM Tshering was joined by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs Tandi Dorji and Loknath Sharma, Bhutan's Royal Government's Economic Affairs and Senior Officials. It was Lotay Tshering's first international trip since taking office in November. Moreover, it took place in the year of the golden anniversary of Indo-Bhutan diplomatic ties. It was in keeping with the diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan, where regular high-level interactions between the two countries have become a tradition. Thimphu was also the destination of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first foreign trip after winning his first election. This demonstrates that both countries see each other as excellent neighbours who want to keep their friendly relationship alive. Deepening collaboration with border states could help to improve bilateral relations even further. Assam, West Bengal, and other Northeastern states can gain much by investing in economic and social relations with Bhutan. Bhutan is also an important part of India's Neighbourhood First foreign policy. As part of the Act East policy, India also discussed the potential of using waterways for the progress of Bhutan and also India's Northeast region. The NW 2 (or the Brahmaputra river region) can be leveraged for this purpose. India is responsible for Bhutanese security. Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) is based in Bhutan to provide training to Bhutanese security forces. Regular India-Bhutan security and border management meetings have taken place, during which the two countries discuss a number of key issues, including threat perceptions, security and border management issues, sharing of real-time information, coordination of Indo-Bhutan border entry-exit points, and SSB escorts of Bhutanese people and vehicles. The talks act as a spark for furthering collaboration amid the two countries' long-standing amicable relations. Indian funding and investments have been critical in the growth of the hydropower sector in Bhutan, which generates electricity for India as well. The Indo-Bhutan relationship has never been a zero-sum game. The economic relationship is not one-way, since India is also reliant on Bhutan in certain areas. For example, most of West Bengal's businesses now rely on electricity imported from Bhutan. Bhutan also plays a key role in safeguarding India's Siliguri Corridor, a tiny swath of terrain that connects the Indian Northeast with the rest of the country. The advantages of Indo-Bhutan interactions are also evident in other sectors, such as education and culture. The Indian government awards roughly fifty scholarships to Bhutanese students each year to pursue higher education in India. A large number of Indian instructors contribute to Bhutanese education, with many of them being sent to educate in rural areas. In addition, Sherubtse College in eastern Bhutan has grown into a leading tertiary education institution in Bhutan, thanks to its connection with Delhi University. Under the bilateral cultural exchange programme, the interchange of cultural troupes and artists between Bhutan and India has also become a regular practice. A strong tradition of official visits at various levels has further facilitated ideas/views to be exchanged and areas of cooperation to be identified and enlarged between the two nations. Besides everyday people-to-people contact at the informal level, ministers, parliamentarians, civil servants as well as representatives of the business community all make regular official visits. The Indo-Bhutan connection is possibly the only bilateral relationship in South Asia that pays off handsomely for both parties. Bhutan has expressed gratitude to India for its economic aid, while India has shown sensitivity to Bhutan's developmental requirements. Bhutan has been able to build a distinctive growth trajectory based on gross national happiness thanks to the connection. Bilateral ties have matured into comprehensive cooperation over the last few years, spanning a wide variety of issues, like hydro-power, information technology, intelligence sharing, disaster risk management, education and culture. (ANI) The book "Missile Life" records the life stories of 12 experts and was released by the Second Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) at the Space Day on Sunday. The commanders and designers have been responsible for China's first-generation surface-to-air missiles, HQ-1, HQ-2, JL-1, HQ-7 and HHQ-7, as well as China's third-generation air defense weapon system, Global Times reported. Many of them have made outstanding contributions to several areas of military science, especially missiles in various generations. Qian Wenji, chief designer of China's first generation of surface-to-air missiles, served as chief designer of the "543" surface-to-air missile weapon system, HQ-1 and HQ-2, making important contributions to the development of China's communication electronic and missile technology, and computer application, the Chinese media outlet said. Chen Huaijin, the chief designer of HQ-2 surface-to-air missile, participated in the establishment of China's first radar force and made outstanding contributions in the field of aircraft guidance, automation and simulation. Chen Guoxin, the chief designer of HHQ-7 surface-to-air missile and the new field weapon system, pioneered in the field of the shipborne ultra-low altitude missiles in the history of China's air defense development, it added. The Second Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation is country's largest research and development unit of air and space defence and is considered the cradle of China's missile industry, as per the Chinese media. (ANI) On Tuesday, at around 2:30 pm a van carrying Chinese nationals to Karachi University's Confucius Institute blew up with an explosion leaving several passengers and their security staff dead and injured, reported ARY News. The registrar at Karachi University said the academic activities and public dealings will remain suspended for a day. In-charge Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Raja Umar Khattab informed that the explosives used in the blast were not locally made. A schoolbag like a device was made and was attached with a bag of a suicide bomber woman, he added. Karachi police chief Additional IG Ghulam Nabi Memon said that those injured in the blast have been rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. He said the injured included a foreigner and a Rangers official. Following the blast, rescue and security agencies reached the location and cordoned off the areas, initiating rescue operations, the media outlet reported. As per Geo TV, the deceased Chinese nationals have been identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver Khalid. Two of the injured have been identified as Chinese national Wang Yuqing and a guard named Hamid. Meanwhile, three people are said to be in critical condition, as per sources. Beijing has also stepped in to probe this bus attack. The Chinese forces were allowed to investigate this matter despite the fact that the previous Imran Khan government repeatedly stated that it won't allow foreign security set up on its land. (ANI) Russia has expressed interest in cooperating with the United Nations, in providing assistance to civilians in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed on Tuesday. "Russia interested in cooperating with UN in assisting Ukrainian civilians," the Russian foreign minister said in the bilateral talks between Moscow and the United Nations. According to TASS, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had managed to send five humanitarian aid convoys to Ukraine along with the aid that was delivered there every day by the Russian Defense Ministry and Emergencies Ministry, as well as by various Russian public organizations, emphasised Lavrov, in his statement. "We are interested in cooperating with our colleagues at the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross in terms of additional efforts to alleviate the sufferings and plight of civilians in Ukraine," he added. According to him, after the UN chief had contacted the Russian Defense Ministry, a working group was formed under the ministry in Moscow to discuss specific issues with UN officials and help organize the safe delivery of humanitarian aid. "Today, we discussed ways to boost our cooperation on this track. I think that following the Moscow talks, we will be able to outline such steps, which may be important in the current situation," the Russian top diplomat said. Notably, Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, which the West has termed an unwarranted war. As a result of this, the western countries have also imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) US Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19 with no symptoms and has isolated herself, as per a White House statement on Tuesday (Local Time). According to the release, Vice President Harris will continue to discharge her duties from her residence and will return once she tests negative. "Today, Vice President Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on rapid and PCR tests. She has exhibited no symptoms, will isolate and continue to work from the Vice President's residence. She has not been a close contact to the President or First Lady due to their respective recent travel schedules. She will follow CDC guidelines and the advice of her physicians. The Vice President will return to the White House when she tests negative," said the White House press release. (ANI) China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands is becoming a cause of concern for the US which is worried about Bejing's long-standing policy of opening foreign naval bases with one example being Djibouti on the Horn of Africa where the Chinese entered initially into a security agreement but eventually it evolved into its naval base, reported a Canada-based think tank. International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS) said that though US is angry about the China-Solomon Islands bilateral agreement, Washington can not take punitive actions like cutting down on aid to the Islands as these actions will move the Islands much closer to the Chinese. In a bid to woo the Islands, the US is now providing development funds and even vaccines to it. Another matter of concern is the moving closer of China's naval bases to Australia's north-eastern coast. Even if China does not get a naval base in the Islands, what China needs is the "ability to bring ships and military personnel to the Solomons". Americans suspect though Prime Minister Sogavare has ruled out hosting a Chinese base, the signed pact itself is a matter of "danger" because it will "disrupt regional security, allowing Chinese naval vessels to replenish in the Solomons". The Solomons switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, and Sogavare said in a speech at the ceremony that the decision had "placed the country on the right side of history". Apart from US and Australia, New Zealand and Tonga have also raised the issue with the agreement between China and Solomon Islands. New Zealand and Tonga have said that they will "raise the issue at an upcoming meeting of Pacific Islands Forum leaders". Japan, on the other hand, will send a vice foreign minister to the Solomon Islands this month. One of the other options that the US has is that it "could also accelerate basing opportunities in north-eastern Australia to monitor Chinese forces or conduct more naval patrols in the region," said Derek Grossman, a senior defence analyst focused on the Indo-Pacific for the RAND Corporation think tank. (ANI) Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers staged protests in several cities on Tuesday against the alleged biased conduct of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Pakistan media reported. Police were deployed outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Karachi ahead of the protest and three mobile vans were also present at the site as part of security arrangements. The demonstrations were held in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Gujrat and Faisalabad, among other cities, Dawn reported. The report further stated, that PTI lawmakers from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, including Zahir Shah and Abdul Salam, who were among the protesters, raised slogans against the CEC, calling him biased. They questioned why only the PTI's funding was being investigated while other parties were not facing similar probes. The protest in Peshawar, however, ended around 1 pm. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, former interior minister Sheikh Rashid and PTI leader Shibli Faraz spoke to the media during the protest out of the ECP office. Making an allusion to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his entourage, who will be leaving for his first foreign trip as the country's premier this week, Rashid added: "Robbers, looters and thugs are going to Saudi Arabia. They got their names removed from the exit control list (ECL)." Dawn also reported that the main PTI rally was barred from reaching the ECP office in Islamabad and was stopped at Nadra Chowk, while the Red Zone had been sealed with containers. Police were deployed outside the ECP office, while the protesters shouted slogans such as "Pakistan army zindabad" and demanded CEC Raja's resignation. PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhary called out the ECP for "delaying proceedings on references against dissident PTI lawmakers" and alleged that the PTI was being "targeted in the foreign funding case," announcing that Imran was reaching Lahore tomorrow and would address party workers there. He said the PTI wanted fair elections, where votes were not bought and sold, Dawn quoted, citing sources. Earlier, PTI workers also held flags of Pakistan, during the demonstrations, accompanied by shouting slogans against the ouster of the ex-Prime and PTI chairman Imran Khan. Following the ouster of Imran Khan, on April 10, through a no-confidence vote, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) took out protests in several cities of Pakistan chanting slogans in the former Prime Minister's favour. (ANI) "Met Niclas Kvarnstrom, Andreas von Uexkull & their colleagues yesterday to discuss the humanitarian response, rights of all Afghans, recent attacks on civilians, & the economic situation in detail. Grateful for Sweden's partnership, expertise, & robust commitment to the Afghan people," West tweeted. Recently, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had expressed concerns over the series of attacks that led to the deaths of over 50 boys and girls, calling it a "grave rights violation" in Afghanistan. "In one week alone, more than 50 girls and boys have lost their lives in a series of heinous grave rights violations in Afghanistan," Paloma Escudero, UNICEF Director for Global Communication and Advocacy, was quoted by Tolo News as saying. The UN agency also highlighted the delay in reopening of schools for girl students in Afghanistan saying, "It's been one month since Afghanistan's de facto authorities barred teenage girls from returning to school."The Taliban regime in Afghanistan had barred girls from attending school over grade six after issuing a decree last month. Meanwhile, the Taliban's Ministry of Education said that the schools for girls in grades 7-12 will be reopened in the near future. (ANI) Amid the ongoing economic crisis, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday said he will not step down from his post. He made these remarks during the meeting with the members of provincial councils and local government representatives at Temple Trees (the PM's official residence). Rajapaksa said that he believes the problems arising in the island nation now can be resolved in a short time, according to Colombo Page. Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Rajapaksa has called for an immediate end to disruptions to essential services, including fuel, gas, electricity and medicine, as well as the existing queues for them. "We have already implemented the necessary arrangements for that," he added. He urged the people to keep in mind that he is behind every step taken to recover the country from this crisis, Colombo Page reported. Speaking about the island-wide protests demanding the Prime Minister and the government's resignation, Rajapaksa said the issues should be resolved through negotiations. "We are resolving the situation that has arisen in the country one by one. Organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and friendly countries have come forward to help us at this time," Rajapaksa said. "...I urge you to have faith in us and play the necessary role in keeping the people with us in the country. You made one request that I do not resign. No, I will not resign. Do not be afraid," he further stated, according to Colombo Page. Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst economic crises resulting in widespread protests against the Rajapaksa family leaders, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reckless economic policies, which have resulted in the country being unable to buy enough fuel, and people facing an acute scarcity of food and basic necessities, heating fuel, and gas. (ANI) "Prime Minister Bennett extended an invitation for [Biden] to visit Israel, which he accepted and will do. We don't have a date yet to announce," Psaki said during a press conference. The announcement comes amid US-Israeli engagement on issues including negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program and a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as well as increased tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Last week, the Israeli police said that hundreds of Palestinians, some wearing masks and flying the Hamas flag, engaged in mass riots on Temple Mount. According to Israeli law enforcement officers, the demonstrators were throwing stones, setting off fireworks and building barricades, thus creating a threat to Israelis praying at the Western Wall. The Israeli police said they waited for the end of the morning prayer for worshipers to leave and then used special equipment to disperse the crowd and restore order. (ANI/Sputnik) The husband of the woman who blew herself up at Karachi University in Pakistan said her selfless act has left him speechless but he is proud of what she did. On Tuesday, an explosion took place near Confucius Institute -- a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University. Taking to Twitter, Afghan journalist Bashir Ahmad Gwakh said that Habitan Bashir Baloch, husband of female suicide bomber Shari Baloch, tweeted from an unknown location saying that he is proud of what she did. He also informed that Shari Baloch has had two kids (8 and 5 years old). Her husband, Habitan Bashir Baloch, is a dentist and her father was a lecturer. Gwakh also shared a snapshot of the tweet posted by Baloch's husband. The tweet stated, "Shari Jan, your selfless act has left me speechless but I am also beaming with pride today. Mahroch and Meer Hassan will grow into very proud humans thinking what a great woman there was. You will continue to remain an important part of our lives." Talking about the first 'Baloch woman to carry out a suicide attack', Afghan journalist Gwakh informed that the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) said the 30-year-old joined the group two years ago and volunteered herself for a "self-sacrificing mission". She had a Master's degree in Zoology and MPhil in education while teaching at a school, Gwakh said. Earlier, Gwakh shared CCTV footage showing a burqa-clad woman, blowing herself up as the van passes through the road. In an explosion, at least four people, including three Chinese citizens, were killed and several others were injured. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan condemned the blast inside the premises of a University in Karachi. Meanwhile, in the wake of a deadly attack inside the premises of Karachi University, it has decided to remain suspended for Wednesday. (ANI) One man is in custody and another is in the hospital following a stabbing in Seattles Pioneer Square neighborhood Monday evening, according to the Seattle Police Department. At 6:21 p.m., a 911 caller reported seeing two men in a physical fight near 3rd Avenue and Yesler Way. As officers were en route to the scene, another witness called 911 to report that one of the two men had been stabbed. Arriving officers located the victim, who had multiple stab wounds, and began providing aid before Seattle Fire Department medics arrived. Medics began additional treatment once they arrived, before transporting the 51-year-old victim to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition. As authorities were responding to the victims injuries, additional SPD officers located the 38-year-old suspect a block away and recovered a knife at the scene. He will be booked into King County Jail for first-degree assault. More news from KIRO 7 DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP Bam Bam, owned by Maggie Estby, of Champlin, Minn., sits on the throne after being crowned the winner of the annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Monday, April 25, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. The pageant kicks off the Drake Relays festivities at Drake University where a bulldog is the mascot. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Charlie Neibergall/ap Bam Bam the bulldog is ready for his closeup! On Monday, the five-year-old dog from Chaplin, Minnesota, took home the crown at Drake University's 43rd annual "Beautiful Bulldog" contest. According to the Des Moines Register, the furry tradition began in 1979. Over a thousand spectators watched from the stands at the Iowa college as Bam-Bam celebrated his coronation. Thrity bulldogs from across Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Missouri competed for the 2022 title. According to his owner Maggie Estby, a zookeeper at the Minnesota Zoo, Bam Bam is a dog of many passions. "He loves people, he loves chewing bones, he loves going for short walks, he loves to sunbathe, he loves to cuddle," she said, per a release from Drake University. RELATED: Nova Scotia Bulldog Stuns Owners by Giving Birth to a Bright Green Puppy As part of the competition, the participating bulldogs donned creative costumes to see who would be crowned as the 2022 mascot for the Drake Relays an outdoor track and field event at the university. Bam Bam and his owner caught the judges' attention with their adorable costumes, based on the Pixar movie Up. Estby dressed as Carl, the elderly curmudgeon with a heart of gold, and Bam Bam went as Russell, the hopelessly excited boy scout who ultimately shares the adventure of a lifetime with Carl. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The 2021 contest winner, Myrtle Mae, also attended the competition and got a chance to strut her stuff one last time as the honorary Drake Relays mascot. Although Bam Bam clinched this year's top prize, his competitors didn't head home empty-handed. Three other bulldogs received honorable mentions at the event. Bella Torres, owned by Rafael Torres, was the 2022 second runner-up, while the first runner-up, Elwood, owned by Jake and Jennie Roh, also won the Porterhouse People's Choice award. Story continues RELATED VIDEO: French Bulldog Gets New Lease on Life The 'Beautiful Bulldogs' contest contained additional awards, including the Best Dressed Award, won by Beverly Pancakes, the Rescue Dog Award, won by Bubba, and the Drake Spirit award, won by Kevin. RELATED: Giant Schnauzer Named Bayou Wins Best in Show at the AKC National Championship Dog Show The Drake Relays congratulated Bam Bam for his win via their official Twitter account, sharing that they are looking forward to having Bam Bam represent them. "Congratulations, Bam Bam!" the university tweeted on Monday. "See you this weekend on the Blue Oval!" In this article: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends the 2021 Met Gala. Mike Coppola/John Shearer/Getty Images/Insider This year's Met Gala will be held on Monday, May 2. Mitt Romney attended the Met Gala in 2018 wearing a tuxedo he bought on Amazon. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a dress with "tax the rich" written on it in 2021. Hillary Clinton, then a US senator, attended the Met Gala in 2001. Hillary Clinton at the 2001 Met Gala. Evan Agostini/Getty Images She wore a cheetah-print ball gown with a shiny shawl to the event, which was themed "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years." Before he was president of the United States, Donald Trump was a fixture at the Met Gala. Donald Trump and Melania Trump (then Knauss) at the Met Gala in 2004. Evan Agostini/Getty Images The theme of the 2004 gala was "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century." Trump attended with his future wife Melania they got engaged that year. Trump appears to have worn the same tuxedo to the event every year, while Melania's outfits varied. Melania Trump and Donald Trump at the 2005 Met Gala. Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic/Getty Images Melania wore an Alexander McQueen ball gown in 2005. While pregnant with Barron, Melania wore a white empire-waist dress with a black belt. Donald and Melania Trump at the 2006 Met Gala. Evan Agostini/Getty Images The theme of the gala was "Anglomania." At the 2007 gala, Trump wore his black tuxedo with a bow tie, and Melania wore a shimmering gold dress. Donald Trump and Melania Trump (then Knauss) at the 2007 Met Gala. Brian ZAK/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Melania's dress was designed by Roberto Cavalli. Melania wore a hot pink Vera Wang gown in 2008. Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the 2008 Met Gala. BILLY FARRELL/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images The theme of the 2008 gala was "Superheroes." The tuxedo made another appearance at the 2009 gala, while Melania wore a black Dolce & Gabbana dress. Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive at the Met Gala in 2009. CHANCE YEH/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Guests dressed according to the theme "The Model As Muse." In 2010, Trump sported his go-to tux while Melania wore a navy satin dress by Christian Siriano. Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Met Gala in 2010. BILLY FARRELL/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Siriano later stated that he would not dress Melania Trump while she served as first lady. "I think for a while everyone was trying to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, it really doesn't have anything to do with [Melania], but she is representing what's happening politically and what's happening politically right now is not really good for anyone," he told Time magazine in 2017. For the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Met Gala in 2011, Melania wore a gold dress by Reem Acra. Story continues Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend the 2011 Met Gala. Larry Busacca/Getty Images She paired the dress with a gold Alexander McQueen bag, while Trump wore his go-to tuxedo. At their last Met Gala appearance, Trump wore what appears to be the same tuxedo, and Melania chose a dramatic white minidress with pointy shoulder pads. Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the 2012 Met Gala. Stephen Lovekin/FilmMagic/Getty Images The theme that year was "Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations." Mitt Romney attended the Met Gala in 2018 with his wife, Ann, while wearing a tuxedo he bought on Amazon. Ann Romney and Mitt Romney at the 2018 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil/WireImage/Getty Images Apparently, Ann didn't want him telling anyone where he got his suit, but he couldn't resist. Before he was mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg attended the Met Gala with Mary Jane Salk in 1998. Mary Jane Salk and Michael Bloomberg attend the Met Gala in 1998. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images The theme of the gala was "Cubism and Fashion." Bloomberg wore a black tuxedo with a taupe bow tie and black shoes with gold detailing. Salk wore a black dress with a floral pattern and a black shawl. While serving as mayor, he wore a charcoal suit to the 2007 gala. Michael Bloomberg, Anna Wintour, Cate Blanchett, and Nicolas Ghesquiere at the Met Gala in 2007. BILLY FARRELL/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images The theme of the gala in 2007 was "Poiret: King of Fashion." These days, male attendees often skip suits and opt for something a little more unexpected. Bloomberg wore a red bow tie to the event in 2008. Michael Bloomberg and Diana Taylor at the 2008 Met Gala. BILLY FARRELL/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images His partner, business executive Diana Taylor, wore a purple mermaid-style gown. He exchanged the bow tie for a red tie in 2010, while Taylor wore a beaded gown in earth tones. Michael Bloomberg and Diana Taylor at the 2010 Met Gala. Bryan Bedder/WireImage for Vogue The theme of the evening was "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity." Bloomberg went with a blue bow tie in 2012, and Taylor wore a green dress with an accent at one shoulder. Michael Bloomberg and Diana Taylor attend the Met Gala in 2012. Larry Busacca/Getty Images The theme of the gala was "Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations." In 2014, he wore white-tie attire. Diana Taylor, Michael Bloomberg, and Georgina Bloomberg attend the Met Gala in 2014. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Diana Taylor wore a velvet burgundy dress, while Bloomberg's daughter Georgina wore a blue gown. He wore a tuxedo with a silver bow tie for the 2019 gala, themed "Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion." Georgina Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, and Diana Taylor at the 2019 Met Gala. Kevin Tachman/MG19/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue Georgina wore a black-and-white gown with a sparkly gold lining, while Taylor chose a black flapper-inspired look. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, who represents New York's 12th congressional district, attended the Met Gala that same year in an ornate black, silver, and gold gown. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney at the Met Gala in 2018. Taylor Hill/Getty Images The dress fit the theme of "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & the Catholic Imagination." At the 2019 gala, she wore a neon-yellow Vassilis Zoulias dress with a firefighter jacket she vowed to wear until the passage of her bill for 9/11 first responders. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney at the 2019 Met Gala. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images "Anytime anyone sees me wearing the coat, I can feel it tugging on their conscience, and I can feel their remembering," Maloney told People magazine in 2019. "And many people then have to tell me where they were on 9/11. This jacket speaks louder and more eloquently than any speech that can be given on the floor." The Never Forget the Heroes Act became law in July 2019. In 2021, Maloney wore a dress made of "equal rights for women" pennants in keeping with the theme "Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion." Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney attends the 2021 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Staff / Getty Images The multicolored dress was covered with a cape made of individual pennants that said "equal rights for women." Maloney carried a purse that said "ERA YES," voicing support for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio wore a blue velvet tuxedo by Brooklyn-based designer Dreu Beckemberg in 2021. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio with his wife, Chirlane McCray, and son, Dante, at the 2021 Met Gala. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images He walked the red carpet with his wife, Chirlane McCray, who wore an orange Fe Noel gown, and their son, Dante. The mayor's spokesperson Bill Neidhardt told Politico that de Blasio attended the gala to "highlight the return of the city's fashion industry jobs." At her first Met Gala appearance in 2021, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a dress with "tax the rich" written on it. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the 2021 Met Gala. Kevin Mazur/MG21/Getty Images For The Met Museum/Vogue The Brother Vellies dress was strapless and had a tulle mermaid-style skirt. "Tax the rich" was written on the back in large red type. Read the original article on Insider Since 2019 , Abletons Learning Synths website has been a fun and free way to learn all the cool things you can do with synthesizers. If you dont know what oscillators, filters and envelopes do, the company will teach you. Best of all, you dont need anything other than a modern web browser to start. And if you want another excuse to check it out, Ableton just rolled out a new update. The latest version of the website allows you to export whatever you create with the included Playground soft synth to Ableton Live. Its now also possible to capture up to 60 seconds of audio, allowing you to record the synth as you experiment with it. On the interface front, Ableton has added an Open in Playground button that enables you to jump directly to the soft synth from a lesson. Additionally, the synth includes a new configurable XY pad adding to the amount of experimentation possible. Oh, and theres a dark mode now too, and the addition of Turkish, Finnish and Portuguese language support. All of that should make the tool accessible to even more people. When hes not busy inventing, Val Matula works as the president of the Kiwanis Club of Granville. I saw the impact Kiwanis had on the community and knew Id like to be part of the club. GRANVILLE Hes been a pioneer in the computer industry for decades and it all started when he was a youngster. As a kid, said Val Matula, I was interested in computers, math, Scouting and the space program. He went on to work at places like AT&T, Lucent and Avaya Labs. One aspect of my work of which Im especially proud, he noted, is that Ive been awarded nearly 100 U.S. Patents, with more still on the way as applications are being processed. They focus mainly on call center features, customer service agent support, artificial intelligence, speech recognition, use of robots in the house, social media for customer service, real time sign language translation and video communication. For example, I led a project with France Telecom in 2005 to enable video calls to doctors on flip-cell phones, two years before the iPhone was invented. When hes not inventing, hes also president of the Kiwanis Club of Granville. I joined Kiwanis with my wife Lisa in 2013, he said. Lisa was president of Kiwanis 2018-19. I decided I wanted to contribute as she did, so I ran for president a few years later. Since October 2021 Ive served the club as its president. Now 65, Matula grew up east of Cleveland, near Chagrin Falls. He graduated from high school in 1975, then studied computer and control engineering at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Michigan. He earned a Ph.D. from Case Western in 1986. I was always interested in being an active part of the community, and in trying to help others, he said. We didnt have a lot of money, so as a family we didnt travel much. I always dreamed of having a future where work would take me to different places to visit, but at the same time establishing deep roots in one community with a family. He first worked 5 years at a startup technology company in Cleveland, then joined AT&T Bell Labs in 1987. He then worked at Lucent, then Avaya Labs. He retired from Avaya Labs in 2021 after almost 34 years. Story continues When we moved to Granville in 1990, he said, I saw the impact Kiwanis had on the community and knew Id like to be part of the club. After the kids were out of school, it freed me up to join Kiwanis. Members quickly recognized his abilities. As a club, assessed Mike Birkmeyer, a past chairman of the Granville Fourth of July celebration, we value his experience, insight and ability to see both the big picture and to break down problems into solvable pieces I do it, Matula responded, because Im a hands-on person. I like to use my ability to organize activities, he concluded, in a way to help people in the community. Ive been very lucky and blessed. For more To learn more about Granville Kiwanis, log on www.granvillekiwanisclub.org. Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs whether theyre unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com or 740-328-8821. This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Aces of Trades: Granville Kiwanis' Val Matula loves inventing PATERSON Week after week, month after month, community activist Ernest Rucker was relentless in his public condemnation of the illegal ways he said some candidates were using mail-in ballots in Patersons 2020 City Council elections. Rucker hammered at the issue long before the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office in June 2020 filed election fraud charges against Alex Mendez, the winning candidate in the citys 3rd Ward race. Rucker eventually made Mendez his primary target after the state criminal charges were filed. Yet on Sunday afternoon, just two weeks before Paterson voters go to the polls to pick a mayor, Rucker changed his tune. He attended a fish fry at the Paterson Masonic Lodge with Mendez and endorsed the councilman's mayoral campaign. That was then; this is a different day, Rucker said during an interview on Monday when asked about backing someone he had so forcefully attacked. Now that its in the court process, the courts will decide, Rucker said when asked if he still believes as he has said in the past that Mendez broke the law. Paterson activist Ernest Rucker (left) with city Councilman Alex Mendez (center) and Justin Rucker, the activist's nephew, at a Masonic Lodge event on Sunday. Ernest Rucker endorsed Mendez's mayoral bid at the event. Ruckers endorsement of Mendez represents the latest in a series of strange alliances in Patersons elections. Mayor Andre Sayegh, who is seeking a second term, has donated money to a longtime political foe, council President Maritza Davila, and visited her campaign headquarters recently. Meanwhile, former 2nd Ward Councilman Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman has endorsed Aslan Goow, another mayoral candidate. Ten years ago, Goow successfully filed a lawsuit that briefly removed Akhtaruzzman from the council. And convicted former Mayor Joey Torres is backing Mendez as well though only after a court dashed Torres' hopes of running himself. Fraud case: Paterson election fraud case against Councilman Mendez centers on two voters Paterson elections: Who is mayor backing in City Council race? He says no one, despite donation Mendez on Monday shrugged off the fact that Rucker had taken so many shots at him two years ago. Mendez said Rucker at the time had simply been supporting his friend, then-Councilman William McKoy, in a bitter battle between Mendez and McKoy for the 3rd Ward seat. Story continues He was supporting his candidate. Thats all, Mendez said. But McKoy said he finds Ruckers support for Mendez inexplicable. Considering everything he said about the attorney general and voter fraud, I dont understand it, McKoy said of Rucker. Its rather perplexing. Elections are strange. They make for strange bedfellows, added McKoy, who is endorsing Sayegh, a man he repeatedly criticized when the two of them served on the City Council together years ago Sayegh dismissed Ruckers support for Mendez, noting that he already has gotten the backing of Gov. Phil Murphy, the states two United States senators and the congressman who represents Paterson, as well as various labor groups. Just what impact the endorsements will have on the outcome of the mayoral election, if any, is hard to gauge. Political insiders say endorsements typically matter only when the endorser provides campaign resources, including street volunteers and money, to make sure their followers vote for the person they are backing. Whether Rucker can sway any support for his onetime target remains to be seen. Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ mayor race: Ernest Rucker endorses Alex Mendez The Daily Beast Lauderdale County SheriffLoved-up prison guard Vicky White has died after she and her jailhouse beau Casey White were caught following an extraordinary 11 days on the run, the Associated Press reported.Vicky White, 56, had been taken to a hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while 38-year-old Casey White, no relation, surrendered and was taken into custody, WAAY 31 reported.Weve captured them, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding told the outlet, adding that they were involved in An Air Force general learned his sentence after being convicted by a military judge of one of three specifications of a charge of abusive sexual contact in the first-ever military trial of an Air Force general. Maj. Gen. William T. Cooley was found guilty on April 23 of one specification of the charge of abusive sexual contact for forcibly kissing a civilian woman. >> RELATED: Split verdict in first-ever Air Force general military trial In August 2018, Cooley forcibly kissed the victim in a car after a barbeque in Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to a release from the Air Force Materiel Command. He was accused of one charge, with three specifications related to the incident. Cooleys general court-martial began April 18, 2022 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Col. Christina M. Jimenez, senior military judge, found Cooley not guilty of two other specifications of the charge, including alleged inappropriate touching. >> Man shot on I-675 in Washington Twp. during road-rage incident, deputies say On Tuesday, Cooley, a former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, was sentenced to a reprimand and forfeiture of $10,910 per month for five months. If this result influenced just one survivor to know that his or her attackers rank or status would not prevent them from being held accountable, that is a win for the United States and the military justice system, Lt. Col. Matthew Neil, government lead trial counsel, said after the sentence was announced Tuesday. Cooley faced a maximum punishment of dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for seven years, according to a release. An Austin man called 911 and told an operator that he "blacked out" just minutes after he allegedly shot and killed his wife and 14-year-old stepson at their home on Friday, according to an arrest warrant. David Ontiveros Jr., 42, was arrested at the scene and is facing two counts of capital murder. Christina Limon, 29, was pronounced deceased after police found her suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and transported to a local hospital. Her son, 14-year-old Rudy Limon-Lira, was pronounced deceased at the home. Detectives acquired video and audio from a security system at the home, according to the arrest warrant. AUSTIN ON TRACK TO SHATTER HOMICIDE RECORD AFTER BRUTAL JANUARY The victims arrived at the home in East Austin on Friday afternoon with groceries and Limon asked "Ontiveros why he is sitting in the dark." "Seconds later, at 3:35:53 PM, multiple gun-shots begin to ring out and screams of terror from both Limon and her son can be heard," a detective wrote in the arrest warrant. Ontiveros then "calmly" walked out of the home to his vehicle and got in, but returned about 20 minutes later. After returning to the home, he called 911 and told the operator his stepson "came at him with a knife and a gun he was holding in his hand went off," and that he "blacked out." His twin brother arrived at the home a minute later and police arrived shortly thereafter. Detectives did not find knives near either of the victims. Ontiveros is currently being held on a combined bond of $1,000,000, according to jail records. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin affirmed on Tuesday he does not believe that Russias invasion of Ukraine will result in a nuclear war despite remarks from Russias foreign minister that the threat of nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. I do not. And I certainly, you know, everyone thats in this neighborhood, thats a part of the international community, is going to do what it, you know, everything thats necessary to make sure that that doesnt happen, Austin told Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin in an interview on Tuesday. Having said that, Ukraine has a right to protect itself. And were going to continue to support Ukraine, he added. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian state media late Monday that the threat of nuclear war is real. It should not be underestimated. Griffin asked Austin about Lavrovs comments and how he would respond. What I think it is, Jen, is its dangerous. And any kind of a rhetoric like that, you know, I think is unhelpful, Austin answered. You know, weve said over and over again that a nuclear war cannot be won by either side. And so I think saber-rattling and rhetoric like that is just unhelpful. And so, again, hard to say whats motivating Mr. Lavrov, but, again, I think that kind of talk should be avoided, he continued. The development comes as Ukrainian and top U.S. officials earlier this month indicated that the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine should not be taken lightly. Given the potential desperation of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that theyve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons, CIA Director WIlliam Burns said at Georgia Tech. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is struggling to close the gap with the main opposition ahead of an upcoming general election, a poll showed on Tuesday, amid criticism over his handling of a security pact between China and Solomon Islands. A poll for The Australian newspaper showed centre-left Labor maintaining its 53-47 lead on a two-party preferred basis against the conservative Liberal-National coalition, even as it showed Morrison extending his lead as the preferred leader. With Australia going to polls on May 21, national security has dominated the election campaign after China last week struck the security deal with the Solomon Islands, stoking concerns in Canberra and Washington. Morrison, who has often attacked Labor as being "soft" on China, said the opposition was "playing politics with the Pacific and the only ones who are benefiting... is the Chinese government." Morrison on Sunday said China building a base in the Solomon Islands would be a "red line" for Australia, even as Beijing insisted the pact would only help the Solomon Islands maintain social order and cope with natural disasters and humanitarian relief. Morrison said "it would not be responsible for me to be speculating in public about what Australia, the United States and others would be doing in circumstances such as that." His political opponents cast the security pact as a failure of Morrison's government. "This has occurred on Morrison's watch," Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told reporters, as she pledged A$525 million ($379 million) to boost defence aid for Pacific countries if Labor wins the election. "(The government's) response appears to be more chest beating. There is no point in beating your chest if you're beaten to the punch." ($1 = 1.3852 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Renju Jose. Editing by Gerry Doyle) President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev (Photo: Official website of President of Azerbaijan Read also: 62nd day of Putin's war. One person killed in shelling in Zaporizhzhyia, Ukrainian air defenses shoot down 10 enemy aircraft in a day "The media on Monday (April 25 - ed.) reported that the Republic of Azerbaijan will pay in rubles the cost of gas imported from Russia. This information is not true, a company spokesperson said. The supply of Russian gas to Azerbaijan is currently carried out within the framework of an agreement on the seasonal exchange of natural gas, signed in July 2021 between the state company Azerkontrakt and the Russian state-owned gas enterprise Gazprom Group. The agreement is valid until 2023. The document provides for the supply of gas from Azerbaijan to Russia in the summer season, and similar volumes of gas from Russia to Azerbaijan in the winter season. The volume of supplies will depend on the level of gas production and consumption in Azerbaijan in the summer months. Read also: Ukrainian military holds firm across Donbas contact line as Russia attempts to inch closer However, these contracts are traditionally settled in US dollars or euros - not Russian rubles, until Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree on March 31 obliging several gas purchasers to do so. This was done in order to both bolster the Russian economy, which is currently suffering under comprehensive sanctions packages imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, as well as to avoid having payments added to Russian-owned US dollar accounts currently frozen by various Western banking institutions. EU countries have largely rejected this decree. Read also: France supports embargo on Russian energy Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny will star in the new Spider-Man spin-off "El Muerto," becoming the first Latino lead in a Marvel live-action superhero movie, according to Sony Pictures. Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Motion Picture Group, made the announcement at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Monday. "Sometimes we get lucky with the perfect casting, and I think that's what we've got here," Panitch said, according to Entertainment Tonight. Bad Bunny speaks onstage during the CinemaCon opening night and Sony Pictures Entertainment presentation during CinemaCon 2022 at Caesars Palace on Monday. / Credit: Getty Images Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, is an avid wrestling fan and will play El Muerto, a hero wrestler, in the upcoming movie. The Puerto Rican artist appeared in Wrestlemania last year and named a song after wrestling icon Booker T in his "El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo" album. At Monday's CinemaCon, he told the crowd that playing El Muerto will be "epic." "I love wrestling, I'm a pro wrestler, I don't know if you know," the two-time Grammy winner said, according to ET. "This is why I love this character. I think it's the perfect role, to me." The movie is set to debut in theaters on January 12, 2024, according to Sony Pictures. Bad Bunny (@sanbenito) takes the #CinemaCon stage to announce his starring role as El Muerto during @SonyPictures Presentation. @ElMuertoMovie is exclusively in movie theaters January 12, 2024. pic.twitter.com/jMhBId2CT7 Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) April 26, 2022 El Muerto is a super-powered wrestler who fought Spider-Man in a charity match and nearly unmasked the webbed hero, Comicbook reports. They later teamed up to defeat El Muerto's rival, Dorado. El Muerto first debuted in 2006 and has only two comic appearances to his name, the website said. Sony has two other Spider-Man spinoff movies scheduled for next year: "Kraken the Hunter," which will premiere January 13, and "Madame Webb," which will be released July 7, Comicbook reported. First-of-its-kind heart transplant in infant could possibly prevent organ rejection North Carolina police seize loaded gun from Congressman Madison Cawthorn at Charlotte airport Beijing orders more than 20 million people to test for COVID to try and avoid a full lockdown President Joe Biden's administration said Tuesday it is doubling the number of outlets where at-risk Americans can obtain free Covid-19 therapeutic pills. Oral therapeutics such as Pfizer's Paxlovid pill are seen as an important new weapon in the struggle to knock out a virus that at its peak a year ago killed more than 3,000 people a day in the United States alone and disrupted economic activity around the globe. While sharply reduced in lethality, the latest Omicron variant continues to spread and the White House hopes the growing combination of vaccinations, natural immunity and therapeutics will help Americans finally turn the corner on the pandemic. "One of the most effective available treatments is Pfizer's oral antiviral pill, Paxlovid, which has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about 90 percent," a senior government official told reporters. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain called Paxlovid a "miracle pill" and tweeted that "almost all Covid deaths can be prevented if people who test positive take" it. With 20 million pill packs ordered for government purchase, they are now "in ample supply" and distribution will be ramped up from the current 20,000 locations to close to 40,000, the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters. The pills are available in pharmacies, community health centers, hospitals, and government medical facilities, including those run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the medicine for use by people 12 and older who are at high risk after Covid infection. The official said that so far, about half a million courses of antivirals had been used and that the rate is on the increase. "I think through about a month ago, we were at around 22,000 courses, recorded as used in a week. And I think last week, we were over 55,000," the official said. "We're trying to dramatically increase the footprint of the ways treatments are available." Story continues The Biden administration's strategy for the long-term assault on Covid-19 -- including domestic programs and a large-scale foreign vaccine donation drive -- is at risk, however, with Congress so far deadlocked on approving more funding. A package currently close to approval would inject $10 billion into fighting Covid-19, with half of that going to therapeutics, but none to foreign vaccine programs. The senior official said there was already funding to buy all the promised 20 million packs of therapeutics, but what "we're really worried about, going forward, are future treatments. And so we need funding from Congress to secure the essential needs." While Paxlovid is being reserved for at-risk patients, these would include anyone diagnosed as obese or with diabetes, among other categories, meaning large numbers of people are eligible. The therapeutic course must be taken within five days of symptoms appearing. sms/sst US President Joe Biden on Tuesday wielded his clemency powers for the first time, announcing pardons for three people, including the first Black man to serve in the White House's Secret Service detail. Biden also announced the commutation of sentences for 75 others, mainly going to those serving lengthy terms for non-violent drug offenses. "America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation," Biden said in a statement. The pardons are for "people who have demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and are striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities," he said. One recipient is Abraham Bolden, an 86-year-old former member of the US Secret Service and the first African American to protect a president, joining the detail in John F. Kennedy's administration. He was charged with crimes related to attempting to sell a copy of a Secret Service file and convicted after two trials, although the White House says that key witnesses later admitted to lying. Related video: Branson urges Singapore not to execute disabled man Bolden always maintained his innocence and said he was targeted "in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the US Secret Service," the White House said in a statement. Bolden went on to win multiple awards for his activism and contributions to the community after release from prison, the White House said. The other two pardons went to a man and a woman convicted on drug charges, but who also went on to reform their lives and work with their communities. The president said that many of the 75 commutations affected people "on home confinement during the Covid pandemic and many of whom would have received a lower sentence if they were charged with the same offense today." sms/sst US President Joe Biden and Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will discuss the increasingly contentious issue of migration across their common border this week, the White House said Tuesday. The virtual meeting on Friday will cover the neighbors' economy, security and energy concerns, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. They will also discuss the June regional Summit of the Americas "and how North America can lead on priority initiatives for the region." However, the most closely watched topic is likely to be what Psaki called "cooperation on migration." The problem of heavy flows of would-be migrants and asylum seekers through Mexico and into the southern United States is a political hot potato for Biden ahead of November midterm legislative elections. Biden's Democratic Party is on the defensive against Republican attacks that the situation on the US-Mexico border is out of control, while the White House says it is up to Congress to enact laws fixing what Psaki calls a "broken immigration system." The issue is bubbling up again with the planned expiry on May 23 of the Title 42 policy, a health regulation that allowed rapid expulsion of undocumented migrants due to the coronavirus pandemic. There are concerns that with those restrictions lifted, the already heavy flow of migrants will dramatically expand. However, following a lawsuit by a group of southern US states, a court on Monday issued a temporary stay on the lifting of Title 42. Another front in the migration battle opened Tuesday in the Supreme Court, which was hearing arguments on Biden's attempt to suspend a policy instituted by his predecessor Donald Trump, forcing asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are under consideration. Trump imposed the rule as part of his hardline policies, popular on the far right, while critics called it inhumane, forcing already desperate people into dangerous conditions on the Mexican side of the border. sms/sst SOUTH KINGSTOWN Ellen Jones heard something at the back door, pulled aside the curtain and saw a bear standing on his hind legs at the screen. He showed his teeth and growled. She called to her husband. "Honey, I think you need to be here. There's a bear at the back door." "'Why don't you invite him in? Maybe he wants a cup of coffee.' He thought I was kidding." The black bear spotted in South Kingstown on Sunday night. This year they mounted a camera This is the third year Ellen and Paul Jones have seen a bear in their yard. This year they had a mounted, motion-sensitive camera ready. The bear visits only once a year. This year their feeder was on a 72-inch pole, and he was taller, they said. He bent the pole at its base. A state wildlife staffer had told them to take bird feeders down at the end of April. RI's newest resident: This tiny species of bat was just found for first time in Rhode Island 'It's awful': Rat poisons are killing New England eagles and owls. How you can help save them Bird seed is 'a bear no-no.' David Kalb, the supervising wildlife biologist at the R.I Department of Environmental Management's Division of Fish & Wildlife, called eating bird seed "a bear no-no." He said the bear looked like an adult male black bear, of average size, probably over 250 pounds. "Bears enter and leave their winter torpor based on food resource availability. More food will lead them to go down late and come out early but generally mid-April is about right for emergence. He guessed that the bear lives in Rhode Island and said this was the first report of a bear being out this spring. dnaylor@providencejournal.com (401) 277-7411 On Twitter: @donita22 Walking RI: Best place for a hike and osprey spotting? Try the Great Swamp in South Kingstown This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 6-foot black bear emerges from hibernation returns to same RI house Antony Blinken Photo by Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Tuesday, following his weekend trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. In Kyiv, Blinken said he "saw the signs of a vibrant city coming back to life" after Ukrainian forces fended off a Russian attempt to capture the city. "[I]t was right there in front of us: the Ukrainians have won the battle for Kyiv," he added, according to The Guardian. Blinken also said that continued U.S. support "is critical in my judgment to ensuring that Russia's war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for the Kremlin." Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) asked Blinken whether the U.S. would accept a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in which Ukraine agreed not to join NATO or the European Union. "We, Senator, are not gonna be more Ukrainian than the Ukrainians," Blinken responded, adding that the U.S. is working to put Ukraine in the best possible negotiating position and will support Ukraine's leaders regardless of their decision. He also fielded questions from a number of senators on reducing European dependence on Russian energy exports. Blinken said the U.S. is stepping up production and working to ensure steady supplies of oil and natural gas to Europe, but is committed to doing so in a way that will not "inflate energy prices and line [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's pockets" but will "advance ... the transition, over time, to renewables." You may also like The 'anti-woke' agenda is going to cost taxpayers big bucks Reports: Sweden and Finland agree to apply for NATO membership at the same time 5 cartoons about maskless flying Columbus police homicide detectives talk outside while investigating a fatal shooting Tuesday at the Executive Barber Salon, located in a commercial strip mall at 5880 N. Meadows Blvd. The homicide is the city's sixth in five days. Columbus police homicide detectives have identified a barber who was fatally shot early Tuesday afternoon just outside the barbershop where he worked on the city's North Side. Lawrence Jefferson, 51, of Reynoldsburg, was working inside Executive Barber Salon, located down a small flight of stairs from a food market in a multi-space commercial building at 5880 N. Meadows Blvd. when a man walked into the shop shortly after noon, police said. The barber and the man talked briefly then went just outside the shop to a landing area near the bottom of the stairs. Another barber and a customer inside then "heard gunshots," homicide detectives said. Jefferson was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:12 p.m. by paramedics. The suspect fled on foot. Detectives say they are looking for a person of interest described as a black male with a medium build who was wearing a black ballcap, gray hooded sweatshirt and large, dark sunglasses. Police have released a photo of someone they say is a person of interest in the homicide. Masonique Saunders: Mother: Killing of 20-year-old may have been retaliation for her role in fatal robbery Troy Cherry, who owns the barbershop, said the barber later identified by police as Jefferson had no problems that he was aware of. "He just started working here about a month ago and was a good guy as far as I'm concerned," Cherry said. "I'm just waiting to hear what happened like everyone else." Cherry said he was not in the salon at the time of the shooting. Neither the other barber or the customer inside the shop was harmed, police said. Sgt. Joe Albert said the investigation is preliminary and it is not yet known if the victim was targeted, if the shooting was the result of an attempted robbery or if there was another motive. Detectives were canvassing the area, which contains multiple small strip malls and commercial buildings, as well as townhomes, for video footage. The barbershop staircase entrance is located next to the Sunshine International Food Mart & Smoke Shop, where police had the alcove area blocked off with crime scene tape. The strip mall is about a quarter-mile south from Ohio 161. Story continues Man identified as victim of second fatal weekend shooting at a Columbus park On Monday night, Columbus police also identified a 19-year-old man who was killed at a Southeast Side park on Saturday evening. Damarion Dawson was found shot in Nafzger Park, located on Noe-Bixby Road, around 6:10 p.m. Saturday. He died at a hospital a short time later. No suspects have been named in Dawson's death. Homicide database: Here's where homicides have occurred in Columbus since 2017 There have been six homicides reported in Columbus since Friday morning. Police have not announced any arrests or suspects in any of those cases. Columbus has reported 37 homicides to date in 2022, a 40% decline over the same time in 2021. Columbus Division of Police released a photo of person it says is a person of interest in the homicide. Anyone with information about this or any other Columbus homicide is asked to detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. Dispatch reporter Cole Behrens contributed to this report. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Homicide detectives investigating slaying outside N. Side barbershop Three juveniles from the same group of minors accused of stomping on a woman in downtown Boston last week, allegedly targeting her in an unprovoked attack because of her race and hairstyle, were arrested again on Monday after allegedly assaulting McDonalds employees and police officers. This comes as the Boston Police Department has described in police reports over the past several weeks "a recent barrage of juvenile incidents" withing District A-1 "involving young teenagers fighting in public, causing disturbances inside businesses, vandalizing storefronts by smashing glass window with blunt objects, aggravated assaults, assaults on police officers, and civil rights violations." The Boston Herald reported that three juveniles were arrested early Monday morning in connection to an incident that erupted at the Roxbury McDonalds at 301 Warren St around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. BOSTON JUVENILES' BROAD DAYLIGHT BEATING OF WOMAN ALLEGEDLY TARGETED FOR RACE, HAIRSTYLE CAPTURED ON VIDEO A police report says a group of minors began throwing rocks and water bottles at customers and employees in the drive thru. One of the workers responded by throwing items back at the minors. Washington and Winter Streets in Downtown Crossing on April 19, 2022, in Boston, Massachusetts. Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images When a cup of soda splashed onto one of the teens jeans, the juvenile allegedly came inside and punched the worker in the face. Boston 25 reported the worker dialed 911 but refused medical treatment. The group of minors came back less than an hour later to try to fight employees, and one of them was spotted allegedly swinging a metal cane toward the restaurants lights. The kids took off running but were apprehended by police around the corner. A police report says one of the juveniles hurled racial slurs at an officer and threatened to "f--- him up." Washington and Winter Streets in Downtown Crossing on April 19, 2022, in Boston. Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images The minors allegedly struck one of the officers and kicked another in the genitals. Three were apprehended but because of their ages were not held in custody and were returned to their parents, Boston 25 reported. Story continues Local news reports say the three minors were part of the same group of juveniles accused of beating down a 20-year-old woman in broad daylight in an attack in the Downtown Crossing area. A police report says the victim told investigators a group of as many as 20 Black girls swarmed around her and called her "a white b---- with braids." The victim said she identified as "Hispanic" and tried to leave, but the group came up from behind, grabbed her by the hair and began punching and kicking her. Five juveniles were charged in connection to the incident captured on video. The police report said the juveniles, including one as young as age 12, were trying to instigate a violent confrontation with police and hurled "rude and racially motivated insults" at officers placing some of them under arrest. The report also cites "a specific group of violent juveniles terrorizing the Downtown Crossing area." Last month, an 81-year-old man was assaulted by a group of four juveniles, described as one Black boy and three Black girls, while he was eating a hamburger at a different McDonalds on Washington Street. According to a police report, they smacked him in the head and nailed him with whip cream before later moving on to a nearby bar and grill. The group allegedly requested alcohol but were denied service, then began shouting "Black Lives Matter" and hurled racial slurs and spat on patrons. They shattered a door as they were escorted out, the police report said. Just days later, the same group allegedly punched a female victim who refused to buy them ice cream and again shouted racial slurs. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) A Brazilian federal court on Monday upheld the suspension of an environmental license for what would be the largest open-pit gold mine in the nation's Amazon rainforest, dealing a blow to the Canada-based company behind the project. Belo Sun Mining Corp. was appealing the same courts 2017 ruling, which found that the company's consultation with local Indigenous peoples and study on the projects socio-environmental impacts didn't meet the criteria required by the National Indian Foundation. In a 3-0 vote, the court maintained its prior ruling. Belo Sun can appeal the decision to a higher court. The company's Volta Grande project is located on the banks of the Xingu River, in the state of Para. It is located about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Belo Monte, the worlds third-biggest hydroelectric dam. The Belo Monte dam has reduced the flow in the Volta Grande (Big Bend) stretch of the Xingu River, where the Belo Sun project is located. Among other impacts, the fish population, a local staple food, is diminishing, endangering endemic species, such as the Hypancistrus zebra. My community wasnt consulted about the Belo Sun project, Lorena Curuaia, a leader from the Iawa village, told The Associated Press by phone. Belo Monte already has had a major impact on the Xingu. A second project could mean the death of the local peoples." Belo Sun has argued that it already consulted the Indigenous peoples, and that their closest community is more than 10 km (6 miles) away. The Federal Prosecutors Office states that the company only considered officially demarcated areas, and that Indigenous communities outside these places should also be taken into account. Contacted by phone and email Monday, Belo Suns office in Brazil didnt respond to AP requests for comment about the court's decision or if it would appeal. According to the company, the project covers 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres). Story continues This is another victory for the Indigenous and riverine people of Volta Grande do Xingu, federal prosecutor Felicio de Araujo Pontes Jr. said in a text message. They know that a mining project can have devastating impacts on the region. The judgment shows the resilience of this population. ___ Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about APs climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Apr. 26The Broomfield Police Academy is hosting its Inside Teen Academy, a chance for teens to learn about the department, this summer. The academy will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 6-10 at the Broomfield Police Station, 7 Descombes Drive, Broomfield. The academy will allow teens to interact with the police department and will provide an interactive way for them to learn about the department's functions and duties. Teens also will get an overview of the different sections in the department, like SWAT, crime scene investigators, K-9 units, school resource officers, detention officers and investigators. Participants can apply at bit.ly/3EJVaju. Those who pass a background check and are accepted will be required to sign a separate waiver on the first day of the academy. A Burnsville man was sentenced last week to 20 years in prison for selling meth. Eric Michael Dungy, 50, pleaded guilty in November to two counts of possession with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine, according to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court. In addition to the 20-year prison term, Dungy will spend another five years on supervised release, court documents say. Authorities began investigating Dungy in August 2020, and determined he was selling meth out of a Bloomington hotel, where they arrested him the next month, according to the charges against him. At the time of his arrest, police found he was carrying heroin and more than $16,000 in cash on his person, and a search of his car and hotel room turned up more than 6 pounds of methamphetamine, three pipes, needles, an electronic money counter and a 9-mm handgun, the charges said. After being released on bail from Hennepin County jail, Dungy was arrested a second time when he agreed to sell 3 pounds of meth to an undercover cop for $15,000. Officers who searched his two rooms in another Bloomington hotel found 6.5 pounds of meth, 13.5 grams of heroin, three digital scales, 11 phones and more than $12,000. Related Articles This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. From their dislike of local teachers unions to a lack of confidence in school administrators, California voters are more disillusioned with the state of education than voters nationally, a new poll has found. Commissioned by the reform-oriented nonprofit, Murmuration, likely California voters who were also parents were much less satisfied with the performance of traditional neighborhood public schools during the pandemic than in every other state polled, including Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, New Jersey, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia. Sign up here for The 74s daily newsletter. Donate here to support The 74's independent journalism. Many places in California struggled to get remote learning set up and make it effective. There were also fights with the unions when it came to school reopenings, said Brian Reich, vice president of communications at Murmuration. I think that over the course of the pandemic, issues just continued to compound themselves. In California, controversy over remote learning and how school reopenings were handled were particularly extreme, Reich said. In San Francisco for example, three school board members were recalled for the first time since 1983 because parents felt the board was prioritizing progressive politics over school reopenings, said Reich. Ultimately I think what really frustrated parents was expectations being set and not met and the lack of transparency with decision making, said Reich. It felt very much to a lot of parents in California that they were not being listened to by school officials during the pandemic. Since the pandemic, people have been paying more attention to education nationally, bringing long standing issues to light, said Josh Starr, the CEO of Phi Delta Kappa and former superintendent of the Montgomery County Public School System in Maryland. Story continues Theres more eyes on education right now. Everyone is suddenly paying attention and forming an opinion, Starr said. This attitude was reflected in the poll. Nationally, 84% of respondents said that education was important to them and 90% said that education was crucial to making communities and the country stronger in the future. The poll sampled nearly 7,000 registered voters across the 10 states of all ages, races, and political affiliations who all see public education as a top issue, just below health care, economy, and foreign policy and above immigration and climate change. Voters in California were the least supportive of local teachers unions than voters in any other state polled with 29% of voters viewing teachers unions negatively compared to 27% nationally and just 12% in the District of Columbia. 17% of voters in California view local teachers unfavorably compared to just 9% in Missouri and 7% in the District of Columbia. 25% of voters in California view school administrators unfavorably, while only 15% do in D.C. 19% of California voters view their Parent Teacher Organization unfavorably while just 10% of voters do in D.C. On top of the fact that D.C. is much smaller than California and the school districts are more easily manageable, Reich also said that the mayor and the school board officials in D.C. likely did a better job at making parents feel like they were taking their needs and concerns into account during the pandemic. Voters in California reacted the most negatively of all states polled towards parent teacher organizations; and it was the only state to prefer national teachers unions to local teachers unions. 50% of California voters viewed the national teachers union favorably and only 48% saw the local union favorably. This was surprising since typically voters are satisfied with local institutions, but dissatisfied with the state of national politics, said Pedro Noguera, Dean of USC Rossiers School of Education. The distinction is important, Noguera said. I wouldnt be surprised if there is some lingering resentment toward local unions because of their stance on keeping schools closed during the pandemic. In March of 2021, the U.S. department of education released data that showed that California lagged behind almost every other state in the country in reopening schools. Only Washington, Oregon, and Maryland had higher percentages of schools still closed last spring. Reich said that since local school boards were the ones making the public decisions during the pandemic, the local government caught more flak in California. Voters are now starting to see issues in education that go beyond how problems were handled during the pandemic. California has a big problem. They are very disjointed in terms of education. There are a lot of local initiatives, but theres no alignment, Noguera said. For example, lots of schools are under-enrolled. Theres no coherence on how to solve that issue. People are starting to really see these problems. In July 2020, the progressive think tank, The Century Foundation, released a study that showed that California spent $6,000 less per student than the national average, making California schools some of the most underfunded in the nation. All of this attention on local education is affecting politics and it will surely affect local election races this year, particularly for the school board, said Starr. The poll was administered in March by the research group SocialSphere on behalf of Murmuration and was conducted just three months before the June primary election for Los Angeles school board members and eight months before the November election for governor. California is unlike many other states in that mayors and the governor have no direct control over schools. The school board holds all of the power. Reich said that a lot of California voters are probably feeling helpless right about now, which is reflected in their responses to the poll. Its really hard for voters in California to actually have an outcome in how schools are affected. I think theres a sense of resignation and powerlessness amongst voters right now, said Reich. Its why people say education is a local issue. It truly is in California. The real decisions are made at the individual, district level. Rebecca Katz is a recent graduate of the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism Masters Program and a Los Angeles native. She received her bachelors in English literature and political science from USC. She is passionate about mental health and education reform. Related: Sign up for The 74s newsletter By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) - The Canadian government will change its sanctions law to allow for seized and sanctioned foreign assets to be redistributed as compensation to victims or to help in rebuilding a foreign state from war, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. Canada is among a number of countries to have imposed sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it calls a "special operation." "Today, we are seeking the capacity to not only seize but to allow for the forfeiture of the assets of sanctioned individuals and entities and to allow us to compensate victims with the proceeds," Joly said in a statement on Tuesday. "These changes would make Canada's sanctions regime the first in the G7 to allow these actions." The sanctions were already crippling Russias economy and depleting President Vladimir Putin's resources to continue the war, the minister said. "We will continue to apply maximum pressure on the Putin regime and impose severe costs for this war of choice," Joly added. The changes that Canada aims to bring to its sanctions law will mean that funds or property seized from Russia could be paid out to help rebuild Ukraine or to those impacted by Russia's invasion. The measures will be part of the budget implementation bill. The legislation will also lay out a requirement for banks to provide lists of foreign assets frozen by Canadian government sanctions so that Ottawa has an inventory of what has been seized, the Globe and Mail reported. Canada has sanctioned over 1,100 individuals and entities that Ottawa says have been complicit in the conflict in Ukraine. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) Chicago Reader co-owner Len Goodman and three board members stepped down Tuesday amid protests from employees, freeing the embattled alternative newspaper to transition to a nonprofit organization. The Reader has been stuck in limbo since December, when a planned transition to a nonprofit model was delayed over concerns about alleged censorship of an opinion piece written by Goodman, who pushed for an investigation into the matter and more representation on the successor board. Goodman announced Tuesday he was stepping away from the Reader immediately over an unresolvable impasse with fellow co-owner, Chicago real estate developer Elzie Higginbottom, who wanted to move forward with the planned transition to a nonprofit newspaper. We cannot continue the fight without destroying the Reader, Goodman said in a statement. I am stepping aside. I will sign off on the sale so that the Reader can transition immediately to NFP status. Board members Dorothy Leavell, Sladjana Vuckovic and Carol Bell, who were aligned with Goodmans concerns, announced they were also stepping down immediately Frustrated Reader editorial employees organized a rally last week in front of Goodmans Lakeview East home and planned another one for Thursday morning in an effort to get the Chicago criminal defense attorney to relinquish control and let the newspaper move forward as a nonprofit. Goodman blamed Reader management for not addressing his concerns. In 2018, Goodman and Higginbottom bought the Reader from the Chicago Sun-Times for $1 and the assumption of debt. Since then, they have invested more than $1 million each to keep it afloat, weathering the pandemic and supporting the money-losing publication as it planned to transition to a more sustainable nonprofit model. That plan was delayed after editors pushed back on a November opinion piece by Goodman expressing concerns about vaccinating his 6-year-old daughter against COVID-19, which created backlash on social media for some disputed scientific claims. More to come. rchannick@chicagotribune.com China has announced its plan to test its asteroid monitoring and defense system that will attempt to alter the paths of space rocks as early as 2025. Wu Yanhua, the deputy director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), revealed the plan during an event that celebrated Chinas seventh national space day in Wenchang, Hainan Province, on Sunday. The event also marked the 52nd anniversary of the launch of Dongfanghong-1, Chinas first satellite. Speaking to Global Times, mission insiders shared that the system, which is currently in its project establishment phase, is being reviewed by several different departments for approval. Without elaborating on the specifics, Wu said CNSA plans to test this system by launching a spacecraft known as a kinetic impactor in the direction of an asteroid in 2025 or 2026 to alter the space rocks original path. CNSA is also developing simulation software that will test and verify operations against any near-Earth objects. China plans to set up a combination of ground-based and space-based monitoring and warning systems that will analyze any asteroids that pose potential threats to Earth. The idea to launch a near-Earth object defense system has been floating around in China for years. In October 2021, the East Asian country held its first Planetary Defense Conference. In January, it released a space white paper that gave details about its defense system project and its ability to monitor, catalog and respond to near-Earth objects. China yesterday opened its first Planetary Defence Conference, touching of radar astronomy, early warning systems, small-body exploration, impact simulation, space-based monitoring, impacts, impactors, lasers & other deflection possibilites.https://t.co/plNlZwx6Is pic.twitter.com/N5Sqbz83sn Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) October 26, 2021 In addition to China, the U.S. and Russia are developing their own asteroid monitoring and defense systems to prepare for any potential planetary threats, military expert and space observer Song Zhongping told The Global Times. In November 2021, NASA launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which it said is the first-ever full-scale mission to test technology for defending Earth against potential asteroid or comet hazards. Feature Image via Pixabay (Representation purposes only) Story continues Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Hmong American man allegedly fatally shot 60 times by cops during Lava Fire evacuation identified Japans Supreme Court 'Legalizes' Tattoos in Historic Ruling Meet Chinas chicken parents,' a new cult of tiger moms on steroids UPDATE: NY Police Seek Man Who Repeatedly Stomped Elderly Asian Man in the HEAD China called for "restraint" after Russia's foreign minister raised the prospect of the "real" threat of nuclear war over Ukraine. "No one wants to see the outbreak of a third world war," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. Wenbin added, "We hope that relevant parties can keep cool-headed and exercise restraint." China on Tuesday called for "restraint" after Russia's foreign minister raised the prospect of the "real" threat of nuclear war amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. "No one wants to see the outbreak of a third world war," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday. Wenbin added, "We hope that relevant parties can keep cool-headed and exercise restraint, prevent escalation of tension, realize peace as soon as possible and avoid inflicting a heavier price on Europe and the world." "We should reflect on why Europe has again got caught up in the geopolitical conflict more than 30 years after the end of the Cold War, on how to build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture, and on how to strengthen the global security governance system," Wenbin said. Wenbin was responding to a question about recent remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who warned the West to not underestimate the "serious" and "real" risks of a third world war by getting involved in Russia's two-month-long war with Ukraine. During an interview broadcast on Russian state TV on Monday, Lavrov was asked about the risks of a third world war and whether US and Russia tensions could be compared to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, Reuters reported. Lavrov claimed Russia was aiming to prevent another world war but said "the risks now are considerable," Reuters reported. "I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it," Lavrov said, according to the news outlet. Story continues Russia's war against Ukraine has already left thousands dead and caused more than 5 million people to flee the eastern European country since Russia invaded on February 24. Last week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China would "strengthen strategic coordination" with Russia no matter what. "No matter how the international landscape may change, China will continue to strengthen strategic coordination with Russia to achieve win-win cooperation, jointly safeguard our common interests and promote the building of a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind," China's Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said to the Russian ambassador to China Andrey Denisov, CNN reported. China has boosted its alliance with Russia in recent years, and the two countries have become major trade partners. Read the original article on Business Insider Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut at a press conference in Hartford, Connecticut in January 2020. Brad Horrigan/Hartford Courant/Tribune News Service via Getty Images According to a new book, Trump made governors grovel for federal disaster aid after a tropical storm in 2020. "Ask me nicely," Trump reportedly told Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. Lamont said he "felt a little bit like Zelenskyy," a reference to Trump's infamous withholding of military aid in 2019. When Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut asked former President Donald Trump to send much-needed federal disaster aid to his state following a tropical storm in 2020, he said he found himself in a position not unlike that of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to an excerpt from "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future," a forthcoming book from the New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, the governor called Trump in August 2020 after Tropical Storm Isaiah left large portions of his state without electricity. Lamont hoped that the president could help him obtain federal disaster aid via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), aid that Trump was reportedly willing to provide to states like Texas and Florida both of which have GOP governors with close ties to Trump without any question. But when Lamont's call to the White House was returned by Trump himself, the former president reportedly made the governor grovel for the aid. "There's something you want me to ask about FEMA?" Trump asked, according to Lamont. "Well, ask me nicely." Lamont confirmed that account on Monday, telling CT Insider that he "felt a little bit like Zelenskyy," who Trump asked to 'look into' Joe Biden and his son Hunter in exchange for the release of much-needed military aid to the country in 2019. Trump was later impeached by the House of Representatives, and acquitted by the Senate, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in relation to the event. "Look, it was really important for the state of Connecticut and represented tens of millions of dollars in money we could use to help people get their electricity back up and oriented," Lamont told CT Insider. "So I was happy to ask and really happy to get the response we got." Story continues According to the book excerpt, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland a blue-state Republican who's long been critical of Trump got the same treatment. "You have to call and ask me nicely," Hogan recalled Trump saying to him. Read the original article on Business Insider Apr. 26A former Dayton charter school director cannot be held liable for the more than $50,000 that the school's former treasurer embezzled during the 2009-2010 school year, according to an Ohio Supreme Court ruling issued Tuesday. The treasurer, Carl W. Shye Jr., was sentenced in 2012 to two years in prison in a federal court case. But the Ohio Attorney General's Office later sued New City Community School Director Robert Burns, Shye, and three others in 2018 trying to recoup the funds. As the director, Burns approved the grant fund applications for the charter school and approved the school's annual budget. But Shye did not report to Burns he was an independent contractor based in Columbus who reported to the board of education overseeing the charter school. The Ohio Supreme Court's ruling was that Burns did not have oversight authority over Shye. The court's 4-3 majority ruling said Burns must have "received or collected" the public money to be held liable for its return. Those terms indicate some element of control, Justice Michael P. Donnelly wrote, and "the record is quite clear that Burns did not control the misappropriated funds." Justices Sharon L. Kennedy, R. Patrick DeWine and Melody Stewart joined Donnelly's opinion. Two judges, Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor and Justice Patrick F. Fischer, dissented from the new court ruling. Fischer, who wrote the opinion, said the meaning of "collect" involves an "active seeking of funds" and noted Burns was the one who sought state and federal grants to operate the school. The law does not state Burns had to "control" the money to be responsible for paying it back, and he can be held liable, Fischer concluded. Justice Jennifer Brunner dissented without a written opinion. Shye stole more than $470,000 in federal education funds that went to four now-closed charter schools, including three in Dayton George Washington Carver Preparatory Academy, NuBethel Center of Excellence and New City Community School, according to court records. He handled the finances of more than a dozen former charter schools in Columbus, Dayton and Youngstown. Story continues Ohio audited New City for the 2009-2010 fiscal year and in April 2012, the Ohio auditor's office issued a finding for recovery of $51,670. The audit cited questionable expenditures by Shye and others. The auditor made a separate finding for recovery against Shye for $28,320. It is the $51,670 amount that was in question in this case. When Shye was sentenced, he also forfeited his CPA license, meaning he could no longer practice as an accountant, and was required to repay the money he stole. An FBI investigation found Shye accessed the money in many ways between 2005 and 2011, including changing his contract without telling his bosses, making loans to another school and then pocketing the money when the loan was paid back and falsely reporting services that never occurred. PARIS (Reuters) - Cross-border mergers are not part of Orange's strategy in Europe, the new boss of France's top telecoms group said on Tuesday, adding that the company's priority was to strengthen its position in existing markets. "Orange's strategy doesn't involve cross-border, European consolidation, or a big M&A project," said Christel Heydemann at her first news conference since she succeeded Stephane Richard as chief executive on April 4. "We have a lot of value in the business that we can already bring to our existing customers in our existing geographies," she added. Heydemann told financial analysts in an earlier call that she would share her vision and strategic priorities for Orange by the end of the year. Asked if Orange needed a consolidation of the French telecoms market and if it could take part in such merger talks after the failure of several attempts to cut the number of operators from four to three, Heydemann said she would welcome any opportunity but said such a deal wasn't a necessity for the company. "It can't be the core of our strategy for Orange," she said, referring specifically to a potential merger within the French telecom sector. Orange is currently in exclusive merger talks with its Spanish rival MasMovil with the aim of reducing the competitive landscape in a country whose poor performance has weighed on its results. Heydemann also cited Belgium and Romania, where the company took control of other companies in either broadband or mobile to expand its services, as examples of recent deals that made sense for the group. "We'll be opportunistic," Heydemann said. "All opportunities to create value, we'll look at them." (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Luka Modric agreed to join Tottenham 14 years ago (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive) Tottenham signalled their intentions by agreeing a 16.5million deal to sign Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb on April 26, 2008. The then 22-year-old agreed a five-year contract to move to White Hart Lane following his appearance at that summers European Championship with Croatia. Modric said: Im happy to be joining such a big club. It will be a real pleasure to play in the English league, which is the best in Europe, with three English clubs in the semi-finals of the Champions League. The midfielder had reportedly attracted interest from the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal after signing for Dinamo in 2005. Modrics signature was a major boost to Tottenham in their quest to break the stranglehold of the Premier Leagues big four and secure Champions League football. Modric made his competitive Premier League debut in a 21 defeat by Middlesbrough in August 2008 but had a slow start to life in England, suffering with a knee injury and struggling to adapt to the physical nature of the league. Luka Modric is now in his 10th season with Real Madrid (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire) Under manager Harry Redknapp, Modric began to shine, helping Spurs to that elusive top-four spot in 2009/10 and signing a new six-year contract. The worlds biggest clubs began circling and, in August 2012, Modric signed for Real Madrid, where he has cemented his status as one of Europes best ever midfielders. In 2018, Modric won the FIFA award for the worlds best player along with the Ballon dOr. BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Central defender Ronald Araujo has agreed to a contract extension with Barcelona through the end of the 2025-26 season, the Spanish club said Tuesday. Barcelona said that the 23-year-old Uruguay international will sign his new deal on Friday. Araujo, fast enough to keep up with the speediest strikers and strong in the area, is considered Barcelonas most talented young defender. He shares playing time now with veteran Gerard Pique and Eric Garcia. The club prioritized Araujo's extension, needing to solidify the future of its defense as the 35-year-old Pique enters the twilight of this career. Araujo has scored six goals in 78 career appearances with Barcelona. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Wilder could soon be back in the ring (Getty Images) WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman says he expects Deontay Wilder to be back in the ring this year. Wilder could become world champion once again as he is ranked No 1 by the WBC and could be in contention to compete for the belt if it is vacated by Tyson Fury. The Gypsy King beat Wilder twice in a legendary trilogy to claim and defend the belt but he hinted he was retiring after he defeated Dillian Whyte at Wembley on Saturday. Sulaiman says Furys past rival Wilder is up to the task of taking back the belt. Speaking to Sky Sports, Sulaiman said: Hes taking it easy, hes weighing up his plans for the future, he had a very busy reign as a champion, two knockout losses to Fury, difficult but hes matured and hes doing very well. Hes having a good time with his wife, hes enjoying life but Im sure hell be back. Hes one of those fighters that you rarely see in the ring that has the ability to knock somebody out with one punch and he has had many exciting fights. Hes a great fighter and great person. Im sure he will fight this year. Fury has backed Wilder to reclaim the belt if he doesnt come back to the sport. Id like to see Deontay Wilder fight whoever for it again, Fury told Behind The Gloves after Saturdays fight. I do believe hes still the second-best heavyweight in the world. I believe he knocks everybody else out but me. Fury was billed to fight the winner of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyks rematch in a unification bout but he wants to have some family time. He said after Saturdays fight: You know I promised my lovely wife Paris of 14 years that after the three [Deontay] Wilder fights that would be it, and I meant it. It was a great trilogy but I meant that. I got offered to fight at Wembley at home and I believe I owed it to the fans, every person in the UK, to fight at Wembley. I think this is it - this might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. What a way to go out. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday called Florida legislators back into a special session to address Floridas failing property insurance market, an issue that was left unresolved during the regular legislative session earlier this year. The session, which will be set for May 23-27, marks the second special session called by DeSantis in the past two months. Last week, lawmakers wrapped up a contentious special session on congressional redistricting maps and a last-minute bill to strip The Walt Disney Co. from its special taxing district and governing body. READ MORE: Wild scene in Florida House as congressional map passes while Democrats protest The upcoming special session will focus on property insurance, reinsurance and changes to the Florida building code to improve the affordability of property insurance, and other related issues. It comes as DeSantis and Republican lawmakers have come under scrutiny for failing to stabilize the property insurance industry in Florida. In recent years, homeowners rates have spiked by double digits in some cases, and some companies have canceled policies or suspended business in the state. Legislators were unable to pass any reform efforts on the issue during their regular session earlier this year. In response to the call, House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, said in a statement that the Legislature made great strides on meaningful property insurance reforms in 2021, and we are already seeing the positive impacts of that work. We look forward to working with our partners to evaluate whether there is more we can do to address the availability and affordability of property insurance, he said. The Florida House will remain primarily focused on addressing the needs of the policyholders of Florida. Florida has accounted for 79% of the nations homeowners insurance lawsuits over claims filed while making up only 9% of the nations homeowners insurance, claims, DeSantis said. Florida citizens are seeing the effects of this higher litigation in their rising premiums, he said. The governor also added that it is necessary for the State of Florida to act to stabilize the insurance market for Florida policyholders before the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which begins on June 1st, 2022 and ends on November 30th, 2022. DeSantis announced last week that a special session would take place in May, but he had not offered a date or specifics. Donald Trump and some of his allies were suspended from Twitter over spreading misinformation or inciting or advocating violence. (Associated Press) With Elon Musk buying Twitter, there's speculation that former President Trump and many of his allies could have their bans lifted. During the Trump era, Twitter barred many on the far right, including extremist groups, from using the platform. A number of Trump supporters were kicked off for spreading falsehoods, inciting or advocating violence, "harmful activity" or other violations of Twitter rules. De-platforming can limit the spread of harmful speech, including misinformation and disinformation, studies have shown. Amy Bruckman, a Georgia Tech professor of interactive computing and a lead author on one study, said that the prevalence of ideas spread by three far-right or conspiracy-theorist figures went down dramatically after their Twitter accounts were disabled. The "toxicity of their followers went down after they were kicked off," she said. If such figures were to be reinstated, Bruckman said, "the ideas come back and the toxicity of their followers comes back too." Musk has hinted in several tweets that he hopes to overhaul Twitter's content moderation policy. I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," he wrote in a regulatory filing, adding that the company would not fulfill that potential "in its current form." The tech billionaire has not publicly committed to reinstating any banned user and has made no comments regarding Trump, who has said he has no plans to return to Twitter even if his access is restored. Here is why Trump and others from his orbit were banned: Donald Trump The former president was permanently suspended two days after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters. Twitter determined that Trump had encouraged violence and posed a "risk of further incitement." Story continues Trump has since started his own platform, Truth Social, which aims to compete with Twitter but has floundered so far. Fox News on Monday reported that Trump told the outlet: "I am not going on Twitter. I am going to stay on TRUTH.... I hope Elon buys Twitter because hell make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). (Samuel Corum / Tribune News Service) Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, is the only sitting member of Congress to be permanently banned from Twitter. After numerous temporary suspensions, her personal account was banned on Jan. 2, 2021, for violating the platform's COVID-19 misinformation policy; she had tweeted critical and misleading messages about public health measures put in effect to control the pandemic. Greene still maintains a presence on the platform with her official account; she tweeted Monday morning, anticipating that her personal account would be reinstated. Prepare for blue check mark full scale meltdown after @elonmusk seals the deal and I should get my personal Twitter account restored. pic.twitter.com/MKBQvHCoAH Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 25, 2022 Stephen K. Bannon Former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Stephen K. Bannon, former Trump campaign chief and former White House chief strategist, was banned Nov. 5, 2020, after he called on his podcast for the beheading of FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. governments top infectious disease expert. David Duke The former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and onetime member of the Louisiana House of Representatives was kicked off Twitter on July 30, 2020. It was unclear which of his tweets violated the platform's hateful conduct policy. Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell On Jan. 8, 2021, Twitter removed the accounts of Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security advisor, and pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell. The two had spread content relating to the QAnon conspiracy theory, Twitter said. Powell had also spread falsehoods about the election, making claims but never offering proof about voter fraud. Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was the only White House official to be convicted in connection with the Trump-Russia investigation, was pardoned by Trump in late November 2020. Alex Jones Alex Jones, center, at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Far-right talk show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was banned on Sept. 6, 2018, after violating Twitter's abusive behavior policy. Jones, among other falsehoods, had long claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six educators was a hoax. He recently appeared before the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. Today, we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope. We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts past violations. https://t.co/gckzUAV8GL Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 6, 2018 Mike Lindell MyPillow chief executive and Trump supporter and donor Mike Lindell was taken off Twitter on Jan. 25, 2021. He had been a vocal and constant proponent of the falsehood that the 2020 election was rigged. He also claimed that the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot was "peaceful." Twitter said he had repeatedly violated its "civic integrity policy." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Marina Zenovich is not religious, yet she directed a new HBO Max docuseries about a religiously complex and controversial faith community in Brentwood. Who am I to step into this world and judge these people? But then we spoke to so many people who talked about how they were traumatized, Zenovich said about making The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin, which airs Thursday. The docuseries is about Remnant Fellowship church and its founder Gwen Shamblin Lara, the controversial author of the book The Weigh Down Diet who died in May in a plane crash at Percy Priest Lake. Zenovich said the series is for those who attended Remnant and who were hurt by their experience. Ross Dinerstein, the films producer and founder of Campfire Studios, says the story is for a broader audience. Part two: 'The Way Down' follow up explores Gwen Shamblin plane crash and aftermath Percy Priest Lake: Gwen Shamblin Lara, other leaders of controversial church presumed dead after plane crash Remnant Fellowship Church founder Gwen Shamblin, left, sings with others from the church during services in June 2011 in Brentwood. Both agree the documentary exists to call out the corruption and abuse they uncovered. This is not what religion is supposed to be. This is about power and control. Its wrong and they need to be called out, Zenovich said. On Wednesday, Remnant church said its ministry is "based on love, care, mercy and kindness." Remnant Fellowship categorically denies the absurd, defamatory statements and accusations made in the HBO documentary, the church told The Tennessean in an email. "Despite rumors, we do not body shame anyone, as we know that God created all of us uniquely with all kinds of different sizes, shapes, and weights." The documentary explores the life of Lara, who became well-known for her faith-based weight loss teachings, and her impact on Remnant members. Lara founded Remnant Fellowship in 1999 in Brentwood, and the church says it has another 150 congregations across the world. Lara was at the center of multiple controversies, including insensitive comments about thin Jews and her support for two Remnant congregants convicted of murdering their son. Story continues The HBO Max docuseries explores the churchs alleged effort to control most aspects of congregants lives, including what they eat, the medication they receive, and the people they marry. 'Continue the dream': 'Continue the dream': Remnant Fellowship Church founder's children will keep church going after her death The documentary started when investigative journalist Nile Cappello approached Dinerstein with the idea. Dinerstein, who attended Vanderbilt University, was immediately intrigued. Dinerstein then asked Zenovich if she wanted to direct it. This is really about helping people get out, Zenovich said, adding she hopes Remnant members watch the documentary and it causes them to think differently about their experience there. Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gwen Shamblin documentary: What director says about HBO Max project An El Paso doctor accused of not properly accounting for huge amounts of opioids has agreed to pay a $350,000 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Herbert J. Nassour was accused of violating the Controlled Substances Act for not maintaining proper inventory and dispensing records for more than 11,000 doses of hydrocodone, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said Monday. Nassour was a physician with a private practice who was registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to issue prescription opioids. More: El Paso County gets nearly $700,000 settlement with Johnson & Johnson over opioid epidemic The civil settlement resolves allegations Nassour violated provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. The financial settlement is not a determination of liability, the U.S. Attorney's Office noted. The case was investigated by the DEAs El Paso Diversion Group. Nation: Teen overdose deaths are spiking despite drug usage falling, study finds More: 1 pill can kill: El Paso sees large increase in fentanyl seizures, related overdose deaths "Opioid misuse and abuse remain at epidemic levels in the United States," Greg Millard, special agent in charge of the DEA El Paso Division, said in a statement. "Because the majority of opioid addictions in America start with prescription pills, registrants must do their part and comply with the rules and regulations set forth by the Controlled Substance Act. Through our oversight, DEA will ensure that registrants comply with the law." Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso doctor accused of opioids mismanagement agrees to settlement COP26 Ambassador hails Vietnams climate change commitments Ken O'Flaherty, regional ambassador of the UK Government at COP26 to Asia-Pacific and South Asia, has hailed strong Vietnamese commitments to tackle climate change made at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). Ken O'Flaherty, regional ambassador of the UK Government at COP26 to Asia-Pacific and South Asia, works with representatives of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Photo: moit.gov.vn) During his recent trip to Vietnam, OFlaherty worked with leaders of relevant ministries and agencies, applauding Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs strong commitments at COP26 on emissions reduction measures in a bid to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. He went on to emphasise the UK's willingness to support the country in fulfilling these commitments, especially those regarding the nation's energy transition. While in Hanoi, the diplomat took part in the Second COP26 Energy Transition Council National Dialogue with Vietnam co-hosted by the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission and the British Embassy. Attendees discussed a range of issues that require solutions to climate change from government agencies, development partners, and the private sector. He also paid a visit to the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho where he met with representatives of Can Tho University, environmentalists, and researchers to learn more about the opportunities and challenges of the Mekong Delta region in responding to climate change. He also took a boat trip on the Hau river to learn first-hand effects of climate change on the environment, the community, and the economy in the region. The diplomat also visited a number of wind power projects in Vinh Chau town in the southern province of Soc Trang. He noted that the wind farms coming into operation will definitely contribute to national energy security, thereby creating jobs and increasing the income of local people. He stressed that these projects are suitable for development orientations of Soc Trang in particular and Vietnam in general, with a specific focus on environmental protection and the sustainable development of coastal areas. While staying in Ho Chi Minh City, OFlaherty worked alongside local authorities, noting green growth and sustainable development requires the co-ordination of the state, the private sector, and businesses which have specific strategies. More than 17,000 people have been detained since the state of emergency came into force El Salvador's defence minister has praised the extension by Congress of emergency measures which he says are having a "positive" effect in the battle against rampant gang violence. Rene Merino said that more than 17,000 suspected gang members had been arrested since the state of emergency was declared a month ago. On Sunday, Congress extended the measure by another 30 days. It came into force on 27 March after 62 people were murdered in one day. The emergency measures have been controversial as they limit some constitutional rights, such as allowing the security forces to arrest suspects without a warrant. The sentences for convicted gang members have also been raised to a maximum of 45 years in jail. Defence Minister Merino said that crimes such as extortion had dropped since the emergency measures were introduced. "The aim is to make these gangs disappear altogether from El Salvador," he said in a televised statement. He added that "the honest population is very satisfied with the work we're doing against the gangs" but did not say if any polls had been carried out which supported his statement. Rights advocates have been highly critical of the mass arrests carried out in the past month. The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned earlier this month that thousands of Salvadoreans had been detained without an arrest warrant and that some had reported being subjected to "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment". OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said that changes to El Salvador's criminal procedure also meant that "criminal trials could now be held in absentia, in the case of alleged gang members, or presided over by so-called 'faceless; judges whose identity remained 'confidential'". Mr Merino said on Monday that those arrested who were found to have no links to gangs would be freed. Story continues "This is going to keep happening, that we stop someone, we question that person and then we notice that the person has no links [to gangs] and then we set that person free." "The people need to know that if they're not involved in anything bad, nothing bad will happen to them," Mr Merino said. The defence minister said that "honourable" citizens need not worry But rights group Human Rights Watch has condemned tweets by the Salvadorean police which showed suspects being arrested and said that the government's strategy "seems to be 'first arrest, then tweet, and investigate later'". Homicide figures had been dropping since Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019. The 40-year-old campaigned on a promise to tackle rampant gang violence and political corruption. In 2021, El Salvador registered 1,140 murders, compared to a high of 6,656 in 2015. But there has been a rise in homicides since the beginning of this year, with 26 March standing out as having been the most deadly day in decades. By Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Up to 550 Ethiopian peacekeepers working in Sudan have sought asylum rather than return home for fear they will be persecuted due to their Tigrayan ethnicity, an official with direct knowledge of the plan said on Tuesday. The soldiers, numbering between 525 to 550, were part of a U.N. peacekeeping force working in Abyei, a contested oil-rich area on Sudan's border with South Sudan, the official working in refugee response told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and military spokesman Col. Getnet Adane did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the soldiers seeking asylum. Nor did spokespeople for the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, nor the U.N. peacekeeping office. The official said that the soldiers were at the peacekeeping mission's rear base in Kadugli in South Kordofan and that UNHCR was planning to move them to one fenced camp near a refugee camp for Eritreans in Sudan's Gadaref state. Thousands of Tigrayans, including civilians and soldiers, were imprisoned in squalid conditions in Ethiopia without charge after war erupted in the Tigray region in November 2020. The fighting pits Ethiopia's government and its allies against rebellious Tigrayan forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a political party that once dominated national politics and now controls the Tigray region. Since the fighting started, rights groups have said ethnic Tigrayans have been repeatedly detained without trial. The state-appointed rights commission said last year thousands of ethnic Tigrayans were detained, including very elderly people, nursing mothers and babies. At the time, police denied targeting any ethnic group, saying they targeted suspected TPLF supporters. The United Nations has said at least 15,000 Tigrayan civilians were arrested or imprisoned across Ethiopia under the state of emergency declared in November and lifted in February. Story continues At the beginning of the conflict, Tigrayan police and soldiers were disarmed and put in secure areas. It is not clear if they have been released. Tigrayan peacekeepers serving in U.N. missions in Darfur have previously sought asylum. The government has repeatedly said it is fighting against the TPLF and not Tigrayans in general. (Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir in Khartoum and Hereward Holland in Nairobi; writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Katharine Houreld, Alexandra Hudson) Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images The EU is considering price caps and tariffs on Russian oil to undercut Moscow's finances, per the FT. Russia provides about one-quarter of the EU's oil imports, according to the bloc's stats agency. Germany has warned that a full embargo on Russian oil imports would cause severe economic damage. The European Union is considering price caps and tariffs on Russian oil imports to squeeze a vital revenue stream for the Kremlin, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The measures have been proposed ahead of EU talks about implementing further sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, per the FT. Price caps or tariffs on Russian oil imports would allow the EU to undercut Moscow's finances while averting the economic chaos that would be caused by a full embargo. Russia provides about one-quarter of the EU's oil, according to Eurostat, the bloc's statistics agency. Italy has supported the idea of capping Russian oil prices but other EU countries aren't as keen. Germany, the EU's largest economy and the bloc's premier importer of Russian energy, would be most affected by measures designed to squeeze Russian energy. One senior German official told the FT that a price cap would be challenging and in breach of contract, while another said capping costs "isn't being taken seriously." The European Commission didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Western nations have taken different approaches to Russian energy imports since the Ukraine invasion began on February 24. The US decided to ban Russian energy imports but the EU, which relies on Russia for around a third of its oil and natural gas, is reluctant to do so. Germany, which buys about 25% of its oil from Russia, has said it will stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year, and has asked for patience as pressure mounts to impose a full embargo sooner. Russian oil production fell about 9% from February to the beginning of April, according to data from OilX shared with Insider. Exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky told the BBC that Putin would suffer a "very serious blow" if European countries banned Russian oil and gas. Read the original article on Business Insider Elon Musk may be buying Twitter to loosen its content moderation, but he might not get to be quite as free-wheeling as he'd like. European Union internal market commissioner Thierry Breton told The Financial Times in an interview that Musk's Twitter will still be subject to EU regulations, including the new Digital Services Act governing efforts to fight misinformation. The Tesla chief is "welcome," but "there are rules" he still has to follow, Breton said. The Digital Services Act requires Twitter and other internet companies to share how they're curbing false claims on their sites. It also bans ads targeting minors as well as specific ethnicities, political affiliations, religions and sexual orientations. Firms also have to share how their recommendation systems work, offer non-profiling alternatives and share data with researchers. Any company that doesn't comply risks fines of up to six percent of global turnover and, if they refuse to change, an EU ban. It's not certain how Musk will address the warning. We've asked Twitter for comment. However, it's safe to say that Musk's self-proclaimed "absolutist" approach to free speech will clash with political realities worldwide, not just the EU. The UK punishes companies that fail to limit content deemed harmful, and it's doubtful authoritarian countries like Russia would allow Twitter without heavy censorship, if at all. Musk may have to accept that some restrictions will remain, even if they aren't quite as pronounced as they are today. Russias war on Ukraine is, in many ways, a war on women. The fact that most women do not fight on the battlefield does not mean that their war experiences are less traumatic than male soldiers realities. Most of the 5 million Ukrainian refugees are women, children and the elderly, who left behind their husbands, sons and brothers to fight for their homeland. Even once Ukrainian women reach a place of refuge, they will face problems in finding decent work, which is actually an international legal term that describes safe and fair working environments. Female Ukrainian refugees are also shouldering new financial burdens as the single heads of household, while at the same time caring for children and elderly relatives. As a scholar of gender and labor markets, I believe this war and its aftermath are going to be especially harmful to women, children and the elderly. Special measures are needed to help Ukrainian women find work, support their dependents and also contribute to their new host countries economies. Migration and jobs Refugees and migrants have been shown to improve their host countries economies over time. But research, including my own, shows that during times of crisis, countries hosting refugees do not have many opportunities for arriving job seekers and may need to set up new social services and create new jobs to accommodate many new highly skilled workers. This situation can create work competition between newcomers and locals, which can feed discrimination and resentment. Turkey, for example, is home to more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees, 11 years after the Syrian civil war first broke out. While Turkish people initially welcomed the early waves of Syrian refugees, public support for Syrians has decreased over the past few years. One reason is that there is a growing concern about Syrians taking jobs from local Turks, even though Syrians are mostly doing low-paid work that most Turks would not want. Unpaid care work Story continues One critical problem for Ukrainian women is the likely rise in the amount of time they spend doing unpaid household tasks. This work involves child care, cleaning, cooking or other responsibilities that do not result in payment. Women generally do much more of this work than men. Because Ukraine is barring men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country so they can fight in the war against Russia, Ukrainian women must both care for family members and work to financially support their families. While older Ukrainian children can attend schools in their new homes in Poland and other parts of the European Union, mothers with babies and toddlers have fewer options. In some parts of Poland, for example, there are no state-run day cares, and affordable or free child care options are limited in general. Even if host countries provide child care, Ukrainian women with professional degrees will face another challenge: finding work. Job hunting Before the war, women made up about 47% of Ukraines formal workforce a percentage that has decreased from approximately 50% in the past two decades. Women also, increasingly, earn less than men for the same work in Ukraine. Ukrainian women are, overall, better educated than the average European woman, according to U.S. Agency for International Development data on higher education. Ukrainian womens university degrees should translate easily in other European countries, placing them in a good position to seek jobs. The European Union said in March 2022 that it was finalizing paperwork to recognize and accept Ukrainian refugees diplomas. The problem is that there are a limited number of white-collar jobs in European host countries. European employers also may not be very welcoming to Ukrainians, because of existing economic crises and rising unemployment, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. When womens opportunities to join a host countrys formal workforce are limited or blocked, they become more likely to be forced into early marriages, sex work and human trafficking in order to survive. A way forward Unless there are unique policy measures and other responses, even the most highly educated Ukrainian women will not be able to work and have independent lives. Yet when it comes to host governments feeling public pressure to extend economic and social services like health care and education to Ukrainians, it is inevitable that there will be some tension and discrimination against refugees. Ukrainian refugees integration into new countries would require specific policies that recognize and respond to their unique challenges as women and new single heads of household. This could include subsidized child care or help caring for elderly people. Philanthropies and global corporations offering aid to Ukrainian refugees could, for example, offer remote, online work opportunities for Ukrainian women. Ukrainian women now in exile are acutely feeling the stress of caring for children and other family members while trying to work. But these two suddenly colliding demands represent a common fear many mothers share, both in times of peace and war. Solutions to help Ukrainian female refugees support themselves and their families deserve sincere consideration. [The Conversations Politics + Society editors pick need-to-know stories. Sign up for Politics Weekly.] This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Dilek Cindoglu, Georgetown University. Read more: I am a Fulbright scholar from Turkey and faculty at Kadir Has University and affiliated with ISIM, Georgetown University. Apr. 26A former Clark County auditor employee fired in January for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from the office was indicted a second time Monday after officials discovered he'd also stolen about $2 million in taxpayers' money. Robert Vanderhorst, 63, was previously indicted in February for a third-degree felony charge of theft in office, meaning the value of property or services allegedly stolen was more than $7,500 and less than $150,000. First-degree felony charges for theft in office mean the alleged amount stolen exceeds $750,000. The Clark County Prosecutor's Office issued an updated indictment on Monday with three counts of theft in office, two being first-degree felony charges and the third being a third-degree felony charge, according to Clark County Common Pleas court records. Prosecutor Dan Driscoll confirmed the amount that allegedly was taken is "in excess of $1.5 million." "Vanderhorst's actions, going back more than a decade, are shocking and disappointing," Clark County Auditor John Federer said. "The first dollar stolen is an outrage, and every dollar after that only grows our shared horror at the scope of Vanderhorst's criminal activity." An employee of the Clark County Auditor's Office since 1991, Vanderhorst was fired on Jan. 12 after the Clark County Auditor's Office said it learned of the allegations. Federer said that Vanderhorst's charge represents a "shocking betrayal of every Clark County citizen" and employees of his office. According to the auditor's office, an employee noticed inappropriate vendor payouts in the financial management system in October 2021. State investigators visited the auditor's office and Vanderhorst's home last month to collect evidence. Driscoll said Vanderhorst's jury trial originally slated for May 17 may be adjusted due to the updated indictment. Vanderhorst's attorney did not return a request for comment regarding the updated indictment. Federer created a website, www.clarkcountyfacts.com, with the help of a communications consulting firm that he said has been paid out of his own pocket to outline details about the alleged theft. NEW CASTLE, Ind. A former Henry County prosecutor has agreed to plead guilty to at least one count stemming from his 2021 arrest on meth-related charges. Martin R. Shields, now 68, was arrested last October after he allegedly twice provided meth to an informant for the Henry County Area Drug Task Force. According to court documents, those transactions took place at Shield's New Castle home, and the informant was wearing audio and video recording equipment at the time. The informant had told police they had been to Shields' home previously "and observed methamphetamine in plain view," an affidavit said. EARLIER: Trial set for ex-prosecutor charged with dealing meth Shields at the time of his arrest the attorney for Henry County commissioners was charged in Henry Circuit Court 2 with two counts of dealing in meth and possession of meth. In late March, Shieds' attorneys James Bell and Jonathan Bont, both of Indianapolis filed a motion seeking to have their client's trial, then set for April 4, postponed. They also indicated Shields had agreed to plead guilty to one or more charges, not specified in the motion. A plea agreement in the case has not yet been filed. The New Castle attorney had been scheduled to plead guilty and be sentenced at a hearing set for this week in Henry Circuit Court 2. STAY INFORMED AND SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Subscribe today using the link at the top of this page. However, the defense attorneys were granted a continuance by Special Judge David Northam of Rush County because of their participation in a federal court trial. Shields is now scheduled to plead guilty and be sentenced at a hearing set for June 13. The dealing charges against him are Level 5 felonies carrying up to six years in prison, while the possession charge is a Level 6 felony with a maximum 30-month sentence. Shields was elected Henry County prosecutor in 1982, but resigned from that position in 1984. He has practiced law in Indiana for more than four decades. Story continues He also has served as a member of the New Castle-Henry County Public Library Board and the Henry County Election Board. Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: New Castle attorney set to plead guilty in meth case Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly told a New York Times journalist in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he was exhilarated by the potential damage to then-President Trump, according to a new book. McConnells comments were reported by Jonathan Martin, a New York Times journalist who wrote about the conversation in his and Alexander Burnss new book, This Will Not Pass. McConnell reportedly felt exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself. The exchange was reported by The Washington Post, The Independent and a number of other outlets who obtained excerpts of the book. The conversation reportedly took place early on Jan. 7, 2021, just hours after the Capitol was ransacked by a group of Trumps supporters. He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, McConnell said, according to the book. Couldnt have happened at a better time. Martin and Burns also write that the Republican senator asked them What do you hear about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment? and said he was eager for intelligence about whether his fellow Republicans were discussing removing Trump from office, the Post added. They added in the book that the Kentucky politician seemed almost buoyant and that he said Trump was pretty thoroughly discredited. In separate excerpts of the book, McConnell was previously quoted as telling advisers on Jan. 11, 2021, that the Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us, referring to impeachment, and also said that if this isnt impeachable, I dont know what is. Trump and McConnell saw their relationship deteriorate toward the end of Trumps term in office. Despite his comments following the insurrection, McConnell did not vote to convict Trump in the Senate over his role in the Jan. 6 attack. Story continues He has also said he would back Trump if he became the GOPs nominee for the White House in 2024. The former president has openly slammed the minority leader on multiple occasions in recent months and regularly refers to him as Old Crow. McConnells office did not immediately respond to The Hills request for comment. This news comes after a reports surfaced that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told his GOP colleagues he would recommend that Trump resign if he was impeached over the events of Jan. 6, 2021. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The FBI served a search warrant at a residence in Nelson County Friday, but its not connected to three long-unsolved cases that federal agents are investigating regarding the disappearance of a Kentucky mother, the death of her father and the death of a Bardstown police officer. Federal agents executed a search warrant Friday at a home in Boston, a small town in Nelson County, the FBI confirmed. A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment on what they were looking for or the purposes of the search, but did confirm it had nothing to do with the deaths of Crystal Rogers or Tommy Ballard, Rogers father. The search also wasnt connected to the death of police officer Jason Ellis, the FBI confirmed. Rogers has been missing since 2015. Last year agents searched a Bardstown subdivision and found several items of interest that were sent off to FBIs forensic laboratory in Quantico, Va., but the agency hasnt provided an update on the investigation since then. We are grateful for the outpouring of support we received from the local community, especially the residents of the Woodlawn Springs subdivision, the FBI stated at the time. Ballard was shot and killed while hunting with his grandson on Nov. 19, 2016, according to the FBI. The death is being investigated as a homicide and is believed to be related to Rogers death. Ballard had been a fierce advocate for identifying who was responsible for his daughters disappearance. Bardstown police officer Jason Ellis was shot and killed while cleaning debris out of the road shortly after finishing a shift in May 2013. His case is not related to Rogers and Ballards deaths. An FBI spokesperson declined Monday to provide updates on those investigations. All three death investigations remain unsolved. Crystal Rogers investigation updates: What we know about search for Kentucky mom CONCORD, NH Here are some share-worthy stories from the New Hampshire Patch network to talk about tonight. PM Patch NH features stories and information published in the past 24 hours. Thank you for reading Patch in New Hampshire. New Hampshire Attorney General's Office: More tips have come in concerning the deaths of Stephen and Djeswende Reid but more are needed. If won on Wednesday, the one-time cash payout is expected to be around $272 million before taxes, according to officials. Plus: Nashua man indicted on drug dealing charges; Lowell man faces on 2 burglary charges; Milford bad checks case indictment. Andover man indicted on strangulation, reckless conduct charges; Henniker man indicted on drug charges; Concord teen faces theft charge. The annual ranking released by U.S. News and World Report evaluates public schools based on graduation rates, academic performance and more. The Londonderry and Derry locations were found to have failed to pay wages to 63 employees with some servers only being paid tips. At least one person was taken to Concord Hospital after a crash at Sheep Davis Road near Keith Avenue in Pembroke on Monday. Plus: Minor from Massachusetts faces DUI, liquor charges; woman arrested on assault charges; man faces stalking, protective order charges. An average of 9 people die every day in the United States from distracted driving; 3, 142 people died in distracted-related crashes in 2020. Story continues Also: 35 vie for Charter Commission in special election; fun things to do this week; Dr. Sherman talks about governor's race; need a job? Also Read Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. This article originally appeared on the Concord Patch (Reuters) -Fidelity Investments said on Tuesday it will allow individuals to allocate part of their retirement savings in bitcoin through their 401(k) investment plans, becoming the first major retirement plan provider to do so. The family controlled asset manager said MicroStrategy Inc, a major bitcoin corporate backer, will be the first employer to use the new product, which will be made available to other employers by the middle of the year. Through the new offering, employees will be able to invest in bitcoin through a Digital Assets Account (DAA) within the core lineup of their 401(k) plans, Fidelity said. Fidelity also said that Newfront, a retirement consulting services provider, has indicated that the DAA will help address a growing need among their client base. Plan sponsors will be able to decide on employee contribution in the DAA and set limits on exchanging such contribution to bitcoin, Fidelity said, adding that additional updates on the new offering will be made available in the coming months. Dave Gray, head of workplace retirement offerings and platforms at Fidelity, said the plan will initially be limited to bitcoin, but expects other digital assets to be made available in the future, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report the news. (https://on.wsj.com/3kiKHlq) The development comes after U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in March requiring the government to assess the risks and benefits of creating a central bank digital dollar, as well as other cryptocurrency issues. (Reporting by Vishal Vivek, Sohini Podder and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Shailesh Kuber) Reuters An Elon Musk tweet saying Japan would "eventually cease to exist" without a higher birthrate set off a flood of sarcasm and anger on Monday - though much of the angst was aimed at a Japanese government many said did little to address the issue. The comment hit a nerve among Japan watchers and in Japan, whose population peaked in 2008 and has declined since due to its low birthrate to about 125 million as of last year despite government warnings and sporadic attempts to grapple with the issue. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks at the 2022 CPAC conference at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation creating an election police unit. He said local election supervisors may not be equipped to investigate voter fraud claims. The election law also ups penalties for ballot harvesting and violating voter registration laws. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday establishing a new law enforcement unit aimed at investigating voter fraud and election crimes. The move comes as part of a nationwide GOP effort to police federal and state elections in the wake of former President Donald Trump's false and debunked claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. "I don't think there is any other place in the country where you should have more confidence that your vote counts than in the state of Florida," DeSantis said at a press conference. The Florida governor said local election supervisors and law enforcement officers may not have the expertise and knowledge to thoroughly investigate election fraud. Out of 262 voter fraud complaints received by the Florida Department of State, only 75 cases were referred to authorities. There are more than 14 million voters registered in the state. "Some of them may not care as much about the election stuff," he said. "I think it's been mixed at how those reactions are going to be. So we just want to make sure whatever laws are on the books, that those laws are enforced." On top of creating a new election police unit, the bill signed into law on Monday also elevated the penalties for violating election laws in the state, making it a felony rather than a misdemeanor to send more than two mail-in ballots for other voters, according to CNN. The new election legislation also increased the fine for violating voter registration laws from $1,000 to $50,000. State Rep. Tracie Davis condemned the election law on Monday, striking it down as nothing more than a bid from DeSantis to appeal to Trump voters who believe the 2020 election was stolen. DeSantis has been floated as a GOP candidate for the 2024 presidential race. Story continues "DeSantis' so-called election reform legislation is a continued attack by the Republican Party to generate public distrust in the integrity of our elections," Davis told the Associated Press. "The bill is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer funds." The move comes after DeSantis proposed a new redistricting plan in the state, pushing a congressional map that would reduce the number of predominantly Black districts. On March 28, DeSantis vetoed a version of the congressional map approved by state legislators that would have added two Republican seats and subtracted one from the Democrats, according to The New York Times. Last week, the Florida Senate passed DeSantis' congressional map during a special session that would instead create 20 likely Republican seats and leave eight for Democrats, The Times reported. DeSantis claimed that the new congressional map put out by his office would be "race-neutral." "I mean, we are not going to have a 200-mile gerrymander that divvies up people based on the color of their skin," DeSantis said, citing a CNN report. "That is wrong. That is not the way we've governed in the state of Florida." Read the original article on Business Insider 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 [] A former employee of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration pleaded guilty Friday to issuing fraudulent drivers licenses in exchange for payment, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Marion Rose Payne, 55, of Harwood in Anne Arundel County pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce and transfer identification documents without lawful authority. She faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and must pay at least $25,000, which prosecutors said she accepted in exchange for the licenses. Paynes attorney declined to comment on her plea. Payne conspired with two others to issue more than 276 fraudulent Maryland drivers licenses from at least July 2015 to March 2016, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. Payne and an unnamed co-conspirator were employees at the MVA Largo branch. They worked with Warner Antonio Portillo, 36, of Manassas, Virginia, to issue these drivers licenses, the office said. Portillo and others met with prospective Maryland drivers license applicants who were willing to pay money to obtain a drivers license illegally, typically because the applicants were aliens without legal status in the United States or were otherwise unable to obtain a lawfully issued drivers license, according to the release. The applicants paid between $800 and $5,000 in cash for each drivers license. Portillo not only transported these individuals to the Largo branch, where he directed them to Payne or the co-conspirators workstations, but also provided the forged documentation needed to obtain the drivers license. These include tax information, proof of Maryland residence and other identification documents, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Four Virginia drivers licenses and a bank statement that belonged to real people were used multiple times. Portillo paid Payne at least $25,000 in cash and gifts, and these exchanges sometimes happened in the parking lot of the MVA Largo branch. Payne is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 3. Portillo previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Fort Worth, the fifth-largest city in Texas, will become the first U.S. city to start mining bitcoin (BTC) via a new pilot project. The project was approved in a vote by the city council on Tuesday as part of a larger docket of crypto-friendly initiatives. According to a statement, the city has partnered with the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC), an advocate for blockchain technology in the state, for the program. Fort Worth will maintain three Bitmain S9 mining computers in a climate-controlled location in the Information Technology Solutions Department Data Center located at Fort Worth City Hall, where they will be housed on a private network to minimize security risk. The mining rigs were donated by TBC. These small but powerful machines mark Fort Worths larger commitment to becoming a leading hub for technology and innovation, said Mayor Mattie Parker. The city aims to experiment with the mining process through this pilot program and will evaluate it again in six months. Crypto software and services company Luxor Technologies and bitcoin miner Rhodium Enterprises are providing strategic guidance for the citys pilot project. Bitmains Antminer S9 machines are one of the oldest and cheapest bitcoin mining machines available and popular among new miners. Currently, S19 models are more popular among more advanced and industrial-grade miners. By starting small to learn as they go, Fort Worth is positioning itself to be the bitcoin mining capital of Texas, said Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) President and founder Lee Bratcher. After Chinas sweeping ban of the crypto sector last year, the U.S., particularly Texas, has become the dominant hub for miners due to its cheap power and mining-friendly local legislations. Fort Worths move is likely to further help the bitcoin-friendly jurisdiction narrative of the state, which comes at a time when both global and other state-level policymakers are pushing for more regulations for the miners. Most recently, New York lawmakers have advanced a controversial bill that aims to put a two-year moratorium on select proof-of-work crypto mining operations in the Empire State. Elon Musk describes himself as a "free-speech absolutist," leaving rights groups fearful that Twitter will provide a forum for hate speech and disinformation under his ownership. The world's richest man has signaled that, following his $44 billion takeover, he intends to reform what he sees as over-zealous policing of tweets. Civil activists are worried that means Musk, 50, will allow banned extremists back to the platform. "The last thing we need is a Twitter that willfully turns a blind eye to violent and abusive speech against users, particularly those most disproportionately impacted, including such as women, non-binary persons, and others," Michael Kleinman, technology and human rights director at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement. Like other social media networks, Twitter has struggled against disinformation, bullying and hate-fuelled content in recent years. It has banned numerous users for promoting violence or threatening or attacking people based on their race, religion, gender identity or disability, among other forms of discrimination. High-profile people removed from the platform include former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and ex-president Donald Trump. Twitter has also cracked down on lies about Covid-19 and removed thousands of accounts linked to the far-right "QAnon" movement, whose followers believe Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. Many conspiracy theorists joined newer, far-right-friendly platforms such as Gab and Parler. Trump, who was banned after the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6 last year as they sought to overturn the 2020 US presidential election result, vowed not to return to Twitter even if Musk reinstated him. But conservatives, who have long complained about social media platforms being run by Silicon Valley-based liberals, are heralding libertarian Musk's deal. Story continues "I am hopeful that Elon Musk will help rein in Big Tech's history of censoring users that have a different viewpoint," tweeted Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn. Derrick Johnson, CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said that while "free speech is wonderful, hate speech is unacceptable." "Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, or falsehoods that subvert our democracy. Protecting our democracy is of utmost importance, especially as the midterm elections approach," he said. - Moderation - In Brussels, the International Federation of Journalists echoed that call, expressed concern that the billionaire would damage media freedoms "by exacerbating opportunities to attack journalists" on the site. IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger said Twitter, which has 400 million users, "must be duly moderated, while respecting freedom of speech." Experts say that once at the helm, Musk may find that staying true to his free speech instincts isn't so simple. In the European Union for example, Twitter will have to comply with the new Digital Services Act, a major piece of EU legislation ensuring tougher consequences when platforms host banned content. "He's going to have to have some form of content moderation policy. That's going to be challenging for Musk," New York University politics and media expert Joshua Tucker told AFP. The entrepreneur will also be wary about making too many changes that contribute to users flocking away from the site, analysts say. "If it becomes a place of hateful content and it chases away journalists, then it loses its value," Karen North, professor of digital social media at the Annenberg journalism school in California told AFP. Musk has not specified exactly what restrictions he intends to roll back, but stated in a tweet Tuesday that he is "against censorship that goes far beyond the law." "If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people," he added. pdh-jmb-arb/des/mlm Good Morning Britains staff have threatened to boycott the show amid talks of Piers Morgan returning as a guest to promote his new series. Morgan left GMB in March 2021 after an on-air argument with weather presenter Alex Beresford. The controversial presenter is now back on our screens with his new TalkTV show Piers Morgan Uncensored. According to the Daily Mirror, when GMB staff members heard talks about Morgan returning to the show as a guest, a number of them warned that they would down tools. Piers has made it quite clear what he thinks of GMB since he flounced out, a source said. Barely a day goes by without him sniping that ratings are down, and that he was the best thing about the show. So its no surprise there are some who felt reluctant to promote his new gig and threatened to stop working if he came on. Theres also a lot of loyalty for Alex, they added. Morgan walked off the set of GMB midway through filming after Beresford condemned the comments he made about Meghan Markle. Piers Morgan storms off Good Morning Britain in March (ITV) The presenter faced heavy criticism for his remarks about Prince Harry and his wife, following the couples explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the interview, Meghan revealed she previously had suicidal thoughts due to the abuse she had received when joining the royal family. During what would go on to be his last GMB show, Morgan brought up Markles comments and said: Im sorry, I dont believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldnt believe it if she read me a weather report. His remarks were widely criticised by his co-presenters and on social media, with broadcaster ITV also being called hypocritical for allowing him to cast aspersions while also running their mental health campaign Get Britain Talking. You can read The Independents review of Morgans new series here. A man who voted in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the 2016 general election has been ordered to pay nearly $5,000 in fines and penalties. Todd Krysiak, 39, was charged in June 2019 and pleaded guilty Friday to voting in more than one state. He was given a 90-day suspended sentence and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine, plus a $960 penalty. According to prosecutors, he cast ballots in both Alton, New Hampshire, and Leominster, Massachusetts, on Nov. 6, 2016. Krysiak was registered as a Republican in Alton, according to the 2016 voter checklist. Attorney David Bodanza said Monday that his client voted in Alton, where he lives, and later in the day visited his mother in Massachusetts. She told him his name was on the list of registered voters in her town, where he had previously lived, so he voted there, as well. He went down to vote, thinking that he could, he said. Bodanza called the plea a fair resolution, but said the case raised unanswered questions about whether Krysiak acted knowingly in regards to each element of the crime. He said his client did not intend to vote in Massachusetts when he voted in New Hampshire, he said. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW When people think of Switzerland, they tend to think neutrality (and cool pocket knives and stylish watches, I guess). But there was a point when the country was caught up in a religious civil war that their armies tried to resolve with soup, according to lore. In the early 16th century, conflict arose between the Protestant forces from Zurich and Catholic forces from Zug Switzerlands Christian Reformation but legend has it that on the field of Kappel am Albis, no blood was shed. Instead, the armies simply shared some good, hot soup. There are no records that detail how the soup was made or where it came from, but the story of the milk soup, known as Kappel Milchsuppe has become an integral story in Swiss history. Made primarily with bread and milk, there is no definitive recipe left from the 1500s. Todays recipes, however, feature various takes with butters, milks, cheeses, onion and garlic. Though few facts about the original 500-year-old soup can be verified, BBC reported that historians agree the broth was created by accident in June 1529 when two hungry armies met on a battlefield on what is now known as the Milchsuppestein, or milk soup pasture. The soldiers from both sides mingled and eventually dined together supposedly the troops from Zug provided the milk, and those from Zurich the bread to make this soup, wrote Swiss cook and blogger Andie Pilot. This brought to a close the first Kappel War. Negotiations continued, but to the amazement of everyone, the infantry brokered their own truce over a cooking pot while on the battlefield, former Kappel Abbey pastor and historian Susanne Wey-Korthals told BBC. Naturally, they were hungry after the long march, and Zurich had plenty of bread and salt, while Zug had a surplus of milk from its farms. From that the legend was born. Unfortunately the bisque was not enough to stop the fighting indefinitely. The second Kappel War was fought in 1531. Ironically, a food embargo imposed on the Catholics brought the two armies back to war, bringing about a resolution in Switzerlands Protestant Reformation. Ultimately, the Roman Catholics would go on to win when Zurichs Protestant leader Huldrych Zwingli was killed. Still, the lands of Milchsuppestein and the legendary soup enjoyed by the two warring factions became enduring symbols of Swiss peace. A stone monument to the original bloodless battlefield meeting remains there to this day. These fields have played witness to some of the most important moments in Swiss history, Wey-Korthals said. Switzerland found a way to compromise here. To concentrate on what we had in common rather than focus on our differences. It sounds remarkable, but we did it over a bowl of soup. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk added Twitter to his stable of companies on Monday, purchasing the social media platform for $44 billion dollars. Whether he made this purchase to finally realize his aspirations as a "free speech absolutist" or just did it to put an end to his nemesis, @ElonJet, once and for all remains to be seen, but changes are abound for the internet's third-favorite hellsite. Engadget's reporters have some thoughts on what those might be. There are only two predictions I feel confident making: Twitter will get an edit button, and employees are going to head for the door. Even under the best of circumstances, big acquisitions tend to result in a fair amount of employee turnover and executive shakeup. And for many tweeps, Musk taking over is very far from the best of circumstances. Musk rankled the Twitter rank and file before the deal was even official, with tweets about whether Twitter was dying and whether the company's HQ should be converted into a homeless shelter. But now they have much more to worry about than his usual trolling. Musks bid has already negatively impacted recruiting efforts, according to The New York Times. And current employees still dont have clear answers on how Musks acquisition will affect their stock packages, a significant portion of their total compensation. There are also real, existential questions about how Musks questionable views on content moderation will affect the company and the direction of the service. As CEO Parag Agrawal reportedly told employees following the news, "once the deal closes, we don't know what direction the platform will go." - Karissa Bell, Senior Reporter It can't get much worse, right? While I'm sure Twitter's moderation policy will get watered down, it's hard to imagine the doomsday scenarios where it turns into some kind of 4Chan/Stormfront cesspool. Twitter is an international company, with international advertisers and international users. It's broadly bound to ensure its content is in line with the laws of the countries in which it operates, which severely limits the ability to create the "free speech" oasis of Musk's dreams, at least if he also would like it to be a functional, broadly breakeven company at the same time. The company's moderation of its platform is already terrible, and people either make do by going private/blocking people, or (hi) give up on the whole tweeting thing altogether. So I'm expecting more of the same, which is to say, I'm expecting it to be mostly awful. Story continues - Aaron Souppouris, Executive Editor Ive covered Elon Musk in his roles as both head of Tesla and SpaceX for a few years now, witnessing his sneering contempt for journalism, transparency, basic ethics and accountability up close and in person. Ive sat through his easily-disproved boasts, his myriad empty promises and publicity stunts. This is a man who belittles societys most vulnerable members to gain the panting adoration of 4Chan trolls, who demonizes the helpers to boost his own fragile ego, a man who would declare himself God-Emperor of Mars before paying his income taxes. Is this your king? I dread the effects this sale will have, not just for Twitter itself, but the internet writ large. The destabilizing effects social media amplification has on societal and democratic norms have been well studied since the 2016 elections. What is not yet fully understood is what happens when we hand control over that mechanism to the world's wealthiest contrarian. As such, my advice to you are the same wise words Samuel L Jackson had for us in Jurassic Park: Hold onto your butts. - Andrew Tarantola, Senior Reporter I think the biggest challenge about trying to predict an Elon Musk-led Twitter is separating the guy's online persona from his business practices. Musk catches a lot of flak (often deservedly) for dumb or insensitive tweets, something most other CEOs know or have been trained to avoid. But at the same time, Elon is a rather shrewd businessman, separately helming what has become the world's biggest EV carmaker alongside the most successful private space aerospace company. With Tesla and SpaceX there's a clear pattern of high-risk, high-reward behavior, which, due to a combination of luck and smarts, has worked out so far. Musk gives the impression of being a move fast and break stuff type, and his latest disruption looks to be bringing free speech (or his version of it) to Twitter, regardless of how that might impact others. This potentially greenlights every tweet that's not explicitly inciting violence or distributing sensitive info (like the plans for a nuclear bomb or whatever). In the short term, Must will look to help boost Twitter's bottom line, which the company desperately needs after losing more than $200 million in 2021. Engagement (both good and bad) sells, and turning Twitter into an even bigger battleground would almost certainly result in a quick spike in users. Musk might even do something silly like raise the limit on tweets to 420 characters. Down the line, Musks plan to authenticate all humans sounds a lot like a different flavor of Sam Altmans troubled Worldcoin endeavor, and Id bet theres way more crypto integration coming to the platform in general. The big concern is that some of Twitter's issues regarding harassment and abuse will continue to go unaddressed. Though that actually might be a feature. Moderation costs money, and by pushing Twitter down the free speech path, Elon conveniently might be able to absolve the company of having to protect its users while simultaneously reducing operating costs. Sure, theres a chance that eliminating anonymity and linking every tweet to a specific person could stop people from spouting nonsense they wouldnt dare say in real life. But I wouldnt count on it. So unless better safeguards are coming too, Twitter could devolve into the most chaotic social media platform around. - Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter Yes, Musk is divisive, a puerile troll that at age 50 seems to have finished his emotional growth decades prior; a loudmouth who is almost constantly spouting off easily disprovable nonsense. His ideas on a "free speech" haven are an echo of the wrong-headed thinking that was a north star for social media founders a decade or more ago, and which they have spent the time since regretfully paddling away from. Musk is also, by accounts, a capricious and vindictive boss whose alleged love of free speech is forever subservient to his hatred of dissent. And all of this is, more than some outward-facing exodus of users, likely to lead Twitter employees to rethink if it's all worth the agita. Who wants to develop for product categories (moderation in particular) that have effectively been marked for death? Who wants to go to a job that feels more like the What Did My Boss Fuck Up Today sitcom? But that this sale went through at all is indication enough that, whether led by Musk or literally anyone else, Twitter probably is headed for the great dustbin of history. The people whose job it is to do nothing but turn money into more money ran the numbers and determined no one was or would ever bring a better offer, nor was the company which almost always posts a loss was ever going to stabilize into a recurring source of profit. Musk, the PT Barnum of techno-magic bullshit solutions, would probably gleefully categorize himself as an accelerationist: Accelerating the accumulation of space junk; the eventual drowning of pedestrians in underground tunnels; the mass adoption of combusting non-combustion cars. And in this instance my sense is he will accelerate the demise of Twitter by a few degrees too, but don't give him too much credit, it was headed that way anyhow. Bryan Menegus, Senior News Editor Reality often sits in between our greatest hopes and worst fears, and I'd expect the same for Twitter under Elon Musk. It's easy to see his laissez-faire content moderation leading to the revival of some hate speech and harassment that Twitter previously removed. At the same time, I don't think a Musk-era Twitter will be a full-fledged calamity. Not everyone who was banned will be eager to come back, and Musk may have to rethink his stance if there are any truly toxic elements that resurface. I say there's a one-in-three chance that Twitter goes sideways within two years of the deal closing that is, the content moderation and the company's overall direction lead to serious trouble. Those are very distinct possibilities, but they aren't guaranteed and may take years to unfold. They may hinge as much on users' desires as they do on Musk's decisions. I'd expect many of Twitter's anti-toxicity tools to survive, such as downvoting replies. With that said, I'm fully prepared to be wrong. Musk is legendary for heading in unexpected directions. This is the man who launched a tunnel company after complaining about LA traffic, after all. I just don't see Twitter facing imminent disaster, and it won't be surprising if the company reins in some of Musk's impulses. - Jon Fingas, Reporter HSBC's profits fell by 28% in the first three months of the year as the Russia-Ukraine war continues to have 'devastating consequences'. Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters HSBC's (HSBA.L) profits fell by 28% in the first three months of the year as the lender was hit by provisions for souring loans in Russia. Europes largest lender recorded profit before tax of $4.2bn (3.29bn) for the first quarter of the year, a decline of $1.6bn from the same period last year. HSBCs earnings were dented by $642m of new expected credit losses, which include $250m linked to Russian borrowers, and some $160m tied to Chinas property sector. A year ago, HSBC started cancelling $400m in reserves it had set aside for potential pandemic-related loan losses. Read more: HSBC boosts bonuses to 2.6bn as annual profits double Revenue fell 4% from a year ago to $12.5bn, falling just short of the $12.7bn forecast made by analysts. "While profits were down on last year's first quarter due to market impacts on wealth revenue and a more normalised level of ECL (expected credit losses), higher lending across all businesses and regions, and good business growth in personal banking, insurance and trade finance bode well for future quarters," chief executive Noel Quinn said in a statement. The bank said it continued to expect "mid single-digit percentage" growth this year for revenue and lending respectively. HSBCs Hong Kong-listed shares fell 3.5% in the trading session on Tuesday. The Russia-Ukraine war continues to have devastating consequences both within Ukraine and beyond, Quinn added. HSBC Russia is not accepting new business or customers and is consequently on a declining trend. The vast majority of our business in Russia serves multinational corporate clients headquartered in other countries, and as a global bank, HSBC has a responsibility to help them manage these challenging circumstances. The bank forecast its operation in Russia may become "untenable" if subject to further restrictions. HSBC's restructuring effort has led it to slash 35,000 jobs and sell its retail operations in the United States and France. Story continues Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said HSBC has opened the banks reporting season in unspectacular fashion, with the return of loss provisions an unfortunate highlight. "In the corresponding quarter last year and after the effects of the pandemic had been less severe than forecast, HSBC released $435m of impairments. This year the bank has taken a charge of $642m, with this $1bn swing being the major factor for lower profits. The charge largely relates to deteriorating economic situations in both Russia and China, with general inflationary pressures leading the bank to caution on the likelihood of defaults." Read more: HSBC to shut 69 bank branches with 400 jobs affected Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, added: The banks share price fell despite beating expectations as investors focused on slowing growth in Hong Kong and a hike in expected losses associated with bad debts linked to the war in Ukraine and mounting inflation. This represents a reversal from the situation a year ago when the promise of a COVID recovery meant the banking sector was able to release some of the cash buffers built up to withstand the pandemic. HSBC has also been affected by the slowdown in investment banking a year ago buoyant markets and surging M&A generated plenty of commission. Investors interest in HSBC is heavily linked to increased penetration of banking in less mature markets in Asia. With the impact of increased restrictions that growth outlook is clouded which negatively impacts sentiment towards the stock. Its decision to maintain operations in Russia may come under increasing scrutiny despite a robust defence alongside todays update." Watch: HSBC boosts profit goal on higher rates The executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, said Tuesday he will step down after three decades which have seen the New York-based NGO become a thorn in the side of authoritarian regimes and rights abusers across the world. Roth, who has led the organisation since 1993, will step down at the end of August, HRW said in a statement. "Nothing can last forever," he said in a video message. "It is time to pass the baton." He expressed "great confidence" that the HRW team would continue to effectively defend human rights. "While I am leaving Human Rights Watch, I am not leaving our cause." Under his leadership, HRW has grown from a small-scale campaign group into a global rights organisation that now employs over 500 staff across the globe. In 1997, it shared a Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to ban antipersonnel landmines and played a critical role in establishing the International Criminal Court. Evidence gathered by its staff during conflicts around the world helped ensure the convictions at international tribunals of figures including former Liberian leader Charles Taylor over the war in Sierra Leone and wartime Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. "Today, amid the horrific abuse taking place in Ukraine, an infrastructure is in place to hold perpetrators accountable," the HRW statement said. His role brought controversy and HRW's statement acknowledged that "Roth inevitably earned many enemies." In April 2021, HRW became the first major international rights group to accuse Israel of using policies of apartheid -- the segregation of blacks and whites in white-ruled South Africa -- against Palestinians. Israel vehemently denied the allegation and denounced HRW's report. But in February this year a similar allegation was made by HRW's London-based counterparts at Amnesty International. "Despite being Jewish -- and having a father who fled Nazi Germany as a 12-year-old boy -- he has been attacked for the organisation's criticism of Israeli government abuses," HRW said. Story continues In recent years, Roth had also become a bitter enemy of the Chinese authorities after repeatedly singling out Beijing over its rights violations. China imposed sanctions against Roth personally and expelled him from Hong Kong when he travelled there to release HRW's annual World Report in January 2020, "which spotlighted Beijing's threat to the global human rights system", the organisation said. A search for a successor is now underway, it added. sjw/tgb/pvh Charles Hunt, a 56-year-old semi driver from Indiana, is slated to begin his jail term next week for a 2020 traffic crash that killed four people on Interstate 71. ASHLAND A semi driver from Indiana is slated to begin his jail term next week for a 2020 traffic crash that killed four people on Interstate 71. Charles Hunt, 56, pleaded no contest in February to four misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide in Ashland Municipal Court. He was sentenced April 4 to eight months in Ashland County Jail and will begin serving his term on May 3, according to court records. He was also fined $2,000. I-71 fatal crash: Firefighter dies, trooper injured while working Wayne County crash scene along I-71 south The night of the fatal accident On July 29, 2020, Hunt was driving his semi south on I-71 in Ashland County as a Highway Patrol trooper was pulling over a speeding 2009 Saturn Outlook about two miles north of the U.S. Route 250 exit. The Saturn was moving toward the shoulder of I-71 but the driver came to a stop in the right lane. The trooper gave orders over his public address system for the vehicle to pull off the roadway and onto the right shoulder. Seconds later, Hunt's vehicle struck the rear of the Saturn. The car was pushed off the right side of the highway and into a tree line as the semi landed on top of it, according to the crash report. Four of the seven people inside the Saturn died. Three others were transported by medical helicopter and EMS vehicles to multiple area hospitals. Killled were Ah RA Hin, 46, Ma Mya Kahing, 50, both from Ft. Wayne, Indiana; and Be AH Cha, 41, and Onaiza Doa Be, 17, both from Houston. Another traffic fatality: Loudonville man dead, another seriously injured after Ashland County crash Video: Haunting I-71 crash video shows incident lasted only 36 seconds A still frame from the State Highway Patrol's dash cam video shows a Saturn Outlook stopped in the right lane seconds before Charles Hunt's semi crashes into the back, killing four of the vehicle's occupants in 2020. Hunt was sentenced to 240 days in the Ashland County Jail on four counts of vehicular homicide. During the sentencing hearing, Judge John Good said he still wasn't sure about the proper punishment for Hunt, even after studying the case and watching a video of the crash captured by the Highway Patrol cruiser. "I think its horrific for a lot of reasons and Im sure its been horrific for you and will continue to be horrific for you for the rest of your life," Good said. Story continues Good, who found Hunt guilty of the charges, posed a question to Hunt: "So what would you like me to know before I decide what Im going to do?" Hunt said he'd "do whatever to make it right," adding he has a difficult time explaining what happened. "I certainly can't explain it to an 11-year-old boy," he said, referring to his son. Hunt said he doesn't want to drive a commercial vehicle again. Inconclusive evidence over Hunt's cellphone activity at the time of the crash Chief Assistant Law Director Dave Stimpert noted the crash occurred in 36 seconds from the time of the traffic stop to impact. When troopers looked through Hunt's semi, they said they found his cellphone with the YouTube app open. "I know the county's prosecutor's office looked into the matter and it was inconclusive," Stimpert said. "[I] sure hope the defendant wasn't watching YouTube videos when he was driving." Good agreed the report "wasn't conclusive" about Hunt's action before the crash and said he was not going to jump to the conclusion he was using his cellphone. "You're driving at a very reasonable speed," Good said. "You're obviously an experienced driver." Hunt told the judge he saw lights coming from the center lane and he didn't want to change lanes in case he ran the vehicle off the road. Hunt said he then realized he didn't have enough time to stop in front of the Saturn. "Everybody is important to somebody and these people were important to people," the judge said. "This was a close family. There are people thatve been deeply affected by the deaths of these four individuals and will be forever. So theres a huge amount of harm thats been caused here." It's tough, Good said, knowing there really isn't much the court can do to bring any sort of justice or satisfaction to the victims. "It doesn't affect your liability or culpability in my opinion because we've got to have certain responsibility to drive your vehicle at the speed under any condition where you can stop if somebody or something appears in front of you, and that's kinda what happened here," Good said. "Evidence shows, by your own admission, you looked away. [You] could have slowed down, gotten over or stopped. That makes you guilty of the offense you've been found guilty [of]." Reach Grant at 419-281-0581, ext. 259 or gritchey@gannett.com On Twitter: @ritchey_grant This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Indiana man sentenced in I-71 crash that claimed the lives of four A man in Indiana who was fully qualified to work as a police officer didnt get the job because of his HIV status, federal authorities said. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Clarksville, saying that the towns police department unlawfully revoked a job offer to a qualified law enforcement officer based on his Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) diagnosis, which constitutes a violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Title I of the ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals on the basis of disability which includes withdrawing a job offer to a qualified individual based on unsupported and stereotypical views of the applicants disability. The man, who wasnt identified in the lawsuit, worked as a volunteer reserve officer for the towns police department for over a year, before he decided to formally apply for a position. According to the complaint, in October 2015 he received a conditional offer of employment as a police officer a job that was contingent on his passing a state-mandated medical exam. The man told his medical examiner that he was under a physicians care for treatment of his HIV and was taking prescribed antiretroviral medications. HIV is a virus that can weaken the immune system when untreated. Thanks to improvements in the effectiveness of treatments, people with HIV who regularly take antiretroviral therapy medication can keep the virus suppressed and live long and healthy lives. In fact, according to the lawsuit, the examiner noted that the man had no long-term evidence of active disease from his HIV, and had no other notable health issues. About a month later, however, he received a letter saying that the job offer had been revoked because he hadnt passed the statewide baseline test required by the Indiana Public Retirement System. For the next 15 months, the man tried to appeal his erroneous disqualification, hoping to be rehired as a Clarksville police officer which never happened, even after the force acknowledged that he was in fact qualified for the job. Story continues According to the lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Clarksville engaged in discriminatory employment policies and practices that violate Title I of the ADA. Those who are qualified and seek to serve their communities should not be subjected to unlawful discrimination. Individuals living with HIV are entitled to the full protection of our anti-discrimination laws, Zachary Myers, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a statement. Our office will work closely with our partners in the Civil Rights Division to ensure that those who seek to serve the public are not unlawfully discriminated against. This case is being handled by DOJs Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Indiana based on a referral from the Indianapolis District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. No qualified individual should lose a hard-earned career opportunity because of misguided views about their disability that are not supported by medicine or science, said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the departments Civil Rights Division. This lawsuit reflects the Justice Departments firm commitment to protecting qualified workers, including those with HIV, from unlawful employment discrimination, she added. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) A court in Iran has sentenced two students to 16-year prison terms each on charges of endangering national security, the judiciarys spokesman said Tuesday. According to the spokesman, Zabihollah Khodaeian, the two sabotaged public facilities, tried to cooperate with opposition groups and spread propaganda against the system. These actions translated to 10-year, five and one -year prison terms, he added. If an appeals court upholds the ruling, the 10-year term will go into effect, Khodaeian added. The authorities detained the two students Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi of the prestigious Sharif Industrial University in 2020, prompting an outcry among students and teachers of the university, as well as by Amnesty International and various rights groups. Younesi and Moradi have been in custody since then. Younesis lawyer Mostafa Nili said the students would appeal the verdict by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which handles security-related charges. JERUSALEM (AP) An Israeli parliamentary committee has sanctioned a breakaway member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's party, handing a small political victory to the Israeli leader as he seeks to stabilize his fragile government and deter any other rebel lawmakers. The Knesset committee voted 7-0 on Monday to declare Amichai Chikli a defector, a status that bars him from joining a rival party in the current parliament in the country's next election. Bennett had requested the vote. Chikli broke away from Bennett's Yamina party when the coalition was formed last year, accusing Bennett of betraying the party's hard-line ideology. He has been seen as a potential candidate for the opposition Likud party in the future. Monday's vote by the House Committee bars Chikli from joining Likud or any other party in parliament when the country next heads to elections. He also is barred from serving as a Cabinet minister or deputy minister in the current parliament. Chikli vowed to challenge the decision in court. Bennett's move was seen as a warning to Idit Silman, who resigned from Bennett's small Yamina party earlier this month and is also seen as a potential member of Likud in the future. Other members of Yamina also have expressed misgivings over the coalition, a patchwork of eight parties spanning the political spectrum. The agreement has forced all parties, including Yamina, a hard-line nationalist party, to compromise on some of their core ideological positions. Silman's exit deprived the coalition of its ruling majority, less than a year after it was sworn in. The eight-party alliance, made up of ultranationalists, dovish parties and a small Islamist faction, is now deadlocked with the opposition with 60 seats each in the 120-member Knesset. That has greatly complicated the government's ability to pass legislation and raised the risk of plunging the country into snap elections. Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli, Israel's transportation minister, said Monday that all party chiefs are working together to keep the government intact. Local media reported that Chikli may form new party, though it is unclear whether he has enough popular support to get into parliament. Bennett's unwieldy coalition also faces other challenges. Ongoing unrest surrounding a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, has prompted the small Islamist party Ra'am the first Arab party to serve in an Israeli coalition to temporarily suspend its participation in protest. JERICHO, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed a Palestinian and wounded three others during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli military said its soldiers had opened fire after rocks and firebombs were thrown at them when they entered a refugee camp near the city of Jericho. Israel has stepped up military operations in the West Bank, where Palestinians seek an independent state, after a spate of lethal street attacks in Israeli cities last month. The Palestinian health ministry said a 20-year-old man, Ahmed Ibrahim Oweidat, had died after being shot in the head. Three people were wounded and being treated in hospital. Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh condemned the killing and denounced "Israeli crimes" in the West Bank. An Israeli army spokesperson said troops were conducting "counterterrorism activity to apprehend wanted suspects" in the Aqabat Jabr Refugee Camp when they were attacked by dozens of Palestinians. "The rioters burned tyres, and hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers. The soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and live ammunition," the spokesperson said, adding that no Israeli soldiers were injured. Witnesses confirmed that Palestinians had thrown rocks at the troops. Two Palestinians, a father and son, were detained by the Israeli forces, locals said. The killing comes against a backdrop of recent violence in the West Bank and Israel. Since March 22, Arab assailants have killed 14 people in Israel, including three police officers, and Israeli forces have killed at least 17 Palestinians, among them gunmen and civilians, in the West Bank, medics said. (Reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Crispian Balmer, William Maclean) ITV removed one line of dialogue from its broadcast of the 2002 film Spider-Man. The network aired Sam Raimis superhero film, which stars Tobey Maguire as the titular webslinger, on Saturday (23 April) on ITV2. A joke, which many viewers have criticised as blatantly homophobic, was edited out of the film by the network. The line occurs early on in the film when Maguires Peter Parker enters a wrestling contest after discovering his superhero powers. Thats a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you? Parker says to his opponent. ITV removed the second part of his dialogue so that Parker only says: Thats a cute outfit. In a statement issued to Variety, the network said: We carefully consider the suitability of content we broadcast and appropriateness of language used to ensure that it meets audience expectations, especially when intended for family viewing. Earlier this week, it was reported that Disney is refusing to remove a line of dialogue from the forthcoming Marvel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that references a lesbian relationship, meaning that it will not be permitted a theatrical release in Saudi Arabia. Other Disney films including Onward and Eternals have been banned from the region due to similar reasons. Warner Bros, however, agreed to remove gay references from the recently released Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in order to secure a release in China. Raimis 2002 Spider-Man, which also stars Kirsten Dunst, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Jimmy Kimmel on Monday provided an update on his feud with right-wing conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who reported him to the Capitol Police for making jokes about her. I actually met some of the Capitol Police, Kimmel said, noting he was in Washington D.C. over the weekend for the Mark Twain Prize ceremony honoring Jon Stewart. I think Im going to be OK. There was no APB put out, I was able to walk freely around the city. Then he returned to the business of making more jokes about the Greene Goblin specifically about Greenes disastrous court appearance last week where she repeatedly claimed she couldnt remember many of her own statements. She played even dumber than she actually is, Kimmel said as he showed clips of her most awkward moments under oath, at one point calling her Perjury before correcting himself to Marjorie. Kimmel also created a new product just to help her remember: This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Tiger King star Joe Exotic, also known as Joseph Maldonado-Passage, recently shared details on how he found love behind bars not long after his divorce filing from estranged husband Dillon Passage. Exotic, who gained stardom with the release of Netflixs hit series centered on the bizarre underworld of big cat breeding, compared his new relationship to the iconic vampire-themed romance fantasy film Twilight, according to TMZ. Exotic was sentenced to 21 years in prison on charges of animal abuse and attempted murder for hire after allegedly plotting to kill his competitor, Carole Baskin. Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, is seen at the zoo he used to run in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, on Aug. 28, 2013. (Photo: via Associated Press) Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, is seen at the zoo he used to run in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, on Aug. 28, 2013. (Photo: via Associated Press) Despite being locked down, Exotic, 59, said hes found love and even proposed to a fellow inmate, John Graham. They are now engaged, TMZ reported. In a letter to attorney Autumn Beck Blackledge obtained by TMZ, Exotic shed light on his new courtship, sharing how he met his extremely romantic and caring partner after they were both housed in the same prison unit. According to the letter, Exotic said he got engaged to Graham last August after being involved with him for over a year. If you ever watched Twilight, its as close as that, Exotic wrote in the letter describing their relationship, which he calls a fast attraction. Graham has reportedly since left prison, but the soon-to-be-married couple continue to write to each other multiple times a week and talk on the phone 3 times a day, according to the TV personality. John talks like he is from 400 years ago, Exotic wrote. He is a practicing witch and is extremely romantic and caring. The love we share is like no other Ive ever experienced. Exotic filed for divorce from Passage last month in Santa Rosa County, Florida, just one year after Passage shared they parted ways after four years of marriage. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... REZINA, Moldova The Russian-uniformed border guard holds out his hand and the truck driver hands over his passport and other documents a routine and otherwise unremarkable transaction except that it's happening hundreds of miles from Russia. Instead, it's taking place within the tiny European country of Moldova, at the border of the Russia-aligned territory known as Transnistria, which is home to an estimated 20,000 tons of Soviet-era weapons, ammunition and explosives, and more than 1,000 Russian troops. Transnistria sits on the Ukraine border and its neighbors have long worried that Russia would use it as a staging area for an invasion either east into Ukraine or west into Moldova. A series of explosions within Transnistria this week have further heightened concerns. "It's the reality we're seeing, the surreal reality. That's what really worries a lot of people," said Olena Khorenjenko, 33, a Ukrainian refugee who fled to Moldova and is familiar with Transnistria. "These are our neighbors not some faraway people." LATEST UPDATES: Russia shuts off gas to Poland and Bulgaria, US diplomats begin the return to Ukraine Video: NGO evacuating women and children from Ukraine to Moldova Americans, especially American journalists, aren't welcome in the breakaway region, but even from the border it's easy to see the Russian influences: guards wear Russian-style camouflage, Cyrillic words are written on buildings across the Dniester River from Rezina in Moldova, and even the Soviet-style hammer and sickle is on the flag. Transnistria gets its name from being on the east side of the Dniester River, and it occupies a long, narrow slice of land alongside Ukraine. Transnistria is smaller than Delaware, and Moldova as a whole is about the size of Maryland. .oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;} On Monday night, explosions struck the headquarters of Transnistria security forces, who are paid by Russia. More explosions Tuesday destroyed transmission towers used for Russian broadcasts. Moldovan officials said the Monday explosions were caused by grenade launchers. Story continues The explosions came days after a Russian commander suggested that the Ukraine invasion was part of an effort to end oppression of Russian-speaking people in Transnistria, which experts widely consider to be a pretext. The building hit by explosions was empty because it was a public holiday, although Transnistrian media reported that some windows in surrounding homes were broken by the blast. Moldovan officials said the attacks were designed "to create pretexts for tensioning the security situation" in the disputed area. Like many Ukrainians, Khorenjenko worries that Russia will annex Transnistria the way it did the Crimea or the Donbas regions. Few Moldovans visit the area, and many treat it with deep suspicion due to its Russian ties. The Russian soldiers remain there primarily to guard the ammunition depot, left behind as the Soviet army withdrew from Europe at the end of World War II, and to protect a polluting steel foundry that belches smoke over the area. A steel plant sits on the horizon in Transnistria, a breakaway area within Moldova bordering Ukraine, and a legacy of the Soviet Union's presence in the area. The steel plant is the region's major economic driver. Friday, March 25, 2022 Transnistria broke away from Moldova during the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, and the region is home to people who are linked almost equally to Russia, Romania and Moldova. Although the United Nations doesn't recognize Transnistria as its own country, about 500,000 people live there, and the territory has its own money and an official name: The Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic. Transnistrians are in some ways a throwback to the idea of the Soviet Union, said Keith Harrington, an Irish scholar who studies the area: "They try to hold onto the Soviet idea that you have an ethnic identity but that you identify with the region as well." A border-crossing station sits on the east side of the Dniester River on the border from Moldova into Transnistria, a breakaway region within Moldova that borders Ukraine. Friday, March 25, 2022 Harrington, who has visited Transnistria regularly, said most visitors wouldn't notice a significant difference from being in Moldova, as many of the "Russian" border guards and soldiers were born locally, rather than transferred in from Russia, the way the Soviet Union handled things. "Most of those troops are people who are born in Transnistria and have Russian citizenship. They're not really Russian troops," Harrington said. "And from what I've heard, there's no appetite for those armed forces to get involved in the Ukraine conflict." A port city, a steel cage, a palace: The steps that made Putin 'the richest man in the world' Many Moldovans today view Transnistria with a concern that borders on outright fear, although they're reluctant to discuss those views publicly, in part because they worry Russian intelligence agents might target them, especially if President Vladimir Putin decided to attack Moldova. While visiting the area, a USA TODAY reporter spoke with more than a dozen Moldovan professionals, translators, nonprofit leaders and others familiar with Transnistria.. Moldovan officials have long treated Transnistria with caution over fears Russia could invade or occupy it like it has in Ukraine or Crimea or Donetsk. A World War II-era Soviet tank display sits near the border of Moldova and the breakaway territory of Transnistria. In a press conference Tuesday, Moldovan President Maia Sandu reiterated her longstanding commitment to a peaceful relationship with Transnistria. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sandu formally requested membership in the European Union, which could eventually bring the small country military protection from other E.U. members if requested. Philip Remler, a former U.S. State Department official who worked extensively in Eastern Europe, Russia and Moldova, said Russia has a long track record of encouraging breakaway areas, from Transnistria to Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Crimea. Other experts said they see Russia's involvement in Transnistria as largely driven by a desire to frustrate Europe. "Theres a Russian playbook in these cases Moscow encouraged separatism as a weapon, and protected the separatists, and while refusing to recognize them as states, gave them some legitimacy as political entities in their own right," said Remler, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Remler said Russia has never seemed particularly serious in its interest in Transnistria, "and its an interest that, I believe, the Transnistrians would rather do without." More: As Russia escalates attacks, what a new phase of war means for Ukrainians in the east A truck waits to cross the border from Moldova into Transnistria. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Transnistria, Moldova get new focus amid Russia's Ukraine invasion Kansas City police are investigating allegations that a man in the Waldo neighborhood has been shooting at animals, including pets. Tracy Quaethem lives in the neighborhood on East 78th Street and when the COVID-19 pandemic began and Quaethem started working from home, she began noticing a man come out with a pellet gun and appear to shoot at birds. But in recent weeks, Quaethem said she has seen the man shoot at cats and dogs in the neighborhood, concerning her so much that she called the Kansas City Police Department. People tend to say its just a pellet gun but a pellet gun can hurt an animal, it can hurt a child, Quaethem said. Waldo has a lot of small children and we wouldnt want anyone to be hit with a pellet gun. Jake Becchina, a spokesperson for Kansas City Police, said an officer and a sergeant went to the neighborhood Monday and were not able to contact the man, who is described as very elderly. Becchina said police will work to contact the man and if any resources need to be allocated. Quaethem said she is not sure if any pets have been injured with the pellet gun. In a video she took that she shared with The Star, the man can be seen pointing a gun. Its unclear if he fired the gun or where he pointed the gun. NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev quit the ruling Amanat party on Tuesday and handed over the chairmanship to an ally, part of his plan to make the oil-rich Central Asian nation's political landscape more competitive. Amanat, previously known as Nur Otan, dominates the former Soviet republic's parliament and local councils, but Tokayev has said he wants more political groups to emerge and has moved to ease registration requirements for new parties. Elected president in 2019, Tokayev reinforced his position this year by sidelining his predecessor and former patron Nursultan Nazarbayev. He then announced plans for a broad range of reforms, including to the constitution. Delegates at the Amanat congress on Tuesday voted to support Tokayev's nominee Yerlan Koshanov, speaker of the lower house of parliament and previously the president's chief of staff. Kazakhstan held an election to the lower house last year. The next one is not due until 2026, but Kazakhstan has a history of early elections, and calling one after constitutional and electoral reforms could help Tokayev to reshape parliament. (Reporting by Tamara Vaal; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Officially, no one at the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department ever heard a word against Roger Golubski during his decades on the force. OK, maybe theyd heard gossip that he liked Black girls. But allegations that hed raped, harassed, stalked, threatened, trafficked and murdered some of these women? Well now this was new, and of course absurd. How odd, then, that several of the declarations and sworn depositions filed last Friday in the civil case against Golubski and the Unified Government go into great detail about repeated but unsuccessful efforts to get someone, anyone, at the KCKPD to stop then-detective Golubski from continuing to abuse these women he supposedly liked so much. Lets start with the declaration, signed under penalty of perjury, of highly decorated former KCKPD Sgt. Tim Hausback, who worked for the department from 1972 until 1989, when he had to retire because of an injury suffered in the line of duty. I took great pride in being a police officer, he said, and cared about the North End community he was proud to protect and serve. Many in the neighborhood were poor, or addicted to drugs, or without stable housing, he said in his April 21 statement. And one thing that really troubled me as an officer was when I saw such persons being abused or exploited. While there were some officers who were sincerely committed to serving this vulnerable population, others leveraged the authority of their badge to prey on the vulnerable. In particular, some took advantage of poor, struggling or addicted women, including those who worked on the streets as prostitutes. In the mid to late 1970s, Hausback said, I discovered that one of my fellow KCKPD officers, Roger Golubski, was taking advantage of some of the women who worked as prostitutes. On many occasions, I saw Golubski sitting in his patrol car in the Bottoms, an industrial area next to the river at Third and James Street, which was well known as an area where prostitutes were available. Story continues Golubski had no reason to be in the Bottoms at those times. In fact, he was violating KCKPD orders by being out of district when he should have been patrolling his assigned area. Golubski seemed quite comfortable shirking his assignment and made no effort to disguise that he was looking for prostitutes. None of this was a secret to anyone, Hausback said. Golubskis activities were widely known within the department, especially in Division 1, where his familiarity with prostitutes would sometimes come up during daily roll call. What deeply troubled me was that Golubskis pursuit and exploitation of prostitutes in the Bottoms seemed to be accepted in the department. No one questioned it, and no one was doing anything about it. When Hausback reported all of this to his commanding officer, Maj. Daniel Monchil, who died in 2012, all that happened was that a pimp soon made a false complaint about Hausback, accusing him of extortion. Next, Hausback reported Golubski to internal affairs investigators, to Chief Allan Meyers, who is also deceased, and to an assistant city attorney. They never took any action, either, he said. Teen victim described being raped repeatedly Another declaration, also given on April 21, came from Tina Peterson, who when she worked for a battered womens shelter, the Joyce H. Williams Center, in the late 1980s encountered numerous victims of Roger Golubski. As many of these women, including those who worked on the street, described they abuse they suffered, one name came up repeatedly: Roger Golubski. Women who named him came in bleeding, shaking, crying and afraid. Peterson called the KCKPDs internal affairs department twice to report him, each time leaving all of her contact information and why she was calling. Someone would get back to her, she was told. But no one ever did. In the most chilling deposition filed in the case, a woman described in gruesome detail how Golubski regularly raped her from the time she was 13 in 1997 until she was almost 18. Shed grown up in a series of foster homes, and had just gone to live with her grandmother when Golubski called her out of the blue one day, and told her that her name had been mentioned in connection with a criminal case. Unless she wanted to go to jail, he said, she needed to meet him right away, but not at the police station. I really thought he was trying to help me, you know. Like, I thought it was a mix-up, but we would get it straightened out. Though she had no idea what case he was talking about, she agreed to meet him in the parking lot of a Walmart that isnt there any more, at 64th and State. When she got there, he never brought up any crime, but asked her to tell him about some of her best friends, and name the person she cherished most in the world. He came off as if he cared. And so when I gave him a little bit about my history and the abuse and stuff that Id been through in foster homes and things, I thought he would empathize with me, and you know, maybe even help me get justice at some point. Instead, he remarked that women sometimes lead men on, and play victim. Then he put his hand on her thigh, and told her that if I want to see my sweet little grandma again shed shut up and do as he said. Either you love your grandma or you dont, she says he told her. You make the decision. He told her what color scrubs her grandmother had worn to work that morning, and she believed his threats. Told her about dumping bodies in the river Over the next five years, he choked her for sexual pleasure, punched her at his convenience, made her wear a dog collar and walk on all fours, and sold drugs in front of her, conducting his business on burner phones. He complained that she didnt know what she was doing sexually, and waited outside her school on a regular basis, not to pick her up, but to monitor her. Many times, she said, he took her down to the Bottoms and threatened her with a twisted lullaby: Down by the river, said a hanky-pank, they wont find her until she stank. Anyone who disrespected him was dumped there, he told her, and took personal credit for the foul odor of the water. Every encounter by the river I thought was my last day on Earth, she said in the deposition. Its not been a day that went by that that song dont come up in my head, even now. When she finally told her aunt what had been happening, the older woman went down to the police station and reported everything, but came back to the car convinced that it was her niece who has been telling lies. It couldnt be true, her aunt told her, because hed been on duty the times I said. Her sister saw the busted lip and black eye she came home with that night, after Golubski punished her for being, as he called her, a snitch and a rat. This woman talked to the FBI long ago, as so many other victims now have. And you know, maybe when there are enough accusers to fill Arrowhead, theyll take some action. By Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The influential chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee criticized Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday for failing to condemn Turkey's decision to convict philanthropist Osman Kavala to life imprisonment, a verdict seen as symbolic of President Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on dissent. Kavala was jailed for life without parole on Monday after he was convicted of trying to overthrow the government by financing protests, in a case that Europe's top court and Western powers called politically motivated. The State Department issued a statement on Monday saying it was "deeply troubled and disappointed" by the conviction and calling for Kavala's release. Senator Bob Menendez, the committee's Democratic chairman, said the statement fell short. "This is why authoritarian figures like Erdogan - they get away with continuing to do what they're doing. We should have condemned the conviction," Menendez said, using his last remarks at a hearing on the State Department budget to blast the statement. As chairman, Menendez has the right to review arms deals, and Turkey currently is lobbying Congress not to block Ankara's request to buy new F-16 fighter aircraft from the United States. Turkey last October asked to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The sale of U.S. weapons to NATO ally Turkey became contentious after Ankara acquired Russian-made defense missile systems, also known as the S-400s, triggering U.S. sanctions as well as Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet program. Menendez has long opposed the sale of F-16s to Turkey, as long as Ankara kept the S-400s. Washington has so far refrained from expressing an opinion on the sale, saying it needs to go through the standard arms sale review process. A State Department letter last month responding to a group of bipartisan lawmakers who specifically asked the Biden administration not to go ahead with the F-16 sale included language that defended "appropriate" defense ties with Turkey. Story continues "The Administration believes that there are nonetheless compelling long-term NATO alliance unity and capability interests, as well as U.S. national security, economic and commercial interests that are supported by appropriate U.S. defense trade ties with Turkey," the letter said. But it neither gave any assurances nor provided a timeline for when the sale may or may not go ahead. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle in in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Apr. 25LAKE ANDES A Lake Andes man pleaded guilty Monday to the arson of a Native American resource center in Lake Andes four months after the fire rendered the building unusable. Donavon Sully, 27, of Lake Andes, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree arson and one count of reckless burning. As part of the agreement, he pleaded down from a more serious charge of first-degree arson, which South Dakota law defines as the intentional burning of an occupied structure. The prosecution also dismissed two additional counts of reckless burning and one count of intentional damage under $100,000. On Dec. 20, 2021, Sully, donning dark clothes and a ski mask, stuffed a pair of shoes with paper, lit them on fire with a cigarette and placed the burning shoes between a screen door and a storm door to the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC) in Lake Andes. In a December court filing, authorities say Sully claimed he was upset that night and had after a friend drove him from a casino to the Gus Stop. While "blacked out," he set multiple fires including piles of leaves near a propane tank and an electrical box near the city's pool and slashed the tires of two vehicles around town. After fire crews determined the nature of the fire to be suspicious, investigators received a tip claiming they saw a man in dark clothes near the NAWHERC around the time of the fire. Hours later, and before authorities had determined who was responsible, Sully turned himself in at the Charles Mix County Sheriff's Office. Though Charles Mix County State's Attorney Steve Cotton was not immediately available to provide details of the plea agreement, Sully's probation status and a separate concurrent case could complicate his sentencing in the arson case. Between 2013 and 2020, Sully was convicted in South Dakota for domestic abuse through sexual contact, secret use of a camera to record a person's body, impersonating a police officer, threatening a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, refusing to leave property and failure to appear for a court appearance. Story continues With Monday's conviction of two Class 4 felonies, Sully currently faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison plus a $40,000 in fines unless prosecutors offered a lesser sentence as part of the plea agreement which will be determined in a July 8 sentencing. Court documents, however, currently make no mention of an order for Sully to pay restitution to the NAWHERC for losses and damages sustained by the organization. In January, NAWHERC director Charon Asetoyer told the Mitchell Republic that the fire took away much more than just a community's building it pushed pause on a food pantry, destroyed a community radio station that served as the area's emergency alert system and took away a safe place for tribal members of the area to commune. "It's a big loss to the community. It's pretty devastating for some families," Asetoyer said. "[For services] to come to a screeching halt, you can rest assured that the community is feeling it." Beyond the tangible operations the building held, countless tribal artifacts of historical and cultural significance were also lost, including photographs and recorded interviews with tribal elders. "The elders in Indian Country, oral history is extremely important. To be able to interview elders and capture it on tape for the next generation is really important," Asetoyer said. "Within a language is contained your values, your math, your science, your medicines, your info on traditional healing practices all those things that are so important for survival. ... It's really heartbreaking to see so much of that destroyed." Reiterating that not everything lost in the blaze had a price tag, Asetoyer estimated physical damages amounted to nearly $250,000. A GoFundMe page that used to collect general donations was transitioned to serve as a landing page for those who wish to give money to help with rebuilding. Since the fire, the NAWHERC has received 93 donations totaling just under $7,800 just over 3% of the estimated cost to rebuild. Apr. 26CANTON Given the decline of state funding for probation, St. Lawrence County legislators passed a resolution during Monday's Finance Committee meeting to support probation and other alternatives to incarceration in order to reduce reliance on prisons and jails. "Dwindling over the last decade has been funding for probation from a variety of sources," said County Administrator Ruth A. Doyle. "What this resolution's asking, in light of all the changes that have happened the last year and a half, is a recognition of funding necessary to provide these options," she said. According to the resolution, state funding for probation has decreased from a 46.5% state share in 1990 to less than 10% in 2022, "putting a huge strain on counties and cost to county property taxpayers." At the same time, it notes, the number of programs and services that county probation departments are required to provide has increased. The resolution supports a number of potential solutions to energize probation services, including establishing a funding stream through DCJS for 100% of all local probation costs, and eliminating the mandate that pre-sentence investigations be conducted when a sentence of up to one year in jail has been negotiated. Legislator Harry A. Smithers II, R-Gouverneur, rejected what he called the vagueness of alternatives to incarceration and the idea that we should reduce reliance on prisons. He referenced the recent closure of Ogdensburg Correctional Facility, saying how the board encouraged the state to use that prison rather than close it. "It seems like this is doing the opposite thing," he said. Ms. Doyle responded that NYSAC's thinking was, if we're going to move away from reliance on prisons, we need to restore funding to probation. "We need to restore funding levels to alternatives to incarceration if we're not going to continue the model of prisons," she said. Mr. Smithers was the only legislator to vote against the resolution, which passed with a majority. It will move to the next full board meeting on May 2. War crimes need to be prosecuted Not long after Russias invasion of Ukraine, the international Criminal Court opened an investigation into possible war crimes being committed in the region. Leaders across the world and here in the United States were quick to issue strong condemnations of Russian President Vladimir Putin and rightfully so. Its obvious to anyone paying attention to the conflict that Putin has committed serious crimes against the people of Ukraine, and we should all hope to see every Russian leader who is responsible for these crimes be prosecuted to the fullest extent of international law. Having said that, however, one cannot ignore the glaring hypocrisy of so many in our government who, while understandably denouncing Russia, have, themselves been responsible for egregious violations of human rights and international law across the globe. The most horrific current example of these human rights abuses is U.S. involvement in Saudi Arabias war on Yemen which began in 2014, after the Houthi rebellion had taken hold of the Yemeni government. The Obama, Trump and Biden administrations have provided hundreds of billions in weapons, intelligence, targeted drone strikes and refueling of planes to the Kingdom as a horrific land and air war along with a full blockade has been waged against Houthi-controlled Yemen. Food, medicine and other basic necessities are being kept from entering the country. Close to 400,000 have been killed as a result of this conflict, with 60% of these deaths being attributed to starvation, disease and lack of clean water. Drawing attention to this conflict is in no way intended to diminish the suffering of those in Ukraine but is instead a call for the application of a morally consistent foreign policy whereby not only Russian officials, but leaders around the world are held legally accountable for aiding and directly committing war crimes. Daniel Subotnik, Oak Park Vote yes on Measures A & B Story continues Dont be fooled by the millions of dollars that the oil industry is pouring into Ventura County in an attempt to defeat Measures A & B. Despite industry claims, no jobs will be lost, the price of gas will not be affected, there will be no reduction in tax revenues because this will only apply to future oil drilling projects. Yes on A & B will simply require an environmental review of impacts to our water, air and soil when new oil well drilling is proposed. Currently there are two sets of rules for oil permits. Antiquated oil permits issued between 1920-1970 are the vast majority (approximately 90%) of all the oil and gas permits in Ventura County. These old oil permits allow any number of wells to be drilled, any method of drilling to be used, and they never expire. Ventura County already has over 6,800 active, idle and abandoned oil wells that have been drilled in and near our communities. Over 1,500 of these oil wells have been drilled on top of or through an underground water aquifer, putting at risk of cross-contamination the drinking water of communities that rely on local groundwater for their municipal water systems. This is a health, safety and economic issue. Over 400,000 Ventura County residents depend on local groundwater for the clean water coming out of their tap. Over 85% of the crops grown in Ventura County that support our $2 billion agricultural economy are irrigated with water pumped from our local aquifers. Bottom line, when more oil drilling is proposed in Ventura County, yes on Measures A&B will ensure modern-day reviews of future oil drilling projects. Your yes vote will better protect our water, the most essential resource of all. Louise Roberts, Camarillo This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Leaders must pay for war crimes; yes to Measures A & B BERLIN (Reuters) - Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to supply Ukraine with Leopard battle tanks, adding that Germany should speed up the delivery of weapons to Kyiv. "I am not in the position of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. I can only say what I would do in his place: I would deliver tanks," Nauseda was quoted by Funke media group as saying on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Germany announced its first delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks, after weeks of pressure at home and abroad to do so amid confusion over its stance. Nauseda said Germany was going in the right direction but if it wants to be consistent, it could not stop halfway. "It is extremely important that Ukraine gets the military equipment it needs now. Not tomorrow or the day after then it could be too late," he added. The head of the NATO member state called on the alliance to transition from air surveillance to air defence, saying the Ukraine war showed the importance of air defence capability. "With airspace surveillance, our pilots can currently only gather information about airspace violations. But there are no orders to shoot down enemy military jets in an emergency," he said (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Metro Atlanta beekeepers scrambled to try to rescue millions of dying bees that were left on the tarmac at Atlantas airport in the heat this weekend. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Two hundred packages of bees were supposed to be flown directly from Sacramento, CA, to Anchorage, Alaska, four days ago, but somehow ended up at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association. After four days, the bees started to escape and workers took the cargo containers outside in the heat, WABE reported. The person who was supposed to get the bees reached out to local beekeeper Edward Morgan. She said, You dont know me, I got your number from a Facebook group, but I need you to go to the airport to rescue my bees, he said. Morgan headed to the airport, not sure what to expect, and went to the Delta cargo area. I started opening them up, and I saw that in at least 10 of the packages the bees were dead, he said. It was devastating just to see dead bees sitting in a can. The airline told the beekeeper in Alaska the soonest they could fly out was the next day. I said, What time are they supposed to ship out on Monday? She said 3 p.m. I said, these bees are not going to make it, Morgan said. Thats when Morgan suggested giving away the bees here locally. He made a call and some social media posts. It was eye opening how fast people mobilized to save these bees, he said. Within one hour at least 25 beekeepers showed up. TRENDING STORIES: Because people rallied very quickly, we were able to save those bees, and those bees are across the state now. People came from everywhere, Morgan said. Many of the bees were saved thanks to the quick response of the bee community. Story continues People have been congratulating me and saying that Im a hero, and Ive been saying, I actually was just going to make some money, Morgan said. After I saw what was happening I said dont even worry about the fee because I saved some bees. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Sadly, the vast majority of the bees died in the heat, but several thousand were rescued, according to the MABA. A longtime presidential speechwriter is offering up some advice to President Biden ahead of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) dinner: Stick to the script. The most important thing is that he gets up there and is likable. And he doesnt seem petty, says Landon Parvin. The writing guru knows a thing or two about helping commanders in chief get some chuckles out of buttoned-up Washington audiences. A former speechwriter for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, Parvin estimates that hes penned remarks for at least 60 black-tie dinners over his 40-year career, including the Gridiron Club and Radio and Television Correspondents dinners, the Alfalfa Club dinner and the annual Correspondents gala. Facing sinking job approval poll numbers, Parvin says Biden could could do himself a lot of good when he takes to the dais on Saturday at the Washington Hilton for the WHCA event, which was canceled the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and which former President Trump skipped attending while he was in office. Hes had a rough few months, and it kind of looks like hes on the ropes. If he did jokes that projected someone who was much more in control, I think that would serve him well, Parvin says of Biden. Self-deprecating jokes are always funnier when the speaker is riding high, which is not the case right now. But to the extent he can make fun of some of the things that people are taking seriously, is in effect, saying, I can joke about this, and theres no need for you to worry about it. And so he kind of rises above it. Presidents typically deliver roast-like remarks and one-liners at the Correspondents dinner, but 73-year-old Parvin whos also written for Democrats including late Democratic Party chairman Bob Strauss and former President Bill Clintons adviser Vernon Jordan warns that Biden should be careful about how deep his humor cuts, avoiding across-the-aisle jokes that might leave Republicans bruised. Story continues I would not attack Republicans because itll make him seem smaller. So no zingers, even though thats the easiest to write, says Parvin. You can still talk about [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] or whatever, but they have to be good-natured. And steering clear of major gaffes and soiree-related snafus is achievable. I would say the risk is that his performance wont be good that he ad libs, says Parvin, who is poised to share more of his political humor memories on Wednesday at The Hill and the Bipartisan Policy Centers Punchlines and Politics event, which also features insight from former Rep. Dan Glickman (D-Kansas), author Tevi Troy and former Capitol Steps member Bari Bern. Asked about the optics of appearing at a swanky dinner amid COVID-19 and Russias invasion of Ukraine, Parvin says theres precedent for having to adjust the presidents planned routine when crises occur on the world stage. Just days before the 2007 WHCA dinner, a Virginia Tech student shot 32 people on the campus of the Blacksburg, Va., school. We had planned for President Bush to play a game where he would go into the audience and ask members of the audience funny questions, for which they would receive funny prizes, recalls Parvin, who says staffers had already lined up Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and TV host Larry King to participate. While Bush still attended the dinner, Parvin says, We canceled any humor. So, it does happen, and let us hope it doesnt happen this week, he says. Parvin also says some of 79-year-old Bidens characteristics that could be considered political liabilities might actually serve as strengths in a successful Correspondents dinner speech. I would probably do some something that relates to his age, in terms of talking about the good ol days or you know, what it was like to work with Woodrow Wilson, that kind of thing. Or maybe the age thing is explaining Twitter, or Tinder, or something that recognizes that he is not necessarily like everybody in that audience, that hes from a different era, suggests Parvin. I usually tell my clients, whether Republican or Democrat: If youre a Democrat, youre going to make your better laughs If you make fun of Democrats. And if youre a Republican, youre going to get better laughs if you make fun of Republicans, he says. People, whether they recognize it or not, like the feeling of the geniality. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The parents of Tyre Sampson, the 14-year-old boy who fell from the free-fall ride at ICON Park, are speaking out about what happened. His mother, Nekia Dodd, spoke in a news conference in St. Louis on Tuesday morning, and his father, Yarnell Sampson, spoke from ICON Park Tuesday afternoon. The family is taking legal action. They filed a lawsuit against 10 companies, including ICON Park. READ: Tyre Sampsons mother: Death on FreeFall could have been prevented The 65-page lawsuit said he shouldnt have been allowed on the ride in the first place. He was too tall and about 100 pounds over the weight limit. READ: Tyre Sampsons mother speaks out after family files lawsuit against several companies The ride also didnt have any safety belts, which the suit says could have prevented his death. That Sunday, I was waiting for my son to come home because he told me Ill see him Saturday or Sunday. Im still in shock, Dodd said. READ: Tyre Sampson death: Lawsuit claims that Orlando drop ride at ICON Park was unreasonably dangerous Tyres parents said their son was in Orlando for Spring Break celebrating his good grades and accomplishments. No child should lose their life trying to have fun, Yarnell Sampson said. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. File photo Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Monday awarded more than $3.7 million to 21 local law enforcement agencies including the Mansfield Police Department, which will receive $272,000, and the Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium to help them strategically combat violence in their communities. The 21 agencies are the first to receive funding through DeWines new Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program, according to a news release from the governor's office. Special Subscription Offers DeWine, in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly, created the program last year to give local law enforcement additional tools to hold accountable the small number of criminals responsible for most violent crime in the state. More: Walker Lake Road residents oppose Menards proposed storage units This is just the beginning of our concentrated efforts to give local law enforcement the specific tools they need to combat crime through localized strategies, said DeWine. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fighting crime, and I am dedicated to helping our local agencies prevent violence using the methods they know will make the most difference in their local neighborhoods. The Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium, which includes Richland, Lucas, Summit, Stark, Cuyahoga, Lorain and Mahoning counties, received a total of $130,418. lwhitmir@gannett.com 419-521-7223 Twitter: @LWhitmir This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield police awarded $272,000 to fight crime The mayor of Mariupol said on Tuesday that a third mass grave had been found near the besieged Ukrainian city. Vadym Boichenko told Ukrainian television now we see there is another one in addition to those in Mangush and Vynohradne, according to CNN. Axios noted that Boichenko told Radio Free Europe that satellite imagery showing excavated trenches about 60 to 70 meters long in the village of Staryi Krym corresponds with information gathered by Ukrainian officials. Boichenko also reportedly told Radio Svoboda that these fascists are involving the local population in digging the graves. They told us that you need to work hours (for) food, water, he said, USA Today reported. People are forced to do so. Satellite imagery released on Saturday depicted another mass grave site in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, just as U.S. officials work with Ukraine to help gather evidence of alleged Russian war crimes. Maxar Technologies, the company that captured the satellite images of the site, also cited social media footage showing dozens of dead civilians being buried en masse in that grave. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied its forces have committed war crimes, including the targeting of civilians, according to Axios, though the International Criminal Court has opened investigations into the actions of Moscows troops. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Lithuanian lawmakers earlier this month that almost every day new mass graves are found. Updated at 9:51 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. As the country awaits an appeal from the Biden administration regarding the repeal of the federal mask mandate on public transportation, a patchwork of cities and states continue to require masking. Notably, Los Angeles and New York City have continued to mandate masks on public transportation, while in Chicago, protestors are calling for masking to be reinstated as cases rise with a new Omicron variant taking hold. The ruling, which came down from U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, has caused confusion about where and when masks are required as well as health concerns for vulnerable populations and young children, who remain ineligible for vaccines. Dr. Zeke Emanuel, vice provost of global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and former adviser to thenPresident elect Joe Biden, called the judge's ruling "as incoherent as possible." All individuals are less protected as a result, he said, though he doesn't see blanket mandates coming back anytime soon. "I don't think we're going back unless the pandemic gets substantially worse," Emanuel said. Instructions on a federal mask mandate is still displayed on a screen as Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport worked on updating their signage Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Providence, R.I. after a court order lifted the mandate Monday. A federal judge's decision to strike down a national mask mandate was met with cheers on some airplanes but also concern about whether it's really time to end one of the most visible vestiges of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Lawrence Gostin, global health law professor at Georgetown Law, also expressed concern about the ruling and its implications in an op-ed for The New York Times, co-written by civil rights attorney Duncan Hosie. "Judge Mizelles ruling could prevent the federal government from effectively and nimbly responding to future pandemics. And long after this pandemic has faded, her approach and rationale could undermine the federal governments authority to confront other big problems, from occupational health and safety to climate change," they wrote. Globally, mask mandates have largely been kept in place. Parts of Europe and major cities in China have seen rising cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the latest strain of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention is reporting an even more transmissible variant has been detected in the U.S. and slowly climbing. Story continues While the U.S. has yet to see a broad impact from the variant, Emanuel said the fall will be another time to be vigilant after summer travel. "I have told my university you have to prepare for a surge in the fall. If I were thinking as a head of a company ... I think you have to prepare for that," Emanuel said. Follow Anjalee on Twitter @AnjKhem Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn [](200771):2022( 20220426 15:53:34 ::2022( ::2022( Stock Code200771 Stock ID: Hangqilun B Announcement No.:2022-43 Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. The First Quarter Report 2022 The Company and its directors hereby guarantee that the content of information disclosure is real, accurate, complete and free from any false record, misleading representation or material omissions. Important notes 1.The Board of Directors and the Supervisory Committee of the Company and its directors, supervisors and senior executives should guarantee the reality, accuracy and completion of the quarterly report, there are no any fictitious statements, misleading statements or important omissions carried in this report, and shall take legal responsibilities, individual and or joint. 2. Person in charge of the Company, Person in charge of accounting and person in charge of accounting organ (accounting officer) hereby confirm that the financial information of this Quarterly Report is authentic, accurate and complete. 3. The first quarterly report audited or not Yes No I. Main financial data (I) Main accounting data and financial indexes Whether it has retroactive adjustment or re-statement on previous accounting data Yes No Retroactive adjustment or restatement of causes Merger of enterprises under the same control This period Same period of last year Changes of this period over same period of last year Before adjustment After adjustment After adjustment Operating revenueYuan 1,788,987,236.29 1,181,683,010.42 1,250,479,486.22 43.06% Net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed companyYuan 184,043,460.08 161,578,759.88 128,410,233.92 43.32% Net profit after deducting of non-recurring gain/loss attributable to the shareholders of listed companyYuan 138,956,828.84 54,440,724.84 54,440,724.84 155.24% Net cash generated from /used in operating activitiesYuan -124,850,206.32 157,547,348.48 133,76,407.99 -193.82% Basic earning per share(Yuan/Share) 0.25 0.22 0.17 47.06% Diluted gains per share(Yuan/Share) 0.25 0.22 0.17 47.06% Weighted average return on equity % 2.25% 1.92% 1.52% 0.73% End of this period End of last period Changes of this period-end over same period-end of last year(%) Before adjustment After adjustment After adjustment Total assetsYuan 16,074,299,760.82 16,319,667,628.76 16,319,667,628.76 -1.50% Net assets attributable to the shareholders of the listed companyYuan 8,420,244,930.35 7,927,485,773.65 7,927,485,773.65 6.22% (II)Items and amount of non-current gains and losses Applicable Not applicable In RMB Items Current amount Note Non-current asset disposal gain/loss(including the write-off part for which assets impairment provision is made) -3,768.85 Tax refund, deduction and exemption that is examined and approved by authority exceeding or has no official approval document. 0.00 Governmental Subsidy accounted as current gain/loss, except for those subsidies at with amount or quantity fixed by the national government and closely related to the Companys business operation. 3,471,802.66 Capital occupation charges on non-financial enterprises that are recorded into current gains and losses 0.00 Gains due to that the investment costs for the Company to obtain subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures are lower than the enjoyable fair value of the identifiable net assets of the investees when making the investments 0.00 Gain/loss on non-monetary asset swap 0.00 Gain/loss on entrusting others with investments or asset management 0.00 Asset impairment provisions due acts of God such as natural disasters 0.00 Gains/losses of debt restructure 0.00 Reorganization expenses, such as expenditure for allocation of employees and integration fee 0.00 Gains/losses exceeding the fair value arising from transactions with obviously unfair prices 0.00 Net gain and loss of the subsidiary under the common control and produced from enterprise consolidation from the beginning of the period to the consolidation date 0.00 Gain and loss arising from contingent matters irrelevant with the Companys normal operation business 0.00 Gain and loss from change of the fair value arising from transactional monetary assets, transactional financial liabilities as held as well as the investment income arising from disposal of the transactional monetary assets, transactional financial liabilities and financial assets available for sale excluding the effective hedging transaction in connection with the Companys normal business 12,424,103.43 Reverse of the provision for impairment of accounts receivable undergoing impairment test individually 0.00 Gain/loss from external entrusted loan 0.00 Gain and loss arising from change in the fair value of the investment based real estate measure afterwards by means of fair value model 0.00 Influence upon the current gains and losses from the once-and for all adjustment over the current gains and losses according to the taxation and accounting laws and regulations 0.00 Income from custodian charge obtained from entrusted operation 0.00 Operating income and expenses other than the aforesaid items 37,777,585.65 Mainly due to contract termination of liquidated damages income Less: Influenced amount of income tax 7,873,995.92 Amount of influence of minority interestsAfter tax 709,095.73 Total 45,086,631.24 -- Details of other gains/losses items that meets the definition of non-recurring gains/losses: Applicable Not applicable There are no other gains/losses items that meet the definition of non-recurring gains/losses in the Company. Explain the items defined as recurring profit (gain)/loss according to the lists of extraordinary profit (gain)/loss in Q&A Announcement No.1 on Information Disclosure for Companies Offering Their Securities to the Public --- Extraordinary Profit/loss Applicable Not applicable There are no items defined as recurring profit (gain)/loss according to the lists of extraordinary profit (gain)/loss in Q&A Announcement No.1 on Information Disclosure for Companies Offering Their Securities to the Public --- Extraordinary Profit/loss. (III)Particulars about material changes in items of main accounting statement and financial index and explanations of reasons Applicable Not applicable Balance sheet items March 31,2022 December 31,2021 Year-on-year increase or decrease Reason Other current assets 12,282,671.80 66,174,951.42 -81.44% Mainly due to after the merger of Steam Turbine Heavy Industry Co., Ltd last year, the original value-added tax credit that could not be deducted was deducted in the current period. Development expenses 6,158,985.15 0.00 Mainly due to the expected capitalized gas turbine development expenses incurred in the current period. Employees wage payable 66,458,358.00 133,122,509.92 -50.08% Mainly due to the year-end bonus accrued at the end of the previous year was paid in the current period. Tax payable 52,298,356.66 81,622,378.10 -35.93% Mainly due to the value-added tax and income tax balances payable at the end of the period decreased compared with the beginning of the period. Special payable 10,381,765.74 7,249,677.56 43.20% Mainly due to receive more than 4 million yuan of Government subsidies in this period Income statement items Current period Last period Year-on-year increase or decrease Reason Business income 1,788,987,236.29 1,250,479,486.22 43.06% Mainly due to the increase in units delivered in this period, including the delivery of 2 gas turbines. Business costs 1,268,556,153.69 867,218,040.52 46.28% Mainly due to operating costs increased YOY incurred by the increase in operating income. Business tax and surcharge 3,348,834.01 6,813,565.14 -50.85% Mainly due to the original heavy industry value-added tax credit was offset in the current period after the heavy industry was absorbed and merged into the shares, resulting in a decrease in the value-added tax paid in the current period, and a decrease in accrued taxes and surcharges. Financial expenses 5,313,707.09 3,066,720.40 73.27% Mainly due to a net exchange loss in the current period and there was a net exchange gain the same period last year. Investment gain -for loss 12,491,713.99 2,590,048.97 382.31% Mainly due to the increase in the wealth management products with income recognized at maturity in the current period compared with the previous year. Other income 3,751,924.89 10,058,629.52 -62.70% Mainly due to the relocation expenses recognized in other income in the current period decreased compared with the same period of last year; Non-operating income 39,983,542.00 118,072,268.36 -66.14% Mainly due to the received compensation of RMB 109 million paid by Sinosteel Equipment Co., Ltd in the same period of the previous year. Non-operating expenses 2,486,602.85 1,342,295.64 85.25% Mainly due to the increase in quality compensation expenses in the current period. Income tax expenses 40,840,560.27 33,370,278.11 22.39% Mainly due to the increase in the total sales profit in the current period and the increase in the provision of income tax. Cash flow generated by business operation, net -124,850,206.32 133,076,407.99 -193.82% Mainly due to the YOY decrease in the amount collected in the current period and the increase in cash paid for the purchase of gas turbines and other stockpiles. Net cash flow generated by investment 126,672,172.27 -780,529,009.29 116.23% Mainly due to the decrease in the net purchase of wealth management, and there was RMB 688 million paid in cash to purchase the convertible bonds in the same period last year paid. Net cash flow generated by Financing -3,028,838.60 -34,600,606.64 91.25% Mainly due to the YOY increase in net bank loans. II. Shareholders Information (I) Total number of common shareholders and preference shareholders with voting rights recovered and top ten common shareholders In shares Total number of common shareholders at the period-end 11,106 Total preference shareholders with the voting power recovered at the end of the reporting period(if any) 0 Shares held by the top 10 shareholders Shareholder name Properties of shareholder Share proportion % Quantity Amount of tradable shares with Conditional held Pledging or freezing Status of the shares Quantity Hangzhou Steam Turbine Power Group Co., Ltd. State-owned legal person 63.64% 479,824,800 479,824,800 GUOTAI JUNAN SECURITIES(HONGKONG) LIMITED Foreign legal person 0.91% 6,828,085 0 China Merchants Securities(HK)Co., Ltd. State-owned legal person 0.72% 5,453,675 0 Zhou Jie Domestic Natural person 0.62% 4,695,100 0 VANGUARD TOTAL INTERNATIONAL STOCK INDEX FUND Foreign legal person 0.59% 4,434,453 0 ISHARES CORE MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF Foreign legal person 0.53% 4,031,463 0 VANGUARD EMERGING MARKETS STOCK INDEX FUND Foreign legal person 0.51% 3,857,182 0 NORGES BANK Foreign legal person 0.33% 2,514,529 0 Xia Zulin Domestic Natural person 0.32% 2,381,200 0 Gu Yang Domestic Natural person 0.21% 1,568,324 0 Shares held by the Top 10 Shareholders of Non-restricted shares Shareholders Names Number of the non-restricted shares held Share type Share type Quantity GUOTAI JUNAN SECURITIES(HONGKONG) LIMITED 6,828,085 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 6,828,085 China Merchants Securities(HK)Co., Ltd. 5,453,675 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 5,453,675 Zhou Jie 4,695,100 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 4,695,100 VANGUARD TOTAL INTERNATIONAL STOCK INDEX FUND 4,434,453 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 4,434,453 ISHARES CORE MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF 4,031,463 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 4,031,463 VANGUARD EMERGING MARKETS STOCK INDEX FUND 3,857,182 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 3,857,182 NORGES BANK 2,514,529 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 2,514,529 Xia Zulin 2,381,200 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 2,381,200 Gu Yang 1,568,324 Foreign shares placed in domestic exchange 1,568,324 Wang Yihu 1,539,966 Foreign shares placed in 1,539,966 domestic exchange Explanation on associated relationship or concerted action of the above shareholders (1)It is unknown to the Company if there is any relationship among the top 10 common share holders without restriction. (2) Other Shareholders. is not an action-in-concert party with any of other shareholders as described by the Administration Rules of Informational Disclosure about Change of Shareholding Statues of PLCs. Note to the top 10 common stockholders involved in margin financing & securities lending (If any) Not applicable (II) Total shareholders with preferred stock held and shares held by top ten shareholders with preferred stock held Applicable Not applicable III. Other significant events Applicable Not applicable IV. Quarterly financial statements IFinancial statement 1. Consolidated balance sheet Prepared by:Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. In RMB Items Ending balance Opening balance Current asset Monetary fund 1,635,565,185.39 1,622,883,247.79 Settlement provision Outgoing call loan Transactional financial assets 814,577,649.26 960,645,259.82 Derivative financial assets Notes receivable 176,021,171.62 215,046,941.09 Account receivable 2,247,391,167.66 1,997,950,120.70 Financing receivable 697,446,924.10 816,653,211.21 Prepayments 515,860,422.62 443,770,434.91 Insurance receivable Reinsurance receivable Provisions of Reinsurance contracts receivable Other account receivable 50,531,334.59 44,163,396.56 IncludingInterest receivable Dividend receivable Repurchasing of financial assets Inventories 2,500,247,923.86 3,041,643,747.35 Contract assets 657,370,581.13 583,026,649.99 Assets held for sales Non-current asset due within 1 year Other current asset 12,282,671.80 66,174,951.42 Total of current assets 9,307,295,032.03 9,791,957,960.84 Non-current assets Loans and payment on others behalf disbursed Creditor's Investment Other Creditor's Investment Long-term receivable 139,941,093.20 153,741,093.20 Long term share equity investment Other equity instruments investment 3,830,859,413.28 3,485,440,140.92 Other non-current financial assets 14,654,773.22 14,792,533.96 Property investment 6,696,335.10 6,903,986.07 Fixed assets 1,630,779,659.02 1,658,423,191.83 Construction in progress 442,394,798.76 517,835,956.11 Production physical assets Oil & gas assets Use right assets 30,921,364.79 30,437,778.92 Intangible assets 276,965,578.77 277,469,707.24 Development expenses 6,158,985.15 Goodwill Long-germ expenses to be amortized Deferred income tax asset 387,632,727.50 382,665,279.67 Other non-current asset Total of non-current assets 6,767,004,728.79 6,527,709,667.92 Total of assets 16,074,299,760.82 16,319,667,628.76 Current liabilities Short-term loans 249,800,000.00 250,065,920.45 Loan from Central Bank Borrowing funds Transactional financial liabilities Derivative financial liabilities Notes payable 288,205,243.72 309,404,319.27 Account payable 1,657,896,218.13 1,910,150,188.14 Advance receipts 812,701.37 812,701.37 Contract liabilities 2,695,489,872.73 3,052,515,293.06 Selling of repurchased financial assets Deposit taking and interbank deposit Entrusted trading of securities Entrusted selling of securities Employees wage payable 66,458,358.00 133,122,509.92 Tax payable 52,298,356.66 81,622,378.10 Other account payable 405,555,248.83 434,578,338.13 IncludingInterest payable Dividend payable Fees and commissions payable Reinsurance fee payable Liabilities held for sales Non-current liability due within 1 year 17,180,833.32 17,607,722.97 Other current liability 347,718,193.58 395,640,629.47 Total of current liability 5,781,415,026.34 6,585,520,000.88 Non-current liabilities Reserve fund for insurance contracts Long-term loan 180,804,135.55 180,830,007.55 Bond payable Includingpreferred stock Sustainable debt Lease liability 22,371,192.03 22,575,754.77 Long-term payable 10,711,765.74 7,579,677.56 Long-term remuneration payable to staff Expected liabilities Deferred income 727,017,103.32 729,438,751.74 Deferred income tax liability 515,965,141.88 464,172,915.14 Other non-current liabilities Total non-current liabilities 1,456,869,338.52 1,404,597,106.76 Total of liability 7,238,284,364.86 7,990,117,107.64 Owners equity Share capital 754,010,400.00 754,010,400.00 Other equity instruments Includingpreferred stock Sustainable debt Capital reserves 298,382,910.14 282,946,030.50 LessShares in stock 144,078,948.09 144,078,948.09 Other comprehensive income 2,922,967,041.87 2,629,477,756.99 Special reserve 18,158,565.62 18,369,033.52 Surplus reserves 625,178,089.82 625,178,089.82 Common risk provision Retained profit 3,945,626,870.99 3,761,583,410.91 Total of owners equity belong to the parent company 8,420,244,930.35 7,927,485,773.65 Minority shareholders equity 415,770,465.61 402,064,747.47 Total of owners equity 8,836,015,395.96 8,329,550,521.12 Total of liabilities and owners equity 16,074,299,760.82 16,319,667,628.76 Legal Representative: Zheng Bin Person in charge of accountingZhao Jiamao Accounting Dept Leader: Jin Can 2.Consolidated Income Statement In RMB Items Current period Last period I. Income from the key business 1,788,987,236.29 1,250,479,486.22 InclBusiness income 1,788,987,236.29 1,250,479,486.22 Interest income Insurance fee earned Fee and commission received II. Total business cost 1,544,630,767.37 1,147,179,097.27 InclBusiness cost 1,268,556,153.69 867,218,040.52 Interest expense Fee and commission paid Insurance discharge payment Net claim amount paid Net amount of withdrawal of insurance contract reserve Insurance policy dividend paid Reinsurance expenses Business tax and surcharge 3,348,834.01 6,813,565.14 Sales expense 46,212,368.82 46,442,184.93 Administrative expense 135,702,564.20 122,601,686.57 R & D costs 85,497,139.56 101,036,899.71 Financial expenses 5,313,707.09 3,066,720.40 IncludingInterest expense 7,205,885.86 7,819,939.68 Interest income 3,962,049.43 2,706,822.08 Add: Other income 3,751,924.89 10,058,629.52 Investment gain-for loss 12,491,713.99 2,590,048.97 Incl: investment gains from affiliates Financial assets measured at amortized cost cease to be recognized as income Gains from currency exchange Net exposure hedging income Changing income of fair value -67,610.56 29,579.62 Credit impairment loss -75,474,967.16 -70,213,126.20 Impairment loss of assets 16,210,996.87 17,857,537.80 Assets disposal income -3,244.58 -42,944.94 III. Operational profit-for loss 201,265,282.37 63,580,113.72 Add Non-operational income 39,983,542.00 118,072,268.36 Less: Non-operating expense 2,486,602.85 1,342,295.64 IV. Total profit(-for loss) 238,762,221.52 180,310,086.44 LessIncome tax expenses 40,840,560.27 33,370,278.11 V. Net profit 197,921,661.25 146,939,808.33 (I) Classification by business continuity 1.Net continuing operating profit 197,921,661.25 146,939,808.33 2.Termination of operating net profit (II) Classification by ownership 1.Net profit attributable to the owners of parent company 184,043,460.08 128,410,233.92 2.Minority shareholders equity 13,878,201.17 18,529,574.41 VI. Net after-tax of other comprehensive income 293,489,284.88 455,255,032.45 Net of profit of other comprehensive income attributable to owners of the paren t company. 293,489,284.88 455,255,032.45 IOther comprehensive income items that will not be reclassified into gains/losses in the subsequent accounting period 293,489,284.88 455,255,032.45 1.Re-measurement of defined benefit plans of changes in net debt or net assets 2.Other comprehensive income under the equity method investee can not be rec lassified into profit or loss. 3. Changes in the fair value of investments in other equity instruments 293,489,284.88 455,255,032.45 4. Changes in the fair value of the companys credit risks 5.Other II Other comprehensive income that will be reclassified into profit or loss. 1.Other comprehensive income under the equity method investee can be reclassi fied into profit or loss. 2. Changes in the fair value of investments in other debt obligations 3. Other comprehensive income arising from the reclassification of financial assets 4.Allowance for credit impairments in investments in other debt obligations 5. Reserve for cash flow hedges 6.Translation differences in currency financial statements 7.Other Net of profit of other comprehensive income attributable to Minority shareholders equity VII. Total comprehensive income 491,410,946.13 602,194,840.78 Total comprehensive income attributable to the owner of the parent company 477,532,744.96 583,665,266.37 Total comprehensive income attributable minority shareholders 13,878,201.17 18,529,574.41 VIII. Earnings per share IBasic earnings per share 0.25 0.17 (II)Diluted earnings per share 0.25 0.17 The current business combination under common control, the net profits of the combined party before achieved ne t profit of RMB 0.00, last period the combined party realized RMB0.00. Legal Representative: Zheng Bin Person in charge of accountingZhao Jiamao Accounting Dept Leader: Jin Can 3. Consolidated Cash flow statement In RMB Items Current period Last period I. Cash flows from operating activities Cash received from sales of goods or rending of services 1,058,270,245.53 1,283,740,325.19 Net increase of customer deposits and capital kept for brother company Net increase of loans from central bank Net increase of inter-bank loans from other financial bodies Cash received against original insurance contract Net cash received from reinsurance business Net increase of client deposit and investment Cash received from interest, commission charge and commission Net increase of inter-bank fund received Net increase of repurchasing business Net cash received by agent in securities trading Tax returned 2,576,435.19 2,559,611.29 Other cash received from business operation 13,305,845.06 43,896,620.61 Sub-total of cash inflow 1,074,152,525.78 1,330,196,557.09 Cash paid for purchasing of merchandise and services 726,828,613.28 684,534,707.86 Net increase of client trade and advance Net increase of savings in central bank and brother company Cash paid for original contract claim Net increase for Outgoing call loan Cash paid for interest, processing fee and commission Cash paid for policy dividend Cash paid to staffs or paid for staffs 267,198,844.00 259,325,520.36 Taxes paid 88,450,273.16 141,965,913.25 Other cash paid for business activities 116,525,001.66 111,294,007.63 Sub-total of cash outflow from business activities 1,199,002,732.10 1,197,120,149.10 Net cash generated from /used in operating activities -124,850,206.32 133,076,407.99 II. Cash flow generated by investing Cash received from investment retrieving 814,851.80 Cash received as investment gains 12,403,494.81 9,081,744.56 Net cash retrieved from disposal of fixed assets, intangible assets, and other long-term assets 6,500.00 197,987.44 Net cash received from disposal of subsidiaries or other operational units Other investment-related cash received 648,000,000.00 1,137,000,539.97 Sub-total of cash inflow due to investment activities 660,409,994.81 1,147,095,123.77 Cash paid for construction of fixed assets, intangible assets and other long-term assets 31,736,192.54 113,052,133.06 Cash paid as investment 1,630.00 Net increase of loan against pledge Net cash received from subsidiaries and other operational units Other cash paid for investment activities 502,000,000.00 1,814,572,000.00 Sub-total of cash outflow due to investment activities 533,737,822.54 1,927,624,133.06 Net cash flow generated by investment 126,672,172.27 -780,529,009.29 III.Cash flow generated by financing Cash received as investment Including: Cash received as investment from minor shareholders Cash received as loans 23,800,000.00 13,800,000.00 Other financing related cash received Sub-total of cash inflow from financing activities 23,800,000.00 13,800,000.00 Cash to repay debts 23,800,000.00 43,120,172.54 Cash paid as dividend, profit, or interests 2,427,453.62 5,280,434.10 Including: Dividend and profit paid by subsidiaries to minor shareholders Other cash paid for financing activities 601,384.98 Sub-total of cash outflow due to financing activities 26,828,838.60 48,400,606.64 Net cash flow generated by financing -3,028,838.60 -34,600,606.64 IV. Influence of exchange rate alternation on cash and cash equivalents -581,538.97 673,277.86 V.Net increase of cash and cash equivalents -1,788,411.62 -681,379,930.08 Add: balance of cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of term 1,467,538,968.07 1,850,354,648.10 VI ..Balance of cash and cash equivalents at the end of term 1,465,750,556.45 1,168,974,718.02 Legal Representative: Zheng Bin Person in charge of accountingZhao Jiamao Accounting Dept Leader: Jin Can (II) Auditors 'Report Is the First Quarterly Report be audited? Yes No The First Quarterly report is not audited. The Board of Directors of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. April 27, 2022 Stock Code200771 Stock ID: Hangqilun B Announcement No.:2022-43Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd.The First Quarter Report 2022The Company and its directors hereby guarantee that the content of information disclosure is real, accurate, complete and free from any false record, misleading representation or material omissions.Important notes1.The Board of Directors and the Supervisory Committee of the Company and its directors, supervisors and seniorexecutives should guarantee the reality, accuracy and completion of the quarterly report, there are no any fictitiousstatements, misleading statements or important omissions carried in this report, and shall take legalresponsibilities, individual and or joint.2. Person in charge of the Company, Person in charge of accounting and person in charge of accounting organ(accounting officer) hereby confirm that the financial information of this Quarterly Report is authentic, accurateand complete.3. The first quarterly report audited or notYes NoI. Main financial data(I) Main accounting data and financial indexesWhether it has retroactive adjustment or re-statement on previous accounting data Yes NoRetroactive adjustment or restatement of causesMerger of enterprises under the same control(II)Items and amount of non-current gains and losses Applicable Not applicableIn RMBDetails of other gains/losses items that meets the definition of non-recurring gains/losses: Applicable Not applicableThere are no other gains/losses items that meet the definition of non-recurring gains/losses in the Company.Explain the items defined as recurring profit (gain)/loss according to the lists of extraordinary profit (gain)/loss inQ&A Announcement No.1 on Information Disclosure for Companies Offering Their Securities to the Public ---Extraordinary Profit/loss Applicable Not applicableThere are no items defined as recurring profit (gain)/loss according to the lists of extraordinary profit (gain)/lossin Q&A Announcement No.1 on Information Disclosure for Companies Offering Their Securities to the Public ---Extraordinary Profit/loss.(III)Particulars about material changes in items of main accounting statement and financial index andexplanations of reasons Applicable Not applicableII. Shareholders Information(I) Total number of common shareholders and preference shareholders with voting rights recovered andtop ten common shareholdersIn shares(II) Total shareholders with preferred stock held and shares held by top ten shareholders with preferredstock held Applicable Not applicableIII. Other significant events Applicable Not applicableIV. Quarterly financial statementsIFinancial statement1. Consolidated balance sheetPrepared by:Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd.In RMBLegal Representative: Zheng Bin Person in charge of accountingZhao Jiamao Accounting Dept Leader: Jin Can2.Consolidated Income StatementIn RMBThe current business combination under common control, the net profits of the combined party before achieved net profit of RMB 0.00, last period the combined party realized RMB0.00. Legal Representative: Zheng Bin Person in charge of accountingZhao Jiamao Accounting Dept Leader: Jin Can3. Consolidated Cash flow statementIn RMBLegal Representative: Zheng Bin Person in charge of accountingZhao Jiamao Accounting Dept Leader: Jin Can(II) Auditors 'ReportIs the First Quarterly Report be audited? Yes NoThe First Quarterly report is not audited.The Board of Directors of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd.April 27, 2022 The Nevins Farm staff hope adopters will step forward to adopt one or some of the animals (credit MSPCA-Angell) MSPCA-Angell The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA-Angell) is searching for homes for several rare residents. According to an MSPCA-Angell release, the animal welfare organization is caring for "eight head of very rare 'Kerry' cattle, along with one Holstein cow and 22 Saanen, Lamancha, and Alpine-mix goats," at its Nevins Farm facility. All of the animals are currently up for adoption after MSPCA-Angell rescued the group from neglect at a farm in Amherst. In March, Tom Grenham, the director of law enforcement at MSPCA-Angell, and his team responded to a request from an animal welfare officer in Amherst to investigate a farm in the area. "It was very clear upon arrival that the animals were in very serious trouble, with one cow having already died and the others in need of dire medical attention," Grenham said of the Amherst farm. MSPCA-Angell said that one cow and two goats found at the farm were in such poor health that the organization had to euthanize the animals humanely. The other cows and goats discovered on the property were seen by MSPCA-Angell vets, who found that all the animals showed signs of malnourishment and had parasites. RELATED: 12 Pregnant or Injured Cows Flown by Helicopter Down Swiss Alps During Rescue Thankfully, many of the animals have recovered and are now ready for a new start. Among the Amherst animals prepared to move on are eight "critically endangered" cows, per MSPCA-Angell's release. The Nevins Farm staff hope adopters will step forward to adopt one or some of the animals (credit MSPCA-Angell) MSPCA-Angell The cows are Kerry cattle, a rare breed believed to be descendants of the Celtic Shorthorn, which were brought to Ireland as early as 2000 B.C., according to MSPCA-Angell. While the "Kerries" were first imported to the U.S. in 1818, they are now hard to find in the country. "We are working closely with the American Kerry Cattle Association now to help identify an adopter to ensure these individual animals will be well cared for and to aid in the preservation of this majestic breed," Mike Keiley, the director of adoption centers and programs at MSPCA-Angell, shared in the release. "We're excited that the work we have done to protect and care for these animals may also prevent this breed of cattle from going extinct." Story continues RELATED: Laidback Llamas Dress in Pop Culture Costumes to 'Spread More Joy' on TikTok and Beyond Anyone interested in adopting one of the Kerry cows or another animal rescued from the Amherst farm can learn more at MSPCA's Nevins Farm website. MSPCA-Angell added that since it rescued the Amherst farm animals, the organization has filed 35 counts of felony animal cruelty against the animals' former owner, who is set to be arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on May 12. Animal cruelty is a felony crime in Massachusetts, punishable by up to seven years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000. Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during the Houston Region Business Coalition's monthly meeting on October 27, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images Migrants have been thanking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the free charter bus ride to Washington D.C. Abbott earlier this month began to send migrants to the nation's capital, in an attempt to "bring the border" to Biden. But the migrants and advocates say Abbott's plan is unintentionally helpful. Migrants are thanking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the free charter bus ride to Washington DC after they cross the border into Texas as immigration advocates say the move is actually helping to resettle immigrants. "I am very thankful to the governor," Reydel Grau, a Cuban man who traveled nearly a month to reach the US, told the New York Times. "His help is very much welcomed." Earlier this month, Abbott announced a plan to ship migrants entering the US in Texas to Washington DC to protest the Biden administration's immigration policies as crossings at the border reach record highs. "We are sending the border to Biden," Abbott told Fox News last week. The Texas governor added in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that he would also start busing migrants to President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware if it becomes too much in the nation's capital. But instead of overwhelming Washington, migrants are grateful to Abbott for the free ride to the East Coast. Migrants are able to volunteer to take the approximately 30-hour bus trip east on chartered buses, according to the Texas Tribune. One migrant who was on the first bus from Texas told the Tribune she was "very thankful for all the help that has been given" to her family. She said they did not have enough money to make it from Texas to New York. Santo Linarte Lopez, a migrant from Nicaragua told the Times he did not really understand why Abbott was paying for him to get to DC, but he was grateful as his final destination in the States was North Carolina. Immigration advocates initially slammed Abbott's plan as a political stunt. Story continues Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president of the Maryland-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, called the busing a "shameless publicity stunt" earlier this month and said migrants were being used as "political pawns," according to CBS News. But advocates told the Times that Abbott's new program is helping them welcome the busloads of people with open arms. "In a way, it's actually perfect," said Bilal Askaryar, a spokesman for Welcome With Dignity, a collective of about 100 local and national groups that help migrants, told the Times. "Unintentionally, Governor Abbott sent them to one of the best places in the nation to welcome people. There's all these advocates here who understand the system and understand the needs ... The reality is that we're really well prepared and really excited to welcome these people." Abbott has so far bussed about 200 migrants to DC since the program began on April 13. While the White House has yet to respond, Press Secretary Jen Psaki recently said it's "nice the State of Texas is helping them get to their final destination." Abbott's protest comes as the Biden Administration plans to end Title 42 a pandemic-era immigration regulation restricting migrants from crossing the border at the end of May. Read the original article on Business Insider In the hours after supporters of Donald Trump laid siege to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly said he was exhilarated that the then-president had finally ruined his reputation. I feel exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself, McConnell told Jonathan Martin, a New York Times reporter who detailed the exchange in a new book, This Will Not Pass. Excerpts of the book were obtained and reported on by The Washington Post on Monday. He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, the Kentucky Republican reportedly told Martin at the U.S. Capitol in the early hours of Jan. 7. Couldnt have happened at a better time. He also asked the political correspondent for intelligence on whether the Cabinet and vice president might consider removing Trump from office using provisions of the 25th Amendment, according to the book. McConnell then reportedly told Martin he had spoken to Democratic leaders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), about releasing a joint statement telling Trump not to attend President Joe Bidens inauguration. A spokesperson for McConnell did not immediately return a request for comment. McConnells immediate reaction in the wake of the riot both publicly and privately stand in stark contrast to his actions and statements since. Publicly, he forcefully denounced Trump, calling his actions on Jan. 6 a disgraceful dereliction of duty and saying it was obvious he incited the riot. Yet he still voted to acquit Trump of the incitement of insurrection charge after Trump was impeached by the U.S. House, arguing it was pointless because hed already left office. And the next month, McConnell said hed support Trump for president in 2024 if he won the Republican nomination. In an interview earlier this month, McConnell was asked by Axios Jonathan Swan how he could flip-flop so dramatically from his initial comments about Trump to supporting a potential 2024 candidacy. Story continues He said it should be no surprise that hed back his partys nominee. Pressed on whether a Republican nominee could do anything to lose his support, McConnell evaded the question. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) also initially supported consequences for Trump privately while publicly changing his tune in the weeks following the assault on Congress. In an audio recording published by The New York Times last week, McCarthy can be heard clearly telling Republican leadership that he would call Trump and urge him to resign following the events of Jan. 6. Despite the recording, McCarthy called the report false. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... (Reuters) - A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Tuesday postponed for one day its decision in the first of 11 corruption cases against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a source with knowledge of the court proceedings. The trials of Suu Kyi, who was arrested by the military during its coup last year, are being held behind closed doors. The source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the verdict is due on Wednesday (Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Ed Davies) Jessica Watkins is set to become the first Black woman to serve a long duration mission on the International Space Station. Watkins, a former NASA intern, began training in 2017 and is potentially on track to take on upcoming moon missions. She talks to NBC News Lester Holt about the legacy of those who have come before leading up to her big achievement. This is a step in the direction of a very exciting future, she says. LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a law Monday that will allow the state to move forward with plans to build a canal in Colorado to divert water out of the South Platte River because of fears about Colorado's increased water use. Ricketts proposed the canal project to help protect Nebraska's water rights as the population of Colorado's Front Range increases, although Colorado officials have questioned the need for it. Water is our most important natural resource after our people. We need to continue to manage, protect and steward it here in our state, Ricketts said. The law will allow Nebraska to begin work on the roughly $500 million canal, but the measure includes only $53.5 million to design the project and potentially secure purchase options on land that might be used for it in the future. Officials estimate that it will take eight to 10 years to complete the project, and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources will have to return to the Legislature next year to obtain additional funding. Ricketts, a Republican, has said the South Platte River Compact agreement that was approved by Nebraska, Colorado and Congress in 1923 gives Nebraska the right to build the canal. Constructing the project would give Nebraska the right to claim some of the water in late fall, winter and early spring and store it for use in drier times. Colorado has always fulfilled its obligation to provide at least 120 cubic feet (3.4 cubic meters) per second of water during the summer irrigation season, but it has no such duty during the non-irrigation season. A spokesman for Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has called the project a bad-faith attempt to undermine a century-long and successful compact between Colorado and Nebraska and a costly boondoggle for Nebraska taxpayers. David Cronenberg dared CinemaCon attendees to sleep well tonight. The director, an architect of the body horror genre with A History of Violence, Dead Ringers and The Fly, made his first-ever trip to Las Vegas to showcase his next grisly film Crimes of the Future, testing the stomachs of movie theater owners across the nation. More from Variety It seems an appropriate place to launch our attack on the world with Crimes of the Future,' Cronenberg told the crowd at Caesars Palace in reference to Sin City. Though Cronenberg says he started writing the screenplay 20 years ago, Neon, the films distributor, called Crimes of the Future an evolution of Davids work: past, present and future. Without detailing any specifics, it will contain key references to his previous films. As for the never-before-seen footage, it begins with a man who has several sets of ears on his head and concludes as a woman rips open a mans stomach with her finger and slides her tongue closer to the open wound. Set in a world where the human species adapt to a synthetic environment and their bodies undergo disturbing transformations and mutations, Crimes of the Future centers on a celebrity couple (played by Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux) who have turned the horrifying process into avant-garde performance art. All the while, their every move is being tracked by an investigator from the National Organ Registry named Timlin (Kristen Stewart). Theyre converging around one mission, believing organ transplants will lead to the next phase of human evolution. We all thought the body was emptyempty of meaning, Seydouxs character says in the trailer. We wanted to confirm it so we could fill it with meaning. Story continues Her husband, played by frequent Cronenberg collaborator Mortensen adds, The world is a much more dangerous place now that pain has disappeared. After the creepy first-look, Neons distribution president Elissa Federoff called the footage wonderful, to laughter from the crowd. Following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Crimes of the Future will open in theaters on June 5. CinemaCon attendees also got an exclusive look at Moonage Daydream, a David Bowie film thats been described as neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience. Its expected to hit theaters in September. Brett Morgen, known for Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Jane and The Kid Stays in the Picture, directed the project and came to Las Vegas to shed a little light on Moonage Dream, which is based on thousands of hours of rare performance footage of the musician and more than 500 assets from Bowies archive. Its the first film to be officially sanctioned by Bowies estate. Bowie cannot be defined, he can be experienced, Morgen said. That is why we crafted Moonage Daydream, to be a unique cinematic experience. Morgen, who said he spent two years scrolling through every piece of material in the Bowie archive to craft the film, looked up to the music icon as a child. David was there to show me it was OK to be myself. That my differences were my strengths, Morgen told the audience. In 1971, that idea was radical. In 2022, it is mainstream. Thats why David Bowie is the perfect star for this moment. Former Warner Bros. executive and producer Bill Gerber compared Moonage Daydream to Bradley Coopers A Star Is Born, in the sense that they were both a sonic and visual extravaganza that requires state-of-the-art audio. With all due respect to Jackson and Ally Maine, but Moonage blew about 100 miles past the visual language of A Star Is Born, with the former drenched in acidic hues, trippy camera angles and abstract skits woven with ear-splitting archive footage from Bowies festival and arena tours. Neons upcoming slate also includes, Fire of Love, a documentary examining the love story between two intrepid scientists who died in a volcanic explosion. 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. Two school buses were struck by gunfire on the 1000 block of N. 12th Street Monday afternoon, according to the Milwaukee Police Department. No injuries were reported. During an argument, several individuals exchanged gunfire, striking two buses shortly before 3 p.m., police said. The bus drivers were the only people on the buses at the time. The location of the incident was near the Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning, 1017 North 12th Street. The gunshots occurred prior to student dismissal, according to a statement from Milwaukee Public Schools. The building was locked, with no one allowed in or out. "Dismissal of students continued as scheduled as we received an all-clear notification from MPD," the statement said. The school used an alternative exit procedure "to ensure the safety of students and staff." Milwaukee police are continuing to seek a known suspect and several unknown suspects. Anyone with information is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or the P3 Tips App. The incident follows a brutal and violent weekend in Milwaukee. From Friday through Sunday, Milwaukee police reported three homicides and 19 victims of nonfatal shootings across 20 incidents. The common denominator: firearms, Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a Monday news conference. We need the public. We need the assistance of those who see those carrying firearms to intervene. We need those who can step up and be that voice of reason, because were seeing violence where it should not be at. How to find support: Milwaukee's Office of Violence Prevention recommends these resources for free support: Sojourner Family Peace Center's domestic violence shelter and support: 414-933-2722. 414Life outreach and conflict mediation support: 414-439-5398. Milwaukee County's 24-Hour Mental Health Crisis Line: 414-257-7222. Milwaukee's Child Mobile Crisis and Trauma Response Team: 414-257-7621. Story continues National crisis text line: text HOPELINE to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor. National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255. Elliot Hughes of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Contact Hannah Kirby at hannah.kirby@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HannahHopeKirby. 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: 2 school buses in Milwaukee struck by gunfire in shots fired incident (200771):( 20220426 15:53:36 ::( ::( Stock Code:20077 Stock ID: Hangqilun B Announcement No.:2022-42 Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. Resolutions of the 16th Meeting of the 8th Term of Supervisory Committee The members of the Supervisory Committee acknowledge being responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness of the announcement. Not any false record, misleading statement or significant omission carried in this announcement. The notice for calling of the 16th session of the 8th term of Supervisory Committee of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. was served on April 21,2021, The meeting was held by way means of telecommunication of April 26, 2022And voted by means of telecommunication. And voted by means of telecommunication. There are totally 3 members of the supervisors, and 3 effective votes were received as of April 26,2022. This was complying with the provisions of the Company Law, Articles of Association. The following proposals were examined at the meeting and passed by open ballot. I. The First Quarter Report 2022 3 votes in favor, 0 objective, 0 waived; The proposal was passed. They issue the opinions as: The producing and examination procedures of the First Quarterly report 2022 were legal and complying with the requirements of the CSRC. The Report is reflecting the financial position and business performance of the Company in the First quarter frankly and completely. There is no false record, misleading statement, or material omission in the report. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022. The Supervisory Committee of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. April 27, 2022 Stock Code:20077 Stock ID: Hangqilun B Announcement No.:2022-42Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd.Resolutions of the 16th Meeting of the 8th Term of Supervisory CommitteeThe members of the Supervisory Committee acknowledge being responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness of the announcement. Not any false record, misleading statement or significant omission carried in this announcement.The notice for calling of the 16th session of the 8th term of Supervisory Committee of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. was served on April 21,2021, The meeting was held by way means of telecommunication of April 26, 2022And voted by means of telecommunication. And voted by means of telecommunication. There are totally 3 members of the supervisors, and 3 effective votes were received as of April 26,2022. This was complying with the provisions of the Company Law, Articles of Association.The following proposals were examined at the meeting and passed by open ballot. I. The First Quarter Report 20223 votes in favor, 0 objective, 0 waived; The proposal was passed. They issue the opinions as: The producing and examination procedures of the First Quarterly report 2022 were legal and complying with the requirements of the CSRC. The Report is reflecting the financial position and business performance of the Company in the First quarter frankly and completely. There is no false record, misleading statement, or material omission in the report.For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022.The Supervisory Committee of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. April 27, 2022 WASHINGTON U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command lack the artificial intelligence capabilities needed to do their jobs to the fullest and maintain an edge over rival nations, according to the leader of both organizations. My assessment today is I dont have what I need, as far as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to give the decision space to the president, secretary of defense, the chief of defense staff in Canada, the minister of defense and the prime minister in Canada, Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck said at a Defense Writers Group event April 25. VanHerck is the commander of NORTHCOM and NORAD. The former is responsible for guarding the continental U.S. and its surroundings. The latter combines U.S. and Canadian efforts to monitor and protect North American airspace, among other things. NORTHCOM recently asked Congress for an additional $29.8 million to buy information technology equipment and to optimize infrastructure for AI and machine learning at its joint operations center with NORAD. The upgrades would bolster efforts to ingest, process and share data across the Department of Defense, also known as the information dominance enabling capability, according to a fiscal year 2023 unfunded priority list obtained by Defense News. While this years budget moves the ball down the field with regards to domain awareness, VanHerck said, more is needed to meet new challenges. Well be able to, hopefully, field over-the-horizon capabilities, which will give us more standoff distance than what we currently have today, he said. But we also need to take that domain awareness the sensors that we have today and any potential new sensors and share that data and information and utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to make that data and information available sooner than we have in the past, and to decision makers. Congress in fiscal 2022 pitched a $200 million program to boost adoption of AI across combatant commands, dovetailing with the Pentagons AI and Data Acceleration, or ADA, initiative. Story continues VanHerck told lawmakers last month that advanced capabilities will help give the U.S. an advantage over complex competitors, such as Russia or China. Both have invested in AI for military use. Incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning into existing capabilities will allow users to pull needed information from existing data sets and share that data with leaders at all levels to expand their decision space and options necessary to achieve desirable outcomes, VanHerck said in testimony submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee. VanHercks team already has whats known as the Pathfinder program, which melds data from a bevy of sensors to create a common and more-informed picture that can be used to detect threats. The data was previously siloed, leading to blindspots. It essentially takes and ingests, aggregates, data from multiple systems, data that would in the past have been ... left on the cutting room floor and not analyzed or assessed in a timely manner, VanHerck said at the virtual Air Warfare Symposium last year. The Pathfinder program uses machine learning to help us analyze that data from multiple systems, not only military systems, but commercial systems, other government agency systems. Despite those gains, Pathfinder is not enough, according to the general. What Im focusing on is a global look, across all domains, infusing data and information, VanHerck said Monday. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., was cited for being in possession of a firearm at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Tuesday morning. A TSA spokesperson confirmed that a loaded Staccato 9mm handgun was detected at checkpoint D around 9:00 a.m. Cawthorn was cited for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property, which is an ordinance of the city of Charlotte, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. "Cawthorn stated that the firearm was his and he was cooperative with the CMPD officers," police said. TSA RECOVERS RECORD NUMBER OF FIREARMS IN FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2021 The firearm was seized and Cawthorn was released. It's the second time that Cawthorn has been stopped with a gun at an airport after security personnel found a 9 millimeter handgun in his carry-on bag at Asheville Regional Airport in February 2021, according to WSOC. Cawthorn's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The 26-year-old congressman is running for re-elction in North Carolina's 11th district and will face several Republican challengers in the GOP primary next month. Elon Musk has put an end to weeks of speculation with the announcement that Twitter has accepted his offer to buy the platform for $54.20 per share, valuing the social media platform at about $44 billion. While Musks drawn-out pursuit of Twitter has come to an end, for him at least, the next chapter of Twitter's history and its hundreds of millions of users is just beginning. The deal drew immediate fears that Musk, a self-styled "free speech absolutist," could turn back the dials on content moderation, potentially unraveling years of work that curbed the unfettered spread of hate speech and misinformation. But experts have been just as quick to warn of the potential privacy implications of the $44 billion buyout to take Twitter private, at a time that even employees are unclear about the company's future. Per Musk's short 78-word statement, one of his many proposed plans for Twitter raising eyebrows in the industry is the open-sourcing of the platform's algorithmic code to make it publicly available. Musk claims this change which Twitter has been mulling for some time will help boost trust in the platform, which has for years faced an onslaught of false news and security incidents breaches, including one that saw hackers hijack high-profile Twitter profiles including Musk's to promote a cryptocurrency scam. But cybersecurity experts fear that Musks open source vision for Twitter could make the platform more susceptible to attackers. The decision to open source this code likely means that it will be adopted by other social platforms, advertisers and others who are looking to hone their user targeting, Jamie Moles, senior technical manager at security firm ExtraHop, told TechCrunch. Of course, as with any widely adopted open source code, there are significant security implications. As we've seen with Log4Shell and Spring4Shell, vulnerabilities in widely used open source applications are exponentially more valuable. Making its code open source may increase transparency for Twitter users, but it may also make Twitter a much bigger target for attackers. Story continues Moles says that if done properly, Musk's plan to wage war on so-called spam bots, which have been used to spread malware and propagate political ideologies, could generate "new techniques that improve the detection and identification of spam emails, spam posts and other malicious intrusion attempts, he added. It may well be a boon to security practitioners everywhere." Professor Eerke Boiten, head of the school of computer science and informatics at De Montfort University in the U.K., warned that open sourcing Twitter's algorithm could lead to malicious actors gaming the algorithm, which could see people treated differently based on their personal characteristics. Think, for example, of external manipulation of the targeted advertising aspects of Twitter, which is an area of concern for privacy even before it gets gamed, said Boiten. It would then also accelerate the arms race of new ways of gaming and finding countermeasures. Musk's short statement left much to the imagination. He did not say what his plans were for "authenticating all humans." Some read it as a plan to extend Twitters existing user verification system, or planning to introduce a real-name policy that would require users to provide documented evidence of their legal name. The digital rights group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, voiced concerns that real-name policies have on the human rights value of pseudonymous speech, and that Musk may have not considered the ramifications that a lack of anonymity can have on certain groups of people. Pseudonymity and anonymity are essential to protecting users who may have opinions, identities, or interests that do not align with those in power, the EFF said in a blog post. For example, policies that require real names on Facebook have been used to push out Native Americans; people using traditional Irish, Indonesian, and Scottish names; Catholic clergy; transgender people; drag queens; and sex workers. Political dissidents may be in grave danger if those in power are able to discover their true identities. The EFF also voiced concern about the continued lack of end-to-end encryption for Twitter direct messages: Fears that a new owner of the platform would be able to read those messages are not unfounded, the EFF added. Boiten, too, believes Musks pseudonymity crackdown would be the most concerning aspect of Musks takeover. Anonymity is in many contexts a prerequisite for privacy. Once Twitter is known to have authenticated its users, oppressive governments can demand the authenticating information from them endangering a lot of current subversive use in such countries," he said. "I wonder how many anonymous Twitter accounts are currently run by Tesla employees Elon Musk plays scrupulously by his own rules so potential Tesla whistleblowers or unionizers wouldnt be safe to get themselves authenticated on Twitter. In a tweet on Tuesday, Sen. Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Twitter has been "more forward-leaning than many of its competitors in its effort to tackle false, deceptive and manipulated content," and though he said the company has "significant room for improvement," Warner said he hopes that Musk will "work in good faith to keep these necessary reforms in place and prevent a backslide that is harmful to democracy." For now, Musk's takeover bid for Twitter remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. By Aaron Ross DAKAR (Reuters) - When a dozen suspected Islamist militants from a neighbouring country were spotted riding motorcycles through the W National Park in northern Benin armed with AK-47 assault rifles, park rangers snapped into action. From an operations room at their base, the park director and two senior ranger officers sent anti-poaching units to pursue the men who eventually fled into Nigeria, according to a confidential incident report reviewed by Reuters. They also directed Benin's army and police where to position their forces and deployed an airplane and helicopter belonging to the park as part of a broader operation to surveil and "neutralise" the target, the undated park report said. It was prepared by the anti-poaching force to assess the response and make recommendations for improving future collaboration among rangers, army and police, including creating a "rapid intervention/commando unit capable of responding to multiple threats and especially those linked to terrorism." The previously unreported account of the 36-hour chase in June 2020 offers a rare glimpse into how conservation group African Parks has gone beyond protecting flora and fauna and engaged in pursuing Islamist insurgents in West Africa. The blurring of lines between conflict and conservation has raised concern among some experts, who say it could encourage governments to lean on rangers to support their depleted armies and undermine security by making rangers a target for jihadists. "This is not the rangers' fight," said Sergio Lopez, the president of Wildlife Angel, a French non-profit that trained park rangers in Burkina Faso and Niger until 2019. "The fight against terrorism is special forces." Non-profit African Parks is based in South Africa and manages W and the adjacent Pendjari National Park in Benin. It is in talks to extend operations to parks in Burkina Faso and Niger and to support the management of a park in Ivory Coast, officials in these countries say. Story continues All four are on the frontlines of the battle to contain a jihadist threat that has steadily grown since 2012, when al Qaeda-linked fighters first seized parts of Mali. Thousands have been killed in the insurgency and millions displaced. Asked about the report, African Parks' Chief Operations Officer Charles Wells told Reuters the rangers' actions were consistent with the group's mandate of "ensuring park integrity and countering all threats to it." "This is an extreme situation, where both the national security as well as the last functioning conservation system at scale in West Africa are at grave risk." He added that African Parks' role sometimes went beyond its main aim of preserving the natural habitat and supporting local communities' needs. "In a simplistic and ideal world, there might be such a line. In reality this is indeed blurred." There have been several attacks in northern Benin since December, including two on Feb. 8 and Feb. 10 by suspected al Qaeda-linked militants that killed four rangers, their French instructor, two African Parks drivers and one Beninese soldier. Benin's government and defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment about using African Parks to counter the militant threat. Some other conservation groups have been involved in incidents with suspected militants in the region, but African Parks is by far the biggest. FRENCH DRAWDOWN Regional powers have struggled to contain militant violence, and former colonial power France, frustrated by slow progress and facing public hostility to its presence, said it is halving its 5,000-strong counter-terrorism force in the region. Financed by the European Union and private foundations, African Parks does not charge for its services, although Benin and Rwanda's governments have committed funding to their parks. The group equips and trains rangers who sometimes find themselves facing off against heavily-armed militants, militiamen and poachers. A European Union official said the EU was unaware of the 2020 incident. The official added that Benin forces should lead the response to security threats but that African Parks was, at the same time, responsible for protecting parks it operates in "against any kind of threat". As African Parks seeks to expand into parklands that form a vast belt of territory used by militants to press south from strongholds in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger into coastal nations, opinion over its role is divided. Some regional experts hope it will help counter extremists who are waging an insurgency that leaves vast stretches of West Africa's Sahel region beyond the control of governments. Nassirou Bako Arifari, Benin's foreign minister from 2011-2015, credited the rangers with helping hold the line against encroachment by militants from Burkina Faso and Niger. "Having this presence is like having a buffer between the national force and the terrorist groups," he told Reuters. But some critics said African Parks' security-centric response to poaching and militancy, including fencing off large segments of the parks, has alienated some locals who depend on economic activities on those lands, potentially making them more susceptible to militant propaganda. Wells acknowledged that local access to the parks was "a complex issue" but said African Parks had worked closely with local communities to build a "conservation-led economy". He added that strong law enforcement was essential to protect the parks and avoid a situation similar to Burkina Faso, where he said the absence of state actors had allowed Islamist militancy to proliferate. MILITANTS MOVE INTO PARKLAND In 2020, African Parks had an operating budget of $84 million spread across 19 parks in 11 countries, and its rangers are trained by ex-military officers from Europe and South Africa. Samaila Sahailou, head of Niger's parks authority, told Reuters talks were ongoing with African Parks about handing over management of Niger's W National Park. Benoit Doamba, who leads Burkina Faso's parks authority, said his country's talks concerned its W and Arly National Parks. These three parks, along with Benin's W and Pendjari, form the 10,000-square-kilometre "WAP Complex". The WAP is West Africa's last major refuge for elephants and lions, but much of it has been overrun by militants in recent years. Ivory Coast's government said last month it planned to work with African Parks to manage and secure Comoe National Park, where militants have carried out several attacks since 2020. Describing the 2020 showdown with the militants in Benin, where African Parks has about 250 rangers, the report said: "Our ultimate objective is to limit (the group) in its movements, locate it, contain it and organise an offensive operation to neutralise it." A helicopter and ultra-light aircraft belonging to African Parks were deployed carrying army soldiers and a senior rangers official "in the hope of locating the enemy and destroying it 'on sight' before it crosses the border". Ultimately the militants got away. Wells said the helicopter was used to transport the soldiers to strategic positions, and the phrase "destroying it 'on sight'" did not appear in his version of the report. Reuters was unable to establish why there might be a discrepancy between the two. In the aftermath of the incident, Wells said the rangers and army had each created their own quick reaction units, which he said operated with different missions and under different rules of engagement. The defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Some analysts see African Parks' potential expansion - like the recent arrival of Russian private security contractors in Mali - as evidence of a new security strategy in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to replace the role played by France and its partners. "It looks very much like these countries are giving up on Western multilateral counter-terrorism assistance in place of something they will have more control over," said Aneliese Bernard, a former U.S. State Department official in Niger. France's military, which aims to keep some 2,500-3,000 troops in the region after its partial withdrawal, said it had no comment on African Parks. It added it remains committed to the fight against militants despite the drawdown. The defence ministers of Burkina Faso and Niger and Mali's army spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on the potential shift. (Additional reporting by Ange Aboa in Abidjan and Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Alexandra Zavis) Update: This story was updated April 26, 2022 with more information about the deceased. A 18-year-old man was killed in a shooting on the city's south side Monday afternoon, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. More crime news: What we know after deadly SWAT standoff ended a violent weekend in Indianapolis More coverage: Man dies after Monday morning shooting on east side of Indianapolis, police say The man was shot in the 8800 block of St Peter Street and was transported to a hospital before he died, according to the IMPD. The Marion County Coroner's Office on Tuesday identified the man as 18-year-old Ngun Tha Peng. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Detective Lottie Patrick at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or e-mail her at Lottie.Patrick@indy.gov. Alternatively, those with information can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477 to remain anonymous. Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis crime: Person killed in south side shooting Monday Stock The case against a New Philadelphia man accused of trying to shoot a woman at a Columbia Court apartment after threatening to kill her a short time earlier has been bound over to the Guernsey County Common Pleas Court. Brandon G. Abner, 22, faces single counts of attempt to commit an offense (murder), a first-degree felony, and felonious assault, a second-degree felony, stemming from the alleged incident on March 30. Fortunately for the intended victim, a 25-year-old Byesville area resident, an individual at the apartment had unloaded the gun a short time before the alleged shooting attempt occurred. Abner waived his right to a preliminary hearing last week in the Cambridge Municipal Court prompting Judge John Mark Nicholson to bind the case over to the common pleas court. Abner is also alleged to have struck another unidentified female victim in the face with the gun during a physical altercation at the same residence. Cambridge Police Department According to the police reports, officers were dispatched to the Columbia Court home at 11:38 p.m. on March 30 after a caller reported being assaulted by a man with a gun. The caller advised a police dispatcher that the suspect had already fled the area. Police said the 26-year-old female resident told them Abner had struck her in the face with a gun when he brandished it during an altercation in an upstairs bedroom. The woman said the altercation started when she wanted to check on the well-being of her children. Abner then allegedly asked the 25-year-old victim to come to the bedroom to "talk down" the resident because she was suffering some form of an anxiety attack. He did not tell her about the alleged assault. Officers reported the Byesville area resident said she learned of the assault after asking the resident if Abner "laid hands on her." After receiving confirmation, the woman called for a 31-year-old man who was also at the home visiting the resident to come upstairs. Abner is alleged to have followed the man up to the bedroom and brandished the gun while ordering the other man to leave the residence. He also allegedly pointed the gun at the 25-year-old woman and threatened to kill her. Story continues The group reportedly returned to the main floor of the apartment where Abner claimed he was a police informant and could not get into trouble for his actions. He alleged the other individuals would go to jail for fighting with him. The male visitor reportedly struggled with Abner for possession of the gun, but was forced out of the home during the skirmish. It was then the two women reportedly tried to take the gun from Abner, who dropped it during the brief struggle. He was reportedly able to retrieve the gun from the floor and once again pointed it at the Byesville resident while threatening to kill her. It was then he allegedly pulled the trigger, but the gun had been unloaded by the man locked out of the residence and did not fire. Learning the gun was unloaded, the two women forced Abner to leave and he allegedly fled in his vehicle. The Byesville area resident told officers she was struck in the mouth by the gun during the fight to get Abner out of the apartment. Neither victim's injuries were reported to be serious. Police said the man who unloaded the gun told them he removed the rounds after Abner laid it down following the initial alleged assault involving the female resident. He said Abner was waiving the gun in a manner that made him uncomfortable at the time. The man told officers he had placed the gun in his pocket, but Abner took it without the bullets a short time later. He said Abner was unaware the gun had been unloaded. Charges against Abner were filed in the municipal court on April 1. Abner is free on bond that requires him to comply with electronically-monitored house arrest. This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Man faces felony charges for alleged assault, attempted shooting 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 [] WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland is imposing sanctions on 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, the interior minister said on Tuesday, as it seeks to increase pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.Poland this month passed a law allowing it to freeze the assets of Russian entities and ban imports of coal from Russia, above and beyond sanctions imposed jointly by European Union countries. Companies on the list released by the interior ministry include the energy giant Gazprom and the chemicals and fertiliser manufacturer Akron, as well as the coal trading companies SUEK Polska and KTK Polska. Gazprom has a minority stake in EuRoPol Gaz, an entity that owns the Polish section of the Yamal pipeline that carries Russian gas to Europe. Individuals on the list include billionaire Mikhail Fridman, co-founder and largest shareholder of Alfa Bank; aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska; and Eugene Kaspersky, founder of Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky. "This is the first sanctions list ... it has 50 items. There are oligarchs and companies that do real business (in Poland)," Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told a news conference. "It is likely, almost certain, that this list will be widened." The sanctions include the freezing of assets and, for the individuals named, a ban on entering Poland. Poland has consistently argued for tougher sanctions against Russia and has previously said it stop importing Russian coal by May and stop using Russian oil by the end of 2022. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West says this a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression by President Vladimir Putin. (Reporting by Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz and Marek Strzelecki; Editing by Robert Birsel and Kevin Liffey) (200771):( 20220426 15:53:37 ::( ::( Stock Code: 200771 Stock ID: Hangqilun B Announcement No.: 2022-41 Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. Resolutions of the 24th Meeting of the 8th Term of Board The members of the Board and the Company acknowledge being responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness of the announcement. Not any false record, misleading statement or significant omission carried in this announcement. The notice for calling of the 24th Meeting of the 8th term of Board of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. was served on April 21,2022, The meeting was held by way means of telecommunication of April 26, 2022And voted by means of telecommunication. There are totally 8 members of the Board, and 8 effective votes were received as of April 26,2022. This was complying with the provisions of the Company Law, Articles of Association. The following proposals were examined at the meeting and passed by open ballot 1.The meeting examined and adopted the First Quarter Report 2022Text) 8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. The Board inspected and discussed on the First Quarterly Report 2022. All of the members considered the First Quarterly Report 2021 was frankly and completely reflecting the financial situation and business performance in the report term (January 1 March 31, 2022). The Board will assume joint and individual responsibilities for the accuracy, authentic, and completeness of the Report. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022. II. The meeting examined and adopted the Proposal on the Administrative Measures for the Authorization of the Board of Directors 8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022. III. The meeting examined and adopted the Proposal on the External Guarantee System (Revised in 2022) 8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022. IV. The meeting examined and adopted the Proposal on the Financing Management System (Revised in 2022) 8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022. The Board of Directors of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. April 27, 2022 Stock Code: 200771 Stock ID: Hangqilun B Announcement No.: 2022-41Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd.Resolutions of the 24th Meeting of the 8th Term of BoardThe members of the Board and the Company acknowledge being responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness of the announcement. Not any false record, misleading statement or significant omission carried in this announcement.The notice for calling of the 24th Meeting of the 8th term of Board of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. was served on April 21,2022, The meeting was held by way means of telecommunication of April 26, 2022And voted by means of telecommunication. There are totally 8 members of the Board, and 8 effective votes were received as of April 26,2022. This was complying with the provisions of the Company Law, Articles of Association.The following proposals were examined at the meeting and passed by open ballot 1.The meeting examined and adopted the First Quarter Report 2022Text) 8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. The Board inspected and discussed on the First Quarterly Report 2022. All of the members considered the First Quarterly Report 2021 was frankly and completely reflecting the financial situation and business performance in the report term (January 1 March 31, 2022). The Board willassume joint and individual responsibilities for the accuracy, authentic, and completeness of the Report.For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022.II. The meeting examined and adopted the Proposal on the Administrative Measures for the Authorization of the Board of Directors8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022.III. The meeting examined and adopted the Proposal on the External Guarantee System (Revised in 2022)8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022.IV. The meeting examined and adopted the Proposal on the Financing Management System (Revised in 2022)8 votes in favor, 0 objection, 0 waive, the proposal was adopted. For details of the proposal please refer to the announcement disclosed by the company on http://www.cninfo.com.cn on April 27, 2022.The Board of Directors of Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. April 27, 2022 Crime scene tape Police arrested a man Tuesday morning in connection to the killing of Brian Kazan in his Mesa apartment last weekend. Officers were called to do a welfare check around 8 p.m. Sunday near Country Club Drive and Brown Street, according to a Mesa Police Department news release. The caller told police there was an unresponsive man at the location with "a significant amount of blood" inside the residence. Police say officers found the body of 59-year-old Kazan with obvious signs of trauma inside his apartment at the location, the release stated. Neighbors claimed to have heard an altercation coming from Kazan's apartment before seeing a man standing outside talking to others. After an investigation and a review of security video footage, police identified the man seen by neighbors as 33-year-old Joseph Maldonado. Police found Maldonado at 6:15 a.m. Monday in a business complex near Dobson Road and Loop 202. The release stated Maldonado had multiple active warrants. During the arrest, officers found Kazan's credit card on Maldonado, according to police. Maldonado was arrested on suspicion of one count of first-degree murder. He was later booked into a Maricopa County jail and is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court Tuesday, according to online records. Reach breaking news reporter Adam Terro at adam.terro@arizonarepublic.com. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Police arrest man on suspicion of killing 59-year-old man in Mesa Good morning! Thanks for reading today's Minneapolis Daily. First, today's weather: Increasing cloudiness. High: 47 Low: 36. Here are the top 4 stories today in Minneapolis: 1. President Joe Biden will visit Minneapolis on Sunday to speak at the memorial honoring former Vice President Walter Mondale. The service will be held May 1 at the University of Minnesota. (BMTN) 2. More than 2,560 people in Minnesota tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. The state health department reports 255 residents are in the hospital with the virus. (BMTN) 3. A lawyer for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin filed an appeal for a new trial in the murder of George Floyd, KARE11 reports. Attorney William Mohrman argued pre-trial publicity, the threat of further rioting and several other reasons made Chauvins initial trial unfair. (KARE11) 4. Mayor Jacob Frey gave his State of the City address Tuesday at North Commons Park. The speech addressed COVID-19 recovery, the American Rescue Plan Act, violence prevention and more. It is now available to read online. (KARE11) Today in Minneapolis: Join the April Supper Series at Farmers Kitchen + Bar . (6 p.m.) Bingo Wednesday at Lakes & Legends Brewing Company . (7 p.m.) Rags and Riches performs at Granada Theater. (7 p.m.) From my notebook: A livestream will not occur during the state trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyds death. ( CBS ) Cartoonist Steve Sack announced he is retiring after more than 40 years at the Star Tribune. ( CBS ) Red Eye Theater opened a new little pocket for arts in Minneapolis" at 2213 Snelling Ave. S. (Paid source: Star Tribune) More from our sponsors thanks for supporting local news! Events: New Retirement Savings Webinar (May 2) Estate Planning Seminar on May 3 & May 5 (May 3) Hire A Pro to Tackle Mom's To-Do List (May 8) Taxes in Retirement Webinar on May 10 & May 11 (May 10) Add your event Loving the Minneapolis Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved: Story continues Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe Get your local business listed in front of readers Send me a news tip or suggestion at georgi.presecky@patch.com That's all for today, Minneapolis! Thanks for being here. See you tomorrow for another Daily! Georgi Presecky About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based newsletter writer and partner content curator. She spent five years on the entertainment beat for FF2 Media covering film festivals across the U.S. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As editor-in-chief of the Lewis University newspaper, she and her staff earned honors from the Associated Collegiate Press and American Scholastic Press Associations. She began working for Patch in 2019. This article originally appeared on the Minneapolis Patch Prince William was said to be "appalled" after Queen Elizabeth II removed a portrait of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from her desk ahead of her annual Christmas broadcast. The claim was made by former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, who has written a new book about the British royal family titled "The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor the Truth and the Turmoil." The bombshell book explores "the scandals, love affairs, power plays and betrayals" that have rocked the royals during the last 20 years. It promises to feature new revelations based on Browns access to palace insiders. The bestselling author previously wrote a biography on the Princess of Wales titled "The Diana Chronicles," which was published in 2007. PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE 'STUNNED' AFTER ROYALS 'SHUT THE DOOR,' BOOK CLAIMS: 'MUTAL ADDICTION TO DRAMA' Tina Brown previously wrote a book about Princess Diana. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images The incident in question took place in 2019. At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in Canada just before they quit royal duties the following month. The queen, 96, was gearing up for her televised annual Christmas broadcast, one she has done every year since 1957. Ahead of the televised message, she made a last-minute change that allegedly left her grandson stunned. " A family portrait of [Prince] Charles, Camilla, the Cambridges and Harry and Meghan were exhibited at Her Majestys elbow," Brown wrote. "But in December 2019, the Sussexes had evaporated, their image excised Her Majesty pointed at a winsome portrait of Harry, Meghan and baby Archie. That one, said the queen. I suppose we dont need that one." "If the Sussexes had any residual misgivings about whether they wanted out, those doubts vanished when they viewed the queen's 2019 televised Christmas message," Brown continued. "With their own eyes, they saw that they had been kicked to the margins of the monarchy. Her Majesty eloquently made the point in her speech by saying nothing. The subtext was all in the flotilla of carefully arranged family photographs positioned on her writing desk." Story continues Brown alleged William, 39, was "appalled," believing the move would anger his younger brother. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER In this undated photo, Queen Elizabeth II records her annual Christmas broadcast in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England. Steve Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty Images "William was said to have been appalled when he saw the Sussexes had been edited out," Brown claimed. "He knew his brother well enough to predict a Category 5 tantrum brewing." In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were stepping back as senior members of the British royal family. In March 2021, Harry told Oprah Winfrey in a televised interview that he tried to arrange a chat with a queen, but suggested that a palace aide blocked the meeting. "That announcement that we put out on 8 January in 2020 the contents of that were put into a letter to the institution to my father, which was then shared at the end of December, when we were in Canada," Harry explained. "And to then get back on the 6th after my grandmother had said, 'The moment you land come up to Sandringham, we'd love to have a chat, come and have tea why don't you stay for dinner because it's going to be a long drive, and you're going to be exhausted,'" the 37-year-old shared. "The moment we landed in the U.K. I got a message from my private secretary, Fiona at the time... cutting and pasting a message from the queen's private secretary, basically saying, 'Please pass on to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that he cannot come to Norfolk. The queen is busy, she's busy all week... do not come up here," Harry added. One palace aide alleged to Brown that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were attempting to blur the line between Elizabeths role as grandmother and reigning monarch in arranging an informal meeting to discuss an issue about their involvement with the royal family. "Such conversations would have to be done in the spirit of Elizabeth II as sovereign, so there would've been agendas," a palace source claimed to Brown. "Talking points would've been agreed on beforehand between private secretaries... What the Sussexes tried to do was circumnavigate that and go and see her because, on her own, she famously says yes. She caves." Harry later insisted to Winfrey, 68, that he "would never blindside my grandmother." PRINCE ANDREW SPENT TWO DAYS ALONE IN PRIVATE CALIFORNIA SUITE WATCHING PORN ON CABLE TV, BOOK CLAIMS Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and Catherine, circa 2018. Neil Mockford/GC Images "I have too much respect for her," he added. A palace spokesperson didnt immediately respond to Fox News Digitals request for comment concerning Browns book. However, a spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that the palace doesnt generally comment "on such books." A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also didnt immediately reply to Fox News Digitals request for comment. Markle, a former American actress, became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Harry in May 2018 at Windsor Castle. The couple welcomed a son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019. The Duke and Duchess of Sussexs departures from royal duties began in 2020 over what they described as the British medias intrusions and racist attitudes toward the former "Suits" star, 40. The family now resides in the coastal city of Montecito, California. JEFFREY EPSTEIN TOLD PEOPLE THAT PRINCE ANDREW WAS A USEFUL IDIOT, BOOK CLAIMS The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in California with their two children. Chris Jackson/Pool/Getty Images In the wake of quitting royal duties, they gave an explosive TV interview to Winfrey in which the couple described painful comments about how dark Archies skin might be before his birth. The duchess talked about the intense isolation she felt inside the royal family that led her to contemplate suicide. Buckingham Palace said the allegations of racism made by the couple were "concerning" and would be addressed privately. In June 2021, several months after the interview, the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. The name pays tribute to both the queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet, and Harrys late mother, Princess Diana. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday she does not have information on over a dozen reported White House meetings between Hunter Biden's former business partner and President Biden when he was vice president. Asked by Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich whether the president still maintained his position that he had not spoken with Hunter Biden about his business dealings, Psaki said, "He maintains his same statements that he's made in the past." White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing in the James S Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 26, 2022. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS PARTNER MADE 8 ADDITIONAL WHITE HOUSE VISITS IN 2016, VISITOR LOGS SHOW "I know you're referring to WAVES records that were released more than ten years ago," Psaki added. "I really don't have more detail or information on them. I'd note that there was a gap when WAVES records were not released, but I don't have more information about visits from more than ten years ago." Eric Schwerin, president of the Rosemont Seneca firm, met with Joe Biden while he was serving as vice president under former President Barack Obama, the New York Post reported earlier this week. Schwerin is linked to a variety of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings. Hunter Biden's finances have come under intense scrutiny as evidence mounts showing his father was used as leverage in negotiations. Hunter Biden is separately under investigation for potential criminal violations of tax law, foreign lobbying and money laundering laws, but he has not yet been charged with any crime. GARLAND REFUSES TO ANSWER HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION QUESTION, DOESN'T COMMIT TO APPOINTING SPECIAL COUNSEL The meeting with Joe Biden was one of 19 visits Schwerin paid to the White House, where he also met with a variety of aides to the vice president, according to archived visitor logs from the Obama White House. Hunter Biden and his father, Joe Biden, award designer Michael Kors the World Food Program USA's McGovern-Dole Leadership Award at Organization of American States on April 12, 2016 in Washington, DC. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for World Food Program USA Psaki previously dismissed the reports on Monday when about the report. Psaki claimed she did not have "any information" about the visits. Story continues Both Psaki and Biden have maintained that the president has not spoken with his son about his business dealings. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki's effort to dodge the truth about President Biden's ties to Hunter Biden's shady business dealings is "unacceptable" during a Tuesday appearance on "Fox & Friends." Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this article. NextShark A 91-year-old Korean War Navy veteran is hoping to find his first love, who he met during his time as a second class petty officer in Japan in 1953. Duane Mann, 91, wrote a Facebook post on May 1 hoping to find someone who recognizes the woman in a photo he took in 1953, whose name he says is Peggy Yamaguchi. In the post, Mann explains that while he was stationed in Japan from 1953 to 1954 at age 23, he met Yamaguchi at an Air Force NCO Club, where he worked as a slot machine repairman in his spare time and Yamaguchi worked as the hat check girl. (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine were continuing talks in an online format. At the start of his meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Moscow, Putin also said he hopes that the talks would yield a positive result. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Jonathan Oatis) A spring heat wave is scorching parts of India and Pakistan, with record-breaking April temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit forecast along the border of the two countries in the coming days. The extreme heat threatens the health of millions of people as well as the harvest of wheat at a time when climate change and the war in Ukraine have sparked a global food crisis. The Indian Meteorological Department warned this week that a heat dome, similar to the one that sent temperatures soaring over the Pacific Northwest last year, had formed over the region. Millions of people in the areas of India and Pakistan where temperatures have remained in the triple digits are now at risk of illness and death from the heat. Its become impossible to work after 10 oclock in the morning, Sunil Das, who works as a rickshaw puller on the outskirts of Delhi, told Quartz India. A man riding his bicycle in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters) Following an exceptionally dry month of March, which also set a new temperature record, cities and towns across Indias wheat-growing region have been reporting temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit this week. When April arrived, so did the heat wave, putting the wheat harvest at risk. The heat spell occurred very fast and also matured the crop at a faster pace, which shriveled the grain size. This also resulted in a drop in yield, JDS Gill, the agriculture information officer in the state of Punjab, told India Today. Meteorologists predicted that the temperature average for April would likely fall across large portions of India and Pakistan. Such severe heat waves arent normally registered in the region until May and June, but scientists have long warned that because of climate change they will become more common earlier and later in the coming decades. Workers at the government grain market in Chandigarh, India. (Ravi Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) On Tuesday, the temperature hit 116F in the city of Dadu, Pakistan, tying a record for the warmest day in the Northern Hemisphere on that date. Temperatures are expected to keep rising this week. India/Pakistan Heat Wave day #1:Today 26 April the Pakistani station of Dadu reached 47.0C,tying the 2022 highest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere (=Matam,Senegal). In India 45.1C at Barmer. Unfortunately this is just the beginning and it'll get hotter in the next few days. pic.twitter.com/RKq7Bp3T4I Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) April 26, 2022 The formation of a heat dome over India, Nepal and the Himalayas also has potentially worrisome long-term consequences, according to climate researchers. The consensus among scientists is that climate change has sped up the melting of glacier ice in the Himalayas. That's significant because after Antarctica and the Arctic, the region holds the worlds third-largest amount of glacial ice. Its loss would dramatically impact the supply of water to people in the region. Story continues Drought worsened by climate change and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine have brought the Horn of Africa to the brink of famine. Many African nations import wheat from Ukraine, but the conflict has halted those shipments. Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured President Biden that India was ready to supply food stock to the world, but that pronouncement came just as the current heat wave was beginning to take hold. [Wheat] prices will be driven up, and if you look at what is happening in Ukraine, with many countries relying on wheat from India to compensate, the impact will be felt well beyond India, Harjeet Singh, an adviser with Climate Action Network International, told NBC News. While the overall toll on the wheat harvest remains unclear, the next few days in India and Pakistan will provide a more immediate trial run for how human beings will cope with a hotter future. For now, schools have been closed in several cities in India, workers have been advised to avoid exposure to the sun and the governments of both countries have warned of blackouts as the demand for electricity is expected to surge. Ukrayinska Pravda ROMAN PETRENKO - MONDAY, 9 MAY, 2022, 10:45 The flying display part of the parade in Moscow has been cancelled allegedly due to the weather. Source: Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the Kremlin media Details: On the morning of 9 May, before the start of the [annual military Victory Day] parade, it became known that there will be no flying display in Moscow this year. Sanna Marin and Magdalena Andersson. Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images Finland and Sweden are preparing to simultaneously submit membership applications to NATO, and could do so as early as mid-May, Nordic media organizations reported Monday. The Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reports that Sweden "suggested the two countries indicate their willingness to join" the alliance on the same day, and Finland agreed "as long as the Swedish government has made its decision." Earlier this month, both prime ministers said they were contemplating membership, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine changed the "security landscape" of Europe. Moscow has warned the countries against applying for membership, saying Russia would be forced to strengthen its defenses in the Baltic in order to "restore military balance." Finland and Sweden are nonaligned militarily, but became NATO partners in 1995 when joining the European Union. New opinion polls indicate that about 68 percent of Finns are supportive of joining NATO, more than double the number before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while in Sweden, "a slim majority" of residents are in favor of joining, The Guardian reports. You may also like Labor board sues Starbucks after coffee chain fires 3 union organizers The 'anti-woke' agenda is going to cost taxpayers big bucks Democratic insiders predict 'doom' in November Workers at Starbucks locations in Cary and Peoria won union elections Tuesday, making the stores the first and second Starbucks to unionize in Illinois. Starbucks employees in Cary voted 17-4 and employees in Peoria voted 9-2 to unionize, said Esau Chavez, a union organizer with the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United. Workers United is the Service Employees International Union affiliate that represents the Starbucks workers. Advertisement Were feeling incredibly empowered, said Jon Gill, a barista at the Peoria store at 1200 W. Main St. in the Campustown Shopping Center. The wins that we are seeing at Starbucks are proof that no massive corporation is invincible, said Gill, who has worked at the Peoria location since December. Gill said they would like to see wage increases as well as a contract with guaranteed hours so employees access to the companys benefits is protected. Advertisement Workers do have power, and if they organize, they can reach that power, Gill said. Employees at 230 Starbucks locations have filed for union elections in 31 states, according to Casey Moore, a barista on the Starbucks Workers United communications committee. Out of 35 stores that have had elections, 32 have voted to unionize, Moore said. In statements, organizing committees at both Illinois stores celebrated Tuesdays votes. This is a win for every store, and really every partner that works for Starbucks. There is still a long road ahead, but we look forward to working with corporate as partners in making Starbucks the best employer for essential workers, said workers at the Cary store, which is located at 620 Northwest Highway. Our victory here in Peoria is a product of the incredible organizing that Starbucks workers have done across the country. We stand in solidarity with every Starbucks worker and any worker fighting for a better world, the Peoria organizing committee said. Starbucks said in a statement. From the beginning, weve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. However, the vote outcomes will not change our shared purpose or how we will show up for each other. Parties have one week to file objections to the votes with the National Labor Relations Board, said agency spokesperson Kayla Blado. If no objections are filed, the results will be certified. Advertisement A Starbucks spokesperson would not comment on whether the company planned to file challenges, but said it would continue to respect the process outlined by the NLRB. In Chicago, six stores have filed for elections, according to Grace Easterby, an organizer with the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United. Three of those stores in the Loop, Logan Square and Hyde Park have election dates set for June 7, with ballots going out to workers in early May. The other Chicago Starbucks that have filed for union elections are in Bucktown, Edgewater and Edgewater Beach. tasoglin@chicagotribune.com Louisville, KY Chef Joe Castro, who served as the executive chef at The English Grill at The Brown Hotel from 1992 to 2007, died on April 23 surrounded by his loved ones. He was 60 years old. According to Great Chefs TV, Castro was "raised by a Kentucky mother who loved to bake country hams and a Filipino father, also a doctor, who enjoyed fixing fish heads and feeding them to him at midnight." Both Castro's brother and brother-in-law are chefs, and his wife is a pastry chef. Castro interned at the Lai Lai Sheraton Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan and at the CTIC Chinatrust Hotel in Kaohsuing, Taiwan. Then he worked his way up at the Embassy Row Hotel in Washington, DC. In 1992, Castro was recruited back to Louisville to run The English Grill at the Brown Hotel. He left the hotel in 2007 to become the Culinary Training Manager for General Electric's Monogram Appliances. Food writer Susan Reigler, who served as The Courier Journal's food critic from 1992 to 2007, said that under Castro's leadership, the English Grill dining room "may well be the finest restaurant in Louisville" in a glowing four-star review. About half of the tables have been removed from the English Grill at the Brown Hotel to make space for social distancing on Tuesday, August 18, 2020 In her 15 years at the paper, Reigler only named 12 restaurants worth a full four stars. The English Grill was one of them. "A lot of what he did was using the freshest seasonal ingredients possible and he had a wonderful way of putting a great local twist on it," Reigler said. "Not down-home cooking by any means. They really wanted to make [The Brown Hotel] a destination and a place at the top of the Louisville restaurant [scene] and I think they succeeded beautifully." More than that, Reigler said, he was a kind person. Castro always had a smile on his face. Louisville restaurant closing: This beloved brunch spot in NuLu is closing its doors in late May. Here's what to know His friends and family agreed. Many of those who left notes online in his memory mentioned his upbeat, gentle nature and smiles. Story continues "Joe was truly one of the nicest human beings I have ever met," wrote a GE Appliances coworker, Mason Carrico. "His caring attitude and genuine kindness are two traits that always made Joe stand out. His passion and talent for cooking were second to none. We love Joe and he will always have a special place in our hearts." In 1994, Castro was featured on The Discovery Channel's "Great Chefs of the South" and "Great Chefs of America" TV series. He helped launch the Chef's Table premium dining experience at The English Grill in 2000. The program continued until the pandemic began, and is scheduled to resume in the fall. More than half of the tables have been removed in the lobby area at the Brown Hotel to make space for social distancing on Tuesday, August 18, 2020 He and his brother, fellow chef John Castro, were even featured on "Throw Down with Bobby Flay" on Food Network in 2007, where they prepared Kentucky's famous Hot Brown dish and won the competition. The Brown Hotel general manager Brad Walker, who worked with Castro at the Brown Hotel for five years, said he "always had an optimistic attitude and was always tweaking the menu and recipes." "Joe was the best," Walker said. "He was great with his staff and great with our guests. He ensured we put out only the finest food in our restaurants and with weddings and banquet events. Joe helped put the English Grill on the map as one of the finest restaurants in the country." Chef awards: Three Kentucky chefs named James Beard Award semifinalists in food 'Oscars.' What to know Chef Anthony Lamas of Seviche, 1538 Bardstown Road, agreed. When he moved to Louisville in 1994, there were three standout restaurants he tried first: Anoosh Shariat's Anoosh Bistro, Kathy Cary's Lily's Bistro, and Castro's The English Grill. "Anoosh and Kathy were both doing amazing food but I felt like the only true four-star restaurant was The English Grill," Lamas said. "It was true fine dining, a sold-out, special occasion you get dressed up sort of place. No other restaurant was doing it at the time." Lamas praised Castro's refined dishes and noticed the Filipino flair he added in. Lamas said Castro was a chef before his time. "When you went there, you felt special," Lamas said. I think America is more casual now but there is something to be said for that true fine-dining tableside, immaculate service and that is what Joe Castro did. He was revolutionary." Churchill Downs chef: Why this Churchill Downs chef says cooking for 300,000 at Kentucky Derby is 'a celebration' Castro was preceded in death by his parents, Ignacio Bravo Castro and Mary Margaret Barket Castro. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Stevens Castro; children, Eleanor Stevens Castro, Max Ignacio Castro and Lydia Stevens Castro; sister, Alfreda Donahue (Lonnie Donahue); and brothers, John Castro (Jack Beeson) and Paul Castro (Jennifer Castro). There will be a memorial gathering on Saturday, April 30 from 12-5 p.m. at Embry-Bosse Funeral Home, 2723 Preston Hwy. Features reporter Dahlia Ghabour covers food, dining trends and restaurants in the Louisville area. Send tips on new places or story ideas to dghabour@courier-journal.com or follow on Twitter @dghabour. Joe Castro's corn bread dressing Courtesy of Chef Joe Castro, 2006. Serves 10 Ingredients 1/3 cup unsalted butter 1 cup diced celery 1 cup diced onion 6 cups crumbled corn bread (for a 9-by-12-inch baking pan) 1 tablespoon fresh sage 1 teaspoon thyme 3 tablespoons parsley 4 to 5 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth salt and pepper to taste Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add celery and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft, about 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well. Pack back into the cast iron skilled that you used to cook the vegetables, or into a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown. Baked sweet potatoes with bourbon ginger glaze Courtesy of Chef Joe Castro, 2006. Serves 8 Joe Castro's baked sweet potatoes with bourbon ginger glaze. Ingredients 5 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed, to make 12 cups 1/2 cup honey 2 tablespoons bourbon 1 tablespoon grated ginger 2 tablespoons walnut oil 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon cardamom 1/2 teaspoon salt pinch of cayenne pepper miniature marshmallows, optional Directions: Bake these potatoes ahead and reheat in the microwave if desired. Long cooking brings out the sweetness of the potatoes. Of course you may substitute butter or vegetable oil if you don't have walnut oil. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all the ingredients, mix well. Place in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or a 9-by-13 baking pan and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil, and stir the potatoes. Return uncovered to oven and bake 45 minutes more or until the potatoes are soft, stirring once or twice more during baking. If desired, top potatoes with a layer of marshmallows and run them under the broiler to melt and brown. Watch carefully. Joe Castro's special brined turkey Courtesy of Chef Joe Castro, 2006 Chef Joe Castro helps prepare Thanksgiving dinner at The Brown Hotel in 2006. Ingredients 1 gallon vegetable stock 1 gallon hot water 1 onion diced 1 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 lemon cut into 8 pieces 5 sprigs thyme 8 sage leaves 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 1 12-to-18 pound turkey, fresh or thawed Directions: Remember that a turkey requires one day for every 5 pounds to thaw, plus one day. So a 15-pound turkey requires four days to thaw in the refrigerator. Remove giblets and neck from cavity for gravy, if desired. Wash turkey and pat dry. Combine everything but the turkey in a container large enough to hold turkey and brine (large cooler works well). Add the turkey. Cover with a plate. Place a weight on top of the plate to keep the turkey submerged in the brine. Refrigerate (or place in a 35- to 40- degree spot) for six hours. When ready to cook, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the turkey from the brine, and pat dry. Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Rub the turkey with peanut oil. Place the herbs, onion and lemon from the brine in the cavity of the turkey. Roast at 450 for 20 minutes, then lower to 325 and cook for a total of 15 to 20 minutes per pound, covering with foil any areas that appear to be over-browning (wing tips, etc). Allow the bird to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. Mojito Courtesy of Chef Joe Castro. Serves 1 Joe Castro's mojito recipe. Ingredients: 3 thin slices of lime 1 ounce lime juice 2 teaspoons raw sugar 1 sprig mint 1 1/2 ounces rum club soda Directions: In a tall highball glass, combine the lime slices and juice with the sugar and three mint leaves. Muddle these ingredients together just like a mint julep, by mashing the fruit and mint with the sugar to draw out the juices. Fill the glass with cubed ice. Add the rum. Top with club soda. Stir, and garnish with the remaining mint. Gingered watermelon juice Courtesy of Chef Joe Castro. Serves 1 Gingered watermelon juice by Chef Joe Castro. Ingredients: 4 cups ripe watermelon, seeds removed, cut into chunks 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine Blender Directions: Using a blender, liquefy the ripe watermelon with fresh ginger. Strain and chill. Serve cold in a large glass. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Former English Grill Brown Hotel chef Joe Castro dies at 60 Sen. Rand Paul got flak Tuesday for his comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with some people criticizing him for echoing one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's talking points. During an exchange with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Paul pointed out that Russia's attacks, in the recent past, have been on countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. Putin has publicly dismissed Ukraine's right to function as a sovereign nation separate from Russia. The Kentucky Republican's comments came during a Senate hearing with Blinken, during which Paul raised concerns about U.S. displays of support for Ukraine potentially joining the NATO military alliance, including during former President George W. Bush and President Joe Biden's administrations. He asked Blinken: "Knowing full well that Ukraine was unlikely to ever join NATO since it had already been 14 years since they said they were going to become members, why was it so important last fall before this invasion to continue agitating for Ukraine's admission to NATO?" More: Sen. Rand Paul backs new Emmett Till Antilynching Act, after holding up the old one Blinken pushes back when Rand Paul suggests Biden is responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine b/c he supported Ukraine's desire to join NATO, pointing out those are "sovereign decisions." Paul then makes sure to point out he doesn't actually support Russia's invasion. But. pic.twitter.com/DL9iFlD4K7 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 26, 2022 Blinken responded: "It's a question of standing up for the basic principle, that we strongly adhere to, that there should be and will be an open-door policy when it comes to NATO membership." Paul, who repeatedly has opposed U.S. military involvement in other countries during his political career, questioned the decision to push for "something that we knew our adversary (Russia) absolutely hated and said was a red line." Story continues "Now, there is no justification to the invasion. I'm not saying that. But there are reasons for the invasion," said Paul, who later added he's "proud of how well the Ukrainians have fought" and is supportive of their cause. Sen. Rand Paul makes an appearance in Louisville on Dec. 6, 2021 to honor the founders of Phocus, a maker of sparkling water energy drinks, as part of Small Business of the week. When Blinken noted Russia has, in the recent past, attacked countries that weren't members of NATO specifically Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova Paul countered with: "You could also argue the countries they've attacked were part of Russia, or part of the Soviet Union, rather." Blinken said he disagreed with that proposition, adding: "It is the fundamental right of these countries to decide their own future and their own destiny." Simil: Rand Paul delayed the historic Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson vote, and people were not happy "I'm not saying it's not," Paul responded. "But I'm saying that the countries that have been attacked, Georgia and Ukraine, were part of the Soviet Union..." Blinken jumped in: "That does not give Russia the right to attack them..." "No one's saying it does," Paul interjected. Blinken continued: " When everything came to a head, it is abundantly clear, in President Putin's own words, that this was never about Ukraine being potentially part of NATO, and it was always about his belief that Ukraine does not deserve to be a sovereign, independent country." Related: Only one lawmaker voted against all recent legislation aimed at Russia. He's from Kentucky Blowback was swift on Paul's comments Paul's exchange with Blinken was quickly met with disapproval online, including in a critical Rolling Stone article about his comments and tweets by figures like Alexander Vindman, a former National Security Council staffer whose testimony was a key part of former President Donald Trump's first impeachment. "Paul implies that Russia is justified in attacking Ukraine because, UKR was once part of the USSR. By that logic Britain is justified in attacking the U.S. and colonial powers their former holdings. What century does he live in?" Vindman tweeted Tuesday afternoon. A stunning exchange between @RandPaul & @SecBlinken Paul implies that Russia is justified in attacking Ukraine because, UKR was once part of the USSR. By that logic Britain is justified in attacking the U.S. and colonial powers their former holdings. What century does he live in? https://t.co/3e36s2JHP9 Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) April 26, 2022 Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., shared a video of Paul's exchange with Blinken and commented: "Rand Paul truly is ridiculous." Rand Paul truly is ridiculous. He and @TuckerCarlson should bro out. https://t.co/4NgRoWVDft Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) April 26, 2022 Charles Booker, a well-known Kentucky Democrat who hopes to defeat Paul in the fall election, also criticized the senator's statements Tuesday and asked for campaign donations to help boot him out of office. "Rand Paul just attempted to justify Russias invasion of Ukraine. He is actively pushing Putins propaganda in the Senate, and I will remove him from office in November," Booker tweeted. Rand Pauls actions are shameful. My name is Charles Booker, I am a lifelong Kentuckian, proud husband, father, and the person who is going to retire Rand Paul this November. Please help me win this race by chipping in today: https://t.co/ADC1y3APe4 Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) April 26, 2022 Paul's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul criticized over Russian invasion comments A rights group is pressing for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to prioritize the safety of civilians in Mariupol as the U.N. chief is scheduled to visit Moscow and Kyiv this week. After surviving two months of terror, hiding in basements as their city was turned to char and rubble, civilians still in Mariupol urgently need assistance and safe evacuation routes, Ida Sawyer, a Human Rights Watch crisis and conflict director, said in a statement on Tuesday. Secretary-General Guterres and other international leaders should press top Russian officials to ensure safe passage to Ukraine-controlled territory, Sawyer added. The rights groups pleas come after Guterres spoke in Moscow of the plight of civilians in Mariupol. Thousands of civilians are in dire need of life-saving humanitarian assistance, and many, of evacuation, he said of the hard-hit Ukrainian city. The United Nations is ready to fully mobilize its human and logistical resources to help save lives in Mariupol. But Guterres also spoke of his conversations with Russian leadership, suggesting a peaceful end to the conflict was not likely in the near term. I had a very frank discussion with the Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and it is clear that there are two different positions on what is happening in Ukraine, the secretary-general said, noting that to Russians the attack is a special military operation but to the U.N. it is a violation of its territorial integrity and against the Charter of the United Nations. The secretary-generals visit to Moscow has been criticized by a top adviser for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Igor Zhovkva. We did not understand his intention to travel to Moscow and to talk to President Putin, Zhovka said on Sunday. I really doubt if those peace talks organized by secretary-general of the U.N. would end up with any result. Guterres is also scheduled to visit Kyiv during his official trip. A United Nations (UN) spokesperson has said that there is no significance in his travels to Moscow first. Other global leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have also traveled to Kyiv amid the invasion which began on Feb. 24. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The search is on for Rising Above Bakerys storefront. And founder Shiri Reuveni-Ullrich has her sights set on Bergen County. Everything at Rising Above from its crusty sourdough bread to its soft chocolate chip cookies is made by adults with special needs and learning differences, guided by a troop of enthusiastic volunteers. Rising Above survives on the orders customers place for pickup. The bakery uses the restaurant The Fish Dock in Closter as a pickup point, though everything is made in Chestnut Ridge in Rockland County, New York. Now, the nonprofit bakery is raising money and hunting for storefronts to make its baked goods more accessible. On a recent visit to the bakery, which is in a small room at the back of Reuveni-Ullrichs house, the order of the day was making coconut macaroons, sandwich cookies, chocolate babka, oatmeal cookies and hot cross buns. Story continues below the gallery It was also the test day for Rising Aboves new cheesy jalapeno bread, which was slightly spicy with a deeply caramelized crust. Bakers Connor Carson and Amira Alexandre bustled around the kitchen, dipping macaroons in chocolate and mixing batter. I love it here, said Alexandre. Reuveni-Ullrich was formerly a speech therapist who baked as a hobby. She also had an interest in teaching individuals with autism and other developmental differences vital skills. So she started baking classes for adults who are differently-abled. I just loved how they enjoyed the kitchen, she said. For subscribers: El Taco Bar, Boomchia & 40 more North Jersey restaurants that have opened so far this year Schools: American Sign Language is a hit with NJ high schools, and it's not just because of 'CODA' Adults with special needs struggle to find employment after leaving school systems. About 19.1% of people with disabilities were employed in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Reuveni-Ullrich describes her ah-ha moment when she knew she wanted to dedicate her life to Rising Above when she heard her bakers, many of whom were nonverbal, singing, humming and talking to one another in the kitchen. Story continues It was as if all their walls came down, she said. Volunteer Monica Ullrich of Mahwah works alongside Connor Carson, 20, of Hillsdale at Rising Above Bakery, a nonprofit bakery in Chestnut Ridge, N.Y. The duo prepare gluten-free biscuits. The bakery employs special needs adults working alongside volunteers. She researched how to open a bakery and run a nonprofit for two years before opening in January 2021. The Rising Above team started by making granola for sale. If you mess that up, its easy to fix, Reuveni-Ullrich said. Everything we do is with the goal to increase their skill level. The menu has since expanded to include cookies, babka, brownies and most impressively bread, from gluten-free buckwheat loaves to rye to Semolina with sun-dried tomatoes to cinnamon raisin. Shiri Reuveni-Ullrich opened the virtual doors to her nonprofit, Rising Above Bakery in January 2021. The bakery, operating out of her Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., home, employs special needs adults working alongside volunteers. Bread is the most therapeutic, Reuveni-Ullrich said. Carson has become a pro at bread shaping, a skill that any baker will tell you takes time and practice. He was Rising Aboves first baker, joining right when it opened in 2021. I feel a part of something here, said Carson. Its meaningful work. Most of the ingredients used are locally sourced and organic. Rising Above also offers gluten-free and vegan treats, all made by the bakers, who typically work twice a week for three to four hours. Here's the scoop: Text this NJ ice cream truck and they'll stop by your house Volunteers like Sharon Ronan Daniel also help at the bakery. A retired pediatrician, Ronan Daniel was looking for something to do after her kids were settled in their careers. I wanted to spend my time doing something meaningful, she said. Im very happy to be here. Shiri Reuveni-Ullrich opened the virtual doors to her nonprofit, Rising Above Bakery, in January 2021. The bakery, operating out of her Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., home, employs special needs adults working alongside volunteers. Slices of jalapeno cheese bread from the bakery. She supervises in the kitchen and lends a hand by checking out storefronts and organizing fundraisers. A board of directors also helps guide Rising Aboves baking and business endeavors. Rising Above has caught the attention of several baking organizations, including the International Baking Industry Expo. Reuveni-Ullrich is set to do a talk during its September convention in Las Vegas. And while spreading the positive effects baking has had on her bakers is important, Reuveni-Ullrich is focused on raising enough money to expand to a brick-and-mortar. In other words, we could be seeing chewy buckwheat loaves and addictive jalapeno cheese bread in a storefront window in Bergen County soon. Go to risingabovebakery.org for more information. Rebecca King is a food writer for NorthJersey.com. For more on where to dine and drink, please subscribe today and sign up for our North Jersey Eats newsletter. Email: kingr@northjersey.com Twitter: @rebeccakingnj Instagram: @northjerseyeats This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rising Above Bakery may come to Bergen NJ soon (Reuters) -The Russian-backed separatist leader of the Ukrainian breakaway region of Donetsk said on Tuesday that Moscow should launch the next stage of its military campaign in Ukraine after reaching the region's frontiers. Denis Pushilin, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said on a Russian talk show broadcast online that the next phase of Russia's military intervention was crucial following security incidents outside the region. He cited blasts that hit the Moldovan breakaway region of Transdniestria bordering Ukraine on Monday, as well as Russian allegations of shelling of its border regions by Ukrainian forces. "The pace at which the (military) operation reaches our borders is important to us in order to launch its next phase, which is needed after what we witnessed in Transdniestria and Russia's border regions," RIA news agency quoted Pushilin as saying. Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists. Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Moscow announced that it will be cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria as of Wednesday, according to a Bloomberg report. Russia had previously threatened to cease gas supplies to any country that refuses Russian President Vladimir Putins stipulation that countries pay for Russias gas in rubles, but the European Union has insisted that in doing so, sanctions on Russia would be breached. Poland and Bulgaria are both members of the European Union (EU), and the decision to cut off their gas is a major escalation in the fight. Both countries are also members of NATO. Poland has also served as the main country housing refugees from neighboring Ukraine. The warnings that gas would soon be cut off came from two different suppliers, PGNiG and Gazprom, according to Bloomberg. Asked about the development, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday that the administration has been working for several months to increase natural gas supply and options for countries in Europe in anticipation of Russia potentially cutting off gas supplies to European nations. Last week, the EU announced a series of steps for residents to take to cut back on their energy consumption to aid Ukraine in the fight against Russia. Using less energy is not only an immediate way for EU citizens to reduce their bills, but it also supports Ukraine by reducing the need for Russian oil and gas, thereby helping to reduce the revenue streams funding the invasion, said the European Commission. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Russia is making good on promises to attack U.S. and allied weapons shipment points and fuel depots in Ukraine, launching rockets at five railway facilities used to funnel critical supplies into the country on Monday. The attacks across western and central Ukraine targeting supply lines and infrastructure come as billions worth of heavy artillery systems, tanks and armored vehicles begin arriving to help Ukraine face off against what is expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in Donbas. On Monday, the U.S. secretaries of State and Defense huddled with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv, where they pledged hundreds of millions more in military aid for the coming fight. We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it cant do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters in Poland Monday. It had already lost a lot of military capability and a lot of its troops, quite frankly, and we want to see them not have the capability to very quickly reproduce that capability. Over the past two weeks, the Pentagon has picked up the pace of its deliveries to the battlefield, rushing in more than $1 billion worth of heavy weaponry and other aid by sea and by air. On Thursday, President Joe Biden approved another $800 million weapons package, including 72 155mm howitzers. By Saturday, those howitzers were already showing up in the country, Austin said Monday. That is unimaginable speed, he said. Since August 2021, DoD has given Ukraine enough artillery to equip five battalions for potential use in the Donbas, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said last week. The U.S. military has also begun training several dozen Ukrainian fighters on the new equipment outside of Ukraine, he said. But in this new phase of the conflict, protecting critical supply lines will be key, experts and former officials say. The fight for Donbas will be won or lost primarily on logistics: weapons, equipment and ammunition, said Mick Mulroy, a former top Pentagon official and retired CIA paramilitary officer and Marine. There have to be uninterrupted supply lines from the U.S. and NATO. Story continues Those supply lines have been threatened by Russia since it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, but until now Moscow hasnt explicitly acknowledged it acted on these warnings. Both Russia and Ukraine are rushing to marshal resources and materiel in the Donbas region in Ukraines east, and western officials are pushing their governments to provide additional aid to Kyiv for the coming fight. Ukraine is taking in a lot of new Western new equipment, maybe more than the Russians have been capable of moving into the country themselves, so the imbalance in equipment that we saw in the early phases of the war is starting to equalize, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a Russia specialist at nonprofit research institute CNA. But moving tanks and large artillery pieces over the Polish border without attracting Russian attention is more complex than moving truckloads of smaller Javelin and Stinger missiles, which dominated the donations in the early days of the war. Striking those new, larger shipments, if they come by both rail and road, could prove difficult for Russia over the long run, however. Russias pilots remain wary of testing Ukraines air defenses and the Kremlin will likely need to start conserving some of its long-range precision weapons. [Russias] stockpiles aren't necessarily large when it comes to weapons such as Kalibr and Iskander precision missiles, Gorenburg said. They are using them up, and they don't want to use them all because that would weaken their ability to fight NATO in the near future. And so far, Russia has not been effective at disrupting the supply lines, primarily because its military is not very good at dynamic targeting in other words, hitting a moving object rather than a stationary target such as a building, Mulroy said. The fighting in the coming days and weeks will likely be different from the small-unit clashes seen in the opening weeks of the war, when Ukrainian anti-armor munitions blunted Russian attacks around the capital of Kyiv in close-in urban fighting. The war in Donbas has already seen longer-range artillery engagements, and the 90 howitzers supplied by the U.S., alongside newly arrived Canadian howitzers and French Caesar mobile 155mm cannon systems on the way will give Ukrainian forces the ability to match if not outdistance Russias long-range capabilities. Adding to the inflow of armor, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed Monday that his country had sent T-72 tanks to Ukraine, following the lead of the Czech Republic, which has sent its own Soviet-era tanks in recent weeks. While the Russian long-range strikes into western Ukraine are expanding the zone of conflict, Ukrainian helicopters last month also conducted a risky operation into Russia, targeting an oil depot over the border in Belgorod. On Sunday night, several explosions rocked two oil facilities, one commercial and one military, in the Russian city of Bryansk close to the Ukrainian border. Those explosions came after a string of unexplained fires at Russian military research facilities over the past week. As the fight for Donbas gathers strength, British intelligence assesses that Russia has made minor advances in Ukraines east in recent days, and without sufficient logistical and combat support enablers in place, Russia has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough U.K. defense attache Mick Smeath said in a statement Monday. Britain will also send Ukraine a small number of Stormer armored vehicles fitted with launchers for anti-air missiles, defense chief Ben Wallace announced Monday. This is in addition to a shipment of Challenger 2 tanks that Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday. Since the conflict began, Russia has lost about 15,000 personnel, over 2,000 armored vehicles, and more than 60 helicopters and fighter jets, according to U.K. Ministry of Defence estimates, Wallace said. Over 25 percent of the battalion tactical groups Russian committed to the fight have been rendered not combat effective, he added. Russia has so far failed in nearly every one of its objectives, Wallace said. These next three weeks are key. A Ukrainian soldier walks amid the rubble of a building heavily damaged by Russian bombardments in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Felipe Dana / Associated Press) The United States rallied 40 nations Tuesday to provide long-term military aid to Ukraine as Russia raised the specter of nuclear war if NATO members keep sending arms to the embattled country. In an apparent response to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, who said Monday that the U.S. wanted Russia permanently "weakened," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of escalating tensions. Asked on Russian TV whether the current situation was comparable to the Cuban missile crisis, which brought the U.S. and Russia to the brink of nuclear war in 1962, Lavrov said his country wants to avoid nuclear conflict, and then added: "The danger is serious, it's real. It should not be underestimated." "NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy," he said. "War means war." Defense officials from dozens of countries met at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany, where the agenda focused on accelerating the arms shipments. In a dramatic shift, Germany announced that for the first time it would send air-defense tanks to Ukraine. Other nations pledged howitzers, tanks, rockets, drones, hand grenades and rifles. Russia expanded its assault on southern and eastern regions of Ukraine overnight, saying its forces killed 500 "enemy personnel" a claim that could not be verified and hit military targets in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Ukraine cited fresh attacks on civilians as well as military sites. A building heavily damaged by Russian airstrikes in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. (Felipe Dana / Associated Press) "Russian troops have launched an offensive in all directions," said Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said Russia was zeroing in on the cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk in the east and Kryvyi Rih Zelensky's hometown in the south. The British Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Russians had also overtaken the city of Kreminna, in the Luhansk region, though Ukraine did not confirm the city's fall. Story continues Officials said two missiles struck the central city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one person. In the southern city of Kherson, which fell to Russia early in the war, the occupiers have scheduled a vote this week on the creation of a so-called independent Kherson Peoples Republic. The move, which Zelensky called a "sham referendum," would follow a long-term Russian strategy of fomenting unrest in the eastern region of Donbas, where pro-Russia separatists have already declared breakaway republics in Luhansk and Donetsk. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a chief reason he invaded Ukraine was to "liberate" ethnic Russians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks by video from Kyiv on Monday. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office) The war, now in its third month, has left mass graves and rubble in cities and towns across Ukraine, including the southern port of Mariupol, which Russia claimed victory over last week even as a group of Ukrainian troops remains holed up in a sprawling steel plant. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said a new mass grave the third to be named, this time in the village of Staryi Krym was discovered just outside the city. Kyiv, the capital, which has largely been spared attack over the last month as Russia shifted its offensive south and east, imposed a nightly curfew this week amid increasing concerns about further violence. And in the Black Sea port of Odesa, authorities reported an explosion that damaged a bridge over the Dniester River and cut off rail connections with neighboring Romania. In an overnight video address, Zelensky said Ukraine which has lost about 3,000 troops compared with unconfirmed estimates of up to 15,000 deaths among the Russians would keep fighting to "make the occupiers stay in our land even more intolerable." Zelensky and Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, have dismissed the Russian warnings of nuclear conflict. "Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine," Kuleba tweeted. "Thus, the talk of a real danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat." The war also continued to spill into neighboring Moldova, where local officials in Transnistria, a pro-Russia breakaway enclave, said two radio towers were damaged in explosions Tuesday a day after similar explosions were reported in the region's capital, Tiraspol. Ukraine's intelligence agency has described such attacks as "planned provocation by Russian intelligence. Last week, a senior Russian military official told state media that Russia wanted control of southern Ukraine in order to have a land corridor to Transnistria, also known as Trans-Dniester. At the summit in Germany, the U.S. Defense secretary described Ukraine as "fighting a war of necessity to defend its democracy, its sovereignty and its citizens." "Russia's invasion is indefensible, and so are Russian atrocities," Austin said, adding that Russia has already been significantly weakened after two months of fighting. "Casualties are pretty substantial," he told reporters at the air base. "Theyve lost a lot of equipment. They've used a lot of precision-guided munitions. And so they are in fact, in terms of military capability, weaker than when they started. Austin said again that the United States aimed to ensure that Russia is never again able to invade a peaceful neighbor. He also derided Russian comments warning of possible nuclear warfare as "clearly unhelpful" saber rattling. Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told those attending the summit that "time is not on Ukraines side." "The outcome of this battle, right here, today, is dependent on the people in this room," he said. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, rear center, hosts a meeting of Western defense officials at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany, on Tuesday. (Michael Probst / Associated Press) The attendees included representatives from major European nations as well as Turkey and Israel. South Africa and Japan participated virtually. Ukrainian leaders, who did not succeed in earlier attempts to secure a no-fly zone enforced by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to prevent Russian attacks, had redoubled their efforts on asking for more and deadlier armaments. "We say again and again: weapon, weapons, weapons! We need weapons to keep standing and defending the values of humankind," Lesia Vasylenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, tweeted Tuesday. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that in addition to pledging billions in military and humanitarian aid, the U.S. is also holding Moscow accountable through sanctions, export controls and visa restrictions. "The Moscow that prepared to invade and that on Feb. 24 went forward with its invasion will not be the same Russian Federation in terms of its positioning on the world stage," he said. "You can already see the toll on Russia's economy and its financial system." He added: "Not only will Ukraine emerge sovereign and independent when this is over, but Moscow will emerge weaker." Pushing back against sanctions, Russia will suspend natural gas deliveries to both Poland and Bulgaria starting Wednesday, according to officials from both countries. It is the first time Putin has made good on his threat to cut off "unfriendly foreign buyers" unless they pay in Russian rubles. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Putin and Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday. Underscoring the difficulty of ending a war that has raged without pause through multiple rounds of negotiations, Guterres told reporters in Moscow that his "very frank discussion" with Lavrov showed "it is clear that there are two different positions on what is happening in Ukraine." He said the U.N. was looking for opportunities to negotiate cease-fires to move civilians to safety. "We urgently need humanitarian corridors that are truly safe and effective and that are respected by all to evacuate civilians and deliver much-needed assistance," he said. Guterres is to travel Thursday to Kyiv to meet Zelensky. The war has resulted in a refugee crisis unseen since World War II, with 5.2 million people fleeing Ukraine a total that the U.N. said could eventually reach 8.3 million. More than 8 million people have been internally displaced. Among the cities hardest hit has been Kharkiv, which lies about 25 miles from the Russian border and has been subjected to near-daily shelling including in residential zones since the war began. On Tuesday, a road on Kharkiv's outskirts was full of hundreds of people lined up in front of a half-constructed church, where aid workers with the Noah's Ark Church organization were distributing food. "Please don't push. There's enough food for everyone," said one man in sunglasses who stood at the gate to manage the crowd. "Be calm, praise God, and glory to Ukraine." Inside were pallets loaded with bags of potatoes and onions and boxes of apples. There were also items that reflected the difficulty of maintaining a semblance of ordinary life in a city pummeled daily by Russian forces: cleaning products, matches, small candles. "There's a lot of need right now. Some of these people have been lining up since 4 a.m.," said Andrey Varakuta, a 30-year-old aid worker. "We do this three times a week. Every time we do it, more and more people show up." Bulos reported from Kharkiv, Kaleem from London and Parvini from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Staff and supporters of the Chicago Reader rally April 21, 2022, outside the Lakeview home of Reader investor Leonard Goodman. A plan to convert the 51-year-old alternative newspaper to a nonprofit has been delayed by one of its two primary investors, Chicago defense attorney Goodman, after editors pushed back on a November column he wrote expressing concerns about vaccinating his child against COVID-19. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Chicago Reader co-owner Len Goodman and three board members stepped down Tuesday amid protests from employees, freeing the embattled alternative newspaper to transition to a nonprofit organization. The Reader has been stuck in limbo since December, when a planned transition to a nonprofit model was delayed over concerns about alleged censorship of an opinion piece written by Goodman, who pushed for an investigation into the matter and more representation on the successor board. Advertisement Goodman announced Tuesday he was stepping away from the Reader immediately over an unresolvable impasse with fellow co-owner, Chicago real estate developer Elzie Higginbottom, who wanted to move forward with the transition to a nonprofit newspaper. We cannot continue the fight without destroying the Reader, Goodman said in a statement. I am stepping aside. I will sign off on the sale so that the Reader can transition immediately to NFP status. Advertisement Board members Dorothy Leavell, Sladjana Vuckovic and Carol Bell, who were aligned with Goodmans concerns, announced they were also stepping down immediately. Frustrated Reader editorial employees organized a rally last week in front of Goodmans Lakeview East home and planned another one for Thursday morning in an effort to get the Chicago criminal defense attorney to relinquish control and let the newspaper move forward as a nonprofit. Goodman blamed Reader management for not addressing his concerns. In 2018, Goodman and Higginbottom bought the Reader from the Chicago Sun-Times for $1 and the assumption of debt. Since then, they have invested more than $1 million each to keep it afloat, weathering the pandemic and supporting the money-losing publication as it planned to transition to a more sustainable nonprofit model. That plan was delayed after editors pushed back on a November opinion piece by Goodman expressing concerns about vaccinating his 6-year-old daughter against COVID-19, which created backlash on social media for some disputed scientific claims. It also created a schism among the co-owners and the board after the Reader tried to reel the piece back in, hiring an outside fact-checker for a post-publication edit. Goodman objected to pulling or revising it, and the original version remained online. Tracy Baim, 59, a longtime Chicago journalist and co-founder of the Windy City Times, took the helm of the Reader under the new owners in 2018 and created the planned transition to a nonprofit organization. She was conciliatory after Goodmans announcement Tuesday. I am relieved and grateful and looking forward to the challenges ahead, Baim said. I am very grateful for the support Len has given to the Reader the past three and a half years. It has been critical to take us to this point. And this decision will get us to the next phase of the Chicago Reader. On Dec. 17, the Readers for-profit board, then comprised of three members, passed a resolution urging the planned transition to the nonprofit, set to take place on Dec. 31, not proceed until the issue of censorship of Goodmans piece was investigated and resolved. The board also called for the sale to be contingent on Goodman getting an equal amount of appointees on the successor nonprofit board. Advertisement Leavell, the Chicago Crusader publisher who served as board chair and was initially appointed by Higginbottom, voted for the resolution along with Vuckovic, a Chicago attorney appointed by Goodman. Both followed Goodman out the door Tuesday. The attempt to rewrite Lens column post publication and the attacks on his character reflect badly on the organization, Vuckovic said in a statement. Equal partners in the Reader, Goodman has contributed about $2 million, while Higginbottom has put in $1 million and provided free office space for the publication. Each was entitled to appoint two members to the for-profit board and recommend candidates for approval to the 11-member nonprofit board. The nonprofit Reader Institute for Community Journalism was created by Baim in December 2019, with Eileen Rhodes, president of East Lake Management, the Chicago real estate company founded by Higginbottom, appointed board chair. Nine of the 11 seats had been filled with nonprofit board members including Vuckovic, LGBTQ advocate Kim Hunt and former Chicago public radio host Alison Cuddy. The co-owners were attempting to negotiate a solution that would allow Goodman to fill the remaining two seats on the nonprofit board and potentially replace at least one existing member. Tuesdays announcement will create some additional board vacancies. Higginbotton said Tuesday he truly appreciates the support that Len offered to save the Reader and that hes excited about the next phase of the Reader as a nonprofit. Advertisement The shift to a nonprofit model is a growing trend in the struggling newspaper industry, with the Salt Lake Tribune the first major daily newspaper to make the transition in November 2019. In January, the Sun-Times became a nonprofit newspaper when it merged with public radio station WBEZ-FM 91.5 under the banner of Chicago Public Media. The Reader, which has an annual budget of about $2.8 million, was approaching break-even through a combination of advertising and charitable support, but was running out of money after the ownership impasse delayed the transition to nonprofit. Launched in 1971 by a group of Carleton College graduates as a free weekly, the Reader changed hands several times in the new millennium as it struggled with declining advertising revenue in the digital age. For 35 Reader employees and their supporters, Tuesdays announcement offers hope the alternative newspaper has found a viable path forward. Its wonderful to have a future again, said Philip Montoro, 50, music editor at the Reader and head of its 17-member local unit of the Chicago News Guild. Im grateful to Len Goodman for the support he gave us it allowed us to get to this point. And Id like to thank him for doing the right thing today, because that means we can keep going. rchannick@chicagotribune.com A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. Associated Press About 15,000 Russian troops have died in the invasion of Ukraine, per UK's defense secretary. Roughly the same number of Soviet soldiers died during the nine-year war in Afghanistan. At least 2,665 civilians have been killed in Ukraine to date, according to the UN's OHCHR. In nearly nine weeks, Russia lost as many troops during its invasion of Ukraine as it did in the nine years of the Soviet War in Afghanistan. "It is our assessment that approximately 15,000 Russian personnel have been killed during their offensive," Ben Wallace, UK's Secretary of State for Defense said in a statement released by the British embassy in Washington on Monday. He also estimated that approximately a quarter of the battalion tactical groups were "not combat effective." The Soviet War in Afghanistan lasted from 1979 to 1989. Many scholars partially attributed the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse to the military failure in the war. About 14,500 Soviet soldiers died then along with 90,000 Mujahideen soldiers, 18,000 Afghan soldiers, and approximately one million civilians, The Atlantic reported in 2014. Wallace similarly pointed to a "failure of the Russian Ministry of Defence command and control at all levels." He also singled out Russia's equipment losses, including the Moskva warship, which sank on April 14 after a Ukrainian missile attack. "Last week Russia admitted that the Slava-class cruiser Moskva has sunk the second key naval asset that they have lost since invading significantly weakening their ability to bring their maritime assets to bear from the Black Sea," he said in his remarks, delivered to the House of Commons on Ukraine. "Russia has so far failed in nearly every one of its objectives," he added. Since Vladimir Putin waged war on Ukraine on February 24, at least 2,665 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday, which says the actual number is likely much higher. Story continues The UK Secretary of State for Defence also estimated that more than 2,000 Russian armored vehicles were totaled or seized, including "at least 530 tanks, 530 Armoured Personnel Carriers and 560 Infantry Fighting Vehicles." They estimate that the country has also lost at least 60 helicopters and fighter jets. Wallace said Ukraine has "endured indiscriminate bombardment, war crimes, and overwhelming military aggression." "But they have stood firm, galvanized the international community, and beaten back the army of Russia in the North and the North-East," he added. Read the original article on Business Insider The sheriffs department investigating last years fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust said Monday that its still gathering key evidence, throwing cold water on actor Alec Baldwins recent claim that hes been cleared of any wrongdoing. The Santa Fe County Sheriffs Departments investigation remains open and ongoing, the department said as it released files related to the investigation, including footage of the aftermath of the shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. The sheriffs office in Santa Fe County, NM has released new footage of its investigation into the deadly shooting on the set of the movie Rust. Body cam video shows the frantic moments after the shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. pic.twitter.com/IpSWECIjox CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 25, 2022 According to Sheriff AdanMendoza, various components of the investigation remain outstanding, including FBI firearm and ballistic forensics, DNA and fingerprint analysis, findings from the Office of the New Mexico Medical Examiner, and analysis of Baldwins phone data. The investigation will not be handed over to the district attorneys office for review until that evidence is gathered, Mendoza said. Baldwin, who was starring in and producing the film, released a statement from his attorney last week suggesting a report from the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau had cleared him of malfeasance on set. We appreciate that the report exonerates Mr. Baldwin by making clear that he believed the gun held only dummy rounds, his lawyer wrote. Additionally, the report recognizes that [his] authority on the production was limited to approving script changes and creative casting. Baldwin also maintains that he did not pull the trigger. Story continues During and after production, the films crew complained that those at the helm of the project did not properly explain or enforce firearm safety on set. Investigators found that Baldwins fatal shot was the fourth time a prop gun had fired unintentionally during filming. The unionized crew eventually walked off the set, citing a lack of firearms safety and medics, as well as poor COVID-19 protocols. Production also failed to provide hotel rooms near the remote filming location, forcing many crew members to commute for an hour on top of their 13-hour shifts, leaving them without adequate time to sleep. The documents released Monday include text messages of the crews complaints, witness interviews and police officers lapel and dash-camera footage, but none establish how live ammunition got on set. The newly released videos show Baldwins first conversations with police and investigators, both on set and at the police station. The actor is cooperative, asking that officers tell [him] what to do. Other footage shows Hutchins and Souza on the ground following the shooting, as well as Souza recounting the ordeal from his hospital room. The armorer handed the actor a gun, he said, referring to the on-set armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and Baldwin. I dont know if she said it was cold or clean, but she handed him a gun and there was a bang a louder bang than Ive heard come from a blank before. Baldwins legal team did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment on the sheriffs comments and files. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... (Independent) Exactly how regular matter first transmuted into the, organized self-replicating assemblies of molecules that we call life on Earth is the focus of ongoing scientific research across many disciplines. But a new paper published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications strengthens theories that hold the basis of life came from outer space. Using new techniques of chemical analysis, Japanese researchers have now shown all the amino acids necessary to form DNA and RNA, the genetic basis of life can be found in small meteorites that fall to Earth. These nucleobases are not examples of extraterrestrial life, but instead the result of chemistry taking place on asteroids while in space, which may then have seeded Earth with the necessary prebiotic material to help the development of life. That material, the study authors write, may have contributed to the emergence of genetic properties for the earliest life on Earth. The idea that genetic material could form on carbon-rich asteroids and then ride down to Earth on meteorites small enough to soft-land without vaporizing the prebiotic material is not new and dates back at least 50 years. In 1969, a meteorite landed in Murchison, Australia, and was found to contain many amino acids, suggesting interstellar chemistry could create the ingredients necessary for life. By the 1990s, planetary scientist Carl Sagan suggested that although the concentration of such organic material in each small meteorite is very small, the higher rate of meteorite impact seen in Earths youth could have led to a significant amount of material falling to our planets surface. The absolute abundance of nucleobases of extraterrestrial origin could be enough for further chemical reactions on the early Earth, said Yasuhiro Oba, a professor in the Institute of Low Temperature Science at Hokkaido University, in Japan, and the lead author of the new study. Scientists running simulations of the chemistry taking place on interstellar asteroids seemed to find more evidence supporting the idea that genetic material could form in space, according to Dr Oba. But studies of the Murchison and other meteorites, until now, only showed half of the necessary materials on the fallen space rocks. Story continues DNA, which encodes the blueprint for each organism on Earth, and RNA, which communicates and implements that blueprint in each organism, are made up of two classes of molecules: the purines such as guanine and adenine, and the pyrimidines, such as cytosine, uracil, and thymine. DNA is constructed of adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, the four nucleotides creating the base pairs of DNA, while RNA uses uracil in place of thymine. But while previous studies had identified the purine nucleotides, guanine, and adenine, Dr Ogas study is the first to discover the pyrimidines in meteorites, showing the full range of nucleotides necessary for genetic chemistry can, in fact, fall to Earth on space rocks. What is not clear, however, is just how much of an impact on Earths early chemistry such meteorites may have had, and Dr Oba is quick to point out that a lot depends on how much prebiotic chemistry may have been active on Earth before considering any extraterrestrial influence. If the production efficiency of nucleobases on the Earth was much higher than the inputs from space, he said, contributions to the emergence of genetic function and/or life itself from such extraterrestrial nucleobases could not be large. At the same time, Dr Oba said, he believes its likely the prebiotic chemistry from multiple sources was important to the origins of life its possible terrestrial and extraterrestrial chemistry made their own contributions. Dr Oba and his colleagues made their discovery by training new technologies and techniques on three old meteorites, including the Murchison meteorite. What excites him and his colleagues, they note in the paper, is the opportunity to apply new techniques to new asteroid samples extracted in space, such as from the Nasa mission currently returning samples from asteroid Bennu, and samples from asteroid Ryugu returned by the Japanese Space Agency in December 2020. Such samples they write, will provide us with important insights into the evolution of extraterrestrial organic molecules, and potential clues regarding the origins of life on Earth through chemical analyses of pristine extraterrestrial materials that have not been significantly compromised by terrestrial contamination. Shaler Township Police said teams of thieves are going around stealing catalytic converters underneath buses and box trucks. It only takes them a few minutes to cut them out from underneath and reselling them for hundreds of dollars. It seems to be something thats happening all over the area, not just Allegheny County but even outside Allegheny County, said Chief Sean Frank for Shaler Township Police. According to Shaler Township police, seven catalytic converters were stolen along Route 8 in February. Police said Hampton Township was hit shortly after and this is also possibly connected to an incident in Mercer County. Lately, weve been seeing them targeting buses and box trucks maybe those are larger and more weight for the resale, said Chief Frank. Shaler police are also investigating attempted catalytic converter thefts that happened earlier this month. Police said the alleged crooks drove a white Nissan kicks. Chief Sean Frank said they hit a couple of box trucks at a business near route 8. There were two cuts and they didnt realize until the business owner started the vehicle in the morning, said Chief Frank. Over in West Mifflin, three people have been charged Monday for stealing a bunch of scrap metal at a local junkyard in February. The criminal complaint said John Leasa, Brian Rigo and Carley Austen stole a wagon full of scrap metal and the vehicle involved was also a white Nissan kicks. Not sure if these two are related but we are working with other departments to see if we can connect all the dots here, said Chief Frank. It seems like they work in teams if not three or four people. As police investigate if these thefts are connected, anyone with information is encouraged to contact Shaler Township police. TRENDING NOW: Driver crashes into local salon, leaves before police get there, witnesses say Three more shootings: how Pittsburgh leaders are trying to end gun violence Pittsburgh animator to compete on Jeopardy! this week VIDEO: Three adults, two children injured after house explodes in Plum DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Oliwia Dabrowska as an adult doing volunteer work to support Ukrainian refugees (left) and as a child in Schindlers List (right) (Left: Courtesy of Oliwia Dabrowska Right: Moviestore/Shutterstock) Oliwia Dabrowska is a normal person who never meant to become famous. Shes 32 years old and lives in her native Poland with her husband and their rescue dog. She used to be a librarian but switched to working as a freelance copywriter for better pay. She loves books and occasionally volunteers for a dog rescue organization. Its hard to say something about myself, she tells The Independent. I can tell you facts, but facts dont describe me. I cannot judge myself. I hope Im a good person. Thats all I can say. Yet to millions of people, one image of Dabrowska is overwhelmingly familiar. When she was three years old, she was cast in Schindlers List. She portrayed the girl in the red coat, one of few elements of color in the mainly black and white film. To director Steven Spielberg, the girl in the red coat symbolized the inaction of governments during the Holocaust: Nothing was being done to slow down the industrialized progress the Nazis were making in the total annihilation of European Jewry, the director once told journalist Richard Schickel. ... So that was my message in letting that scene be in color. It was as obvious as a little girl wearing a red coat walking down the street. The way she recounts it, Dabrowskas casting in Schindlers List was almost an accident. When the film entered production in Krakow, she says, the production team needed a lot of extras. She jokes that half of the population in the 700,000-people city must have become involved in the movie. Her mother, her grandparents, her aunt, and several of her mothers friends were all extras. At some point, Dabrowskas mother received information for the casting of the girl in the red coat. Dabrowska attended the audition with her grandfather, because no one else was available to take her. Ive never asked [Spielberg] why he chose me, but I think it was because I wasnt shy, I wasnt afraid, she says. And I wasnt interested, actually. I wasnt trying to show Steven Spielberg my best face. There were other girls who were there with their mothers. It was like a pageant, a competition. She laughs at the memory: My grandfather wasnt interested either. He just took care of me. So I could do whatever I wanted. In the end, she believes her natural behavior was the reason she was picked. Story continues Oliwia Dabrowska as the girl in the red coat in Schindlers List (1994) (Moviestore/Shutterstock) Dabrowska doesnt remember much from filming. My actual memories are more feelings than fact, she says. A lot of the anecdotes she knows were recounted to her by her mother. She did impact one scene specifically, she tells me: at one point during filming, the girl in the red coat had to go under a bed. Dabrowska was afraid of the dark (and possible spiders) and didnt want to go in with her head first, but rather her legs first. Steven Spielberg accepted this change, and thats in the movie, she says with a smile. So I had a little bit of influence. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Dabrowska was reminded of the character she played and it pushed her to do something. To her, the girl in the red coat was a symbol of trauma, embodying the atrocities of the Holocaust and of the Second World War. On 9 March, she shared an artwork of the same girl, this time in a blue coat, against a yellow background matching the colors of the Ukraine flag. Inspired by conversations with two of her friends, Dabrowska has reimagined the girl in the blue coat as representing healing in the aftermath of trauma. She was always the symbol of hope, she wrote on Instagram. Let her be it again. The post came as Dabrowska got involved with on-the-ground volunteers to assist Ukrainian refugees, helping them find housing and transportation. The group started out small but now has more than 200 members. Dabrowska now devotes most of her time to volunteer work. In one instance, Dabrowska helped organize an effort to deliver insulin to diabetic people. At a different time, a 19-year-old girl texted her that shed be arriving by train and was looking for a place to stay. Its not very safe for girls who are alone, Dabrowska says. There are a lot of bad people in the world. She texted the young woman back promptly and helped her find somewhere to go. Once, Dabrowska was home after a long day when she got a call around 10pm. A mother was traveling alone with her child; she was scheduled to take a bus to Berlin, Germany, the next day but needed somewhere to spend the night. Dabrowska called a friend and helped ensure the mother stayed in a safe place. Dabrowska and the rest of her group have a wide remit in terms of what they will do and who they will help. They have coordinated transportation for people crossing the border from Ukraine into Poland. They have helped refugees find housing and a way to travel there. They have coordinated with other volunteers to help meet everyones needs. And it hasnt gone unnoticed. Dabrowskas volunteer work, paired with the imagery of the girl in the blue dress, have made headlines around the world. When we speak, she tells me she has been doing interviews for two weeks, sometimes five or six per day. This has been her first foray back in the public eye since her acting career. After Schindlers List, Dabrowska did commercials and had a few more screen credits. Ultimately, though, she stopped acting because she didnt want to spend her childhood attending casting calls. Maybe I wasnt that talented, she says. It was a different time. There was no internet, no computer in my home. So there were fewer possibilities to find opportunities. She went back to normal life. Oliwia Dabrowska and other volunteers work to support Ukrainian refugees (Courtesy of Oliwia Dabrowska) Dabrowska speaks of her work with refugees with respect, empathy, and compassion. The best way people can help, from the US and other countries, is through financial donations, she says. She has started an online fundraiser, aiming to raise 43,000 ($46,000 or 36,000). If people want to donate goods, they can send first-aid supplies (she mentions bandages and tourniquets specifically), as well as clothes for Ukrainian soldiers, shoes, socks, brand-new underwear, and food with a long shelf life, such as canned goods. But money, she says, is the most important resource, because volunteers can allocate it to the most pressing needs. People dont want to talk about money. They dont like it, she adds. But I must be honest: its important. We need that help. Working with refugees, she has felt the weight of the trauma their generation will experience. I will never understand them, but I can do whatever I can to help them, she says. But its also a very sad feeling, because even if Im doing as much as I can, it wont ever be enough. The needs are bigger than our volunteer groups capacities. This is very difficult, but we dont stop. We wont stop. Angelica Glass hikes along Hinckley Basin Road in Santa Cruz County. She starts each trek from her home in the beach town where she has lived all her life. (Nic Coury / For The Times) It began as a whimsical notion that occurred to Angelica Glass during a bubble bath: She would walk every street in Santa Cruz County. She had no idea it would unearth her past and change how she experienced life. She started each walk from her home in this beach town where she has lived all her adult life. She noticed spiraling vines of wild cucumber dripping down fences and how they would bounce back like a spring if she pulled them. She paused in front of garage doors painted with geometric patterns and studied the quirky metal sculptures on Hanover Street. She noted tree houses, graveyards, rope swings. She made lists of favorite road names, such as Easy Street, Squid Row and Young Love Avenue. As she wandered, her mind went on its own rambles, throwing up odd memories. She recalled herself as a little girl, stepping over a low fence and squeezing behind a hedge where each day she found a brown paper bag holding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was cut on the diagonal, which thrilled her, and it came with a baggie full of chips and an apple. She devoured it all. She was often hungry. As a child she hadnt questioned where the lunches came from. They were just there. Now she wondered. Whats going on with you? her wife of 23 years worriedly asked when Glass cried twice in one week, shortly after beginning the walks in 2013. Angelica Glass had no idea that her walks would unearth her past and change how she experienced life. (Nic Coury / For The Times) Brisk but pleasant, recently retired as a child welfare program manager in Santa Cruz County, Glass didnt cry. She had always seen her strength as being able to say hard things as kindly as possible. She was pragmatic and not given to what she calls froufrou. When other social workers said they didnt believe in the system, she thought to herself, It's not God or Santa Claus. Its not for us to believe or disbelieve. It exists and we have to do the best we can. She recalled her teenage self as a tough girl," a young lesbian with a half-shaved head who believed she could defend herself if jumped never mind that she weighed 115 pounds. Story continues But much of her past was vague and shapeless. She had always envied how other people could tell a story about their lives. Shed idly felt she was missing her own tale. :: At her retirement job as a social worker at a hospital, Glass witnessed the same suffering shed seen in her child welfare work: families traumatized for generations by poverty, addiction and abuse. On her days off, she would walk more of Santa Cruz. Her uncle died and left a small token of affection: $800. She wanted to buy something specific with the money and bought a camera to take on her walks. Angelica Glass hikes along Hinckley Basin Road. As she wandered, her mind went on its own rambles, throwing up odd memories. (Nic Coury / For The Times) It gave her joy to speak a new language, popping off phrases such as single reflex DSLR and learning concepts such as leading line to direct a viewers eye in a photograph. Sometimes she took photos of things that at first made her wince and turn away. On Rabbit Run Road, she saw an eviscerated deer and coyotes in the bushes. When she processed the photos, she looked closely at the deers ribs and matted fur, the bloodstains around the coyotes mouths. She took photos of other dead animals so she could, as she wrote in notes to herself, study the scoop-shaped hands of a dead mole, the zagged blue scales on the belly of a roadkill lizard or the geometry of bare bones amazing vessels that had once held life. Her goal had been to take a photo of something beautiful on every street. But her idea of what could be beautiful was upended. She became fascinated by men not in that way. But she had come out at a young age and men had seldom been part of her social circles. Now, she discovered affable men in garages making things. There was a man crafting woodworking tools, as his Portuguese family had done for generations. In another garage, a man stacked crab pots hed made, and outside another a man was in the early stages of carving a violin. All were eager to chat about their projects. One day on a bridge, she was trying to take a photo of a falling leaf. She made a pile of leaves and threw one at a time off the bridge, trying to focus and take the shot. A woman came along and said, Do you need an assistant? The woman slowly threw leaves one after another. When the pile was gone, the woman wished her a good day and continued on her way. She met a beaming woman who had just sold her first painting, a woman watering her lawn with a blue-headed parrot on her shoulder and a man who wanted to take pictures of manhole covers and then take road trips to the foundries where they were made. She called such moments micro-friendships. On days when she planned to walk, even if it was raining or cold, she couldn't wait to get out there. Id never experienced that before, being excited to wake up in the morning, she said. The only feeling I can compare it to was being in love. I fell hopelessly in love with everyone and everything. Angelica Glass photographs a flower on one of her walks. Sometimes she took photos of things that at first made her wince and turn away. (Nic Coury / For The Times) In six years, she had walked 4,121 streets of Santa Cruz County. Even before she reached that milestone, she extended her quest to include walking every marked trail in the county. She had not previously been a hiker, and this was a new world. After each hike, she would pore over her phone identifying bugs, differentiating mushrooms, trying to understand how she could come across fossilized sand dollars in Scotts Valley, 560 feet above sea level. She saw red, green, yellow ladybugs some with spots and some without and a gray one with pink wings. She learned there are at least 500 different kinds of ladybugs. More than once, she felt an almost atmospheric change in the air and noted mountain lion scat. Her interior journeys also continued. She thought about Mrs. Sutherland, the English neighbor who had lived across the street. When Glass was a little girl, Mrs. Sutherland often invited her to tea, preparing a tray of fragile cups and saucers. One time when her kindly neighbor started to pour milk into her cup, Glass said, I dont want none. I hate milk. Mrs. Sutherland offered alternative words: None for me, thanks. I dont care for milk. The words felt like marbles in her mouth as she practiced saying them. Tea time was 4 p.m. On the days Glass showed up late, Mrs. Sutherland would mildly suggest another day when she could make it on time. When Glass pulled out the only dress she could find, dirty and rumpled, and wore it to tea, Mrs. Sutherland told her to go home and change and bring the dress back; Mrs. Sutherland then laundered and ironed it while they had tea and biscuits. When Glass arrived the next time in the clean, pressed dress, Mrs. Sutherland said she looked like a proper little girl and Glass' heart soared. Remembering all this as an adult, Glass realized Mrs. Sutherlands house was directly across the street from where she had found the secret lunches. Glass had not completely blocked out her childhood. She knew she and her seven siblings had grown up in a filthy house with a violent mother, a passive father and, for a while, her mothers much younger boyfriend and her fathers girlfriend. Later, her niece and nephew died at the hands of her older sisters ex-partner. Her sister became an activist against gun violence after the deaths of Shasta, 2, and Johnathan, 4. But it wasnt until her long walks, usually solo, that Glass started drawing connections between Shasta and Johnathan, her own childhood, and why she became a child welfare professional. She had never before ascribed a larger purpose to her life. She interviewed her siblings, trying to lay out the bare bones of their childhood, trying to look at the details as unflinchingly as she had looked at her photos of dead animals. She kept walking. Her mind wandered between past and future. Sorrows and joys. She wondered how she could justify spending this time, on what she feared was a frivolous project, in a world with so much trauma. But at the same time it felt as vital to her as breathing. :: On a recent day, hiking through redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Glass pointed out how spider webs can reflect rainbow colors when the sun hits just right. Her scientist brother told her it was because the strands of a web have bumps, like beads in a necklace, but the bumps are irregular so they bounce back different wave lengths of light. At one startlingly clear stream, she recalled once taking a photograph of a mother newt perched on a stick, protecting her sac of eggs. In the photograph, she could see clouds reflected in the newts eye. She told her story. She had one now. But there were still unanswered questions. According to research into adverse childhood experiences, she was high-risk for emotional and physical problems. Angelica Glass on one of her ambulations. She had not previously been a hiker, and this was a new world. (Nic Coury / For The Times) Yet, somehow, here she was at 61 climbing mountains. She had a long-term relationship, a warm connection with her two adult sons, a close-knit circle of friends, and now felt a daily sense of gratitude and joy. One of the things that had been shown to counteract childhood trauma and increase the chances of resiliency was if a child had at least one adult who looked out for them. Glass thought of Mrs. Sutherland. She knew little about her, having seen her only through a childs eyes. She didnt even know her first name, but perhaps the widow living alone in a two-story house had helped make a lasting difference in her life. Glass use to believe her walks started as a lark. A stray thought at bath time. But, now, after walking almost 3,000 miles, while the world beguiled her and her past knitted together, she believes that, although she didnt know it at the time, the driving force behind her project was a need, more desperate than profound, to find beauty in the world around me. She found it in the world outside her door. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A new report from the Sacramento Sierra Club shows there were three times as many fires along the American River Parkway last year compared to 2019. It attributes the increase to climate change and the surge in homeless camps in the area over the last few years. The rise in fires happened at the same time the county stopped enforcing an ordinance against illegal camping, the report states . The change followed a federal court decision that found that local governments could not ban camping unless they were providing alternatives, like enough shelters. The Sacramento Sierra Club sent letters to county and city leaders last week to call for immediate action to address the homeless crisis and protect the American River Parkway. World Intellectual Property Day 2022 offers youth learning opportunity: Official This years World Intellectual Property Day (April 26) is an opportunity for young people to learn how patents can support their goals and turn their ideas into reality, Director General Dinh Huu Phi of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) has said. Producing electronic and lighting equipment for cars and motorbikes at Japanese-funded Vietnam Stanley Electric Co., Ltd in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) In a recent exclusive interview to the Vietnam News Agency, the official further said the occasion, themed IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future, also aims at celebrating youth-led innovation and creativity. According to Phi, IP Vietnam always pays attention to raising awareness and the provision of consultation and assistance for the younger generation. It has worked with universities in training IP knowledge from elementary to advanced levels for students and hold contests on scientific research and startups. Notably, the offices training portal has organised four online courses within a year since its establishment, attracting the participation of thousands of youth. Since 2017, IP Vietnam has implemented models that connect participating research institutes and universities as part of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)s project on enabling innovation environment (EIE) for IP and technology. So far, such implementation has assisted the participants in building their own IP regulations and organising training courses for the establishment and commercialisation of IP rights. The office also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with WIPO on the implementation of the EIE project in Vietnam. As a result, a local committee coordinating a network of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC) and a center of IP and technology transfer (IP-HUB) have been set up. However, there is still a long way ahead for the formation of a complete IP ecosystem for universities and research institutes nationwide, Phi said. Richard Townsell, executive director of the Lawndale Christian Development Corp., outside the Dr. King Legacy Apartments in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago on April 25, 2022. The apartments are a new affordable housing development in the community. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Mayor Lori Lightfoots administration is set to launch several development projects in the West Side neighborhood of North Lawndale, but a coalition of local community groups and developers said Monday the areas economic troubles have deep roots, and though the mayors initiative is welcome, it wont be enough. We love the mayors INVEST South/West program and think its great, so we thank the mayor for that, said Richard Townsell, executive director of the Lawndale Christian Development Corp. But since the riots in 1968, North Lawndale has been on a downward trend in terms of population, and one thing is not going to solve it. Advertisement Townsells group, along with partners North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council, North Lawndale Employment Network and Sinai Community Institute, unveiled a report at the City Club of Chicago from the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, detailing both the challenges facing the West Side community of nearly 35,000, and how to reverse decades of disinvestment. North Lawndale was once the home of Sears, which ran its national mail order business out of a 55-acre complex that stretched across the neighborhood, a beehive of activity that provided thousands of jobs. Sears headed downtown in the 1970s, and other manufacturing giants such as International Harvester and Western Electric also left. Unemployment soared in the ensuing decades, leading to population decline and a deteriorated housing stock. Smaller local businesses also shut their doors, leaving behind a neighborhood with several thousand vacant lots and little economic activity. Advertisement The historic Sears, Roebuck & Co. Printing Building in Homan Square, North Lawndale has been transformed into 181 affordable housing units by nonprofit developer Mercy Housing Lakefront, June 14, 2017. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) My mother escaped sharecropping by moving up from Tennessee in the 50s to North Lawndale, where she went to work, Townsell said. But when you take a business, you lose not only that business, but also the businesses that fed off it, the coffee shops, diners and car washes. North Lawndale now sits in the middle of a food desert, a region with no sizable grocery stores, forcing residents to spend their money outside the community, according to Teresa Cordova, director of the Great Cities Institute. Thats not just a matter of convenience. Unless those dollars stay in North Lawndale, commercial spaces will stay empty, cutting out an important source of jobs. The most basic rule of economic development is you have to have dollars circulating in your community, she said. North Lawndale residents have to leave the neighborhood for almost everything because almost every category of goods and services is not available. North Lawndale residents spend $124 million of their wages outside the community each year, researchers found. Furthermore, businesses did add about 3,000 jobs to the neighborhood between 2010 and 2018, but most went to nonresidents. Thats partly because more than 20% of the jobs require a college degree, a credential held by just 12.7% of North Lawndale residents. Overall, white workers hold more than half of neighborhood jobs, while making up only 2.3% of North Lawndale residents. The mismatches help explain why nearly half of local households are forced to pay 50% or more of their incomes toward rent, leaving little or nothing for savings. What is needed right now is to plug the leaks, Cordova said. LCDC and its community partners planned for years to bring in affordable housing, new retail and other economic development, Townsell said, but having such a detailed analysis will help set priorities and ensure future development benefits residents. The Soul Food Lounge is on the ground floor of the Dr. King Legacy Apartments in Chicago, April 25, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) We knew money was leaking out of the community, but we didnt know quite how much, Townsell said. And it was sobering to see in the richest country in the world how much people were spending of their hard-earned incomes just to find housing. Lightfoot kicked off her INVEST South/West initiative in 2019, targeting 10 communities on the South and West sides. According to the mayors office, in the first two years it mobilized more than $1 billion of private and public funds for a series of mixed-use developments, including Lawndale Redefined, a $31.4 million project in North Lawndale. A joint venture of GRE Ventures, Imagine Group and 548 Development, it will replace a vacant plot on Ogden Avenue with dozens of apartments and town homes, retail and restaurant spaces, as well as a community center. In addition, earlier this year, the city selected 548 Development and Related Midwest to develop at 4300 West Roosevelt Road the $38.4 million Lawndale Innovation Center, a collection of solar-powered industrial buildings and community centers. The vacant 20.8-acre site was once an illegal dumping ground made infamous in the 1990s by the federal Operation Silver Shovel investigation, which led to the convictions of several aldermen. Advertisement Townsell said the community would also like to see the city appoint an ombudsman for North Lawndale, someone who could cut through any red tape that might delay new development projects. The Great Cities report also shows the neighborhood needs a construction loan program for new, affordable single-family homes, and a flexible emergency fund to help those seeking employment pay for child care or work supplies. Even though the unemployment rate in North Lawndale is three times higher than the city of Chicago, thats not a reflection of peoples desire to work, said Brenda Palms Barber, president and CEO of North Lawndale Employment Network. Above all, to improve the quality of life, the neighborhood needs grocery stores, Townsell said. We found out during the pandemic how important health was, and we need people to have access to healthy, affordable options for produce. brogal@chicagotribune.com COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lankas government said Tuesday it is discussing obtaining another loan from Beijing to repay some of its debt to Chinese banks after China told the nearly bankrupt island nation it was not in favor of restructuring existing loans. Sri Lanka has nearly $7 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year and will need to repay $ 25 billion over the next five years. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country l acks money to buy imported goods, leading to shortages of food, fuel and other essentials. The economic crisis has brought weeks of protests across the country calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksas resignation. Government spokesman Nalaka Godahewa said Beijing was balking at restructuring Sri Lankas debt because it does not want to set that precedent. He told reporters the finance ministry will announce details of discussions with China later. Earlier this month, the government said it was suspending repayment of foreign loans pending negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a loan restructuring plan. Sri Lanka's debt problems are partly because it built infrastructure like a port, airport and road networks using Chinese loans, but the projects are not making money. Rajapaksa had asked Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Sri Lanka in January, to restructure those loans. The government issued its statement a day after Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said China was doing its utmost to help Sri Lanka. Qi scoffed at suggestions Beijing has Sri Lanka in a debt trap. Western developed countries, especially those who colonized Sri Lanka in history, should also come and help, a Tweet from the Chinese embassy quoted Qi as saying. The debt trap is only a myth, created and hyped by some foreign media and politicians intentionally, Qi said. He said China is neither the biggest nor the only lender to Sri Lanka and Beijing's projects are provided on concessional terms. Story continues Japan, the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank are other large lenders, having begun the process of aiding Sri Lanka's economy much earlier than China. Qi said it was unrealistic to expect all projects or loans to be flawless. Central Bank figures show existing Chinese loans to Sri Lanka total around $3.38 billion, not including loans to state-owned businesses, which are counted separately and thought to be substantial. Godahewa also said that the Cabinet has approved a project to offer residence visas for up to 10 years to foreigners who buy apartments in the country costing at least $75,000 and those who deposit more than $ 100,000 in local bank accounts. He said the offer was made to help the construction industry weather the economic crisis and to attract more foreign currency. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Members of the U.S. mission in Ukraine who had relocated to Poland traveled to the country's western city of Lviv on Tuesday, in a first step as Washington works to ensure the return of its diplomats to Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. U.S. diplomats departed the Kyiv Embassy nearly two weeks before Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, moving some functions to Lviv before eventually relocating to Poland. (Reporting by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Leslie Adler) KHARTOUM (Reuters) -After an extended detention facing corruption charges, prominent Sudanese politician and former Cabinet minister Khalid Omer Yousif was released on bail on Tuesday, a lawyer on his defense team said. Yousif and other politicians were arrested in February after a coup by the military leaders who shared power with the civilian coalition they are part of, following their work on a committee working to dismantle the Omar al-Bashir regime. Two other prominent members and former officials, Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman and Wagdi Salih, were not released and are being held on other charges, lawyer Iqbal Ahmed told Reuters. The two men were outspoken critics of the military prior to the coup. Sudanese politicians Babiker Faisal and Taha Othman were ordered to pay a "prohibitive bond" of 25 million Sudanese pounds each, Ahmed said. "This decision indicates the continuation of the coup leaders' policy of unlawful detentions and malicious charges," Jaafar Hassan, spokesman for the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, said in a statement, adding that they would not be paying the bonds. General Abdel Fattat al-Burhan earlier this month said he had discussed the possibility of the men's release, while maintaining they were not political detainees. Burhan has not yet appointed a new prime minister as numerous initiatives to come to an agreement with political parties have not come to fruition. Donors have demanded a credible civilian government to restart much-needed aid blocked after the coup. Burhan and other generals have criticised the work of the Committee to Dismantle the June 30, 1989 Regime, which the politicians were part of, and created a new committee to review its decisions. Its members were arrested on charges of betraying public trust. Many of the committee's decisions regarding the firing of Bashir loyalists from the civil service have been reversed in recent weeks, as analysts say Burhan seeks to rely on the Islamists that were in power before the 2019 uprising to form a new government. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; writing by Mahmoud Mourad and Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler) WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court has turned away a plea from parents to block a new admissions policy at a prestigious high school in northern Virginia that a lower court has found discriminates against Asian American students. The high court did not explain its order Monday allowing the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology to continue using its admissions policy while the Fairfax County School Board appeals the lower court ruling. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said they would have granted the request from the parents group, Coalition for TJ, to suspend the admissions policy. In February, the group persuaded U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton that a new policy that has boosted Black and Hispanic representation amounted to impermissible racial balancing at the selective school near the nations capital. It is often ranked as one of the best public high schools in the country. Asian American students constituted more than 70% of the student body. Under the new policy, used to admit the schools current freshman class, Asian American representation decreased to 54%. Black students increased from 1% to 7% and Hispanic representation increased from 3% to 11%. Hilton had ordered the new policy suspended, but the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, said it could be used while the case continues to play out in the courts. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. ZURICH (Reuters) - Neutral Switzerland has vetoed the re-export of Swiss-made ammunition used in Gepard anti-aircraft tanks that Germany is sending to Ukraine, the government said on Tuesday. Germany earlier announced its first delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks following weeks of pressure at home and abroad to do so. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) confirmed a report by broadcaster SRF that it had blocked Germany from sending munitions for the Gepard tank to Ukraine. SECO received two requests from Germany to transfer to Ukraine ammunition it had previously received from Switzerland. One concerned 35mm ammunition for the Gepard tank. The other concerned 12.7mm ammunition, the agency said in response to a query. "Both inquiries by Germany as to whether the ammunition received from Switzerland may be transferred to Ukraine were answered in the negative with reference to Swiss neutrality and the mandatory rejection criteria of Swiss war material legislation," SECO said. SRF said it was unclear which ammunition Germany was now sending to Ukraine along with the Gepards, following the Swiss veto. Switzerland has parted with past practice and adopted European Union sanctions designed to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, but has said its neutrality does not permit providing arms for use in conflict zones. Last month it rejected Poland's request for arms to help neighbouring Ukraine. Switzerland generally requires recipient countries to declare they will not re-export war material without permission. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) RED BANK, NJ If you're looking for something to do this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 30 and May 1, will be the popular TEDx Asbury Park event. Although the event is called TEDx Asbury Park, the two-day festival/speaking series is actually held at Two River Theater in Red Bank. Inspired by the TED Talks first launched in California, TEDxAsburyPark is the largest, highest-rated TEDx conference on the East Coast. TEDxAsburyPark launched in 2013 and used to be held at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park. They've since moved the series to Red Bank. Monmouth County's own celebrity Chef David Burke will speak, as will Rumson resident and actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan, plus many others. This weekend is their JOY experience, "an experience featuring TED Talks and performances where we will explore JOY in ideas. JOY will feature a theatrical lineup of expert speakers, comics, musicians, performers and artists who will share inspiring stories and ideas." Tickets for the two-day event are available on the Two River Theater website. Ticket prices start at $75. Line-up of TEDxAsburyPark JOY 2022 Speakers: David Burke - Food is Joy Monmouth native David Burke (the owner of Red Horse in Rumson, Drifthouse in Sea Bright and brand-new THE GOAT in Union Beach) owns and operates 18 award-winning restaurants across the globe. As a high school wrestler, he got his start in a local cooking class, and became determined to become a global top chef. Burke grew up in Hazlet and appeared on two seasons of Bravo's "Top Chef." Follow his story in his talk "Food is Joy" at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Composer David Cieri - B-Side/Ourselves Cieri, composer for many films by Ken Burns and others, will compose and perform his original musical overture for JOY, and share with us about how he gets unstuck in his creative process. Actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan - Former Saturday Night Live cast member who lives in Rumson - her talk is "Film as Community" Story continues Hogan, a Rumson/Ireland resident, became "unstuck " in her pro acting career by conceiving, writing, producing, directing and funding two impactful films based on what large communities most cared about. Erin Maguire - Joy Drought Montclair resident and national comic and actress, Erin Maguire navigates the entire event with her funny co-hosting and guidance, then wraps it up along with our COVID experience in the Joy Drought. Roger Mannix - Play Your Way to Joy Actor turned entrepreneur, Mannix has taught improv and acting at Stanford University and for Fortune 1,000 companies. He now shows us how to bring acting and improvisation to work to be more successful. Michelle Mitchell - OGs Returning TEDxAsbury speaker, documentarian/journalist Mitchell, is bringing to life the original gangsters or the outlaw originators of the cannabis movement in the West before it was legal. Edafe Okporo - Home Is Joy Okporo is a persecuted Nigerian refugee who arrived home in the U.S. by publishing his new book "Asylum," working with Afghan refugees, getting his MBA at NYU and getting married. He shares how refugees can integrate and feel at home and fully productive in the United States. Atoosa Rubenstein - Leaving it All to Have it All Rubenstein, an Iranian immigrant, became the youngest editor at Hearst and transformed several magazines. Then she left it all in order to come to grips with her deeper, inner story that now powers her joy. Jim Watt, Antonie Drye & Mike Noordzy - 1,000 Watts Asbury Park artist, architect and producer Jim Watt and jazz artist Antoine Drye will paint to live jazz in a project to support jazz musicians called "1,000 Watts." Rebecca Barry - The Joy of Death Barry is the bestselling author of "Recipes for a Beautiful Life: A Memoir in Stories" and later wrote "At the Bar: A Novel in Stories," a New York Times Notable Book. She is co-founder of the magazine Fresh Dirt. A notable MOTH storyteller, she shares about Finding Joy in Death. Plus, three surprise comedy acts and one surprise band this weekend. All audience members over the age of five will be required to show proof of a full COVID-19 vaccination and wear masks while inside the theater building. Exceptions are only made for patrons eating and/or drinking in designated areas within one hour prior to showtime. TEDxAsburyPark Fast Facts TEDxAsburyPark talks have been viewed over 6.5 million times TEDxAsburyPark events have had over 5,000 attendees TEDxAsburyPark has produced over 250 Ted Talks Get great local news. Sign up to get Patch emails: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com This article originally appeared on the Asbury Park Patch In what many are calling the countrys first #MeToo movement, more than a dozen women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against popular Thai politician Prinn Panitchpakdi. Prinn, 44, resigned from his post as deputy leader of Thailands Democrat Party on April 14, following an allegation of sexual assault by an 18-year-old woman. Several other women have since come forward with similar accusations against the political figure, who was detained by authorities on Saturday. Prinn has denied all allegations and claimed innocence, saying that he would leave this case to the justice process. His resignation last week came as a direct response to the accusations, which he said he was shocked and stunned to hear. He was released Sunday on a $20,000 bail. Victims file charges On April 20, two days before Prinns resignation, lawyer Sittra Biabungkerd from the pro bono group Peoples Lawyers Foundation revealed that at least 10 woman had contacted him about sexual assault and sexual misconduct incidents in relation to an unnamed deputy party leader. He went on to say they would represent a total of 15 survivors who have filed harassment or rape charges. The number of women who have filed a sexual assault claim has reportedly grown to at least 18. The police say that there is a common theme among the allegations. According to the Bangkok Lumpini station, Prinn would supposedly invite women into his condominium for business matters and then would proceed to rape or assault them, sometimes after drugging them. The most recent allegation is from an anonymous socialite who says that Prinn molested her and tried to kiss her at a condo in 2008. The victims, aged 17 to 30, include students, business women and political party members. Thailands #MeToo movement On April 18, several Thai feminist groups gathered in front of the Democrat Party headquarters to show their support for what is currently Thailands most high profile #MeToo case. The feminist demonstrators danced to Sida Lui Faai, meaning Sida Through Fire, a song that has been dubbed Thais feminist anthem. At that point, Panitchpakdi had already been charged with three counts of sexual harrassment and assault. Protestors brought up to reporters that Panitchpakdi had originally been accused of rape and sexual harassment in London several years prior, but had not been convicted. They listed five key demands, expressing concerns that politicians would continue to abuse their power by sweeping their scandals under the rug. The demands were as follows: All political parties should investigate the past criminal record of the former deputy leader of the Democrat Party, including all committee memberships, particularly those related to sexual abuse. An investigation of party members or committee members past abusive sexual behavior. All political parties must have a clear ethical code of conduct for all party members and committee members on sexual harrassment and assault. Political parties should not interfere with court cases. Political parties should apologize sincerely to the public over the case. Story continues Government spokesperson and Democrat Party member Ratchada Dhnadirek responded by saying that they accepted the demands, but also emphasized that the Democrat Party had a clear sexual harrassment policy in place. As with the U.S. historic #MeToo movement in 2017, which was triggered by a string of allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and was re-adopted from a phrase coined by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, many of the Thai accusers cited fears of charging a high profile figure as the reason for why they did not come forward earlier. Weinstein was accused of decades of sexual harassment, with Hollywood stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd confirming their own experiences with the producer. Prinns high-profile career follows in the footsteps of his father, Supachai Panitchpakdi, who is Thailands former deputy prime minister, director-general of the World Trade Organization and former secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Responses from party members Several top politicians have spoken out about the scandal, including Move Forward Party Leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who said earlier last week that the party would not get involved in the case. He emphasized the seriousness of the accusations and stated that sexual assault should not be used as a political tool. The scandal also led to a series of resignations from top politicians. Deputy Prime Minister Wittaya Kaewparadai resigned last Friday, citing the scandal as the reason. Senior politician Kanok Wongtrangan, who identifies as an educational consultant of Thailand, also left his role as deputy leader of Thailands Democrat Party. He announced on Facebook today that he was resigning out of moral conscience due to the ongoing scandal and what he described as his partys failure to satisfy the publics disdain. He called the incident a violent moral offense that questioned the moral standards of the overall party executives. Both Wittaya and Kanok have warned that the future of the Democrat Party is in jeopardy and that the executive committee has to do more to restore the partys image. Feature Image via workpointTODAY Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Karen people flee to Thailand as Myanmars junta carry on with attacks US Senate passes bill banning maps depicting Taiwan as a part of China Third-ever historical resolution by CCP paves way for Chinese President Xi Jinping to have third term Biden admin asks SCOTUS to reject case that says Harvard admissions discriminatory toward Asian students Texas Instruments announced plans on Wednesday to shutter its Sherman production facility and another site in Dallas by 2025. The semi-conductor and calculator maker has pledged to offer affected employees new jobs or severance packages, but questions remain about the local impact to industry and economic development. [Courtesy photo / Texas Instruments] The nearly $30 billion expansion of Texas Instruments facilities in Sherman could put "downward pressure" on water rates in coming years, Sherman city officials said this month. The speculation on water and sewer infrastructure is the latest of many impacts that from the expansion that the city is considering as it heads into its annual budget season. "We expect that having large customers like this will actually put downward pressure on the rates otherwise. Now, I am not saying we are going to lower our water rates and sewer rates by this amount," City Manager Robby Hefton said. "All I am saying is whereas 30,000 new water customers would put upward pressure on rate, large customers using the same amount as 30,000 customers puts downward pressure on the rate." More: TI effect: Sherman eyes $161M in water, wastewater projects TI announcement shifts rate estimates The expansion of Sherman's Texas Instruments facilities may put "downward pressure" on residential water rates, city officials said. In late November, TI announced that Sherman would be the location of a new $30 billion four-phase production facility that would allow for a modernization of products from its Sherman plants. While the news of the plant brought excitement from expected growth, revenue and jobs it also brought with it a need for infrastructure and other improvements. The announcement came only months after the city completed its year-long study on its water rates that recommended a 4-5 percent increase on residential rates each year to pay for needed expansions of services and other upgrades to the system. This would coincide with projects valued between $150 million and $250 million that the city expects to pursue in the same timeframe. One year later, those estimates and projected rate increases may no longer reflect Sherman and it's ongoing development, Hefton said, based on the sheer size of the project and its expected demand. Earlier this year, the city estimated that once all for phases of the project are complete TI will use about 14 million gallons of water each day about half of the city's current capacity. Story continues More: Sherman to pay $2.25M for more land for water treatment expansion With that in mind, the city is consulting with Wildan, who conducted the first rate study, to update it with the new information on TI. These updated projections are expected to be completed in time for the city's budget retreat over the summer. "They are baking into their calculations the impacts of our growth and TI," Hefton said. "So, while we don't have details on what impacts all of these things are going to have on our structure, we do have some good maybe anecdotal evidence about what impact that's going to have." "While I don't expect that (rate increase) to go to zero; I do expect the number just based on what we've talked about to be less than that four to five percent," he added. While the needed infrastructure improvements could led to high bond debt by the city, Hefton argued that the growth from TI and the revenue it generates for Sherman should be able to sustain that expense. "In theory we could cut a large water user's rate in half and still pay the bills even with this additional debt service because their incremental costs in providing that service are much lower," he said. More: Sherman begins budget season in the wake of TI expansion Impact fees for TI remain in question Outside of water and sewer rates, Sherman city officials are still determining the fees that will be assessed to TI for its demand on city infrastructure. In late 2020, adopted impact fees as a way of financing infrastructure improvements by assessing fees to new development based on their use and demand on city resources. One of the infrastructure needs that will be impacted by the new TI plans is related to water treatment. Sherman currently has plans to expand its water treatment plant. More: The TI Effect: Developers see increasing prices as speculation on TI impact grows While the fees have been in place for over a year, the TI project represents one of the first large-scale projects that will use the city's fee structure. Sherman Director of Development Services Rob Rae said many of the details needed to calculate the fees have yet to be released and will come through the design and engineering of the project. One of the more nuanced impacts to calculate for TI is the fee that will be assessed for road infrastructure. Rae said that there are default fees that can be used for restaurants, retail and other uses, however the TI project is a significantly large scope and specialized use, Rae said. Other impacts, including water and sewer impacts, are easier to calculate, Rae said. These fees will be directly based on the size of the water meter or meters installed at the facility. Sherman is purchasing about 60 acres of land near its water treatment plant for future storage and expansion. More: Is Sherman infrastructure ready for the billion dollar TI expansion? This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: The TI effect: TI expansion could put "downward pressure" on water rates, Sherman officials say (Independent) DJ Tim Westwood has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Westwood, 64, is accused of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, in incidents between 1992 and 2017. The allegations have been published in an investigation by the BBC and The Guardian. He strenuously denies the allegations. A spokesperson also told The Guardian they were completely false and denied in their entirety. The seven women, who are all black, have given their accounts in the aftermath of anonymous allegations of inappropriate behaviour about Westwood that circulated on social media in June 2020. In a statement at the time, Westwood denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations were fabricated, false and without foundation. Some of the accusers have claimed the white DJ, who was an early supporter of hip-hop in the UK, used his position in the music industry to exploit women. More to follow An experimental new David Bowie documentary featuring never-before-seen footage and the late music superstar's own narration was previewed Tuesday at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas. "Moonage Daydream" will premiere at next month's glitzy Cannes film festival before hitting theaters in September. It is the first film to be approved by Bowie's estate, which gave director Brett Morgen access to thousands of hours of archives. "Bowie cannot be defined. He can be experienced," said Morgen. "We've crafted 'Moonage Daydream' to be a unique cinematic theatrical experience -- to offer audiences that which they can't get from a book or an article." Neither biopic nor traditional documentary, the film blends Bowie's songs, concert clips, extensive fan footage and a series of surreal, trippy and abstract images to create a "sonic and visual extravaganza," said producer Bill Gerber ("A Star is Born.") Morgen, who previously made "The Kid Stays in the Picture," spent two years trawling through the Bowie vaults. He was aided by Bowie's longtime music producer Tony Visconti and the sound team behind Oscar-winning "Bohemian Rhapsody." CinemaCon attendees were shown extended clips from the movie, including Bowie performing "Hallo Spaceboy" and "Heroes." "I think we took it on our shoulders that we were creating the 21st century in 1971," Bowie is heard explaining, over the top of the footage. "We wanted to just blast everything in the past. We questioned all the established values and all the taboos. "Everything was rubbish and all rubbish is wonderful." The film will be released in the United States by Neon, who also used their CinemaCon slot Tuesday to preview "Crimes of the Future" from David Cronenberg, who pioneered the "body horror" genre. A disturbing new trailer featuring stars Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortenson and Lea Seydoux was shown to attendees. Story continues It included images of a woman slicing open a torso with her nails, and a man with extra ears grafted onto his head. The film, from the director of "Crash" and "The Fly," imagines a world in which humans are forced to speed up their evolution with grisly organ transplants and body modifications to survive their changing environment. Cronenberg told AFP the film, which will also premiere at Cannes, was "a difficult film maybe, an extreme film, an unusual film." "Cannes film festival is the perfect place for that," said Cronenberg. "This is really a meditation on where the world is going, where the environment is going, how that affects the body. "This is not a climate change movie, but it does address where we are now, and it's interesting because I did write this script 20 years ago." CinemaCon, the annual movie theater industry summit, runs until Thursday. amz/hg/mlm United Airlines is adding new flights between Chicago and two European cities, as the carrier eyes the return of international travel. Advertisement The two Chicago routes are part of a major trans-Atlantic expansion by United, which plans this spring to begin new or expanded service to multiple international cities and vacation destinations. That includes new service to Amman, Jordan; Bergen, Norway; the Azores and the Canary Islands, among others. Destinations that will get expanded service include Dublin and Frankfurt. In Chicago, daily flights began this week to Zurich. The route was initially set to begin in March 2020, but was put on hold because of the pandemic. Advertisement The Boeing 767-300 aircraft that are flying the 9-hour route have extra space devoted to business class seats. The flight is intended to cater to both business travelers trying to reach the European financial center and leisure travelers, United executives said in a news release. On May 6, United will also begin daily flights between Chicago and Milan. The airline currently flies between Milan and New York. The new flights, announced in October, come as United anticipates the further return of international travel as pandemic restrictions ease. Along with business flights, international travel was especially hard hit during the pandemic. A person walks past United Airlines signage at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Feb. 23, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) United Airlines said last week it was seeing indications that business travel is rapidly returning and expects more upticks in international travel. This is really kind of the coming-out party for the real return of business travel and international travel in this quarter, CEO Scott Kirby told analysts during an earnings call. We are in the first inning of that recovery. The comments came as the carrier reported it expected to return to profitability in the current quarter, after a first quarter loss of $1.38 billion. United is still running fewer flights than pre-pandemic, but said it has reopened lounges, resumed more than a dozen international routes and restarted service to six cities that hadnt been served since before the pandemic. United executives also said they were pleased mask requirements had ended for airports, domestic flights and some international flights, depending on the arrival countrys mask rules. They called for an end to preflight COVID-19 test requirements, and said the elimination of those rules could make travel easier. While travel demand is surging, we believe eliminating these requirements will ease the travel experience for our customers, United President Brett Hart said. Advertisement International business travel was increasing, and the airline expected good trans-Atlantic business travel levels compared with 2019, Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said. It hasnt seen meaningful recovery in business travel to Asia. While many of the new and expanded routes set to begin in the coming weeks are geared toward vacationers, some of the routes are targeted specifically toward business travelers, said Patrick Quayle, Uniteds vice president of international network. That includes the new Chicago-Zurich flight, and a route between Denver and Munich, he said. We are seeing strong demand and strong pickup for those flights, he said. The Associated Press contributed sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com Detectives with the Washington State Patrol are looking for witnesses to a drive-by shooting on State Route 167 near Auburn on Sunday. At about 3:45 p.m., WSP communications received a 911 call from someone who witnessed a man being threatened with a gun on southbound SR 167 near the Ellingson Road exit. Before troopers arrived at the scene, another witness called 911 and reported that the suspect had fled, driving southbound on SR 167. The incident began when the victim, who was driving a Dodge pickup truck, was traveling SB SR 167 near State Route 18 and the suspect, who was driving a black or gray sedan, was driving next to the victim on the right shoulder. The suspect struck the barrier on the right shoulder then hit the victims trailer. Scroll down to continue reading More news from KIRO 7 DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP The victim reported he did not know that his trailer was struck at the time, so he continued driving southbound. The suspect then pulled up alongside the victims vehicle and threatened him with a handgun, telling him to pull over the vehicle. After the victim pulled over, the suspect exited his vehicle and continued to threaten the victim. He reportedly forced the victim to unhitch their trailer and put his gun to the victims head. The suspect then fired one round over his head, towards the victim, and ran back to his vehicle before fleeing the scene. No injuries were reported from the shooting. The suspect is described as a black male in his twenties. WSP confirmed that the suspect vehicle is a sedan, but have not confirmed the color, make or model of the vehicle. Anyone who witnessed this incident or has information on the suspect or their vehicle is asked to contact WSP Detective Haake at Russ.Haake@wsp.wa.gov. This is the 23rd shooting investigated by WSP detectives on King County freeways in 2022, according to a WSP news release. A Florida man who vandalized an LGBTQ street mural with his truck during a pro-Trump rally last year has been ordered by a judge to write an essay about the Pulse nightclub massacre. During a hearing Thursday, Judge Scott Suskauer with the criminal court in Palm Beach County ordered 20-year-old Alexander Jerich to write 25 pages about the Orlando shooting that left 49 dead in 2016, court documents show. Jerich was arrested after he used his father's truck to burn tire marks over the rainbow street mural that had been painted at an intersection at Delray Beach on June 14 last year. The artwork had been unveiled only two days prior to mark LGBTQ Pride month. Jerich had been participating in a convoy organized by local Republicans to mark former president Donald Trump's birthday. According to a criminal complaint, a concerned citizen alerted police to a video showing the mural being defaced. Another person who had attended the rally came forward, telling investigators he heard a man scream, "Adam, tear up that gay intersection." This witness told police he felt compelled "to come forward, not only as a community member but as a gay man." On March 1, Jerich pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor reckless driving. He must write the Pulse essay prior to his full sentencing on June 8. Prosectors want him to be sentenced to 30 days in jail, as well as community service and five years probation. His attorney, Robert Pasch, instead asked that Jerich receive a sentence of three years probation with community service "crafted restoratively with input from the LGBTQ community." In a sentencing recommendation, Pasch argued that Jerich "acknowledges and regrets the pain and anger felt by members of the LGTBQ community." But Rand Hoch, the president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, said in a victim impact statement to the court that Jerich had never apologized to his organization or to other LGBTQ groups in the area. Story continues "He was not just a young man fooling around with his truck. Jerich sought to make a very public statement against the LGBTQ+ community. And he did," Hoch wrote. "At a welcoming public venue representing inclusion, Jerich literally left marks of hate." Prior to the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the Pulse massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Jerich's attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Taliban fighters try to stop the advance of protesters marching through the Dashti-E-Barchi neighborhood, a day after the Taliban announced its new all-male interim government with no representation for women and ethnic minority groups, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 8, 2021. (Photo: Marcus Yam via Getty Images) Taliban fighters try to stop the advance of protesters marching through the Dashti-E-Barchi neighborhood, a day after the Taliban announced its new all-male interim government with no representation for women and ethnic minority groups, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 8, 2021. (Photo: Marcus Yam via Getty Images) In September, journalists Neamat Naqdi and Taqi Daryabi went out to cover a womens protest in Kabul. They had been assured by the Taliban that there would be no restrictions placed on media and journalists under the new administration, which took over the country the month before. Daryabi and Naqdi, who worked for the renowned Kabul-based outlet Etilaatroz, began filming the protesters. A squad of Taliban fighters approached them and ordered them to stop recording. I am just doing my job, Naqdi responded. They were both detained and taken to the nearest police station. Taliban militants separated Naqdi and Daryabi into different rooms, tied their wrists and feet, and beat them almost to death with cable. Naqdi was knocked out after a few minutes. They threw water in his face. One militant smacked him so hard, his left eardrum was ripped. Another kick hit his right eye, causing his vision to blur. I thought that would be it for me, Naqdi said in an interview conducted in Dari. My whole life flashed before my eyes in a moment my parents, my school years, all of my struggles and hard work to become a journalist, only to be killed in the hand of a few dirty terrorists at the end. Journalists from the Etilaatroz newspaper, Nemat Naqdi, 28, a video journalist (left), and Taqi Daryabi, 22, a video editor (right), show their wounds sustained in custody after Taliban fighters arrested them for reporting on a women's rights protest in Kabul. (Photo: MARCUS YAM/LOS ANGELES TIMES via Getty Images) Journalists from the Etilaatroz newspaper, Nemat Naqdi, 28, a video journalist (left), and Taqi Daryabi, 22, a video editor (right), show their wounds sustained in custody after Taliban fighters arrested them for reporting on a women's rights protest in Kabul. (Photo: MARCUS YAM/LOS ANGELES TIMES via Getty Images) More than 300 media outlets have shut down since the Taliban takeover, making it more difficult to gather information and report on political violence and protests, according to a report released in February by the International Federation of Journalists. International broadcasters including the BBC, Voice of America News and Germanys DW were taken off the air recently. Story continues Outlets that remain open face censorship, and journalists who report facts that contradict the Taliban narrative risk being threatened, detained and tortured. Following the Taliban takeover, there has been an increase in violence against journalists in September in particular, there was a spike in cases of journalists being attacked or harmed at demonstrations, according to a recent report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Naqdi and Daryabi made it to the U.S., but it wasnt easy. Now theyre watching in dismay as journalists in Afghanistan continue to be threatened and abused. Every time I watch a video of the Taliban torturing and murdering people on social media, Im taken back to those horrifying moments and have panic attacks and mental torture, Naqdi said. Those horrific moments have haunted me for the rest of my life. Naqdi sits for a portrait at his home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on April 23. He has been living in Bethlehem for three months with his wife. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) Naqdi sits for a portrait at his home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on April 23. He has been living in Bethlehem for three months with his wife. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) Following Passion At A Price Naqdi grew up in Jaghori, a district in the southern province of Ghazni populated by the Hazara ethnic group. He started going to school shortly after the U.S. toppled the repressive Taliban regime in 2001. I walked four hours every day to and from school because I was so passionate about it, he said. Naqdi studied journalism at Kabul University and graduated in 2016. He worked for a year at a radio station. He started working at the Daily Etilaatroz as a video journalist in 2020. His work sometimes required him to travel to film footage on the ground. He hoped to become a documentary filmmaker after a few years, and this was a great place to start. On Sept. 8, he ventured out with Daryabi to report on the womens protest, where the two of them were detained and beaten. Naqdi and Daryabi were released a few hours after their colleagues came to seek their release from the Taliban. They were taken to the hospital for treatment. They could barely walk for weeks. Due to severe pain, they were unable to sleep on their backs or sides. Naqdis left ear and right eyesight were severely damaged and still have not fully recovered. Female protesters march through the Dashti-E-Barchi neighborhood in Kabul, Sept. 8. (Photo: Marcus Yam via Getty Images) Female protesters march through the Dashti-E-Barchi neighborhood in Kabul, Sept. 8. (Photo: Marcus Yam via Getty Images) The experience has left them both traumatized. Daryabi had nightmares and restless nights for weeks. Naqdi still suffers from panic attacks on occasion. They feared even more for their safety when photos of the torture went viral. Naqdi and Daryabi were concerned that the widespread exposure might lead to retaliation from the Taliban. I knew they were coming for us, and theyre just waiting for the reports to die down, Daryabi said. They would not think twice about killing us this time. There was little chance they would be able to continue working as journalists in Afghanistan under the Taliban, so they both decided to leave the country. They reached out to people they knew in search of a way out. Daryabi was able to board a flight from Kabul Airport on Oct. 3, but Naqdi missed the flight because he did not have a passport. He learned a few days later that he and his wife, Sabera Saba, could get a flight out of Mazar-e-Sharif International Airport, where they could bypass the passport requirement. Naqdi sits with his wife, Sabera Saba, for a portrait at their home in Bethlehem on April 23. The two got married in August. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) Naqdi sits with his wife, Sabera Saba, for a portrait at their home in Bethlehem on April 23. The two got married in August. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) Naqdi and Saba hurriedly packed their belongings and rushed off for a 10-hour trip north from Kabul. They had to pass through seven Taliban checkpoints along the route, and feared they could be easily identified. Naqdis photos had been widely circulated on the internet by that time, and Saba is a former police officer who worked for the Ministry of Interior, giving the Taliban even more motivation to target them. To disguise his appearance, Naqdi grew a beard and wore glasses. Because Saba was less likely to be searched by a male member of the Taliban, Naqdi handed all of his sensitive belongings to her. Each time they approached a Taliban checkpoint, they had to come up with believable stories as to where they were heading. We were both scared because anything could have happened, Naqdi recalled. They finally made it to the airport and boarded the plane to Qatar after 20 hours. I had a strange feeling as the plane took off, Naqdi said. You were happy, yet angry and heartbroken deep down about leaving everything behind your loved ones, your job. Youre also worried about the future. You know you should start again, or you would not be able to continue working as a journalist. Naqdi sits for a portrait at his home in Bethlehem. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) Naqdi sits for a portrait at his home in Bethlehem. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) A New Life Naqdi and Saba spent two months at a Qatari facility before they were able to move to the United States. They arrived in November and stayed at Fort Pickett Army Base in Blackstone, Virginia, for another two months before finally moving and settling in Pennsylvania. Naqdis life in Kabul was much easier by his own standards. Hed been pursuing his dream career and was surrounded by his loved ones. Hed been on the right track toward his goals. While moving to the United States saved his life, it also seriously disrupted it. I have no idea where Im heading, he said. Starting over in the United States could also mean abandoning his ambition of becoming a documentary filmmaker or deferring it for an unknown length of time. His lack of English proficiency prevents him from communicating effectively and he currently cannot apply for jobs or schools in the media. Daryabi is in a similar predicament. His inability to continue working as a journalist has been a major setback to his career. However, he is focusing on improving his language abilities in order to apply and get a scholarship at a journalism school. Naqdi and Saba at their home in Bethlehem. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) Naqdi and Saba at their home in Bethlehem. (Photo: Hannah Yoon for HuffPost) It takes time, but I am certain that we can still accomplish our goals here, Daryabi said. No matter how far theyve moved away from the Talibans oppression, its always difficult for Naqdi and Daryabi to see whats happening in Afghanistan. Every time I see a journalist being mistreated or silenced for their profession, it reminds me of my ordeal, Naqdi said. Freedom of expression, the only remnant of democracy left in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power, has died. Like Naqdi and Daryabi, many Afghans who have arrived in the United States since August, are struggling to make their way through an immigration system that is both complicated and unpromising. The current two-year temporary parole status doesnt allow for a more permanent legal status, like asylum or the Special Immigrant Visa, both of which have a large backlog in applications. Im also always afraid of having to return to the country, Daryabi said. Nothing is certain. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... For the very first time, were hearing from the mother of Tyre Sampson, who died on the Orlando FreeFall at ICON Park. ABC News got an exclusive interview with Nekia Dodd after she and her family filed a lawsuit against several companies on Monday. This could have been prevented. It could have been prevented it should have been prevented, Dodd said. READ: Tyre Sampsons mother: Death on FreeFall could have been prevented Dodd made it clear that she wants justice for her son. According to her lawsuit, the ride has height and weight limits, which her son exceeded, but the ride has no signage posted notifying riders of the restrictions. The ride also doesnt have safety belts, which the lawsuit said would have only cost $22 per chair, for a total of $660, to put on every chair on the ride. READ: 9 things to know about the Orlando FreeFall at ICON Park A state investigation discovered that before Sampson got on the ride, it was modified so the safety sensors would allow Sampsons seat harness to indicate it was locked closed, when it was not. Thus leaving a 7-inch gap between the harness and the seat. Dodd said the ride wasnt safe to begin with, not just for her son, but for anyone to get on. READ: Tyre Sampson death: Lawsuit claims that Orlando drop ride at ICON Park was unreasonably dangerous So as an operator, you have a job to check those rides, you know. The video I saw, that was not done. That was not done. So and if it was done, it shoulda been done more than once, you know. We know the family is seeking financial damages in the lawsuit, but it plans to leave it up to the jury to decide just how much. READ: Investigators say Tyre Sampsons restraint was modified to allow larger visitors on Orlando FreeFall We also reached out to the ride operators and ICON Park for their take on the lawsuit. We are still waiting to hear back from them. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) -The Biden administration on Monday overturned a controversial Trump-era policy that would have opened new swathes of Arctic Alaska to oil development. The Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of Interior, resurrected Obama-era management policies in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, a 23-million-acre (9.3 million hectare) area on the western side of Alaska's North Slope. Alaska's oil production has been declining for decades and reached a 45-year low last year. Those reinstated policies, contained in a plan presented in 2013, allow oil leasing in about half of the reserve while boosting protections for areas considered important to the Arctic ecosystem and to indigenous residents. The plan announced by the administration of former President Donald Trump in 2020, sought to allow oil development on more than 80% of the reserve. It would have allowed leasing even at Teshekpuk Lake, the North Slope's largest lake and an area prized for wildlife that had been protected under rules dating back to the Reagan administration. Trump's plan was challenged by two lawsuits filed in the federal court in Alaska. No lease sales were ever held under it. The move to reinstate Obama-era management policies was part of Interior's response to those lawsuits. After peaking at more than 2 million barrels of daily crude production in 1988, Alaska's oil output has been waning, hurt by reduced investment and better opportunities in the shale fields in other states. In 2021, the state produced just 437,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The National Petroleum Reserve, the largest tract of undisturbed public land in the United States, has drawn interest from oil companies that are expanding development farther west on the North Slope. Development is clustered in the northeastern corner of the reserve, the area closest to existing pipelines and legacy oil fields on state land to the east. Story continues ConocoPhillips is the most active company in the reserve. Its interests there include the proposed multibillion-dollar Willow project, which holds an estimated 600 million barrels of oil. U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican and supporter of expanded leasing, criticized the decision as reducing energy security at a time when Russia had invaded Ukraine, even though the Trump-era plan was not expected to immediately boost production, if at all. "Ukrainian grandmothers are bravely standing up to tanks, but President Biden can't even bring himself to stand up to the woke left and unleash American energy production," Sullivan said on Twitter. Environmentalists welcomed the Biden administration's decision but called for more protections. "The answer to energy security does not lie beneath the thawing Arctic permafrost but in accelerating the shift to clean, renewable sources of power generation," said Kristin Miller of the Alaska Wilderness League. (Reporting by Yereth Rosen in Anchorage, additional reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Tomasz Janowski) Ukrayinska Pravda VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - MONDAY, 9 MAY 2022, 14:34 The Security Service of Ukraine has received testimonies from captured Russian occupiers who had been mobilised in April. Source: The Security Service of Ukraine Details: They were promised big money and relatively quiet tasks: clearing rubble and regulating the streets in the so-called "LDPR" [self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics], transporting and loading the dead and wounded, as well as to be on duty at checkpoints. LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's armed forces minister played down comments by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on the possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, dismissing them as "bravado". Earlier Lavrov told the world not to underestimate the considerable risks of nuclear conflict, and said NATO's supply of weapons to Ukraine "in essence" meant that the Western alliance was engaged in a proxy war with Russia. "Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation," James Heappey told BBC Television. "What the West is doing to support its allies in Ukraine is very well calibrated." Asked about the possibility of Russia using a tactical nuclear weapon, Heappey said he thought there was a "vanishingly small" possibility of that sort of escalation.Heappey said that while NATO had been reinforcing its eastern flank, it was not providing military aid. "That has not been a NATO endeavour, that is a community of donor nations who are all making bilateral contributions to the Ukrainians and that donor community extends well beyond the borders of NATO," he told BBC Radio. "It suits the Kremlin's narrative to claim that they are somehow in a confrontation with NATO. They were saying that before the war even began, but that is nonsense and Lavrov knows it." Moscow calls its actions a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West says this a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression by President Vladimir Putin. Heappey said it was completely legitimate for Ukraine to strike Russian logistics lines and fuel supplies and he acknowledged the weapons the international community was now providing had the range to be used in Russia. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Paul Sandle and Angus MacSwan) Russian military vehicles move in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol. (AP) The UK supports Ukraine's right to strike Russian territory using Western supplied weapons, a defence minister has said. James Heappey said it was "completely legitimate" for Kyiv to targeting Russia supply chains that contribute to "death and carnage on Ukrainian soil". He added that the weapons the West - including the UK - is giving to Ukraine "have the range to be used over the border" into Russia. "The fact is that Ukraine was a sovereign country that was living peacefully within its owner borders and then another country decided to violate those borders and bring 130,000 troops across into their country," he told Times Radio on Tuesday. Read more: Zelenskyy accuses Russia of building millenial Reich and says Putin will lose war James Heappey told Times Radio it was "completely legitimate for Ukraine to be targeting Russias depth. (PA) Local residents walk near a damaged military vehicle in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Saturday, April 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov) That started a war between Ukraine and Russia, and in war Ukraine needs to strike into its opponents depth to attack its logistics lines, its fuel supplies, its ammunition depots, and thats part of it. He added it is not necessarily a problem if British-donated weapons are used to hit sites on Russian soil after accepting that weapons now being supplied by allies to Ukraine have the range to be used over borders. There are lots of countries around the world that operate kit that they have imported from other countries, when those bits of kit are used we tend not to blame (the country) that manufactured it, you blame the country that fired it," he said. Click on this image to see all Yahoo News UK's latest content on the Ukraine crisis It has now been 62 days since Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Russia, causing over five million people to flee Ukraine in search of safety. Western intelligence suggested Putin expected to have control of the country within a matter of days, but more than two months later his troops have been forced out of the north and reportedly suffered huge losses. Russia has not put out an exact figure of how many soldiers have died since the beginning of the conflict. Ukrainian authorities have estimated more than 21,000 Russian soldiers have so far been killed. Story continues On Monday, Russian defence minister Sergei Lavrov said there was a "real danger" of the conflict slipping into a third world war, and said Russia viewed Nato as being in essence engaged in a proxy war as sovereign nations are supplying Ukraine with weapons. Lavrov claimed Russia was striving to prevent nuclear war as they continued the invasion. "This is our key position on which we base everything," he said on Monday. "The risks now are considerable. I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. On Monday, Russian defence minister Sergei Lavrov said there was a "real danger" of the conflict slipping into a third world war. (Getty) "Many would like that. The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it." But his claim shows Russia senses defeat in Ukraine, his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba said He said: "Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. "Thus the talk of a real danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine. "Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security." (Bloomberg) -- Russia said it stopped natural gas flows to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday, making good on a threat to cut off buyers if they refuse Russian President Vladimir Putins demand to pay in rubles. European gas prices surged more than 20% on the move and the euro fell to its lowest against the dollar since April 2017. Most Read from Bloomberg Shenzhen-based drone-maker DJI, the worlds largest producer of unmanned aerial vehicles, halted all business activities in Russia and Ukraine, becoming the highest-profile Chinese company to withdraw from the war-torn region. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met Putin in Moscow, seeking to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war more than two months after the Russian president ordered the invasion of his neighbor. Guterres next heads to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. (See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.) Key Developments Gazprom Says It Cuts Gas to Poland, Bulgaria on Non-Payment DJI Becomes Most Prominent Chinese Firm to Halt Russia Business Russia Left Swaths of Ukraine Seeded With Mines, Aid Group Says Moldova Accuses Moscow-Backed Separatists of Fueling Tensions German Minister Says Full Embargo on Russian Oil Manageable Why Russias View of Tactical Nukes Raises Alarms: QuickTake (All times CET) Russia Cuts Gas to Poland and Bulgaria (8:27 a.m.) Gazprom PJSC said it has halted gas flows to Poland and Bulgaria and will keep the supplies turned off until the two countries agree to Moscows demand to pay for the fuel in rubles. Gas surged more than 20% on Wednesday as traders digested the sudden move and calculated which countries will be hit next. Story continues Chinese Drone Maker DJI to Suspend Business (6:04 a.m.) Drone-maker SZ DJI Technology Co. is temporarily suspending business to comply with regulations in various jurisdictions, it said in a brief statement without elaborating. Its halt follows U.S. sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, which Washington has threatened to enforce broadly. DJIs move to halt business sets it apart from other major Chinese corporations. China has urged an end to the war in Ukraine but refuses to criticize the invasion, vowing instead to maintain trade relations with Russia, a key global energy supplier. Read more: DJI Becomes Most Prominent Chinese Firm to Halt Russia Business Euro Falls, Oil Gains on Gas Flow Worries (3:59 a.m.) The euro touched the weakest level versus the greenback since 2017 amid worries that Moscow may choke gas flows to Europe, hurting the regions growth in the fallout from Russias invasion. Oil extended gains, with West Texas Intermediate futures climbing above $102 a barrel after rising 3.2% on Tuesday. Ammunition Depot Fire in Russias Belgorod, Tass Says (3:58 a.m.) An ammunition depot caught fire in Russias Belgorod region in the vicinity of border with Ukraine, Tass reported, citing a post on Telegram from Vyacheslav Gladkov, a local governor. The governor said there were no reports of injuries or damage to civilian buildings. Renault May Transfer Russia Unit to Local Owner, IFX Says (11:30 p.m.) French carmaker Renault SA may hand its 68% stake in Russian unit AutoVAZ to a research institute that reports to the Moscow government, Interfax reported, citing Russian Industry Minister Denis Manturov. The sale may take place for a token sum with Renault keeping an option to get the shares back within five or six years if it decides to return to Russia, Manturov told Interfax. A spokesperson for Renault declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News. U.S. Weapons Stockpile Risks Running Low (10:45 p.m.) U.S. weapons stockpiles could run out in several months if the Biden administration continues to send war-fighting supplies to Ukraine, defense experts told Congress. Its a huge threat to our security, Ellen Lord, former under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said at an Armed Services Committee hearing. Lord said the U.S. has sent almost a quarter of its stockpile of Stinger missiles to Ukraine. David Berteau, president of the Professional Services Council, said that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. is readying almost one-third of available weapons stockpiles with no current contracts to replenish them. Russia to Cut Gas Supplies to Poland and Bulgaria (9:36 p.m.) Russia will cut off the gas to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday in a major escalation in the standoff between Moscow and Europe over energy supplies and the war in Ukraine. Moscow is making good on a threat to halt gas flows to countries that refuse President Vladimir Putins new demand to pay for the fuel in rubles. The European Union has rejected the move in principle but now payment deadlines are starting to fall due, governments across Europe need to decide whether to accept Putins terms or lose crucial supplies -- and face the prospect of energy rationing. European gas prices surged as much as 17% and the euro tumbled to its lowest against the dollar since April 2017. Putin Open to UN Role in Mariupol, Guterres Says (8:44 p.m.) Putin agreed in principle to involvement by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in evacuating civilians from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, according to a UN statement after Secretary-General Guterres met the Russian president in Moscow. Putin said during the meeting that Russia isnt refusing to negotiate with Ukrainians, according to an excerpt shown on state TV. Officials from both Russia and Ukraine have said the talks are at a dead end. Guterres plans to visit Ukraine on Wednesday. China Hasnt Yet Supported Russias Invasion, Blinken Says (7:48 p.m.) The U.S. hasnt yet seen China provide significant military support for Russias invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Blinken said Chinas refusal to take a stand against the invasion is creating significant reputational risk for Beijing. Kremlin Weighs Suspending Regional Elections (4:32 p.m.) The Kremlin is considering a plan to suspend regional elections set for September amid concerns about growing social tension due to the war and sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies, according to people familiar with the discussions. The proposal could be brought formally to Putin as soon as Wednesday, Kommersant and RBC newspapers reported. While polls show support for Putin has surged since the invasion, the discussions are an indication of the Kremlins worry about the rising political and economic costs as fighting continues and living standards decline. Kremlin Sees Ukraine Breaking Into Several States (3:32 p.m.) Ukraine may collapse into several states, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said, in the latest comments by a senior Kremlin official that appear to go beyond attempts to cement control over separatist-held territory. Patrushev blamed the conflict on the policy of the West and Ukrainian authorities in an interview with the state-run Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper. Moldova Says Transnistria Forces Behind Blasts (3:30 p.m.) Moldovas President Maia Sandu said forces within the separatist region of Transnistria that back Russias war in Ukraine were behind the recent blasts that rocked several sites there. We condemn any provocation and attempts to drag Moldova into actions that may endanger peace within the country, Sandu told journalists as her government raised its level of security readiness at key institutions and infrastructure sites. An observation mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe may arrive in Moldova this week to aid communication between the government in Chisinau and the self-proclaimed administration in Transnistria. Putin Says Ukraine Should Tell Mariupol Troops to Surrender (2:55 p.m.) Ukraine should order its troops in Mariupols blockaded Azovstal steel plant to lay down their arms and surrender, Putin told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin has ordered Russian troops not to storm the complex and seal it off instead. Ukrainian officials said at the weekend attacks continued on the plant and it wasnt possible to relieve forces and citizens trapped there. Germany Says Embargo on Russian Oil Manageable (2:52 p.m.) Germany has cut its reliance on Russian oil enough to make an embargo manageable, Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters in Warsaw. Oil from Russia accounts for about 12% of German imports currently, down from 35% before the invasion, Habeck said. Germanys long-standing reluctance to stop buying Russian energy has put the country at odds with Ukraine, which accuses it of financing the Kremlins war machine. UN Projects Up to 8.3 Million Refugees (11:30 a.m.) As many as 8.3 million refugees are expected to flee Ukraine by the end of this year, according to the UN Refugee Agency. More than 5.2 million people have fled since Russia attacked on Feb. 24, a spokesperson for the agency said at a briefing in Geneva. The UN agency initially projected Russias invasion could create 4 million refugees. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs doubled its appeal for aid to $2.25 billion due to the worsening situation. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. (Note: Some images in this story may offend or disturb.) By Anthony Deutsch (Reuters) - Three Russian pilots suspected of bombing civilian buildings in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions are among at least seven Russian military personnel that Kyiv is preparing war crimes charges against, the Ukrainian prosecutor generals office told Reuters. It said the other individuals include two operators of a rocket launcher who allegedly shelled settlements in the Kharkiv region and two army servicemen suspected of murdering a Kyiv area resident and raping his wife. The prosecutors office said it had notified the individuals that they are suspects and the investigations are ongoing, adding no charges had been filed with the court. It didnt name the suspects or provide evidence to support the allegations. It said some of the suspects were held as captives, without specifying where, while other charges were being prepared in absentia. Ukraine says it is investigating some 7,600 potential war crimes and at least 500 suspects following Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbour. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told Reuters that many of those suspects are in Russia but some have been taken captive by Ukraine as prisoners of war. Speaking in an interview earlier this month, she said that her office intends to follow the chain of command up the Russian political and military hierarchy. Related video: UN Chief says he's concerned about war crimes in Ukraine Venediktova added that she plans to pursue prosecutions both in Ukrainian courts as well as at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the worlds permanent war crimes tribunal. The Kremlin and Russias defence ministry didnt respond to requests for comment. Moscow has rejected allegations by Ukraine and Western nations of war crimes and has denied targeting civilians in what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise its neighbour. Ukraines probe is at the centre of multiple efforts to investigate potential war crimes related to the conflict, including by the ICC. The probes are at the very early stages, people familiar with them say. The ICC has sent an advance team to the region to establish operations. Story continues Moscow has accused Kyiv of genocide against Russian speakers, which Kyiv strongly denies. Russia has also opened criminal cases into Ukrainian servicemen's alleged torture of their Russian counterparts. Ukraine, which is conducting its investigation while still in the throes of war, is scrambling to assemble teams of specialists with war crimes expertise, evaluating potential crimes and developing its prosecution strategy. You can see they are now exhuming the bodies, so [the investigation is at a] very early stage," a person familiar with the process said. In terms of strategy, Kyiv plans to prosecute as much as it can in Ukrainian courts but would likely leave any cases involving higher-ranking figures to the ICC, the person added. The UN has also established its own inquiry into possible violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine, including possible war crimes, which could feed into any prosecutions by the ICC. There is also a European Union-coordinated effort to fast track sharing of evidence between various investigating authorities, including with the ICC. Several European countries have said they will apply universal jurisdiction, the legal principle that some crimes are so terrible they can be heard by foreign national courts, and their prosecutors could launch investigations into Ukrainian atrocities. For Ukraine, the immediate challenge is the sheer volume of potential evidence and witness testimony that needs to be secured and recorded in a way that is usable in court, legal specialists say. That includes vast amounts of digital imagery as well as material gathered on the ground. David Schwendiman, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who has also helped prosecute war crimes committed during the Balkan wars in the 1990s, praised Ukraines prosecutor general as talented and courageous but said the country doesnt have experience of an investigation of this scale and will need outside help processing potential crime scenes in a way that meets international standards. Every one of those bodies is a crime scene. Every one of those buildings is a crime scene. Every city is a crime scene, Schwendiman said. Something as small as a piece of cloth torn from a uniform, an ammunition shell or even a ligature used to tie someones hands could help identify a particular unit involved and so needs to be carefully preserved, he added. Zera Kozlyieva, deputy head of the war crimes unit in the prosecutor generals office, acknowledged that limited access due to ongoing hostilities and a shortage of war crimes specialists presented challenges. Speaking Thursday on a panel at international affairs think tank Chatham House, she said that Kyiv is seeking help from international experts. WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS Images of dead civilians in Ukraine, including of mass graves and bodies of bound civilians shot at close range, have prompted international outrage, with U.S. President Joe Biden calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be investigated for war crimes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused invading Russian troops of committing "the most terrible war crimes" since World War Two. According to the United Nations, as of April 22 more than 2,400 civilians had been killed since the conflict began in late February. But the official count is likely to climb. In the port city of Mariupol alone, local authorities have said thousands of people have been killed. Under international law, war crimes include intentionally targeting civilian populations, willfully killing or causing suffering, and widespread destruction among other serious violations of laws applicable in armed conflict. Individuals who commit such crimes can be prosecuted by international tribunals such as the ICC and by states. Experts for the Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) nations said in a report published earlier this month that they found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Russia in Ukraine. The experts also said in the report that theyd found evidence of violations of international humanitarian law by Ukraine, particularly in its treatment of prisoners of war, but that Russia's violations "are by far larger in nature and scale." Ukraine has said it checks all information regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, will investigate any violations and take appropriate legal action. Russia has said the report "is based solely on unfounded propaganda theses, contains references to dubious sources and logical stretches in the style of 'highly likely.'" UKRAINES PROBE The prosecutor generals office had in recent years established a special unit to investigate potential crimes in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 but Kyiv continues to claim as part of Ukraine, and Donbas. Moscows February invasion of its Western neighbour forced Kyiv to scale up what had been a relatively small team of prosecutors. Venediktova and her team have in recent weeks been evaluating sites where atrocities have taken place, including where Russian troops have recently withdrawn. On April 12, Venediktova visited Bucha, near Kyiv, where French forensic experts had arrived to help Ukraine authorities establish what happened in the town where hundreds of bodies have been discovered. As the group from the French Gendarmerie's forensic science department looked on, workers in hazmat suits dug earth from a shallow grave and lifted out a heavy mass wrapped in an orange blanket. Citing witnesses, Venediktova said during the visit that the burnt body parts inside were those of a woman and her two children. Russia has said that images and footage of dead bodies strewn across Bucha were fake. Venediktova is also drawing on international legal expertise and seeking technical assistance. She has announced the formation of a task force of law firms and prominent international human rights lawyers, including Amal Clooney, to advise on securing accountability for Ukrainian victims in national jurisdictions as well as strategic guidance on cooperating with the ICC. Venediktova is in regular contact with Beth Van Schaack, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice in the U.S. State Department, who said the two have discussed what additional assistance Washington could provide. Van Schaacks office has been helping to deploy specialists on the ground via a joint U.S.-European project. Van Schaack told Reuters that Venediktovas requests for assistance include forensics expertise, such as helping determine how victims found in mass graves died and whether potential signs of torture were inflicted prior to death. Other requests include help identifying the type and origins of particular ballistics used as well as assistance clearing any mines left by Russians so that her investigators can safely access those areas. Ukraines potentially biggest challenge, said Van Schaack, will be gaining custody of suspects, particularly those higher up the command chain. If they remain in Russia, they may enjoy impunity for the rest of their days, she said. (Reporting by Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam; additional reporting by Alessandra Prentice in Bucha, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, Max Hunder in London, Stephanie van den Berg in The Hague and Simon Lewis in Washington. Editing by Cassell Bryan-Low) Behind every great political scandal, there are players whose stories get shoved to the side by the first, second and even third drafts of history. Gaslit, overpacked but compelling, shoves back though not quite hard enough. The actors traverse a wide variety of styles, from sardonic satire to raw sincerity. While that stylistic range can feel indecisive in some episodes, its an awfully good cast. Advertisement With a deft balance of social cunning and justifiable paranoia, Julia Roberts takes the lead as mouth of the south Martha Mitchell. Her public statements regarding Richard Nixons ineptly corrupt administration helped bring down a presidential second-term hopeful and various minions intent on smearing the opposition party. Across the eight-part Starz series (seven episodes were available for preview), Roberts occasionally has to fight for screen time in what is an ensemble piece, not a star vehicle. Sean Penn plays her husband, Nixon crony and U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell, encased in a misjudged load of prosthetics. (More on that shortly.) Sean Penn and Julia Roberts in Gaslit. (Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Starz) Gaslit devotes nearly equal time to White House counsel John Dean (Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey) and his wife, Maureen Mo Dean (Betty Gilpin). Gilpin excels as the series voice of reason and as depicted here the cool, clear, morally aghast rebuke to the feckless, reckless men, her husband included, making the wrong kind of history all around her. Advertisement The series opens with another major player: dirty-tricks maestro G. Gordon Liddy (Shea Whigham, a serious pleasure as always). We meet him doing Liddys infamous signature move: holding his hand over a candle flame, testing his tolerance for burning flesh, referenced though not shown in All the Presidents Men. History, Whighams Liddy tells us, isnt written by the feeble masses the pissants, the commies, the queers and the women. It is written and rewritten by soldiers carrying the banner of kings. By episode seven, in prison for the Watergate break-in, Liddys reduced to going mano-a-mano with a rat in a cell, though like so many co-conspirators, he enjoyed a lucrative career redemption outside politics, post-Watergate. Dan Stevens as John Dean, left, and Betty Gilpin as Mo Dean in a scene from "Gaslit," now on Starz. (Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/AP) Other real-life figures take their share of the narrative here, fictionalized to varying degrees. (Its a docudrama, or rather, a docu-comedy-drama, not a documentary.) Patrick Walker is heartbreaking as security guard Frank Wills, who first reported signs of a break-in at the Watergate complex, leading to arrests made early morning on June 17, 1972. Wills was treated as a marginalized pariah for doing his job. Though Martha Mitchells mistreatment at the hands of Nixon operatives centers the adaptation she was, by various accounts and this shows telling, imprisoned and drugged in an LA hotel suite for talking too much, too dangerously Gaslit casts a sympathetic eye to various marginalized characters thrown under various buses. Creator Robbie Pickering and his fellow writers, working under Matt Rosss direction, do many things very well. The period is shrewdly evoked, braking right at the edge of parody. (As a former 12-year-old Watergate hearings viewer, I can attest to the general domestic onslaught of avocado green, harvest gold and simulated wood-paneled interiors.) When Roberts and Penn get a chance to really tear into each other as scene partners, the results are riveting. And the ensemble is full of wily scene-stealers, such as John Carroll Lynch as FBI director L. Patrick Gray, no ones idea of a profile in courage. Gaslit comes from the Watergate season of the Slate podcast Slow Burn, which began with a 25-minute episode on Martha Mitchell and fanned out from there. The Starz edition of the story strains a bit to find its focus, winding so many other figures around Mitchell. Theres also a weird visual disconnect with Roberts, whose fine performance is relatively unconcerned with re-creating the Martha Mitchell we know from archival material, up against a nearly unrecognizable Penn as John Mitchell. His jowly prosthetics, to be sure, are first-rate: Kazuhiro Tsuji, who won an Oscar for turning Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, achieves a similarly convincing effect for Penn. Yet is the performance and the series truly better for it? Is Mitchells face Churchill-level iconic? (No.) Why go to the trouble? Even with Penn in the role, would it have been possible to go halfway with this sort of facial sculpting job, and let an actor of Penns skill level do more of the work? Gaslit owes its brash comic edge to the political work of Adam McKay (Vice, Dont Look Up), an edge that has its payoffs and its limitations. With the Watergate character roster, its hard to avoid comedy, because they delivered so many varieties: the comedy of self-delusion (John Dean), the comedy of straight-faced insanity (Liddy), the comedy of office politics (everyone else). In Gaslit, its hard to take Dean seriously; hes a hapless hollow man in Stevens portrayal, and you have to squint, hard, to see what brought the Deans together. Its like the makeup issue with Penn vs. Roberts, only without the makeup; while Stevens plays almost every line for nervous laughs, Gilpin makes Mo a little bit of everything: funny, melancholy, regretful, defiant. Films such as Vice and series such as this one, cannot help but point to the inevitable Trump White House projects. How will our previous presidents (first?) term in office be treated on screen? For McKay-style laughs only? When Nixons worst has been so easily bested by recent history, is it possible we already living in a time when satire becomes not simply limiting, but irresponsible? Advertisement On the other hand: It remains a singular historical fact that G. Gordon Liddy was not, in fact, a fictional character. And when an actor as good as Whigham gets lines such as I dont experience human neuroses, Gaslit can be forgiven its flaws. Shea Whigham portrays Watergate burglary mastermind G. Gordon Liddy in "Gaslit." (Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/AP) Gaslit 3 stars (out of 4) Content rating: TV-MA Running time: Eight episodes, approximately eight hours. Seven episodes were screened for review. How to watch: Now streaming on Starz. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic. Advertisement mjphillips@chicagotribune.com Twitter @phillipstribune Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here. KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's foreign ministry expressed concern on Tuesday about the situation in Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria, and condemned what it said were Russian attempts to drag the region into Russia's war against Ukraine. The ministry said in an online statement that a series of incidents, which included several explosions, "coincided with the statements of the Russian military command about their plans to occupy the entire south of Ukraine and establish a land corridor to the Transdniestrian region of Moldova." "Ukraine strongly supports the territorial integrity of Moldova in its internationally recognised borders, condemns attempts to involve the Transdniestrian region of Moldova in Russia's ... full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and calls for a de-escalation of the situation," it said. Moldova's president said on Tuesday that the attacks in the Russia-backed region were an attempt by factions within the territory to increase tensions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the news was a cause for serious concern and that Moscow was following events closely. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Max Hunder, editing by Timothy Heritage) MarketWatch Answer: The first thing to know is this: Federal student loans and about half of private student loans provide a death discharge, which cancels the remaining debt upon death of the borrower, says Mark Kantrowitz, author of Who Graduates From College? To find out if your private student loan could be erased in case of death, youll need to call your servicer and inquire about their policies. Have a question about getting out of student loan or other debt? A Chinese court has sentenced an American man to death for fatally stabbing his girlfriend after she wanted to break up with him. Shadeed Abdulmateen was found guilty on Thursday of intentional homicide for the death of 21-year-old Ningbo University of Technology student Chen Shijun. Abdulmateen, who taught English at the same university, met Chen in early 2019. He started a romantic relationship with her and lied about his relationship status and being divorced, according to reports. Chen tried ending their relationship in May 2019, but Abdulmateen reportedly responded with verbal intimidation and refused to break up. He convinced Chen to meet him on the evening of June 14, 2019, at a bus stop in Ningbo City in Zhejiang Province. He stabbed her neck and face with a folding knife at around 9:48 p.m. She died at the scene of the incident after sustaining a massive hemorrhage. The Ningbo Intermediate People's Court found that Abdulmateen killed Chen with premeditation and a motive to seek revenge. In its ruling, the court declared that the defendants crime should be punished accordingly. During his trial, Abdulmateen was allowed translation services and consular visits. An official from the U.S. State Department confirmed it was aware of the sentence but declined to discuss the situation further due to privacy concerns. Feature Image via Abdulmateen Shadeed (left, right) Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Over 100,000 People Sign Petition to Investigate Teen Shot 7 Times By Police While Surrendering Nonprofit Raises Over $167K to Help NYs Struggling Street Food Vendors Feed the Hungry Asian Filmmaker Implies Oscar-Winning Netflix Short Stole Idea From 5 Years Ago in Viral TikTok NYC library guards Roshanta Williams, Elmirel Cephas receive handwritten thank you notes from Asian American groups This 2004 photo shows the cockfighting pit inside the Hilltop Cultural Center in Oklahoma's Cotton County. State voters approved a ballot initiative to prohibit cockfighting. My tenure as Oklahoma attorney general overlapped with the qualification and passage of State Question 687, an anti-cockfighting ballot question that voters in our state handily approved in November 2002. The provisions of the enacted statute included penalty provisions in line with our anti-dogfighting statute, and commensurate with the penalties of other states prohibitions on cockfighting. State Rep. Justin Humphrey introduced a bill to gut the penalties in our anti-cockfighting law. Fortunately, state House leaders didnt give it a vote. But now Humphrey has amended his pro-cockfighting language into a second bill, SB 1522. His bill decriminalizes training and possessing birds to fight them. These are bad, worn-out ideas, and I know the people of Oklahoma do not want lawmakers to bless this idea. We know that there are illegal animal fighting operators engaging in felony-level offenses in our state. A series of investigations have demonstrated that fact. We dont need to encourage this illegal conduct; we need more enforcement to stop acts of animal cruelty and other criminal behavior. When Oklahomans directly banned cockfighting in 2002, Congress also banned any interstate or foreign transport of fighting animals. Lawmakers subsequently strengthened the federal animal fighting law four times, with the Congress establishing a national ban on animal fighting in 2019, leaving not an acre of American soil a refuge for cockfighting. Rep. Humphrey mentioned allowing Oklahomans to make money by raising and training fighting animals and shipping them to Guam and the Philippines to make money. But exporting fighting birds to any other jurisdiction, whether a state, territory or foreign nation, is also a federal felony. I want to be clear that there is no prospect that Congress will weaken that law. Our two most senior congressmen, U.S. Reps. Tom Cole and Frank Lucas, along with the overwhelming majority of Republicans and Democrats voted in favor of the national law. Not a single senator opposed that legislation. Law enforcement agencies and sheriffs enthusiastically backed the federal laws against animal fighting, as did all state and national veterinary organizations. The National Chicken Council supported the national law against cockfighting. Story continues When Oklahoma voters approved the anti-cockfighting law in 2002, they did so at the recommendation, among others, of then Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. The Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional in a unanimous decision after cockfighters challenged it. Lawmakers then rejected a raft of bills to weaken the law and to embarrass our state by trying to legalize an activity that most states banned in the 1800s. Law enforcement authorities often find that animal fighting is directly tied to other crimes, such as drug trafficking, illegal gambling, gang violence, public corruption, and additional forms of extreme animal cruelty and human-on-human violence. Public officials should be condemning this disrespect for Oklahoma values and the disregard for the rule of law. It would be an embarrassment to our state to legalize this barbaric practice. I trust that the majority of lawmakers will honor the will of voters and recognize cockfighting as a disreputable and brutal practice. Drew Edmondson Drew Edmondson, former Oklahoma attorney General (1995-2011), is co-chair of the National Law Enforcement Council of Animal Wellness Action. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Viewpoint: Cockfighting goes against Oklahoman values Viola Davis has responded to criticism of her portrayal of Michelle Obama in the new Showtime drama The First Lady. Davis has been accused of exaggeratedly pursing her lips while playing the former First Lady in the show. One viewer called her depiction unnecessary and borderline insulting. The Oscar winner has since said it is incredibly hurtful when people say negative things about your work. Speaking to BBC News, she acknowledged that criticism is an occupational hazard for actors, saying: How do you move on from the hurt, from failure? But you have to. Not everything is going to be an awards-worthy performance. Some viewers commenting on Daviss expression on social media likened it to duck face an over the top pouting pose and joked that her face must have been so tired. I love Viola Davis so Im just going to pretend this entire episode didnt happen in her career, wrote one person. Davis said: Critics absolutely serve no purpose. And Im not saying that to be nasty either. They always feel like theyre telling you something that you dont know. Somehow that youre living a life that youre surrounded by people who lie to you and Im going to be the person that leans in and tells you the truth. So it gives them an opportunity to be cruel to you. But ultimately I feel like it is my job as a leader to make bold choices. Win or fail it is my duty to do that. Viola Davis at the premiere of The First Lady (2022 Invision) She talked about the pressure of playing someone as well known and loved as Obama. Either youre doing too much or not enough, she said. Obama herself is yet to comment on the performance. In a two-star review of the show, The Guardians Adrian Horton wrote: Davis is undoubtedly a national treasure, and her intent here seems spiritually aligned with both Obama the icon and Obama the real person, but the performance, especially against [OT] Fagbenles spottily accented Barack, is unsettling, never transcending the uncanniness of impersonation. The Atlantics Shirley Li, meanwhile, wrote that Daviss work in the series feels like caricature. The First Lady will air on Paramount+ when the service debuts in the UK later this summer. Davis recently opened up about the racial abuse she experienced as a child in an intimate interview with Oprah Winfrey released on Netflix, ahead of the arrival of her new memoir Finding Me. By Dietrich Knauth (Reuters) - Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance and other defendants on Tuesday said they were not to blame for the opioid crisis in San Francisco, and that they acted responsibly when providing legal medications to patients in pain. "Almost all of those prescriptions were written by good, well-meaning doctors," Walgreens attorney Kate Swift said during opening statements in a trial in San Francisco federal court. "It was appropriate for good pharmacists to fill those prescriptions." The trial, which kicked off Monday, is the first to target drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies over the addictive pain medicines. San Francisco has accused Walgreens, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, AbbVie Inc's Allergan unit, and drug distributor Anda Inc, which is owned by Teva, of creating a "public nuisance" by flooding the city with prescription opioids and failing to prevent the drugs from being diverted for illegal use. A lawyer for San Francisco said during opening statements on Monday that the entire prescription drug industry was to blame for recklessly expanding the market for opioid drugs. San Francisco has been hit hard by the opioid crisis, which has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths nationwide in the past two decades, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Opioid-related health issues now account for 25% of emergency room visits at the city's largest public hospital, according to the lawsuit. Drugmakers Teva and Allergan said on Tuesday that they were minor players in the crisis compared to companies like Purdue Pharma and the wealthy Sackler family that owns the now bankrupt company. "This crisis traces back to Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family and their pursuit of profits," said Collie James, an attorney for Teva and its affiliates. By comparison, Teva's branded opioid drugs Actiq and Fentora, made by its Cephalon unit, were "a barely perceptible blip on the opioid market in San Francisco," James said. Story continues Allergan attorney Hariklia Karis made similar arguments about Allergan's branded opioids, Kadian and Norco. "Kadian made no difference in this market," Karis said. "Norco did not move the market." The members of the Sackler family that own Purdue have said that they acted lawfully, but "regret" that its widely-prescribed OxyContin "unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis." San Francisco's lawsuit, filed in 2018, initially included claims against drugmakers Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson and Endo International Plc, and the three largest U.S. drug distributors - McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and AmerisourceBergen Corp. The city previously settled with those defendants ahead of the trial. The lawsuit was one of more than 3,000 cases filed by state and local governments over the U.S. opioid crisis. J&J and the three large distributors agreed to a $26 billion nationwide settlement of opioid claims against them, which California and San Francisco joined. But many of the lawsuits are proceeding against other drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies. (Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot) Elon Musk is now on the brink of taking over Twitter outright. The worlds richest person and eighth most popular Twitter user plans to make the platform fully private in order to restore its commitment to what he terms free speech. But his offer, which Twitter gave the green light on Monday, raises as many questions as it does answers. Follow our live coverage of Elon Musks Twitter takeover bid Among them: why does he want to take it over? Wheres the money coming from? Would a sale make shareholders happy? And what would the social platform look like if he succeeds? Why is Elon Musk interested in Twitter? Ostensibly because the service, he says, isn't living up to its potential as a platform for free speech. Musk insists that he's not interested in making money off Twitter and on Thursday said his motivation sprang from the realisation that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization. Twitter, like other social media platforms, suspends accounts for violating content standards, including on violence, hate speech or harmful misinformation. Its suspension of Donald Trump angered the former US presidents followers. Musk has described himself as a free speech absolutist but he has blocked Twitter users who question or disagree with him. Regulators have also accused his car company, Tesla, of retaliating against Black workers who spoke up about discrimination. Where will Elon Musk get the funds to buy Twitter from? Musk may be the richest person on the planet, but most of his wealth is tied up in Tesla stock (he owns 17 per cent of the company) and his stake in the privately held space firm SpaceX. He claims to have significant crypto holdings, mostly bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH) and some Dogecoin, but he also says he plans to HODL (hold on for dear life) and not sell his cryptocurrency. During an on-stage interview at the TED 2022 conference earlier this month, Musk noted vaguely that he has sufficient assets to complete the deal, adding, I can do it if possible. Story continues A securities filing last week revealed he has raised $22.5bn from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding to finance the bid, and will pay the rest by selling equity. Would Twitter shareholders be happy with the takeover? Twitter stock surged in pre-market trading on Monday morning in anticipation of the successful bid. The shares have traded above $70 in the past 12 months and peaked at $80.75 in February 2021, though remain much lower than the price offered by Musk. There has been executive turnover since co-founder Jack Dorseys departure in November left Twitter with a new CEO, Parag Agrawal, whose initial actions have involved internal reorganisations. There have not been any major changes to Twitter, which, despite its outsized influence due to high-profile celebrity and politician posters, as well as a devoted base of journalists, has fewer users than social media rivals like Facebook and TikTok. Musk himself is a huge user, with more than 81 million followers. Dorsey, still a major shareholder, has not indicated what he thinks of Musk's offer. How might Elon Musk remake Twitter? It's hard to know with Musk, and even trying to game out this hypothetical might be taking the man too seriously. By saying Twitter is not living up to its potential to be a platform for free speech, he seems to be saying he would scale back content moderation. This could see a return for those banned by Twitter in the past, potentially even seeing Donald Trump reinstated. He will also crackdown on crypto spam bots, which have plagued the platform in recent years, and has proposed dropping ads from the service ads are how Twitter makes money and making its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter. A recent poll relating to an edit button could see that introduced for all users. Why are some people concerned about Elon Musk taking over Twitter? Social media companies struggle to contain misinformation and hate speech. Musk, whose tweets can lead online bullies to swarm his critics online, does not seem keen on content moderation. Regulators worldwide will be wincing at the potential free speech implications should Musks takeover bid succeed, said GlobalData analyst Rachel Foster-Jones. Musk is clearly serious about promoting free speech for the benefit of democracy, but the line between free speech and hate speech or misinformation is becoming increasingly muddied, and attempts to change Twitter could easily lead to these issues spiraling out of control. In his talk with Anderson, Musk said that Twitter is bound by the laws of the country it operates in, so obviously there are some limitations on free speech in the US and of course Twitter would have to abide by those rules. But he said it was quite dangerous to have tweets be mysteriously promoted and demoted and having a black-box algorithm. What happens next? The deal could be announced as early as Monday, according to reports. You can follow all the latest right here. Additional reporting from agencies St. Petersburg will soon be home to a new and innovative type of housing project. Skytian Capital, an investing firm that operates out of Tampa, Toronto and New York, bought two St. Pete apartment complexes for more than $5 million on March 31, according to Skytian Capitals founder San Eng. The buildings on 425 2nd St. N. and 424 2nd St. N. will be redeveloped into Satoshi Hideout, a housing community with 41 units designed to have flexible leasing options. The project is named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of the blockchain and bitcoin. Theres a growing need for flexible and affordable housing that caters to people with unconventional working hours, like artists, medical professionals and tech entrepreneurs, Eng said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. He saw a need to fill a growing void in Tampa Bay. It just feels very buzzy, like an upcoming Austin or Shanghai back in the day, Eng said about the growth happening across the region. In this conversation, Eng explained why he isnt focused on high-end apartments and why he wanted to honor bitcoins creator. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Why did you want to build this project in St. Petersburg? After many years of research in North America and overseas in terms of where we want to invest in again, we fell in love with Florida and specifically Tampa and St. Pete. In earlier projects, we were more looking for opportunities to acquire workforce housing and opportunities to improve the communities. So we typically would acquire and then try to make them a better place to live. This project is a little different in the sense that its downtown. And we found that these are micro units in a bustling area of Tampa Bay. It just feels very buzzy, like an upcoming Austin or Shanghai back in the day. Its creative and techie, it just has fantastic energy with young people and we felt that theres a lack of inexpensive but cool, comfortable housing. So we felt this product is a perfect location that would meet a strong demand: so small units, very high-tech, strong personality, branded, flexible, furnished but not necessarily five-star costs. Story continues So is it a hotel, apartment or more like an Airbnb? Theres a term called midterm housing, its definitely not a hotel, which tend to have high staffing. And its not necessarily a bed and breakfast. Its sort of in the middle. We will employ technologies that would help automate a lot of things for like automated check-ins, all payments will be automated. It will be furnished like a hotel but the majority of rooms will have full kitchen and baths. It can be very attractive for a nurse thats on a three-month contract or just imagine a team of founders that are starting a company here in Tampa, and might stay here two or three months but dont want to stay in a hotel and want to be close to downtown. Its a very interesting emerging mix because even in Airbnb, more reservations are now longer term as opposed to just touristy two or three days. And thats obviously driven by work from home, (and) accelerated by COVID, but its a trend that was emerging pre-COVID. Tampas housing market is exploding but some worry theres a growing risk for a cool down or correction. How do you navigate that? Thats the billion dollar question right? Were very conservative. We dont really acquire assets that dont have cash flow, so stabilized properties. Normally 90-95 percent occupied and often (they) may be neglected by landlords and theres opportunities to truly improve it, but not necessarily gut it 100 percent. As leases expire, we may change the kitchen, upgrade with a washer and dryer appliances or add the amenities like dog parks or to change the courtyard. So we are improving it but were not doing development work. We might make less money than if we were doing ground up, but were OK with that. What will happen to the people living in the apartments now? Some of their leases are expiring. Many are month to month. So as they leave, we will upgrade. And obviously those that want to stay we will accommodate them. Its a very high turnover market, but its as with any city. What would the price be compared to the apartments that are there now? We havent finalized the price points yet and were still finalizing the design. But I can tell you that if you walk around downtown St. Pete, theres quite a large supply and new supply of luxury condos. And theres a lot of expensive hotels. I can tell you were not at that price point. So we will be more affordable just because the assets are a bit older. We dont want to be another luxury builder. Were not going to be a one-star hotel, but what we see is a niche where theres so many creatives here or health care workers that are eco conscious and tech savvy travelers that wants something different right. So this is a very nice niche. Were proud to be in Tampa first with this concept. Its the perfect location to test out something like this. Why did you decide to call it Satoshi Hideout? Bitcoin was created in the wake of the Lehman Financial Crisis as a sort of anti-Wall Street, anti-establishment because the belief was that centralized powers were screwing the little guys. So the whole idea of decentralization and the use of technology is to really democratize money, as well as society. So this whole ethos, whether you believe it or not, its what hosts a very cohesive, passionate community. This ethos tries to capture that spirit of democracy, sharing this for all and innovation. The blockchain is massive and its only getting bigger, so we wanted to honor the creator of blockchain because he or she or they, we dont know if Satoshi is a person or a group of people or whether theyre a man, woman, Black, white or Asian. We dont know right? Because nobody does. But we do know that they created this thing, worth billions in Bitcoin and theyre hiding somewhere. Elon Musk struck an agreement Monday to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion, setting up the biggest deal to take a company private in at least two decades. Scrutiny is likely to be intense. Twitter is not the biggest social platform it has more than 217 million daily users, compared with billions for Facebook and Instagram but it has had an outsize role in shaping narratives around the world. Political leaders have made it a megaphone, while companies, celebrities and others have used it to hone images and make money. Advertisement Musks takeover attracted concern about the worlds richest person having control of an influential communication platform. A director at a womens rights organization called it a massively slippery slope. Twitters board has already unanimously approved the deal. Heres whats next for Twitter: Advertisement Shareholders will vote on whether to accept the deal. It will also be reviewed by regulators, but they are unlikely to seriously challenge the transaction, former antitrust officials said, since the government most commonly intervenes to stop a deal when a company is buying a competitor. It is expected to take three to six months for the deal to close, according to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. He told Twitter employees that he would remain in his role at least until the deal closes, according to two people who attended an all-hands meeting and were not authorized to speak publicly. He also urged employees to operate Twitter as we always have. Musk has repeatedly said he wants to transform the platform by promoting more free speech and giving users more control over what they see on it. On Monday, he said he would focus on new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans. Executives tried to assure employees that they would not be shortchanged by Musks acquisition. Agrawal told them their stock options would convert to cash when the deal with Musk closes. Employees would receive their same benefits packages for a year after the deal was finalized, and there were no immediate plans for layoffs, he added. Conservatives, who feel they have been unduly silenced by social media platforms, cheered the news of Musks deal. Agrawal was asked by employees whether former President Donald Trump, who was banned from the service after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, would be reinstated. Agrawal deferred, leaving the question for Musk to answer once he takes over the company. For Trumps part, he told Fox News on Monday that he would stick with posting on his own social network, Truth Social. c.2022 The New York Times Company Shares in Google and YouTube parent Alphabet slipped 5% in after-hours trading after the tech giant reported first quarter results below Wall Street expectations. Video subsidiary YouTube, which has been on a tear in recent quarters, posted slower growth in the period. Ad revenue on the platform increased 14% to $6.87 billion. Comparisons suffered from strong direct-response advertising in the year-ago quarter, executives said. More from Deadline CFO Ruth Porat, speaking to analysts on a conference call to discuss the results, said Russias invasion in Ukraine had an outsized impact on YouTube ads. Alphabet paused overall operations in Russia, as did a host of other U.S. companies, and many advertisers pulled back on YouTube ad spending, especially European companies. Asked about lingering impact in the quarter, she said it was too early to comment as hostilities have continued. Revenue rose 23% to a bit more than $68 billion. Earnings per share fell to $24.62 from $26.29 in the year-earlier period, missing Wall Street analysts consensus forecast by more than a dollar. The top-line sales number also fell short of estimates. Alphabet stock, which fell 3% during the regular trading day, drifted down almost another 5% after hours to around $2,263.10. It has recently fallen to its lowest point in nearly a year. Pressed repeatedly by analysts about the state of YouTube, which faces a wave of new competitors like TikTok, executives repeatedly affirmed the strength of the video outlet. About 2 billion registered users log in every month and creators are uploading content at a record clip. The management team also touted YouTube Shorts, the burgeoning short-form extension that has been ramping up over the last couple of years. Google has established a $100 million fund to reward the makers of the most-viewed shorts, an incentive program operating in more than 100 countries. About 40% of the total population of creators will get proceeds from the fund in 2021, according to Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler. Story continues Shorts, a direct competitor with TikTok, now draws 30 billion daily views. Were also testing ads on Shorts, Schindler noted, and campaigns are encouraged by the early results. Were very actively working on what monetization could look like in the future. A litmus test for advertiser appetite for YouTube overall will be next months annual Brandcast event. The elaborate pitch for media buyers has shifted into the main broadcast upfront week, scheduling the showcase at a Broadway theater in New York on May 17. It will be the first in-person Brandcast since 2019 as Covid restrictions continue to ease. Best of Deadline Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 18, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP Zelenskyy says Russia's holding of "pseudo-referendums" in occupied Ukrainian areas would mean the end of peace talks. Any attempts by Russia to form new "pseudo-people's republics" in Ukraine would also be a deal-breaker, he said. Kyiv has accused Moscow of planning such referendums in order to legitimize Russia's invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has explained the factors that would end any potential peace talks with Russia namely the latter's holding of "pseudo-referendums" in occupied Ukrainian regions and any attempts by it to annex more territories. During a press conference at a Kyiv metro station on Sunday, Zelenskyy outlined what would make Ukraine walk away from negotiations with Russia. "If our people in Mariupol are killed, if there will be pseudo-referendums and the establishment of new pseudo-people's republics, Ukraine will not continue negotiating," Zelenskyy said. "But our citizens, located on the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson region and many other settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region in the east of Ukraine, they have to know, and they should not assist the occupying forces." He added that Russia should refrain from holding referendums in occupied areas because it would not facilitate the diplomatic settlement of the conflict. "This would definitely be the wrong step made by Russia," Zelenskyy added. "This would mean that all those meetings of the diplomatic teams were fiction and that this is just theater with very bad actors." Ukraine has previously accused Russia of scheduling referendums in occupied territories from Kherson to Zaporizhzhia. According to The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine's military has received intelligence of a staged referendum in Kherson, set for April 27. In March, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's minister for foreign affairs, also spoke of this "fully staged" sham referendum in a tweet, disavowing the move and declaring: "Kherson is and will always be Ukraine." Story continues During Sunday's press event, Zelenskky also said that he did not think any messages being passed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin by friendly nations as a form of mediation would work, signaling that he is open to in-person negotiations. "This war can only be stopped by the person who started it," Zelenskyy said of Putin. "I want the war to be stopped." "There is a diplomatic path. There is a military path. And any person of sound mind would always opt for the diplomatic path because they would know that even if it's difficult, the diplomatic path allows one to save hundreds, thousands, or even millions of lives," he added. Ukraine has put offers on the table, saying it may be open to negotiating with Russia if corridors are opened up for soldiers and citizens alike to evacuate Mariupol. Zelenskyy has also noted that the killing of Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol could end negotiations. Reports from Ukraine indicate that Putin may have lost interest in peace negotiations and might be looking to grab and annex as much territory as possible. A top Russian general has also voiced similar sentiments, noting that the current goal for Moscow is to "establish full control" over Ukraine's eastern and southern regions. Read the original article on Business Insider The Campbell County School Board voted Monday to ban inherently divisive concepts from being taught in its school system. The resolution, which passed unanimously, states Campbell County schools will not teach Critical Race Theory. Nor will CCPS implement the use of divisive materials to supplement board-approved curriculum materials, including the use of the 1619 Project. The resolution first came to the floor last month when Rustburg representative David Phillips brought forth an item requesting staff to draft a resolution to condemn the use of inherently divisive concepts in Campbell County Schools. The motion was passed Monday with no questions or discussion from the school board members before voting, but community members did not hesitate to make their opinions known during public comment before the vote. Reginald Herndon, president of the Campbell County NAACP, told the board, as elected representatives, resolutions you adopt are viewed as the opinion of the people you represent. People of color are not the majority, but our interest deserves equal consideration, along with everyone elses, when this board is considering any action. Herndon added, What is divisive is in the eye of the beholder. Long ago, it was divisive for little Black children to go to school with little white children, drink from the same water fountain, or swim in the same pool. Another speaker during the public comment section presented a different view. Although [the resolution] is a good start, there is much needed to clarify the implementation of such an initiative, said Jackie Mendez, a Campbell County resident. Mendez later said, Learning is no longer encouraged ... kids are indoctrinated with the latest trends of political ideology. Its mental programming. The resolution is in line with Gov. Glenn Youngkins Executive Order One, which he passed on his first day in office and which ended the use of inherently divisive concepts in Virginia public schools. Even before the resolution was brought forth, Campbell County Superintendent Robert Johnson said critical race theory was not being taught in the school system. Critical race theory, commonly called CRT, is an academic concept that examines how policies and the law perpetuate systemic racism. The 1619 Project is led by journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones with writers from The New York Times Magazine. Debuting in 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery, it aims to examine U.S. history by centering slavery and the contributions of Black Americans. Hannah-Jones spoke at the University of Lynchburg last month. 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. Hongkongers are returning to the Japanese property market after a two-year absence, taking advantage of a weakening yen, which is at a 20-year low against the US dollar. Inquiries for Japanese homes from Hongkongers have surged by up to 40 per cent this month, said Anvy Cheung, chief executive of Sakura Global, which specialises in Japanese property. In the past two years, most of them just stayed on the sidelines, adopting a wait-and-see approach [due to the pandemic]. Most of the clients are looking for homes in Japan for investment or for holiday use, with budgets ranging from HK$1.5 million (US$192,000) to HK$2 million, she added. The Japanese yen, which has fallen 12 per cent since January, may continue to weaken against the US dollar amid expectations the Bank of Japan will lag its peers such as the US Federal Reserve in normalising monetary policy. As the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US currency, the yens steep devaluation makes property investment more attractive to investors from the city. The easing of travel regulations, which were introduced at the start of the pandemic two years ago, has also boosted investors confidence. ...continue reading theguardian.com - May 05 They were separated by thousands of miles and the two sets of builders could not conceivably have met or swapped notes, but intriguing parallels between Stonehenge and Japanese stone circles are to be highlighted in an exhibition at the monument on Salisbury Plain. Fifty years ago, the national networks CBS, ABC and NBC dominated television screens in America and were the primary way voters obtained information: Each network, along with newspapers and radio, told its audience facts first, and all agreed on what the facts were. That meant Americans had a shared understanding of the truth which is what led to the erosion of both Democratic and Republican public support for then-President Richard Nixon during the Watergate investigation. But the time of Democrats and Republicans agreeing on facts is no more. In the early 1980s, cable news networks emerged. The late 80s and early 90s brought the internet, and Six Degrees became the first social media platform later in the 90s. With each development, avenues for information grew more abundant. People werent confined to newspapers and the three news stations for information. Instead, we gained the ability to access information anywhere and with less and less scrutiny. As access to information without oversight expanded, misinformation skyrocketed. Readers, viewers and listeners became increasingly vulnerable to believing falsehoods. Consider the aftermath of the 2020 election: Donald Trump took to social media and, with the help of far-right platforms and news networks, at one point persuaded nearly 70% of Republicans to believe that Joe Biden was not duly elected president, a poll by Suffolk University and USA Today found. But there is hope for the truth to prevail and our effort begins by providing students the tools necessary to effectively navigate the information ecosystem and discern fact from fiction. I am a member of Generation Z, and we are more plugged in than any previous generation. Born between 1997 and 2012, members of Gen Z do not know of a world without social media and the internet. From the day we were born, we instantly became connected with each other virtually. With 97% of those ages 13 to 17 using at least one of seven social media platforms, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center Survey, Gen Zers are defined by social media because it is deeply embedded into our identity. Gen Zers do not merely use social media to connect with others we use it to create change. Take, for example, the Black Lives Matter movement during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Social media became an essential tool for young people to organize and promote information about racial justice and equality. Using features such as Instagrams story or posting short, digestible videos on TikTok, young people recognized that social media platforms are one of the most effective ways of getting information to others quickly and easily. However, as savvy as Gen Zers are with social media, we are not immune to the effects of misinformation. While there are plenty of young people using social media to promote facts, there are just as many employing social media to promote lies. In fact, researchers have found that anti-science and anti-vaccine videos on TikTok have reportedly been viewed by people as young as 9 years old. Coming upon misinformation while scrolling through social media is dangerous no matter the age. Misinformation will never be extinguished especially in the free-for-all of undermoderated social media platforms and channels such as Fox News whose bottom line depends on retaining an audience that believes its extreme statements. To counter this, we should look to the classroom. For students like me and members of future generations who will spend a lot of time online and therefore will be particularly susceptible to seeing misinformation information literacy classes could be exactly what is needed to help young people become better stewards of information. At its core, information literacy classes would be designed to give students critical thinking skills for analyzing information on the internet: In other words, knowing how to evaluate information, distinguish between a lie and a fact, and conduct a fact-check. And fortunately, this is a concept that is underway across the country. Illinois became the first state in the country to require an information literacy class for high schoolers starting with the 2022-23 school year. Better yet, eight states including Massachusetts and Florida are considering bills that would require media literacy education. One antidote to misinformation is understanding what it is and how to combat it. Reaching consensus on basic facts is becoming increasingly more difficult to the point in which democracy has become precarious. It will take all hands on deck to reverse course, and the best place to start may just be in the classroom endowing young people with the skills to identify lies whenever they encounter them. Information literacy classes for students may well be our nations best hope of returning to an era of mutually agreed upon truths. Victor Shi is a sophomore at the University of California at Los Angeles. He was elected as the youngest delegate for Joe Biden in 2020. He co-hosts the iGen Politics podcast. Katelyn Dewaele is the assistant store lead at Dusted Charm located on the 100 Block of West Broadway. She is responsible for leading her team, visual merchandizing, analyzing business performance, assisting customers and much more. To Dewaele, her job is much more than just work. She enjoys being a part of such a passionate team of women and loves the purpose and why behind Dusted Charm. Dewaele has worked in the retail business for five years and enjoys every aspect of it. From the behind-the-scenes late nights and early mornings to seeing customers smiling faces, her true passion is genuinely helping women feel loved and beautiful. She believes that the small businesses in Council Bluffs are the strongest tourism assets CB has to offer. These stores and businesses attract people to our community and provide opportunities and services that not every town has, Dewaele said. When asked what her favorite attraction in Council Bluffs is, she said I have three dogs who love walks. We enjoy going to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge when its nice! Her adorable dogs are named Cash, Tobias, and Olaf. If youre looking for beautiful womens apparel, gifts for a loved one, or home decor items, be sure to visit Dusted Charm at 120 West Broadway or online at www.dustedcharm.com. They are having a Kentucky Derby themed sidewalk sale from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on May 7. Katelyn and her team at Dusted Charm are joining the Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau in celebrating National Travel & Tourism week from May 1 through May 7. Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau Is this Deb Fischer's dash to the wire in 2012 all over again? Or still an unlikely long shot? Ten years ago, Fischer was a state senator finishing her final year in the Legislature and matched against Attorney General Jon Bruning and State Treasurer Don Stenberg in a bid for the Republican nomination for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Fischer, in her first statewide election after representing a Sandhills district in the Legislature for eight years, held 12% of the Republican vote in a March survey by Public Policy Polling. Her share of the pie rose to 25.9% in a We Ask America poll entering May, substantially behind Bruning who was polling at 42.2%. When the GOP primary votes were counted on May 15, Fischer had 79,941 votes and Bruning had 70,067 and she was the Republican nominee. It was a successful come-from-behind sprint at the end of the campaign. That's the dream scenario for Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha as Charles Herbster and Jim Pillen run out front battling one another in this year's hardball gubernatorial contest. It's a volatile landscape with Herbster battling late-in-the-campaign allegations that he has inappropriately touched or groped a number of women, which he fervently denies. Pillen, who is supported by Gov. Pete Ricketts and what appears to be most of Nebraska's Republican establishment -- the party itself maintains a neutral stance -- is expected to benefit from that disclosure. They remain the heavily-funded heavyweights. But is there another state senator a decade after Deb Fischer moving up from behind and surging toward the wire at the end? * * * And now comes Donald Trump. He's not visiting rural Nebraska -- west of Lincoln -- where he would appear to still be absolute king of the hill, but between Lincoln and Omaha, the population centers that both voted for Joe Biden in 2020. However, there are plenty of Trump voters to fill the I-80 Speedway venue at Greenwood a mile over the Lancaster County line in Cass County on Friday night. Hmm, Greenwood. Perhaps Trump, the showman, will get Lee Greenwood to show up at Greenwood to sing "I'm Proud to be an American ... God Bless the USA." That would light up what already is likely to be an electric night. * * * Seldom do you see the kind of grieving appreciation that the death of Brad Ashford prompted. A good and decent man. It was emotionally difficult for Sen. Steve Lathrop to deliver his strong, but tender eulogy in the legislative chamber where Ashford served for 16 years as a state senator on the final day of the 2022 session. "A policy wonk ... non-partisan," Lathrop said. Full of "thoughtfulness; always seeking common ground." "Brad loved this place," Lathrop told his colleagues, partly because Ashford said Nebraska's unique non-partisan Legislature allowed him to change political parties so many times. "A friend for 65 years," Sen. John McCollister said, a neighbor who lived four houses down the street in Omaha. "A gentle giant...an absent-minded professor," McCollister said. Two tender tributes from a Democrat and a Republican. And that was a perfect fit for who Ashford was. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 as the Democratic nominee, was ousted by Republican nominee Don Bacon in 2016 after a single term, became friends with Bacon and endorsed him for re-election in 2020. Party did not matter to him. People did. Ashford was a successful congressman, innovative, flexible and bipartisan, delivering to his constituents a new Veterans Administration medical facility in Omaha funded through a unique public-private partnership and playing a bi-partisan leadership role in gaining funding for construction of a vital new runway at Offutt Air Force Base. As the only Democrat in Nebraska's congressional delegation, he had the only tie to the Obama White House and developed a personal relationship with the president, who wrote him a letter of encouragement last month. I'm not sure anyone disliked Brad Ashford. But I know a lot of people who liked him a lot. * * * President Biden has named former Sen. Chuck Hagel, secretary of defense in the Obama administration, to membership on the board of visitors to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The board provides advice and recommendations to the president related to morale and discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods and other matters related to the academy. Hagel served in Vietnam as an Army sergeant and infantry squad leader and was twice wounded in combat. He is the only enlisted man to ever serve as secretary of defense. * * * Finishing up: * This is the election year of wholly manufactured issues. * Sen. Rich Pahls of Omaha, who has been absent recently from the Legislature because of health conditions, is on the path to recovery and expects to resume his legislative duties, I am told. * Politico spotlights "Nebraska's surprisingly effective COVID strategy" in an in-depth look that could be a big political plus for Gov. Pete Ricketts while also acknowledging that Ricketts gradually departed from University of Nebraska Medical Center advice. One UNMC official, in the author's words, said he believes that "the state got too laissez-faire too quickly." Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon 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. Officials with the Chicago Teachers Union argued Monday that the halting of the universal masking requirement at Chicago Public Schools last month violated their COVID-19 safety agreement by rescinding a key tenet of the plan without reopening collective bargaining. The hearing before Nick Gutierrez, administrative law judge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, was prompted by the unions filing of an unfair labor practice charge shortly after CPS announced masks would be optional for staff, students and visitors to schools beginning March 14. Advertisement They repudiated a key term of the safety agreement and had no legal right to do so, said Robert Bloch, an attorney for CTU. When the safety agreement was forged with CPS in January, following a volatile battle that led to five days of canceled classes during the omicron surge, masks were still required to be worn indoors in Illinois under the executive order of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advertisement But Bloch said despite universal masking being enforced in Illinois, the union still ensured the universal masking requirement was part of its safety agreement with CPS, as they were well aware public health guidance could change with political pressure. Leigh Mabry White, center, a Chicago Public Schools mother and member of Activate Chicago Parents, joins other parents and supporters at a news conference supporting masks in schools outside of City Hall on Feb. 28, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) CPS continued universal masking after many Illinois school districts dropped their requirements in response to a Feb. 4 restraining order by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow in a lawsuit challenging Pritzkers statewide mask mandate and other COVID-19 safety protocols for schools. Parents who had filed the suit sought to hold CPS CEO Pedro Martinez in contempt of court for continuing to require masks after Grischow found the states mask rules invalid, but the judge declined to weigh in on the request, saying the policy of (CPS) is not before the court. Pritzker had appealed Grischows restraining order, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal. The court found that because rules from the Illinois Department of Public Health requiring masking and other COVID-19 protocols had been allowed to expire, the appeal was moot. The governor then appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case but vacated the restraining order. Pritzker announced the same day he was lifting the states universal masking requirement for schools, and CPS followed about a week later, announcing March 7 it was moving to a mask optional but recommended policy. Kaitlyn Girard, chief labor negotiator for CPS, said at Mondays hearing that she and CTU President Jesse Sharkey engaged in off the record discussions in late February about dropping the universal mask requirement in the safety agreement, and both parties agreed we didnt want us being out on an island as the only district requiring masks. Advertisement The CTU would need to get its house of delegates to agree, and (CPS) needed to get our stakeholders on board, Girard said. We were facing litigation, deadlines and pleadings with the judge, Girard said. We were losing our ability to make these decisions if it went too far. Yet Sharkey said he was dismayed the union was not given the opportunity to negotiate prior to the district moving to mask optional, especially given the CPS school board had shown strong support for universal masking since schools had reopened classrooms for in-person instruction last spring. We always believed wed be part of the agreement, Sharkey said. Our view is, we have a written agreement that CPS needs to abide by. Dr. Jennifer Seo, chief medical officer at Chicago Department of Public Health, said while universal masking in schools can reduce infection and outbreaks, the lifting of the virus mitigation strategy at CPS does not appear to have had a negative impact on the community. Advertisement More days than not, we are seeing zero deaths in the city, and hospitalizations have stayed stable, Seo said, adding: In terms of universal masking, we do not recommend it at this time because we remain at low COVID-19 levels. According to the complaint, CTU is asking the labor relations board to require that CPS engage in good faith bargaining prior to implementing unilateral changes in the terms and conditions of employment which affect the health and safety of the employees represented by the union. CTU also accused CPS in the complaint of not adhering to the safety deal by allegedly withholding information such as the number of KN95 masks distributed to schools; school-level data on COVID-19 tests conducted through the districts free weekly program; and confirmation of the creation of school-based contact-tracing teams. A decision on CTUs complaint is not expected for at least 60 days. kcullotta@chicagotribune.com Twitter @kcullotta Tunisia will send aircraft to Russia to transport Russians holidaymakers, the Tourism Minister of the North African country pointed out Monday as result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, reports say. Mohamed Moez Belhassine told Shems fm that authorities have already established contacts with local airlines for the process. The official indicated that the Russian market is important for North Africas tourism sector. He last month said Tunisia is looking to attract 660,000 Russian and Ukrainian tourists this year, as much as last year. We want to reach these figures this year despite the crisis in these countries, he indicated. Last year in October, Tunisian private airline Syphax Airlines signed a deal with Russian tour operator TUI-Russia to fly 50,000 Russian holidaymakers this year. Per the agreement, Syphax Airlines was ro use Moscow International airport and its services. Syphax Airlines, based out of Sfax Thyna International Airport Building, has returned to operation since 2018 after difficult years marked by huge debts. King Mohammed VI has sent his congratulations to French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election and victory over far-right rival Marine Le Pen. In his message, the Monarch wished Macron success in his mission and hailed the depth of the multidimensional ties existing between the Moroccan and French people. By winning a second term after beating far right challenger Marine Le Pen by 58.5 per cent to 41.5 per cent, Macron, a pro-European centrist, becomes the first incumbent to be reelected in France in two decades. In a swift response to the statement made by the unpopular Algerian president Abdelmajid Tebboune criticizing Spanish support to Moroccos autonomy plan for the Sahara, the Spanish foreign ministry hits backs affirming that its stand on the Sahara is a sovereign decision. By recognizing the autonomy plan presented by Morocco as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the Sahara dispute, Spain has taken a sovereign decision, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Onda Cero radio station. The Spanish governments decision is in line with international legality and there is nothing to add on this subject, underlined the top diplomat, refusing to engage in unproductive sterile controversy. I am not going to fuel sterile controversy on the Sahara. Our decision is sovereign and it is in line with international legality, affirmed the Spanish Foreign Minister. In a letter sent to King Mohammed VI, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez voiced his countrys support to the Moroccan autonomy plan offered for the Sahara under its sovereignty, describing the plan as the most serious, credible and realistic basis for the resolution of the Sahara regional conflict. He reiterated the same stand during his recent meeting in Rabat with the Moroccan Sovereign. Madrids supportive stand to Moroccan autonomy plan comes after similar positions voiced by the United States, Germany, France, Israel and other countries in Africa and the Arab world. Furthermore, all the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council since 2007 have commended the autonomy plan and the serious and credible efforts made by Morocco. Algerias criticism of the Spanish decision has once again shown its real face as the main party behind the perpetuation of the Sahara conflict when it recalled its ambassador from Madrid, after the Spanish Prime Minister sent a letter to King Mohammed VI describing Moroccos autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible solution to the Sahara conflict. President Tebboune told his regimes media that the decision was that of Sanchez and had nothing to do with the Spanish state, a statement that shows his ignorance of how decisions are made in a democracy. Sanchez had said that support for Moroccos autonomy plan is a state policy and that the Spanish government would act accordingly. Albares, in his radio interview, said however that what matters for Spain is that Algeria would uphold its gas supply deals with Spain. El Confidencial in a recent article said that Spain and Europe are supporting Morocco, a source of stability and a gate to Africa, while dealing with Algeria only as a mere gas supplier. It wrote that Algeria cannot cut gas because that is what it lives on! Meanwhile, several Spanish, American and European influential politicians, analysts and investors have praised the Spanish backing to Moroccos territorial integrity, saying it is the ONLY basis for a just and lasting resolution of the Sahara regional dispute. The Road 702 Fire in Red Willow, Furnas and Frontier counties covered 41,155 acres as of a 9 a.m. Monday report sent out by Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team One. The report indicated the fire is 0% contained with many interior pockets of unburned vegetation within the Road 702 Fire perimeter. As winds shift or increase, these areas within the fire may burn. Residents in and around the fire area should expect to see flare-ups and smoke, both due to these unburned islands burning as well as the intense heat that remains in the timbered draws, the report said. Retired Cambridge Volunteer Fire Chief John P. Trumble was killed Friday evening while working the 702 fire. Trumble, 66, was helping to spot the fire in Red Willow County when his vehicle went off the road in the smoke and dust about 7 p.m., said Paul Wood, Red Willow County attorney. Trumble was overcome by the smoke and was unable to escape, Wood said. His body was recovered about 3:30 a.m. the next day. Five people also have been injured while fighting the 702 fire. The threat of additional fire growth remains as firefighters continue to extinguish hot spots in brushy draws and near structures. No evacuation orders were active Monday, however. Sunday afternoon, the Multi-Mission Aircraft from Colorado mapped the fire area at 41,155 acres. Firefighters working the night shift patrolled the fire watching for hot spots, flare ups all while monitoring winds that gusted up to 60 mph. The west branch of the fire stretches from Cambridge west and south toward Lebanon. The fire was active primarily in the timbered draws where the fuels are heaviest. Dozers have tried to mitigate hazards by knocking over fire-weakened trees so firefighters can work in those areas. On Monday, firefighters, supported by aerial resources, continued to secure the fireline by mopping up hot spots that threaten control lines and working to cool down areas of heat in the timbered draws where it is safe to do so, the report said. The east branch of the fire stretches from Cambridge south to Wilsonville and into northern Kansas. The fire was very active on this branch Sunday in both the lighter fuels and the timbered draws. Firefighters, supported by aerial resources, continued to secure the fireline by mopping up the fire edge and worked on containing any unburned islands within the fire perimeter. Officials are asking the public to avoid the Road 702 Fire area and to use caution when driving in areas where smoke and dust reduce visibility. Officials are also asking residents who return to their homes to be cautious. For information on other fires in Nebraska, follow NEMA on Facebook at facebook.com/nema.page or Twitter at twitter.com/NEMAtweets. The Omaha World-Herald and Associated Press contributed to this report. Nebraska lawmakers launched into the first full-blown filibuster of the 2022 session during the second day of debate. By the time they headed home Wednesday, filibusters had filled up more than half of the 60 days they met and senators had taken votes on 24 filibuster-ending cloture motions on 15 bills and one resolution. Its got to be a record, I would think, said Don Wesely, a former state senator and now veteran lobbyist. Thats a lot. Turns out the number of cloture motions isnt quite a record, but its close, according to a tally kept by the Clerk of the Legislatures Office. There were 25 such motions in 2018 and 24 in 2016, the two previous high years. But its by far the most without former Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, considered the master of the filibuster, in the Legislature. Chambers was term-limited out of office for a second time in 2020. Speaker Mike Hilgers of Lincoln and other lawmakers said the number of extended debates this year didnt stop the Legislature from chalking up major accomplishments. That has been frustrating, but yet, you look at all the things we got done, said Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams. Im thankful and grateful weve done all weve done. Those accomplishments include a record tax cut package, a plan for using $1.04 billion in federal COVID-19 funds and a state budget that preserves a $1.2 billion cash reserve. Other accomplishments include bills expanding services for children with developmental disabilities, taking the first steps on two major water projects and investing $335 million into North and South Omaha and other high-poverty areas of the state. But some lawmakers said the filibusters contributed to an atmosphere of resentment and bitterness that sometimes spilled over into personal attacks between lawmakers and difficulty working together. We certainly did things, but it was more acrimonious and disjointed even for a short session, said Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln. Filibusters are not unique to the Nebraska Legislature. An example of talking a bill to death showed up in the first session of the U.S. Senate, according to the U.S. Senate Historical Office. The tactic was common enough by the mid-1800s to be dubbed a filibuster, a word derived from Dutch and Spanish terms for pirates. The use of filibusters has increased dramatically in the U.S. Senate since 2013, contributing to gridlock in Congress. Democrats debated ideas for curbing filibusters at the beginning of the year after being frustrated in their attempts to pass voting rights legislation but have not taken action. In Nebraska, the Clerks Office tally shows a similar explosion in filibusters. The number of cloture motions remained in the single digits for all but one year between 1992, when the cloture rule was adopted, and 2014. It has been in the double digits ever since. Lawmakers offered various theories about the reason for the increase. Sen. John Arch of La Vista said he believes lawmakers needed to put more effort into communicating with each other away from the microphone so they could work out differences. There are certainly differences of opinions, but simply bringing bills to the floor and counting votes isnt the best way to do things, he said. Others offered similar views. Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn said COVID cut down on the socializing that helped build relationships among lawmakers. Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont said she believes it would help to have a chance before the session for lawmakers to discuss their goals and interests. The body has gotten polarized, Walz said. We dont take the opportunity to listen to each other. Lawmakers on both the left and the right used filibusters to block legislation this year. Seven bills died because backers fell short of getting 33 votes for cloture, even if they had the 25 votes to advance the bill. The bills killed through filibuster included such hot-button measures as a trigger bill that would have banned abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court gave states the power to do so and a bill that would have allowed Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons without getting a permit. A filibuster also killed a bill that would have limited sentences to address prison overcrowding and a bill that would have boosted private and parochial schools by giving tax credits for donations to private school scholarship organizations. Wesely said the prevalence of filibusters has increased the support needed to pass controversial legislation, in practice if not in legislative rule. He contrasted that with his legislative tenure when even the most contentious legislation could pass by a narrow 25-24 vote. Filibusters can be used to pressure a bills backers to negotiate compromises that can gain support for the bill. Linehan worked out an agreement to add property tax relief to an income tax cut bill to win votes for the package. But she resisted proposals to bring more senators on board and end the tax package filibuster by reducing income taxes for middle-income Nebraskans. Lengthy negotiations among parties interested in crime and corrections also failed to produce a compromise on the prison overcrowding legislation, which left that bill short of votes for cloture. I think there were probably opportunities for compromise, Hansen said. There was no desire to do that. Even with bills that survived, filibusters prevented the Legislature from taking up some controversial amendments. Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha used the tactic to keep lawmakers from amending any of the budget bills to authorize construction of a new prison. His budget bill filibuster also blocked an amendment that would have barred the State Department of Education from using any of its appropriation to research, adopt or implement state sex education standards for Nebraska schools. Political viewpoints determine whether the filibusters resulted in wins or losses. But filibusters ate up time that could have been used to debate other legislation. Hilgers required eight hours of debate before allowing a cloture motion during first-round debate, four hours on second-round debate and two hours at the final stage of consideration. Lawmakers ran out of time to take up several bills this year, including a popular measure that would have made daylight saving time permanent in Nebraska once federal law changed and three neighboring states adopted similar laws. However, Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, who introduced LB283, said the extensive discussions that are part of filibusters are part of the purpose of the Legislature. He said legislative sessions should be slow and cumbersome. And it certainly was this year, he said. The World-Herald's Erin Bamer contributed to this report. Brian Kemp and Georgia Perdue, the former allies now battling for the Georgia Republican nomination for the governorship. Photo: Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool With one month to go before Georgias May 24 Republican primary (and far less than that before early voting commences), Governor Brian Kemp and Trump-endorsed challenger David Purdue had their first of three debates on Sunday. Purdue, the former U.S. senator, made the former presidents 2020 election fables his main focus from the jump. .@DavidPerdueGAs opening message in the first GOP governors debate: First off, let me be very clear, the election in 2020 was rigged and stolen: #gapol pic.twitter.com/XImXF78Nsg Patricia Murphy (@MurphyAJC) April 24, 2022 Trailing in every public poll and in fundraising as well, Perdue is trying to remind MAGA voters that they should blame Kemp for both Trumps and Perdues own Georgia losses in 2020. Though he was under tremendous pressure from Trump, the governor certified Bidens presidential win and didnt pursue various unfounded fraud allegations. Indeed, Perdues pretzel logic led to him claim that its Kemp who is dividing the GOP and exposing the party to the awful specter of a Stacey Abrams administration (the Democrat is unchallenged in her bid for governor). Kemp, who has made nastiness something of a personal brand, fired back in an uninhibited manner, calling Perdue a weak leader who blamed everybody else for their own loss instead of themselves. Perdue took the debate down a favorite Trump rabbit hole, alleging that there was a deal between the state and voting-rights groups over absentee-ballot signature-verification procedures. Kemp was having none of it, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Youre the top cop in this state, Perdue shot back. Its your responsibility to make sure we investigate voter fraud. Kemp bridled at that. I was secretary of state for eight years and I dont need to be lectured by someone whos lost his last election about what the voting laws are in our state, Kemp said. The two men went on to bicker over their relative commitment to the safety of the citizenry in the wealthy white Atlanta enclave of Buckhead, which is allegedly besieged by (presumably Black) criminals: Kemp repeatedly deflected when asked if he supports the affluent, mostly white Buckhead neighborhood seceding from the poorer, Blacker city of Atlanta. That effort died in the state legislature this year amid opposition from business groups, some Republican lawmakers and Atlanta city leaders. Kemp said instead he was focused on reducing crime in Atlanta Perdue said that was an example of Kemp being a weak governor, supporting Buckheads exit from Atlanta. Theyre trying to protect themselves, Perdue said of his support for letting Buckhead split off. And the only way to do that is to get control of their own government. Keep your powder dry? People are getting killed up there right now. Perdue also took a shot at Kemps inattention to illegal immigration, alluding to a famously demagogic ad the incumbent ran during his first gubernatorial campaign in 2018, showing the candidate in a pickup truck he owned in case I need to round up criminal illegals. What happened, Governor? Pickup break down? Perdue asked. Kemp responded that he had stationed members of the Georgia National Guard near the (very distant) U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, which gives you an idea of the extent to which these two former allies are battling for high ground on the far right. The incumbent, of course, was himself endorsed by Trump during the 2018 Republican primaries (which probably didnt affect the outcome); part of the ex-presidents incandescent rage toward Kemp is attributable to his erroneous belief that the governor owes him everything. The bottom line is that Perdue is trying to make the primary a test of loyalty to Trump while Kemp (like Floridas Ron DeSantis) is carving out his own version of Trumpism Without Trump. One of Kemps main talking points in his fight for a second term is that no governor was more eager to reopen their states economy in 2020, even as COVID-19 was still raging. At the time, Trump criticized him for moving too fast. So in the eyes of many conservatives, Kemp was arguably more MAGA than the 45th president himself. The person who enjoyed the Kemp-Perdue debate most was probably Stacey Abrams. Whoever Republicans nominate will likely have a breeze behind his back, with the midterms expected to be a red wave. But as in the 2021 Senate runoffs in Georgia, Republican divisions and a lack of base enthusiasm could be just enough to produce a Democratic win in this very competitive state. Emiliano Zapata Academy teachers and elected officials gathered Tuesday outside the Little Village elementary school to protest a proposed $894,000 cut to the schools budget for the upcoming year. Last month Chicago Public Schools presented preliminary individual school budgets for the 2022-23 school year. If those figures hold, Zapatas budget would be $5.9 million, down from $6.8 million this school year. On Tuesday school community members called on the district to spend federal COVID-19 funds to ensure no school would have to experience cuts, but especially those in Little Village, which was hit hard by the pandemic. Advertisement We here at Zapata are projected to lose eight or nine teachers, which will most definitely dramatically increase class sizes. In my own classroom, I am projected to have 30 distinctly unique little human beings in front of me instead of the 20 that I have this year, Zapata fourth grade bilingual teacher Jaquelina Salgado said. There is no good reason why my future students should be crammed into a classroom where I will have great difficulty meeting their academic, their social, their emotional needs. They deserve so much more. In a conversation with news reporters last month, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said school enrollment was a major factor in the creation of the individual budgets. District enrollment declined from 340,000 students the last school year to 330,000 students this year. Zapata counted 554 students, down from 621, according to CPS data. Advertisement People rally outside Zapata Academy in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on April 26, 2022, as they protest a proposed $894,000 cut to the schools budget for the upcoming year. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Martinez emphasized lower-enrollment schools and schools with the greatest needs would have enough resources for the fall, and more support from the central office would be provided to all schools. Local School Councils at CPS schools were directed to approve school budgets by April 19. Its unclear if the figures the district released last month are the final numbers or if any schools were able to negotiate more money. CPS did not immediately provide comment. In all, about 200 of CPS 500-plus district-run schools were on track to receive less money, based on figures provided last month by CPS. Troy LaRaviere, president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said at last months Chicago Board of Education meeting that the raw numbers dont tell the whole story. LaRaviere said they fail to account for a 5.5% to 6% increase in staffing costs when you factor in raises and step increases, which automatically boost an employees salary for adding a year of experience. It is a fact that some schools receive roughly the same amounts they received last year. However, the CEO used that fact to imply these budgets would create stability. That was false, LaRaviere said. Handing (out) the same amount of money provides zero stability for students if that money doesnt secure the same staff and services. If expenses go up and your budget remains the same, you create instability. Outside Zapata on Tuesday, eighth grade civics teacher and parent Juan Sanchez was among those calling for the use of COVID-19 funding to stabilize school budgets. Advertisement CPS has received over $2 billion in federal funds during the dawn of the pandemic, the majority of which has not made its way to our classrooms, and many of which remains unspent, Sanchez said. CPS has chosen its a choice to undercut, to underfund and to undermine schools like Zapatas ability to adequately educate our children. CPS is expected to receive $2.8 billion in direct emergency pandemic relief funding over five fiscal years. The district recently admitted its been slow to spend this money, but it also said it doesnt want to create positions it cant afford when the pandemic money runs out. Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd, said he will work with teachers, parents and advocates to restore funding to Zapata and other Little Village schools. CPS is still formulating its overall budget plan for the next school year, which includes capital spending on construction projects. This years budget was $9.3 billion. A Free the Funds protest over proposed budget cuts is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. outside CPS headquarters in the Loop before Wednesdays monthly board meeting. tswartz@tribpub.com This week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that one American goal in arming Ukraine was to weaken Russia. The anti-anti-Russia coalition of commentators on the right, and elements of the far left, cried out in vindication. The key thing to understand about anti-anti-Russia thinkers is that their worldview treats the war in Ukraine as if it is being waged by the United States. Absent this premise, their arguments are unintelligible. But if you read them with the assumption that Washington has masterminded the conflict, everything clicks into place. Anti-anti-Russians had already arrived at the conclusion that Ukraines war was an American plot to undermine Russia. Is the purpose of the arms shipments to strengthen Ukraines hand in reaching a negotiated settlement to the conflict a process from which the Biden administration and allied governments have so far held themselves aloof? posited the leftist Branko Marcetic last week. Or is it, as some U.S. and British officials have suggested, to turn Ukraine into an Afghanistan-like quagmire for Russia, weakening it and perhaps even triggering regime change, while sending a message to China in the process? And so, when Austin announced this objective, the anti-anti-Russians cried out in vindication. Here was the skeleton key to understanding the entire conflict. The White House intends to keep the war in Ukraine alive, with the stated goal of weakening Moscow by continuing to pour new and more advanced weaponry into the war-ravaged country, argues the Federalists John Daniel Davidson. The purest expression of this worldview comes from influential Fox News guest analyst Glenn Greenwald: Seemed clear from the start this was the US goal for its involvement in the war in Ukraine. Seems clearer each day the US role deepens. Many other side benefits - a huge boon to weapons manufacturers - but weakening Russia is the goal. Sadly, Ukraine's destruction is the price. pic.twitter.com/jpJsfS6TGv Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 25, 2022 This is an inversion of reality Orwell could only admire. Ukraines destruction is the objective of Russias invasion, not the price of American aid to Ukraine. Indeed, American aid to Ukraine is designed to prevent its destruction. Ukrainians are begging for American aid because they dont want to be destroyed. The absence of assistance from the west would mean Russian troops raping, looting, and bombing their way across the country. Perhaps the anti-anti-Russians imagine some alternative in which the United States refused to help Ukraine fend off the invasion, and Ukraine peacefully submitted in the face of overwhelming force. But this fantasy ignores Ukraines obvious determination to fight for its independence regardless of what the west did on its behalf. The Ukrainian populace mobilized en masse, enlisting in their home defense in greater numbers than could be absorbed and fashioning homemade arms to defend their neighborhoods block by block. The anti-anti-Russians have arrived at this bizarre alternative reality after years of delusional thinking. They have spent the better part of two decades refusing to believe that Ukrainians want to live in a sovereign democracy rather than a Russian vassal state ruled by a Putin-aligned kleptocrat. They have accordingly treated every expression of Ukrainian nationalism as a tool of American aggression. The Maidan protests, the election of Zelenskyy, the resistance to the invasion have all been reimagined in their minds as a plot originated in Washington. Obviously, the United States wants to weaken Russia because Russia is threatening Ukraine. The war will go on until Russia is too weak to continue waging war in Ukraine. This is perfectly obvious as long as you understand Russia, not the United States, started the war. The trouble is, some people cannot understand this. Photo: Glenn Chapman/AFP via Getty Images Its all pretty straightforward, according to the new management. In a statement announcing his $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter, pending owner Elon Musk wrote in a statement that the companys core policies would remain the same: Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. But in direct messages and town hall comments on Monday, the people who make Twitter tick were more concerned with debating the future of their employment concerned that the worlds richest man would not have their best interests in mind. I feel like im going to throw up, one staffer told the New York Times in a direct message. I rly dont wanna work for a company that is owned by Elon Musk. One employee tweeted that they were in need of a stiff drink, while another reportedly complained of Musk supporters inside the company: Elon fan boys are braindead mouth breathers and we have a bunch of them at Twitter for the record. Cant wait [until] he lays half of us off. At an all-hands meeting, staffers asked if employee protections were negotiated as part of the deal, as CEO Parag Agrawal and chairman Bret Taylor explained that that the site will run as usual until the deal closes in six months, adding that there are no layoffs at this time. Agrawal said that Musk wants Twitter to be a powerful, positive force in the world, just like all of us a conclusion he came to after after speaking with Musk just a few times. Many of Twitters 7,000 employees were naturally concerned about what happens to their stock options when the company is owned by a man who wants to take their company private and has tanked his other companys shares on several past occasions by tweeting stupid stuff. At the all-hands, the New York Times reports that Agrawal told employees that stock options would convert to cash when the deal is finalized in three to six months; employees would keep getting bonuses according to the companys vesting schedule and would receive the same benefits for a year after the deal is finalized. At a company where some staffers make close to half of their total compensation off stock options, employees reportedly worried that they would not have access to the long-run appreciation of the stock; some were also concerned that the value of their initial shares could plummet if Musk succeeds in taking Twitter private. Other questions remained: Would the company move from San Francisco to join Musk in Austin? Will they actually have to go back to the office? What will happen to the platforms moderation policies when the buyer who hates its moderation policies takes over? And what is going to happen to the Trump ban? At the company meeting, Agrawal did not provide much clarity on the big-picture stuff. Once the deal closes, we dont know what direction this company will go in, he said. But at least one employee found some humor in his precarious situation: Can someone just tell me if Im rich or fired please Ned Miles (@nedmiles) April 25, 2022 Independent Senate candidate Evan McMullin has Donkey Party support. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty Images When a political party is in a hopeless minority position, sometimes it must get creative to stay relevant. Utah Democrats are doing exactly that, as the Washington Post reports: Utah Democrats have taken the unusual step of endorsing independent candidate Evan McMullin in his race against Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who has faced questions about his furious efforts to overturn the 2020 election to keep President Donald Trump in power. Democrats voted 57 percent to 43 percent not to back a candidate at their convention on Saturday. They instead hope to lift the candidacy of McMullin. If the name Evan McMullin sounds familiar, its because hes the conservative ex-Republican Never Trumper who ran a Utah-based independent race for the presidency in 2016. He managed to get on the ballot in 11 states and wound up with 731,000 votes, 243,000 of them from Utah, where he won 21 percent of the vote and finished not far behind Hillary Clinton. Utah was a hotbed of Republican anti-Trump sentiment mostly thanks to Mormons hostility to the idea of a president who behaved as Trump did in the infamous Access Hollywood video. Indeed, one of the publicly announced McMullin voters was Republican U.S. senator Mike Lee. As noted above, Lee got over his moral compunctions about the 45th president, and by 2020, he was cheerleading Trumps efforts to overturn his presidential defeat. This flip-flop isnt universally appreciated in the Beehive State, as shown by the very different conduct of Lees Senate colleague Mitt Romney, who voted twice to remove Trump from office. There was just enough Republican grumbling about Lee that his renomination for a third term this year was contested. Though he was endorsed by the state GOP convention over the weekend, he will face two Republican opponents who qualified for an August primary by voter petition. Democrats, meanwhile, abandoned their primary in order to help McMullin, per the Post: Democrat Kael Weston sought his partys nomination, but a group of party members supportive of McMullin, including former Democratic congressman Ben McAdams, convinced delegates not to nominate anyone, thus allowing McMullin, a former CIA officer, to get as much support as possible. The independent Senate prospect signaled immediately that he was building a fusion candidacy, as the Deseret News noted: The unprecedented decision, McMullin said, shows Utah Democrats are putting country over party. We have a tremendous amount of common ground (in) this coalition of Democrats, independents, principled Republicans who want to make a change, McMullin said. This idea that our differences are greater than what we have in common are just false. The Senate race isnt the only example of a Trump-generated split among Utah Republicans. The ex-presidents demonization of voting by mail central to his 2020 plot to declare victory after Election Day votes gave him an early lead has led more than a few loyal MAGA folk to try to dismantle Utahs Republican-backed universal voting-by-mail system. It was very popular until Trumps sinister gambit developed, as the Los Angeles Times observed: By 2019, every county in the state had opted into the states 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 there was an outcry from residents after officials in 2018 decided against mailing ballots to all active voters. This is just blatantly wrong. It isnt the American way, a city official said about the decision at the time. Dont we want high turnout? The county later reversed the decision. That was then. This is now: 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 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 postelection independent audits. Its another example of the collateral damage to the GOP from Trumps selfish efforts to hold on to power perpetually. The Lee-McMullin contest may show whether he can impose his will on a very conservative but occasionally rebellious state. GRAPHICAL ANALYTICS PRIVATE LIMITED Major animal healthcare market players in Europe region include Elanco Animal Health, Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck & Co., Inc., Zoetis, Inc., Dechra Pharmaceuticals, and Neogen Corporation. Pune, India, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per a recent industry report put forward by Graphical Research, the Europe animal healthcare market is forecast to register its name in the billion-dollar fraternity down the line of seven years, by exceeding a revenue of USD 49.4 billion by 2027. Europe animal healthcare market forecast will be positively affected by the rising pet adoption rate due to the high per-capita income. There is a large percentage of the elderly population in the region, which is why the demand for companion animals may witness a notable surge. Access sample pages of the report, Europe Animal Healthcare Market Forecasts 2027 in detail along with the table of contents (ToC) @ https://www.graphicalresearch.com/request/1343/sample The hectic lifestyle followed by the working class of the region has made it vulnerable to several mental and physical disorders. Many studies have proved the positive effect pets have on their owners overall health as they keep depression, loneliness, and physical inactivity at bay, thereby fostering their adoption. This factor will also favor the use of animal healthcare products to help owners keep their pets healthy and safe from chronic ailments. The trends favoring the market outlook are expounded below: Veterinary services gain traction: Veterinary services held a share worth $18.6 billion in Europe animal healthcare market in 2020. The demand for daycare services, animal training & grooming, and many other activities is growing among pet owners. These services protect the pets health from infections and promote their welfare. Moreover, the occurrence of zoonotic ailments is rising at a worrying rate in the region, putting several animals at risk. Such health emergencies may fuel the demand for veterinary services. Story continues Demand for companion animals grows: Companion animals captured more than 57% share of Europe animal healthcare industry in 2020. Governments are introducing initiatives to increase the awareness of animal health among people. They are also partnering with reputed organizations to bring advancements in the healthcare facilities offered to companion animals. Furthermore, since the region is seeing a commendable rise in the number of pet owners, the use of animal healthcare products is projected to grow. Pharmacies may become the main distribution channels: Pharmacies are likely to account for a share worth $14.2 billion in Europe animal healthcare market by 2027. The demand for effective medicines to treat a variety of diseases in animals has augmented the need for pharmacies in the region. In addition, many people are purchasing livestock and adopting companion animals, which may increase the number of animal surgeries being performed every year. It will amplify the need for vet pharmacies that are easily accessible to pet owners. Request for customization of this report @ https://www.graphicalresearch.com/request/1343/customize-this-report UK animal healthcare market forecast remains positive: The UK captured a share worth over $3.5 billion in Europe animal healthcare industry in 2020. The prevalence of zoonotic ailments, such as brucellosis, dermatophytosis, and campylobacteriosis is growing in the region. It has prompted the government to unveil plans and schemes that increase peoples awareness of animal health and welfare, thereby fostering the production of animal healthcare products to reduce the spread of these diseases. Europe animal healthcare market size is projected to grow at a considerable rate due to an upsetting rise in the cases of fatal disorders in animals. Well-known companies, such as Neogen Corporation, Boehringer Ingelheim, Zoetis, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Elanco Animal Health, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, and Bayer AG, among a few others, are manufacturing animal pharmaceuticals, vaccines, medicated feed additives, and medical devices for livestock and companion animals. The products will be supplied through pharmacies and online distributors. The firms are also introducing advanced veterinary services for these animals to protect them from falling prey to chronic diseases. Browse Related Report: North America Animal Healthcare Market Forecast 2027 By Animal Type (Livestock Animals {Poultry, Swine, Cattle, Fish}, Companion Animals {Dogs, Cats, Horses}), By Product (Pharmaceuticals {Drugs [Antiparasitic, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-infectives], Vaccines [Modified Live Vaccines, Killed Inactivated Vaccines], Medicated Feed Additives [Antibiotics, Vitamins, Amino Acids, Enzymes, Antioxidants, Prebiotics and Probiotics, Minerals]}, Medical Devices {Veterinary Diagnostic Equipment, Veterinary Anaesthesia Equipment, Veterinary Patient Monitoring Equipment, Veterinary Surgical Equipment, Veterinary Consumables}, Veterinary Services), By Distribution Channel (Pharmacies, Online, Distributors), Research Report, Country Outlook (U.S., Canada), COVID-19 Impact Statistics, Price Trends, Historic Data, Growth Prospects, Competitive Industry Share https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/1344/north-america-animal-healthcare-market Asia Pacific Animal Healthcare Market Forecast 2027 By Product (Pharmaceuticals {Drugs [Antiparasitic, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-infectives], Vaccines [Modified Live Vaccines, Killed Inactivated Vaccines], Medicated Feed Additives [Antibiotics, Vitamins, Amino Acids, Enzymes, Antioxidants, Prebiotics and Probiotics, Minerals]}, Medical Devices {Veterinary Diagnostic Equipment, Veterinary Anesthesia Equipment, Veterinary Patient Monitoring Equipment, Veterinary Surgical Equipment, Veterinary Consumables}, Veterinary Services), By Animal Type (Livestock Animals {Poultry, Swine, Cattle, Fish}, Companion Animals {Dogs, Cats, Horses}), By Distribution Channel (Pharmacies, Online, Distributors), Research Report, Country Outlook (China, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam), COVID-19 Impact Statistics, Price Trends, Historic Data, Growth Prospects, Competitive Industry Share https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/1342/asia-pacific-animal-healthcare-market About Graphical Research: Graphical Research is a business research firm that provides industry insights, market forecast and strategic inputs through granular research reports and advisory services. We publish targeted research reports with an aim to address varied customer needs, from market penetration and entry strategies to portfolio management and strategic outlook. We understand that business requirements are unique: our syndicate reports are designed to ensure relevance for industry participants across the value chain. We also provide custom reports that are tailored to the exact needs of the customer, with dedicated analyst support across the purchase lifecycle. CONTACT: Contact Us: Parikhit B. Corporate sales, Graphical Research Phone: 1-800-986-6917 Email: sales@graphicalresearch.com Web: https://www.graphicalresearch.com Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size Notice body Created in 2014, the Global Teaching Academy recognizes and celebrates exceptional teaching in an international context. Since its inception, the Academy has welcomed some two dozen colleagues and recognized their efforts in internationalizing Auburn Universitys curricula and student experiences. On April 25, the Office of International Programs hosted an induction ceremony to honor the three newest members of the Academy. Interim Provost Vini Nathan, Assistant Provost for International Programs Andrew Gillespie and members of the Academy attended the ceremony to congratulate and celebrate the Academys newest members. Garry L. Adams, doctoral degree from Florida State University, is an associate professor in strategic management at Auburn. Adams' research interests include corporate governance, power and politics in organizations, organizational learning and resource management, and merger and acquisition integration processes. His work has been published or is in press outlets such as the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Leadership Quarterly, Business Horizons, Journal of Knowledge Management, Journal of Business and Psychology, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Journal of Managerial Issues and the initial volume of The Many Faces of Multi-Level Issues, among others. Adams currently serves on the editorial boards of Group and Organization Management and the African Journal of Management. He has served as a reviewer for the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Research, Knowledge Management Research and Practice and Journal of Applied Social Psychology. He is currently serving as a program director for the Harbert College of Business study abroad programs, leading study abroad, consulting projects, MBA cultural and business trips and student internship programs in South Africa, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain. Adams has served as the director of Placement Services for the Academy of Management, in the officer rotation, South Management Association, or SMA, president in the 2018-19 academic year and on the Board of the SMA, as well as the Board of Directors for the Auburn-Opelika Habitat for Humanity and Haddies Home. Adams also has prior work experience in the oil refining industry. Kelly Ann Krawczyk is an associate professor and the doctoral program director in the Department of Political Science. Krawczyks research focuses on the relationship between civil society and democratic governance. She is specifically interested in how civil society impacts political behavior. Her research has been published in journals of public administration and civil society, including Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations and the Journal of Civil Society. She has also authored book chapters, as well as governmental and professional publications for the Governance Commission of Liberia and the World Bank. She is currently working on an edited volume under contract with Palgrave Macmillan entitled Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives: The Contributions of Women to Development in West Africa," edited by Kelly Krawczyk, Bridgett King and Atta Ceesay. Krawczyk regularly teaches a course called Public Administration, Civil Society and Democracy, and has traveled with students as part of this course to Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa. This graduate-level course employs an African country as a case study to explore the relationships between public administration, civil society and democracy. The course also includes a two-week trip during the semester. Students learn about governance processes and institutions, public administration and civil society through in-country interaction with civil servants, members of civil society, academics and citizens. The trip also provides students the opportunity to engage in rapid assessment field research and to engage in cultural and tourist activities. Krawczyk is a founding committee member of the Strengthening Research on Civil Society in West Africa project, an initiative of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, or ARNOVA, funded by the Ford Foundation. She is also a Democracy & Development fellow at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, or CDD-Ghana. Krawczyk is a co-founder of the Global Development Solutions, or GDS, Lab at Auburn. The GDS Lab is an interdisciplinary initiative at Auburn that fosters global research, teaching and community-engaged scholarship. The mission of the GDS Lab is to advance global research, teaching and engaged scholarship that promotes sustainable community development, protects civic space and leverages the synergies between the disciplines of nonprofit studies, philanthropy and social work. Dan Padgett, doctoral degree from Pennsylvania State University, is an associate professor of marketing who joined Auburn from Tulane University in 2005. His research interests include promotion strategy, pricing, services marketing and international marketing. His research has been published in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Management International Review, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Journal of Marketing Education, Marketing Education Review and Journal of Global Marketing, among others. He is coauthor of a principles of marketing textbook: Applied Marketing, John Wiley & Sons 2e, which is also available in a Canadian version. Padgett teaches principles of marketing and strategy courses at the undergraduate and graduate/executive level and has won teaching awards at both levels. He has international experience training marketing and sales managers, particularly in China, having taught executive programs on sales management and marketing strategy for the China Europe International Business School, or CEIBS, in Shanghai and Ghana, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Nordic International Management Institute. Padgett is the currently director/co-director of the Harbert College of Business, or HCoB, 12-week summer abroad Complete Business Minor program and Fast Track business core program in Rome and Madrid. For Summer 2022 these programs include almost 100 students, 10 faculty members and have a budget of over $1 million. He also served previously as director of the HCoB summer internship programs in London, Dublin, Prague, Rome and Madrid, as well as the consulting project programs in China's cities of Chengdu, Shanghai and Beijing, as well as Rome and Madrid. He has also served on the HCoB Global Programs Committee for the past seven years. These three faculty members were selected for their accomplishments in international research and teaching and their commitment to internationalizing Auburns curriculum in their respective areas of study. As members of the Academy, the faculty will play an essential role in Auburns biannual International Perspectives on University Teaching and Learning Symposium, scheduled for May 28-30, 2023 at Disneys Coronado Springs Resort, and will strive to uphold the goals of the Academy: Recognize our peers for their interest and efforts in globalizing Auburn's curriculum Facilitate international course offerings on campus to complement the recent growth of study abroad courses and exchange programs offered overseas Create a supportive, interdisciplinary environment for students to internationalize their academic programs Induct our recognized academy members into Phi Beta Delta, the honor society for international scholars For more information on the Global Teaching Academy, please visit the Office of International Programs website. Kylie Jenner testifies she warned her brother about Blac Chyna https://t.co/EbxUSBo1RZ Los Angeles Times (@latimes) April 26, 2022 "I will not go into a toxic work environment," Kim testified as she talked about taking a break from filming the family's show after the alleged December 2016 attack. https://t.co/UuJeUbIZgH BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) April 26, 2022 -Kardashian's requested via court filing to have the case dismissed this week (this is pretty standard and not at all surprising). The filing has not been ruled on by the judge yet.-Kylie, Khloe and Kim all took the stand yesterday and today, this is what they said:-Kylie told the court she warned Rob about Chyna's violent behavior toward Tyga-I felt it was my duty to express my concerns, but ultimately it was up to him,-She said Rob didn't listen to her and dated Chyna anyway-Kylie said Tyga told her his relationship Chyna was violent/tumultuous and he showed her a 6-inch knife scar he said she gave him while abusing drugs and alcohol, Jenner said.-Jenner said that while dating Tyga, she had received at least one threatening text message from Chyna.From what I remember she sent me a bunch of devil emojis, and said something like counting down the days until she could beat me or something, she said. I didnt report it, because I assumed they were empty threats.-Jenner testified that when Rob Kardashian and Chyna began dating in January 2016, she didnt trust that Chynas love was genuine.I felt like me dating the father of her child had something to do with it, and maybe she was out with my brother for other reasons. -Kim stated the family didn't want to film their reality show after Chyna attacked Robb in 2016, not wanting to be involved in the couple's "toxic and volatile" relationship.-"I will not go into a toxic work environment," Kim told the court-Khloe and Kim were questioned by Chyna's attorney on Tuesday, and the sisters refuted the notion that they had Chyna & Rob cancelled-Kim and Khloe testified that they had no control over the future of what the family has described as a Keeping Up With the Kardashians spinoff.-They added they only voiced their concerns to the network and took breaks from filming their own show in the wake of the December 2016 incident-"We dont have the power like I think you're insinuating," Kim told Ciani during her testimony.-On Monday, Ciani showed the jury emails that Khloe and Kylie sent to E! executives, expressing their concerns over Rob's relationship with Chyna after she allegedly strangled him with a cell phone charging cord, hit him with a metal rod, and pointed a gun at him.-Khloe testified on Tuesday that the sisters put their concerns in writing so that the network was "aware of the volatile behavior," but she said she had not been trying to cancel the show."We feel strongly about a lot of things," Khloe said. "That doesnt mean anyone is going to listen to us."-In her email to the network, Kylie had said, "I feel very strongly about canceling Season 2 of Rob & Chyna," Ciani pointed out. Khloe responded that she could not speak to "Kylie's choice of words."-"I wasn't trying to cancel anything," Khloe testified. "I was considering not encouraging such volatile behavior between my brother and Chyna."-In one of them Kim reportedly says, "figure out what you're going to do because Chyna will not be on our show."In another text message, a representative for Bunim/Murray Productions, the production company for KUWTK and Rob & Chyna, raised the possibility of blurring Chyna in footage shot for KUWTK but Kim said "that's ridiculous." Abraham Bolden at home in Chicago on April 26, 2022, hours after it was announced that he had been pardoned by President Joe Biden. In the 1960s, Bolden was the first Black U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to a presidential detail. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Nearly 60 years after his conviction on what he claimed were racist and retaliatory federal charges, the first Black U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to a presidential detail has been pardoned by President Joe Biden. Chicagoan Abraham Bolden, 87, who served on the security detail for President John F. Kennedy, was among 78 people granted pardons or commutations of their sentences on Tuesday as part of Bidens first use of his executive clemency powers. Advertisement Bolden, whod warned about lax security practices around the president, was charged in 1964 with attempting to sell a copy of a Secret Service file to a ring of counterfeiters. His first trial ended in a hung jury, and after he was convicted in a retrial, key witnesses said they lied at the prosecutors request. Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden is seen outside the court at the Federal Building in Chicago on July 7, 1964, where he was being tried for attempting to sell government investigative reports. He continued to maintain his innocence. (George Quinn / Chicago Tribune) A longtime resident of Chicagos South Side, Bolden served about three years in federal prison. He has long maintained his innocence and wrote a book in which he argued he was targeted for speaking out against racist and unprofessional behavior in the Secret Service. Advertisement Bolden on Tuesday recalled when Kennedy asked him to join his security detail. He said he was denied to see the president but Kennedy approached him, asking if there had ever been a Negro on the White House detail. When we were in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, he treated me like a son, Bolden told reporters at his home on Tuesday. He also recalled the head of the White House details racism, calling Bolden the N-word and being bothered by the way Kennedy treated him, Bolden said. He said President Kennedy meant to bring American people together. He felt that that was his mission, Bolden said. But he also understood that his life was in jeopardy. I could see it in his eyes. He was afraid of being assassinated. Bolden said he swore to give his life for the president and he did, but he said his experience helped him gain spirituality. I was in prison but prison never got in me, Bolden said. I used that time to study, make myself approved in the eyes of God and learn something where humanity could progress. In a statement announcing the clemencies, Biden said, America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation. Advertisement Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities, the statement read. In a statement posted Tuesday afternoon on Boldens Facebook page, Bolden said he got the call about the pardon early in the morning and accepted the justifiable action by President Joe Biden with sincere gratitude. He also thanked his family for giving me the will to fight through some of the darkest days of my life. Abraham Bolden, secret service agent sentenced to six years in prison for bribery conspiracy charges, walks with his wife, Barbara, in the U.S. courthouse after the jury's verdict on Aug. 12, 1964. Editors note: this historic print has some hand painting on it. (Cy Wolf / Chicago Tribune) While initial attempts to affirm my innocence were unsuccessful, almost 60 years later, my victory was won, he wrote. It is my hope that my pardon will inspire others to continue to fight for justice and to stand on the truth. Boldens story was featured in a 2010 Chicago Tribune column by Dawn Turner Trice, including his account of how a chance run-in with Kennedy in Chicago led to him being promoted to Washington to join the presidents protective team. Advertisement In April 1961, Bolden was working as a Secret Service agent based in Chicago and had been assigned to guard a cordoned-off bathroom at the McCormick Place convention center when Kennedy arrived for a political event. He said the president stopped at the restroom door and asked him, Has there ever been a Negro Secret Service agent on White House detail in Washington, D.C.? Bolden said, I told him, Not to my knowledge, Mr. President. And he asked me if I would like to be the first, and I told him, Yes, sir, Mr. President. Two months later, Bolden, who was 26 at the time, was sent to Washington, where he said he immediately ran into some harsh racism among the ranks. He said he asked to get off of the detail after enduring racial slurs from fellow agents and small nooses were left around his workplace. He also said he was shocked by the lax security around the president, including agents who womanized and drank on duty. He complained to superiors, and that is when he became a target. After Kennedys assassination in Dallas in 1963, Bolden said hed planned to try to talk to someone on the Warren Commission, but instead he was suddenly escorted back to Chicago, where he was charged with soliciting a $50,000 bribe from the boss of a ring of counterfeiters. Former secret service agent and author Abraham Bolden at Mather Cafe in Chicago on Jan. 13, 2010. He wrote a book in which he argued he was targeted for speaking out against racist and unprofessional behavior in the Secret Service. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) The aftermath of Kennedys assassination led to events that would implicate me in a case of bribery, Bolden said in his statement Tuesday. After two high-profile trials, held before a trial judge who told the deliberating jury to find me guilty, I was convicted and served a six-year sentence. Bolden, who was released after serving about 39 months behind bars, always maintained his innocence. He twice asked President Richard Nixon for a pardon but was denied, and his appeals to a succession of presidents over the years were met by silence from the White House. Advertisement Bolden, meanwhile, stayed in Chicago, working as an automotive quality control supervisor before retiring in 2001. His wife, Barbara, who is now deceased, convinced him to write his memoir, The Echo From Dealey Plaza, and stood by him throughout his ordeal, he said. She held our family together during these tragic times, Boldens statement read. Chicago Tribunes Stephanie Casanova contributed. jmeisner@chicagotribune.com Organizations To Host Events for Workers Memorial Day Workers Memorial Day, held on April 28, honors those who lost their lives while working. In 2020, thousands of workers lost their lives while working. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 4,700 workers suffered fatal injuries while on the job site in 2020. That means one worker died every 111 minutes. This week, many organizations will recognize Workers' Memorial Day on April 28. Started in 1970, this is a day to remember those who lost their lives while working. It's also a time to talk about what changes can be made to help worksites be safer. Many organizations will be hosting both in-person and virtual events on Workers' Memorial Day. OSHA provides a list of these events by state here. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), a federation of multiple labor unions representing more than 12 million workers, also has materials for employers and organizations to use, available in English and Spanish. They include a list of actions people can take, such as holding an event with families and workers or hosting a workshop. According to a press release, OSHA, along with Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, will hold an online ceremony featuring personal stories from workers and families who lost loved ones. Workers Memorial Day allows us to remember those whose lives were claimed by their jobs, in too many instances, because required safety precautions were not taken to prevent tragedy, said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker in the press release. Every year, thousands of workers are unable to return home to their families and their communities because workplace safety and health were overlooked. We must never underestimate the importance of ensuring OSHA requirements are met and followed as the law requires. As we are sadly reminded again, peoples lives depend on it. OSHA and United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities also plan to host an event in Nebraska and will sign an alliance to raise awareness of workplace safety, according to another press release. Later that night, a candlelight vigil will be held. The strife-torn Latin American nation of Colombia punches well above its weight when it comes to petroleum production. The Andean country is the regions third-largest oil producer, even after experiencing a significant deterioration in industrial productivity since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, despite only having proven oil reserves of 1.8 billion barrels. Colombia has not had any major oil discoveries in over a decade, placing ever greater pressure on the countrys scant reserves and its soil-dependent economy. A solution planned by presidential candidate leftist senator Gustavo Petro, who is leading the polls (Spanish) for the May 2022 election, is to end oil exploration while building other more economically productive industries, notably agriculture and manufacturing. The current hard-right government of President Ivan Duque, protege of former President Alvaro Uribe, who is credited with reasserting Bogotas control over Colombias national territory, 2021 doubled down on offshore petroleum exploration. There is a belief that Colombia possesses similar offshore petroleum potential to Brazil, which if correct would be a game-changer for the Andean countrys struggling oil industry and hydrocarbon-dependent economy. Brazils massive offshore pre-salt oil boom located primarily in the Atlantic Oceans Santos and Campos Basins catapulted the country to Latin Americas leading crude oil producer. There are signs that Colombias coastal waters hold considerable petroleum potential with four recognized offshore basins along the Caribbean coast and a further situated on the Pacific coast. Offshore oil exploration and production holds many advantages over onshore crude oil operations in Colombia. Key are the risks associated with a volatile onshore security environment and deteriorating social license with most local communities opposed to nearby industry operations. Rising cocaine production is fueling conflict among myriad illegal armed groups that predominantly operate in remote regions where there are significant petroleum industry operations. The Putumayo Basin, which is Colombias second-highest producing basin, like the Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border that encompasses part of the Llanos Basin, the epicenter of Colombias oil industry, is riven by conflict. Illegal armed groups in those regions are battling for control of lucrative coca cropping territory and smuggling routes. Pipelines bombings and illegal taps for the theft of petroleum, which is rising, remain constant hazards for onshore operations adding to the risk of production outages and higher transport costs. The decline of the petroleum industrys social license is responsible for community blockades and invasions of oilfields as well as legal action by various civil society groups. The latest legal action (Spanish) impeding onshore petroleum industry operations is the first court of Barrancabermeja suspending the environmental licenses for the Kale and Platero hydraulic fracturing pilots. Fracking, which is a highly controversial technique for extracting petroleum in Colombia, is blocked by a moratorium imposed by the countrys highest administrative tribunal the State Council, although this does not prevent pilot projects. Court order requires the operator, Colombias national oil company Ecopetrol, to suspend operations and engage in consultation with the Afro-Wilches community in the municipality of Puerto Wilches, located in the Llanos Basin. Related: EU In Talks With Alternative Suppliers As It Considers A Russian Oil Ban Those issues coupled with the considerable uncertainty surrounding unconventional hydrocarbon exploitation in Colombia as well as a dearth of conventional discoveries are deterring onshore investment by energy majors. In fact, in late-2020 U.S. driller, Occidental Petroleum sold its onshore Colombian oil assets but retained its offshore interests. It is estimated that Colombias offshore Caribbean hydrocarbon basins could hold anywhere up to 32 billion barrels of crude oil, or roughly 16-times the Andean countrys current proven reserves. That makes their exploitation an important step required to reinvigorate Colombias petroleum industry and expand production to the all-important target of 1 million barrels per day. Colombias offshore Caribbean hydrocarbon basins are attracting considerable attention. Since 2015 Ecopetrol has reported a series of hydrocarbon discoveries along the Caribbean coast, helping to confirm the considerable oil and natural gas potential thought to exist in the region. The attractiveness of investing in offshore Colombia is underscored by major international energy companies buying assets in the region during 2021. Among them was global supermajor Royal Dutch Shell which in early 2021 closed a deal acquiring, from Anadarko, a 50% operating interest in the Fuerte Sur, Purple Angel, and COL-5 blocks in offshore Colombia, with the remaining interest held by Ecopetrol. Then in late-2021, despite having sold its onshore Colombian oil assets a year earlier, Occidental, through subsidiary Anadarko Colombia, signed contracts for four offshore blocks, COL-1, COL-2, COL-6, and COL-7, covering around 3.9 million acres. Those blocks alone are estimated by the ANH to require an investment of $1.4 billion to be successfully exploited. Offshore Colombia Caribbean Blocks Source: Colombia Ministry of Mines and Energy. Colombias Ministry of Energy and Mines expects a total 2022 investment of $80 million for offshore natural gas exploration projects. Most of that spending is expected to come from national oil company Ecopetrol which announced plans to spend almost $65 million on offshore activities. That includes partner Shell spudding the wildcat Gorgon-2 well in the COL-5 Block located in the offshore Sinu Basin. Brazils national oil company Petrobras announced plans to drill with pattern Ecopetrol an exploration well in the offshore Tayrona Block, located in the Guajira Basin, to identify the assets' hydrocarbon potential. The block is believed to sit on a hydrocarbon trend which is an extension of neighboring Venezuelas offshore oilfields. Petrobras, which is the operator and has a 44.44% stake in the Tayrona Block with the remainder held by Ecopetrol, announced in 2020 that it was selling its interest in Tayrona. This forms part of the Brazilian energy supermajors strategy of exiting assets outside of Brazil to focus on its Brazilian offshore pre-salt operations. Successfully exploring and developing offshore Colombia could prove to be the key to rejuvenating the strife-torn Latin American countrys economically crucial petroleum industry. Onshore crude oil output fell sharply with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to recover. By February 2022 Colombia was only pumping an average of 739,542 barrels per day which was 1% lower than a year earlier and the 878,389 barrels daily produced in February 2020, the last operational month not impacted by the pandemic. A lack of major onshore discoveries in over a decade leaving only six years of production poses a direct threat to Colombias oil-dependent economy where petroleum generates a third of export income and over 3% of gross domestic product. For these reasons expanding offshore exploration activities is crucial to the survival of Colombias hydrocarbon sector, growing crude oil production, and bolstering economic growth. By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A cargo of 2 million barrels of U.S. crude oil arrived this month in Spain. It is, according to Bloomberg, the biggest U.S. oil cargo to arrive in Europe since at least 2016. But it may be only the beginning. Bloomberg reported on the arrival of the supertanker this week, noting that normally, European buyers get their U.S. oil on smaller vessels. Yet this may be about to change as the EU, which covers most of Europe, increasingly shuns Russian oil and looks for alternatives. Like LNG, U.S. oil makes the most sense from a political perspective: the U.S. and the EU have demonstrated a close partnership in their sanction action against Moscow, and the U.S. has signaled it would help the EU weather the boomerang effects of these sanctions. Citing vessel-tracking data, Bloomberg reported that since the start of the year, four supertankers have traveled between the U.S. and Europe, compared with just one a year ago. The vessel that arrived in Spain this month, however, is the first to do so since the U.S. lifted its ban on oil exports seven years ago. Meanwhile, the U.S. and the EU are privately discussing how the EU could approach its reduction of Russian oil imports, according to another Bloomberg report. In the event of such reduction through an oil embargo, which is being discussed in Europe right now, oil prices are going to rise further, and neither the U.S. nor the EU want higher prices. This has made the issue sticky for the partners, with little chance of a quick or easy resolution of the problem. Yet, the U.S. will also be among those benefiting from an EU oil embargo by raising its oil exports to the EU. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil and product exports hit an all-time high earlier this month, reaching 10.6 million bpd as buyers seek alternatives to Russian oil and derivatives. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: "If Putin has to redirect oil and gas exports from the European to the Asian markets, he will lose over half of his revenue. The oil embargo that the European Union is planning to impose on Russia has become the news of the month. And it has not been finalized yet, with little likelihood that it will be finalized anytime soonat least in the form Ukraine wants it. Because the EU gets a quarter of its oil from Russia. The European Union, along with the United States, unleashed a barrage of sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. While Russia's oil and gas industry has been an obvious target for sanctions, just as it was in Iran and Venezuela, so far, the only action taken was by the U.S. and the UK, which both announced bans on Russian oil importsneither of which was to take effect immediately. The EU has been the object of particularly intensive pressure from the Ukrainian government to target Russia's oil and gas, and it has, based on public statements by various officials, made commitments to do that at some later date. Meanwhile, Russia continues to sell both oil and gas to the whole of Europe, even though many European oil buyers have self-sanctioned and reduced their purchases of Russian hydrocarbons. Even without an oil embargo, the Russian oil industry is already feeling the impact of the sanctions, according to various reports. President Putin himself admitted that the sanctions have affected the normal operation of the industry, saying Russia needed to re-orient its oil flows from Europe to Asia. Yet just how severe the blow has beenand how severe a blow a full oil embargo from the EU will beremains unclear. This week, one of the most vocal Kremlin critics, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, said that "If Putin has to redirect oil and gas exports from the European to the Asian markets, he will lose over half of his revenue," as quoted by Insider. "Would he be able to continue the war and for how long would he be able to continue the war under those circumstances? It is difficult for me to say," Khodorkovsky also said. "But I think it would be a very serious blow." Related: EU Steps Up Purchases Of U.S. Oil Of course, it would have been surprising for an individual as critical of Moscow's policies as Khodorkovsky is to have anything else to say about Russia's vulnerability to an oil embargo. It would also be surprising to expect the Russian authorities to admit the full extent of a potential blow from an oil embargo. The key, however, is not in the absolute effect of such an embargo. It is in the relative effect an oil embargo would have on the EU. Russia is the world's third-largest producer of crude oil and the largest exporter of both crude and oil products. Before the first waves of sanctions hit it, more than half of Russia's oil exports were going to the EU. Since then, the amount of Russian oil going to the EU has declined and, according to the International Energy Agency, will decline a lot further next month, reaching 3 million bpd because of well shut-ins. Naturally, such a substantial decline in production will be felt in Moscow, and the feeling will not be pleasant. Yet a fulland, more importantly, immediateembargo on Russian oil will be felt even more unpleasantly in the EU because alternative suppliers will need time to step in and replace the Russian crude. European governments are already putting measures in place to help their populations cope with higher energy prices, including higher fuel prices. Substantial discounts on gasoline and diesel prices have been implemented in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, for example. The Netherlands, meanwhile, reduce the rate of its excise duty to alleviate the pain at the pump. All this will seem like nothing if a full embargo comes into effect. More importantly, the EU will need to find a replacement for those more than 3 million bpd in crude and fuels, and find it fast. It is already buying up U.S. oil, but it will need to step up these purchases significantly and quickly, which would be difficult to do, especially the latter part; there is no pipeline running under the Atlantic. And this is precisely why the EU has not yet agreed on a full oil embargo on Russia. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: We need fossil energy as part of this transition. This is a long transition. This is not overnight. Both the European Union and the United States are firmly on the path to a net-zero economy. This much has been made clear by officials from both sides of the Atlantic despite the EUs hunt for more gas and the Biden administrations calls for more oil production. Yet before net-zero is achievedif it is ever achievedboth the EU and the US will need more fossil fuels, including coal. And this means that despite calls for more renewables from both governments and the renewable energy industry, despite the active demonization of the fossil fuel industry, investments in more oil, gas, and coal production are likely to riseat least in the short term. A recent report from Reclaim Finance, an anti-fossil fuel campaign organization, for instance, named and shamed asset managers investing in oil, gas, and coal. According to the report, 30 of the worlds leading asset managers had $82 billion invested in companies developing new coal supply, and $468 billion in 12 major oil and gas companies. Is the asset management industry changing its investment practices in line with climate science, reducing investments in coal, oil, or gas expansion? Unfortunately, the answer is an emphatic no, said one of Reclaim Finances campaigners, Lara Cuvelier. Lets be clear: drilling a new oil well or opening a new coal mine is not a normal thing to do in a widespread climate catastrophe, the campaigner added. Related: EU In Talks With Alternative Suppliers As It Considers A Russian Oil Ban Unfortunately for Reclaim Finance and all other climate campaigners, drilling a new oil well or opening a new coal mine is the normal thing to do when demand for energy exceeds the available supply. And this is exactly what companies are doing in some parts of the world where climate campaigning is not such a force to be reckoned with. Even in Europe, some countries are reconsidering their climate plans, notably the UK and Germany. The UK earlier this year reconsidered its intention to gradually suspend all oil and gas drilling in the North Sea amid an energy crunch that began last autumn, caused the price of energy to soar, and pushed millions of households into energy poverty. The change of stance from the government naturally caused protests from environmentalists. In Germany, plans to gradually move toward a 100-percent net-zero energy system were revisited in light of potential gas shortages amid the war in Ukraine. The German governments response to that potential danger was to plan on speedily building several import terminals for liquefied natural gas to replace Russian gas. The biggest economy in Europe and the EU, in other words, is replacing one source of fossil fuels with another, rather than replacing fossil fuels with renewables. In the United States, a similar shift is underway. Despite the decidedly green, pro-transition agenda with which President Joe Biden came into power, now that same president is calling on all oil producers willing to lend an ear to pump more because retail fuel prices are high and there are elections to be wonor lostin November. The administration in the face of the president himself, the Energy Secretary, and the White House Press Secretary has repeatedly said that the transition agenda and the current calls for more oil production are not at odds because the latter is just a temporary measure until, presumably, renewables come into their own. Temporary or not, greater production will require greater investment. We need fossil energy as part of this transition. This is a long transition. This is not overnight, said Keo Lukefahr, the head of energy derivatives and renewables trading at Motiva, as quoted by Bloomberg. Not only is the transition not going to happen overnight, but it will also take a lot of effort. And investments. Last month, for instance, a CRU analyst warned the mining industry needed to invest some $100 billion in new copper mines if it was to avoid a supply deficit that could reach 4.7 million tons by 2030. All other transition metals and minerals are in potentially short supply based on demand projections. The situation at the moment is this: the world needs more energy than it is getting. People, for the most part, do not really care where their electricity comes from as long as it is there. And they tend to become rather unhappy when the prices of everything rise because fuels used to transport goods from one place to another are so expensive because the oil supply is tight. It is obvious that nobody, not even the most renewable-happy EU member, can build enough wind and solar farms to eliminate the need for additional oil and gas supplies. Investment in oil and gas production, therefore, will increase despite the grim warnings of climate campaigners. Some argue that the increase will only be needed for the medium term, but energy companies tend to plan ahead for long periods of time. If there is no point in making such a long-term commitment to additional production, they will probably not make it. If they have made this commitment, maybe they expect that demand for fossil fuels will remain steady for more than the next three or four years. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Since the earliest days of its Islamic Republic from 1979, Iran has looked to its petrochemicals sector as being a key to its resistance economy model - the concept of generating value-added returns by leveraging intellectual capital into significant revenue, profit, and technology-acquisition streams wherever possible. The sector has also always carried with it the advantage of occupying a legal grey area in the various sanctions regimes imposed against it over the past 40 years or so. With its long-term partner, Russia, now facing the same sort of sanctions constraints as Iran, it is no surprise that the Tehran has invited Moscow deeper into the development of its petchems business, with a view to Iran becoming the Middle Easts top producer and exporter in the sector by 2027. More specifically, last week saw the new chief executive officer of Irans National Petrochemical Company (NPC), Morteza Shahmirzaei, invite Russian companies to help it exploit the further opportunities available in its petrochemicals sector. Interestingly, this invitation is not limited to Russian companies investing and working directly in the production and export of petchems products in and from Iran but also is extended for the feedstock for the petrochemicals sector, which of course includes all of Irans oil and gas sector as well. In precisely this vein, Shahmirzaei went on to talk about Irans existing resources and capabilities in those fields. Iran sits on more than 159 billion barrels of oil reserves and about 33 trillion cubic metres of natural gas, he said, adding that currently one billion cubic metres of gas is being produced on a daily basis in Iran and that its crude oil production capacity is about 4 million barrels per day. Part of this output is consumed as feedstock for Iran's petrochemical industry, he underlined. In addition, Shahmirzaei carefully highlighted to Russia the geopolitical opportunities available to it through such cooperation by dint of Irans vast maritime borders. Noting that Iran has access to 5,600 kilometres of coastlines in the north and south of the country, he stressed: The existence of numerous ports on these coasts has provided and facilitated the exchange of products and activities of oil, gas, petrochemicals and other industries for the country. In other words, there are a lot of routes that Iran has been using for 40 years plus to send anything it wants to wherever it wants without much hindrance from anyone else, and these could be open to Russia to use as well. Related: Bearish Momentum Grows, But Traders Remain Bullish On Crude The key to Russia gaining access to all of these routes in a way that would allow it to circumvent many of the sanctions against it whilst not overtly antagonising the U.S. would be to agree to a series of deals in Irans petchems sector, as Shahmirzaei hinted. In stark contrast to the previous heightened sanctions era against Iran that saw their zenith from late 2011 early 2014 (in 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was agreed in principle) there are currently no E.U. sanctions specifically on Irans petrochemicals business and nor are there plans to impose them. From the U.S. perspective, it cannot currently exert jurisdiction for primary sanctions unless U.S. persons are involved notably U.S. banks and U.S. employees. Piggy-backing off this arrangement would clearly have advantages for Russia in terms of exporting whatever it wanted in petchems and multiple other sectors. Even during the height of the U.S. and E.U. sanctions period against Iran from 2011 to 2014, a Washington DC-based senior lawyer with an international litigation and arbitration specialist legal firm, exclusively told OilPrice.com: Although from a strict legal perspective Iran was only able to sell such [petchems] products to customers outside the U.S. and E.U., other channels - notably those in Asia remained opened to exports of petchems and other products as well. At that time, secondary sanctions were also in place in the U.S. on any person worldwide that purchased, acquired, sold, transported, or marketed Iranian-origin petrochemical products, or provided goods or services valued at US$250,000 or more (or US$1 million over a 12-month period) for use in Irans production of petrochemical products. In the E.U. there was a ban on the import, purchase, or transportation of Iran-origin petrochemical products, and on the export to Iran of certain equipment for use in the petrochemical industry. However, in practical terms, even over this period of heightened sanctions, Irans petchems sector continued to grow its production and revenue streams. Related: Europes Gas Prices Rise As Wind Speeds Fall Prior to Russia and China agreeing on a more even split in their taking over oil and gas sector exploration and development projects in Iran when the 25-year China-Iran deal was originally agreed in 2019, Moscow was on the verge of taking over several new major oil and gas projects in the Islamic Republic. As it became clearer in 2015 that sanctions would be rolled back [in 2015], Russias committed investment plans for Irans oil and gas sector increased to over US$50 billion and was broadened out in scope, a senior oil and gas industry source who works closely with Irans Petroleum Ministry exclusively told OilPrice.com. This was a strategic plan by Russia to position itself front and centre for when sanctions were eventually removed and contracts for field development were on the table, he said. This resulted in initial agreements being signed by GazpromNeft for feasibility studies for the Changouleh and Cheshmeh-Khosh oilfields, Zarubezhneft for the Aban and Paydar Gharb fields and Tatneft for the Dehloran field. These were on top of the previous memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed by Lukoil and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for studies of the Ab Teymour and Mansouri oil fields, resulting in Russian firms being assigned seven field studies, the most of any country to that point. Even more significantly, though, was that these deals were only a part of a very wide-ranging 22-point MoU signed by Irans deputy petroleum minister, Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, and Russias deputy energy minister, Kirill Molodtsov, at the time, which included not just the studies and plans for exploration and extraction of oil but also for the transfer of gas, petrochemical swap operations, research on the supply and marketing of petrochemical products, the manufacture of oil equipment together with local Iranian engineering firms, and technology transfer in the refinery sector, said the source. Given that Russia now will feel less constrained by either the U.S. in developing much closer relations with Iran, and indeed will find many benefits to blurring the lines between Russian and Iranian oil, gas, petchems, and other developments and exports and export routes, it is reasonable to assume the resumption of a Russian strategy in Iran much akin to the original one anticipated in 2015, the Iran source underlined. In the petrochemicals sector to begin with, Russia has enormous expertise in this field and has already shown a willingness to participate in such projects, having talked to the neighbouring Iraqis about taking over the development of its Nebras petrochemicals plant in the southern oil hub of Basra at several points. This would neatly fit into Irans plans as, prior to the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, two of Tehrans key targets were to become the number one Middle Eastern producer and exporter of petchems and to become a major gasoline exporter across the region and beyond. For Iran, the petrochemicals sector generates revenues of around 15 to 16 times more per tonne of product than crude oil and for investors, based on current contract terms, petrochemicals produce rates of return of 30-35 percent against 12-15 percent in the upstream segment, and petrochemical companies have often distributed relatively high dividends among shareholders, said the Iran source. On the gasoline targets, the aim was that within two and a half years from the completion of the PGSR [Persian Gulf Star Refinery], Iran would be meeting at least 10 percent of all of Southern Europes gasoline and diesel needs, as it would be the top producer of gasoline in the Middle East by a big margin by that point, he concluded. By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Venture Capital firms are also investing huge amounts of cash in battery projects. The U.S. and Canadian governments are rushing to increase domestic production of key battery metals. Chinas dominance in the global battery market seems to be slipping. The worlds supply of advanced batteries, critical for electric cars, could be shifting West, say, analysts, as production grinds to a halt in Asia. Chinas most recent Covid-19 lockdowns have chipped away at the countrys dominance in the battery market, analysts at independent energy researcher Rystad Energy, Susan Zou and Abhishek Murali, explained. Businesses have been battling with a choked supply since the pandemic began, which has prompted the likes of Tesla and the U.S. and Canadian governments to dish out millions to support production stateside. The U.S. Department of Energy has offered a conditional loan of $107m (84m) to graphite miner Syrah Resources to expand their Louisiana processing facility in Louisiana. Canada earlier this month confirmed in its federal budget that it will invest $1.6bn (1.2bn) over the entire electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. Related: Can Lebanon Repair Its Failing Energy Sector? While Teslas boss Elon Musk has plans to turn his new Texas car factory, of 338m cubic feet in volume, into the biggest battery cell facility in the world overtime. Comments made by Musk at the recent unveiling of the factory suggest he is already alive to the attractive returns in the new race for advanced batteries. The value of venture capital deals in the advanced battery space has skyrocketed over the past year, soaring around 850 percent year-on-year in 2021, according to analytics firm GlobalData. Chinas EV battery maker SVOLT, based the Jiangsu province a major manufacturing hub snagged $930m (*) from investors in December. However, the province has been subject to tough Covid-19 measures which have paused production. Big deals from VC investors are pushing forward the advanced batteries funding to a new high, said senior disruptive tech analyst at GlobalData, Prasad Kakade. The interest is likely to be driven by clean energy requirements and the growing demand for zero-emission, all-electric cars. With new opportunities flocking to these areas, battery materials with minimal environmental footprint and sustainable designs would create a new race for battery supremacy. By City AM More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Reader Update: Whether you are new to the oil and gas industry or an energy market veteran, you will regret not signing up for Global Energy Alert. Oilprice.com's premium newsletter provides everything from geopolitical analysis to trading analysis, and all for less than a cup of coffee per week. Chart of the Week - Depressed by draconian lockdowns that might be extended well into May, Chinese refinery runs are set to reach a post-pandemic low this month. - According to S&P Platts, throughput rates at the countrys four state-owned refiners fell to 76%, the lowest since April 2020, as movement controls in 18 provinces kept demand subdued. - Even though several refineries are out for spring maintenance, high stocks have led to some 3 million b/d refining capacity being idled currently, especially in most-impacted coastal areas. - Chinas so-called teapots (independent refiners) are seeing run rates of 50% in April, 25 percentage points lower year-on-year, perpetuating the financial strain on them. Market Movers - US refiner Valero (NYSE:VLO) has reported its most profitable results in seven years with its Q1 earnings, with its operating income reaching $1.47 billion. - US oil service major Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) warned that the impending May 15 sanctions deadline could mean the company will face charges on $340m of Russian assets as trade restrictions are blocking its ability to move out equipment. - The Dutch activist group Friends of the Earth has stepped up pressure against oil major Shell (LON:SHEL), claiming that if the firm fails to comply with a 2019 Dutch court order to deepen emission cuts, the companys board will be held personally responsible. Tuesday, April 26, 2022 The extreme volatility in crude prices has kept the oil market fixed to the $100 per barrel mark, with alternating news of further Chinese lockdowns effectively offsetting Europes attempts to find a consensus solution on Russian oil sanctions. Largely thanks to the 180 million barrel SPR release, the US seems to be better positioned to withstand the upcoming turbulence and further bouts of tightness - decreasing net positions in NYMEX/ICE WTI taking place concurrently to marginal increases in net Brent contracts indicate a longer-term structural weakness in Europe. US Shale Growth Marred by Frac Fleet Shortage. The shortage of frac fleets (equipment to perform hydraulic fracturing) has become one of the main impediments to US crude production this year, with the current number of frac spreads deployed (270) being well below pandemic levels (360-370). Iran Signals Talks Might be Revived Soon. Top Iranian officials have indicated that the current hiatus in the nuclear talks is not in the interest of either side and that a restart of negotiations, coming to an abrupt halt in early March, might be imminent. Libya Skirmishes Damage Only Refinery. Continuous armed clashes around the 120,000 b/d Zawiya refinery have reportedly damaged Libyas only refinery and the adjacent storage tank farm, coming on the back of simultaneous efforts of the two rival governments to appease the protesters. Canada Drilling Heats Up to Unseen Highs. Drilling activity has risen to the highest level on record in Canada, with the latest available January data showing 617 active wells in Alberta, surpassing the previous high set in October 2011. CPC Terminal Comes Back to Full Capacity. Following a month-long disruption caused by a storm in late March that wiped some 600,000 b/d off the market, the CPC loading terminal in southern Russia returned to full capacity operation, easing the pressure on the worlds largest light sweet stream. Related: Libya May Reach Full Oil Production Within Days China Keeps Lockdown Impact in the Dark. China-watchers are having an increasingly difficult time gauging the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns in the country as Beijing restricts the release of industry-relevant real-time data such as commodity inventories or cargo traffic data. UK Wants Mandatory Climate Plans for Companies. The British government launched a new task force to enforce UK-listed companies (over 1,300 firms in total) to publish climate plans with specific short-to-long-term targets, starting as soon as this year. Rosnefts Megatender Fails Spectacularly. Russias national oil company Rosneft (MCX:ROSN) failed to sell oil in its recently announced tender that offered Urals, ESPO, and Sokol cargoes loading in May-June, arguably triggered by the rouble-payment clauses. Nigerian Illegal Oil Refinery Blast Kills Dozens. More than 100 people died in an explosion at an illegal oil refinery in southeastern Nigeria, another tragedy in the African country that loses as much as 150,000 b/d of crude production due to theft. Petroecuador Seeks Contract Renegotiation with PetroChina. Ecuadors state-owned oil company Petroecuador has been holding talks with PetroChina (SHA:601857) to renegotiate two supply contracts that run until 2024, in the hope it could free up some products to sell directly in the spot market. European Power Prices Rise Again as Winds Tame. Day-ahead power prices have been on the rise across Europe as wind generation forecasts indicate a week of below-average speeds, triggering a rebound in gas prices above $100 per MWh despite increased nominations for Russian supplies. Russia Wants Its Own Lithium Industry. Russias nuclear holding Rosatom and leading metals producer Nornickel (MCX:GMKN) plan to develop a lithium deposit in the countrys northwestern Murmansk region, confronted with curbed supplies as only Bolivia continues to provide it with lithium carbonate. Germany Legalizes Nationalization of Energy Firms. The German government approved a legal amendment that would enable Berlin to seize ownership of energy companies in the event of an emergency, putting the potentially impacted firms under trust administration, hinting at what might happen to Gazproms (MCX:GAZP) subsidiary. By Josh Owens for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Germany has already cut Russian oil imports by over 20%, with officials now spreading optimism that it could be only a matter of days before the country is capable of a total embargo on Russian oil. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Tuesday that a full embargo is manageable and that the country hoped to find a replacement for Russian oil within days. According to Habeck, Germany is now very, very close to making a full Russian oil embargo a reality. So far, Germany has dropped Russian oil imports to around 12% of its total oil imports, down from 35% prior to Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine in late February. The East German refinery in Schwedt is owned by Russias state-run Rosneft and inputs only Russian oil, as does another East German refinery in Leuna, according to Euractiv. Instead of relying on Russian piped oil, the German Economy Ministry told the press gathering that deliveries would have to be via port and then truck and train, and that Polands Gdansk port would be the key partner to make this function. Germanys announcement coincides with another point of pressure on the European Unions largest economy: Contributing weapons to the war against Russia in Ukrainean avenue Germany has avoided until now. Late on Tuesday, the German government announced that it would supply Ukraine with German-made heavy military equipment, in a complete about-face. German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht announced the move during opening remarks at the Ramstein air base in Germany, coming at the start of a US-hosted defense conference on Ukraine. "Yesterday we decided that Germany will make the delivery of 'Gepard' anti-aircraft tanks possible to Ukraine," German Defense Minister Lambrecht said, as reported by DW. Germany, together with its allies, stands firmly at the side of its Ukrainian friends who are in dire need, she said, acknowledging criticism of Germany in recent weeks, Lambrecht said. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A pipeline that Kazakhstan uses to export most of its oil began operating at full capacity over the weekend, one month after key offloading infrastructure was allegedly damaged in a storm. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, or CPC, said in a statement on April 25 that it had restored a buoy mooring device used for loading oil at Russias Novorossiysk terminal to working order after divers were able to take advantage of a short-term improvement in the weather. At present, the Delta Commander tanker is connected to [mooring device] VPU-3 and loading is being carried out, the company said in a statement. This is welcome news for Kazakhstan, which sends more than two-thirds of its oil to Europe via the CPC pipeline. After Russia announced the accident at Novorossiysk on March 22, Kazakhstan was forced to reduce oil production and incur considerable losses. On April 19, Finance Minister Yerulan Zhamaubayev told reporters that a preliminary assessment put those losses at up to 150 billion tenge ($337 million). With the CPC option largely closed off, Kazakh authorities explored alternative routes, such as taking oil across the Caspian Sea and then delivering it to Europe through the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, but this solution proved very costly. Critics of the government have since raised questions about why Kazakhstan failed to diversify oil export routes in good time so as to avoid excess dependence on a single Russian-controlled pipeline. Following weeks of apparently negligible progress repairing the alleged damage at Novorossiysk terminal, which neither the Western members of the CPC consortium or Kazakhstan were able to inspect independently, Nur-Sultan dispatched a delegation to Moscow. Kazakh Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov held talks on the situation with CPC General Director Nikolai Gorban on April 18. Discussions appear to have touched on issues both commercial and technical. A few days later, it was agreed that the weather had improved sufficiently for repairs to proceed. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: When ATF agents and Chicago police arrested 45th Ward boss Charles Sikanich on Monday, police records state, Sikanich made one request over and over: Let me contact Ald. Jim Gardiner, he said, before you put me in custody. The request went apparently unfulfilled. The next day, Sikanich ward superintendent and Gardiners right-hand man was in Cook County court on charges including gun possession and official misconduct. Two years ago, prosecutors said, he tried to sell an antique machine gun to an undercover ATF agent while he was on the clock for his Streets and Sanitation job. Advertisement It was the latest development in a rollercoaster year for the Northwest Side ward. Gardiner has been under federal criminal investigation for months relating to his conduct in office. He and Sikanich are being sued for allegedly having a man harassed, intimidated and ultimately falsely arrested. And Gardiner came under heavy public fire last year for profane and misogynist texts published by an anonymous online group. Sikanich was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bond after a brief hearing Tuesday. He was still in custody as of early Tuesday evening, according to the sheriffs office. Advertisement The matter dates to February 2020, when the ATF got a tip from a confidential informant that Sikanich owned an MP 40 machine gun and was interested in selling it, Assistant Attorney General Jonas Harger said in court Tuesday. Sikanich asked the informant to find him a buyer, Harger said. In May of that year, Sikanich met with the informant and an undercover ATF agent, and they tried to negotiate a selling price, authorities said. Agents staking out the meeting saw Sikanich arrive in his Department of Streets and Sanitation vehicle, prosecutors said. And time sheet records show he was on the clock at his city job during the time he allegedly was set to discuss the guns sale, Harger said in court. A news release from Attorney General Kwame Raouls office also alleged that during the meeting, Sikanich indicated he would have his mother complete the illegal transaction, as he hoped to avoid complications to his role as a superintendent of Chicagos 45th Ward. More than a year later, in August 2021, federal agents confronted Sikanich, who led them to a secret compartment in his basement where a black duffel bag containing the gun was recovered, Harger said. Advertisement Sikanichs attorney, Blaire Dalton, said in court the gun was a family heirloom, passed down from Sikanichs grandfather. It dates from World War IIs Battle of the Bulge, Dalton said. The gun was plugged with lead and unusable, she said in court, noting that the gun was seized in August but Sikanich was only charged this month. In response, Harger noted that it took the ATF less than an hour to render the gun usable, and it was still capable of firing shots. Sikanich knew the gun was illegal and intended to sell it for an increased price because of illegality of the gun, he said. The $100,000 bond set by Judge Barbara Dawkins is higher than the $75,000 that prosecutors had requested, and significantly greater than the $500 that Sikanichs attorney said he could pay. In a news release Tuesday, Raoul stated that trying to sell a machine gun demonstrates at best indifference toward the publics safety. However, to do so on government time using government property demonstrates a shocking disregard for the people government employees have committed to serve. Asked about Sikanichs arrest, a Streets and Sanitation spokeswoman said the department would not comment on a personnel issue. Advertisement Gardiner is also being sued for for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of ward residents who were critical of him on social media by deleting their comments from his official Facebook page and blocking them from posting in the future. Gardiner could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday on the charges against Sikanich. The freshman alderman has been a lightning rod for controversy during his first term representing parts of Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Old Irving Park and Norwood Park. He rose in council chambers during the bodys September meeting to apologize after an anonymous Northwest Side online group published texts he sent a ward employee in which he referred to one City Council colleague as a bitch and the top aide of another council member as his bitch, and also used the term to describe a political communications consultant. He said he was sorry for his offensive words but said he never acted on any of those rants in published texts in which he appeared to call for ward services to be withheld from political opponents. Advertisement mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com jebyrne@chicagotribune.com Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is exploring a new energy and climate legislative package that would win the support of Republican senators as a way of releasing massive funds earmarked for related spending. In an interview with Bloomberg this week, Manchin said that if a bill gains bipartisan support in the Senate, legislators will not need budget reconciliation to greenlight the release of hundreds of billions of dollars currently blocked because of the lack of such support in Congress. One area where the senator sees potential for agreement is in oil and gas leasing. "You're going to have to have a leasing program that works, O.K., and making sure that leases are fair, and people are not sitting on leases," he told Bloomberg. "We need to look at all that," he said. "We haven't done that." What the Biden administration has done in this respect was to call on Congress to penalize oil drillers who don't use the permits they have been granted. Among Sen Manchin's other proposals are revisions to federal land policy, legislative support for oil and gas pipelines, and a boost in liquefied natural gas production, both at home and overseas, according to an unnamed source quoted by Bloomberg. Critical mineral supply is also on the agenda, according to the source. Senator Manchin has turned into a thorn in the side of Democrats in Congress with his stiff opposition to the Build Back Better spending plan that Democrats crafted last year. "I have always said if I can't explain it, I can't vote for it, and I can't explain why my Democratic colleagues are rushing to spend $3.5 trillion," Manchin wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal last September. Manchin represents West Virginiaa big coal producerand potentially has on his side other legislators from fossil fuel-reliant states from both parties. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Poland announced on Tuesday that it was preparing to impose sanctions on 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, as Polish media report that Russia has stopped gas deliveries to the country, causing European gas prices to get hit with a double-digit surge. Polands One.pl online news channel reported that Russia had suspended gas supplies to Poland under the Yamal contract, citing off-the-record sources claiming that the Ministry of Climate has now gathered its crisis team to deal with the situation. The Polish news agency said that there had been no announcement from Russia, though Russian President Vladimir Putin had threatened to cut Poland off from gas. An official announcement is expected from the Polish authorities later today, according to One.pl. Earlier on Tuesday, Polands Interior Minister said the country would impose sanctions on 50 oligarchs and companies after passing a law earlier this month that would allow the authorities to freeze Russian assets and ban imports of Russian coal, Reuters reported. Moscow earlier demanded that Europe switch to paying for Russian gas in rubles or face supply suspensions. Poland has refused to comply with this demand. European natural gas futures were trading 4% higher on the day (as of 12:36pm EST). Source: Tradingeconomics Outside of Ukraine itself, Poland is the European country most relentlessly pushing a halt to imports of Russian oil, gas and coal across the bloc, hoping to strangle Putins war chest. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki launched a highly public mobile billboard campaign last attempting to garner more public support for the sacrifices necessary to #stopRussianoil. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Gasoline prices in the United States climbed higher Monday, despite crude oils brief retreat under $100 per barrel as bearish sentiments emerged over Chinas intensifying COVID lockdown. The national average price per gallon of regular gasoline climbed to $41.2 Monday, according to AAA, up from $4.09 the previous Monday and up from $2.09 a year ago. Californians continue to pay the highest price at the pump, around $5.69 per gallon. As long as the price of [crude] oil stays elevated, the price at the pump will struggle to fall, AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a Monday statement, adding that Consumers may be catching a little break from Marchs record-high prices, but dont expect any dramatic drops. This summer, the Energy Information Administration expects retail gas prices to average $3.84 per gallon, up from $3.06 per gallon last summer but significantly lower than the past months national average. That forecast gives American drivers some hope for relief as the summer driving season prepares to kick off. Prices of crude oil, the key input for gasoline, briefly fell below $100 on Monday as it became clear that Chinas COVID lockdowns were intensifying and threatening consumption and demand. By 3:15pm EST, Brent prices had climbed back to $102.54, while WTI was still under $99. Crude oil prices, however, are set to remain highly volatile for the foreseeable future, with Chinas COVID crackdown weighing against sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine and tight supply. The roller coaster ride at the pump continues, AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said in a statement. After rising two weeks ago, gas prices should remain tied to the price of oil, which was on its way back down last week. Based on wholesale and gasoline futures trends, gas prices could decline 5 to 10 cents, unless oil prices rebound again. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russias state-controlled oil giant Rosneft has failed to place 6.5 million barrels of various Russian crude blends loading in May and June after demanding rubles and 100-percent pre-payment from buyers, Reuters reported on Monday, citing five traders with knowledge of the tender process. There were no bidders for Urals, Siberian Light, Sokol, and ESPO crudes that Rosneft was trying to sell. Not even Indian state refiners bid to buy that oil because of one-sided terms of the tender, two of the sources told Reuters. Buyers have found it very difficult to meet the terms of the tender, considering that the Russian state oil giant wanted payments converted in rubles and 100-percent pre-payment, the traders who spoke to Reuters said. Even without those terms, buyers in Europe wouldnt have bid for Russian cargoes anyway, according to the traders, as many are shunning Russian crude because of ethics or expectations that a potential oil embargo on Russia could make its crude even more toxic than it is now. Still, some of the 6.5 million barrels on offer could be sold by Rosneft in private deals via talks with individual potential customers. Rosnefts main objective in the tender was to announce the requirement of ruble payments to the market, and this was achieved, a source with knowledge of the tender told Reuters. Last week, reports emerged that Rosneft was offering as many as 37.4 million barrels of the flagship Urals crude for May and June loadings, according to a tender document seen by Bloomberg. Rosneft has said it prefers Russian rubles as payment, although in theory, buyers could pay in U.S. dollars, euros, yuans, the UAEs dirham, or Turkish lira, according to the document seen by Bloomberg. Rosneft also wants 100-percent pre-payment on the provisional value of the Urals cargoes. All these stipulations from Rosneft in the firesale tender suggest that Russia and its oil giant are looking to get paid and get the crude sold before a potential EU ban on Russian oil imports. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Several Russian oligarchs, who have either worked at energy firms or amassed their fortune from oil and gas, have been found dead in suspicious circumstances, not only in Russia but also in the UK and Spain. One of the latest suspicious deaths was that of Vladislav Avayev, a former vice president at Russian bank Gazprombankthe bank at the center of Russias rubles-for-gas payment schemeand a former Kremlin official. According to police in Moscow, Avayev killed his wife and daughter before killing himself in their Moscow apartment. Just days after Avayevs suspected murder-suicide, Sergey Protosenya and his family were found dead in Spain. Protosenya worked at Russias top independent gas producer Novatek from 1997 to 2015, the company told Newsweek in an email, following Protosenyas death. Reports have it that Protosenyas mother and daughter were stabbed to death, while Sergey Protosenya had apparently hanged himself in a Spanish villa. Two former Gazprom executives, Leonid Shulman and Alexander Tyulyakov, were also found dead earlier this year. Shulman was found dead by apparent suicide in January, while Tyulyakov was found dead a day after Russia invaded Ukraine. Both men have reportedly left suicide notes, Fortune reports, but the wave of deaths of gas executives have made many people suspect that there is a purge of energy-related executives or former executives in Russia. Gennady Gudkov, a former colonel at Russias Federal Security Service (FSB)the successor of the KGBtold Daily Star that the similarities in the deaths of all those gas executives were suspicious, at the very least. If we already understand that the regime is engaged in the elimination of its opponents and enemies, then why will they not deal with those who are considered traitors who have fled the system, Gudkov was quoted as saying. At least two of the dead executives knew a lot about Gazproms finances and cash flows, Warsaw Institute reported this weekend. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: 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. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Collecting pinon nuts has been tradition for Native American and Hispanic families in the Southwestern U.S. for generations. But environmentalists are concerned that without the pinyon jay a very social bird that essentially plants the next generation of trees by stashing away the seeds its possible the pinon forests of New Mexico, Nevada and other Western states could face another reproductive hurdle in the face of climate change, persistent drought and more severe wildfires. The Washington, D.C.-based group Defenders of Wildlife filed a petition Monday with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the bird under the Endangered Species Act, saying the once common species plays an integral role in the high desert ecosystem. The group points to research that shows pinyon jay numbers have declined by an estimated 80% over the last five decades, a rate even faster than the greater sage grouse. Patricia Estrella, who represents the group in New Mexico, said that while population declines are well documented, the exact cause remains unclear as multiple threats are at play. Not only is it difficult to tease apart the effects of interacting factors, together they create even greater threats through positive feedbacks, Estrella wrote in the petition. Successful conservation of the pinyon jay requires addressing and ameliorating multiple threats simultaneously. Pinon-juniper forests cover more than 75,000 square miles (194,249 square kilometers) in the United States, and wildlife managers in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and New Mexico already have classified the bird as a species of greatest conservation need. Nearly 60% of the jay's remaining population can be found in New Mexico and Nevada, but its range also includes central Oregon and parts of California, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Mexico's northern Baja California. Pale blue with a white bib, the pinyon jay typically mates for life. When food is abundant, they can nest more than once a year. Their home range can be large, with the birds fanning out over hundreds of miles when food is scarce. Research highlighted in the petition notes that more pinon and juniper woodlands are being cleared around the West for housing developments, agriculture, and solar and wind energy projects, and as land managers look to reduce the threat of wildfire. The Biden administration's infrastructure push includes $500 million over five years for prescribed burns, $500 million for mechanical tree harvesting and another $500 million for clearing fuel breaks. Defenders of Wildlife and others are concerned that managers will be able to move ahead with many projects without public input or more detailed environmental reviews. The petition states that studies documenting the effects of woodland reduction on pinyon jay populations are few, but some scientists are recommending that land managers avoid nesting and foraging sites. When the pinon crop is good, jays start the morning by eating seeds. Then they collect seeds, congregate in the tree tops and depart together to caching areas that are usually open spaces where less snow accumulates in the winter. Research has shown they have excellent memory and recover more cached seeds than other types of jays or nutcrackers, but the seeds that go uncollected are left to germinate. According to the petition, the loss of pinon trees would disproportionately affect Native American and Hispanic communities in the Southwest. Each fall, families make the trek to the forest to harvest the seeds. The nuts are usually roasted and salted, but their popularity now extends beyond Southwest cuisine, including pancakes, brownies, pizza and salad toppings. It will be up to the Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether there's enough information in the petition to warrant further review. That could take months. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Supporters of then-President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jose Luis Magana / AP) A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday sentenced two North Shore brothers to six months of probation, including 60 days on home detention, for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the attack on Jan. 6, 2021. In rejecting jail time, U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said the conduct that Christian Kulas and his older brother, Mark Kulas Jr., engaged in was somewhat minimal from other rioters who attacked police, damaged property or otherwise tried to disrupt the government that day. Advertisement Hogan also noted that the brothers and their family, including their immigrant parents, have been subjected to sustained attacks on social media since they were charged, including physical threats and anti-immigrant animus that the judge said was very unfortunate. Kulas Jr., 27, of Lake Forest, and Christian Kulas, 24, of Kenilworth, pleaded guilty in December to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, a misdemeanor that called for up to six months in jail. Advertisement The brothers are sons of the wealthy owner of a North Shore maid service, Kulas Maids, and attended Lake Forest High School. A criminal complaint against Christian Kulas said the younger brother was captured on social media and surveillance images wearing a Burberry coat and a hat with the Donald Trump campaign slogan Keep America Great. Video clips on an Instagram account associated with Kulas also showed people at a rally where Trump was speaking and video of rioters at the Capitol steps after the rally. Mark Kulas Jr. was charged in late November, five months after his younger brother. As part of their plea agreement, each of the brothers agreed to pay a $500 restitution fee. Damages to the Capitol building on Jan. 6 totaled about $1.5 million, according to court records. According to a statement of offense, the brothers flew from Illinois to Washington the day before the attack. They attended the Trump rally, then marched to the Capitol building. Both wore hats with Trumps political slogans. The brothers spent about 20 minutes in the Capitol building, entering after rioters earlier had forced the doors open, according to the court document. There is no evidence that Christian Kulas or Mark Kulas Jr. otherwise assisted the rioters using force against the police line in an effort to open the doorway, and the brothers returned to Illinois on Jan. 7, the statement says. Advertisement The Kulases have remained free on personal recognizance bonds since being charged. The brothers are among at least 27 Illinoisans charged in the Capitol attack, which has evolved into the largest criminal investigation in the countrys history. jmeisner@chicagotribune.com Generally, when Omaha resident Dan Sitzman leaves his house at 51st and Dodge Streets, he crosses Farnam Street. He plans his route based on the direction that traffic will be heading on the sometimes-one-way street, and he hope(s) like heck that other people do, too. It doesnt matter what time of day when I cross (Farnam), either driving, riding my bike or walking, Sitzman said. I always look both ways because Ive seen cars come from both ways all the time. He was one of about 30 people to attend an Omaha Public Works Department open house Monday night, where organizers collected feedback from business and property owners concerning a proposed project to convert Farnam into a continuous, two-way street at all hours within a section of roadway that runs through the Dundee area. The project, which planners estimate will cost $2 million to $3 million, is intended to accommodate increased vehicle traffic, eliminate driver confusion and improve vehicle and pedestrian safety. At present, the two-lane street switches between one-way and two-way operations throughout the day from 46th Street to Happy Hollow Boulevard. On weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m., Farnam operates as a two-lane, one-way roadway in the eastbound direction, while traffic flows one way in the westbound direction from 4 to 6 p.m. Throughout the rest of the day and all day on weekends, Farnam functions as a two-way street. The city is undertaking a corridor study regarding potential improvements that could be made to Farnam from Dodge to 46th Streets. The existing traffic pattern has been in effect since 1958, according to city staff. The arrangement is efficient at moving great loads of commuters in the primary direction of travel during rush hour, but comes at a cost. Consultants from design firm Felsburg Holt & Ullevig tasked with studying the issue found that 58% of all crashes along Farnam Street occur during one-way operations, which occur for only four hours daily. In addition, 48% of the fatal and injury crashes on Farnam occur during one-way operations. Currently, between 7,800 and 9,500 vehicles use Farnam each day. By 2040, the number is projected to increase to 9,100 to 11,000. The study indicates that a two-way orientation is feasible if improvements are made to two Farnam Street intersections at 50th and 52nd Streets. Options at each intersection include the installation of left turn lanes, left and right turn lanes or roundabouts. Consultants concluded that a roundabout would be the safest option but that a signalized intersection would most improve the efficiency of traffic operations. City Council member Danny Begley, whose district encompasses a portion of the project area, called any change overdue. Traffic is crazy over there, he said. It confuses people. When youve got kids driving, especially, its a recipe for bad things. People interested in the street project can learn more or submit comments online through May 9 at www.keepomahamoving.com. Feedback will be incorporated into a final report, to be completed later this year. Ultimately, the citys public works staff will select the intersection designs. Were not going to get a unanimous decision (among property owners), said Assistant Public Works Director Todd Pfitzer. We know that. The construction timeline, he said, will be contingent on plans being developed by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which is expanding its campus within the vicinity, along with the creation of a city streetcar system along Farnam and Harney Streets. Megan Thee Stallion claims fellow rapper Tory Lanez offered her $1 million to keep quiet immediately after he allegedly shot her foot, and says she told authorities she stepped on glass because she was afraid police would open fire. Megan was moved to tears as she recounted the 2020 incident during an interview that aired Monday on CBS Mornings, claiming Lanez opened fire following an argument after leaving a party at reality star Kylie Jenners house in Los Angeles. I look down at my feet and Im like, Oh my God. Im really bleeding, Megan told host Gayle King during the emotional interview. Megan, 27, says the argument occurred because she was ready to leave the party when others werent, and claims Lanez said dance, b---h and shot at her multiple times. She claims Lanez apologized moments after firing the weapon. He said, Im so sorry. Please dont tell nobody. Ill give yall $1 million if yall dont say nothing, Megan said. And Im like, What are you talking about? Why are you offering me money right now? Help me. And if youre sorry, just help me. Police were called to the scene, said Megan, who recalled many officers and helicopters arriving. I was like, Oh my God, were all about to die. The George Floyd incident had just happened, Megan told King. The police are definitely very much shoot first, ask questions after. So Im like, its a hot gun in the car, Im bleeding, Ive been shot, theyre about to kill somebody. Like, something bad is about to happen. She continued, I didnt want them to kill any of us or shoot any of us, so I just said, I stepped on glass. For some reason, I was just trying to protect all of us because I didnt want them to kill us. The three-time Grammy winner says she stuck with the glass story after being taken to the hospital, until police left. A doctor then told Megan she had bullet fragments in both feet, she claimed. The artist, whose real name is Megan Pete, has said she underwent surgery to have the bullets removed. In Mondays interview, the Savage artist expressed her frustration with people doubting she really got shot and who claim her injuries were the result of stepping on glass. Im the one who said I stepped on glass, Megan said. I was lying to protect all of us. Sometimes I wish I really wouldve never said that. The 29-year-old Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, has denied Megans allegation and pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include assault with a semiautomatic firearm. A trial is expected to begin in September. Megan said she was close friends with Lanez, and that she was looking for a family environment following the death of her mother. She denied ever being in a romantic relationship with Lanez, and said her anxiety has gotten worse since the alleged shooting. My relationship with people has gotten very cold because Im not as trusting as I used to be, Megan said. Ive got this wall, and I dont want to make any friends. Megan won each of her three Grammys, including best new artist, in 2021, and is known for songs such as WAP, Hot Girl Summer and Body. The Canadian-born Lanez is a Grammy nominee for the song LUV. HOUSTON (AP) The execution of Melissa Lucio is off. At least for now. Lucio, 52, had been set to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday for the death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah in Harlingen, a city of about 75,000 in Texas southern tip. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals intervened Monday, granting Lucios lawyers request for a stay of execution so a lower court can review claims that new evidence would show Mariah's injuries, including a blow to the head, were caused by a fall down a steep staircase. Nearly half of the jurors who sentenced her to die for the 2007 death of one of her 14 children had called for her execution to be halted and for her to get a new trial. Many lawmakers and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, an advocate for criminal justice reform, and Amanda Knox an American whose murder conviction in the death of a British student in Italy was overturned have rallied to Lucios cause. Prosecutors, though, maintain that the girl was the victim of child abuse. Lucios lawyers had filed various legal appeals seeking to stop her execution. She also had a clemency application before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which had been set to consider her case Monday. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott could have also played a role this week in deciding Lucios fate. If ultimately put to death, Lucio would be the first Latina executed by Texas since 1863, and the first woman the state has put to death since 2014. Heres what to know about the case: WHAT ISSUES ARE BEING DEBATED? Lucios attorneys say her capital murder conviction was based on an unreliable and coerced confession that was the result of relentless questioning and her long history of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. They say Lucio wasnt allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession. Her lawyers also contend that unscientific and false evidence misled jurors into believing Mariahs injuries only could have been caused by physical abuse and not by medical complications from a severe fall. I knew that what I was accused of doing was not true. My children have always been my world and although my choices in life were not good I would have never hurt any of my children in such a way, Lucio wrote in a letter to Texas lawmakers. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, whose office prosecuted the case, has said he disagrees with Lucio's lawyers' claims that new evidence would exonerate her. Prosecutors say Lucio had a history of drug abuse and at times had lost custody of some of her 14 children. During a sometimes contentious Texas House committee hearing on Lucios case this month, Saenz initially pushed back on requests to use his power to stop the execution, before later saying he would intervene if the courts didnt act. I dont disagree with all the scrutiny this case is getting. I welcome that, Saenz said. Armando Villalobos was the county's district attorney when Lucio was convicted in 2008, and Lucios lawyers allege that he pushed for a conviction to help his reelection bid. In 2014, Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for a bribery scheme related to offering favorable prosecutorial decisions. WHO IS CALLING FOR LUCIOS EXECUTION TO BE STOPPED? More than half the members of the Texas Legislature have asked that her execution be halted. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers traveled this month to Gatesville, where the state houses female death row inmates, and prayed with Lucio. Five of the 12 jurors who sentenced Lucio and one alternate juror have questioned their decision and asked she get a new trial. Lucio's cause also has the backing of faith leaders and was featured on HBOs Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Lucios family and supporters have been traveling throughout Texas and holding rallies and screenings of a 2020 documentary about her case, The State of Texas vs. Melissa. Before the court decision Monday, Lucio's supporters held a prayer vigil inside the state Capitol in Austin as they waited for word from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on her clemency application. On Saturday, supporters held rallies in 16 U.S. cities, including Houston, Boston, and Columbus, Ohio. WHERE DO EFFORTS TO HALT HER EXECUTION STAND? The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had been set Monday to consider a request to either commute her death sentence to life imprisonment or grant her a 120-day execution reprieve, but that hearing was put off by the appeals courts order. Lucio also had an appeal pending in federal court to stop her execution. The federal appeal and the clemency petition are now put aside as the case returns to the trial judge in Brownsville. It was not immediately known when the lower court would begin reviewing her case. Tivon Schardl, one of Lucios lawyers, said they hope to convince the trial judge to recommend that the appeals court grant her a new trial. If the board had taken up her case and decided to recommend commutation of her sentence or a reprieve, that would have needed Abbott's approval. The governor has granted clemency to only one death row inmate since taking office in 2015. Abbott commuted a death sentence to life without parole for Thomas Bart Whitaker, who was convicted of fatally shooting his mother and brother. Whitaker's father was also shot but survived and led the effort to spare his son's life. HOW FREQUENTLY ARE WOMEN EXECUTED? Its rare in the U.S., according to the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that takes no position on capital punishment but has criticized the way states carry out executions. Women have accounted for only 3.6% of the more than 16,000 confirmed executions in the U.S. dating back to the colonial period in the 1600s, according to the group's data. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 17 women have been executed throughout the nation, according to the data. Texas has put more women to death six than any other state. Oklahoma is next, with three, and Florida has executed two. The federal government has executed one woman since 1976. Lisa Montgomery, of Kansas, received a lethal injection in January 2021 after the Trump administration resumed executions in the federal system following a 17-year hiatus. The Justice Department has halted executions again under the Biden administration. Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned lower-court orders that have blocked the Biden administration from ending a controversial Trump-era immigration program for asylum-seekers. Questions from conservative and liberal justices during nearly two hours of arguments suggested that the court could free the administration to end the Remain in Mexico policy that forces some people seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait in Mexico for their hearings. President Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office. After Texas and Missouri sued, lower courts required immigration officials to reinstate it, though the current administration has sent far fewer people back to Mexico than its predecessor. The heart of the legal fight is whether, with far less detention capacity than needed, immigration authorities must send people to Mexico or have the discretion under federal law to release asylum-seekers into the United States while they await their hearings. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, Biden's top Supreme Court lawyer, told the justices the law does not contain a provision requiring migrants to be returned to Mexico and that there is a significant public benefit to releasing migrants who pass criminal background and other checks into the U.S., keeping detention beds free for more dangerous people. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, at least one of whom the administration needs to win the case, suggested that the administration had a better argument than the states. You lose, right, if the government is right about what significant public interest is, Barrett said in an exchange with Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone II. Several justices also picked up on Prelogar's point that no administration, including Trump's, fully complied with the requirement to make migrants wait in Mexico. If the states are reading the law correctly, Justice Clarence Thomas asked, Wouldn't it be odd for Congress to leave in place a statute that's impossible to comply with? Justice Elena Kagan was among members of the court who wondered whether the lower courts were dipping impermissibly into international relations since reinstating the program depends on Mexico's willingness to accept the migrants and close coordination between the countries. What are we supposed to do, drive truckloads of people to Mexico and leave them in Mexico? Kagan asked Stone. Justice Samuel Alito appeared to be the strongest voice on the states' side, questioning the administration's assertion that it assesses migrants on a case-by-case basis before releasing them. Border agents stopped migrants 221,000 times in March 2022 and nearly 66,000 migrants were released in the United States, according to a government court filing. Alito said the situation seemed akin to people waiting to get into a Washington Nationals game. If they have a ticket and no alcohol or guns, they're admitted, Alito said. That's basically what you're doing. You've got a little checklist and you go, boom, boom, boom, Alito said. About 70,000 people were enrolled in the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, after President Donald Trump launched it in 2019 and made it a centerpiece of efforts to deter asylum-seekers. After Biden's suspension of the program, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ended it in June 2021. In October, DHS produced additional justifications for the policys demise, to no avail in the courts. The program resumed in December, but barely 3,000 migrants had enrolled by the end of March, during a period when authorities stopped migrants about 700,000 times at the border. The high court pondered what to make of the limited nature of the challenged program. Chief Justice John Roberts said he was sympathetic with the administration's position that it can't detain everyone or possibly comply with the law. But where does that leave us? he asked. Those being forced to wait in Mexico widely say they are terrified in dangerous Mexican border cities and find it very hard to find lawyers to handle their asylum hearings. Democratic-led states and progressive groups are on the administration's side. Republican-led states and conservative groups have sided with Texas and Missouri. Those include the America First Legal Foundation, led by former Trump aides Stephen Miller and Mark Meadows. As the court is weighing the asylum policy, the administration is expected to end another key Trump-era border policy that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. It allows authorities to expel migrants without a chance to seek asylum. The decision to end Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law, on May 23 is being legally challenged by 22 states and faces growing division within Bidens Democratic Party. A decision in Biden v. Texas, 21-954, is expected by late June. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) Among the sites of the former Soviet Union's frozen conflicts, a long and narrow strip of land in Moldova has been the most stable for three decades. Trans-Dniester hasn't seen fighting since the end of a separatist war in 1992. But explosions in the past two days have raised concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine could extend there. About 1,500 Russian troops already are stationed in Trans-Dniester. Another outbreak of hostilities would pose a severe challenge to Moldova, one of Europes poorest countries. WHAT IS TRANS-DNIESTER? Trans-Dniester extends some 400 kilometers (249 miles) between the eastern bank of the Dniester River in Moldova and the country's border with Ukraine. Most of the breakaway region's population of 470,000 speaks Russian, although residents identify themselves as ethnically Moldovan, Ukrainian or Russian. Moves to make Moldovan Moldova's official language in 1989, when it still was part of the Soviet Union, alarmed people in Trans-Dniester. The region declared independence in 1990 and clashes broke out. Fighting intensified in March 1992 and lasted until a July cease-fire; more than 700 people are estimated to have died in the conflict. As part of the cease-fire agreement, a contingent of Russian troops stayed in Trans-Dniester as nominal peacekeepers. Since then, the region has insisted it is not part of Moldova, which declared independence in 1991. Trans-Dniester has retained many Soviet ways and iconography, including using the hammer-and-sickle image on its flag. But it has remained generally peaceful, and some tourists come to relish the anachronisms. WHAT HAPPENED THERE THIS WEEK? Explosions rocked the headquarters of the region's state security ministry on Monday. The building reportedly was empty due to the Orthodox Easter holiday, and no casualties were reported. Officials said the attack was committed with rocket-propelled grenades. Local media showed what appeared to be firing tubes lying on a street. On Tuesday morning, a pair of explosions at a broadcasting facility knocked two powerful antennas out of service. No claims of responsibility for the attacks have been made. Trans-Dniesters president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, called Tuesday for imposing anti-terrorist security measures at a red level for 15 days, including setting up blockposts at the entrances to cities. The United States has warned amid the war in Ukraine that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops. DOES RUSSIA HAVE AMBITIONS IN THE REGION? Russia does not recognize Trans-Dniester as independent, as it does with other breakaway areas, such as South Ossetia, Abkhazia and the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. It recognition of those areas came either after Russia and Georgia fought a 2008 war or as justification for Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine. An outburst of fighting in Trans-Dniester could change the Kremlin's political calculus; Russia's security policy states it has the right to protect ethnic Russian populations throughout the world. A senior Russian military official, Rustam Minnekayev, said last week that Russian forces were aiming to take full control of southern Ukraine, saying such a move would also open a land corridor between Russia and Trans-Dniester. Achieving that military objective would require significant battles to capture Ukraine's Black Sea coast, including the major port city of Odesa. Russian soldiers would surely encounter enormous resistance. Russia has problems in logistics. If they begin a military operation in Trans-Dniester, to create a corridor to Trans-Dniester, they have to solve the problem of Odesa, Moldovan analyst Anatol Taranu, a former ambassador to Russia, told The Associated Press. The Russian contingent in Trans-Dniester is focused on guarding ammunition and warehouses, and its fitness for combat is uncertain. Trans-Dniester also has about 10,000 of its own soldiers. Moldova is constitutionally neutral, so Russia could not cite the country seeking to join NATO to justify an invasion, as Russian President Vladimir Putin did with Ukraine. But expanding to Moldova would give Russia a presence next to NATO member Romania. Taranu said that from a strategic point of view, taking Trans-Dniester does not seem sensible. But there is a political logic, he said, considering Russia's failure to take control of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and the intense resistance put up by Ukrainian forces. Putin "has to tell the public some success story," Taranu said, noting that the Russian leader may want to claim some achievement on Victory Day, the May 9 observance that is Russia's major secular holiday. 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. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Monday that Ukraine risks provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. In an in-depth Russian TV interview, Lavrov blamed Ukraine for stalled talks between the two countries, and accused the United States and Britain of pressuring Kyiv not to reach agreement. Everyone is reciting incantations that in no case can we allow World War III, Lavrov said, and accused Ukrainian leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to become involved in the conflict. By providing weapons, NATO forces are pouring oil on the fire, he said, according to a Russian transcript on the Russian Foreign Ministrys website. Lavrov apparently made the remarks after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States wants to see Russia weakened to the point where it cant do things like invade Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that only discussions between Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin would bring resolution. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: US promises new aid to Ukraine in fight against Russia To Europes relief, Frances Macron wins but far-right gains Russian officer: Missile to carry several hypersonic weapons Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: NEW YORK The Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera are organizing a Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra to tour Europe and America from July 28 to Aug. 20. The orchestra is to gather in Warsaw on July 18 for rehearsals and will include musicians from Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv and Odesa plus Ukrainian members of European orchestras, the companies said Monday. Keri-Lynn Wilson, a Canadian-Ukrainian conductor who is married to Met general manager Peter Gelb, will lead musicians who include members of the Kyiv National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra and Kharkiv Opera plus the Tonkunstler Orchestra of Vienna, the Belgian National Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The tour will open at Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera, on July 28 and include a televised performance at the BBC Proms in London on July 31. That will be followed by stops at the Choregies dOrange Festival in France (Aug. 2); Berlin (Aug. 4); Edinburgh, Scotland (Aug. 6); Snape Maltings in England (Aug. 8); Amsterdam (Aug. 11); Hamburg, Germany (Aug. 13); New York (Aug. 18 and 19), and Washington (Aug. 20). KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines foreign minister on Monday urged the U.N. chief to press Russia for an evacuation of the besieged port of Mariupol, calling it something the world body is capable of achieving. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told The Associated Press in an interview he was concerned that by visiting Moscow on Tuesday before traveling to Kyiv, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could be vulnerable to falling into a Kremlin trap in the war. Kuleba said Guterres should focus primarily on one issue: evacuation of Mariupol. An estimated 100,000 people are trapped in the seaside city while a contingent of Ukrainian fighters hold out against Russian forces in a steel mill where hundreds of civilians also are taking shelter. MARIUPOL, Ukraine Officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new mass grave has been identified north of the city. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) north of Mariupol. Satellite photos released over the past several days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves. Mariupol has been decimated by fierce fighting over the past two months. The capture of the city would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. ZAGREB, Croatia Moscow is accusing Croatia of having an anti-Russian policy for failing to provide humanitarian passage for 24 Russian diplomats and embassy staff who were expelled from the country over the war in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Monday that the government of Croatia is systematically destroying bilateral relations, according to the Russian TASS news agency. The inhumane, cynical attitude towards our fellow countrymen wont go without an answer, she added. Croatia has followed several other European Union states in expelling Russian diplomats for the bloody Russian invasion of Ukraine. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday that Zakharovas claims are Russian propaganda and that the expelled Russians already left the country, probably via neighboring Serbia. He added that Russia attacked Ukraine, which is our friendly country, killed women and children and we responded to it like most other countries. UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are stressing the urgent need for effective access through humanitarian corridors to evacuate Ukrainian civilians and deliver humanitarian aid to communities impacted by the war. Guterres met Erdogan on Monday in Ankara and expressed support for Turkeys ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that they agreed to stay in contact to follow up on ongoing initiatives. The U.N. chief and the Turkish president reaffirmed that their common objective is to end to the war as soon as possible and to create conditions to end the suffering of civilians, Dujarric said. During the meeting, Erdogan also said Turkey would continue to work closely with the U.N. to end the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and to help in the evacuation of civilians, . Guterres is scheduled to travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and will then head to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday. The Ukrainian leader has criticized the secretary-general for visiting Moscow before going to Kyiv. LONDON The British government says it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion two months ago. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said 25% of the Russian combat units sent to Ukraine have been rendered not combat effective, and Russia had lost more than 2,000 armored vehicles and more than 60 helicopters and fighter planes. Russia has acknowledged 1,351 military casualties. Wallace said Russia had failed in most of its military objectives so far. He told British lawmakers that we anticipate this next phase of the invasion will be an attempt by Russia to occupy further the Donbas in order to connect it via Mariupol to Russian-controlled Crimea. He said international aid and weapons are crucial to help Ukraine withstand the anticipated onslaught. Wallace said Britain had sent more than 5,000 antitank missiles, as well as air-defense systems and anti-air missiles, and would soon send a small number of Stormer armored vehicles equipped with missile launchers. STOCKHOLM Two newspapers - one Swedish, the other one Finnish - are reporting that the governments of Sweden and Finland have agreed to submit NATO applications at the same time and that it will happen in the middle of next month. The Finnish newspaper Iltalehti said that the Swedish government has expressed a wish to Finland that they apply together in the week ending May 22, and Swedish government sources confirmed the information to Swedens Expressen tabloid. Russias invasion of Ukraine has led to growing support in Sweden and Finland, a Russian neighbor, for joining NATO. Though not members, both Nordic countries closely cooperate with NATO, allowing, among other things, the alliances troops to exercise on their soil. Helsinki and Stockholm have also substantially intensified their bilateral defense cooperation in the past years. WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department says it has approved the sale of $165 million in legacy Warsaw Pact ammunition and other non-standard ammunition to Ukraine to help in its defense against Russia. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved the potential sale and has provided the legally required notification to Congress. Lawmakers can block weapons sales but are unlikely to do so because of strong support for Ukraine following the Feb. 24 invasion. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe, the State Department said in announcing the potential sale Monday. The sale came at the request of Ukraines government and includes rounds for mortars, automatic grenade launchers and howitzers. Russia is expelling 40 German diplomats in response to Germany expelling the same number of Russian diplomats earlier this month. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it had summoned German ambassador Geza Andreas von Geyr for a strong protest at the clearly unfriendly decision to expel the Russian diplomatic staff. The ministry said von Geyr was told that 40 members of staff at German diplomatic missions in Russia would be officially declared unwelcome in Russia. Germany announced the expulsion of 40 Russian diplomats on Apr. 4 following mounting evidence of civilian killings and mass graves in Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. COPENHAGEN, Denmark Environmental campaigners have used kayaks and a dinghy to stop a Russian oil tanker from unloading its cargo south of Norways capital, saying Norwegian companies are financing Russias warfare. Greenpeace says its members chained themselves to the Hong Kong-registered Ust Luga, leased by Russian oil company Novatek, as it arrived at its destination, an Essos terminal near Toensberg. The tanker with 95,000 tonnes of fuel had left St. Petersburg. Esso spokeswoman Anne Fougner told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet that the oil had been bought before Russia invaded Ukraine. She added that Esso Norway does not have other contracts for the purchase of products from Russia. Several other activists were stopped by police before they could take part in the action, Norwegian news agency NTB reported. THE HAGUE, Netherlands The International Criminal Courts prosecution office is joining a joint investigation team set up by Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland to probe atrocities committed during the war in Ukraine. The ICCs Prosecutor Karim Khan signed an agreement Monday to participate in the multinational effort that aims to facilitate investigations and cooperation. Eurojust, the European Unions judicial cooperation agency, says the agreement sends a clear message that all efforts will be undertaken to effectively gather evidence on core international crimes committed in Ukraine and bring those responsible to justice. Khan said last month he was opening an investigation in Ukraine and has sent investigators there and visited crime scenes himself. KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian authorities say at least five people have been killed by Russian strikes on the central Vynnytsia region. The Vynnytsia regional prosecutors said another 18 people were wounded in Mondays Russian missile strikes on the towns of Zhmerynka and Koziatyn. Vinnytsia regional Governor Serhiy Borzov said earlier that the Russian missiles targeted critical infrastructure, but didnt elaborate. The Vynnytsia region is fully controlled by Ukraine and is far behind the front lines. KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine has said the United Nations should step in to oversee an evacuation route for civilians from the besieged steel mill in Mariupol which is Ukrainian troops last stronghold in the port city. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app that a Russian announcement of a humanitarian corridor out of the Azovstal plant to operate later Monday was not agreed to by Ukraine. Vereshchuk added that Ukraine does not consider the route safe for that reason and said Russia had breached agreements on similar evacuation routes before. Ukrainian officials have said that up to 1,000 civilians have sheltered at the sprawling steel plant. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to visit Russia and Ukraine this week. Vereshchuk called on Guterres to be the initiator and guarantor of a humanitarian route out of Azovstal and for U.N. and International Committee of the Red Cross personnel to accompany any evacuees. MOSCOW Russias Energy Ministry says a massive fire at an oil depot in western Russia will not cause fuel shortages. The ministry said in a statement that Mondays fire inflicted damage to a depot containing diesel fuel in Bryansk, and authorities are dealing with the consequences of the blaze. The ministry said fuel supplies to consumers havent been interrupted and noted that the region has enough diesel fuel for 15 days. The Emergencies Ministry said earlier that a huge blaze erupted overnight at the depot owned by Transneft-Druzhba, a subsidiary of the Russian state-controlled company Transneft, which operates the western-bound Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline carrying crude to Europe. It wasnt immediately clear what caused the blaze, and whether it could affect deliveries to Europe. MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. and its allies of trying to split Russian society. Speaking Monday at a meeting with top officials at the Prosecutor Generals office, Putin said Russia has come under unprecedented Western sanctions amid its military action in Ukraine. He charged that the U.S, and its allies have sought to split the Russian society and to destroy Russia from within, adding that their plans have failed. Putin urged Russian prosecutors to act more quickly to block unsanctioned demonstrations organized from abroad. He also noted that they should focus on exposing open provocations against the Russian military allegedly involving international media and social platforms. KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as encouraging and effective. Speaking in Mondays video address, he said the U.S. is offering powerful support to his country. Zelenskyy added that they agreed on further steps to strengthen the armed forces of Ukraine and meet all the priority needs of our army. He noted that ramping up sanctions against Moscow also was on the meetings agenda. Blinken and Austin said the United States had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition for Ukraines war effort, along with more than $300 million in foreign military financing. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine would expect the United States to lead other allies in offering a set of security guarantees in the future. The Ukrainian president also denounced Russia for launching strikes on Orthodox Easter Sunday, describing them deliberate destruction of life in Ukraine. MOSCOW The Russian military says it will open a humanitarian corridor for civilians to evacuate from the besieged steel plant in Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry said a humanitarian corridor will open at 2 p.m (1100 GMT) Monday for all civilians to leave the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. It said Russian troops will cease fire to allow civilians to safely exit the plant. The mammoth steel plant, which has a sprawling maze of underground channels. has remained the last bulwark of Ukrainian resistance in the strategic Sea of Azov port city. Ukrainian officials have said that up to 1,000 civilians have sheltered there. They have repeatedly urged Russia to offer them a safe exit. MOSCOW Russian authorities say a fire has engulfed an oil storage facility in western Russia. The Emergencies Ministry said a huge blaze at the depot in the city of Bryansk erupted early Monday. Its cause wasnt immediately clear. The oil depot is owned by Transneft-Druzhba, a subsidiary of the Russian state-controlled company Transneft that operates the western-bound Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline carrying crude oil to Europe. It wasnt clear if the depot was part of the pipeline infrastructure and whether the blaze could affect the deliveries. Russian news reported that another oil storage facility in Bryansk also caught fire early Monday, and that the cause wasnt immediately known. Bryansk is located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the border with Ukraine, where Moscow has waged a military campaign for two months. Last month, two Ukrainian helicopter gunships hit an oil reservoir in Russias Belgorod region that borders Ukraine, causing a fire. KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian officials say the Russian military has unleashed a series of strikes on the countrys railways. Lviv region Governor Maksym Kozytskyy said a Russian missile hit a railway facility in Krasne, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Lviv, early Monday, sparking a fire. Oleksandr Kamyshin, the head of the state-run Ukrainian Railways, said a total of five rail facilities in central and western Ukraine have been hit by the Russian strikes. He said the attacks have delayed at least passenger 16 trains. There was no immediate information about the damage from the strikes. NEAR THE POLISH-UKRAINIAN BORDER U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russia is failing in its war aims after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24. Following meetings Sunday in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Blinken told reporters in Poland on Monday that, with Russia having pulled back its troops from around Kyiv and the north of Ukraine to focus on the eastern Donbas region, When it comes to Russias war aims, Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding. In footage of the meeting later released by the Ukrainian presidency, Blinken praised the extraordinary courage and leadership and success that youve had in pushing back this horrific Russian aggression. We got used to seeing you on video around the world, but its great, its good to see you in person, Blinken said with a smile. Austin said that the world has been inspired by Ukraine in the war and that America would continue its support. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Ten-year-old Iliana (Lily) Peters was found dead Monday morning, according to Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm, and the missing persons case is now being pursued as a homicide investigation. During a press conference Monday afternoon, Kelm said Peters body was found at 9:15 a.m. near the Duncan Creek Trail in downtown Chippewa Falls. She was a fourth-grader at Parkview Elementary School. No suspect is currently in custody, and the Chippewa County Coroner confirmed the deceased body to be that of Iliana Peters. More information will be made available as it becomes available. At 9 p.m. Sunday, the Chippewa Falls Police Department was contacted by Lilys father who advised that Lily had not returned home from a visit to her aunts house in the 400 block of N. Grove St. Officers learned that Lily was last seen by family members in the evening. She was supposed to be heading home to the 50 block of E. Birch St. Officers and family checked the area and contacted family and friends, but she was not located. After dark, officers learned that a bicycle believed to belong to Lily was located in the woods a short distance from her aunts residence near the walking trail between the end of N. Grove Street and the Leinenkugels brewery parking lot. K9 teams from the Chippewa County Sheriffs Department and the Lake Hallie Police Department were called in to search the area Sunday night. Also, the Chippewa County Sheriffs Departments drone was used to search the wooded area. Law enforcement and fire/EMS search teams searched this area and conducted door to door canvassing overnight. The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation was contacted and, at that point, the incident did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert. As this is an active investigation, this is all of the information that can be provided at this time. Anyone with information contact the Chippewa County Dispatch Center at 715-726-7701 Option 1. Remy Tiu is photographed by her friend Candy Manuel, after they both drove from Elgin to see the blooming cherry trees south of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on April 26, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) The largest single group of cherry trees in Chicago is at the cusp of full bloom, with peak viewing expected to start within days. Thousands of people have come to see the 160 trees surrounding the Columbia Basin lagoon, just south of the Museum of Science and Industry, according to Chicago Park District manager of art initiatives Michael Dimitroff. Advertisement Dimitroff said that 5,000 people viewed the pink and white blooms last weekend alone, with some laying out blankets in the spirit of hanami, the Japanese tradition of savoring cherry blossom season with leisurely viewings, picnics and festivals. It was the picture of harmony, Dimitroff said. It was like Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte the Seurat painting but the Japanese hanami version. Advertisement Remy Tiu is photographed by her friend Candy Manuel, who drove from Elgin to see the cherry blossoms south of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on April 26, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Americas romance with cherry blossoms was imported from Japan, where the blooms are celebrated as symbols of spring and the fleeting nature of beauty. Theres something beautiful about every stage of the process: watching the buds, watching them fully open, when the little heart-shaped petals fall to the ground, the fragrance in the air, said Park District operations support manager Karen Szyjka. You can go out there even when its raining; (you can go) in the morning or in the evening. Theres something to be appreciated in every moment, she said. The Park District is posting updates on the blossoms progress and will hold a free Hanami Sakura Celebration Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at Jackson Park, in partnership with the Japanese Arts Foundation, Japanese Culture Center, Consulate General of Japan in Chicago and the Jackson Park Advisory Council. The event will feature traditional drumming and dancing, origami and haiku Blooming cherry blossoms south of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Americas signature cherry blossom display was born in 1912, when Japan gave 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C., to be planted along the Potomac River. Those trees would be joined by others, and today Washingtons cherry blossom festival is a tourist attraction and a widely recognized rite of spring. Chicago, with its notoriously punishing climate, was a less obvious candidate for a mass planting. But beginning in 2013, the nonprofit Project 120 and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago took on the challenge. They planted trees in Jackson Park to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the 1893 Worlds Fair and the 50th anniversary of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago, according to the consulate general of Japan in Chicago and the Park District. People take photographs under the cherry blossoms south of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on April 26, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) There were years when the temperamental young trees barely bloomed or the wind carried off the blossoms within days, but 2021 brought a full-fledged viewing season. Advertisement If the weather holds, this years blossoms could last another week or two, but then again, a storm could bring them down in two days, Dimitroff said. Its all weather dependent, he said, and thats in keeping with hanami. The idea is, its a fleeting moment in your life, so go out and celebrate. nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com Four female Nebraska state senators launched a fund Tuesday to support women who have accused GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles W. Herbster of touching them inappropriately. Meanwhile, Herbsters campaign launched a biting ad rebutting the allegations. April 14, the Nebraska Examiner reported allegations from eight women who said Herbster had groped them. Sen. Julie Slama was the only named accuser, and The World-Herald did not independently corroborate the other seven accounts. Three people later used their names to corroborate specific details with the Examiner. The news sent a shock wave through the competitive Republican race, in which Herbster is considered one of the front-runners. Every female state senator condemned Herbster, as did several other powerful political figures. Herbster has vehemently denied all the allegations, framing them as a political hit job coordinated by fellow front-runner and University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen and his most prominent backer, Gov. Pete Ricketts. Herbster filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that Slama made false and defamatory statements when she confirmed the allegations to the Examiner and repeated them on Omaha radio station KFAB. Monday, Slama filed a response denying Herbsters accusations, along with a counterclaim alleging battery. At a Tuesday press conference in La Vista, State Sens. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, Joni Albrecht of Thurston, Suzanne Geist of Lincoln and Rita Sanders of Bellevue reinforced their support for Slama and announced the creation of the Herbster Victim Witness Defense Fund. The women, all Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Legislature, said they aim to prevent the threat of litigation from silencing women and witnesses by providing them financial resources and connections to legal counsel. Were standing here today, united, with a message for those who have been subject to sexual misconduct at the hands of Charles W. Herbster: We stand with you. We support you. And, if you choose to come forward or are otherwise targeted, we will have your backs, Albrecht said. The four senators are listed online as the funds board of directors. They said they were the only four senators at the announcement because of the time it would take to organize the 13 women in the Legislature, and because, as the only five Republican women in the body (including Slama), theyre a team that often works together. Albrecht and Geist said they have received letters from Herbsters lawyer asking them to preserve records. The letter to Geist from attorney David Alan Warrington demanded the senator preserve any and all documents, communications, and/or other information that may be pertinent to the defamatory statements described in the letter and contained in the Nebraska Examiner article. The two senators both said they wouldnt be intimidated into silence. He knows who these people are, Linehan said. We dont know who they are. So were trying to send a message the only way we know how, that if youre scared, if youre getting bullied, if youre getting letters from lawyers, come to us. We will help you. The Herbster campaign did not answer a question regarding who else received such letters and directed The World-Herald to Herbsters attorneys. The legal actions being taken by Charles W. Herbster to clear his name and reputation are in the hands of his attorneys, the campaigns statement reads. An attorney listed on Herbsters lawsuit did not immediately respond to questions about the letters. Linehan said fund organizers havent started raising money or identified legal counsel, but she sounded confident they could do both. The fund would keep peoples accounts confidential until they feel thats not needed, she said. Herbster campaign manager Ellen Keast framed the legislators announcement as just another attempt by the Jim Pillen campaign and Ricketts establishment machine to sling mud at Herbster ahead of the May 10 primary. Keast pointed out that the four lawmakers have endorsed Pillen and received financial donations from Ricketts in the past. The World-Herald verified that information. It is absolutely shameful that they would use such serious matters to push a political smear campaign, Keast said. The four senators said their support for Pillen was unrelated to their announcement. This isnt about Jim Pillen, Sanders said. This is about Julie Slama and other victims that might be out there. Also Tuesday, Herbsters campaign launched an ad aimed at Slama, Pillen and Ricketts. Clarence Thomas, then Brett Kavanaugh, the ad starts. Lies stacked up to ruin them. Now, Pillen and Ricketts are doing it to Charles W. Herbster. The ad lists connections between Ricketts, Slama (without naming her) and Slamas relatives. Slama was Ricketts campaign press secretary before Ricketts appointed her to the Legislature, and he appointed her now-husband and sister to political posts. The ad also said Slama continued to contact Herbster after the alleged incident, something Slama has acknowledged. She also has noted what she called the power differential between Republican mega-donor Herbster and herself as a newly appointed legislator. Slamas attorney, Dave Lopez, said the Herbster ad tried to bully sexual assault victims into silence. Herbsters ad slanders Senator Slamas family members and promotes a far-ranging conspiracy theory that other people are behind well-corroborated reports of sexual assault and harassment of eight women and at least three on-the-record witness accounts, Lopez said in a statement. Charles Herbster is solely responsible for the harm he inflicted against Senator Slama, and he will answer for it in court. Lopez said Slama will take the appropriate steps to hold him accountable for this latest round of slander against her and called on news media outlets to conduct their own due diligence and force Herbster to show a factual basis for the conspiratorial claims in this ad for this ad to continue to run. Tuesday afternoon, Herbsters campaign said it had not canceled anything related to ads. Linehan called the ad disgusting. People need to know they can come forward, and they will be protected, she said. And thats why were here today. At a GOP gubernatorial debate Monday, Herbster said he wouldnt have any trouble working with women in the Legislature after they issued the letter in which they called him unfit to serve. Geist was less certain. I think whoever wins the election needs to build a relationship of trust with the Legislature, she said. I would say, speaking for myself, that has been severely tested through this, and it would be very difficult. 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. There is some debate about the actual line, which has been repeated two different ways, but if my research is correct, William Congreves 1697 play The Mourning Bride is the original (and probably correct) utterance: Music has charms to soothe a savage breast. Modernity sometimes sees the word beast instead of breast, but to the extent that both refer to human emotion, either word works. Ive been trying to avoid as much political news as possible the past few months. In addition to the usual high-stakes drama that we see in electoral politics, it seems to me that there is a lot of citizen anger out there. I get the bulk emails, I see the flags, I notice the social media postings accusing elected officials of all sorts of evil and I suspect the truth is probably somewhere short of where the most passionate among us suggest. Im not a musician. Eight years of piano lessons in my youth were largely wasted on me. I can read music, but Ive never been a performer. But I am a music appreciator and have supported involvement by my three now-grown children in band and choir through high school and college. The piano, trumpet, drum, guitar and voice lessons that we paid for over the years was money well spent; two of our kids managed to score generous music scholarships to college in addition to their academic scholarships. As life has shifted to the new normal, weve found ourselves attending far more music events. Since the first of March, weve been to bluegrass, Elton John, college jazz vocal and instrumental concerts and Beethoven with the Lincoln Symphony. As Ive looked around the rooms, auditoriums and arenas at these events, Ive been able to pick out people I know from all points in the political divide. And for an hour or two, we become one community not worrying about the politics swirling about outside, but merely experiencing the sounds together. And it doesnt seem to matter what style of music. The most recent event we attended was the Lincoln Symphonys performance of Beethovens Ninth Symphony. Our son was part of Doane Universitys choir that blended with Nebraska Wesleyans choir and Abendmusik to be a part of the symphonic event. It was a tremendous performance both from the symphony and from the choirs. Something struck me at the end of the fourth and final movement. Most who know concert etiquette know that the audience doesnt typically start clapping until the conductor drops his arms, signifying the end of the piece. More than one person has been embarrassed at the end of a movement when they start clapping while the orchestra is turning pages. This piece was familiar to many in the audience, and though the audience had been patiently holding applause, when the last note rung out before the conductor had lowered his arms the audience rose, almost in unison and began clapping and shouting Bravo! enthusiastically. I didnt put a timer on it, but I think the applause lasted nearly 10 minutes. As the conductor bowed, the performers all stood and the choral conductors came on stage. And then it continued after the conductor left the stage, and then returned for another bow and hugs with some of his performers. As an audience, we were touched. A social media post from the Crete High School band department made an exciting announcement a few days ago. I was on the school board when we built the current high school and our band room was designed with the ambitious goal of having something like 120 students in the band at one time. Within a few years, we exceeded that number and our directors had to get creative in arranging chairs, in breaking out for sectional rehearsals, etc. There are 165 high school students signed up for band next year and the band program will be offering two band opportunities a by rehearsal symphonic wind ensemble and the traditional band with the idea that if they divide them up, they will be able to continue to offer band opportunities to everyone without running out of space. More students in band mean more parents and grandparents at band concerts and more opportunities for us to come together at least in our own community. We all need more live music. Music that can take us away from the world for a few hours and music that can bring widely disparate people together for a time. Laura Ebke is a wife, mother of three and grandma of one. A lifelong Nebraskan who has lived in Crete for more than 25 years, she has a doctorate in political science from the University of Nebraska, serves as senior fellow at the Platte Institute and previously served four years in the Nebraska Legislature and 12 years on the Crete school board. NORMAL Carle BroMenn Medical Center recognized National Donate Life Month on Tuesday with an event honoring six patients who donated organs last year. The event focused on Theo Briggs, who died in July. His surviving brother, Corey Briggs, works at Carle BroMenn, according to Carle Health. The organs donated by the six donors last year saved 18 lives. Carle BroMenn staff were joined by representatives from Gift of Hope, including CEO Harry Wilkins and Donation Liaison Elizabeth Ewing. Gift of Hope is the organ procurement organization that covers most of Illinois and part of Indiana. It is one of 57 such organizations that together are the national donation system. There are more than 100,000 people waiting for organ transplant, according to Donate Life America, which organizes National Donate Life Month. Seventeen of those people die each day waiting for a transplant. Last year there were 41,000 transplants from 20,300 donors. To join the organ and tissue registry through the Illinois Secretary of State's office, visit https://apps.ilsos.gov/organdonorregister. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BLOOMINGTON A Normal man faces six felony charges in relation to a January 2021 shooting in Bloomington. Javon T. Murff, 19, is accused of firing a gun at an occupied residence and vehicle around 6:50 p.m. Jan. 30, 2021, in the 1500 block of Forrest Street in Bloomington. Court documents said Murff stole a 9 mm handgun from a man through the use or threat of force. No injuries were reported in the shooting. Murff is charged with the following: Two counts aggravated discharge of a firearm (Class 1 felony) Robbery (Class 2 felony) Possession of a stolen firearm (Class 2 felony) Two counts aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (Class 4 felony) Two counts reckless discharge of a firearm (Class 4 felony) A warrant for Murffs arrest was issued last week and returned Saturday with a bond preliminarily set at $150,000 at 10%. A judge ordered Murffs bond to remain as set Monday, meaning Murff needs $15,035 to be released from custody. An arraignment is scheduled for May 13. 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 Development plans for new housing and several new businesses were set to move forward after approval from the Bloomington City Council on Monday. Council members approved a development agreement with owners of the CII East building at 102 East St., which would be turned into community housing. Council members also approved several measures related to a new QuikTrip fueling station, a new extended-stay hotel and a new breakfast and lunch restaurant. CII East In a memo to council members, city staff said a tentative agreement had been reached with the developer, 102 South East LLC, to invest a minimum of $4 million to renovate the building, which has remained vacant for years and fallen into disrepair. In addition to the renovations, the project would add eight apartment units, four short-term rental apartments and 5,600 square feet of private office space. Managers of the developer are listed as Robert M. Osenga and Andrew S. Kaufmann in state financial records. Under the agreement, the city would continue to collect the same amount of property taxes it had in 2021 but would waive additional property taxes on the increased property value beyond that amount. It also would waive its 6% short-term rental tax and provide 20 parking spaces in the Lincoln Garage, which is across East Street from the building. The deal is contingent on the developer finalizing an agreement for property tax abatement with the Bloomington District 87 school district. Patrick Hoban, president and CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council, spoke in support of the agreement, saying the project represented an opportunity to provide new homes and beautify the corridor leading into downtown from the south. We need something to attract more people because we have more expansion on the way, he said. QuikTrip development Council members voted to annex 80 acres west of Interstate 55 and south of West Market Street as part of the agreement for the new station, which would be built near the unincorporated Bloomington Heights neighborhood. A QuikTrip spokesperson said the facility would be aimed at truckers on short trips and would not offer overnight parking, showers or lounges. Although there were no public comments related to the hotel plans or CII East development, several residents voiced concerns about the fuel station development and its potential to cause light and sound pollution, along with other issues. The council voted on several individual items related to the QuikTrip development, including annexing the property and rezoning it to align with its intended uses. Members also approved a site plan for the development, which calls for a vehicle fueling station, convenience store and associated parking areas on 7.1 acres. Each item was passed unanimously by the council with the exception of Ward 4 Ald. Julie Emig voting against the annexation agreement, citing concerns about economic, environmental and quality-of-life impacts. I see a lot of positives for this development and as a community it does provide solid infrastructure and potentially will help residential development on the west side of town and provides revenue through taxation, Emig said. However there are a variety concerns that have surfaced in the end I will not be supporting this and voting no to represent some of the legitimate concerns that have been raised. As part of the annexation agreement, QuikTrip would install what city officials described in a memo as significant infrastructure, including the extension of Wylie Drive and J.C. Parkway, improvements to Bloomington Heights Road, new sidewalks, multi-use paths and improvements to allow pedestrians to cross Market Street safely. Prior to voting on all four motions, council members heard residents express their wariness about the proposed development. We could do better for the city of Bloomington by providing housing versus fueling stations, said resident Shannon Ramirez. I just ask that when it is time for you to vote, consider it in your backyard. Ramirez said the possible increase in sound and light pollution that would come with the influx of vehicles will create a disturbance for residents in the surrounding neighborhood of Bloomington Heights. Resident Denise Bologna said the other issue is the lack of promises from QuikTrip about prohibiting overnight parking by truck drivers and pointed toward issues at other travel centers around Bloomington like the TA or Pilot travel centers, which have both seen trucks parked with their engines running throughout the night. When asked about the parking situation, a Pilot employee said police leave the truckers alone as long as theyre not blocking traffic, Bologna said. If the police arent enforcing no parking on Caroline Street, how can our neighborhood be protected from semi trucks parked with engines on along J.C. Parkway and Keen (Crossing). stayAPT Suites In other business, the council approved plans for a hotel at 1032 Wylie Drive. The project is being developed by stayAPT Suites, a North Carolina brand of extended-stay hotels with locations scattered throughout the East Coast and plans to expand in the Midwest. The vote, taken without discussion during the councils consent agenda, included approval of a site plan for the development of the 2.3-acre plot and a special use permit for the 76-room hotel. Notices were previously mailed to 20 property owners within 500 feet of the hotel development. The citys planning commission held a public hearing April 6 and voted to recommend approval of the plans to the city council. New restaurant The council also approved a development agreement with the owners of a new restaurant, Egg Republic, planned for 511 Chancellor Drive. The business owner, Toastman Group II, sought municipal sales tax and food and beverage tax reimbursements as part of its plans to redevelop a vacant former restaurant. The 4,500-square-foot building had been home to Caffe Italia, which closed in 2018 and has been vacant since. Under the agreement, half of the sales tax and food and beverage taxes generated by the property would be reimbursed to the Toastman Group II over a five-year period. City staff said the development would not take place without the incentives, which they said were needed to make the project financially feasible. City staff said the owners operate another restaurant, Jacks Cafe in LeRoy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 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. Mateusz Janik Follow Mateusz Janik 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 100 years ago April 26, 1922: This seems minor but it was key to making the lot ready for construction of the McBarnes Memorial Building on Grove Street. The city agreed to vacate 2 feet of property on the east and west sides of East Street. It was the final action needed to prepare the property. 75 years ago April 26, 1947: A Woodford County jury acquitted the Hollingsworth brothers of the stabbing death of Edward Bennett, 15, of El Paso. A third man admitted to the crime. But Bennets father was upset. He called the verdict mechanics of the law (working) so well to obstruct justice. 50 years ago April 26, 1972: A special unit of the state police has joined the statewide hunt for Corene Marie Burchies killer. The ISU coeds body was found in Macon County a day after she was reported missing. Meanwhile another coed reported an attempted attack near campus Monday night. 25 years ago April 26, 1997: Police think they have solved the case of the murders of two Chicago prostitutes. The suspect has confessed to killing eight women, including Cassie Corum, 21. Her body was found in Livingston County last July. Corum was also believed to be a prostitute. Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com. Asian stocks rallied, taking their cue from Wall Street, and European shares are tipped to open over 1% higher. Yet the headwinds that grabbed market attention on Monday have not gone away and will continue to test the bounceback. Let's start with Russia. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday warned the world not to underestimate the considerable risks of nuclear conflict. read more Then, central banks. The European Central Bank's Martins Kazaks joined a chorus of policymakers calling for a swift exit from stimulus, suggesting the ECB should raise rates soon and has room for up to three hikes this year. read more Finally, China. Three-quarters of Beijing's 22 million people lined up for COVID-19 tests on Tuesday, as authorities in the Chinese capital raced to stamp out an outbreak. Fears of the kind of city-wide lockdown that has shrouded Shanghai for a month are raising concerns for the world's second-biggest economy. Any slowdown will no doubt ripple out more widely. Such worries have pummelled the yuan, pushing it 3.5% lower this month. It got minimal marginal respite from the central bank's pledge on Monday to cut the amount of foreign exchange banks must hold as reserves. The session ahead will be dominated by earnings. In the European banking landscape, HSBC stood out with a 27% Q1 profit drop which contrasted with the resilience displayed by UBS and Santander read more . Twitter's stock market value has lagged rivals Key developments that should provide more direction to markets on Tuesday: - Japan jobless rate hits lowest in almost 2 years - UK public borrowing above govt forecasts in 2021/22 year - Hungary's Central Bank expected to hike rates - US consumer confidence April/new home sales - US Two-year note auction - European earnings: Thule, SKF - US earnings: UPS, 3M, General Electric, JetBluel, Northern Trust, Alphabet, Capital One, Chipotle, General Motors, Microsoft, Mondelez, Visa, Texas Instruments, Source: REUTERS 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 literacy Promotion Manager of the Ghana Book Development Council (GBDC), Daniel Ofosu-Asamoah, has revealed that Accra has been named to host the 2023 UNESCO World Book Capital. The designation is meant to promote the local book industry, libraries, books, reading, awareness of literacy, and a lively book culture as well as to promote tourism, and draw national and international attention to the literary heritage of the city and nation. According to him, Ghana hosting the world book capital in 2023 will help people appreciate the benefits of reading, especially students, as this would help change their mindsets. He made this statement during the commemoration of the World Book and Copyright Day, which took place on Monday, April 25, 2022, at Omanye Aba Hall, Accra Metropolitan Assembly Head Office, Accra. The World Book and Copyright Day is an important day celebrated by member states of the United Nations (UN) organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), every year, to promote reading, publishing and copyright. The event was organised under the theme "reading to develop minds" 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 The board of Twitter has agreed to a $44bn (34.5bn) takeover offer from the billionaire Elon Musk. Mr Musk, who made the shock bid less than two weeks ago, said Twitter had "tremendous potential" that he would unlock. He also called for a series of changes from relaxing its content restrictions to eradicating fake accounts. The firm initially rebuffed Mr Musk's bid, but it will now ask shareholders to vote to approve the deal. Mr Musk is the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of $273.6bn mostly due to his shareholding in electric vehicle maker Tesla which he runs. He also leads the aerospace firm SpaceX. "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Mr Musk said in a statement announcing the deal. "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans," he added. "Twitter has tremendous potential - I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it." The move comes as Twitter faces growing pressure from politicians and regulators over the content that appears on its platform. It has drawn critics from left and right over its efforts to mediate misinformation on the platform. In one of its most high-profile moves, last year it banned former US President Donald Trump, perhaps its most powerful user, citing the risk of "incitement of violence". At the time Mr Musk observed: "A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech." News of the takeover has been cheered by the right in the US, although Mr Trump on Monday told Fox News he had no plans to re-join the platform. The White House declined to comment on the takeover but spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters: "No matter who owns or runs Twitter, the president has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms." On Twitter, MP Julian Knight, chairman of the UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, called the deal an "extraordinary development in the world of social media". "It will be interesting to see how a privately owned Twitter (run by a man who is an absolutist over free speech) will react to global moves to regulate." Controversial history Mr Musk, who has more than 80 million followers on Twitter, has a controversial history on the platform himself. In 2018 US financial regulators accused him of misleading Tesla investors with his tweets, claims that were resolved in a $40 million settlement and that Mr Musk continues to deny. And in 2019 he was hit with a defamation suit - which he successfully defeated - after calling a diver involved in rescuing schoolboys in Thailand "pedo guy" on the platform. On Monday, Mr Musk, who has been known to clash with journalists and block critics, suggested that he saw Twitter as a forum for debate. "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means," he wrote just hours before the deal was announced. Can Musk turn Twitter around? As part of the takeover, which is expected to close later this year, Twitter's shares will be delisted and it will be taken private. Mr Musk has suggested this will give him freedom to make the changes he wants to the business. Among other ideas, he has suggested allowing longer posts and introducing the ability to edit them after they have been published. Twitter shares on Monday closed more than 5% higher after the deal was announced. But the price remained lower than Mr Musk's $54.20 per share offer, a sign that Wall Street believes he is overpaying for the firm. Mr Musk has said he doesn't "care about the economics" of the purchase. However, he will take on a company with a chequered record of financial performance. Despite its influence, Twitter has rarely turned a profit and user growth, particularly in the US, has slowed. The company, founded in 2004, ended 2021 with $5bn in revenue and 217 million daily users globally - a fraction of the figures claimed by other platforms such as Facebook. Bret Taylor, chair of Twitter's board, said it had fully assessed Mr Musk's offer and it was "the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders". It is not clear who will lead the company moving forward. Twitter is currently led by Parag Agrawal, who took over from co-founder and former boss Jack Dorsey last November. But in his offer document, Mr Musk told Twitter's board: "I don't have confidence in management." Mr Agrawal told employees on Monday that the future of Twitter is uncertain. "Once the deal closes, we don't know which direction the platform will go," he said, according to the Reuters news agency. Shareholder vote Mr Musk's targeting of Twitter has moved at remarkable speed. It emerged at the beginning of April that he had become the largest shareholder in the firm with a 9.2% stake. He was then invited to join Twitter's board but turned down the offer before launching a surprise bid for the company on 14 April, saying he wanted to "unlock" its potential as a bastion of freedom of speech. Twitter tried to fend off his bid, threatening to dilute the shareholdings of anyone who bought more than a 15% stake in the firm. However, its stance shifted after Mr Musk revealed more financial details about his proposed bid. He has secured $25.5bn of financing for the deal and will take a $21bn stake in the business. The board unanimously approved the bid, which will now be presented to shareholders for a vote. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The United Kingdom (UK) is supporting Ghana in its economic recovery efforts, following the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, has said. She said given the existing relations between the two countries, the UK would continue to support Ghana to bounce back from the pandemic, which had had devastating consequences on economies across the world. There are particular sectors where Ghanas government has urgent priority to ensure economic growth and job creation. So the sectors we are focusing on include pharmaceutical, garments and textiles, automotive and agro-processing, Ms Thompson told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday on the sidelines of a press conference. She did not provide numbers to back her assertion, as she did not have them ready. Economic conditions Moreover, she said, the UK government would continue to work with the government of Ghana and its private sector on the economic conditions that would encourage international investment in the sectors mentioned and also the growth of the domestic industry that would help create the jobs that Ghana needed. Ms Thompson said during the COVID-19 period, the government of Ghana dealt with what was critically a difficult pandemic, resulting in people commending it for the steps it took to contain the spread of the virus. Frequently, she said, her visitors told her that they were impressed by the discipline among Ghanaians as they wore their face masks. Other areas On education, she indicated that the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had a long-standing and deeply held personal commitment to support Ghanas educational sector. That, Ms Thompson said, was being done at all levels, such as policy development and implementation, support for the Ministry of Education to deliver the reforms it had identified and the training, with the support of the government of Ghana and the University of Cape Coast, of 70,000 teachers, so that children in school would get quality education. During the pandemic, she said, the UK supported Ghana through remote learning, provision of content through radio and the running of programmes that saw teachers in urban centres providing lessons for children remotely to keep them learning. Security In the area of security, the British High Commissioner said there was a long-standing partnership between the UK and Ghana, and that this year we are looking to support Ghanas security and defence forces to support regional security efforts. This will build on the Presidents strong position against coups in the subregion. Regarding equipment, Ms Thompson explained that the two countries recently signed a contract for the supply of Huskie armoured vehicles to Ghana, which would be delivered soon, as well as the provision of counter identification (ID) equipment. She said the UK had supported over 20,000 households in Ghana with cash transfers to enable them to buy food and send their children to school. Russia-Ukraine On the current Russia/Ukraine issue, she said the war was a war of choice, saying Vladimir Putin, without provocation, decided to attack a sovereign country. There is increasing evidence of crimes being committed by Russian troops in Ukraine. We have seen them attacking apartment buildings, targetting hospitals (a maternity hospital); we have seen them repeatedly refusing to allow civilians to leave centres of hostilities, despite humanitarian corridors being opened. So the UK is very clear that Russia is acting in contravention of the UN Charter, international humanitarian laws and we are very glad that the international community is already collecting the evidence, so that when the time comes, the International Criminal Court will be able to decide what crimes have been committed and to make sure those who are responsible have to account, she said. Effects on Ghana Undoubtedly, she said, the war was having an effect on Ghana, just like the UK and other countries, as, for instance, there had been increases in the prices of fuel and food. She said the UK would continue to support Ukraine for the resilience its people were showing and also support their needs. The UK, she said would love to see a diplomatic solution to the war and condemned the action Russia had taken against a sovereign state. For her part, the Deputy Head of Political at the British High Commission, Lara Hampshire, said as the Lead on the UN Security Council and multilateral matters, she had the opportunity of going to New York to meet not only the UK Mission but also its Ghanaian counterpart based at the mission in New York. 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 President Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Lao Vice President Pany Yathotou Vietnam and Laos need to maintain the regular exchange of delegations and high-ranking officials and strive to turn economic, trade and investment cooperation into a pillar of bilateral relations, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on April 26. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with Vice President of Laos Pany Yathotou (Photo: VNA) President Phuc made the statement while hosting a reception in Hanoi for Vice President of Laos Pany Yathotou, who is paying an official visit to Vietnam. The Vietnamese President spoke highly of the contributions made by the Lao Vice President to the development of Laos-Vietnam special relations and congratulated Laos on the countrys important achievements in recent years. He expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP), its people will effectively carry out the resolution issued at the 11th National Congress of the LPRP as well as the socio-economic development plan for 20212025, bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control, and revive the economy. Welcoming the results of talks held earlier the same day between the Lao Vice President and her Vietnamese counterpart Vo Thi Anh Xuan, President Phuc underlined that, to promote the efficiency of the bilateral cooperation, the two sides should collaborate in order to carry out agreements reached by high-ranking officials, particularly the outcomes of a State visit by the Vietnamese President to Laos in August 2021. The two countries were urged to seek new sources and orientations for cooperation projects, especially strategic infrastructure that connects the two economies and capitalise on the seaport system and 17 free trade agreements Vietnam has signed, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), so as to expand markets for exports of both Vietnam and Laos. He stressed the need to enhance cooperation in defence, security, education-training, healthcare, people-to-people exchanges, partnerships between localities, and continue supporting each other at international forums, especially in maintaining solidarity and the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For her part, Vice President Yathotou voiced her delight at paying an official visit to Vietnam in her new position and conveyed regards from General Secretary of the LPRP Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith to President Phuc and high-ranking officials of Vietnam. She highly valued the Vietnamese peoples recent achievements in all fields, especially in the implementation of the resolution issued at the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. She also thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and people for their support to Laos during the past struggle for national independence as well as the current cause of national construction, protection and development, pledging that she will spare no efforts in strengthening the Laos-Vietnam great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation. The two sides underscored the significance of the Vietnam - Laos, Laos - Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022 and agreed to hold activities marking the 60th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties, and 45 years of the signing of the Vietnam - Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, thereby contributing to bolstering sentiments among people of the two countries, particularly younger generations. A Gary man was convicted Monday of killing a womans boyfriend who came to get her from his basement apartment. Antonio Cadillac West, 54, of the 2500 block of Connecticut Street, was charged in the Sept. 8 murder of Shawn Rhyan Pewitt, 39, of Rockvale, Tennessee. Advertisement His murder conviction carries a penalty from 45-65 years. West was also convicted of a firearms enhancement, which could add up to 20 more years. Prosecutors said West fatally shot him after Pewitt went to pull the woman, his childs mother, from the apartment after West had supplied her drugs for several hours and forced her to have sex as payment. Advertisement Defense lawyers Kerry Connor and Sonya Scott-Dix said the states case were various pieces of witness testimony that did not line up. It was mixed with sloppy police work including large holes in what forensics were collected from the scene, Connor said. The woman also went freely with West and at no point including to Lowell Police indicated she was in danger or used her cellphone to call for help, the lawyer said. The woman, Pewitt and another man were at a drug house nearby in Gary on Sept. 7, when West arrived, charges state. They all briefly went outside Wests apartment. Pewitt wanted her to leave, but West told her to go inside. She did because she was afraid of him, the woman said. West forced her to have sex for six hits of crack cocaine, according to court documents. Later on, she went with him for an appointment at a Social Security office and waited in the car. She called Pewitt, who told her to get out of the car and walk for help, documents state. The woman was too scared and waited in the car, going back with West to his apartment, documents said. Pewitt returned to the apartment to get her, documents said. Lets go, he said, according to the probable cause affidavit. Hell, no, West responded. Advertisement You want to come outside, Ill crack your head, Pewitt said. West fired a shot that hit him once in the chest, according to court documents. The woman tried to help him, screaming for someone to call 911. West fled in a white SUV. Pewitt was transported to Methodist Northlake where he was pronounced dead. Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Jacob Brandewie and Arturo Balcazar led the states case. Senior Judge Michael Bergerson filled in for Judge Natalie Bokota during the trial. The Interior Minister has urged officers of the Greater Accra City Response Team (CRT) to work hard and be disciplined in the discharge of their duties. Mr. Ambrose Dery, who represented President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, made the call at the passing out ceremony of the first batch of the Greater Accra City Response Team Course 1--2022. In all, 867 CRT trainees passed out after four weeks' rigorous training at the Army Peace Operation Training School (APOTS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at Burma Camp on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. The Greater Accra City Response Team module is under the 'Operation Clean Your Frontage' campaign which was launched by President Akufo-Addo in October, last year. The four-week course trained the CRT officers in traffic management, voice procedure reporting, first aid, VIP protection, crowd control, and sensitising Ghanaians on good sanitation practices among others. Four recruits Ernestina Afriyie, Florence Jean, Caleb Mensah and Ransford Lartey were adjudged the Overall Best Student and Best Student in Bravo Company, Best Student in Challenge Company, and Best Student in Delta Company respectively. Mr. Dery charged the CRT trainees to endeavour to work within the confines of the law. "....work always within the confines of the law, and in the discharge of your mandate, you must see the citizenry as partners and endeavour to always uphold your relationship with them," he entreated the recruits. He said it was crucial that Ghanaians put their hands to the wheel and support the Let's Make Accra Work agenda to become successful. He commended the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council under the able leadership of Honourable Henry Quartey for this initiative, adding that it will make it obligatory for the citizenry and corporate organisations to "clean and green their frontages." He said the Let's Make Accra Work campaign was a "transformational agenda" in response to President Akufo-Addo's vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa. "...and under the agenda, CRT is expected to enforce traffic regulations, enforce the ban on tricycles on highways, enforce the cleaning and greening of frontages and sanitation bye-laws. They will also sensitise Ghanaians on the need to change their attitudes towards the environment," he enumerated. Mr. Dery assured Ghanaians that the Akufo-Addo administration was committed to maintaining the peace and stability in the country. This, he said, will continue to ensure that Ghanaians go about their businesses in peace and stability, adding that it will also help attract investors into the country. In a welcome address, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Quartey, pointed out that the passing out of recruits of the Accra CRT marked another milestone in making Accra a clean agenda. As part of their mandate, he said l, members of the CRT will assist Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in areas including enforcing sanitation bye-laws, traffic regulations among others. According to him, the CRT was expected to generate about 3500 jobs for the teeming youth. "The passing out ceremony gives me great joy because it is an indication that the Let's Make Accra Clean campaign has come to stay," he delightfully expressed. He was, therefore, optimistic that the trainees of the Accra CRT will deliver on their mandate. However, he sounded a strong note of caution that any member of the CRT who decides to take the laws into his/her own hands will be dealt with accordingly. "You will not be spared if any of you take the law into his/her own hands. Always be guided by your code of conduct and the bye-laws that established your outfit." ...don't also arrogate to yourself laws and powers that have not been vested in you," he warned. Honourable Quartey disclosed that the Secretariat for Operation Clean Your Frontage has been commissioned and was fully operational at his ministry. He used the opportunity to particularly expressed his ministry's appreciation to the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, for his group's continuous support and all the stakeholders in the Let's Make Accra Work agenda. While congratulating the CRT officers, he assured them of his ministry's support to enable them to execute their duties effectively. In a brief remark, the General Officer Commanding the Southern Command, GAF, Brigadier General Amoasi, commended the trainees for undergoing four weeks of rigorous training. He averred that the objectives of the programme have been "largely" achieved. He charged the officers to make sure they are always disciplined in the line of duty. According to Brigadier General Amoasi, cooperation between the military and civilians was important in the development of Ghana. On display at the parade were 14 branded Greater Accra CRT pick-up vehicles that would be used by the CRT. 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 Mr Mahama Asei Seini, the Deputy Minister of Health, says all efforts must be directed to achieving the ambitious goal of ending AIDS, TB, and eliminating malaria in Ghana and Africa by 2030. It is the benchmark by which we will be measured individually and collectively. Eliminating malaria is essential to achieving The Africa and for that matter The Ghana We Aspire To: a prosperous nation based on sustainable and inclusive growth and development, the Deputy Minister said. Mr Asei Seini who was addressing the commemoration of the 2022 World Malaria Day in Hohoe, said the country had made progress against malaria, adding that incidence attributable to malaria had declined to 19.6 percent in 2022 from 22.6 percent in 2017. He said despite the progress, malaria continued to pose the greatest health risk in Ghana and Africa as everyone was at risk. Malaria cases remain high, with about 12 million malaria cases suspected out of which 5.7 million were confirmed in 2021. Our most vulnerable population faces the greatest burdens, including rural communities, children, and pregnant women, he said. Mr Asei Seini said the persistence of malaria made achieving sustainable growth and development a challenge, placing a substantial burden on doctors, nurses, and community health workers as well as increasing costs on the national health insurance scheme. At current levels, malaria will cost Ghanaians $32 billion over the next 10 years. This includes more than one billion missed days of work, two billion US dollars in health system expenditures, $29 billion in private-sector losses, and $580 million in reduced household income. He noted that a reduction in the cost would remove barriers to universal health coverage and sustainable domestic financing of health. Mr Asei Seini said it was also critical that the fight to end malaria was sustained as a national priority, increase domestic resources, and mainstream responsibility across all sectors and at all levels. The event was on the theme: Advance Equity. Build Resilience. End Malaria. Dr Franklin Asiedu Bekoe, the Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Service (GHS), said a country could only progress with healthy individuals, productive workers and citizens. He said the call to prevent and control malaria was to ensure an environment of good health and wellness and productive citizens. He said in 2021, there were more than 5.7 million confirmed malaria cases and 391,052 admissions with a rippling effect on social and economic development. Dr Bekoe said considering the countrys huge malaria burden, progress was critical not only for the nation but the world at large. He said the malaria fight was one of the most inspiring health stories, resulting in great investments and strong partnerships that had culminated in dramatic progress against malaria over the years. Working together; the government, donor agencies, health service workers, dedicated partners, civil society organizations, traditional and community leaders, and communities have reached millions of people in Ghana with effective malaria control strategies, supported by the massive deployment of logistics, such as the Long-Lasting Insecticide-treated Nets. Dr Bekoe said Ghana had made progress with malaria control despite challenging operating conditions, including the rise in the proportion of suspected malaria cases tested from 87.3 per cent in 2017 to 97.0 per cent in 2021 and increase in the proportion of pregnant women who have taken the full dose of Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine for prevention of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) from 8.7 to 17.0 percent in 2017 and 2021 respectively. He noted that the government was committed to supporting the programmes in mobilizing the needed funding to implement the various proven strategies as outlined in the National Strategic Plan. Dr Bekoe said the GHS would continue to work with stakeholders and partners for increased mobilization of domestic and external funding as well as provide guidance for appropriate malaria control policies and interventions. 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 General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, says members of the clergy are very apprehensive over the establishment of radio and TV stations by politicians. According to Rev. Dr. Opuni Frimpong the rate at which politicians are establishing radio and TV stations for aggrandizement, calls for the intervention of the National Media Commission (NMC). Rev. Opuni Frimpong said this when addressing a gathering at a public lecture organised by Presbyterian Church of Ghana - Akuapem Presbytery Ascension Congregation in Koforidua. He is, therefore, calling on the NMC to ensure strict enforce ethical standards in the media space. Until the NMC intervenes to address the issue with the owners of media houses on how to eliminate partisanship of the media and pave way for objectivity to take it course, then we will have a long way to go as a country the Former General Secretary of CCG reiterated. The public lecture which was on the theme The Church as an Agent for Consolidating Democracy, Economic Transformation, and Social Equity in Ghana: Prospects and Challenges. It formed part of activities marking the 100th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana - Akuapem Presbytery Ascension Congregation. 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 The Ofaakor Circuit Court has remanded a 31-year-old labourer in prison custody for allegedly stealing his pastor's 12 gold rings valued at GH120,000. The accused, Danladi Abass, pleaded not guilty to the charge of stealing when he appeared before the court presided over Mr Ebenezer Osei Darko. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Charles Annobil, said the complainant, Rev Kelvin Bour, a pastor at the Seventh Day Good News Ambassadors Church and Abass were both residents of Everlip in Kasoa. He said about a year ago, Abass, who was a church member of the complainant told him (complainant) that he (Abass) had dreamt about someone gifting him gold and was directed to deal in gold business. The pastor cautioned Abass against engaging himself in the gold business because it was full of fraudsters, the prosecutor said. Chief Inspector Annobil said the pastor, during the conversation, dashed to his room and brought out 12 gold rings valued at GH120,000 to demonstrate to the accused the quality of real gold. He said Abass after the meeting, secretly went and stole all the 12 gold rings from his pastor's room and sold them at Adabraka. The prosecutor said investigation was ongoing to retrieve the gold rings. 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 President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has extended his condolences to the Government and people of Kenya over the death of the countrys first opposition President, Mwai Kibaki. Kibaki, who served as president from December 30, 2002 to April 9, 2013, died on Friday in the capital, Nairobi. He was 90 years. "I extend, on behalf of the people and Government of Ghana, my heartfelt sympathies and condolence to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the people and Government of Kenya, over the death of the historic, third President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency Nwai Kibaki. "We take the occasion to renew the ties of friendship and bonds of cooperation that exist between the Ghanaian and Kenyan peoples. May his soul rest in perfect peace," President Akufo-Addo tweeted Monday. Mr Kibaki's election in 2002 ended 40 years of one-party rule since Kenya's ndependence. The renown economist was credited for transforming Kenya's economic fortunes that made the country an East African powerhouse. He is survived by his children Judy Wanjiku, Jimmy Kibaki, David Kagai and Tony Githinji. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta who announced the death of Mr Kibaki last Friday, declared a period of mourning for the late leader. The former head of state will be given a state funeral with the highest honors next Friday. 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 Dr Ebenezer Tetteh Kpalam, a Clinical Psychologist, has disclosed that the use of pain and fear as disciplinary strategies turn to create abusive tendencies in children who grow to become abusers. Dr Kpalam, therefore, advised parents against using such negative disciplinary strategies to correct the actions of their children. He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema to address the issue of domestic violence and abuse in general. He explained that abuse was all about having control over other peoples behaviour by inflicting pain on them in diverse ways, which he said was also present in the pain and fear type of discipline. He said parents, teachers, and caregivers must adopt an approach of explaining things to children who exhibit problematic behaviour and help them to develop good acceptable characters. Dr Kpalam further said parents must also be consistent when introducing good behaviours to their children as that was the only way they would learn the new ways and desist from abusive tendencies. He however advised parents who find it very difficult to correct problematic behaviours in their children to seek professional help from a psychologist at an early age to put them on the right path before it becomes too late. The Clinical Psychologist further cautioned parents against exposing their children to violence especially the domestic type as they grow with the mindset that it was normal to either abuse their spouse or became a victim of abuse. He also stressed that having children watch movies, videos, and cartoons filled with violence led to a rewiring of their brains to the tendency of violence and end up becoming abusers. He said focusing on building good characters among children was key to fighting domestic violence in the long term, explaining that when the younger generation receives correction in love and isempowered against abuse, it would create a revolution in peoples homes, families, and society. 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 Upper West Regional Police Command has urged hostel operators in the region to put pragmatic measures in place to improve the security systems of their hostel facilities to help safeguard the lives and properties of clients. The command said it has come to its notice that armed robbery and raping of students was occurring in some of the hostels in Wa. The command noted that many of the hostels in the region were being predominantly occupied by students who were prone to attacks by unscrupulous people. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr. Peter Ndekugri, the Upper West Regional Police Commander, raised the issues of poor security at the premises of some hostels at a meeting with operators and managers of hostels in Wa. He indicated that it was the responsibility of the managers and owners of the hostels to protect the lives and properties of their clients. The Regional Commander admonished the hostel managers to engage the services of qualified private security agencies to work hard to stop the menace. We are not going to take it lightly with any hostel that will refuse to provide security for their occupants if they are attacked. The security of your hostel is important. Do not think of abnormal profit from the hostels, the security of those occupying should be your topmost priority, he said. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr. Prince Gabriel Waabu, the Deputy Commander of Police, Upper West Region, warned that any hostel that would be attacked due to the negligence of the managers of that hostel to provide good security, risk having the facility closed. According to him, improved security of the hostels would also enhance the operation of the hostels as the students would feel secure patronise them. ACP Waabu cited an instance where a student was raped in one of the hostels because there was no security at the hostel at the time, which he said was unacceptable. He advised the operators and managers to consider installing CCTV cameras and other detective equipment at their facilities to help fight the menace. Some of the hostel managers commended the police for the initiative it had taken to help improve the security of the hostels but noted that the attitude of some of the students occupying the hostels was also a worry. They, therefore, suggested that rigorous sensitisation of the students about security issues and he need to consider their personal security as their topmost priority. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A motorbike rider and his pillion have died on-the spot after crashing head-on with a moving vehicle in between Natwi-Akura and Dormabin in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region. The deceased, identified as Bisipu Iyal, 38, and Bidala Nda, 55, were found lying in the middle of the road dead. Superintendent of Police, Mr Frank Nana Asamani, in-charge of Motor Traffic and Transport Division (MTTD) of Krachi East Municipal, who confirmed the accident to the Ghana News Agency said the bodies have been deposited at WoraWora government Hospital for autopsy while investigation are underway to ascertain what caused the accident. He said the deceased crashed into an Opel Astra with the registration number AW1974-Z with the drivers side dented from the impact of the motorbike. He said the driver, Bright Anku sustained some injuries and was rushed to Tokuroano Clinic and later referred to Ho Teaching Hospital for medical attention. Mr Asamani said the accident vehicle and motorbike were towed to Tokuroano Police station for safe keeping and testing. 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 Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google, Meta (FB.O)and other large online platforms will have to do more to tackle illegal content or risk hefty fines under new internet rules agreed between European Union countries and EU lawmakers on Saturday. The agreement came after more than 16 hours of negotiations. The Digital Services Act (DSA) is the second prong of EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's strategy to rein in Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google, Meta (FB.O) and other U.S. tech giants. Last month, she won backing from the 27-country bloc and lawmakers for landmark rules called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that could force Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft to change their core business practices in Europe. read more "We have a deal on the DSA: The Digital Services Act will make sure that what is illegal offline is also seen and dealt with as illegal online - not as a slogan, as reality," Vestager said in a tweet. EU lawmaker Dita Charanzova, who had called for such rules eight years ago, welcomed the agreement. "Google, Meta and other large online platforms will have to act to better protect their users. Europe has made clear that they cannot act as independent digital islands," she said in a statement. In a statement, Google said: "As the law is finalised and implemented, the details will matter. We look forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical details right to ensure the law works for everyone." Under the DSA, the companies face fines up to 6% of their global turnover for violating the rules while repeated breaches could see them banned from doing business in the EU. The new rules ban targeted advertising aimed at children or based on sensitive data such as religion, gender, race and political opinions. Dark patterns, which are tactics that mislead people into giving personal data to companies online, will also be prohibited. Very large online platforms and online search engines will be required to take specific measures during a crisis. The move was triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the related disinformation. The companies could be forced to hand over data related to their algorithms to regulators and researchers. The companies also face a yearly fee up to 0.05% of worldwide annual revenue to cover the costs of monitoring their compliance. EU lawmaker Martin Schirdewan criticised the exemption granted to medium-sized companies. "Under pressure from the conservatives, an exception rule for medium-sized companies was integrated, this is a mistake. Due to the large number of companies that fall under this definition in the digital sector, the exception is like a loophole," he said. The DSA will be enforced in 2024. Source: REUTERS 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 Cyber Security Authority (CSA) and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) led by their respective Director-Generals met on April 6, 2022, at the Head Office of NITA in Accra. The meeting was aimed at discussing areas of collaboration in the implementation of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) which was assented into law on December 29, 2020. The Director-Generals exchanged views on the benefits to be derived when they work together and agreed its prudent for them to learn best practices from each other to effectively strategize and implement their respective mandates whilst addressing issues of mutual concern. They recognized the importance of securing critical information infrastructure (CII) and the fact that NITA, which is responsible for implementing Ghanas IT policies, has been designated as a CII pursuant to section 35 of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038). Both highlighted NITAs role as a government ICT lead to work closely with the CSA to ensure the protection of government data and critical systems. After successful deliberations, recommendations and suggestions, they agreed to collaborate more closely on some critical areas. The two institutions further agreed to provide each other with all the necessary assistance for the execution of their respective mandates and functions. The meeting concluded with the issuing of a joint statement between CSA and NITA which outlines the areas of cooperation namely protection of CII, Computer Emergency Response and capacity building. The Cyber Security Authority and the National Information Technology Agency reaffirmed their commitment to work together and agreed to: 1. Partner to engage their common stakeholders to hold joint discussions with them on the areas of their respective mandates. 2. Collaborate in the development of a sectoral directive for the protection of CIIs in the government sector. 3. Collaborate in the area of capacity building and knowledge transfer through personnel exchanges. 4. Collaborate in the area of incident response as NITA is considered a Sectoral Computer Emergency Response Team (Sectoral CERT) lead pursuant to Section 44 of Act 1038. 5. Collaborate on standardisation, certification and accreditation activities as part of both institutions regulatory mandates. 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 On the afternoon of April 22, 2022, Premier Li Keqiang had a phone conversation with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer at Ziguang Pavilion of Zhongnanhai leadership compound at the latter's request. Li Keqiang once again congratulated Nehammer on his assuming office as Austrian Chancellor. He said, Austria is China's important cooperative partner in the European Union (EU). Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 51 years ago, China-Austria relations have transcended differences in system, culture, and development level, among other aspects, with bilateral cooperation continuously deepening. In 2018, President Xi Jinping and President Alexander Van der Bellen decided to establish the China-Austria friendly strategic partnership, elevating China-Austria relations to a new height. China is ready to work with Austria to strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and push forward the sound and steady development of China-Austria relations. Li Keqiang pointed out, the current international and regional landscape is complex and volatile, with economic globalization facing headwinds. Noting that China and the EU are comprehensive strategic partners, major economies in the world and important trading partners of each other, he said that the two sides 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 in bilateral cooperation, so as to ensure smooth logistics between China and the EU, stable industrial and supply chains, as well as food security and energy resource security. Li Keqiang stressed, China will never waver on the basic national policy of opening-up, which has not only boosted growth for China itself but also brought benefits to the world. No matter how the international landscape may change, China will stay committed to opening-up and deepening bilateral and multilateral international cooperation. A big and open Chinese market will always be a promising land for enterprises from all over the world, including Austrian ones, to invest and do business. Nehammer said, Austria and China have enjoyed sound relations for a long time, with successful bilateral 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 principle, and stands ready to continue deepening cooperation with China and push for the further development of the Austria-China friendly strategic partnership. Austria supports the EU and China in strengthening dialogue and communication to constantly elevate EU-China relations. The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Li Keqiang expounded on China's principled position, pointing out that China always pursues an independent foreign policy of peace. China holds that countries should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, uphold international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. China hopes that all parties will work together to call on the relevant parties to achieve a ceasefire and end the conflict through dialogue and negotiation and in particular, avoid a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale. Wang Yi and He Lifeng attended the above activity. Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, one of the founding members of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, has opened up about his relationship with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The now-suspended member of the party claims, he took a lot of risk for the current President at the time that the party needed a formidable individual to become a flagbearer to be able to win the elections from the then government. He said, because of his closeness to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he decided that he will go all out for him to ensure he became the flagbearer and eventually the President; because at the time, former President Kufuor failed to win elections prior to 2000. Speaking to Bridget Otoo on Metro TV's 'One On One' show, Monday, April 25, 2022, the former Military Officer and a Medical Doctor explained: I was very close to Akufo-Addo, I took a lot of risks on his behalf, he knows it. Because of Akufo-Addo, I deserted Kufuor on principle. After Kufuor was unable to unseat Rawlings democratically, we thought that it should be somebody else. "In fact, some of us had our minds on Kwame Pianim another good leader but unfortunately, because he wanted to unseat the military regime, even though he served over ten years in prison, he was not allowed to contest an election as a leader." Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe continued: So, some of us decided that ok, Akufo-Addo was then [very] vibrant, we thought he was very strong and he can speak truth to power, so, we followed him. "We had an election in Sunyani where Kufuor, Akufo-Addo, and others were the main contestants [but] Kufuor won hands down. I was on the committee that was managing the affairs of Akufo-Addo; headed by Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, Yaw Osafo Maafo was part "We used to have a meeting at Akufo-Addos house every Tuesday in planning and strategising on how he can come and eventually he succeeded and he came to lead the party," he stressed. Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe's suspension from NPP The Greater Accra Regional Executives of the NPP in 2016, indefinitely suspended Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, for undermining the peace and unity of the party. The decision to suspend him was conveyed by the Regional Chairman of the party at the time, Ishmael Ashittey, following a petition brought before the party by a member in the Ayawaso constituency. The petitioner, Stephen Asante, had accused Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe of conducting himself in a way that undermined the peace and unity of the party. The Regional Chairman, without hearing from Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, wrote to Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe on December 31 announcing his suspension from the party. According to the letter, a committee had been set up by the regional executive to investigate the matter and give Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe an opportunity to respond to the claims made against him. 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 Obrempong Kwesi Amoh Kyeretwie I, the Chief of Abirem and President of Birim North Association of Chiefs, has warned his fellow chiefs against interfering in politics since it undermines attempts to achieve development. He said if chiefs wanted to achieve effective economic and social change in their communities, they should avoid getting involved in politics since it would sabotage development efforts and deprive the people essential socioeconomic advancement. The Chief, speaking at a meeting held by the Birim North Association of Chiefs in New Abirem, noted that the position of chiefs as traditional rulers and custodians was expected to stay impartial for them to obtain their rightful portions of the national cake. He urged chiefs to abandon the harmful practice of turning their palaces into courts when dealing with specific matters that may result in penalties. He said chiefs were enstooled by their royal families to promote peace and protect their people as well as seek their welfare. Adding, It will not serve any good for them to indulge in any selfish interest that could jeopardize the wellbeing of the masses. As a result, Obrempong Kyeretwie I emphasised the need for chiefs to collaborate with state security heads in their districts to combat crime by organising watchdog groups. He also utilised the occasion to educate the smaller chiefs on the National House of Chiefs code of ethics, which is intended to govern every chief in Ghana. 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 Traditional Rulers in the Nadowli/Kaleo District of the Upper West Region have appealed to the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Seth Amoama, to consider restoring the military attachment to the Office of the Speaker of Parliament. At a press conference at Kaleo, the traditional rulers from the five paramountcy and traditional councils in the Kaleo Traditional Area, expressed dissatisfaction with the unnecessary delay in bringing back the military attachment to the office of the Speaker of Parliament We wish to state that the action by the Military High Command smacks of bad faith. It jeopardises the safety and security of our dear hardworking son, who has lived all his Life serving our dear nation, Ghana, the chiefs stated. In a statement read by the Sankana Naa, Naa Pagran-Nige Mornaa, Paramount Chief of the Sankana Traditional Area, he explained that the withdrawal of the Military attachment by the Military High Command to the Office of the Speaker of Parliament has made the life of Rt. Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin as Speaker of Parliament unsafe. The chiefs contended that over the past one month, they had not been able to sleep over this heart-wrenching development, saying, we seem not to understand the reason given by the Military High Command for the withdrawal of the military attachment to the office of the Speaker. The chiefs therefore appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is also the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces to call the Big men of the Military High Command to order. The statement noted that in Ghanas political history, the current parliament was different from previous ones. It is a hung parliament, which as we all know, is bedeviled with open fights among the two main opposing groups and there is the urgent need to secure the Office of the Speaker of Parliament with the deployment of soldiers to ensure his safety, the chiefs pointed out. They acknowledged that in his work as a long serving Member of Parliament and Minister of State, Mr Bagbin had actively and ably contributed to the development of this nation on a scale that is unmatched. It therefore beats our imagination that such a distinguished citizen, once cherished, awarded and applauded by many for his matchless contribution to the development of this country, is rather the one at the receiving end of his bizarre denial of basic privileges such as the provision of security by the Ghana Armed Forces, most especially given the configuration of the current parliament as it stands. It must be noted that Rt. Hon. Bagbin has selflessly and diligently contributed the best of his intellect, energy and time to the service and development of Mother Ghana both in Parliament and Government mostly at a great discomfort to his personal life and family for almost three decades now, the statement added. The traditional rulers noted that even before he became a politician and a Member of Parliament, he had throughout his life practice as a Lawyer, kept faith with this oath to defend the defenseless. According to the Chiefs, they sighted a letter allegedly signed by the Chief of Staff of the Military High Command, which stated that the attachment of the four military officers did not follow the right procedure and that they were being withdrawn for appropriate steps to be taken to regularize their stay. The Sankana-Naa, Naa Pagran-Nige Mornaa, Takpo Naa, Naa Widaana-Nanga, Kaluri Naa, Naa Tindaana, Gyilli Naa, Naa Badienaang Sanyellah and Gbankor Naa, Naa Jamaa Matarah with other sub-chiefs attended the press conference. 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 Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has lamented the increasing loss of moral values in political engagements. According to him, it is surprising that people do not practice moral values such as honesty, sincerity and truthfulness which are high requirements in various workplaces when they get into politics. He said such conduct has led to politicians being viewed by the general public as liars a situation he finds disturbing. Addressing participants at this years TEIN-KNUST Alumni Connect programme over the weekend, the legislator opined that in the absence of moral values in politics, it was no surprise that the country was not progressing as it should. He stated that if care was not taken, politicians and Chief Executive Officers of state enterprises will be lynched and stoned to death as Ghanaians have become tired of deceptive politics. How is it that in our institutions, in our churches, when we come to school, when we go for an interview for a job, even when we are in a job and it is time for a promotion, the interview panel is looking for some of these values that you have so beautifully ascribed to this great institution established in 1918 before all of us here were born. But suddenly when we come into politics we say these values dont matter. See how people describe politicians out there. 'Oh as for politicians they are liars, they believe in deception, the one who can twist the facts the more, the one who has no respect for logic, for truth, the one who will not tell you as it is in an honest way'those are the people we celebrate. Those are the people we call great politicians. Those are the people we give platforms to. Those are the people we cheer. Those are the people we clap for the loudest. Any wonder that this country is not developing? That we are not making the progress we should make. If politics is about deception, If politics is about lies, if politics is about dishonesty, if politics is about looking people in the eye and telling them sweet words, making promises you never intended to fulfil, distorting the facts.then some of us dont want to be called politicianswe do not want to be part of that game. These are very important fundamentals that as young people we must begin to reflect on, if not, very soon if it is said that that is a politician coming, that is a Chief Executive coming, we may be lynchedwe may be stoned to death. Ghanaians are fed up with deceptive politics, Mr. Ablakwa emphasized. 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 Supreme Court in a unanimous decision has dismissed a case filed by a private legal practitioner, Justice Abdulai. The application sought to compel the apex court to review its earlier decision that Deputy Speakers presiding over proceedings in Parliament can vote. Judgment On March 9, 2022, in a unanimous decision, a seven-member panel of the apex court held that a Deputy Speaker of Parliament presiding over proceedings in the House has the right to vote on matters for determination, and also be counted as part of the quorum for decision-making. Consequently, the highest court of the land has ruled as valid the passage of the 2022 budget by Parliament on November 30, 2021, during which the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, who was presiding, counted himself as part of the quorum that made that decision. Also, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional, Order 109 (3) of the Standing Orders of Parliament which barred a Deputy Speaker, who is presiding over proceedings, from voting on any issue for determination. Grave Miscarriage of Justice Vs Abuse Of Court Process Lawyer Abdulai who filed the matter headed back to the Supreme Court insisting the ruling contained errors of laws which have occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice on the people of Ghana. In opposing the review application, Deputy Attorney General Diana Asonaba pointed out that it was an abuse of the court processes since it failed to show any exceptional circumstances that should have been considered. The long reference to previous constitutions does not meet the criteria for a review application. The plaintiff has failed to show how a miscarriage of justice has occasioned or showed any new matter that should have been considered. Present application is unmeritorious and a clear abuse of the court process, she said. The Court presiding over by Justice Jones Dotse ruled that the Deputy Speaker of Parliament's participation in voting was constitutional. The application is accordingly dismissed, Justice Dotse said. The review case was heard by a nine-member review panel comprising Justices Dotse, Nene Amegatcher, Prof Ashie Kotey, Lovelace Johnson, Mariama Owusu, Celemenfe Honyenuga, Gertrude Torkonoo, Prof. Mensah Bonsu and Emmanuel Kulendi. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dr. Richard Amoako Baah, a senior political science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has disclosed that it will be a mistake on the part of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to present John Mahama as its candidate in the 2024 elections. He said Ghanaians have already seen the performance of the former President, therefore it wont be wise to present him again. Speaking on Asaase Radio, he said the opposition party might lose in 2024 with Mahama. It is true that it will be advisable for the National Democratic Congress to present a new candidate, because we know what Mahama has done, there is nothing new, Baah told the host of the programme, Beatrice Adu. Except that people are looking up to him because what we expected from President Akufo-Addo is not what we have gotten, but then there is the need because he hasnt performed to your standard. There are many people in the NDC, so why would you still present the same candidate? You dont know what he can do, is it going to be anything different from before? As a matter of fact, the economic situation is 10 times worse, so how is he going to be able to manage this worse situation? Baah asked. According to Mr. Ephson, the former President cannot win the elections with the former Education Minister partnering him. In an interview on Joy News, the former president must consider picking any of his political contenders for the flagbearership slot as his running mate. Mahama would have to repackage himself because a Mahama with the same running mate is going to be difficult [to win 2024 general elections]. He may have to form an alliance or perhaps, pick one of the [NDC presidential contenders] as his running mate. He explained further that, ...where Mahama is, he has the advantage of being marketed already. And Mahama with all his body language looks like he is retaining his running mate for 2020 [general elections]. If he does, I think he should forget 2024. Source: Pulse 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 STC CEO, Nana Akomea has cautioned the government not to bloat the E-Levy deductions as the policy begins on Sunday, 1st May, 2022. The Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) is a 1.5% charge on all electronic transactions, primarily MoMo transactions, aimed to provide infrastructure development and better road networks for the nation. About 15 million Ghanaians are expected to be affected by the E-Levy. Making his submissions during a panel discussion on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' Tuesday morning, Nana Akomea warned the authorities not to overcharge but rather stick to the 1.5% as stated. He cautioned against any cascading effects on the citizenry stressing the E-Levy shouldn't overburden them. Calculating how much each Ghanaian will be contributing per year, Nana Akomea advised that the software to be used for the collection of the E-Levy should be very effective. "The software to manage the E-Levy should be an effective software . . . The effect on Ghanaians should not be drastic and that will depend on the software working well. Then, number 2, the government using the money wisely. If these two things happen [averagely], the average amount that Ghanaians will pay a year on E-Levy will be about 400 to 500 cedis," he said. He added; "Now, if you pay 400/500 cedis average per person and you see big developmental projects, the impact will be positive . . . for me, if the software works properly and that extra 4 billion, [it] is used wisely - 90 to 95 percent efficiently - Ghanaians will see the impact and it will turn the fortunes of government as far as elections are concerned.'' 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 A video making the rounds on social media captures a man believed to be Afrobeats star, Kelvyn Boy being heckled by uniform men at the campus of the University of Cape Coast (UCC). The incident reportedly took place on Saturday during a concert as part of the schools 60th Anniversary Celebration. Kelvyn who was billed for the concert reportedly decided to perform early at about 8pm and leave for Accra to perform at another concert at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). However, students allegedly wont let him leave. The #DownFlat hit makers car was allegedly blocked from moving out of the school. The incident degenerated into him being attacked. A voice commentary in the background of the video kept mentioning Kelvyn Boys name while the uniform men push him and his men back. The men in uniform according to earlier reports are also students from the schools cadet. Source: Daily Guide 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 migration journey through a Bedouin camp in the Negev Desert (Saharan-Arabian desert), Israel (2017) a scene that will likely be more common in many areas of the world due to increasing 21st Century droughts. Credit: Gallya Lahav Drought and the potential increase in the number of droughts worldwide due to climate change remains a concern for scientists. A recent study led by Stony Brook University researchers suggests that human migration due to droughts will increase by at least 200 percent as we move through the 21st Century. Based on a series of both climate and social science modeling systems and other social science data, the study findings imply that migration may force the need to adjust sociopolitical policies to offset widespread human displacement in the future. The study is published in International Migration Review. According to lead author Oleg Smirnov, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook University, the research team worked from an ensemble of 16 climate models to generate drought projections for rest of the 21st Century. They centered on two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios: an optimistic one consistent with the Paris Agreement, and a pessimistic one based on current use of energy and greenhouse gas emissions. It is important to note that while the Groundswell report assesses human migration projections due to climate change by 2050 in six world regions, this study analyzes potential drought-induced human migration around the entire world for the whole century going forward. Both Smirnov and co-author Gallya Lahav, Ph.D., a migration specialist and associate professor of political science at Stony Brook University, assessed the sociopolitical climates and policies in connection with the climate models. Co-authors and climate experts Minghua Zhang, Ph.D., of Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), and Tingyin Xiao of Princeton University, generated global drought projections for two emissions scenarios for the period of 2008 to 2100 in order to complete the analysis. Overall, they project there will be a massive increase in drought-induced migration in the coming years200 percent more based on the optimistic climate projections and as high as 500 percent more if world leaders fail to cooperate on climate change mitigation measures. "One interesting finding is that we also identified a large group of people who will want to migrate but fail to do so as droughts cover large areas of land making possible destinations difficult to get to or inferior to their land of origin," explains Smirnov. The authors estimate that this segment of "immobile" people will also increase by about 200 percent in the optimistic scenario, yet almost 600 percent under the "business as usual" or pessimistic scenario. "Our models make us not only concerned about the increasing number of environmentally displaced people that may spread across the globe, but we are equally, if not more, concerned about the large number of these 'immobile' personswho may be desperate to leave but unable to do so, which may contribute to social suffering and instability," emphasizes Smirnov. Furthermore, "given that environmentally-induced migrants largely fall outside of international legal frameworks like the Refugee Convention which protects those fleeing war or conflict, a multi-lateral holistic policy approach is vital in this gray area," adds, Lahav, a previous consultant to the United Nations Population Division. Despite the scientific quest to systematically assess and predict future migratory outcomes, the researchers agree that the social science aspect of the study may have additional unknown variables and complexities when projecting because of the political aspects of migration. The authors write "we can only talk about potential migration pressures, as opposed to actual migration, since we do not know how future political responses will affect and potentially constrain future migration flows. Similarly, we do not rely on the absolute number of migrants, since these numbers are sensitive to the arbitrary modeling assumptions." As the researchers chart the drought-induced migration models toward the end of the 21st Century, they warn that many countries will have large numbers of migrating peoples. They state that the largest number of people displaced by drought under unmitigated change would occur in these countries: Nigeria, Egypt, China, Turkey, Algeria, Mexico, Morocco, and Venezuela. The projected largest number of immobile persons would be those in Turkey, Mexico, Morocco, Algeria, Brazil, Mali, and China. Overall, say Smirnov and colleagues, the study findings provide solid evidence that global climate change mitigation would be less costly in terms of human suffering and economic loss from drought-induced migration than policies designed to deal with the overwhelming challenges of unmitigated climate change. Explore further Scientists warn of widespread drought in the 21st century More information: Oleg Smirnov et al, Climate Change, Drought, and Potential Environmental Migration Flows Under Different Policy Scenarios, International Migration Review (2022). Oleg Smirnov et al, Climate Change, Drought, and Potential Environmental Migration Flows Under Different Policy Scenarios,(2022). DOI: 10.1177/01979183221079850 A fragment of the sphero-conical vessel that was identified as containing a possibly explosive material from Jerusalem. Credit: Robert Mason, Royal Ontario Museum New analysis into the residue inside ancient ceramic vessels from 11th12th century Jerusalem has found that they were potentially used as hand grenades. Previous research into the diverse sphero-conical containers, which are within museums around the world, had identified that they were used for a variety of purposes, including beer drinking vessels, mercury containers, containers for oil and containers for medicines. This latest research, led by Griffith University's Associate Professor Carney Matheson, confirmed that some vessels did indeed contain oils and medicines, and some contained scented oils, consistent with other recent research into the use of the vessels. However, his findings also revealed that some of the vessels contained a flammable and probably explosive material that indicated they may have been used as ancient hand grenades. Associate Professor Matheson, from Griffith's Car, said the explosive material he analyzed within the vessels suggested that there may have been a locally developed ancient explosive. "This research has shown the diverse use of these unique ceramic vessels which include ancient explosive devices," he said. "These vessels have been reported during the time of the Crusades as grenades thrown against Crusader strongholds producing loud noises and bright flashes of light. "Some researchers had proposed the vessels were used as grenades and held black powder, an explosive invented in ancient China and known to have been introduced into the Middle East and Europe by the 13th century. It has been proposed that black powder may have been introduced to the Middle East earlier, as early as these vessels from the ninth to 11th century. "However, this research has shown that it is not black powder and likely a locally invented explosive material." Associate Professor Matheson said the research also revealed that some of these vessels had been sealed using resin. "More research on these vessels and their explosive content will allow us to understand ancient explosive technology of the medieval period, and the history of explosive weapons in the Eastern Mediterranean," he said. The study, "Composition of Trace Residues from the contents of 11th12th century sphero-conical vessels from Jerusalem," has been published in PLOS ONE. Explore further Early Celts in Burgundy appropriated Mediterranean products and feasting practices More information: Carney D. Matheson et al, Composition of trace residues from the contents of 11th12th century sphero-conical vessels from Jerusalem, PLOS ONE (2022). Journal information: PLoS ONE Carney D. Matheson et al, Composition of trace residues from the contents of 11th12th century sphero-conical vessels from Jerusalem,(2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267350 On April 22, Beijing Aquarium held an event marking Earth Day to promote the protection of the endangered Chinese sturgeon. The Chinese sturgeon is one of the oldest vertebrates on Earth, and is of inestimable scientific and social value for studying changes to the planet and maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. However, due to a variety of factors, its natural reproduction has been interrupted, and this ancient species is in urgent need of saving. "Compared with the giant panda, there are even fewer Chinese sturgeon in the wild today," said Wang Zhechen, general manager of the Beijing Aquarium. "But the Chinese sturgeon is far less famous than the giant panda." On this year's Earth Day, the Beijing Aquarium and online education platform VIPKid announced they had co-designed a mascot of a Chinese sturgeon named "Houfu." The announcement marks the beginning of a series of marine science projects designed to boost the protection of at-risk species, so that the public and especially children can learn more about the endangered Chinese sturgeon, Wang added. "Houfu" is based on a real Chinese sturgeon bearing the same name which lived in the Yangtze River before it was accidentally caught by fishermen. Despite being close to death, it was taken to the Beijing Aquarium for six months of treatment and eventually recovered thanks to the aquarium's medical experts and breeders, who even developed a special food for it. However, after its recovery, the sturgeon's condition and age meant that it was unable to return to the wild. As such, it remained in the Beijing Aquarium where it has lived for almost seven years. Li Yanliang, chairman of the National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association, also made an appeal at the event, "Attempts to protect the Chinese sturgeon not only concern the success or failure of protecting a single species of fish, but are also key to the overall protection of the biodiversity and water ecology of the Yangtze River." The Beijing Aquarium will work with several partners to develop a Chinese sturgeon franchise, including a multimedia ocean science popularization project with VIPKid, and a Chinese sturgeon digital ticket project with online payment platform Alipay. The Brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) is a key species for seed dispersal and hence for perpetuation of the Atlantic Rainforest. Credit: Gisela Sobral/USP Trees of the species Pouteria bullata, which is endemic to Brazil and whose common name is guapeva-vermelha, are found solely in the Atlantic Rainforest biome and produce sweet succulent fruit. Their seeds are relatively large (about 2 cm) and cannot be swallowed by birds or small mammals, so they depend on primates like the Brown howler (Alouatta guariba) and Southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides), as well as the South American Tapir (Tapirus terrestris), to disperse their genetic material and perpetuate the species. Where these animals have disappeared, so has P. boullata, which is indexed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Indeed, the animals most important to seed dispersal are the first to disappear as a result of the destruction of the Atlantic Rainforest, according to a paper published in the journal Biotropica. "Seed dispersal is a complex process involving many types of vertebrates at the same time. Deforestation leads to the extinction of animals, which lose food, and plants, which can no longer disperse their seeds," said Lisieux Fuzessy, first author of the paper. The study was supported by FAPESP while Fuzessy was doing postdoctoral research at Sao Paulo State University's Institute of Biosciences (IB-UNESP) in Rio Claro, Brazil, and was part of the project "The effect of fragmentation on the ecological functions of primates", also funded by FAPESP. The principal investigator for the project was Laurence Culot, a professor at IB-UNESP. Fuzessy conducted part of the research during an internship at Donana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) in Spain, with a scholarship from FAPESP and collaboration by Professor Pedro Jordano. "We set out initially to investigate the role of primates in seed dispersal, but it soon became evident that we needed to analyze the roles played by all vertebrates," Fuzessy explained. Besides primates, the investigation encompassed seed dispersal by birds, bats, carnivores, marsupials, rodents and ungulates (deer, tapirs and peccaries, among others). The study thus became an unusually wide-ranging analysis of the animal-plant interactions that maintain biodiversity. Conserved areas and fragments To understand the impact of the disappearance of animals from forests, the researchers compared animal-plant interactions in two forest areas of the state of Sao Paulo. One was Serra de Paranapiacaba, a highly conserved Atlantic Rainforest area, with more than 120,000 hectares including both parks or reserves and private properties. The mountain range (or serra in Portuguese) is home to such highly endangered mammals as the Jaguar (Panthera onca), Bush dog (Speothos venaticus) and White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), as well as the already mentioned tapir and muriqui. Serra de Paranapiacaba is also the most important refuge for the Black-fronted piping guan (Pipile jacutinga), a large frugivorous bird that is extinct in most Atlantic Rainforest remnants. The other study area was Reserva de Santa Genebra, a 250-hectare fragment surrounded by urban sprawl and farmland, like most remnants of the biome. Its plant cover was steadily destroyed until 1984 when it acquired protected status. Very few large vertebrates live in the area, which is home mainly to small birds and medium-size mammals such as the Spotted paca (Cuniculus paca), Large American opossum (Didelphis spp.) and Brazilian squirrel (Guerlinguetus brasiliensis). A few large frugivores (fruit eaters) also live there, including A. guariba and the Dusky-legged guan (Penelope obscura). Even so, interaction levels were lower than in the conserved area. The researchers recorded 1,588 interactions between 133 animals and 315 plants in Serra de Paranapiacaba; and 221 interactions between 54 animals and 58 plants in Reserva de Santa Genebra. "The difference was highly significant. Key species such as muriquis and tapirs eat a far greater diversity of fruit than birds, for example," Fuzessy said. "In addition to their strong demand for calories, they have a wide gape or gullet, which enables them to swallow large fruit and disperse plants that without them simply disappear in a cascade effect." This is yet another study that demonstrates the importance of conserving not just species but also functional diversityanimal-plant interactions that enable the forest to thriveand hence serve as a basis for conservation and reforestation projects. Explore further Human activity affects interactions between plants and seed-dispersing birds More information: Lisieux Fuzessy et al, Functional roles of frugivores and plants shape hyperdiverse mutualistic interactions under two antagonistic conservation scenarios, Biotropica (2022). Journal information: Biotropica Lisieux Fuzessy et al, Functional roles of frugivores and plants shape hyperdiverse mutualistic interactions under two antagonistic conservation scenarios,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/btp.13065 Manila Skyline from Harbour Square. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Manila and several other coastal Asian cities are sinking faster than the rate of sea level rise, says a study that calls for strict regulatory measure to reduce groundwater extraction, identified as a major cause for land subsidence. Since 1993, sea level rise has been happening at a rate of around three millimeters per year, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. However, the Philippine capital saw land subsiding by more than 2 centimeters per year between 2015 and 2020, almost seven times faster than the average sea level rise, increasing the likelihood of flooding. The phenomenon of land sinking faster than sea level rise is more pronounced in Asian cities than elsewhere, says the study published in April in Geophysical Research Letters. The study covered 99 coastal cities all over the world, 33 of which have areas or parts that have subsided by more than a centimeter per year. Researchers Pei-Chin Wu, Matt Wei and Steven D'Hondt from the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island used satellite-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar to identify "fast-subsiding areas." The study said excessive groundwater extraction is most likely the reason for the sinking of some areas in these citiespotentially affecting 59 million people. Past studies have cited rapid population increase, expanding industrial and agricultural production, absence of water treatment and poor water quality of available surface water due to pollution are among the major reasons for increasing reliance on groundwater. "In most cities, part of the land is subsiding faster than sea level is rising," the study said. "If subsidence continues at present rates, these cities will be challenged by flooding much sooner than projected by sea level rise models. The most rapid subsidence is occurring in South, South-East, and East Asia. However, rapid subsidence is also happening in North America, Europe, Africa, and Australia." Wei told SciDev.Net that land subsidence has lessened in Manila, though unregulated groundwater extraction may negate any gains. "According to one study, Manila had subsided at 3 centimeters per year from 2003 to 2010. So, our observation of 2 centimeters per year between 2015 and 2020 is slower," Wei told SciDev.Net. Wei and his fellow researchers say that their findings indicated that subsidence rates in Jakarta, Indonesia and Shanghai, China "have slowed significantly likely due to reduced groundwater extraction rates implemented as government regulations." Between 1982 and 2010, land in Jakarta subsided by as much as 28 centimeters. In Shanghai, the land subsidence rate between 1990 and 2001 was 1.6 centimeters per year. From 2015 to 2020, however, subsidence fell and most drastically in Jakarta where it was 3 centimeters per year. While looking for alternative sources of groundwater is a necessary solution, Manila needs to change how economic development is being pursued overall, says Rodrigo Narod Eco, a researcher at the Marine Science Institute at the University of the Philippines. "I think the problem is fundamentally a development issue, where we have unabated conversion of landscapes and seascapes. For example, the subsiding areas in Manila City are mostly reclaimed land. Same as some other places too, like in Dagat-Dagatan, which was reclaimed during the Marcos dictatorship. Before that, it was a communal fishing ground," he told SciDev.Net. "I think it can be possible to find alternative water sources, but we should still ask where the demand for water is coming from. Is it from commercial establishments, factories, plantations, fishponds? Even if we have alternative water sources, will it be available to households? Will the distribution be equitable?" Meanwhile, the threat of land subsidence remains. Indonesia is being compelled to shift its capital to Nusantara from Jakarta where, as the study points out, places like Bekasi regency in the Indonesian capital are subsiding at two centimeters per year due to groundwater extraction. Semarang, the capital of Indonesia's Central Java province, has seen land sinking by three centimeters per year as with Tianjin in China. This dwarfed the global mean sea level rise by almost 15 times, the study said. Wei said the authorities in these coastal cities should be able to develop solutions that will address both the problems of land subsidence and sea-level rise. "The government should include coastal subsidence in their plan for sea level rise," he said. Explore further Sea level rise up to four times global average for coastal communities More information: PeiChin Wu et al, Subsidence in Coastal Cities Throughout the World Observed by InSAR, Geophysical Research Letters (2022). Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters PeiChin Wu et al, Subsidence in Coastal Cities Throughout the World Observed by InSAR,(2022). DOI: 10.1029/2022GL098477 Provided by SciDev.Net A pair of European rabbits. Although the natural hosts of the MYXV virus are Sylvilagus rabbits (known in the Americas as cottontails), exposure of European rabbit populations to this virus proved 99% fatal, without any further adaptation of the virus to the European rabbit host. The highly contagious virus, spread through rabbit populations by fleas or mosquitos, produces a lethal rabbit disease known as myxomatosis. MYXV-Tol was found to cause a very similar lethal disease in hares. Credit: Public Domain Viruses are among the most protean entities in nature, ceaselessly mutating and acquiring new characteristics. These tiny entities follow a simple and relentless imperative: infect as many host organisms as possible. Occasionally, a virus' genomic alterations enable it to leap from one species to another, in a process known as spillover. In new research appearing in the journal mBio, Masmudur Rahman and his Arizona State University colleagues join international researchers to investigate one such spillover event, when the myxoma virus (MYXV) made a species leap from European rabbits to Iberian hares. The study describes M159, a virus protein called a "host range factor" that arose very recently through a fortuitous gene pickup in the myxoma virus. The resultant hybrid strain, known as MYXV-Tol, has enabled the virus to expand its existing host range, traversing the species barrier and causing lethal disease in Iberian hares. Researchers would like to better understand these genomic transitions, as spillover events have profound implications for both human and animal health. One such recent event, caused by mutations in a novel, SARS-like virus of unknown origin, is responsible for the global pandemic of COVID-19 disease, which has killed over five million people globally. Understanding the subtle alterations enabling viruses to make species jumps may help better prepare for outbreaks of new diseases, limit their transmission, and perhaps allow researchers to outwit viral mechanisms that set the stage for spillover events. Human-engineered therapies against pathogens (including viruses) are part of a never-ending arms race between infectious agents and their host organisms. In addition to its importance for the study of host- pathogen coevolution, myxoma virus has been investigated for its remarkable ability to target and kill human cancer cells, while leaving their normal healthy cell counterparts unharmed. It is one of the most promising viruses available in the new field of virotherapy, which uses cancer fighting or oncolytic viruses, including myxoma. The new study suggests that the M159 protein not only enables MYXV-Tol to leap over the species barrier and infect hares but also appears to help this strain replicate even better in human cancer cells, potentially improving MYXV as a cancer-fighting agent. "M159 protein is a member of the poxvirus C7-like host range factors. In the future, identifying the protein(s) that interact with M159 in hares and human cancer cells will allow us to understand whether M159 targets similar or diverse signaling pathways," said Rahman. Rahman is a researcher in the Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy at ASU. He is joined by Grant McFadden, director of the center and by Arvind Varsani, a researcher in the Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics. McFadden, Varsani and Rahman are also researchers in ASU's School of Life Sciences. Additional ASU researchers include first author Ana Agueda-Pinto, Simona Kraberger, Anne Everts, Ami Gutierrez-Jensen and Honor L. Glenn. Collaborators on the new study include researchers from Universidade do Porto, Vairao, Portugal; Universidad de Oviedo, Campus El Cristo, Oviedo, Spain; and (IRIAF), CIAG del Chaparrillo, Ciudad Real, Spain. Specialized killer In studying the mechanisms underlying the ability of viruses to cross species barriers, researchers rely on model organisms. The myxoma virus is a particularly attractive candidate for such investigations and is the most extensively researched field model for this type of study. This fact is due to a historical event in which MYXV was used to control populations of European rabbits in Europe and Australia, beginning in 1950. MYXV belongs to the poxvirus family of viruses, a very large assemblage of double-stranded DNA viruses which includes many benign members as well as the virus that once caused the notoriously lethal disease smallpox. Many kinds of viruses have spillover potential. Annual outbreaks of influenza, for example, are the result of spillover events occurring when migratory birds, acting as reservoirs for the virus, spread the disease to other species, including ducks, chickens, pigs and humans. As the virus moves from species to species, mutating strains acquire new abilities to aid their transmission and ability to evade host immune defenses. Although the natural hosts of the MYXV virus are Sylvilagus rabbits (known in the Americas as cottontails), exposure of European rabbit populations to this virus proved 99% fatal, without any further adaptation of the virus to the European rabbit host. The highly contagious virus, spread through rabbit populations by fleas or mosquitos, produces a lethal rabbit disease known as myxomatosis. MYXV-Tol was found to cause a very similar lethal disease in hares. Over the long term, the rabbit control strategy with MYXV failed, as evolutionary selective pressures acting on both the virus and host resulted in MYXV-resistant rabbits and attenuated virus variants. Nevertheless, MYXV provides a valuable laboratory tool for the study of the poorly understood dance between infectious agents and the molecular transformations used by species to thwart them. "Every time a virus leaps from one host species into another, we learn something new about Mother Nature," McFadden says. "In the case of MYXV-Tol, we learned that the acquisition of a single new virus gene allowed this new virus strain access to a new host species that was previously resistant to the virus". New virus on the block Evidence suggests that Iberian hares had long been exposed to MYXV or a similar virus since at least the 1990's, with no resulting outbreak of myxomatosis occurring. Then, an altered virus strain known as MYXV-Tol appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. This new variant showed high similarity to the previously endemic form of the virus, known as MYXV-Lau, with one notable genomic exception. The new strain had acquired a small suite of new genes, which it acquired through recombination with an as-yet-unidentified poxvirus. The result was a supercharged variant that proved both infectious and highly lethal to hares living on the Iberian Peninsula, killing hundreds of them beginning in the Autumn of 2018. Among the genes found in the MYXV-Tol variant was a gene coding for a protein known as M159. The new study explores this single protein as a possible culprit in MYXV-Tol's species-hopping capacity. The researchers examined laboratory cell lines of rabbit, hare and human cells exposed to MYXV variants with and without the M159 protein. While strains containing the novel protein did not appear more infectious to cells of European rabbits, the M159-containing strains were now highly infectious to cells from European hares, whereas strains without the protein were not, establishing M159 as the key ingredient allowing MYXV to cross the species barrier. The study also tested two human cancer cell lines that are normally resistant to MYXV, exposing them to the M159-enhanced version. The results were dramatic. Human pancreatic cancer and melanoma cells are typically semipermissive or nonpermissive to MYXV, meaning that the virus usually replicates poorly in these cell types. However, when the M159 protein was inserted into the MYXV-Lau strain, viral replication in both cancer cell lines was significantly enhanced, suggesting the protein could be used to improve MYXV as a cancer-fighting agent against some classes of human tumors. Further research promises to shed new light on the highly pathogenic MYXV-Tol variant as well as illuminate the mechanisms used by other poxviruses to spillover into new animal species, including humans. Explore further Towards winning the war on feral wild rabbits More information: Ana Agueda-Pinto et al, Identification of a Novel Myxoma Virus C7-Like Host Range Factor That Enabled a Species Leap from Rabbits to Hares, mBio (2022). Journal information: mBio Ana Agueda-Pinto et al, Identification of a Novel Myxoma Virus C7-Like Host Range Factor That Enabled a Species Leap from Rabbits to Hares,(2022). DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03461-21 A Canada lynx is released in Schoolcraft County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on April 12, 2019. U.S. wildlife officials have agreed to craft a new habitat protection plan for the rare, snow-loving Canada lynx that could include more land in Colorado and other western states. Credit: John Pepin/Michigan Department of Natural Resources via AP, File U.S. wildlife officials have agreed to craft a new habitat plan for the snow-loving Canada lynx that could include more land in Colorado and other western states where the rare animals would be protected, according to a legal agreement made public Tuesday. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faces a 2024 deadline to draft the new plan for the wild cats after settling a legal challenge from two environmental groupsWild Earth Guardians and Wilderness Workshop. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen issued an order late Monday approving the settlement. The groups sued to enforce a prior court ruling from Christensen that said federal officials wrongly excluded areas of Colorado, Montana and Idaho when they designated almost 40,000 square miles (104,000 square kilometers) in 2014 as critical for the lynx's long-term survival. On land designated as critical, federal agencies are required to consult with wildlife officials before taking or allowing any activities that could destroy or alter the habitats of a protected species. Those consultations can potentially lead to restrictions of logging in federal forests or limitations on dirt roads used for recreation. Christensen cited the presence of a reproducing lynx population in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Agency officials had earlier concluded that Colorado and adjacent areas of Wyoming and New Mexico were "not essential" for the recovery of the species, pointing in part to low population densities of snowshoe hares that lynx eat. To comply with the judge's order, the Fish and Wildlife Service will evaluate which parts of the Southern Rockies and elsewhere are critical for lynx and propose them for potential protections by Nov. 21, 2024, according to a statement provided by agency spokesperson Joe Szuszwalak. Lynx are elusive, forest-dwelling animals. There is no reliable population estimate, but several hundred are believed to roam parts of the U.S. Rocky Mountains. The animals also are found in Minnesota, Maine, Washington state and occasionally Michigan. They were reintroduced to Colorado beginning in the late 1990s and listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act across the contiguous U.S. in 2000. During Donald Trump's presidency, officials said the lynx had recovered and no longer needed protection after their numbers rebounded in some areas. President Joe Biden's administration reversed course in November and agreed to keep the lynx's threatened species protections. That did not resolve the dispute over what areas they would need to survive. "There's a lot of really good habitat in Coloradowilderness and really remote areas," said attorney John Mellgren, who represented the environmental groups that reached the settlement. But he added that those areas face increased pressure as trees in forested areas are killed by beetles, wildfires and other problems that are being worsened by climate change. Some scientists warn climate change could undo progress in lynx recovery, by melting away their snowy habitat and decreasing the availability of snowshoe hares. U.S. government biologists in 2016 predicted some lynx populations would disappear by 2100. That was based on models predicting widespread and substantial habitat losses because of climate change. Under Trump, officials shortened their time span for considering climate change threats, from 2100 to 2050, because of what they said were uncertainties in long-term climate models. A government assessment based on that shortened time span concluded lynx populations had increased versus historical levels in parts of Colorado and Maine. ___ This version corrects the first name of the judge who presided over Canada lynx lawsuits to Dana, not Donald. Explore further Canada lynx to keep species protections under legal deal 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: CC0 Public Domain A survey of public opinion in China conducted by researchers at Rice University, the National University of Singapore and the University of British Columbia shows the country's perceptions of the U.S. plummeted during the presidency of Donald Trump. "Chinese Public Opinion about U.S.-China Relations from Trump to Biden," based on data collected before and after the 2020 presidential election, appeared in the latest issue of the Chinese Journal of International Politics, published by the Oxford University Press. Songying Fang, an associate professor of political science at Rice and one of the paper's authors, said the study is rare in addressing the topic. "There are a lot of American public opinion surveys about China. But there are very few up-to-date public opinion surveys about Chinese attitudes toward the outside world in general, and to the United States in particular," she said. "To me, that is missing an important piece of information. If you think about the relationships between the countries, we often think of them as government-to-government relations. But these relationships have domestic foundations, which include public opinions." Trump's trade policies toward China were a source of significant controversy during his presidency. In January 2018 , he began establishing tariffs and other roadblocks to trade with China in order to force the country to adjust what the U.S. considered to be unfair trade practices and theft of intellectual property. The survey was conducted in two waves, one before the 2020 U.S. presidential election and another after the election. When Chinese citizens were asked before the election whether they thought the U.S. would take China's interests into consideration in its foreign policy decisions, 76% of the respondents said either "not at all" or "not too much." In the second waveconducted after Biden's electionthat fell to 68%, still far higher than the 38% found in a 2013 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project . The first-wave survey also found that 75% of Chinese respondents believed the relationship between the U.S. and China had worsened in the past year; only 6% said the relationship had improved. The second-wave survey revealed that only 64% of Chinese respondents believed bilateral relationship worsened, with 15% believing it had improved. Fang said only time will tell if the uptick in favorability lasts. The researchers also found Chinese youths viewed the U.S. more negatively than their elders. When compared to people born in the 1960s or before, Chinese born in the 1990s or later were about 9% less likely to say that the U.S. cared about China's interests when making foreign policies and 5% less likely to say the U.S. had a positive influence on the Chinese economy. "We suspect that this is in part because they were exposed to the Trump era while they were still forming their world views, as opposed to people who are in the 40s and 50s," Fang said. "Also, older generations grew up at a time where America was perceived to be much more advanced than China in many ways." Younger generations have grown up in a China that is much more developed, so they are not as impressed by material conditions of life in the U.S., she said. But youths were found to be more likely to have positive views if they had lived or studied in the U.S. Fang believes that demonstrates the value of cultural exchanges and study-abroad programs. "Public opinion is ultimately the foundation of government policy and intergovernmental relationships, so anything that demonstrably improves these relationships is something that's definitely worth doing," Fang said. The study also found that before and after 2020, 45% and 46% of the respondents, respectively, believed the world would be better off with China as the leading power. About 22% and 20%, respectively, said the best scenario would be the U.S. and China jointly leading the world. Almost 30% said they did not want China to lead the world. "These individuals may think that it's too costly, and that there is a trade-off between leading the world and fixing domestic problems," Fang said. Explore further How hawkish is the Chinese public? More information: Songying Fang et al, Chinese Public Opinion about USChina Relations from Trump to Biden, The Chinese Journal of International Politics (2022). Songying Fang et al, Chinese Public Opinion about USChina Relations from Trump to Biden,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/cjip/poac001 Climate modeling published in Nature: Communications Earth and Environment demonstrate widespread increases in the occurrences of flash flooding events across most of the United States. Credit: Joe Lawton/NOAA/NSSL The latest U.N. report on climate change documented researchers' efforts that have shown some measures of global warming are now unavoidable, and current research efforts are focusing on mitigation and adaptation strategies. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration describes this as a global problem, felt on local scales. Likewise, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers are providing the data, tools and information to better understand and prepare for climate change. One of the effects being impacted by the warming climate is a change in frequency of flash flooding events, as well as the locations in which they most often occur. A research team led by the University of Oklahoma, with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory and collaborators at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, have created simulations from coupled climate and hydrologic models that demonstrate widespread increases in the occurrences of flash flooding events across most of the United States. The study is led by Yang Hong, a professor of hydrology and remote sensing in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences and in the School of Meteorology at OU. He is the director of the Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing Laboratory and the founding director of the hydrology and water security online master's program at OU. The research team's findings are published in Nature: Communications Earth and Environment. Zhi Li, a doctoral student with the HyDROS Lab, is the first author. "This study builds upon the state-of-the-art model (EF5/CREST) that is jointly developed by researchers with OU, NASA, and NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory and has initiated collaboration with National Center for Atmospheric Research climate scientists," said Li. "It realizes the concept of 'Digital Twin in Earth System Science,' in which one is our living climate and the other one is our future. Climate change never became so real to me until we successfully collaborated on such research." "There hasn't been a real definitive study on what's going to happen with flash floods in the future," said Jonathan J. Gourley, research hydrometeorologist with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory and contributor to the study. "We didn't have that robust of an observational record so, this study helped to fill in that gap. By using some of the rainfall simulations from a convection-resolving climate model and then coupling with our high-resolution hydrologic modeling system, we can see what sort of flash floods would be produced in the future." The research team used climate simulations and modeling of a 30-year period, 2070-2100, to predict the location and degree to which flash floods are likely to occur. The effect, what the researchers call "flashiness," describes the likelihood of weather conditions that can cause rapid rainfall and lead to flash flooding. They found that, if emissions continued at their current rate, flooding events would become 7.9% "flashier" by the end of the century, meaning heavy rainfall events are likely to occur quickly and in concentrated areas that are likely to lead to flooding. Similarly, their results show a more than 10% increase in flash flooding in the Southwest U.S., the greatest increase in "flashiness" among historical flash flood hot spots. The central U.S. is emerging as a new flash flood hotspot as well, with an 8.6% predicted increase. Overall, their results show future flash flood-prone regions are moving northwards. "More people will have to learn not just how to survive floods but also how to better live with ever-increasing flash floods," said Hong. "The 20-year return floods will more likely occur every two to five years, especially alarming for the emerging flashiness hotspots that will be facing unprecedented challenges with aging infrastructure and outdated flood risk measures. There is a pressing need to implement climate-resilient engineering infrastructure and develop smart hydrological early warning systems." However, there is still time to curb some of the more extreme impacts. Gourley says climate mitigation strategies could help. "Now's the time to start thinking about better flood defenses," he said. "Of course, decreasing greenhouse gas concentrations would be the ultimate solution, but in the meantime, we can think about ways to reduce vulnerabilities and improve flash flooding safety education." "The majority of fatalities related to flash floods are not floods finding people, but people finding floods, meaning they're out and about," he added. "They're typically driving through a flooded roadway." The best way to stay safe during flash flooding events is to stay off the roads and avoid standing water. Explore further Flood-ravaged eastern Australia braces for more wild weather More information: Zhi Li et al, The conterminous United States are projected to become more prone to flash floods in a high-end emissions scenario, Communications Earth & Environment (2022). Zhi Li et al, The conterminous United States are projected to become more prone to flash floods in a high-end emissions scenario,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-022-00409-6 UN Climate Change Reports: www.un.org/en/climatechange/reports? Journal information: Communications Earth & Environment Researchers from SIT, Japan, have designed a low-cost sensor chip with graphite-based molecularly imprinted polymer as the electrode. This chip can be used for detecting and monitoring theophylline levels. Credit: Yasuo Yoshimi from SIT, Japan Theophylline or THO is a natural organic compound whose molecular structure is very similar to that of caffeine present in coffee and cacao. Over the years, due to its therapeutic properties, THO has become one of the most widely studied xanthine group derivates. THO is used to dilate respiratory passages in people having difficulty breathing, and as a muscle relaxant, anti-asthmatic, and diuretic (drugs used to increase urine production and reduce blood pressure). It is also known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties, and can regulate our immune responses too. While THO is beneficial in treating a number of conditions, the drug has a very narrow therapeutic window. This means it can create adverse effects if administered beyond a certain limit (and that limit can be quite easily reached). An accidental or deliberate overdose can be highly toxic and lead to problems such as seizures, rapid heartbeats, excitation of the nervous system, or even death. This makes close monitoring of THO levels during therapy extremely crucial. In a recent articlewhich was published in Volume 27, Issue 8 of Molecules, made available online on 11 April 2022a team of researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) in Japan describe how they developed a low cost and rapid electrochemical sensor for THO detection. Elaborating on their motivation for the study, Prof. Yasuo Yoshimi (who is the corresponding author of the article) says, "Conventional drug monitoring relies on laboratories outside the hospital to analyze the molecular levels of drugs in blood. Our reagentless sensing tool can easily detect THO directly from whole blood in less than 3 seconds, just like a glucose sensor." This article is a part of the journal's special issue titled "Molecularly Imprinted Polymers: Impactful Technology vs. Academic Exercise." Therapeutic drug monitoring is essential for optimizing the effects of treatments such as chemotherapy, which require strict control over the drug's concentration in the patient's blood to prevent severe side effects. However, most monitoring techniques are often time-consuming and demand complex procedures that can only be carried out by an expert. The same goes for THO detection methods. To alleviate these problems, researchers over the years have developed low-cost electrochemical methods that are simple, highly sensitive, and rapid. One of these, a class of electrochemical tools that has recently gained momentum, is molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). These tools have tailor-made molecular cavities that can recognize and bind to specific target molecules, just like receptors in our own body would. Their ability to do so is being widely used in several applications, including drug detection. In this study, the team of scientists developed a disposable, paper-based THO sensor consisting of an electrode made of molecularly imprinted graphite. Since MIPs are designed using the target molecule as a template, the team used THO as a template when developing the sensor's carbon-based electrode paste. The synthesized paste was then loaded onto a printed sensor chip and its THO detection abilities were tested. The sensor was found to be highly sensitive (meaning it could detect even small amounts of THO) and showed great selectivity towards the drug. In fact, the sensor could identify THO even in samples with THO concentrations as low as 2.5 g/mL ( g=microgram, i.e., 1/1000 of a milligram). And what's more, this sensor needs only 3 seconds to detect THO! It could do so even in whole bovine blood. This portable, low-cost, reliable, and rapid sensor has long-term stability and can be used for the real-time detection of drugs like THO without us depending on sophisticated equipment. Furthermore, the fabrication strategy provided in this study can be used to develop efficient electrochemical sensors for various other clinical interventions. Assistant Prof. Aaryashree (who is the first author of the article) concludes, "Existing methods for the analysis of the drugs in blood are expensive and need specialized equipment. This can be a problem for developing countries dealing with a lack of resources and technicians. The paper-based sensor that we have developed is not only easy to use but also economical and can reduce the burden of drug analysis in developing countries. Further, its prototype can be used to develop a bedside therapeutic drug monitoring system, which will alert us of any overdose, avoiding side effects in patients taking these drugs." Explore further Russian scientists developed sensor for detecting toxic substances in water bodies More information: Aaryashree et al, A Disposable Sensor Chip Using a Paste Electrode with Surface-Imprinted Graphite Particles for Rapid and Reagentless Monitoring of Theophylline, Molecules (2022). Aaryashree et al, A Disposable Sensor Chip Using a Paste Electrode with Surface-Imprinted Graphite Particles for Rapid and Reagentless Monitoring of Theophylline,(2022). DOI: 10.3390/molecules27082456 Provided by Shibaura Institute of Technology Diagram of groundwater extraction. Credit: Wang Longhuan The rapid development of agriculture and industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region leads to an increase in water demand. Excessive groundwater extraction often results in the water depletion that may affect ecological and hydrological processes. Groundwater depletion can be detected using in-situ observations, gravity recovery and climate experiment data, and simulations. Recently, a joint research team led by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated the effects of groundwater extraction on hydrological process and energy cycle in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei by high resolution simulations. Their study was published in Journal of Hydrology. "Human groundwater extraction deepened the groundwater table depth between 2000 and 2012 across the plains in front of Taihang Mountain," said Prof. Jia Binghao, the corresponding author of the study. "Groundwater extraction used for irrigation changed the water and energy budgets, leading to a significant increasing of latent heat flux within the growing season." According to this study, groundwater extraction rapidly reduced terrestrial water storage (TWS, exceeding 24 cm per unit area) from 2000 to 2012. TWS changes in 52% of urbanized areas are dominated by groundwater extraction, and 20% of urbanized areas are dominated by evapotranspiration. "The model in this study can be used for other groundwater extraction hotspots around the world, such as Europe, southern Iran, central United States, northern India, and Pakistan to study the impact of human water use," said Prof. Xie Zhenghui, one co-author of the study. Explore further Anthropogenic groundwater extraction impacts climate More information: Longhuan Wang et al, Impact of groundwater extraction on hydrological process over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China, Journal of Hydrology (2022). Longhuan Wang et al, Impact of groundwater extraction on hydrological process over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127689 Credit: oatawa/Shutterstock Getting out of prison is often assumed to be cause for celebration and a new beginning. However, many women exiting prison face profound disadvantage, isolation, poor mental and physical health and struggle finding housing. Further complicating return to civil society is the fact some women are released from prison without formal identification. We worked alongside members of a not-for-profit group called Seeds of Affinityall women with lived experience of prisonto consider how a technology-based solution may ease the transition from prison to community life. We then developed a prototype messenger chatbot that helps women in South Australia through the steps involved in acquiring ID after exiting prison. Getting ID may seem simple. It's not Formal identification is necessary to create a bank account and to enable Centrelink payments. Neither entity accepts prison paperwork as formal ID, so a piece of official ID is crucial. While it is possible for support workers in the prison to organize ID prior to a woman's release, often this does not happen. Getting ID post-release is especially difficult if a woman has never had a driver's license or passport, and is even more complicated if she was born interstate. Getting a proof of age cardthrough, in the South Australian context, Service SAis not easy either. It requires a copy of a birth certificate, which can set you back A$50 and can take weeks. The process can be highly confusing, as this flow chart outlining the process shows. Some women exit prison without stable friendship and family networks on which they can rely to help them through this Kafkaesque process, or may not have access to the internet or phone data. They often need workers like Linda to help them. A flowchart showing the complicated process of getting formal ID in South Australia. Author provided 'Leave no woman behind': The challenges of freedom As researchers, we are interested in the ways technology can be leveraged to address social problems and promote social change. In our pilot project, we partnered with Seeds of Affinity in South Australia. Guided by their ethos of "leaving no women behind," this organization provides caring and judgment-free support to criminalized women. This is important because many models of service available to criminalized women are rarely helpful or nurturing, and often add to women's distress. This leaves many criminalized women reluctant to trust others. In our co-design workshops, women with lived experience of prison shared glimpses into their first few weeks following their release from prison. Every setback a woman faces when negotiating demands after release significantly impacts on upon her mental health; it can lead some women to believe it would be easier to give up and return to prison. The cost to keep a person in prison varies across states in Australia, but ranges between A$294$559 per day. This money would be better spent in the community. Any intervention is worthwhile if it helps women navigate post-release demands, creates a sense of achievement and steers them away from "giving up" and returning to prison. Lindabot in action. Author provided Can co-designed technology help? Before working with Seeds of Affinity women, we had envisaged an app as being the the best tech-based tool to use. But after analyzing how they engaged with technology, we identified Facebook's Messenger service as the best solution. We developed a prototype messenger chatbot named "Lindabot"named after Seeds of Affinity's community coordinator, Linda Fisk. We did this because we saw that it was the way information and support was delivered that mattered most to criminalized women seeking help. For this reason, our "Lindabot" prototype does not just provide information. Instead, we have programmed it to use positive, nurturing language based upon the approach used by Seeds of Affinity volunteers. Testing the tech To evaluate our prototype, we took Lindabot back to the women for testing and feedback. Linda bot at work. Author provided Encouragingly, they found it easy to navigate the familiar tech platform of Messenger. Women also responded positively to being actively involved in designing an intervention. As one participant said: "Usually, we are told what we need, it was nice to be asked for a change." Lindabot is still at the prototype stage. However, the development process has shown us more possibilities for Lindabot to help criminalized women meet other needs. We fully acknowledge technology-based solutions cannot replace human interaction, or undo the harms of imprisonment. But technology-based solutions informed by end-user's experiences have the potential to enhance and support the work of human service workers (like Linda). That leaves them more time for advocacy and the face-to-face work needed to support women to transition out of the criminal justice system. Explore further How going from care to prison compounds women's trauma This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The pandemic and the aging population are both partially responsible for the current labour shortage. Credit: Shutterstock Last month, unemployment in Canada reached a record low of 5.2 percent. Alongside low unemployment, many industries sawand are still seeinga worker shortage, with the number of job vacancies in Canada reaching 900,000 in January. Both of these things are good for workers, right? Prospective employers, desperate for new recruits, are "throwing cash at applicants." Many lower wage jobs have even seen an increase in pay, like the 20 percent wage increase for truckers recently announced by Walmart. The pandemic is partially responsible for this labor shortage, as the immigrant workforce supply dried up throughout the lockdown. However, the aging population in Canada has also been a factor. Is automation the answer? The solution to the worker shortage proposed by the Business Development Bank of Canada's chief economist is increased automation. Advocates and critics have long argued over the impact of automation on employment. Advocates believe automation can be used to perform mundane or physically demanding jobs, freeing up workers to learn new skills and take on better jobs. Recent research from the University of Pennsylvania supports the argument that automation creates jobs. The study found that investing in robots boosted the efficiency and quality of work while reducing costs, increasing productivity and creating more job opportunities. Similarly, a 2020 report from Statistics Canada also found that companies that used robots hired more human workers. The impact of automation on work can only be assessed over the longer term and according to whether vacancies are created by those leaving their jobs or retiring and whether the activities of those departing are fully automated. But critics have argued that automation and advancements in technology create an hourglass economy where opportunities only exist for highly and lowly skilled workers, leaving less work for semi-skilled workers who must either increase their skills or take lower-skilled (and waged) work. A common example used to illustrate the detriment of technology to employment is the case of Blockbuster. Once a titan of physical video rental with 60,000 employees, Blockbuster was unable to compete with Netflix's (who only had around 2,500 employees) new streaming services and filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Netflix automated the video rental business while Blockbuster retained its physical labor-intensive model until it was too late. Automation might not be so bad after all The reason why automation hasn't had a more detrimental impact for workers can be explained by two factors. Firstly, employees are also consumers. To reduce employment is to reduce the market for products, which is bad for manufacturers and capitalism itself. As a management professor, I often use an incident that supposedly occurred between Henry Ford II and Walter Reuther, leader of the United Automobile Workers trade union, to illustrate this point. While showing Reuther the new automated assembly lines at his car factory, Ford subtly threatened the future of the union: "How are you going to get those robots to pay your union dues?" Unfazed, Reuther replied: "How are you going to get them to buy your cars?" Secondly, firms can easily resolve issues with new technology by employing human workers to take over. Take for example, the failure of automation in the fast food industry and the tale of Flippy, the burger flipping robot, that lasted a single day, only to be replaced by human workers when it couldn't keep up with demand. Such instances reveal the way in which workers offer an easy substitute for automation that fails to cut the mustard (or flip the burger). The current situation is different because employers are struggling to source workers. The reliance on automation is becoming a necessity, rather than a source of competitive advantage. Moreover, the labor shortage means that turning to workers as a substitute for failing technology is a less viable strategy, so firms are more likely to persevere in introducing new technology. The future of automation It has been argued that about half of the activities undertaken by workers could be automated by 2055. This does not mean that all of these activities will be automated. Nor does it mean that 50 percent of jobs will necessarily disappear in the next 30 years without other jobs emerging as a result. However, current circumstances, especially the shortage of workers, is a powerful motivation for automation. We could see a significant increase in automation use in the workplace over the next few years. The challenges of filling worker vacancies may be good news for workers now, but the longer terms consequences still remain to be seen. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Chinese culture is becoming more entrenched in young Namibians as they are passionately pursuing the Chinese language. Rena Stephanus, a communication graduate, based in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, enrolled in a Chinese language course at the Confucius Institute at the University of Namibia this year, in hopes of diversifying her linguistic portfolio. "Chinese is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Wherever you are in the world, you will be exposed to the language one way or another. My curiosity about China and its people motivated me to enroll," she said Wednesday when the UN Chinese Language Day was observed in the world. Stephanus believed that Chinese (language) adeptness is essential for her to communicate. "The elimination of communication barriers is the primary reason I enrolled for Mandarin." Although a beginner in the course, Stephanus has seen her interest grow in China's history and the Chinese culture. According to Stephanus, Chinese art, music, cuisine and literature have now become an integral part of her life. "The culturally rich country (China) has so much to be explored and the exposure to the language gradually enhances my basic understanding of China and its people," Stephanus said. Loide Mateus, a Confucius Institute alumnus, studied the Chinese language for three years. "At the time, there was a stereotype that the Chinese language is difficult. But the exposure to the Asian language and culture altered my outlook on life," she said, who declared that Chinese proficiency has sharpened her cognitive skills and made intercultural interactions meaningful. "I embrace knowing another language. I love the Chinese culture, celebrate festivals, and the Chinese food is delicious. I see myself as a conduit between China and Namibia." The ability to speak the language has brought many opportunities for Mateus. "I had been offered many opportunities by local companies to work on temporary contracts. Not only because of my language skills but also because (of the fact that) I understand cultural diversity and my open-mindedness to life thanks to learning the Chinese language," Mateus said. "Apart from sharing what I know in my immediate social environment, I also share a lot via social media, especially my travels to China and the Chinese culture on my Instagram account. Likewise, answering the questions from friends and community. I have also inspired younger siblings to enroll in the Chinese language." Ester Nghipondoka, the minister of Education, Arts and Culture, said that continued interactions between Namibia and China had brought mutual benefits, mainly in the areas of education and cultural exchange. Liu Dianbo, the director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Namibia, said the institute enrolled 20 students this year. More than 5,900 Namibians have been attracted to study the Chinese language course at the institute since its opening in 2013. To celebrate the UN Chinese Language Day, which is observed annually on April 20, the Chinese Embassy in Namibia, in partnership with the institute, will host a singing competition Friday. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Italian nurse Daniela Poggiali was arrested and convicted of murdering two hospital patients in 2014. Her case attracted the attention of Leiden statistician Richard Gill. After his investigation, together with an Italian colleague, Poggiali was acquitted last autumn. Together with fellow statisticians, Gill is trying to prevent this type of statistical error in the future. Richard Gill has cooperated before in a similar criminal case. The Dutch nurse Lucia de Berk was convicted of the murder of several patients in 2003 and was finally acquitted in 2010. Gill says that "since then I follow similar cases when they appear in the media. Seven years ago I read about Daniela Poggiali. The case seemed suspicious to me. There were reports that she may have killed a hundred people and that three times as many people died when she was on duty than when she was not. So there was clearly a statistical aspect." Gill offered his help Gill sought contact with Poggiali's lawyer and offered his help. He also approached his Italian colleague Julia Mortera from Rome. Together with students, they examined the thick report written by Professors Tagliaro (toxicology/pathology) and Micciolo (epidemiology). These professors often cooperate with the Italian justice system. Gill says that "despite their opposition, we managed to obtain the raw data. We repeated the analyses and did a lot of additional and alternative analyses." 'Mickey Mouse-statistics' Gill calls the approach of his predecessors "Mickey Mouse statistics" in his blog. "They analyzed the times of all shifts of all nurses and the times of admission and discharge or death of all patients in two years. Using very simple statistics, they compared mortality rates with and without Daniela's presence," Gill says. "They took into account the time of year, day or night, but left out other things that are also very important." Daniela was a hard worker and she was often there Many people died in the morning, fewer in the afternoon and evening, few at night. "There are many nurses present in the morning, fewer in the afternoon and even fewer at night. So for every full-time nurse, there are more deaths when she is there than when she is not there. Moreover: Daniela was a conscientious, hard worker. She started her shifts early and finished late. She always made the overlap between shifts, unlike many colleagues." Gill and his students proved the false correlation On paper, many people died in the overlap between shifts. In reality, during those 15 minutes, the doctor comes by and officially establishes the death. Gill emphasizes that this is the time at which it was recorded not the time of death. He and his students proved the false correlation between the presence of Poggiali and the death of patients. His Italian colleague Mortera discovered errors in the statistical analysis used by toxicology professor Tagliaro to prove a death by poisoning. Convicted anyway Based on this analysis, Poggiali was convicted of murdering two patients after all; also because there were rumors that she had an argument with them. The judges concluded that she had put potassium chloride in the drip. But no account had been taken of statistical uncertainty or the advanced age of the deceased woman. Her age could also explain the high level of potassium chloride. The persistent lawyer and statisticians were finally able to secure an acquittal, but the nurse spent seven years largely in prison. Task force to prevent this kind of thing Gill and Mortera recently published their research in the public pre-publication archive ArXiv. They also submitted it to the peer-reviewed journal Law, Probability and Risk. De Berk and Poggiali are not the last nurses to be suspected of murder during their work. That is why Gill is now a member of a specially established task force of the Forensic Statistics Section of the Royal Statistical Society. "We want to advise all stakeholders in future cases like this. There will be a new case in the UK this autumn." There, Lucy Letby is suspected of baby murder. Explore further Study traces the evolution of gill covers More information: Francesco Dotto et al, Statistical Analyses in the case of an Italian nurse accused of murdering patients, arXiv:2202.08895 [stat.AP], Journal information: arXiv Francesco Dotto et al, Statistical Analyses in the case of an Italian nurse accused of murdering patients, arXiv:2202.08895 [stat.AP], arxiv.org/abs/2202.08895 Observing System Experiments show that ESAs Aeolus mission significantly improves short-range forecasts, particularly in the Tropics and at mid-latitudes. The graph shows the standard deviation of changes when assimilating Aeolus data at an atmospheric pressure of 200 hPa (around 12km altitude). Credit: ECMWFM. Rennie/ESA Launched back in 2018, Aeolus has outlived its 36-month in-orbit design lifebut going above and beyond, it continues to deliver excellent data. This shows that there's life yet in the satellite, meaning ESA's wind mission is now expected to continue shining a light on the wind for another year. Heralding the start of the Aeolus Third Anniversary Conference in Taormina, Sicily, which highlighted the continued importance of this pioneering wind mission, the Aeolus Mission Manager, Tommaso Parrinello, said, "I believe that the best is still to come, and I'm pleased to announce that with a switch of the laser we are extending the lifetime of this remarkable mission hopefully for another year." Named after Aeolus, who in Greek mythology was appointed "keeper of the winds" by the Gods, Aeolus is a one-of-a-kind satellite that measures wind from space. It is one of ESA's Earth Explorers missions, which use advanced space technologies to answer critical questions about Earth's natural processes and the impact that human activity is having. Pulses of ultraviolet light fired from Aeolus' ALADIN laser towards Earth are reflected from air molecules and particles in the atmosphere. Two optical analyzers measure the Doppler shift of the molecular scattering, "Rayleigh," and scattering from aerosols and water droplets, "Mie." By analyzing these Doppler shifts, it is possible to estimate wind speed and direction at various altitudes worldwide, making Aeolus the first satellite mission to deliver profiles of Earth's wind on a global scale. The uses for Aeolus wind data are many, from predicting the weather and improving climate models, to tracking events in near-real time, such as the recent Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption. Despite exceeding its design life in orbit, ESAs Aeolus mission continues to deliver excellent data. The uses for Aeolus wind data are many, from predicting the weather and improving climate models, to tracking events in near-realtime, such as the recent Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption. The image shows how the ash from the eruption left its mark in Aeolus measurements on 15 January 2022. A huge blip, or drop, can be seen in the Aeolus signal over the Tonga region, suggesting the plume of volcanic ash must have reached an altitude above the range of Aeolus. Credit: ESA Despite exceeding its initial lifetime, meteorology experts at the Taormina conference expressed the value Aeolus data continue to have. "Forecast Sensitivity Observation Impact shows that Aeolus is amongst the most important satellite missions, which is an impressive result for a demonstrator," said Mike Rennie of the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Nothing connects us quite like the weather. Whether it's to understand what coat to wear, or to determine climate expectations tomorrow, being able to predict it as accurately as possible is key. Although Mike showed that although the positive impact of the data obtained in 2019 was roughly twice as big as it is now, Aeolus is still proving useful for numerical weather prediction. "Although the Rayleigh impact is gradually declining as the instrument noise increases, the Forecast Sensitivity Observation Impact shows that Aeolus is still beneficial," added Mike. Despite exceeding its design life in orbit, ESAs Aeolus mission continues to deliver excellent data. The uses for Aeolus wind data are many, from predicting the weather and improving climate models, to tracking events in near-realtime, such as the recent Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption. The image, processed from data gathered on 18 January 2022, shows how Aeolus tracked volcanic plume as it widened and spread westwards over Australia. Credit: ESA Gemma Halloran of the UK Met Office, where an expanded Aeolus dataset will be operational in May, concurred, saying, "Almost all weather models improved with the assimilation of Aeolus data." Vivien Pourret of Meteo France also presented data that put Aeolus amongst the best instruments for improving weather forecasts, third overall in terms of improvement per observation. He noted, "The goal is to operationally assimilate Aeolus data for as long as possible." Aeolus helped track Hunga Tonga eruption Aeolus is also proving helpful for tracking events such as volcanic eruptions, thanks to near-real time data reaching the user within three hours via the Aeolus Virtual Research Environment. Earlier this year, scientists working on the Aeolus Data Science Innovation Cluster used the online visualization tool to track the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption. On 15 January 2022, a huge blip, or drop, in the Aeolus signal over the region of the eruption suggested the plume of volcanic ash must have reached an altitude above the range of Aeolus, as shown in the image above. The image below uses data from three days later, from 18 January, and shows how Aeolus could track the volcanic plume widening and spreading westwards over Australia. The Aeolus scientific community gathered in Taormina, Sicily, which very aptly lies just south of the Aeolian Islands named after the very same keeper of the winds, and under Mount Etna, a volcano whose plumes can be better modelled thanks to the assimilation of Aeolus data. Credit: ESA - European Space Agency After increasing the satellite's range of measurements, by the end of January the whole plume was clearly visible in the stratosphere. The usefulness of such analyses was made clear by Anna Kampouri of the National Observatory of Athens, who in Taormina also showed how Aeolus data improved models of Mount Etna's ash plume as it traveled across Greece in March 2021. The effect is important to warn the airline industry of potential hazards, as encounters with ash clouds in high concentrations can reduce visibility and damage aircraft engines. The future is bright for Doppler wind lidars in space While Aeolus is set for at least another year, discussions in Taormina inevitably led to potential follow-on missions. "The value of Aeolus is not only scientific, but also economic and societal," said ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programs Simonetta Cheli in her opening address in Taormina. "Following the success of Aeolus and the operational assimilation of data into weather forecast models, it's clear there is growing support for a follow-on mission." Explore further Aeolus winds now in daily weather forecasts Map showing the study site of NH 715 (new) passing through the KNP. Credit: Nature Conservation (2022). DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.47.73036 "Is it the road that crosses the habitat, or does the habitat cross the road?" ask scientists at Gauhati University (Assam, India) before agreeing that the wrong road at the wrong place is bound to cause various perils for the local wildlife, habitats and ecosystems. Furthermore, some of those effects may take longer than others to identify and confirm. This is how the research team of doctoral research fellow Somoyita Sur, Dr. Prasanta Kumar Saikia and Dr. Malabika Kakati Saikia decided to study roadkill along a 64-kilometer-long stretch of one of the major highways in India: the National Highway 715. What makes the location a particularly intriguing choice is that it is where the highway passes between the Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Assam and the North Karbi Anglong Wildlife Sanctuary, thus tempting animals to move to and from the floodplains of Kaziranga and the hilly terrain of the Sanctuary to escape the annual floods oron a daily basisin search for food and mating partners. In the beginning, they looked into various groups, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, before realizing that the death toll amongst frogs, toads, snakes and lizards was indeed tremendous, yet overlooked. Their findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed scholarly journal Nature Conservation. "To our surprise, the death toll within that 64-kilometer stretch of the highway was indeed dramatic. We estimated that it has been over 6000 animals that have fallen under the wheels of motor vehicles within a single year. Prior to our study, similar research had focused on big charismatic species like the tiger, elephant and rhino, so when we took into account also the smaller animals: frogs, toads, snakes and lizards, the count went through the roof. Thus, we decided to make smaller species the focus of our work," comments Sur. In conclusion, the scientists agree that roads and highways cannot be abandoned or prevented from construction and expansion, as they are crucial in connecting people and transporting goods and necessities. "Yet, we can definitely put some effort into designing and constructing them in a scientifically sound, eco-friendly and sustainable manner, so that they don't become the bane for our ecosystems," the team concludes. Explore further Rare rhinos among more than 200 animals killed by India floods More information: Somoyita Sur et al, Speed thrills but kills: A case study on seasonal variation in roadkill mortality on National highway 715 (new) in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape, Assam, India, Nature Conservation (2022). Journal information: Nature Conservation Somoyita Sur et al, Speed thrills but kills: A case study on seasonal variation in roadkill mortality on National highway 715 (new) in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape, Assam, India,(2022). DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.47.73036 Meat substitutes are on the rise. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now investigated why they are consumed. Credit: Gregor Hubl/ University of Bonn Meat substitutes are on the rise: While they used to have a niche existence in health food stores or organic stores, wheat salami, tofu schnitzel or soy mince can now be found in every well-stocked supermarket. "We wanted to know why consumers choose these alternatives," explains Jeanette Klink-Lehmann, who is doing her doctorate at the Institute of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn in the department of Prof. Dr. Monika Hartmann. Klink-Lehmann and Hartmann, together with their colleague Nick Marcus, surveyed 441 men and women from all over Germany for the analysis. The participants were asked, for example, to state how much they care about their health, whether they think humanity is heading for an ecological crisis and whether animal husbandry in agriculture should be ethically questioned. They also indicated their attitude toward meat substitutes and their intention to consume them regularly in the future. Animal welfare and health aspects motivate consumption "We have now examined the statistical relationships between these responses based on an extension of a recognized behavioral model," says Marcus. The researchers came across a surprising result: greater concern for the environment was not associated with a better rating of meat substitutes, nor with a greater intention to buy them. "We had expected that ecological aspects would also play a role in the intention to consume meat alternatives," Marcus explains. "However, that has not been confirmed." The researchers can only speculate about the reasons for the discrepancy between the participants' environmental concerns and their behavioral intention. For example, the survey data already dates from 2017a time when the "Fridays for Future" movement did not yet exist. "Since then, the issue of the environment has been much more prominent on the agenda," Klink-Lehmann emphasizes. "As a result, more people are probably aware of the potentially negative environmental effects of meat consumption today than they were five years ago." Animal welfare concerns played a major role in the respondents' consumption decisions: those who view factory farming critically, (unsurprisingly) have a more positive attitude toward plant-based sausages and veggie burgers on average. This attitude, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the intention to use these alternatives in the future. A pronounced health consciousness is also associated with a greater willingness to consume meat substitutes. Furthermore, the attitudes of friends and close relatives toward meat substitutes has a significant influence on this decision. Targeted marketing of the advantages Marcus, Klink-Lehmann and Hartmann recommend, on the one hand, better communication of the ecological advantages of meat alternatives. In addition, the industry should pay attention to a healthy and balanced composition in the manufacture of its products. Moreover, where animal-based foods such as eggs are used in meat substitutes, they should come from farms that pay attention to good animal husbandry. "Animal welfare and health are obviously very important to consumers," says Klink-Lehmann. "So manufacturers would do well to take these aspects into account and then market their foods accordingly." The research was published in Food Quality and Preference. Explore further More than half of university students surveyed have tried a meat alternative More information: N. Marcus et al, Exploring factors determining German consumers' intention to eat meat alternatives, Food Quality and Preference (2022). N. Marcus et al, Exploring factors determining German consumers' intention to eat meat alternatives,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104610 Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Following a thorough evaluation, NASA has extended the planetary science missions of eight of its spacecraft due to their scientific productivity and potential to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the solar system and beyond. The missionsMars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity rover), InSight lander, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, OSIRIS-REx, and New Horizonshave been selected for continuation, assuming their spacecraft remain healthy. Most of the missions will be extended for three years; however, OSIRIS-REx will be continued for nine years in order to reach a new destination, and InSight will be continued until the end of 2022, unless the spacecraft's electrical power allows for longer operations. Each extended mission proposal was reviewed by a panel of independent experts drawn from academia, industry, and NASA. In total, more than 50 reviewers evaluated the scientific return of the respective proposals. Two independent review chairs oversaw the process and, based on the panel evaluations, validated that these eight science missions hold substantial potential to continue bringing new discoveries and addressing compelling new science questions. Beyond providing important programmatic benefit to NASA, several of these missions promise multi-divisional science benefits across NASA's entire Science Mission Directorate (SMD), including their use as data relays for Mars surface landers and rovers, as well as to support other NASA initiatives such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). "Extended missions provide us with the opportunity to leverage NASA's large investments in exploration, allowing continued science operations at a cost far lower than developing a new mission," said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA's Headquarters in Washington. "Maximizing taxpayer dollars in this way allows missions to obtain valuable new science data, and in some cases, allows NASA to explore new targets with totally new science goals." Two of the extended missions, MAVEN and OSIRIS-REx, welcome new principal investigators (PIs). OSIRIS-APEX (Principal Investigator: Dr. Daniella DellaGiustina, University of Arizona): The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is currently on its way back to Earth to deliver the samples of asteroid Bennu that it collected in 2020. Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx PI, will remain in place for the primary mission, while DellaGiustina begins her role as the newly named PI for OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX). With a new name to reflect the extended mission's new goals, the OSIRIS-APEX team will redirect the spacecraft to encounter Apophis, an asteroid roughly 1,200 feet (roughly 370 meters) in diameter that will come within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of Earth in 2029. OSIRIS-APEX will enter orbit around Apophis soon after the asteroid's Earth flyby, providing an unprecedented close-up look at this S-type asteroid. It plans to study changes in the asteroid caused by its close flyby of Earth and use the spacecraft's gas thrusters to attempt to dislodge and study the dust and small rocks on and below Apophis' surface. MAVEN (Principal Investigator: Dr. Shannon Curry, University of California, Berkeley): The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission plans to study the interaction between Mars' atmosphere and magnetic field during the upcoming solar maximum. MAVEN's observations as the Sun's activity level increases toward the maximum of its 11-year cycle will deepen our understanding of how Mars' upper atmosphere and magnetic field interact with the Sun. InSight (Principal Investigator: Dr. Bruce Banerdt, JPL): Since landing on Mars in 2018, the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission has operated the only active seismic station beyond Earth. Its seismic monitoring of "marsquakes" has provided constraints on Mars' interior, formation, and current activity. The extended mission will continue InSight's seismic and weather monitoring if the spacecraft remains healthy. However, due to dust accumulation on its solar panels, InSight's electrical power production is low, and the mission is unlikely to continue operations for the duration of its current extended mission unless its solar panels are cleared by a passing 'dust devil' in Mars' atmosphere. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) (Project Scientist: Dr. Noah Petro, GSFC): LRO will continue to study the surface and geology of the Moon. The evolution of LRO's orbit will allow it to study new regions away from the poles in unprecedented detail, including the Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) near the poles where water ice may be found. LRO will also provide important programmatic support for NASA's efforts to return to the Moon. Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) (Project Scientist: Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, JPL): The Mars Science Laboratory and its Curiosity rover have driven more than 16 miles (27 km) on the surface of Mars, exploring the history of habitability in Gale Crater. In its fourth extended mission, MSL will climb to higher elevations, exploring the critical sulfate-bearing layers which give unique insights into the history of water on Mars. New Horizons (Principal Investigator: Dr. Alan Stern, SwRI): New Horizons flew past Pluto in 2015 and the Kuiper belt object (KBO) Arrokoth in 2019. In its second extended mission, New Horizons will continue to explore the distant solar system out to 63 astronomical units (AU) from Earth. The New Horizons spacecraft can potentially conduct multi-disciplinary observations of relevance to the solar system and NASA's Heliophysics and Astrophysics Divisions. Additional details regarding New Horizons' science plan will be provided at a later date. Mars Odyssey (Project Scientist: Dr. Jeffrey Plaut, JPL): Mars Odyssey's extended mission will perform new thermal studies of rocks and ice below Mars' surface, monitor the radiation environment, and continue its long-running climate monitoring campaign. The Odyssey orbiter also continues to provide unique support for real-time data relay from other Mars spacecraft. The length of Odyssey's extended mission may be limited by the amount of propellant remaining aboard the spacecraft. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) (Project Scientist: Dr. Rich Zurek, JPL): MRO has provided a wealth of data regarding the processes on Mars' surface. In its sixth extended mission, MRO will study the evolution of Mars' surface, ices, active geology, and atmosphere and climate. In addition, MRO will continue to provide important data relay service to other Mars missions. MRO's CRISM instrument will be shut down entirely, after the loss of its cryocooler has ended the use of one of its two spectrometers. NASA's Planetary Science Division currently operates 14 spacecraft across the solar system, has 12 missions in formulation and implementation, and partners with international space agencies on seven others. Explore further New Horizons receives mission extension to Kuiper Belt, Dawn to remain at Ceres More information: The detailed reports from the 2022 Planetary Science Senior Review may be found at The detailed reports from the 2022 Planetary Science Senior Review may be found at science.nasa.gov/solar-system/ uments/senior-review Spatial distribution of four OCs (filled red circles). The schematic projection of the Galaxy with its spiral arms is seen from the North pole. (X, Y) kpc show the galactosentric cartesian coordinates. The sun is at 8.2 kpc. Credit: Cakmaka and Karatasa, 2022. Using data from ESA's Gaia space observatory, astronomers from the Istanbul University in Turkey have inspected four galactic open clusters. Results of this research, available in a paper published April 16 on the arXiv pre-print repository, deliver important insights into the properties of these objects. Open clusters (OCs), formed from the same giant molecular cloud, are groups of stars loosely gravitationally bound to each other. So far, more than 1,000 of them have been discovered in the Milky Way, and scientists are still looking for more, hoping to find a variety of these stellar groupings. Expanding the list of known galactic open clusters and studying them in detail could be crucial for improving our understanding of the formation and evolution of our galaxy. Therefore, Turkish astronomers Hikmet Cakmaka and Yuksel Karatasa have examined four OCs in the Milky Way, namely: Berkeley 10 (or Be 10), Berkeley 81 (Be 81), Berkeley 89 (Be 89), and Ruprecht 135 (Ru 135). They analyzed photometric and astrometric data from Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) with the aim of determining astrophysical, structural and dynamical parameters of these clusters. "In this paper, we study the dynamical evolution of Be 81, Ru 135, Be 10, and Be 89 from Gaia EDR3 photometric/astrometric data," the researchers wrote in the study. The research found that the largest and most massive OC from the studied quartet is Be 89. It has a radius of about 37.1 light years and its total mass was calculated to be 154.7 solar masses. The cluster is 3.2 billion years old, has a metallicity of 0.0152, and is located some 7,900 light years away from the Earth. It is estimated that Be 89 has at least 221 member stars. With a radius of about 5.5 light years and total mass of approximately 98.5 solar masses, Ru 135 is the smallest and least massive cluster out of the four described in the paper. At a distance of just 2,900 light years, Ru 135 has an age of about 1 billion years, metallicity similar to that of Be 89, and is estimated to contain 119 stars. Be 81 is the most distant OC from the sample as it is located some 8,600 light years away. Its radius and mass are estimated to be 9.84 light years and 134.5 solar masses, respectively. The age of this cluster, known to host at least 171 stars, is estimated to be 1.6 billion years, while its metallicity is at a level of 0.024. When it comes to 1.35 billion years old Be 10, it has a radius of about 21.2 light years and its total mass was calculated to be 109.6 solar masses. Located at a distance of 6,223 light years, this OC is estimated to have 197 member stars, and its metallicity was found to be approximately 0.008. Summing up the results, the researchers noted that the cluster Be 89 expands with time, contrary to Be 10 and Be 81 as these two showcase the relatively shrinkage cluster radii due to dynamical evolution. In the case of Ru 135, it was found that instead of shrinking in size and mass with time, this cluster may have a primordial origin assumed to be related to high molecular gas density in galactic directions. Explore further Chinese astronomers discover more than 500 new open cluster candidates More information: Hikmet Cakmak, Yuksel Karatas, A Dynamical Evolution Study of the Open Clusters: Berkeley 10, Berkeley 81, Berkeley 89 and Ruprecht 135. arXiv:2204.07745v3 [astro-ph.GA], Hikmet Cakmak, Yuksel Karatas, A Dynamical Evolution Study of the Open Clusters: Berkeley 10, Berkeley 81, Berkeley 89 and Ruprecht 135. arXiv:2204.07745v3 [astro-ph.GA], arxiv.org/abs/2204.07745 2022 Science X Network Brazilian salmon pink bird-eating tarantula (Lasiodora Parahybana) in the lab of Linda Rayor, senior research associate in CALS. Credit: Jason Koski/Cornell University A survey has found that endangered and threatened insects and spiders, as well as common species that provide valuable ecological services, can be easily purchased without adequate oversightthrough basic internet searches, according to a new Cornell study. For example, the Luzon peacock swallowtail, one of the rarest butterflies, which is listed as endangered both internationally and in the U.S., and is illegal to trade, was found for sale at Amazon.com pinned in a display box for around $110. Many species of live tarantulas, which are not threatened with extinction but whose trade is strictly controlled, were also readily discovered for sale as pets without any oversight or enforcement. These results are concerning given that insects are in steep decline globally due to habitat loss, pesticides, invasive species, urbanization, pollution, and climate change. Some entomologists have estimated that the Earth is losing about 10 to 20% of all insect species every decade, and researchers said an insect or spider species' survival can be greatly impacted when it is collected and sold. John Losey, professor of entomology and the lead author of the paper, "Insects and Spiders on the Web: Monitoring and Mitigating Online Exploitation of Species and Services," which published April 2 in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, said the study began as a project for his Insect Conservation Biology course. The paper included 18 student co-authors who were undergraduates in 2019 when the research was done. Paul Curtis, extension wildlife specialist in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, is a senior co-author. "We surveyed the web to determine if there were species available for sale that are rare, threatened, or for which commerce is in some way regulated," Losey said. "As they get rarer and rarer, they become more and more valuable to collectors, and then the amount of collecting and sale, if not done sustainably, has greater impact on those species." In the study, the student investigators began with independent broad searches to see what was out there. After gathering leads, the team formalized its process and divided searches across platformsincluding Amazon, Ebay, Etsy and Alibaba, among others. They focused on vulnerable insect and spider species found on a few key lists. These included the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) lists, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and the U.S. Endangered Species List. The Luzon peacock swallowtail, for example, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List and CITES Appendix I, which denotes the most endangered species with the highest level of regulation; international trade of such CITES Appendix 1 species are generally prohibited. In their searches, the team found 79 species listed across the three lists, including seven species on the IUCN's Red List, which names just the critically endangered. Among those were two stick insect species, a Gooty sapphire tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica) for sale for $232.50, and a Cyprus beetle (Propomacrus cypriacus), which cost $1,100 on eBay. The most expensive insect they found for sale was a birdwing butterfly species named Ornithoptera allottei, listed on CITES Appendix 2. The pinned butterfly was listed on eBay for $3,850 at the time of the search. "It was really astonishing how easily endangered species are openly being sold online," said Juan Pablo Jordan, a student co-author who is now a doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. "It was also surprising how accessible the [endangered species] listings are to find and the complacency of the sale platforms that are essentially supporting the trade of at-risk species that are protected by law." The students also found for sale species that provide ecological services, such as ladybugs released for pest control and pollinators. Such insects should be purchased through regulated sources, because releasing diseased insects, the wrong strain, or batches not suited to thrive in areas where they are released could impact larger wild populations and have negative effects on the services they provide. "Hopefully, our findings will lead to better enforcement of the illegal online sale of rare insects and protect those species in the wild," Curtis said. To that end, the study has been shared with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces illegal trade of species but lacks the resources to monitor the commerce. Losey said he hopes to continue the project with student-specialists who monitor the web for illegal sales and report findings. For insects that provide services, the hope is to put them in the framework of "livestock," so their unregulated sale could then be monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Losey said. Explore further Trade in rare plants on social media must be monitored More information: John E. Losey et al, Insects and spiders on the web: Monitoring and mitigating online exploitation of species and services, Global Ecology and Conservation (2022). John E. Losey et al, Insects and spiders on the web: Monitoring and mitigating online exploitation of species and services,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02098 Important high pressure terranes marked along the BNS. Credit: Chasebill/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 The Gangdese porphyry copper deposit belt (GPCDB) is along the southern margin of Lhasa Terrane. The deposits of GPCDB were formed in the Miocene after the India-Eurasia collision. The genesis of these porphyry copper deposits is controversial. Jiama is a giant porphyry-skarn Cu-polymetallic deposit in the GPCDB. Granite porphyry is the main magmatic rocks in the deposit. Clarifying the origin of granite porphyry is crucial for understanding mineralization. Combining the geochronology, geochemical and isotopic studies of the granite porphyry in the Jiama deposit, a research team led by Prof. Sun Weidong from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences provided firm constraint on the petrogenesis of granite porphyry and mineralization potential. The study was published in Journal of Geochemical Exploration on April 11. Zircon U-Pb dating indicated that the granite porphyry and other felsic porphyries in the Jiama deposit mainly formed during the 1516 Ma magmatic pulse events. The formation age of felsic porphyries is consistent with the metallogenic age. By compiling the previously published and newly obtained Sr-Nd isotope data, the researchers found that all the felsic magmatic rocks in the Jiama deposit had a similar and narrow variation range of I Sr , indicating that they had an identical magma source. The zircon Hf-O isotopic compositions suggested their homologous properties as well. All the isotopic data suggested that these felsic porphyries were derived from an identical relatively depleted magma source. The Sr-Nd isotope two end-member mixing modeling indicated that these porphyries might have originated from melts of juvenile lower crust mixing with a small amount of ultrapotassic magma. The (La/Sm)N-SiO 2 , (Dy/Yb) N -SiO 2 evolution trends indicated that different from other felsic porphyries in the Jiama deposit, the magma of granite porphyry experienced the fractional crystallization of hornblende and plagioclase. The fractional crystallization of plagioclase during magma evolution gradually lowered the Sr contents and erased the adakitic characteristics. "The high zircon Ce4+/Ce3+ values demonstrate that the granite porphyries in the Jiama deposit have high oxygen fugacity, which is favorable for CuMo mineralization," said Wang Kun, first author of the study. Explore further Scientists find reworking of juvenile crust in the late Mesozoic in North Qinling, Central China More information: Kun Wang et al, Petrogenesis and metallogenic implications of the Miocene granite porphyry in the Jiama Cu-polymetallic deposit, Gangdese belt, South Tibet, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (2022). Kun Wang et al, Petrogenesis and metallogenic implications of the Miocene granite porphyry in the Jiama Cu-polymetallic deposit, Gangdese belt, South Tibet,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.gexplo.2022.106998 Manned submarines will be used to explore the first 4 seamounts of the Cordillera de Coiba, located about 100 kilometers south of Coiba National Park. Credit: Undersea Hunter Group Last year, Panama expanded the Cordillera de Coiba marine protected area from 17,223 to 67,908 square kilometers (6,650 to 26,219 square miles). On April 27th, an international scientific expedition made up of researchers and students from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), MigraMar, the International Maritime University of Panama (UMIP), the University of Costa Rica and the Ministry of the Environment will set sail on the first mission to explore the seamounts of this protected area. The scientists will conduct daily dives to depths of up to 450 meters, using a manned submarine, and deploy baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) several times a day to document the important biodiversity inhabiting the seamounts in the Cordillera de Coiba, located over 60 miles south of the Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The results of this expedition will help better focus the efforts aimed at the management of the marine protected area. With the expansion of the Cordillera de Coiba marine protected area, Panama fulfilled its commitment to protect 30% of its oceans by 2030, an initiative of the Global Biodiversity Framework. This action also improves the connectivity of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor and strengthens the conservation and sustainable use of protected waters between Isla de Coco in Costa Rica, Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, Malpelo and Gorgona Islands in Colombia, and Coiba Island in Panama. However, the Cordillera de Coiba seamounts continue to be largely unexplored. Hector Guzman, one of the scientists on the expedition, is a STRI marine biologist and member of MigraMar who designed the expansion and management plan for the Cordillera de Coiba protected area together with a multidisciplinary team. Credit: Sean Mattson, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute "The Cordillera de Coiba is the largest marine protected area in the Republic of Panama and it has never been explored," said STRI marine biologist and member of MigraMar Hector Guzman, who designed the expansion and management plan of the protected area together with a multidisciplinary team. "The objective of this expedition is exploration, discovery and learning, since it is the first time that these seamounts have been reached." "I want to salute Hector Guzman and the entire expedition team for exploring this special blue pocket in the ocean previously unexplored by humans," said Dr. Sylvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue. "Knowing is the key to caring, and with caring there is motivation to take action and protect it. I salute Panama for making the choice to formally protect this Hope Spot and exceed its 3030 ocean protection goals last year. With the upcoming expedition, we may see even further marine protection for Panama on the horizon." The Cordillera de Coiba, like the Coiba National Park, is considered a Hope Spot by the Mission Blue Foundation, which is led by the renowned American marine biologist and explorer, Sylvia Earle. Today there are 140 Hope Spots around the world: special places that have been identified as critical to the health of the oceans. Hope Spots also have local advocates that Mission Blue supports with communications, expeditions, and scientific advice. In the case of Coiba, it is Hector Guzman. Through baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs), the expedition will document the megafauna inhabiting the Cordillera de Coiba. Credit: Candy Real, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute STRI and the Government of Panama reaffirmed their commitment to marine science during the Our Ocean 2022 conference in Palau, with a view to the Our Ocean 2023 conference in Panama. This commitment is based on a strategy to produce the necessary knowledge to safeguard the oceans and support the people who depend on them, with a focus on understanding and protecting biodiversity and generating evidence that allows decision-makers to chart a sustainable path towards the future. The expedition to the Cordillera de Coiba seamounts is just one example of STRI and MigraMar actions that point towards the fulfillment of these objectives. This first exploratory mission is made possible by funding from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Collatos Family Foundation, the Hothem Family, Mission Blue, Re:wild, and the Wyss Foundation. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in Panama City, Panama, is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Institute promotes understanding of tropical nature and its importance to human well-being, trains students to conduct research in the tropics, and fosters conservation by raising public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems. Explore further Panama expands the limits of the Coiba protected area Utilizing two glasses with a different refractive index and stacked with a specific arrangement has allowed researchers to develop for the first time a multimodal fiber with a parabolic refractive index with transmission up to the mid-infrared and high nonlinearity. The spectrum of short pulses of light injected into the fiber massively broadens to span from the visible to mid-infrared. Significantly, unlike in conventional multimode fibers, the light beam remains smooth as the result of self-cleaning dynamics induced by the parabolic refractive index. Such a light source with ultrabroad spectrum, smooth beam and high power finds applications in e.g. environmental sensing or high-resolution imaging for medical diagnostics. Credit: Tampere University Researchers at Tampere University have successfully developed a novel optical fiber design allowing the generation of rainbow laser light in the molecular fingerprint electromagnetic region. This new optical fiber with a self-cleaned beam can help in developing applications for, for example, pollutant tagging, cancer diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food control. The finding was published in the journal Nature Communications. When a high-powered ultrashort pulse of light interacts with a material such as a glass optical fiber, a range of highly nonlinear interactions take place that cause complex changes in both the temporal and spectral properties of the injected light. When taken to the extreme, such interactions can lead to the generation of a rainbow laser of light commonly referred to as a supercontinuum light source. Since its first demonstration in a special type of optical fiber in 2000, supercontinuum laser light has revolutionized many areas of science, ranging from metrology and imaging at unprecedented resolution to ultrabroadband remote sensing and even the detection of exoplanets. The current bottleneck with current supercontinuum sources, however, is that they are based on optical fibers that support a single transverse intensity profile or mode, which inherently limits their optical power. What's more, conventional optical fibers are made of silica glass with transmission limited to the visible and near-infrared region of the spectrum. Extension of supercontinuum light to other wavelength regimes such as the mid-infrared requires optical fibers made of so-called soft glasses, but these possess a lower damage threshold than silica, limiting even more the power of the supercontinuum beam. Non-silica optical fiber with a self-cleaned beam Recently, a different type of optical fiber with a refractive index that varies continuously across the fiber structure has been shown to yield a dramatic increase in supercontinuum power, while still preserving a smooth beam intensity profile. "The refractive index variation of such graded-index optical fibers leads to periodic focusing and defocusing of the light inside the fiber that enables coupling between spatial and temporal nonlinear light-matter interactions. This leads to a self-cleaning mechanism that yields supercontinuum light with high power and a clean beam profile. As well as their many applications, they also provide a means of studying fundamental physics effects such as wave turbulence", says Professor Goery Genty, the leader of the research group at Tampere University. While these fibers have recently attracted significant attention from the research community, their use has been, up to now, restricted to the visible and near-infrared. In collaboration with the group of Profs. Buczynski and Klimczak at the University of Warsaw (Poland) and the group of Prof. Dudley in the University of Burgundy France-Comte (France), the Tampere team demonstrated for the first time the generation of a two-octave supercontinuum from the visible to mid-infrared in a non-silica graded-index fiber with a self-cleaned beam. "This problem has now been solved by using a particular design that utilizes two types of lead-bismuth-gallate glass rods with different refractive indices drawn to yield a nanostructured core. The result is a graded-index fiber with an effective parabolic refractive index profile with transmission up to the mid-infrared, and, as cherry on the cake, enhanced nonlinear light-matter interactions," says researcher Zahra Eslami. Great potential in diagnostics and monitoring The mid-infrared is of crucial interest as it contains the characteristic vibrational transitions of many important molecules. "The novel solution will lead to more efficient supercontinuum light sources in the mid-infrared with many potential applications e.g., for pollutant tagging, cancer diagnostics, machine vision, environmental monitoring, quality and food control," explains Genty. The researchers anticipate that this novel type of fiber will very soon become an important and standard material for the generation of broadband sources and frequency combs. More information: Zahra Eslami et al, Two octave supercontinuum generation in a non-silica graded-index multimode fiber, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Zahra Eslami et al, Two octave supercontinuum generation in a non-silica graded-index multimode fiber,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29776-6 Provided by Tampere University At a forum held at the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) on April 22, scientists and sci-fi writers came together to discuss the intersection of sci-fi and sci-tech. One of the topics discussed was "The Pillars of A Great Power," a soon-to-be-published collection of 13 science fiction stories inspired by key Chinese sci-tech projects such as China's space exploration, advanced nuclear power reactors and photovoltaic power program. The stories, written by renowned Chinese sci-fi writers including Wang Jinkang, Jiang Bo and Zhou Wen, was recommended by conference attendees, who also stated they are looking forward to a brighter future brought by sci-tech innovations. The book is the result of a campaign organized by the news center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), and co-organized by the Future Affairs Administration, an incubator of sci-fi works and talents, as well as Sina Weibo, Guokr, and the Global Times. Together, they invited sci-fi and popular science writers to tour several central state-owned enterprises, such as the SASAC, the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), China State Railway Group (CR) and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC). The visits were intended to help them find inspiration to create science fiction based on their own experiences of China's significant national sci-tech projects and programs as well as innovative technologies. Yan Yong, deputy director of the news center of SASAC, said when sci-fi meets sci-tech, it can help stimulate the innovation vitality of central enterprises and creates new possibilities for a better life for the people of the future. "The pillar projects of China have brought creative inspiration to sci-fi writers, while sci-fi works have given unlimited imagination space for technological innovations," Yan said. Wu Wei, director of the publicity and culture center of CNNC discussed how the internal cultural mechanism represented by sci-fi promotes the technological innovation of enterprises, and believes that science fiction can inspire thinking ability, innovation ability, and cultivate innovation. "The stunning feeling brought to us by many sci-fi novels is actually the recurrence and extension of the spiritual experience when facing the miracles of human technology," said Liu Cixin, one of China's most famous sci-fi writers, who attended the event via video link. He said the new book collection of sci-fi stories is the result of writers who have experienced China's most advanced and grand sci-tech projects, "and they bring the upcoming future visions to us." At the forum, sci-fi writer Zhou Wen recalled her personal experience of walking into the photovoltaic industrial park of the State Power Investment Corporation in Qinghai, and later conceived of a high-sensitivity optoelectronic material used for space flight in her novel. Zhang Zhi, a senior engineer of SPIC, echoed that such sci-fi ideas are very likely to be realized in the near future, and some have already become a reality: "In addition to sunlight, we can also obtain energy by harnessing cosmic rays in the universe, which will be the best source of energy for any future interstellar journey." When talking about innovative thinking, Yao Hongshuai, a senior engineer of China Nuclear Power Engineering Co. Ltd., who is a big sci-fi fan, added that at the forum, the imagination of sci-fi inspired the innovative ideas of sci-tech workers in central enterprises in real work scenarios. In 2020, CNNC started to pay more attention to sci-tech cultural aspects by launching a sci-fi content franchise to attract public interest in nuclear technologies. Also on April 22, CNNC announced in a Weibo microblog post that they are developing a nuclear-powered pet dog "Mido" under the franchise, which generated lots of positive feedback. "Whether it is about sci-fi creation or scientific research, or even in the exploration of the universe, only by knowing where we are can we know who we are and where we are going," said Ji Shaoting, founder of the Future Affairs Administration. She added that it is of great importance for Chinese sci-fi literature creators to be able to understand the real development stage of national innovation and to imagine a step forward based on this. Han Song, another prominent Chinese sci-fi writer, pointed out the cooperation between central state-owned enterprises and sci-fi writers to popularize science and spread knowledge through sci-fi works has strong practical significance for improving national innovation ability and scientific literacy, as well as boosting China's scientific and technological confidence and cultural confidence. "Albert Einstein had said that imagination is more important than knowledge. Sci-fi writers imagine various miracles from China's economic development in the future, which provide strong inspiration and enlightenment for us to speed up the construction of an innovative country and enhance our international competitiveness," Han said. Craugastor cueyatl, one of the newly discovered tiny frog species, sits on a Mexican 10 pesos coin. The coin diameter is 28mm. Credit: Jeffrey W Streicher, The Natural History Museum, London Scientists have discovered six new species of frog the size of a thumbnail in the forests of Mexico, with one earning the distinction of Mexico's smallest frog. All six species are smaller than a British 1p coinaround 15mm longwhen fully grown. Adult males of the tiniest of these species, named Craugastor candelariensis, grow to only 13mm. The newly discovered species are known as 'direct-developing' frogs: rather than hatching from eggs into tadpoles like most frogs, they emerge from the eggs as perfect miniature frogs. And they're so small that they're right at the bottom of the forest food chain. "With millions of these frogs living in the leaf litter, we think they're likely to play a hugely important role in the ecosystem as a source of food for everything else, from lizards to predatory birds," said Jameson. The discovery, by researchers at the University of Cambridge, London's Natural History Museum, and the University of Texas at Arlington, is published in the journal Herpetological Monographs. "Until now these new species have gone unnoticed because they're small and brown and look really similar to other frogs," said Tom Jameson, a researcher at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and University Museum of Zoology, who led the study. Craugastor rubinus, one of the newly discovered tiny frog species, sits on a Mexican 10 pesos coin. The coin diameter is 28mm. Credit: Jeffrey W Streicher, The Natural History Museum, London "Their lifestyle is utterly fascinating," he added. "These frogs live in the dark, humid leaf litter of the forests, which is like a secret worldwe don't really know anything about what goes on there. We don't understand their behavior, how they socialize, or how they breed." The study involved gathering almost 500 frog specimens from museums around the world, which had been collected in Mexico, and using new methods to categorize the relationships between them. Using DNA sequencing, the team sorted the frogs into groups based on how similar their genes were. Then CT-scanning was used to create 3D models of the frogs' skeletons, so that physical details could be compared. These two very different lines of evidence revealed six new species of frog. "Frogs in the group known as Craugastor are very difficult to tell apart, so scientists have long suspected that more species may exist. We're really excited to have discovered six new Craugastor species that are completely new to science," said Jameson. A researcher gently holds the tiny leg of Craugastor rubinus. Credit: Jeffrey W Streicher, The Natural History Museum, London The new species have been named Craugastor bitonium, Craugastor candelariensis, Craugastor cueyatl, Craugastor polaclavus, Craugastor portilloensis, and Craugastor rubinus. Jameson is particularly pleased with the name cueyatlit means 'frog' in the indigenous language, Nahuatl, spoken in the Valley of Mexico where this species was found. "We chose the name cueyatl to honor the rich human history of the Valley of Mexico, and the local people who have probably known these frogs far longer than we have," he said. Known as 'micro-endemics', some of the newly discovered frogs may occur only in one small area, such as a hilltop in a certain part of Mexico. This makes them incredibly vulnerable. "We named Craugastor rubinus after the garnet mines in the hillside where they're found," said Jameson. "Sadly, it will only take the expansion of one mine and these frogs could be gone." The name of this newly discovered tiny frogCraugastor cueyatlmeans 'frog' in the indigenous language, Nahuatl, spoken in the Valley of Mexico where it was found. Credit: Jeffrey W Streicher, The Natural History Museum, London Craugastor rubinus is named after the garnet mines in the Mexican hillside where it is found. Credit: Jeffrey W Streicher, The Natural History Museum, London Habitat in Estado de Mexico where C. cueyatl is found. Credit: Jeffrey W. Streicher Habitat loss can also result from climate change. And the frogs are threatened by a deadly fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, that's wiping out amphibian populations across the world. But the researchers are hopeful that there's a future for their tiny frogs. They have identified key protected areas throughout Mexico where the six new species liveand now hope to work with the government and NGOs in Mexico to connect these areas together. "These frogs potentially play a really important role in the forest ecosystem," said Jameson. "We need to make sure that they don't just get wiped off the map because no-one even knows they're there." Habitat in Jalisco, Mexico where C.rubinus is found. Credit: Jeffrey W. Streicher He thinks there are probably many more species of Craugastor frog still to be discovered, simply because nobody has had a chance to look for them yet. "We've looked at the maps of where the original expeditions went looking for frogs in Mexico, and found whole valleys and river systems where nobody went," he said. "Because the tiny frogs live in tiny areas we can be pretty confident there's a whole bunch of other undiscovered species thereall we have to do is go and find them." Explore further Seven new species of night frogs from India including four miniature forms More information: Tom J.M. Jameson et al, Miniaturization in Direct-Developing Frogs from Mexico with the Description of Six New Species, Herpetological Monographs (2022). Tom J.M. Jameson et al, Miniaturization in Direct-Developing Frogs from Mexico with the Description of Six New Species,(2022). DOI: 10.1655/0733-1347-36.1.1 ARGYLE A man walking across the road in front of his home was struck and killed by a vehicle early Monday evening, police said. At 6 p.m. Monday, state police responded to a report of a man struck by a motor vehicle on Brennan Road. Police said the preliminary investigation determined that Robert T. Brennan, 83, of Argyle, was crossing the roadway in front of his residence when he was struck by a vehicle traveling west. The vehicle, a 2007 Saturn Aura, was operated by Sandra J. Wolcott, 62, of Argyle, according to the report. Brennan was declared dead at the scene, police said. State police were assisted at the scene by Argyle Fire Department and Washington County Sheriffs Office. The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 25 Angry 2 ALBANY National Grid, whose utility service region includes a large swath of upstate New York, is touting a hybrid pathway for having gas and electric networks that are free of traditional fossil fuels by 2050. The company says its plan designed for New York and Massachusetts enables consumer choice while confronting worsening climate change. It would replace fossil fuels with methane and hydrogen while expanding the use of heat pumps and neighborhood geothermal heating to maximize energy efficiency. Just as we are investing in renewables like wind and solar to decarbonize the energy running through our electric network, we are committing to decarbonize our gas network by transitioning it completely to renewable natural gas and hydrogen by 2050 or sooner, said John Pettigrew, National Grids chief executive officer. National Grid, in releasing its plan, stepped into the ongoing discussion by the states Climate Action Council, which has been circulating its draft plan to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York. The company says that while it will stop using fossil fuel gas by 2050, it would harvest methane from landfills and dairy farms. The Climate Action Council wants to ban the use of natural gas in new homes, with the goal of having new buildings rely on electrification. Currently, an estimated 60% of New York homes are heated by natural gas. The aggressive climate targets of New York and Massachusetts threaten to make National Grids current infrastructure networks of pipelines carrying natural gas obsolete. National Grids blueprint is already encountering criticism from environmental activists who argue that it does not achieve the goal of decarbonization as it relies on methane, an ingredient of natural gas. I think that what National Grid has put out there really misses the mark, said Conor Bambrick, director of climate policy for Environmental Advocates, an Albany advocacy group. Its not compliant with New Yorks climate law. And what theyve done is essentially tried to keep their current business model and make it somehow apply to fit the climate law when it really just doesnt. National Grid insists its plans are consistent with the climate goals of the states in which it operates. Combined with targeted electrification and enhanced energy efficiency, a 100% fossil-free gas network can deliver a clean energy future that is more affordable and more reliable to over 20 million people across New York and Massachusetts, the company said in announcing its plan. Gavin Donohue, the president of the Independent Power Producers of New York and a member of the Climate Action Council, said he welcomes the input from National Grid, noting he is encouraged by anything that talks about alternatives to the current draft plan. National Grid would continue to use its pipelines but replace natural gas with recovered methane and hydrogen developed from its wind turbine assets through electrolysis. Several trade unions, concerned about the job impacts of the states draft climate plan, have been following a series of public hearings on the issue closely. In a statement that accompanied the National Grid announcement, Pat Guidice, business manager for IBEW Local 1049, representing some 10,000 utility workers across New York, said the companys plan will ensure that good-paying jobs for generations to come will be protected while ensuring the production and reliable delivery of energy that will bring comfort and safety to the lives of our neighbors. New York is striving to have 70% of its electricity supply come from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2040. In a related development, the New York Power Authority announced it has sold more than $608 million in green bonds to finance the development of two large transmission projects that are estimated to reduce millions of tons in carbon emissions. One of them, Smart Path, involves 78 circuit miles of transmission from St. Lawrence County to Lewis County. The second, Central East Energy Connect, involves new transmission lines and substations between Marcy in the Mohawk Valley and the town of New Scotland in Albany County. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 HADLEY A Queensbury man was pronounced dead after his vehicle was submerged in the Sacandaga River in the town of Hadley on Sunday. Police responded at 7:47 p.m. Sunday to reports that a car, operated by Edward Mastrangelo, 66, had gone into the water while traveling on Old Corinth Road. The accident occurred near the Hadley Bow Bridge and required emergency services from multiple local departments. State police assisted by divers from the Corinth Fire Department located the vehicle and removed the driver who was transported to Glens Falls Hospital and pronounced dead. According to police, Mastrangelo was traveling south on Old Corinth Road when his vehicle went off the east shoulder, down an embankment and rolled before landing in the river and becoming submerged. An autopsy on the victim is pending. Jana DeCamilla is a staff writer who covers Moreau, Queensbury, and Lake George. She can be reached at 518-742-3272 or jdecamilla@poststar.com. Love 1 Funny 18 Wow 6 Sad 87 Angry 1 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. ATLANTIC CITY Property owners will pay less in 2022 to run local government, and the state will provide $5.7 million less in aid, yet spending on salaries and wages will increase almost 10% and debt service payments more than 7%. Its made possible by the citys use of $15 million in surplus, according to the budget the city posted on the Finance Departments page on its website late Monday. And capital spending is falling more than $12 million. The $235 million budget ($219 million when state and federal grant spending is subtracted) was introduced April 20, and the public hearing on the budget will be May 18. Casino payments in lieu of taxes will fall about $20 million in this years budget, to $46.65 million from $66.65 million. That will be made up for with projected increased casino Investment Alternative Tax payments, which will increase about $22.5 million, to $45 million from $22.5 million. The changes in PILOT and IAT funding are determined by the amended casino PILOT law, which passed the Legislature in December and was quickly signed by Gov. Phil Murphy. The amended PILOT law has been challenged in court by Atlantic County. A Superior Court judge found the new law violates a previous court settlement between the state and county over the original PILOT law, but has not stopped the law from taking effect. The state is asking another judge to reconsider that decision. It is unclear how Atlantic Citys budget would be affected if a decision in the lawsuit only directs the state to pay more to Atlantic County. But if the amended law is ultimately thrown out and the original PILOT put back into effect, the city would continue to get the additional IAT funds and would also receive much higher PILOT payments. According to the Office of Legislative Services in a fiscal analysis of the amended PILOT bill (A5587), the city would have received $88.5 million in 2022 under the original PILOT, about $20 million more than it will receive under the amended PILOT. The budget as introduced raises $38.6 million from local taxpayers, down 3.7% from the $40 million collected from property taxes last year. That lowers the tax rate to $1.5997 per $100 of assessed property value, down 2.9% from last year. For the owner of the average home assessed at $125,000, the local government tax bill will fall to about $2,000 from $2,060. The total tax bill that includes school, library and county taxes will also fall from $3.901 to $3.792 per $100 valuation. The average homeowner will pay $4,740 in total property taxes in 2022, down from $4,876.25 last year. The citys assessed valuation (without casinos and other properties under payments-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements) has fallen 0.8% in the past year, to $2.41 billion from $2.43 billion. Local revenues other than property taxes are projected to fall 2.7%, from $118.4 million to $115.2 million. They include the casino PILOT and IAT as well as $23.5 million in all other revenues. REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. If you love great food and you love eating for the sake of charity, this week is for you, as two food-focused charity fundraising dinners will take place in South Jersey. Night of 300,000 Meals The Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), Southern Branchs annual event, Night of 300,000 Meals, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at the FoodBanks Egg Harbor Township location. The event began in 2018 as Night of 100,000 Meals, but this year, they decided to triple their efforts. This is the third time we are hosting, says Denise Hladun, director of external affairs for the FoodBank. It was formerly night of 100,000 meals, but its been rebranded as Night of 300,000 meals, and the goal is now to provide 300,000 nutritious meals for our South Jersey neighbors in need. While that number may seem high, the fact of the matter is that there are 60,000 families in South Jersey who are food insecure right now, making the goal a modest, yet extremely important one. The format has expanded this year, as well, and will now include an outdoor tent where attendees can enjoy live music from the Eddie Morgan Jazz Duo while sampling various dishes and spirits from local restaurants. In total, 20 restaurants from Atlantic and Cape May counties will participate in the event, with each serving up tasting portions of some of their signature dishes. In addition, Titos Vodka is a sponsor and will offer specialty cocktails. We are deeply grateful for the support of the restaurateurs during what we know has been a very difficult few years as well as the support of the community at large for coming together to support this event, Hladun says. Tickets for the event are $100, and sponsorships are available. The FoodBank is located at 6735 E. Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township. Go to CFBNJ.org. Feasting on History The second foodie event of the week is hosted by Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May, as they celebrate the 20th anniversary edition of Feasting on History. Their annual gala, which allows guests to feast on an array of food and drinks from various local restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries and serves as a fundraiser for the historic site, takes place 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum. We are incredibly excited to be able to bring this event back, as COVID forced us to cancel it several times. So its our 20th anniversary, but it should have been celebrated in 2020, says Anne Salvatore, executive director at Historic Cold Spring Village. Salvatore seems particularly happy to see the return of the event for 2022 because as of only a few months ago, the fate of Feasting on History was still up in the air. In the last couple of months, since the Omicron variant has started to fade away, people that I would see would say: Oh Annie when are you having Feasting on History? so I started to feel some pressure to make a decision. So we decided to do it. The events original seeds were planted back in 2000 when Salvatore was searching for a way to bring funds in to support the villages mission of historic education, preservation and heritage tourism. It was a struggle (to bring in funds) because we really are a seasonal heritage tourism site, she says. So we brainstormed, and came up with the idea of having restaurants donate food for a gala event and we called it Feasting on History. We had 250 people and about 15 restaurants that first year, and its grown ever since. We had 700 people and about 40 vendors including restaurants, wineries, breweries and distilleries at the most recent event. It was awesome! Individual tickets to Feasting on History are $85 per person and tables of 10 are $700. All tickets must be purchased in advance no later than 3 p.m. Monday, May 2. The Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum is located at 500 Forrestal Road, Cape May. Go to HCSV.org to purchase tickets. Meteorologist It's great to forecast for you in N.J., where I was born and raised. I earned my degree from Rutgers and have been at The Press since Fall 2017. I'm honored to be a 10 time N.J. Press Association award winner and a South Jersey "Top 40 Under 40". Dark gray rain clouds hung on the horizon on a humid morning near the tip of the Mississippi Delta. Ryan Lambert spotted alligators, roseate spoonbills and several species of ducks as he steered his boat slowly past islands of reeds. Ryan Lambert Lambert is in his element. Hes been a hunting and fishing guide for more than 40 years. Speckled trout and redfish swim these waters, he said, as well as the ducks that ply the surface. Its because of places like this that Louisianas license plates declare it Sportsmans Paradise. Ive seen the best of it, Lambert said. And when I see it going away, thats what makes me so passionate about trying to save it. Lambert has watched the ground to the west of his lodge in Buras, Louisiana, slip into the Gulf of Mexico. Swaths of land are simply gone. Wooden pilings poke out of the water where homes once stood. What used to be 4 feet (1.2 meters) high is now 4 feet deep, he said. Louisiana Coastline: 1932 - 2016 Source: U.S. Geological Survey 1932 Land is disappearing all along the state's Gulf coast. Half a million hectares (1,900 square miles) of its coastal wetlands an area the size of the state of Delaware have washed away since the 1930s. Louisiana is really in a land loss crisis, said Bren Haase, executive director of the states Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Its really an existential issue for coastal Louisiana. Wetlands are more than just a sportsmans paradise. They are vital habitat for the states $2 billion fishing industry. And they are a critical buffer for the states population and industrial centers against devastating hurricanes. The losses are accelerating. Seas are rising faster as the planet heats up under climate change. Up to another million-plus hectares (4,120 square miles) may erode in the next 50 years. Thats about one-tenth of the states total land area, equivalent to most of the state of Connecticut. New land is emerging where the muddy Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico in Bay Denesse, near Buras, La., Aug. 3, 2021. New land is emerging where the muddy Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico in Bay Denesse, near Buras, La., Aug. 3, 2021. Bren Haase of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority scoops mud from the Mississippi River near Buras, La., Aug. 3, 2021. Sediment washing down from 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces created southern Louisiana over millions of years. (VOA News) A cargo ship sails up the Mississippi River near Buras, La., Aug. 3, 2021. For the past century, the river has been locked behind levees built for flood control and navigation, cutting off the supply of land-building sediment. (VOA News) LEFT: Bren Haase of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority scoops mud from the Mississippi River near Buras, La., Aug. 3, 2021. Sediment washing down from 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces created southern Louisiana over millions of years. (VOA News) RIGHT: A cargo ship sails up the Mississippi River near Buras, La., Aug. 3, 2021. For the past century, the river has been locked behind levees built for flood control and navigation, cutting off the supply of land-building sediment. (VOA News) Louisiana has a 50-year, $50 billion plan to try to stanch the bleeding. An aggressive program to restore marshes and build up barrier islands is underway. It wont be enough. The state still expects to lose more land than it gains. Officials hope to save what they can. But there will be winners and losers. The project with the biggest footprint, known as the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, aims to build thousands of hectares of land in the rapidly eroding Barataria Basin about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of New Orleans. But saving the land may come at the expense of the people who work the waters. The diversion they are designing is going to wipe out this industry, said oyster fisher Brad Robin. Were fighting for our livelihood. Men building a protection levee in the floodwaters in Cottonport Louisiana during the great flood of 1927. (Photo courtesy of State Library of Louisiana) Cut off Louisianas land loss crisis is a problem of its own making. After disastrous flooding in 1927, engineers built a system of levees to contain the Mississippi River. In the process, they cut the land off from the mud that sustained it. The Mississippi carries sediment washed down from 31 states and two Canadian provinces. Over millions of years, it has deposited that sediment where the river meets the Gulf, building the Mississippi Delta. Sources: USGS and Natural Earth The levees severed that connection. Without sediment to build it up, the land has been eroding away ever since. Making matters worse, canals slice up the coastal marshes. Cut for oil and gas drilling and navigation, they allow salt water to penetrate deeper inland, rotting away the wetlands. The land is also sinking naturally as millennia of river mud compress and subside. Climate change compounds the problem. Warmer temperatures are melting polar ice and expanding the oceans. Seas are rising faster in Louisiana than anywhere in the country, and the pace is increasing. But there is another story to be told on the opposite side of the river from Lamberts hunting lodge. Bren Haase (center) of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and fishing guide Ryan Lambert (right) survey a willow grove that took root on newly formed land near Lamberts lodge in Buras, La., Aug. 3, 2021. (VOA News) Connected to the river Lambert stepped off his boat into a dense thicket of willow trees 2 meters (6 feet) high growing on the edge of Bay Denesse. These trees were not here last year, he said. The only reason this is here is because its connected to the river, Lambert said. Hurricane Camille blasted channels between the Mississippi River and the Gulf here in 1969. Big Muddy The Mississippi has been filling up the bay with sediment ever since. Lambert, with help from conservation nonprofit Ducks Unlimited, built some terraces in the bay last year to slow down the water and help the process along. The ground has just risen high enough for the willows to take root. The growing marsh will provide habitat for birds and fish, absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide and provide coastal protection for communities inland. It just warms my heart, he said. The biggest exceptions to the states land loss crisis are the few places where the river is allowed to meet the Gulf. Thats why engineers are planning to build the $2 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion about 55 kilometers (35 miles) upriver from Lamberts lodge. A 3-kilometer (2-mile) channel would cut through the levee and deliver water and sediment to the rivers rapidly eroding west side. Its the way that Mother Nature had it in the first place, Lambert said. Were just returning it to what it is supposed to be. CPRA expects it to build 5,000 to 10,000 hectares (20 to 40 square miles) over 50 years. If sea level rise is on the high end of projections, the agency says about one-fifth of the wetlands remaining in the Barataria Basin will only be there because of the diversion. We cant save everything, Lambert added, but we can pick and choose what we can save. But where Lambert and the CPRA see creation, shrimp and oyster fishers see destruction. Just look upriver, they say. Safety valve side effects About 48 kilometers (30 miles) upstream of New Orleans, the Bonnet Carre Spillway is like a safety valve on the Mississippi River. When the river gets too high and threatens to flood the city, the spillway diverts water into Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf. In 2019, the wettest year on record in the upper Mississippi watershed, engineers opened the spillway for 123 days. That was the longest period since it was built in 1931. The flood of fresh water altered the chemistry of the estuary north of the Mississippi Delta, killing or pushing out creatures that live in saltier waters. That includes shrimp and oysters, the states most valuable and third-most valuable catch, respectively. In its path, it killed everything, Robin, the oyster fisher, said. Robin sees the same outcome from the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. The same water thats coming to the Bonnet Carre Spillway is the same water that the diversion is going to do, he said. A quarter of Louisianas shrimpers and oyster fishers work in the Barataria Basin. They are the lifeblood of many communities along the rim of the basin. The environmental impact report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms Robins fears. It says the shrimp and oyster fisheries would suffer major, permanent, adverse impacts from the diversion. Weve adapted to every storm. We adapted to (seafood) imports, adapted to the high price of fuel. But what we cant adapt to is the state government trying to put us out of business for good, said George Ricks, head of the Save Louisiana Coalition, which represents fishers, seafood companies and coastal residents who oppose the diversion. A shrimp boat sails near Leeville, La., Aug. 8, 2021. Many Louisiana shrimp and oyster fishers are concerned about the impact that the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion will have on their industry. A shrimp boat sails near Leeville, La., Aug. 8, 2021. Many Louisiana shrimp and oyster fishers are concerned about the impact that the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion will have on their industry. Oyster fisher Brad Robin opens a mollusk at his dock in Hopedale, La., Aug. 5, 2021. Oysters depend on a balance of salt and fresh water, which the diversion would alter in some areas. (VOA News) Oyster fisher Brad Robin examines a sample under a microscope at his dock in Hopedale, La., Aug. 5, 2021, while Save Louisiana Coalition head George Ricks looks on. (VOA News) LEFT: Oyster fisher Brad Robin opens a mollusk at his dock in Hopedale, La., Aug. 5, 2021. Oysters depend on a balance of salt and fresh water, which the diversion would alter in some areas. (VOA News) RIGHT: Oyster fisher Brad Robin examines a sample under a microscope at his dock in Hopedale, La., Aug. 5, 2021, while Save Louisiana Coalition head George Ricks looks on. (VOA News) Dredging up alternatives Its not that fishers dont see the land disappearing. They point to the maps on their GPS displays that show land where there is none. We all want coastal restoration, no doubt about it. We see it disappearing every day, Ricks said. Theres a better way to do things. He said the state should be dredging: using sediment from the bottom of the river or the Gulf to build up land. Haase, with CPRA, said the state needs both: dredging and diversions. We cant afford to leave any tool unused, he said. Dredging is the largest portion of the states restoration budget, Haase noted. But he said Louisiana cant dredge itself out of its land loss crisis. As soon as a dredging project is finished, the same factors that caused the land loss in the first place are acting on that newly created land. And its a finite amount of time before its gone, too. The diversions steady stream of sediment is more cost-effective in the long run, he added. Haase acknowledged the diversion will not be good for everyone. Is that going to impact people? Of course it will. But doing nothing and letting the land wash away will have impacts, too, he said. And the state plans to help, he added. It has set aside $305 million to pay for bigger boats for fishers who have to go farther out into the Gulf, or for new fishing gear for those who want to pursue a different catch. It could cover business training for people looking to get out of commercial fishing altogether. Ricks, with the Save Louisiana Coalition, called the $305 million laughable. Thats not a drop in the bucket. He noted that the Louisiana fishing industry was awarded $58 million in disaster relief from the 2019 Bonnet Carre Spillway opening alone. Many say fishing is all they know. What is threatened is a culture going back generations. My family, thats all we do is fishing. Thats all we (have) ever done, Robin said. My son is a fisherman. My father was a fisherman, and my grandpa was a fisherman. My great-grandfather was a fisherman. He wants his children and their children to carry on the tradition. But hes not sure they can. A Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority dredging project builds up Isle Grande Terre, La., Aug. 7, 2021. Many fishers want the CPRA to do more dredging instead of building the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. (VOA News) Losing battle Louisiana is going to lose ground regardless of what the state does. Its adaptation plan contains a startling admission, in bold type at the front of the report: Louisiana Coastline: 2017 - 2067 2017 Source: CPRA During the next 50 years, Louisiana is projected to lose more land and wetlands along its coast than it can rebuild, even if restoration efforts are completed as currently planned. For Ricks, that means the industry should be allowed to die a quiet death. If we dont do (anything), in 50 years were going to lose our fishing industries anyway, he said. But give us that 50 years. Dont kill it now. Haase disagrees. We can try to manage that change for the most good for the most people, he said. Or we can allow the coast to continue to deteriorate and inflict its will on us. And thats not an option. The state expects to make a final decision by late next year, with construction slated to begin in 2023. A vehicle shooting Sunday in East Moline led to the arrest of two teenage boys for felony gun crimes. East Moline police were called at about 5:40 p.m. Sunday to Gas N Dash Mart at 809 19th St. in East Moline for a report of shots fired. No injuries were reported. Officers later determined the shooting occurred in the 900 block of 21st Street, where they recovered shell casings, according to a police news release. Witnesses told police three vehicles involved a white car, a black truck and a silver car with no back window and that they saw an individual point a handgun at the white car, according to the release. A short time later, police stopped a silver Toyota Corolla with no back window in the 100 block of 2nd Street next to Porkies Restaurant in Silvis. Three teens boys were inside the car, one of whom was found with a loaded handgun during a search, according to police. Officer also located a black Toyota Tacoma truck that had been shot multiple times. The white sedan had not been located, police said Monday. The three teens were taken into custody. One was released to his parents. The other two were charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony, and were being held at the Mary Davis Juvenile Detention Center in Galesburg, according to police. Police continue to investigate and anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the East Moline Police Department at 309-752-1555 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad-Cities at 309-762-9500. The Rock Island County Sheriff's Office and Hampton Police Department assisted in the traffic stop of the vehicle. Love 2 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. Tom Barton Follow Tom Barton 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 DES MOINES Most Iowa gas stations would be required to sell the higher E15 blend of ethanol under legislation that soon could be headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds, who made the proposal to lawmakers. The Iowa Senates tax policy committee Monday approved Reynolds proposal after making some changes, including the addition of another way for small gas stations to receive an exemption from the proposed requirements and financial assistance for potential equipment upgrades. Lawmakers may debate and pass the bill out of both chambers Tuesday, which would send it to Reynolds desk for her signature. If the proposal is passed into law, all Iowa gas stations with at least two pumps would be required to make the corn-based E15 ethanol blend available for sale on at least one pump. E15 is a higher ethanol blend than E10, currently the most prominent ethanol blend sold at gas stations. The proposal contains ways for some stations, especially smaller stations, to apply for an exemption from the requirement or for financial assistance for any upgrades the station may need to make to sell E15. Molly Severn, Reynolds liaison to the Iowa Legislature, during Mondays committee hearing called the legislation the result of significant compromise from everyone on the rural supply chain, including gas stations, biofuels producers and corn farmers. Sen. Waylon Brown, a Republican from Osage who spoke for the bill during Mondays hearing, said Senate Republicans newly added exemption which would apply to stations that sell fewer than 300,000 gallons of gas annually would be available to about a third of retail locations, mostly small stations, that make up roughly 6 percent of fuel sales in the state. Sen. Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs who chairs the Senate tax policy committee, said his goal was to help smaller stations that may not have the ability to invest in significant infrastructure upgrades. Were really trying to help out these small retailers here in the state, knowing that these support a lot of our rural communities, Dawson said. We definitely want to change the cost share in that program a little bit to help out the small retailers. Sen. Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, was the lone voice of opposition to the proposal, saying he opposes the idea of state government mandating a product be sold by Iowa businesses. Sen. Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, shared a similar concern, but ultimately expressed her hesitant support for the bill. I still believe that it is the price at the pump that dictates what consumers will purchase, Jochum said. I will hold my nose and vote for this very reluctantly, and primarily because I have in my community a biodiesel plant. Nonetheless I have some sincere reservations about what we are doing here. The proposal, House File 2128, is a priority for Reynolds who made a similar but more prescriptive proposal last year that didnt gain enough traction in the Legislature and one of the few remaining pieces of legislation keeping state lawmakers from concluding their work for the 2022 legislative session. The bill also contains tax credits to support ethanol and other biofuels. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 With the global economy under severe stress, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) need an urgent rescue, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Monday. "The global economy is under severe stress. Many developing countries are reeling from the crippling effects of an uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ticking time bomb of the climate crisis. Vaccine inequities continue. The war in Ukraine is now sending shockwaves through global food, energy and financial markets," she said, speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the opening of the Financing for Development Forum. Many economies are at the brink of a downward spiral of insolvency, cuts in critical investments, economic contraction and rising unemployment. Decades of development progress are being eroded. The World Bank predicts that a quarter of a billion people could be pushed into extreme poverty this year. Up to 323 million people could face acute food insecurity. And the essential transition to clean and sustainable energy is at enormous risk, she added. "There are early signs of a tsunami of potential debt crises, deprivation, discontent and civil unrest. No country, developed or developing, will be isolated from the socio-economic impacts." The SDGs are in need of urgent rescue. Financing for development is an essential part of the solution, she said. Because the global response falls far short of the goals, Guterres established the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance. The goal is to ensure high-level political leadership; get ahead of the perfect storm of food security, energy, and financing challenges; and implement a coordinated global response, she said. The international financial system has deep pockets. The world has the capacity to make sure all countries can get through this crisis with their development prospects intact, she said. The deputy secretary-general spoke for Guterres, who is on his way to a meeting on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, followed by a discussion on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev. In 2015, UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a peace and prosperity blueprint with 17 SDGs to be reached through a global partnership. OAKLAND Former President Donald Trump will host a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, at his Mar-A-Lago resort on Wednesday. Miller is in the midst of a heated primary battle against fellow incumbent Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, in the new 15th Congressional District, which includes much of rural Central Illinois. "Congresswoman Miller is honored that President Trump has endorsed her and is hosting an event for her at Mar-A-Lago because he wants to make sure the Illinois 15th is represented by a bold, America First conservative who will fight against illegal immigration and for the Second Amendment, said Miller campaign spokesman Isaiah Wartman. Wartman added that, Conservatives in downstate Illinois are fired up to defeat Davis, calling him a Republican in Name Only for supporting measures like red flag gun laws and protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as young children. Davis' record, however, shows he voted Trump's position nearly 89% of the time during the latter's presidency despite representing a swing district. Miller and Davis were pitted against each other by Springfield Democrats who controlled the once-a-decade redistricting process last year. Though Miller lives just outside the new district, it includes portions of her current district. Trump announced his Complete and Total Endorsement (sic)" of Miller in early January, wading into what has become among the most contentious incumbent-versus-incumbent primaries in the country. The former presidents backing offered Miller a boost against Davis, who is seen as the more seasoned politician and has maintained a significant edge in fundraising as well as support among local GOP officials in the district. When Davis announced his reelection bid in November 2021, he included a list of the endorsements that included 32 of the districts 35 county party chairs and a slew of local, state and federal elected officials. And as of the end of March, Davis had more than $1.9 million cash on hand compared with Millers $510,795. But, if there is a good turnout on Wednesday, Miller could raise a large amount of cash fast. According to an invitation obtained by Lee Enterprises, tickets start at $1,000 per person and go up to $25,000 per person, with the highest-paying donors entitled to a photo with Trump and Miller. Once Trump endorsed, it was believed to only be a matter of time before he held a fundraiser for Miller. And it appears plans were launched in earnest late last month, when Millers campaign made two separate payments of $5,737.88 and $11,475.75 to Mar-A-Lago Club LLC for event venue and catering, according to campaign finance records. The resort, purchased by Trump in 1985, has been the former president's home base since leaving the White House in January 2021. It has become a major center of Republican politics, with various elected officials and wannabe candidates vying for Trump's backing passing through. Federal candidates and committees have paid nearly $1.3 million to hold events at the resort, according to a recent report from the New York Times. Miller has long been one of Trump's most fervent supporters. First elected in 2020, Miller is one of the most conservative members of Congress. She is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. Following the lead of Trump, Miller objected to the results of the 2020 presidential election in January 2021. Just days earlier, Miller stoked controversy by invoking Adolf Hitler at a pro-Trump rally outside the Capitol. This drew widespread condemnation, some calls for her to resign and eventually an apology. Last summer, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., headlined a fundraiser for Miller in Effingham. Greene is known for trafficking in far-right conspiracy theories such as QAnon. There have been whispers of a possible in-district event featuring Trump down the line, but nothing has been confirmed to this point. Davis' campaign could not be immediately reached for comment. The primary election is June 28. Early voting begins May 19. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A 22-year-old Davenport man was recently sentenced to 7 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal drug and firearm charges. Monterious Deshawn Bullock was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Davenport to 90 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person. Bullock was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following the completion of his prison term and pay a $300 special assessment to the Crime Victim's Fund. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, members of the Davenport Police Department's narcotics unit executed two search warrants, including one of Bullock's residence in May of last year. The searches resulted in the seizure of two loaded handguns, one with a loaded extended magazine with 9mm ammunition inside, bags of marijuana, two digital scales, $4,860 in cash and various rounds of 9mm ammunition. In a post-Miranda interview, Bullock who had felony arrest warrants for charges out of Scott County in addition to a probation violation admitted to owning the items located in the residence, according to court records. Bullock, who had previously been convicted of a felony, pleaded guilty to the charges in November. The case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa. 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. An East Moline man faces a 22-year sentence after pleading guilty to a first-degree murder charge that stemmed from the 2018 killing of an innocent bystander during a gang feud. In return for Nathan C. Lutens plea on Monday, Illinois Special Prosecutor Jonathan Barnard, who is handling the case for the Rock Island County States Attorneys Office, dropped the other first-degree murder charge related to the killing of William T. Fowler, 31, of Moline, according to court records. The plea agreement stopped the trial which was scheduled to begin on Monday. Special prosecutors can be brought in for a number of reasons, including the risk of a conflict of interest if the county's prosecutors handle a case, according to the state's Appellate Prosecutor's Office. Fowler was shot on Dec. 9, 2018, in the 400 block of 8th Street in Moline. He died of his wounds not long after while being treated in Iowa City. Luten, 32, chose not to delay his sentencing, and the sentence was handed down by Judge Peter Church, court records state. Authorities said Luten was a member of one of two factions in the Maniac Latin Disciples that had come to blows. The fight led to several other incidents involving gunfire. Also charged with Fowlers killing were Rory D. Bruno Jr., now 21, Silvis, and Emilio W. Rivera, now 18, East Moline. Both also faced first-degree murder charges and their cases were resolved in 2020. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Bruno pleaded guilty in September of that year to aggravated discharge of a firearm, court records state. In return, the murder charge was dropped. Bruno was sentenced to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, but the sentence was stayed pending Brunos successful completion of a sentence in a juvenile case, court records state. If he does complete the juvenile sentence, the felony case will be dismissed. Rivera also entered a plea in a juvenile case and, as a result, the adult murder case against him was dropped on Dec. 3, 2020. 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. For all those disappointed college applicants whose hopes were pinned on getting into a school highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report or some similar publication, take heart. This is your chance to be liberated from the tyranny of college rankings. Tyranny is not too strong a word. The people who publish college rankings wrap their products in a seductive veneer of professional expertise and statistical rigor. They express their evaluations in eye-catching numbers, presented in descending order (from 1 to 391, in the case of the U.S. News national universities list). According to that list, UCLA, ranked 20th, is better than the University of Southern California, ranked 27th. So, it must be true. Or is it? If you look at the methods used to produce those numbers, you will see that the entire enterprise, like the Emerald City in the Land of Oz, consists mostly of blue smoke and mirrors. Consider the formulas used by rankers to compute those numbers. Every step in the process from the selection of variables, the weights assigned to them and the methods for measuring them is based on essentially arbitrary judgments. U.S. News, for example, selects 17 metrics for its formula from among hundreds of available choices. Why does it use, say, students SAT scores, but not their high school GPAs? Faculty salaries but not faculty teaching quality? Alumni giving, but not alumni earnings? Why does it not include items such as a schools spending on financial aid or its racial and ethnic diversity? Likewise, the weights employed to combine those variables into a total score are completely subjective. U.S. News has somehow concluded that a schools six-year graduation rate is worth exactly 17.6% of its overall score, but its student-faculty ratio is worth only 1%. To judge a schools academic reputation, it gives a whopping 20% weighting to the opinions of administrators from other colleges, most of whom know very little about the hundreds of schools they are asked to rate other than where those colleges appeared in the previous years ranking. And the publication gives no weight to the opinions of students or graduates. In addition, different rankers use different ways to measure each variable. Consider graduation rates. Some are based on the percentage of students who earn a degree in six years. Others use an eight-year measure. Some include transfer students, others not. Rankers sometimes measure student excellence by matriculants average SAT scores or high school GPAs or high school rank-in-class. Others use admissions acceptance rates or yield rates. Even if you think the rankings formulas make sense, the calculations they rest on are based overwhelmingly on unaudited, unverified data self-reported by the very schools being ranked. Would you invest in a company based on such information? Throughout their history, the college rankings have been plagued by allegations of fabrication and manipulation of data. In just the past month, USC, Columbia University and Rutgers University have all been accused of submitting erroneous or false reports to U.S. News, and a dean at Temple University was sentenced to prison in March for a fraud scheme aimed at boosting the schools prestige. Most observers believe that these public revelations represent only the tip of a very large iceberg. Lurking behind data manipulation lies the even larger problem of schools altering their academic practices in a desperate attempt to gain ranking points. Examples include inflating a schools fall-semester class size index by shifting large introductory lectures into the spring semester. Or boosting its yield rate by expanding early admissions and merit-aid programs that mostly benefit wealthy applicants at the expense of needy applicants. Or improving graduation rates by relaxing academic standards. Finally, the rankings impose a single formulaic template on hundreds of wonderfully diverse institutions. For example, U.S. News tosses Caltech, Santa Clara University, Chapman University and Fresno State, along with UCLA and USC, into its long list of national universities, as if they were all fungible examples of a uniform product differing only by relative status. In short, the popular best colleges rankings try to force Americas colleges and universities into a rigid hierarchy, based on arbitrary formulas, fed by unreliable data. Instead of relying on someone elses subjective idea of what one should want in a college, applicants should ask themselves what they want that will serve their personal goals. Do they see college as a means to immerse themselves in a particular field of study? Obtain an impressive pedigree? Qualify for an economically rewarding career? Prepare for service to the community? Seek guidance for a life of meaning and fulfillment? Or something else? Part of the tyranny of college rankings is their allure of simplicity. They promise to reduce the complexity of college choice to a simple number. But selecting a college is anything but simple. College is one of the most complex products one will ever purchase. And those four years constitute a hugely important period of exploration and personal development. Choosing a college should be approached as an exercise of self-discovery. Getting rejected by a school highly rated by some perfect stranger may be just what it takes to set applicants on that path. Colin Diver is the former president of Reed College and former dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is the author of Breaking Ranks: How the Rankings Industry Rules Higher Education and What to Do about It." Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Douglas School Board viewed a schematic design presentation from DLR Group for the new elementary school at their regular board meeting Monday evening. Superintendent Kevin Case said the presentation is a first look that will likely change. The concept tonight is about getting to see whats available and any reactions you might have, Case said. They will be working with DLR Group over the next few weeks, looking for final approval on the design at the May 9 meeting, he said. Representatives from DLR Group, a design firm based in Omaha, Neb., gave a presentation highlighting the design features of the new school. The design included a media center, teacher planning centers, outdoor classroom space, and collaborative spaces for students and teachers. As students are moving through the space, they're not just walking down a 300-foot-long corridor, said Darin Hanigan with DLR Group. There's this idea that they move around the space and there's some exploration and curiosity that starts to develop as they move through the building. He described the presentation as a mission statement for the district, developed with input from user and community groups, as well as touring other facilities. The companys user groups consisted of 40 people made up of teachers, administrators and community members with the intention of gaining an understanding of what the district wanted in an elementary school. Hanigan said they hope to convey concepts such as connections to nature, a welcoming environment and innovative surroundings to encourage curiosity. The presentation also included practical considerations such as parking, drop-off flow, bus traffic and two levels to aid students in transitions between classes. Rachael Anderson with DLR Group spoke about the colors and themes they hope to showcase throughout the building, incorporating color schemes reminiscent of sunsets and the Black Hills. The property for the new school has already been purchased, with site plans in progress. The plan is for a 600-student, pre-K through fifth grade, 130,000-square-foot building. Plans for the elementary school kicked off in December, with an estimated cost of $60 million. The school district said funding is actively being pursued with the districts congressional delegation and the U.S. Air Force. The district anticipates the project will be funded almost entirely from federal sources to support the influx of students as a result of the B-21 mission at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Bob Wessel with Gustafson Builders was also present at the meeting to update the board on construction documents and pricing for the new high school, a project underway since November 2019. He told the board that, after vetting numbers from various contractors and sub-contractors, the current estimated number for the high school is $127 million. The design phase for the high school is already complete, with the project also waiting on funding. 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. Jibri Bell never intended to get married, let alone be on a national reality television show about marriage. When he met Miona in Serbia while on tour with his band Black Serbs, he fell in love and it all changed. I fell in love, which was hard for the band to stomach because I was so focused, we were doing so well as a band, he said. We were in a really good position and I decided to choose love, to do my relationship and do my band, which is super hard to do. Bell and Mionas relationship, and the fallout of the band, will now play over TLCs ninth season of 90 Day Fiance, a reality television show that follows international couples using the United States' K-1 non-immigrant visa also known as the fiance visa. In order to obtain the visa, couples must intend to marry each other within 90 days of entering the U.S. as a K-1 non-immigrant. If married within 90 days of being admitted to the country, the fiance may apply for lawful permanent resident status in the United States. Bell, who grew up in Rapid City and graduated from Stevens High School, said he met his bride while his band performed in the 2019 EXIT Festival in Serbia, an award-winning summer music festival with more than 1,000 artists who play at more than 40 stages and festival zones. I looked at her and I said, Hey, if you can do this lifestyle with me and travel with me and perform, this is what I want to do, I want to be on stage, he said. If you can join me in this creative, nomadic lifestyle that Im going to embark on, I will marry you, I will propose to you. But before Bell became a musician, motivational speaker and TV star known for his bright outfits, he was just Jibri Bell, a bi-racial kid trying to navigate his way through bullying, juvenile detention and the public school system. Bell was a 5-year-old when he and his mother, Mahala, moved from Chicago to Rapid City to be near his aunt and uncle, Jamie and Qusai Al-Haj. He said he had a difficult teenage life in South Dakota, struggling with thoughts of suicide, going to the Human Services Center in Yankton, and being in and out of the Pennington County Juvenile Detention Center for truancy and fighting. It was really hard for me to find my voice in Rapid City, especially as somebody whos a bi-racial black kid growing up in South Dakota, Bell said. There was only a couple of us and I really, really had a hard time. He said his mom eventually sent him to STAR Academy in Custer when he was 16. The bus ride there from Yankton is what changed his life. Bell said he was on a prison bus and was in shackles when a large man walked in and sat behind him. He said the man had a swastika on his forehead and derogatory tattoos. He was breathing down my neck the whole six-hour ride from Yankton to Custer State Park and I just was like, 'Yeah, I dont want this lifestyle, I dont want to get in trouble, I dont want to be this person, he said. After serving almost 90 days at the academy, he came back to Rapid City and back to Stevens High School. He said he kept his head down and worked hard. Thats when he met David Brkljac and his twin sister, Luna. The two were Serbian refugees brought to South Dakota through their father who was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Bell and Brkljac became best friends and formed the Black Serbs in 2019. Throughout high school and after graduation, Brkljac taught Bell the Serbian language and they played music together. Brkljac was the one who brought Bell to Serbia for the first time, Bells first out-of-country experience. Bell said he hopes people have empathy for each other and uplift one another. He said theres a lot of hate and racial divides, but people need to protect one another. He said his next steps in life are spreading love and light, and planting seeds of abundance. He said he wants to teach and help kids by sharing his story, and hopes his music reaches all different audiences and sectors of the world. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 10 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. Virginia State Police troopers are searching for the driver who fled after a brief pursuit ended when a vehicle crashed, overturned and struck a tree on Jennie Scher Road in Richmond in the early morning hours Tuesday. At 2:36 a.m., troopers said they ran the license plate of a black 2004 Volkswagen sedan, which came back stolen, state police said. Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle with lights and sirens, police said, but the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed. It lost control, overturned, and struck a tree, police said. The driver fled on foot and was not caught, police said. A passenger was taken to VCU Medical Center with serious, but non life-threatening injuries. The crash is still under investigation. William Fox Elementary students and teachers are moving into the formerly closed Clark Springs Elementary School next month. The Richmond School Board in a 5-0 vote, amended a recommendation to move Fox students and teachers out of First Baptist Church to Clark Springs Elementary on May 9. The School Board met Monday for a work session at Huguenot High School, but when it was time for the Fox vote, members Liz Doerr, Cheryl Burke, Dawn Page and Nicole Jones had left the meeting. Superintendent Jason Kamras had recommended Fox Elementary not hold classes this coming Thursday, Friday and next Monday to allow teachers to move into their new classrooms. The School Board instead decided to keep students in class this entire week and pause classes for the entire first week of May. (All Richmond Public Schools are closed May 3 for Eid al-Fitr). Kamras recommended for instruction to begin at Clark Springs on May 4, instead, it will begin five days later. I am delighted to share Clark Springs is ready for students and staff, Kamras said Monday evening. In February, a three-alarm fire engulfed Fox Elementary, a Richmond Public School located in the heart of the Fan District. The extensive damage closed the school indefinitely. The School Board has approved renovating the 111-year-old school building instead of rebuilding it. While RPS staff looked to move Fox students and teachers into Clark Springs immediately after the fire, the state of Clark Springs did not allow for a fast transition. Last month, after Fox parents were nearly unanimous in wanting a temporary location while construction occurred at Clark Springs, students and teachers moved into temporary classrooms at First Baptist Church on Monument Avenue. Kamras thanked First Baptist for being a flexible, generous and loving host. Ahead of Mondays work session vote, surveys were sent to Fox staff and families to gauge interest on when to move into Clark Springs. Of the 220 family responses, 75.5% wanted to move into Clark Springs immediately, while 24.5% wanted to stay at First Baptist Church until the end of June, according to the Fox recommendation presentation unveiled Tuesday night. According to the presentation, of the 58 staff responses, 69% expressed wanting to move into Clark Springs immediately. Staff members were also asked if they needed three, four or five days to move into Clark Springs. Of the 58 responses, 34.5% agreed with three days, with 32.8% for four days and 32.8% for five days. A little over half of the family responses also supported teachers having three days to move into Clark Springs. During Mondays public comment period, Keri Treadway, an 18-year Fox Elementary teacher, and the buildings union representative, urged the School Board to give teachers more time to move into their Clark Springs classrooms. There are no words to express the overwhelming amounts of stress and fatigue that weve all experienced these past few months. Weve lost everything, absolutely everything. Our entire lifes work was destroyed and we are literally starting from scratch, Treadway said. Treadway asked for a minimum of four days for teachers to move out of First Baptist Church and into Clark Springs. Under normal circumstances, many of us come in at least two weeks before the start of our contracts to prepare, Treadway said, acknowledging school district officials have said classrooms do not need to be set up as they look at the beginning of the school year, three days is simply not enough time to make this happen. Three teachers who submitted written public comments asked the School Board to approve at least four days to allow for them to move into their new classrooms. Closed roughly a decade ago, in the last month Clark Springs Elementary has undergone extensive renovations to be able to welcome Fox Elementary. The Randolph neighborhood school has received a fresh paint job, new exterior doors, new ceiling tiles, mold remediation, patches to the leaky roof and more. While repairs were made to the roof, Clark Springs is in need of an entirely new roof. Costs for a new roof are in the ballpark of $1.5 million and $2 million, according to school system construction staff. A new gym floor is slated to be placed in Clark Springs over the summer. Clark Springs will remain the home school for Fox Elementary until renovations are completed at the Fan location. Elena Camacho stood in front of a crowd of over 50 people Monday, holding a small bullhorn in one hand and a manila folder filled with maintenance requests in the other, as she and families from the Southwood apartment community marched toward the landlords office. Camacho and organizers from the New Virginia Majority a statewide advocacy organization that focuses on issues facing immigrant communities are helping to bring awareness to the untenable living conditions of Richmonds largest Latino neighborhood. The goal of Mondays rally was to submit 62 new maintenance request forms directly to management and hold them accountable should they refuse to act on those requests. Last winter, the Richmond Times-Dispatch investigated the living conditions of the residents of Southwood who were living among mold, mice and roaches. Since that report, Camacho said some residents have seen a change from the amount of maintenance requests that have been addressed. I think they have been doing something, Camacho told The Times-Dispatch on Monday. So we want to continue. We dont want tenants [to] think we forgot about them. In previous correspondence with The Times-Dispatch, Mark Hubbard, a spokesperson for the property management company The Communities at Southwood, detailed some of the work that has been done. Essential and Overlooked: Federal dollars changed Virginia's course during COVID. For some Latinos, help came too late. This is the second of three stories examining how policy decisions limited public health funding led to startlingly high death rates among Latinos at the beginning of the pandemic. Hubbard said the property company has answered hundreds of requests from its tenants to address such things as bathroom fixtures, appliance repairs and light fixtures. It has also added outdoor trash containers, increased trash pick-ups and updated some of the 1,300 units. The property management company has now visited more than 900 apartments, according to Hubbard. However, Camacho said there are still requests that have gone unanswered. She and fellow organizer Sofia Vega have worked with families in Southwood for more than a year and have seen first-hand the conditions they have had to endure. Management has been doing some things so theres been some activity, Vega told The Times-Dispatch in an interview on Monday. Theyre trying to make it seem like everythings okay. But on a deeper level, theyre not really changing anything. Vega said the fact that more than 50 people showed up Monday shows the prevalence of the issue. Many of the people who werent able to come, sent their neighbors or family members in place as well, Vega said. The plan was to deliver their written requests in person, but when Camacho, Vega and the tenants of Southwood approached, they said they found the leasing office locked, even though it was during operating hours and there were people inside. We were basically trying to get as many residents as we could to fill out these forms, just to have the proof that we turned in these repair requests, Vega said. If in a few weeks their issues havent been resolved, then we can be like, Hey, you know, heres the form we were turned in a few weeks ago and proof that they submitted it. Now what are you going to do about it? Vega said the way she has seen the community grow and unite for a better cause has been amazing despite their failed attempt to submit the requests face-to-face. Moving forward, Camacho and Vega said they plan to continue to communicate with Southwoods residents until their living conditions improve. Vega said theyre still knocking on doors hoping to recruit as many people as they can to their cause. LGerman@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6340 Twitter: @Lyndon_G Staff writer Sabrina Moreno contributed to this report. The Virginia Capitol will undergo a makeover that will temporarily remove the iconic South Portico steps and plaza to allow replacement of a portion of an underground roof to waterproof the 15-year-old annex that visitors enter to tour the national historic landmark. The work is scheduled to begin on Monday and extend at least until December, closing the annex to visitors and legislators alike, as well as members of the news media who currently use a press room on one of the landings along the steps that rise from Bank Street to the Capitol. Visitors will use the west entrance to the Capitol, next to East Ninth Street, during the work. The Capitol will not close, said Dena Potter, spokesperson for the Virginia Department of General Services. The work is the second phase of a $4.5 million, two-year project to prevent water from infiltrating into the annex, which opened in 2007 as part of the Capitol renovation completed in time for the 400th anniversary of the founding of the English colony at Jamestown. Last year, the state replaced a leaking skylight over the annex in the plaza at the foot of the South Portico steps. The work will be conducted as work proceeds to complete a tunnel under Capitol Square between the new General Assembly Building and the Capitol extension, where it will connect on a landing above Meriwethers snack bar. The $25 million tunnel will not be completed until next year. Digging of the tunnel is underway from both directions to meet sometime in the fall to allow interior construction to begin. The tunnel will not open until sometime in late 2023. These are complex projects that incorporate renovation, the repair of existing infrastructure and new construction and require the coordination of various design and construction teams as we make improvements to Virginias historic Capitol, Joe Damico, director of general services, said in a statement about the closing of the annex. Closing the Capitols underground extension is critical to ensure everyones safety as we complete these important projects, Damico said. Meanwhile, a portion of North Ninth Street will close to traffic between East Broad and East Grace streets until Oct. 17 to allow completion of the new General Assembly Building and a 500-car parking deck on opposite corners of Broad and Ninth streets in downtown Richmond. The state expects to complete and furnish the interior of the new 422,000-square-foot building for the General Assembly this summer to allow legislators to move into their offices in advance of the legislative session scheduled to begin in January. We should be moving them in the fall, Potter said. The state met on Monday with members of the Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association representing members of the news media who cover the legislature to prepare for the temporary closing of the press room in the annex directly across from Meriwethers. The annex includes a gift shop and two large legislative meeting rooms, one each for the House of Delegates and Senate. Once the waterproofing is completed, the state plans to replace the ceiling and lighting fixtures in the entire extension from Bank Street to the Capitol. Potter emphasized that visitors will still be able to enter and tour the Capitol during construction. Tour buses will drop passengers at the newly renovated entrance to Capitol Square on Ninth Street to allow them to enter the building after security screening at the west entrance. Capitol Square has been under transformation since 2016, when the General Assembly approved a $300 million project to build a new General Assembly Building and parking garage, and renovate Old City Hall. The clerks of the House of Delegates and Senate are overseeing the projects for the legislature. Enhancing the visitor experience to and around the Virginia State Capitol is a priority for us and all legislators, Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar and House Clerk Paul Nardo said in a joint statement. Renovation of Old City Hall, a historic late-19th-century state building between the new General Assembly Building and the Patrick Henry Building on the north side of Capitol Square, is expected to be completed before the end of September. The work wont end there because the General Assembly has approved planning for a project to move the Virginia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals into a renovated Pocahontas Building on the south side of Capitol Square. The Pocahontas Building, which fronts on East Main Street next to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has housed legislative offices and meeting rooms during construction of a new General Assembly Building. Lots going on around Capitol Square, as always, Potter said. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday called for further efforts to combat corruption and build a clean and honest government. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a State Council meeting on clean governance. Zhao Leji, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Vice Premier Han Zheng, both members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting. Li said that advancing economic and social development is the basic responsibility of governments at all levels and also an essential requirement for improving Party conduct and building a clean government. The new, increased downward pressure facing China's economy due to the impact of the greater-than-expected changes in the domestic and international situations deserves great attention, he said. Li stressed that policy initiatives that have already been formulated must be largely implemented in the first half of this year so as to ensure stable jobs, prices, and supplies, and to keep the fundamentals of China's economy stable. Governments are urged to shoulder their responsibilities to safeguard food and energy security and keep supply chains stable, according to the premier. Li called for further efforts to create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment, noting that tax and fee reduction policies should be implemented in a fair, equitable and efficient manner. Moreover, the premier stressed the need for greater efforts to oppose pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance, with a particular focus on the first two problems. In a challenge to his partys power structure, Del. Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, faced a rumor circulating among lawmakers that a big-spending political organization called Clean Virginia was somehow behind his effort to unseat House of Delegates Minority Leader Eileen-Filler Corn, D-Fairfax. But two House Democrats with their pulses on the politics of the situation say the rumor is bogus. And no one has presented any evidence otherwise. Scotts challenge for his partys leadership in the House is expected to get a vote Wednesday within the 48-member Democratic caucus when lawmakers convene in Richmond to consider Gov. Glenn Youngkins amendments and vetoes to legislation passed earlier this year. Scott has told people he has the votes to unseat Filler-Corn, who was Virginias first female House speaker before her party lost control of the House in 2021. The unexpected challenge to Filler-Corn is causing concern in her camp; the office of U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has even made inquiries about it. (Offered the chance to comment on the senators views, Warners office did not respond). Some Democrats are concerned that their party leadership doesnt understand why they lost the 2021 elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and control of the House of Delegates and arent addressing how to win next time. Amid that backdrop, rumors spread that the Charlottesville-based Clean Virginia was behind Scotts move. Clean Virginia, funded by wealthy hedge fund owner Michael Bills, began offering money in 2018 to candidates who opt not to accept campaign donations from political powerhouse Dominion Energy, the states largest electric utility. Dominion has a history of being a top donor to Virginia politicians, who in turn write laws that help the utility earn extra profit at the expense of its customers. Bills and Clean Virginia have tried to scale back Dominions influence. In the process, they created their own opponents including House Democratic leadership some of whom feel Clean Virginia is trying to control them or push them around. For example, House Democratic leadership attacked Bills and Clean Virginia during a 2021 Democratic primary campaign when Clean Virginia was backing a challenger to a leadership-backed incumbent in Prince William County. A rumor this week that Clean Virginia is backing Scott could have had the effect of turning off some House Democrats leery of Clean Virginias influence. But Scott has never been affiliated with Clean Virginia in fact, Dominion Energy is his top donor and he has supported the utility politically. And Scott has criticized Clean Virginias approach, the Virginia Mercury reported last year. The two Democratic delegates Scott wants to join him in leadership, should Filler-Corn be defeated, are Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, and Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax. Both have accepted money from Clean Virginia in campaigns for the House of Delegates. Clean Virginia executive director Brennan Gilmore said the organization has no involvement in the leadership challenge. Without saying whether they back Scott or Filler-Corn, two House Democrats say the rumor that Clean Virginia is backing Scott is false. I am more than confident that they are not involved, said Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. Anyone pushing that agenda is ... just desperate to push an agenda thats false. Bagby wouldnt commit to either candidate but said Scott was well within his right to challenge Filler-Corn. Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, said he agreed the Clean Virginia rumor isnt true and is nonsensical. Don is not the type of man to allow himself to be anyones pawn, Bourne said. Filler-Corn and Scott declined to comment. On the heels of firings and suspensions that have demoralized staff at James Madisons Montpelier and shocked history professionals across the nation, staff members fear more retribution is to come. Staff members say top management has targeted, and continues targeting, employees critical of The Montpelier Foundation for not keeping its June 2021 commitment to share power equally with people from the slave-descendant community at the fourth U.S. presidents home in Orange County. That concept is called structural parity. On Saturday, a majority of the historic sites full-time staffwith a growing number of part-time staffissued a statement calling on their leaders to reinstate their fired colleagues and immediately implement the promised power sharing on the foundations board. They said the foundations actions are endangering Montpeliers archaeological sites, artifacts, data and research. They called that unethical and immoral, and a violation of federal law. Staff also said the foundations latest offer to seat nominees from the Montpelier Descendant Committee in two waves, spaced months apart, is misleading and would create two classes of board members, one with voting power, one without. Via a spokesman, Montpelier President and CEO Roy Young declined Monday to answer questions about those claims, but promised the Culpeper Star-Exponent an interview on Thursday. What theyve done is 100 percent retaliation for our speaking with descendants or publicly or privately disagreeing with (Montpelier CEO Roy Young) or the foundation board in the back and forth about structural parity, one staff member said in an interview Sunday. The interpretive staff is terrified. No one is sure what they can talk about, or with whom. Everyone is pretty scared. On April 18, Young fired Elizabeth Chew, executive vice president and chief curator; Matthew Reeves, director of archaeology and landscape restoration; and Communications Director Christy Moriarty. He also suspended Mary Furlong Minkoff, curator of archaeological collections, and archaeology field director Christopher Pasch. The week prior, Young fired Event Manager Alex Walsh. Now, staff members are gravely worried about the security of Montpeliers archaeological research, including an excavation halted when Young sacked employees and abruptly ordered others to leave the site. A lot of data 20 years worth of archaeological work is at risk of being lost or forgotten, one staff member said. Staff members said the excavation of what is theorized to be a slave-quarter site near the Madison mansion is vulnerable, the dig stopped halfway through, with data unrecorded. The site is readily apparent to visitors near the Visitors Center from several angles. When work was stopped, fresh artifacts were being treated in Montpeliers archaeology lab, and were left at risk of destruction, staff members said. The foundation has defiled archaeological ethics and museum best practices, the staff said in its new statement. (Abandoning) finds and data mid-process is a breach of appropriate and ethical stewardship of Montpeliers unique cultural and heritage resource. The firing of senior staff at a critical moment jeopardizes a federal Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to organize and digitize Montpeliers archaeological legacy data, staff members said. Critical to this grant is the institutional memory held by Matthew Reeves, whose 22-year history at the site was the rationale for Montpelier receiving the money. Staff members said Young and Foundation Chair Eugene Hickok hold a more conservative, old-school view of what history is most important to research and interpret for the public at Montpelier than did their immediate predecessors. Before they took office in early 2020, the Madison plantation had won national awards and acclaim for vigorously interpreting African Americans heritage on site, in collaboration with its descendant community, in addition to the Madisons stories. The National Trust of Historic Preservation, which owns Montpeliers 2,650-acre site, has condemned Youngs actions against his staff. Their goal is to elevate some stories over others principally, the story of the U.S. Constitution, a staff member said of Young and Hickok. They see telling stories of the Constitution and slavery as diametrically opposed, that they cannot exist together. But how do you talk about the Constitutions primary author without talking about slavery? As James Madison wrote these ideas at Montpelier, he sat at his desk watching his (enslaved) people, who had to forcibly work for his welfare. Enslaved people are just as much American founders as Madison was. They are the founders we dont like to talk about, the history professional said. Gene and Roy dont want to give credit for their stolen skills and knowledge and labor. Another colleague said staff will keep pressing the foundation to enact structural parity and tell whole-truth history. They cant fire everyone. Because leadership doesnt have a clue as to how many staff members are in support of this effort, they said. And leadership has shown they dont know what it takes to run the place or what the staff does. Theyve never taken the time to learn. One of the unfortunate facts of life is that government officials are not always 100% honest, forthright and accurate. On a national scale, we saw a glaring example of that last week. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy emphatically denied a New York Times report that McCarthy had told his GOP colleagues that he would ask then-President Donald Trump to resign following Trumps actions in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Following McCarthys denials, the New York Times released a recording of that conference call. McCarthy definitely said he would urge Trump to resign before his term was up that Jan. 21. As a result, his credibility took a major hit. Something similar happened more recently on a local scale right here in the Roanoke Valley, with Roanoke County schools. My colleague, Sam Wall, published a detailed story about it Saturday thats worth exploring. It was about a questionnaire Roanoke County (and most area school systems) take every other year, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. By law, those surveys are anonymous. They help school systems spot trends of potentially risky behavior among students, and address them early. This year, Roanoke County schools deleted five questions about about sex from surveys that queried seventh and eighth graders. The questions were whether a student had engaged in sexual intercourse, at what age, with how many partners, was a condom used and whether drugs or alcohol involved. Those questions were on prior surveys taken for the past 20 years. Wall asked the school system why theyd been deleted. The schools longtime spokesman, Chuck Lionberger, ducked that question. He replied in a March 16 email that a survey committee within the school system had made the decision. 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, Lionberger replied in the March 16 email. When Wall phoned Lionberger and again asked why the questions were deleted, Lionberger ducked it again. And then he said he wouldnt answer any more questions as to why. Wall next asked for Roanoke County schools documents under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. He sought emails from school board members and school officials that mentioned the survey. In April, the school system released 41 emails, charging The Roanoke Times $191.40 for search and copying, as FOIA allows. Guess what? Those emails greatly call into question Lionbergers March 16 statement that the survey committee made the decision to ax the sex questions. For example, consider a Feb. 5 email to school board members from Roanoke County schools Superintendent Kenneth Nicely. In that, Nicely wrote, At my direction, the RCPS version of the 7th and 8th grade [Youth Risk Behavior Survey] 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. The surveys were originally scheduled for Feb. 8-10, according to notifications the school system sent parents via email. Those noted that parents are allowed to opt out their students from the survey. Parents of about 200 students (out of 7,000) wanted their children to skip it. The surveys were delayed after a Feb. 4 request from school board member Brent Hudson. He sent an email to Nicely indicating Hudson had received complaints about some of the survey questions from parents, and that he had discussed the matter with school board members Tim Greenway and Cheryl Facciani. Facciani later wrote Nicely that she would approve of the survey if the sexual questions have been removed and barring any other serious issues. It appears clear from the 41 emails that school board members asked the survey be delayed for further review because they had questions about it. And that Nicely ordered the sex questions deleted, and that the survey was given in late March without those questions. Which brings us back to Lionbergers March 16 statement, that a school system survey committee had deleted the questions. Monday morning, I sent him an email: Can you explain to me why your March 16 statement seems to directly contradict the disclosures in those FOIAd emails? Here was his response: You bring up a good question and its one of process. I asked for more specific details about this process the superintendent made the request to modify the middle school survey. That was communicated to Dr. [Shawn] Hughes, who is on the survey committee. The survey was then modified accordingly. Keep in mind, all of that occurred well before Lionbergers March 16 email that claimed the survey committee decided to remove the questions. At least now, Lionbergers acknowledging that the board and the superintendent played a key role in those questions being deleted. None of the above necessarily proves Lionberger was intentionally deceptive the first time he answered that question. Its possible he was blissfully unaware on March 16 that Nicely had ordered those questions pulled by Feb. 6. Its also possible that on March 16, Lionberger had neither the time nor inclination to get the facts. So he issued a non-answer that suggested the deletions were merely a routine action by the survey committee. Either way, we can consider his Monday acknowledgement a victory for the facts and the truth and greater transparency about the inner workings of a publicly elected board. Because I was able to get an answer, I decided to press my luck and pose the question from Wall that Lionberger had ducked repeatedly: Why? Why did Nicely order deletion of the anonymous sex questions that seventh and eighth graders in Roanoke County had been answering since 2002? Lionberger responded late Monday after he talked with Nicely. Here was the answer: First, state law prohibits asking sex oriented questions on the sixth grade survey. What we know about young middle school aged adolescents is they mature at different rates so asking a 7th or even an 8th grader to check the box on a subject thats deeply personal does not seem developmentally responsive. He noted that the sex questions were asked of high schoolers. This is the age level when many students start to become sexually active, Lionberger wrote. But FYI, they know that because of these risky behavior surveys. And that suggests if trends change and middle school kids begin having more frequent sex, Roanoke County schools will be unaware, because those questions are no longer being asked of the younger students. Does that seem like the best strategy moving forward? Or does it seem like sticking your head in the sand, because youd rather not know the answers? Contact metro columnist Dan Casey at 981-3423 or dan.casey@roanoke.com . Follow him on Twitter: @dancaseysblog . Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A federal judge sentenced a Cleveland man Monday to 60 months in prison for attempting to entice a 13-year-old girl from Roanoke to come to his home for sexual activity. Matthew Benjamin Foltz, 29, used the messaging application Whisper to engage in sexually explicit conversation, prosecutors said. The person Foltz believed to be the girl was actually an undercover police officer. He was arrested after the online conversation turned to his desire to bring the 13-year-old back to his home in Ohio, where he could impregnate her and teach her how to please him sexually, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Foltz pleaded pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of persuading, enticing, or coercing a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in sexual activity. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Christiansburg Police Department. Judge Elizabeth Dillon imposed the sentence. 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. CHRISTIANSBURG Jo Anne Price is no stranger to breaking new ground, and earlier this spring she made some history in Montgomery County. Price, 70, was elected chairwoman of the countys Republican Party and in the process became the first African American to hold the position. Price stresses that her elevation to the role was due to the trust her peers placed in her to effectively lead the party and uphold its values. It doesnt matter what color I am, she said. I believe people voted for me because of leadership and the contribution they feel I can make to Montgomery, as a result of effective leadership. I dont believe it was a Black or white issue. Price replaced Sharon Brockman, who she defeated in the election and who had served as interim chairwoman since former Christiansburg Councilman Harry Collins stepped down as the local party head due to health reasons. The chair of the Montgomery County GOP serves a two-year term. Price said her interest in leading the party was rooted in her lifelong passion of what she calls developing others a term she prefers over the word helping. I dont like this help narrative that we have, where we look at people as if somethings wrong with them, she said. I like the word overcome. I want to see the potential of an individual. Prices background includes time as a business owner and working for Xerox as well as the former pharmaceutical company that became Marion Merrell Dow. She also spent time in the aviation and insurance industries and during the early 1970s worked as an administrative assistant for the Central Intelligence Agencys former National Photographic Interpretation Center. Price currently runs the Christiansburg-based Passing the Baton Training Center, which hosts seminars and offers free classes on a number of subjects that include finance, the U.S. Constitution and cursive writing. The recent change in the party committees leadership comes as Montgomery County has been a microcosm of the greater state and national landscape on hot button issues, especially when it has come to public education. Like elsewhere in the state and country, Montgomery County Public Schools was not immune to the polarizing debates over masking and other issues such as policies for the protection of transgender students. The district has also received scrutiny from some area conservatives over whats taught within the schools, again reflecting a greater debate that has occurred at both the state and national levels. Local public education has been of particular interest to Price, even before she was elected chairwoman. She has regularly attended and spoken at Montgomery County School Board meetings over the past few months. Price has been specifically critical of policies for transgender students, which supporters and school officials have said were needed to ensure them stronger protections. But Price argues the policies are not fair to all students, even going as far as saying it robs some of them of their freedoms. Theyre setting them [transgender students] aside as if theyre weak, and theyre not weak, she said. We should require the same amount of work from them as everybody else. The county school districts adoption of its policies last year as with many other districts across the state was prompted by the General Assemblys previous passing of legislation requiring school boards to adopt measures for transgender students that are in line with the Virginia Department of Educations model policies. The policies include language on access to facilities such as to bathrooms and locker rooms. The subject of the policies did not receive uniform support across districts in the state, with some school boards at the time voting down proposed measures and many parents and community members including in Montgomery County sharply divided on the matter. Supporters, however, pointed to factors as such as transgender students increased exposure to bullying. And some local school board members compared the students to other groups who had been marginalized in the past. For example, school board member Penny Franklin, whos one of just two Black elected officials in Montgomery County, compared the pushback against the policies to the opposition decades ago to desegregation. Price, however, has arrived at a different conclusion over how that time compares to the issues of equality today. Price recalls being the only Black child in a class of more than 30 students. My history teacher would never call on me, she said. Price said she talked about the issue to her father, who told her to sit on the front row to gain better visibility. She said that led to no changes, prompting her to personally raise the issue with her teacher after class. Price said her teacher told her that she didnt want to embarrass the student in the event she got an answer wrong. But Price said she wasnt sure how the situation would have been any different than any other classmate answering a question incorrectly. She was protecting herself. Its selfishness, she said. She was treating me differently. Price said she sees a similar problem now with certain groups of students, who she argued are being treated differently. Its the exact same thing, she said, adding that she views the subject of transgender students as one that should be left to parents and not the schools. Price has more recently been outspoken against an effort among school employees to unionize, another option that opened up in Montgomery County due to the relatively recent passage of state legislation. Price, like some other opponents of collective bargaining for the states public sector employees, has argued that a school employee union could lead to almost forced tax increases in the future to meet certain pay demands and could undermine the authority of the school division and elected board on district operations. Price argues collective bargaining is an indicator of issues not being adequately addressed by the school board and district administration. She argues those are the places school employees ought to direct their attention, as opposed to calling for a union. In addition to speaking out against the recent unionizing efforts, Price has over the past month organized a handful of motorcades across Montgomery County to oppose collective bargaining at MCPS. Supporters of collective bargaining have pushed back against the suggestion that it would effectively force tax increases, with several saying the process for enacting pay raises would bear little to no difference with how its currently done. They have also said the school board doesnt have the power to raise county taxes an authority vested with the board of supervisors and that there will be conditions in place to make pay increases contingent on available funding. While there are certainly opponents of Prices politics in the community, at least some in the local GOP have voiced full confidence in her ability to uphold the partys values and back several of her points on schools. Among them is county Supervisor Steve Fijalkowski, who last year sparked some debate over comments he made on the policies for transgender students. Fijalkowski, along with the other three Republicans supervisors on his board, voiced their support of providing vouchers or tax credits to public school students who plan to make the switch to private or home schools. The discussion over the vouchers drew criticism from many in the county, including several school board members, who voiced concerns that such measures could direct needed funding away from public schools. Fijalkowski defended his stance by pointing to concerns raised by parents, many of whom he argued seemed to have been ignored by the district. The supervisor brought up Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin winning Montgomery County in his run for office and pointed to how parental involvement in the schools was one of the governors key stances during his campaign. That should tell the school board that this is the direction the majority of Montgomery County wants you to go, Fijalkowski said. Thats kind of bothersome that theyre not willing to compromise. Compromise is where most business gets done. Fijalkowski touted Prices views on the schools. Shes very knowledgeable about issues and she has a lot of ideas to further the party, he said. When you listen to her, she wants the GOP to be more involved in topics that citizens are concerned about and you know thats something all political parties want to get involved in, representing citizens. She just seems to have a plan and shes put into practice. 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. After three days of testimony and arguments about Appalachian Power Co.s renewable energy future, a hearing examiner with the State Corporation Commission will issue a written opinion later. At the end of the hearing Monday afternoon, Mary Beth Adams said her decision is required pretty quickly. The SCC must sort through a mountain of documents and weigh dueling testimony from experts before deciding whether to approve Appalachians plan on how it will comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Passed in 2020, the law is intended to fight climate change by requiring Appalachian to provide its approximately 540,000 Virginia customers with all renewable energy by 2050. The utility which has relied mostly on coal and natural gas in recent years to generate about 85% of its electricity filed its plan with the SCC in late December. Commission staff, the Virginia Attorney Generals Office and about a half-dozen organizations and businesses are participating in the complicated process. This is a whole new world, SCC attorney Kiva Pierce said, borrowing a phrase from the Disney movie Aladdin. Appalachian is seeking SCC approval to acquire a solar farm in Pittsylvania County and to purchase electricity from three others in Bedford, Louisa and Rockingham counties. The plan also calls for the company to own a wind farm in Logan County, Illinois, and a solar farm in Berkeley County, West Virginia, among other things. That is for the upcoming rate year that starts in August. An updated plan with additional purchases is required annually by the Clean Economy Act. To recover the $32 million in costs for renewable energy over the next year, the investor-owed utility is proposing a rate increase that would add $2.37 to the bill of an average residential customer, or one that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month. Rate increases would be much higher, Appalachian argues, if it must make a more rapid transformation to wind and solar energy. Appalachian is asking the SCC to allow it to continue burning coal through 2040 at two large power plants in West Virginia, which currently generate about two-thirds of its output to customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee. After Adams makes a recommendation, the case will go to the full SCC for a final decision. 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 Democratic delegate who earlier this year said Gov. Glenn Youngkin was using Black bodies as campaign props now hopes to unseat his own partys leader in the House of Delegates. Del. Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, has spent weeks planning a bid to unseat House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax. Scott made it public on Sunday by sending a letter to party leaders calling for a House Democratic leadership vote on removing Filler-Corn on Wednesday when the General Assembly convenes to consider the governors vetoes and amendments to legislation passed earlier this year. Scott resigned his leadership position within the House Democratic Caucus, as vice chair for outreach. The caucus election will be done by secret ballot. If Filler-Corn loses, Scott wants to be the Democrats leader in the House, where Republicans hold a 52-48 edge. He wants Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, to serve as caucus chair and Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, to serve as vice chair for outreach. The current caucus chair under Filler-Corn is Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria. If she and Filler-Corn lose Wednesdays vote, House Democrats would need to hold another vote to elect new leadership. Scott, a lawyer, was first elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2021 in a safely Democratic seat. He gave a newsworthy speech on Jan. 26, during the regular General Assembly session, in which he rebuked Youngkins use of race in politics. I understand you found a winning issue in critical race theory, once again, using the old Southern strategy to use race as a wedge issue, to use Black bodies as a prop in your campaigns, Scott said on the House floor. The governor, unsolicited, went to Scotts office afterward to speak with him. Filler-Corn was first elected to the House in 2010 and in 2020 became the first woman and first Jewish person to serve as a Virginia House speaker. She faced an unsuccessful leadership challenge in 2019 from then-Del. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg. But Democrats lost the races for governor, attorney general and lieutenant governor last year as well control of the House as Youngkin topped former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe by 2 percentage points. Thats led some House Democrats to question whether their party leadership has accepted responsibility for what went wrong. Scott is climbing uphill by challenging his partys power structure. The Richmond Times-Dispatch has learned that Scott has told others he has commitments from 30 Democratic delegates, and needs 25. But because the tally is by secret ballot, the votes in such internal matters can be tricky. Democratic delegates can tell both Scott and Filler-Corn they support them. Filler-Corn spokesman Jake Rubenstein released a statement Monday from Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, saying the current leadership led this caucus to historic heights. Now is not the time to take our best players off of the playing field, McQuinn said. BRISTOL, Va. Two Bristol, Virginia police officers who witnessed a fellow officer fatally shoot a suspect last year testified in the officers murder trial Monday. Officer Timothy Sizemore of the Bristol Virginia Police Department (BVPD) was one of three officers who responded to shots fired at the Rodeway Inn on Euclid Avenue with Officer Johnathan Brown around 3:20 a.m. on March 30, 2021. The officers found Jonathen Kohler in the parking lot of the motel behind the wheel of his 1994 Ford Mustang. Kohler wouldnt comply with the officers commands, and despite being told to keep his hands up and on the wheel, Kohler reached down several times, Sizemore said. One of the officers then told Kohler to turn the car off before he backed out of the parking space and attempted to flee. Sizemore testified to hearing the tires squeal and the engine rev as the vehicle moved forward before Brown fired his rifle. Kohler, who suffered gunshot wounds to the head and neck, died almost instantly. The car then crashed into a parked car with a loud boom, Sizemore said. It all happened so fast, Sizemore said. Sizemore said he was afraid Kohler was reaching for a gun. Although the officers didnt know it at the time, there was a loaded pistol under Kohlers seat. Surveillance footage later revealed Kohler had fired five shots out the window of his Mustang while in the motel parking lot, which prompted four 911 calls. Investigators also discovered extra ammunition in the vehicle and found text messages where Kohler had threatened to shoot into his girlfriends motel room and to shoot up the whole hotel. Roanoke Commonwealths Attorney Donald Caldwell, the special prosecutor in the case, made clear Monday that the responding officers had no prior knowledge that Kohler had fired the shots or that he was armed when they arrived. BVPD Chief of Police John Austin called the Rodeway Inn a very dangerous place and a haven for drug users during testimony Monday. According to Austin, his officers treat calls of shots fired like an active shooter situation until they can determine otherwise. Officer Christopher Stine described Kohler as fidgety and covered in sweat on the cold night. Stine became suspicious Kohler was the shooter when he became verbally defensive with the officers and said, I didnt do anything. He just wouldnt stay still, Stine said. The concentration of methamphetamine in Kohlers blood was almost 10 times Virginias presumptive limit to safely operate a motor vehicle, a toxicologist testified. Stine also said Kohler backed up at a high rate of speed and launched forward. Stine told the EMS responder that Kohler had tried to run over Brown and testified he believed Kohler was an immediate threat to Brown. Neither Stine nor Sizemore were subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury that indicted Brown on charges of murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and shooting into an occupied vehicle. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. As he begins a second term as France's president, Emmanuel Macron has given the green light for the delivery of artillery pieces to Ukraine You have permission to edit this collection. Edit Close FLORENCE, S.C. The Florence County Coroners Office Tuesday released the identity of an 11-year-old boy who was shot and killed at his home in Scranton Sunday. The victim is Zion Burgess, who was shot at his home on South Glendale Road in Scranton, Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken wrote in the release. The shooting incident happened Sunday morning. The boy was transported to a Florence area hospital where he died. An autopsy will be conducted Thursday morning at the Medical University South Carolina in Charleston. Two people Crandell Cordell Burgess, 27, Scranton, and Montarrio Leverne Graham, 35, Scranton have been arrested and charged in the incident. Burgess is charged with voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime. Graham is charged with stalking, trespassing/entering premises after a warning to leave and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony. According to the Florence County Sheriffs Office, Graham and Burgess were involved in an argument. Graham had a gun. Burgess warned Graham to leave several times, but Graham refused. The dispute escalated and shots were fired. Sheriffs investigators allege the 11-year-old was struck by shots fired from Burgesss gun. FLORENCE, S.C. Florence Mayor Teresa Myers Ervin, Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler and Florence County Sheriffs Office Major Michael M. Nunn urged residents to form community watches and report crimes to law enforcement Monday. After a weekend of violence, killing and loss, Ervin held a press conference at 11 a.m. Monday at the City Center. Ervin, Heidler and Nunn addressed violence as city and county government officials, clergy and community activists stood behind them in a show of support. Four people were killed in Florence County over the weekend. A fifth Florence County resident was shot and killed Sunday morning in Myrtle Beach. Another person was shot multiple times Sunday in Florence, and remains hospitalized. A Florence resident was shot and killed at 4:40 p.m. Saturday in the 1100 block of Brunwood Drive after he refused to give a neighbor a ride to the store. Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken identified the victim as Larry Dontaye Joyner, 37. Randolph Eugene Smith has been arrested and charged with murder, possession of a weapon and grand larceny. Another shooting happened Sunday morning in the 1000 block of Carver Street in Florence. The coroner identified the shooting victim as Willie Dixon, 32, of Florence. A 17-year-old teenager Dairyontae Thurston Shaw of Dixon Street was discovered in a driveway at 700 Philadelphia Place at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Autopsies on Joyner, Dixon and Shaw will be performed at the Medical University of South Carolina at Charleston. A fatal shooting happened on Glendale Road Sunday morning near Scranton. An 11-year-old was killed in the shooting. The identity of the child has not been released. The Florence County Sheriffs Office has arrested two men Crandell Corodell Burgess, 27, of Scranton and Montarrio Leverne Graham 35, of Scranton. According to investigators, Graham carried a firearm onto the property following a verbal dispute with Burgess. After several warnings, Graham refused to leave. Investigators allege the 11-year-old was shot when Graham opened fire on Burgess. Burgess was charged with voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Graham is charged with stalking, trespassing/entering premises after warning to leave and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of violent crime. At 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Florence County Sheriffs deputies responded to a call of shots fired in the 1000 block of Carver Street in Florence. Investigators and crime scene forensic experts located spent shell casings where the shooting is alleged to have happened. A short time later, deputies were notified of a shooting victim at an area hospital. The victim had been taken to the hospital by private vehicle. He has been receiving treatment for gunshot wounds. Additional information about the victim and his condition was unavailable. In Myrtle Beach early Sunday morning, South Florence High School star athlete and homecoming king, Quay Dickens, was shot and killed. According to reports, Dickens was one of four people shot in the area of Mr. Joe White Avenue and Withers Alley. Mondays press conference was called in response to those shootings and deaths. I do not remember a time period where we have experienced such a loss, Ervin said at the press conference. Florence has been greatly touched by this and I do believe we can come together to change this. My plan of action is to get the community involved. It is not only going to take leadership from the government. It is going to take community members, families, parents, the school district. It is going to take all of us to make a difference. The shootings arent necessarily random acts of violence, Ervin said. Some involve family or neighbor disputes. There are some things that we may not be able to de-escalate, Ervin said. But I believe if we come together like we have done in the past. We can teach others how to de-escalate situations. We need to protect life and we need to teach people what to do and when to walk away. Florence needs all of us. We are one Florence. It will take community members working with the Florence police and Florence County Sheriffs Office to bring violence under control and solve crimes, Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler said. The police department, sheriffs office and solicitors office have developed a witness information identification protection program to help witnesses feel secure when they come forward to report crimes or criminal activity, Heidler said. Witnesses also can provide anonymous tips to Pee Dee Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. Detectives also will protect witnesses throughout the course of investigating a crime, Heidler said. We are asking people to help. Heidler said. We understand that you are fearful of retaliation, but we have this program in place to assist you. Nunn said he agreed with Heidlers comments and urged residents to form community watch organizations to help deter crime. When you see something, there are several methods and ways you can communicate with us what you know, Nunn said. He mention the Crime Stoppers program. Nunn also said the Sheriffs Office has a free app for iPhones and Android phones that allows residents to submit anonymous tips. Sheriffs investigators also will protect witness identities. We need your help. We cant solve these crimes without your input, Nunn said. Calvin Robinson, a community activist and pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, said that stress economically and personally builds up to violence. A lot of crimes are committed because people feel they have nowhere else to turn, Robinson said. Not all crime is that way, but a lot of crimes are. I believe that our community needs to reach our children before they get to the level of committing crimes. We need programs for smaller children and job training in place. These things do not cost a lot of money. It simply takes volunteers and people giving their time and talent to mentor young people. I also think there needs to be revitalization throughout the entire city of Florence and not just one area of the city. We need to spread the wealth. Help Florence Flourish Executive Director Chris Handley lives in the 1100 block of Brunwood Drive and heard gunshots. He also saw the shooting suspect drive off in the victims vehicle. We were standing in our front yard when we heard gunshots followed by screaming, Handley said. We normally hear pops like that, but the screaming at the same time made it real. A few moments later, we saw a car driving erratically and we realized that it was the shooter who was driving the victims car. It was devastating to think about. He said he heard about five or six gunshots. Handley said police, fire and emergency medical services arrived quickly to the neighborhood. Handley said he never felt unsafe in his neighborhood before the shooting. He said his neighborhood is typically quiet and is a mixed neighborhood. Suzanne La Rochelle, community activist, said the rise in gun violence in Florence County is a signal of desperation and hopelessness. I wholeheartedly believe that this is a universal symbol of desperation and hopelessness, La Rochelle said. When our young people dont see a future in tomorrow and when they dont believe they have something to live for, violence is their option. We need to do everything in our power to address poverty. Desperate people do desperate things. We also need to pay attention to the laws that are being passed and the ones that are not being passed. We need to decrease the amount of weapons in our community. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. "Unstitching Scarlet Letters? Prosecutorial Discretion and Expungement" | Main | "How Statistics Doomed Washington States Death Penalty" The now-famous, drug-dealer-serving-LWOP grandmother Alice Marie Johnson, who was granted clemency three months ago by Prez Donald Trump, has authored this lengthy new Fox News opinion piece headlined "President Trump freed me from prison Im glad he wants to give other nonviolent offenders their freedom." Here are excerpts: On June 6, I walked out of prison as a free woman after serving almost 22 years of my life sentence on a first-time nonviolent drug conviction, thanks to a decision by President Trump to commute my sentence to time served. I was thrilled to hear the president say this week that he is looking to give early release to additional nonviolent prisoners like me.... I can never thank the president enough. He heard my voice, gave life to my hope and promise to my future. I am a 63-year-old grandmother who just wants to live in peace and enjoy my family. There is zero chance I will ever break the law again.... Many other nonviolent offenders in federal prisons today are like me no danger to society, and I look forward to having President Trump and members of his administration examine their cases. Many of these men and women have spent long years in prison and deserve to receive clemency or a commutation of their sentences from the president. Freeing these offenders early would be an act of justice and mercy, as granting me my freedom was. And early release would save taxpayers the cost of feeding and housing these people for years after they have paid their debt to society. When President Obama began granting clemency to nonviolent offenders near the end of his presidency, he gave hope to thousands of people like me. By 2016, I was 20 years into my life sentence. My path to prison began at a time in my life when I faced some desperate choices. I made a terrible decision to participate in a drug conspiracy a decision I very much regret. But during my two decades in prison, I accomplished an extraordinary rehabilitation writing plays, volunteering in the prison hospice, becoming an ordained minister and mentoring to young women in prison. By 2016 I was a new woman living a new life, even if it was a life I thought was destined to be lived only behind bars. President Obamas clemency initiative gave me hope. I had been told not to hope, not to dream, because I would never be set free. As his presidency came to a close, President Obama began releasing hundreds of other nonviolent offenders, and I became sure I would be released as well. My prison warden, captain, case manager and vocational training instructor all recommended I be granted clemency. Unfortunately, I was left behind. President Obama left office without giving me the chance to start a new life. And I learned that putting your hope in one man is a mistake, because when that hope dies, you think all your hope has to die. When I received the denial letter from the Office of the Pardon Attorney, I was devastated. I dont know why my request was denied, because no explanation was given. But that decision left me so disappointed. My petition met all the criteria for clemency. I had reformed my life in prison and I felt it should have been clear to anyone that I would contribute to society if I was released. But President Obama left, President Trump arrived and I was told again to give up hope. I didnt. I kept fighting for myself because I know that hearts can change, and no matter what administration is in power, you have to be willing to come to the table, sit down and talk about whether you can find common ground. Thankfully, Jared Kushner and others working for President Trump have worked to keep clemency and criminal justice reform alive. They can see that not every person who makes a mistake deserves for that mistake to define the rest of their life. They know that hope is important, but it must also be turned into meaningful change.... I did not leave prison bitter. I love America and believe in the inherent goodness of the American people and the possibility of redemption. Now it is President Trump who can make history if he takes the opportunity to go further than any president before him by giving second chances to thousands of people who just need someone to hear them. The president has a power that the Constitution grants to him alone to both show mercy and deliver justice for people who were given excessively long sentences for crimes involving no violence. The people who deserve to be freed are those who have long since recognized their mistakes and who have rehabilitated themselves during their time in prison. I will never forget what President Trump did for me. He changed my life and gave me the opportunity to fulfill my potential, and now he has the chance to do the same for thousands more. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stops execution and remands Melissa Lucio's case for review of her conviction | Main | "Bad Faith Prosecution" April 26, 2022 Prez Biden finally uses his clemency pen to grant three pardons and 75 commutations Because I always am inclined to say better late than never, I was quite pleased to wake up to the news that President Joe Biden is finally starting to make good on his campaign promise to "broadly use his clemency power for certain non-violent and drug crimes." This USA Today piece, headlined "Biden to pardon three felons, commute sentences of 75 others, in first grants of clemency," provides these details: The nation's first Black Secret Service agent on a presidential detail, now 86 years old living in Chicago, who has worked decades to clear his name for a crime he has said he didn't commit. A 51-year-old woman from Houston who served seven years in prison for attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and accomplice neither of whom faced charges. And a 52-year-old man from Athens, Georgia, who partners with schools to employ youth at his cellphone repair company, two decades after he was charged for letting pot dealers use his pool hall to sell drugs. Three convicted felons Abraham Bolden Sr., Betty Jo Bogans and Dexter Eugene Jackson are receiving presidential pardons from President Joe Biden, along with 75 others whose sentences the president is commuting Tuesday, in the first use of clemency power of the Biden presidency. All of Biden's commutations target individuals serving sentences for low-level drug offenses, some of whom have served on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are Black or brown, and the White House said each has displayed efforts to rehabilitate themselves. The clemency announcements, which coincide with national "Second Chance Month," come as Biden will also announce new actions aimed at improving outcomes for felons who reenter society. That includes $145 million for a federal program to train the incarcerated for future employment and the removal of criminal history in applications for Small Business Administration grants. "America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation," Biden said in a statement. "Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities. During Second Chance Month, I am using my authority under the Constitution to uphold those values by pardoning and commuting the sentences of fellow Americans."... The individuals granted clemency came at the recommendation of the Department of Justice's pardon attorney, according to senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters about the announcement. It marks a return of a practice that was largely bypassed by former President Donald Trump, whose clemency requests often came through close aides. Biden said the three people pardoned have each "demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and are striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities."... Nearly one-third of the 75 commutation recipients would have received lower sentences if they had been charged today under the Trump-era criminal justice law, the First Step Act, according to senior Biden administration officials. They have served an average of 10 years in prison and have "shown resilience" in seeking a productive path forward, a White House official said. The official statement from Prez Biden on these grants is available at this link, and its start provides links to all those granted clemency and other executive action on the reentry front: America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities. During Second Chance Month, I am using my authority under the Constitution to uphold those values by pardoning and commuting the sentences of fellow Americans. Today, I am pardoning three people who have demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and are striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities. I am also commuting the sentences of 75 people who are serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses, many of whom have been serving on home confinement during the COVID-pandemic and many of whom would have received a lower sentence if they were charged with the same offense today, thanks to the bipartisan First Step Act. My Administration is also announcing new steps today to support those re-entering society after incarceration. These actions include: a new collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Labor to provide job training; new grants for workforce development programs; greater opportunities to serve in federal government; expanded access to capital for people with convictions trying to start a small business; improved reentry services for veterans; and more support for health care, housing, and educational opportunities. Though I am still a bit salty that it took Prez Biden 15+ months in office before using his clemency pen, I am pleasantly surprised to see a large number of grants and many commutations to persons serving lengthy terms terms for drug offenses. From a quick scan, it looks like perhaps more than a third of those who received commutations are women, which reminded me of the statements of Prez Trump clemency recipient Alice Marie Johnson that there were thousands of persons like her in prison who deserved commutation. (BOP data show the federal prison population is comprised of less than 7% women, though I sense that much more than 7% of the most mitigated cases involve women.) A few of many prior recent related posts: April 26, 2022 at 08:31 AM | Permalink Comments Every single one of these commutations has already been released to a halfway house on the first step except 2 people. Is this a joke? Pathetic at best, how about hitting up the people still in prison for 36 years on ghost dope, what a clown move Biden Posted by: Randy Cowan | Apr 26, 2022 9:40:42 AM @Randy Cowan: Its not right to pin this on Biden. Most modern presidents have limited their pardons and commutations to obvious and non-controversial cases. Especially with an election 7 months away, no president is going to risk a pardon that has the slightest chance of being controversial. Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Apr 26, 2022 10:13:04 AM I agree with Marc Shepherd. Without speaking to the merits of the pardons, which I don't know, give Biden credit for issuing them when he's still politically accountable. Posted by: Bill Otis | Apr 26, 2022 10:24:45 AM @marc Shepard, Bill Otis. First of all, let's be honest, trump is responsible for releasing these people due to the First Step Act, Biden just piggybacked (I am No Trump Supporter BTW) I, for one, don't think it's controversial to do what you promised to do. Especially when it partially won you the election, people are tired of family member going to prison for non-violent crimes. (On the low end) Biden promised to fix what he help create- mass incarceration. Sending people to prison for words. Amounts if drugs spoken- not found, from an unreliable source- someone actually caught with drugs or a victim of ghost dope themselves, looking for a downward departure. Ghost Dope is real and every day someone is forced to plead guilty in the Federal system or face 40 years in trial. For words. Every single commutation was for ghost dope. "Conspiracy" this is the law that is abused- created to catch people like, John Gotti, not Joe down the road. Most are poor and drug users, not traffickers. They arrest them by getting a warrant (on words again) and force them to plead guilty, told they will receive 5 years and then slapped with 15 years of enhancements because they lived in a house and plainly, because they can. You really don't understand until it happens to your child or wife and by then...it's too late. I am a true believer that evidence must be present to go to prison. words from a person with an interest? Is not evidence.. Posted by: Randy Cowan | Apr 26, 2022 11:28:07 AM As Bill Otis noted, by releasing these pardons & commutations now, 7 months before an election, Biden has actually done more than similarly-situated presidents in the modern era. I am not defending current practices. Its simply a fact that modern presidents just do not take pardon risks when an election hangs in the balance. While I would not call these pardons risky, it is still more than most of his recent predecessors did. Part of the reason is that pardon (promised or given) do not materially move elections in a president or presidential candidates favor. But a bad pardon could certainly move sentiment against him. You are kidding yourself if you think this had any part in getting Biden elected or would play any part in getting him re-elected. Biden is far more likely to be punished at the polls for the sloppy Afghanistan exit, inflation, and the failure to enact most of Build Back Better. And you could probably add 20 more things before you get to pardons. Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Apr 26, 2022 1:13:56 PM Yes, let's be honest. First Step should've passed under Obama but Sen. Mitch did not want to give him a win. So yes, all credit to the former guy who signed the law (and let's forget his later disavowal of the law). Posted by: whatever | Apr 26, 2022 3:25:32 PM For grants like this-- Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the 20-year term of supervised release. Is that home confinement until 4/2023 then supervised release, or is it prison to 4/2023, HC for the remaining term, then SR? I was wondering why some grants are written that way while others expire the sentence earlier with no reference to HC? Posted by: Jason | Apr 28, 2022 10:55:12 AM I saw a report, Jason, that 70 of the 75 are already on home confinement under the CARES Act (but still at risk of getting sent back after the pandemic ends). These grants, as I read them, ensure these folks will stay on HC until the new expiration of their sentence (after which they still need to serve supervised realease). As to why most have sentences ending 4/2023 and others have other commutation ending dates, that is a real mystery. Indeed, there are likely hundreds, if not thousands, more folks on CARES release that may be similar to this cohort. Posted by: Doug B. | Apr 28, 2022 11:07:07 AM Post a comment Former President Donald Trump all but said the word pussy again in an excerpt from his international interview Monday with British journalist Piers Morgan, and it was as shockingly sexist as ever. He wielded his latest evocation of the word to attack Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. He called Harry whipped, meaning pussy whipped, a term used to denigrate a partner for being too in love with a woman. There is no common equivalent term for being too enraptured by a man. Trump predicted the couples marriage would end when Markle decides that she likes some other guy better. He added: Poor Harry is being led around by his nose, and I think hes an embarrassment. After calling Harry whipped, Trump asked Morgan: Do you know the expression? Morgan responded: Im familiar with the phrase. Americans on Twitter translated the slur for British viewers who might be unfamiliar with it. The scene brought to mind what was one of the most shocking moments of Trumps 2016 campaign, when he was captured on tape bragging about the ease with which he could grab women by the pussy. (Women attempted to take back the word with pussy hats at massive womens marches after his election.) Trump uses the slang for female genitalia as an insult. He called former Vice President Mike Pence a pussy for refusing to overthrow the presidential election. He has also bashed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as pussies. Twitter critics were furious. A member of the House of Lords blasted Trump as a misogynist. Relationship expert Donald Trump: Harry is whipped .. Im not a fan of Meghan .. I think Harry is being led around by the nose .. Itll end bad .. He has been so disrespectful to the country, and I think hes an embarrassment. pic.twitter.com/uu1iKMO4aa Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 25, 2022 "Whipped" is short for "Pussy-whipped". In case the fullness of Trump's misogyny was lost on anyone. RaPUNzel (@RandilynIsIn) April 25, 2022 Trump Translation: "I value women STRICTLY for their looks, and smart, strong, independent ones - scare TF out of me. I also like calling men who respect women, 'pussies,' because they ALSO confuse & intimidate me." pic.twitter.com/YkMP1UYEKQ JoanWayne Esq (@EsqJoanwayne) April 25, 2022 I believe the term is 'pussy whipped' that's what Trump really means ... I shudder just reading that. RamonWites (@RamonWrites) April 25, 2022 He is omitting - or perhaps it has been edited out - a grossly misogynistic term. But the general intention is conveyed. Sir Order of the Garter (@DoomlordVek) April 25, 2022 For those of you who are unfamiliar with the expression Trump used about Harry, its pussy whipped and in America is the most offensive thing you can say to a man, while being the most offensive thing you can say about a woman. Donald Trump said Prince Harry is pussy whipped. https://t.co/IU9LPK2WKz Donut_EU #BLM (@CalefateVia6) April 25, 2022 Hld on. Pissy M interviews former US President who is in the worlds mst less marriage, presided over an insurrection, known for groping women & frolicking with prostitutes - just to ask about the person he has been stalking for yrs because she met him once & rejected him. Stepup (@Stepup27587777) April 25, 2022 If youre gonna say whipped, say the whole phrase. Sadly, we know youre comfortable with the missing word (@FreeGirlNowNYC) April 25, 2022 X is a whipped man.. like no person Ive ever seen. - Said misogynist & have been saying since time immemorial Why do we not describe women who leave their family & country & are married to successful men as whipped Trumps take on relationships is worth https://t.co/kkfPaglcDC Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) April 25, 2022 This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... 10%6% 14% 2%3.1% 3% 14% A4%H9% 13%10% H 510 12% : 13.7634.02% RUM Work 13 Mark 33 MONACO MARINE119 2100 2030+ NFT Flash The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law in Vienna on Monday. Lawyers, representatives of national authorities, international organizations, nuclear industry and civil society from 127 countries are participating in the IAEA's first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" to discuss emerging issues and trends in nuclear law and the applicable legal frameworks, according to an IAEA statement. Rafael Grossi, the IAEA Director-General, said in his opening speech at the conference that nuclear law is "not only about behavior and abiding by very important concepts and principles of law, but also driven by technological development." He added that nuclear energy, "a force for the greater good," can at the same time "pose challenges that must be solved." Dong Baotong, vice chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, said at a forum on the sidelines of the conference that China has established a nuclear law system in recent years and is currently formulating an atomic energy law to safeguard the peaceful development and use of atomic energy. Dong added that China is willing to share with other countries its experience in the development and legislation of the civil nuclear energy sector. The IAEA conference, which includes forums, exhibitions and other sideline meetings, will run until Friday. KYIV, Ukraine Russia unleashed a string of attacks Monday against rail and fuel installations deep inside Ukraine, far from the front lines of Moscow's new eastern offensive, in a bid to thwart Ukrainian efforts to marshal supplies for the fight. The U.S., meanwhile, moved to rush more weaponry to Ukraine and said the assistance from the Western allies is making a difference in the 2-month-old war. Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared, a day after he and the U.S. secretary of defense made a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken said Washington approved a $165 million sale of ammunition non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely for Ukraine's Soviet-era weapons and will also provide more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took his comments further, saying that while the U.S. wants to see Ukraine remain a sovereign, democratic country, it also wants "to see Russia weakened to the point where it cant do things like invade Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said weapons supplied by Western countries will be a legitimate target," adding that Russian forces had already targeted weapons warehouses in western Ukraine. Everyone is reciting incantations that in no case can we allow World War III, Lavrov said in a wide-ranging interview on Russian television. He accused Ukrainian leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to become involved in the conflict. By providing weapons, NATO forces are pouring oil on the fire, he said, according to a transcript on the Russian Foreign Ministrys website. Regarding the possibility of a nuclear confrontation, Lavrov said: I would not want to see these risks artificially inflated now, when the risks are rather significant. The danger is serious," he said. "It is real. It should not be underestimated. When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, its apparent goal was the lightning capture of Kyiv, the capital. But the Ukrainians, with the help of Western weapons, thwarted the push and forced Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops to retreat. Moscow now says its goal is to take the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine. While both sides say the campaign in the east is underway, Russia has yet to mount an all-out ground offensive and has not achieved any major breakthroughs. On Monday, Russia focused its firepower elsewhere, with missiles and warplanes striking far behind the front lines. Five railroad stations in central and western Ukraine were hit, and one worker was killed, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of Ukraine's state railway. The bombardment included a missile attack near Lviv, the western city close to the Polish border that has been swelled by Ukrainians fleeing the fighting elsewhere around the country. Ukrainian authorities said that at least five people were killed by Russian strikes in the central Vynnytsia region. Russia also destroyed an oil refinery in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, along with fuel depots there, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. In all, Russian warplanes destroyed 56 Ukrainian targets overnight, he said. Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. general who was NATOs top commander from 2013 to 2016, said the latest strikes against fuel depots are part of a strategy to deplete key Ukrainian war resources. The strikes against rail targets, on the other hand, are a newer tactic, he said. I think theyre doing it for the legitimate reason of trying to interdict the flow of supplies to the front, he said. The illegitimate reason is they know people are trying to leave the country, and this is just another intimidation, terrorist tactic to make them not have faith and confidence in traveling on the rails. Phillips P. OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said the war is, for now, settling into a campaign of incremental battlefield losses and gains. The two sides are sort of every day weakening each other, he said. So its a question of what can you bring in thats new and what can you destroy on the other side. In Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, several explosions believed caused by rocket-propelled grenades hit the territory's Ministry of State Security. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and no injuries were immediately reported. Transnistria is a strip of land with about 470,000 people along the Ukrainian border. Russia has about 1,500 troops based there. Moldova's Foreign Ministry said the aim of todays incident is to create pretexts for straining the security situation in the Transnistrian region." The U.S. warned previously that Russia may launch false-flag attacks against its own side to create a pretext for invading other nations. Last week, Rustam Minnekayev, a Russian military commander, said the Kremlin wants full control of southern Ukraine, which he said would open the way to Transnistria. An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian troops holed up in a steel plant in the strategic southern port city of Mariupol are tying down Russian forces and apparently keeping them from being added to the offensive elsewhere in the Donbas. Over the weekend, Russian forces launched new airstrikes on the Azovstal plant to try to dislodge the holdouts. Some 1,000 civilians were also said to be taking shelter at the steelworks, and the Russian military pledged to open a humanitarian corridor Monday for them to leave. The Russian offer was met with skepticism by Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine does not consider the route safe and added that Russia had breached agreements on similar evacuation routes before. She called on the United Nations to oversee an evacuation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The world's most expensive lunch will go on sale again this spring when Omaha-based investor Warren Buffett auctions off a private meal to raise money for a California homeless charity one last time. Buffett, Berkshire Hathaways CEO, held the lunch auction once a year for 20 years before the pandemic began to raise money for the Glide Foundation, which helps the homeless in San Francisco. The auction has been on hiatus for the past two years, but Glide said Monday a few days before thousands of shareholders are expected to gather at this week's Berkshire annual meeting that the event will be revived this year. Every winning bid since 2008 has topped $1 million, and Buffett has raised nearly $34.5 million for the charity over the years. Many of the past winners have been investors who admire Buffett for his remarkable track record of finding undervalued companies and stocks to buy for his conglomerate. But in the last auction, a cryptocurrency pioneer paid $4,567,888 in 2019 for the chance to dine with Buffett. Buffetts first wife, Susie, introduced him to Glide after she volunteered there. She died in 2004, but the connection endured. Buffett has said he supports Glide because they help people in difficult situations find hope again in life. Glide provides meals, health care, job training, rehabilitation and housing support to the poor and homeless. The 91-year-old billionaire didn't immediately respond to questions about why he decided the end the auction after this year. The weeklong eBay auction will begin June 12 with an opening bid of $25,000 and continue through June 17. The winner will get to bring up to seven people to eat with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steak house in New York City. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WARSAW, Poland (AP) The death toll from two coal mine accidents last week in southern Poland has risen to 13 after another injured miner died Tuesday, a doctor said. The miner died at the Siemianowice Slaskie hospital, which specializes in treating burns, where 20 other coal mine workers were still being treated for injuries from methane gas blasts, Dr. Przemyslaw Strzelec said. The man's death means that seven miners and rescuers were killed by repeated blasts Wednesday and Thursday at the Pniowek mine, near the Czech border. The search for seven others who remain missing was suspended after Thursdays blasts hurt 10 rescuers. In the nearby Borynia-Zofiowka mine, 13 teams of rescuers are searching for four miners gone missing after a tremor and methane gas discharge on Saturday. Six miners died in that accident. Prosecutors have opened investigations into the accidents. The mines are operated by the Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa, JSW. Most Polish coal mines are in the southern Silesia region and many have a high presence of methane in the rock. Some 70% of Polands energy comes from coal, a proportion that has been sharply criticized by the European Union and environmental groups who are concerned about CO2 emissions and meeting climate change goals. Poland has been trying to scale down its use of coal. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently said Poland has stopped coal imports from Russia and its ally Belarus in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine. For years Poland has been reducing its dependence on Russian energy sources that was built in communist-era times before 1990, when Poland was Russia's satellite. Follow all AP news about climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate 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 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A Minnesota judge has ruled that the trial of three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting George Floyds killing will not be livestreamed. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, who cited the threat of COVID-19 to allow livestreaming of last years murder trial of Derek Chauvin in Floyd's death, wrote in an order filed Monday evening that the pandemic has receded to the point that he cannot override the other three officers objections to live audiovisual coverage. The trial for former Officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng is set to begin with motions on June 13. Jury selection begins June 14 with opening statements set for July 5. Cahill said he expects the evidence phase to take four or five weeks, meaning the trial could last into early August. Kueng knelt on Floyds back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back as Chauvin, who is white, used his knee to pin Floyd, a Black man, to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes on May 25, 2020, in a case that sparked protests around the world and a national reckoning on race. Thao, Lane and Kueng were convicted in a separate trial in federal court in February of violating Floyd's civil rights. Chauvin pleaded guilty in December to a federal charge of violating Floyd's civil rights. Sentencing dates have not been set in those cases, which were not televised due to federal court rules. Last year, Cahill sentenced Chauvin to 22 1/2 years in the murder case, which was viewed around the world. Prosecutors disclosed during a hearing two weeks ago that the other three former officers had rejected plea deals that would have averted the upcoming trial. Prosecutors and a coalition of media organizations including The Associated Press had argued for allowing live televised coverage again, citing the continued intense public and media interest in the case, and the potential resurgence of the coronavirus. But Cahill wrote that the unusual and compelling circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of the Chauvin trial have substantially abated, and court system rules in force at the time that mandated social distancing have been lifted. So, he said, he's bound by Minnesota's normal court rules, which allow cameras during most of a trial only if all parties consent. It is deeply disappointing that thousands of people interested in this important trial wont be able to watch it, said Leita Walker, an attorney for the media coalition, who noted in an email that an advisory committee to the Minnesota Supreme Court is considering whether the state court system should ease its restrictions on cameras. Our Supreme Court needs to change the rule. They are working on it. I wish they could have worked faster. Cahill wrote that he agreed with prosecutors that livestreaming Chauvin's trial inspired public confidence in the proceedings and helped ensure calm in Minneapolis and across the country. And he noted that he recommended to the committee that judges should have discretion to allow audiovisual coverage even if a party objects. But he said he has no unfettered mandate to ignore existing rules in the absence of compelling circumstances needed to prevent a manifest injustice. News organizations will have to cover the upcoming proceedings mostly from a closed-circuit feed in one of at least three overflow courtrooms. Only two pool reporters can be present in the main courtroom. Only four members of the Floyd family and two members from each defendant's family at a time may be in the courtroom. The general public can watch only from an overflow courtroom. Cahill also ruled that the jury won't be sequestered except for deliberations, but with security restrictions, similar to how he conducted Chauvin's trial. Find APs full coverage of the killing of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd The story has been updated to correct that the order was filed Monday evening. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. SIOUX CITY -- An Omaha man involved in a Sioux City robbery in which his accomplice was stabbed with a sword has been sentenced to prison. Bumatet Duop, 24, pleaded guilty Monday in Woodbury County District Court to intimidation with a dangerous weapon. District Judge Steven Andreasen sentenced him to 10 years in prison in accordance with a plea agreement. Charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and going armed with intent were dismissed. Duop had been scheduled to stand trial Tuesday. On Jan. 17, Duop and Kuyien Kang entered an apartment at 1716 Nebraska St., where Kang pulled out a gun and said "this is a robbery" and hit a man inside the apartment in the head with the gun before Duop took $80 in cash from the man's pockets. A second man in the apartment grabbed his sword and pointed it at Kang, who then fired at least one shot. The man stabbed Kang in the abdomen before Duop ripped it from the man's hands and fled with Kang, who collapsed outside his own apartment building in the 500 block of 17th Street. Footage from a surveillance camera showed Kang give the gun and an ammunition magazine to Duop, who left around the side of the building. Kang was found bleeding by a Sioux City police officer and transported to a hospital for treatment. Kang, 24, of Sioux City, was sentenced on April 8 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and intimidation with a dangerous weapon. 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. SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man pleaded not guilty Monday to charges connected to shots being fired in his neighborhood. Capri Rogers, 33, entered his written plea in Woodbury County District Court to two counts of felon in possession of a firearm. Rogers was arrested April 3, a day after police received calls about shots being fired in the 1800 block of Jackson Street. Police at the scene found a car with a window shot out, a bullet hole in the hood and bullet holes in a garage. Witnesses directed officers to Rogers' home, and after he consented to a search, police found a .22-caliber revolver and a shotgun in his bedroom. Police also found 140 spent shell casings in the house and evidence of shots fired at walls, windows, televisions and siding. Because of previous felony convictions, Rogers was prohibited from possessing firearms. Prosecutors earlier this month dropped charges of first-degree kidnapping, domestic abuse assault and other gun charges against Rogers while an investigation in the case continues. While officers searched Rogers' home, a woman identified as his girlfriend told police Rogers had strangled her to the point of blacking out three times in recent weeks and that he had fired a handgun into a mattress next to her head. The woman, who had numerous injuries, required cranial surgery after an April 1 assault in which she said Rogers kicked and punched her and wouldn't let her leave the house to seek medical attention. 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. SIOUX CITY -- A man who was shot after allegedly firing shots into a Sioux City apartment in March has been arrested on attempted murder and several other charges. Ethan Hewitt, 23, of Sioux City, also faces charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, attempted first-degree burglary, going armed with intent, felon in possession of a firearm, trafficking in stolen weapons and possession with intent to deliver a counterfeit substance. Many of the charges carry a habitual offender enhancement, which would increase prison sentences for each charge to 15 years if convicted. Hewitt posted a $250,000 surety bond and was released from custody days after his April 15 arrest. Police were called to an apartment building in the 1600 block of Nebraska Street at approximately 4:15 a.m. March 21 after receiving reports of shots fired. According to court documents, a resident of one of the apartments told police he and his girlfriend heard two individuals outside their home. Hewitt is accused of firing several shots, one of them entering a neighboring apartment and the others entering the victim's home. The apartment resident returned fire with a legally owned firearm, striking Hewitt, who fled from the scene with the other individual and dropped a handgun in the street. Police recovered the handgun, which was determined to be stolen. Officers later searched Hewitt's home, where they recovered firearms and 18 pounds of MSM, a methamphetamine additive. Hewitt, who was hospitalized for several days recovering from his gunshot wound, and the apartment resident had an ongoing feud because they both had a previous relationship with the same woman, court documents said. Police said the man who shot Hewitt has not been charged. 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. SIOUX CITY -- One person is in custody after a late Saturday stabbing near downtown Sioux City. The victim was bleeding profusely from a stab wound that had severed an artery in his right arm when he was found at 8:39 p.m. in the parking lot at Save A Lot grocery store, 1730 Pierce St. The victim lost consciousness until Sunday. According to court documents, the victim identified the stabbing suspect as Joseph McCauley, a man who had stayed with him for several days until the victim kicked him out. Police located McCauley at 7:40 p.m. Sunday at 16th and Douglas streets, wearing clothing that matched a description provided by the victim. Officers found a spring-loaded, double-edged knife in his backpack, along with three shotgun shells. He also had 1 gram of marijuana folded up in his left sock. During an interview after his arrest, McCauley, 34, who was listed in court documents as a transient, admitted to attempting to assault the victim in retaliation for a previous assault between the victim and a third party. McCauley was booked into the Woodbury County Jail on charges of attempted murder, carrying a dangerous weapon, being a felon in possession of ammunition, going armed with intent and third-offense possession of a controlled substance. He is being held on $150,000 bond. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City Associate Superintendent Kim Buryanek is taking a position with the Iowa Department of Education. Buryanek has accepted a position as the administrator for the Pre-K-12 Division at the Iowa Department of Education. Her last day with the district will be June 30. Buryanek has been with the district for 10 years. She starts her new position July 1. "I'm excited that I'll be able to inspire education in Iowa and have an influence of the education 500,000 students," she said. School Board members thanked Buryanek for her time and experience in the district. "Dr. Buryanek is without a doubt in the top one percent of educational minds with whom I've ever worked," said Superintendent Paul Gausman. "I can't imagine the Sioux City Schools without (Buryanek)." Gausman said Buryanek has helped raise achievement, graduation rates, program offerings, balanced leadership and more. Board Member Monique Scarlett said Buryanek's leadership in the district was appreciate and is something Scarlett will never forget. "That's a great reward for being a great assistant superintendent," Scarlett said. Board Member Perla Alarcon-Flory thanked Buryanek for her integrity, leadership, dedication and skills, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Monday school board meeting, Rod Earleywine was appointed as interim superintendent. The board discussed the process to appoint a new associate superintendent, which Earleywine would lead. Board Member Monique Scarlett asked Earleywine to "proceed with caution." Earleywine said there should be a process to see who is internally interested in the associate superintendent position. The board decided to have those in the district interested in the position send a letter to Board President Dan Greenwell. Love 3 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. Flash UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to ending the conflict in Ukraine and to creating conditions to end the suffering of civilians, said a UN spokesman. Guterres met Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday. The UN chief expressed his support for Turkey's ongoing diplomatic efforts in relation to the conflict in Ukraine, Farhan Haq, Guterres' deputy spokesman, told reporters in New York. "He and President Erdogan reaffirmed that their common objective is to end the war as soon as possible and to create conditions to end the suffering of civilians. They stressed the urgent need for effective access through humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and deliver much-needed assistance to impacted communities," said Haq. They agreed to stay in contact to follow up on ongoing initiatives, he added. Guterres and Erdogan also discussed the impact of the Ukraine conflict on regional and global issues, including energy, food and finance, said Haq. Guterres was in Ankara on Monday before traveling to Moscow and Kiev. Turkey, a major mediator, has also indicated its willingness to become a security guarantor of Ukraine. The UN secretary-general will visit Moscow and have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday. He will be received by President Vladimir Putin. Guterres then will travel to Ukraine, where he will have a working meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and will be received by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. He will also meet with staff of UN agencies in Ukraine to discuss the scaling up of humanitarian assistance. Elon Musk to buy Twitter for $44B and take it private Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on a wide range of issues to more than 83 million followers. The outspoken Tesla CEO, who is also the worlds wealthiest person, has said he wanted to buy and privatize Twitter because he thinks its not living up to its potential as a platform for free speech. The risk is that Musk goes too far in his hands off approach, potentially alienating users and advertisers. Shares of Twitter Inc. rose 5% Monday to $51.70 per share, below the $54.20 he offered for the company. The AP Interview: Kyiv wants UN to seek Mariupol evacuation KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraines foreign minister is urging U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres to press Russia for an evacuation of the besieged port of Mariupol when he visits Moscow on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told The Associated Press in an interview Monday such a move is really something that the U.N. is capable to do. Mariupol is the seaside city where an estimated 100,000 people are trapped. A contingent of Ukrainian fighters are holding out against Russian forces in a steel mill where hundreds of civilians also are taking shelter. Kuleba also expressed satisfaction with U.S. promises of substantial new aid, but expressed frustration that Kyiv's requests for help take a long time to be fulfilled. Russia hits faraway targets; diplomat warns of risk of WWIII KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia has unleashed a string of attacks against rail and fuel facilities deep inside Ukraine in an apparent attempt to thwart Ukrainian efforts to marshal supplies. Meanwhile, Russias top diplomat warned against provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. The U.S. is moving to rush more weaponry to Ukraine and says the Western allies assistance is making a difference in the 2-month-old war. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. wants to help Ukraine remain independent and also see Russia "weakened to the point where it cant do things like invade Ukraine. White House: Without funding US will lose COVID treatments WASHINGTON (AP) After two years at the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, the U.S. could soon have to begin taking a number. The White House is warning that other countries are already moving ahead of the U.S. in putting in their advance orders for the next generation of therapies. The problem is lack of funding. Many in Congress are willing to vote for the billions now needed. But Senate Republicans are demanding that as part of the deal Democrats must agree to extend pandemic-related, Trump-era border restrictions. Unless Congress can break that impasse, the White House says, more Americans will get COVID and die. Judge finds Donald Trump in contempt in New York legal fight NEW YORK (AP) A New York judge has found former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for failing to adequately respond to a subpoena issued by the states attorney general as part of a civil investigation into his business dealings. Judge Arthur Engoron on Monday ordered Trump to pay a fine of $10,000 per day. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, had asked the court to hold Trump in contempt after he missed a March 31 court-imposed deadline to turn over documents. Trump, a Republican, has been fighting James in court over her investigation, which he has called a politically motivated witch hunt. Trump spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment. French President Macron reelected: What's happening next? PARIS (AP) After winning reelection, French President Emmanuel Macron intends to go back to work straight away. His inauguration is expected by May 13, but he will face a crucial parliamentary election in June where he's likely to struggle to keep his majority. The 44-year-old leader plans to quickly head to Berlin, keeping the tradition that newly elected French presidents make their first trip abroad to Germany to celebrate their friendship after multiple wars. Efforts to try to end the war in Ukraine will top the agenda. Macron may also travel to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On Monday, Macron talked to U.S. President Joe Biden about support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Michigan chief IDs officer who fatally shot Patrick Lyoya GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) Grand Rapids, Michigan, police have identified Christopher Schurr as the officer who killed Patrick Lyoya three weeks ago. Lyoya was a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle with the officer. Grand Rapids Chief Eric Winstrom had declined to name the officer but changed course Monday. Schurr has been a Grand Rapids officer since 2015. He grew up in the area and was a star pole vaulter at Siena Heights, a small Michigan college. In 2014, Schurr told Vaulter Magazine that he was getting married in Kenya because he couldn't afford a wedding celebration and take a separate trip to Africa to build homes. So he was going to do both at the same time. Melissa Lucio's execution delayed by Texas appeals court HOUSTON (AP) A Texas appeals court on Monday delayed the execution of Melissa Lucio amid growing doubts about whether she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter. Lucio's effort to halt her execution has garnered the support of lawmakers, celebrities and even some of the jurors who sentenced her to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a request by Lucios lawyers for a stay so a lower court can review her claims that new evidence would exonerate her. It was not immediately known when the lower court might begin reviewing her case. Lucio had been set for lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah in Harlingen. Parents sue after death of teen from Florida drop-tower ride ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The parents of a 14-year-old boy who fell to his death from a 430-foot drop-tower ride in central Floridas tourist district have sued its owner, manufacturer and landlord, claiming they were negligent and failed to provide a safe amusement ride. The lawsuit was filed Monday by the parents of Tyre Sampson in state court in Orlando. It says that the defendants failed to warn their 6-foot-2-inch, 380-pound son about the risks of going on the ride and didnt provide an appropriate restraint system on the ride. An initial report said ride sensors had been adjusted to double the size of restraint openings on two seats. Weary of many disasters? UN says worse to come A new United Nations report says disasters are on the rise and are going to get worse. In the late 20th century, the world had some 90 to 100 disasters per year. Now a new UN report says disasters that range from climate change to COVID-19 are going to jump to about 560 a year by 2030. One scientist likened the trend to multiple illnesses that weaken a body's immune system. He says it's not just the disasters themselves but the accumulated risk, how they add up and ping-pong against each other. 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 WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AP) An Air Force major general in Ohio who was convicted on one of three specifications of an abusive sexual contact charge was told Tuesday he would receive a reprimand and must forfeit $10,910 of monthly pay for five months. Maj. Gen. William Cooley, 56, was found guilty Saturday in what was the first-ever military trial of an Air Force general. The weeklong court-martial at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio had three specifications, one accusing Cooley of a forcible kiss and two alleging forcible touching in 2018. Cooley was convicted of the forcible kissing specification but acquitted of the other two. Cooley had the option of a trial by court member jurors or by military judge, and chose to have the case heard by the judge. He had faced a maximum punishment of dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for seven years. Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Cooleys civilian attorney, Dan Conway, told The Dayton Daily News that his client is very thankful for the judges compassion here. Conway said the punishment was a very significant sentence, and he said a letter of reprimand may have implications in terms of the rank at which Cooley will be allowed to retire, if he chooses to do so. A former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory, Cooley was fired from that post in January 2020 after an Air Force investigation and has worked in an administrative job since then. Conway said its still Cooleys hope that he may continue serving in the Air Force. Officials said the verdict marked the first court-martial trial and conviction of a general officer in the Air Forces 75-year history. Cooleys monthly pay is $15,966, so the total financial penalty against him reaches nearly $55,000. If this result influenced just one survivor to know that his or her attackers rank or status would not prevent them from being held accountable, that is a win for the United States and the military justice system, Lt. Col. Matthew Neil, who served as lead prosecutor, said Tuesday. Cooley was charged with abusive sexual contact in an encounter with a woman who gave him a ride after a backyard barbecue in New Mexico nearly four years ago. Officials said the woman is a civilian who is not a Department of Defense employee. In a statement issued after the verdict was handed down Saturday, the womans attorney Ryan Guilds, said the ruling marks the first time an Air Force general officer has been held responsible for his heinous actions ... Hopefully, this will not be as difficult for the next survivor. 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 WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned lower-court orders that have blocked the Biden administration from ending a controversial Trump-era immigration program for asylum-seekers. Questions from conservative and liberal justices during nearly two hours of arguments suggested that the court could free the administration to end the Remain in Mexico policy that forces some people seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait in Mexico for their hearings. President Joe Biden suspended the program on his first day in office. After Texas and Missouri sued, lower courts required immigration officials to reinstate it, though the current administration has sent far fewer people back to Mexico than its predecessor. The heart of the legal fight is whether, with far less detention capacity than needed, immigration authorities must send people to Mexico or have the discretion under federal law to release asylum-seekers into the United States while they await their hearings. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, Biden's top Supreme Court lawyer, told the justices the law does not contain a provision requiring migrants to be returned to Mexico and that there is a significant public benefit to releasing migrants who pass criminal background and other checks into the U.S., keeping detention beds free for more dangerous people. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, at least one of whom the administration needs to win the case, suggested that the administration had a better argument than the states. You lose, right, if the government is right about what significant public interest is, Barrett said in an exchange with Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone II. Several justices also picked up on Prelogar's point that no administration, including Trump's, fully complied with the requirement to make migrants wait in Mexico. If the states are reading the law correctly, Justice Clarence Thomas asked, Wouldn't it be odd for Congress to leave in place a statute that's impossible to comply with? Justice Elena Kagan was among members of the court who wondered whether the lower courts were dipping impermissibly into international relations since reinstating the program depends on Mexico's willingness to accept the migrants and close coordination between the countries. What are we supposed to do, drive truckloads of people to Mexico and leave them in Mexico? Kagan asked Stone. Justice Samuel Alito appeared to be the strongest voice on the states' side, questioning the administration's assertion that it assesses migrants on a case-by-case basis before releasing them. Border agents stopped migrants 221,000 times in March 2022 and nearly 66,000 migrants were released in the United States, according to a government court filing. Alito said the situation seemed akin to people waiting to get into a Washington Nationals game. If they have a ticket and no alcohol or guns, they're admitted, Alito said. That's basically what you're doing. You've got a little checklist and you go, boom, boom, boom, Alito said. About 70,000 people were enrolled in the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, after President Donald Trump launched it in 2019 and made it a centerpiece of efforts to deter asylum-seekers. After Biden's suspension of the program, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ended it in June 2021. In October, DHS produced additional justifications for the policys demise, to no avail in the courts. The program resumed in December, but barely 3,000 migrants had enrolled by the end of March, during a period when authorities stopped migrants about 700,000 times at the border. The high court pondered what to make of the limited nature of the challenged program. Chief Justice John Roberts said he was sympathetic with the administration's position that it can't detain everyone or possibly comply with the law. But where does that leave us? he asked. Those being forced to wait in Mexico widely say they are terrified in dangerous Mexican border cities and find it very hard to find lawyers to handle their asylum hearings. Democratic-led states and progressive groups are on the administration's side. Republican-led states and conservative groups have sided with Texas and Missouri. Those include the America First Legal Foundation, led by former Trump aides Stephen Miller and Mark Meadows. As the court is weighing the asylum policy, the administration is expected to end another key Trump-era border policy that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. It allows authorities to expel migrants without a chance to seek asylum. The decision to end Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law, on May 23 is being legally challenged by 22 states and faces growing division within Bidens Democratic Party. A decision in Biden v. Texas, 21-954, is expected by late June. 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 ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota House has passed a bill to replenish the state's unemployment insurance trust fund and get bonuses to frontline workers, in a potential breakthrough after months of stalemate. The bill passed late Monday includes $2.7 billion to replenish the unemployment insurance trust fund and pay back the federal government for jobless aid, and Democrats $1 billion proposal for $1,500 checks for workers who took risks during the pandemic. It would also make hourly school workers eligible for unemployment benefits during the summer months. House Democratic and Senate Republican leaders, along with Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, spent months trying to agree terms but leaders failed to reach a deal by a March 15 deadline, triggering an automatic payroll tax hike on Minnesota employers. Under the new legislation, employers who paid their tax bills before the April 30 due date would get a refund. House Democrats also included the full $2.7 billion that Senate Republicans and Walz said was needed to refill the trust fund, instead of the $1.2 billion that House Democrats have long insisted would be sufficient. It passed on a 70-63 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate, which passed its own bill in February on a bipartisan 55-11 vote. That version did not include bonuses or unemployment benefits for school workers. Both sides voted last year to earmark $250 million in hero pay for frontline workers but couldnt agree on how to parcel it out. Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, said Tuesday that the House had to agree to the Senates request for $2.7 billion for unemployment insurance in order to get the bonuses for frontline workers. A 10-member House-Senate conference committee was appointed Tuesday to work out a deal. That's how we resolve differences between the House and the Senate, she told reporters. It doesn't do any good to have bills that are two ships passing in the night. Republican lawmakers said the unemployment insurance fix should have passed on its own and indicated they would chip away at other provisions in the House bill. While Im happy to see the House take action, they loaded up the bill with other items making it more difficult to find agreement. I remain committed to working towards a compromise agreement, Republican Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, of Winona, said in a statement. Walz asked lawmakers to reach a compromise during his State of the State address Sunday night, saying the issues should have been resolved in January. 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. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 JERUSALEM (AP) An Israeli parliamentary committee has sanctioned a breakaway member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's party, handing a small political victory to the Israeli leader as he seeks to stabilize his fragile government and deter any other rebel lawmakers. The Knesset committee voted 7-0 on Monday to declare Amichai Chikli a defector, a status that bars him from joining a rival party in the current parliament in the country's next election. Bennett had requested the vote. Chikli broke away from Bennett's Yamina party when the coalition was formed last year, accusing Bennett of betraying the party's hard-line ideology. He has been seen as a potential candidate for the opposition Likud party in the future. Monday's vote by the House Committee bars Chikli from joining Likud or any other party in parliament when the country next heads to elections. He also is barred from serving as a Cabinet minister or deputy minister in the current parliament. Chikli vowed to challenge the decision in court. Bennett's move was seen as a warning to Idit Silman, who resigned from Bennett's small Yamina party earlier this month and is also seen as a potential member of Likud in the future. Other members of Yamina also have expressed misgivings over the coalition, a patchwork of eight parties spanning the political spectrum. The agreement has forced all parties, including Yamina, a hard-line nationalist party, to compromise on some of their core ideological positions. Silman's exit deprived the coalition of its ruling majority, less than a year after it was sworn in. The eight-party alliance, made up of ultranationalists, dovish parties and a small Islamist faction, is now deadlocked with the opposition with 60 seats each in the 120-member Knesset. That has greatly complicated the government's ability to pass legislation and raised the risk of plunging the country into snap elections. Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli, Israel's transportation minister, said Monday that all party chiefs are working together to keep the government intact. Local media reported that Chikli may form new party, though it is unclear whether he has enough popular support to get into parliament. Bennett's unwieldy coalition also faces other challenges. Ongoing unrest surrounding a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, has prompted the small Islamist party Ra'am the first Arab party to serve in an Israeli coalition to temporarily suspend its participation in protest. 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 Homeowners in the Florida Panhandle are being encouraged by one sheriff to shoot burglars who enter their homes. The comments by Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson come after deputies took into custody a frequent flyer who is accused of breaking into several homes on Wednesday, April 20. Brandon J. Harris, who Johnson said has been arrested 17 times, faces seven charges after his most recent arrest. Deputies set up a perimeter in the Pace neighborhood when multiple people called about a suspicious person, Johnson said. About 40 minutes after the first call went out, a homeowner shot at Harris, who continued to run throughout the neighborhood. The sheriff said Harris was caught when he jumped out of a window of a homes bedroom. Keep scrolling for a ranking of cities with the most break-ins and burglaries The homeowner who shot at Harris has not come forward, Johnson said. I guess they think they did something wrong, which they did not, Johnson said. If somebody is breaking into your house, youre more than welcome to shoot at them in Santa Rosa County. We prefer that you do actually. The homeowner fired multiple shots, but Johnson said Harris came away with just bloody cuts from fencing. Harris charges include attempted burglary with assault, burglary and resisting arrest. Floridians are allowed to use force to protect their home and in defense of their property. A person who is in a dwelling or residence in which the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use or threaten to use, the Florida statute states. Johnson told the homeowner he or she is not in trouble. Come see us, the sheriff said. We have a gun safety class we put on every other Saturday and if you take that youll shoot a lot better and hopefully save taxpayers money. Pace is in the panhandle of Florida about 15 miles north of Pensacola. *** 2022 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HOUSTON (AP) A Texas appeals court on Monday delayed the execution of Melissa Lucio amid growing doubts about whether she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter in a case that has garnered the support of lawmakers, celebrities and even some jurors who sentenced her to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a request by Lucios lawyers for a stay of execution so a lower court can review her claims that new evidence would exonerate her. Lucio had been set for lethal injection Wednesday for the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah in Harlingen, a city of about 75,000 in Texas southern tip. Prosecutors have maintained that the girl was the victim of abuse and noted that her body was covered in bruises. Lucio's lawyers say Mariah died from injuries she sustained in a fall down a steep staircase several days before she died. I am grateful the court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence," Lucio said in a statement provided by her lawyers. Mariah is in my heart today and always. I am grateful to have more days to be a mother to my children and a grandmother to my grandchildren. I will use my time to help bring them to Christ. I am deeply grateful to everyone who prayed for me and spoke out on my behalf. Lucio's mother, Esperanza Trevino, tearfully thanked all of her daughter's supporters, saying, Thank God for the miracle." Lucio was first told her execution had been delayed in a phone call with state Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican who has helped lead a bipartisan effort to halt her execution, said Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucios attorneys who is with the Innocence Project. She sobbed. She was just overwhelmed," said Potkin. In a statement, Leach said he was grateful the appeals court had pushed the pause button on her execution, saving the state of Texas from the irreversible blunder of potentially killing an innocent citizen." The execution stay was announced minutes before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had been set to consider Lucio's clemency application to either commute her death sentence or grant her a 120-day reprieve. The paroles board did not review her clemency petition because of the execution stay. If the case were to come back before the board in the future, Lucio's lawyers would have to file a new petition. Lucios attorneys say her capital murder conviction was based on an unreliable and coerced confession that was the result of relentless questioning and her long history of being sexually, physically and emotionally abused. They say Lucio wasnt allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession. Her lawyers also contend that unscientific and false evidence misled jurors into believing Mariahs injuries could have been caused only by abuse and not by medical complications from a severe fall. It would have shocked the publics conscience for Melissa to be put to death based on false and incomplete medical evidence for a crime that never even happened," said Potkin. "All of the new evidence of her innocence has never before been considered by any court. The courts stay allows us to continue fighting alongside Melissa to overturn her wrongful conviction." Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement he expected the execution to be delayed because various legal issues remain unresolved. I welcome the opportunity to prosecute this case in the courtroom: where witnesses testify under oath, where witnesses may be cross-examined, where evidence is governed by the rules of evidence and criminal procedure ... That is our criminal jurisprudence system, and it is working," said Saenz, who was not in office when Lucio was tried in 2008. During a sometimes contentious Texas House committee hearing on Lucios case this month, Saenz had said he disagreed with Lucios lawyers claims that new evidence would exonerate her. Prosecutors say Lucio had a history of drug abuse and at times had lost custody of some of her 14 children. In its three-page order, the appeals court asked that the trial court in Brownsville that handled Lucios case review four claims her lawyers have made: whether prosecutors used false evidence to convict her; whether previously unavailable scientific evidence would have prevented her conviction; whether she is actually innocent; and whether prosecutors suppressed evidence that would have been favorable to her defense. It was not immediately known when the lower court would begin reviewing her case. Tivon Schardl, one of Lucio's lawyers, said they hope to convince the trial judge to recommend a new trial. If such a recommendation is made, that would then be sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which would make the final decision on a new trial. More than half the members of the Texas Legislature had asked that her execution be halted. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers traveled this month to Gatesville, where the state houses female death row inmates, and prayed with Lucio. One of those lawmakers, El Paso Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody, tweeted that he was relieved for Lucio. A stay confirms what weve said all along: Melissa Lucio shouldnt be on death row," he wrote. Five of the 12 jurors who sentenced Lucio and one alternate juror have questioned their decision and asked that she get a new trial. Lucios cause also has the backing of faith leaders and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, and it was featured on HBOs Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 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 Skoda Auto of Czech Republic eyes Vietnam, ASEAN markets Skoda Auto, the leading automobile manufacturing of the Czech Republic, wants to invest in Vietnam to tap into a market of nearly 100 million consumers and to expand to Southeast Asia, said an executive of Skoda Auto. Ambassador Thai Xuan Dung (third from left) visits a production line of Skoda Auto in the Czech Republic. Petr Janeba, head of Sales China, Asia and Overseas of Skoda Auto, was speaking while receiving Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Thai Xuan Dung and other officials of the Embassy at the manufacturers headquarters recently. Janeba said the Vietnamese market holds great potential, high growth prospects, friendly business and investment environment in line with Czech requirements for export markets. By investing in Vietnam, Skoda Auto wants to penetrate ASEAN - a lucrative, large market in Southeast Asia that boasts approximately 600 million consumers, he added. Skoda Auto has planned to seek a location in Vietnam to set up a production line. The group has since late 2021 sent a number of delegations to work with relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies, as well as the administration of Quang Ninh province to explore the market and find partners. Early this year Skoda Auto unveiled a plan to develop a car factory in Quang Ninh, and if everything goes according to schedule, the first Skoda cars are expected to come out next year. Ambassador Thai Xuan Dung affirmed that the presence of Skodas car lines in Vietnam will help diversify its automobile market, especially when Vietnam and the Czech Republic are making the most of the opportunities brought by the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA). He reiterated the Vietnamese Governments commitment to supporting Czech investors in general and Skoda Auto in particular to invest in Vietnam to ensure fair competition and transparency. The Vietnamese Embassy in the Czech Republic is ready to help connect partners and support the car manufacturer in information, regulations and legal procedures of Vietnam in the near future, assured the diplomat. Skoda is a long-standing brand that was originally founded in 1925 in the Czech Republic. Later, the company was privatised and has been officially owned by the Volkswagen group since 2000. At present it has entered more than 100 countries, with sales reaching nearly 900,000 units last year. It has also launched production lines in China, Russia, India, Slovakia, Algeria and India. Skoda manufactures various types of cars, ranging from sedans, hatchbacks, wagons to SUVs. The company's most popular models include Slavia, Octavia, and Kodiaq. Flash The year 2021 was the deadliest in U.S. history, thanks mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the homicide rate has also soared in several cities since 2020, U.S. television network NewsNation has reported. The most recent available data from the government shows a 35 percent jump in gun homicides from 2019 to 2020, when 19,384 people were killed, NewsNation reported Saturday, citing a new study. The study calculated homicide rate increases over the course of the pandemic and found that New Orleans had the highest, followed by Cincinnati, Atlanta, Baltimore, Memphis, Milwaukee, Louisville, Norfolk, Detroit and Dallas. The 10 lowest were San Francisco, Chandler, Riverside, Austin, Charlotte, Sacramento, Garland, Omaha, Boston, Madison and Lincoln. In times of financial stress or anxiety, gun sales tend to strengthen, as does violence and racial hostility; with the pandemic, a new stressor may have affected the high homicide numbers, Shaundra Kellan Lewis, a law professor at Texas Southern University, told NewsNation. HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) A report issued Monday urges a California coastal panel to deny a proposal to build a $1.4 billion desalination plant that would draw on the ocean to expand water sources in Southern California. Staff for the California Coastal Commission recommended the panel reject Poseidon Water 's proposal to build the 50 million gallon-a-day facility Huntington Beach. The project is up for discussion before the panel on May 12. This project raises significant and complex coastal protection policy issues, staff wrote in the report, including conformity with policies that require protection of marine life, water quality, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, and policies meant to avoid or minimize hazards associated with sea level rise, floods, tsunamis, and geologic hazards. The staff also wrote that the proposal raises significant issues about potential impacts on environmental justice communities. It also lacks, however, details about who would ultimately buy Poseidon's water and at what cost, the report states. Poseidon Water said it believed the commission staff erred in its recommendation. No water infrastructure project in the state of California has ever undergone this level of study and scrutiny, the company said in a statement. If this recommendation stands, it will effectively be the death knell for desalination in California. The proposal has been touted by some in California's Orange County as an alternative to a long-running drought and a way to expand water sources as the region grows. But environmental groups have long opposed the plan over concerns marine life will be sucked into the plant and argue that critical infrastructure shouldn't be built in a low-lying coastal areas as the region contends with sea level rise. They also say the water would be too expensive. The proposal comes as California faces prolonged drought, worsened by climate change, with its nearly 40 million residents heeding repeated calls in recent years to conserve water. It also comes amid rising concern about sea level rise, with a federal report recently forecasting that seas lapping against the U.S. shore could be 10 to 12 inches (0.25 to 0.3 meters) higher by 2050. Huntington Beach, which is known as Surf City USA" and relies on its waves and scenic shoreline for tourism dollars, approved a proposal more than a decade ago to build the plant near a coastal power facility. The plant would draw on the sea water and convert it so it could be used to replenish the local groundwater system, a key source of drinking water for many of Orange County's 3.2 million residents. But the state coastal panel in 2013 recommended a series of changes to the project to protect marine life. Additional studies were completed and Poseidon updated its proposals for structures used to draw in ocean water. Poseidon Water has been running a similar desalination plant in nearby Carlsbad, in San Diego County, since 2015. Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network and member of the Stop Poseidon coalition, praised the recommendation Monday to deny the proposal. In a statement, Jordan said it's time for Poseidon Water to recognize the deep and irrevocable flaws with this project, cut its losses and publicly recognize this project and this site are not good for Huntington Beach or California its time to shut it down for good. 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 OMAHA An Omaha fourth grader has accomplished something most musicians only dream about. Sarah Fernandes performed at the iconic Carnegie Hall. Sarah, who attends St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic School, played piano in a recital at the historic New York City venue April 15. For musicians, the hall that first opened its doors in 1891 is hallowed ground. People who perform there have either made it or are on their way up. Sarah's music teacher, former Omahan and internationally recognized pianist Washington Garcia, says Sarah is a "special kid" with exceptional talent. She's someone to watch, he said. Sarah earned the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall by placing first in the young musicians category of the American Protege 2022 International Piano and Strings Competition. The competition is open to students and adults of all nationalities. This year it attracted musicians from 21 countries. "It was really fun to be on stage, because I could share my music with others, and it felt really special," Sarah said. The hall was "really big and beautiful, just like I expected, because I've seen it in pictures," she said. "And it also surprised me how fancy everything was, especially the chandeliers." Sarah said she was a little nervous "but mostly I was just happy because I could play for others and make them happy, too." Garcia said the first time he heard Sarah play "it took my breath away." Garcia grew up in Ecuador and was a young piano phenom himself. He formerly directed the school of music at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is now the dean of the school of music at Stetson University in Florida. He gives Sarah lessons remotely via computer. Sarah is performing at the level of a college freshman, he said. She has an extraordinary ability to learn music, to master the mechanics and to improvise, he said. In addition to her trip to Carnegie Hall, Sarah is one of 10 national finalists in piano performance in the ongoing American Prize Competition 2022 the only finalist in the schools division from Nebraska. She also won a first prize in the Charleston International piano competition in December 2021 in the Romantic division. Watching Sarah play is both inspiring and humbling. She plays with an ease, a grace and an intensity well beyond her age she turned 10 on March 29. For the recital performance, she played a piece called "Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum," composed by Claude Debussy. "My favorite part about it is it seems really quick, because it feels like your fingers just run across the keyboard, but in a nice and gentle way," Sarah said. "And it gets over quickly." Pianists played their selections on a Steinway & Sons concert grand piano that appeared gigantic next to the petite Sarah. She slid to the edge of the piano bench, nearly standing, to reach the pedals. Her mother, Sharmila Braganza, said the family bought a piano in 2013, when Sarah was 1. "I remember her in the store on her tippy toes trying to reach the keys to try it out," Braganza said. Sarah started her piano studies at age 4 with Mirela Mlynska in the fall of 2016. She performed in her first recital within three months of starting lessons. Sarah started taking lessons with Garcia in November 2019. Her musical prowess was evident when she was able to play her older sisters pieces by ear, Braganza said. She has perfect pitch, the ability to recognize a chord or note by ear, she said. "She can tell exactly what chord or what note someone plays even with her eyes closed," Braganza said. Sarah said she enjoys the music that comes from the piano, the different sounds it can create and how music can "touch hearts." She has a knack for recognizing the relationship between notes, she said. "Usually the composers that make the music, they think about which notes might sound good together," she said. "So I usually look for that when I'm listening to music." One of her favorite things to do is listen to someone's music and then improvise it on the piano. "I sometimes add stuff like trills and sometimes even I make whole scales that go along really well with the music," she said. She was thrilled to perform at Carnegie Hall. The performers got chocolates backstage, which she shared with her family. Her father, Praveen, mother and older sisters Rachel, 16, and Hannah, 15, attended the recital. Nebraskans may remember Hannah as a brilliant speller who earned two trips to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Sarah's too young to be making career choices. But she's sure her future will involve piano. "There are many things that I might want to be when I grow up, but certainly I think that whatever I do, piano's going to be a part of it. Maybe I'll do two things, and piano will be one," she said. "I'll find time to do both." It turns out that her Carnegie Hall performance wasn't her only performance in the Big Apple. The second was spontaneous. While the family was visiting the One World Observatory, Sarah discovered a piano. She played her recital piece, and a crowd gathered. When she was done, the crowd requested an encore. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. When I first started looking at the lives of mother-writers and mother-artists, I said I wanted to write about creative women who left their children. I was thinking of how, when my own two children were small, every move I made away from them was a shock, both to me and to our fragile balance as a family. Motherhood challenged and changed my sense of an independent self, and I imagined I could understand that field of tension by looking, among others, at Doris Lessing. Advertisement Lessing was said to have left her first two children behind in her home country, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), in 1949, when she went to London with the manuscript of her first novel. For choosing her vocation over her motherhood, she has been both vilified and celebrated. British writer Lara Feigel takes Lessing as a model for escape from the constraints of married parenthood and, as she writes in her memoir Free Woman, learns from Lessing that it was more important to live fully than to live contentedly. 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. But when I actually looked at Lessings life, I didnt find either heartless abandonment or a bold dash for freedom. Unsurprisingly, the author who brilliantly laid bare the dissatisfactions and self-deceptions of mid-20th-century womens lives, and whose 1962 novel The Golden Notebook explored the rifts between womens personal, public, and creative selves, had a much more complicated story. Advertisement Advertisement In her memoir Under My Skin, Lessing writes that in 1943, at age 23, she sat down on her suburban lawn with her two toddlers and explained that she was leaving them. Not daring to say she planned to write, she said she was going to fight racial and economic injustice. She thought she was doing the right thing, believing, from experience, that mothers were inevitably frustrated and judgmental, and that only if her children werent mothered at all could they really be themselves. In the ardent, funny, wry letters that she wrote in her 20s, when she was separated from her children and dedicated to sexual, political, and literary self-discovery, she tells a different story. She writes of enjoying motherhood and of wanting to be with her children, who were not the only obstacle to her freedom. Neither wholly independent nor consumed with guilt, she tries on paper to work out how to be a mother and remain at the center of her own story. Advertisement Advertisement In the reading room of the University of East Anglia, I scrolled through image after scanned imageover 100 letters in all, many of them six or eight or 10 pages, signed with her childhood nickname, Tigger. This enormous outpouring of thought and feeling was sent, between 1944 and 1949, to two friends, John Whitehorn and Coll MacDonald, whom Lessing had met when they came to Rhodesia for Royal Air Force flight training at the end of the Second World War. Although Doris had a new husband, Gottfried Lessing, she had briefly slept with Whitehorn, running off with him from a party to make love in the grassy velda scene she would later write into The Golden Notebook. Advertisement Advertisement But Lessings interest in Whitehorn is intellectual as well as romantic: With him and his friend MacDonald, she can talk about literature and try out her own voice as a writer. The future author is very much present in these letters, not only in her astute observations of herself and others but in her increasing seriousness about her vocationthough shes still joking when she writes, One of these days you will be able to say the novelist Tigger. Of course, I know her very well! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almost immediately motherhood enters into the correspondence, in the age-old way: On Jan. 17, 1945, three weeks after their night of love, she tells Whitehorn that she hasnt miscontracepted and isnt pregnant after all. Shes irrationally disappointed, she observes, and is trying to dispel the feeling by remembering in detail what its like to be woken by a crying child and never to have time for herself. I wish I could have her, but I cant, so thats that. Doris Lessing on her then-5-year-old daughter, Jean The overwhelming nature of her maternal feelings is a recurring theme in the letters, as is her fear ofand desire forbeing overwhelmed. She often writes about her two children, John and Jean, now living with their father, Frank Wisdom. She confesses that she had them for the wrong reasonsmarried at 19, when she had just left her parents farm and was looking for company and an adult life; immediately pregnant with a child she wasnt ready for but didnt know how to prevent. She explains that she felt that she was losing herself in her marriage and had to leave, yet she still fantasizes about another child and tries to spend more time with John and Jean. Advertisement Along with others belief that motherhood means total devotion to ones children, she feels limited by her own view of her mother role, especially her conviction that it can never go together with intellectual work. Part of her wants to write and be an activist, while another just wants to stay home, cook, sew, and have babies: These two things dont fit together, you must admit. When a friend marries, she comments, I cant think which is more satisfactory, having a baby, or writing a novel. Unfortunately they are quite incompatible. Advertisement Advertisement Yet is also occurs to her that the problem is structural, and possibly generational. Her English grandmother had had a nanny, and her grandchildren, she predicted, would have affordable day care. It was her contemporaries who were so disappointed: promised career success, stuck with babies. I havent yet met a woman who isnt bitterly rebellious, she wrote, wanting children, but resenting them because of the way we are cribbed cabined and confined. Advertisement I found her in the letters not trying to get away from John and Jean, but arguing to spend more time with them, an uphill battle against her first husband. The problem was that under Rhodesian law, a woman who left her marriage lost all rights to her children. At the time of the letters, Wisdom was just starting to allow her to visit them again, after a full year in which he had kept them from her. In March 1945, Doris describes to Whitehorn how she has phoned Frank to ask if she could have the children for Easter. First, he accuses her of neglecting John and Jean after the divorce. Me. Since I was forbidden to see them at all it is difficult to see what else I could do but neglect them. He. Still, it showed lack of feeling. Me. Apart from staying married to you I couldnt do anything else. He. Precisely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He tells her to come to his office, where he lectures her for an hour on her political views, her bohemian lifestyle, and her culpability in leaving him, then suddenly relents and says yes. Complete collapse of me, but thats all right, she writes, adding that by then she hardly knows how to care for her children, what they like to eat, what they wear. When she asks her son if he would like to come with her, he gives me a considering look for some time and then says I dont see why I should, do you? Advertisement Advertisement If her sons coolness hurts, she doesnt say so; instead she writes glowingly about her childrens brains, her sons independence, her daughters beauty. But theres resignation in her words too, when she says she adores 5-year-old Jean, an affectionate and sensitive infant. I wish I could have her, but I cant, so thats that. Advertisement What works best with Frank, she tells Whitehorn, is to make tearful appeals to maternal feeling and her natural rights to the children of her body. But she refuses to stoop to the same pseudo-biological arguments about mother love that are used to keep women in the home. Mother-writers of her generation had to guard against sentimentality; they had to set limits, too, on their partners demands. Doris second husband, Gottfried Lessing, respected her time more than Frank had. A fellow activist in Rhodesias tiny Communist Party, he admired her political skills and didnt expect her to make him his tea. He shared her Marxist disapproval of the bourgeois family and commitment to gender equalityand, since they werent very compatible in bed, agreed to her request for an open relationship. Advertisement Advertisement But when she left her job as a typist to write a novel, he drew a line. He made it clear to Doris (she complained to Whitehorn in March 1945) that he didnt think any writing was worth doing that didnt serve the Revolution. How was lying in the bathtub reading poetry supposed to advance the class struggle? What good to anyone were her second-rate sonnets? She replied that she didnt know but didnt plan to let that stop her. To MacDonald she reported the following exchange: Do you think, I say meekly, that Lenin would have liked Virginia Woolf? No, says G firmly. Advertisement Doris realized she was stuck in yet another marriage where she couldnt think her own thoughts. She told Whitehorn that Gottfried claimed, When people have a relationship such as we have, love outside marriage is a betrayal. Well, I agree with him, except I am horrified and frightened by his saying that, when half the things I think I cant tell him, because he disapproves. Advertisement Writers court disapproval, and so do mothers. Writing about other womens mothering has at times made me feel deeply, inexplicably uncomfortable, as if I were trespassing in dark corners of the collective unconscious. In the letters, I see Lessing experiencing that same trepidation and pushing against it, thinking through the experiences she would use in her autobiographical novels Martha Quest and A Proper Marriage, with their pathbreaking honesty about motherhood. When Whitehorn said she was writing too much about children, she informed him that that was his problem and went on being a mother and writer bothespecially after February 1946, when she told him she was expecting another baby. Advertisement Advertisement In Under My Skin, Lessing describes her third pregnancy as her and Gottfrieds deliberate decision, though to Whitehorn and MacDonald she wrote that it had been an accident, the result of an ill-judged experiment with a newfangled form of contraception. She half hoped for a miscarriage; but she also hoped the new baby would make her feel less lost without John and Jean. Ultimately, she told Whitehorn, she couldnt help but give in to the excitement of bringing a new life out of limbo. Advertisement She still censored herself: Her account of childbirth, in the letters, is stripped of the sensuality and wonder that would animate the birth story in A Proper Marriage. And others judged her: One day at breakfast, 6-year-old Jean asked if she was going to give the new baby away, like she had done with them. When Doris denied that shed given them away, John replied, Thats what Frank says. The conversation left her feeling as if beaten all over, like steak. Advertisement Yet she began to see that it was possible to be a mother without losing herself. Gottfried was an involved and helpful father to their son Peter, and Doris had access to day care and time to work. With Peter in day care every afternoon from about age 1 and Lessing making steady progress on a draft of her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, she was able to find a balance between her vocation and care. Advertisement Advertisement I ended up seeing Doris Lessing not as a great advocate of freedom, but as a brilliant writer who had both lived and described the entanglements and self-deceptions of motherhood, bringing feelings that had seemed natural into the daylight realm of political action and change. Her story of radical independence turned out to be, when I looked more closely, a false front for a much more complicated narrative of selfhood and mothering, one in which mothers learn to live with divided hearts, to reshape motherhood around their vocation, and to love without losing themselves. Essay adapted from Julie Phillips, The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem, W.W. Norton & Company. Dear Prudence is online weekly to chat live with readers. Heres an edited transcript of this weeks chat. (R. Eric Thomas is filling in as Prudie for Jenee Desmond-Harris while shes on parental leave.) Q. Id take a gift card: My sister and I have an otherwise good relationship, but she is a terrible gift-giver. When her birthday or a special occasion rolls around, I try to give her thoughtful, useful gifts. For my last birthday, she sent me a butt plug as a gag gift. She has consistently sent me similarly unfunny/raunchy gag gifts that, quite frankly, are embarrassing to receive. Beyond it being gauche, I never use these gifts, and I cant exactly give them to someone else. Advertisement Ive tried subtle methods to get her to stop, like hinting at gifts I might prefer. At one point I tried to be more direct and asked her point-blank to stop, but she kind of shrugged it off. How do I get her to reconsider the gifts she sends me? My birthday is coming up and I dont want to have to unwrap another piece of junk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A: This is neither here nor there, but from the cursory research I did on a work computer on a public network, it seems that butt plugs are not inexpensive. Your sister is really doing a lot for a joke thats not landing. If she is shrugging off the boundary you set, see if shell respond to a no gifts policy. Tell her you dont want to exchange gifts anymore. You can say that its because of the gag gifts or keep it light by just suggesting youd rather plan experiences together than trade things back and forth. Either way, make it clear to her that youre not accepting gifts for your upcoming birthday. If she brings you one anyway, youre under no obligation to open it and should, instead, just give it right back. Oh, remember, were not doing gifts anymore. Thank you, though. I hope you can return it! Advertisement Advertisement How to Get Advice From Prudie: Send questions for publication here. (Questions may be edited.) Join the live chat Mondays at noon. Submit your questions and comments here before or during the discussion. Q. The kid isnt all right: My daughter (13) has a phone and, like most of her peers, spends a lot of social time texting with classmates, friends, and acquaintances. We monitor her phone behavior and prohibit all social media use, knowing the internet is an unsafe place for teen girls. Advertisement She briefly met a boy Jack in November at an extracurricular school activity. A few days later he texted her detailing their encounter and saying he got her number from an acquaintance. They chatted over text for a few months and he eventually asked her out in January. Hes 14 and in a different social crowd, one grade up. Theyd occasionally bump into one another at school and say hi, but didnt socialize extensively in person, just over text. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My daughter recently found out the boy shes been texting with for five months, thinking he was her boyfriend, was not Jack at all, but a former friend Nick. This all started after she spurned Nick and set firm boundaries when he got clingy and lacked safe boundaries (like trying to monitor and control her). Nick pulled photos and data about Jack from social media (like younger siblings names and parents jobs) to impersonate him in great detail. Nick texted her daily as Jack, for months, affirming he cared about her and wanted to be in a relationship. She was smitten. Beyond therapy for my daughter, what actions do you think we should take to ensure Nick gets both help and a clear signal that his behavior is not OK? She has at least one class with Nick. School involvement? Restraining order? Hes 13. And Im scared of him! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A: School involvement is definitely the right first step here. The school administrators are going to want to know, particularly if much of their involvement happened on school grounds. Ask the administrators to give you a plan of action for making sure your daughter is safe and cared for in school and at school activities, as well as a plan for how to keep kids like Nick from doing this kind of predatory catfishing. Its likely your daughter isnt the only person Nick is or has victimized. If youre part of a school community where you have access to Nicks parents, you also should give them a call and make sure they understand whats going on. Hopefully, they are the kind of people who see how dangerous this behavior is and will take the lead in getting their son the help he needs. Lastly, if Jacks parents dont already know, you may want to let them know, too. Nick has also victimized Jack and his parents need to know so they can help and protect him going forward. Advertisement Advertisement Q. Sounds racist: Ive been hearing the phrase Not my circus, not my monkeys more frequently in a professional setting in the last few years (Im in HR). Ive avoided using it because I had believed it had racist origins, though when I looked it up, I found its based on a Polish proverb. However, I still feel uncomfortable using it. Advertisement Whats another way of saying that this situation is not my concern (other than this situation is not my concern)? Id like to find something catchy that maybe my team will pick up on and start using instead. A: How many professional dumpster fires is your team observing and then excusing themselves from? For this to warrant a new phrase, I have to assume that while your circus may be running smoothly, the circus down the hall is a real disaster. So, I guess, good luck to everyone at your office, their respective circus acts, and whatever primates are in their org chart. Advertisement The process of making a new catchphrase that is both legible outside of the context in which it was invented and also appealing to others is a tricky one. This talent is what keeps both Madison Avenue ad execs and viral TikTokkers rolling in the dough. Im neither of those things, so I dont have a suggestion for a catchphrase for you. Try just saying thats not my concern and keeping it moving. And see if you can find out whose circus it issomewhere in your company a ringleader has really fallen down on the job. Advertisement Advertisement Q. Nervous daughter: I am moving in with my partner and Im nervous. The last roommate I had was bad, lets leave it at that. But its overshadowing all the good stuff right now, and Im struggling to focus on the little joys and the fact that Ive done a lot of work to make sure this will be different. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On top of this, my mother disapproves. She doesnt wholly like my partner, mostly owing to communication issues stemming from at-odds neurodivergences. I dont know how to smooth any of that over, or even if I should try. Mostly its just that her approval matters so MUCH to me, even if Im a 30-year-old professional with a decent job and a dog and an apartment, standing on my own feet by all measures. My mom and I both have anxiety disorders, so I know it comes from a place of love for and worry for me, but I think she lets that overshadow good possibilities sometimes. Ive definitely gotten some of that from her, to the point that Im afraid shes right, even if Ive been over it with myself a hundred times. Advertisement Advertisement Prudie, can you help me with the social aspect here? Im looking for a polite script to nudge my mother, to the tune of this is a done deal, but your opinion matters to me so if you could refrain from being super vocally negative that would be aces, xoxo. and any tips on getting used to living with someone again after five years on my own would be great. A: Lets start with the tips for living with another person. My biggest strategy is always going to be communication, and overcommunication at first. The weird and wonderful ways that we operate inside of our homes are mysteries, and a lot thats involved with living with another person is giving them the key to the mystery. Dont assume that they can read your mind or are seeing things the same way, even if youve been together for a while. Ask. I tend to like to do laundry when the basket gets full. Do you think thats a good system for us, or do you use another indicator? Stuff that seems almost too simple can become fodder for miscommunication and frustration, so always ask and try to assume the best intentions. Also, make sure you have a conversation about how you both are going to make spaces that are just your own in the new place. Even if its just a drawer or a bedside table thats yours, being able to identify it and use it however you want will be very helpful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for your mom, I think youve really hit on something with the awareness that her anxiety is coming out sideways and its affecting your relationship. Try something like I love you and Im grateful for you. Thank you so much for caring for me. I could really use a cheerleader right now. This is an exciting time for me, but as you know, making life changes can bring up anxiety. Can you be on my team here and help me happily reach this goal? Make it about you and your relationship with your mother. She may object that she doesnt agree with this goal for you, and thats where the kind but firm part of the script comes in: This is what I feel is best for me and Im very excited about it. Lets not let debate get in the way of our relationship. Can you be happy for me? Advertisement Q. Asexual pride: A year and a bit ago, I realized I was asexual (at least, Im like 95 percent sure??? Figuring things out is hard). I might also be aromantic, but Im less sure on that one. Ive otherwise thought I was straight my whole life. Advertisement My question is, am I allowed to go to Pride? For context, Im a cis and probably heteroromantic woman (again, figuring out the romantic side of things), and I guess I just dont know if Im queer enough to be there. I want to, but I also want to make sure Im staying in my lane and not taking up space in a place in which I dont belong, especially because Ive never really felt persecuted for my identity, personally. I want to be the best ally that I can be, and I dont know if I belong in the community (obviously no shame at all to any ace/aro person who identifies as LGBTQ+, Im just unsure about myself personally). Advertisement Advertisement A: It may be a semantic distinction, but it seems like youre talking about the difference between attending Pride and participating as a member of the community. One of the As in LGBTQIAA stands for asexual, so the door is open if you want to walk through. But youre also perfectly welcome to stand at the periphery and support. Pride parades happen in the street and on sidewalks. I hear your concern about taking up space, but many Prides are as much about building community as they are about creating safe space. So we need you there on the sidewalk, or working a booth, or making signs, or signing petitions. Youll know, I hope, the spaces that are specifically designated or the experiences that are only for people in the community. But I think youll also find many places to simply be your full self, questions and all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Q. Re: Sounds racist: One that Ive heard my wife use at work, and that Ive adopted as well: Thats not a today problem, and sometimes Ill add for us. But really the big problem with the circus/monkey proverb is that it sounds like youre being dismissive and glib while getting rid of workload. Its probably better to say it in longhand: This has nothing to do with us. Lets pass it over to the appropriate department. A: I will honestly be thinking for a long time about this workplace where people are constantly setting boundaries using colloquialisms and reminding people of what is and is not their purview. What deliciously organized chaos. Advertisement R. Eric Thomas: Thanks for your questions and comments, everyone! See you next week! Dont miss Part 1 of this weeks chat: Our Daughter Wants to Cut Us Off From Our Grandson Because of Something My Husband Said. Advertisement Discuss this column on our Facebook page! From Care and Feeding My husband straight-up refuses to learn how to do our 3-year-olds hair. He is her stepfather but has been in her life since she was 3 months old, so he views her as his own. Her hair is rather long but extremely thin and silky. It needs to be brushed and put into pretty tight ponytails or braids to keep it out of her face, and to avoid lice. Our daughter is in a ballet class now that requires the hair to be in a bun, and I am unable to get her ready for it due to my work schedule, but he wont even attempt to learn how to do a bun. On Monday, CNN reported on a number of text exchanges that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had with various conservatives in the days between the 2020 election and the inauguration of President Joe Biden. One message stuck out as particularly relevant following a hearing last week in Georgia. The hearing was about whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene should be disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment for supporting the insurrectionists on Jan. 6. The message was one in which Greene asked Meadows about the possibility that the president might invoke martial law to block Biden from taking the oath of office just three days before the inauguration. Advertisement During her testimony on Friday, Greene testified that she could not recall whether she had ever had such a conversation with Donald Trumps chief of staff, or anyone in the White House including the former president. 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. Its not just that Greene may have perjured herself in that testimonya real possibility. Its that proof of this exchange raises a number of questions about how far those conversations about martial law went, how serious they were, who else might have been involved, and what else was considered by Trump. Heres the video of Greene in court: From Friday: Q: "Prior to the inauguration in 2021, did you advocate for martial law with the president of the United States?" Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: "I don't recall." pic.twitter.com/zNTkKtiMVN CSPAN (@cspan) April 25, 2022 Advertisement Advertisement And heres a transcript of how the questioning by attorney Andrew G. Celli Jr. went: Celli Jr.: The question was whether prior to the inauguration of Joe Biden, Ms. Greene, whether you ever advocated for martial law to be imposed in a conversation with the chief of staff of then President of the United States Mr. Trump. Greene: I dont recall. Celli Jr.: Did you ever advocate for martial law prior to the inauguration of Mr. Biden with any member of the White House staff that was part of the Trump administration? Greene: I dont recall. Celli Jr.: Are you aware of any other congressional representatives advocating for martial law to stop the peaceful transfer of power before the inauguration of Mr. Biden? Greene: I dont remember. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And heres Greenes text to Meadows, dated Jan. 17, 2020, as reported by CNN: In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law. I dont know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else! This is clear evidence that, despite saying she didnt recall it, Greene had a conversation with the White House chief of staff in which she seems to have advocated for martial law and acknowledged that other members of Congress had done so. Advertisement Advertisement As others have noted, it seems like those are conversations youd remember. Indeed, over the course of her three-hour testimony, Greene responded that she could not remember or that she did not recall dozens of times. Its worth considering the other areas where Greenes memory failed in order to get a better insight into just how much further the coup attempt went than what we already know. Advertisement Advertisement Greene was asked whether or not she advocated for martial law in direct conversations with Trump in the weeks between the election and the inauguration. She responded: I dont recall ever discussing that. Greene was asked if she had any conversations with anyone about the demonstrations planned for Jan. 6 prior to that day. She testified I do not remember any of them. Advertisement Greene was asked if she had conversations with anyone in governmentand specifically Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, or people in the White Houseabout the Jan. 6 demonstrations in advance of the day. I do not remember, she repeatedly testified. Advertisement Greene was asked if anyone mentioned to her the possibility that there might be violence on Jan. 6 in advance of that day. I dont remember those conversations, she testified. Greene was asked if anybody in governmentrepresentatives, senators, White House staff, the president of the United States at the time mentioned to her the risk that people coming to Washington for Jan. 6 demonstrations might become violent. She responded: I dont recall. Notably, Greene didnt say I dont recall to every question. When she was asked about a rumor that she and her staff had given tours to insurrectionists and provided them with maps of the Capitol in advance of Jan. 6, she flatly denied the charge. She also denied any advance knowledge that people were planning to enter the Capitol, saying, No, absolutely not, I dont know anything about that. All of this is to say: Greene remembered things that were exonerating to her and seemed to forget at least one very damning piece of evidence. Its possible well soon find out that other things she swore under penalty of perjury she could not recall happening also happened. In fact, those answers may be coming sooner than we think: The House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack is due to hold hearings as early as June. On Monday, CNN published a trove of text messages sent to and from Mark Meadows, President Donald Trumps final chief of staff. The texts, sent between Election Day 2020 and Joe Bidens inauguration, dealt largely with various Trumpworld figures strategizing tactics to overturn the election and trading talking points to spin the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Meadows, who provided the messages to a House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, fielded urgent questions from members of Congress, Cabinet officials, Trump lawyers and advisers, Fox News figures, Trump family members, and other members of the presidents inner circleall scrambling to manage the public narrative around the election. (Meadows has sued to block congressional subpoenas, and he has withheld more than 1,000 messages from the committee.) Advertisement The latest messages published by CNNfrom the 2,319 it said it had obtainedfill out the picture that has been drawn over the past few months as other texts leaked. Those texts have revealed that Trump refused to quickly condemn the violence on Jan. 6; that Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, had accused Biden and the Left of attempting the greatest Heist of our History; that Donald Trump Jr. had developed a strategy for overturning the election even before the election was called for Biden; and that Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Texas Rep. Chip Roy had offered Meadows a statement supporting Trump to leak if it was helpful. 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. The new texts hit on the same themes, with additional alarming details, including proof Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had advocated for Trump to impose martial law to remain president. The texts showed how many powerful people urged the president toward conspiracy theoriesand, in a few cases, cast doubt on them. Advertisement Advertisement They also, at times, showed how simply absurd powerful people can sound when casually texting about matters related to the very integrity of our democracy. Here are some of the oddest exchanges from Mondays trove, left in their original, typo-laden form. Trumpet Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, texting on Jan. 9, 2021, the day after the president had been banned from Twitter for his role in inciting the insurrection: I truly hope he does create a new platform to complete with Twitter and I hope he calls it Trumpet and then we can send out notes to each other! Jennifer and I pray for POTUS daily, and FLOTUS too. Its nice that Clyde didnt just give Meadows a generic idea but also got him rolling on ideas for its branding. Yes Sir An exchange with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Election Day: Advertisement Hannity: Hey NC gonna be ok? Meadows: Stress every vote matters. Get out and vote On radio Hannity: Yes sir On it. Any place in particular we need a push Meadows: Pennsylvania. NC AZ Nevada Hannity: Got it. Everywhere Advertisement While Hannitys support for Trump was no secret, this appears to be the first time it was confirmed Hannity was taking orders from the White House. The Godfather Donald Trump Jr., texting about the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021: Hes got to condem this shit. Asap. The captiol police tweet is not enough. This his one you go to the mattresses on. They will try to fuck his entire legacy on this if it gets worse. Advertisement Advertisement This is the son of the president of the United States confirming that some men do not, at a certain level of power, outgrow quoting The Godfather to each other. MyPillow Guy Sighting Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and prominent advocate for overturning the election, sent a very long message on Dec. 20, 2020: Advertisement Advertisement Hey Mark, I felt I was suppose to text you this message You being a man a faith and on the front line of the decisions that are going to be historical! I would ask that you pray for wisdom and discernment from God! I have been sickened by politicians ( especially republicans ) judges, the media not wanting to see the truth ( no matter what the truth would be!) This is the biggest cover up of one of the worst crimes in history! I have spent over a million$ to help uncover this fraud and used my platform so people can get the word not to give up! The people on both sides have to see the truth and when they do . there will not be no civil war , people ( including politicians!) are fearing! The only thing any of us should fear is fear of the Lord! Every person on this planet needs to know the truth and see the evidence!!! Mark .. God has his hand in all of this and has put you on the front line I will continue praying for you to have great wisdom and discernment! Blessings Mike Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lindell also claimed his ability to investigate deviations in numbers was his gift from God that has made my business so successful. A Founding Fathers Argument for Jan. 6 Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the day before the insurrection: On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all in accordance with guidance from founding father Alexander Hamilton and judicial precedence. No legislative act, wrote Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. The court in Hubbard v. Lowe reinforced this truth: That an unconstitutional statute is not a law at all is a proposition no longer open to discussion. 226 F. 135, 137 (SDNY 1915), appeal dismissed, 242 U.S. 654 (1916). Following this rationale, an unconstitutionally appointed elector, like an unconstitutionally enacted statute, is no elector at all. Advertisement Advertisement Jordan appeared to be the only advocate for overturning the election who, in these texts, got into citing historical documents. Enthusiastic Family Ivanka Trump, in a text on Nov. 5, to Hope Hicks, Jared Kushner, Mark Meadows, Jason Miller, Dan Scavino, and Bill Stepien: You are all WARRIORS of epic proportions! Keep the faith and the fight! Advertisement Ivanka seemed to know how important morale was to a task as large as overturning an election. Less Enthusiastic Family Jared Kushner, a month later, in one of his only texts to Meadows: https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2020/12/fact-check-video-from-ga-does-not-show-suitcases-filled-with-ballots-pulled-from-under-a-table-after-poll-workers-dismissed.html Thats a link to a fact check for one of the most prominent election fraud claims. Left on Read Meadows, trying to reach Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, on Dec. 5, 2020: Advertisement mr Secretary. Can you call the White House switchboard at 202 757 6000. For a call. Your voicemail is full Meadows had twice tried to reach Raffensperger, who had been vilified for certifying his states election. Raffensperger did not appear to reply to Meadows text. Signing Off Rick Perry, texting on Nov. 7, 2020, just hours before the election was called: We have the data driven program that can clearly show where the fraud was committed. This is the silver bullet.Pam Biondi has seen and agrees!! Rick Perry Perry, the former Texas governor who served as secretary of energy under Trump, had previously been the subject of reports that he had advocated for a strategy to overturn the election. Perry had denied these reports. Thankfully, he signs his texts with his full name. This article is part of the Free Speech Project , a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech. What if I were to tell you that Twitter is not that important in the world? Maybe Im wrong. Maybe it is important. Its certainly important to some people, namely an otherwise successful investorthe richest human in the history of the world for nowwho borrowed and begged for $44 billion to buy a company that has almost never made money. But really. How important is it in a global and historical scale? If it went away tomorrow, would the world be poorer for it? Advertisement Sure, for years a rich troll spewed nonsense via the service and somehow became president of the United States, only to wear out his welcome after violating Twitters rules one too many times by lying about the results of his own election failure and stoking a violent uprising against the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And sure, most of the influential politicians, journalists, and celebrities are active on the site, which is easy to use and easy to monitor. And sure, most of the scholarship about social media is based on Twitter because its easy to scrape data from it. All of this gives us the impression that what happens on Twitter matters beyond Twitter. Thats not to say that Twitter is unimportant to those of us who use it. Its important to me. Its important to those politicians, celebrities, and journalists. And its valuable to anyone trying to generate attention among elites for ideas or campaigns. Advertisement Advertisement Black Twitter is certainly the most visible and influential of all Twitter-based phenomena, and it could not have thrived under any previous or existing platform the way it has on Twitter. Twitter is qualitatively valuable because of its collection of segmented user bases in the United States in ways it fails to be quantitatively important in the world at large. But lets put Twitter in context. In terms of users, its not among the top 10 social media platforms in the world. Its behind Telegram, Snapchat, and even Pinterest. It has about the same number, 436 million users, as Reddit. Advertisement In contrast, Meta owns four of the top seven (Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram). Alphabet owns YouTube. Tencent owns WeChat, the largest service in China. And ByteDance owns TikTok, the fast riser of the past two years and the years to come. All of the top seven have about or more than 1 billion users. Metas four services have almost 4 billion humans using them regularlymore than half the population of the planet. More than that, Meta is astronomically profitable. Advertisement The fact that Twitter has been a business failure since its inception is no secret. Its been put up for sale many times, yet no smart buyer concluded that its potential for growth or revenue outweighed its headaches and liabilities. Advertisement Advertisement So when Musk first announced he wanted to buy Twitter, I declared there was no way he was serious. In general, Musk is not a serious person. He tweets all sorts of nonsense and never follows up. And he clearly did not have the cash on hand to do anything like buy a majority of Twitter stock. Plus, I assumed he was at least somewhat rational and informed about how bad a business Twitter is. Why would he want such a headache? I figured he was just trolling everyone, once again ruining the week for journalists and critics for laughs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, somehow he managed to get the whole $44 billion, making sure that he would pay nothing in taxes for selling his own stock and minimizing his personal risk. It turns out I gave him too much credit for being smart and not enough for being boldperhaps recklesswith other peoples money. If you want to understand why the board of Twitter capitulated to letting Elon Musk take it over despite having no clear plan to enhance revenue, turn a profit, or even grow user numbers, you only have to focus on the fact that sticking with Twitter meant for them less money, more problems over time. So how could a new owner of Twitter make it more relevant in the world and finally make it profitable and sustainable as a business? None of Musks plans seem to address these two failures. Advertisement Musk wants to add an edit button to Twitter, an expensive reengineering project that would slow the service and generate a bit of goodwill among users. But its potential to seed user growth or engagement is murky, at best. He would prefer tweets be longer than the current 280 characters, which, again, adds nothing to the core value of the service yet adds expense. He wants to authenticate all humans using Twitter, allegedly to limit the proliferation of bots. There are cheaper and easier ways to stifle bots, and Twitter has been at work for years on those functions with some success. Advertisement Advertisement Most confusingly, Musk wants to make the algorithm that ranks tweets for each of us, determining what we see first when we look at the app or Twitters homepage, open source. But its not clear what he means here.* Does he mean that the algorithm (a myth, as Twitter, like other services, runs on collections of algorithms and real-time human decisions that perform various functions within a dynamic, complex, and growing system) would sit on an editable platform so that anyone could make changes, like we can to Linux? Or does he just mean that a collection of code (perhaps annotated for nonspecialist humans to understand, perhaps not) would be readable in some transparent form? Musk has used open source improperly before, like when he promised to make Tesla patents open source, when, in fact, he only pledged not to file legal action to enforce those patents under some very strict conditions. Tesla did not create a special general patent licence like the free software movement did for copyright. Advertisement Most of the conversation about Musks takeover has focused on his pledge to undo much of the content moderation that Twitter has installed over the past five years. Industry experts consistently conclude that strong content moderation to reduce the presence of threats, hate speech, and harassment makes the experience better for most users and thus increases engagement. As UCLA professor and current Twitter adviser Sarah Roberts has written, content moderation is essential brand management for any large platform. Advertisement Advertisement Had Musk joined the Twitter board, as he was invited to a few weeks back, he would have faced such clear arguments and would have had to protect strong moderation to fulfil his fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders. If he takes it private, he need not respect the data nor the wishes of most Twitter users. He can starve the place if he wishes, risking only the stock he put forth as collateral for the acquisition loans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At no point has Musk told advertisers why spending a dollar (or a rupee or a real) on Twitter would be smarter than spending it on an ad on Facebook or YouTubeproven winners. Thats going to be his chief job going forward. Hes never worked for a firm that depended on advertising for revenue, let alone run one (part time, along with his three other companies). So this cant give much confidence to other investors about the long-term prospects of Twitter. Twitter has two more revenue sources, neither of which currently constitutes more than a tiny sliver of its cash flow: It charges a small number of Twitter Blue users a small amount per month to have some extra features such as time to revise a tweet before sending it out and access to ad-free, professional content. And it offers other companies access to public user data. As Apple restricts apps from harvesting data without explicit permission from an iPhone user, both targeted advertisements and the value of user data have dropped. Again, Musk has said nothing about how Twitter might address these challenges. Advertisement Twitter is also notorious for lacking the talent, vision, or gumption to create services more interesting than the same old feed we have imbibed since 2009. Yeah, now each annoying tweet can be 280 characters long, but what were Fleets for? And why are Spaces so hard to use compared with other audio conversation platforms? Twitter has sat back, promoting pontifications from professors and politicians, while insurgents like Snap and TikTok have helped the world laugh and dance. Twitter needs to be bold and creativeand fast. So a smart owner committed to saving Twitter would immediately put resources and attention to recruiting and retaining top talent. That owner should inspire with a vision of a more exciting, satisfying, and comfortable workplace. That seems not to be how current Twitter staff see Musk. Perhaps they know from miserable Tesla workers how bad a boss Musk is. Advertisement Advertisement In short, everything Musk wants to do to Twitter would seem to work against the goals of improving the service, enhancing revenue, and growing the user base globally. And he seems to have no vision beyond pumping Twitter full of more blatherjust more racist and venomous. Even if Twitter is still important in the world today, a few years of Musk making bad choices might ensure its less influential in coming years. You might not have to worry about quitting Twitter in disgust because Musk owns it. Twitter might quit you soon enough. Correction, April 26, 2022: This article originally misstated that Elon Musk has never been a coder. In the mid-90s, he programmed at a company he co-founded. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. RaDonda Vaught was working as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in December 2017 when she made an error that would end a patients life, and alter the course of her own. During one of Vaughts shifts, a patient named Charlene Murphey was admitted to the hospital for a brain bleed. Murpheys condition was reportedly improving when her medical team ordered a PET scan. The procedure requires the patient to be injected with a radioactive medication, followed by a timed series of images with either a CT or an MRI machine. Because Murphey was claustrophobic, she was also to receive via injection a short-acting anxiety medication, called midazolam (as a generic) or Versed (as its brand name). Advertisement Vaught was responsible for bringing Murphey for the scan and administering the medication. Soon after starting the scan, Murpheys heart stopped, and she stopped breathing. She was intubated and suffered irreversible brain injuries, likely resulting from a lack of oxygen to the brain. Murphey died in the hospital two days later. Vaught had apparently gotten mixed up. Instead of the anxiety medication, she gave Murphey a paralytic agent, called vecuronium. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legal quagmire that soon followed has gripped health care professionals since it first emerged. In 2018, an anonymous tip sent to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services about the incident prompted a hospitalwide investigation. The investigation revealed Vaughts error. Both criminal charges and a professional discipline hearing with the Tennessee Board of Nursing followed. (The Tennessean lays out the whole tangled timeline here.) She lost her nursing license in 2021. Last month, a jury in Nashville found Vaught guilty of negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult. Vaught is now awaiting her sentencing in May and faces up to eight years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Many health care workers and institutions have questioned whether the arrest and conviction were the right calls. The American Nurses Association and the American Hospital Association have voiced concerns that Vaughts case sets a dangerous precedent of criminalizing medical errorssuch precedent could dissuade health care workers from openly disclosing their missteps to their employers. As a resident physician, Id have to agree that the verdict isnt likely to make patient care safer for these reasons. What this case illustrates to me, as someone who has only worked as a physician in COVID times, is how dysfunctional our health system was just a few years agoand the amount of work we need to do to fix it even as COVID recedes to be more manageable. Advertisement Advertisement Yes, Vaught was the one who ultimately administered the wrong medication. But reading through the details of her case from the initial CMS investigation, it seems clear that the chaotic environment of Vaughts workeven at a world-class medical institution like Vanderbiltcontributed to Murpheys death. (Vanderbilt has declined to comment on the case since December 2019, and declined to comment on the case to Slate.) To start off, it isnt clear to me why Murphey needed a PET scan done so quickly while hospitalized; PET scans generally require significant preparation best done outside of a hospital, and are rarely urgent. In any case, in multiple instances throughout the report, Murpheys medical team expressed concern that her PET scan could be abruptly rescheduled if she werent quickly given the medication she needed for her anxiety. This urgent task fell to Vaught, who was working as a help-all nurse during her shift, floating between a variety of medical teams and patients as needed. While working in this role, Vaught was also tasked with training a nursing student. Even as she was getting the medication, Vaught was teaching the student about how to do a bedside swallow evaluation for a patient they had just seen together in the emergency department. That is: During an urgent situation, involving a patient she was unfamiliar with, she was multitasking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps most concerningly, Vaught has testified that she and her colleagues were instructed to regularly override drug-dispensing machines due to a software change related to their electronic health records system. Such overrides allow for medications to be dispensed more quickly in emergencies. But they also mean bypassing the usual safety checks that would be done by a pharmacist to confirm the medication, dose, and situation before the medication was made available. In Vaughts case, she was given vecuronium, instead of Versed, by the machine after only searching for the first two letters of the drug (VE) and choosing the first option. Had a pharmacist reviewed the dispense request, it is likely they wouldve caught the error. The context of Vaughts mistake and the pressured environment in which Vaught found herself feels shockingly normal to me, as someone who has only ever operated in a health care system that has arguably collapsed under the weight of the pandemic. After hearing about her case, I wondered what would happen if I were to make a deadly mistake at some point in my career; on op-ed pages in papers across the country, other doctors have thought publicly about the same question. Supporters for Vaught have rallied on social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok, while a petition circulating online calling for clemency has already gained more than 200,000 signatures. In the wake of the verdict, some nurses have quit the profession altogether. Advertisement Advertisement From decades of research, we know medical errors are bound to happen. Health systems should be designed to spot and address those errors before bad outcomes happen. When an error does happeneven a small onethe response should focus on figuring out a way to make sure it doesnt happen in the future, perhaps by scaling back hours or redesigning workflows. (Vanderbilt submitted a comprehensive plan of correction to CMS as part of the investigation) Too often, the reality of the hospital is that there is more chaos than there needs to or should be. Many health care workersparticularly nurseswork grueling hours while facing distractions, like alarm fatigue, that contribute to making errors. Afflictions like burnout that can decrease job performance are increasingly just part of the description of being a health care worker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let me be clear: Vaughts error was egregious and its right that she lost her nursing license. But jail? From my view, she is taking the brunt of the fall for an issue that isnt personalits systemic. The real issue here seems to be the conditions at work that caused her to grab vecuronium instead of Versed in the first place. As we hobble out of the pandemic, Vaught and her patients story should compel us all to build a better health care system for the futurenot further punish someone who has left the profession. It should entail training more health care workers for the future to better staff our system and to make our work more humane, while redesigning our hospitals in ways that improve patient safety. We otherwise will continue to stretch health care workers to the point of producing horrific errors, left unchecked, that leave patients paying the ultimate price. The Koruna Turca challenge crosses five mountain ranges. Hikers relax at the top of the Mincol peak. (Source: TASR) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The Tatras have long enjoyed more publicity than the neighbouring Fatras, though the latter provides hikers with equally scenic views and adventures. A few months ago, the Turcianska Zahradka project, founded by Branislav Simko, announced a new hiking challenge Koruna Turca to promote peaks in the mountain ranges, including Mala Fatra and Velka Fatra, that surround the Turiec region. Koruna Turca is a challenge after which you will have walked more than 200 km with an elevation gain of more than 10,000 m, Simko wrote in his blog. The local described it as a hiking massacre. He explained that hikers can walk across five mountain ridges: Krivanska Mala Fatra, Lucanska Mala Fatra, Velka Fatra, Ziar and Kremnicke Vrchy. When hikers come to the region, they often set out on hikes to popular peaks such as Ostra and Tlsta or Chleb. But in last years challenge, Simko called on people to hike 21 lesser-known hilltops in Turiec. Simkos latest hiking recommendations come with tips on where to begin a hike, where to sleep overnight, where to find drinking water in the hills, and what to watch out for. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement 1| Krivanska Mala Fatra Track: Sutovo (village) Sutovo Waterfall Chleb Krivan (s) Suchy Chata pod Suchym (hut) Strecno (village) Saracniky Mincol Martinske Hole Length: 38 km Where to eat: Chata pod Chlebom, Chata pod Suchym, Strecno, Martinske Hole (Javorina) A loop trail that takes hikers around the Turiec region. (Source: Turcianska Zahradka) Where to sleep: Experienced hikers can complete the track in one day. Otherwise, hikers can spend the night at mountain huts. The Vendovka shelter can be found near the Maly Krivan peak. Spring: a spring at the Pekelnik peak (It is better to refill bottles at huts, though.) Potential problems: weather changes and water 2| Lucanska Mala Fatra Track: Martinske Hole Veterne Horna Luka Hnilicka Kycera Klak Fackovske Sedlo Length: 28.5 km A view of the Rajec Valley up from the Klak peak. (Source: Peter Dlhopolec/TSS) Where to eat: no places to eat Where to sleep: a sleeping bag, Koliba at Fackovske Sedlo, a small shelter made of branches below Hnilicka Kycera Spring: 2 minutes from a hiking trail sign below Hnilicka Kycera Potential problems: sleeping place, water, food, bears 3| Ziar Track: Fackovske Sedlo Vricke Sedlo Zavozy Hadviga (declined German settlement) Vysehrad forests above Budis (village) forests above Dubove (village) Sklene (village) Length: 41 km Where to eat: no places to eat Where to sleep: no shelters Listen to the Spectacular Slovakia podcast: Listen to the Spectacular Slovakia podcast: The Slovak region compared to Tuscany is a big unknown Read more Springs: a spring in the Repes BBQ area near the village of Briestie (5 minutes from a hiking trail), springs near the Styri Chotare hut, in the Jalove Lazy cottage area, and near woodsmans cottages below the Maly Vysehrad peak and the Chrenovske Lazy cottage area Potential problems: most of the hike is through forests, lack of beautiful views 4| Kremnicke Vrchy Track: Sklene Bralova Skala Kozie Chrbty Vysoka meadows near the village of Kunesov Kremnicke Bane (village) and John the Baptists Church (heart of Europe) Krahule (village) Skalka Vyhnatova Kordicky Stit Svrcinnik Maly Sturec (saddle) Hotel Kralova Studna Length: 50 km Where to eat: Kunesov (grocery store), Krahule (bar/restaurant), Skalka Where to sleep: small shelters near Kunesov, Gorgeis Tunnel, and close to Sturec, and Hotel Kralova Studna A deck chair below the Skalka viewing platform outside Banska Bystrica. A few metres away from the deck chair, hikers can find a spot named after the Titanic. (Source: The Slovak Spectator) Springs: near the Kunesov shelter, Krahule, Skalka, near the Cabanka hut, Kralova Studna Potential problems: wild animals, a long track (It is better to split it into two days.) 5| Velka Fatra Track: Kralova Studna Krizna Ostredok Ploska Borisov Sopron Maly Lysec Jarabina Klak Lubochnianske Sedlo Kopa Krpelany (village) Sutovo (village) Length: 50 km Where to eat: Chata pod Borisovom (hut) Where to sleep: several shelters (Salas below the Suchy Vrch peak, Salas Mandolina, Prislop above the village of Nolcovo), Chata pod Borisovom The Borisov peak in the Velka Fatra mountains. (Source: TASR) Springs: a well below the Ploska peak, Borisov, a well below the Jarabina peak, springs near the Prislop shelter and below the Nizna Lipova peak, Lubochnianske Sedlo, a spring below the Kopa peak Potential problems: Experienced hikers can complete the track in one day. Otherwise, hikers can spend the night at the hut below Borisov. Simko also warns of wild animals and fallen trees between Maly Lysec and Klak. Spectacular Slovakia travel guides Little interest in getting jabbed Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovakia could see millions of euros spent on Covid-19 vaccines wasted as they expire in the coming days and months. The country has almost 2.5 million unused vaccines with tens of thousands of them expiring within the next few days. The vaccines can neither be sold nor donated to another country in such a short time. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement This comes as several thousand more vaccines - the Health Ministry has not said how many exactly - ordered from pharmaceutical companies are due to arrive by the end of the year. While their import could be stopped by the European Commission, which negotiated contracts with the companies on behalf of the member states, if it is not, millions of euros spent by Slovakia will have been wasted. Several vaccination centres are being closed as interest in vaccinations is low, and the chances of using the stored vaccines are slim. Almost 51 percent of Slovaks have been fully vaccinated. Millions of euros in vaccines According to the Health Ministry, Slovakia has paid almost 151 million for vaccines so far. Currently, there are more than 62,000 vaccines from the American company Moderna stored. These vaccines will expire in the next two days starting from April 26. It is impossible to donate them on such a short notice. Last August, one dose of the vaccine was sold for 23.42. This means that in April alone, Slovakia could lose almost 1.5 million. However, this is not the only problem. In May, another 61,000 Moderna vaccines are going to expire, meaning another 1.5 million could be lost. A total of three million euros may have been spent on unused vaccines. You are here: World Flash Russia has sent a diplomatic note to the United States calling on Washington to stop supplying Kiev with weapons, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said Monday. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States will provide Ukraine with additional security assistance worth 800 million U.S. dollars to bolster its defense against Russia's military operation. Antonov noted that Washington's decision did not contribute to finding a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis. Russia "emphasized the unacceptability of the situation where the United States is pumping weapons into Ukraine and demanded an end to this practice," local media reported citing Antonov. The ambassador said the United States was "aggravating the situation" and "adding fuel to the fire" with its actions, ultimately causing more deaths due to their supply of weapons. According to the diplomat, the United States has not yet responded to Russia's note. His own political camp is unconvinced. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Smer chair Robert Fico's attempts to rouse European politicians to his defence are not going well. Even though he claims the contrary, no top official from governments of the European Union countries or any other European institution has publicly expressed their support for him. "I am surprised by the reaction, I have had about seven phone calls today," the Smer chair said on Saturday. However, he did not specify who called him. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Fico sent a letter to dozens of politicians and representatives of European institutions, including the European Commission and the European Parliament. In the letter he says allegations against him of establishing a criminal group and abusing power are a conspiracy by the current government against the opposition. He also claims that Slovakia is not governed by the rule of law. Related article Related article Deputy special prosecutor requests Fico's arrest Read more It's about him "It's funny," said Czech MEP Tomas Zdechovsky about Fico's attempts to whip up support. The European People's Party, of which he is a member, also received the letter. A special detector from Slovakia could protect people against chemical weapons. The country has too many unused Covid-19 vaccines. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Good evening. The Tuesday, April 26 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes. Europe gives Fico the cold shoulder The Tuesday hearing of Smer chair Robert Fico at the police did not last long. (Source: TASR) In a letter sent to European leaders, the charged former prime minister Robert Fico (Smer) initially names his political achievements before he slanders Slovakia, its government and institutions, for the alleged abuse of criminal law. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement It has nothing to do with democracy, the rule of law and it is a gross trampling of the principles on which the EU stands, he complains. However, no European leader has backed Fico, who faces several charges, including allegedly being part of an organised crime group. Its funny, said Czech MEP Tomas Zdechovsky about Ficos letter. It seems to me that he is now criticising the situation in Slovakia because it's about him. Quote: Youre smelling the blood of a Smer politician. - Fico to the journalists waiting for him at the police on April 26, 2022 Other developments on Robert Fico On Tuesday, April 26, Fico arrived at the police to be heard in his case. He refused to in the end, claiming that he did not understand the charges he was facing. Fico also claimed that investigators had failed to explain the accusation. He left the police after 10 minutes, accusing investigators of not writing the document listing the charges. The Special Prosecutors Office did it, Fico believes. in his case. He refused to in the end, claiming that he did not understand the charges he was facing. Fico also claimed that investigators had failed to explain the accusation. He left the police after 10 minutes, accusing investigators of not writing the document listing the charges. The Special Prosecutors Office did it, Fico believes. President Zuzana Caputova criticised Fico for his political attacks on Tuesday. She said that Slovakia is not a totalitarian regime and court rulings are not decided in advance, noting that Fico has all the legal means at his disposal to defend himself. The last thing law enforcement needs today is pressure from politicians, she said. Caputova refuses to play Ficos political game as she does not want to imperil trust in justice. on Tuesday. She said that Slovakia is not a totalitarian regime and court rulings are not decided in advance, noting that Fico has all the legal means at his disposal to defend himself. The last thing law enforcement needs today is pressure from politicians, she said. Caputova refuses to play Ficos political game as she does not want to imperil trust in justice. In a letter addressed to the leaders of EU institutions, a group of Slovak MEPs refuted the statements made by Fico in his letter. Covid-19 vaccines for millions expiring A nurse holds a Novavax vaccine during vaccination at a hospital in Banska Bystrica on March 10, 2022. (Source: TASR) Slovakia owns 2.5 million unused Covid-19 vaccines. Many are already expiring and thousands of the vaccines will have arrived in Slovakia before 2022 ends. Nevertheless, the interest in getting jabbed among people in Slovakia has decreased. Millions of euros will have been wasted. The country has spent 151 million on Covid-19 vaccines so far. Having current stocks means that some doses will expire and will have to be destroyed, said Ingrid Ludvikova, a spokesperson for the European Commissions Representation in Slovakia. The Health Ministry said it would try to sell or donate unused and unexpired Covid-19 vaccines. The European Commission, however, can help tackle the problem with the vaccine surplus as well. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you. Coronavirus updates in short: A total of 1,398 people in Slovakia tested positive for Covid-19 on April 25. The number of people in hospitals fell to 951; and 10 more deaths were reported on Monday. A total of 2,820,925 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here. Photo of the day: Borisov The Turcianska Zahradka project, founded by Branislav Simko, announced a new hiking challenge Koruna Turca to promote peaks in several mountain ranges, including Mala Fatra and Velka Fatra, which surround the Turiec region. The Borisov peak in the Velka Fatra mountains. (Source: TASR) Feature story for Tuesday A special detector of chemical weapons Most countries have committed themselves to not produce or use chemical weapons, and pledged to dispose of old chemical weapons. However, this is only a formal promise. That is why countries are looking for ways to defend themselves against them. "Even a very small amount is enough to kill an adult," said Michal Simko, founder and CEO of the Slovak company SEC Technologies. His company, which is based in Liptovsky Mikulas, central Slovakia, is developing a device that allows the presence of chemicals in the air to be remotely detected. Falcon 4G is a device for remote detection of chemical gases in the air. (Source: SEC Technologies) In other news The far-right politician Marian Kotleba (LSNS) attempted to enter the parliament building on Tuesday even though he had lost an MPs chair following the Supreme Courts decision. He argued that he had not received the decision. On April 26, Slavena Vorobelova as the new MP replaced Kotleba in the parliament for the first time. On April 25, 2,051 Ukrainian refugees arrived in Slovakia , and as many as 543 Ukrainian refugees applied for temporary refuge on the same day. Slovakia had granted temporary refuge to 71,250 Ukrainian refugees by Monday. At the same time, a total of 1,552 Ukrainians decided to return to Ukraine. The authenticity of a document of temporary refuge can now be verified online. In Slovakia, 5,701 people died in March, which was the highest so far this year, the Statistics Office announced. More on Spectator.sk Business Business Foreign workers returning to Slovakia Read more Travel Travel Kosice Region will build a car camping spot in Slovak Paradise Read more Lifestyle Lifestyle Bratislava offers new places to get your hands dirty Read more If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. Flash The security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands is based on equality and mutual benefits. It is within the sovereignty of the two countries and consistent with the international law and international customary practice, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the comment at a press briefing after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a Chinese military base in the Solomon Islands would be a red line for his government. Wang pointed out that the cooperation is open, transparent, legitimate, lawful and irreproachable. "The speculation that China will build a military base in the Solomon Islands is pure disinformation fabricated by a handful of people who harbor ulterior motives." The United States and Australian accuse the framework agreement on security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands of not being transparent. However, it is the AUKUS security partnership that is neither open nor transparent, Wang said. "When will the United States and Australia invite South Pacific island countries and other regional countries to review AUKUS cooperation? The United States claims that China's military presence will cause grave concerns. If we follow this logic, the nearly 800 military bases in 80 countries and regions across the world run by the United States have long been of major concern for the world. When will the United States shut down those bases?" The spokesperson asked. Island countries in the South Pacific are independent and sovereign states, not a backyard of the United States or Australia, said Wang, adding that their attempt to revive the Monroe Doctrine in the South Pacific region will get no support and lead to nowhere. The London Classic Yearling Sale (LCYS) entry deadline -- originally this past Friday, April 22 -- has been extended through this week as expressions of interest continue to come in. The numbers are encouraging, and I think we will be a little bit higher than I had anticipated, said Greg Blanchard, Sales Manager. We had a few more trickle in over the weekend and some more calls today so we have decided to extend the deadline through this week so we make sure that everyone who had planned to enter has the opportunity to do so. The LCYS will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 18 and Wednesday, Oct. 19 at the Western Fair District Agriplex and will land directly in between the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals and Breeders Crown eliminations, both at Woodbine Mohawk Park. We like this time slot and the feedback I have received so far seems to support that. There will certainly be some high profile individuals offered here this fall and we look forward to announcing some of those in the coming days. The entry application for this years London Classic Yearling Sale can be found at londonclassic.ca. (London Classic Yearling Sale) After more than four years, the University of Mary Washingtons former dining hall, Seacobeck, has been reopened as the new home of the College of Education. Where generations of college students once gathered to eat Belgian waffles or pizza at any hour of the day, UMW students now gather in model classrooms to learn how to teach the students of the future. Where a cavernous kitchen once churned out thousands of hot meals, there is now a two-story circular atrium with shiny wood stadium stairs now cuts through, ringed with glass-paneled study rooms that are always full. Theres a Maker Space outfitted with 3D scanners and printers, sewing machines and robotics kits; a greenroom style Imaginarium; a gleaming performance space; and a curriculum lab filled with books and math manipulatives. This building says: teaching matters, said Pete Kelly, dean of the College of Education. That we have this now is remarkableand we need it now more than ever. Seacobeck was built in 1930 as a dining hall and, along with nearby Monroe, Willard and Virginia halls, it makes up the core of UMWs original campus. When first built, it featured a dome room and two adjacent dining rooms. Seacobeck is an Algonquin word meaning at the foot of the rock. According to Edward Alveys History of Mary Washington College 19081972, an Indian village bearing the name was once located in Fredericksburg and the rock that the name refers to is the rock formation that prevented Capt. John Smith from traveling farther up the Rappahannock River in 1608. By 2015, after a century of feeding hungry college students, the building was showing its age and was no longer able to meet the needs of the growing campus. But the history and architectural significance of the buildingwith its massive white Corinthian columns, ornate plaster crown molding and floor-to-ceiling arched windowsmeant it was important for the university to find a respectful new use for it and that any renovation preserve its historic details, Kelly said. Hanbury Architectswhich also designed UMWs Hurley Convergence Centerdesigned the new Seacobeck Hall, reconfiguring the inside without changing the outside at all, he said. The original dome room has been restored to how it looked in 1937. The massive exterior windows have been completely rebuilt and glass panels have been added inside the building to reflect the light they let in. Kelly said much of the original plaster molding was wrecked and that resurrecting it was a labor of love for the contractors. Nostalgic alumni can now view the crown molding up close from the top row of seats in the new flex event space adjacent to the dome room. Anchoring the 140-seat performance space is a custom-built Steinway piano, which was gifted to the new Seacobeck Hall by an anonymous alumni. The building isnt just aesthetically pleasing, Kelly said. It was designed from the beginning with the input of faculty and students in the College of Education. We sat down with Hanbury in focus groups to figure out, what does a classroom look like, especially one for teacher preparation? Kelly said. Seacobeck has three model classrooms that maximize teamwork and technology and mimic the features of K12 classroomssuch as a sink for cleaning up after elementary art projects and a kidney-shaped table for testing small groups of students. In addition to the College of Education, the building houses UMWs Office of Disability Resources. Kelly said about 11 percent of the universitys student population is registered with the officea higher percentage than is found at most higher education institutions and one that is closer to that found in K12 school populationsso its fitting that the two programs are co-located. The new Seacobeck opened for classes this semester and hosted an official ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month. Kelly said there is already a great sense of pride and ownership among current and former students and faculty for the building. He hopes it will be a place for ideas and collaboration between UMW and local K12 school divisions and that it will inspire both a love for teaching and an appreciation of what teachers do. When I take students and parents through here, their eyes light up, Kelly said. I want every kid who is thinking about becoming a teacher to see this place. Kelly said the new Seacobeck Hall carries forward the original mission of UMW, which was founded 1908 as a normal school, or institution created to train teachers. People need to understand our commitment to teacher preparation, he said. Virginia State Police investigators are seeking the publics help in trying to identify two males whose remains were found in Caroline County more than 33 years ago. Sgt. Jessica Shehan said that on Nov. 10, 1988, two hunters were walking through the woods in the Ladysmith area near the 112-mile marker of Interstate 95 when they came across skeletal remains. State police responded to the discovery and found a second set of remains. Forensic analysis confirmed that both victims were Hispanic males who apparently went missing between 1987 and 1988. One victim is believed to have been between 40 and 60 years old, while the other was estimated to be between 15 and 30. A leather belt with the word SILVANO on it was found with the older victim. Despite more than three decades of actively working this case, we have still not been able to identify either individual, Capt. Norman Gray said in a news release. We are still hopeful that someone will . . . help us find their families and let them know what happened to their loved one so many years ago. Police are investigating the cases as homicides, but no cause of death has been released. Police have also not been able to match the victims with any missing person report. Facial reconstruction models have been developed for both males that police hope will eventually lead to an identification. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 804/609-5656 or email questions@vsp.virginia.gov. GERING The Legacy of the Plains Museum will be hosting its monthly speaker series program on Tuesday, April 26, at 6 p.m. Every month, the museum hosts a speaker or panel to discuss the rich and vibrant history of the region and the state. This months panel will be discussing the Homestead Act and modern equivalent programs. Vickie Sakurada Schaepler, coordinator for the Legacys Japanese Hall and History Project, will be discussing the early history of the Japanese immigrants as they make their way to Nebraska and the events that impacted their lives including WWII and the heroes who emerged. A discussion period will follow the presentation. The event is free to the public. For more information, call Legacy of the Plains Museum at 308-436-1989. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form HIGH POINT Police say they arrested a woman Monday night after she stabbed a 16-year-old Jimmy John's employee. Officers were called shortly before 6 p.m. to the North Main Street fast food restaurant about an assault by an irritated customer on an employee, High Point Police said in a news release. Workers told officers that Demetris Holeman, 45, of High Point, came in to complain about her order, threw several items at the employee and stabbed the teenager with an "edged weapon," police said in the news release. The employee was taken to Moses Cone Hospital with serious injuries but was in stable condition, a police spokeswoman said. Holeman was arrested at her home a few hours later. She is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and injury to real property for the damages to the store, police said. Police ask anyone with information about the investigation to contact Crime Stoppers of High Point at 336-889-4000 or download the P3 mobile app. Kim Kardashian went on social media on Sunday, April 24, and expressed her opinion about the 1915 Armenian Genocide. "Today is the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Lets all stand together & remember the 1.5 million people who were massacred. Im so proud that America recognizes the Armenian Genocide," the American Armenian media personality, socialite, model, and businesswoman wrote on Instagram and Facebook, and used the ArmenianGenocide and NeverForget hashtags. Also, she posted some photos that were taken during her and sister Kourtney and their childrens visit to Armenia in 2019. Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the reopening of new student enrollment for in-person instruction and job training at Job Corps centers across the nation. Staff members at the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center campus in Marion want Southwest Virginia communities to know that the center has immediate availability to serve qualified young people and help train and prepare them for a meaningful career. Blue Ridge Job Corps Center has the capacity to serve 192 students in areas such as Certified Nursing Assistant, Clinical Medical Assistant, Medical Administrative Assistant, and Patient Care Technician. Amid the pandemic, Job Corps centers operated under restricted enrollment due to the residential aspects of the program. With new safety measures in place, the decision to reopen Job Corps enrollment lifts the remaining restrictions on enrollment and restores the program to pre-pandemic admission standards. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on many communities, including our own, said Jordan Loupe, BCL/WBL Coordinator at BRJC. We would appreciate the opportunity to spotlight how the Blue Ridge Job Corps campus can help our young people, employers, and community to recover and grow. Loupe said that in March 2020, all Job Corps students transitioned to remote learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, centers have combined distance learning with some in-person job training and more recently resumed traditional in-person enrollments. Because of the pandemic, the center has many openings right now for new students. The reopening of new student enrollment at Job Corps is an important step forward in our nations recovery from the pandemic, said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh in the recent announcement. On-center learning and the supports centers provide helps students take greater advantage of Job Corps training and educational opportunities. In turn, students will be better equipped to contribute and benefit as our nation grows stronger. Founded in 1964, Job Corps is the nations largest job training and education program. It provides students from 16 to 24 years of age with vocational training and academic experiences to increase opportunities towards gainful employment and career pathways. Throughout its 57-year history, Job Corps has trained more than 3 million young people in hundreds of fields and career paths including construction, healthcare, IT, firefighting, advanced manufacturing, renewable resources and energy, automotive, and many more industries. Job Corps may serve as a first choice for many young people for whom the traditional education path is not a good fit, for those who are interested in getting to work immediately, or for those that have young families or personal obligations that may preclude them from participating in other educational programs, said Loupe. Mostly a residential program in urban and rural areas, Job Corps centers include dormitories and a campus environment similar to small colleges. Administered by the departments Employment and Training Administration, Job Corps is the nations largest residential career-training program. There are currently 121 Job Corps centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In the past year, we faced and overcame extraordinary challenges to enable Job Corps students continue their education, said National Director of Job Corps Rachel Torres. Our goal is to return to full, in-person center operations as quickly and safely as possible. By returning all centers to in-person instruction, we can continue Job Corps long tradition of preparing its students for successful careers. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of young Americans applied to Job Corps, Loupe said. We have demonstrated the ability to safely serve students and provide needed supports such as housing, basic healthcare, food/meals. Thanks to the leadership at the Department of Labor, we have recently resumed our traditional enrollment methods and have updated policies that will allow us to on-board students safely and expeditiously. Blue Ridge Job Corps is a female-only center and enrollment is open to Virginia residents only. For more information, visit https://blueridge.jobcorps.gov/. WOODLAND A confrontation among young people in Woodland on Friday left a Clark County 19-year-old dead and a minor arrested. Nathaniel G. Anderson died at the hospital from head injuries after a minor struck him with a vehicle in the 4000 block of Dike Road, near a popular Columbia River beach, the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office reports. Deputies were called to the area at 11:30 p.m. after a group allegedly tried to confront a minor driving recklessly and spraying vehicles with gravel. A driver trying to stop him, pulled ahead of the minors truck, and the two collided without injuries, deputies say. When a group member tried to open the minors door, the minor drove away, allegedly striking Anderson. Anderson was sent to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver and died, deputies report. The minor was arrested at his house, and released to his parent. Deputies say charges have not yet been determined. Washington State Patrol, Woodland police and the Clark County Sheriffs Office assisted. The Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office reports the investigation is ongoing. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 11 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. TOLEDO Greenlee Clark was a sophomore when she heard about plans to renovate her high school. At the time, water seeped through the buildings walls and floors, the clocks and school bells did not work, and basic electrical functions were dodgy at best. What once seemed so far into the future is now one of the greatest gifts my peers and I could have asked for, said Clark, now a senior and the schools student body president, who spoke Friday afternoon during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completely renovated Toledo High School. The $26 million project took several years and four failed bonds, despite the schools state of disrepair. We had a few legislators who came down here to look at the school, and they thought it should be condemned, Superintendent Chris Rust said. Water would seep in through the floors. The walls were so thin. If you were in math, you could hear the German class next door. State lawmakers then stepped in to offer the district a distressed schools grant, Rust said. The district would get $10 million through state funding and then an $11 million grant through the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instructions School Construction Assistance Program. The funding came with a caveat: the district had to get 60% of voters to pass a $7 million bond. Rust said in previous years the bonds they tried to pass were around $12 million and $15 million, which were rejected by voters four different times. In 2019, voters approved the proposed $7 million bond, greenlighting $28 million in total to completely refurbish Toledo High School. The project actually cost $26 million, with the district putting away the $2 million for future upkeeping and cosmetic costs, like buying new trophy cases. IBI Group Architects designed the school to resemble a cozy Northwest lodge with the features of a much larger high school, said lead architect Ross Parker. Floors, walls and ceilings were upgraded, along with electrical wiring, HVAC and air conditioning systems, Rust said. The George Mudrock Gymnasium also was revamped with new floors and gym equipment. This facility is designed to serve multiple generations, Parker said, with new technology, furniture and collaborative indoor and outdoor learning spaces to help teachers teach and students learn. Toledo High School students are now known as the Toledo Riverhawks following the 2021 passage of a state law requiring any non-tribal schools that used Native American imagery, names or symbols to pick new mascots. Toledo to become the Riverhawks The school district is closed on Fridays in the summer and school officials were not available for comment. Members of the Cowlitz Tribe worked with the school district to design the mascot and name. Member Suzanne Donaldson uncloaked the button blanket she created for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, revealing an updated version of the schools black-and-red logo. Toledo community voting on new Riverhawks logo The four new choices put forward by the Toledo High School Art Committee all include the head of a hawk in profile around the district's current stylized red T in a circle. They range from abstracted to realistic. As we were going through the process I had just started on the art about the same time we were going through the issues last year with the Washington state ruling on the name change, Donaldson said. I know thats a tough subject for a lot of people, so I wanted to do this work in a good way and give this work to the school. ... We really love the design. 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. NASA: A gigantic 450-meters wide asteroid is going to fly past the Earth on April 28. The asteroid will come terrifyingly close to our planet. Should we be afraid of a potential asteroid strike? NASA: After a brief period of calm, a massive asteroid is yet again headed towards the Earth, according to the American space agency. The incoming asteroid is a massive 450-meters wide space rock, which can be compared to the famous Golden Gate Bridge located in San Francisco. An asteroid this size is classified as an apollo-class asteroid. But due to its close proximity to the Earth, this near-Earth object or (NEO) has also been labeled as a potentially hazardous asteroid. If this asteroid struck the Earth, it could cause widespread destruction and generate strong earthquakes and tsunamis. So, is there a chance for a potential hit? Read on to find out. According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory by NASA, the asteroid hurtling towards the Earth is named 418135 (2008 AG33). The 457 meters or 1,500-feet wide asteroid is expected to make its closest approach to the Earth at a distance of 3,240,000 kilometers. Do not make the mistake of considering the distance too large to worry about. It should be remembered that in terms of astronomical distances, it is a small number and considering the high speed of these asteroids, these distances can be covered in a short span of time. In terms of astronomical units, this asteroids closest approach to Earth will be at a distance of just 0.015 au. Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: NASA: Massive asteroid headed towards the Earth The asteroid 2008 AG33 has a massive orbit where one revolution takes it about 18 years to complete. At its closest point to the Sun or perihelion, it comes as close as the Earth and on the other hand, at its aphelion or the furthest point from the Sun, it goes as far as the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Coming from the asteroid belt, this asteroid also possesses a high speed of more than 25,000 km/h. At this speed, if it were to strike the Earth, it could easily flatten tens of kilometers of land. And this is why NASA has been vigilantly watching it. The Planetary Defense Coordination Office or the PDCO is a department by NASA that not only observes all NEOs, but also comes up with strategies to deviate or destroy asteroids which have a high probability of impact. So far, this particular asteroid seems unlikely to strike and is expected to make a safe passage across the planet. However, the space agency is continuing to observe it in case a sudden deviation happens. Abhishek Kumar, the final year computer science student at NIT Patna bagged a whopping package of Rs. 1.8 crore from Amazon. Abhishek Kumar, a student at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Patna has bagged a record pay package of Rs. 1.8 crore from Amazon. He is a final year computer science student. The institute has proudly shared the news through its Twitter handle. NIT Patna wrote, We are so incredibly proud of you. Congratulations! Your sincere effort deserves this success, all the best for the future. Kumar had appeared for the coding test conducted by Amazon last year in December. After qualifying, he appeared for three rounds of interviews at the international level in the month of April. He received the final call from Amazon, Germany on April 21. Despite the bad effect of Covid-19 on campus placements, this was a record-breaking year for the NIT Patna with 130 per cent overall placements. It seems like offers are returning to their pre-pandemic levels. The Covid-19 epidemic has put a lot of pressure on graduating students during the last two years as campuses were closed and placements were severely impacted. However, now the stability is slowly returning giving students a greater opportunity of securing employment of their preference. Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: Kumar is not the only one to make headlines for receiving a record package. Aditi Tiwari, a final year student of Electronics and Communication had made the news for bagging the highest placement of Rs. 1.6 crore from Facebook (now Meta). Before Aditi, a Patna girl Sampreeti Yadav had received a package of Rs. 1.11 crore at tech giant Google. The 2022 placement season broke records for the past five years as the highest package bagged by an NIT Patna student before this year was 50-60 lakhs. NIT Patna has secured 72nd position in National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2021. One can get admission to it by qualifying JEE Mains. Elon Musks short-lived effort to take Tesla Inc. private after his infamous funding secured tweet in August 2018 has loomed over the billionaires reputation. Elon Musks short-lived effort to take Tesla Inc. private after his infamous funding secured tweet in August 2018 has loomed over the billionaires reputation -- and his quest to buy Twitter Inc. Now, a series of text messages that Musk exchanged with Silicon Valley friends, investors and the managing director of Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund during that saga have come to light as part of an ongoing shareholder lawsuit. The texts provide a window into how Musk operates as he once again attempts -- almost four years later -- to take a publicly traded company private. Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: In a text-message exchange with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of the Saudi PIF, an angry Musk discusses a Bloomberg News article that reported the fund was in talks to take Tesla private. The Tesla CEO was upset because he believed hed reached a handshake agreement with Al-Rumayyan weeks earlier, in July 2018, for the fund to finance the transaction. This is an extremely weak statement and does not reflect the conversation we had at Tesla. You said you were definitely interested in taking Tesla private and had wanted to do so since 2016, Musk wrote in an August 2018 text message, according to a 300-page motion filed late Friday as part of the suit. Im sorry, but we cannot work together. Its up to you Elon, Al-Rumayyan responded. You are throwing me under the bus, Musk wrote back. It takes two to tango, Al-Rumayyan replied. We havent received anything yet. The back-and-forth continues. Al-Rumayyan tells Musk that we cannot approve something that we dont have sufficient information on, and writes that hes been waiting for more details. Later in the exchange, Al-Rumayyan asks Musk to read the article please. I read the article, Musk says. It is weak sauce and still makes me sound like a liar. It is filled with equivocation and in no way indicates the strong interest you conveyed in person. Musk told Al-Rumayyan that Tesla would move forward with private equity firm Silver Lake, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other investors. The next day, however, he published a blog post citing the Saudi PIFs interest in taking Tesla private as the reason he tweeted that he had funding secured. Al-Rumayyan texted that he was surprised Musk had divulged loose information, despite having signed a non-disclosure agreement and after keeping the PIF waiting for specifics needed to move forward with a deal. Musk scolded Al-Rumayyan again for not pushing back against media reports about whether the Saudi fund would support the go-private transaction. Reuters reported that two sources from PIF confirmed no interest in Tesla, which is absolutely false, and yet you did nothing until I forced the issue, Musk wrote. Musk shelved the effort later that month after it became clear many large investors wouldnt go along with it, stunning the financial world with a late Friday night blog post titled Staying Public. Still Fighting Since then, Tesla has become profitable and built factories in Shanghai, near Berlin and in Austin, Texas. The company has indisputably ignited the shift to electric vehicles, and its $1 trillion valuation has made Musk the worlds wealthiest person. But the investors suing Musk in federal court argue that Musks August 2018 tweets were indisputably false and cost them billions of dollars by spurring wild swings in Teslas stock price. The judge in the case ruled earlier this month that no reasonable jury could find Musks tweets on August 7, 2018, accurate or not misleading. Musk and his attorneys have insisted he was entirely truthful and are trying to appeal. Musk also has stood by his argument that Saudi Arabias wealth fund had agreed to support his attempt to take Tesla private. The text messages were part of a motion filed by Alex Spiro, Musks lead outside attorney. The filing includes excerpts from Musks deposition with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued Musk for securities fraud. The agency settled with Musk and Tesla, with each paying $20 million and Musk agreeing to step down as chair of Teslas board for three years. Musk has repeatedly said since then that he doesnt respect the SEC, and lashed out at the agency again Monday on Twitter. Twitter Talks Starting early this year, Musk quietly began acquiring a more than 9% stake in Twitter and became its largest individual shareholder. After turning down a board seat, he launched an unsolicited $43 billion offer for the company earlier this month. Twitter has traded below Musks $54.20 offer price, indicating skepticism over the prospects of his acquisition bid. But after securing financing from institutions including Morgan Stanley, Musk spent Sunday meeting with Twitter executives who grew more receptive toward the offer, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The company is working to hammer out terms of a transaction and could reach an agreement as soon as Monday if negotiations go smoothly, according to people who asked not to be identified because the information is private. While Musk has said hes lined up $46.5 billion to fund his bid for the social media platform, the text messages from 2018 serve as a reminder that the 50-year-old billionaire also can change his mind. They also highlight that, when angered, hell play hardball. The case is In re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation, 18-CV-04865, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco). ouTube channels BANNED again by Govt! 16 channels also include ones from Pakistan YouTube channels have been blocked by the Government of India once again. After the ban from last month, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has blocked 16 more YouTube channels in the interest of misinformation against national security. Out of these, there are six channels of Pakistani-origin, while the rest come from India. The ban applies permanently on these news channels as of now. Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: "False, unverified information to create panic, incite communal disharmony and disturb public order in India", the statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said. These blocked YouTube and Facebook channels used to provide a collected viewership of 68 crores. None of the digital news publishers had furnished information to the ministry as required under Rule 18 of the IT Rules, 2021," it added. Govt blocks YouTube channels again The main reason behind the ban was related to these channels and accounts publishing content that referred to members of a particular community as terrorists. These contents were also claimed to incite religious hatred among communities. The blocked YouTube channels from Pakistan were found to be used in a coordinated manner to post fake news about India. The topics include various subjects such as the Army, Jammu and Kashmir and foreign relations in the light of the situation in war-hit Ukraine. "Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony and disturb public order," it said. The ministry said multiple India-based YouTube channels were publishing unverified news and videos that had the potential to trigger panic among various sections of the society. "Examples include false claims related to announcement of a pan-India lockdown due to COVID-19, thereby threatening the migrant workers, and fabricated claims alleging threats to certain religious communities etc. Such content was observed to be detrimental to public order in the country," it said. The list of blocked channels from India include MRF TV LIVE, Saini Education Research, Tahaffuz-e-Deen India and SBB News. The list of banned accounts from Pakistan include AjTak Pakistan, Discover Point, Reality Checks and The Voice of Asia. "The content of these channels was observed to be completely false and sensitive from the perspective of national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, and India's friendly relations with foreign States," the ministry added. This might be an unexpected collaboration, but it's all for a cause. Acer has teamed up with National Geographic for the Acer Aspire Vero National Geographic Edition, having a design inspired by nature. The special edition laptop will have limited units in Malaysia, and the promotions will start from 1 May until 31 July 2022. The laptop is made of 30% PCR plastic throughout its chassis, saving 21% in carbon emissions in the production process. Its bezel also utilizes the 30% PCR plastic and 50% in its keycaps, reducing the carbon footprint. The laptop's cover has several diagonal lines extracted from a topographic map to divide the surface into land and sea and allude to the impact of global warming on rising sea levels. After opening the laptop, you'll find an iconic National Geographic yellow border sitting at the bottom right corner of the keyboard, alongside a message "For Planet Earth" on the spacebar. Tech spec-wise, the Aspire Vero National Geographic Edition gets powered by Intel Core i7 processor paired with 16GB DDR4 RAM and 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD. It is also equipped with a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display. Furthermore, the laptop provides a generous selection of ports, including USB Type-C and two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports. There's a RJ-45 Ethernet port and Wi-Fi 6 as well for better connectivity. Pre-order for the Acer Aspire Vero National Geographic Edition starts on 1 May by retailing for RM4,299. Acer will offer up to RM500 cash rebate for customer who join the trade-in programme to dispose of their old devices. In conjunction with the effort, the company will also reduce the price of Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i5 models for Acer Aspire Vero to RM3,699 and RM2,999 respectively. What do you think about the Acer Aspire Vero National Geographic Edition laptop? Leave a comment to let us know your thoughts, and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more tech news. A sign is pictured outside the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, April 25, 2022. Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers. Credit: AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn Tesla CEO Elon Musk stands to be the next owner of Twitter, having pledged roughly $44 billion to buy the social platform and take it private. Assuming that happens, next up on his agenda will be planning how to fulfill his promises to develop new Twitter features, open its algorithm to public inspection and defeat "spambots" on the service that mimic real users. He'll also need to have the company start "authenticating all humans," as he described it in a statement quoted in the Monday press release announcing the acquisition. What exactly Musk meant by the phrase remains unclear. So does the question of whether his ideas are technologically possible and how we'll know if these changes would benefit users or serve some other purpose. Experts who have studied content moderation and researched Twitter for years have expressed doubt that Musk knows exactly what he is getting into. After all, there are plenty of fledgling examples of "free speech" focused platforms launched in the past few years as Twitter antidotes, largely by conservatives unhappy with the company's crackdowns on hate, harassment and misinformation. Many have struggled to deal with toxic content, and at least one has been cut off by its own technology providers in protest. "This move just shows how effective (moderation features) have been to annoy those in power," said Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame. "I would be worried as to how this would change Twitter's values." A sign is seen outside the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, April 25, 2022. Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers. Credit: AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn The fact that no other bidders emerged in public before Musk's deal was a sign that other would-be acquirers might find Twitter too difficult to improve, said Third Bridge analyst Scott Kessler. "This platform is pretty much the same one we've had over the last decade or so," Kessler said. "You've had a lot of smart people trying to figure out what they should do, and they've had trouble. It's probably going to be tough to make a lot of headway." Musk received some effusive, if highly abstract, praise from an unexpected quarterTwitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who praised Musk's decision to take Twitter " back from Wall Street " and tweeted that he trusts Musk's mission to " extend the light of consciousness "a reference to Dorsey's notion that "Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness." But others familiar with Twitter say they're still dismayed at Musk's successful bid for the company. "Twitter is going to let a man-child essentially take over their platform," said Leslie Miley, a former Twitter employee who has also worked for Google and Apple. Miley, who was the only Black engineer at Twitter in a leadership position when he left the company in 2015, echoed doubts about Musk's grasp of the platform's complexities. The Twitter headquarters in San Francisco is pictured, Monday, April 25, 2022. Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers. Credit: AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn "I am not sure if Elon knows what he is getting," Miley said. "He may just find that having Twitter is a lot different than wanting Twitter." The more hands-off approach to content moderation that Musk envisions has many users concerned that the platform will become more of a haven for disinformation, hate speech and bullying, something it has worked hard in recent years to mitigate. Wall Street analysts said if he goes too far, it could also alienate advertisers. Shares of Twitter Inc. rose more than 5% Monday to $51.70 per share. On April 14, Musk announced an offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share. While the stock is up sharply since Musk made his offer, it is well below the high of $77 per share it reached in February 2021. Musk has described himself as a "free-speech absolutist" but is also known for blocking or disparaging other Twitter users who question or disagree with him. In recent weeks, he has proposed relaxing Twitter content restrictionssuch as the rules that suspended former President Donald Trump's accountwhile ridding the platform of fake "spambot" accounts and shifting away from advertising as its primary revenue model. Musk believes he can increase revenue through subscriptions that give paying customers a better experiencepossibly even an ad-free version of Twitter. A sign is pictured outside the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, April 25, 2022. Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers. Credit: AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn Asked during a recent TED interview if there are any limits to his notion of "free speech," Musk said Twitter would abide by national laws that restrict speech around the world. Beyond that, he said, he'd be "very reluctant" to delete posts or permanently banning users who violate the company's rules. It won't be perfect, Musk added, "but I think we want it to really have the perception and reality that speech is as free as reasonably possible." After the deal was announced, the NAACP released a statement urging Musk not to allow Trump, the 45th president, back onto the platform. "Do not allow 45 to return to the platform," the civil rights organization said in a statement. "Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech or falsehoods that subvert our democracy." As both candidate and president, Trump made Twitter a powerful megaphone for speaking directly to the public, often using incendiary and divisive language on hot-button issues. He was permanently banned from the service in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. A sign is pictured outside the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, April 25, 2022. Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers. Credit: AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn "If Musk either fires or drives away the team at Twitter that's committed to keeping it clean and making it less hate-filled, he'll see an immediate drop in user activity," said said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia. "I think he's going to find pretty fast that inviting the bigots back in is bad for business." In Europe, officials reminded Musk about a new law, the Digital Services Act, that will force tech companies to step up policing of their online platforms. "Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rulesregardless of their shareholding," tweeted Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner in charge of the bloc's internal market. "Mr Musk knows this well. He is familiar with European rules on automotive, and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act." Some users said Monday that they were planning to quit the platform if Musk took it over. To which he responded on Twitter: "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means." While Twitter's user base of more than 200 million remains much smaller than those of rivals such as Facebook and TikTok, the service is popular with celebrities, world leaders, journalists and intellectuals. Musk himself is a prolific tweeter with a following that rivals several pop stars in the ranks of the most popular accounts. Explore further Elon Musk to buy Twitter for $44B and take it private 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. An Australian company's Louisiana subsidiary can get up to $107 million in U.S. Department of Energy loans to expand a plant that produces materials for electric car batteries the department said Monday. The loan to Syrah Technologies LLC would be the Biden administration's second clean energy loan. The money is expected to enable the plant to produce enough graphite-based "active anode material" for about 2.5 million electric vehicles by 2040, "saving an estimated 970 million gallons of gasoline," according to a department blog post. It would reactivate a program last used more than a decade ago during the Obama administration to lend money to auto makers and would be the program's first use for a supply chain project, the department said. It said previous Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loans went to Ford, Nissan and Tesla. "Importantly, this project also provides a socially and environmentally responsible U.S. supply chain for graphite," the Energy Department said. Syrah's plant is in Vidalia, a city of 4,000 on the Mississippi River about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Baton Rouge. It uses graphite from Syrah's huge mine in Mozambique. Tesla signed a contract in December 2021 with Syrah Resources of Melbourne, Australia, and Syrah Technologies announced plans for a $177,000 expansion in Vidalia two months later. Gov. John Bel Edwards' office said Syrah would add 36 jobs to the 19 employees it had at the time. The federal loan will create 98 permanent and 150 construction jobs, the Energy Department said. "Several steps remain, and certain conditions must be satisfied before the Department issues a final loan," the blog post said. It did not say what those are. Explore further Tesla inks deal to get key battery component outside China 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Microrobot collectives display versatile movement patterns. Credit: MPI for Intelligent Systems Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), Cornell University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed collectives of microrobots which can move in any desired formation. The miniature particles are capable of reconfiguring their swarm behavior quickly and robustly. Floating on the surface of water, the versatile microrobotic disks can go round in circles, dance the boogie, bunch up into a clump, spread out like gas or form a straight line like beads on a string. Each robot is slightly bigger than a hair's width. They are 3D printed using a polymer and then coated with a thin top layer of cobalt. Thanks to the metal the microrobots become miniature magnets. Meanwhile, wire coils which create a magnetic field when electricity flows through them surround the setup. The magnetic field allows the particles to be precisely steered around a one-centimeter-wide pool of water. When they form a line, for instance, the researchers can move the robots in such a way that they "write" letters in the water. The research project of Gaurav Gardi and Prof. Metin Sitti from MPI-IS, Steven Ceron and Prof. Kirstin Petersen from Cornell University and Prof. Wendong Wang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University titled "Microrobot Collectives with Reconfigurable Morphologies, Behaviors, and Functions" was published in Nature Communications on April 26, 2022. Collective behavior emerges from the interactions between the robots Collective behavior and swarm patterns are found everywhere in nature. A flock of birds exhibits swarm behavior, as does a school of fish. Robots can also be programmed to act in swarmsand have been seen doing so quite prominently. A technology company recently presented a drone lightshow that won the company a Guinness World Record by programming several hundred drones and flying them side-by-side, creating amazing patterns in the night sky. Each drone in this swarm was equipped with computational power steering it in every possible direction. But what if the single particle is so tiny that computation isn't an option? When a robot is just 300 micrometers wide, one cannot program it with an algorithm. Three different forces are at play to compensate for the lack of computation. One is the magnetic force. Two magnets with opposite poles attract. Two identical poles repel each other. The second force is the fluid environment; the water around the disks. When particles swim in a swirl of water, they displace the water and affect the other surrounding particles in the system. The speed of the swirl and its magnitude determine how the particles interact. Thirdly, if two particles float next to each other, they tend to drift towards each other: they bend the water surface in such a way that they slowly come together. Scientists and cereal lovers call this the cheerio effect: if you let two cheerios float on milk, they will soon bump into each other. On the flip side, this effect can also cause two things to repel each other (try a hairpin and a cheerio). Three forces allow for reconfigurability The scientists use all three forces to create a coordinated, collective pattern of motion for several dozen microrobots as one system. A video shows how the scientists steer the robots through a parkour, displaying the formation that best suits the obstacle course, e.g. when they enter a narrow passage, the microrobots line up in single file and disperse again when they come out. Credit: Max Planck Society The scientists can also make the robots dance, alone or as pairs. Additionally, they show how they put a tiny plastic ball into the water container and then aggregate the robots into a clump to push the floating ball along. They can place the tiny particles inside two gears and move the particles in a way that causes both gears to rotate. A more ordered pattern is also possible with each particle keeping an identical distance to its neighbor. All these different locomotion modes and formations are achieved through external computation: an algorithm is programmed to create a rotating or oscillating magnetic field which triggers the desired movement and reconfigurability. "Depending on how we change the magnetic fields, the disks behave in a different way. We are tuning one force and then another until we get the movement we want. If we rotate the magnetic field within the coils too vigorously, the force which is causing the water to move around is too strong and the disks move away from each other. If we rotate too slow, then the cheerio effect which attracts the particles is too strong. We need to find the balance between the three," Gaurav Gardi explains. He is a Ph.D. student in the Physical Intelligence department at MPI-IS and one of the two lead authors of the publication together with Steven Ceron from Cornell University. A model for future biomedical and environmental applications The future scenario for such microrobotic collectives is to go even smaller. "Our vision is to develop a system that is even tinier, made of particles only one micrometer small. These collectives could potentially go inside the human body and navigate through complex environments to deliver drugs, for instance, to block or unblock passages, or to stimulate a hard-to-reach area," Gardi says. "Robot collectives with robust transitions between locomotion behaviors are very rare. However, such versatile systems are advantageous to operate in complex environments. We are very happy we succeeded in developing such a robust and on-demand reconfigurable collective. We see our research as a blueprint for future biomedical applications, minimally invasive treatments, or environmental remediation," adds Metin Sitti, who leads the Physical Intelligence Department and is a pioneer in the field of small-scale robotics and physical intelligence. Explore further On-the-fly reconfigurable magnetic slime used as a robot More information: Gaurav Gardi et al, Microrobot collectives with reconfigurable morphologies, behaviors, and functions, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Gaurav Gardi et al, Microrobot collectives with reconfigurable morphologies, behaviors, and functions,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29882-5 The Twitter page of Elon Musk is seen on the screen of a computer in Sausalito, Calif., on Monday, April 25, 2022. On Monday, Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for about $44 billion. Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg Elon Musk, the world's richest man, is spending $44 billion to acquire Twitter with the stated aim of turning it into a haven for "free speech." There's just one problem: The social platform has been down this road before, and it didn't end well. A decade ago, a Twitter executive dubbed the company "the free speech wing of the free speech party" to underscore its commitment to untrammeled freedom of expression. Subsequent events put that moniker to the test, as repressive regimes cracked down on Twitter users, particularly in the wake of the short-lived "Arab Spring" demonstrations. In the U.S., a visceral 2014 article by journalist Amanda Hess exposed the incessant, vile harassment many women faced just for posting on Twitter or other online forums. Over the subsequent years, Twitter learned a few things about the consequences of running a largely unmoderated social platformone of the most important being that companies generally don't want their ads running against violent threats, hate speech that bleeds into incitement, and misinformation that aims to tip elections or undermine public health. "With Musk, his posturing of free speechjust leave everything upthat would be bad in and of itself," said Paul Barrett, the deputy director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University. "If you stop moderating with automated systems and human reviews, a site like Twitter, in the space of a short period of time, you would have a cesspool." Google, Barrett pointed out, quickly learned this lesson the hard way when major companies like Toyota and Anheuser-Busch yanked their ads after they ran ahead of YouTube videos produced by extremists in 2015. Once it was clear just how unhealthy the conversation had gotten, Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey spent years trying to improve what he called the "health" of the conversation on the platform. The company was an early adopter of the "report abuse" button after U.K. member of parliament Stella Creasy received a barrage of rape and death threats on the platform. The online abuse was the result of a seemingly positive tweet in support of feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who successfully advocated for novelist Jane Austen to appear on a British banknote. Creasy's online harasser was sent to prison for 18 weeks. Twitter has continued to craft rules and invested in staff and technology that detect violent threats, harassment and misinformation that violates its policies. After evidence emerged that Russia used their platforms to try to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, social media companies also stepped up their efforts against political misinformation. The big question now is how far Musk, who describes himself as a "free-speech absolutist," wants to ratchet back these systemsand whether users and advertisers will stick around if he does. Even now, Americans say they're more likely to be harassed on social media than any other online forum, with women, people of color and LGBTQ users reporting a disproportionate amount of that abuse. Roughly 80% of users believe the companies are still doing only a "fair or poor" job of handling that harassment, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults last year. Meanwhile, terms like "censorship" and "free speech" have turned into political rallying cries for conservatives, frustrated by seeing right-leaning commentators and high-profile Republican officials booted off Facebook and Twitter for violating their rules. Musk appeared to criticize Twitter's permanent ban of President Donald Trump last year for messages that the tech company said helped incite the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year. A sign is pictured outside the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, April 25, 2022. Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers. Credit: AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn "A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech," Musk tweeted days after Trump was banned from both Facebook and Twitter. Trump's allies, including his son Donald Trump Jr., have even pleaded for Musk to buy out the company. "If Elon Musk can privately send people into space I'm sure he can design a social network that isn't biased," Trump Jr. said in the caption of a video posted to Instagram last April. Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame, said Twitter has consistently worked at being a "responsible" social media company through its moderation system, its hires in the area of machine learning ethics and in whom they allow to do research on the platform. The fact that Musk wants to change that, she added, suggests that he's focused on "irresponsible social media." Twitter declined to comment for this story. A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to a message for comment. New social media apps targeted at conservatives, including Trump's Truth Social, haven't come remotely close to matching the success of Facebook or Twitter. That's partly because Republican politicians, politicians and causes already draw large audiences on existing, and much better established, platforms. It's also partly due to floods of inflammatory, false or violent posts. Last year, for example, right-wing social media site Parler was nearly wiped off the internet when it became evident that rioters had used the app to promote violent messages and organize the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol. Apple and Google barred its app from their online stores, while Amazon stopped providing web-hosting services for the site. Musk himself regularly blocks social media users who have criticized him or his company and sometimes bullies reporters who have written critical articles about him or Tesla. He regularly tweets at reporters who write about his company, sometimes mischaracterizing their work as "false" or "misleading." His popular tweets typically send a swarm of his social media fans directly to the accounts of the reporters to harass them for hours or days. "I only block people as a direct insult," Musk tweeted in 2020, responding to a tweet from a reporter. Evan Greer, a political activist with Fight for the Future, said Musk's lack of experience in moderating an influential social media platform will be a problem if he successfully takes over the company. "If we want to protect free speech online, then we can't live in a world where the richest person on Earth can just purchase a platform that millions of people depend on and then change the rules to his liking," Greer said. 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: CC0 Public Domain United Airlines plans to offer more flights across the Atlantic this summer than it did in 2019, a wager that international travel will bounce back strongly despite the persistent pandemic. United said Tuesday that it will boost transatlantic passenger-carrying capacity by 25% over pre-pandemic levels to a combination of new destinations and old favorites such as London. Patrick Quayle, the airline's senior vice president of international network, said it was the biggest single transatlantic increase in United's history. "We will be the largest carrier across the transatlantic," he said. Later this week, United will begin serving several new destinations that it named last fall, including Portugal's Azores and Spain's Canary Islands. The company is also adding flightsfor example, jumping to 22 daily flights from the U.S. to London in late May. Even before Tuesday's announcement, United had scheduled more passenger-carrying capacity to Europe in June and July than its closest rivals15% more than Delta Air Lines and 36% more than American Airlines, according to data from research firm Cirium. Each carrier also has European partner airlines. United's annual revenue from U.S.-Europe flights fell from $7.4 billion before the pandemic to $2.2 billion in 2020. It edged higher to $3.4 billion last year, or 14% of total revenue. There is risk to United's growth plans as international flying has lagged the recovery in domestic travel. Airlines blame that largely on a U.S. requirement that travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day of boarding a U.S.-bound flight. Some Americans are unwilling to risk being stranded overseas for several extra days if they contract the virus during their trip. Despite intense lobbying by airlines, the Biden administration has given no indication of lifting the testing requirement. United had to scale back its summer plansdelaying three new routesbecause of a pilot shortage and the grounding of several dozen Boeing 777 jets after the Pratt & Whitney engine on one of them blew apart over Denver in February 2021. Quayle said Russia's invasion of Ukraine does not seem to be affecting bookings to Europesomething executives at other airlines have also said. United does not fly to Russia, Ukraine or neighboring countries. Its closest destination is Dubrovnik, Croatia. Quayle said, however, that there might be "a little bit" of weakness for connecting flights into Poland or Romania. Explore further United sees more travel rebound, adds flights to warm spots 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Claudia Cooke was one of the 185 Ferrum College graduates recognized during Saturdays commencement ceremony, and the first person to graduate as part of the Ferrum Promise program. The Ferrum Promise program was started in 2020, and guarantees that students who come to Ferrum with an appropriate associates degree from a Virginia community college can graduate within two years, or receive free tuition for their remaining coursework. Cook transferred to Ferrum in the fall of 2020 after completing her associates degree in general studies, with a specialization in human services, at Patrick & Henry Community College in December 2019. Now, two years later, Cooke leaves Ferrum with a bachelors degree in social work. When I first started thinking about what I wanted to do, I always wanted to work with kids and I just really didnt know the best way, Cooke said. I went to a career fair in high school and they brought up social workers and ever since then, I was hooked. It was something that just clicked for me. Cooke grew up in Axton but while attending Ferrum she commuted from Collinsville. Most of the commuting took place over the 2021-22 school year, though. When I went to Ferrum it was a bigger transition for me, because we had to be going by protocols for COVID and everything was pretty much virtual at that point. So my junior year of college was pretty much virtual, Cooke said. With a bachelors degree freshly under her belt, Cooke is jumping straight into an online masters program with the University of Pikeville in Kentucky. She will be working and going to school full time. Im starting grad school May 9 and then I am starting my job with child protective services May 1. ... Im able to actually get my masters in a year, so Im going to be full time both places. ... I just really want that degree, Cooke said, laughing. 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. On Arbor Day, April 29, at 1 p.m., Grand Island Tree Board will host an Arbor Day celebration that will recognize Nebraskas 150 years of Arbor Day and a winning tree from the Hall County Champion Tree Program. The event will be just south of Engelman Elementary School at 1812 Mansfield Road. Engelman kindergarteners will be participating in a tree-planting demonstration. The event is open to the public and media. Grand Island Tree Boards mission is, To preserve, educate and enhance the quality of life in the City of Grand Island by wisely managing our community urban forest. Their slogan is, G.I. Luv Trees. For more information on the Hall County Champion Tree Program and the Grand Island Tree Board, visit: www.giparks.com/departments/parks-and-recreation/parks-division/tree-board or contact Tree Board President Barry Burrows at 308-385-5426. A new shopping plaza is coming to South Locust Street, directly ahead of Walmart and a newly opened Bosselman Pump & Pantry location. The Shops at South Lake is currently pre-leasing for tenants. Before breaking ground, the owner, former Grand Island resident Hari Dallakoti, wants to have key businesses signed on first, explained Cresa Vice President Johnny Dorn. Omaha-based Cresa is the commercial real estate firm representing Dallakoti. The intent is to pre-lease a building before they start to build it, said Dorn. Rather than just building a spec building and trying to lease it out, hes trying to attract some tenants or a tenant beforehand, before we actually break ground. He added, Its still potentially a year out, but again hopefully sooner rather than later. The site, with an address of 3509 S. Locust St., is roughly 11,000 square feet and currently zoned for commercial development. It could be quick-service. We have room for a drive-thru. It would be a great spot for a bank, said Dorn. The developer is hoping for a bank as an anchor store to the project, explained Pat Schmit, a realtor for Wood Bros Realty in Grand Island. Theyre hoping to get a bank as an anchor store on one end. Otherwise, theyre open to about anything, Schmit said. Wood Bros Realty is serving as the listing agent for the project. There has been great interest in the project, Schmit told The Independent. Theres been a lot of calls, she said. Most people want it partially started by now, and the owner is not willing to do that. Among the developments in the area are a new Pump & Pantry site, which opened Monday, and its newly created Lake Street. This promises to spur additional development down there, said Dorn. Were hoping to be the first building up as one of those Walmart sub-lots, he said. Schmit also advocates for the site based on current growth happening there, which includes expanding residential development, as well. Its an excellent location, now across from Bosselmans travel center. Being completed and opening up, theres a lot more traffic, she said. The site is also at a key corridor in south Grand Island for Fonner Park and the Nebraska State Fairgrounds. I think the big sell is all that existing or current development thats going on around that and that it would be a direct access to the (State) Fair and downtown district, said Dorn. Theres not a lot of land where you can build to the south of that Walmart. No leases have been put in place yet, noted Dorn. Were still entertaining a few different ones at the current moment, he said. A groundbreaking is hoped for in the coming year, Dorn said. Cresa has been marketing the project for nearly one year now. There have been some offers, said Dorn. Its smaller tenants and, at times, just qualifying certain tenants and making sure its what the owner prefers and whats best for the overall development. For more information contact Pat Schmit, Wood Bros Realty, at 308-380-8075. 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. Nebraska state Sen. Julie Slama on Monday hit back against a lawsuit filed Friday by GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles W. Herbster. Slama's attorney called Herbster's suit a frivolous and bad-faith attempt to bully a sexual assault victim into silence. Herbster filed a lawsuit after the Nebraska Examiner reported allegations from eight women who said Herbster had groped them. Slama was the only named accuser. Herbster, a Republican megadonor and Conklin Co. CEO, is among the front-runners competing for the Republican nomination in the May 10 primary. He has vehemently denied all accusations. Friday, he filed suit in Johnson County District Court alleging that Slama made false and defamatory statements when she confirmed the allegations to the Examiner and repeated them during an interview on Omaha radio station KFAB. Slama had not yet been served the suit, according to attorney Dave Lopez, but chose to file a response and counterclaim alleging battery. Court documents also show Slama gave notice to depose Herbster May 6, the Friday before Election Day. These steps will immediately preserve Senator Slamas legal rights and guarantee that Herbsters pending lawsuit against her includes her response and counterclaim, a statement from Lopez reads. Lopez suggested Herbster was using the news media to cast doubt on Slamas allegations while dodging legal accountability by not serving the suit. Charles Herbster chose to subject himself to Nebraskas judicial system," Lopez said, "and Senator Slama will hold him to that choice. The Nebraska Examiner reported April 14 that Herbster reached up Slamas dress without her consent and touched her inappropriately at the Douglas County Republican Partys 2019 Elephant Remembers dinner. Slama confirmed the Examiners reporting in a statement the same day. The World-Herald has not independently corroborated the seven other accounts in the Examiners story. Herbster has framed the allegations as a political hit job devised by fellow Republican candidate Jim Pillen, who is a University of Nebraska regent and hog producer from Columbus, and Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has backed Pillen. Herbster alleged in his lawsuit that news media coverage of Slamas statement has brought disrepute and damage to his reputation." In her response, Slama refuted Herbsters accusations. She also alleged the original lawsuit is defective in several key respects, including that it was filed in an improper venue and doesnt include necessary elements of a public libel claim. She repeats her allegations against Herbster in the countersuit: Shortly after she entered the dinner, as she headed to her table, Slama then a 22-year-old, recently appointed state senator felt Herbsters hand reach up her dress and inappropriately touch her, the countersuit reads. According to the filing, other people witnessed what happened or were aware of it. The filing also says that Slama and others saw Herbster grab the buttocks of another woman just a few minutes later. Slama was shocked, mortified, and traumatized by Herbsters actions," the countersuit reads. "Slama was also frightened of retribution that could occur if she came forward because she knew Herbster was a multimillionaire and a major donor for the Republican Party in Nebraska." Herbster's actions, she alleges, amounted to battery and caused damage to her reputation and mental and emotional health, among other damages. She requested damages and a jury trial. Deputy Herbster campaign manager Rod Edwards said Monday that the campaign still plans to file a lawsuit against the Examiner. The outlet has said it stands by its reporting. Herbsters campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Slamas filing. The chief of Offutts U.S. Strategic Command is happy with the record $813.4 billion Defense Department budget the Biden administration pitched to Congress a few weeks ago. Except for the matter of a few baby nukes. Adm. Charles Richard raised eyebrows earlier this month when he wrote a letter to top members of the House Armed Services Committee, calling out the Biden team for dropping a proposed low-yield, sea-launched nuclear cruise missile, first proposed during the Trump administration, from its 2023 budget plan. While I am satisfied USSTRATCOM priorities are adequately addressed, the current situation in Ukraine and Chinas nuclear trajectory convinces me a deterrence and assurance gap exists, Richard wrote in the April 4 letter to Reps. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee. Military leaders dont often publicly contradict their commander-in-chief, especially on an issue with political overtones. But his boss, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, backed Richard up a day later in testimony before the same committee. So did the four-star head of the U.S. European Command. Its probably safe to say, its unusual, said Christopher Yeaw, a top nuclear analyst at the University of Nebraskas National Strategic Research Institute. Richard asked Congress to fill the gap with a missile equipped with a smaller atomic warhead that can be launched invisibly from a submarine. Skeptics waggishly call such tactical, or battlefield, nuclear weapons baby nukes because they arent as powerful as the city-destroying bombs that make up the U.S. and Russian air-land-sea nuclear triad. They do pack enough of a wallop, though, to destroy a military base or a small city, and leave behind a radioactive hellscape. Were still talking about a Hiroshima-style event, said Tyler White, director of the University of Nebraska-Lincolns national security program. The United States and the Soviet Union each fielded thousands of tactical nuclear weapons during the Cold War, in anticipation of fighting a land war in Europe. These included nuclear-tipped Tomahawk missiles, launchable from destroyers and attack submarines, along with cruise missiles and atomic artillery shells. In the early 1990s, President George H.W. Bush and his Russian counterparts signed a series of agreements to mothball or destroy most tactical nuclear weapons. Bush also promised to end production of long-range, sea-launched cruise missiles, and to never build new ones. They put them in storage, and they never left again, said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, a disarmament advocacy group. The U.S. has largely stuck to the agreements. Russia did, too, for a while. It stopped in the 2000s after Vladimir Putin took power, and after the U.S. and NATO intervened against its Serbian allies in the Balkans. After his election in 2008, President Barack Obama spoke movingly of someday eliminating all nuclear weapons, a view reflected in his 2010 Nuclear Posture Review. The same year, the U.S. and Russia ratified the New START Treaty, capping the number of strategic warheads at 1,550 for each side. President Obamas intent was to lead the world toward zero, Yeaw said. But no new treaty covered baby nukes. The Pentagon destroyed the last of the Navys Cold War-era sea-launched Tomahawks about 10 years ago. Then U.S.-Russia relations curdled in the wake of Russian-backed military actions in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The picture had darkened considerably by the time President Donald Trump launched his nuclear review. Putin had pulled out of a major arms agreement. He began rapidly upgrading Russias Soviet-era arsenal and announced plans to build several new nuclear weapon systems. By 2018, things didnt look so benign. You really had a degradation of the international environment, said Yeaw, one of the authors of that years Nuclear Posture Review. We really felt we had to rectify matters. With a 20-1 advantage in tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, Russia made use of battlefield nukes a part of its strategy. Putin calculated the U.S. wouldnt risk Armageddon by launching one of its big city-killing bombs in retaliation for a limited strike. Russia has invested a lot in these low-yield nuclear weapons, said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Its in their doctrine, escalate to de-escalate. Use it, and (the U.S.) will back off. To counter that threat Yeaw and his co-authors included two new types of tactical nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal: the W76-2 Trident submarine warhead, and the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear known as SLCM-N, or Slick-em. The W76-2 was quick and easy to deploy. It simply involved putting a smaller warhead on an existing Trident missile and deploying it on the same Ohio-class submarines in place of the larger missile. The SLCM-N, though, requires a brand-new design for both the missile and the warhead. The program is still in its infancy. Even if Congress moves ahead, it will not be ready for deployment before the 2030s. Its been funded as sort of a study project for a couple of years. But theyre not bending iron yet, Kristensen said. Bacon believes developing these weapons gives U.S. military commanders a tool they need, and sends an important message. It communicates to Russia that we can do the same thing, Bacon said. Were not trying to equal what theyve got. Were just trying to counter their threat. Still, outside the world of nuclear deterrence theory, it can be hard to fathom why the U.S. with more than 3,700 atomic weapons in its stockpile, according to Kristensens calculations needs to recreate a type it hasnt required for the past 30 years. Weve had overwhelming capability for decades, and were still going to have overwhelming capability, Kristensen said. Why the sky is suddenly falling, I dont know. He and White believe the U.S. could meet a tactical nuclear strike with a powerful non-nuclear counterpunch. And the unified European response to Russias invasion of Ukraine shows the value of strong allies. Do we need to come up with whole new nuclear weapons? I dont see the case for it, White said. Having a really formidable conventional capability is a bigger deterrent. NATO is a deterrent. Even in the progressive wing of the Democratic party, theres been little pushback against the growing defense budget except for spending on nuclear weapons. Still, Biden has mostly stuck with the bipartisan commitment to rebuilding Americas aged nukes. His 2023 blueprint proposes $50.9 billion in funding for StratComs arsenal ($7.7 billion more than last year), including $34.4 billion to modernize old weapons. Since taking command of StratCom in 2019, Richard has stressed the need to push ahead with the rebuild. Russia, he has warned, is several years ahead in its modernization push, and the discovery last year that China is building hundreds of missile silos in its northern desert only adds urgency. Any disruptions to programmed funding will ... increase strategic risk to the Nation, Richard wrote in his letter to the House committee leaders. White acknowledged Russias invasion of Ukraine has made opposition to nuclear spending a hard political sell right now. Congress has never been shy, throwing money at saving these systems, he said. If the administration is going to make a counter-proliferation argument, theyre swimming upstream. Bacon is more confident than ever that Republicans and centrist Democrats will unite to get Richard the nuclear funding he wants for StratCom including the Slick-ems. We have won every nuclear debate, even though were in the minority, he said. I think well end up prevailing. Q&A with Sal Khan Sal Khan: Test-Optional College Admissions Adds Ambiguity and is Bad for Students Founder of Khan Academy Discusses Equity in Education and Removing Barriers to the SAT Exam Sal Khan has opinions on education. Democratizing education is the cause hes rallied around since founding Khan Academy in 2008. Then working as a hedge fund analyst, Khan tutored his cousin in math and posted the videos he made to YouTube and so many people watched them that he decided to meet the apparent widespread need for free online instructional content. The nonprofit that grew out of his tutoring videos is Khan Academy, on a mission to provide learners of all ages with unlimited access to free educational content that students can master at their own pace. Its courses range from preschool basics to early college education, including math, grammar, biology, chemistry, physics, economics, finance, computer science, history, and more. Since 2015, Khan Academy has been home to the official SAT practice exam and free personalized SAT test prep, in partnership with the College Board. With the final SAT School Day of the 2021-2022 school year taking place today at high schools across the country, THE Journal asked Khan whether SAT exams will remain relevant now that some colleges and universities have made them optional, whether testing makes college admissions more or less equitable, and what additional changes he predicts and hopes to see that will make college education even more accessible for young Americans. THE Journal: Is the SAT still relevant, now that many colleges and universities have made test scores optional for admission? Sal Khan: When I talk to admissions officers, behind closed doors, they will tell you that making tests optional did not remove the need for them to get a signal of college readiness from applicants. The reality is that savvy students continue to submit their test scores, because savvy students know that test scores are one of the strongest signals of college readiness in a world where there's so much unstandardized information. Grades can vary, not just from school to school, they can vary from teacher to teacher. Recommendations are also highly, highly variable and really, to some degree, based on the art of the recommender, versus the capability of the student. For college application essays, we know that students get various degrees of help, and the people helping them have various degrees of institutional knowledge of what actually makes a great essay. So standardized tests have continued to be the clearest and most standardized and frankly, the hardest to game signal of the students readiness, and savvy families and students continue to submit them. At highly selective schools that went test-optional, the students who didnt submit scores but still got in would have needed some truly exceptional achievement on their application like winning national academic competitions that are much harder to achieve than getting a high standardized test score. During the pandemic, it made sense to have some flexibility, because it was hard for people to take these tests. But when you go test-optional, it actually significantly disadvantages the underserved communities. My family lived below the poverty line, and when I was a kid, if I knew the test was optional, that I could save $60 and not take this test, I probably would have skipped it. And then I would not have been able to compete with kids who who were savvy enough to take the test and do the work. When you take standardized tests out of the college admissions decisions, what's left are artifacts essays, recommendations, good grades from good schools that affluent and educated families can gain much, much better. So for those reasons, I think the SAT is still very relevant. THE Journal: Do you foresee a return to SAT requirements among higher ed institutions or do you think more institutions will make them optional for admission? Sal Khan: I think you're going to see the pendulum swing back to requiring SAT or ACT scores when people realize how inequitable it is by making it optional. Once again, all of the advantages stay with the affluent and the people with who know how to navigate the system. MIT just went back to testing being mandatory, and I think you're going to see more and more schools do that. Because all the data shows that it is an important part of the picture a clear indication of college readiness, which is about making sure that when they come in, that they're going to thrive, in whatever environment it is. So at a school like MIT, they're not doing anyone a favor if they admit someone who's not ready for that environment, because they might go and they might fail at MIT, when they could have gone to another very good engineering school and done just fine. The SAT is a key part of matching would-be students to opportunities that are more suited for them. Khan World School, in Partnership with Arizona State Prep School, Launching in Fall 2022 On Monday, the two-campus nonprofit Khan Lab School and free tutoring platform Schoolhouse.world announced it has partnered with ASU Prep Digital, an accredited K12 online charter school run by Arizona State University, to launch a new virtual full-time school called Khan World School @ ASU Prep that will be based on the principles of Khans 2012 book The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined. The new school launches with its first class of ninth-graders in Fall 2022, according to the news release; tuition is free for Arizona residents, $9,900 per year for students inside the U.S. but not Arizona residents, and $12,900 for students outside the U.S. THE Journal: What important changes have been made to the SAT in recent years? Sal Khan: In the last seven years, there have been significant changes. One was the removal of the SAT Words section, where I believe better scores correlated with wealth and family education. Now the only SAT words that are on the exam are words that you actually would use in college. So I think that's an improvement. Also, a lot of the trickiness of the SAT math section is not there anymore. Now, the exam really goes just into the basics of Algebra 2. If you have a solid foundation in Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 and geometry, every question in the math section is very, very doable. Another change is the scoring system doesnt penalize wrong answers anymore. And recently they've announced the digital SAT coming in the next couple of years, which will make the test more accessible for more people, and they're shortening the tests and so forth, which also will make it more accessible. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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 Lelanie Foster, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Congratulations to photographer Lelanie Foster (right), who was chosen to make the official White House portrait of newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. It unfolded extremely quickly for Foster. She had just completed a project photographing the Black women students at Harvard Law School, Justice Brown Jackson's alma mater, when she was chosen for the job. In fact, that project had been published at The New York Times only the day before. Being chosen was "a complete shock," Lelanie told The Cut, "and then everything kind of started to settle in, and I felt all the honor and gratitude. Then came the pressure of like, All right, get this shot. I started thinking about all the things that I wanted to say in the image and all the things that I wanted to portray in it. These things come together so quickly; its different from other shoots where you have so much planning involved. Like, when can I scout the White House? You know what I mean?" Just getting into the White House isn't easyshe said that process took two and a half hours. She played Sade for the shoot, because she finds it calming and "a nice vibe." Justice Brown Jackson not only approved, she even danced a little. The shoot was a family affairthe Justice's daughters helped critique and direct, looking at the computer monitor, and her husband was so moved he had tears in his eyes at one point. Lelanie had a generous 45 minutes to make the portrait. Asked what the Justice's confirmation meant to her, Foster told Ebony, "for me, its just incredibly empowering. Anytime we see a Black woman, in front and in these kinds of situations, it becomes incredibly affirming. For us to see them recognized, celebrated and honored is beautiful. For me to be just a piece of that and to have spent that time with Justice Brown Jackson in this moment that celebrates her is so special. I feel like I, too, am seen and heard in this way for such a positive reason. It makes me reflect on how important this is for all Black women to see these moments exist. Its encouraging." The website See in Black describes Foster as "a portrait photographer from the Bronx whose work is centered in honoring the strength and beauty of Black and brown people, particularly that of women. Her projects stretch across the commercial, fashion, documentary and art worlds. Fosters commissions include Nike, Hulu, The New York Times, Universal Pictures, BET, W Magazine, CR Fashionbook, and AnOther Magazine amongst others." And as for Lelanie Foster's aims for her portrait: "its always about dignity. Its always about poise. Its always about strength, regalness, and reflection. Thats always my guiding light when photographing us." The portrait was first revealed on Oprah's Instagram account and Beyonce's official website. Here's some more of Lelanie Foster's work, mixed with personal pictures, on Instagram. Mike Book o' the Week The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: a Calvin and Hobbes Treasury by Bill Watterson. I just read a dire, apocalyptic article about mental health during the pandemic, so I decided on trying an "off topic" book rec that is slightly lighter than our usual fare. If you don't appreciate it, don't worry, it's a blog. Something else will be along soon. New Gear Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.) Featured Comments from: darlene (partial comment): "I was taken back at first by the portrait, thinking it may have been a 'behind the scene' capture. Then a few days later and after I saw it is indeed the official portrait, I looked at it again, and I came back with a different feeling. Maybe you have to be a woman, or maybe you have to be from a minority that up until the recent past were probably passed over for a particular type of position or job title. I see layers in this portrait. Layers that represent getting to the next level. You will see something different for sure. Art is open to interpretation. Mine is definitely different from yours. I am female and I heard early in my career the guy gets paid more because he has a family to support. Thankfully today all the single mothers do not have to listen to that crap any longer. I think there is more meaning in this portrait than a lot of people will see. I see it for myself and I am happy the photographer and the subject are bold, beautiful and courageous enough to think outside the box. They had to be to get where they got!" The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. CARBONDALE Mourners from all across Carbondale gathered for a candlelight vigil to honor the two Salukis who died in a car accident Thursday morning. Vamshi Krishna Pechetty and Pavan Swarna, who were 23 and graduate students in computer science at SIU, left many members of the Saluki family heartbroken, according to Paul Frazier. "We've just been through a lot this year. It's been a really difficult time, Frazier, vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion, said. In our hearts that will never forget these young men. We'll forget what they meant to us. We will never forget what they meant to this campus that, this university and to our community. As we go forward and we try to remember these two young men, we must dwell on the good times that we have. Share those memories and treasure those members. As we think about him and his time passes, we'll never forget them in our hearts." Several faculty and friends of Swarna and Pechetty spoke about their fond memories with the two or what they would miss about them. Madison Lebegue was one of the ones who spoke. "This is the toughest thing I had to go through," Lebegue said. Pavan wasn't just someone I knew. I knew him like a brother. I'm never forgetting the last words he said to me. He called me little sister. I'm never forgetting that and hope you guys (never) forget his memories as well. Shreya Adabala also spoke about her connection and the character of the two who died. "It breaks my heart to stand and talk a bit about those we lost," Adabala said. " I can only say that they're going be in our hearts forever and then we cherish all the memories..." Another individual, Pranav Reddy Ala, also told the crowd about various fundraisers to help the families of those grieving and the other student who were involved. To donate to a fund to help Swarnas family go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-pavan-swarnas-family?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer. To donate to a fund to help one of the surviving Salukis go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-karthik-kakumanu?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1. The incident Five SIU students, two of whom are dead, were involved in a crash on Illinois Route 3 just north of McClure, according to the Illinois State Police and SIU Chancellor Austin Lane. We are heartbroken to learn of a tragic car accident that has taken the lives of two members of the Saluki family and injured three others, Lane said in a Facebook post. We send our condolences to the families. We are working to support the families during this incredibly difficult time. Our Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) team is available to help others who are impacted by this tragedy. Our thoughts and hearts are with these students and their loved ones. Pechetty and Swarna died because of the incident, Lane said. According to ISP, Marie A. Meunier, 32, of Cape Girardeau, also died. The following students were also involved in the accident: Kalyan Dorna, 24, of Carbondale, a graduate student in civil engineering Karthik Kakumanu, a graduate student in computer science Yaswanth Uppalapati, 23, a graduate student in computer science Meunier was traveling southbound on Route 3, just north of Old Cape Road in Union County and when she crossed the center line for unknown reasons, according to a news release from Illinois State Police. Her car struck the front of a second vehicle, driven by Swarna, according to ISP. The Union County coroner pronounced Meunier and Swarna dead on scene. All lanes have been reopened at the site of the accident, ISP said. No other information has been released at this time. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SANTEE The 1,324-acre South Carolina Gateway Logistics Park reached a new milestone on Monday as officials celebrated the completion of a 125,000-square-foot speculative building. This building marks a milestone for the development of the 6 million-square-foot industrial park, DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the speculative building. As one of the largest rail-served industrial parks in the state, the South Carolina Gateway will pave the way for new opportunities. The development will give customers access to a fully integrated park delivering significant benefits to the local community and enhancing the regional economy for years to come, he said. Dubai-based DP Worlds park is located in what Orangeburg County officials call the Global Logistics Triangle, which is the area bordered by Interstate 26, Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 301. The companys 125,000-square-foot spec building is an expandable Class A structure with tilt walls that can be subdivided for smaller users. The building sits on about 22 acres and is expandable to 159,200 square feet, according to marketing materials. The park's master plan projects upwards of 6.5 million square feet of building space. About 350 acres are currently available for sale or build-to-suit development. Company officials say the park can handle industrial, warehousing, manufacturing and ancillary services. Festival of Roses is back after two-year absence After a two-year absence due to the coronavirus, the Orangeburg Festival of Roses is back. In addition to the 125,000-square-foot building, there are also plans to build a 250,000-square-foot speculative building. Orangeburg County Council in April agreed to provide DP World with financial incentives to develop additional parcels for the future buildings. In the coming weeks, we will complete the transformation of the park into a multi-modal industry park shared by Orangeburg and Dorchester counties, Bin Sulayem said. We look forward to welcoming tenants that will be an asset to the county and the great state of South Carolina. In March 2022, Georgia-based Premium Peanut announced it would locate its peanut-shelling facility in the park. The company is building its own building. Tenants like Premium Peanut are just the beginning of this development that will attract many quality tenants, Bin Sulayem said. This will create many full-time jobs and enable the influx of capital that will benefit the community for years to come. Bin Sulayem said as, the global supply chain continues to face disruptions, multi-modal infrastructure is essential to address pressure points. We aim to provide our customers with options to streamline trade flow in and out of the region, he said. DP World operates in 60 countries with 93 terminals and ports from Australia all the way to Latin America and Europe. The company handles 71 million containers a year. Bin Sulayem specifically thanked Congressman James Clyburn, Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright and Orangeburg County Development Commission Chairman Kenneth Middleton for their support in helping to make the project a reality. As part of a welcoming gift, Orangeburg County officials presented Bin Sulayem with a South Carolina flag. Orangeburg County Councilman Johnny Ravenell said, Growth is upon us. We are grateful and proud because any time you have a building of this sort, that means there are more jobs for the people here, not only for the Santee area but surrounding areas as well. Middleton said the ribbon-cutting ceremony was only the beginning. Today is a shining example of hope for the future in struggling times. It is an example of how things should be and can be if we truly work together. We are all blessed to be a part of brighter futures for years and years and years to come, he said. Middleton also spoke of the importance of patience. This project will change lives for untold centuries. The best is yet to come, he said. Santee Mayor Donnie Hilliard said the development can only be a positive for the town of Santee. We look forward to a very prosperous future, Hilliard said. The Santee community, town council, the citizens are proud to see our family grow, Hilliard said. We are so excited to have the DP World team join the family. Orangeburg businessman Jim Roquemore, who sold the property for the project over 15 years ago, said former state Sen. John Matthews, D-Bowman, and current state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, encouraged him to buy the property. He did and the rest is history. He praised DP World for its patience. They have done a phenomenal job. It is first-class, of course everything they do is first class and we are glad to have them in Santee, he said. Sen. Vernon Stephens, D-Bowman, said, This is truly a dream come true. Think back to 2005 and 2006 when we started talking about the logistics triangle and the impact of that development on the eastern portion of Orangeburg County with close proximity to 95, 301 and 26. It is here to help economically the communities of eastern Orangeburg County. I see this as a win-win for everyone, he said. This is just the first step into many adventures we are going to have as far as economic development is concerned in rural Orangeburg County, Stephens said. State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said I am just thrilled to be here to see this come to fruition. There have been a lot of conversations over the years about this particular site and I am hopeful that people will see this ribbon-cutting as the promise of what is to come. "Orangeburg County, especially the eastern end of Orangeburg County, is especially hot right now," Cobb-Hunter continued. "I am just thrilled to see this kind of development come to Orangeburg County and especially to eastern Orangeburg County." S.C. Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III said, Being ready for prospective industry is key to sustained economic development success, and this new speculative building positions Orangeburg County for the future. We appreciate DP Worlds commitment to the project and look forward to the positive impact of this development throughout the community. Premium Peanut President and CEO Karl Zimmer praised the country of Dubai for its innovation. In a very short period of time, Dubai has become truly a center of global trade as Dubai and DP World, Zimmer said. To accomplish these things takes vision, takes passion, dedication, patience, and that is what DP World has. That is why Premium Peanut is so proud to be a partner with DP World in this site. Premium Peanut has many of those characteristics as well. Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson noted that Orangeburg County has 11 industrial parks. This is going to be one of the absolute biggest you will see anywhere with over 1,300 acres, he said. Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said, The County of Orangeburg is delighted about the new speculative building launch, and this economic development reflects County Councils vision to make development in our community a reality. Central SC Alliance Chairman Keller Kissam said, DP World is partnering with an expansive business community in the county and bringing fresh opportunities for local workers. DP World Americas, a subsidiary of Dubai World, is the property owner. DP World was originally founded in the 1970s as a terminal logistics company, but in recent years has focused on parks and logistics in an effort to complement its terminal operations. DP World purchased the Orangeburg County property in 2006. According to an OCDC flyer, about 806 acres of the site can be developed. Land at the site is valued at $18,000 to $30,000 an acre, according to the OCDC flyer. The site has power through Tri-County Electric Cooperative, natural gas from Dominion, water from the Lake Marion Regional Water System, sewer service from Orangeburg County/Santee, telecommunications through Verizon and Frontier and fire protection from the Santee Fire Service and Orangeburg County Fire Service. The site also has access to CSX rail. 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. DENMARK Congressman James E. Clyburn will deliver the commencement address when approximately 95 students graduate from Voorhees University. The commencement convocation will be held in the Leonard E. Dawson Center at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 7. The overflow space will be the Massachusetts Hall auditorium. Clyburn is the majority whip and the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves as chairman of the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, the Rural Broadband Task Force and the Democratic Faith Working Group. Representing the sixth congressional district of South Carolina, Clyburn has served in Congress since 1993. He has served as co-president of his congressional freshman class, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, vice chairman and later chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, majority whip and assistant democratic leader. The Sumter native is a graduate of South Carolina State University. His memoir, Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black, was published in 2015. He is the father of three daughters and a grandfather of four. He and his late wife, Emily England Clyburn, were married 58 years. Prior to the commencement convocation, a baccalaureate service will be Friday, May 6, at 6 p.m. in St. Philips Chapel on the Voorhees University Campus. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Police are asking for the publics help finding a missing mother, according to the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety. Tiara Schneider, 31, picked up her children from her mothers home on March 16. She then dropped them off at her nephews birthday party, an incident report said. No one in the missing womans family has seen her since. The missing womans mother is taking care of the children. Schneider previously worked at McDonalds, located at 706 John C. Calhoun Drive in Orangeburg. Her mother told investigators on Monday that the missing woman drives a bluish green Chevrolet Cobalt with a Delaware license plate. The front passenger window is broken, according to her mother. Schneider moved to Orangeburg from Delaware around July or August of 2021, her mother said. Schneider has light skin, weighs approximately 160 pounds and stands 5-foot-7. She has brown eyes and black hair. If anyone has information about Schneiders whereabouts, they are asked to call the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety at 803-534-2812. Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 7 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. Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College Area Commission members learned last week that several campus projects are moving forward. OCtech Vice President of Finance Kim Huff reported that the states Joint Bond Review Committee approved phase 2 of the Building K renovation project. Mechanical and electrical upgrades, including HVAC replacements, are among the work to be done at the Health Sciences Building. Building K was built in 1987. Repurposed space will create the opportunity for amenities such as study rooms. The college is waiting until it has a better understanding of how much it will receive from the state before it signs any contracts, Huff said The college is also waiting to proceed with the renovation of Building Ss downstairs into a student learning/commons area until it finds out what kind of money would be available for renovations and projects. Plans for the transfer of the machine tool program to Building T, with the help of $2 million in state funds, could be approved soon by the Office of State Engineer. We may be able to advertise for a contractor within the next couple of weeks for Building T. What that means is for our next meeting in May, I'll be coming back to you with a request for what we think that project's going to cost us, Huff said. The Office of State Engineer is also considering the replacement of the colleges digital sign and that could be going out for bid in the next two to three weeks as well, he said. Huff and OCtech Physical Plant Director James Bryant have also compiled list of deferred maintenance items around the campus. Theres some deferred maintenance or renovation money from the state. So we're trying to go through and prioritize that list. We may even get some help from a mechanical firm to help us assess some of the equipment and its conditions and decide what might need to be first on the list, Huff said. Huff also gave a March financial report. We have begun to register for summer and fall. So tuition numbers have changed a little maybe from last month, but it's really too early to know what our summer numbers are going to look like at this point, Huff said. The colleges continuing education department is showing a profit of around $80,000, he said. The college feels positive about its current years budget because of federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund funding. We do feel OK about our current year budget as of June 30. What we don't know is how much of that money will get carried over to next year. We know that some of it will. I'm hoping that it's enough that if we can make some enrollment improvements and have that HEERF money that even next year our budget can be OK, Huff said. That'll give us a little time to try to address growing our enrollment. That's not something we have to do. Even though (President Dr. Walter Tobin) has a goal for the fall, we might have a little bit of extra time with the HEERF money that's left over to try to hit that, he said. The college reported revenue of $17.8 million at the end of March, with expenses standing at $14.7 million. Tuition dollars have been covering shortfalls in funding the college has received from Orangeburg and Calhoun counties. "Our counties over the last few years have not really changed the amount that they give us each year. Of course, expenses in the physical plant area go up every year, salaries go up, maintenance contracts, vendors that we use, Huff said. Student services OCtech Vice President for Student Services Sandra Davis reported that the college is planning end-of-semester activities to be held April 26-28 in advance of final exams the following week. We have a number of activities planned with the students and the campus community in mind. We want our students to de-stress for success on their exams, Davis said. The college will have candle making on Tuesday and food truck vendors from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 behind buildings S and K. We'll give each person one ticket for a food truck of their choice. Because we've kind of pooled resources together, we're able to offer this for the entire campus community. Then on Thursday were going back to some board games just in an effort to try to get students to relax a little, she said Davis also reported that student registration for summer and fall terms continues, with summer classes slated to start on May 16. In upcoming events, two spring graduations will be held Tuesday, May 10 in Building R. One ceremony will be held at 3 p.m., with another to follow at 5 p.m. Resolution Commissioners updated the South State Bank banking resolution so that an employee from the colleges Information Technology department has access to the colleges safe deposit box. Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD. 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. Daily life of straight-A twin brothers in NW China's Xinjiang People's Daily Online) 17:00, April 25, 2022 Adilijiang and Amierjiang are twin brothers from the city of Korla, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The brothers both got straight A's in school and have excelled in recitation contests and speech contest in their classes. Want to know what their daily life is like? Click on the video to find out. (Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun) BEIRUT Weapons were seized on the Lebanon-Israel border Monday after the Israeli army spotted an unspecified number of people approaching Israeli territory from the Lebanese side of the security fence separating the two states, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a tweet Tuesday. Heres what we know: The Israeli army has spotted suspects approaching Israeli territory at the security fence from the Lebanese side, Adraee said in his tweet. They then called the security forces who found two weapons and nearly a hundred grenades, Adraee added. We will continue to work against any attempt to violate Israels sovereignty and acts of sabotage or smuggling from the Lebanese border, he added. The seizure took place as tension rose between the two countries over the weekend after a rocket was launched toward Israel from Lebanon. The Israeli army responded to the rocket attack by firing more than 20 shells into Lebanese territory. No casualties were reported. On Monday, the Israeli army announced that it had identified a member of a drug and arms trafficking gang on the Lebanon-Israel border, and claimed the individual is affiliated with Hezbollah. Clad in a tucked-in collared shirt and slacks, Seth Clingan filled out his very first job application: a part-time position at Johnny Js Diner. He joined dozens of other job hunters at Casper Colleges spring job fair Tuesday morning. Some 70 businesses, many of them local, had set up booths there. Clingans interested in being an engineer one day, though hes not sure what kind yet. For now, he just needs something to help pay for his car when he starts driving. Everyones been really kind, Mary Clingan, his mom, said. Lots of information. Things were different when she was applying for her first job. She recalled going door-to-door to different businesses, and filling out hundreds of paper applications. The fair was a joint effort by Casper College, the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services and the Natrona County School District. One of the main goals of the fair is to help young people prepare for employment, said Meri Thompson, manager of the departments Casper and Douglas work centers. Even if theyre not ready to apply for jobs, getting exposure to local opportunities helps them plan ahead. Back in 2019 the last time the job fair took place they were able to bus students from Natrona County High School over to the college. Not many high schoolers could make it Tuesday, Thompson said. But organizers had virtual meet-and-greet sessions lined up, so that even people who cant make it in person could take advantage of the event. Though part of the event was targeted toward Wyomings younger crowd, anyone looking for a job was welcome. Since the middle of 2021, people have been leaving their jobs in droves what many have nicknamed the great resignation. Reasons for leaving range: Workers say they arent making enough money, or their schedules arent flexible enough, or their workplace isnt safe or theyre burning out. In some cases, people took advantage of pandemic-related disruptions to switch into careers that fit their interests better, said Thompson. In others, companies have been left with open positions because their older employees are retiring. Regardless, hard-to-fill vacancies have been a pattern across countless industries, including the service, education, health care and government sectors. Wyoming hasnt been spared. State data shows residents have been leaving their jobs at unusually high rates since the start of the pandemic, Wyofile reported earlier this year. Thats challenged companies to step up their game, Thompson said. Many are raising wages, expanding benefits, letting employees work flexible hours and granting more time off. Knife River, a materials and construction company, is hiring for a number of positions: labor jobs, drivers, oilers and machinery operators. Work at Knife River has been pretty steady throughout the pandemic, said April Cotton, an office manager at the company. It didnt face the same disruptions other industries did. Since the pandemic, the companys hired on a lot more people coming straight out of oil work and restaurant jobs. A lot of people are looking for something stable, she said. Cotton said Knife River provides a lot of on-the-job training for newcomers to the industry. As long as a prospective employee is willing to pick up new skills, the company is glad to work with them, she said. If students are looking for career help, they can check out the college and career counseling resources available at their school, Thompson said. Those who want assistance practicing interviews or putting together a resume can also schedule an appointment with Caspers Workforce Center by calling 307-234-4591 or stop by the office at 444 W. Collins Drive. 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. Casper City Council members will decide today whether to spend $8 million on a downtown office building to serve as the citys new police station. The transition to the new space, including renovations, is expected to take two to three years if approved during tonights special meeting. A city memo says the deal is expected to close on Friday with the councils approval. It also includes the covered parking garage attached to the office building. Right now, the city pays around $250,000 in rent on multiple police buildings, including the main office, dispatch center and evidence storage. About half of that money goes to the county for use of the first floor and part of the basement of the Hall of Justice on David Street, which also houses the Natrona County Sheriffs Office. The city expects the new buildings operating costs to add up to $200,000 for the first year under city ownership, but a memo estimates that rent collected from existing tenants in the same period should cover that cost. For comparison, the department spends over $8 million a year in salaries. City records show around $400,000 went to officer overtime in 2020, and roughly $350,000 was spent on overtime plus $255,000 for holiday pay last year. The buildings $8 million price tag will be covered by the citys $9,115,340 in American Rescue Plan money. So far, Casper has received half of its allocation, and City Manager Carter Napier said the rest should arrive sometime in May. The city hasnt spent any of that money yet. Napier said the city looked at around 15 other buildings and had turned its focus to building a new facility before considering the Casper Business Center. The office building, which sits on the corner of First and David streets, wasnt on the market, but Napier said the option came up during a breakfast with Wyoming Financials Bob Moberly. Building an entirely new structure would have likely cost between $45 and $50 million, Napier said. And construction costs are only going up. The city allotted more than $3 million for station design in its capital planning budget for this year, but Napier said the design will likely come in around $1.5 million. Its being done by an out-of-state contractor that specializes in police buildings, but will likely be using local labor. Additional renovation costs will be discussed in future budgets, Napier said, once the design is finalized. Police have long complained of crowded, outdated quarters in the current facility, and say that having dispatch and evidence in separate buildings means operations arent as efficient as they could be. The eight-floor facility should eventually hold all police employees under one roof, Napier said, as well as Caspers municipal court. He expects the building to last 40 years after renovations are complete. Police Chief Keith McPheeters and spokesperson Rebekah Ladd could not comment by press time Monday, Ladd said. The buildings height its one of the tallest in Casper also makes it ideal for telecommunications, like those needed for dispatching officers. The city will potentially lease access to cell phone companies and others looking for tower height in the area, Napier said. The deal has been in the works for about a year, said Kyle Ridgeway, COO of Wyoming Financial Group (or WERCS). For around nine months, he said, the city was inspecting and evaluating the space. There are fewer than a dozen offices left in the building, Ridgeway said, including Wells Fargo, Mountain West Technologies, a financial advisory group and several law offices. At least half of the space sits vacant. Ridgeway said most current tenants are on month-to-month leases. According to Napier, the longest lease active in the building is set to expire next July. Mountain West Technologies, an internet and phone company based in the building, will lease a small space in the basement and part of the fourth floor for around five years while transitioning its infrastructure to a new facility, Napier said. There will be overlap with police employees moving in, he said, to make sure the companys customers dont lose service. Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The clock struck high noon, and a stampede of high school students descended upon Caspers Ford Wyoming Center each hunting for just the right spot to show off their art for the next three days. The ritual kicked off the Wyoming High School Art Symposium, an annual convention run by the Wyoming Secondary Art Educators Association. High schoolers get kudos for their hard work, and a chance to spend half a week with fellow artists from across the state, said Shanoa Gardiner, president of the educators association. This years symposium had somewhere between three to four thousand pieces from 75 schools, Gardiner estimated. Gardiner teaches art at Mountain View High School in southwest Wyoming. The goal of the event is to show off a diverse, inclusive portrayal of what high school art looks like, she said. It doesnt matter if youre a small, rural alternative school, or one with more than 1,500 kids, like Natrona County High School, Gardiner said. During the event, students can enter their art for awards, and interview to win one of six higher education scholarships. But theres more to it than that the symposium organizes workshops and networking opportunities for students and teachers, and draws representatives from colleges all around Wyoming. Its a lot to squeeze into three weekdays. How do they do it all? It takes a lot, Gardiner said, her voice dropping to just above a whisper. Students and teachers interviewed by the Star-Tribune called the symposium a source of inspiration for high school artists. Theres a certain creative energy in the air, said Shannon Borrego, an art teacher from Jackson Hole High School. And that can be powerful, she said. When she and her students entered the arena Wednesday, she noticed one looked a little dazed. Are you OK? Borrego asked. Fine, the student answered just awestruck by the scale of everything. The symposium opened to the public Thursday and Friday. At least a hundred students, teachers and parents took their ease in the arena seats. They peered down on the fair like it was a fish bowl, making the jungle of tables and dividers and the people meandering among them feel like one big art project. Because students pick where to hang up their work, there was no guessing what youd find around the corner. Charcoal drawings, digital animation and ceramic tea seats were just a few paces from each other. A gaggle of friends crowded around a panel smack-dab in the middle of the arena. One of the group let out a gasp. Thats sick, she said, gesturing to a sketch of a praying mantis. Or maybe she was looking at the piece right next to it, a work of charcoal and alcohol ink titled The Silent Corridor. It showed a long, sterile hallway with a haunting air to it like the basement of an old office building, or hospital or laboratory. Elsewhere in the crowd, Emilee Watson a junior at Laramie High School explored the exhibition with her sisters, Chloe and Claire. Watsons thinking about becoming an art teacher after she graduates. She looks up to her instructors back home, she said. If you have an idea, theyll help you, Watson said. Angel Vigil and her friends, Sunny Butterfield and Bethany Pope each from Buffalo High School said they were taken in by how many powerful, deeply personal pieces were on display. Check out Brewed Beauty on the other side of the arena, they insisted a portrait of a robed woman breastfeeding her child. The piece, painted entirely with coffee, is the work of Star Valley High School student Maddy Brown. Perusing the art just a few paces away was Rafael Villa and Karter Jenkins, also from Star Valley High. Villa remembers seeing Brewed Beauty when it was still in progress. It turned out really clean, he said. Villa and Jenkins said they planned to use the rest of the symposium to sharpen their skills, gain exposure to different styles and talk art with friends. Villa was even able to reconnect with a buddy he made at last years symposium. I called him up and asked him if he was going to be there, he said. Connections like those help high schoolers push themselves as artists, Villa said. And keeps everyone looking forward to next year. 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. With the 2022 midterm elections approaching, almost all of Natrona County's legislative delegation told the Star-Tribune they plan to run for reelection. Only one challenger has so far announced his candidacy. Casper Reps. Steve Harshman, Tom Walters, Joe MacGuire, Chuck Gray and Pat Sweeney all said they plan to run again. Additionally, Rep. Kevin O'Hearn, R-Mills, said he'll "most likely" run again. In the other chamber, Casper Sens. Bill Landen and Drew Perkins said they also plan to run again. No challengers have announced their intentions outside of Bob Ide, who told the Star-Tribune on Tuesday that he plans to run as a Republican for Senate District 29, which has historically been Perkins' district. Ide, whose politics are farther to the right than the incumbent, ran against Perkins in 2014 and lost by a mere 39 votes or 1.4%. Casper Sens. Jim Anderson Charlie Scott are not up for reelection this year. Rep. Jerry Obermueller, R-Casper, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, said he is not ready to announce his intentions. Lawmakers recently redrew Wyoming's legislative map as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process. Despite big changes to Natrona County's districts in the reapportionment process, all lawmakers still live in their respective districts. Liberty's Place 4 U Wyoming is a group formed in response to concerns over the direction of the Natrona County GOP, which tends to lean more traditional conservative with less reliance on allegiance to Trumpism. The organization is looking to recruit "liberty minded" candidates in Natrona's legislative districts. "Most difficult is that price to unseat the incumbent," Mike Pyatt, one of the leading members of the group, said in a text message. "In this county it will be about $40-50k to be competitive. Then the passion to run hard." Fellow members of his group requested that Pyatt, a former Mills town councilman, run against Landen, but he declined. "4 year term is rather optimistic at my age," he said. Beyond Senate District 27, Pyatt declined to say which districts the group is focusing on. On the other side of the aisle, the Democratic Party says it has been experiencing more trouble recruiting this year than in the past because of the increase in vitriol and threats. The main concern potential candidates ask about is personal safety if they run as a Democrat. This was not a trend in years past, said Sarah Hunt, executive director for the state Democratic Party. Just recently, a county Democratic Party chairwoman and single mom received a package on her front door that called her a "crazy liberal" and contained red, white and blue confetti with Donald Trump memorabilia in it. "When you're a single mom or ... have small children there, that stuff's concerning," said Nina Hebert, communications director for the Wyoming Democrats. In previous years, the Democrats would have already announced candidates for the seats months in advance, but none are slated yet. The party is recruiting a Democrat to run in all of Natrona County's districts, but they're most focused on House District 57. "People are more interested in challenging Chuck Gray than other districts," Hebert said. Still, no challenger has been announced. Gray was the sponsor of the Voter ID bill that passed in the 2021 session and has been a leader on a number of successful pro-life measures. There is unfinished business, Gray said in a press release. We need to control the growth of government. More challengers will likely throw their hat in the ring in the next couple weeks, as candidate filings officially open on May 12 and close on May 27. The primary is Aug. 16, and it feature one of the nation's biggest congressional races between Rep. Liz Cheney and the Trump-endorsed lawyer Harriet Hageman. The race is likely to drive up voter turnout, which will in turn boost voter turnout in down-ballot races like the statehouse. Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis Love 0 Funny 1 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. College Boy Jesse (Jesse Stewart) is the new leadeer of the legendary D All Starz soca band. Jesse, the 2020 International Soca Monarch (Groovy), will fill the void left by his late cousin, soca icon Blaxx (Dexter Stewart) on the legendary Roy Cape-founded bands frontline. Blaxx, a huge supporter of Jesses relatively young career, passed away from Covid-19 on March 28. Not only do young people emphasize selfhood and interests, but also attach great importance to the harmonious relationship between work, life, and family. Fifty-six new professions, such as electronic data forensics analyst and carbon emission administrator, have been included in Chinas occupational classification system since 2019, providing diverse employment opportunities for young people. They are looking to forge their own path in the changing job market. All about Passion According to Lu Zeqian, a 28-year-old Passion Test facilitator, loving what you do is a crucial factor for young peoples job selection, and she is a good case in point. Following her parents wishes, Lu worked in a bank in her hometown after graduating from college. Surprisingly, she quit her golden job after just half a month. My home is in a small town, and it doesnt even have a coffee house I like, let alone a book club, she said. Being inexperienced and uncertain, the young Lu was confused. Passion Test, helping people discover what their passion is in life, has a history in the U.S. of more than 30 years. Lu took the plunge and decided to take the test. After prioritizing my life, I discovered that I have a great passion for brand marketing, she said. Since then, Lu has not only seen exponential development in her career, but also gone on to become a certified Passion Test facilitator herself. A facilitator will help others find their preferred employment choices, and simultaneously I will understand more about how to live in my passion, which benefits others as well as myself, she said. Sun Na is one of Lus clients. In her early 30s, Sun was tired of her boring work in a public institution. However, because of her lack of professional skills and physically not in good shape after giving birth, she was anxious and confused about her future life. With Lus help, Sun chose to follow her heart and began doing interesting things with friends, living a more comfortable lifestyle, learning more about the true meaning of life and going on spontaneous trips. These seemingly simple passions awoke Suns most authentic self. She focused on organizing her own life, starting in her home, and then sharing the process of home organizing online. This indirectly changed the relationships of those around her as they also began organizing their own homes and lives better. Through this transformation, Sun has achieved better time management and body management, and become more confident and assertive. Today, she has become a local influential organizer, and is often invited to give talks online and offline on the subject, realizing her passion. To date, Lu has provided counseling to more than 200 cases and successfully helped many people discover what they love in life, which has allowed her to witness the huge energy contained in passion. An undergraduate taking an exam of e-commerce live broadcast vocational skills in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province on May 8, 2020. Finding Yourself Livestream salesperson Zhang Zhe admitted frankly that he chose to get into livestreaming because he was optimistic about the industrys prospects. It had nothing to do with being enthusiastic about the business. I am a person who lives in the moment. Society changes, and so do I. There is always a way that suits me and allows me to make continuous progress, said Zhang, who was born in the 2000s. His attitude towards work may represent the way some young people choose their careers. In recent years, the wide application of AI (artificial intelligence) technology has produced a new profession of AI trainer. In 2019, a recruitment advert pulled post-90s Hui Jianbin into the industry. Hui was unemployed and decided to give it a try. After receiving training from the company, Hui got a deeper understanding of what the profession entailed. An AI trainer helps AI understand pictures, audio, text, and other content, so that it can be quickly identified. For example, an app that helps garbage classification can identify the type of garbage by taking pictures. In the initial stage, it relies on AI trainers to label pictures of garbage, such as glass bottles and plastic cans, which is part of the iterative training of machine intelligence. Because of his outstanding performance, Hui was promoted to the position of business administrator. In addition to mentoring the companys AI trainers, he is also involved in training new employees. This profession suits my life rhythm, and it also gives me a great sense of accomplishment, he said. The recognition obtained at work makes him feel that his efforts are meaningful. There is a huge shortage of AI trainers, and there are also high requirements for trainers. I will continue to hone and improve my work skills in the future, and lead the team to do a good job, he said. During Chinas Two Sessions in 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League submitted a proposal on Promoting the Growth and Development of New Professional Youth. Recent survey results show that the most important factor for youth to choose their current jobs is hobbies and interest, accounting for 23 percent. Development space and being able to show ones talents are also at the forefront. Zhu Di, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who participated in the study behind this proposal, believes that contemporary young people, especially the post-95s and post-00s, are not facing difficulties in finding employment, but in choosing a career. They are more willing to experience more choices rather than grabbing a stable job. The employment is now more flexible and covers various fields like food delivery, livestream sales, and hi-tech practitioners. Young people not only focus on themselves and their interests, they also attach great importance to the harmonious relationship between work, life, and family. The flexible employment mode of new occupations and their close connection with life are more in line with the needs of young people, said Zhu. Lu Zeqing (front center) is passionately sharing with students about the Passion Test. New Opportunities According to the 2020 College Student Employability Report jointly released by the China Institute for Employment Research at Renmin University of China and Zhaopin.com (a leading career development platform in China), college graduates are more attracted to new economic sectors. Working as a livestream salesperson is one of the popular options. Although it was officially included in the new profession as the Internet marketer in June 2020, the occupation has been popular for a long time. According to Gao Wenjun, an associate researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, livestream salespeople rely on relatively mature e-commerce platforms and the stable live broadcast industry. It is therefore easy to form a professional and standardized development path. Meanwhile, they are also faced with the homogenization of livestreaming content and the need of professional training. Insight China magazine released the Top 100 Live E-Commerce Performance Counties in China list in February 2021, and Yiwu ranked first. Yiwu has a high standard for the development of the livestreaming industry, said Qiu Yang, director of the e-commerce teaching and research section of Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College. He said that to comply with social needs, the college opened a livestreaming program in 2017. The courses cover product designing, short video shooting, script production, live broadcast skills, and effect monitoring to comprehensively cultivate students relevant skills. In May 2020, entrusted by the Zhejiang Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Department, the college developed professional assessment specifications and question banks for e-commerce live broadcasts. The first batch of 19 students obtained the e-commerce livestreaming professional certificate. The next month, the college established a livestreaming e-commerce school. Graduating with a major in e-commerce, Zhang Zhe became one of the first batch of students of this school. The training camp co-founded by the school and the 1688.com platform created a good opportunity for him to put into practice what he had learned. Zhang sold nearly RMB 300,000 of goods for three consecutive days. The competition for e-commerce live broadcasts is fierce. The experience gained in school has exposed me to a lot of insights in a short period of time, which has given me a big advantage, said Zhang. Qiu Yang said that the training camp is one of the ways of school-enterprise cooperation to cultivate livestreaming talent. Through the integration of resources from both sides, win-win results for the school, enterprise, and students can be achieved. In addition, the school actively carries out cooperation with partners in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan to build a broader platform for students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the school built a cloud platform for young people in Zhejiang and Taiwan. In 2020, a total of 1,069 youth from Taiwan were organized online and offline to participate in activities including the Zhejiang and Taiwan Student Entrepreneurship Cloud Class and the fifth Yiwu-Taiwan E-commerce Workshop. The college has become an important stage for young people to build their dreams, and has won many honors. The e-commerce environment in Yiwu has been maintained relatively well, and many emerging things are easier to develop here, said Qiu Yang. He said the Yiwu government has formulated a series of live streaming policies in recent years to support industrial development and provide a lot of support in talent training. As long as you have paid into social security in Yiwu, you can participate in the vocational ability certificate training for free, and the government will give each person a subsidy of RMB 980. To date, 21 sessions of live streaming e-commerce training have been conducted, and more than 810 people have obtained the vocational certificate. Su Ke, a cartoon fan and animation exhibition planner, tutoring students in his studio in Qingdao on June 8, 2021. Guarantee Needed Lu Zeqian has her own theories about the risk of reduced social identity after resignation. Most people care about the issue of a decent job, but in fact, behind the appearance of decency are numerous contraditions and fierce competition, and more people are concerned about self-recognition. Sun Na said that her parents have seen positive changes in her such as closer relationships with family members, and they are quite supportive of her turning to a new career. Unfortunately, Lu Zeqian and Sun Na are only the lucky few. According to Zhu Di, from the survey results, most young people in new occupations have a relatively high degree of professional identity, while that of their family members towards their new profession are relatively low. This shows that the social environment and social recognition of new occupations have not yet been established. Hobbies at a higher level can also be used to survive. We should not be biased against this (emerging professions), said Zhu. According to Zhu, because of the temporary imperfection of business development, the salary of some new professions is not as good as that of other industries. We should increase our efforts to continuously promote the development and improvement of new business modes through innovation, so that young people can not only follow their interests and aspirations, but also have better welfare, he said. In 2020, documents such as the Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Supporting Flexible Employment through Multiple Channels and the Action Plan for Skill Training for Millions of Youth were issued to help protect the employment rights and interests of young people in new occupations. Zhu Di said that the continuous announcement of new occupations by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security is an affirmation of progress in this area. Local governments have also taken practical actions to provide better labor protection and security for people in new occupations. She believes that this is a big challenge for governments at all levels, and also a big step forward. The differences of new occupations are quite large. We call on the government and all sectors of society to continue to pay attention to the needs of practitioners and protect their rights and development, said Zhu. The two separate cases of teenaged girls who went missing last week and were found in shacks Two local shelters are staging Mothers Day-themed fundraisers that offer the opportunity to purchase gifts with extra kick the ability to help homeless women and men. First up is the Love is the Answer online auction, which opens Thursday, April 28, at loveistheanswer.givesmart.com and continues through May 1. The virtual auction benefits Sister Jose Womens Center, a shelter dedicated to serving homeless women. We are the only womens shelter that accepts women and their pets, and that is a big deal for them. Many women will stay on the streets if they cant bring their pets with them, and that is so dangerous. The number of assaults on homeless women is sad and shocking, said Nicola Hartmann, chief operations officer. Founded in 2009, the shelter serves women ages 18 and older and houses up to 40 homeless women and their pets nightly; it also offers day services such as showers, laundry, meals and other resources on site at 1050 S. Park Ave. Additionally, the center will offer a summer cooling station beginning May 2 to provide shade, air conditioning and cold drinks from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday for women and their pets in need of respite from the heat. An average of 70 women each day utilize services at the center. Hartmann said that the numbers continue to increase and that rising rents are resulting in more elderly and first-time homeless women on the streets. Many of these people are on fixed incomes and they have been evicted. We had one woman in a wheelchair with her cat who is in her late 70s. It is so sad. People show up with everything they have and just dont know what to do. This is a time in life when they should be relaxing and they have to worry about where they are going to stay and where they will end up, said Hartmann. Hartmann hopes that promoting awareness about both the upcoming fundraiser about the center itself will result in answers to the problem of homelessness. We are always trying to get the word out so people know what we are doing and understand the plight of these women who are often hidden in the community. When you see homeless people, you are more likely to see men; women hide more because they fear for their safety, said Hartmann. Art show The community at St. Francis Shelter stfrancisshelteraz.com is also working to support the indigent with outreach and events such as the Mothers Day Art Show from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at the St. Francis Community, 601 E. Fort Lowell Rd. There is a beautiful courtyard in the center of the grounds where the art show will take place. Mothers Day weekend is a great time to buy art and the artists have agreed to donate a percent of sales to St. Francis Shelter because it is such a good cause. This helps everyone, said Karen Smith, coordinator of the event and a member of the board of directors for St. Francis Shelter. The shelter and food pantry is operated by a community of seven formerly homeless men that provide a variety of ministries. The shelter, which was formerly located at the inactive school on the grounds of Sacred Heart Church at 601 E. Fort Lowell Road., housed up to 100 homeless men nightly before COVID-19 forced its closure in 2020. The nonprofit has since relocated to the inactive convent on the parish grounds and remodeled the space to provide limited housing for the St. Francis community. It also operates The All Saints House, which provides temporary housing, food, laundry, and amenities for homeless men. Additionally, it is exploring possibilities for a new winter shelter in partnership with the city of Tucson, according to CEO Carl Zawatski. Other ministries include a twice-weekly food pantry from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays on the grounds of Sacred Heart Church. The food pantry offers free food boxes with meat, fresh vegetables, dairy, nonperishables and other items to anyone in need with no screening necessary. The ministries are a labor of humanitarian love for those most in need, according to Zawatski. We know that lives are saved by the work we do and we hope to have another shelter up by winter. We can use all the help we can get with that, whether through financial donations, volunteering, or a new building. There is lots of work that goes into a shelter, said Zawatski. Contact freelance writer Loni Nannini at ninch2@comcast.net If you go Shop for mom and give back What: Love is the Answer video presentation and online auction When: Online auction begins April 28 and continues through May 1. Video presentation begins at 3 p.m. May 1 Where: Register online at loveistheanswer.givesmart.com Cost: Participation in the auction and viewing of the video presentation are free; $100 per person for a VIP Celebrate Love ticket, which includes delivery of your choice of a box of red, white or sparkling wine and gourmet popcorn delivered to your door. Tributes and sponsorships are also available. Note: Festivities include a video presentation at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 1, featuring an inside look Sister Jose Womens Center and its dedication to compassion, dignity and respect for homeless women. The event also features a silent auction that begins April 28 and continues through May 1, with all proceeds benefiting the shelter. For information or to make a donation, visit www.srjosewomensshelter.org/spring2022/ or contact Brenda Druke at bdruke@sisterjose.org or (520) 909-3905. Mothers Day Art Show to Benefit St. Francis Community When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 7. Where: In the courtyard at St. Francis Community, 601 E. Fort Lowell Road. Notes: Festivities include an art show featuring original paintings, multimedia pieces and sculptures by local artists; a percentage of proceeds benefit St. Francis Community ministries to aid homeless men. The St. Francis Community Gift Shop will be be open during the event. For information or to make a donation at stfrancisshelteraz.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 local store that is affiliated with the United Nations Association has donated $200,000 to UNICEF, with the funds earmarked for relief efforts in Ukraine. The United Nations Association of Southern Arizona Center and Gift Store donated $40,000 to relief efforts and that was matched up to five times by an anonymous donor bringing the total donation to $200,000. The original donation, which represents the stores largest one-time donation, was raised through store sales and private donations. Now, perhaps more than ever in recent history, donations to UNICEF are critically needed, said Phyllis Woods, president of the local associations board. We are so grateful to our customers for their generous support of the store as well as to individuals who have made outright donations for this UNICEF gift earmarked for Ukrainian aid. The center and gift store, at 6242 E. Speedway Blvd. in the Monterey Shopping Center, marks its 47th year as a United Nations Associations chapter store. Since its founding in 1975, the center has donated more than $2 million to UNICEF. The center operates under a charter with the United Nations Association, an arm of the United Nations. The Southern Arizona chapter is one of more than 200 UNA chapters nationwide. Of those chapters, only three operate a gift store, with the store in Tucson being the largest. The store exhibits and sells folk arts and crafts including textiles, ceramics, jewelry and clothing. Its purpose is to raise funds and educate the public about the United Nations mission. Funds raised go to UNICEF, an organization dedicated to providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. Last fiscal year, the local store donated $43,078, which, after other matching funding, had an impact of $198,634. The nonprofit, tax-free, international fair-trade store, is staffed by dozens of volunteers, and by two full-time employees and one part-time employee. The gift shop is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information go to www.unasatucson.org or visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UNASACenter. Gift store The United Nations Association of Southern Arizona Center and Gift Store is located at 6242 E. Speedway in the Monterey Shopping Center. The gift shop is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. A 44-year-old man was shot and killed during an argument Sunday night in a house on Tucson's east side, police say. William Hall was at a house in the 6500 block of East Stella Road, near South Wilmot Road, for hours Sunday when police say he got into an argument with its occupants and was shot. He died later at St. Joseph's Hospital. The case continues to be investigated, police said in a news release. The case is likely to be presented to the Pima County Attorneys Office for review. Anyone with information is asked to call 88-CRIME, the county's anonymous tipster line. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. PHOENIX It is now up to Gov. Doug Ducey to decide whether parents can sue teachers who they believe have usurped their rights. And the governor also will get the last word on whether school librarians have to tell parents what books their children are checking out. The party-line votes Monday by the Republican-controlled House to allow lawsuits against educators came over objections from two Democrats, one a current teacher and the other a former teacher, who said they were concerned specifically about HB 2161. Thats the measure by Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, which guarantees parents have access to both school records as well as the surveys that are given to children in the classroom. But it is the verbiage about lawsuits from parents who may be unhappy with what their children are hearing that they say concerns them. As sent to Ducey following prior Senate approval, the measure says that schools shall not interfere with or usurp the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. In fact, HB 2161 is even broader than that. More than teachers affected It applies that same restriction and the same right of parent to sue to any official at any level of government. And the legislation says once a lawsuit is filed, the burden is then on the public employee to prove both that the action is essential to accomplish a compelling government interest of the highest order and that the action is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means. Rep. Jennifer Pawlik, D-Chandler, a former elementary school teacher, said educators work to build trust with their students. As trusted adults, sometimes students share personal information with their teachers, she said. One part of our job is to keep students safe, she said. And Pawlik pointed out that some of the more onerous provisions of the measure have been removed, like requiring teachers to out students who come to them to say they question their sexual identification. And she pointed out that state law already requires teachers to report things like suspected incidents of child abuse. But I still worry that the bill compromises the trust that teachers build with their students, she said, calling it very concerning that parents who believe that someone usurped their rights to decide the beliefs of their children. Not teachers rights The measure moves in the wrong direction, said Rep. Judy Schweibert, D-Phoenix, a high school teacher. As leaders in our legislature, I believe we need to instead be working to ensure that teachers and parents are working together for the benefit of their students, as I think is the general rule, she said. By contrast, Schweibert said HB 2161 sends a message of division. But Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, reminded colleagues that the whole purpose of the measure is the rights of parents, parents rights to know whats going on with their children in school. Not teachers rights, he said. Parents have a right to know every single thing thats being said, taught, looked at, what have you with their kids, because its their kids, Blackman said. As a parent, I want to make sure that I know everything thats going on in that school and everything thats being reported, and everything that that teacher is saying to my child. Kaiser, in proposing the legislation, said much of the impetus comes from reports about what students were being asked in surveys. As approved, HB 2161 says that any time there is a survey the school must provide a copy to a students parent, along with a written consent form which would have to be signed prior to the questions being given to their child. Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, which supports the measure, said in a prepared statement after the vote that it makes sense. If schools want to know if there are guns in the home, how much money the parents make, or if they get along, they can ask the parents themselves, she said. Surveys would no longer be used as an end-run around parental rights in public schools. Library access HB 2439, which also had been previously approved by the Senate before Mondays House vote, deals with a different aspect of parental involvement in education. It says that, beginning in 2023, every school board must adopt procedures for parents to access the schools library collection of available books and materials. Also, beginning in January, any time a school purchases new books it must provide a list within 60 days. But the proposal by Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, R-Peoria, also says that parents are entitled to receive a list of all books and materials borrowed from the school library by their children. This is an important parental rights bill, she said during Mondays vote. Its a transparency bill that our neighborhood schools need. Pingerelli, who serve on the governing board of the Peoria Unified School District, said there was a time when it was considered burdensome for schools to post the grades for every quiz and homework assignment. Now it is simply the standard and no one could imaging going backwards, she said. In a few years, this, too, will be the standard expectation. The legislation does exempt schools without a full-time library media specialist of both the requirement to post whats available to students as well as provide parents with a list of what their children are borrowing. That same exception applies to schools that have agreements with public libraries. 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. Pima County is set to consider changes to zoning regulations for marijuana dispensaries. The changes include opening industrial and commercial zones to potential marijuana cultivation and production sites, according to an April 13 memo County Administrator Jan Lesher sent out that outlines the changes in broad strokes. The memo also said the county would consider opening rural areas for cultivation as well, something prohibited in the city. Further, the county is considering treating social equity licenses the same as established medical/recreational dispensaries. That also differs from city rules. The Tucson City Council voted unanimously to determine a special zoning designation for social equity dispensaries, a process that will last six months. Pima County released the proposed changes in an Instagram post that features a photo of Sean Penn in his role as stoner Jeff Spicoli in the 80s cult classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The proposed changes still have a way to go before becoming official, said Chris Poirier, a county planning official. He said the plan is expected to go before the countys planning and zoning commission be fore the end of May. How soon it gets to the Board of Supervisors depends on public reaction. Poirier said the countys strict rules on dispensaries and cultivation/production sites pre-dates the states approval of medical marijuana. We wrote our zoning rules before medical marijuana was even approved by the voters, Poirier said, referring to passage of Prop. 203 in 2010, which established Arizonas medical marijuana program. So there was a lot of concerns, primarily from our county attorney and some of our law enforcement, that this could be fairly unregulated and potentially problematic. Those fears turned out to be mostly unfounded, and the countys proposal to allow for more areas to house marijuana-related businesses and industry should bring it to parity with other counties in the state, he said. And now that the state has established a recreational adult-use program as well, Poirier said that from the countys perspective it makes sense to treat social equity dispensary licenses the same as established dispensaries. From a zoning standpoint, purely from land use purposes, we dont see any difference between a medical, recreational or social equity in terms of how theyre going to operate, he said. How theyre going to feel, how theyre going to impact a neighborhood, how they impact surrounding land uses. Theyre all the same. Some cities in the state, including Tucson, have chosen to subject social equity licensees to a special zoning process, citing the unique, recreational-only nature of those licenses. Prop. 207 legalized recreational adult-use cannabis use in Arizona in 2020 and created 26 additional social equity dispensary licenses. However, medical dispensaries established before 2020 who petitioned to also carry a dual recreational license, lacked the law to create a mechanism for social equity operators to apply for a medical license. That distinction has created a headache of proposed zoning changes, like the one in the city for new dispensary and cultivation site operators, according to Demitri Downing, CEO and founder of the Marijuana Industry Trade Association. The whole situation is just patently absurd, Downing said, criticizing the city for creating an undesirable home for social equity applicants, for social equity license holders, which is the situation right now. Downing praised Pima County, as well as Flagstaff, for creating what he called do no harm regulations that, short of being welcoming to potential marijuana businesses and industry, at least dont muck things up and get in the way. Its just kind of ridiculous to think that these dispensaries somehow should be rezoned or even more zoned than the others. But you know, Flagstaff and Pima County have shown Tucson the way. Still Poirier said that, because of the limited amount of dispensary licenses in the state, he doesnt expect more than two or three new dispensary or cultivation sites to pop up, even with the more liberal zoning rules. Theres not a lot of licenses to begin with, so I think unincorporated Pima County, we would expect anecdotally to see two or three of these things, whether theyre a dispensary or a cultivation or a manufacturing site, Poirier said. I mean, if thats an influx, I guess its more than zero. Edward Celaya is a cannabis writer and host of the Here Weed Go! podcast. He graduated from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona and has been with the Arizona Daily Star since May 2019. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. 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. Will Musks hands-off ideal for Twitter have broad appeal? Coming up with $44 billion to buy Twitter was the easy part for Elon Musk. Next comes the real challenge for the worlds richest person: fulfilling his promise to make Twitter better than ever as a lightly regulated haven for free speech. Many of Musks proposed changes reflect his own experience as a high-profile and outspoken Twitter user with more than 85 million followers and a swarm of pesky impersonator accounts. But a key question is how the changes he is prioritizing will be received by the more than 200 million other users who arent getting banned or flooded with spam. US urges more arms for Ukraine amid fears of expanding war TORETSK, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. is pressing its allies to move heaven and earth to keep Kyiv well-supplied with the weapons it needs to repel Russian forces, as Moscow rains fire on eastern and southern Ukraine. In other developments, Poland and Bulgaria say the Kremlin is cutting off natural gas supplies to the two NATO countries starting Wednesday, the first such actions of the war. Moscow has warned that the flow of weapons could trigger a wider war. Those concerns grew in Moldova, where explosions hit the separatist region of Trans-Dniester for a second straight day. Russian forces also hit a strategic railroad bridge in the south. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that more help for Ukraine is on the way and that the West wants to ensure Russia won't be able to bully its neighbors. Poland, Bulgaria say Russia suspending natural gas supplies WARSAW, Poland (AP) Officials in Poland and Bulgaria say Russia is suspending deliveries of natural gas to their countries starting Wednesday. The cutoffs would be the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that unfriendly foreign buyers would have to pay in rubles instead of dollars and euros. That demand came after sanctions were levied against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. Europe imports large amounts of Russian natural gas for residential heating, electricity generation and the fuel industry. The imports so far have continued despite the war. Polish and Bulgarian authorities say they don't anticipate restrictions on domestic gas consumption due to the cutoffs. CDC estimates 3 in 4 kids have had coronavirus infections NEW YORK (AP) Government researchers say three out of every four U.S. children have been infected with the coronavirus. Among Americans of all ages, more than half had signs of previous infection. The figures come from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Tuesday. It looked in the blood of more than 200,000 Americans for virus-fighting antibodies made from infections, not vaccines. They found that signs of past infection rose dramatically between December and February, when the omicron variant surged. CDC officials stress that the previously infected should still get COVID-19 vaccines. The CDC report came out the same day one vaccine manufacturer, Pfizer, sought permission to offer a booster dose to kids ages 5 to 11 just like people 12 and older can get. What Musk's past tweets reveal about Twitter's next owner PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Brash, outspoken and sometimes juvenile, Elon Musk has long been a prolific user of Twitter, the social media platform he now hopes to buy. Musks past tweets show how the worlds richest man has used social media to craft his public image as a billionaire unafraid to offend people. They could also provide a glimpse into how Musk might run the platform. For Musk, Twitter has been a tool to promote his enterprises and punch back at critics. His tweeting has also gotten him in trouble with government regulators and led to big fines for Musk and his company Tesla. Deputies protect school killer after potential juror threat FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Deputies protecting Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz had to pull him aside and surround him after members of a jury pool became potentially threatening. Judge Elizabeth Scherer said a potential juror had to be removed by bailiffs after he began mouthing possible threats toward Cruz. Others also started acting threatening, so deputies moved in to protect Cruz. The entire 70-person panel was then dismissed. Scherer said they became belligerent in the hallway. Cruz is facing a possible death sentence for murdering 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland four years ago. Oklahoma governor signs ban on nonbinary birth certificates OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill prohibiting the use of nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates. The first-term Republican signed the bill Tuesday. Experts say some states only offer male or female gender options on birth certificates, but Oklahoma is the first to write the prohibition into law. It follows a flap last year over the state health agencys agreement in a civil case to allow a nonbinary gender option. The birth certificate in that case was issued to an Oklahoma-born Oregon resident. People who are nonbinary do not identify with traditional male or female gender assignments. TSA: Airport security finds loaded gun in Cawthorn's bag Officials say a loaded gun was found in North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorns carry-on bag at an airport security checkpoint. It's the second time in a little more than a year that a weapon has been found in his possession at an airport in his home state. Transportation Security Administration spokesperson R. Carter Langston said that when Cawthorn went through a Charlotte Douglas International Airport checkpoint with the gun Tuesday morning, TSA officers notified Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Police say Cawthorn acknowledged that the gun was his and he was issued a citation for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property. Harris positive for COVID-19, Biden not a 'close contact' WASHINGTON (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House says. It's a sharp new reminder of the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to revert to pre-pandemic normalcy. Neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a close contact of Harris in recent days. The White House says Harris has exhibited no symptoms. After consulting with her physicians, Harris is taking Paxlovid, the Pfizer antiviral pill. Harris will isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely, and will only return to the White House once she tests negative for the virus. Delta to begin paying flight attendants during boarding Delta Air Lines will start paying flight attendants during the time that passengers are boarding. That's a first for a major U.S. airline. Flight attendants in the U.S. generally don't begin getting paid by the hour until the doors close after boarding. Delta said Tuesday that the change will take effect in June, and it comes on top of pay raises for flight attendants. The pay increase comes as Delta faces another attempt by unions to organize its non-union flight attendants. Delta said the new boarding pay would be on top of 4% raises that it granted to flight attendants last month. 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. An Afghan woman shows handicrafts at a crafts market in Bamiyan city, central Afghanistan, March 19, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) The U.S. government has frozen nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars assets of Afghanistan's central bank, which has worsened the war-torn country's already fragile economy. BAMIYAN, Afghanistan, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Bazaarcha-e-Hunar is a popular crafts market run by women in Bamiyan province. Like every other business in Afghanistan, the bazaar is struggling. The market selling handicrafts made by local women has been losing popularity as tourism has dwindled to almost nothing. "The pandemic and political change have ruined my business," trader Humira Ahmadi told Xinhua recently. In the wake of U.S.-led forces defeat in Afghansitan and Taliban's taking over of the country's power last August, the U.S. government has frozen nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars assets of Afghanistan's central bank, which has worsened the war-torn country's already fragile economy. U.S. president Joe Biden issued a decree in February, allocating 3.5 billion dollars of the frozen sum to the 9/11 victims' families and earmarking another 3.5 billion dollars to humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. Photo taken on March 19, 2022 shows a crafts market in Bamiyan city, central Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) "I made up to 150,000 afghani (1,726 U.S. dollars) in past years. Now I am lucky to make 500 afghani each week currently," Ahmadi said. "Before the political change 50 women worked here, nowadays there are only about 10 women. There used to be nearly 100 women's associations in Bamiyan but now more than 500 women have lost their jobs and income," Ahmadi said. Sabira, a 25-year-old woman who sells handicrafts with her mother at the bazaar complained about the gloomy business. "In the past, we had more tourists. People came from all over the world, but not now. Local people buy some of our products but it is not as good as before," she said. "The change in our business is obvious. We had more customers last year and the year before. Our business was lucrative and we could earn 1,000 to 5,000 afghani each day, but nowadays I find it hard to earn 200," the handicraft seller said. TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) LGBTQ rights advocates called Tuesday for a Kansas state lawmaker to be formally censured after she publicly said she didn't want to share the women's restrooms at the Statehouse with a transgender colleague. The Kansas House's top Republican called GOP state Rep. Cheryl Helmers comments unfortunate and Democrats condemned them. The state's leading LGBTQ rights lobbyist saw a new level of toxic bigotry in Helmer's emailed remarks to a University of Kansas student and subsequent interviews about Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Byers. The furor over Helmer's remarks shadowed GOP lawmakers' attempt to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of a bill that would ban transgender athletes from girls' and women's K-12 and college sports. We know this has been going on in offices, and back rooms and conversations since the day I was elected, Byers said Tuesday. The shocking part is that it came out, that someone actually said it. Helmer stood firmly by her comments while defending a bill she co-sponsored that would make it a felony for doctors to provide hormones or do gender transition surgery for children under 18. She also said she worried about the safety of young children who visit the Statehouse and decried what she called an in your face approach to promoting transgender rights from Byers, the state's first elected transgender lawmaker. The 70-year-old Republican lawmaker also said she tried to make a point when she mistakenly entered a mens restroom in the House in early 2021. The men, she said, were surprised and upset, so she asked them how they would like it if a woman regularly used their restroom. Pressed on the issue Monday evening, she said parents shouldnt be allowed to change their childs gender. You cant lop a penis off and then expect, you know, a little boy to now live his life, she said. Hell be in regret for the rest of his life. Supporters of the bill on transgender athletes have said they want to preserve fair competition and are not attacking transgender girls and women. LGBTQ rights advocates said Helmer's comments prove anti-trans bigotry is behind the measure. The Kansas Senate voted 28-10 on Tuesday to override Kellys veto of the transgender athletes bill. A House vote will follow, but it wasnt likely this week. Republicans in at least 15 states have enacted bans on transgender athletes, and several have outlawed gender-affirming medical care for children. In Michigan, a conservative state senator accused a Democratic colleague of wanting to groom and sexualize young children, prompting a response that went viral on social media. Helmer is a retired Wichita school counselor and nursing instructor, a conservative Republican elected in 2018 to represent a district south of the state's largest city. She participates in rodeo barrel racing and has a sign in her office that says, My horse is smarter than your honor student. Byers, 59, is a retired Wichita high school music teacher and band director who was elected to the House in 2020. In her email Sunday to 25-year-old University of Kansas graduate student Brenan Riffel, Helmer wrote: Now, personally I do not appreciate the huge transgender female who is now in our restrooms in the Capitol. Riffel, who describes themself as trans-feminine and uses the pronouns they/them, released the email to the Kansas Reflector, a nonprofit news provider. Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, called on the Kansas House to censure Helmer, something that would take a formal complaint from another lawmaker and a two-thirds majority vote. It is a new level of toxic bigotry that I have not seen in this building before," Witt said. Equality Kansas later sent a letter to House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., a Kansas City-area Republican, demanding that Helmer be punished. The speaker can strip a House member of committee assignments, but Ryckman noted that committees no longer are meeting for the year. Ryckman said that if another lawmakers files a complaint, the House will form a committee to investigate, adding, She will be held accountable by her constituents. Byers said several lawmakers have moved away from her in the elevator, and that the Kansas Republican Partys last platform, drafted in 2018, declares that, We believe God created two genders, male and female. In her email to Riffel, Helmer wrote, A doctor can inject meds and dilute but cannot destroy what God has done in the perfection of the HUMAN BEING. Riffel said in an interview that they weren't surprised by Helmer's response, considering what it would take" to sponsor the bill banning gender-affirming care for trans youth. The rhetoric against the LGBTQ community has been the same for years, that were a threat to society; were going to hurt people, said Riffel. I just want to go about and just be myself." Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna 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. After downgrading the risk level of many of the world's top destinations last week in conjunction with an overhaul of its travel assessments, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added just one location to its "high" risk category on Monday. The tiny Caribbean island of Saba -- a special municipality of the Netherlands known for its rugged hiking terrain and having the world's shortest commercial runway -- was moved up to Level 3. The Level 3 "high" risk category is now the top rung in terms of risk level. Level 2 is considered "moderate" risk, and Level 1 is "low" risk. Saba had been at Level 1. Level 4 is now reserved only for special circumstances. Under the new system, no destinations have been placed at Level 4 so far. The overhaul comes against a backdrop of US government agencies and the public continuing to react and adapt to an ever-changing pandemic -- and sometimes in sharp disagreement. Last week, a federal judge struck down the federal mask mandate for transportation. That sent off a quick chain of reactions, and the CDC has asked the Department of Justice to appeal. In the meantime, masks are largely optional for now on planes, trains and public transportation. (Some airports and transit systems have their own masking rules). Level 3 In the CDC's new system, the Level 3 "high" risk category applies to destinations that have had more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. Saba is hardly alone on this level, however. Much of Europe is still lodged there with the summer travel season not too far away. On April 25, those popular nations included: France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Portugal Spain United Kingdom It's not just European favorites that find themselves at Level 3. Other popular travel spots around the world at high risk include: Brazil Canada Egypt Malaysia Mexico South Korea Thailand There are almost 120 destinations at Level 3 this week, a small drop from the previous week and accounting for just over half of roughly 235 places total monitored by the CDC. The CDC advises that you be up-to-date with your Covid-19 vaccines before traveling to a Level 3 destination. "Up-to-date" includes not only the full initial vaccinations but any boosters for which you're eligible. The CDC does not include the United States in its list of advisories, but on its color-coded map of the world, the CDC had it at Level 3 on Monday. Level 2 Destinations carrying the "Level 2: Covid-19 Moderate" designation reported 50 to 100 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. Four destinations were moved to this level on Monday. They are: El Salvador Indonesia Oman United Arab Emirates All four of these places had been at Level 3 last week. The CDC had only 13 destinations worldwide at the moderate risk level on Monday. You can view the CDC's risk levels for any global destination on its travel recommendations page. In its broader travel guidance, the CDC has recommended avoiding all international travel until you are fully vaccinated. If you're concerned about a health situation not related to Covid-19, check here. Level 1 To be in "Level 1: Covid-19 Low," a destination must have 49 or fewer new cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days. Three destinations were added on April 25: Armenia Azerbaijan Libya The drop was most impressive for Libya, which had been at high-risk Level 3. Armenia and Azerbaijan, both in the mountainous Caucasus region where Asia and Europe meet, had been at Level 2. This level is dominated by destinations in Africa, including Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal. Level 1 had about 55 entries total this week. Unknown Finally, there are destinations for which the CDC has an "unknown" risk because of a lack of information. Usually, but not always, these are small, remote places or places with ongoing warfare or unrest. There was one new entry to this category on Monday: The Gambia, a small nation in West Africa. Attracting their fair share of visitors in this category are the Azores, Cambodia and Nicaragua. The CDC advises against travel to these places precisely because the risks are unknown. A medical expert weighs in on risk levels Transmission rates are "one guidepost" for travelers' personal risk calculations, according to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen. We've moved into "a phase in the pandemic where people need to make their own decisions based on their medical circumstances as well as their risk tolerance when it comes to contracting Covid-19," said Wen, who is an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. There are other factors to weigh in addition to transmission rates, according to Wen. "Another is what precautions are required and followed in the place that you're going and then the third is what are you planning to do once you're there. "Are you planning to visit a lot of attractions and go to indoor bars? That's very different from you're going somewhere where you're planning to lie on the beach all day and not interact with anyone else. That's very different. Those are very different levels of risk." Vaccination is the most significant safety factor for travel since unvaccinated travelers are more likely to become ill and transmit Covid-19 to others, Wen said. And it's also important to consider what you would do if you end up testing positive away from home. Where will you stay and how easy will it be to get a test to return home? The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Top image: Windwardside, Saba, Dutch West Indies. (zenzen!/Adobe Stock) Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. expressed confidence Monday that tribes would prevail in their latest legal battle before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding tribal sovereignty. Hoskin made his comments while speaking virtually to local media regarding oral arguments scheduled for Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case with both tribal and state sovereignty implications. We feel confident in our position, Hoskin said. We look forward to another victory before the Supreme Court of the United States, but in the meantime well continue to do that vital work of governing and creating a criminal justice system that is fair for everyone. The case before the Supreme Court is known as State of Oklahoma v. Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta. Last year, the state of Oklahoma appealed a state appellate court ruling in Castro-Huertas case, as well as appellate rulings in at least 30 other cases, regarding whether the state still has the authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians within Indian Country and whether the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma should be overruled entirely. The Supreme Court in January agreed to take up the jurisdiction issue but turned away a request to consider overturning McGirt in its entirety. The landmark McGirt ruling, issued in July 2020, determined that the Muscogee Nations reservation was never dissolved by Congress and that the state has no jurisdiction over major criminal offenses committed by American Indians within the boundaries of that reservation. State courts have since interpreted the decision to extend to the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Quapaw and Seminole reservations and to include cases involving American Indian victims of major crimes committed by non-Indians. Hoskin, who directed nearly all of his comments at Gov. Kevin Stitt and his attempts to overturn the McGirt ruling, said a ruling for the state would turn back the clock on jurisdictional law across Indian Country. I dont believe he will be successful because, again, the law is on our side; the facts are on our side, Hoskin said. It would be refreshing if the governor would join us in doing the constructive and difficult, at times, work of governing and crafting a criminal justice system that is fair for everyone. In the Castro-Huerta case, the state of Oklahoma is appealing a ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in a McGirt-related case that determined that Congress has generally delegated all criminal jurisdiction for major crimes involving American Indians to the federal government when the crime occurs within the reservation boundaries of a tribal nation. State officials in court filings claim that federal law does not preempt state criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian Country. Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The case has drawn interest from a variety of sources. In addition to a friend-of-the-court filing from the Five Tribes of Eastern Oklahoma, others backing the status quo include a group of former U.S. attorneys, federal Indian law scholars, the Navajo Nation and U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar on behalf of the U.S. government. Those backing the state of Oklahoma include the city of Tulsa, the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police, the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and the state of Texas. Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill, during her comments to the media on Monday, talked about state claims that crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians on reservation land would go unpunished if the state were not permitted to file charges. Hill quoted from the tribes friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court, where it cited only a 36% clearance rate by state prosecutors in violent crime cases in 2019. Regardless of the states failure to protect Indian victims, the law is still clear: These questions of sovereignty and jurisdiction are the responsibility of Congress, and the United States has exclusive jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians within a reservation, Hill said. October 2021 video: Hoskin speaks about citys response to McGirt 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. OKLAHOMA CITY Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill on Monday that is designed to bring a large manufacturing facility to the MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor. House Bill 4455 would provide up to $698 million in rebates based on capital investment and job creation. Last week, the House passed the measure by a vote of 81-17. The Senate followed suit, passing it by 41-5. On behalf of the business community, all of us at the Tulsa Regional Chamber applaud Gov. Stitt for signing HB 4455 and for the Legislatures strong support of this bill, Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal said in a statement. Their continued determination is making Oklahoma one of the most business-friendly states in our nation. The incentive package will pay dividends for years to come, Neal said. In an era when the national and even international competition for jobs is fiercer than ever, this incentive package will keep Oklahoma highly competitive, and for that we are most grateful, Neal said. The state reportedly is trying to lure a Panasonic electric battery plant to the MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor. HB 4455 calls for a 3.4% state rebate on qualified capital expenditures with a minimum investment of $3.6 billion and a maximum of $4.5 billion. The rebates also require meeting certain employment minimums and other conditions over five years. The Legislature would front-load $698 million into the Large-scale Economic Activity and Development or LEAD Fund, which was created in the state treasury by HB 4455. The money would come from state savings. The rebate program would close by July 1, 2032. Critics of the measure in the Senate said it did not help struggling mom-and-pop businesses. Supporters said the program will create jobs for people who pay income, sales and other taxes. Supporters also cited a need for the state to diversify its economy. Gov. Stitt discusses economic incentive 'kicker' to land 'largest factory investment in state's history' 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. Oklahomans are closer to having their medical records digitally follow them throughout the state to improve care, closing a contentious chapter in the states quest for health information. MyHealth Access Network a Tulsa-based nonprofit health information exchange has agreed to operate as the states designated health information exchange, or HIE. MyHealth will operate on a platform built by Orion Health, a global technology company that won a competitive bid against MyHealth in late 2020 to deliver a statewide HIE. The Tulsa nonprofit later unsuccessfully challenged the states bid process. Health information exchanges are hubs for medical records that allow members, such as hospitals and clinics, secure electronic access to a persons medical history. Advantages also are derived from the opportunity for researchers to analyze vast medical data to drive public health decisions. MyHealth, Orion Health and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority all lauded the agreement. MyHealth has been in Oklahoma for more than a decade connecting and delivering services but has never really had a strong partnership with the state before, which has presented a challenge, frankly, compared to our peer states, said Dr. David Kendrick, founder and CEO of MyHealth. Under the agreement, MyHealth is named as the states health information exchange, keeps its governance for existing members intact, and will upgrade to Orions software, which the OHCA purchased in the earlier bid process. The technology part and to an extent the data connectivity part is much easier than the governance and the trust, Kendrick said. Under the agreement, the state will get three seats added to MyHealths current 18-person board of directors. Carter Kimble, executive director of the states existing health information exchange, formerly known as OKSHINE, or the Oklahoma State Health Information Network, said the states goal in the bid process was to acquire top-notch technology not governance or administration. Kimble said the new partnership is an acknowledgement of that second piece. He described Orions technology as incredible but like a car without gas if providers dont participate. We think weve been able to kind of thread a needle and get state-of-the-art technology just with the purchasing and expenditure power of the state now partnered up with a trusted, non-state expert and executor to come execute and start our vision here, Kimble said. He hopes all hospital data interactions will be firing full bore in the system by the end of the calendar year. Kendrick estimates that MyHealth already had 80% to 85% of health care activity in Oklahoma in its system before the partnership with the state, which he estimates can pretty easily increase the percentage to 95% within 12 to 18 months. He added that naming MyHealth as the states health information exchange allows federal dollars to flow here in support of HIE efforts. After standing up the first priorities such as hospitals future HIE projects will center on long-term care and rural health. Kimble said many long-term care entities are hungry for this information but arent technologically equipped to receive or use the data in a meaningful way. He said home health and telemedicine also are wildly ripe for the transformational opportunity that information about specific patients provides. For example, some home health providers use tablets to take down notes when they go into a patients home. But where do those notes go? And with accurate information about patients history, telemedicine can become a more personalized experience. Usually a telemedicine visit if youre not an established patient is a patient history and tell me what you know, Kimble said. And then its best guess from there. Well now were going to be able to equip those telemedicine visits. Kendrick credited the state for taking a step back, listening to community stakeholders, and then acting on that feedback to help foster the partnership. We were able to work out a more productive pathway for everybody, he said. MyHealth wont be paid more than $2.6 million in fiscal year 2022, which ends June 30, according to the contract, which was signed in mid-February. The state in December 2020 awarded Orion Health a $49.8 million contract to create statewide interoperability of health data in the OKSHINE project. In the bidding process, MyHealth had submitted a best and final offer of $41.7 million $8.1 million less than Orion. The nonprofit says it later offered an unsolicited bid of $19.9 million after the state publicized a Medicaid change that essentially allowed MyHealth to cut costs in half without reducing deliverables. The OHCAs choice of Orion drew concern from an arm of the federal government and 13 major entities in Oklahoma all of which expressed support for MyHealth. The Tulsa-based nonprofit filed a protest with the state alleging that the bid process was heavily flawed and arbitrary, but the states purchasing director turned it away as without merit. Kimble later said the states competitive bid targeted modernizing and connecting disparate health record repositories within the government, not competing with MyHealth. 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. Generations of students in Hanoi have provided free meals to disadvantaged people for nearly ten years. These meals come from leftovers from restaurants, hotels, and households. Every day, leftover food in families refrigerators or restaurants is often thrown away," said Pham Thu Uyen, an eleventh-grade student from Amsterdam High School in Hanoi, operator of Hanoi Food Rescue Season 10. "Realizing this issue, we started our project." 'Food Rescue' mission keeps going on Beginning as a result of a contest hosted by a university, the Hanoi Food Rescue project is already in its tenth year. The group consists of more than 40 students from high schools in Hanoi. From Friday to Monday every week, they collect leftovers from restaurants, hotels, and canteens, which they contact and ask for permission to provide leftover food for the needy. Uyen said the remnants are still fresh so it is such a waste to throw them away. Therefore, these young people proactively contact hotels, restaurants, and canteens around the capital city to collect leftover food to prepare meals for poor patients and those in need. In addition, such food is contained in eco-friendly boxes. Once a part of the project, each member has realized that they have to do something to save food and increase community awareness of the issue, Uyen added. Recalling a trip to a vocational training center for disabled children to give them food, students from the project talked to and encouraged the kids. After trips like that, Uyen and her friends found out there are so many people in need of food while they have full meals every day but waste food sometimes. After the fourth COVID-19 outbreak that hit the country last April, the project has restarted. More than meals Aside from giving food to the disadvantaged, the Hanoi Food Rescue aims to raise community awareness of food waste by hosting two annual programs Tet (Lunar New Year) Donation and The Hunger Games. For the Tet Donation, the group calls on people to donate food, clothes, and books to the poor kids. During the pandemic, everyone could register to donate through an online form and the organizers went to registered addresses to get the donated items. Moreover, the group also hosted a garage sale to fundraise for the charity event at Sword Lake Pedestrian Street. Each item sold was a gift for disadvantaged children. Through the program, more than 3.5 metric tons of food, candies, clothes, books, and notebooks were given to the poor students at Tan Son 1 Elementary School in Luc Ngan District, Bac Giang Province, 50km east of Hanoi, according to Uyen. The group also 'rescued' agricultural products stuck at border gates. Besides, they have called for donations to those who lost their jobs, or who lack food or medicine, because of severe COVID-19 outbreaks. Ngo Ha Chau, founder of Hanoi Food Rescue, is proud of the students who continue her project. They have completed their mission very well, not only running but also expanding the project, Chau said. I expect that they will further expand the project but whatever they do, they should not forget the key purpose of providing food to the needy in Hanoi and more people." Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! BAGHDAD, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Three Iraqi soldiers and two Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Tuesday during clashes between the two sides, the Iraqi military said. Iraq's army force carried out a raid on an IS hideout in an orchard in the Tarmiyah area, some 30 km north of the capital Baghdad, killing two IS militants including a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement. A soldier was killed and an officer wounded during the raid, the statement added. In the western province of Anbar, two soldiers were killed and another wounded in the early morning when the IS militants attacked an army outpost near the international highway outside the town of Heet, some 160 km west of Baghdad, an army source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out operations against the extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities. The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, the IS remnants have melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. LONDON -- A miniature book of poems written by a 13-year-old Charlotte Bronte will return to her windswept Yorkshire home after it was bought for $1.25 million by a British consortium, the buyers said Monday. Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript dated 1829 is a collection of 10 unpublished poems that was unveiled in New York last week after more than a century hidden away. Titled "A Book of Ryhmes (sic) by Charlotte Bronte, Sold by Nobody, and Printed by Herself," the volume is hand-stitched in its original brown paper covers. Friends of the National Libraries, a British literary charity, confirmed it had raised the $1.25 million, meaning that "inch for inch, (it) is possibly the most valuable literary manuscript ever to be sold". It will be donated to the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire, where the "Jane Eyre" novelist grew up with her siblings including young sisters Emily and Anne. Ann Dinsdale, the museum's chief curator, thanked all the British benefactors who came together to fund the purchase after the charity was offered first refusal by the anonymous sellers in New York. "It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Bronte family is returned home," she said in a statement. "And this final little book coming back to the place it was written, when it had been thought lost, is very special for us." The book had not been seen in public since November 1916, when it sold at auction in New York for $520. It was the last of more than two dozen miniature works created by Charlotte Bronte known to remain in private hands. Along with their brother Branwell, Charlotte, Emily and Anne entertained themselves by weaving intricate stories set in a sophisticated imaginary world. The sisters went on to write some of the best-loved novels in English literature, including Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". Henry Wessells of New York-based James Cummins Bookseller told AFP last week that the private owner had found the manuscript "in an envelope tucked into a book". "It's wonderful to look at it inside and soon the world will be able to see it," Wessells said. In December, the same charity acting for UK libraries purchased a collection of books and manuscripts, including seven of Charlotte's miniatures, for 15 million ($19.5 million). Four grade-eight schoolgirls from the north-central Vietnamese province of Nghe An drowned while bathing in a local lake on Monday afternoon, an official confirmed, adding that their bodies were found in the evening of the same day. The deadly incident happened at around 4:00 pm on the day, according to Ngo Sy Cuong, chairman of Nghia Loc Commune in Nghia Dan District, Nghe An. A group of six local eighth graders went for a bath at a lake in the commune around that time, Cuong said. All six children were swept into the deep water and sank, but only two of them managed to escape. Rescuers came shortly after, before recovering all four bodies by 6:00 pm on the day. The lake where the students drowned is a two-meter-wide irrigation reservoir for agricultural production in Nghia Loc Commune, with many parts of it as deep as more than three meters, prompting local authorities to erect warning signs against swimming there. More than 2,000 children aged under 16 years in Vietnam lose their lives every year due to drowning, the World Health Organization cited an estimate in 2020. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Here are todays leading news stories:\ Politics -- Vietnam's Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong highly valued the recent progress in the Vietnam - U.S. relations while meeting with U.S. Ambassador Marc E. Knapper in Hanoi on Monday, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Society -- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport announced on Monday that a road running parallel to Vo Van Kiet Boulevard in District 1 would be open to traffic on Tuesday to help alleviate traffic congestion in the area. -- Hundreds of firefighters were mobilized to put out a big fire that broke out at a yarn factory covering about 4,000 square meters at Phu Cuong Industrial Cluster in southern Dong Nai Province on Monday evening. -- Ho Chi Minh City-based Medical Biomaterial & Pharmaceutical JSC has been fined VND230 million (US$10,000) and required to dispose of three types of medicine due to quality violations. -- Four eighth-grade schoolgirls from north-central Nghe An Province drowned while bathing in a local lake on Monday afternoon, an official confirmed, adding that their bodies were found in the evening of the same day. -- The 25R/07L runway of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City was reopened on Tuesday following a two-month closure, marking the completion of a major runway upgrade project at the airdrome. -- The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court has sentenced six men aged 22 to 29 to between seven and 24 years in prison for robbing commuters by disguising themselves as police officers in 2019. -- Multiple restaurants and bars in downtown Ho Chi Minh City were recently fined for violating operation time rules and selling banned products such as nitrous oxide balloons (laughing balloons) and shisha, the District 1 administration has confirmed. Business -- Vietnams BB Group and Quantum Group from the U.S. signed on Monday an agreement to jointly develop a gas industry center and a seaport in north-central Quang Tri Province, the Vietnam News Agency reported. World News -- "Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc for $44 billion cash on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world's richest person," Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A US$3 million road running parallel to a boulevard in downtown Ho Chi Minh City was opened to traffic on Tuesday morning in order to alleviate congestion in the area. The road, measuring 615 meters long and seven meters wide, lies along the section of Vo Van Kiet Boulevard bounded by Nguyen Thai Hoc Street and Pasteur Street in District 1. Aside from building the road, the developer has also added a lighting system, trees, and sewers as well as renovated the embankment. Costing VND70 billion ($3 million), the road will contribute to the reduction of regular traffic jams at Vo Van Kiet - Ky Con Intersection, Tran Quang Lam, director of the municipal Department of Transport, said during the inauguration. It is also part of the preparations for the organization of a bus rapid transit (BRT) service and waterbus route No. 2, Lam continued. The inauguration of the road running parallel to Vo Van Kiet Boulevard in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 26, 2022. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre Along with the inauguration of the road, the transport department announced the traffic directions for commuters on this route. Accordingly, vehicles are allowed to travel in the direction from Nguyen Thai Hoc Street to Pasteur Street. Trucks with a transport volume of more than 2.5 metric tons are not allowed to travel on this road, while parking is also banned. On the same morning, the citys transport department opened Dang Thuc Vinh Street to traffic in outlying Hoc Mon District following a four-year renovation, which cost about VND700 billion ($30 million). Measuring 5.3 kilometers long and 30 meters wide, the expanded road is expected to boost connectivity in the district as well as neighboring provinces of Ho Chi Minh City. Dang Thuc Vinh Street in Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City is open to traffic following a four-year renovation, April 26, 2022. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A young woman has been fined for taking her hands off the handlebars of her motorbike to perform a hand fan dance while riding on a street in Hanoi. D.T.H., a 23-year-old woman from the north-central province of Nghe An, was required to pay a VND8.8 million (US$386) fine over such a lawbreaking act, the local Department of Public Security cited a decision issued by police in Bac Tu Liem District on Monday. Earlier, local police had received a video of a young woman letting go of both hands while riding a motorbike on a street in front of Hoa Binh Park in Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi. She was carrying another woman but did the hand fan dance at the same time. A traffic police team of Bac Tu Liem District was then sent to verify the video. On April 5, police officers questioned H. and she admitted her violations. Police officers fined H. for taking both hands off handlebars while riding a motorbike and having no driver's license. Pursuant to current regulations, motorbike riders will be fined VND6-8 million ($263-351) each if they take both their hands off the handlebars of motorbikes while riding the vehicles. In addition, their driver's licenses will be revoked for two to four months. If violators repeat the offense, their driver's licenses will be withdrawn for three to five months and their vehicles will be confiscated. Furthermore, they will be fined VND1-2 million ($44-88) each for having no driver's licenses. Hand fan dance, in which dancers move their hands quickly and flexibly like dancing with fans, is a trend among the youth in Hanoi. While many people think the dance is offensive, many others feel excited and try to learn to do it. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The life of foreigners in Vietnam will be featured through a humorous lens in a TV film series, Early Risers, which will first be aired locally before being introduced internationally, its producer has said. Early Risers is the first English-language TV film project funded and produced by Ho Chi Minh City-based Ace1 Picture Corporation, which will coordinate with the U.S.-based Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for international release of the film. The TV series will have eight to ten episodes, 30 minutes long each, depicting the life of foreigners in Vietnam starting in 2008, when the country began to be home to many foreigners who came to live and work. The film conveys the spirit of hospitality and the will to better themselves of Ho Chi Minh City residents in particular and Vietnamese people in general. The screenplay of the TV series was written by Vincent Ngo, a Vietnamese-American screenwriter, who is the author of the 2008 blockbuster movie 'Hancock' (in 2008), which once earned US$625 million worth of global box-office revenue. Besides Vincent Ngo, the Early Risers project production team includes experienced filmmakers in Hollywood, including producer Peter Toumasis, director Zach Merck, and post-production manager Christos Voutsinas, who just won the 2022 Oscar Award for Best Film Editing for the megahit 'Dune.' Early Risers is expected to air on the VTV9 television channel in Vietnam early next year before being introduced to the global film market. A foreign filmmaking crew of 11 people has flown to Ho Chi Minh City to coordinate with their Vietnamese colleagues to shoot the first scenes of the TV series. The production will be joined by many international actors, including C.S. Lee, Kristian Bruun, Amara Miller, and Omar Elba, along with their Vietnamese colleagues such as Phi Vu, Dat Phan, Paul Yen, and Kathy Uyen, among others. Producer Peter Toumasis said he received the script by Vincent Ngo three years ago and he has now started working on it after a period of preparation. The TV series will not only tell the stories of Vietnam but also introduce Vietnamese culture and people to the world, said Chieu Man Tuan, director of Ace1 Picture Corporation. After producing the first two episodes of the TV series, we will introduce them to some other countries, in the hope that Early Risers will help Vietnamese films expand their shares in the international market, Tuan said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Bluey has won legions of fans across the world as a show that appeals to both kids and parents, but when it was first pitched, industry executives didnt quite know what to make of it. Creator Joe Brumm had returned home to Australia having worked on Peppa Pig when he turned his attention to an idea based his parenting of two daughters. Ludo Studios co-founder Daley Pearson tells TV Tonight Brumm wanted to creat an animation for pre-schoolers, which tapped into his talent for telling adult stories too. Joe created a one minute short of Bluey The Weekend. That was Dad pushing Bluey on a swing and Bluey went all the way around. It had a lot of standards and practices issues, he recalls. We were literally told by everyone. We dont know if this is Peppa Pig or Family Guy. For about a year that went on. We stupidly answered both -but that doesnt exist. A Trojan horse show for kids that was really for parents We pitched it as co-viewing a Trojan horse show for kids that was really for parents. It was a kids show that parents could put up with and love too. Then we realised that we had to make it to prove it to people. Saying your show is co-viewing is kind of like saying your comedy is really funny. The answer was to produce something people could watch: a 6 minute pilot which was screened at the Asian Animation Summit in 2016. The reaction was instant. At that time, there was a real hero with ABC called Michael Carrington. He was running kids at the time and gave us the license fee, to then unlock Screen Australia finance, which hadnt been done for a long time in Kids, Pearson continues. Both ABC and BBC Studios boarded the series, while Pearson also credits Screen Queensland for their support of the Brisbane-based production company. Screen Queensland were particularly helpful Screen Queensland were particularly helpful to people helping themselves. Charlie (Aspinwall, co-founder) and I had real help from them. I always think we would have figure out how to do it, but we would be 10 years behind. Their small encouragement of support rolled us into bigger things. For Pearson Bluey is the icing on a deep cake. His previous credits include live action comedies The Strange Calls, #7DaysLater and Robbie Hood, plus animation The Strange Chores. Its success is a reminder that persistance pays off. I worked as a debt collector at GE, I worked at a 24 hour convenience store at Coolum Beach which is where I started to write The Strange Calls. It was overnight, Id literally be sitting there from 12 till 5am at a small, coastal hamlet at night. That opened up being able to do my first series through a number of lovely people helping me like Debbie Lee (previously ABC), and then eventually, Hoodlum. I knew if I did film or TV jobs, Id probably get fired or something I knew if I did film or TV jobs, Id probably get fired or something, because I really wanted to make my own stuff. So I just made a lot of shorts with friends as possible. Blueys success keeps accruing. In addition to stellar ratings, best ever iview figures, global merchandising, live stage play, AirBnB house, Disney+ global broadcasting there are awards from the International Emmy Awards, AACTA Awards, Logie Awards, Kidscreen Awards, Banff World Media Festival Rockie Awards, Australian Directors Guild Awards, Screen Producers Australia Awards, ARIAs and more. We opened the Ludo Studios animation studio to make Bluey. For half of the (staff) it was their first job out of uni. So there was a lot of nail biting, making that first episode. Is it going to be terrible or is it going to be okay? And everyone led by Joe and Rich, whos now the director, just rose to the challenge. I was always told in swimming to concentrate on your own lane. I think being in Brisbane enabled that. We had no distractions. I was always told in swimming to concentrate on your own lane. I think because we were in Brisbane, we had no option but to make it work. The quality kept rising up, the animation team talent kept getting better and better. The producers Sam Moore and Charlie Aspinwall just kept rising to the challenge. We really became our own barometer of success. I think that helped a lot. We werent comparing ourselves to any other show. Each episode takes 4 months to complete, and while they are produced concurently, a season takes years to complete. And while Bluey has featured big names including Natalie Portman and Eva Mendez and is dubbed into languages including Cantonese and Italian, Pearson says it remains true to its Australian voice. The voices that were attracted to are those Australian voices you dont hear much anymore The voices that were attracted to are those Australian voices you dont hear much anymore . country kids or those drawls that you hear. Its really important, especially to Joe, to find that kid in Charleville who only talks that certain way, Dave McCormack (Dad) is a perfect example of it. Its a very particular Australian accent. Bluey is available on ABC Kids and iview. Dateline tonight returns to Norway, 10 years after a terrorist attack on a summer camp. Episode Seven: Surviving Terror In Norway Ten years after the far-right extremist terror attack in Norway that killed 77 people, we meet survivors whove transformed their lives. Three brave women have entered politics to pave the way for social equality. 9:30pm tonight on SBS. Robert James-Collier, who plays Downton Abbeys under-butler Thomas Barrow, is clearly a big fan of Neighbours, and upset the show is coming to an end. Speaking with Angela Bishop on Studio 10 he joked, I was about to say Ive got an upcoming cameo on Neighbours, but its been shot hasnt it? Im fuming. We grew up with that. There needs to be a worldwide petition to get Neighbours back on. there is, surely?Whats Paul Robinson gonna do? I worry about them! When Bishop suggested he could hurry to Australia to make an appearance before filming ends in June, he agreed. Works a bit patchy at the minute. Ill fly economy. Honestly! This week on Foreign Correspondent Eric Campbell and his Moscow crew film inside Russia and neighbouring Georgia for his story The Russian Resistance. My hope issomebody from Putins circle will just kill him. Pussy Riots Nika sums up the mood of many whove fled Russia for refuge in Georgia. Angry and afraid, Putins opponents fear they cant go home till hes gone. Since President Putin invaded Ukraine in February, some 200,000 Russians have fled their country, scattering across western and eastern Europe. Around 30,000 have landed in Georgia, a former Soviet country on Russias southern border, where its cheap to live and visas are easy to get. Nika cant see herself going home any time soon. I really think that I will not be able to go to Russia till Putin will, I dont know, die, disappear, become a bug or something. So yes, I think we need to wait for his death. The Russian refugees are distressed at the invasion of Ukraine and the brutal crackdown on free speech. Yekaterina and her husband Tikhon were high-profile presenters at the independent station in Moscow, TV Rain. When it shut down shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, they fled. There is no guarantee that they will arrest you, but theres no guarantee that they wont. So there are much more chances that youre going to be in jail, if you go back and were not ready to have this kind of risks. We have kids, says Tikhon. It was the most stressful and terrible moment of my life. We have decided everything that we are leaving and to you know pack up stuff and wake up kids in the middle of the night A couple of hours and your whole life has changed, says Yekaterina. In a timely story, Eric Campbell and his Moscow crew film both inside Russia and in neighbouring Georgia, meeting the brave people opposing Putin and his war. In St Petersburg, we meet 76-year-old artist Yelena whos been arrested for protesting against the war but is refusing to stay silent. There are good Russians too. But now there is so much shame for our country, so much disgrace. Russia always had much to be proud of. But this is all so awful. Dissidents inside Russia are increasingly isolated as State TV whips up hostility against anyone who questions the government. But those whove landed in Georgia feel vulnerable too because the Georgian government has been reluctant to criticise Putin for fear of reprisals. Many Russians living in Georgia are unsure how long theyll be welcome there. We know that Georgian government is not happy with us being here because they are afraid that Georgia will become a safe space for Russian independent journalists, says Tikhon. It is not a safe space. Thursday 28th April at 8pm on ABC. Palestinian workers wait to cross the Erez crossing point between northern Gaza Strip and Israel, on April 26, 2022. Israel on Tuesday decided to reopen the Erez crossing point on the northern tip of the Gaza Strip after economic losses in the impoverished coastal enclave had piled up. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) GAZA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Tuesday decided to reopen the Erez crossing point on the northern tip of the Gaza Strip after economic losses in the impoverished coastal enclave had piled up. "After an assessment of the security situation, it was decided to resume the entry of workers and merchants from Gaza into Israel through the Erez crossing as of tomorrow, Tuesday," Major General Ghassan Alyan, coordinator of Government Activities in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement to the press on Monday. "The opening of the crossing to the movement of merchants and workers, and other civilian steps from the Gaza Strip into Israel is conditional on maintaining security and stability in the region," the statement said. Israel closed the crossing point on Sunday after unknown militants fired several rockets from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel, according to the Palestinian coordination office with Israel. This happened against the backdrop of growing tension in East Jerusalem and the Israeli arrest campaigns in the West Bank during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Gaza economists said that keeping the crossing open would have constituted a qualitative leap in breaking the current state of economic deterioration and stagnation that has continued for more than 15 years due to Israeli blockade. They said that some 12,000 Palestinian workers and merchants are crossing from the Gaza Strip to Israel every day, bringing financial liquidity of 5 million Israeli Shekels (1.52 million U.S. dollars) to the coastal enclave. These revenues, which were supposed to enter Gaza through the workers, would greatly alleviate the economic, social, and living crisis suffered by the Gaza Strip residents. Palestinian workers wait to cross the Erez crossing point between northern Gaza Strip and Israel, on April 26, 2022. Israel on Tuesday decided to reopen the Erez crossing point on the northern tip of the Gaza Strip after economic losses in the impoverished coastal enclave had piled up. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) Q+A this week is in Brisbane at the Powerhouse Museum with Stan Grant as host. As we near the halfway point of the election campaign, this week Q+A is live from Australias fastest growing city, Brisbane. Thirteen people lost their lives in the devastating February floods and record-breaking rains impacted tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the city, with the final clean up bill still not yet known. How is the city recovering and what more needs to be done to help residents and businesses get back on their feet? Meanwhile national security remains a key campaign issue and this week the focus is on the threat of China in the Pacific region. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a Chinese naval base in the Solomon Islands would be a red line for Australia, while Defence Minister Peter Dutton says Australians need to prepare for war. Meanwhile, Labor is promising more money for aid, military training and surveillance flights in the Pacific, if elected. What are the consequences for Australia and the world? How much does this issue matter to you? And after contracting COVID last week, Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is expected to re-join the campaign trail in person later this week. How has Labor fared without their leader? All this, plus the news of the week join us for an important discussion. On the panel: Anika Wells, Labor MP for Lilley Campbell Newman, Former Queensland Premier and Senate candidate Larissa Waters, Greens Senator Caitlin Byrne, Director, Griffith Asia Institute Stuart Robert, Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business 8:30pm Thursday on ABC. Updated. The UK will enjoy an extra bank holiday in June to celebrate the Queens jubilee. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The UK is set to enjoy a four-day weekend in June, thanks to the Queens Platinum Jubilee. The late May bank holiday has been moved to June 2, while the Jubilee bank holiday will be celebrated on June 3giving the UK an extra day off. Business and hospitality leaders have called on the government to make the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday permanent, as they argue the extra day off will provide an economic boost. But how are bank holidays created? Why do we have bank holidays? Bank holidays originated in the UK in 1871, when banks and financial institutions would take days off. As time went on, businesses, schools, and the government joined in, and now bank holidays are celebrated by everyone. While key workers and people who work in retail and hospitality may have to work on bank holidays, they are often offered an extra day off in lieu. How are bank holidays created? Bank holidays are created under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 and include days specifically listed in the act as well as days proclaimed by the Queen. The royal bank holiday proclamations usually change holidays to a different day but occasionally add a holiday and are announced every summer in The Gazette. The Platinum Jubilee bank holiday was created to celebrate 70 years of the Queens reign. It was intended that the special holiday would only take place this year but the government has the power to make it an annual celebration. However, The Guardian reported that No 10 suggested that it is unlikely that the June bank holiday will become permanent. Johnsons spokesperson said it was a unique event, and said: Im not aware of any plans to make it permanent. He said each bank holiday presents a considerable and significant cost to our economy and therefore each proposal would have to be considered carefully on that basis. How does the UKs bank holidays compare to Europe? England and Wales usually have eight bank holidays a year, while in 2021 Northern Ireland had 10 and Scotland had 11, according to Trades Union Congress (TUC). According to the TUC, every country in the EU has more public holidays than the UK, with the EU average being 12.8 days. Romania, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland and Cyprus have the most bank holidays with 15 days each. (Natasha Pszenicki) Would you want to live in a so-called buffer state, a nation sandwiched between the competing interests of rival superpowers? Cynical enthusiasts of international relations realpolitik take the view that such buffer states Ukraine included are a necessary evil, the peacetime equivalent of no mans land designed to keep otherwise warring factions apart. For these international realists, buffer states should be discouraged from choosing sides. By doing so, theyll only end up antagonising the rejected side, increasing the chances of a major conflict. Lord Skidelsky, the economic historian and biographer of John Maynard Keynes, offered his own variation on this thinking on Twitter just the other day, warning Finland that applicationto join Nato would be a catastrophic mistake. It would break its 1948 neutrality pact with Russia, the mutually accepted and observed basis of its independence. Funnily enough, this didnt go down too well with Finns who think security promises dating back to the late Forties arent worth the Soviet paper theyre written on. Buffer states live a precarious existence. Sometimes, superpower rivals cooperate rather than compete: Poles were presumably less than enthusiastic about their buffer state status following the signing of the August 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which paved the way for the German and Soviet invasions the following month: Hitler and Stalin werent exactly the best of friends, but they were more than happy to divide the country that had kept them apart. Buffer states also tend to perform poorly economically. Becoming a fully paid-up member of a customs union is difficult if, having signed up, you are accused by the other side of moving away from neutrality: indeed, you may never receive the invite in the first place if the powers-that-be fear an increase in friction. Attracting foreign investment is tricky if would-be investors are unconvinced that your claimed neutrality will be maintained in the future. Encouraging your most productive workers not to head elsewhere in search of better opportunities becomes a major challenge if, thanks to neutrality, your economy cannot flourish. Long before Putins invasion this year, Ukraine had been suffering economically, caught between two huge rivals. Its superpower affiliations have been, at times, difficult to pin down. Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraines President between 2010 and 2014, the year in which he was deposed, was more interested in cosying up to Russia and to the ostriches in his private petting zoo than in supporting the aims of those many Ukrainians who demanded closer links with the European Union. Petro Poroshenko, his successor, struggled to deal with a (by then) deeply divided nation thanks to the ongoing activities of pro-Russian separatists and Russias February/March 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. In the midst of all these upheavals, the Ukrainian people were denied the economic opportunities routinely seen elsewhere. Story continues A comparison between Poland former buffer state between East and West and Ukraine helps demonstrate the point. In 1991, the year in which the Soviet Empire finally crumbled, Ukrainian national income averaged $14,500 per head. The collapse of the Soviet system saw Ukrainian incomes crumble further, dropping to a low of around $6,800 in 1999. Things improved a bit but, by 2020, Ukrainian incomes averaged a mere $12,500, still lower than they had been three decades earlier. Meanwhile, Poland has flourished. Incomes rose from a mere $10,500 to $29,000 over the same period. In 1999, Poland joined Nato. Five years later, it joined the EU. True, Warsaw and Brussels dont always see eye to eye but, when it comes to lasting economic and political engagement, at least everyone knows which side of Polands bread is buttered. No longer a buffer state, Poland has been able to enjoy the fruits that come with an ever-closer association with like-minded democracies and market economies. Unlike Ukraine, it has not had to face repeated invasion from a hostile neighbour. Its no wonder, then, that Finland and Sweden are thinking of joining Nato. Unlike would-be realists, they have recognised that we may be living in a new reality. Stephen King is HSBCs Senior Economic Adviser and author of Grave New World UK dismisses Lavrov's "bravado", says no imminent threat of escalation in Ukraine Russia's invasion of Ukraine LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's armed forces minister played down comments by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on the possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, dismissing them as "bravado". Earlier Lavrov told the world not to underestimate the considerable risks of nuclear conflict, and said NATO's supply of weapons to Ukraine "in essence" meant that the Western alliance was engaged in a proxy war with Russia. "Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation," James Heappey told BBC Television. "What the West is doing to support its allies in Ukraine is very well calibrated." Asked about the possibility of Russia using a tactical nuclear weapon, Heappey said he thought there was a "vanishingly small" possibility of that sort of escalation.Heappey said that while NATO had been reinforcing its eastern flank, it was not providing military aid. "That has not been a NATO endeavour, that is a community of donor nations who are all making bilateral contributions to the Ukrainians and that donor community extends well beyond the borders of NATO," he told BBC Radio. "It suits the Kremlin's narrative to claim that they are somehow in a confrontation with NATO. They were saying that before the war even began, but that is nonsense and Lavrov knows it." Moscow calls its actions a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West says this a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression by President Vladimir Putin. Heappey said it was completely legitimate for Ukraine to strike Russian logistics lines and fuel supplies and he acknowledged the weapons the international community was now providing had the range to be used in Russia. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Paul Sandle and Angus MacSwan) Allison Williams has reportedly welcomed her first child with partner Alexander Dreymon. The Girls actress and The Last Kingdom actor, who have been dating since 2019, reportedly became parents to a son named Arlo during the winter, multiple sources confirmed to People. The stars were reportedly spotted on vacation in the Bahamas with their son and Allison's father, newsman Brian Williams. The 34-year-old also appeared to be wearing an engagement ring during the outing. "They seemed to be very happy and very much in love," the insider said. "They are both private people individually, and they made the decision to keep this happy news to just a small circle of family and friends. But they're over the moon." Allison and Alexander met on the set of the 2020 survival thriller Horizon Line and have been dating since late 2019. The Get Out star was previously married to Facebook executive Ricky Van Veen between 2015 and 2019. He tied the knot with Chelsea Clinton's business partner, Caroline Kassie, in July last year. Representatives for Allison and Alexander declined to comment on the report. JERUSALEM, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Israeli security forces said on Tuesday that they foiled an attempt to smuggle from Lebanon some 100 grenades intended for future "terror attacks" in Israel. According to a military statement, soldiers spotted two suspects approaching Israeli territory near the security fence along the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon. The Blue Line is a demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel as well as Lebanon and the Golan Heights published by the United Nations in 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. In a search conducted by police and army forces in the area, a bag with 100 grenades and two rifles the suspects left on the border was found. The Israeli police wrote on Twitter that they had a suspicion that the weapons were "intended to carry out terrorist attacks and that Hezbollah was involved in the smuggling attempt. The incident came amid heightened regional tensions caused by a string of fatal attacks in Israel, deadly Israeli raids in the West Bank and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police in Jerusalem's flashpoint of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and party, fought a war in 2006 that ended with a cease-fire. The border area, though mostly quiet, has since remained tense. Home to nearly 8,000 students the University of North Georgia's Gainesville Campus expansion has allowed the university to meet both the access and attainment of higher education needs and goals of students in the northeast Georgia area. UNG's allocation and renovation of the former Lanier Technical College property on the east side of campus was meant to address the growing needs of the Gainesville campus. The biggest of the newly transformed spaces is the 71,242 square foot Health Science building. On the lower level of the health science building lies information technology staff on the Gainesville campus. Within this area is a new server room that provides data support for the entire university as well. Specifically, designed areas to accommodate hardware configurations, computer testing and computer repair are housed in this area as well. The Department of nursing is located on the upper floor of the Health Science building. 16 simulation stations provide state-of-the-art instructional equipment that will be shared by students on all campuses. Two 100-seat lecture rooms will allow for substantial growth in the nursing cohort to supply the growing demand for nursing graduates in Northeast Georgia. To meet the growing demand for areas where students can gather and collaborate on projects multiple spaces have been designed for each building. The health sciences building features three large lounge spaces where students can study or meet casually. In addition to the new lounges there will also be a new food court area. The Arts and Technology building houses Continuing Education, Visual Arts and the Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis. A considerably larger area for Continuing Education classes workshops and other events is featured in the front area of the Arts and Technology building. The Visual Arts Department as well as IESA are natural fits to utilize many of the high-ceilinged areas of the former mechanical shops found in the building. The first building to be renovated was Student Health Services. The Health Center provides walk-in and buy appointment services to all students. The most transformative space in the Gainesville expansion is the Film and Digital Media building. The new building features three sound stages with the largest measuring about 2500 square feet. It also has a writer's room, three dressing rooms, two-tiered theater seating classrooms, a computer lab, two private editing rooms, a color grading and sound mixing room a makeup room and a craft services room. The new expansion is now a seamless addition to the current UNG Gainesville Campus. The modifications and expansions of the campus have allowed for departments to be consolidated under one roof, which will ultimately add to efficiency and success of faculty staff and students for years to come. BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Most parts of northern China will see temperature drops up to 10 degrees Celsius in the next three days, while rainfall will continue to slash parts of southern China, the National Meteorological Center said on Tuesday. Strong gales will bring sandstorms to parts of Inner Mongolia, and sandy weather will sweep regions of Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia in the next three days. In the coming ten days, temperatures in most parts of China will be close to or lower than the averages in the previous years. Rainstorms continued to hit parts of southern China on Tuesday after hitting regions in Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Shanghai, and Zhejiang on Monday. The center said the southern region has now entered a wet season with more rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, gales, and hail. It called on the public to take protective measures. President Joe Biden will commute the 20-year sentence of a Waco woman sent to federal prison in 2008 for trafficking cocaine, the White House announced Tuesday. Rose Trujillo Rangel, now 66, was among several defendants that U.S. District Judge Walter Smith sentenced in April 2008 for their role in a scheme to drive cocaine from Mexico to Waco. Trujillo Rangel was accused of acting as an intermediary in the trafficking ring and got 20 years on the charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, as well as three years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine. Under the commutation grant, Trujillos sentence will now expire Aug. 24, nearly six years early. The fine and supervised release will remain intact. Biden on Tuesday announced clemency for 78 people, including three pardons and 75 commutations. Today, I am pardoning three people who have demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and are striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities, Biden said in a statement. I am also commuting the sentences of 75 people who are serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses, many of whom have been serving on home confinement during the COVID-pandemic and many of whom would have received a lower sentence if they were charged with the same offense today, thanks to the bipartisan First Step Act. Others sentenced in the Waco drug trafficking scheme included Trini Lopez Espinoza, Jasen Gabriel Cervantez, Patricio Loreto Nevarez Jr., Ricardo Renteria and Mirna Renteria. Federal authorities arrested Espinoza and the Renterias in February 2007 after the Renterias, who were husband and wife, drove 10 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico to the parking lot of New Road Inn on Interstate 35. A McLennan County prosecutor has agreed to deferred adjudication and a fine for a Dallas-area man accused of shooting an Axtell woman at a Waco-area water park in July 2020. A defense attorney and prosecutor presented the plea agreement of Marcus Lee Broomfield, 20, of Seagoville, in a video conference Friday with Judge Thomas C. West of the 19th District Court. Broomfield was accused of firing several rounds into the air after leaving the BSR water park, now known as Waco Surf, McLennan County Sheriffs Office authorities have said. Several rounds pierced the home of Dorothy Trevino near the intersection of Beaver Lake Road and Old Mexia Road while she was asleep that day. One shot wounded her and caused her to be treated at a local hospital, sheriffs officials said at the time. A grand jury indicted Broomfield on Sept. 17, 2020, on charges of second-degree aggravated assault in the shooting. Assistant Criminal District Attorney Will Gray on Friday recommended deferred adjudication probation and a fine as the punishment. Defense attorney Scottie D. Allen of Dallas, representing Broomfield, applied for probation. Judge West ordered a background investigation for Broomfield on Friday and set a sentencing hearing for July 1. At the sentencing hearing the court will set the term of probation and determine the amount of the fine. Defendants who successfully complete deferred adjudication probation have the opportunity to remove the conviction from their record. Those who violate such probation may be subject to the full penalty for the underlying offense. 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. Waco police have no suspects in the three shootings that occurred in a six-hour period overnight Saturday and left five people needing hospital treatment, and officials have not drawn any connections between the incidents. I cant definitively say the incidents were connected, Ofc. Garen Bynum, a Waco Police Department spokesperson, said Monday. The incidents took place in an East Waco neighborhood, a West Waco bar and a South Waco taco truck. Bynum said investigators had not established whether victims at the different locations knew each other. Detectives are investigating all three shootings and our Crime Scene Unit is processing the evidence, he said. Investigators ask anyone with knowledge of the incident to call Crime Stoppers at 254-753-4357. The first shooting began as a disturbance call at a party in the 1200 block of Texas Street around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Bynum said. While officers were on the way, they received a message that shots had been fired. When they arrived at the disturbance, officers found two people with gunshot wounds, and could not identify the shooter or shooters, Bynum said. American Medical Response, Inc., transported the wounded to an area hospital. Also at the scene of the disturbance, officers found a large crowd which hindered the investigation, Bynum said. The second shooting happened about five hours later around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Bynum said. Officers were in process of responding to a burglar alarm call at the Golden Corral in the 600 block of North Valley Mills Drive when they heard gunshots to the south across Ruby Avenue at Mr. Magoos Bar and saw people running frantically, Bynum said. Outside Mr. Magoos, the officers found one person with several gunshot wounds and had AMR transport that person to Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center, Bynum said. Police did not identify a shooting suspect at Mr. Magoos, he said. In the third shooting around 2 a.m., officers responded to a disturbance call in the parking lot of El Pollo Palenque Taqueria in the 1400 block of La Salle Avenue. On the way, Bynum said they received a message that shots had been fired. Witnesses told officers that as people involved in an argument got in their vehicles and went their separate ways, someone emerged from the sunroof of a vehicle and began to fire shots into the parking lot. Officers found two people wounded and AMR transported them to an area hospital. All of the wounded were still alive Monday afternoon, according to reports. 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 first day of early voting in the May 7 city and school board elections in McLennan County ended with 268 voters casting ballots in the countys five early polling places. The McLennan County Elections Office also received 168 mail-in ballots Monday, bringing the total of mail-in ballots received to 1,357. The West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd., recorded the largest number of early voters with 108 casting ballots there. The McLennan County Elections Office received 61; Hewitt City Hall received 51, Waco Multipurpose Center received 29, and Robinson Community Center received 19. Two provisional ballots were cast. The May 7 election has contested city council races in Waco, Woodway, Lorena and McGregor; school board races in the Waco, La Vega and Lorena school districts; sales tax reauthorization in Bellmead; a school bond election in Connally ISD; and consideration of two Texas constitutional amendments. Competing for the Waco City Council District 1 seat are incumbent Andrea Barefield, Russell Rhodes and Epharm Herring. In District 2 incumbent Alice Rodriguez faces Tiffany Vidana and Armando Arvizu. In the Waco ISD school board races, Marlon Jones and Angelo Ochoa are competing for the unexpired term of one of the boards two at-large seats. Hope Balfa-Mustakim and Jonathan Grant are running for the District 4 trustee seat. The county elections office will conduct elections for each entity except Connally ISD, which will conduct its own election. Early voting in the Connally election will be at the Connally ISD Administration Building, 200 Cadet Way, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday. For the county-conducted elections, early voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. The sites will close Sunday and open again from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 2-3. All eligible voters can cast an early in-person ballot at any of the five early polling places: McLennan County Elections Administration Office, 214 N. Fourth St., Suite 300. Robinson Community Center, 106 W. Lyndale Ave. Waco Multipurpose Community Center, 1020 Elm Ave. West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd. Hewitt City Hall, 200 Patriot Court. 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 McLennan County Elections Office has already received more than 1,200 mail-in ballots for the May 7 city and school board elections, nearly ten times the number of mail-in ballots cast in last years spring elections. Early in-person voting will run Monday through Saturday and May 2-3, and mail-in ballots have to be back to the elections office by Election Day. One of the McLennan Countys most popular polling places, at the First Assembly of God church on Bosque Boulevard, will not be in use for early voting or on Election Day. The West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd., will take its place. It is a little less than a mile away from the church. The May 7 election will feature contested city council races in Waco, Woodway, McGregor and Lorena; school board races in Waco, La Vega and Lorena school districts; sales tax reauthorization in Bellmead; a $39 million bond election for a new elementary school in Connally ISD and two state constitutional amendments. Every eligible voter in the state has at least the constitutional amendments to weigh in on. The county will conduct elections for each entity except Connally ISD, which will hold its own election. Connally voters will have to go to separate locations to vote on both the school bond and the constitutional amendments. For the county-conducted elections, early voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday; and open again from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 2-3. All eligible voters can cast an early in-person ballot at any of the five early polling places: McLennan County Elections Administration Office, 214 N. Fourth St., Suite 300 Robinson Community Center, 106 W. Lyndale Ave. Waco Multipurpose Community Center, 1020 Elm Ave. West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd. Hewitt City Hall, 200 Patriot Court. For the Connally ISD bond election, early voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; closed Saturday and Sunday; and open again from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 2 and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 3. The polling place for Connally ISD is the Board Room in the Connally ISD Administration Building, 200 Cadet Way. County Elections Administrator Jared Goldsmith said 2,996 people had requested mail-in ballots for the May elections conducted by the county with 1,203 ballots mailed in by Friday. A signature verification committee will start reviewing ballots Monday, and voters whose ballots are rejected will be notified and given an opportunity to correct the issue. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot for the May 7 election is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Last year, the county elections office received only 124 mail-in ballots, but Goldsmith said demand for mail-in ballots tends to be higher in even-numbered years with state primaries, even though primaries are typically held separately. In 2018, the county received 467 mail-in ballots for the May elections. The May 2020 elections were moved to November 2020 because of COVID-19 concerns, and the county received 10,794 mail-in ballots for that election, pointing to the vastly lower turnout for May elections. Overall, Waco ISD saw 57.1% of its 52,981 eligible voters turn out in November 2020, compared to just 5.1% of the 50,847 eligible in May last year, and 2.4% of the 8,058 eligible in May 2018. The eligibility number was lower in 2018 because only one Waco ISD board district had a contested race on the ballot, while the other years had an at-large race. The city of Waco saw 61.5% of its 71,653 eligible voters turn out in November 2020, compared to just 11.4% of the 20,652 eligible in May last year, and 5.6% of the 10,993 eligible in May 2018. Like Waco ISD, the eligibility number varies based on the voting population of the districts whose representatives are up for election. This year in Waco, the May 7 election will have city council races for District 1 and the unexpired term of the District 2 seat. District 1 incumbent Andrea Barefield is seeking reelection against challengers Russell Rhodes and Epharm Herring while District 2 incumbent Alice Rodriguez is seeking election against challengers Tiffany Vidana and Armando Arvizu. Waco ISD will have board races for the District 4 seat and the unexpired term for one of its at-large seats. Hope Balfa-Mustakim and Jonathan Grant are running for the District 4 seat, and Marlon Jones and Angelo Ochoa are running for the at-large seat. The two statewide constitutional amendments would reduce the school property tax burden for some homeowners. Proposition 1 would reduce school taxes on the primary residences of elderly or disabled homeowners. Proposition 2 would expand the homestead exemption for school taxes from $25,000 to $40,000, meaning most homeowners would pay less in school taxes on their primary residence. According to reporting by The Texas Tribune, the author of Proposition 2 said it would knock $176 off the annual tax bill for the average homeowner. The state plans to provide additional funding to school districts to make up for the lost local revenue, which would cost $600 million annually for Proposition 2 and $744 million between 2024 and 2026 for Proposition 1, according to The Texas Tribune. HOUSTON Galveston Independent School District officials last week confirmed the uncovering of a network of cryptocurrency mining devices surreptitiously installed on six separate campuses. According to The Daily News' John Wayne Ferguson, district IT employees found a number of Bobcat cryptocurrency mining hotspots installed on school networks. The devices were discovered after workers monitoring the district's systems noted aberrations in network traffic, according to Galveston ISD President Tony Brown. "I can't describe it in any more details, because I'd be in way over my head, as far as what it was and what they did," Brown said, per Ferguson. Brown stated the devices were installed by a former district employee who was placed on leave after the discovery and has since resigned. The devices were found on April 8, according to Superintendent Jerry Gibson, and an investigation is ongoing. "Although the investigation related to the employee's misuse of district property is ongoing, it has been confirmed that there was no breach of data resulting from this incident," Gibson said. "We are pleased that the security measures put in place by the district were effective in detecting and preventing any potential issues." Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are digital currencies traded between users as payment for goods and services. These transactions are authenticated by miners, who use devices like the ones discovered by Galveston ISD employees to provide processing power that helps verify these transactions. The process is highly energy-intensive and requires large amounts of electricity and computer processing power, and miners who provide this service receive new Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in return. In short, crypto mining is a lucrative, energy-heavy enterprise, and lawmakers across the United States are scrambling to craft legislation in the hopes of attracting or regulating mining in their states as the practice proliferates. New York state senators are poised to vote on a bill in the coming weeks that would ban energy-intensive crypto mining in the state for the next two years. Proponents of the bill say it will disincentivize the use of fossil fuels in the creation of Bitcoin and help keep New York on track to meet its carbon emissions goals. In Texas, Republican lawmakers are courting large-scale cryptominers and hailing their arrival as enterprising businesses capable of fixing the state's infamously capricious power grid. Last June, Gov. Greg Abbott touted the arrival of cryptocurrency payment kiosks in a number of H-E-B grocery stores, claiming the Lone Star State would be the nation's "crypto leader" moving forward. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has repeatedly called for an influx of large crypto-mining concerns into the state to raise electricity demand in rural areas, a move he claims would help stabilize the grid by raising baseline demand and energy prices. "A lot of the discussion around Bitcoin views Bitcoin as a consumer of energy," Cruz said in October. "The perspective I'm suggesting is very much the reverse." One of the world's wealthiest individuals, Elon Musk, has agreed to acquire Twitter for $44 billion and take it private. Elon Musk agreed to purchase Twitter for around $44 billion on Monday, marking a major success for the world's richest man in his bid to get control of the powerful social network, which is frequented by world leaders, celebrities, and cultural trendsetters. Earlier this month, Mr. Musk stated that he was the business's single largest shareholder. He had agreed to sell the company for $54.20 per share, representing a 38 percent premium over the company's share price at the time. If Mr. Musk does decide to take Twitter private, it would be the largest corporate transaction in at least two decades, according to statistics gathered by Dealogic. Mr. Musk has stated that he intends to do so. The announcement of the transaction was made in a statement. According to Mr. Musk, "free expression is the foundation of a healthy democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where issues critical to the future of mankind are argued." The company and the Twitter community have immense potential, and I am looking forward to working with them to realize it." With the announcement of the blockbuster agreement, Mr. Musk, 50, has brought an end to what appeared to be an implausible campaign to purchase Twitter and instantly raised worries about what he would do with the network and how his actions will affect online expression throughout the world. According to the billionaire, who has more than 83 million followers on Twitter and has romped about the site throwing insult and memes, he wants to "change" the network by supporting more free expression and allowing people greater choice over what they see on it. By turning the firm private, Mr. Musk will be able to concentrate on the service without having to worry about the prying eyes of investors, regulators, and others looking over his shoulder. However, there will very certainly be a lot more scrutiny. The internet has become a megaphone for political leaders, while businesses, celebrities, and others have used it to refine their images and create their brands. Even if Twitter is not the most popular social media network it has more than 217 million daily users, compared to the billions who use Facebook and Instagram it has played a significant part in creating narratives worldwide. Twitter has also been the focus of criticism in recent years since some users have used the service to promote disinformation and other potentially harmful content. Former President Donald J. Trump routinely used Twitter to taunt and inflame his supporters until the social media platform banned him following a disturbance at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2017. To deal with unanticipated scenarios, the organization has written rules on the fly. Mr. Musk has had a tense relationship with free expression on the internet. The president attempted to shut down a Twitter account that monitored his private plane this year, citing personal and safety concerns. In addition, he has fallen into difficulties with the authorities because of his tweets. On Monday, he stated that he hoped his harshest opponents would continue to express themselves on Twitter because "that is what free speech is all about." He said he aimed to enhance trust by making Twitter's technology more transparent, fighting the bots that spam users on the network, and "authenticating all humans" on the platform. Republicans in Washington, who have long accused Twitter of stifling their political viewpoints, applauded Mr. Musk's agreement. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, a Republican senator from Tennessee, expressed her hope that Elon Musk will assist rein in Big Tech's history of silencing individuals who hold opposing viewpoints in a tweet. Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that he would continue to post on his own social media network, Truth Social. Although he stated that he would not use Twitter, he did express his desire that "Elon acquires Twitter, since he would make changes to it." Democrats were muted in their opposition to the agreement. Despite declining to comment explicitly on Twitter's sale, White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that President Biden "has long been worried about the influence of huge social media platforms" and that they should be "held responsible for the harms that they do." She stated that Mr. Biden favored reforms to internet expression and antitrust rules. In addition to concerns over free speech, Twitter is being scrutinized for its commercial practices. For years, the firm has battled to attract new customers and keep existing customers returning. Twitter's advertising business, which is the primary source of revenue for the company, has been erratic. The social media platform Twitter has not made a profit in eight of the previous ten years. Despite generating $5.57 billion in revenue, the corporation lost $493 million in the previous year. On the other hand, meta, the corporation that was once known as Facebook, made $39 billion in earnings and generated $118 billion in sales last year. It's no surprise that Twitter, which went public in 2013, has had a rocky corporate past. It has battled with board dysfunction and turmoil with its founders on a number of occasions. It has been courted by a number of other potential acquisitions in the past, including Disney and Salesforce. In 2020, the activist investment firm Elliott Management purchased a stake in Twitter and asked for Jack Dorsey, one of the company's co-founders, to resign from his position as CEO. Mr. Dorsey resigned from his position last year. Twitter's chairman, Bret Taylor, said that the board had "conducted a careful and extensive process" on Mr. Musk's proposal and that the purchase would "provide a considerable financial premium" to shareholders. Mr. Musk has shown interest in buying the company. Former antitrust officials believe that regulators are unlikely to significantly dispute the purchase since the government most frequently intervenes to prevent a deal when a corporation buys a competitor. The transaction was completed in a matter of weeks. Mr. Musk, who also serves as the CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX, began purchasing shares in Twitter in January and reported this month that he had built a stake of more than 9 percent in the social media company. There was instant speculation about what Mr. Musk intended to do with the platform due to this announcement. Twitter's management first welcomed him to the firm's board of directors, but he quickly reversed direction and made a formal effort to acquire the business within days. At first, any agreement looked to be improbable since the entrepreneur had not said how he intended to fund the transaction. Twitter's executives expressed skepticism as well, maybe because it was impossible to determine how much Mr. Musk was joking around with them. In 2018, he tweeted that he intended to take Tesla private and falsely said that he had "financing secured" for such a transaction. To counter Mr. Musk's bid, Twitter implemented a "poison pill," which banned the billionaire from amassing more than 15 percent of the company's stock. The skepticism began to fade last week when Mr. Musk stated in a regulatory filing that he had secured commitments worth $46.5 billion to finance his bid for the Twitter company. In addition to debt funding, Morgan Stanley and a consortium of other lenders provided Mr. Musk with $12.5 billion in loans against his Tesla shares for a total of $13 billion. He was supposed to bring around $21 billion in equity funding to the table. On Monday, Twitter did not release further information on the equity fundraising. It also did not impose any conditions on Mr. Musk's financing that would have prevented him from completing the transaction. According to individuals familiar with the issue, Twitter was obligated to consider Mr. Musk's approach seriously because of the financial commitments, mainly because Mr. Musk threatened to take the offer straight to shareholders in a hostile takeover effort. Throughout the weekend, in a series of phone conversations and video sessions, the board of directors of Twitter and the billionaire's deal makers worked out the specifics of the acquisition. The crews worked on the last touches late Sunday night and into Monday am. According to the company, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Allen & Company served as Twitter's financial advisers, while Morgan Stanley served as Mr. Musk's primary financial counsel. Elon Musk Buys Twitter PRESS RELEASE EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin (April 25, 2022) A new exhibit that opened on April 23 in the EAA Aviation Museums Eagle Hangar honors the late Thomas Hudner, a Korean War Medal of Honor recipient, with a Corsair aircraft that replaced the one Hudner used in his heroic actions that earned him the Medal of Honor. The airplane has been in the EAA collection for 40 years and was fully restored in 1994 with the markings of World War II ace Kenneth Walsh. Recent research into the aircraft log books, however, showed the Corsair was a replacement for the Corsair that Hudner crash-landed in Korea in 1950 in an attempt to save fellow pilot Jesse Brown, the U.S. Navys first Black naval aviator. Hudner logged many hours and multiple carrier landings in the EAA aircraft, which after its Navy service was owned by several individuals before it was donated to EAA in 1982. When we discovered that our Corsair had a direct connection to a Medal of Honor recipient, it was an easy decision to restore the airplane to its Korean War markings to honor him, said Ron Connolly, EAA Aviation Museum director. This new exhibit also honors Jesse Brown as a naval aviator and the bond he forged with his squadron mates during that time. Members of the Hudner and Brown families were at the museum as part of the formal dedication of the display, including Thomas Hudner III, son of Thomas Hudner, and Jamal Knight, grandson of Jesse Brown. They also loaned personal memorabilia that adds to the authenticity of the exhibit. Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on October 13, 1926, Brown began an avid interest in aviation at age six when his father took him to an air show. That continued through his early years and during his attendance at Ohio State University. Brown entered the Navys aviation cadet training program in 1946 and earned his naval aviator wings in 1948. He was Americas first Black naval aviator, receiving wide media visibility for the achievement. Brown earned his first carrier assignment to the USS Leyte in 1949, which was directed to Korea in 1950 in support of United Nations military efforts. Browns final assignment was as part of a flight supporting U.S. ground forces near the Chosin Reservoir in December 1950. During that mission, Browns aircraft was shot down and he was forced to crash-land his Corsair in a small valley. He was trapped in the cockpit during the landing, however, and eventually succumbed to his injuries. For his actions, Brown was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Air Medal, among others. He also inspired numerous other Black men to become military pilots. The Navy commissioned the frigate USS Jesse L. Brown in his honor in 1973, and a Veterans Administration hospital in Chicago is named in his honor. The Korean War incident that memorialized Hudner and Brown is the subject of a soon-to-be-released major motion picture titled Devotion, starring Screen Actors Guild award winner Glen Powell, as well as Jonathan Majors, Serinda Swan, and Joe Jonas. That movie is scheduled to be released later this year, and EAA has been in regular contact with the movie production team in an advisory role. 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) "The RCEP and the Boao Forum focus on further integration for trade, networks, and economic networks in Asia and in the world," Turkish scholar Selcuk Colakoglu said. ISTANBUL, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 creates high expectations for contributing to the revival of the world economy and multilateral trade mechanism, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, a Turkish scholar has said. Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals. Held annually in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan, the forum brings together world leaders, business leaders, scholars and think tanks representatives. This year's event opened on Wednesday and lasted three days. Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, said there were "vibrant discussions" at the forum on integration and globalization in Asia and other parts of the world, which have been impacted by the pandemic. The forum is specifically important as it came at a time when the world was hit by the pandemic and rising commodity prices, which put increased pressure on all countries, in addition to the problems in the supply chain, said Colakoglu, also an academic at the BNU-HKBU United International College in Zhuhai in China's southern province of Guangdong. 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. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) "In that regard, Boao Forum may be one of the leading forums, bringing different sectors and organizations and world leaders to discuss current issues and build up joint future projections," the scholar told Xinhua in an online interview. Along with the BFA, Colakoglu also emphasized the growing role of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in contributing to the world economy and trade. The RCEP, the world's largest free trade deal to date, covers 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its five free trade agreement partners, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. "The RCEP and the Boao Forum focus on further integration for trade, networks, and economic networks in Asia and in the world. In this regard, the RCEP is not only important for Asia and Asian integration, but it will also have some solid outcomes for the global economy," he said. The RCEP countries account for roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product and population. Over 90 percent of trade in goods among approved member states will gradually be tariff-free. Aerial photo taken on April 15, 2022 shows a view of Shanghai's Yangshan Port in east China. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) A successful implementation of the RCEP will promote further integration in the global economy starting from East Asia, Colakoglu said. The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind offers "a win-win solution for everyone because one-sided development is not good enough to create enough prosperity for humanity," he added. In this regard, China offers to create more areas for international cooperation with globalized economy through the RCEP and BFA, he said. In 1994, Singapore caned American teenager Michael Fay for vandalism, a day after the sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response WATERLOO A Waterloo woman is one of 75 people to have their sentences commuted by President Joe Biden. On Tuesday, the White House announced the commutation of a nine-year prison sentence handed to Andrea Zavala in 2017. Zavala, a 43-year-old mother of four, had been sentenced on a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The commutation began Tuesday with the remainder of the sentence to be served on home confinement. A five-year term of supervised release will follow the home confinement. America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities. Biden said in announcing the pardons and commutations, which came as part of Second Chance Month. Zavala was accused of sending ice meth from California to a Cedar Rapids man between 2013 and 2016. The presidents clemency list included three pardons and 75 commutations, mostly for drug offenses and related crimes. Two other Iowans received commutations. Douglas Dean Johnson of Dickens was given home confinement on a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to manufacture meth, pseudoephedrine charges and related offenses handed down in 2008. Edwin G. Tierney of Council Bluffs received home confinement on a 10-year sentence for conspiracy to distribute meth issued in 2016. Pardons went to three people who have completed their sentences. They include: Abraham W. Bolden Sr., 86, of Chicago, a retired Secret Service Agent who was the first African American to serve on a presidential detail. He had been accused of attempting to sell a Secret Service file in 1964. He maintained his innocence, alleging he was prosecuted in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior in the Service, according to the White House. Betty Jo Bogans, 51, of Houston, Texas, who was convicted of crack cocaine charges in 1998 for allegedly transporting crack for her boyfriend and his friend, neither of whom were charged. At the time, she was a single mother with no prior criminal history and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Dexter Eugene Jackson, 52, of Athens, Ga., who was convicted in 2002 of using his pool hall to host marijuana dealers. Since his release from prison, he turned the pool hall into a cell phone repair business that hires high school students. He also works to build and renovate homes for affordable housing. Love 2 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. WATERLOO Officials from Waterloo and Cedar Falls will meet Tuesday to discuss the regulation of consumer fireworks, a long-standing issue never before tackled jointly by the two cities. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Upper Iowa University, 3563 University Ave. in Waterloo. The two councils have not met side-by-side in formal session for any topic in recent memory. It could serve as the kick-off to future cooperation between the two governments. Fireworks have been a hot topic since early 2017 when a new state law permitted their sale for the first time in 80 years and allowed cities to regulate their use. Director of Cedar Falls' Hearst Center for the Arts leaves for new job After having overseen the free community resource at 304 West Seerley Boulevard for more than four years, Heather Skeens' last day was Friday. A ban in Cedar Falls followed later in 2017. Waterloo lifted its prohibition in 2019 and now offers a three-day window, allowing fireworks use between noon and 11 p.m. July 4 and between noon and 10 p.m. July 3 and 5. The conversation was revitalized last year when Waterloo considered banning fireworks outright, but Councilor Margaret Klein was the only vote in support of a ban. Enforcement of fireworks laws is a challenge because its difficult to prove someone has set them off illegally, and possessing them is legal. Noise, debris and safety are often cites as reasons for a complete ban. But officials believe it might be beneficial for both cities to have identical laws to limit confusion. Id like for the Cedar Falls City Council and staff to hear from Waterloo on what led them to change from a ban to a three-day-window, and what implications there would be if Cedar Falls and Waterloo had identical fireworks laws in place, said Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green in a message to The Courier. Green said Waterloo Councilor John Chiles approached him about the idea when Chiles was on the campaign trail. Green pushed for the meeting, and noted Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart has been supportive. However, its not the first time calls have been made for a joint plan on the issue. All 14 members of the two city councils have been invited, along with Cedar Falls Acting Public Safety Director Craig Berte and Waterloo Assistant Chief Joe Leibold, said Green. Ron Gaines, Cedar Falls administrator, will also attend. Any consensus on a change in ordinance would formally go back to the city councils for consideration and require readings at a later date with opportunities for public comment. Tuesdays gathering comes on the heels of Gov. Kim Reynolds signing new legislation on Thursday giving cities fewer options to regulate where fireworks can be sold. Under the new law, cities will no longer be able to restrict fireworks sales to certain zoning categories, like industrial, a regulation some cities made in response to complaints and a rise in injuries. Republicans who called for the new measure said it stops cities from attempting to, in effect, ban fireworks sales. 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 New York judge is holding Donald Trump in civil contempt after the state's attorney general's office said he did not comply with a subpoena for documents as part of its investigation into the former President's company. Judge Arthur Engoron said Trump failed to abide by his order to comply with the subpoena, and that his attorneys failed to show how a search of materials held by Trump was conducted. Engoron said Trump would be fined $10,000 a day until he complies. "Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously and I take mine seriously. I hereby hold you in civil contempt and fine you $10,000 per day until you purge that contempt," Engoron said at a hearing Monday. New York Attorney General Letitia James' office has been investigating the Trump Organization for more than two years and previously said her office found multiple misleading or fraudulent misstatements and omissions in the Trump Organization's financial statements, which were provided to lenders and insurers, among others, as part of its investigation. Andrew Amer, with the attorney general's office, said that Trump has failed to produce "even a single responsive document" for a subpoena that was issued to him in December. "We are being hampered in our efforts to have a complete understanding because we don't have evidence from the person who sits at the top of the organization," Amer said. Kevin Wallace, with the attorney general's office, said in some instances it's been "like pulling teeth" to get documents needed for the investigation, and describing the Trump Organization as a closely-held family company with 500 entities and millions of dollars moving around. Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, said the former president does not believe he is above the law, but simply does not have the types of written communications that were sought by the subpoena, but that he produced hundreds of thousands of documents through his assistants. Habba said she herself searched Trump's heard copy calendars and physical file locations, and even interviewed her client in Florida. "President Trump does not email. He does not text message. And he has no work computer at home or anywhere else," Habba said. "I took it upon myself to get on a plane and flew down and asked him one by one if there was anything that he had on his person that he had not given me I would need that. And he did not," she said. The judge asked why Trump didn't sign an affidavit swearing that he complied with the subpoena. Habba said that he would. "My client is an honest person, much to the dismay of certain people in this room," Habba said. James' office has said in court filings that the Trump Organization is under investigation for engaging in fraudulent or misleading conduct in connection with appraisals and financial statements. The office has subpoenaed both the former president and his company for documents related to its investigation. Habba argued that the attorney general's investigation has "seemingly become aimless," saying that since it began three years ago, the Trump Organization has been given six separate subpoenas, produced more than 6 million pages of documents, and 13 Trump Organization witnesses have been deposed, among other things. "The scope is continuously changing to fit the attorney general's needs," Habba said in court. "When it is not satisfied with the evidence it has obtained it pivots and looks for something new." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Kansas to revive a law, earlier struck down by lower courts, that banned secret filming at slaughterhouses and other livestock facilities. The justices did not comment in leaving in place a ruling by a federal appeals court panel that the so-called ag-gag law violated the First Amendment by stifling speech critical of animal agriculture. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a split decision ruled that even if deception is used to enter private property, Kansas may not discriminate based on whether the person intends to harm or help the enterprise. The appellate ruling upheld a permanent injunction issued by a federal judge in 2020. The Kansas law made it a crime for anyone to take a picture or video at an animal facility without the owners consent or to enter the facility under false pretenses. The Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Food Safety were among the groups that challenged the ban. Federal appeals courts considering similar laws in Iowa and Idaho had split over the issue, raising Kansas hope that the high court would step in. In January 2019, a federal judge stuck down as unconstitutional Iowas original ag-gag law, which was passed in 2012 with bipartisan support. Responding quickly, the Legislature approved and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the revised measure in March of that year. But the revision, too, was struck down by a district court judge in March of this year. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Ada Martin 23 won grand prize at the 2022 Toyama Cup: the 26th Japanese Speech Contest on April 23. Martin spoke to the audience about sustainability. She shared her experience of seemingly contradicting Japanese practices regarding sustainability: separating trash into many categories and overwrapping. The convoluted trash categories gave her hope that each person can contribute to sustainability. The overwrapping customs taught her the importance of understanding cultural contexts in translating environmental science articles. Martins speech touched many members of the audience. The Toyama Cup Japanese Language Speech Contest is sponsored by the Toyama Prefectural Government and the Japan-America Society of Oregon (JASO) in celebration of the Toyama-Oregon sister-state affiliation. The first Toyama Cup in 1996 commemorated the fifth anniversary of the friendship between the peoples of Oregon and Toyama. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the Toyama-Oregon sister-state relationship. The Toyama Cup is open to any student studying Japanese at a college or university in the State of Oregon and southwest Washington. Contestants are judged on general Japanese language ability, speech content and presentation. The wounded 2-year-old San Sanych was taken out of Mariupol by the DPR military on a tank The family lived in line of sight from Azovstal. Another shell fired from there on March 22 covered them right in the basement of their own house, the shelter did not save them. My wife was killed right away, she was holding our son in her arms. And I was able to get him out of there. The DPR military helped, they took us out of the city on a tank, handed us over to the Russian military, and they were already taken to the Donetsk hospital, Alexander told the Donbass Decides channel. The man is grateful to Donetsk doctors for the help, the entire volume of which is provided here for free. San Sanych is waiting for plastic surgery ahead. WtR BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The United States is simply not qualified to talk about democracy and human rights. What the United States should do is immediately lift its illegal freeze on the assets of the Afghan central bank, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular news briefing in response to a statement issued on Monday by 14 UN independent human rights experts. The statement blamed the U.S. government for making life worse for Afghan women by freezing billions of U.S. dollars of Afghan assets. The 20-year U.S. invasion of Afghanistan claimed the lives of 174,000 Afghans, including more than 30,000 civilians. It turned nearly one-third of Afghans into refugees, and more than half of Afghans faced extreme hunger during the time, leading to a rare humanitarian disaster, Wang said. The United States decimated a country and laid waste to the future of a generation. In the end, it not only walked away, but also took for itself the money that the Afghan people were depending upon for their survival. This fully exposed the barbarity and cruelty of the so-called rules-based international order of the United States, the spokesperson said. "What the United States should do is immediately lift its illegal freeze on the assets of the Afghan central bank, apologize and compensate the Afghan people for their lost 20 years, and bring the murderers of the Afghan people to justice," Wang said. Big Tech ORDERED to Silence Russia on Ukraine Conflict EU lawmakers have signed off on the Digital Services Act (DSA), which will have companies like Google and Meta curb Russian media efforts that is alleged to be misinformation amid the military operation in Ukraine. With the DSA, the time of big online platforms behaving like they are too big to care is coming to an end, said Thierry Breton, commissioner for the internal market. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described the reform as meaning that what is illegal offline will effectively be illegal online in the EU. Stick around to find out what Western govts dont want you to know Subscribe to RT t.me/rtnews The west is seriously running and scared. If you see the truth, you will know positively who us lying Russia is very open about what is happening. But you cant see it Ask Why? WtR Europe is facing a deep economic and political crisis. Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Patrushev spoke about the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The number of Ukrainian migrants in Europe will soon grow to 10 million. There will be more crime in the EU due to the influx of Ukrainian bandits. The consequence of Western policy will be the disintegration of Ukraine into several states. The development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons by Ukraine poses a threat to Russia. Moscow is considering the possibility of providing the ruble with gold or goods that are currency values. The United States is discussing a possible default of Russia, but its time to announce it to them. WtR The German network of construction hypermarkets OBI resumes work in Russia. Already on April 27, the doors of several hypermarkets in Moscow will open their doors, and before the end of the May holidays, it is planned to launch all the hypermarkets of the chain, the companys official statement says. This is after leaving due to pressure by German Government Like many companies they open a Russian only branch and are separate from the mother company WtR Besides: The West denies Russia the right to defend its own borders and territories where Russians are oppressed. By supplying weapons to Ukraine, NATO is essentially entering into a proxy war with Russia. At the same time, the United States and its allies are trying to devalue the right of veto in the UN Security Council, this is very dangerous. The United States is holding a Summit for Democracy, which is trying to create an alternative UN platform. The conflict in Ukraine will end with a treaty, but its parameters will be determined by the stage of military operations during which it will be concluded, the Russian Foreign Minister said. Zelensky is portrayed as a light of democracy, but in fact he promotes a ban on everything Russian in his state at the legislative level and strengthens Nazism. This was stated by Lavrov. Weapons the West supplies to Ukraine will be a legitimate target for Russian forces Foreign Minister Lavrov NATO is entering into a proxy war with Russia by supplying weapons to Ukraine Foreign Minister Lavrov Moscows position is that nuclear war is unacceptable Foreign Minister Lavrov Russia wants Ukrainian people to be able to decide their own fate Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. NATO expansion is unrelated to its statutory goals, it is incorporating more territories under the US command Lavrov. A trustworthy Russia-US communication channel does not exist at the moment Lavrov. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that negotiations on security guarantees clearly proved that NATO and the United States showed no desire to take into account Russias legitimate interests. Contacts with Washington on the situation around Ukraine would be useful, but Moscow does not see any interest in them from the US side Lavrov. Lavrov: the US and NATO are clearly planning to move the alliances line of defense to the South China Sea They openly declare that we [Western countries] will be in charge, that NATO has every right to do what it wants. In one statement they can say that NATO is a defensive alliance, so do not be afraid, nobodys security is threatened by NATO. And right there [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg can say that NATO has a global responsibility for security around the world, including the Indo-Pacific region, Lavrov said. WtR After 30 years of peaceful life, Transnistria has become the target of terrorist attacks. The head of the PMR Krasnoselsky said that the traces of the attacks lead to Ukraine. He assured that Transnistria will be able to defend itself. In 1992, the Moldovan authorities already tried to resolve the conflict by force, as a result losing control over the PMR. In the same year, according to an agreement signed by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and Moldova, Russian peacekeepers were introduced into the region. They still remain on the territory of the unrecognized republic. WtR DAMASCUS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Syrian air defenses responded to a fresh Israeli missile strike in the capital Damascus after midnight, according to the state news agency SANA. People in the capital heard two powerful explosions as a result of the attack and the interception of the Syrian air defenses. The attack is the latest in a string of Israeli strikes against Syrian military sites over the pretext that it's targeting pro-Iran militias and weapons shipments. Ive read only half way through El Altos list of platos fuertes (main dishes) when a petite woman sidles up to my table, her curly hair tied back in a messy bun, a camo mask over her face. Hi, Im Traci, she says nonchalantly, as if shes not a two-time James Beard Award winner; as if shes not the San Francisco legend who dominated special occasion dining in the city for over 20 years; as if shes not Traci Des Jardins. El Alto, Silicon Valleys new California-Mexican restaurant, is Des Jardins first outside of the city. Moving into the suburbs was something she hadnt given much thought in the past, but the events of the last few years have subtly shifted the Bay Areas culinary landscape. Although people are sticking closer to home, they are no less hungry for exceptional restaurants that rival those in SF. The time feels right, says des Jardins. The chef, who grew up on a farm in the Central Valley with a Sonoran Mexican mother and a French Arcadian father, describes El Altos food as rancho cuisine, recipes and ingredients that draw from the centuries of culinary conversation between Mexico and California. The menu is a showcase of the best ingredients from Californias bread basketKing City pink beans, Blenheim apricots, almondsprepared in both modern and traditional ways. One, the terracotta deviled eggs with guajillo chili and nutty, slightly spicy Veracruz-style salsa macha, was even adapted from a late 19th century recipe. Pescado a la mibrasa at El Alto. (Photography by Aubrie Pick) Everything on the plate was created in careful collaboration with El Altos chef de cuisine, Robert Hurtado, whose biography includes stints at Coi and Rich Table, as well as three years as chef de cuisine of Des Jardins Arguello. The two worked through 27 different recipes (Okay, not 27, maybe 15, admits Hurtado with a laugh) before deciding on which mole to serve with Liberty duck leg confit. The winner, which simultaneously pays homage to Los Altos historic apricot-growing heritage and the authentic complexity of Oaxacan and Pueblan moles, is a triumph: savory, sweet, and silky with just enough heat to ignite your taste buds. Like the apricot mole, its in the language of salsas and sauces where El Alto is most eloquent. The salsa verde cocida in which the meaty, cant-believe-they-arent-beef Impossible albondigas bathe is tart and tangy like a warm summer night. The mushroom tamal slathered in mole verde, Des Jardins and Hurtados take on pumpkin seed and tomatillo gravy, is robust with an addictive, subtle earthiness. The pescado a la mibrasa with almond salsa is reminiscent of trout almondine, if the latter was seared on a charcoal grill, stripped of its buttery excess, and kissed with the distinctive anise-and-eucalyptus-toned herb hoja santa. For all of the careful fussing thats gone into El Altos menu, the restaurants interior is unfussy. Its more laid back than high-concept, more neighborhood restaurant than intentional Michelin bait. When its windows are rolled up, the lounge becomes an indoor-outdoor space. (Photography by Aubrie Pick) The bright, high-ceilinged space is anchored around a lounge area made cozy with blue-and-white-striped rugs and cushioned, bent-back chairs and loveseats. As nights grow warmer, the paneled windows that dominate the wall will roll up to expand the restaurants seating into the open air. Across the breezeway, State Street MarketLos Altos new food hall featuring buzzy eateries like Little Blue Door, a casual concept from Ettan chef Srijith Gopinathan, and Bao Bei, a Taiwanese- and Korean-inspired spot from Michelin-starred Maum chefs Michael and Meichih Kimadds to the convivial atmosphere. Tile work and slatted, wooden window blinds lend color and texture to the bar, for which libation consultant Enrique Sanchez (Arguello, La Mar Cebicheria, and School Night) designed a range of cocktails that combine agave-based mezcals and tequilas with unexpected ingredients like beets and carrots, rhubarb and Topo Chico, and orgeat and cacao. Id even go so far as to call the Holy Water (made with Pueblo Viejo blanco tequila, lime, passion fruit, green chartreuse, and a jolt of vivid hoja santa) a potable masterpiece. Rustic hanging ropes divide the bar from the dining room, a section dominated by a wide mural evocative of Mexicos agave landscapes. The room is temporarily closed, says Des Jardins because, as is still the case in much of the restaurant world, El Alto is suffering from a shortage of front-of-the-house staff. With any luck, the dining room will be running at full tilt within the coming weeks. Until then, Des Jardins and Hurtado will keep the moles and salsas coming to the lounge and bar one distinctive dish at a time. // El Alto is open for dinner Thursday through Saturday; 170 State St (Los Altos), elaltolosaltos.com. Nicolas Rapp En espanol You've had it with relentless robocalls, the automated messages that at best are telemarketing and at worst are pitches from criminals who want to steal your cash or your identity. Enough is enough with the deluge of unsolicited voice mails and the calls from phone numbers that look like they're local but are spoofed (or disguised) by crooks who claim to be with the IRS or to have important information about your car warranty. Youve tried blocking numbers, to no avail. Youve signed up on the National Do Not Call Registry. No difference. Youve complained to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nada. Xi calls for blazing new path to develop China's world-class universities Xinhua) 08:03, April 26, 2022 Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, waves to teachers and students during a visit to Renmin University of China in Beijing, capital of China, April 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived at Renmin University of China (RUC) for inspection on Monday morning in Beijing, ahead of China's Youth Day, which falls on May 4. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Xi extended festival greetings to the youth of all ethnic groups nationwide, and gave sincere wishes to all faculty and students of the RUC, all people working in the education sector and all those on youth work. Xi said that he hopes all young people will bear in mind the Party's instructions, commit themselves to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and live up to the prime of their lives, to their mission of the times and to the expectations of the people. They should run with all their might on the track of youth, and win the best results the youth today are supposed to get. Xi stressed that the fundamental issues of education have always been "the education for whom, to whom, and how to educate." To blaze a new path to developing world-class universities based on Chinese conditions and with Chinese characteristics, we must stay committed to the Party's leadership and the guidance of Marxism and serve the cause of the Party and the people. We will also ensure that education performs its fundamental mission of fostering virtue, while passing on the traditions of Chinese revolution. Young people should be staunch believers and active disseminators of the core socialist values, and exemplarily act them out. Learning from heroes, forerunners and role models, the youth should endeavor to become a new generation who will shoulder the mission of national rejuvenation and forge ahead determinedly to realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The RUC is the first modern university founded by the CPC. Its precursors were Northern Shaanxi College founded in 1937 amid the war against Japanese aggression, then North China Union University, North University and North China University. During decades of dedication to higher education, the RUC has focused on humanities and social sciences studies and the teaching and research of Marxism, therefore regarded as "a flagship of China's higher education in humanities and social sciences." At around 9:20 a.m., accompanied by Zhang Donggang, Party committee secretary of the RUC, and Liu Wei, president of the university, Xi first arrived at the Lide Building to observe an ideological-political class in a smart classroom. Xi sat among young students, listened carefully and joined their class discussions. He affirmed the university's continuous efforts to leverage its unique strength and push forward reform and innovation of teaching to provide top-notch courses. Whether the ideological-political course can play its due role in fostering virtue or not depends on the level of attention it receives, as well as its adaptability and quality, Xi stressed. The essence of the course is reasoning, and attention should be given to the way of teaching to reason in an insightful, thorough and flexible way. Both teachers and students should be involved attentively to make heart-to-heart communications, enlighten and nourish the mind, and motivate themselves. Xi said the education on ideological-political theories for the youth is a consecutive process, which should be tailored to different stages of their growth and carried out in a targeted way. He expressed the hope that the RUC would work solidly and persistently, strive for excellence, and provide more "golden courses" in ideological-political theories in colleges, secondary and primary schools across the country. He also encouraged colleges nationwide to jointly develop ideological-political curriculums with secondary and primary schools to push for integration of the subject through all levels of education. Xi also encouraged the RUC students to remain confident in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strive to be trailblazers on the new journey to build China into a modern socialist nation in all respects. An exhibition on the RUC's history is being held at the school's museum. Xi visited the museum to learn about the school's history and development, and its achievements in teaching and research in recent years. The RUC was founded in the midst of the war against Japanese aggression and has been developing with the support of the CPC, boasting a glorious tradition and distinct heritage of revolution, which must be carried forward to hold this important ground for the Party, Xi stressed. It is essential to step up efforts to explore, collect and study materials on the RUC's history so that we can tell the stories well of the CPC and its efforts to establish the RUC, and encourage faculty and students to pass on the school's fine traditions and revolutionary legacy. On the square in front of the museum, Xi met with representatives of senior professors and experts and young and middle-aged teachers, and had cordial exchanges with them. Xi was very pleased to see that the senior professors and experts are all in good shape both physically and mentally. Xi pointed out that the RUC has long been an intellectual reservoir of talent and masters. Senior professors and experts have devoted all themselves and made great contributions to the Party's education cause. Young and middle-aged teachers should learn from them, aspire to become great educators, and continue to deliver in teaching, research and innovation. For China to build world-class socialist universities with Chinese characteristics and to cultivate the next generation of socialists, there must be world-class professors, Xi stressed. The RUC should attach high importance to the training of teachers, especially the cultivation of young and middle-aged ones with high competence, and build itself into a hub of talent and innovation in the research and teaching of humanities and social sciences. RUC Libraries have a collection of more than 4.1 million books, which consist mainly of academic literature in humanities and social sciences. Here, Xi inspected an exhibition of selected books on the CPC history and Chinese classics, as well as digital academic resources such as a modern search portal and e-copies of newspapers and journals. He was also briefed on the libraries' protection and use of literature and ancient books, as well as the application of theoretical research results. Xi stressed that, RUC Libraries' collection of books on the CPC history, as records of the CPC's endeavors to establish higher education in China, are precious memories that everyone of us must cherish. It is essential to carefully protect these books and digitalize them step by step, to let them enlighten and inspire more and more people. Modern technologies should be employed to strengthen the protection, restoration and comprehensive utilization of ancient books. What implied in these books such as the philosophical ideas, humanitarian spirit, values and moral norms, should be fully exploited to promote the creative evolution and development of fine traditional Chinese culture. It is also important to build depositories of academic resources to better disseminate, collect, integrate, edit, expand and share academic literature. We will establish world-class information platforms for academic resources with Chinese features and improve the nation's cultural soft power. Then, Xi met with representatives of the RUC's teachers and students at the north hall of the Century Gymnasium and gave an important speech. Zhang Donggang, secretary of the RUC Party committee, Gao Mingxuan, laureate of the national honor "People's Teacher", Zhao Feng, professor at the School of Economics, Zhou Xiaohui, PhD candidate in journalism, and Wang Hairong, undergraduate at the School of Philosophy, also gave speeches in a lively and warm atmosphere. Xi stressed that in China, a country with a unique history, distinctive culture and special national context, we cannot blindly follow others or simply copy foreign standards and models when we build world-class universities of our own. Instead, we must proceed from our country's realities and blaze a new path to building world-class universities with Chinese characteristics. The RUC has remained committed to cultivating talent for the Party and the country. Dating back to its founding, the RUC was aimed at cultivating "the revolutionary vanguard" when Northern Shaanxi College was launched; "tens of thousands of officials for the nation" shortly after the People's Republic was founded; "model citizens and pillars of society" during the period of reform and opening up; "pioneers for the national rejuvenation and vanguards for a great country" in the new era. All the time, the RUC has demonstrated an ethos of "living up to the Party and the people's trust as a university run by the Party and the people." The RUC will fulfill the fundamental task of fostering virtue as every institution of learning should and carry forward the traditions of Chinese revolution. The RUC's faculty and students will remain true to the Party conscientiously, Xi hoped. Xi said universities form an important part of research institutions of philosophy and social sciences in China. At present, upholding and developing the theory and practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics has presented a large number of new issues that need to be addressed urgently. He noted that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. It is imperative to answer the questions of our times: What has happened to the world? Where will mankind go? He said we must continue to integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China's actual conditions and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, and continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and our times, bearing in mind the overall strategy of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and profound changes unseen in the world in a century. Xi added that developing philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, is all in all to construct China's independent knowledge system. We should take China as a reference, take our times as a reference, and base ourselves on China's realities to solve China's problems. He said we should constantly promote the creative transformation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture, and step up knowledge innovation, theoretical innovation and method innovation, so that China's philosophy and social sciences can truly stand in the academe of the world. Xi called on researchers in philosophy and social sciences to have a clear orientation, true principles, profound knowledge and upright moral conduct, conscientiously take the questions of China, the questions of the world, the questions of the people and the questions of our times as their academic responsibilities, and take highlighting China's path, governance and principles as their ideals and pursuits. They should apply their expertise to and achieve fruitful results in studying and addressing major issues of overall, fundamental and critical importance to the Party and the country, he added. We should give full play to the unique role of philosophy and social sciences in integrating Chinese and foreign cultures and enhancing exchanges among them, Xi said, calling for spreading China's voice, theories and thoughts, making China better understood in the world, and contributing to building a community of shared future for mankind. Xi stressed that good schools have their own features, but they all share something in common that they have a team of outstanding teachers. For teachers, if they would like to foster their students into a certain kind of people, they should be that kind of people themselves first. To nurture the next generation who will join and carry on the socialist cause, it is urgent for teachers to be proficient in professional knowledge and exemplary in moral characters. As lecturers of knowledge and paragons of virtues, our teachers should strive to help students solve their doubts with learning, behaving and thinking, Xi said. Education is a cause that embodies benevolence and love. Only if teachers love their students and the career, they will take corresponding responsibilities. Teachers should be strict with and love their students at the same time. They should provide psychological care for students with the charm of their personalities, and help students gain more wisdom with guidance of their academic achievements. Teachers should love and care every single student, let every student grow healthy and sound, and enable every child to have opportunities to live a rewarding life, Xi said. What they say should serve as guides for learners and what they do should serve as examples of the times - these are code of conduct for teachers. They should constantly cultivate their moral characters and influence students with their own examples. They should act as masters for students in learning, pursuing career and conducting oneself. Teachers should try to be role models respected and followed by all of society. Xi pointed out that on the new journey in the new era, the goals of Chinese youth can be boiled down to one point: following the Party, heeding its call and working hard to become a new generation capable of shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation. He said he hoped that all China's youth will measure the motherland with their feet, discover the Chinese spirit through their eyes, listen to the people with their ears and feel the pulse of the times with their hearts. They should integrate their love for the motherland and the people into the pursuit of their study and career, Xi said. When Xi was leaving the university, both sides of the road were crowded with teachers and students, who greeted the general secretary with excitement. They cheered with one voice, "We will remain faithful to the Party and we will live up to the trust of the people," "We will work hard to become pillars of the national rejuvenation and vanguards for a great country." Xi waved to them amid applause and cheers. Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang and leading officials from relevant central departments were also present. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the attack in the University of Karachi in Pakistan that led to multiple deaths, said his deputy spokesman. "I can tell you the secretary-general strongly condemns the attack in Karachi today," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman. The secretary-general expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished those injured a quick recovery, he told a daily press briefing. Haq said UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan, Julien Harneis, also strongly condemned the attack and was deeply saddened by the loss of life. Harneis said attacks that deliberately target education, teachers, and places of learning are particularly condemnable and sent his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, both in Pakistan and in China, according to Haq. An explosion ripped through a shuttle passenger van of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi on Tuesday, leaving three Chinese teachers dead, one Chinese teacher injured and causing several Pakistani casualties, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. New Lithium Pegmatite Discovery at Moblan Project Brisbane, April 26, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging lithium producer Sayona Mining Ltd ( ASX:SYA ) ( FRA:DML ) ( OTCMKTS:SYAXF ) has received positive drilling results from its Moblan Lithium Project in northern Quebec, with the discovery of a new southern lithium pegmatite zone near the main Moblan deposit. Sayona has a 60% interest in this area.Highlights- Discovery of a significant new southern lithium pegmatite zone at Moblan Lithium Project, Quebec- Highlights include 5m @ 1.85% Li2O from 3.5m and 35m @ 1.62% Li2O from 27.6m in hole DDH135 together with 6.6m @ 1.69% Li2O from 2.1m and 27.2m @ 1.53% Li2O from 22.0m in hole DDH136; mineralisation at shallow, 60m vertical depth, open in all directions and near main Moblan deposit- Results demonstrate potential for a northern hub to add to Sayona's established Abitibi lithium hub, as the Company further strengthens its leading lithium (spodumene) resource base in North America.Assay results from two holes, completed at the newly defined Moblan South Discovery, have identified lithium mineralisation at shallow depth, located some 200m south of the main Moblan deposit. Results include 5m @ 1.85% Li2O from 3.5m and 35m @ 1.62% Li2O from 27.6m in hole DDH135 together with 6.6m @ 1.69% Li2O from 2.1m and 27.2m @ 1.53% Li2O from 22.0m hole DDH136 (refer Table 1*).The Moblan South Discovery is a new and distinct spodumene pegmatite zone, open in all directions.The drill holes form part of a 35 hole, 4,683m diamond drill program recently completed at Moblan.Assay results for other drill holes are pending, with a follow-up drilling program planned as soon as possible.Sayona's Managing Director, Brett Lynch said: "These results are excellent, demonstrating the quality of the Moblan Lithium Project and highlighting the potential for a significant resource expansion."Moblan is set to form the basis of a major northern hub for Sayona in Quebec, complementing our established Abitibi lithium hub in the south and adding to our position as holding the leading lithium resource base in North America."The geology and mineralogy are very similar in both holes, with spodumene occurrences throughout the pegmatite and high lithium grades up to 4.02% Li2O. The lithium assay content is consistent with the local variations of spodumene logged in core.The Moblan South discovery is located approximately 200m south of the Moblan deposit, as shown in the cross section and plan below (Figure 2*).The Moblan project is located about 100km north of the town of Chibougamau and approximately 85km from the Cree (First Nations) community of Mistissini. The project is accessible year-round via the Route du Nord and its proximity to Chibougamau and Mistissini with their available infrastructure makes it an ideal location for exploring and mining deposits of industrial energy minerals.Sayona is committed to engaging local communities as the project progresses, including First Nations and other local community members, consistent with its stakeholder engagement approach.The positive results from Moblan follow Sayona's recently announced doubling of its JORC compliant lithium resource base for its flagship North American Lithium and Authier Lithium Projects, with a total JORC combined Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 119.1 million tonnes @ 1.05% Li2O (refer ASX announcement 1 March 2022). Resource details are included in Table 3.In January 2022, Sayona expanded its northern hub with the acquisition of 121 new claims, the Lac Albert Project, located west of Moblan and spanning more than 6,500 ha (refer ASX release 25 January 2022).Analysts Benchmark Mineral Intelligence have reported that the total amount of proposed and existing lithium-ion capacity has more than doubled since the beginning of 2021 to over 6 terawatt hours, with lithium supply described by Tesla founder Elon Musk as the "limiting factor" for electric vehicle adoption globally. As of 24 April, Benchmark's lithium price index was up 487% year-on-year, with its carbonate index up 465% and its hydroxide index up 526%.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Sayona Mining Ltd Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:SYAXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia. Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au Quarterly Activities Report 31 March 2022 Perth, April 26, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) provide the quarterly activities report for the period ending 31 March 2022.HIGHLIGHTS- Strong Pre-Feasibility Study results and demerger update released for the world class 1.8Bt Richmond vanadium project in northwest Queensland- Toll milling campaigns from the Boorara open pit low grade stockpiles completed with 98,121t processed in total at a reconciled grade of 0.93g/t generating $1.35m net cash- Positive Pre-Feasibility Study results released for the high-grade Cannon underground project with evaluation progressing on the Penny's Find and Rose Hill projects for potential sequential development under a contract mining - toll milling model- CY 2022 exploration drilling program commenced testing multi-commodity targets at Yarmany, Lakewood, the Greater Boorara area and Binduli- Further excellent gold results received from Golden Ridge including:o 2m @ 26.11g/t Au from 69m (GRC21007) and 2m @ 20.77g/t Au from 80m (GRC21007)o 14m @ 3.62g/t Au from 106m (GRC21014)o 5m @ 8.06g/t Au from 57m (GRC21035)- First pass drilling at Yarmany intercepts gold, nickel-cobalt-copper and lithium mineralisation with drilling ongoing along the 50km strike zone- First pass multi-element composite results received south of Golden Ridge with widespread nickel, cobalt, copper and silver mineralisation intercepted- Excellent resource extension drilling results released from the Crake gold project- Historic Feasibility Study review and preliminary concentrate option study completed for the Nimbus silver - zinc project- Divestment of a portion of the Company's listed investments nets $2 million in cash- Cash at the end of quarter of A$3.8 million and listed investments totalling A$7.5 million*To view the quarterly report, please visit:About Horizon Minerals Limited Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed. Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline. Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage. 30,000m Drilling Program to Extend Austral's Mine Life Brisbane, April 26, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Austral Resources Australia Ltd ( ASX:AR1 ) is pleased to provide an exploration update and announce the commencement of an extensive exploration programme.The Company's exploration team is driving an intensive drilling campaign in 2022. The focus will be on drilling historical and new prospects on granted Mining Leases ("MLs") to organically grow the Company's large JORC complaint copper ("Cu") resource base, and to extend Austral's mine life.Highlights- An aggressive commitment to mine life extension with a budget of AUD$10M over the next 12 months for exploration and drilling.- Dedicated exploration team on the ground to maximise the integration and interpretation of the extensive historical datasets.- The exploration team will be concurrently working on 2-3 prospects, and we expect steady reporting of results and news flow from May onwards.- In addition to the existing 1,340km2 of EPMs, the Company has lodged 800km2 of adjacent applications.- The planned drilling will focus on high priority brownfield exploration targets to organically grow Austral's current JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (420kt of contained copper).High priority oxide Cu targets include:- McLeod Hill - located 5km southeast of the existing Mt Kelly processing facility (on 2 existing MLs 5426 and 5474):- Historical results include: 8m@ 1.81% Cu from 59m - MTKC0096.- +400m of untested strike southeast of existing oxide resource of 1.4Mt@ 0.49% Cu.- Previous resource model was geologically unconstrained, indicating significant upside.- Dividend (located on EPM 16242 within 5km of the Mt Kelly processing facility):- Historical intercepts include: 18m@ 0.5% Cu from 44m (DR007), and 11m@ 0.54% Cu from 23m (DVDC0011).- Drifter - Kechenaj Trend:- >5km of strike potential to host Cu mineralisation.- Historical intercepts of high-grade Cu, include: 8m@ 2.21% Cu from 38m (DRFC0008), and 13m@ 2.11% Cu from 34m (DRFB0025).Mt Kelly Resources and ProspectsMt Kelly deposits consists of a cluster of mined Cu pits (Flying Horse and Mt Clarke), an unmined resource at Lady Colleen, adjacent Cu occurrences such as Dividend and Swagman, and McLeod Hill to the south - see Figure 5.Cu occurrences lay where the McNamara fault is intersected by cross-faults.Flying Horse, Lady Colleen and Mt Clarke account for 24.74Mt of the Company's 30Mt JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, and the exploration team has identified potential for new work to increase resource tonnes.Historical drilling at the Mt Kelly group of deposits reported wide intervals of high-grade sulphide Cu, including:Significant drill intercepts:- Lady Colleen: 32m@ 4.63% Cu/0.18g/t Au from 169m (MTKC0548).- Flying Horse: 11m@ 2.9% Cu/0.05 g/t Au from 334m (MTKCD029).- Mt Clarke: 6m@ 2.34% Cu/0.11g/t Au from 134m (MTKCD011).Brownfield TargetsMcLeod HillThis deposit is located 5km southeast of the Mt Kelly processing facility on Mining Leases (MLs).Mineralisation is controlled by structural features such as shear zones and faults interacting with permissive stratigraphy, suggesting potential for larger scale 'replacement type' mineralised systems. The southern 400m of the host shear within the ML is untested.A high-density composite rock chip sampling program is in progress to define the southern extent with 250 samples collected of a 500-sample program on a 100 x 25m grid.Historical intercepts include: 8m@ 1.8% Cu from 59m (MTKC0096), 15m@ 0.98% Cu from 60m (MTKC0089), and 6m@ 0.67 % Cu from 74m (MTKC0094).1,500m of RC drilling is planned to infill the existing 1.42Mt@ 0.49% Cu resource area and to extend drill testing into the southern extension target zone.DividendExtensive surface Cu anomalism coincident with multiple ironstone ridges define an alteration system of considerable size (500m x 1,500m). Controlling structures continue west directly into the Mt Kelly deposits.Historical drilling defined +500m strike extent of oxide Cu mineralisation. Recent field mapping shows untested structures to the west and north likely represent repeat mineralised zones.Historic intercepts include: 18m@ 0.5% Cu from 44m (DR007), 11m@ 0.54% Cu from 23m (DVDC0011).An initial 2,000m of RC drilling is planned to extend the known mineralisation envelope.Mt KellyIn the Mt Kelly area Cu occurrences lay where the McNamara fault is intersected by cross-faults. Mt Kelly consists of a cluster of mined pits (Flying Horse and Mt Clarke) an unmined resource at Lady Colleen, adjacent Cu occurrences such as Dividend and Swagman, and McLeod Hill to the south.Significant drill intercepts:- Lady Colleen: 32m@ 4.6% Cu/0.18g/t Au from 169m (MTKC0548), 37.1m@ 3.46% Cu/0.09g/t Au from 207.9m (MTKCD038), 17m@ 2.51% Cu/0.15g/t Au from 177m (MTKC0545).- Flying Horse: 11m@ 2.9% Cu/0.05 g/t Au from 334m (MTKCD029).- Mt Clarke: 6m@ 2.5% Cu/0.11g/t Au from 134m (MTKCD011).A review of these deposits (3D modelling of drill data, long section interpretation, incorporating surface geochemistry and geophysics) indicates that each resource has potential for additional discoveries through further drilling outside of current mineralisation envelopes.Within current mineralisation envelopes, infill drilling of these deposits is likely to lead to improved resource classification by converting a proportion of Inferred Resources to Measured and Indicated status (higher confidence of estimate).Additional potential exists to define additional Cu mineralisation at prospects adjacent to the Mt Kelly cluster of mineral prospects such as Dividend, Swagman and Spex. Each of these prospects has outcropping Cu mineralisation, anomalous surface geochemistry and drill intercepts that are being reviewed for follow up programmes.A three-hole diamond drilling programme is being finalised at Flying Horse to collect fresh core samples for metallurgical test work evaluation in Canada. This is to determine the suitability of Mt Kelly sulphide (chalcopyrite) mineralisation for an emerging sulphide heap leach SXEW technology.If the evaluation is positive, there is exciting potential for Austral to have an alternate processing solution for its considerable sulphide resource base of 26.5Mt@ 0.8% Cu (210,000t of contained Cu).This has low capital expenditure potential as the sulphide ore can be processed at the existing Mt Kelly SXEW processing facility.Greenfield TargetsThe exploration team has selected a number of high tenor regional prospects with limited historical exploration for follow up work (and is preparing field programmes), including:Drifter - KechenajStrong zones of oxide mineralisation with intercepts of high-grade Cu: 8m@ 2.3% Cu from 38m (DRFC0008), 13m@ 2.11% Cu from 34m (DRFB0025). Large-scale Zn-Pb anomalism is associated with Cu mineralization indicating potential for a much larger sulphide system at depth.Wild Gecko - Barratt's BendA walk-up drill target. Grades in existing drilling results: 5m @ 1.2% Cu from 70m (WG07004).A large 3km x 1.5km wide soil geochemistry anomaly open to the west with large areas that remain untested by drilling.Investigator CampThe prospect shows remarkable similarities to the Mammoth-Esperanza camp, located 12km along strike to the north (structure, geology and interpreted system architecture). There are numerous Cu anomalies with sparse drilling. Each anomaly ranges between 800m and 1.2km in strike.Investigator north and central areas are the highest priority: 4m@ 1.36 % Cu from 150m (INVC0003, includes 1m@ 4.16% Cu from 150m).Amy's PocketLocated 8km north northwest of the Mt Kelly processing facility with widespread ironstone (to 0.92% Cu (Portable XRF) CST 2012. Sample XS01270) in an area of limited large-scale soil sampling and no drilling. To the northeast is a substantial Zn anomaly that has not been followed-up.Austral's JORC Mineral Resource EstimateAustral has an existing JORC compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 60Mt@ 0.7% Cu, hosting 420,000t of contained Cu. This is fully tabled in Appendix 3*.A review of these deposits (3D modelling of drill data, long section interpretation, incorporating surface geochemistry and geophysics) indicates that all have potential to be increased through further drilling outside of current resource envelopes.Within current resource envelopes, infill drilling of these deposits is likely to lead to improved resource classification by converting a proportion of Inferred Resources to Measured and Indicated status.Additional potential exists to define additional Cu resources at prospects adjacent to the Mt Kelly cluster of mineral resources such as Dividend, Swagman and Spex. Each of these prospects has outcropping Cu mineralisation, anomalous surface geochemistry and drill intercepts that is being reviewed for follow up programmes.Steve Tambanis, Austral's Chief Executive Officer commented:"Our exploration team has wasted no time reviewing a massive historic dataset, getting on the ground, and selecting priority targets for follow up resource estimate work - some of which are drill ready. Focussing on Cu oxides, they have selected a combination of brownfield and greenfield targets for the initial drill programme.There are a number of lower grade oxide resources near our Mt Kelly processing facility that were not progressed a decade ago due to lower Cu prices. We are looking at the potential of these to deliver short term feed to supplement Anthill ore to our Mt Kelly plant. Our clear objective here is to extend our current four-year mine life through discovery and by commercialising our 420,000t contained Cu resource base.The exploration team has the resourcing to concurrently work on 2-3 prospects, so we expect steady reporting of results and news flow from May onwards.We are also preparing to collect diamond core samples at Flying Horse to provide fresh ore samples for a metallurgical test work programme. This will determine if our sulphide ore is amenable to a newly developed heap leach sulphide process that shows promising results in a North American copper mine. This has transformational potential for AR1 if we can treat sulphide Cu ore at our existing Mt Kelly oxide plant.We look forward to further updating shareholders as we build Cu production from Anthill and scaleup exploration and development activities."*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Austral Resources Australia Ltd Austral Resources Australia Ltd (ASX:AR1) is a copper cathode producer operating in the Mt Isa region, Queensland, Australia. Its Mt Kelly copper oxide heap leach and solvent extraction/electrowinning (SXEW) plant has a nameplate capacity of 30,000tpa of copper cathode. Austral is developing its Anthill oxide copper mine which has an Ore Reserve of 5.06Mt at 0.94% Cu. The Company expects to produce 40,000t of copper cathode over a four-year period from mid-2022. Austral owns a significant copper inventory with a JORC compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 60Mt at 0.7% Cu and 1,940km2 of highly prospective exploration tenure in the heart of the Mt Isa district, a world class copper and base metals province. The Company is implementing an intensive exploration and development programme designed to extend the life of mine and increase then review options to commercialise its copper resources. SANTA FE With fires still burning across New Mexico despite several days of cooler temperatures, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday issued an emergency fire order calling on city and county leaders to enact local fireworks bans. The governor, who met with residents at a Las Vegas shelter who had left their homes in advance of approaching flames, also asked federal officials for more resources and said 93% of the state was experiencing severe drought conditions. But a Lujan Grisham spokeswoman said it would be up to legislative leaders to determine whether to revisit a longstanding law preventing the governor from banning fireworks statewide. Our focus right now is on supporting communities across the state being affected by wildfires and on saving lives, the governors spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said. I would defer to the Legislature for their thoughts on the standing statute that they have maintained. Legislative attempts in past years most recently during the administration of former Gov. Susana Martinez to expand the authority of the state, cities and counties to ban all fireworks have been unsuccessful. But at least one top state lawmaker said Monday that legislators should consider giving the governor more authority to restrict fireworks in times of extreme drought and fire danger. It seems to me that banning fireworks is something we should consider, said Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque. I just think were going to have to allow governments to do things differently because were dealing with climate change. Under current New Mexico law, its up to cities and counties to prohibit the sale and use of certain types of fireworks including aerial devices such as rockets and Roman candles. Local governments can not issue an outright ban on all fireworks, but they can, in certain cases, restrict firework use to areas that are paved or barren or have water nearby. Proclamations declaring extreme drought conditions and limiting fireworks must be issued at least 20 days before the Fourth of July. Such proclamations can only last for 30 days, though they can be renewed upon expiring. AJ Forte, the executive director of the New Mexico Municipal League, said mayors around New Mexico would be participating in a remote meeting this week to discuss the wildfires and possible local-level responses. A draft ordinance will also be crafted so that mayors and city councils can discuss fireworks restrictions in the comings weeks, Forte said. Meanwhile, the governor and three members of the states congressional delegation US. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez and U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan spoke with officials from several different federal agencies Monday about the various wildfires burning in New Mexico. During the call, Lujan Grisham requested 25 additional support officers to help coordinate emergency response and recovery efforts, according to the Governors Office. The governor and State Forester Laura McCarthy also asked for additional ground crews to be dispatched to New Mexico, especially with more strong winds expected later this week. Last week, Lujan Grisham issued emergency orders freeing up to $750,000 in state funds for five different counties Mora, Valencia, Lincoln, Colfax and San Miguel. She also called on New Mexicans to heed mandatory evacuation orders and brace for a long fire season, saying more than 200 structures had already been destroyed by fires this year and an additional 900 structures were being threatened by a pair of large fires that merged and had burned more than 56,000 acres northwest of Las Vegas. The question isnt whether City Councilor Louie Sanchez calls 911 too much. Its whether police are responding in time to prevent serious crimes and save lives. But you wouldnt know that based on the recent dismissive tone of the Albuquerque Police Department. Sanchez, who served 25 years with APD before taking office in January, has been pressing city officials about why officers werent dispatched after a recent 911 call in which Sanchez reported a man at a gas station hitting another man with the butt of a gun and pointing the gun. Rather than immediately dispatching officers, the 911 operator said she was setting up a be on the look out. Meanwhile, the report of a man pointing and striking another man with a gun got no response for about 50 minutes. When officers finally arrived, surprise, they found nothing suspicious. APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos acknowledged Sanchezs March 26 call should have been considered a priority one or two since it included a gun. Ideally, they would have dispatched officers, gone to the scene, he said. Ideally, they would have victim information, or they could have met with Mr. Sanchez to get more information. Ideally? A man is reportedly threatening another man with a gun in a city that had a record number of homicides last year and ideally police would respond? Gallegos adds Sanchez may have confused 911 by saying he didnt want an officer to contact him, then saying he did. But that doesnt alter the initial message that a person with a gun was striking another. APD could have acknowledged a mistake and assured the public the operator got additional training or acknowledged APD has difficulty answering calls in a timely manner due to a shortage of officers. Instead, APD tried to deflect, providing call logs showing Sanchez called 911 or 242-COPS on 11 different days between June 2021 and the end of March. The clear insinuation? He complains. A lot. But Sanchez was elected in part because of his APD background and ability to cut through the bureaucracy. Sanchez owns two Allstate Insurance offices, one at Central Avenue and 61st. Hes reported witnessing a fight in progress involving a stabbing, suspected drug dealing and prostitution, all of which have been known to occur frequently on Central Avenue. Police with one voice encourage the public to be their eyes and ears and report suspicious activity, but turn around and then imply Sanchez does it too much. We hope APD doesnt hold other business owners in such contempt. If theyre all legitimate emergencies, thats quite a bit for that period of time, Gallegos said. The concern is we dont want him tying up the line for anyone else who does have a legitimate emergency. Nearly a dozen calls over a 10-month period doesnt appear all that unusual for a Central Avenue business inundated with crime and public nuisances. Then again, Sanchez has been critical of Chief Harold Medina and APD response times, frequently bringing up his calls to 911 and 242-COPS at council meetings. That apparently is rubbing City Hall the wrong way. Officers were eventually dispatched to Sanchezs March 26 call after he called a secure line of the director of the Emergency Communications Center. That, too, rubbed APD the wrong way. Gallegos says its impossible to know if Sanchezs calls were legitimate or what his intentions were. He also says its concerning on a couple of Sanchezs calls he can be heard arguing with 911. Doesnt that happen every day? No one calls 911 because theyre having a good day and says no, Ill wait. Please take your time. Sanchez believes calls are getting downgraded from highest priority to not requiring officers be dispatched. As the city struggles with a crime crisis and officer openings, thats a legitimate concern of many. Council services are correct in wanting an audit of 911 emergency response times; hard data should elevate the discussion beyond this blame game. 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 Mayor Tim Keller has nominated a woman with 25 years of policing experience to the superintendent of police reform position that has been vacant since the end of last year. LaTesha Watson, who most recently served as the director of the Office of Public Safety Accountability for Sacramento, still needs to be confirmed by the City Council. If confirmed, she will lead the Albuquerque Police Department along with Chief Harold Medina. Keller created the superintendent of police reform position last year as a way to divvy up the responsibilities of fighting crime and the work that goes into complying with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement with the Department of Justice. The superintendent oversees all academy operations including cadet training and continuous education as well as reform efforts, internal affairs and police disciplinary matters. In March 2021, Keller appointed Sylvester Stanley to the position as an interim leader. He retired at the end of December. Weve put a lot of work into considering what reform means for our community, and how we reach important goals that allow our department to do the best job of protecting and serving the people of Albuquerque, Keller said in a news release. This means putting leaders in place who understand that theres a balance, and who will work to break down roadblocks. In the news release, Watson praised the model and said it illustrated the citys investment and dedication to implementing long-term sustainable reforms. The APD team, Albuquerque residents, Chief Harold Medina, and I will remain steadfast in effecting positive change while ensuring transparency, integrity, accountability, and commitment, Watson said. In her cover letter, Watson said she believes police departments must be introspective, transparent and honest. The Journal had requested all the candidates cover letters and resumes under the Inspection of Public Records Act. Although police organizations are unique and experience different types of problems, police leaders must identify dysfunctional elements within organizations and effectively implement change, Watson wrote. Great leadership upholding the highest standards encompassing integrity, accountability, and trust can only be experienced with strong support. According to her resume, Watson had been appointed to the director of the Office of Public Safety Accountability in Sacramento in April 2020. Before that she was chief of police of the Henderson Police Department in Nevada and deputy chief of police of the Arlington Police Department in Texas. Watson was fired from the Henderson Police Department 16 months into her tenure there. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the city had hired an independent firm to investigate complaints against her, and the firm found the complaints were unfounded or fell short of policy violations. However, the investigators found that there was a serious morale issue and Watson had disobeyed orders from the city manager, according to the newspaper. In September 2020, Watson filed a federal lawsuit alleging systemic discrimination based on race and gender. She said she was undermined, conspired against, harassed, dehumanized, exposed to centuries old bigotry and experienced back-room retaliation from a city government and its cronies. That lawsuit is pending. Watson was one of 34 qualified candidates for the superintendent of police reform position. Other candidates include two already within APD deputy chief Mike Smathers and a lieutenant with the Internal Affairs Force Division Matthew Caplan as well as chiefs of police and other law enforcement professionals from around the state and country. YAOUNDE, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's military has killed seven people including separatist fighters in an operation in the country's war-torn English-speaking region of Northwest, security and local sources said on Tuesday. The offensive carried out late Monday, targeted the locality of Batibo of the region which the military says is a stronghold of separatist fighters. "It was a cleansing operation. The area had suffered from atrocities committed by the armed separatists and civilians were paying the greatest price. Six separatists were killed during the operation and one civilian unfortunately died, killed by a stray bullet," a military official who asked not to be named told Xinhua by phone. Early Tuesday, locals told Xinhua some of their kinsmen were arrested during the operation and "several villagers" escaped to the bush where "they are still hiding". Since 2017, separatist fighters have been clashing with government forces in Cameroon's two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest where they want to create an independent nation they called "Ambazonia". Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal An Albuquerque native and Air Force general will learn his fate Tuesday. Air Force Maj. Gen. William Cooley was convicted over the weekend of one of three specifications of abusive sexual contact in connection with an incident after a family barbecue in Albuquerque in August 2018. He is facing up to seven years in prison. Air Force Judge Col. Christina Jimenez will announce the sentence Tuesday after a sentencing hearing was held Monday at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, according to the Dayton Daily News, which covered the court martial. Cooley is the former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, which has two directorates that are based at Kirtland Air Force Base. Hes also a graduate of Highland High School and he earned a masters degree from the University of New Mexico. The verdict marks the first court-martial trial and conviction of a general officer in the history of the Air Force. The case centered around a trip Cooley took to Albuquerque in August 2018 ahead of a work conference at KAFB. After drinking at a family barbecue, Cooley got a ride from his sister-in-law to pick up some belongings at a nearby home. Cooley was found guilty of abusive sexual contact for forcibly kissing the woman when she parked the vehicle. The woman testified at length during the court martial and during the sentencing hearing. I went from being his sister-in-law, a member of his family for almost 30 years, to his victim, she said during the sentencing hearing, according to the Daily News. And, in my eyes, he became a predator, a title he will bear for the rest of his life. Ryan Guilds, an attorney for the victim, said it takes courage for victims of sexual assault to report the cases and participate in the prosecutions. It is very hard to be a survivor in a criminal case, he said in a statement. That is one of many reasons you see so few of these cases go to court-martial. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Like Joseph Salazar, many of those who fled the flames in San Miguel and Mora counties late last week are clamoring to get home to care for the livestock they were forced to leave behind. Salazar, who is now staying in a camper in Las Vegas, ran into a police roadblock when he tried to drive back home Monday to feed his cows, horses and mules. But fire officials warned during a Monday evening briefing that many residents forced to evacuate likely wont be able to return to their homes anytime soon given the aggressive and complex nature of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, which has already burned more than 56,400 acres and is just 12% contained. Authorities are trying to work with ranchers to escort them in to feed their animals when its safe to do so, they said. Northern New Mexico wildfires have forced widespread evacuations across San Miguel, Mora and Colfax counties. San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez said Mondays favorable weather allowed officials to get boots on the ground and assess some areas for structure damage. As we continue on a daily basis to get those reports back in from law enforcement on the ground, well start putting names to those properties, Lopez said. And well start making those calls to let you know, probably starting (Tuesday). About 5,000 homes are under mandatory evacuations. Salazars family has lived on small farms and ranches in San Ignacio for generations. His wife and most relatives evacuated about two weeks ago because of the Hermits Peak Fire. Salazar and his brother stayed behind. But that changed Friday when the blaze merged with the Calf Canyon Fire. In no time at all, it pretty much took the whole canyon, Salazar said. We stayed watering around our houses until the fire was right there. We just left the pumps running and generators and everything, and just left, and thats pretty much what saved our houses. Most of the familys land is charred, but Salazar thinks the houses are still standing. Our freezers are full of elk meat and cow meat, and were worried about those because we dont have power up there, he said. About 1,000 people are fighting the fire 24 hours a day. Super scooper planes on Monday pulled water from Lake Isabel northeast of Las Vegas. Jayson Coil, the fire teams operations section chief, said fuels are so dry that flames are burning in areas that still have snow on the ground. The way were triaging things now is based on proximity or perceived threat to private property and to structures, Coil said. Las Vegas is serving as a hub for evacuees and donated supplies. On Monday morning, Kimberly Blea, dean of student affairs at New Mexico Highlands University, looked out her office window at a view of Hermits Peak. The sky was nearly smoke-free for the first time in two weeks. Everyone at the Las Vegas campus likely has been impacted by the wildfires or knows someone who has, Blea said. Employees have lost their homes to the fire, and others are still uncertain, Blea said. We also have students who have been displaced. The university is housing students and employees who were evacuated. Campus officials are ready to work with San Miguel County to provide more emergency housing if needed. Students and staff can also access the universitys mental health services. Memorial Middle School is hosting the Red Cross evacuation shelter. Calvary Chapel is serving as the supply distribution center. Roads into areas like the Pendaries Village are still closed to the public. But residents posted in a village Facebook group that the Moosehead Lodge and the local community center had burned. The sprawling fire and road closures have sent evacuees to neighboring counties. Ruben Baca, a state livestock inspector in Taos, is helping displaced residents from Mora and other areas house their animals at the local rodeo grounds. Were doing whatever we need to do to get these people a little comfort, so they dont have to worry about their animals, Baca said. On Monday afternoon the site was hosting 25 horses, two mules, two yaks and four mini horses. Residents who want to stay with their livestock have been offered housing at the Taos County Sheriffs Posse clubhouse and the Juan I. Gonzales Agricultural Center. Baca said that Taos residents have been donating hay bales for livestock, and the local Tractor Supply is offering discounts for farmers and ranchers that need special feed. A lot of the land here in northern New Mexico has been passed down for generations, Blea said. Its a very trying and difficult time. Were a resilient people, and we will always take care of each other. But expect a long road to recovery ahead for us. Journal photographer Eddie Moore contributed to this report. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Last week, when it appeared the Hermits Peak Fire had been just about corralled, Randy Huston and his wife, Julianne, returned to the Rociada Valley home the fire had forced them to evacuate two weeks before. Thursday morning we moved in because we had the all clear, Huston said in a phone interview Monday. We moved our two horses back in. By Thursday afternoon, there was a big plume of smoke. Thursday night about 10:30, we moved out. That plume was the tail of the Calf Canyon Fire, which had kicked up Thursday and was running wild. Winds in the 70 mph range put the spurs to it Friday. The apocalypse rolled through the other day, Huston said. On Friday, it blew through our country right up where our house is. Im a Westerner, an outdoors guy, a cowboy. I know mountains. I have been around fires all my life, and I have never seen anything like this. Peninsula of fire By Saturday, the Calf Canyon Fire had linked up with what was left of the Hermits Peak blaze. By Sunday, the tag-team blazes had stampeded through 54,000 acres and forced thousands out of their homes. Our forest has way too much fuel in it, Huston said. This wind was blowing so hard it was skipping fire around. There are 3,000 acres that are burned and then 400 acres that are not. You have a peninsula of fire that may be only a quarter mile wide, and it explodes out again to 6,000 acres just because of that wind. Huston, 63, a rancher and a Western musician, grew up in the Las Vegas, New Mexico, area. He spends a lot of his time at his ranch, which is near Santa Rosa. But his home is on 15 acres in the Rociada Valley that he shares with his wife, two horses, three dogs and a couple of cats. As of Sunday evening, he had heard that his house and barn there were still standing. I am not terribly scared, because we have a good fire break around it, said Huston. I have a feeling we have a chance to make it through. But I feel a lot more of our country is going to burn. Usually, when a fire goes through it is done. But not this time. It is back tracking and picking up what it missed. It has left spots behind that are still hot and smoldering and they will take off and catch one of those unburned islands of ground on fire. Horrible monster When the Hermits Peak Fire, which started April 6 as a U.S. Forest Service prescribed burn, forced retired wildlife manager Cyn Palmer, 61, to leave her small home between Rociada and Pendaries, she took shelter at the home of a friend in Mora. But then, like the Hustons, Palmer and her neighbors were allowed to return to their homes last week. The days are starting to run together, but she thinks that was Wednesday. We were jumping up and down and high-fiving and celebrating, she said. By sunrise Friday, we were hastily throwing things in our cars and scooping up our pets. This horrible monster was coming at us, and we couldnt stop it. And she couldnt take refuge again in Mora, because the Calf Canyon Fire was moving toward that town and residents were evacuating. Now, Palmer is staying in a friends small camper in a pasture just east of Las Vegas. It is very hard for me emotionally to hear about friends who have had total losses, she said Monday. I am still waiting to hear about my place. I take nothing for granted. What she has heard is that even if her home survives the fire, she will be unable to live in it for weeks or even months because electric power and water services have been destroyed by the blazes. She knows for certain that the detrimental effects of the fires will endure long after the last embers are extinguished. There are a lot of people living in northern New Mexico who are land rich and cash poor and they are devastated by this event, she said. While everyone whose property has been damaged or destroyed is experiencing tremendous trauma and grief, those who were already struggling financially are going to be hit exceptionally hard. Many were uninsured or under insured. Even those whose homes survive are now confronted with the difficult reality of living in an area that is severely impacted. Property values will likely plummet, insurance may be harder to obtain and the ability to sell properties may falter. As a former wildlife manager, Palmer is also well aware that the effect on the forest, watershed and animal populations is almost incomprehensible. She said what keeps her going are the many acts of kindness she has experienced and witnessed. I am overwhelmed by the people who have reached out to me to say, I have a camper, I have a house, I have an extra room. I am clinging to the love of my friends and neighbors and the generosity of others. That is what is holding this community together. Pretty ominous Even when the Hermits Peak Fire burned to within a half mile of his Sapello-area home, north of Las Vegas, Gary Morton, a veteran ranch hand and accomplished painter of cowboy life, stood fast. He refused to evacuate the 300 acres he oversees, the five horses pastured there, his home and his artwork. And when he heard late last week that 91% of the Hermits Peak blaze had been contained, he felt vindicated. I had stopped being worried about it, he said Monday. But on Friday, three State Police officers stopped by his place at three different times of the day to warn him about the Calf Canyon Fire. They said, We cant make you leave, but we sure wish you would,' Morton said. His gut instinct spoke up as well. It felt different on Friday, he said. It felt pretty ominous. The prediction for Saturday was that the wind would be coming more directly out of the West and that would have brought the fire right at my place. Morton decided he was going to load the truck and leave when he saw flames. I got my important papers, belt buckles I had won, my guns, a bottle of Pendleton whiskey and all my leather saddles, bridles, all that kind of stuff. And all the artwork that would fit. Mortons paintings are highly regarded depictions of the ranching life and the Western landscape. He has served as chairman of the New Mexico Arts Commission and as director of the states Department of Cultural Affairs. I had to leave two big paintings in progress behind, he said. Theres a 40 by 60 of a Bell (Ranch) horse-drawn chuck wagon with the remuda behind it and a 24 by 36, also on the Bell, of a cowboy cutting some cattle out of a herd. They wouldnt fit in the truck. When I pulled out the gate, I could see flames higher up in the Sapello Valley. Morton spent Friday night in his Ford F-250 truck at Storrie Lake, listening to the wind blow. He moved to a motel in Las Vegas on Saturday. He said the fire is within a mile or two of his house, but his place is still safe and a wonderful neighbor who stayed is feeding the horses. A lot of people have lost their homes, he said Monday. But this morning I stepped out of the hotel before daylight, and I could smell rain. The mountains to the northwest were socked in with clouds. I remain hopeful and trust in God. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Judges faced with a backlog of criminal cases from the COVID-19 pandemic are ramping up a program that calls on retired judges to help resolve difficult plea negotiations. District judges in Bernalillo County launched a pilot program in February in which settlement judges have overseen more than 100 cases, resulting in plea deals in 45% of cases. Its accomplishing what we want it to accomplish, which is to get everybody together and look at the strengths and weaknesses of cases, and resolve them or set them for trial, 2nd Judicial District Judge Cindy Leos said of the settlement conferences. The ultimate goal is moving forward out of COVID and getting these cases back where they need to be, she said. Under the program, the presiding judge in a case orders defense and prosecution attorneys to meet with a settlement judge, who otherwise has no connection with the case. Since Feb. 1, retired judges Louis McDonald and Charles Brown have held off-the-record settlement conferences to help attorneys negotiate plea deals. Both declined to speak with the Journal for this story. Settlement conferences do not require either party to accept a plea deal. The conference is mandatory the outcome is not, Leos said. Attorneys show up and negotiate to the extent that they can. Sometimes they plead. Sometimes its dismissed. If the two sides are too far apart, then we set it for trial, Leos said. From Feb. 1 to April 11, Brown and McDonald held 117 settlement conferences. Plea agreements were reached in 53 of those cases, Leos said. Most of those cases involved defendants who were in jail, she said. The idea for settlement conferences emerged from an ad-hoc committee formed last year by the New Mexico Supreme Court to find ways to help clear the backlog of criminal cases that built up during the pandemic, said Leos, who serves on the committee. The Supreme Court cleared the way in January by suspending a rule that prohibited judges from participating in plea discussions. In March, the Supreme Court expanded the initiative statewide. During the pandemic, Zoom meetings replaced in-person hearings for much of the courts business. Aside from jury trials, most hearings are held remotely under Supreme Court rules intended to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. Stringent social distancing requirements also limited the number of jury trials held in New Mexico, resulting in a backlog of criminal cases. The number of criminal jury trials statewide declined 46% in two years, from 551 in 2019 to 298 in 2021. But criminal jury trials are making a comeback, data from the Administrative Office of the Courts shows. District courts statewide held 250 criminal trials in nine months from July 1 through March 31. That compares to 179 from July 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021. Nevertheless, video hearings remain the norm in most courts. The reliance on remote hearings means prosecutors and defense attorneys have fewer opportunities to meet face-to-face and negotiate plea deals, said Sarah Pepin, an attorney with the Law Offices of the Public Defender. Before the pandemic, Pepin said she often negotiated pleas in the courtroom before the judge entered, shuttling between her client and prosecutors. Informal negotiations even took place in hallways, she said. But since 2020, email has largely replaced face-to-face meetings in plea negotiations. Plea negotiations have become more laborious than they used to be, Pepin said. Zoom court has really sucked a lot of the small talk out of the process. We havent had a replacement for that informal courtroom process. Settlement conferences even though held by Zoom restore some of the informality that can prove helpful in plea negotiations, said Pepin, who has participated in five. The conferences also are off-the-record, which allows attorneys to speak candidly. It reintroduces sort of the live-fire aspect of it, she said. A key to the success of settlement conferences is the participation of seasoned judges who understand the realities of jury trials. The judge can highlight to both prosecutors and defense attorneys the strengths and weaknesses of a case and help nudge them toward an agreement, Pepin said. And for skeptical defendants, it can be helpful to hear from a judge the risks of taking a case to trial, she said. I think its helpful, not only to the attorneys, but the defendants, Pepin said. Judge Brown offered some useful advice to her client during an April 6 settlement conference. Antonio Ochoa, 52, was facing two trials on felony charges including breaking and entering and aggravated battery. Brown told Ochoa that if he chose to go to trial, he faced some additional risks because he had been convicted of prior felonies. If convicted by a jury, Ochoa faced up to 6 years in prison as a habitual offender, in addition to any sentences he received for the new convictions. Brown also encouraged prosecutors to make some concessions in their plea offer that made it more appealing to the defendant, Pepin said. The two sides ultimately settled on a plea agreement that capped Ochoas sentence at three years in prison. Ochoa pleaded guilty to two felony counts. His sentencing hearing is set for May 24. The settlement conference improved the plea in this matter, Pepin said. The judge was able to assist both sides in moving. The settlement conference got us close enough that we could actually agree. Deputy District Attorney David Waymire said hearings have become less frequent during the pandemic, reducing opportunities for settlements. Before the pandemic, judges commonly held in-person hearings every two or three months in criminal cases. It would force the attorneys to show up, Waymire said. The defendant had to be present. It put everybody in the same room to talk a little bit. Settlement hearings provide an opportunity for all parties to meet and talk openly about the case. I think it can be helpful to just have everybody in the same room, whether its a real room or a digital room, said Waymire, who participated in a recent settlement conference. Thats often where you can resolve cases. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden has granted the first three pardons of his term, providing clemency to a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent convicted of federal bribery charges that he tried to sell a copy of an agency file and to two people who were convicted on drug-related charges but went on to become pillars in their communities. The Democratic president also commuted the sentences of 75 others for nonviolent, drug-related convictions. The White House announced the clemencies Tuesday as it launched a series of job training and reentry programs for those in prison or recently released. Many of those who received commutations have been serving their sentences on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several were serving lengthy sentences and would have received lesser terms had they been convicted today for the same offenses as a result of the 2018 bipartisan sentencing reform ushered into law by the Trump administration. America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation, Biden said in a statement announcing the clemencies. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities. Those granted pardons are: Abraham Bolden Sr., 86, the first Black Secret Service agent to serve on a presidential detail. In 1964, Bolden, who served on President John F. Kennedys detail, faced federal bribery charges that he attempted to sell a copy of a Secret Service file. His first trial ended in a hung jury. Following his conviction in a second trial, key witnesses admitted lying at the prosecutors request, according to the White House. Bolden, of Chicago, was denied a retrial and served three years, nine months in federal prison. Bolden has maintained his innocence and wrote a book in which he argued he was targeted for speaking out against racist and unprofessional behavior in the Secret Service. Bolden in an interview said he believed Biden sympathized with him and saw a need to honor due process in my case. The pardon came nearly 61 years after he joined the Kennedy detail. He said he asked off of the detail after enduring racial slurs from fellow agents and small nooses were left around his workplace. I met President Kennedy on April 28, 1961 and on April 25 I got word of the presidential pardon, said Bolden, who first petitioned the White House for a pardon during the Nixon administration. Thats pretty close. Betty Jo Bogans, 51, was convicted in 1998 of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in Texas after attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice. Bogans, a single mother with no prior record, received a seven-year sentence. In the years since her release from prison, Bogans has held consistent employment, even while undergoing cancer treatment, and has raised a son. Dexter Jackson , 52, of Athens, Georgia, was convicted in 2002 for using his pool hall to facilitate the trafficking of marijuana. Jackson pleaded guilty and acknowledged he allowed his business to be used by marijuana dealers. After Jackson was released from prison, he converted his business into a cellphone repair service that employs local high school students through a program that provides young adults with work experience. Jackson has built and renovated homes in his community, which has a shortage of affordable housing. Civil rights and criminal justice reform groups have pushed the White House to commute sentences and work harder to reduce disparities in the criminal justice system. Bidens grants of clemency also come as the administration has faced congressional scrutiny over misconduct and the treatment of inmates in the beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons, which is responsible for inmates serving sentences of home confinement. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden in his first commutations of his presidency focused on petitions from individuals who had less than four years to serve. Biden, as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped shepherd through the 1994 crime bill that many criminal justice experts say contributed to harsh sentences and mass incarceration of Black people. During his 2020 White House run, Biden vowed to reduce the number of people incarcerated in the U.S. and called for nonviolent drug offenders to be diverted to drug courts and treatment. He also has pushed for better training for law enforcement and called for criminal justice system changes to address disparities that have led to minorities and the poor making up a disproportionate share of the nations incarcerated population. Inimai Chettiar, federal director of the criminal justice reform advocacy group Justice Action Network, called Bidens first pardons and commutations just modest steps and urged Biden to meet the urgency of the moment. President Biden ran on a promise to help end mass incarceration, and he has broad public support for that promise, Chettiar added. Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump, granted 144 pardons and clemency to 238 during his four years in office. Some criminal justice advocates are pressing for Biden to act with more haste, calling on the president to establish a permanent clemency review board. More than 18,000 clemency petitions are pending, according to the Justice Department. White House counsel Dana Remus, at a virtual roundtable discussion on Tuesday with formerly incarcerated people hosted by the Biden administration, said that the pardons and commutations are just the beginning. The President will continue to review clemency petitions over the coming months, Remus said. And we will continue all of this critically important work in supporting formerly incarcerated persons in creating second chances and ensuring that our criminal justice system is more just and more equal. Trump sought the advice of prison reform advocate Alice Johnson, a Black woman whose life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense he commuted in 2018. He was also lobbied by celebrity Kim Kardashian as well as advisers inside the White House, including daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as he weighed applications for clemency. The Republican used his pardon authority to help several political friends and allies, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Republican operative Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of Ivanka Trump. Among Trumps final acts as president was pardoning his former chief strategist Steve Bannon and Al Pirro, the ex-husband of Fox News host and Trump ally Jeanine Pirro. Prosecutors alleged that Bannon, who had yet to stand trial when he was pardoned, had duped thousands of donors who believed their money would be used to fulfill Trumps chief campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border. Instead, Bannon allegedly diverted more than $1 million, paying a salary to one campaign official and personal expenses for himself. Pirro was convicted in 2000 on tax charges. With the slate of pardons and commutations announced Tuesday, Biden has issued more grants of clemency than any of the previous five presidents at this point in their terms, according to the White House. In addition to the grants of clemency, Biden announced several new initiatives that are meant to help formerly incarcerated people gain employment an issue that his administration is driving home as key to lowering crime rates and preventing recidivism. The Labor Department is directing $140 million toward programs that offer job training, pre-apprenticeship programs, digital literacy training and pre-release and post-release career counseling and more for youth and incarcerated adults. The $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year includes a trio of grant programs that the administration says promote hiring of formerly incarcerated individuals. And the Labor and Justice Departments announced on Tuesday a collaborative plan to provide $145 million over the next year on job skills training as well as individualized employment and reentry plans for people serving time in the Bureau of Prisons. Biden said the new initiatives are vital to helping the more than 600,000 people released from prison each year get on stable ground. Helping those who served their time return to their families and become contributing members of their communities is one of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism and decrease crime, Biden said. ___ Babwin reported from Chicago. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo and Darlene Superville contributed to this report. STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANTA FE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT No. D-101-CV-2022-00038 WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, AS TRUSTEE OF JUNIPER MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST A, Plaintiff, v. JOE BELTRAN, A SINGLE MAN; DISCOVER BANK; UNKNOWN TENANTS OR OCCUPANTS OF PROPERTY; DOES 1 THROUGH 50, Defendants. NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF ACTION Notice of suit to: JOE BELTRAN AND UNKNOWN TENANTS OR OCCUPANTS OF PROPERTY You are hereby notified that the above-named Plaintiff Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, as Trustee of Juniper Mortgage Loan Trust A has filed a civil action against you in the aboveentitled Court and cause, to enforce judgment and foreclosure sale as to the real property located in Santa Fe County, commonly known as 3109 Jemez Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 and more particularly and described as follows: LOT 15, ACRES ESTATES, TRACT 2, AS SHOWN ON PLAT FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, SANTA FE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO, ON DECEMBER 28, 1954, RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 6, PAGE 25, AS DOCUMENT NO. 203,682. (hereinafter the Property) You are further notified that if you do not file a response in this case on or before thirty (30) days after the third publication of this Notice, a default judgment may be entered against you. Your response must be filed with the above-title Court. HOUSER LLP By: /s/ Solomon S. Krotzer Solomon S. Krotzer, Esq. 100 Sun Ave. N.E., Suite 650 Albuquerque, NM 87109 Telephone: (949)-679-1111 skrotzer@houser-law.com Attorneys for Plaintiff Journal: April 5, 12, 19, 26, 2022 NOTICE is hereby given that on March 3, 2022, Ronald G. Morris, PO Box 302, McIntosh, NM 87032, and Francisco Martin Sanchez & Jenny R. Sanchez, 41 Charlotte Rd., Tijeras, NM 87059, filed with the STATE ENGINEER Application No. E-00373 into E-04709 for Permit to Change Point of Diversion, Place, and Purpose of Use from Groundwater to Groundwater within the Estancia Underground Water Basin of the State of New Mexico under Water Use Lease, NMSA 1978 72-6-1 through 72-6-7. Torrance and Bernalillo Counties are the Counties affected by the diversion and in which the water has been or will be put to beneficial use. This notice is ordered to be published in the Albuquerque Journal. Under this application, the applicants propose to temporarily discontinue, for a period of 2 years, the farm delivery requirement (FDR) of 0.5 acre-foot per annum (afa), under OSE File Number E-00373, from two Groundwater Points of Diversion (POD), E-00373 & E-00373 S, located within the NW1/4 NW1/4 SE1/4 of Section 25, Township 7 North, Range 8 East, NMPM, for the irrigation of part of 16.8 acres of land described as being within the SE1/4 NE1/4 of Section 25, Township 7 North, Range 8 East, NMPM, Torrance County, New Mexico. Both the POD and land are owned by Ronald G. Morris. The above-described move-from place of use is located approximately 0.35 miles east of Salt Mission Trail, in McIntosh, New Mexico. The applicants further propose to temporarily commence, for a period of 2 years, the above- described CU of 0.5 afa, under OSE File Number E-00373, to an existing POD, E-04709, within the NE1/4 SW1/4 NW1/4 of Section 10, Township 8 North, Range 6 East, NMPM, located at a point where X=1,623,990 feet, Y=1,432,219 feet, NM State Plane (NAD83), Central Zone, for the commercial drip irrigation use in hoop houses, within 1.0 acre of land, described as being within Lot A, Lands of Louis Peralta, located within Section 10, Township 8 North, Range 6 East, NMPM, Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The above-described well and land are owned by Francisco Martin Sanchez and Jenny R. Sanchez. The above-described move-to tract is located south of Charlotte Road, approximately 0.80 miles west of New Mexico Hwy 337, Tijeras, New Mexico. This Application is filed under the Water-Use Leasing Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 72-6-1 through 72-6-7 with a start date of March 16, 2022, and an ending date of March 16, 2024. To view the application and supporting documentation contact the State Engineer District 1 Office to arrange a date and time for an appointment at (505) 383-4000 located at 5550 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87109. Any person, firm or corporation or other entity asserting standing to file objections or protests shall do so in writing (objection must be legible, signed, and include the writers complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address). If the protest does not include the complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address, it may be deemed invalid and not accepted for filing unless Protestant provides with the protest an affidavit stating that it does not have one of the above-listed elements/requirements (phone number, mailing address, email address, etc.). The objection to the approval of the application must be based on: (1) Detriment; if detriment, you must specifically identify your water rights; and/or (2) Public Welfare/Conservation of Water; if public welfare or conservation of water within the state of New Mexico, you shall be required to provide evidence showing how you will be substantially and specifically affected. The written protest must be filed, in triplicate, with the State Engineer, 5550 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, on or before Friday, June 24, 2022. Facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted as a valid protest if the hard copy is hand-delivered or mailed and postmarked within 24-hours of the facsimile. Mailing postmark will be used to validate the 24-hour period. Protests can be faxed to the Office of the State Engineer, (505) 383-4030. If no valid protest or objection is filed, the State Engineer will evaluate the application in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 72 NMSA 1978. Journal: April 26, May 3, 10, 2022 SEMINOLE, Ala. Authorities say tattoos have helped identify a body found 22 years ago in Alabamas Styx River as that of a Texas man who helped other migrants find work. DNA identified the body as Daniel Muniz Jr. after his stepdaughter, Amanda Galleher of Tennessee, found photos of the tattoos in a national database of missing and unidentified people, news outlets report. The man, whose cause of death was found to be probable drowning, was wearing only jeans when his body was found in March 2000, news outlets reported. The Baldwin County Sheriffs Office reopened the case in 2019, sending out a news release with photos of distinctive tattoos and posting them on websites about missing people. Galleher found them in June 2021 on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System clearinghouse and resource center. I was going through every one of the cases that there was, and I had seen the first tattoo pop up of the Indian head and that was of my fathers ex-wife that they had put on there, Galleher told WALA-TV in Mobile. It took until April 21 for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to positively identify Muniz. Al.com reported that he was a migrant worker from Texas. He had been in Baldwin County to help migrant workers find jobs, WPMI-TV reported. Because his body was found near the community of Seminole, the unidentified man had been listed as Seminole Doe, WKRG-TV reported. Galleher told WALA that she plans to travel to Alabama to visit her stepfathers grave. They even got a tombstone, she said. Theres a lot of people in the world who have family and dont even have a tombstone, so I feel like the county hes in did him justice. She said she plans to have a new gravestone made. WASHINGTON Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. Neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a close contact of Harris in recent days, said the vice presidents press secretary, Kirsten Allen. Harris had been scheduled to attend Bidens Tuesday morning Presidential Daily Brief but was not present, the White House said. She had returned Monday from a weeklong trip to the West Coast. The last time she saw Biden was the previous Monday, April 18. I have no symptoms, and I will continue to isolate and follow CDC guidelines, Harris tweeted. Im grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted. After consulting with her physicians, Harris, 57, was prescribed and is taking Paxlovid, the Pfizer antiviral pill, her office said late Tuesday. The drug, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease. Biden phoned Harris Tuesday afternoon to make sure she has everything she needs while working from home, the White House said. Harris, received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine weeks before taking office and a second dose just days after Inauguration Day in 2021. She received a booster shot in late October and an additional booster on April 1. Fully vaccinated and boosted people have a high degree of protection against serious illness and death from COVID-19, particularly from the most common and highly transmissible omicron variant. Harris diagnosis comes a month after her husband, Doug Emhoff, recovered from the virus, as a wave of cases of the highly transmissible omicron subvariant has spread through Washingtons political class, infecting Cabinet members, White House staffers and lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., tested positive on Tuesday. Allen said Harris would follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and the advice of her physicians. It was not immediately clear whether she is being prescribed any antiviral treatments. The White House has put in place strict COVID-19 protocols around the president, vice president and their spouses, including daily testing for those expected to be in close contact with them. Biden is tested regularly on the advice of his physician, the White House has said, and last tested negative on Monday. We have a very very contagious variant out there, said White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Aashish Jha on Tuesday. It is going to be hard to ensure that no one gets COVID in America. Thats not even a policy goal. He said the administrations goal is to make sure people dont get seriously ill. Jha added that despite the precautions it is possible that Biden himself will come down with the virus at some point. I wouldnt say its just a matter of time, but of course it is possible that the president, like any other American, could get COVID, he said. There is no 100% anything. Psaki said she would not expect any changes to White House protocols. After more than two years and nearly a million deaths in the U.S., the virus is still killing more than 300 people a day in the U.S., according to the CDC. The unvaccinated are at a far greater risk, more than twice as likely to test positive and nine times as likely to die from the virus as those who have received at least a primary dose of the vaccines, according to the public health agency. Harris diagnosis comes as the Biden administration is taking steps to expand availability of the life-saving Paxlovid, reassuring doctors that there is ample supply for people at high risk of severe illness or death from the virus. In addition to her husbands diagnosis, Harris was identified as a close contact after her communications director tested positive on April 6. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines close contact with an infected person as spending 15 minutes or more with them over a 24-hour period. The CDC says people with close contact do not need to quarantine if they are up to date on their vaccines but should wear well-fitting masks around other people for 10 days after the contact. ___ MOGADISHU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- About 500,000 people have been displaced due to severe drought ravaging several parts of Somalia in the first three months to March, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-led Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN) said the above figure is in addition to the 874,000 people already reported as displaced in Somalia in 2021, among whom 245,000 were primarily associated with drought. "Alarming projections suggest that up to 1.4 million people could be displaced within the next six months," UNHCR said in its latest drought response update released in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The UN agency has warned that Somalia's drought emergency has deteriorated to a point where the country is facing the risk of famine. It said communities across the country are experiencing one of the most severe droughts in decades, leading to the declaration of a national emergency by Somalia in November 2021. "By the end of the first quarter of 2022, the drought situation has rapidly deteriorated, raising a credible risk of famine in pockets across the country and also causing large-scale displacements," UNHCR said. The UN refugee agency said it has been providing shelter, core relief items and cash to 140,000 drought-affected persons across Somalia. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says even before the current drought, about 7.7 million Somalis were in need of humanitarian assistance and protection this year -- up 30 percent from a year ago. According to OCHA, the humanitarian situation in Somalia is already grave due to decades of conflict, recurrent climate shocks and disease outbreaks, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN, government and humanitarian partners say they are ramping up responses in order to meet critical needs and avoid disastrous consequences. The historic court martial of an Air Force major general on abusive sexual contact charges ended with a reprimand and a series of monthly fines. Maj. Gen. William Cooley, a former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, was convicted of forcibly kissing a civilian woman in Albuquerque in 2018. Col. Christina M. Jimenez, the senior military judge in the case, handed down the sentence Tuesday at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Cooley will be reprimanded and have to pay $10,910 per month for five months, according to an Air Force news release. That amounts to about two-thirds of his monthly salary, according to The Associated Press. He faced a maximum sentence of dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and seven years confinement. He was found guilty of a specification alleging abusive sexual contact under the (Uniformed Code of Military Justice;) specifically, kissing the victim without her consent with an intent to gratify his sexual desire, according to the Air Force. Jimenez found Cooley not guilty of the two other specifications, involving alleged inappropriate touching. The case centered around Cooleys behavior after a family barbecue in Albuquerque in August 2018. An Albuquerque native who graduated from Highland High School and earned a masters degree at the University of New Mexico, Cooley was in town ahead of a work conference at Kirtland Air Force Base, which is home to two AFRL directorates. Cooley was assigned to KAFB twice during his Air Force career, according to the branchs website. After drinking bourbon and sangria during the barbecue, Cooley got a ride from his sister-in-law to another home to pick up his belongings. During the trip, he told his twin brothers wife that he had sexually fantasized about her for years, according to court testimony reported by several media outlets. He was convicted of forcibly kissing her in her Jeep after the two returned from the short trip. Cooleys case marked the first time in the Air Forces 75-year history that a major general faced a court martial. If this result influenced just one survivor to know that his or her attackers rank or status would not prevent them from being held accountable, that is a win for the United States and the military justice system, said Lt. Col. Matthew Neil, the governments lead trial counsel. Joshua Kastenberg, a University of New Mexico School of Law professor and former judge and lawyer in the Air Force, said the prosecution was the product of a decade of reforms to change how the U.S. military decides which cases to prosecute. He said those efforts, spearheaded by Congress, aimed to address a practice colloquially called different spanks for different ranks, which means that junior officers faced severe consequences for behavior that would be overlooked if done by those in higher ranks. It actually resulted in the court martial of a general who was found guilty for the first time so, to me, theres a bigger story than the actual case, Kastenberg said. Its that generals and admirals are not above the law. No jury was seated in Cooleys case. Jimenez convicted Cooley of a single specification after a week-long trial. There was a sentencing hearing Monday, where both the victim and Cooley read statements to the court, according to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base officials. The womans three-page statement says that the assault left her humiliated, cost her valuable relationships with family members and continues to impact her to this day. Ive had to share the details of that horrific night more times than I can count with not only friends and other family members but with complete strangers and now the world, she said. He stole my agency. My ability to tell my story to who I wanted, when I wanted. The woman and her husband reported the incident to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in December 2019. She said she ultimately decided to report the incident, in part, to set an example for her daughters. I felt like a fraud to my amazing daughters, she said. What was I role modeling if I didnt speak up for myself? The defense never called any witnesses, according to the Air Force. The governments witnesses included Cooleys sister-in-law and his mother and niece, according to media coverage of the case. Cooleys attorney, Daniel Conway, didnt respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. He told the Dayton Daily News that his client is remorseful but maintains his innocence. I think the military judge here did send a message that she was in fact taking this seriously, Conway told the newspaper. It certainly could have an impact on his retirement if he were to retire. Ryan Guilds, the victims attorney, said the case was never about seeking punishment. She is incredibly grateful for the hard work and dedication of the prosecutors and the support of close family and friends who believed and supported her throughout this incredibly difficult and painful process, Guilds said in an email. She looks forward to serving as an advocate for positive change within and outside the military to address the scourge of sexual assault and hopes that in coming forward and telling the truth her actions will inspire other survivors and serve as a warning to those who seek to use their power to silence victims. WARSAW, Poland Polish and Bulgarian officials said Tuesday that Moscow is cutting off natural gas deliveries to their countries due to their refusal to pay in Russian rubles, a demand made by President Vladimir Putin after sanctions were levied against his nation over the invasion of Ukraine. Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom informed the two EU and NATO member nations that gas supplies will be suspended starting Wednesday, their governments said. The suspensions would be the first since Putins announcement last month that unfriendly foreign buyers would have to transact with Gazprom in rubles instead of dollars and euros. Only Hungary has agreed to do so, with other countries rejecting the demand as an unacceptable, one-sided breach of contracts and a violation of sanctions. If deliveries are halted to other countries as well, it could cause economic pain in Europe, driving natural gas prices up and possibly leading to rationing but it would also deal a blow to Russias own economy. Wednesdays cutoffs will affect deliveries of Russian gas to Poland through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, according to Polish state gas company PGNiG, and to Bulgaria via the TurkStream pipeline, that countrys Energy Ministry aaid. The Yamal-Europe line carries gas from Russia to Poland and Germany, via Belarus. Poland has been receiving some 9 billion cubic meters annually, fulfilling some 45% of the countrys need. PGNiG said it was considering legal action over Moscows payment demand. But Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said Poland is prepared to make do after having worked to reduce its reliance on Russian energy sources. Several years ago the country opened its first terminal for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, in Swinoujscie, on the Baltic Sea coast, and later this year a pipeline from Norway is to become operational. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes, Moskwa tweeted. Analyst Emily McClain of Rystad Energy concurred, saying that Poland has ample natural gas in storage and has the capacity to ramp up imports. Bulgaria said it was working with state gas companies to find alternative sources and that no restrictions on domestic consumption would be imposed for now, even though the Balkan country of 6.5 million people meets over 90% of its gas needs with Russian imports. One feasible and relatively immediate option available to the Bulgarian government would be to increase their imports of Azeri gas. Poland has been a strong supporter of neighboring Ukraine during the Russian invasion and has acted as a transit point for weapons the United States and other Western nations have provided to Kyiv. Warsaw said this week that it, too, was sending weaponry to Ukraines army, in the form of tanks. On Tuesday it announced sanctions targeting 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, including Gazprom. Bulgaria, once one of Moscows closest allies, has cut many of its ties with Russia after a new, liberal government took the reins last fall and also in the wake of the invasion. It has supported sanctions against Russia and sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Bulgaria has been hesitant to provide military aid, but Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and members of his coalition government were expected in Kyiv on Wednesday for talks about further assistance. Europe buys large amounts of Russian natural gas for residential heating, electrical generation and the fuel industry, with Germany particularly dependent on it. The imports have continued despite the war. Around 60% of imports are paid in euros, and the rest in dollars. Putins demand was apparently intended to help bolster the Russian currency against Western sanctions. In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. had been preparing for such a cutoff by Russia. Some of that has been asking some countries in Asia who have excess supply to provide that to Europe, Psaki said. Weve done that in some cases, and its been an ongoing effort. ___ Associated Press writers Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Zeke Miller and Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The man convicted of killing a Sandia High School student at a homecoming party and suspected of shooting a young woman playing Pokemon Go is facing new charges from inside the county jail after deputies say he stabbed another inmate more than 20 times as revenge for killing his brother. Izaiah Garcia, 21, is now charged with aggravated battery, possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner and tampering with evidence. Bernalillo County Sheriffs deputies said he used a 6- to 8-inch long shank made from the broken top of a mop or broom handle to stab 21-year-old Christopher Byers. Byers is charged with murder in the death of 16-year-old Thomas Nunn, Garcias half brother. He had been transferred to the same pod Garcia was housed in the day before the April 21 attack. A Bernalillo County spokeswoman said Byers was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital, treated for superficial injuries, and returned to the Metropolitan Detention Center the same day. The stabbing occurred in the Echo unit the same unit where another inmate is accused of beating his cellmate to death last fall. In that case, three correctional officers were each watching two pods each pod has 32 cells rather than one officer per pod. In this case, a Bernalillo County spokesman said a correctional officer was assigned to the pod where the stabbing took place. Noah Gelb, an attorney representing Byers, said the incident is concerning. It is the jails responsibility to ensure the health and safety of the people confined there, so its very troubling that this situation was allowed to happen, Gelb said in a statement. We are on ever higher alert for the safety of our clients housed at MDC. According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, around 9:45 a.m. Byers was standing in front of a cell on the upper tier talking to another inmate when Garcia walked out of his cell toward the shower. The top tier was on lockdown at the time, but as a bay orderly, Garcia was able to leave his cell. He was also able to talk with other inmates and access cleaning supplies and other items that couldve been used to manufacture a shank, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, the inmate in the cell next to Garcias had beckoned Byers upstairs right before Garcia stabbed him. Deputies reviewed video of the incident, which they said showed Garcia leave the shower and walk back toward Byers with his hand in his uniform. Then, the video shows, he took out a large piece of sharpened plastic. Garcia begins thrusting the shank into the neck of Byers several times while his back is facing Garcia, the deputy wrote in the complaint. Byers appears to have no time to react to Garcias attack Garcia appears to stab, or attempt to stab, Byers more than 20 times and told him this is for my brother.' A correctional officer who was overseeing the pod told deputies she was sitting at the officers desk and noticed the commotion but didnt immediately see what was happening. She said as she made her way up there she saw that Garcia was stabbing Byers with something long and sharp. The officer sprayed Garcia with pepper spray and it stopped the attack. The officer saw Garcia throw the shank in the toilet and then handcuffed him, according to the complaint. Byers was taken to the hospital. Garcias case has been assigned to the Law Offices of the Public Defender, however an attorney has not yet been appointed. Larry Gallegos, the Bernalillo County spokesman, said Garcia is no longer a bay orderly and both he and Byers were moved to alternative housing areas to include alerts entered the Offender Management System ensuring they are not housed in the same area in the future. He said all serious incidents, including this one, are referred to MDCs office of Professional Standards Unit for investigation. No policies or procedures have been changed at this time. Byers was arrested in early February after deputies say he and 15-year-old Elias Acuna-Whitley robbed and killed Nunn on Jan. 23. Nunn was found dead on a Southwest Mesa. Acuna-Whitley was killed in a possible accidental shooting two days later and Byers was injured in a shooting on Jan. 28. Its unclear if Byerss shooting was related to Nunns death. According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, messages between Byers and Acuna-Whitley showed they were planning to rob someone, likely Nunn, and discussed shooting him as well. When Acuna-Whitley was shot, he was brought to the hospital in Nunns car. In August, Garcia was convicted of killing 17-year-old Sean Markey in September 2019. Markey was struck by a stray bullet and was not the intended target. Prosecutors said Garcia had confronted another teenager outside the party and began chasing him and firing at him but Markey was hit. Garcias attorney had argued that at least seven people were firing guns five of which were the same caliber so its impossible to know who fired the fatal shot. Garcia has not yet been sentenced but he faces a minimum sentence of 30 years. He is also charged with shooting 21-year-old Cayla Campos, who was playing Pokemon Go with her boyfriend when her car was sprayed with bullets in a Northeast Albuquerque park. That trial is set for June. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The New Mexico Business Coalition says the Public Regulation Commission has violated the state Open Meetings Act twice since December by holding secret deliberations on issues that should be aired in public. The PRC went into closed session in December to discuss a Public Service Company of New Mexico request to sell its stake in the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant to the Navajo Nation, and then again in February to discuss a rate case filed by Southwestern Public Service Co. The coalition filed two complaints Tuesday with the Attorney Generals Office requesting investigations into both incidents. New Mexicos Open Meetings Act has limited exceptions for when public meetings may be closed and requires a reason be provided for going into closed sessions. Generally, closed sessions are only for personnel matters and lawsuits, Business Coalition President Carla Sonntag told the Journal. These closed-door deliberations were very much out of the norm and they violated the Open Meetings Act. By discussing the issues in private, the five PRC commissioners deprived the public of its legitimate right to observe the regulatory process, hear the opinions of commissioners, and understand the basis for final decisions, Sonntag added. We want all decision-making held in public to listen to the arguments made and to learn about why commissioners come to the conclusions they do, Sonntag said. In these two cases, they didnt do that, and we want the attorney general to look into it because we dont want this to become a pattern. These are critical issues and decisions that impact the state and all ratepayers. The closed session about the Four Corners plant was particularly egregious, because the commission spent nearly four hours behind closed doors, said coalition board member Wayne Berry. Commissioners then emerged with a decision to reject PNMs proposed sale despite a PRC hearing examiners recommendation to approve it with no explanation of what transpired out of public view. PNM has since appealed to the state Supreme Court to overturn the PRC decision on the Four Corners sale. This is not how public bodies should conduct themselves, Berry said in a statement. Public officials who are being paid by the taxpayers owe New Mexicans the transparency that a public process requires. The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG) said such state agency deliberations should be done in open public meetings. The Open Meetings Act declares that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible access to the affairs of government, NMFOG Executive Director Shannon Kunkel said in a statement Tuesday. Its critical that discussions on matters that so greatly impact the lives of New Mexicans be conducted in public view. To improperly close a meeting is a violation of both the letter and (the) spirit of the law, and breeds public mistrust in our public institutions. Two commissioners, Cynthia Hall and Stephen Fischmann, told the Journal they could not comment on the complaints. I havent seen them, so I dont know anything about them yet, Hall said. Fischmann, however, said the closed sessions were conducted under advice from the commissions general counsel. We were advised that not only were the closed sessions legal, but (also) that it was advisable in these particular cases, Fischmann said. Thats really all I can say about it. Travelers wait to buy tickets for Eid trips at Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 25, 2022.(Xinhua) by Naim-Ul-Karim DHAKA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Bangladesh travelers in desperate bid to get advance tickets face "huge snake-like" queues at railway ticket counters in the capital Dhaka. As the holy Eid-al-Fitr is drawing near, marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the ticket counters at the city railway station have started witnessing a mad rush of people since last weekend. People of all ages and even women in large numbers are now thronging Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital to buy tickets for Eid trips. Akhi Akter, a Dhaka dweller, said she managed to get the tickets for her Eid trip to North Bengal, saying she felt lucky to get the reservation as ticket seekers are increasing. Bangladesh Railway on April 23 began to sell train tickets in advance for Eid travelers who will flock home to join the festival with their kith and kin. The Muslim majority Bangladesh will celebrate the Eid-al-Fitr festival on or around May 3, depending upon moon sightings. The desperation for reservation of tickets brings queues of thousands standing for agonizingly long hours that are apparently getting longer day by day. "I came to the railway station to book tickets to Noakhali district," said Enamul Islam, a ticket seeker. He said the waiting is getting longer. "I'm not sure whether finally I could manage a ticket," he said. Unfortunately, an official who preferred to be unnamed said there is no guarantee for getting a ticket because the number of people seeking tickets is much more than their capacity. Like previous years, he said, half of the tickets will be sold at counters and the rest online. Bangladeshi Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan earlier this month said this time advance tickets for Eid would be available in train stations and on the app. He said they would operate 92 intercity trains in a special arrangement as there would be no weekly break for seven days for trains before Eid. Professor Md Hadiuzzaman, director of the Accidental Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said recently that the mad rush of millions of home-bound people could impact Bangladesh's entire transportation system during this Eid occasion. "In our research, we found that 11.5 million people left Dhaka for Eid in 2019, but it reduced to only 6 million during the pandemic." But this time, he said, the number will be doubled again. "Some 3 million people may leave Dhaka every day in the four days before Eid," he said. According to the expert, trains, buses and ferries have the capacity to transport 13-14 lakh (1.3-1.4 million) passengers daily. "Therefore, there is no transportation system for (the rest) 1.6 million people," he added. Travelers wait to buy tickets for Eid trips at Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 25, 2022.(Xinhua) A woman shows a ticket at Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 25, 2022.(Xinhua) Women wait to buy tickets for Eid trips at Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 25, 2022.(Xinhua) Travelers wait to buy tickets for Eid trips at Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 25, 2022.(Xinhua) Las Vegas: Congress must pass legislation to rein in the market power of the big tech platforms, said Curtis LeGeyt, president-CEO of National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the premier advocacy association for Americas broadcasters. He was delivering his inaugural State of the Industry address during the 2022 NAB Show. That includes the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which would level the playing field for broadcasters. This bill would allow us to jointly negotiate the value of our local content that is accessed through these platforms, he said. LeGeyt demanded that the Congress must take action to rein in the gatekeeping ability of the Big Tech giants who are stifling the economics of local news. A 2021 study found that local broadcasters lose an estimated $2 billion annually when our content is accessed through Google and Facebook. $2 billion! But this is not a copyright problem; its a market power problem. Broadcasters and all local media rely on these platforms to reach online audiences. We have no other choice. Yet their market dominance allows them to offer us take it or leave it compensation terms that significantly devalue our product, he added. According to him, a report released last Congress by Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell noted that Google and Facebook control an estimated 77 percent of locally focused digital advertising. Yet, broadcasters still operate under a set of rules that pretend they only compete with one another, he said. During his recent testimony before the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, Joel Oxley, general manager of WTOP in Washington, summarized Big Techs unfair advantage, LeGeyt said. He stated: Consider the big storm that just blew through the Northeastblizzard conditions. Tons of work at a lot of cost and time for local broadcasters. But not for Facebook, Google and the like. They simply take our coverage, profit from it, and virtually nothing comes back to us. If we dont find a way to have true partnerships with the big platforms, we will not be around and neither will our coverage, he said. He warned that there is no long-term business model for local news if we dont fix this existential problem. Without broadcasters, lives would have been risked during that storm. And that is not all. A recent study by Brookings shows that Americans are harmed when local news suffers. Inadequate local news has been linked to more government corruption, less-competitive elections, and weaker municipal finances, LeGeyt stated. Commending local broadcasters for doing their best work, serving as a constant lifeline during times of emergency, he said: And heres the part that impresses me most: you did it in a way that binds our communities together rather than divides them. In the most difficult of circumstances, you were the antidote to social media disinformation and cable news politicization, and I have never been more proud to represent this industry. For years, our critics have tried to write us off as yesterday's technology, predicting a diminished future for broadcasters at the hands of the latest innovation. First it was the advent of television itself, then competition with cable, the VCR, the DVR, social media, and now podcasts and streaming, broadcasters demise has been predicted for decades. But heres the thing. Every single time, real-life events actually brought local broadcasters back to the forefront and demonstrated there is no other medium that can connect and inform the way we do, he said. He added that our next generation of technologies includes not only the revolutionary new broadcast standard ATSC 3.0 but also other content delivery methods whether it's 5G, streaming, or mobile video. I am also excited by the evolution of radio. Radio in the car is becoming a screen-driven experience. The data capabilities of HD Radio and the connected car give broadcasters powerful new ways to build and extend their listener relationships. Our investment in technology is an investment in localism and the trusted journalism Americans rely on every day, he added. And as we are making that investment, I am here to tell you that NAB is working with policymakers in our nations capital to ensure they do their part to protect broadcasters ability to innovate and grow our uniquely free service. To that end, I want to briefly outline four areas where policymakers must focus to ensure that broadcasters can continue to compete and thrive in today's environment. He demanded that lawmakers and regulators must modernise media ownership laws to reflect the realities of the marketplace. We are adapting our business models and our content to match todays rapidly changing media landscape. But outdated laws force us to compete with one arm tied behind our back for advertising dollars and audience. Congress and the FCC must take a fresh look at whether these decades-old regulations are helping or impeding broadcast competition and media diversity, he said. Third, as I look forward to discussing with Chairwoman Rosenworcel in a few minutes, we are urging the FCC to reorient how it thinks about broadcast policy more broadly. One hundred years ago, Congress established a system in which broadcast stations were licensed to provide a free service to local communities in the public interest. Broadcasters take these public interest obligations seriously and go far above and beyond in serving their listeners and viewers every day. But to fulfill Congresss vision, it is imperative that the FCC recognize that the broadcast industrys ability to function in the public interest is fundamentally premised on its economic viability. This means the Commission must consider whether each existing and new regulation will help or impede broadcasters ability to thrive in a media environment dominated by other services. It means embracing the tremendous consumer benefits of ATSC 3.0 and adopting policies that enable its growth to the benefit of localism and trusted journalism, he said. Kantar, data-driven analytics and brand consulting company, has reached an agreement to acquire Blackwood Seven, the Copenhagen, Denmark-based marketing measurement and optimisation company. The transaction is anticipated to complete by the end of April. The move cements Kantars position as a market-leader in marketing ROI measurement; a market forecast to be valued at $3 billion by 2024 (17% CAGR ), and accelerates the firms plans to bring a Unified Marketing Measurement solution to its global client base. Operationally, the Blackwood Seven team will join Kantars Analytics Practice, led by Chris Petranto. Todays announcement represents Kantars sixth acquisition since Bain Capital took a majority shareholding in December 2019. Founded in 2013 by Henrik Hasselbalch Busch, Thomas Bertelsen and former CEO Carl Erik Kjrsgaard, Blackwood Seven is a leading provider of marketing effectiveness and planning solutions. They offer highly scalable, AI-powered, cookie-less unified marketing measurement globally. Their advanced analytics produce marketing ROI insights at a granular level, enabling marketers to optimise their investments and predict business outcomes. Powered by the Hamilton.AI platform, which continually learns from the effects of past media investments, their solutions model a multitude of scenarios to create future media plans down to an individual publisher level. Sophisticated modelling, which accounts for synergies between channels, macroeconomic factors and competitor activity, allows marketers to make better informed decisions. Continuously refreshed data inputs also facilitate real-time planning and in-flight campaign optimisation. Commenting on the acquisition, Ted Prince, Chief Product Officer at Kantar, said: Kantars well-established credentials in ROI analysis are bolstered significantly by the addition of Blackwood Sevens technology solution. Clients, including Honda, Suncorp and Telenor, already use their solution for budget setting, competitor analysis, reducing customer acquisition cost, measuring brand equity and minimising customer churn. The move will give Kantars global roster of clients access to the more granular analytics it provides, alongside the strategic guidance we are known for. Prince continues: Todays marketers need a solution that brings together insights for both strategic and tactical/in-flight decision-making, and that is futureproofed against cookie deprecation and privacy legislation. We see this driving marketing ROI budgets towards Unified Marketing Measurement solutions in the future. Blackwood Sevens unique AI-powered product is a leader in this space, and the team has an impressive track record of winning and retaining clients. We are excited to welcome them into our Analytics Practice. Henrik Hasselbalch Busch, CEO, Blackwood Seven, added: Blackwood Sevens solution gives marketers a way to bring granularity and depth to measuring the effects of their marketing investments, answering the need for a solution to guide both strategic and tactical decisions. Kantar is uniquely placed to scale the offer and enable more businesses around the world to benefit from its many applications. Commercial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Leading merchant commerce platform, Pine Labs today announced a brand refresh of key elements in its corporate identity. Revamped brand assets include the companys new purpose statement and a new visual identity for the brand. Pine Labs has decided to dedicate this new bold look to the indomitable spirit of the entrepreneur community. Commenting on the brand refresh, Jerry Williams, Vice President, Marketing, said, Bold and driven! Thats the merchant of today, our hero, who is constantly moving forward. We salute their entrepreneurial spirit and are delighted to roll out a corporate brand refresh that resonates with their progressive mindset and resilient attitude. With the tagline Our platform, your move we want to reinforce the brand promise to our merchant partners that from Pine Labs they will always get the best tech platform for their omnichannel payment needs. The indomitable entrepreneurial spirit of our merchant community is and will continue to be the focus in all our stories. Pine Labs is no longer perceived as just a card payment acceptance solution by its merchant partners but is seen as a complete commerce ecosystem through its Pay Later proposition, nifty POS apps, integrated scan to pay and tap to pay contactless payment solutions, foray in the online payments space via the newly launched brand Plural, and a lot more merchant business-friendly solutions that are in tune with the times. Through the brand refresh, Pine Labs is acknowledging the evolving needs of modern businesses that are digital-focused and are looking for the best of fintech to deliver purposeful solutions to their customers. The flying arrowhead in the new logo is indicative of the progressive entrepreneur of today with the square shaped negative space below the arrow signifying the robustness of the Pine Labs platform and how it acts as a solid tech foundation during their journey towards growth. Our brand purpose is to harness the entrepreneurial spirit of merchants and enrich their world by transforming commerce, added Jerry Williams. At Please See// we start building a brand by focusing on an emotion that drives business. With Pine Labs, we found that emotion in an unstoppable entrepreneurial spirit. What we all also did together was build more reasons for India's retail entrepreneurs to feel proud of what they do everyday, said Avinash Thadani, Co-founder, Please See, a Mumbai-based creative agency. In July 2021, Pine Labs had released a film as a part of a multichannel marketing campaign to celebrate the #WarriorsAtWork, the frontline retail warriors and their dedication post COVID-19 pandemic. The brand film has already garnered over 1.5 million views on YouTube. The film was followed by the launch of a microsite which acted as a platform for anyone to dedicate personalised gratitude video to the resilient retailer. The #WarriorsatWork campaign was judged the Best Fintech Marketing Campaign at CMO Asia 2021, bagged a silver for Best Integrated Marketing category at the 2022 Event Marketing Awards by Campaign Asia, and most recently won a Bronze at the 2022 Clio Awards in the Film Craft (Music-Licensed) category. Publicis Groupe India announced that it has appointed Dheeraj Sinha as the Chairman of BBH India in addition to his existing mandate as CEO & CSO, Leo Burnett, South Asia. Partnering Dheeraj will be Russell Barrett, as CEO & Chief Creative officer, BBH India. Subhash Kamath moves into an advisory role for the Groupe on other strategic initiatives. Russell Barrett, has been with BBH for 12 years now and has been instrumental in making BBH India a creative powerhouse, winning several accolades including Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, Andys, Spikes, D&ADs and London Internationals. Dheeraj Sinha comes in with 22 years of experience and under his leadership, Leo Burnett India has topped the agency charts in India and is easily one of the most recognised and awarded agencies on the world stage. The new appointments signify the Groupes focus and investment on its creative brands; BBH being one of the jewels in the crown. Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Groupe South Asia said, I would like to thank Subhash for his leadership and contributions on BBH. Today BBH India is synonymous with truly world-class advertising. With Russell as CEO and CCO of BBH India and Dheeraj taking additional charge as Chairman, BBH India, we will further accelerate the agencys spectrum of capabilities and creative product to deliver unmatched value to clients. Dheeraj comes with an impeccable track-record on growth, and this is also a testament of the strong leadership talent we have Subhash Kamath adds, Its been a fantastic journey of 13 years, having founded this agency from scratch in India. Its an agency built on a very strong peoples culture with creative excellence & strategic thinking at its very core. But Ive been doing this for a very long time and as I enter the twilight of my 35-year career in advertising, I believe its time to hand over the baton to the next generation of leadership as I transition into an advisory role for Publicis Groupe. Ive known Dheeraj for many years, and I know his passion for strategy & creativity. Along with Russell and Sanjay and many of the talented black sheep in the organization, I know Ill be leaving BBH in very safe hands. Dheeraj Sinha said, BBH is a dream brand amongst creative agencies. The brand has always believed in great work powered by sharp thinking. I have been a great admirer of its philosophy and the work that BBH has done globally. I am very excited with this opportunity. We have some great work, clients, and teams at BBH. Our goal will be to be one of the topmost agencies in the BBH network globally, creating work for our clients that brings them growth and glory. Russell Barrett said, BBH is an amazing brand, and this is an exciting new chapter in the exceptional story that has been scripted so far. Ive enjoyed an enriching partnership with Subhash, Sanjay and Arvind, as weve done some proper black sheep work together. I now look forward to partnering with Dheeraj, who Ive worked with before, and I can say from experience, that he brings a lot of energy and dynamism to every interaction and piece of work he touches. Redefining the Hindi news segment with unique and first of its kind content formats, Times Now Navbharat, in a short span of time has gained immense popularity with the viewers and advertisers alike. Further strengthening its bond with the viewers, the channel has launched a new initiative, Dekhega Navbharat, Jeetega Bharat. A 100 day long nation-wide consumer campaign, the initiative promises to elevate the news viewing experience, keeping the viewers informed and gratified at the same time. To participate in Dekhega Navbharat, Jeetega Bharat, viewers are required to give a missed call to the number flashed on the channel, anytime during the contest period contest, to receive an SMS question along with 2 answer options. All the questions are based on general awareness related to daily news updates projected on the channel. Selected winners will be rewarded with daily tempting prizes including 7-seater car, Electric Scooter, Gold coins, LED TVs, Vacuum cleaner, Laptops, Mobile, Digital watches, Motorcycle, Grocery shopping or petrol for 1 year and many more exciting gifts. MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network said, The first 2 weeks unrolled viewership data indicates that we have already achieved our first phase ranking target and broken into the A-set of HNCs. The best news is that our TSV performance is on target. We have ensured that our Distribution is the best in class with highest penetration and best locations in the EPGs across platforms giving Times Now Navbharat the highest OTS in the genre. The Dekhega Navbharat, Jeetega Bharat campaign is one of the biggest multimedia campaigns across categories and we are confident that we will see our Reach numbers go to capacity taking us to our final target. Maximizing the reach, Times Now Navbharat has also launched a reverberating marketing campaign that entails planned On-Air promotions of over 40,000 spots across its bouquet of channels, Hindi GEC, Hindi movies and Social Media platforms and Print Ads in leading national dailies. A TVC featuring the channels prime-time anchors is also released on the Networks channels and social media platforms. Voltas, Indias undisputed leader in Cooling Products, and the No. 1 AC brand, from the house of TATA, announced its summer campaign - Ghar le aao, pahadon wali saaf hawa around its new range of PureAir ACs. This is Indias First AC with HEPA Filter technology that purifies indoor air. The campaign is designed to communicate the message in an interesting way, that the new AC is specially designed to provide cool, pure and clean air, (like mountain breeze), in the comfort of our homes. These features are complemented with other features for optimization of operating expenses, resulting in significant cost and energy savings. According to the latest nationwide survey by Voltas, Indian consumers preferences have altered, with comfort, convenience, cooling, health, and technology being the top priorities. Keeping this in mind, Voltas has launched its new PureAir AC range that comes with features like HEPA Filter, PM 1.0 Sensor and AQI Indicator (which is an industry first). Additionally, the AC purifies the indoor air and comes with a 6 Stage Adjustable Tonnage Mode that allows the user to switch between several tonnage options depending on the ambient temperature or the number of people in the room. Commenting on the new campaign, Deba Ghoshal, Vice-President and Head of Marketing, Voltas Limited, said, Our consumer insights stated that consumers have started prioritizing their health and the hygiene at their homes. The Ghar le aao, pahadon wali saaf hawa campaign aims to communicate that the new range of Voltas ACs with HEPA filter technology helps consumers experience the mountain like air, to elevate their comfort and enhance indoor air quality. With predictions for a hot summer and hybrid work culture becoming the norm, we expect a demand from first time buyers as well as replacement buyers alike. This campaign will help consumers to stay engaged with the brand in a meaningful yet topical manner, giving them a compelling reason to buy a Voltas AC. Along with the television campaign, we will be promoting the key message through our omni-channel approach across print, digital, social and radio. Conceptualized by Ogilvy, the film has been executed on the same lines of the typical Voltas father and son banter. The protagonist, who is a father, goes searching for clean air to the mountains, only to be disappointed with intrusive traffic and people. And when he returns home, his son provides him the solution, with the Voltas PureAir Adjustable AC. The film comes with the sharp and quirky tonality of Voltas TVCs, which makes the execution stand out. The campaign creates an image of pure and cool ambience, which is a relief, especially for the scorching Indian summers. With the new AC, consumers can enjoy pleasant indoor air quality ensuring freshness, health and hygiene. For easier accessibility, Voltas has also created www.voltaslounge.com, a one-stop-web store for all Voltas and Voltas Beko products.. This year, like every year, Voltas also offers a variety of consumer finance programmes, extended warranties, and other promotional incentives like 15% cashback, Easy EMI offer, Lifetime Inverter Compressor Warranty and 5-Year Comprehensive Warranty to make the products more affordable and lower the barriers to adoption. MANILA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine military said on Tuesday that the troops had killed four suspected rebels in separate clashes in central Philippines on Monday. The military said two New People's Army (NPA) rebels were killed and a soldier was wounded in a clash in Occidental Mindoro province on Monday. Two more NPA rebels were killed in another clash in Masbate province on the same day. The military said soldiers recovered firearms, including two M16 assault rifles, an antipersonnel mine, and a rifle grenade. The NPA rebels have been fighting the government since 1969. They concentrate their attacks on rural areas and small-scale skirmishes with the military. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte restarted talks to end the decades-old insurgency when he came to power in 2016, but the negotiations faltered. The NPA is estimated to have 3,000 members, significantly lower than its peak strength in the 1980s. Bangalore-based Yashram Lifestyle Brands Pvt Ltd has awarded its PR mandate to Nucleus PR. The Retail Apparel and Fashion brands and innovations stem from a desire to make a difference in the lives of customers in a meaningful manner. Nucleus PR will be instrumental in strengthening the reputation of the brand that has already won customer trust with its innovative product offerings that solve real life vulnerabilities. A complete made in India brand, the Yashram house of brands includes Morph Maternity and Adira. Commenting on the win, Tarunjeet Rattan, Managing Partner, Nucleus PR, said Yashram offers some of the best innovations in the market from a womans perspective that are relevant for a changing body. The small apt details make all the difference. When I met Deepa and her team, I was completely taken in by the passion they devoted to their mission. Our energies at Nucleus PR are aligned with their mission of creating comfortable and quality utility wear for women from all sections of society across the world. I was inspired by women in our country and set out to create a more comfortable world for all of us at our most vulnerable stages in life. Our innovations resonate with the audience as they are developed for women by women of all body types. We are delighted to have Tarunjeet and her team work with us on our mission to reach more women across the country. I am confident that together we will be able to create a positive impact in all their lives., Deepa Kumar, Founder & CEO, of Yashram Lifestyle, also added. Deepa Kumar is also the mind behind the widely popular invention Period Panty that has found loyal patrons across the country. She holds the patent for the "Sanitary Undergarment invention from the United States Patent Office in March 2015 and an Indian Patent for the same product in February 2019. Nucleus PR handles clients across MNCs, SMEs and start-ups. Their innovative approach towards PR enables clients to leverage PR strategically to meet their business goals. Their range of services includes overall reputation management, crisis communication, leadership profiling and editorial services, among others. The company has prestigious clients like Nobel Hygiene, Sigtuple, Elever , Ironhill India, Lummo, Evergreen Club, Tonic Worldwide, Cupshup and SoCheers on its roster. The account will be handled by the agencys Bangalore Office. SYDNEY, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Australia's cruise industry, which is just resuming business following a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, has hit a setback with a dozen COVID-19 cases on a ship docked in Western Australia (WA). WA health authorities have confirmed that 10 passengers and two crew members of the Coral Discoverer tested positive to the virus after the ship docked in the popular tourist destination of Broome on Monday, having completed a 10-day trip from the Northern Territory (NT) capital of Darwin. The cases, all of whom were fully vaccinated, are reportedly mild or asymptomatic, and several of them have been sent to designated quarantine hotels to complete their isolation period. "Maritime vessels are permitted to allow positive cases to disembark and move to suitable accommodation to complete their isolation/quarantine requirements," a WA Health spokesperson said. "All precautions will be taken to ensure the Broome community is protected." The outbreak on the Coral Discoverer came only days after Australia ended its prolonged ban on cruise ships entering its ports, a safety precaution which immediately stalled an industry estimated to generate about 5.2 billion Australian dollars (about 3.7 billion U.S. dollars) annually. That ban began in March 2020 following more than 440 COVID-19 cases disembarking from the cruise ship Ruby Princess into Australia's most populated city, Sydney. The issue of re-establishing the cruise industry while also protecting the public's health remains contentious in Australia. Speaking to local media Nine News television network on Monday, Australian Medical Association (AMA) vice president Dr. Chris Moy said cruise ships were still "high-risk areas" for the spread of the infectious disease. "Cruise ships remain places where COVID can spread easily and where super-spreader events can occur," Moy said. Although states such as New South Wales (NSW), Queensland, Victoria and WA have welcomed the lifting of the national ban from April 17, they have imposed stricter safety measures for cruise ships. In NSW, for example, requirements include proof of full vaccination for everyone on board over the age of 12, a negative COVID-19 test result before boarding, and the mandatory wearing of masks when boarding or leaving a vessel. Meanwhile, the island state of Tasmania has yet to join its mainland counterparts, with its government website reading, "Work is underway on a policy to support the safe resumption of cruising in Tasmania, with guidance to be provided for industry ahead of the next cruise season." UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres continues to push for a halt in hostilities in Ukraine even though a Russian UN envoy said a cease-fire is not a good option at the moment, said a UN spokesman. "We continue to call for a cease-fire or some sort of pause. The secretary-general did that, as you know, just last week. Clearly, that didn't happen in time for (Orthodox) Easter," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Guterres. "I don't want to give too many details at this stage of the sort of proposals he will have. I think we're coming at a fairly delicate moment. It's important that he is able to talk clearly with the leadership on both sides and see what progress we can make," he told a daily press briefing. - - - - KIEV -- Russian forces seized the building of Kherson city council in southern Ukraine, Ukrinform news agency reported Monday, citing Kherson mayor Ihor Kolykhaiev. "Tonight, armed men entered the building of the Kherson City Council, took away the keys, and replaced our guards with their own," Kolykhaiev said. - - - - KIEV -- At least five people were killed and 18 others injured on Monday as a result of Russia's airstrike on transport infrastructure in Ukraine's central Vinnytsia region, the Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. According to the statement, rockets hit transport infrastructure facilities near the towns of Zhmerynka and Kozyatyn. - - - - MOSCOW -- Russia has sent a diplomatic note to the United States calling on Washington to stop supplying Kiev with weapons, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said Monday. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States will provide Ukraine with additional security assistance worth 800 million U.S. dollars to bolster its defense against Russia's military operation. Antonov noted that Washington's decision did not contribute to finding a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis. - - - - ANKARA -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that all parties should support the Istanbul process for a solution to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey's presidency said. Guterres met with Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara, before heading to Moscow and Kiev for talks on resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. From Breitbart News, April 19: RIVERSIDE COUNTY, California Four times as much fentanyl is flowing across the United States-Mexico border under President Joe Biden compared to two years prior when former President Trump was in office. The U.S.-Mexican border exists in name only. Joe Biden erased it. His is a wanton act of disregard for the welfare, safety, and security of Americans. Impeachment is a must, should Republicans take charge of the U.S. House next January. Bidens actions amount to willful dereliction of duty that constitutes high crimes. Ranking Biden administration officials running national security or law enforcement departments and agencies are culpable, too. They should be subject to removal proceedings. The Biden administration is dropping Title 42 this May. That merely opens wider the floodgates to illegals and worse aggressions by Mexicos cartels, which are pumping phenomenal amounts of killer drugs into the country. The mainland Chinese are accessories in this for-profit assault. Fentanyl and meth ingredients are produced by them. Those products are shipped to Mexican cartels, which finish the manufacture, then distribute and sell these poisons in the U.S. An estimate 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, a record. Human trafficking is a lucrative side venture for the cartels, too. Lax border enforcement has occurred under Democrat and Republican administrations, but never has the southern border been deliberately undone. President Trump aggressively addressed the border crisis, only to be fought by open border Democrats and stonewalled by pro-cheap labor Republicans. Make no mistake, the southern border debacle is the result of intentional policy. Biden and Democrats are brazenly advancing the Democrat Partys narrow political aims over Americas vital interests. Democrats seek new constituents and voters; illegals furnish both. The damage being done by this massive influx to communities across the nation has just begun. The longer-term harm caused by this invasion is incalculable. From Just the News, April 19: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Tuesday told Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that illegal immigration is an "attack" on American sovereignty and a "conscious decision to rewrite the rules of civilization. Thats not Gaetz grandstanding. An attack on U.S. sovereignty -- on the very fabric of American society -- is underway. Biden and Democrats are permitting the cartels and China to wage war against their own country. From Yahoo!News, October 6, 2021: MISSION, Texas -- Mexican cartel members dressed in military-like outfits and toting AK-47 rifles have been taunting U.S. soldiers assigned to the southern border, an unprecedented act of aggression, Texas authorities say. We have to wrap our minds around this: the cartels arent mere criminal enterprises; theyre paramilitary outfits. Theyve got firepower like light infantry and employ terrorist tactics. Many of their members are corrupt ex-police and former Mexican military skilled and experienced in combat and killing. Mostly unreported in the U.S., a war is raging in Mexico among cartels vying for turf and power. Bidens open borders practically ensures that that war migrates north. Now, though, cartels are waging irregular warfare against the U.S. in cahoots with the PRC. Both are motived by profit, not territorial conquest, but the Chinese see advantages in vexing the U.S. by stoking the countrys violent drug trade and degrading society. Chinese criminal gangs are blamed for the trouble, but thats naive. Xi and the Communist Party have an iron grip on the mainland. So lucrative a trade isnt happening without their knowledge and, dare say, the approval of Xi and his cronies. Xis goal is to replace the U.S. as the global superpower. Law enforcement and cross-border policing in cooperation with the Mexican government -- such as it is -- arent defeating the cartels. The U.S. is fighting a version of the Vietnam War: there are drug interdiction and seizure metrics and body counts, in that some cartel members are captured or killed, but theres no actual progress in winning the fight. Wheres the light at the end of the tunnel? Enemies are defeated by destroying them. Destroying the cartels means U.S. military forces on ground in Mexico. This, then, requires Mexicos cooperation. Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador must permit U.S. military intervention in alliance with his military. Obrador surely worries about the ongoing threat posed by the cartels to the Mexican governments authority and stability. He should have every incentive to end the terror cartels inflict on the Mexican people. Yet, the U.S. may have to persuade Obrador with carrots and sticks. China increasingly has its hooks in the Mexican economy. From Forbes, February 23: Over the last few years Chinas presence in Mexico has expanded in both legal and illegal activities. According to preliminary data, trade between China and Mexico topped $100 billion in 2021, a new record. Imports from China account for over 90% of total trade between China and Mexico. Chinese foreign direct investments in Mexico tallied $189 billion in 2020. Moreover, the U.S. must call out and sanction the PRC for its role -- directly or indirectly -- as the cartels chief fentanyl supplier. No slaps on the wrist. Sanctions must be punitive, focusing on curtailment of trade and imposition of painful tariffs. The U.S., coordinating with the Mexican government, must interdict fentanyl and other illicit drug shipments from China or those routed through third parties. A Republican Congress needs to put legislation on Bidens (or Harris) desk that finishes the wall and hikes budgets for the border patrol, DEA, and ICE. Calls must be made for military action cross border. Anticipating vetoes, Republicans should repeatedly present measures that underscore these aims. Voters in 2024 deserve to see how starkly different Republicans are from Democrats. America First Republicans must lead. A southern border wall perhaps, with Mexicos consent, a security zone south of the wall and greater policing are necessary defensive measures. As President Trumps policies proved, a wall (where completed) and beefed-up border security curtailed the flow of illegals into the country. Among illegals are drug mules and gangsters, so keeping illegals out is critical. Yet border measures alone are inadequate. The next president must enact a comprehensive roundup and return policy of illegals who will have entered the country during Bidens term. Laws must be pursued that end anchor babies as illegals means of remaining in the U.S. Extensive sweeps of communities are required to remove the worst criminal elements that are now entering the country. States and localities have no constitutional right to establish sanctuaries for illegal aliens. The cartels are run by ruthlessly ambitious, scheming men. The U.S. is their prime market. Cartel bosses are thoroughly incentivized to work overtime conniving ways to skirt obstacles. Hence, taking the fight to the cartels and destroying their networks and operations is imperative. Its important to note that while staunching the flow of drugs into the U.S. is critical, it isnt the sole determiner in ending the drug scourge. Consumer demand drives cartels and others in the pursuit of profit. Hedonism and despair seem the principal motivators for Americans appetite for drugs. Modern culture is broken. The repair is a return to faith, traditional values, and intact families. Life must be valued as greater than a thrill or an escape from woes. Yet, unscrupulous men will seek to exploit weaknesses for money and power. Their evil and the harm its inflicting on Americans cannot be permitted to stand. With courageous leaders, the U.S. can be made freer from the poison, violence, and societal rot that the drug trade brings. The war Americans need to fight isnt against the Russians in Ukraine. Its right across the Rio Grande. Its a war the U.S. must fight and win. J. Robert Smith can be found regularly at Gab @JRobertSmith. He also blogs at Flyover. Image: U.S. Coast Guard One thing must be conceded to Joe Biden: he is consistent in messing things up. The recent fast-tracking of Ukrainian refugees is the latest Orwellian boondoggle that accomplishes the opposite of its stated goals -- just like Build Back Better, transgender transformation of the nation, racial agitation, and monetizing debt to help the economy. This reverse-Midas touch has now been inflicted on suffering Ukrainian refugees, who are being stopped from finding safety in the false pretense of helping them. In march, the Biden administration announced the United States would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. There were no stated conditions for entry, and many Americans with ties to the Ukraine undertook to begin evacuating threatened families. But then President Biden halted that progress, last week announcing a new Uniting for Ukraine policy with stringent restrictions: This program will be fast, it will be streamlined, and it will ensure the United States honors its commitment to the people of Ukraine, and that they need not go through our southern border, Biden said Thursday at the White House. Fast? The program halts Ukrainians entering America legally through Mexico, and imposes requirements that each entrant be hosted by Americans guaranteeing to support them financially, with a host of other restrictions. These requirements are more restrictive than existing immigration restraints on all legal immigrants: but these are war refugees in a conflict seeded by Joe Biden and Barack Obama. All this bogus program really offers is ...a web portal through which U.S.-based individuals and groups can apply to become sponsors and upload documents. [Entrants] must also undergo vaccinations, biometric screening and background checks before being granted admission. Imagine implementing those restrictions at the border with Mexico, to screen gang members fleeing anarchy equally to young children being bombed in war? President Bidens supposed initiative undermines efforts to rescue Ukrainians, despite the deceptive Uniting for Ukraine language. Again, at least Joe is consistent -- he undermined Ukrainians while vice president, and is just continuing the deception otherwise. In Vermont, a number of faith-based groups with existing ties to Ukraine took President Biden up on his initial call to help rather than hinder refugees. One Vermont organization called Agape Ministries, Inc. 4 Ukraine responded to the call: Theresa and Scott Cianciolo, who have adopted sons from Ukraine, launched into action when they believed they could bring their Ukrainian friends to Vermont by flying them first to Mexico and crossing into the U.S. from there The Cianciolos kept in close communication with the Shapavalova family, who were in Poland, and Theresa flew to San Diego, hoping that eight of the Shapavalovas could cross over from Mexico through a process called humanitarian parole. ...But moments before the Shapavalovas were set to depart Poland on Thursday, their plan was thrown into chaos when their flight through London to Mexico City suddenly required a new visa. In addition to other costs, $15,000 of airplane tickets for this family was wasted immediately: they could be in Vermont now, but Uniting for Ukraine assured they are still stuck abroad. Perhaps the Cianciolos will be able to get them here after they vouch for them all with their personal finances -- if they have any money left after this bureaucratic disgrace! There are an estimated eight million Ukrainian refugees, and it appears the new rules now require their American sponsors to pass a background check: Any U.S. citizen or entity can apply sponsor Ukrainians and will be required to declare their financial support and pass a background check. Administration officials said there is no limit on how many Ukrainians a person or entity can sponsor. There is no limit on sponsoring refugees, which sounds so benign except that these restrictions are utterly limiting. In truth, POTUS Biden has shut down the path to safety for these refugee families in the name of saving them. This action resembles Americas shameful rejection of Jews persecuted by Nazis in World War II, or perhaps the fall of Saigon, in which Joe Biden opposed rescuing civilians: I will vote for any amount for getting the Americans out, Biden said during an April 14th, 1975 Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting. I dont want it mixed with getting the Vietnamese out. Again, Joe is consistent -- he didnt hesitate to abandon both American citizens and Afghani civilians in that more recent debacle. Ironically, while parroting Biden administration claims that Uniting for Ukraine is a positive step forward, the leftwing American media has been attacking Israel for not doing more: Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two weeks ago, Israel has seen thousands of Ukrainian refugees enter the country to find refuge. Many of these refugees are not Jewish, and thus not eligible for absorption under the Law of Return, which allows anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent to immigrate to Israel. ...As a result, these refugees are also ineligible for the many rights granted to Jewish refugees and asylum seekers -- including access to universal healthcare. ...Instead, asylum seekers in Israel are expected to pay for private health insurance, something which many are unable to afford. This article goes on to cite cases of Israel rescuing very sick children and others for medical treatment at no cost, but never addresses the contrast with American treatment: is the United States offering universal healthcare to refugees, after American citizens vouch for them financially and get background checks? Israel is accepting far more refugees per capita than America. The press criticizes that country for discriminating in favor of Jews (who are already free to emigrate), not mentioning that since the war began Israel has accepted more non-Jews than Jews. Flinging open Americas southern borders for unfiltered entry, while clamping down against children fleeing war -- Joe Biden is consistently on the wrong side, ever ready to fast-track disaster. (Disclosure: John Klar is a member of the Board of Directors of Agape Ministries, Inc. 4 Ukraine, and invites readers to donate.) Image: Silar The news about the board of Twitter agreeing to a $44B takeover offer from the billionaire Elon Musk caused both celebrations and meltdowns all over the world. Musk tweeted the following: The situation currently on Twitter is such that merely questioning the groupthink can get a user suspended. At times, information is suppressed without the user's knowledge i.e., the tweet is allowed, but its visibility is restricted. Twitter also allows and promotes trends that are beneficial to the progressive agenda. For conservatives, the hope is that Musk will liberate the platform from its overwhelming leftward bias and restore free speech. Many conservatives are hoping their suspended accounts will be restored. The left's meltdown began the very day Musk made his bid public. Twitter employees staged walkouts in protest. MSNBC warned its few viewers that Musk's takeover of Twitter will have "massive, life and globe-altering consequences." SNL took the low road; under the guise of satire, they claimed that Musk's bid was because "White guys want to use the N-word." Now that the bid has been accepted, the New York Times, in a cliche-ridden article that reads like a parody piece, is claiming that "Musk's reasons for taking control of Twitter aren't about free speech; it's about controlling a megaphone. With his legion of fans, Musk will command a gigantic megaphone and be free to plug his own investments, pooh-pooh sound health regulations and shout down critics." The article also claims that "[f]emale Twitter users, in particular, ought to worry about whether Musk will bring his apparent disdain for women to the company he is about to own. Twitter is already a toxic place for women who use it, particularly those of color." White House officials and Democrat strategists are reportedly worried about how Musk's $44-billion takeover of Twitter will affect the 2024 presidential election. Their concerns are focused on the possibility that President Donald Trump returns to Twitter. On Twitter, liberal users are threatening to quit the platform, much like how they threatened to leave the U.S. when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. Twitter's board may have accepted Musk's offer, but that doesn't mean things change magically. Twitter has a complex organizational structure. There are copious policies and standards. There are rules of corporate governance that mandate multi-level approvals for any changes. All of this means abundant red tape before any change is allowed to percolate. It also would be wrong to assume that the powers that be behind the scenes in Twitter, especially those who walked out, are not planning ways to sabotage Musk's agenda to ease restrictions. Perhaps the rules of approval have been made more complex and opaque. Even if Musk manages to recruit a team who believes in his agenda, it will take a considerable amount of time before changes occur, and there may still be saboteurs within. It is also not beyond the realm of possibility that the U.S. government will step to regulate the platform, citing hateful conduct or terror threats or any other flimsy excuse. The point remains that although we hope Musk turns Twitter into a utopia for free expression, we must be cognizant of the forces he is up against. The Washington Democrat establishment and their allies all over know that if Twitter falls, the remaining social media platforms will either be rendered irrelevant or will have to fall in line and allow free speech. Do not expect the establishment to surrender; they will not let go without a prolonged dirty war, like the one they are still waging against Trump. Much like Trump's victory in November 2016, Musk's Twitter takeover in April 2022 is not the end, but the beginning of a long journey. When Donald Trump won the presidency, the powers that be in Washington should have accepted the public verdict. They should have worked with President Trump to implement his agenda. They should have been humble about their defeat while attempting to learn what went wrong so they could embark on course correction for the next election. This is what civics textbooks have taught us. But the reality is drastically different. The Washington Democrat establishment rejected the results, claiming that Trump colluded with the Russians to rig the elections. They placed numerous impediments before President Trump by misusing the powers of various agencies to concoct scandals without any basis and using the mainstream media to amplify their lies. In doing so, they accomplished two goals. The first is that they managed to slow down the pace of Trump's implementation of his agenda. The second is that they managed to convince some voters to vote against the GOP in 2018 and against Trump in 2020. Victory in the 2019 midterms enabled the Democrats to take control of the House, which led to two baseless impeachments of Trump. It is a miracle that Trump, despite all these impediments, managed to implement a great deal of his agenda on the economy, border security, and so much more. It is also a testament to the astuteness of U.S. voters that Trump managed to secure 74 million votes. Time will tell if Musk's journey turns out to be merely eventful or successful. Image credit: Richard Terrell of Aftermath. BERLIN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Federal Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that several regulations of the Bavarian Constitution Protection Act are incompatible with the country's Basic Law. In its current form, the Bavarian law would partially violate the general right of personality, the privacy of telecommunications and the inviolability of the home, according to a statement by the court. The German top court set "clear limits" for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said Bijan Moini, head of the legal team of the Society for Civil Rights (GFF) which filed the lawsuit. "Despite its special powers and tasks, the domestic intelligence service does not have a carte blanche when it comes to encroaching on fundamental rights," Moini added. Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, said that he would discuss the consequences of the ruling with his counterparts in the federal and state governments and then "immediately submit proposals for legal changes" that would implement the court's requirements, a statement of the Bavarian government said. Since 2016, the Bavarian Constitution Protection Act has given the secret service there far-reaching powers, such as retrieving stored data, long-term observation of people, home surveillance or locating cell phones. The GFF saw a number of fundamental rights being violated and wanted to use its lawsuit to prevent it from spreading nationwide. When I think of Alaska, I tend to think of a sturdy conservative state that elected Sarah Palin as its governor. Then I remember that Alaskans keep sending Lisa Murkowski to the Senate. Clearly, there's a leftist strain in that state. It was clearly revealed at a Fairbanks School Board meeting regarding a proposed revision to school policies that would have required teachers to wade into controversial, polarizing subjects. That's an interesting discussion and one school boards should have. What I found noteworthy, though, was the desperate speed with which leftist board members moved to silence a conservative board member who peacefully began to read from a book readily found on the high school library shelves. The district has long had a policy regarding controversial issues in the classroom. Under the old policy, the district was to provide a process for discussing controversial issues that might arise. The proposed revisions would have mandated that the schools teach divisive issues, with the district providing only "guidance." Conservative board members were concerned that this proposed revision, along with other policies, created "just huge open doors" for ideologues to seize control of classrooms. From the conservative point of view, the proposed revision (which was eventually voted down) was just the icing on the cake when it comes to leftism in Fairbanks schools: The policy proposal comes on the heels of highly divisive curriculum changes the district has introduced in recent years, pushing LGBTQ themes, explicit sexual education, and many elements of critical race theory philosophy. For those who fail to embrace this agenda, the district has discussed ways of mandating compliance. These policy changes are the ways in which leftists change a red state into a blue state. Given a few more years of control over educational content, and Alaska will send its version of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress. Image is a YouTube screen grab. The most revealing part of the meeting came when Matthew Sampson wanted to let fellow board members and those attending the board meeting know exactly what's in some of the edgier books on public library shelves. In the video below (at 3:31:25), you can watch Sampson begin to read from Kevin Kwan's Sex and Vanity. Within a few seconds of his starting to read, another board member, with the backing of the board president, immediately tried to shut him down: At that point Sampson was interrupted by fellow Board Member Timothy Doran who called for "order." "There is a process if one has concern with books that should be followed," he said. Sampson responded: "There's no concern here. Is there?" School Board President Jennifer Luke then interjected. "I think that your point is very, very understood, and I understand what you're saying and what you're doing and I quite frankly that makes me personally feel uncomfortable," she said. Sampson retorted. "I can tell you, if it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander," he responded. "It's in our schools. If the kids can read it, I don't see what the problem is with reading a couple of excerpts from a book[.] ... If it's too inappropriate for the school board, but it's appropriate for the kids, I don't know what to say." Leftists know exactly what they're doing to our children; they just don't want anyone else to know. As Rhett Butler said to Scarlett O'Hara when she'd drunkenly confessed her many sins to him, "you are in the exact position of a thief who's been caught red handed and isn't sorry he stole but is terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail." Every time a parent at a school board meeting reads aloud from a book the board wants to have on the shelves, and the embarrassed board members shut that parent down, those members have been exposed not as hypocrites, but as groomers trying to hide their sins. With all eyes on Ukraine, few are noticing how Joe Biden is ruining relations with a critical nation next door to us, which is Mexico. Title 42, which permits the U.S. to reject phony asylum-seekers on COVID concerns, was halted by a federal judge yesterday, but it's a temporary halt, so it may return soon. Whether the Biden administration obeys that order is anyone's guess. There are other judicial orders it's simply ignored as it carried on its open borders policy. It doesn't matter to Joe Biden that his fellow Democrats at least eight of them are warning against this change of policy. It also doesn't matter to Biden that, as polls indicate, the public is against it. Bad as all of that is, he'll get the consequences he deserves come November. But there's also Mexico, which is pretty unhappy about it, and the consequences, which don't have the steam valve of elections, might just be worse. Here's Reuters from a few days ago: MEXICO CITY (Reuters) Mexican officials are concerned the repeal of a measure adopted under the Trump administration to tighten the U.S. border will encourage a spike in migration and more profits for criminal gangs unless Washington does more to help mitigate the impact. The United States has said it will on May 23 end the so-called Title 42 order issued during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 that has effectively shut down the U.S. asylum system at its shared 2,000-mile border with Mexico. Title 42 has allowed U.S. authorities to quickly expel migrants to Mexico, and its removal risks pushing the record number of migrants attempting to enter the United States higher still, officials and politicians said. "The flow of migrants we have now is already out of control," said Rosa Maria Gonzalez, a lawmaker from Mexico's center-right opposition National Action Party who represents the northern border state of Tamaulipas and heads the lower house of Congress migration committee. Now, we know that Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a socialist known as "AMLO," is not beyond "schooling" Joe Biden about the significance of his country as a conduit for mass illegal immigration. Last September, AMLO released 15,000 illegal-alien Haitians from a holding pen in southern Mexico to Del Rio, Texas, where they massed under a bridge in a classic third-world hell-hole scenario. I wrote about that here: The Center for Immigration Studies, sent a senior researcher named Todd Bensman to ask those questions on the ground, going to the immigrants themselves, and he came up with a doozy of an answer: The surprising answer, which the migrants provided independently in different places and at different times, was universal: on Sunday, September 12, the Mexican government effectively sent a mass of migrants it had bottled up for months in its southern states up to the American border. This move, which appears to have been done under the cover of Mexico's independence week of celebration known as El Grito, essentially foisted a humanitarian problem onto the Americans in a single week. Mexico was the one who did it. Turns out Joe Biden promised them some things and based on the available information, apparently never delivered. Biden responded not by placating Mexico, but by starting night flights to spirit illegal migrants across the country, to prevent more damning camera shots of massed humanity from Fox News. To him, it was a public relations problem, not a warning from Mexico. He didn't do a thing to help Mexico. But it's pretty clear that Biden's dinner triangle to migrants of all countries to come on in through the Mexican border isn't a welcome thing in Mexico. The dynamics are pretty simple: mass migration means huge smuggling earnings for Mexico's notorious cartels. Because the U.S. won't guard its own border, cartels have stepped in from the Mexican side and declared that they now control the border. Anyone who wants to cross into the States will have to pay the $1,000 or more for the "fee" to enter. Needless to say, a wall would stop that entire dynamic right there. But Biden has stopped construction of the wall. So the migrants come in; the fees get paid; and the cartels get very, very rich. Like all large drug-dealing organizations, the cartels seek political power. That's why they kill politicians and journalists, and not just their fellow drug-dealers, and send out threatening messages to the public, such as bodies hanging on highway overpasses, in areas where they hold control. Mexico is at war with these monsters. These monsters get cash from migrants, who willingly go along and pay the cartels. That leaves Mexico holding the bag, having to fight rich cartels with money for huge armored vehicles and other trappings of conquest, all because they have the money to pay for these things. Not only do human-wave surges of mass migration mean big money from "fees," but they mean tied up Border Patrol forces, which gives them space to smuggle even more lucrative drug cargoes into the U.S. Tie the Border Patrol up changing diapers for every unwed mother rolling in from the world's third-world shantytowns, and it pretty well amounts to knocking an enemy out of action. Money, money, money. The cartels are getting it, as surely as Putin is getting his gas money from Europe, while Mexico itself is getting poorer and poorer. A recent report from Mexico is that the Mexican equivalent of the Border Patrol, the unarmed agents of the National Migration Institute, are quitting in droves now, over the issue of low pay and the emergence of "more violent" migrants. According to the New York Post: Border agents in Mexico are fed up to the point of leaving their jobs and say that, if the US lifts Title 42, things will only get worse. "Work has doubled and even tripled for us. Some weeks we have no days off. We pull in double shifts for the same pay and are sent from one end of the country to the other with less money for our expenses that we must pay up front," said an officer, Jorge, who spoke with The Post on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal. No statistics are available on how many officers have quit Mexican immigration forces. But Jorge said that, on one team alone, at least half of the 30 officers have quit over the last two years. "It's a nationwide phenomenon," he said. Gee, low pay and unappreciated government agents. Sound like a formula for payoffs? Well, it always has been. Cash, in short, is flowing away from Mexico's government and toward Mexico's drug cartels as a result of this migrant surge, and the cartels are getting more powerful. Not only are the cartels getting more powerful, but Mexico's government is getting weaker and more unpopular as a result. We already know that border surges are unpopular with the public in Mexico, bringing in crime, disorder, chaos, and fattened cartels flashing their gold to all the communities they pass through. That's left Mexico in a bind, courtesy of Joe Biden and his foolish acts to incentivize illegal immigration for all comers. Biden has already broken his treaties with Mexico, and Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, has already left the Mexicans unimpressed. Now Biden's trying to invite more migrants in with his battle to end Title 42, which sends a clear message to would-be illegal migrants everywhere that the gate's open and there's no need to pay no attention to U.S. border law. Only a moron of Joe Biden's caliber could fail to discern that this isn't going to go over well with Mexico. Relations will be damaged, and it may take years to repair them. Recall that President Trump had warm and constructive relations with the president of Mexico, despite the differences in the two men's politics. Biden, though, has put the U.S. on a collision course with Mexico, mismanaging this relationship as badly as he has so many others. Mexico, as the late Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz used to say, is the country for Mexico, for which there is "no possibility of divorce." That underlines that relations with Mexico one of the U.S.'s biggest trade partners, by the way have always got to be good relations, and that's not just for them, but for us. Mexico can do horrible things to us if relations are not managed properly and as the warning shot at Del Rio demonstrated, it will. Feckless Joe Biden doesn't seem sentient enough to know this, let alone able to predict human nature. As Bob Gates has posited, he's "wrong on nearly every foreign policy issue." Image: Fox News screen shot, via YouTube. As if anyone ever needed proof of the callousness and irresponsibility of the Biden administration regarding its open borders policy, White House spokesweasel Jen Psaki yesterday put everybody to rights. Here she is in action: Q: "Does the White House feel any responsibility" for the death of Texas National Guard Spc Bishop Evans? Psaki: "The National Guard work for the states... and his efforts and operations were not directed by the federal government." pic.twitter.com/DMVhLfA9FR Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 25, 2022 She was responding to an inquiry about the death of a 22-year-old Texas National Guardsman, who risked his life to save two drowning illegal aliens in the Rio Grande, and lost his own even as he saved theirs. Texas Army National Guard Specialist Bishop E. Evans, 22, went missing near Eagle Pass Friday while attempting to rescue two migrants who "appeared to be drowning while crossing the river from Mexico into the U.S.," according to the Texas Military Department. His body was found early Monday. The fine young man, who had his whole life in front of him, died, while the two people whose lives he saved turned out to be loathsome drug-dealers. Their rescuer had no way of knowing who they were the border's open, so anyone can now come. He was just doing his job and putting his life on the line, as so many who guard our border also do, rescuing illegal crossers who otherwise drown in the river, get tangled up on the border fence, or end up abandoned by human-smugglers in the desert. These guardsmen and Border Patrol agents rescued more than 12,000 of these illegals just last year, according to former acting ICE director Tom Homan, speaking to Fox News. Notice the absence of compassion in those remarks, prefaced with a cursory "of course our heart goes out to his family" spoken in a flat, formulaic tone. We'd like to know if Joe or Jen went to the trouble of contacting them personally. We know that President Trump would contact the families of fallen servicemen even if they were aligned with Trump-hating Democrats, as happened in the case of the servicemen killed in Niger several years ago. We know that Joe likes to look at his watch when the same situation befalls him when 13 returning U.S. service people killed in Afghanistan as a result of his bungling left him sending the message, to their families and everyone else, that he had better things to do. Worse still, notice the absence of responsibility for the border surge that is the main reason why the National Guardsman was stationed near that border. She blames everything but Joe's policies. It's as disgusting as Biden's bid to frame U.S. Border Patrol agents with the false claim that the long reins on their horses, necessary for any maneuvering in the border badlands, were actually plantation driver whips being used on illegal border-crossers, which they were not. It is something he has yet to apologize for. Well, he needs to apologize for this, too a callous response directed at a black service member, no less. Being a coward, with only Jen Psaki to speak for him, Biden's not man enough to do it. Image: Twitter screen shot. During a recent flight, across the aisle from me, a four-year-old named Olivia demanded to know why she had to wear a mask, whereas her little brother, who was wrestling their mother for control of an iPad, could go maskless. "Those are the rules" the poor woman said. "Not fair!" Olivia fired back. On April 18, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, from the Middle District of Florida, agreed with Olivia and threw out the mask mandate for airplanes, trains, and other public transportation. In her 59-page decision striking down the mandate, the judge cited the lack of public notice or comment on the rule, and she also found the mandate as written to be "arbitrary and capricious." Cheers went up on airplanes as the announcements were made. The administration is smart to let the mandate die, but not smart enough to recognize that in its attempt to simultaneously defend its unpopular mask mandate, it is missing a golden opportunity to pivot toward humble, rational risk assessment. Instead, these people are continuing to divide Americans into the compliant and noncompliant, the good and the bad, the masked and the unmasked, using paper shibboleths. If the administration had successfully fought for a stay, the mask mandate would have been reinstated immediately, while its appeal would essentially fight the ruling without reinstating the mandate. Attorney General Merrick Garland was asked why he decided against the stay, which he called a "tactical strategy question." So much for following the science. A rule that said masks are necessary unless you are actively eating or drinking, under the age of three, or disabled never made any sense. Olivia understood that. Judge Mizelle simply finally made it clear in her ruling. "The mandate makes no effort to explain why its purposes-prevention and transmission of serious illness-allow for such exceptions." The ruling goes on: "nor why a two-year-old is less likely to transmit COVID-19 than a sixty-two-year-old. The CDC does not articulate a satisfactory explanation, or any explanation at all, for its action, and fails to include a rational connection between the facts found and the choices made." In a recent CDC update, Greta Massetti, Ph.D., MPH, of the agency's COVID-19 Incident Management Team, said Americans "can decide if they need to take extra precautions, including masking, based on their location, their health status and their risk tolerance." That is precisely the kind of thoughtful response Americans have been waiting to hear. Instead, we will be treated to a fake fight. The polling is already being supplied to tell us what we know is not the case. For instance, according to a recent Axios poll, 75 percent of Americans support a mask mandate in airports, and 46 percent say they will continue to mask if they travel, despite the mandate going away. This week, on my first flight since the mandate was lifted, my unscientific poll of a nearly full 737 reports that one crew member and seven passengers wore a mask, while 200 of us did not. My young friend Olivia and her little brother may have been on there. Good work, Olivia! Matt Dean (mdean@heartland.org) is senior fellow for health care policy outreach at The Heartland Institute. Image: Roger Schultz. Fellow Americans, it is long past time to cancel "cancel culture." Great thinkers about free speech, including the likes of John Milton, Thomas Jefferson, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Meiklejohn, and Yale law professor Thomas Emerson recognized it as the surest means by which the collision or combat with error could lead to correction. It was the key component in the process by which we can hope to zero out error while we zero in on truth. Nowhere is the ability to speak freely more important than in the right to criticize our government, its leaders, and its policies. That is why the most vehement attacks from the establishment are directed at those critical of government policies such as voter fraud, open borders, vaccine mandates, education of children, and even "curation" of free speech itself. Though the establishment is loath to admit it, governments too can make mistakes, and the last best hope for correction is allowing the people to speak truth to power. Recently at Yale law school, the student cancel culture warriors directly attacked free speech. It is impossible to imagine more ironic behavior than what they attempted to do: shouting down a forum on free speech. I contacted the dean, urging her to please do something to stop this dysfunctional embarrassment. What are the current generation of Yale Law students being taught? When (or if) they graduate and become lawyers, how will they behave when they get to court? Will they, thinking back to the lessons they learned in law school, present the evidence and arguments on their side of the case, and then, when the other side begins its presentation, feel entitled to stand up, screaming and shouting, hooting, hollering, and howling to prevent the court from hearing what the other side has to say? Imagine: the judge brings down the gavel. "Order in the court! Order in the court!" But the Yale Law grads keep on disrupting, exclaiming that they are simply exercising their First Amendment rights by denying them to others! In the phrase of Emile Zola (18401902) in another context, what we see here is "absurdity doubled with hypocrisy." Elon Musk recently announced he wanted to buy Twitter, and the establishment became similarly Orwellian. Musk said he wanted to transform Twitter from a social media platform of censorship to one of free speech. He said that that portion of the modern American town square should be an arena of open discussion rather than a playground for censorship. The fascists on the left immediately became unhinged at the very prospect, exposing themselves as the deranged apostles of curtailment. The excuse they gave was beyond belief, except that it has so often been offered: Musk, they said, was a "threat to our democracy" because he wanted free speech! What was rightly seen by America's founders as the "bulwark of democracy," as the "palladium of the republic" was now to be considered as a profound threat to it! What? Is it now presumptuous on American soil to ask that we discuss free speech and remind ourselves of its value? To those who say so, let us ask, with Wendell Phillips (18111884): who invented this libel on our democracy? Under the Constitution, We the People are the sovereigns. The government is our servant. To cancel, curtail, censor, and in some cases criminalize the voice of the people is to reverse the master-servant relationship. It tells the master to shut up. When the Vox Populi is silenced, the servant issues a bitter, undemocratic insult to the people, a slander that must be resented. Besides claiming that free speech is a threat to our democracy (whose, exactly?), the fascist curtail culturites' most common excuse for censorship is that they supposedly want America to be more harmonious, peaceful, and less polarized. These words do more than substitute Orwellian adjectives for those actually intended: servile, submissive, quiet, obedient. They also create the opposite effect. Each of the above thinkers emphasized some version of what is now known, after Professor Emerson, as the "steam valve" theory of free speech. When the people are allowed to vent, they become less, not more, hostile. They are more likely to say something like: "Well, at least I was able to say my piece." It is when the citizenry are bottled up that the greatest pressure builds. Eventually, the anger is more likely to explode. Are the establishment curtailists unaware of what has long been known? Or are they perhaps deliberately shutting down the venting process in order to create more dramatic outbursts, to the end that they may declaim "domestic terrorists" and "insurrectionists," thereby justifying still further suppression? Yes, America, it is high time to curtail curtailment. The way to do so is to continue exercising free speech with determination in every available avenue and venue. No matter how much the fascists attempt to intimidate, We the People must keep on talking! George W. Shuster is a graduate of Yale Law School in the same class as Bill and Hillary Clinton, with whom he reserves the right to disagree, respectfully, of course (or not). Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. By the time you read this, you'll already have known for some time that the Twitter board (probably cowed by the prospect of a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit should it reject a hugely profitable offer for Twitter shareholders) accepted Elon Musk's offer to buy Twitter. How the sale ultimately works out remains to be seen. What's enormously fun, though, is watching the response from leftists. It is detestable, of course, that we are dependent upon the goodwill of one billionaire to undo the incredible damage that a passel of other billionaires and their neurotic leftist minions have done to freedom of speech in this country. But it's telling that these same people are panicking now that Musk is using some of his billions to call them out on their tyrannical sins. It suggests that their hold on power is less stable than we might have thought just one year ago. (It might also just mean that neurotic people will panic over anything.) Smart, principled people are grateful that Musk seems to be committed to free speech: .@elonmusks offer to buy Twitter is a good deal for shareholders and raises the prospect that the platform will be a place where free speech can thrive, not a tool for narrative enforcement. Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 25, 2022 Elon Musk has finally set the blue bird free: pic.twitter.com/LXjzYCS2ZU Mikey (@MikeDulaimi) April 25, 2022 Elon Musk should restore Donald Trumps Twitter account, regardless of whether he plans to use it or not. Free Speech on Twitter starts with righting previous wrongs. Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 26, 2022 They recognize that, when anti-free speech despots control entirely the primary means of communication within a country, freedom is dying. At this point, we can only hope that Musk, who is a genius visionary but also manages to believe in anthropogenic climate change, remains committed to free speech. Currently, he's making the right noises: I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022 I'm inclined to think matters are trending in a good direction and that Musk may be wise enough to recognize and surf this trend: leftists have gotten too far over their skis with open borders, trans-mania, sexual indoctrination in K-12 schools, Critical Race Theory, madly printing money, and their machinations to place a declining, demented old man and a vapid, stupid woman in the White House. Leftists haven't come to terms with the country's new direction, though, so this is our chance to revel in schadenfreude. Here are some of the more amusing reactions. (And remember, it would take a heart of stone not to laugh at these reactions.) Watergate's John Dean, with panic in his heart, tries to sound a temperate note to make it clear he's not running away from Twitter; he's walking away slowly, with dignity: Not sure I am interested in Twitter if Elon Musk owns it. John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) April 24, 2022 Robert Reich's response was a good example of leftism on its own terms (hating on big money) but attained a sort of perfection when paired with his earlier tweet about Trump, a onetime (and still) president of the United States, getting kicked off all social media platforms: Someone named Jameela Jamil, who is apparently famous, is certain that free speech will be unacceptably evil, so she's retiring from the site...after she shows off her dog: Ah he got twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet. Just really *any* excuse to show pics of Barold. I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck. pic.twitter.com/fBDOuEYI3e Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) April 25, 2022 Rob Reiner, a great director and a singularly uninformed leftist, showed that, almost a year and a half into Biden's presidency, Trump is still drilling into Reiner's brain like some horror movie parasite: Now that Elon Musk is buying Twitter, the question for all of us is: Will he allow a Criminal who used this platform to lie and spread disinformation to try to overthrow the US Government to return and continue his Criminal activity? And if he does, how do we combat it? Rob Reiner (@robreiner) April 25, 2022 I'm guessing that Reiner hasn't read any of John Durham's recent court filings. David Hogg is another wonderfully ill informed leftist who can always be counted on for amusing stupidity. In this case, he seems to have missed the fact that billionaires, China, BlackRock, and Vanguard already own the major social media platforms and newspapers in America: Somebody having enough money to literally buy off every politician in this country through political donations under citizens United is a threat to national security and American democracy. David Hogg (@davidhogg111) April 26, 2022 Or maybe it's just that Hogg doesn't have a principled opposition to billionaires and tyrants owning things only to free speech billionaires owning things. George Takei struck a different note. Rather than going the Brave Sir Robin route and running away, he vows to stay and fight in the war to preserve "reason, science, compassion" and (you must laugh when this comes from a Hillary-supporter) "the rule of law." Im not going anywhere. Should this place become more toxic, I pledge to strive even harder to lift up reason, science, compassion and the rule of law. The struggle against fascism, misinformation, and hate requires tough fighters. I hope you stay in the fight, right beside me. George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 25, 2022 As I said, if nothing else, the fallout from Musk's takeover will be fun. Image of Elon Musk freeing the Twitter bird is an internet meme, creator unknown. One thing the left is particularly good at is euphemism. Stalin made his bones as a Bolshevik thug by robbing banks in order to fund the revolution; they called it expropriation. Now the obviously desperate Progressives are pounding the table, demanding that we masses be protected from the scourge of misinformation that's poisoning our minds. Only public statements that are approved for their content by progressive partisans should be allowed to have influence. Hmmm...sounds like censorship to me. This romance with censorship is nothing new. Back in the 1970s, after an unusually contentious local election, thenSan Francisco supervisor Dianne Feinstein proposed an ordinance that would make it a crime to include a false statement in a political speech. Although I was still a registered Democrat at that time, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of Star Chamber would have to be empaneled to rule on every single political utterance. As this is being written, Elon Musk's total takeover of Twitter has just been made official. It's within the realm of possibility that he could take a page from George Orwell and rename it The Ministry of Truth. Just kidding. An oblique form of censorship popular among leftists is to challenge the pedigree of an information source. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls American Thinker "a not so thoughtful far-right online publication." I received this statement in lieu of an actual response to specific "facts" and conclusions made in one of my blog posts. Why bother presenting a plausible contradiction when you can just impugn the source? Lazy minds, don't you know. Lurking below all of this is leftists' palpable lack of desire to defend their opinions. As Ayn Rand's fictional John Galt stated in his laying out of Objectivism, mystical ideas are the enemy of civilization. Feelings are supposed to have more weight than logic. Take climate worship, for example. There are forces that we will never understand...that are conspiring to destroy our world...unless we destroy them first by strangling the economic basis for modern life. Standing in the way of this impending disaster is that pesky thing called common sense. Humanity didn't make it this far by not being able to make good decisions. Adversity may not be pleasant, but it can be instructive. Add to this the modern facility for the transmission of information. It started with cheap paper and web printing, then radio, and then TV. Now there are the internet, cell phones, and satellite coverage. Bottom line: It's virtually impossible to monopolize information. Hence the panicked demand for what really amounts to censorship from those who've lost their monopoly. Image via Public Domain Pictures. For as long as I can remember, people in positions of authority have had to deal with family members who want to exploit the name for gain. It's a huge problem in Latin America, where a son or brother usually ends up with a mansion or large bank account. The latest such public figure is President Biden, who apparently never had the courage to tell his son Hunter to get a real job, or the common sense to tell him that appearances matter i.e., don't introduce me to your business partners on public property. We just learned that the dad-son connection may have been more active that we were told. This is from the Daily Mail: Hunter Biden's top business partner had met with then-vice president Joe Biden in one of 19 visits he made to the White House between 2009 and 2015, according to visitor logs from the Obama administration. Eric Schwerin, former president of Hunter's now-dissolved firm Rosemont Seneca, met with Biden on November 17, 2010, just as Hunter was striking multi-million dollar deals abroad, the New York Post reported. The logs revealed that Schwerin made a total of 19 visits to the White House during Biden's vice presidency, with nine of those visits including meetings with Biden, members of his staff and members of Jill Biden's staff. Jill had a staff? I thought she was married to the vice president. I did not know that the second spouse had a staff, too. Didn't Mrs. Biden understand that all these meetings smelled bad? Why does all this matter? First, President Biden denied knowing what his son was doing. Second, voters can forgive you for having crazy offspring, but allowing him to get rich on your name or position is another matter. Third, it is indeed possible that President Biden does not remember details, given his public performances over the last few weeks. Maybe a special counsel is the only way to persuade voters that the whole thing was clean. Attorney General Merrick Garland needs to appoint one, or this cloud will only get darker over the Biden family. PS: Click for my videos and podcasts at Canto Talk. Image: acaben. I am horrified at the statement of Defense secretary Lloyd Austin at his press conference in Poland following a secret visit to Kyiv. Via The New York Times: "We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a news conference in Poland, following his secretive trip to Kyiv with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "It had already lost a lot of military capability and a lot of its troops, quite frankly, and we want to see them not have the capability to very quickly reproduce that capability." YouTube screen grab. The way Russia is weakened, of course, is by being ground up in a prolonged war that is destroying Ukraine. That beleaguered nation is being used as an abrasive to dull Russia's war-making capacity. That's a job that destroys Ukraine in the process of harming Russia. There is no room for negotiations that could halt the destruction of Ukraine in this goal. The longer the brutal war drains Russia's resources, the better in terms of Austin's goal. These panel of images from the late 1950s China, depicting young boys hunting sparrows for sport, were taken from a poster aimed at school children. The poster was part of a large campaign to eradicate pests responsible for the transmission of pestilence and disease. Four pests were chosen for eradicationmosquitoes, rats, flies and sparrows. The last on this kill list was deemed responsible for creating shortages in grains and fruits which the bird ate. The ill-conceived idea to tamper with the food chain caused a severe ecological imbalance, and along with other misguided policies the government put in place, it triggered a chain of destructive events that left some 50 million people dead in three years. The Great Sparrow Campaign was part of an even bigger program called the Great Leap Forward initiated by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1958 to transform the largely agrarian nation to a thriving socialist society through rapid industrialization and collectivization. In order to take control of agriculture and establish a monopoly over grain distribution and supply, Mao abolished ownership of private land and introduced communal farming. Many peasants, stripped off their lands, were ordered to work on massive infrastructure projects and on the production of iron and steel. At the same time, Mao launched a patriotic health campaign targeting vermin that spread diseases. Along with mosquitoes, rats and flies, Mao picked up for elimination the Eurasian tree sparrow that fed on grains. Maos advisers calculated that a single sparrow ate four pounds of grain each year, and for every million sparrows killed, there would be food for 60,000 people. The Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus). Photo credit: hedera.baltica/Flickr Few people realized the consequence of disturbing the natural balance of the ecosystem, and even if they did, Mao wouldnt have listened to them anyway. Mao knew nothing about animals. He didn't want to discuss his plan or listen to experts. He just decided that the 'four pests' should be killed, one of China's most prominent environmental activists, Dai Qing, told the BBC. An incredible slaughter of sparrows followed. Every possible method that existed for killing birds were employed. They were shot from the sky, nests were destroyed, eggs broken and chicks killed. Sparrows were caught in nets or trapped with baits. Those that flew away to the countryside were poisoned with tainted food and water. The most cruel of them was driving them to exhaustion. People were told to come out in the open banging pots and pans and create a ruckus to terrorize the birds. The sparrows took to the air and flew around in circles, too terrified to land, until they dropped dead from exhaustion. Some sparrows found refuge in the premises of various diplomatic missions in China. In the Polish embassy in Beijing, guards denied Chinese people from entering the premises to scare away the sparrows who were hiding there. The crowd then surrounded the embassy and drummed constantly for two days. In the end, the Poles had to use shovels to clear the embassy of dead sparrows. Millions of people took part in the activities with merciless efficiency. An account published in the Shanghai newspaper reported that 194,432 sparrows were killed on a single day. To encourage people to participate contests were held among government workers and school children, and non-material rewards were give to those who handed in the largest number of tails of rats, or dead flies and mosquitoes, or dead sparrows. The movement became something of a sport, for the children at least, who participated with great enthusiasm. Over the next three years, approximately one billion sparrows, 1.5 billion rats, 100 million kilograms of flies and 11 million kilograms of mosquitos were killed. Although the eradication program was inordinately successful, it came at a great cost. A direct consequence of the Four Pests Campaign was the Great Famine. It became painfully obvious to the Chinese that the sparrows ate more than grains. They also ate insects. With their primary predator gone, insects wrecked havoc on crops and consequentially, rice yields decreased. Locust populations also ballooned, swarming the country and compounding the ecological problems already caused by the Great Leap Forward, including widespread deforestation and misuse of poisons and pesticides. By the time Mao terminated the programbut not before replacing sparrows with bed bugs in the Four Pests listbetween 20 to 50 million people had died of starvation. The gruesome episode serves as a lesson for mankind as to what can happen when unadvised changes are made to an ecosystem. Unfortunately, no lesson was learned. In 1998, a similar program was launched in Chongqing. A poster spotted at Southwest Agricultural University directed people to Get rid of the Four Pests, only this time, sparrows were replaced with cockroaches. Again in 2004, China began to cull civet cats in an effort to contain the spread of the SARS virus, even though no evidence has been found linking the cat to the virus. According to the BBC article, officials also planned to launch a patriotic health campaign targeting rats and cockroaches, which is eerily similar to Maos Great Sparrow Campaign. The delusion that man could conquer nature was one of the most defiant philosophy of Maoone that has left a poisoned legacy in China. Mao had famously said in 1958make the high mountain bow its head, make the river yield the way. China continues to disrespect nature exploiting its natural resources and doing little to stop its degradation, the consequence of which is now seen in the countrys many environmental issues ranging from pollution, deforestation, climate change and natural disaster. Photo taken on April 25, 2022 shows the scene of the first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" held in Vienna, Austria. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) VIENNA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. Lawyers, representatives of national authorities, international organizations, nuclear industry and civil society from 127 countries are participating in the IAEA's first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" to discuss emerging issues and trends in nuclear law and the applicable legal frameworks, according to an IAEA statement. Rafael Grossi, the IAEA Director-General, said in his opening speech at the conference that nuclear law is "not only about behavior and abiding by very important concepts and principles of law, but also driven by technological development." He added that nuclear energy, "a force for the greater good," can at the same time "pose challenges that must be solved." Dong Baotong, vice chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, said at a forum on the sidelines of the conference that China has established a nuclear law system in recent years and is currently formulating an atomic energy law to safeguard the peaceful development and use of atomic energy. Dong added that China is willing to share with other countries its experience in the development and legislation of the civil nuclear energy sector. The IAEA conference, which includes forums, exhibitions and other sideline meetings, will run until Friday. Dong Baotong (on the screens), vice chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, speaks via a video link at a forum on the sidelines of the first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" in Vienna, Austria, on April 25, 2022. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi speaks at the first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" in Vienna, Austria, April 25, 2022. IAEA kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi speaks at the first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" in Vienna, Austria, April 25, 2022. IAEA kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) Photo taken on April 25, 2022 shows the scene of the first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" held in Vienna, Austria. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) The Rohonc Codex is a 448-page illustrated manuscript book written by an unknown author in an unknown language that has baffled scholars and historians since it was discovered at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in mid 19th century. The codex is named after the Hungarian city of Rohonc, where it was kept until it was donated to the Academy in 1838 by Count Gusztav Batthyany from his Rohonc estate, along with 30,000 other books in his possession. The town is now called Rechnitz, is in Austria, close to the Hungarian border. Photo: Klaus.Schmeh/Wikimedia The codex measures 12 by 10 centimeters, with each page having between 9 and 14 rows of symbols. The total number of symbols used in the book is around 800 which is about ten times higher than any known alphabet, but most symbols are used with little repetition, so the symbols in the codex might not be an alphabet, but instead a syllabary, or be logographic in nature, such as Chinese characters. Accompanying the cryptic texts are some 90 pages of illustrations that include religious, laic, and military scenes. The crude illustrations seem to indicate an environment where Christian, pagan, and Muslim religions coexist, as the symbols of the cross, crescent, and sun/swastika are all present. Some scholars believe that the codex is a hoax, but others believe it to be genuine and have spent years trying to decode the text and illustrations. Analysis of the paper seem to suggest that the codex was written in Venetian paper sometime in the 16th century, but the date is not a certainty because the paper could have been much older than the text. Also, the text could have been copied from a much earlier source. Taking clue from the illustrations, some scholars speculate it was most likely created in the 16th-17th centuries. Cracking the code One Hungarian scholar proposed that he could read the book by turning it upside down to resemble a Sumerian ligature. He then associated Latin alphabet letters to the rest of the symbols by resemblance. He also rearranged the order of the letters to produce meaningful words. However, his methods were criticized because he sometimes transliterated the same symbol with different letters, and conversely, the same letter was decoded from several symbols. A Romanian philologist Viorica Enachiuc proposed that the text had been written in the Vulgar Latin dialect of Dacia, and the direction of writing is right-to-left, bottom-to-top. The alleged translation indicates that the text is an 11-12th century history of the Blaki (Vlachs) people in their fights against Hungarians and Pechenegs. Enachiucs method was also criticized because the symbols that appeared in the same context throughout the codex were regularly transliterated with different letters, so that the patterns in the original code are lost in the transliteration. Besides, there is no relation between the illustrations of the manuscript and Enachiuc's translation. Another alleged solution was made by the Indian Mahesh Kumar Singh. He claims that the codex is written left-to-right, top-to-bottom with a so far undocumented variant of the Brahmi script. He transliterated the first 24 pages of the codex to get a Hindi text which was translated to Hungarian. Singhs method was also criticized for lack of consistency. Gabor Tokai and Levente Zoltan Kiraly proposed that the script is a code system that does not indicate the inner structure of words, and the language of the text is most probably artificial. They claim that the codex contains the date 1593 CE as a probable reference to its writing. They also state that is an ordinary Catholic reader mostly containing paraphrases of New Testament texts about the life of Jesus. The mystery of the Rohonc Codex would perhaps never by fully solved. Russia warns of WWIII ahead of summit on arms to Ukraine According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (ANSA-AFP) - KYIV, APR 26 - Russia has warned of the "real" threat of World War III breaking out, ahead of a Tuesday meeting between the United States and allies over sending further arms to war-torn Ukraine. Moscow's invasion of its neighbour has triggered an outburst of support from Western nations that has seen weapons pour into the country to help it wage war against Russian troops. But Western powers have been reluctant to deepen their involvement, for fear of sparking a conflict against nuclear-armed Russia. Speaking to Russian news agencies, Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the risk of a World War III "is serious" and criticised Kyiv's approach to floundering peace talks. "It is real, you can't underestimate it," Lavrov said. For months, President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking Ukraine's Western allies for heavy weapons -- including artillery and fighter jets -- vowing his forces could turn the tide of the war with more firepower. The calls appear to be resonating now, with a host of NATO countries pledging to provide a range of heavy weapons and equipment, despite protests from Moscow. In a landmark trip to Kyiv over the weekend, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Zelensky and promised $700 million in new aid to Ukraine. "The first step in winning is believing that you can win," Austin told a group of journalists after meeting the Ukrainian leader. "We believe that we can win -- they can win -- if they have the right equipment, the right support." And on the invitation of the United States, 40 countries will also hold a security summit in Germany on Tuesday to discuss further arms to Ukraine -- as well as to ensure the country's longer-term security once the war is over. Among the invited countries are European allies of the United States, but also Australia and Japan -- who fear that a Russian victory in Ukraine will set a precedent and encourage the territorial ambitions of China. Finland and Sweden -- traditionally neutral countries that have been considering NATO membership since Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- are also on the guestlist. And on the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin is due to hold talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, his spokesman told RIA Novosti. (ANSA-AFP). Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved ALGIERS - High turnout in Algeria was recorded for a two-day strike organized by 29 unions of the public sector to ask for an increase of the purchasing power and a revision of salaries and bonuses, Messaoud Boudiba, coordinator of CNAPEST, Algeria's largest union in education, told ANSAmed over the phone. He highlighted the high turnout for the strike, especially in the school sector. Boudiba, who was this morning in the coastal province of Boumerdes, east of Algiers, said that he noticed a high level of participation in the strike in various sectors, like local administrations, professional training and universities. In the eastern outskirts of Algiers, some schools remained closed. A few days ago, the Algerian labor ministry criticized the general strike called on April 26 and 27, stating that it was launched by illegal unions not recognized by authorities. It added that the Algerian federal confederation (which announced the strike) had not received the declaration of constitution that enables it to legally exercise its activities, because its dossier did not abide by legislation regarding the exercise of union rights. The ministry thus said that the confederation had acted in violation of the law. The Algerian confederation motivated the strike with the need for the government to intervene in order to fight the deterioration of the purchasing power in light of an unprecedented wave of price increases. For several months, Algeria has recorded a strong growth in prices for many widely used foods, some of which are scarce, like nutritional oils, milk, wheat, and the situation has worsened with the holy month of Ramadan. On March 10, the Algerian presidency decided to retroactively increase pensions for the years 2021 and 2022, with percentages between 2 and 10%. BEIRUT - Just three weeks ahead of elections scheduled on May 15, tension remains high in Lebanon after at least six people died in a shipwreck, in the night between Saturday and Sunday, after a migrant boat was rammed, according to survivors, by a Lebanese military cutter off Tripoli. A search operation for the missing continues at sea and along the coast, while the funerals of the six victims were celebrated in Tripoli in a climate of sorrow and rage. Previously, local sources said nine people had died. The bodies retrieved included one of an 18-month-old girl and of a woman, the mother of three children whose bodies are still missing. Government news agency Nna quoted a statement of the Lebanese army as saying that the alleged trafficker was arrested. For the army, the tragedy was caused by bad weather and overcrowding on the boat. The survivors instead said that the military officers rammed the boat on purpose. As of Monday, sit-in protests were ongoing in Tripoli, Beirut and Sidon. Demonstrators expressed rage against the political ruling class, accused of being responsible for the financial collapse that is driving many Lebanese to attempt to flee by sea. Lebanon has been in default since March 2020. The financial crisis began in the fall of 2019, before the start of the pandemic. The UN said that over 80% of the population residing in Lebanon lives in poverty. A social media campaign has started against Premier Najib Miqati, a billionaire from Tripoli. Images of his yacht docked in the French port of Nice were shown alongside photos of the tragedy of Lebanese migrants over the weekend. Energy Minister Walid Fayyad, who was seen on Sunday night in a bar in downtown Beirut while visibly drunk, was approached by some people who insulted and shoved him. The scene was filmed with cell phones and published online. MODENA - Father Mattia Ferrari, a young priest at the diocese of Modena and Nonantola, has filed a criminal complaint in Modena to report threats he has received on a social media account allegedly run by Libyan traffickers and mafia members, local newspaper Gazzetta di Modena reports. Ferrari served as chaplain on the 'Mare Jonio' migrant-rescue ship. Father Ferrari explained that he went to prosecutors on Liberation Day, Monday, April 25: "Prosecutors in Modena are investigating. Periodically, this account, a mouthpiece of the Libyan mafia, threatens those helping migrants. On March 31, they threatened me heavily. The real problem is that this account is not only a mouthpiece of the Libyan mafia, but it is also connected to deviant secret services from several countries: occasionally, it published photos of military aircraft of Frontex, reserved documents and high-level secrets of Italian State and military agencies", said Father Ferrari. Democratic Left (PD) lawmaker Giuditta Pini also commented the case: "How could they have all this material? There is a mole. We ask this to the government", she said. LOS ANGELES, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of pages of U.S. government documents showed that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had delayed for months publicly disclosing a suspected COVID-19 animal-to-human spillover event in Michigan in late 2020, according to a detailed report by National Geographic. These documents include emails between the CDC and Michigan public health officials and provide the first "behind-the-scenes look" at the CDC's investigation into the suspected COVID-19 mink-to-human spillover event, said the report. The documents and the CDC's statements in response make clear the CDC was aware that mink on a fur farm in Michigan may have infected humans at least three months before it "quietly" updated its website in March 2021, according to the report. Emails show Michigan public health officials formally requested the CDC's help in handling the suspected spillover on Oct. 8, 2020, after the state confirmed that mink on a fur farm were infected. Within days, the CDC sent four veterinary epidemiologists to Michigan. The team took virus samples from mink at the farm and people in the surrounding area to investigate how the virus spread. Ultimately, genome analyses of virus samples from two mink-farm workers and two people with no known connection to mink showed infection with a unique coronavirus variant previously identified in mink and mink-to-human transmission in Europe, the emails revealed. The CDC did not make a formal public announcement of the findings and only "quietly" updated its website in March 2021. Thus the issue did not get much attention from the media and the public. Only little media coverage was found online beyond a story in the Detroit Free Press in April 2021, which said four Michiganders -- a taxidermist, his wife and two mink farm employees -- were infected with a unique coronavirus strain connected to minks. Michigan health officials and the CDC concluded they likely contracted the "first known" U.S. cases of so-called animal-to-human virus "spillover," said the report. The CDC defended its decision not to make a formal announcement of the event, as spokesperson Nick Spinelli told National Geographic in an email that all "relevant information" was eventually posted on the CDC's website and that because similar cases had been documented in Europe, the news was not "surprising or unexpected." Throughout the CDC's investigation, the agency's spokespeople repeatedly told National Geographic that there was "no evidence of mink-to-human spread in the United States," including in an early January 2021 email. Yet internal emails and statements from Spinelli indicate that was not the case, said the National Geographic report. "Mink-to-human spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Poland, and new data suggest it might have occurred in the United States," according to the CDC website. Little is known about the four Michiganders infected with the unique coronavirus variant. Still, the fact that two of them got the mink-associated variant despite having no connection to the mink farm suggests the variant had spread beyond the farm and into the community and continued to circulate for months. Coronavirus researchers said the delay in publicly sharing this suspected spillover event may have hindered their ability to effectively monitor the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which experts warn could take hold in another species, mutate and then jump back to humans as a more dangerous or transmissible variant. Scott Weese, a veterinary internal medicine specialist and the chief of infection control at the Veterinary College at the University of Guelph in Canada, said earlier information about the suspected spillover cases could have helped other countries improve their pandemic surveillance and response. "This should keep reminding us that transparency is important, and the quicker you know things, the quicker you can act," Weese said. MADRID - Several people have been reported missing at sea south of the island of Gran Canaria, after a boat with migrants on board in the night between Monday and Tuesday capsized before rescuers reached the location of the tragedy, a spokesman for the Spanish maritime rescue service told ANSA. According to the same source, 34 people were rescued: 22 men, 10 women and two minors. Moreover, one body was recovered. Based on an alert previously registered by the Regional Coordination Center of the Canary Islands (Ccrc), officials fear that 61 people were on board the boat when it departed from the western Sahara coast. The same figures were also reported by Helena Maleno, a well-known activist and spokesperson for Caminando Fronteras. During the same emergency operation, the Spanish maritime rescue vessel Guardamar Caliope also rescued an additional 80 migrants. They are expected to arrive soon on the island together with the 34 survivors of the shipwreck, which occurred 132 nautical miles off Gran Canaria. The Spanish maritime service also rescued another 26 migrants, including four minors, who were intercepted off the Andalusian coast (southern Spain): they were taken to Motril, in the province of Granada. Migrants: shipwreck off Canary Islands-'24 possibly missing' 36 rescued, one body recovered, rescuers say (ANSAmed) - MADRID, APRIL 26 - A reported 24 people could be missing following a migrant shipwreck south of the island of Gran Canaria last night, the Spanish maritime rescue service has tweeted. The rescuers, who arrived at the scene when the boat had already capsized, rescued 36 people and retrieved a body. Initially, a spokesman for the maritime rescue service had spoken about 34 survivors, one ascertained victim and 26 possibly missing. According to activist and migration expert Helena Maleno, a spokesperson for NGO Caminando Fronteras, the victims could include 12 women and seven children.(ANSAmed). MADRID - Spain is commemorating the bombing of Guernica, one of the most dramatic episodes of the civil war in the 1930s, exactly 85 years after the tragedy. As recalled in a video posted on social media by Premier Pedro Sanchez, on April 26, 1937, military aircraft sent by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, which backed the front of General Francisco Franco against the ruling republican government, bombed the Basque site, killing dozens of civilians. "Eighty-five years later, we remember this day and all its victims. Because memory is essential to continue to constitute a democratic and peaceful society", wrote Sanchez. At the beginning of April, the historic episode - represented in a famous painting by Pablo Picasso - was remembered also by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a speech in video conference to the Spanish Parliament. "We are in April 2022, but it looks like April 1937", he said, referring to the reported massacres of civilians which the Russians are accused of perpetrating in Ukraine. F Diane Abbott has hit out at the journalist who wrote an article about Angela Rayner which has been condemmed as "misogynistic". (PA/Twitter) Diane Abbott has appeared to mock the appearance of a journalist who wrote an article by Tory MPs that the deputy Labour leader tried to distract Boris Johnson with her legs by crossing and uncrossing them. The Mail on Sunday published an article written by Glen Owen, who reported on claims by Tory MPs that the deputy Labour leader tried to distract Boris Johnson with her legs by crossing and uncrossing them. The article included a quote from one MP saying Rayner knows she cant compete with Boriss Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks. Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will meet the Mail on Sundays editor David Dillon and political editor Glen Owen over the article, which has been universally debunked as "misogynistic". Taking to Twitter, former frontbencher Abbott said it was "interesting" Owen felt "entitled" to judge females MPs on their appearances. "This is Glen Owen the Mail on Sunday journalist who wrote the ridiculously misogynistic story about Angela Rayner and her legs," she tweeted. "Interesting that he feels entitled to judge female MPs by their looks." Diane Abbott tweeted a picture of Glen Owen in the wake of the article. (Twitter) Rayner said on Tuesday that the Mail On Sunday went ahead with publishing the article based on comments from anonymous Conservatives despite warnings from Labour officials that they were completely untrue. Speaking on ITVs Lorraine, Rayner said: Ive been overwhelmed because when I heard the story was coming out and we rebutted it instantly like this is disgusting, its completely untrue, please dont run a story like that. The Labour frontbencher said she was really down about the article and had to prepare her children for its claims. She said that all I worry about when Im at the despatch box is doing a good job and being able to do justice to my constituents and the work Im doing, so I was just really crestfallen that somebody had said that to a paper and a paper was reporting that. It wasnt just about me as a woman, saying I was using the fact Im a woman against the prime minister which I think is quite condescending to the prime minister and shows you what his MPs think about his behaviour but it was steeped in classism as well, she added. Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner accused Tory MPs of using anonymous briefings to spread 'desperate, perverted smears' about her. (PA) She also said the article insinuated she must be thick because she went to a comprehensive school and she is promiscuous because she had a child when she was 16. I felt it was quite offensive to people from my background, she added. The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne suggested a wider cultural shift is needed after Johnson condemned the misogynistic tripe published on Sunday. We have got to teach our sons to be respectful of women and weve got to teach our women to be confident about themselves as well, she said. She was also puzzled over the picture used to illustrate the article, saying: It was a John Lewis tailored dress for me thats quite posh. Rayner wore a trouser suit for her appearance on TV on Tuesday, saying she did not want to be judged for what I wear. Diane Abbott took to Twitter to comment on the article. (PA) I wanted to be defiant as well because I dont think that women should be told how to dress, but I didnt want to distract from the fact that, actually, its not about my legs. Because I feel like Im being judged for what I wear, rather than what Im saying to you and how I come across. Johnson vowed that the MPs behind the claims would face the terrors of the Earth if they are identified, though this seems unlikely as journalists protect their sources. Government minister James Heappey backed Hoyle meeting the Mail on Sunday's editor, telling Sky News: If the speaker is going to put a shot across the bows about the way women in parliament are being reported, thats a good thing. I have no doubt he is protecting freedom of speech and he wont want to see that impinged but I do think that Westminster has got itself into a mess and it looks awful." Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Mail on Sunday, has declined to comment. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has urged airlines to get reliability back into the system again. He made the comment as passengers have suffered major disruption in recent weeks. Travellers have faced long queues at airports such as Birmingham, Heathrow and Manchester. British Airways continues to cancel around 100 daily flights due to staff shortages. EasyJet cancelled hundreds of flights in the run-up to Easter. Passengers queueing to check in bags in departures at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport (Steve Parsons/PA) Mr Shapps said airlines underestimated how much demand there will be, and a rise in coronavirus cases would have caused problems with a lot of people off work. He told Times Radio: I am concerned and Im going to be meeting with some of the airlines who have been routinely cancelling. Im sure its in their interest as it is (for) the travelling public to see them get their schedules back together, and Im meeting with them this week to understand their plans to bring the schedules back together. We need to get reliability back into the system again. On Monday, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office released all files associated with its ongoing investigation into the Rust shooting. Among the materials received by Yahoo Entertainment are crime scene photos and videos. Two videos handed over to police show Alec Baldwin rehearsing with a vintage Colt revolver, just moments before he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In the footage, Baldwin is seen sitting in a church pew rehearsing. He's dressed in Western garb and is looking down towards the ground. Near the end of the two-minute clip, he reaches his right hand into his jacket and draws the gun, pointing it to the camera. Baldwin, who is facing a wrongful death lawsuit by Hutchins's widower, said during his ABC News interview that he did not pull the trigger. Baldwin explained that he and Hutchins were blocking out the scene and he only moved "at her direction." Alec Baldwin just moments before killing Halyna Hutchins. (Photo: Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office) "This was a marking rehearsal," Baldwin declared. "And [Hutchins] says to me, 'Hold the gun lower. Go to your right. OK, right there. All right, do that. Now show it a little bit lower.' And she's getting me to position the gun. ... She's guiding me through how she wants me to hold the gun for this angle." The gun "ended up being aimed right below" Hutchins's armpit, according to Baldwin. The actor said he was told on set it was a "cold gun," meaning there was no live ammunition in the revolver. Among the newly released documents are interviews between Baldwin and police and he reiterated the same thing. A photo inside the church where Alec Baldwin shot Halyna Hutchins. (Photo: Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office) During an interview with Det. Hancock, Baldwin said that his finger had been on the trigger but that he did not pull it. Baldwin said that he had pulled the hammer of the gun about three-quarters of the way back and then let it go before it discharged. Hutchins, 42, was killed when the revolver went off on Oct. 21. Director Joel Souza was also injured. During an interview with police at the hospital, Souza noted how the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, told Baldwin the gun was "cold" or "clean." In a text message released by police, the film's propmaster, Sarah Zachry, told another Rust crew member that Gutierrez-Reed had wanted to use fake weapons on set, but Baldwin did not. "Alec never liked anything fake, like guns and even the rubber knife," she wrote. "He always wanted the real knife, but eventually I gave him the rubber without him knowing. He always wanted his real gun." Two days after the shooting, Zachry texted Baldwin: "I'm truly praying for you and hope you find some rest soon." Baldwin replied, "You are lovely and kind." He later added, "This sheriffs dept still will not tell me that I won't be charged [with] something." Hutchins's widower, Matt, gave his own interview two months ago and told NBC News he was "just so angry" watching Baldwin's interview back in December. Baldwin talked "about her death so publicly in such a detailed way and then to not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her." "It almost sounds like he was the victim," Matt Hutchins told Hoda Kotb. "Hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it, I just feel like, are we really supposed to feel bad about you, Mr. Baldwin?" No criminal charges have been filed yet, although officials say the investigation is continuing. Baldwin said he feels "exonerated" after New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau released its report last week. "We are grateful to the New Mexico Occupational Health 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," a lawyer for the actor said in a statement. "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. We are confident that the individuals identified in the report will be held accountable for this tragedy." A British defence minister has backed Ukrainian strikes on military targets behind Russian lines, even if the weapons used have been supplied by the UK. Armed forces minister James Heappey said on Tuesday there is every chance that Moscows forces will be repelled with the support being supplied to Kyiv by allies. But he dismissed Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrovs claims that Western allies are pouring oil on the fire by providing Ukraine with firepower. Defence minister James Heappey has backed the use of UK weapons on Russian soil (David Mirzoeff/PA) Mr Heappey said of course the UK backs reported strikes on fuel depots in Russia. He told Times Radio it is completely legitimate for Ukraine to be targeting in Russias depth in order to disrupt the logistics that if they werent disrupted would directly contribute to death and carnage on Ukrainian soil. And the minister said it is not necessarily a problem if British-donated weapons are used to hit sites on Russian soil after accepting that weapons now being supplied by allies to Ukraine have the range to be used over borders. There are lots of countries around the world that operate kit that they have imported from other countries; when those bits of kit are used we tend not to blame the country that manufactured it, you blame the country that fired it, he added. The comments mark a further strengthening of the UKs position, as allies shift from caution against antagonising President Vladimir Putin to supplying more and more lethal aid. (PA Graphics) Russian foreign minister Mr Lavrov has warned that the threat of nuclear conflict should not be under-estimated. He accused Nato forces of pouring oil on the fire by providing weapons, as he warned against provoking World War Three. But Mr Heappey told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that the chances of nuclear warfare are vanishingly small. He told Mr Lavrov to reflect on the reason there is a war in Ukraine being that Russia invaded, telling Sky News: All of this noise from Moscow about somehow their attack on Ukraine being a response to Nato aggression is just utter, utter nonsense. Mr Heappey has said there is every chance that the Ukrainians will see off the Russians in the invasion, arguing that Moscows victory in the east of Ukraine is not inevitable. Well see a conflict between two forces that are much more evenly balanced, where the Ukrainians have the advantage of defensive positions that have been dug in and prepared over the last eight years, and thats going to make it an extraordinarily difficult nut for the Russians to crack, he told Sky. And with all the support that the Ukrainians are getting from around the world, theres every chance the Ukrainians can see them off. Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine 26 April 2022 Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/agUoc4mRcj #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/vnxIPbDJOZ Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) April 26, 2022 Britain is sending a small number of Stormer armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for anti-aircraft missiles in the latest shipment to repel the Russians. Germany is also expected to approve the delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine in a significant increase of support from Berlin. In the UK, the Ministry of Defence said it has seen reports that the city of Kreminna, in the eastern region of Luhansk, has fallen to the Russians. Amid heavy fighting in Izium and forces trying to advance to the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the intelligence update said Moscows troops are likely attempting to encircle heavily fortified positions. Military veterans have consistently been targeted by predatory colleges eager to take advantage of federal funding available specifically to them. We once described this target population as being viewed by fraudulent schools as dollar signs with backpacks, Federal Student Aid (FSA) Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray told Yahoo Finance in an exclusive interview (video above). FSA, an agency within the Education Department (ED), manages trillions of dollars in outstanding student loans and controls federal funding to colleges and universities across the country. The ED, the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have been working in coordination over the last decade to launch a series of efforts designed to prevent military veterans from being taken advantage of by predatory schools. What we're marking is the 10-year anniversary of what are called the Principles of Excellence President Obama marked the original signing of the executive order, with the purpose in mind of protecting people who serve in the military [who] find themselves often targeted by schools with fraudulent schemes because they see the dollar signs, said Cordray, who was the head of the CFPB during the Obama administration. President Biden delivers remarks aimed at addressing health problems suffered by military veterans exposed to potentially toxic environmental situations, in Fort Worth, Texas, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Veterans are given federal dollars in the form of G.I. Benefits, which they can use to pursue higher education. Low-quality, high-cost for-profit programs aggressively recruit these veterans since those benefits allow schools to circumvent the cap on federal funding. We found that it was important for us and I think it was the first time this had been done across the federal government to have the Department of Education work together with closely with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to make sure that students were protected, that military service members were not going to be cheated out of their benefits, and not get the benefit of higher education, Cordray explained. The Principles of Excellence provides more transparency regarding the financial cost and quality of schools through a bunch of efforts, such as through an online customer complaint system, the College Scorecard, a College Navigator, and more. President Obama, joined by Fed Chair Janet Yellen and CFPB Director Richard Cordray, holds a meeting with financial regulators March 7, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque FSA is also ramping up oversight of schools to actively penalize any engaging in abuse. In March, the agency announced that it was warning shady schools that engage in aggressive and misleading recruiting practices to take advantage of service members, veterans, and military-connected students would face consequences for doing so, including the termination or limitation of a schools participation in the Departments federal student aid programs. We are going to be bringing enforcement actions where they're appropriate against schools that cheat students, whether former military or not, but across the board, and I think it's really important for us to have that presence, Cordray said. And for schools to be aware that they're not going to be able to get away with things that they might have thought they could get away with in the past. Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at aarthi@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn U.S. cities had highest homicide rates during pandemic: study Xinhua) 08:08, April 26, 2022 People wearing face masks walk on a street in New Orleans, Louisiana, the United States, on Aug. 3, 2021. (Photo by Lan Wei/Xinhua) New Orleans had the highest homicide rate increases over the course of the pandemic, followed by Cincinnati, Atlanta, Baltimore, Memphis, Milwaukee, Louisville, Norfolk, Detroit and Dallas. NEW YORK, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The year 2021 was the deadliest in U.S. history, thanks mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the homicide rate has also soared in several cities since 2020, U.S. television network NewsNation has reported. The most recent available data from the government shows a 35 percent jump in gun homicides from 2019 to 2020, when 19,384 people were killed, NewsNation reported Saturday, citing a new study. The study calculated homicide rate increases over the course of the pandemic and found that New Orleans had the highest, followed by Cincinnati, Atlanta, Baltimore, Memphis, Milwaukee, Louisville, Norfolk, Detroit and Dallas. The 10 lowest were San Francisco, Chandler, Riverside, Austin, Charlotte, Sacramento, Garland, Omaha, Boston, Madison and Lincoln. In times of financial stress or anxiety, gun sales tend to strengthen, as does violence and racial hostility; with the pandemic, a new stressor may have affected the high homicide numbers, Shaundra Kellan Lewis, a law professor at Texas Southern University, told NewsNation. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis attend the 94th Annual Academy Awards on March 27, 2022. (Photo: FilmMagic) Ashton Kutcher is urging people not to let the Russia-Ukraine war "become background noise." The actor sent a message to his 17 million Twitter followers on Tuesday, declaring "we lose" once that happens. "We must have the nerve to continue to stare pain down the barrel and envelop it with love. Our compassion has power. Don't look away," the actor and investor tweeted. The minute we allow the war in Ukraine to become background noise we lose. We must have the nerve to continue to stare pain down the barrel and envelop it with love. Our compassion has power. Dont look away. ashton kutcher (@aplusk) April 26, 2022 Kutcher and his wife, Mila Kunis, have been leading Hollywood's effort to support the people of Ukraine ever since Russia's unprovoked invasion on Feb. 24. The couple's GoFundMe has raised more than $35 million to help refugee and humanitarian aid efforts on the ground. "I am a proud Ukrainian," Kunis declared. "While we are witnessing the bravery of Ukrainians, we are also bearing witness to the unimaginable burden of those who have chosen safety. Countless amounts of people have left everything they know and love behind to seek refuge. With nothing but what they could carry, these Ukrainian refugees are in need of housing and supplies right away." Kunis and Kutcher's assistance didn't go unnoticed by President Zelensky. Last month, the Ukrainian politician said he was "impressed by their determination" in raising money for more than 10 million refugees. The trio even had a virtual meeting. .@aplusk & Mila Kunis were among the first to respond to our grief. They have already raised $35 million & are sending it to @flexport & @Airbnb to help refugees. Grateful for their support. Impressed by their determination. They inspire the world. #StandWithUkrainepic.twitter.com/paa0TjJseu (@ZelenskyyUa) March 20, 2022 Kunis was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, in 1983 and moved to the United States at age 8. "I very much have always felt like an American," Kunis recently reflected to Maria Shriver, but said, "everything's changed." "[Russia's invasion] happens and I can't express or explain what came over me, but all of a sudden I was like, 'Oh my God, I feel like a part of my heart just got ripped out,'" she added. "It was the weirdest feeling." Kunis shares two kids with Kutcher and is trying to instill in them that they are half Ukrainian. "It doesn't take away from who I am as a person but it just adds an entire different layer," she said. "I turned to my kids and I was like, 'You are half Ukrainian, half American!' Like, I literally was like, 'Look, you!' And my kids were like, 'Yeah mom, I get it.' And I was like, 'No! You are Ukrainian and American.' I was like, 'You are half Iowa, half Ukraine.' And they're like, 'OK, I get it.'" MORE: Ashton Kutcher continues to show support for Mila Kunis's native Ukraine Sharon Osbourne is opening up about a painful face-lift experience. In an interview with Britains The Sunday Times, the 69-year-old TV personality, who has publicly addressed her plastic surgery in the past, spoke about the horrendous results of a recent face-lift. I had a full face-lift done in October and I looked like one of those fing mummies that they wrap (with bandages), Osbourne told the publication. It hurt like hell. You have no idea. She shared that the cosmetic procedure lasted about five and a half hours and did not turn out how she expected. Osbourne said, Im telling you, it was horrendous. At the time, she told her surgeon, Youve got to be fing joking. She explained that her eyes did not look the same and added, I looked like a fing Cyclops. Im, like, All I need is a hunchback. Her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, whom she has been married to since 1982, was also taken aback by her surgery. He said, I dont care how much it costs, well get it redone, she recalled. While her face is still settling now, she confirmed she is happy with her appearance. The sit-down with The Sunday Times comes ahead of her return to television as the host of a prime-time talk show. The show will air on a new British TV channel called TalkTV, which will also feature Piers Morgan. Last year, Osbourne left CBSs The Talk after defending Morgan, who received backlash for calling Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, a liar after her emotional interview with Oprah Winfrey. The former Meghan Markle revealed in her discussion with Winfrey that she had suffered from depression and other mental health issues while living in the U.K. "The Talk" co-host Sheryl Underwood and Osbourne got into a heated debate on-air about Morgans remarks. The Talk was put on a temporary hiatus while CBS investigated the matter, and Osbourne ended up leaving the panel. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharons behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace, NBC News reported the network said in a statement at the time. Osbourne posted an apology on Twitter in March 2021 that said, To anyone of colour that I offended and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down by what I said, I am truly sorry. She spoke about the fallout from leaving the show during her interview with The Sunday Times. She said her TV career in the United States was nonexistent afterward. Not one call. Noth-Ing. Although she said her career was not impacted in England and Australia, it was a much different situation in America. Here it was like I was dead, she said. LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will visit Canada next month as part of celebrations to mark his mother Queen Elizabeth's 70th year on the British throne, his office said on Tuesday. The trip, the 19th the heir-to-the-throne has undertaken to Canada, will see the royal couple travel more than 2000 miles from Newfoundland and Labrador to the Northwest Territories over three days from May 17-19. "The Prince of Wales has long believed that we need to learn from indigenous peoples around the world how better we should live in and care for nature and the planet," Clarence House said in a statement. "Canada is seeing the impact of climate change and so this tour will highlight an emphasis on learning from Indigenous Peoples in Canada as well as a focus on working with businesses to find a more sustainable way of living with global warming." Members of the British royal family have been undertaking tours across the 14 other realms which have Queen Elizabeth as their head of state to mark her Platinum Jubilee as monarch, with Charles's younger brother Prince Edward and his wife currently visiting Caribbean nations. (Reporting by Michael Holden, editing by William James) Donald Trump and some of his allies were suspended from Twitter over spreading misinformation or inciting or advocating violence. (Associated Press) With Elon Musk buying Twitter, there's speculation that former President Trump and many of his allies could have their bans lifted. During the Trump era, Twitter barred many on the far right, including extremist groups, from using the platform. A number of Trump supporters were kicked off for spreading falsehoods, inciting or advocating violence, "harmful activity" or other violations of Twitter rules. De-platforming can limit the spread of harmful speech, including misinformation and disinformation, studies have shown. Amy Bruckman, a Georgia Tech professor of interactive computing and a lead author on one study, said that the prevalence of ideas spread by three far-right or conspiracy-theorist figures went down dramatically after their Twitter accounts were disabled. The "toxicity of their followers went down after they were kicked off," she said. If such figures were to be reinstated, Bruckman said, "the ideas come back and the toxicity of their followers comes back too." Musk has hinted in several tweets that he hopes to overhaul Twitter's content moderation policy. I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," he wrote in a regulatory filing, adding that the company would not fulfill that potential "in its current form." The tech billionaire has not publicly committed to reinstating any banned user and has made no comments regarding Trump, who has said he has no plans to return to Twitter even if his access is restored. Here is why Trump and others from his orbit were banned: Donald Trump The former president was permanently suspended two days after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters. Twitter determined that Trump had encouraged violence and posed a "risk of further incitement." Trump has since started his own platform, Truth Social, which aims to compete with Twitter but has floundered so far. Fox News on Monday reported that Trump told the outlet: "I am not going on Twitter. I am going to stay on TRUTH.... I hope Elon buys Twitter because hell make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). (Samuel Corum / Tribune News Service) Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, is the only sitting member of Congress to be permanently banned from Twitter. After numerous temporary suspensions, her personal account was banned on Jan. 2, 2021, for violating the platform's COVID-19 misinformation policy; she had tweeted critical and misleading messages about public health measures put in effect to control the pandemic. Greene still maintains a presence on the platform with her official account; she tweeted Monday morning, anticipating that her personal account would be reinstated. Prepare for blue check mark full scale meltdown after @elonmusk seals the deal and I should get my personal Twitter account restored. pic.twitter.com/MKBQvHCoAH Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 25, 2022 Stephen K. Bannon Former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Stephen K. Bannon, former Trump campaign chief and former White House chief strategist, was banned Nov. 5, 2020, after he called on his podcast for the beheading of FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. governments top infectious disease expert. David Duke The former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and onetime member of the Louisiana House of Representatives was kicked off Twitter on July 30, 2020. It was unclear which of his tweets violated the platform's hateful conduct policy. Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell On Jan. 8, 2021, Twitter removed the accounts of Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security advisor, and pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell. The two had spread content relating to the QAnon conspiracy theory, Twitter said. Powell had also spread falsehoods about the election, making claims but never offering proof about voter fraud. Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and was the only White House official to be convicted in connection with the Trump-Russia investigation, was pardoned by Trump in late November 2020. Alex Jones Alex Jones, center, at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Far-right talk show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was banned on Sept. 6, 2018, after violating Twitter's abusive behavior policy. Jones, among other falsehoods, had long claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six educators was a hoax. He recently appeared before the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. Today, we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope. We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts past violations. https://t.co/gckzUAV8GL Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 6, 2018 Mike Lindell MyPillow chief executive and Trump supporter and donor Mike Lindell was taken off Twitter on Jan. 25, 2021. He had been a vocal and constant proponent of the falsehood that the 2020 election was rigged. He also claimed that the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot was "peaceful." Twitter said he had repeatedly violated its "civic integrity policy." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Dr. Mehmet Oz attempted to use the shield of former President Donald Trumps endorsement to fend off attacks from his Republican rivals in the Pennsylvania Senate race, which included the top candidates casting doubt on the results of the 2020 election. Oz was among the five GOP candidates gathered in Harrisburg on Monday night, where he leaned on the recent Trump endorsement to rebut repeated claims that hes not a true Republican. Former hedge fund executive David McCormick, backed by Wall Street donations, has been running attack ads against the celebrity doctor with the messaging that hes a Hollywood liberal. Dr. Mehmet Oz at a campaign event in Bristol, Pa., on April 21. (Hannah Beier/Reuters) Theyre designed to fool the electorate, Oz said of the ads. Mr. McCormick approached President Trump with these types of information that was unable to pull the wool over his eyes. President Trump saw right through him. He therefore did not endorse Mr. McCormick, he endorsed me. And out of that, another slew of these ads has arisen once again, trying to tell Pennsylvanians something that President Trump doesnt believe is true and I can state categorically is not true. Oz and McCormick have separated themselves in both fundraising and polling in the May 17 primary, which does not require the winner to achieve a majority in order to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey on the ballot in November. Oz spent much of the hourlong debate repeating the fact that Trump had endorsed him, while McCormick said Oz had changed positions on a number of issues. David McCormick at a campaign rally in Danville, Pa., on April 20. (Mark Makela/Getty Images) The reason Mehmet keeps talking about President Trumps endorsement is because he cant run on his own positions and his own record, McCormick said. The problem, doctor, is theres no miracle cure for flip-flopping, and Pennsylvanians are seeing right through your phoniness, and thats what youre dealing with and thats why youre not taking off in the polls. McCormick targeted Oz for a 2015 episode of his talk show in which he discussed transgender youth. Republicans around the country have pushed anti-transgender laws in recent months, banning trans youths from competing in sports and in some instances equating teaching kids about gender to grooming. I do television shows, as well I should, about views that need to be expressed, Oz said in reply. McCormick had tried to earn the endorsement of Trump, attempting to shake off attacks about his business ties with China to present himself as an "America first" candidate. McCormick had earned the support of Sean Parnell, whom Trump had originally endorsed in the race before he dropped out over accusations of domestic abuse. It was announced Monday that Trump would be holding a rally with Oz in western Pennsylvania next month. Women, in particular, are drawn to Dr. Oz for his advice and counsel, Trump said in an April 9 statement announcing his endorsement. I have seen this many times over the years. They know him, believe in him and trust him. Likewise, he will do very well in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where other candidates will just not be accepted. Republican supporters at a "Save America" rally on Saturday in Delaware, Ohio, where former President Donald Trump spoke. (Joe Maiorana/AP) One area where Oz and McCormick were in agreement was on the issue of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump has baselessly claimed was stolen from him in Pennsylvania. When asked if it was time to move on, both said no, with Oz saying, I have discussed it with President Trump and we cannot move on. We have to be serious about what happened in 2020, and we wont be able to address that until we can really look under the hood. Another area of overlap was abortion, access to which has been severely restricted across the country by Republican-backed laws. Both Oz and McCormick said exceptions should be made when the life of the mother is in danger, but when asked directly, neither said that similar allowances should be made if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Both Oz, who moved from New Jersey to run for the seat, and McCormick, who moved from Connecticut, have been criticized for not being true Pennsylvanians. The Republican field also includes Carla Sands, a former Trump-appointed ambassador to Denmark, who moved from California to enter the race. The two tourists whove moved here to run, they dont know Main Street Pennsylvania, said Jeff Bartos, a Philadelphia-area real estate investor who has served as the state partys finance chair and is also running for the Senate seat. They havent cared to spend time there until they decided to run for office. I can promise the people of Pennsylvania, when these carpetbaggers lose, you will never see them again, said candidate Kathy Barnette, a conservative political commentator. Kathy Barnette at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Camp Hill, Pa., on April 2. (Matt Rourke/AP) Oz, who attended medical school and business school in Philadelphia, said Pennsylvanians care about what I stand for more than where Im from. McCormick and Sands touted their families multigenerational roots in the state. The states Democratic Senate candidates had their second televised debate on Monday at Dickinson College, located in central Pennsylvania. It was one of the few remaining times for the rivals of John Fetterman, Pennsylvanias lieutenant governor, to try and stop what has been his steady march to the nomination, fueled by a prolific fundraising haul and name recognition following his high-profile rebuttals of claims of fraud following the 2020 election. Fetterman is running on a platform that includes marijuana legalization, raising the minimum wage, increasing union power, maintaining abortion access and protecting LGBTQ rights. Fettermans top competitor has been Rep. Conor Lamb, a Pittsburgh-area centrist who has attempted to portray himself as the most electable candidate. Last month, Politico reported that Lamb was trailing Fetterman by 30 points and intended to resort to negative campaigning in an attempt to close the gap. Lamb has followed through on the report, but Fetterman has maintained a comfortable margin, leading Lamb by 24% in a Franklin & Marshall College Poll released earlier this month. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman at a Centre County Democrats' event in Boalsburg, Pa., on April 9. (Marc Levy/AP) Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who is Black, have continually highlighted a 2013 incident in which Fetterman then the mayor of Braddock, a small Pittsburgh suburb chased down an unarmed Black jogger with a shotgun. Fetterman has disputed the mans claim that he pointed the shotgun at his chest and has emphasized his reelection in the majority-Black community. It was discussed at last weeks debate as well as Monday evening. Heres the problem: Powerful men like John are used to having to play by a different set of rules, Kenyatta said. He wasnt held accountable because he was the mayor, and hes trying to not be held accountable now. Fetterman opened and closed the event by pointing out that he was the only candidate running from either party to have already won a statewide race, and he called attention to his campaign work in all 67 counties, part of his efforts to keep down the margins in rural, conservative areas, where Republicans typically win by large spreads. Pennsylvania is likely the Democratic Partys best chance at picking up a seat in a Senate that is currently divided 50-50. Both the nonpartisan Cook Political Report and the University of Virginias Center for Politics rate the race as a toss-up. In recent years the state has seen a number of close results in big races, including the last two presidential races and Toomeys 2016 reelection, all of which were decided by less than 2 points. Two buoys mark the location of intake and discharge currently used by a gas-powered unit at the AES Huntington Beach Energy Center. The AES facility is the proposed site of the Poseidon Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Plant, which would draw ocean water through an existing intake. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Among the many complex arguments over water in California, one particularly heated debate centers on whether the state should seek more drinking water from a plentiful but expensive source: the Pacific Ocean. The debate has reached a critical stage in Huntington Beach, where Poseidon Water has been trying for more than two decades to build one of the countrys largest desalination plants. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to vote next month on whether to grant a permit to build the plant. But in a stance that could hinder the company's plans, the agencys staff recommended on Monday that the commission reject the proposed project. The staff wrote that the project raises significant and complex coastal protection policy issues. Concerns included flood risks based on updated projections of sea-level rise, the location in an industrial area with a history of contamination problems and higher costs for water that would probably mean significant burdens for low-income communities, which they said would raise environmental justice issues. The long-running fight has also encompassed contentious issues such as the effects on marine life, power requirements and whether the low-lying site is vulnerable to tsunamis, as well as the companys heavy political lobbying for the lucrative project. At the heart of the debate, there are fundamental arguments about whether Orange County really needs the water, how the area should adapt to worsening droughts with climate change, and whether the costs would be a reasonable investment to secure reliable water or an exorbitant megaproject that would mean higher water rates for decades to come. The dispute is playing out as Western states endure rising temperatures and a regionwide drought that scientists say is the driest 22-year period in 1,200 years. Shrinking water sources and depleted reservoirs have prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials to appeal for Californians to reduce water use. The company and its supporters argue that building the $1.4-billion desalination plant would buttress local water supplies and make the area more resilient. Opponents call it a boondoggle that would benefit parent company Brookfield Infrastructure while saddling ratepayers with the costs. We're not saying we should never do desalination, but it should be the last resort, said Andrea Leon-Grossmann, director of climate action for the nonprofit group Azul. "It's just not needed." Andrea Leon-Grossmann, director of climate action for the nonprofit group Azul, opposes the proposed Poseidon desalination plant. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) She said northern and central Orange County have ample water supplies, including groundwater and recycled wastewater, and there are other solutions that are far more economical, such as investing in conservation programs and water-efficiency improvements. Azul is part of a coalition of environmental groups called Stop Poseidon, which also includes the California Coastkeeper Alliance, California Coastal Protection Network, Orange County Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation. The coalition's members have submitted a 153-page report to the Coastal Commission detailing their opposition to the project. Leon-Grossmann said the expected increase in water rates would also be an environmental justice issue. If local officials agree to purchase the water, she said, the higher rates would disproportionately affect communities where residents are already struggling economically. The company has said the costs have yet to be finalized but that monthly water rates could increase by roughly $3 to $6 per household. The Coastal Commission's staff noted that Poseidon "still has not found a definite buyer for its proposed water," and therefore it's not known exactly how much rates would go up, but that it's clear the "costs for Poseidons water would be higher than other current and planned sources of water." In Oak View, a neighborhood where the predominantly Latino residents are already coping with rising rents, higher water rates would be an unwelcome burden, said Oscar Rodriguez, co-founder of the local group Oak View ComUNIDAD. Oscar Rodriguez, activist and co-founder of Oak View ComUNIDAD, explains how the proposed Poseidon desalination plant would saddle poor communities like Oak View with higher water costs. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Unaffordable water is just going to hurt families, Rodriguez said. That was also the conclusion of a 2019 UCLA report that said building the plant would probably bring moderate to severe rate increases, which would make water less affordable for low-income households. Activists who oppose the project have pointed to a recent study by the Pacific Institute, which found that investing in existing technologies and standard water-saving practices could improve efficiency to reduce Californias urban water use between 30% and 48%. Public funding is better spent on such initiatives and not desalination, said Alejandro Sobrera Barboza, coordinator for the Sunrise Movement in Orange County. "We just need to live in a more efficient and sustainable way," he said. An aerial view of the Huntington Beach Wetlands and the Huntington Beach Energy Center, formerly AES Huntington Beach, a natural gas-fired power station that is the proposed site of the Poseidon desalination plant. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Poseidons Huntington Beach Seawater Desalination Plant would be capable of producing up to 50 million gallons of drinking water a day. The plant wouldnt be the first of its kind. Sixty miles to the south in Carlsbad, the nation's largest desalination plant has been churning out drinking water since 2015. Water from the Claude Bud Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is sold to the San Diego County Water Authority under a 30-year contract. The water accounts for about 10% of whats used by the areas 3.3 million people. The current price of water under the purchase agreement is $2,710 per acre-foot, substantially more than rates for imported water, which are now less than $1,090 per acre-foot. The Water Authority says the typical monthly cost is about $5 per household. A jetty protrudes into the Pacific in Carlsbad, near where the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant draws in seawater. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) During a tour of the Carlsbad plant, Poseidon Waters managers said the facility is bringing big benefits. This is the only drought-proof water supply in San Diego County, said Jessica Jones, the companys director of communications. It's also the largest local water supply in the county. The plant has allowed San Diego County to rely less heavily on water supplies imported from Northern California and the Colorado River. We're always facing some level of drought in California, and these plants are not built overnight. And so it's important to look forward to the future and do that planning now, Jones said. Michelle Peters, technical and compliance manager for Poseidon Water, stands by pipes in the pre-treatment section at the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which opened on Dec. 14, 2015. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) After the commissions staff recommended rejecting the proposal, the company said in a statement: We believe the Commission staff has erred in its recommendation. Poseidon Water noted that the project has been approved by other agencies, saying state regulators had determined the facility will use the best available site, design, technology and mitigation measures feasible to protect marine life. The company said the plant would be safe from the effects of sea-level rise. Californias elected officials and regulators should consider the dire consequences that this recommendation will have for desalination in California, the company said. No water infrastructure project in the state of California has ever undergone this level of study and scrutiny. If this recommendation stands, it will effectively be the death knell for desalination in California. Jones said the effects of climate change are accelerating and that regulators should be working hand-in-hand with the private sector to find innovative solutions that reduce our dependence on imported water and improve water resiliency. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to vote on whether to approve a coastal development permit at a May 12 meeting in Costa Mesa. The proposed plant would use some existing infrastructure at the AES Huntington Beach Energy Center, including a 14-foot-wide intake that would draw seawater from the ocean about 1,800 feet offshore. Poseidon has an agreement with AES, if it secures the permit, to buy 12 acres and build the plant on land where three old oil tanks now stand. State scientists have said the plants intake and discharge would kill significant amounts of plankton and fish larvae that are vital to the marine ecosystem. The company has proposed environmental mitigation projects that include dredging an inlet of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, restoring coastal marshes and laying down an artificial reef off the Palos Verdes Peninsula to provide fish habitat. A view of a water pipe in the post-treatment section of the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in Carlsbad. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Opponents of the project have argued with the company and its supporters about the effects on the marine ecosystem, the extent to which the plant could secure renewable energy, the potential hazards at an adjacent toxic site, and whether an oil spill like the one that occurred last year would affect the plants operations. Activists have also said the plant would be vulnerable to sea-level rise. The company has studied sea-level rise and other potential hazards and found no risks that the plant couldnt be designed to address, said James Golden, project development manager for Poseidon. He said that once the oil tanks are removed, part of the construction would involve using soil to raise the ground level of the site, which would be between 6.4 feet and 13 feet above the average sea level. Under all circumstances, our site is not vulnerable to sea-level rise, Golden said. The company has yet to sign any contracts to deliver water. Officials with the Orange County Water District, which serves an area of about 2.5 million residents, have expressed interest through a nonbinding agreement and, in 2018, discussed initial estimates of what the water could cost. Still, desalinated water is a divisive issue even for district board members. Steve Sheldon, the boards president, said desalinated water is necessary in the face of severe drought and the effects of climate change. He pointed out that Southern California water suppliers are expected to receive just 5% of their full allocations from the State Water Project this year, and that the Colorado River is in a worsening shortage. We need an independent reliable source of water to augment these unreliable sources, Sheldon said. Years ago, Sheldon worked as a consultant for Poseidon, but that work stopped before the subject came up at the water district, he said. Kelly Rowe, a fellow board member, strongly opposes the company's plan. He called the proposal an incredibly stupid project. Rowe, who works as a hydrogeologist and water resources specialist, said the district has a large quantity of available groundwater in northern Orange County, supplemented by recycled wastewater from a large groundwater replenishment system. Groundwater pumping supplies 77% of the district's water, and the remaining 23% is imported at a cost of about $1,200 per-acre foot. Rowe said he expects the cost of desalinated water would end up being similar to the cost in San Diego County, if not more, and would far exceed the initial estimates. "We don't need the water," Rowe said. An aerial view of the Ascon landfill site, a state Superfund site. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Some residents argue that the site is also subject to other hazards. They point to the adjacent 38-acre Ascon landfill site, where drilling waste from oilfields was dumped decades ago and where complicated cleanup work remains unfinished. This area is like Pandoras box, said Nancy Buchoz, who lives in a neighborhood across the street. She said shes concerned construction work could disturb contaminated soil and release hazardous pollution. Poseidon said there is no risk of potential contamination from the site. The Ascon cleanup project has conducted groundwater monitoring and there is no evidence that contamination issues extend offsite, Jones said in an email. She said pipelines would run on the opposite side of a road and would be protected from potential groundwater infiltration. The company would also clean up any contamination found on the construction site, Jones said. Huntington Beach Mayor Barbara Delgleize said the plant would boost the economy and help the area diversify with a reliable water supply. Additional supporters include Newsom, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other members of Congress and the state Legislature. According to California secretary of state records, the company has spent more than $979,000 on lobbying since 2019. Shirley Dettloff, a former Huntington Beach mayor and board member of Amigos de Bolsa Chica, walks along a path at the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach. (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times) One of Poseidons local supporters is Shirley Dettloff, a former Huntington Beach mayor and former member of the state Coastal Commission who as an environmentalist fought to protect the Bolsa Chica wetlands from development. The world is changing, and its changing at a rapid pace, especially climate change, Dettloff said. I just look at the future and see that we've got to plan ahead. She and other supporters point to countries such as Israel and Australia, where desalination plants have been running for years. The desalination business has been booming in water-stressed regions around the world. Countries across the Arabian Peninsula, from Oman to Qatar to Kuwait, depend heavily on government-subsidized desalination plants powered by fossil fuels. Plants have also been built in Jordan, Egypt, Spain, Singapore, South Africa and other countries. In California, Santa Barbara has an operating desalination plant. And the South Coast Water District is moving forward with plans to build the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project in Dana Point, which would draw seawater through slant wells beneath the ocean floor. Critics of the Huntington Beach proposal say a smaller design using subsurface intake wells would prevent tiny marine life from being sucked in and killed. Poseidon said the regional water board determined that subsurface intakes wouldnt be feasible for all reasonable intake design capacities, and that the Orange County Water District has a goal of securing 50 million gallons per day. Mandy Sackett, a policy coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation, said a different design could reduce environmental impacts but that the company has other priorities and is taking advantage of California's drought fears. Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network, has been fighting the project since 2010. She said that if the plant is approved, it would set a terrible precedent for the future of California and for water supply alternatives, and it should be only a last resort. This is not about providing water for California, Jordan said. This is about making profit for global investors and nothing more. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Katerina Gubochkkna, left, her daughter, Oksana Strishko, and her 5-year-old son, Dima Strishko, arrive in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, from the Russian-occupied territory of Vasilyevak. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) It had taken 11 hours of driving, bargaining for passage through 20 checkpoints manned by stern-faced Russian soldiers, along with the knowledge that every mile took you farther away from home, probably for good. But by 6 p.m., the three families crammed into a worn-down Mercedes van had made it out of Mariupol, Ukraine. There were so many bombs, said Volodymyr Korotky, a 56-year-old mechanic who left Mariupol with his family and only two suitcases' worth of clothes he could save from his destroyed apartment. Im so happy were in Ukrainian territory. He and his wife, along with nine other people, arrived at the parking lot of an Epicenter store, a sort of Ukrainian Home Depot, here on the edge of Zaporizhzhia, which has become the primary node for the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Melitopol, Berdyansk and Mariupol cities in the south and southeast that bear witness to the horror and despair of Russias occupation. For 14-year-old Lizza Onufrieva, the signs of what that occupation would bring came early to her familys home in Mariupols Ilyich neighborhood, on the first day of the war, Feb. 24. Lizza Onufrieva, 14, and her dog, Businka, escaped Mariupol, Ukraine, with her family in a van with 10 other people Monday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) It was 1 in the morning, and we woke up to something exploding very close to us, she said. The teenager ran down to the basement with her mother, Oksana, and Businka, her Jack Russell terrier. Back then, they had electricity, and the air-raid sirens were still working. But in the days that followed, the bombardment intensified; they would hide in darkness, waiting hoping for the sounds to subside. Eventually, the bombing almost seemed normal. You just get used to these explosions, and they don't seem so bad until they're near your house, Lizza said. Businka was terrified, hiding under the table. We went to the basement. She was still very afraid, no matter if I was holding her or not. On one of the scarier days, they looked outside their home to find a Russian tank in their yard. Russian soldiers barged in, demanding to know whether they had seen Ukrainian troops. The tank then began to fire at a car, presumably with Ukrainian soldiers inside. The worst day for Lizza was March 11, when a trio of bombs slammed into the frontyard of her paternal grandparents home. Her grandfather died that day, not from the ordnance but from the shock that followed. Nine days later, her grandmother died. Their hearts couldnt take it, she said. Day by day, Mariupol turned into a hellscape, with more than three-quarters of its 450,000 people escaping the city. Lizza's mother, Oksana, a professor of probability theory and statistical mathematics at Pryazovskyi State Technical University, didnt want to leave without her own parents, who lived in another neighborhood. But she had lost contact with them March 2, when communications went down in much of the city. Finally, when she heard of the chance to leave with a few other families, she made the decision to go. We were waiting for news, but the main thing is to ensure Lizzas future, she said. And in Mariupol, I think theres no future. Juliet Korotvkova, 37 holding her ill 11-month-old son, Michael fled the Russian-occupied territory of Kyrylivka, in eastern Ukraine, with her husband and four children over the weekend. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Because Korotkys apartment was near a military base, he had been forced to spend about a month and a half in a basement because of the constant bombing. In the beginning, when it was possible to leave more easily, he had decided to stay as authorities in the city said that military assistance would come, that everything would be fine. Besides, though his children were grown and living in the capital, Kyiv, his father was in Mariupol, and Korotky didn't want to leave him. But the situation kept getting worse. Though it was possible to escape from other parts of Mariupol, the Russians were hunting for Ukrainian snipers in his neighborhood. "They were shooting at the houses from tanks," Korotky said. Then a bomb struck the building where his father lived in a second-floor apartment; in a moment, seven floors pancaked onto it. I couldnt take him out from under the rubble. I couldnt bury him, Korotky said. The fighting was incessant, transforming swaths of the city into a gantlet of bullets, tank shells and artillery. Although both Ukrainian and Russian authorities repeatedly announced humanitarian corridors, they kept falling through, each side accusing the other of attacking civilians. But with so much of what tied him to the city destroyed, Korotky had to get out. He received word that his friend Serhiy had found a route out. He knew the way where you could give a bribe to someone and be able to pass, Korotky said. Anna Strishko hugs her father, Vitalin, after reuniting with him in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Monday. They had been separated since the war began. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Early Monday morning, Mariupol was relatively quiet, with bombing happening only around the Azovstal steelworks, where the last Ukrainian defenders were besieged by Russian troops. Serhiy called: Korotky had 10 minutes to get his things together and be ready to leave. He and his wife emerged from their basement and ran to the van. Their route took them through 20 checkpoints. The Russians, Oksana Onufrieva said, didnt take their SIM cards, but combed through their cellphones for any military information. We had to pay $200 to three of the checkpoints to let us through, she said. When they got to Zaporizhzhia, about 120 miles northwest of Mariupol, Ukrainian volunteers and police officers greeted them and took down their information for registration. It's hard, especially when families talk about what happened to them, like people being fired upon when they tried to escape, said Dmytro, a police officer standing watch as one of his colleagues talked to the new arrivals. Some people came with children who werent their own, he added. You hear kids talking about how their mother and father were killed in front of their eyes. Its so sad and strange," said Dmytro, who gave only his first name for reasons of security. The Kuznetsova family arrived in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, from the Russian-occupied city of Kherson. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Not all new arrivals in Zaporizhzhia had fled fighting. The situation was relatively quiet in Berdyansk, a coastal city about 45 miles southwest of Mariupol that was captured three days into the Russian invasion. But Leica Kandakova, a 36-year-old manicurist, couldnt accept living under Russian rule. Her husband, an army medic, had gone missing April 1 during a combat mission. Some of his friends came to talk to her, urging her to leave. So on Monday, she took her 10-year-old daughter, Alexandra, and 11-month-old son, Kyril, and came to Zaporizhzhia. She didnt know where to go exactly, but she knew it was impossible to stay in Berdyansk. It was like living in an open-air prison. I just couldnt do it, she said. Korotky expects he'll never be able to return to Mariupol. The next day, he boarded a train to Kyiv, where he would meet his children, and then he and his wife would continue their journey to the city of Khmelnytsky, farther west. In the meantime, he had decided he would write a book about his experience. I already have a name for it, he said. 'Mariupol: Life at Zero.' This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. One side of the "pincer effect" bedeviling Disney: protests from its employees over its silence on Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Freedom is awaking from its coma today because of a huge, huge, huge Supreme Court decision huge, Rush Limbaugh declared in 2010. I cannot tell you how big this is. What, pray tell, had roused freedom from its slumber? The Supreme Courts Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission decision, which ruled that corporations have 1st Amendment rights. I thought then, like most conservatives, that the court was correct. Unlike many these days, I still do. The New York Times Inc. has every right to argue for its preferred policies, and so does Koch Inc. Its difficult to exaggerate how committed the right once was to this principle and how much it appalled the left. Masterpiece Cakeshop, we conservatives contended, had every right not to be compelled to make gay wedding cakes because of the owner's religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby had a 1st Amendment right to defy provisions of the Affordable Care Act that violated its religious freedom. We won both arguments at the Supreme Court. That era is now officially over. Florida recently passed the Parental Rights in Education bill (tendentiously called the Dont Say Gay law by detractors). The Disney Co., under Chief Executive Bob Chapek, tried to stay out of the controversy. But a pincer movement of internal and external political pressure forced the company to publicly oppose the bill. Worse, a video of a Disney meeting at which executives boasted of their not at all secret agenda to incorporate gay and transgender themes into Disney content was leaked at the worst possible moment. The very online right was already in a full-blown moral panic about pedophilia, basically holding that anyone who opposed the bill was either a groomer or groomer friendly. (Once a term for adults who manipulate underage children for sexual abuse, groomer suddenly meant dissenters from a moral crusade.) Against the broader backdrop of the populist fatalism of the Trump era, which holds that conservatives never win when they play by the rules, it was something of a perfect storm. Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, voted to strip Disney World of its special status under something called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Crafted by Republicans in 1968, the improvement district deal exempted Disney World from zoning and tax laws in exchange for Disney transforming a massive amount of swampy land into the Magic Kingdom and running it without taxpayer money. Economically and politically, it was win-win for both Disney and Florida until last week, when a remarkable number of politicians suddenly embraced a purist libertarian opposition to such public-private partnerships of which there are over a thousand in Florida. Of course, Orlando International Airport and Daytona International Speedway, with similar exemptions, will be fine, because the libertarian arguments are entirely pretextual. This was about punishing Disney. Floridas lieutenant governor even admits that if Disney simply changed its politics, everything could go back to normal. Oh, is that all? The view on the right is that DeSantis is a courageous brawler, beating back a behemoth of woke capitalism. Its certainly true that DeSantis comes out a winner on the national stage as he contemplates a presidential run in 2024. I will also concede that DeSantis supporters have a point. If corporations will let themselves be bullied out of their lanes by the left, they shouldnt be surprised if they invite retaliation from the right. As problematic as I find this whole spectacle, it would be a good thing if corporations thought twice about picking sides in the culture war. As Michael Jordan once said, Republicans buy sneakers too. But whether the costs outweigh the benefits is unknowable, particularly in a climate in which what constitutes winning is redefined on-the-fly by Twitter mobs. After all, as National Reviews Charlie Cooke notes, DeSantis had already won: Disney took its shot at the Florida parental rights bill, and even though all of its sponsors were recipients of Disneys political contributions, Disney lost. But the rights equivalent of Twitter-addicted woke activists wanted a pound of Mouse flesh. Privately, some defenders say the Reedy Creek Improvement District recission, which doesnt go into effect until next year, will never happen. Saner heads will prevail, opting not to shift massive burdens onto county governments and taxpayers (this would explain why Disney has largely stayed mum). But that theory assumes DeSantis is the mobs master, not its servant. And even if a big if corporate America takes the right lessons here, theres no chance activists on the left or right will, at least for the foreseeable future. When you reward mobs, you get more mobs. @JonahDispatch This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. In one week, Ohio voters head to the polls for the Republican Senate midterm primary election that is set to be the first major test of former President Donald Trump's endorsement power. The state has voted increasingly Republican in recent elections, and now, as the race to fill the seat being vacated in November by retiring Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman heats up, many GOP hopefuls are angling to out-Trump one another in hopes of appealing to the former president's robust base in the state. Trump upended the race with a late-term endorsement earlier this month, throwing his weight behind venture capitalist J.D. Vance, most well-known for his book "Hillbilly Elegy." At a campaign rally in Delaware, Ohio, over the weekend, the former president branded Vance as "an America first warrior." "He believes so much in making our country great again, and he's going to do a job on these horrible people that we're running against," Trump told the crowd. The endorsement is a political risk for Trump, who has tried -- to varying degrees of success -- to position himself as a GOP kingmaker. In various polling, Vance has lagged behind Josh Mandel and Mike Gibbons, who have both run campaigns hawking their own commitments to Trumpian "American First" policies. Nationally, some of the candidates backed by Trump early in their campaigns have failed to deliver wins for him. Trump went as far as to withdraw his endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Mo Brooks after Brooks lagged in the polls and said it was time to stop focusing on Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. MORE: Trump endorsements draw scrutiny inside GOP: The Note A victory for Vance in next week's primary could show the might of the Trump endorsement. It's certainly given the candidate a newfound sense of confidence going into the final leg of his primary campaign. "The endorsement has already given us a ton of momentum," Vance told ABC News' Rachel Scott in Ohio on Thursday. "And I think, yeah, it's my race to lose, but at the end of the day, we still have to do the work. I think we're in the lead. I think if the election were held tomorrow, we would win." PHOTO: ABC Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott speaks with Ohio voters in line to see former President Donald Trump speak at a campaign event in Delaware, Ohio. (ABC News) Some supporters who lined up to see Vance in Ohio on Saturday said the endorsement from Trump sold them on Vance. "If Trump supports him, we will too," Ed Gross said. "I was kind of between him and another one and when Trump said J.D. Vance, that's where I'm going," said Paulette Schwartz, another Trump supporter. But it's not clear whether the endorsement will be enough. Some voters who stand with Trump said Trump's support doesn't quell concerns they still have about Vance's previously disparaging comments about the former president, including once calling him "reprehensible" and an "idiot." "We didn't forget that," said one voter, Justin, who declined to give his full name. Another supporter piled on: "You can't support Hillary and then turn around and support Trump," Joby Jeffery said. MORE: Trump-endorsed candidates emerge victorious in Michigan GOP convention Trump tried to get out in front of that criticism during Saturday's rally. "He's a guy that said some bad shit about me," Trump told the crowd of Vance. "But you know what? Every one of the others did also. In fact, if I went by that standard, I don't think I would have ever endorsed anybody in the country." Zach McNutt, a voter from Mansfield on his way to the rally on Saturday, refused to take a Vance campaign sticker from a volunteer, blasting Trump's endorsement as a mistake. "That is absolutely unfortunate. I think that he really needs to check his inner circle," McNutt said of Trump. Candidates who fell short of the Trump endorsement in Ohio are now clinging to voters like McNutt, hoping to paint themselves as the candidate best positioned to advance a Trump-style agenda, even if Trump failed to see it. GOP hopeful Jane Timken spoke to a room of supporters near Cleveland on Friday, hitting on a variety of Trump talking points including school choice, immigration and the economy. Trump had previously endorsed Timken to lead the state's party but didn't back her for the Senate race. She called his endorsement of Vance "disappointing" "We've got a lot of show horses in this race, but I'm the real workhorse and I've been in the trenches fighting for the America First policy," Timken told Scott. Josh Mandel, former Ohio Treasurer, has been running his campaign through churches, pitching religious conservatives on "Judeo-Christian values" he sees as the bedrock of the "America First" movement. At his event, campaign signs branded Mandel as "Pro-God, Pro-Guns, Pro-Trump." When ABC News met up with Mandel in Ohio on Thursday at a Cincinnati church he was joined by a surprise guest: Michael Flynn, Trump's embattled former national security adviser. "Let me say it very clear: I believe this election was stolen from Donald Trump," Mandel said in front of a packed church. Cheers erupted. An elderly man jumped up and shouted something about a "cabal" trying to "take the lives of little babies" -- a nod to the far-right Qanon conspiracy theory. Mandel didn't interrupt, nodding and clapping instead. The race has been contentious. At one point during a debate, Mandel and Gibbons nearly got into a fistfight. Mandel brushed it off, saying he's a "fighter" for conservative values, and he pushed back when asked about his rhetoric that includes running a Twitter poll asking his followers which "illegals" commit more crimes -- "Muslim Terrorists" or "Mexican Gangbangers." But 100 miles away from Mandel's Cincinnati event, in Grove City, some voters think the party needs to refocus. "I'm not a Trump fan. I'm a Republican, not a Trump fan," Don Reed said over coffee and eggs at Lilly's Kitchen Table. He said his party is at a crossroads. "It seems to be a faction of the Trump supporters who are the more outspoken, I call the name-callers 'the bullier.' Then you've got the other faction where they tried to be conservative, try to be small government without those kinds of tactics," he added. Only one candidate in the race is ready to move on from some of Trump's most controversial positions. State Sen. Matt Dolan was the only candidate to raise his hand on a debate stage earlier this month when the participants were asked if it was time for Trump to move on from the 2020 election. PHOTO: ABC Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott speaks with Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance at a campaign event outside Dayton, Ohio. (ABC News) Dolan said his fellow candidates who are focusing on the 2020 election are taking the "wrong approach." He wasn't angling for Trump's endorsement, he said. "My entire campaign was about Ohio. I wasn't running an election to get this endorsement," Dolan said. "What's ironic in this whole race, though, is I'm the only one in the race who's actually executed on Trump policies." The Republican candidate who wins next Tuesday's Senate primary will likely go on to face Democratic frontrunner Tim Ryan in the fall. Looming Ohio primary promises early test of Trump's endorsement power originally appeared on abcnews.go.com KYIV (Reuters) - As Russian forces tightened their siege of Mariupol and missiles rained down, Mykhailo Puryshev drove into the city six times last month to evacuate its citizens, somehow surviving despite his red van being all but destroyed. The 36-year-old Ukrainian, who once ran a nightclub in the city, said he evacuated more than 200 people on his six perilous trips and others began to join him in convoy into his hometown. Russia last week claimed control over the ruins of the strategic port city, subject to some of the most intense attacks of the war, despite hundreds of Ukrainian forces still being left there sheltering in the catacombs of a vast steel works. Ukraine says around 100,000 civilians are stranded in the city. Privately organised trips like Puryshev's have been a lifeline for starving civilians as repeated attempts to set up humanitarian corridors failed. "When I first went (on March 8), the city was like a cloud of smoke, like a bonfire.. The last time I went it was just ash with the black coal of buildings..." Puryshev said. Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls a special operation to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression. Puryshev published online videos of his trips that offered a rare glimpse into the city. Mobiles do not work there and information is scant. His bus, which his friends chipped in to buy especially for the evacuations, had its windshield, three side windows and a side door destroyed in a strike, he said. "Thank God no one was inside." He repaired the van between trips. Mykhailo Puryshev poses for a selfie photo in front of a car as he evacuates people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia "The bus came under shelling, a strike, mortar, rifle fire, to be honest, there are so many marks of war on it." Drives through Russian-occupied territory took eight hours to Mariupol, passing checkpoints and skirting occasional morasses of mud and corpses, while constantly fearing land mines, he said. Inside the city, he would try not to look at the corpses strewn on the ground or inside the charred remains of vehicles, fearing he might see a dead child and have a breakdown, he said. People had been buried in the street near shopping centres, night clubs and even in the grounds of a kindergarten, he said. Some bodies were rolled up in carpets and left on benches. He had the staff of his old night club set up a bomb shelter in the basement. It held around 200 people including the elderly and pregnant women. Having initially set out to rescue the nightclub staff, he found himself also rescuing those hiding there. "The scariest moment was when it would go quiet. Once, it was quiet for eight hours. We thought: that's it, it's over. When it did start again, it was so awful that the children wet themselves." They had scavengers or "stalkers" going out to look for food and clean clothes or even tights for the children who couldn't wash their dirty trousers and underwear. Sheltering children knew him as uncle Misha and he would hand out sweets, he said. He recalled a widow asking him to take the wedding ring off her dead husband who had been struck down by an airstrike. He said he found himself unable to do so. He said he was eventually forced to abandon his trips on March 28 when a separatist soldier told him never to come back or else he would be locked up - or worse. Puryshev said that God had looked after him. "The only injury I had was a glass shard in my side. But my coat saved me and I only got a scratch. God protected me of course. My bus looked after me." He has plans for the vehicle after the war. "We'll turn it into a monument when we return to Mariupol." WASHINGTON Twenty-two years ago, a Russian nuclear submarine sank after being rocked by two explosions during a torpedo test launch gone awry. There were 118 sailors on board the Kursk; most of them died at once. But a few survived, sequestering in a rear compartment that had not been destroyed. For longtime observers of Vladimir Putins rise, it was impossible not to think of the Kursk when the Moskva, the flagship missile cruiser of the Black Sea Fleet, sank on April 14. The two maritime disasters serve as bookends of sorts for the two decades of Russia under Putins rule. The first took place shortly after he assumed the presidency, when dreams of a democratic Russia were battered but not yet dead. The second, the victim of his invasion of Ukraine, comes at a time when Russia is an international pariah and Putin faces the deepest crisis of his reign. Putins presidency started with Kursk; heres to it ending with Moskva, wrote Ivar Dale, a Norwegian expert in Russian affairs, on Twitter. Russian supporters welcome the missile cruiser Moskva, a flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, in 2008. (Vasily Batanov/AFP via Getty Images) The Kursk taught Putin as much as it taught Russia, giving the young and inexperienced president a tragically clear view of what he had inherited and of what it would take to maintain power in a crumbling empire that for 10 years had been careening between freedom and chaos. Everything that has long since been typical of Putin was demonstrated after the sinking of the Kursk, investigative journalist David Satter, who was banned from Russia for his reporting on Putins rise to power, told Yahoo News. The xenophobia, mendacity and casual assumption that the lives of people without power have no value. Above all, the Kursk disaster taught Putin that a free press had no place in the new Russia, for it could only expose how little had changed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and how what had changed was mostly for the worse. There could be freedom or order in the new Russia, he decided, but there could not be both. The entire process of undermining democracy in Russia, in many regards, began with this, the attorney Boris Kuznetsov, who represented some of the Kursk families and later had to flee Russia, said in 2015. Until the catastrophe, Russia had been on a trajectory encouraged by the West, which saw value in Russia as an unexplored market yearning for investment. The optimism persisted well into the 1990s, even as it was becoming clear that disorder and revanchism were more persistent than Harvard-trained economists had supposed would be the case. The Russian submarine Kursk at its base in Vidyayevo. (AFP via Getty Images) Russia has a democracy imperfect, perhaps, but not now seriously threatened and a free press in which Moscovsky Komsomolets can print biting political cartoons on its front page and Izvestia amuses its readers nominating an oligarch of the year, Lawrence Summers, then the deputy treasury secretary, said in early 1999, referencing two of Russias most famous Soviet-era newspapers. Of all the changes to come in the years that would follow, the decline of a free press would prove perhaps the most consequential. After the Kursk, Putin worked assiduously to muzzle the countrys independent media, a campaign that came to its natural conclusion when he invaded Ukraine earlier this year. As the Ukrainians held on in the face of Februarys initial assault and pro-Kremlin media sought explanations of why the Russian tricolor wasnt yet flying atop Kyivs spires, Putin moved to quickly shutter his countrys last remaining networks and newspapers, the few still interested in telling the unvarnished truth. The Russian media is dead, a local Russian journalist told Committee to Protect Journalists executive director Robert Mahoney last month. Putin was remarkably new to Moscow, and national politics, when the Kursk went down. He spent the last years of the Cold War as a midlevel KGB bureaucrat in East Germany. After the collapse of the USSR, he became the deputy mayor of his native St. Petersburg, only to lose that job when his reformist boss Anatoly Sobchak was defeated in a 1996 reelection contest. Later that year he went to Moscow, assigned to manage the transfer of formerly Soviet property assets. He ascended quickly from there to become prime minister in 1999 and president in 2000 all without ever having won a single election. Russian President Vladimir Putin at a recent concert in Moscow marking the eighth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) Putin had not served in the military, but the poor condition of the armed forces was no secret. President Boris Yeltsin had cut the military budget to only 5% of what it had been during the last year of the Soviet Union, when Red Square parades troops, rocket launchers, tanks disguised profound social ills but nevertheless intimidated the rest of the world with their sheer size. Not since June 1941 has the Russian military stood as perilously close to ruin as it does now, a military analyst for the United States wrote in 1994. Yeltsin had come to power as a reformer, but his liberalizing project made a few oligarchs rich while impoverishing ordinary Russians and turning a superpower into a laughingstock. Long a heavy drinker, Yeltsin was barely functioning by the time he appointed Putin his prime minister and successor. Consolidating control over the Kremlin even while Yeltsin technically remained his superior, Putin oversaw Russias response to a series of apartment bombings in 1999 that many experts believe were carried out by Moscows own security services, perhaps at Putins own direction. The attacks were used to justify an invasion of Chechnya, a small, majority-Muslim province that had tried to break away from Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union a decade before. Afraid that other autonomous republics would follow suit, Yeltsin invaded Chechnya in 1994, expecting an easy victory. But the Chechen rebels exploited Russian military disorganization and corruption, much as Ukrainian fighters have in recent weeks. After a disastrous attempt to take the Chechen capital city of Grozny allegedly ordered during a bout of drinking Russia withdrew in 1996, having effectively been defeated. A Chechen woman near a tank manned by Russian troops on the street of a village south of Grozny, February 2000. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Putin was determined to win back Chechnya, and allowed his generals to do whatever they needed to do as long as they emerged victorious. Mr. Putin is benefiting from the licensed brutality in Chechnya, the Guardian noted in February 1999, quoting a top Russian commanders unambiguous warning of mutiny to the Kremlin: Russias officer corps just cant take another slap in the face. There are even some who think that such a turn of events would put Russia on the brink of civil war. Putin sanctioned the heavy bombing of Grozny without regard for civilian casualties. On March 20, 2000, as the then-acting president was about to face his first election, Putin landed in a fighter jet in Grozny to proclaim victory. Yeltsin had failed to take Grozny in two years. Putin did it in less than six months. On August 10 of that year, the Russian navy commenced exercises in the Barents Sea, a body of water south of the Arctic Ocean. The exercises, called Summer-X, involved more than 30 craft, including four submarines and the flagship of the storied Northern Fleet, Pyotr Velkhi (Peter the Great). Western intelligence services watched Summer-X with high anticipation, journalist Ramsey Flynn wrote, as a key test of an emerging do-more-with-less defense philosophy of Russias little-known new leader. The Kursk went down shortly before noon on Aug. 12, likely because of a hydrogen peroxide leak during the launch of a test torpedo that caused a pair of explosions. After the second, much larger explosion, it came to rest in about 350 feet of water. A Russian woman adjusts a wreath at a monument in Moscow to those who died in the Kursk submarine disaster. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images) Western intelligence services had picked up strange seismic activity that they realized was something gone wrong in the Summer-X exercises. They quickly reached out to their Russian counterparts, only to be rebuffed. The Northern Fleets confidence was deeply misguided. The Russians did not have the ability to reach the sub to conduct any type of rescue/extraction operations, a subsequent U.S. intelligence report concluded. That same report said it took the Northern Fleet three-and-a-half hours to realize that something had happened to the Kursk. Vyacheslav Popov, the top Russian admiral aboard the Pyotr Velkhi, seemed to show little concern for the submarines fate, even as it was becoming increasingly clear that something had gone wrong. If a Western military would have responded with an all-hands-on-deck rescue, the Russian armed forces had never recovered from the trauma of Stalins brutal purges of the officer ranks during the 1930s. Secrecy and silence had been crucial to survival in that era and they were still, even in a supposedly new age of freedom. Confronted with what seemed like evidence of a huge disaster, Popov did what a long line of senior officers and politicians had done before and after him. He did nothing, the historian Peter Truscott wrote in his book about the Kursk. The Northern Fleet did not declare an emergency until that evening, nearly 12 hours after the Kursk had gone missing. Putin had left for Sochi, the Black Sea resort beloved by his Soviet predecessors, on the 12th. Only the next morning did his defense minister call with the bad news. Only on the 14th did the Northern Fleet admit that something had gone wrong on the Kursk, grossly underplaying the severity of the crisis and refusing to say who was on board. By then, dark rumors were already circulating among submariners families. A priest leads a service for those who died in the Kursk submarine disaster on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, Aug. 12, 2020. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images) It would take days for Russian authorities to admit that the submarine had sunk, and that virtually nothing was known about any survivors, in large part because initial Russian rescue attempts had been so hapless. Putin remained in Sochi, while the press in Moscow assailed him for his inattention to the crisis. He was in a stupor, a Kremlin source would tell the journalist Catherine Belton. He didnt know how to deal with it, and therefore he avoided dealing with it. Norway and the U.K. offered their own deep-sea experts and equipment, as did the United States. Putin and his admirals refused their offers, not wanting to admit how inferior their own rescue equipment was. They also held on to Soviet-era notions of secrecy, fearing that if Western divers were allowed access to the Kursk, they would steal its military secrets. At the same time, grief and rage scored Russian media. The reputation of the Russian leadership is lying on the bottom of the Barents Sea, read a headline in one Moscow newspaper. Lies and fear are the features of Russian authority. Russia has been persecuting and punishing its people for so long that by now it has simply forgotten how to save their lives, said the newspaper Izvestia, which had been a reliable Kremlin mouthpiece during the Soviet years. All this reminds us of Chernobyl, the journalist Zinaida Lobanovna wrote in Komsomolskaya Pravda, referencing the 1986 nuclear disaster that was partly responsible for the Soviet Unions downfall. The destroyed fourth power block of the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl a few days after one of its a reactors blew up on April 26, 1986. It is considered the worst nuclear accident in history. (Vladimir Repik/AFP via Getty Images) Putin recognized that more than military incompetence or public anger, it was negative coverage that could doom his young presidency. President Putin learned to appreciate the medias power to shape public opinion and that the stinging criticism he received could only be checked by controlling the press, military scholar Zoltan Barany has written. By the time Putin arrived at the Kursk base on the remote Kola Peninsula, on August 20, it had already been more than a week since the Kursk sank. He didnt have any new explanations, but he did have a new story and new scapegoats. One witness at the closed meeting said Mr. Putin referred three times to the medias treatment of the crisis, and raged at tycoons who had allegedly robbed the nation and were now manipulating public opinion, went one report from the town hall, which was closed to the press but made the newspapers anyway. The government had not been guilty of deceit and incompetence during the crisis, Mr. Putin told the families. The media had created such an impression. Later, Putin preposterously fumed that the grieving mothers he encountered were actually local prostitutes hired by the oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who had been close to Yeltsin and who ran the immensely influential ORT television network. Berezovsky was one of the two oligarchs Putin blamed for how the Kursk was covered. The other was Vladimir Gusinsky, who ran the Media-Most empire. They stole money, they bought the media and theyre manipulating public opinion, Putin said of the two oligarchs, in a message intended less for the grieving families than for the power elites hundreds of miles away in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Many of the other oligarchs were also Jews; they had suddenly come to power in a country with a long history of antisemitism. Fugitive Russian media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky, center, leaves leaves Greece's largest penitentiary Korydallos prison on the outskirts of Athens, August 2003. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images) Some had an obvious interest in politics, like industrialist Mikhail Khodorkovsky; others only in media or industry. Their backgrounds or ambitions notwithstanding, they represented the excesses and possibilities of the Yeltsin era. That era was now coming to an end. Probably the single most arresting episode from the entire Kursk crisis was that of a grieving mother shouting at officials who kept offering explanations, apologies and assurances, each more obfuscatory than the next. This is a disgrace! the mother can be seen and heard shouting in surreptitiously recorded video, her cries overflowing with pain. As she continues to berate the Moscow minister before her, a woman approaches from behind, plunging a syringe full of sedatives into the mothers back. The incident was broadcast extensively yesterday, to the acute embarrassment of President Vladimir Putin's government, a Guardian report noted. Several top military officials tried to resign, but Putin prevented them from doing so. He was no longer entitled to seethe at the people who had destroyed Soviet military might and imperial pride, the journalist Masha Gessen would write later. By dint of becoming president, to a great number of his compatriots he had now become one of those people. A little less than a month after the Kursk sank, Putin traveled to New York for his first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. While in New York, he sat for an interview with Larry King, then the host of a popular CNN news program. Tell me, King asked, what happened with the submarine? Russians have never forgotten the haunting, puzzling smile that crossed Putins face, or the two words he offered in response: It sank. Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Larry King before a taping of his show, Sept. 8, 2000. (via Reuters) The admission was as puzzling as it was frank. The crumbling edifice of a former superpower was now his to deal with, Gessen wrote, and there was a certain political audacity to admitting as much. Families of the Kursk victims received unusually generous compensation packages, angering some families of soldiers killed in Chechnya, as well as some soldiers still fighting there. If you count the boys who died here, the entire nation should be mourning for a year without stopping. But no one cares for us, nor pays us honor when we die. The commanders think that its our job to die here," a 20-year-old sergeant said. At the same time, Putin moved quickly to reverse the freedoms of the Yeltsin years, which threatened to topple his embattled administration. Accountability and frankness could only take him so far. A recurrence of self-censorship among Russian journalists is proving to be perhaps the most destructive consequence of the events of the past 12 months, and one that will be extremely difficult to overcome, warned two Russia observers in a New York Times op-ed in January 2002. Two years later, the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya marked a dangerous new era for anyone in Russia who sought to expose the truth. The new mood allowed the Kremlin to control coverage of crises like the 2004 siege of a school in Beslan, as well as abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya and virtually unchecked corruption on the part of Moscow and St. Petersburg elites. Khodorkovsky, the outspoken oligarch, went to prison in 2005 on fabricated charges of financial malfeasance. Trying to expose the Kremlins own corruption, the tax attorney Sergei Magnitsky died after being abused in prison, where hed be sent on charges as fictitious as those that had been used to convict Khodorkovsky. The grave of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in Moscow. (Andrey Smirnov/AFP via Getty Images) By the time Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014, his control of the media was almost complete, feeding the Kremlins grievances and illusions to millions. And as Russia amassed troops on the Ukrainian border in 2021, Admiral Popov, now retired, resurfaced to claim that the Kursk had in fact been sunk by a NATO craft. That wasnt true, and Russian authorities had always known as much. In fact, back in 2001, they had been frank however fleetingly in their assessment of their own official incompetence. But in 2022, things were different: There was no one around to correct the lie. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Tuesday explicitly prohibiting the use of nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates, a ban experts say is the first of its kind in the nation. The bill followed a flap last year over the Oklahoma State Department of Health's agreement in a civil case allowing a nonbinary option. The birth certificate in that case was issued to an Oklahoma-born Oregon resident who sued after the agency initially refused the request. People who are nonbinary do not identify with traditional male or female gender assignments. News of the settlement prompted outrage among Republicans, including Stitt, and his appointee to lead the agency abruptly resigned the next day. Stitt then promptly issued an executive order prohibiting any changes to a person's gender on birth certificates, despite the settlement agreement. A civil rights group has challenged the executive order in federal court, but the state has not yet responded. Many states only offer male or female gender options on birth certificates, but Oklahoma is the first to write the nonbinary prohibition into law, according Lambda Legal, the civil rights group suing Oklahoma. Currently, 15 states and the District of Columbia specifically allow a gender marker designation outside of male or female, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. That number will increase on July 1 when Vermont's new statute goes into effect. People are free to believe whatever they want about their identity, but science has determined people are either biologically male or female at birth, said Oklahoma Rep. Sheila Dills, the House sponsor of the bill, in a statement. We want clarity and truth on official state documents. Information should be based on established medical fact and not an ever-changing social dialogue. Oklahomans in 2020 elected the nation's first openly nonbinary legislator in the country, Oklahoma City Democrat Rep. Mauree Turner, who said it was painful to have colleagues single out those who are gender diverse. I find it a very extreme and grotesque use of power in this body to write this law and try to pass it when literally none of them live like us," Turner tweeted the day the bill was debated. Republicans in Oklahoma introduced several bills this year targeting transgender and nonbinary people. The governor earlier this year signed a bill prohibiting transgender girls from playing on female sports teams. The U.S. State Department recently announced it had issued its first passport with an X gender designation, marking a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who do not identify as male or female, and expects to be able to offer the option more broadly next year. Doctors and scientists say sex and gender are not the same thing. While sex typically refers to anatomy, gender identity is more an inner sense of being male, female or somewhere in between, regardless of physical anatomy, according to Dr. Jason Rafferty, a pediatrician and child psychiatrist at Hasbro Childrens Hospital in Rhode Island and a lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics transgender policy. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russias top diplomat warned Ukraine against provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated as his country unleashed attacks against rail and fuel installations far from the front lines of Moscows new eastern offensive. Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Russian forces had taken the Ukrainian city of Kreminna in the Luhansk region after days of street-to-street fighting. The city of Kreminna has reportedly fallen and heavy fighting is reported south of Izium as Russian forces attempt to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east, the British military said in a tweet. It did not say how it knew the city, 575 kilometers (355 miles) southeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, had fallen. The Ukrainian government did not immediately comment. Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces were shelling Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, as they fought to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which comprise the Donbas in Ukraine's industrial heartland, and establish a land corridor to Crimea. In the area of Velyka Oleksandrivka, a village in the Kherson region largely controlled by Russians, Ukrainian forces destroyed an ammunition depot and eliminated" more than 70 Russian troops, the General Staff said. The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said on the messaging app Telegram that the Russians had shelled civilians 17 times over the previous 24 hours, with the cities of Popasna, Lysychansk and Girske suffering the most. Four people died and nine more were wounded on Monday in the Russian shelling of the Donetsk region, its governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram. He said a 9-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were among those killed. The U.S. has been rushing more weaponry to Ukraine and said the assistance from Western allies is making a difference in the 2-month-old war. Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared Monday after he and the U.S. secretary of defense made a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken said Washington approved a $165 million sale of ammunition non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely for Ukraine's Soviet-era weapons and will also provide more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin went further, saying the U.S. wants to see Ukraine remain a sovereign, democratic country, but also wants "to see Russia weakened to the point where it cant do things like invade Ukraine. Austins remarks appeared to represent a shift in U.S. strategic goals since earlier Washington said the goal of American military aid was to help Ukraine win and to defend Ukraines NATO neighbors against Russian threats. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool) In an apparent response to Austin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has a feeling that the West wants Ukraine to continue to fight and, as it seems to them, wear out, exhaust the Russian army and the Russian military industrial war complex. This is an illusion. Weapons supplied by Western countries will be a legitimate target," said Lavrov, who accused Ukrainian leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to become involved in the conflict. NATO forces are pouring oil on the fire, Lavrov said, according to a transcript on the Russian Foreign Ministrys website. Everyone is reciting incantations that in no case can we allow World War III, he said in a Russian television interview. Lavrov said he would not want to see risks of a nuclear confrontation artificially inflated now, when the risks are rather significant. The danger is serious," he said. "It is real. It should not be underestimated. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that Lavrovs comments underscore Ukraine's need for Western help: Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a real danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine." When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, its apparent goal was to seize Kyiv, the capital. But the Ukrainians, helped by Western weapons, forced President Vladimir Putin's troops to retreat. Moscow now says its goal is to take the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine, where residents are struggling to survive without many of the basics, collecting rainwater for cleaning and washing up and fervently hoping for an end to the fighting. When you open a plastic bottle and it makes a crackling sound, you are worried at once (thinking that its an explosion) because of all those blasts. Anything that is happening, any noise, if our neighbours bang the door, a metal door, you are startled," said Andriy Cheromushkin, a resident of Toretsk, a small city south of Kramatorsk. It's bad. Very bad. Hopeless," he said. You feel so helpless that you dont know what you should do or shouldnt do. Because if you want to do something, you need some money; and there is no money now. On Monday, Russia was focusing its firepower beyond the Donbas, with missiles and warplanes striking far behind the front lines to try to thwart Ukrainian supply efforts. Five railroad stations in central and western Ukraine were hit, and one worker was killed, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of Ukraine's state railway. Missiles struck Lviv, the western city near the Polish border jammed by Ukrainians fleeing their home. Ukrainian authorities said at least five people were killed by Russian strikes in the central Vynnytsia region. Russia also destroyed an oil refinery and fuel depots in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. In all, Russian warplanes destroyed 56 Ukrainian targets, he said. The strikes on fuel depots are meant to deplete vital Ukrainian war resources. Strikes against rail targets, both disrupt supply lines and intimidate people trying to use the railways to flee the fighting, said Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. general who was NATOs top commander from 2013- 2016. An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian troops holed up in a steel plant in the strategic southern port city of Mariupol are tying down Russian forces, apparently preventing them from joining the offensive elsewhere in the Donbas. Over the weekend, Russian forces launched new airstrikes on the Azovstal plant to try to dislodge the holdouts. Some 1,000 civilians were also said to be taking shelter at the steelworks. The city council and mayor of Mariupol said a new mass grave was identified about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the city. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities were trying to estimate the number of victims. It was at least the third new mass grave discovered in Russian-controlled areas near Mariupol in the last week. Mariupol has been gutted by bombardment and fierce street fighting over the past two months. Russia's capture of the city would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and give Moscow a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was maintaining its resistance to make the occupiers stay in our land even more intolerable, while Russia drains its resources. Britain said it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion began. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said 25% of the Russian combat units sent to Ukraine have been rendered not combat effective." Ukrainian officials have said about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed as of mid-April. By Moira Warburton and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Representative Madison Cawthorn has been cited by police for possessing a gun at an airport, according to local media, adding to a string of controversies for the first-term lawmaker ahead of a contested primary election. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration confirmed that agents had detected a firearm at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday morning, but declined to release passenger details. The news was reported by WSOC-TV in Charlotte, citing anonymous sources. Neither Cawthorn's office nor the Charlotte police department immediately returned requests for comment. The TSA did not confirm whether a gun had been confiscated. Cawthorn, who is fighting to hold onto his North Carolina seat in the May 17 Republican primary, had been stopped in February 2021 for attempting to carry a gun through security at an airport in Asheville, North Carolina, but has not faced criminal charges for doing so. He is, however, facing criminal charges for driving with a revoked license and has racked up multiple speeding tickets. Though he has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, Cawthorn angered many fellow Republicans after calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a "thug" and alleging that he had witnessed cocaine use in Washington and been invited to sex parties. State Senator Chuck Edwards leads the field of seven candidates looking to unseat Cawthorn. Edwards has been endorsed by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis. If no candidate receives 30%, a runoff will take place on July 26. The seat, based in the mountainous western part of the state, is considered safely Republican. (Reporting by Moira Warburton and David Shepardson in Washington; editing by Andy Sullivan and Leslie Adler) Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has raised fresh concerns over Russias permanent member status of the United Nations security council. Ms Truss went on to accuse Russia of using its power to veto decisions of the body as a green light for barbarism in Ukraine. Russias position as one of five veto-wielding members has limited the security councils ability to censure Vladimir Putins regime. Speaking in the House of Commons, Conservative MP Nickie Aiken (Cities of London and Westminster) raised the use of rape as a weapon of war which the Russians seem to be using. She asked: Does (she) agree with me that as the UNs charter mandate is to maintain international peace and security, perhaps it is time that the international community questioned whether Russia should remain a permanent member of the security council? Ms Truss replied: The security council does have a role to play, under our presidency we have used it to call out Russias lies. We have also hosted President (Volodymyr) Zelensky to speak to the council. But she is also right that we do have concerns about an international security architecture that has Russia as one of the permanent members of the security council and they have used their veto as a green light for barbarism and part of our response has been working more closely with allies like the G7, allies like Nato because we simply havent seen enough taking place at a UN level. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (Victoria Jones/PA) For Labour, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy called on Ms Truss to commit to asking India to oppose Russian President Mr Putins barbaric war. Mr Lammy said: India is one country which has so far stayed neutral. The Prime Minister spent last week in India, but No 10 admitted that the Prime Minister failed to even mention Indias neutrality in his meeting with President (Narendra) Modi. This follows the Foreign Secretarys own failed trip to India where she failed to demonstrate any progress in bringing India into the international coalition condemning Putins aggression against Ukraine. Ms Truss replied: Of course I have discussed the issue of Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine with the Indian government. But if (Mr Lammy) thinks the right approach for Britain is to go around finger wagging to the rest of the world rather than working to build strong relationships and partnerships to attract India and others to work more closely with us, he is completely wrong. On both my visit and the Prime Ministers visit weve succeeded in moving forward our relationships on trade, on investment, on defence, generating jobs in Britain, generating jobs in India, with the ultimate goal of working more closely together as fellow democracies and moving away from dependence on authoritarian regimes. The fact is (Mr Lammy) prefers gesture politics to actually getting things done. Conservative former minister Robert Jenrick asked if ministers have raised the cases of Aiden Aslin, who is originally from his Nottinghamshire constituency of Newark, and Shaun Pinner with their Ukrainian and Russian counterparts. He said: These two British citizens continue to be held in captivity and to be tortured and abused for propaganda purposes by the Russian military. Mr Jenrick added: We want to see these individuals released as soon as possible. Foreign Office minister James Cleverly replied: I have discussed the issue of foreign volunteer fighters with the Ukrainian government. They are clear, we are clear that those fighting under the Ukrainian flag for the Ukrainian armed forces in the defence of Ukraine should be treated as Ukrainian military and treated as prisoners of war, with all the protections that international humanitarian law accords to those individuals. Marysville, CA (95901) Today Partly cloudy. Near record low temperatures. Low 42F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Near record low temperatures. Low 42F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Musk, a self-proclaimed 'free-speech absolutist', said he wants to reform what he sees as the platform's over-zealous content moderation NEW YORK: Elon Musk, the world's richest man, struck a deal Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion, capping a saga complete with hostile takeover threats before delivering him personal control of one of the most influential social media platforms on the planet. Twitter famously served as a megaphone for former US president Donald Trump before the platform banned him, and Musk -- a self-proclaimed "free-speech absolutist" -- has said he wants to reform what he sees as the platform's over-zealous content moderation. "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in a statement released by Twitter. "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans." However advocacy groups were wary of the type of content Musk might allow on the platform, and Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP civil rights organization, tweeted, "Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, misinformation or disinformation. Protecting our democracy is of utmost importance." At the White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said "no matter who owns or runs Twitter," President Joe Biden -- himself a Twitter user -- is "concerned about the power of large social media platforms." Twitter stock closed 5.6 percent higher in New York trading. 'Back against the wall' Musk bought a nine-percent stake in Twitter earlier in April, then offered to buy the whole company outright, citing a mission of preserving free speech. While the firm's board initially said it was reviewing his offer, it later rebuffed him and adopted a "poison pill" plan that would have made it harder for Musk to acquire a controlling position. But last week, Musk -- whose immense wealth stems from the popularity of Tesla electric vehicles as well as other ventures -- said he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing comprised of debt, a margin loan and his personal fortune. Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, predicted earlier in the day that since the board could not find another buyer, it would likely accept his offer. "This basically put (their) back against the wall, they had to come to the negotiation table," he said in an interview on CNBC. The publicly traded firm will now become a private company owned by Musk, who negotiated a purchase price of $54.20 per-share, Twitter said. "Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important," the company's CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet. Trump downplays return Musk's efforts have raised hopes about the commercial potential of Twitter, which has struggled to achieve profitable growth despite its important spot in culture and politics. Under Agrawal, who took over as Twitter CEO late last year, the company has made progress on new monetization features such as subscription products, Truist securities said in a note, adding that "short term, Musk's involvement at this stage runs the risk of disrupting those efforts." Progressive groups were particularly concerned that Musk may permit a return to the platform by Trump, who was banned from Twitter after last year's assault on the US Capitol by his supporters seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. "The sale of Twitter to Elon Musk would be a victory for disinformation and the people who peddle it. Musk could unleash a wave of toxicity and harassment and undo Twitter's efforts to increase quality engagement and make its platform safer for users," Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, said in a statement. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said "I am not going on Twitter," preferring instead to stay on his "Truth Social" media network. "I hope Elon buys Twitter because he'll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth," he said. The two also discussed bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to resume negotiations for proposed Free Trade Agreement New Delhi: On the second day of her two-day India visit, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when both leaders agreed to establish an EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) to ramp up trade and security ties, even as the EC president later in the evening blasted Russia for its severe violation of law in the invasion of Ukraine, adding this Russian aggression goes against the core security of Europe which will make sure this aggression becomes a strategic failure. Speaking about her visit to the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where she saw the mass graves, she added the core principles that underpin peace and security are at stake in both Asia and Europe, adding that the economic sanctions imposed by the West on Russia arent a standalone solution. The EC chief, who praised India as democracys largest home, further pointed out that Russia and China have forged an unrestrained pact with no limits and no forbidden areas of cooperation, while describing China as a negotiation partner, economic competitor and systemic rival of the EU, but added that Europe would encourage China to play its part in a peaceful Indo-Pacific region. In the bilateral talks earlier in the day, both leaders urged an immediate end to the violence in Ukraine, with Mr Modi stressing the importance of giving peace a chance, and the need to return to dialogue and diplomacy as the only way to achieve peace. The two also discussed bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to resume negotiations for proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which needs to be negotiated by both sides. Both also agreed the two sides would start talks on an Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications, for which the first round of negotiations will take place in June. Jointly combating climate change was also discussed, with Mr Modi inviting the EUs increased participation in green energy in India, with its focus on green hydrogen. Both sides described the TTC as a strategic coordination mechanism (that) will allow both partners to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security, to provide the political steer and the necessary structure to operationalise political decisions, coordinate technical work, and report to the political level to ensure implementation and follow-up in areas that are important for the sustainable progress of the Indian and European economies. Ms Von der Leyen said the EU and India would strengthen their partnership and deepen bilateral cooperation with a focus on upholding the rules-based global order, supporting economic recovery, fighting climate change and charting the digital transition. She added: Today, we are taking steps to deepen our strategic ties with India -- on trade, trusted-technology and security, notably in respect of challenges posed by rival governance models. This will help us diversify and secure our supply chains, boost economic opportunities for our businesses, and bring significant benefits to our citizens. Soon after the talks with Mr Modi on Monday morning, Ms Von der Leyen said: I am thinking of three main topics -- trade, technology and security. That is why I am pleased that today Prime Minister Modi and I have agreed to establish an EU-India Trade and Technology Council. The EU has only one TTC so far -- with the US, and I think it is telling that we now establish the second one with India. Also, because India is technologically a powerhouse, and in the trade sector we need to unleash an enormous amount of untapped potential. She also referred to the cooperation with India in tackling climate change. Addressing the Raisina Dialogue conference in the in the presence of Mr Modi later in the evening, the EC president, asking whether the principle of right of might would dominate the world or else the rule of law, said (Russian President Vladimir) Putins war of choice in Ukraine would impact and deeply affect the Indo-Pacific region too. As Mr Modi listened, the EC president told the delegates at the Raisina Dialogue: Two weeks ago, I visited Bucha, the suburb of Kyiv which was devastated by Russian troops as they withdrew from north of Ukraine. I saw with my own eyes the bodies lined up on the ground. I saw the mass graves. I listened to survivors of atrocious crimes the Kremlins soldiers committed. I saw the scars of bombed schools, resident houses and hospitals. These are severe violations of international law. Targeting and killing innocent civilians. Redrawing borders by force. Subjugating the will of a free people. This goes against core principles enshrined in the UN Charter. She also made what appeared to be a veiled reference to cash-strapped Sri Lanka, which has got huge Chinese debt, adding investment cannot be at the cost of independence. She added: In Europe, we see Russias aggression as a direct threat to our security. We will make sure that the unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine will be a strategic failure. This is why we are doing all we can to help Ukraine fight for its freedom. This is why we immediately imposed massive, sharp and effective sanctions. Sanctions are never a standalone solution. They are embedded in a broader strategy that has diplomatic and security elements. And this is why we have designed the sanctions in a way to sustain them over a longer period of time. Because this gives us leverage to achieve a diplomatic solution that will bring lasting peace. And we urge all members of the international community to support our efforts for lasting peace. The EC president added: This is a defining moment. Our decisions in these days will shape decades to come. Our response to Russias aggression today will decide the future of both the international system and the global economy. Will heinous devastation win or humanity prevail? Will the right of might dominate or the rule of law? Will there be constant conflict and struggle or a future of common prosperity and lasting peace? What happens in Ukraine will have an impact on the Indo-Pacific region. It already has. Countries battered by two years of the Covid-19 pandemic must deal now with rising prices for grain, energy and fertilisers as a direct result of Putins war of choice. Thus, the outcome of the war will not only determine the future of Europe but also deeply affect the Indo-Pacific region and the rest of the world. For the Indo-Pacific region, it is as important as for Europe that borders are respected and that spheres of influence are rejected. Praising Indias democracy, the EC chief said: Every five years, when Indians cast their vote in parliamentary elections, the world watches with admiration as the worlds largest democracy charts its future path. Because the outcome of decisions made by 1.3 billion people resonates around the globe. This is especially true for Europe. As vibrant democracies, India and the European Union share fundamental values and common interests. Together, we believe in each countrys right to determine its own destiny. Together, we believe in the rule of law and fundamental rights. And together, we believe that it is democracy that best delivers for citizens. So, despite our geographic distance and despite the different languages we speak -- when we look at each other, we do not meet as strangers but as close friends. Democracy was born more than 2,000 years ago in Europe. But today, its largest home is India. In a statement, New Delhi said: The leaders had an extensive discussion on climate related issues, including on possibilities of collaboration between India and the EU in areas like Green Hydrogen. In addition, several geopolitical issues of topical importance were discussed during the meeting, including the situation in Ukraine and developments in the Indo-Pacific region. by Arundathie Abeysinghe Prime Minister Mahinda, President Gotabaya's brother, plans to support an amendment to the Constitution granting more powers to Parliament. Protesters continue to call for the resignation of the entire government, while some politicians have also called on the premier to leave office. Colombo (AsiaNews) - A tug-of-war has begun between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda: the latter is preparing to support the reintroduction of the 19th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, with the aim of reducing the powers of the Head of State and granting more to Parliament. Political analysts explained to AsiaNews that the premier will soon present a new 19th amendment in Parliament with some changes to the current clauses. The 20th amendment, which grants the Sri Lankan president more powers than the cabinet, had been approved in 2020. Among the proposals, the consensus of all party leaders will be sought to urge Gotabaya to step down. For weeks, there has been serious instability among Sri Lanka's political parties, including those in the ruling coalition that recently switched to the opposition, which has morphed into an 11-member alliance that is calling along with protesters across the country for the president's resignation. Several members of the ruling party, including Dullas Alahapperuma, former information minister and cabinet spokesman, have also called on Premier Mahinda to leave office. "I urge the president to appoint a smaller government with true consensus that represents all parties in parliament and stays in office for up to one year," he said. Senior political sources told AsiaNews that recent new ministerial appointments were launched by the president without consultation with the prime minister. PM Mahinda did not attend the swearing-in ceremonies, a sign of friction between the two brothers in power. According to political analysts, the prime minister asked the president to include some senior ministers in the cabinet to calm down protesters who have been protesting for weeks in front of the Galle Face Green in Colombo. Former Prime Minister and United National Party (UPN) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe also hinted that he will support the 19th Amendment and suggested a discussion with leaders of all parties to seek proposals on what kind of solution is needed to resolve the current crisis. Meanwhile, on April 23, the premier was also pressured to resign by former government allies who switched to the opposition after the worsening economic crisis that is plaguing the country, with blackouts and shortages of resources, including fuel and other essential goods. However, the premier rejected their demands, insisting that the majority of those in power still support him. "People must be patient to overcome this crisis," he said, rejecting calls for a government of national unity. "There can be no interim government without me as premier." Information Minister Nalaka Godahewa, previously a staunch supporter of the president, also announced his support for the thousands of protesters outside the presidential secretariat demanding that the Rajapaksa family relinquish power. The prime minister at a press conference announced that Temple Trees (the prime minister's official residence) would be open to "young protesters" if "ready for a discussion." He is of the opinion that "there is a protest. But as long as the protesters do not come for discussion, the demonstrations will continue without a solution being reached." Meanwhile, on April 23, a march was organized in commemoration of Chaminda Lakshan, the victim of the police shooting in Rambukkana. Banners, wreaths and white flags with red spots reminiscent of blood were displayed in front of the premier's residence. This month President Rajapaksa excluded two of his brothers, Chamal and Basil (former Finance Minister) and his nephew Namal from the new government, but the protesters rejected the changes considering them only "cosmetic". Sipri: China and India follow the U.S. in military spending. In 2021 the Chinese arrived at 293 billion dollars (+4.7%). Delhi's defense outlay touches 76.6 billion. Upward trend also for Japan and Australia. After four years, Iran's military budget has increased again. In Qatar, growth of 434% compared to 2010. Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Europe is at war, but in Asia military spending by the main continental powers is growing. According to data published yesterday by the Stockholm Institute Peace Research Institute (Sipri), in 2021 military budgets in the world exceeded for the first time the 2 trillion dollars (2,113, to be precise), an increase of 0.7% over the previous year. After the USA, China and India have the highest military budgets, followed by Great Britain and Russia. This is the seventh consecutive year that global defense spending has increased, despite the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. While U.S. military spending (1 billion) saw an annual decline of 1.4 percent, Russian military spending rose 2.9 percent to .9 billion: in essence, the Kremlin prepared the field for the invasion of Ukraine. Last year, the Chinese spent 293 billion dollars on their own defense: a growth compared to 2020 of 4.7%: several analysts consider it underestimated due to Beijing's opacity on the subject. However, this is the 27th consecutive annual increase. Between 2020 and 2021, Indian military spending grew by 0.9%, touching 76.6 billion dollars: +33% compared to 2012. Sipri notes that 64% of Delhi's defense budget is dedicated to the purchase of Indian-made equipment, a way to support the domestic defense industry. China's activism in the South and East China Seas, as well as along the Taiwan Strait, has pushed up military spending by countries like Japan and Australia. Tokyo has raised its defense budget to .1 billion. That's an annual increase of 7.3 percent, the highest since 1972. Canberra came in at .8 billion (up 4 percent). In September, the Australians signed Aukus, a military pact with the U.S. and Britain that will allow them to build eight nuclear submarines with U.S. technology and know-how. Cost: 128 billion dollars, spread over about 20 years. The data on Iran and Qatar is also relevant. Iranian military spending grew for the first time in four years to .6 billion. Thirty-four percent goes to the Pasdaran, the Guardians of the Revolution in the service of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Instead, with an outlay of .6 billion, Doha has become the fifth largest military force in the Middle East in terms of budget - a 434% increase over 2010. by Dario Salvi In spite of the clashes of recent weeks, life in the Strip "flows normally", schools and markets are open. Even the activities in the parish are "full to capcity". Fr. Romanelli reports the Russian war in Ukraine does not seem to affect "everyday life for now". The wish for an end of Ramadan celebration "in peace" and a "solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Milan (AsiaNews) - In spite of the interests of some groups that want to "exacerbate" and destroy Israeli-Palestinian relations, the situation in Gaza is "quite calm, despite fears and underlying tensions: I know it may seem disconcerting, but life flows normally, schools and markets are open, the activities in the parish are fully carried out." Gabriel Romanelli, an Argentinean priest of the Incarnate Word, tells AsiaNews about life in the Strip, where the faithful have packed the churches for Easter - Latin and Orthodox - and Muslims are heading towards the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer. Even the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with fears of conflict on a global scale (for now) seem a distant echo. For over a month Israel and the West Bank have been the scene of increasing violence, which has escalated with the approach of the main Christian, Muslim and Jewish holidays (Ramadan and Easter). This is the bloodiest armed drift since the May 2021 blitzkrieg in the Strip. For the last days of the holy month of fasting and Islamic prayer that ends in early May with the feast of Eid al Fitr, the Israeli police intends to block access to the Esplanade of Mosques, in Jerusalem, to Jewish believers and tourists. Then there is the knot of the al-Aqsa mosque, which for the Muslim world remains an insurmountable "red line". The parish priest of Gaza says the "common thought" is that there are "interests, but above all different groups" who want to "further exacerbate" relations. Analyzing the situation in the Strip, Fr. Romanelli emphasizes that since last year's war "the daily reality has improved, this year the authorities have issued 20,000 work permits to Gaza citizens who can cross the Erez crossing and go to work in Israel". This improvement also involves Christians, because "there have been no attacks on property or buildings in recent weeks" and were issued "722 permits for Easter, for the first time lasting three months. The faithful were able to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, even the Galilee to the north." A year after the conflict, the priest - in these days in Argentina for a brief visit to his homeland - emphasizes that "neither Israel nor Palestine, nor the same authorities in Gaza want another armed clash" with devastating consequences. In fact, after the first rockets, Hamas leaders have immediately denied any involvement. In the area there are at least 16 brigades or armed political factions, not just one dominant group; however, the common desire of the people, of the citizens is that nobody wants this escalation to turn into a war". At the same time, the cleric adds, "it must be stated frankly that if solutions are not found to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, peace will be increasingly fragile. It is necessary to work for justice and security, because as Saint John Paul II said, there is no peace without justice, without true reconciliation. This is my wish, that there may be full reconciliation in God and among brothers". Speaking of peace and reconciliation, one's thoughts inevitably turn to the war launched by Russia against Ukraine and the military escalation of recent weeks, in a thicket of opposing claims and cross accusations that are increasingly distancing the margins for negotiation and dialogue. "The conflict [in Europe]," says Fr. Romanelli, "affects us in a certain way, but not in daily life where it appears, at least for now, as distant and seems not to touch the people here. They talk about it and, as happens in other parts of the world, there are people in favor of Kiev and others who side with Moscow, those who are close to Putin and others who support Ukraine. Even the fact that two Christian nations are at war is not an element that is emphasized too much, even if the link with these countries remains strong, because many have studied in the past in Ukraine as in Russia and some still identify with the former Soviet Union". The tensions of the last few weeks and the (distant) echo of the war in Europe did not prevent a large participation in the Easter celebrations, for the first time after two years without any particular restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. "In spite of everything - confirms the parish priest - the services were beautiful and well attended. Perhaps with a few less faithful, who benefited from the permits and were able to go to Bethlehem, Jerusalem or Ramallah to celebrate, but this is a positive element. We lived Holy Week and the Easter triduum with great solemnity, thanks also to the commitment of the young people who animated the Way of the Cross on Good Friday. Then on Saturday, the day of the vigil with the meditation of the scriptures, of the Old and New Testament, a beautiful and intense moment of reflection". The hope is that all, Catholics and Orthodox, Jews and Muslims, can celebrate with joy and harmony. It is unacceptable that "the festivities should be the cause of escalation or a pretext to fuel violence" by extremist groups who "seek provocation to exasperate tempers and spark conflict. The same authorities of Israel - concludes Fr. Romanelli - had to intervene to prevent groups [of the religious right and ultra-Orthodox] to make a sacrifice at the Esplanade of Mosques. These are unacceptable provocations, the hope is that Muslims too can celebrate in peace the feast of the end of Ramadan". THE "GATEWAY TO THE EAST" IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE MIDDLE EAST IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE IT EVERY TUESDAY ON YOUR EMAIL YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE AT THIS LINK by Vladimir Rozanskij Local population protests after killing of a person stopped by police. Tajik government increases military presence and does not launch an investigation into the incident. Internet access in the area reduced. UN asks the Tajik government to take steps towards reconciliation with the region's minority. Moscow (AsiaNews) - A group of UN experts has expressed deep concern about the growth of tensions in the autonomous province of Gorno-Badakhsan in Tajikistan, and called on the authorities in Dushanbe to defend the "Pamir minority" and respect human rights in the region. The problems stem from the assassination of a local citizen last November by security forces, which sparked mass protests. The government had reacted in a very decisive way, sending army troops and taking very strict measures, including the disconnection of the internet in the whole area. The panel is led by Fernand de Varenne, special rapporteur for minority issues and Iren Khan, special rapporteur for freedom of expression, along with several other representatives. The demonstrations began in November 2021, when numerous people gathered on the central square of Khorug, the provincial capital located at an altitude of 2,200 meters, near the border with Afghanistan. Police officers had killed Gulbiddin Ziyobekov, who was accused of kidnapping a person, and the protests denounced the abuse of power as criminal arbitrariness. During the protests two other people were killed, with 17 wounded, while the authorities had reported only the injuries suffered by some men of the security forces. In the UN statement it is stated that "we are deeply disturbed by the repression of protests, the arrests of several inhabitants of Pamir, and also the excessive and illegal use of military force. We call on the authorities to take measures to counter discrimination against local protesters." The Dushanbe government has so far not reacted to the demands, but had previously communicated that it is "fighting organized crime groups active in Gorno-Badakhsan province." According to UN experts, of particular concern are the increased presence of the military in the area, the strengthening of checkpoints, arrests and summary interrogations, and also the ban on travel outside the province for participants in the protests. Ziyobekov's own killing in the course of the arrest remained uninvestigated, as did the police officers' violence at the demonstrations. The activists of the ethnic minority of Pamir are presented in the official press, and in the statements of the competent bodies, only as criminals, supporting this campaign of accusations with the blocking of information and access to the internet, which remains available only to state offices and banks. According to the UN, this choice "further increases tensions and negatively affects the education of youth and children". After four months, internet access was re-established on April 21, leaving the population with only the 2G band, with very limited browsing speed and the impossibility of opening most applications. The UN calls on the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rakhmon, together with the entire government, to take concrete steps towards conflict reduction, in favor of national reconciliation with the persecuted minority of the Pamir. by Nirmala Carvalho Police arrested Fr Albert, 67, after a Dalit woman filed a complaint against him alleging improper behaviour towards her daughter. The day before, she had asked that her children be enrolled for free at a Church-run school. Bishop Kalist urges the faithful to pray. Fr Albert is innocent, he said, and this will be proven. Meerut (AsiaNews) Police in Baghpat, a district in Uttar Pradesh, arrested a 67-year-old Catholic priest from the Diocese of Meerut, Fr Albert S, in connection with the alleged rape of an underage Dalit girl on 22 April after molesting her for weeks. The girl's mother told police that the priest had threatened her as well, warning her not to tell anyone. The 67-year-old priest, who serves as parish priest in the village of Lalyana, was taken into custody last Saturday after police summoned him to the local police station, ostensibly to discuss some important matter. Upon arrival he was taken into custody under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Police also collected DNA samples from the priest and the girl as part of their investigation. The Diocese of Meerut immediately reacted to the arrest, calling the accusations against Fr Albert false. In a press statement, the diocese explained the day before the alleged rape, the girls mother went to St Joseph's Hindi medium school, which is run by the diocese, asking that her two sons and daughter be admitted. School principal Sr Geetanjali told the mother that certain forms had to be filled out, and asked her to come back the next day with the necessary papers to complete the formalities. However, the following day the mother went to see Fr Albert asking for free admission, uniforms and books. The priest, who says he never met her before, turned down the request, saying that all the formalities had to be completed first. The next day he was arrested. We know that Fr. Albert is innocent, writes Bishop Kalist in a statement. Since this false allegation is related to a minor we are in a difficult situation. But we are sure that the Lord who is the Truth will help us to prove the innocence of Fr. Albert. by Fady Noun Most of the victims were women and children. While the search at sea continues, hope of finding survivors is diminishing. UNHCR sources say that at least 84 people were on board of the boat. Its sinking has caused outrage with many blaming the countrys Navy. People protested near the prime ministers residence, focusing on him as a symbol of political corruption. Beirut (AsiaNews) A boat carrying migrants sank off Tripoli, northern Lebanon, last Saturday night. Lebanese authorities have rescued several passengers, as well as recovered seven bodies, but 30 people, mostly women and children, remain unaccounted for and hope of finding them alive is diminishing by the hour. In a statement, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) noted that at least 84 people were on board the vessel, intercepted near Lebanese territorial waters, about 5.5 km from the coast. According to local sources, some 39 people are either dead or missing, in large part women and children, some unable to swim. Ongoing investigation The Lebanese military has launched an investigation to determine the causes of the tragedy. Several survivors said that the boat sank after it was chased by a patrol boat. A survivor told AFP that it was struck twice before the families of other survivors told him to keep quiet and took him further. At a press conference on Sunday at the Beirut naval base, the commander of Lebanese Navy, Captain Commodore Haissam Dannaoui, denied this version of events, saying that the 10-metre by 3-metre boat, built in 1974, carried eight times more people than its maximum capacity. He explained that the migrants boat made a wrong manoeuvre in an attempt to avoid the patrol-boat and hit the latter. A military source added that, upon impact, the ships hull split and the boat sank in five seconds, a claim confirmed by one survivor. Funerals under tensions Yesterday, two days after the funerals on Sunday of the six migrants whose bodies were recovered, people in Tripolis Tabbaneh and Qoubbeh districts were still grief-stricken and seething with anger, openly venting their despair and fury. Sobbing, Mohammad Dandachi, his voice chocking, talked about how his three children, including a 40-day-old infant, drowned. One family lost 11 members in the tragedy. Protesters blamed the authorities for their inaction, for the widespread poverty, in a country whose currency lost more than 90 per cent of its purchasing power. Citing survivors, the L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper said that the man who organised the deadly crossing was also on the boat with his wife and children. He had promised to take people to Italy, a stopover before travelling to Germany. According to several survivors, he demanded a thousand dollars per person, claiming that the money was needed to make the boat seaworthy and safe. He even boasted of having installed two engines on board just in case one broke down. In Beirut, people held a tense sit-in on Monday outside the residence of Prime Minister Nagib Mikati, which was protected by security forces. A video shared on social media shows a banner hung in front of a luxury yacht moored in Nice (south-eastern France) that belongs to Prime Minister Mikati. It reads: The people of Tripoli are being murdered by the owner of this yacht. With a fortune estimated at US$ 2.7 billion, according to Forbes magazine, Mr Mikati, who hails from Tripoli, for many in Lebanon symbolises the countrys system of power, centred on corruption and nepotism, whose members are suspected of getting rich illegally. by Stefano Vecchia According to Surfshark, the Philippines ranks second for child exposure to online risks after Thailand but before Turkey. Sexual exploitation, cyberbullying and hacking are the most common dangers. In the last two years, child pornography has also grown in parallel with remote learning. Manila (AsiaNews) Philippine children are the second most vulnerable to cybercrimes in the world just behind their cohorts in Thailand, this according to a study by cybersecurity company Surfshark. Turkey comes in third place. The study is based on data from various sources, including Internet crime reports from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for the 2015-2020 period, as well as the Child Online Safety Index (COSI) by the DQ Institute, an international think-tank dedicated to setting global safety and digital intelligence standards. In the Philippines, six out of 10 children aged 8 to 12 were exposed to cyber risks, ranging from sexual exploitation and phishing to cyberbullying and hacking. Easy access to smartphones, tablets and computers, often without adult supervision, but also the lack of basic knowledge about cyber dangers place children in vulnerable situations online. Online risk exposure is measured on a 0 to 100 score, from very low to very high risk level. The average global online safety education score is 52/100, but the three aforementioned countries are the only ones in the top level (80/100). The Philippiness case is peculiar since it tops the world in terms of smartphone use, 74.1 per cent; at the same time, Philippine children are not very knowledgeable about how to safely use this device. As the second most exposed country to cybercrime (after Thailand), the Philippines has become a hot spot for online child pornography and abuse, the more so after remote education expanded in the past couple of years. A year ago, Save The Children Philippines spoke out against the problem, describing it as a "silent pandemic". For its part, the Surfshark study highlights how educating children can help prevention. What is more, low and lower-middle-income countries have better online safety education than rich ones; for instance, high-income countries like Saudi Arabia and Uruguay have non-existent online safety education. The main border crossing between Iran and Afghanistan shut down for a day. After recent anti-Shia attacks, Iran wants to lead the fight against Islamic State terrorism. Diplomatic efforts are also underway to solve the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran. Kabul (AsiaNews/Agencies) A Taliban delegation will travel to Tehran to discuss recent border tensions between the two countries as well as the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran. This comes after a series of unverified videos were posted online showing Iranian police mistreating Afghan refugees. On 11 April, protesters attacked the Iranian consulate in Herat, while in Kabul, they chanted anti-Iranian slogans outside the Iranian embassy. At the same time, border tensions continue. On Saturday, the main crossing between the two countries at Islam Qala-Dogarun was closed for a day after a dispute erupted between Afghan forces, who were paving a road, and Iranian border guards, who obstructed the work. The Taliban seized an Iranian military vehicle they claimed had crossed into Afghanistan. As a result, the two countries put their forces along the border on high alert, but the next day the situation returned to normal. We arent unconcerned about our borders. The tensions on Saturday were triggered by a misunderstanding, said Enayatullah Khawarazmi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defence Ministry. This is the second skirmish between the two countries since the Taliban took power in August last year. The Iranian government is also very concerned about the security situation in Afghanistan following attacks on a Shia mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif and a Hazara school in Kabul, claimed by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (IS-K), the local affiliate of the Islamic State group. A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, yesterday said that the Taliban are unable to protect Afghan citizens, in particular Shias; for this reason, Tehran offered to lead the fight against terrorist groups and IS-K. Iran President Ebrahim Raisi is quoted as saying that Iran is ready to cooperate and use all its means to counter the threat of Takfiri terrorism and prevent recurrence of these tragedies. The Iranian embassy in Kabul noted that diplomatic efforts to develop a friendly relationship between the two countries will continue after Ramadan. Although Iran has not yet officially recognised the Taliban regime, it has accepted the appointment of three new Taliban officials at the Afghan embassy in Tehran. Today's headlines: Kim Jong-un pledges to strengthen his nuclear arsenal; Chinese Protestants open a theological school in Italy; Malaysia ready to replace Indonesia in palm oil exports; Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala sentenced to life imprisonment; Ukrainian deportees placed in monasteries and hostels of the Russian Orthodox Church. INDIA-RUSSIA In the two months since Moscow's attack on Ukraine began, Delhi has purchased more than twice as much Russian oil as it imported in all of 2021: 40 million barrels (scheduled delivery in June) versus 16 million. The Indian government has not sharply condemned Putin's war on Kiev. NORTH KOREA North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has promised to strengthen his country's nuclear power. The announcement came yesterday during the military parade for the 90th anniversary of the creation of the Pyongyang army. Among the weapons on display was an intercontinental ballistic missile, prohibited by UN resolutions. CHINA A group of 55 Christian Churches has opened a theological seminary for Chinese evangelicals in Rome, the first initiative of its kind in Italy. It will train pastors for the Chinese community on Italian soil and in the rest of Europe. MALAYSIA-INDONESIA Following the Indonesian government's April 22 ban on refined palm oil exports, Kuala Lumpur says that with the reopening of its post-pandemic borders, its producers will be able to meet global demand. TURKEY A Turkish court yesterday sentenced philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison, without parole. He was charged with attempting to overthrow the government by financing protest movements, a case the EU says is politically motivated. RUSSIA-UKRAINE According to the Ukrainian investigative website Sledstvie.Info, a substantial number of Ukrainians deported to Russia have been placed in various monasteries and hostels for pilgrims of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. It results from interceptions discovered by hackers of Anonymous and DDoSecrets. It would already be at least half a million the number of deported, including 100 thousand children. TAJIKISTAN A famous writer, Rakhim Esenov, considered the father of Turkmen literature, died in Ashgabat at the age of 96. For years he had been under the surveillance of the authorities, who wanted to force him to change the subjects of his main trilogy "The Seeker of the Crown", which he wrote over the course of thirty years, printing at his own expense in Moscow about a thousand copies. 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. Submit An Obituary Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Go to form Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Share This: In late March, Ukraine government leaders approached General Motors with a special request: It needed big vehicles to move people out of war zones. GM did not hesitate to say yes, said GM spokesman George Svigos. "We had an international team start working on it," Svigos said, and the team moved quickly. On April 22, GM confirmed it got 50 full-size Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs across the Ukraine border. The vehicles have gone to the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure for humanitarian aid, Svigos said. GM partnered with global shipping company Maersk, which donated the transport of the vehicles. The Tahoes, which are not part of the pool made to sell in the U.S., were moved into Ukraine through a Polish military logistics hub at Rzeszow, Poland, near the Ukraine border, Svigos said. From the hub in Rzeszow, Polish authorities coordinated to move the trucks over the border, delivering them to the Ukraine government, he said. "The vehicles will be used to assist with humanitarian aid in the region," Svigos said. "The decision to donate vehicles was made following a request from the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington." Besides the donation of the 50 SUVs, GM has given $250,000 to date to support humanitarian aid in the region and matched U.S. employee contributions up to $50,000 to specific nonprofit organizations. The match was reached in less than four days, Svigos said. GM Canada also ran a matching program for employee donations, up to $20,000, to... Spied undergoing testing in the U.S. of A., the facelifted Cadillac Escalade will bring the usual updates, namely new front and rear ends, revised upholstery and trim in the cabin, and maybe some new gear.Wrapped in thick camouflage, the face hides a new bumper, with what seem to be new DRLs, and different side air intakes. The lower grille appears to be bigger, and the chin is fatter than before. We cannot tell yet whether the headlights have been tweaked, but they will be part of the revisions, and so will the taillights and rear bumper. The rear license plate holder is still mounted in the middle of the tailgate, and the tailpipes look identical.The facelifted Cadillac Escalade will continue to distance itself from the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe by featuring additional tech gear, and more luxury amenities. It is too early to talk about the exact novelties, but we wouldnt be surprised if GM gives it extra safety features, and at least new infotainment system software, sprinkling everything with new upholstery options, colors, and wheels.Details surrounding the powertrain family are inexistent for now, though it might retain the current iterations units, including the 6.2-liter V8, rated at 420 hp, and the 3.0-liter diesel, making 277 hp. The Escalade-V will still sit at the top of the lineup, though it will be a while until this version gets facelifted too, considering that Cadillac still has to detail it, subsequent to its January unveiling. In all likelihood, the updated Escalade will premiere sometime next year, likely as a 2024 model. ICE SUV According to renowned aftermarket outlets, todays North America battle for the best custom whip rages between the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Lambo Urus with other feisty entries like the G-Class, Escalade, or Bentley Cullinan copiously losing ground. As such, it is no wonder that Aston wants a piece of the action and Ferrari finally seems ready to officially unveil its first-ever five-door high-riding family ride.Alas, virtual automotive artists have a slightly different British agenda, if you ask us. Probably seeing that Lotus Cars has prepared a Chinese Urus clone via the fully electric Eletre, they are musing about McLaren taking the challenge of creating something better and probably-powered just like Urus and Co. So, after we recently saw Germany-based virtual artist Andras Veres, better known as andras.s.veres on social media, propose an 845 FT contender, here is a second digital opinion.This time around, it arrives (with a pre-release teaser and all) courtesy of Giorgi Tedoradze, a Georgia-based industrial designer better known as tedoradze.giorgi on social media, who has also imagined the sporty yet protean future of McLaren. Frankly, we are not so sure how much longer McLaren can hold on to its cars-only title but at least the CGI experts seem confident it has what it takes to battle the Urus, Purosangue, and DBX707 , among others.Naturally, to make sure everything is exactly as in real life, the authors McLarenproject also comes with an elegant nameplate Aonic as well as a proposed release timeframe for the 2024 model year. However, there is just one POV to speak of, which is kind of sad since we also wanted to see how this crossover would digitally look from behind, the sides, or inside the cockpit! Aphelion is one of the many companies that want to revolutionize access to space . It plans to do that by miniaturizing and mass-producing launch vehicle technology, which means that its developing a rocket thats low-cost and scalable, intended for regular nanosatellite launch service.Helios is a three-stage vertical launch vehicle using liquid propulsion for the first two stages and solid propulsion for the third one. The company claims that the first-stage propellants and the engine design are common but that the hypergolic propellant is unique. Aphelion says that its using a proprietary chemical blend that was only used in government-funded laboratory research until now. This would be the first time that a company is using it in a flight-scale rocket engine.This technology can be seen as groundbreaking due to the fact that its non-toxic, non-cryogenic, environmentally friendly, and affordable. In turn, this will allow low-cost, on-demand launch services specifically dedicated to nanosatellites.Together with its propulsion R&D partner, Frontier Astronautics, Aphelion conducted a series of hot fire tests at its facility in Wyoming. Over the course of two weeks, the propulsion technology underwent extensive ground testing. This is an important step for the company that plans to conduct its first suborbital launch by the end of this year. Following the qualification of the complete propulsion system, including the engines, the electric pumps, and the engine controllers, an orbital launch will take place in 2024.The Helios rocket will also replace conventional radar-based flight safety systems with an autonomous one, which is supposed to cut costs even further while also boasting advanced materials and the use of additive manufacturing.[YOUTUBE=https://youtu.be/e0vKIa-Mv6A EV There are a few remaining hurdles before Elon Musk gets official possession of the famous microblogging service which, as we all know, is also his favorite means of social media communication so there could be enough time for the billionaire to celebrate in style. With a matching Twitter Tesla, of course.Musa Rio Tjahjono, the virtual artist better known as musartwork on social media, is always ready to defy conventions and slam all Twitter expectations around. Well, he is willing to bag any expectations if the Head Designer at the outrageously renowned West Coast Customs can have his merry CGI JDM way with it. Thus, is anyone surprised that we are dealing here with a proposal for a special Tesla Model S that Elon Musk could use when rollin' thru to get Twitter?Well, it would not be hard to imagine that Musk will use a Tesla when hitting the corner office of his upcoming, newly-acquired social media company. However, it is anyones guess if that would be a deeply personalized Tesla Model S or something else. For sure, it would be quite fitting for Musk to use thesaloon that is at least in part responsible for his massive fortune.However, a custom one might remain just wishful thinking. Perhaps the pixel master should have used Twitter instead of Instagram (owned by a rivaling social media company, Mark Zuckerbergs Meta Platforms) to better popularize this proposed celebratory car. That way, it would have blended nicely with its Twitter Bird Blue, Rotiform Aerodisc aftermarket wheels and covers, plus a thoroughly slammed attitude to bode well for the white accents splashed all around. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Hawaiian Airlines kept its impressive performance to arrive everywhere it flies on schedule over the last 18 years. Its been active for 93 years. Now theyre changing a very important aspect of todays world. Connectivity is key, and the company doesnt want to lose customers to competitors. Theyre upgrading almost their entire fleet!Except for the Boeing 717 aircraft that is used for very short flights, Hawaiian Airlines will install the required Starlink hardware on all its airplanes to provide its customers with full, free, unrestricted access to fast internet onboard. The companys Airbus A330, A321neo, and Boeing 787-9 aircraft will all have the necessary modifications done by the end of the next year at the latest.Although the announcement was already made, the final implementation will take place next year. First customers of the popular airline will enjoy free access to the internet via Starlink s network in the second half of 2023.Hawaiian Airlines promises that its customers will be able to do anything they like while traveling at over 30,000 ft (9.1 km) in the air. Guests will be able to stream content, play games live with friends on the ground, work and collaborate in real-time, plan their Hawaii vacation, or share their special island moments on social media, shows the press release.To provide reliable internet almost everywhere in the world, Elon Musk 's Starlink uses satellites that are able to code signals into laser beams that travel at the speed of light. By doing this, users can send or receive hundreds of gigabytes of data per second.Hawaiian Airlines operates almost 130 daily flights, mainly between the U.S. and Asia. JSX already opened the door for this tech to be applied in its aircraft after confirming it'll use Starlink's services. They're also making it free. AMG Manny Khoshbin, businessman and car enthusiast, hosts a garage filled with expensive models. There, you can find nine (yes, youve read that right) Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren s and a handful of limited editions. The list of ultra rare cars includes a Bugatti Veyron Rembrandt Edition, a Bugatti Chiron Hermes Edition, a McLaren P1, a McLaren Speedtail, and a Pagani Huayra Hermes Edition.And the real estate tycoon has his eyes set on what other high-performance cars are there and has a list of upcoming models which will be produced in limited numbers. In a recent post on his social media account, the YouTuber shared his top four upcoming 2023/ 2024 new releases that will put out between 1,000 and 1,600 horsepower. Spoiler alert: he's bought every single one of them.Well leave his top choice till the end and start with his fourth option: the Koenigsegg Jesko . This one will get 1,603 horsepower (1,625 ps) and 1,106 lb-ft (1,500 Nm) of torque (on E85 fuel), and only 1,262 horsepower (1,280 ps) on standard fuel. The Jesko has an estimated top speed of over 300 mph (483 kph). Production will stop after 75 models. This wouldnt be the first time he gets behind the wheel of one of the Swedish brands cars, because he used to own a Koenigsegg Agera RS Phoenix.Khoshbins third choice is the highly anticipated Mercedes-One, with Formula 1-inspired technology. While he was awaiting delivery for the delayed One, he received the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series P One Edition and he absolutely loved it . The three-pointed star marque will produce 275 units of the AMG One and each has a starting price of $2.75 million.In the second spot, the real estate mogul placed an Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider , which is AMG Ones direct competition. It will be extremely limited, as the British manufacturer will build just 85 units. So far, the businessman hasnt owned an Aston Martin, but he revealed he ordered the Valkyrie Spider in a video posted seven months ago. Powered by a Formula 1-inspired 6.5-liter hybrid V12 Cosworth engine and an electric motor, it will come with 1,060 hp (1,076 ps). With its roof up, the hybrid has a top speed of 217 mph (349 kph) speed and 205 mph (329 kph) with the roof down.The most exciting upcoming hypercar in Khoshbins opinion is not surprising in the least. We all know how much he loves his Bugattis, so there wasnt much of an alternative. His top-of-the-list hypercar is a Bugatti Bolide , which will be put in motion by the Bugatti W16 quad-turbocharged engine and will develop 1,578 horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft (1,600 Nm) of torque. The Molsheim brand will only produce 40 units, and he has his name down for one already.Has Manny Khoshbin got the list right or do you think he missed important models? Let us know in the comments section below. Theres no question about it that the most prominent of its kind in the U.S., and the world, for that matter, is the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally , dating back to 1938 and drawing in, in recent times, crowds that regularly exceed half a million people.Then, we have The One Moto Show, Daytona Bike Week, or Laconia Bike Week, among others, and they all conspire to make the launch of new motorcycle events very hard to pull off. But if your name is Harley-Davidson, that should not be a problem.Next year, the Milwaukee company will celebrate its 120th anniversary, and that calls for some unique type of celebration. Well probably see special model launches and other special treats throughout the year, but also something called the Harley-Davidson Homecoming.The festival was announced by Harley this week as an annual event taking place throughout the city, and lasting for four days. As with any such manifestation, well get music, food and moto-culture, all bundled in the same package. In 2023, the Harley-Davidson Homecoming festival kicks off on July 13.We invite everyone, riders, non-riders and fans around the world, to join us in Milwaukee next summer for the Harley-Davidson Homecoming where we will celebrate 120 years of our incredible brand, said in a statement Jochen Zeitz, Harley-Davidson CEO.This will be the first in a series of unforgettable annual events in Milwaukee. Stay tuned for more details in coming months, and we look forward to celebrating with you in 2023.Harley is already offering people a chance to find lodging for the event. Full details can be found here Over the weekend, Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson jetted off to Orlando, Florida, in her private plane. The aircraft, which she has done from the ground up, is a Gulfstream G650ER which she calls "Kim Air." Naturally, it's painted in the same monochromatic shade of gray found in her mansion and part of her car fleet.The billionaire reality star welcomed her aircraft in late February 2022 and has been taking advantage of every opportunity she gets to fly in it again. Its maiden voyage was from Los Angeles to Milan, Italy, where she attended Fashion Week.The G650ER is the extended-range variant of the G650 and is powered by two Rolls-Royce BR725 A1-12 engines, which help the airplane reach maximum speeds of 616 kts (709 mph/ 1,141 kph) and a cruising speed of 516 kts (594 mph / 955 kph), with a range of 7,500 nautical miles (8,630 mi / 13,890 km).Depending on its configuration, the Gulfstream jet can seat up to 18 people and sleep ten. It also promises a quiet journey and a relaxing journey with enhanced air ionization, so you always breathe outside fresh air, plus the lowest cabin altitude available, all designed to mitigate fatigue.Now, she took off with Pete Davidson to Orlando in the same jet. The couple had a black Cadillac Escalade waiting for them just outside the aircraft, to take them to their destination. The reality star also has a Cadillac Escalade ESV back home, which she customized to her hearts desire , thanks to her partnership with Platinum Motorsport. So, its not surprising to see her rent the same ride when she goes on holiday.On April 24, the two flew again together to attend The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, to support Jon Stewart, who was honored with the award for lifetime achievement in humor. While there are no pictures of their means of travel, it's safe to assume they were on board "Kim Air" again. SUV When you think of Lori Harvey, her recent accomplishments have set her apart from being just Steve Harveys stepdaughter. In 2017, she debuted on the runway for Dolce & Gabbana's Spring Summer 17 show in Milan, Italy, and has created a name for herself in the industry. At just 25 years old, the model-turned-entrepreneur now has her own skin line and created a capsule collection with Naked Wardrobe.And she has quite an eye for powerful vehicles. In a new post on social media, the model has given us a glimpse of what girls night looked like, and it was exactly what youd imagine: glam pictures.She arrived at the restaurant in a GMC Yukon . The SLE trim seats up to nine passengers, and it can be ordered with either a 3.0-liter Duramax Turbo Diesel engine or a 5.3-liter V8 gasoline engine, both mated to a ten-speed automatic transmission. The latter delivers 355 horsepower (360 ps) at 5,600 rpm and a maximum torque of 383 lb-ft (519 Nm) at 4,100 rpm and it's available in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive.When she arrived at the venue, the model posed with two other black vehicles parked in the background: an old-gen BMW 3 Series and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.Lori is no stranger to powerful vehicles, as her day-to-day choice is a Lamborghini Urus . But she doesnt get many chances to test the limits of her cars, because, in Los Angeles, traffic is almost always insane, no matter what time of day it is, as she recently told Interview Magazine Last summer, Radim Passer took out his Chiron for a speed run on the Autobahn. The Chiron s top speed is set at 261 mph (420 kph), and he wanted to see how close he could get to it while still comfortable. He was able to reach 259 mph (417 kph) over a six-mile (9.6-km) stretch of the Autobahn, so mission accomplished.The Autobahn is famous for stretches where no upper limit is imposed, which technically means that you can drive as fast as you want, and your car will allow it. There is one big caveat in the eyes of the law, though: you can only do this as long as youre not posing a danger to yourself and others. When Passers second video with the stunt went viral months later, German authorities took notice for that very reason.From the get-go, Passer said that all precautions had been taken to ensure the safety of other drivers. The stunt took place over a section of the Autobahn with excellent visibility ahead and at a time when traffic was low. The video seemed to reflect that, showing only a few vehicles that, given the Chirons blistering speed, disappeared as soon as it passed them.Still, the local police and the Ministry of Transport launched separate investigations into the stunt, while Bugatti publicly disowned the whole thing. When news of the now-old stunt went viral, and the investigations launched, Passer was looking at a possible jail sentence (two to seven years) and a heavy fine, depending on how prosecutors would be able to charge him. The two possibilities included charging him with illegal racing since you cant charge someone with speeding when you have no upper-speed limit or reckless driving.Both meant prosecutors had to prove that Passer either engaged in an illegal race (with himself) or that he put others in danger. They could do neither, DPA News informs, as cited by the AP . Consequently, Passer wont be charged for the Chiron speeding stunt, as prosecutors have determined that he had, indeed, taken all precautions to ensure that the stunt went off without incident, choosing the best time and conditions for it.Alls well that ends well. Heres the viral video that brought so much unwanted heat onto the millionaire and reopened the can of worms of whether speed limits should be introduced to the Autobahn. The spacecraft is called Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx , for short. It launched in 2016, headed for asteroid Bennu, and spent three years working on stealing a piece of it.In 2021, OSIRIS began its journey home , carrying with it 60 grams or so of regolith from the asteroid, which should be delivered to Earth sometime in 2023. The samples are to be brought down to Earth by means of a special capsule, while the spacecraft that carried it was supposed to stay in orbit after it reached Earth. But thats no longer the case.This week, NASA and the University of Arizona, which lead the OSIRIS-REx mission, announced the spacecraft would be sent out into the depths of space once more, this time hunting a potentially much more dangerous asteroid than Bennu: Apophis.Officially dubbed 99942 Apophis , partially after the Egyptian deity that was the enemy of the Sun God Ra, the asteroid is estimated to have a size of 1,100 feet (340 meters), and, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the one that threatens our planet the most.Discovered in 2004 by a team from the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Apophis will make scary-close flybys of our planet in 2029, 2036, and 2068. How close? Math shows it could do so at a distance that is closer than some present-day geosynchronous satellites, 20,000 miles (32,000 km) from the planetary surface, being visible from the Eastern Hemisphere (Europe and Africa) with the naked eye.Ever since 2019, there has been talk of making a spacecraft and sending it out to take a closer look at Apophis, but now that this asteroid-poking spacecraft will be reused, theres no need to wonder what happened with that idea.The reconfigured mission of the NASA spacecraft will be called OSIRIS-APEX, which stands for OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer, and will depart 30 days after the Bennu samples are delivered.This time, it will not steal a piece of the asteroid, but study it for no less than 18 months, including actively. That means the spacecraft will approach the asteroids surface and fire its thrusters in a bid to understand what covers the piece of rock. The first 100,000 vehicles took almost three years to make, but the second hundred thousand units were three times faster to the finish line, with just a year's worth of waiting between them. According to the marque, this is just the beginning, as NIO wants to speed up its production even further, as it makes its NT 2.0-based vehicles.Currently, three models represent the bulk of NIO production. We are writing about the ET7, ET5 , and ES7. Later this year, they will unveil the ES8, ES6, and EC6. The latter three will come with the company's latest tech regarding digital cockpit hardware and software, as well as the retrofit and upgrade possibilities imagined for existing customers.While expanding its line-up along with increasing production, NIO will also enter markets like Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands . The company's goal is to start production at its second manufacturing facility, NeoPark, in the third quarter of 2022.Moreover, NIO is on a hiring spree, as it plans to grow its research and development team to 9,000 people by the end of this year. The company has not specified the size of its current team, but what is mentioned by the company is its plan to double investments in research and development on a year-on-year basis.By the end of this year, NIO wants to open 100 new stores, as well as over 50 NIO Service Centers and authorized service centers in China. After all, making more vehicles per year is nothing if you have nowhere to sell them.What is the most interesting part about this announcement is the fact that there is no mention of the company being affected by the global chip shortage. #N458BJ was flown to Marana KMZJ two days ago for part out. Only about 42 hours on the clock of this beautiful 2012 747-8BBJ pic.twitter.com/aFhNw5Jzg0 Joel Basler | Aviation Photographer (@jbjetss) April 17, 2022 Delivered in 2012 to the Saudi Arabian Royal Flight group for the personal use of prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud , N458BJ was never even used as it was meant to. The Boeing 747-8 was ordered new, but that was never enough for royal heads , so it was sent for a full VIP refit.The Sultan passed away before the customization was complete, so the jumbo jet was abandoned and seemingly forgotten at the Basel airport in Switzerland for a full decade. N458BJ only ever clocked 42 hours of flight time, which, according to Simple Flying , is what a commercial airline totals in a matter of days and a private jet in weeks and they consisted mostly of test flights.Last week, the 2012 Boeing took off for what will most likely become its final flight, arriving at the Pinal Airpark in the Marana desert 11 hours later. The video below shows the final takeoff of this brand-new, majestic aircraft that never got put to proper usage, but which is believed to have cost over $300 million.Pinal Airpark is a single-runway airfield outside of Tucson, Arizona, which also happens to be one of the most famous aircraft graveyards in the world and, because of it, home of some of the most iconic flying machines ever. The same media outlet notes that N458BJ is probably scheduled for part-out, which means it will be disassembled and sold piece by piece.There is a chance that it might be repurposed if Boeing buys it back, and the move to the U.S. could be indicative of such an intent. However, even if Boeing does buy it back, there is little interest in such a large aircraft right now for commercial purposes , since the international health crisis sealed the fate of the 747 as a commercial plane.At the 3.16-minute mark, the Boeing 747-8 registration number N458BJ takes off from Basel, Switzerland, destination Pinal Airpark. The place where jumbo jets go to die. The #Ax1 crew and @spaceX Dragon safely splashed down at 1:06 p.m. ET,?Monday, April 25. The crews arrival back home on Earth officially concludes the first all-private astronaut mission to @Space_Station. More: https://t.co/rMpXv2e04B pic.twitter.com/0eaMvPF0GR Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) April 25, 2022 Even though the Russians sent last year the first civilians to the ISS to shoot a film for twelve days straight, they got a lot of help from the government. On the other side of the pond, Americans were ready to do the same. But here, everything worked with involvement from private entities. SpaceX, Axiom, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) worked together to make sure everything ran smoothly.NASA made sure the visitors were healthy enough to temporarily leave Earth, SpaceX provided the rockets, while Axiom made sure everyone was happy about the endeavor. The whole thing cost the three wealthy visitors a reported $55 million each, according to AP . Living together with astronauts, seeing our planet as almost nobody else, and staying up there for more than ten days might be worth it in the end. The crew landed safely in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. The calm Atlantic Ocean welcomed the curious and passionate people. Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe will now recover for a couple of days before resuming their normal activity.NASAs now looking forward to allowing more visits to the ISS before it will come back to Earth in blazing glory. The destruction of the station is set to happen in a little under a decade. The Administration wants to focus on Moon, Mars, and other similar missions, so money coming from commercial flights in Earths lower orbit will ease the dependency on public funds.NASAs Bill Nelson was particularly happy about the event as he welcomed the Axiom crew by posting a message on Twitter. He called the event a landmark mission.As weve previously reported, the explorers were supposed to remain on the ISS for only eight days. But delays and recalculations led to a longer vacation, 248 mi (400 km) above our heads.Even though people are paying a lot of money to enjoy this unique experience, Axiom keeps saying that all this traveling is not tourism but research. They argue that visitors were taught to help MIT researchers with their projects.The crew of the next mission will be revealed soon. Theyre scheduled to blast off from the U.S. next year. Called Ax-2, this will give Axiom and SpaceX the chance to possibly build their own space station or kickstart a partnership in this direction.Just imagine if you could actually pay for a space vacation via a popular traveling website. Wouldnt it be amazing? After it was purchased by the current owner as a non-running project in 2015, this numbers-matching 1965 BMW R60/2 saw an extensive restoration to get it back in working order. For starters, the bikes bodywork and frame were media-blasted before receiving a seamless coat of fresh paint, while its chromed parts have been re-plated to keep things looking nice and tidy.The deteriorating OEM saddle was discarded in favor of youthful aftermarket replacement, as were the wheels, wiring harness and exhaust pipework. Additionally, you will find a premium selection of modern engine internals replacing the factory items, including new valve guides, seals and gaskets, among other goodies. Honed cylinders, refurbished carbs and an overhauled magneto ignition conclude the powertrain mods.Bavarias vintage icon comes to life thanks to an air-cooled 594cc boxer-twin mill, which is paired with a dry single-plate clutch and a four-speed gearbox. The four-stroke powerhouse carries two valves per cylinder, dual Bing inhalers and a compression ratio of 7.5:1. In the vicinity of 5,800 rpm, a maximum horsepower figure of 30 ponies will be accomplished at the crankshaft.This force is handed over to the rear 18-inch hoop by means of an enclosed driveshaft, and it can result in speeds of up to 90 mph (145 kph). As far as the R60/2 s chassis specs are concerned, its suspension arrangement consists of Earles forks up front and twin shocks down south, while stopping power comes from 200 mm (7.9 inches) drum brakes at both ends.When the bikes 4.5-gallon (17-liter) fuel tank is full, the entire structure tips the scales at 436 pounds (198 kg). This speckless 65 MY charmer will be listed on Bring a Trailer until tomorrow afternoon, so it could make its way to your garage if you act within the next 24 hours. At the moment, a mere $4,500 would be enough to put you in the lead, but this sum isnt very likely to meet the reserve for such a gorgeous machine The other night, Tyson The Gypsy King Fury defeated Dillian Whyte in the sixth round at the Wembley Stadium in London, UK. The match was part of his spectacular comeback following his mental health and addiction issues, on which hes been very outspoken and may very well be his final one before retiring. Hed promised his wife that hed stop fighting, Tyson told the media.After the fight, Tyson and his entourage went out to celebrate, as one does. However, unlike other celebrities in his place, Tyson kept it real , by heading to the McDonalds Drive-Thru . Here is an experienced boxer and bona fide celebrity worth an estimated $60 million to $120 million, driving himself to get a large serving of the good greasy goodness that only Mickey D can deliver. The Sun notes that Tyson took out one of his Rolls-Royces for the occasion, the Cullinan . He drove himself, and his wife Paris rode in a separate car from the motorcade. No member of the Fury party entered the Hertfordshire junk-food restaurant, but they still caused quite a flurry. Photos are available at the link.With his 2018 comeback, Fury became very open about his struggles with mental health, alcohol and light drug use. Even before that, hed tried to tackle depression by cutting out stress, which, he said, meant downsizing swapping expensive rides for cheaper, used models, to be more exact.Mo money, mo problems, as the song goes, so Fury made plenty of headlines for flipping his beloved Rolls-Royces for econoboxes. Once, he sold a Rolls-Royce Phantom to buy a 500 ($640, at the current exchange rate) 2006 VW Passat. Before that, he sold another Rolls-Royce Phantom and bought a 2,000 ($2,550) 15-year-old Mercedes S-Class. He was also very fond of a newly-bought but old MINI Cooper he could barely fit into.Downsizing or not, a celebratory dinner deserves a ride to match . Even if its McDonalds takeaway The @USMC declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter, validating the platforms operational readiness to forward deploy Marines and equipment across the globe. #OnlyTheKCan pic.twitter.com/glGYU6xima Sikorsky (@Sikorsky) April 25, 2022 Designed and built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin wholly-owned subsidiary, the U.S. Marine Corps' CH-53K is a replacement for the CH-53E. The helicopter can carry nearly 27,000 lbs (12,247 kg) in challenging environments, which is almost three times the lift capacity of the CH-53E.It was also developed to operate at lower costs. Compared to its predecessor, the King Stallion 's T408-GE-400 turboshaft engines deliver 57 percent more horsepower with 63 percent fewer components. This results in the increased potential to transport internal and exterior cargo loads.The helicopter's design is also maintenance-friendly since it has an integrated vehicle health management system that automatically checks and regulates the operation of avionics systems, crucial dynamic components, and engine performance.The CH-53K began its Initial Operational Test and Evaluation last year, and recently, the U.S. Marines have declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the heavy-lifter."This declaration is a vote of confidence from Marine Corps leadership and demonstrates the critical role of the CH-53K, giving forces more range and agility to conduct expeditionary heavy-lift assault transport of armored vehicles, equipment, and personnel. This capability is critical in the Indo-Pacific region and around the globe in support of the joint force and allies," said Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo.In addition to achieving IOC requirements, the aircraft has completed over 3,000 flight hours in a variety of settings, including extreme temperatures. The helicopters have also been used in exercises that include air-to-air refueling with a 27,000-lb (12,247-kg) external load. Furthermore, they have performed over 350 landings and completed live fire testing and evaluation as well.The first deployment of the CH-53K is expected to take place in 2024. The Marine Corps' procurement objective is 200 helicopters. Massive congratulations to Media.Monks & Netfliix, winners of Site of the Month March for Welcome To The Continent, thanks for all your votes and tweets, heres some words about the winning website. To celebrate Netflixs The Witcher, we created the ultimate companion website for the show, complete with an interactive map, timeline, and encyclopedia of information. Immersed in a totally in-lore user experience, fans can discover original content that expands on the magic of the series. For the second season of Netflixs The Witcher, we expanded our interactive map and website to welcome viewers back to the extraordinary world of the show. From an animated introduction voiced by talent to an immersive landing page experience, Welcome to the Continent amplifies the magic of the series. It is the ultimate digital space for any Witcher fan, with every detail built with lore in mind. Here, users can traverse the map, or dive into the library that includes over 300+ pieces of content. Equally magnificent on mobile and desktop, our website is visited by Witcher fans from all over the world. Technologies Vue.JS, WebGL, GSAP Animation, HTML5 Thanks again to everyone who voted, the winner of the years Professional Plan in our Directory is @anonnoruddho, please DM us to collect your prize! According to an Iranian government statement, Arsen Avagian, the new Armenian ambassador in Tehran, made this clear after handing his credentials to Irans President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday. Armenia is ready to raise relations between the two countries to the level of strategic relations, Raisis office quoted Avagian as saying. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said Avagian told Raisi that he will do his best to help deepen Armenian-Iranian ties. A ministry statement on their conversation made no references to Yerevans desire to make those ties strategic. Raisi was cited by his office as noting potentials for the development of friendly, long-lasting relations between Tehran and Yerevan. He said that Tehran supports the territorial integrity of states. Raisi emphasized that support in a January phone call with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. In this regard, Tehran supports the sovereignty of Armenia over all territories and roads passing through that country, he said at the time. Armenia and Azerbaijan are to reopen their border to commercial and passenger traffic under the terms of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped their six-week war for Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020. The deal specifically commits Yerevan to opening rail and road links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly claimed that it envisages an exterritorial land corridor that would pass through Armenias Syunik province bordering Iran. Armenian leaders have dismissed his claims, saying that Azerbaijani citizens and cargo cannot be exempt from Armenian border controls. Some Iranian officials accused Aliyev last fall of seeking to effectively strip Iran of a common border with Armenia. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian likewise warned that any changes in the regions map are unacceptable to the Islamic Republic. The protest stems from remarks which Pashinian made in the Armenian parliament on April 13 in response to continuing opposition criticism of his handling of the devastating war that left at least 3,800 Armenian soldiers dead. They say now, Could they have averted the war? he told lawmakers. They could have averted the war, as a result of which we would have had the same situation, but of course without the casualties. The remarks angered the families of some of the fallen soldiers. They said that Pashinian publicly admitted deliberately sacrificing thousands of lives and must be held accountable for that. A group of them submitted a formal crime report to Armenias Office of the Prosecutor-General on April 18. Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian said afterwards that although he does not think that the prime minister admitted to any crime he forwarded the report to another law-enforcement agency which is investigating senior government and military officials actions during the six-week war. Davtian addressed on Tuesday more than a hundred relatives of fallen soldiers who rallied outside the prosecutors headquarters after marching through the center of Yerevan. If we had ceded parts of our homeland without a fight, should have there also been an indictment by the same logic? he told the angry protesters, questioning their demands. The protesters were not convinced by that argument. They jeered the countrys chief prosecutor as he made his way back into the building. None of us is satisfied with what we heard, said one woman who lost her son during the war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire in November 2020. What was Pashinian afraid of [before the war?] asked the father of another fallen soldier. Of being called a traitor? They now say worse things about him. Virtually all Armenian opposition groups hold Pashinian responsible for Armenias defeat in the war with Azerbaijan. For his part, Pashinian has put the blame on former Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian, who now lead two of those groups. Kocharian ruled Armenia from 1998-2008, while Sarkisian, his successor, lost power more than two years before the outbreak of the hostilities. LEIDEN, the Netherlands, April 26, 2022 / B3C newswire / -- ProteoNic, a leading provider of premium vector technology and services for efficient production of biologics, and NecstGen, a CDMO and centre of excellence for Cell and Gene Therapy, announce a partnership for the development of improved viral vector manufacturing for gene therapy applications. Both companies, located on the Leiden Bio Science Park, recognise the need to increase viral titres and optimise production processes. Cost-efficiency and manufacturing yield play a critical role in the feasibility of vector-based therapies. Through their combined efforts ProteoNic and NecstGen aim to improve and advance AAV and LV viral vector manufacturing technology and increase production capacity, to the ultimate benefit of patients in need of Gene Therapies. ProteoNic will apply its established 2G UNic technology platform to improve viral vector performance. NecstGen, specialised in the manufacturing and development of various viral vector types, contributes its viral vector platforms, manufacturing processes and experts as part of this partnership. Ultimately the companies strive for the acceleration of novel Gene Therapies by removing existing roadblocks related to production efficiency and capacity. Frank Pieper, CEO of ProteoNic commented ProteoNic has a strong track record of improving vector performance and production levels in a range of applications. We believe that together with NecstGen we can improve the production efficiency of viral vectors for Gene Therapy, and thereby alleviate current manufacturing constraints. Paul Bilars, CEO of NecstGen said This action shows the strength and importance of the local ecosystem, and how working together we can address the challenges of Gene Therapy development and their translation to solutions for patients and society. About ProteoNic ProteoNic is a privately held company with offices in Leiden, the Netherlands and in the Boston area, USA. The company offers technology and services for the generation of cell lines with greatly improved production characteristics, including production levels and stability. The company commercializes its proprietary 2G UNic technology through licensing and partnership arrangements. About NecstGen NecstGen is a new centre of excellence for Cell and Gene Therapy, located in a purpose-built GMP facility on the largest bio-cluster in the Netherlands, Leiden Bio Science Park. Here, NecstGen provides critical contract development, manufacturing and rental services to academic and small/large industrial therapy developers to deliver a new generation of therapies to patients. Contacts ProteoNic Mark Posno, PhD Vice President Business Development +1 617 480 8016 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. NecstGen Tristan Pritchard-Meaker, PhD Head of Business Development This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Keywords: Humans; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Regenerative Medicine; Genetic Therapy; Genetic Vectors; Biological Products; Industry; Biotechnology; Netherlands Published by B3C newswire Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 45F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 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. Kathi Weathington Hughes has been named the winner of the 2022 Gene Phillips Hospitality Award by the Texas Department of Transportations Travel Information Division. This award was presented at the annual Texas Travel Counselors Conference in Grapevine recently. The award recognizes Hughess career and her dedication to the Texas tourism industry, as well as her outstanding support of TxDOTs Travel Information Centers and the states $57 billion travel industry. Kathi Hughes brings so much enthusiasm and fun to her important work with the Texas travel industry, so shes an absolute joy to work with, said Joan Henderson, Director of the Travel Information Division at TxDOT. Were thrilled to present her with this well-deserved award in recognition of her distinguished career. Were so grateful for her long-standing support! Hughes began her career in Texas tourism with the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau in the early 1989, and for the past 17 years she has served as Director of Jefferson Countys Ben J. Rogers Regional Visitors Center located in Beaumont. Hughes helped to organize and grow the Southeast Texas Area, Regional Tourism networking group, which works as a partnership of stakeholders in the region to raise awareness and promote the area, and shes active with the Texas Travel Alliance and the Texas Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus in planning and organizing industry conferences held in Beaumont/Port Arthur. The Rotary Club of Beaumont recently initiated a two-week fundraising project, Stand With Ukraine, to provide immediate assistance to the humanitarian effort in that country. Using the Rotary network, Beaumont Rotary reached out to the Rotary Club Lviv International and learned that their club was actively working on various projects to provide medical supplies to area hospitals, to support women and children fleeing the fighting in other parts of Ukraine, and to support refugees arriving in Lviv and hoping to travel to Poland or other countries. Club President Brad Brown invited his fellow Beaumont Rotarians to donate to the effort through a limited campaign in March, quickly raising over $50,000. Funds were sent by wire to Rotary Club Lviv International to immediately assist in procurement and transportation of medical equipment and supplies. The Rotary Club of Beaumont is asking Southeast Texans who want to support the effort in Ukraine to make a donation to the local club that will be forwarded to Lviv, Ukraine. Gifts can be made online at https://portal.clubrunner.ca/3775 (click on the Ukrainian flag), or checks can be mailed to MCM Elegante Hotel, Suite 213, 2355 IH 10 South, Beaumont, TX 77705. Checks should be made payable to the Beaumont Rotary Foundation. Please include Stand With Ukraine in the memo line. For additional information, please contact Brad Brown, President of the Rotary Club of Beaumont, at bdbrown@fftam.com or (409) 600-6460; Uliana Trylowsky, Vice President of the Rotary Club of Beaumont, at utrylowsky@lamar.edu or (409) 284-7358. The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas recently broke ground on the site of what will be the Aati Imaabachi Imiisa Education Center. The 49,000-square foot facility will serve as the center of education for tribal citizens of all ages. Anticipated for completion in the fall of 2024, the new center will house the Tribes Education Department, Head Start Program, Tribal Youth Program, Tribal Library, two play yards, and a multipurpose gym. Leaders of our Tribe have long dreamed of building this Education Center, said Ricky Sylestine, Chairman of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Tribal Council. Throughout our history, this tribe has valued learning and recognized the importance of preparing the next generation for success. This center will help the younger members of our tribe become better citizens while also offering facilities, such as the library, where adults can continue to learn and better themselves as well. Sylestine added, The construction of this new center also signifies our optimism about the future. We have been in this region for many generations and plan to be part of the East Texas community for a long time to come. Education is the key to a brighter future, for our tribe and for our neighbors. Do you have a news item like this that your customers or clients need to hear about? A new manager or owner, a major change in your operations? Send it to Opinions@BeaumontEnterprise.com so we can spread the word! COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The 11 a.m. service at Church for All Nations, a large nondenominational evangelical church in Colorados second-largest city, began as such services usually do. The congregation of young families and older couples swayed and sang along to live music. Mark Cowart, the churchs senior pastor, delivered an update on a church mission project. Then Cowart turned the pulpit over to a guest speaker, William Federer. An evangelical commentator and one-time Republican congressional candidate, Federer led the congregation through an hourlong PowerPoint presentation based on his 2020 book, Socialism The Real History from Plato to the Present: How the Deep State Capitalizes on Crises to Consolidate Control. Many congregants scribbled in the notebooks they had brought from home. I believe God is pushing the world to a decision-making moment, Federer said, building toward his conclusion. We used to have national politicians that held back the floodgates of hell. The umbrellas been ripped after Jan. 6, and now its raining down upon every one of us. We had politicians that were supposed to certify that and instead they just accepted it. And, lo and behold, an anti-Christian spirits been released across the country and the world. Evangelical churches have long been powerful vehicles for grassroots activism and influence on the American right, mobilized around issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Now, some of those churches have embraced a new cause: promoting Donald Trumps false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. In the 17 months since the presidential election, pastors at these churches have preached about fraudulent votes and vague claims of election meddling. They have opened their church doors to speakers promoting discredited theories about overturning President Joe Bidens victory and lent a veneer of spiritual authority to activists who often wrap themselves in the language of Christian righteousness. For these church leaders, Trumps narrative of the 2020 election has become a prominent strain in an apocalyptic vision of the left running amok. Whats going on in our country right now with this recent election and the fraudulent nature of that? Cowart, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, asked in a sermon last year. What is going on? Its difficult to measure the extent of churches engagement in the issue. Research suggests that a small minority of evangelical pastors bring politics to the pulpit. I think the vast majority of pastors realize there is not a lot of utility to being very political, said Ryan Burge, an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and a Baptist pastor. Still, surveys show that the belief in a fraudulent election retains a firm hold on white evangelical churchgoers overall, Trumps most loyal constituency in 2020. A poll released in November by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 60% of white evangelical respondents continued to believe that the election was stolen a far higher share than other Christian groups of any race. That figure was roughly 40% for white Catholics, 19% for Hispanic Catholics and 18% for Black Protestants. Among evangelicals, a high percentage seem to walk in lockstep with Trump, the election conspiracies and the vigilante taking back of America, said Rob Brendle, lead pastor at Denver United Church, who recalled that when he criticized some Christians embrace of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in a sermon the Sunday after the riot, he lost about 100 members of his congregation, which numbered around 1,500 before the pandemic. He thinks many fellow clergy may share that view. I think the jurys still out, but its not a fringe, he said. Some of the national evangelical figures who supported Trump during his presidency and his 2020 campaign, such as Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, separated themselves from his insistence that the election was stolen. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham and president of Samaritans Purse, equivocated. Writing on Facebook the month after the election, Graham acknowledged Bidens victory but said that when Trump claimed the election was rigged against him, I tend to believe him. Others embraced Trumps claims or argued for the preservation of his rule in spite of his loss. Shortly after the election was called for Biden, Paula White, a Florida televangelist who served as the White House faith adviser during Trumps presidency, led a prayer service in which she and others called upon God to overturn the election. Greg Locke, a preacher who leads the Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, spoke alongside Alex Jones of Infowars at a Rally for Revival demonstration in Washington, D.C., the night before the Capitol attack. Locke offered a prayer for the Proud Boys, a violent far-right group, and for Enrique Tarrio, the organizations leader who has since been indicted on charges of conspiracy for his role in the Capitol insurrection. Locke whose congregation is relatively small but who claims a social media audience in the millions is one of more than a dozen pastors who have appeared onstage at the ReAwaken America Tour: a traveling roadshow that has featured far-right Republican politicians, anti-vaccine activists, election conspiracists and Trumpworld personalities, including Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a central figure in the effort to overturn the election in late 2020. The event has drawn crowds of thousands of Trump supporters in nine states in the past year. All but one of the tours stops have been hosted by megachurches, and the tour is sponsored by a charismatic Christian media company. The performances wrap the narrative of election fraud in a megachurch atmosphere, complete with worship music and prayer, and have drawn criticism from some Christian clergy. When the tour came to a church in San Marcos, California, this month, a local Methodist minister denounced it as an irreligious abomination in an opinion essay. Smaller churches, meanwhile, have proved an important support network for the individual activists who now travel the country promoting the narrative of a stolen election. Churches and bars, baby. Thats where it was happening in 1776, wrote Douglas Frank, a high school math and science teacher in Ohio whose widely debunked analyses of the 2020 results have been influential with election conspiracists, in a Telegram post last month. This year, more than one-third of the speeches he has promoted on his social media accounts have been hosted by churches or religious groups. Seth Keshel, a former Army captain and military intelligence analyst who worked alongside Flynn in the weeks immediately after the election, is a popular draw with the same crowds. He attributed the prevalence of churches on the circuit to the instincts of local organizers. Most conservatives are evangelicals and naturally think church as a venue, he wrote in an email. There are some pastors more fired up about elections and liberty but not all. Churches are commonly used as spaces for events they do not directly endorse. Often, though, pastors at the churches hosting these speakers have used their appearances as an occasion to opine about the election to their congregation. This will be your opportunity to find out real information about what really happened at the polls, D.J. Rabe, a pastor of The House Ministry Center, a nondenominational church in Snohomish, Washington, told his congregation at the Sunday worship service before a speaking appearance by Keshel in August. Heres what were going to find out: What everyone thinks happened didnt really happen. The information is coming out. The connection between churches and election activists has been particularly visible in Colorado Springs, a long-standing hub of conservative evangelical political power that has lately become a hotbed of the election integrity crusade. The city is home to two particularly active groups dedicated to the cause: the U.S. Election Integrity Plan and FEC United, a right-wing organization that protested COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 and later became a prominent promoter of election conspiracies. Both groups have support from local churches. Church for All Nations has twice hosted talks by U.S. Election Integrity Plan leaders in its sanctuary as part of the churchs current events forum. At the first event, after a woman in the audience said, I want to see butts in jail! Ken Davis, a group leader at the church, replied: I think theres a certain punishment for treason in this country, and its not jail. The second event, in March, was held shortly after the regional NAACP chapter and other groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Election Integrity Plan. The organizations volunteers some of whom were carrying firearms, the lawsuit claims visited addresses they believed to be potentially associated with fraudulent ballots, asking residents how they voted in the 2020 election. The lawsuit argues that their actions violated both the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Holly Kasun, U.S. Election Integrity Plans co-founder, called the lawsuit a baseless claim in an email. In February, The Rock, a nondenominational evangelical church in nearby Castle Rock, Colorado, hosted FEC United for a talk featuring Shawn Smith, a founder of U.S. Election Integrity Plan, and Tina Peters, clerk and recorder of Mesa County, who has since been indicted on charges that she devised a scheme to copy voting-machine hard drives and share the data with prominent 2020 election conspiracists. (In a statement, Peters, who is running for secretary of state in Colorado, maintained her innocence.) Smith made headlines when he accused Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold of election fraud and told the crowd: If youre involved in election fraud, you deserve to hang. Mike Polhemus, The Rocks pastor, later distanced the church from the event and told a local TV station that Smiths remarks were inappropriate. Smith believes in due process and has said so on the record numerous times, Kasun said. Other pastors have continued to associate with FEC United. The week after its event at The Rock, the group held a meeting at Fervent Church in Colorado Springs. The event was emceed by the churchs pastor, Garrett Graupner. Graupner also serves as FEC Uniteds chaplain, a role he describes as simply ministering to the groups members. Im the spiritual care guy, he said. If you asked me to be the chaplain of The New York Times, Id say yes. Graupner has been an outspoken opponent of COVID-19 restrictions throughout the pandemic, and he said his issues of greatest concern were not necessarily the election but rather abortion, gender identity and teaching about systemic racism in schools. CRT critical race theory is a hill for me to die on, he said. Nevertheless, he said, I have seen some evidence to believe that the elections were tampered with at some point. I could send you tons of material." This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Along the edge of the Gulf, Nathaniel 'Natty' Adams details the people, places, culture and moments that make New Orleans one of America's most colorful and vibrant cities. At the far eastern end of the Bywater neighborhood, past Poland Avenue and below St. Claude, lies New Orleans most beloved unofficial public park. Across train tracks, through collapsed barbed wire-topped fence, and uphill atop a scruffy levee is how locals reach what they call The End of the World. The spit of land curlsbeckoning fingerlike to the boats on the Mississippiat the mouth of the Industrial Canal, where small ships are waved past a rusted lock by the Army Corps of Engineers. Here the industrial and the natural abut and overrun one another, concrete covering earth, pierced in turn by scrubby marsh grass and skinny shadeless trees. Canal-side, herons and cormorants stalk at waters edge as the absurd pelican sits on the edge of a bollard with the hauteur befitting an official state bird. The city side of the levee is dominated by a hulking brutalist naval base, shuttered since 2011, that's now home to squatters, transients, scrap metal-hunters who have stripped it down to the window frames, and battalions of feral raccoons. Inscribed along the base's great barrier, a message in graffiti two stories tall: OPEN YOUR EYES. Open your eyes at the End of the World and youll find lots to look at. In true New Orleans style, this is a syncretic spacewhat a city planner might call multi-usebut its beauty is in being a place bereft of city planning, a featureless gray mass on Google Maps, coy with its true verdant charm, more wild than manicured Crescent Park nearby. 'Ive climbed trains and watched the sunrise at the End of the World.' Ive climbed trains and watched the sunrise at the End of the World, says New Orleans native Victoria Barkley. Ive been to bonfires. Crescent Park is a cookie cutter. This fits better with New Orleans because New Orleans is a bit f--ked up and thats what makes it special. The contrast between beauty and blight extends beyond landscapeat any given sunset youre as likely to hear the crack of a pistol in the distance as you are to interrupt a marriage proposal (I said yes! the fresh fiance exulted to all passers-by.) The End of the World, its various segments comprising an area of roughly 12 acres (not including the naval base) has evolved based on how locals have used it. A graffiti wall intersects the levee at angles. Someone occasionally whitewashes it but within a day theres fresh spray paint again. About 400 feet from the wall, toward the canals mouth is a concrete platform with a corrugated tin shack known as The Hobo Hut. Someone has painted a walking labyrinth on the ground, mandala-like, with stones along its path. Two handmade shrines to dead people have been left; pyramids possibly carried along the levee by the Anarchic Mardi Gras Krewe of Erisnamed after the Greek goddess of discordduring its rogue carnival parade that concludes at dawn at the End of the World. Emily Kask/Chron Another shrine has been constructed in the memory of a beloved dog, now deceased. Decorated in New Orleans black-and-gold, it is a rudimentary dog house and includes, alongside faded photos of pets, a painted stone bearing the words To All Our Best Friends. Apart from the taggers and picnicking punks who bonfire at levees edge (a tight Venn diagram), the most visible World-Enders are the dog owners, who gather daily around five in the evening. There are more mutts and rescue dogs here than at the more civilized dog runs around New Orleans. Here the beautiful bastard breeds nip and wrestle and swim, brindle pit bulls leaping and splashing, shaggy domestic wolves fetching tossed driftwood, little sausagey dachshund mixes trotting across the muddy beachhead at low tide. Rob M. brings his dogs, Bubba and Stella, every day, rain or shine. Its the only place where Bubba can swim while Stella occasionally wades gingerly like a dignified lady. Just a few feet from where the dogs typically frolic, people fish; mostly middle-aged and older Black men who wade near the mouth of the canal and heave four-foot catfish out of the river two-handed before gutting them and tossing them in their bicycle baskets, bound for a pan of cornmeal and a pot of oil at a Friday Lenten fish-fry. The dogs, intrigued by the entrails, give themselves a good roll in the filth. Rob shrugs: They get back in the water and then I give them a little beer shampoo, he says, indicating the two cans of Founders IPA he brings to sip at sunset as the dogs play. Emily Kask/Chron The land once belonged to the Convent of the Ursuline Sisters, but it was bought by the city in 1919 andin the grips of canal fever provoked by Panamalocal authorities tore down the convent to connect the Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain. The inauguration of the Industrial Canal in 1923 was an event of great fanfareriverboats and tugs chugging up and down the canal to the excitement of straw-hatted men with crinolined wives. Recent history begins with Hurricane Katrina, when surging water inundated the canal, flowing back on itself and ultimately topping the levy meant to protect the surrounding neighborhoods. After the storm in 2005, the adjacent neighborhood began to gentrify, and sometime between then and the abandonment of the naval base locals named it the End of the World. The source of the name is a mystery. Several other areas downriver had been called Worlds End and similar things in the past, so it could be that newcomers, unfamiliar with the geography, heard that term and applied it to the local levee, (especially because the semi-apocalyptic landscape fits the moniker so aptly.) A more critical look notices that the name is referring to the land between the more recently white-majority Bywater and the Black-majority neighborhoods across the canal. David Melerines family has deep roots in the area. His mother grew up in the Bywater and for a time worked as a secretary at the Naval Base in its heyday. His ancestors owned a part of the land in the 19th century. David has been going to the End of the World since as early as 2008, long before dog walkers were typical. He and many others noted a spike in its popularity during the pandemic. It was one of the only places with enough physical space, Melerine recalls. Since then its become a sanctuary for many people. I go there and meditate. Ive been there to weep for lost friends. Its an urban Nirvana. Early in lockdown, someone set up a Free Store in a structure that used to be part of an old gas station, swapping and giving away clothes and home goods. In May of 2021, after the citys second Covid wave had subsided, taking that years Mardi Gras with it, one of the first widely-attended public parties was a gallery show in the station featuring DJs and a neon light show. It was catharsis. People danced and drank, sweaty and grateful to be alive in this city at that moment. Emily Kask/Chron Many people discovered it for the first time in those days, including Susan Hecker, who was first invited there on a Tinder date. Her date proposed the location and Susan reasonably confident that she wasnt about to be murdered and dumped in the canalagreed. For me there is no better date than sitting by the water, having some wine, having a chat, Hecker says. In those respects the date was perfect, and she fell in lovewith the End of the World. Its the best thing that came out of the date, she admits. Despite living on the other side of town with its own riverfront levees, Suzan prefers to drive all the way to the End of the World, setting up a folding chair, with neither dog nor fishing pole nor can of Krylon paint, just to enjoy the peace and not get around to reading the books she always brings. 'I look at the ships and I wonder about themwhere theyre going, where theyve come from.' I like to see the movement, she says. All the boats on the river waiting to get into the canal. I look at the ships and I wonder about themwhere theyre going, where theyve come from. Melerine also took his first post-lockdown date to the End of the World and, overwhelmed by the location, started to cry. I was thinking about my relationship with New Orleans and my familys connection to this land. And I thought Mm, shes not going to call me back. And she didnt. But thats OK. I still go there and put my feet in the river. Its a place that calls to you. It gets into your dreams. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For three days, Johnny Depp has been testifying in a libel trial that, at least in theory, is about whether Amber Heard defamed him in a 2018 newspaper op-ed. The trial has turned into a spectacle in which Depp has testified about everything from taking pills as a child to a near mental breakdown in which the actor said he used his severed finger to write on the walls in his own blood to recount his ex-wifes alleged lies. WHY IS DEPP DOING THIS? Heards lawyers had warned that the trial would be a mudslinging soap opera that would expose the real Johnny Depp. Depp denies ever abusing Heard and, despite the public attention brought to his drug use and his violent text messages, he said he's obsessed with revealing the truth and doesn't want to disappoint those who'd looked up to him. My goal is the truth because it killed me that all these people I had met over the years ... that these people would think that I was a fraud, Depp testified Tuesday. The actor has said that his movie career suffered after Heard wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. Heard never mentioned Depp by name, but Depps lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made when she sought a 2016 restraining order against him. Depp said the accusations and the article made him a Hollywood outcast and cost him his role in the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. Heards lawyers have argued that Heards opinion piece was accurate and didn't defame him. They've said Depps ruined reputation was due to his own bad behavior and have argued that The Walt Disney Co. had already decided to ax Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean months before the articles publication. WHAT ARE HEARDS ALLEGATIONS? Heard has accused Depp of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions before and during their brief marriage, often in situations where she said he drank so much he later blacked out. Depp said Heards allegations of his substance abuse have been grossly embellished and that he was never out of control during that time period. The two met in 2009, got married in 2015 and Heard filed for divorce a year later. Heards attorneys have highlighted many text messages Depp sent to friends recounting the copious amount of alcohol and drugs he had taken at a time in which he claims he wasn't a problematic drinker. Depp filed a similar lawsuit in England against a newspaper there and lost. The judge there found that Depp assaulted Heard on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life multiple times. Heard is expected to testify later in the trial. HOW DID DEPP AND HEARD MEET? Depp and Heard met through the filming of The Rum Diary, a 2011 Depp-produced movie based upon an initially unpublished novel by the late Hunter S. Thompson that Depp discovered while going through the gonzo journalists papers with Thompson, his friend. Depp said Heard was the perfect embodiment of the books femme fatale character named Chenault. Thats the Chenault that Hunter wants, Depp recalled. Yep, she could definitely kill me." They started dating a few years later, with Depp portraying the early part of their relationship as a classic Hollywood romance. Depp would call Heard Slim, while she called him Steve, nicknames used by the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall characters in the 1944 film To Have and Have Not. Depp, 58, said he was also cognizant of the age difference between himself and Heard, 36, and compared it to the 25-year gap between Bogart and Bacall. I acknowledge the fact I was the old, craggy fogey and she was this beautiful creature, he said. HOW DID THEIR MARRIAGE FALL APART? Depp said things began to change in his marriage when he felt that he was suddenly just wrong about everything in Heards eyes. Depp said Heard made little digs at him, demeaned and berated him. The insults escalated into full-fledged circular arguments from which there was no way in or out, Depp said. It was sort of a rapid-fire, sort of endless parade of insults, Depp said. Soon after, Heard began physically attacking him, Depp said. He said she once threw two bottles of vodka at him, the second of which exploded and severed his finger to the point where bone was exposed. Depp said he used the resulting blood to write on his walls and recount lies in which he had caught Heard. At the hospital, Depp said he lied to protect Heard and told the doctors that he had injured himself. Heard's lawyers contend he cut his own finger. WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BOSTON FLIGHT? One of the chief points in contention is what occurred on a 2014 private flight from Boston to Los Angeles that Depp and Heard took while he was filming the gangster film Black Mass. Heard has said Depp assaulted her on the flight while he was blackout drunk. Depp testified he took two oxycodone pills an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering. He told the court that he drank only a glass of Champagne while boarding the flight. But texts he sent to the actor Paul Bettany at the time referenced drinking half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand Red Bull vodkas and two bottles of Champagne before the flight. Heard's attorneys have also pointed to text messages Depp sent to Heard after the flight, saying, Once again I find myself in a place of shame and regret. I must get better." WHAT ELSE DID DEPP TEXT? Heard's attorneys have focused on text messages Depp sent to Bettany in which he expressed a desire to kill and defile Heard. After saying he wanted to burn her, Depp wrote, Lets drown her before we burn her!!! I will (expletive) her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure shes dead. Depp has apologized to the jury for the vulgar language and said that in the heat of the pain I was feeling, I went to dark places. He also compared his writing to Thompson's gonzo style, which often incorporated brash language and embellished thoughts. MOMENTS OF LEVITY Despite the dark accusations and profane text messages being read to the court, Depps testimony has on occasion featured humorous moments. Asked whether he would sometimes drink whiskey in the morning, Depp responded, I mean, isnt happy hour any time? And asked whether he had ever given pills to musician Marilyn Manson, Depp conceded that he once gave Manson a pill to get him to stop talking so much. Depp also admitted that he's never watched Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the 2003 megahit in which he played the unhinged Captain Jack Sparrow. Asked how the film fared, Depp smiled and said, I didn't see it, but ... well, the film did pretty well, apparently. And then there's the bizarre matter of the alleged penis vandalism. Heard's attorney repeatedly asked Depp whether he was responsible for drawing a penis on a painting inside his home shortly after the actor said Heard severed his finger. Drawing a penis on a painting was not the first thing on my mind, Depp testified. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING IN VIRGINIA? The trial is taking place in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia. Heards lawyers had sought to have the case tried in California, where the actors reside. But a judge ruled that Depp was within his rights to bring the case in Virginia because The Washington Posts computer servers for its online edition are located in the county. Depps lawyers have said they brought the case in Virginia in part because the laws here are more favorable to their case. Early testimony in the trial of a Beaumont man accused of capital murder seems to hang the case on whether the man shot four people in self-defense. Defense Attorney Ryan Gertz told a jury of 12 on Tuesday afternoon that Lively Stratton Jr. was attempting to recover stolen property from the duplex where he used to live when one of Stratton's former roommates pulled a knife, blocked the door and the deadly shooting occurred. The reality is that Lively shot and killed four assailants that were high on methamphetamine in a very small room, Gertz said. Stratton's trial began Tuesday. He has pleaded not guilty. Related: No death penalty sought in Beaumont capital murder case He was indicted for capital murder after allegedly shooting his former roommates on Sept. 29, 2019, at a duplex in the 4100 block of Highland Avenue. The state, led by Jefferson County District Attorney's Office Criminal Chief Prosecutor Ashley Molfino, gave her opening argument moments before Gertz claimed his client acted in self-defense. She described the chaotic scene and gave jury a preview of witnesses they would hear from during the trial, including a Beaumont police officer who was at the scene. Elijah Rideau, 34, and Alvin Lee Bellard, 32, died on the scene. Shannon Sutton, 23, and Bobby Wyatt, 39, were taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital where they later died. RELATED: Dying man names suspect in quadruple slaying Molfino said the officer wearing a body camera arrived to discover Rideau struggling for life and begging for help with gunshot wounds to the head, arm and torso. Elijah Rideau told the officers that Lively, he shot us, Molfino said. Stratton remained motionless as Molfino described the scene and claimed the evidence and testimony would prove that the shooting was not self-defense. She claimed Stratton and Rideau had been in an argument in the weeks before the shooting. This is nothing more than an execution of four individuals on a Sunday in Beaumont, Texas, Molfino said. Man accused in quadruple homicide indicted on capital murder charge On Tuesday, the jury heard from Beaumont police officers, watched police body camera footage and listened to recordings of emergency calls to dispatchers, including from one caller who described hearing six or seven gunshots that night. The jury heard then heard from a man and a woman who lived directly below Stratton's former roommates. They said they heard the shooting and called 9-1-1. They told the court that they heard Rideau arguing on the phone with someone and then about 10-20 minutes later heard heavy footsteps up the stairs to where the shooting occurred a short time later. They later saw Stratton drive away alone in the car. They were arguing earlier and were coming back to shoot, a witness told 9-1-1 dispatchers. Beaumont Police Officer James Gillen, who was the first to arrive on the scene, testified next. He first was told by a witness that nothing was on -- after he coincidentally ran the plates of a silver Mitsubishi car, which Stratton allegedly used to leave the scene. But when he officer arrived at the top of the stairs, he heard moaning. Once he opened the door, he discovered the four people, one of whom was calling out for help. There was just blood everywhere, Gillen said. The state played graphic video evidence of the car leaving and the officer arriving to the scene. A man is heard on the recording. "I need help, the man said. What happened? Who shot you? the officer asked. Lively, the dying man said. The jury also watched police body camera footage. However, during questioning, Gertz began to introduce new details. He asked an officer if another man on the scene told police he hadn't sought help for the men, which the officer said he was not aware of and agreed was strange. The officer did a security sweep but did not get warrants to search other rooms for evidence. He said the man informed officers that Lively had a girlfriend with him, while others said he was alone in the car. Gertz also discussed justification by self-defense with the officers. If someone is threatening you with a deadly weapon, the law permits, in fact you are justified in using force and potentially deadly force, correct? Gertz said. As long as you have a legal right to be where you are when that occurs, yes sir, the officer said. The trial continued late into the afternoon before breaking at 5 p.m. The state already has waived the death penalty. If Stratton is found guilty, he will face a mandatory life sentence without parole, 252nd Criminal District Court Judge Raquel West in Jefferson County previously said. Stratton previously confirmed to the judge that he did not want to look at or discuss an offer that the state is willing to make. At the time, the attorneys did not know how long the trial would last but expected it to be an intensive trial. The trial will resume at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Jefferson Countys 252nd Criminal District Court. meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/megzmagpie This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Sean L. Clifford dreamt of one day opening his own distilling business, digging into his Tennessee mountain whiskey-making roots and bringing his great-great-great grandfather's 250-year-old whiskey recipe to the public. Thursday, Clifford and family joined with others, raising that very whiskey in a toast "to the success of Port Arthur" in the tasting room of the new Clifford Distilling business. The grand opening, timed to coincide with the anniversary of San Jacinto Day, which also happened to be Clifford's 50th birthday, kicked off with a ribbon cutting outside before convening inside, where Clifford, surrounded by his eldest son Sean, middle son Zachary and wife Wendy, thanked all those in Port Arthur who helped make the dream a reality. The list was long, including the Queen family, the Economic Development Corporation, Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Port Arthur, Port Arthur City Council and others. Then the Clifford's received an honor of their own from Governor Greg Abbott, presented on his behalf by Betty Russo. After his remarks, the real celebration began as son Sean cracked open the first bottles - three varieties of whiskey and two rums, all made on-site at the downtown location on Procter Street. As son Sean poured the first rounds, owner Sean Clifford talked with guests about the decor of the tasting room and other areas of the venue, most of which were made from materials steeped in Texas history, like the wood from a relative's home damaged in the wake of a hurricane. The whiskeys and rums are created with two of Clifford's biggest loves in mind - Texas history and the military. Related: New Port Arthur distillery ferments community connection The San Jacinto clear and San Patricio dark rums are 82-proof in honor of the 82nd Airborne Division; the whiskeys 101-proof for the 101st Airborne Division. The whiskeys include the Gonzales, a clear whiskey as it isn't cured in oak -- Clifford says it's essentially Moonshine that's been made to a drinkable level. The Goliad is a single-aged, single-finish whiskey whose name derives from the prisoners of war executed by Santa Ana's army in Goliad, Texas. The San Antonio is their smoothest whiskey, a double-aged variety best suited for drinking straight or on the rocks. The rums are made with sulfur-free molasses instead of the commonly-used blackstrap molasses, with a sulfuric content that can overpower the sweetness. Clifford also offered a taste of his newest creation -- one still in the making. It's a malt whiskey made from corn, which will be the only malt whiskey of its kind in the world. It will be called "The Port Arthur." The opening celebration included tours of the distillery, refreshments, artwork on display and for sale by members of the Artists of Southeast Texas, and plenty of Clifford Distilling merchandise. Outside, the Boss Burger food truck came to join in the event. Clifford Distilling will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Hours may vary with special events. WASHINGTON (AP) One of the largest providers of military housing in the United States continues to respond inadequately to mold and other structural problems, threatening the health and safety of service members and their families, according to a Senate panel's investigation. The allegations against Balfour Beatty Communities LLC are focused on housing provided to service members stationed at Fort Gordon Army Base in Georgia and Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. The company oversees about 1,700 homes at the two bases. Balfour pleaded guilty in December to committing fraud against the United States from 2013 to 2019. The company was ordered to pay $65.4 million in fines and restitution and was placed under an independent compliance monitor for three years. The Senate panel, led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., released a report Tuesday concluding that Balfour's practices since 2019 mirror those that occurred in previous years. Ossoff said that the eight-month investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations stemmed from the complaints he heard from military families about their maintenance requests being ignored. He said that the investigation revealed grave risks to the health and safety of servicemembers and their families." Two service members recounted their harrowing experiences with military housing at a hearing Tuesday. U.S. Army Capt. Samuel Choe said his daughter developed a potentially fatal allergy as a result of exposure to black mold and mildew. He said his family made repeated efforts to get Balfour Beatty to fix the problem, but were ignored, disappointed or disregarded at every juncture." His daughter continues to break out with rashes and on her worst days resembles a burn victim, he said. It will haunt her as well as us for the rest of our lives," Choe said. Air Force Technical Sergeant Jack Fe Torres described how a mold problem persisted in a Balfour Beatty house that his family lived in at Sheppard Air Force Base. He said that after moving into the home, his wife and children experienced symptoms that included rashes, nausea, memory loss and fungal infections. Our military families should not be forced to live in fear of their own homes," Fe Torres said. Richard Taylor, a president at Balfour Beatty, said he made a commitment to Congress in 2019 that the company would get better at monitoring repairs and responding to problems. He said the company gets more than 280,000 work orders annually and that performance metrics indicate the overwhelming majority of residents are happy with their homes. Im proud to say we have made enormous strides since I made that commitment, Taylor said. Balfour operates more than 43,000 on-base homes at 55 military bases. Ossoff read about a dozen emails from military housing residents that included I have a pregnant wife who is high risk and I have to live with this exposed mold on my ceiling." Another read death trap of a house." He said those emails came in after the 2013-2019 period in which Balfour Beatty had pleaded guilty to defrauding the government. Ossoff asked why lawmakers should believe that a company that engaged in major fraud has changed. I reject the suggestion that it's a systemic failure," said Taylor, emphasizing that the nearly one dozen complaints Ossoff read must be compared against the 280,000 work orders the company receives annually. Things go wrong. We don't always get it right the first time. We're not perfect," Taylor said. What's important for us is that we understand where our shortcomings are and we take action to correct those deficiencies." The committee also heard from military housing advocates critical of Balfour Beatty. Rachel Christian, chief legislative officer for Armed Forces Housing Advocates, said the volunteer organization assists residents with mold remediation, lead exposure and other problems related to military housing. How many more cases of negligence, fraud and civil rights violations must we present in this building before Balfour Beatty is properly held accountable and banned from receiving further government contracts?" Christian said. The subcommittee said it reviewed more than 11,000 pages of records from Balfour as part of its review. Staff also interviewed more than one dozen military family members and former Balfour employees, and received briefings from the Department of Defense and advocacy groups for military families. The report concluded with a call for federal agencies to conduct more robust oversight" of Balfour Beatty to ensure military families get the housing services they deserve. Texas has been sending migrants unlawfully crossing its Southern border with Mexico to Washington D.C. as part of a new strategy to combat illegal immigration by Gov. Greg Abbott. On April 22, Abbott sent out a press release saying the 10th bus had arrived in the nations capitol. By busing migrants to Washington, D.C., Texas is sending a clear message: we should not have to bear the burden of the federal government's inaction to secure the border, and the Lone Star State will do whatever it takes to keep Texans safe," Abbott said in the release. Here are five things to know about the program. The policy is in response to the end of Title 42 Abbott first announced the policy on April 6. The governor directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses and flights to D.C. for migrants who have been processed and released from federal custody, a press release said. The transportation is voluntary. In the release, Abbott said the policy is in response to President Joe Biden ending Title 42, a policy enacted by then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 allowing expulsions of migrants for the purpose of public health. The policy is set to end May 23. "With the end of Title 42 expulsions looming next month, Texas will immediately begin taking unprecedented action to do what no state has done in American history to secure our border, Abbott said in the release. Politicians responded to the move Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto ORourke tweeted a response to Abbotts policy soon after it was announced. You can always count on Abbott to choose stunts over solutions, ORourke wrote in a tweet. In a recent poll, Abbott leads O'Rourke 50% to 42% among likely voters. The move received pushback from top Texas Democrats, including San Antonio-area Rep. Joaquin Castro. In a tweet, Castro called Abbott an "incompetent governor" and urged him to "just try to keep the lights on for us" in response to the 2021 winter storm. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican, applauded the move from the governor and took in a step further. In an interview on Fox News, the Houston-area Congressman said Abbott should send migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris' house, as well. "I would kindly ask the governor to also consider sending them to Kamala Harris' house," Crenshaw said during the interview. "Maybe if you put a busload of illegal immigrants right in her backyard... she can finally start paying attention to this crisis." Crenshaw wasn't the only Republican to offer up other ideas of where to send the migrants. Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted that Abbott's plan was an "excellent [idea]" and said the governor should also bus migrants to places across the country like Massachusetts, California and Delaware. The migrants transported are from around the world Migrants who have taken up Texas offer to go to D.C. have come from multiple countries around the world. According to the April 22 release, migrants transported to Washington have come from Angola, Brazil, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Abbott announced other border measures In the April 6 release, Abbott announced multiple other measures to curb illegal immigration in Texas. One policy was directing the Department of Public Safety to inspect all incoming commercial vehicles at international ports of entry into Texas. The measure led to multiple hour delays and cost the state $4.3 billion, according to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Other measures implemented include boat blockades, installing razor-wire and container blockades. The release said the Texas Military Department is starting mass-migration rehearsals and DPS troops and Texas National Guard will be given riot gear, as well. Texas is fighting to keep Title 42 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on April 22 to challenge the ending of Title 42, according to a press release. The lawsuit asks the federal court to freeze the ending of the policy. Biden cannot make such sweeping decisions without going through the process required by federal law, Paxton said in the release. He didnt, so Im suing. Ill hold him accountable and do all I can to protect Texans. Without Title 42, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said up to 18,000 more migrants may arrive at the Southern border everyday, according to ABC News. While 18,000 is on the high end of the projection, the department said it is preparing for anywhere between 6,000 and 18,000 additional migrants once the policy ends. On April 26, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Biden administration from lifting the policy, a tweet from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said. The lawsuit was originally filed by Missouri, Louisiana and Arizona before multiple other states, like Texas, joined the suit. "This is a huge victory for border security, but the fight continues on," Schmitt wrote in the tweet. South Africa: UN team visits KZN to offer assistance in areas affected by floods This story has been published on: 2022-04-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to host the President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, General Umaro Sissoco Embalo, on a State Visit to Pretoria on Thursday. According to a statement by The Presidency, this visit will provide an opportunity for South Africa and Guinea Bisseau to strengthen bilateral, political, and socio-economi... See more A strategically autonomous France is important for Europe By Global Times editorial (Global Times) 08:36, April 26, 2022 Photo taken on April 24, 2022 shows the scene of French incumbent President Emmanuel Macron's rally after the presidential runoff in Paris, France. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) The much-anticipated voting in the French presidential runoff election ended on Sunday. The incumbent president Emmanuel Macron once again defeated his "old rival" Marine Le Pen to win the election, making Macron the first French president to be re-elected in nearly 20 years. The two candidates held entirely different views on issues such as the European Union, relations with Russia, the economy, immigration, and pensions. Therefore, the election was also seen as a "historic" choice for voters to choose between the "two Frances that confront each other." On the surface, this French presidential election is a contest between the centrist and far-right parties, but essentially, it is a competition between European integration and anti-European integration, as well a contest between globalization and anti-globalization. Some Western media said that, if Le Pen had won the second round, it would mean that France would have elected a female president for the first time and the far-right parties would have led the country in an unprecedentedly manner. It is widely believed that such a scenario could have led to a "political earthquake" comparable to Brexit and Donald Trump being elected as the US president. Therefore, after Macron's victory, some French media breathed a sigh of relief saying that the "earthquake" did not happen. "Strategic autonomy" was the eye-catching label of Macron's first term. As the youngest president in French history, Macron has demonstrated a steady and pragmatic style in domestic affairs over the past five years and inherited France's tradition of independence and autonomy in foreign affairs. He has carefully kept a distance from Washington, believing France and EU should not be forced to take sides between China and the US. Instead, it should become an important pole in a multipolar world. Macron once bluntly criticized NATO, saying it is becoming "brain-dead" and raised the ambitious Initiative for Europe. He also stressed defense autonomy independent from the US, technology autonomy not reliant on other countries, and diplomatic autonomy without subordination to the US. It should be said that France plays an indispensable role in realizing Europe's strategic autonomy and rebalancing international relations. The reason why the French election this time has global implication is because of current uncertainties in Europe. Europe, once described by Charles de Gaulle as the "Archimedes' lever" of France, is a platform where France can play the role of a major power. But Washington is becoming the biggest influence behind it. Although the Biden administration has repeatedly claimed to "return to multilateralism" and expressed the willingness to repair transatlantic ties, it can hardly conceal its core interest of "America First." From the US withdrawing from Afghanistan to the signing of the AUKUS pact that ripped off France-Australia submarine deal, France and the EU have been made deeply aware of US' selfishness and arrogance. In the Russia-Ukraine crisis that is exhausting the two countries, Washington is attempting to drag Europe to make comprehensive profit. Against this background, it is very important for France to stabilize its role. The reelection of Macron can at least ensure the continuity and stability of major French policies to a great extent. In fact, the expectations for France, as the leader of the EU and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, from Europe and the whole international society go beyond this. Since the end of WWII, France has played a key leading role at several critical moments in Europe. For Macron, who is holding the banner of "returning to de Gaulleism" and seeking the EU's strategic autonomy, there are challenges, tests, but also ample room in today's France, Europe and the world. Diversity and multilateralism are in the genes of French culture. Be it during the Cold War or in the post-Cold War era, independent diplomatic routes had brought about huge strategic dividends to Paris. France partially withdrew from NATO in the 1960s and it was the first among Western major countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. After the end of the Cold War, France was the first Western major country to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. It also prompted the EU to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. Against the background when uncertainties are significantly increasing in the world, China and France share many similar views in terms of safeguarding multilateralism and improving global governance. Strengthening cooperation between the two sides is of vital importance to promote world stability and prosperity. Improving China-France relations is consistent with strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy. We congratulate Macron on his reelection and expect China-France relations can continue to move forward and China-EU relations can go forward steadily during his second term. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) It's official. Tesla CEO Elon Musk bought social media giant Twitter on April 25 for $44 billion. Musk, who also owns SpaceX and The Boring Company, plans to take Twitter private. Musk's Twitter takeover began on April 5, when it was announced that he would be joining the company's board of directors. However, just five days later, Musk decided not to join, and then on April 14, he made an offer to buy the company. The Twitter board accepted Musk's offer on April 25. Musk's purchase prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to urge the tech CEO to bring the social media company to the Lone Star State. Musk's companies are already well represented in Texas: SpaceX has a launch facility in Brownsville, The Boring Company is headquartered in Austin and Tesla recently opened a gigafactory in the state capitol, as well. "Bring Twitter to Texas to join Tesla, SpaceX & the Boring company," Abbott wrote in the tweet, tagging Musk. Abbott wasn't the only Texas politician to react to the news. Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted out a poll asking his followers whether they believe Musk's purchase of Twitter is a "good thing." The poll's options are limited, though, with people being able to answer with "Yes" or "No, I hate free speech." With over 36,000 votes as of Tuesday morning, more than 96% of people responded "Yes" to the poll. Musk has not yet said anything about his specific plans for Twitter, nor has he responded to Abbott's call to bring the company to Texas. Twitter is currently headquartered in San Francisco. In a since-deleted tweet, Musk asked his followers in a poll whether the company should turn its headquarters into a shelter for those experiencing homelessness. The one thing Musk has said in response to his purchase is that he hopes his "worst critics" remain on the social media app because he believes "that is what free speech means," he wrote in a tweet. Washington will not lift sanctions against Bangladeshs elite force RAB until it shows it can respect human rights, the new ambassador said in the latest U.S. assessment of an issue that is straining bilateral ties. In his first public comments on the Rapid Action Battalion sanctions since arriving in Dhaka in March, Ambassador Peter Haas conveyed that U.S. officials would keep working with the South Asian nation to combat terrorism and violent extremism. Regarding law enforcement, I will be honest. There is no scope for repeal of sanctions against the Rapid Action Battalion without concrete action and accountability, Haas said Sunday. We want to see a RAB that remains effective at combatting terrorism, but that does so while respecting basic human rights. Despite those concerns, Haas said, sanctions issued against RAB by the U.S. Treasury on Dec. 10, 2021, do not mean that the two nations cannot enhance their strong law enforcement security cooperation. Those sanctions are against the organization and six officers, including RAB Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Ambassador Haas made his comments during a seminar in Dhaka on Bangladesh and the United States Relations: Moving toward Enhanced Cooperation and Partnership, attended by Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and Al-Mamun. The seminar was hosted by the Bangladesh Institute for International and Strategic Studies. This year marks the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. Haas said the U.S. would continue to support counterterrorism and transnational crime policing, the Anti-Terrorism Unit, and the specialized units of the Metropolitan Police in Chattogram, Sylhet and Rajshahi despite the sanctions. During recent meetings with their U.S. counterparts, including the Partnership Dialogue and bilateral Security Dialogue, Bangladesh officials have called on the U.S. to withdraw the sanctions. In the coming weeks, the two countries are to hold two more meetings the bilateral Defense Dialogue and the high-level Economic Consultation. At the Dhaka seminar, Momen highlighted RABs role in eradicating terrorism and drug trafficking. He noted that a former U.S. ambassador had called RAB Bangladeshs FBI, even as he agreed to the need for accountability for the forces actions. This institution has brought stability not only in Bangladesh, but also in neighboring countries, Momen said. Abdullah Al-Mamun, meanwhile, defended RAB at the seminar. We have successfully tackled religious extremism and conducted successful operations in eradicating drug smuggling, human trafficking and against illegal weapons, he said, speaking before Haas. We want to take our relationship to new heights in the interest of upholding human rights and the smooth functioning of the elite force, Al-Mamun said while calling on the U.S. to be involved in building a safe and secure community. Al-Mamun also highlighted U.S. involvement in RAB activities. They [the U.S.] have worked with us before and have had many discussions on our campus, he said. In the months since the sanctions were imposed, Bangladesh officials have described the Treasury Departments move as unexpected. They have blamed different groups in Bangladesh and elsewhere for seeking to discredit the country. We believe that the sanctions are unjustifiable, and were imposed based on fabricated and politically motivated inputs given by the same vested quarters, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said recently. Human rights report In addition to challenging the sanctions, Bangladesh officials have spoken out against the U.S. State Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The report, released earlier this month, raised specific concerns about RAB. It said three Rohingya were killed in gunfights with RAB in February and July 2021. In addition, the report said that at least one of two Bangladeshis killed in a May 2021 gunfight with security forces was killed by RAB. According to international and local civil society, activists, and media, impunity was a pervasive problem in the security forces, including within but not limited to the RAB, BGB [Border Guard Bangladesh], Detective Branch of Police, police and other units, the report said. Bangladeshi media said the report relied on questionable sources and contained factually incorrect information. U.S. Ambassador Peter Haas (left) delivers his address at the Bangladesh and the United States Relations: Moving toward Enhanced Cooperation and Partnership seminar in Dhaka, April 24, 2022. [Photo courtesy Bangladesh Institute for International and Strategic Studies] Bangladesh elections In his speech on Sunday, Ambassador Haas also spoke about the need for fair polls. Let me be clear: the United States will not pick a side in the upcoming elections. We simply hope for a democratic process that allows the Bangladeshi people to freely decide who will run their country, he said. Holding an election consistent with international standards is not just about the day votes are actually cast. Truly democratic elections require the space for civic discourse to take place, an environment where journalists can investigate without fear and the ability for civil society organizations to advocate broadly. Haas said he was pleased Momen stated that Bangladesh would welcome international observers during the next election. He said the two countries could work together to promote democracy and protect human rights, while acknowledging the United States is not perfect. We have embarked on our own democratic renewal. This journey includes tackling our own issues with police accountability and ensuring all Americans can cast their ballots on Election Day, he said. Momen reiterated Dhakas commitment over the last few years to establishing free, fair and transparent elections. We had some difficulties but in the last few years, weve done very well, he said. Prigi Arisandi, the executive director of Ecoton, an Indonesian environmental conservation group, takes a water sample from the Ciliwung River in Java, in this undated photo. An NGO studying the health of waterways in Indonesia has found that the Ciliwung, the main river which flows through Jakarta on densely populated Java Island, is badly contaminated with small particles of plastic or micro-plastics threatening human health and aquatic life. Prigi Arisandi, executive director of Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (Ecoton), said his group and others collaborated to research the health of the Ciliwung. Those efforts revealed that garbage bags, straws and plastic along with organic waste polluted the river, along with micro-plastics that had drifted from upstream Bogor. Micro-plastics attack respiratory systems and triggers the death of fish, Prigi said, noting that testing showed as many as 268 particles in 100 liters of water. Those fish are the peoples food source. The Ciliwung probe follows a 2021 expedition by Ecoton to the Brantas, Bengawan Solo and Citarum rivers in the provinces of East Java, Central Java and West Java, respectively. It found that their health was harmed by pollution from industries located along their banks. The Brantas the longest river in East Java is dotted by mills run by sugar and paper companies, while textile factories operate along the other two rivers. Some regional drinking water companies use river water as raw material for their end products, Prigi said. The rivers in Java are ailing, theyre not fine, Prigi said, adding that about 2.6 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the rivers. Dont rely on expensive bottled water. Lets take care of the river, he said. Rahyang Nusantara, co-coordinator of the Zero Waste Indonesia Alliance, said some bottled water also contains micro-plastics. Prigi said the research is part of an effort by the Nusantara River Expedition (ESN) to record the health of 68 rivers in Indonesia. Expedition teams are expected to spend another year conducting similar research in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, Nusa Tenggara and Bali. Workers remove wood and plastic waste items from a river in Jakarta on April 22, 2020 otherwise known as Earth Day around the world. [AFP] The largest environmental advocacy NGO in Indonesia, Walhi, said rivers around the capital are polluted with 300 to 400 tons of waste a day including disposable diapers, organic waste, glass, metal, plastic bottles and plastic packaging. About 34 percent of that waste flows into Cilwung and the rest into other rivers. Suci Fitriah Tanjung, the executive director of Walhis Jakartas chapter, said proper waste management could have a positive effect for the region, noting the rivers could be used as sources of drinking water. There would be no water crisis in Jakarta. The supply of drinking water is only 4 percent from Jakarta currently, the rest comes from outside, she said. Researchers perform tests on water quality in the Ciliwung River, in this undated photo. [Courtesy Nusantara River Expedition] Malang rally Earlier this month, environmentalists demonstrated outside Malang City Hall in East Java province to call for a regional regulation banning single-use plastics such as bottles and other containers. Alaika Rahmatullah, a researcher with Environmental Green Society, discussed how micro-plastics have been found in the Brantas River as well, according to an Ecoton news release. These are dangerous particles because they contain toxic compounds. When the toxic compounds are consumed by organisms such as fish and shrimp which are then consumed by humans, they endanger humans themselves, he said, adding the micro-plastics can be a source of cancer. The citys mayor, Sutiaji, already has taken steps to combat plastic waste, according to the news release. We continue to control this plastic waste, while we are working on a regional regulation. So that with this regional regulation, it is hoped that there will be punishment and we can reinforce regulations regarding the use of single-use plastics and reducing plastic waste, Sutiaji, who goes by one name, wrote in a letter to the community last year. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (standing, left) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (standing, right) attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct. 9, 2019. The United States on Tuesday voiced concerns over a complete lack of transparency surrounding a new security deal between the Solomon Islands and China and vowed to respond to any attempt to establish a Chinese military base in the island nation. A draft copy of the security pact was leaked onto social media in late March, but neither party has made public the deal reportedly signed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Solomon Islands counterpart Jeremiah Manele. The deal has drawn expressions of deep concern from U.S. allies Australia and New Zealand, which say a base on Solomon Islands could enable China to extend its military reach in the Pacific. It also prompted a hasty visit to the Pacific by two top Washington diplomats. U.S. National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink led a U.S. delegation to Solomon Islands capital Honiara late last week where they held a 90-minute constructive and candid meeting with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Kritenbrink told journalists at a teleconference on Tuesday that the lack of transparency of the security agreement was our fundamental concern. I think its clear that only a handful of people in a very small circle have seen this agreement, and the prime minister himself has been quoted publicly as saying he would only share the details with Chinas permission, which I think is a source of concern as well, the senior U.S. diplomat said. Of course we have respect for the Solomon Islands sovereignty, but we also wanted to let them know that if steps were taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power-projection capabilities, or a military installation, then we would have significant concerns and we would very naturally respond to those concerns, Kritenbrink said. Red line The assistant secretary of state declined to elaborate on possible responses to security implications caused by the new agreement but said that Prime Minister Sogavare gave the U.S. three specific assurances that there would be no military base, no long-term presence, no power-projection capability. In Washington, during a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney called the agreement alarming. In response, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he shared the senators concern. He reiterated the assurances the U.S. delegation had gotten from Sogavare, adding: We will be watching that very, very closely in the weeks and months ahead. Sogavares words have done little to calm the Solomon Islands neighbors. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that a military base would be a red line for Canberra. The islands occupy a remote but strategic location in the western Pacific, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from the northeastern coast of Australia. Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said: I think now that the security agreement has been officially signed, there is little the U.S. or Australia can do to reverse it. The key question now is how fast will China move to establish a permanent presence, leading to a base in the Solomon Islands. Australia and the U.S. can try to use diplomacy to convince the Sogavare government to not allow this base to be established quickly, or to constrain its size and function, but there is little chance that these efforts will succeed, as its clear that Sogavare has aligned with China, Davis said. They can also try to contain Chinese influence in the region further by stepping up the Pacific Step Up and making it more effective, he said, referring to the Biden administrations push to increase U.S. engagement in the region. He added: This has greater chance of success given the regional concern about the agreement signed between Solomon Islands and China. Norah Huang, associate research fellow at Prospect Foundation, a Taiwanese think tank, described the deal as opportunism by the Solomon Islands prime minister. She said the best response might be candid talks with the governing parties in private to walk it back or at least neutralize the deal. But Australia, the U.S. and New Zealand should be careful not to reward those who play opportunism, Huang said. Australian Navy officers from the HMAS Canberra arrive at the Tanjung Priok port, as part of the military exercise Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021, in Jakarta, Oct. 25, 2021. [Reuters] Regional efforts Japan became the latest regional power to send a representative to the Solomon Islands to express concern about the security pact. According to Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, the Solomons prime minister on Tuesday repeated assurances to Japanese officials that he had no intention of allowing China to build military bases in his country, Reuters reported. Davis of ASPI said the China-Solomon Islands deal could presage a move by Beijing to extend its reach in the South Pacific. I think the greatest risk is that China would choose to extend its influence into Papua New Guinea, where it already has substantial investment, and is openly talking about a fishing facility at Daru Island, which could ultimately be the basis for a port that could support Chinese Coast Guard vessels, he said. The U.S. and Australia, as well as New Zealand, will now need to adjust their defense policies with the prospect of a forward Chinese military presence in the Southwest Pacific that certainly dramatically increases the military threat to the Australian eastern seaboard, but also severs the sea lane of communication between Australia and the United States, Davis said. Too little, too late There have been calls in Australias political and defense circles to prepare for war, and Davis said there should be some review of Australias defense force posture, and greater investment in air, sea, and space capabilities across the Coral Sea. Yet, the efforts by the U.S. and allies may be too little, too late, said Andy Mok, senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing. The U.S. has abandoned its embassy in Honiara for nearly 30 years and is only now talking about re-opening it. In the Pacific, the U.S. seems to be pursuing a strategy of denial towards China. If China seeks something, the U.S. will attempt to prevent China from achieving it even if it is for the greater good, said Mok. Chinese officials maintain that the security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is based on equality and mutual benefits. Foreign Ministrys spokesman Wang Wenbin retaliated on Monday to the criticism about the lack of transparency behind the security deal with the Solomon Islands, referring to the AUKUS security partnership that is neither open nor transparent. AUKUS is a newly-established security grouping between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. China has criticized it as fueling militarization in the Indo-Pacific. While denying that China would build a military base in the Solomon Islands, calling it pure disinformation, Wang said the nearly 800 U.S. bases across the world have long been of major concern. When will the U.S. shut down those bases? he asked. Foreign minister of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attend their retreat session in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Feb. 17, 2022. Malaysias top diplomat has revealed hes had contact with the Burmese shadow government, the first ASEAN country to acknowledge such an interaction, as activists lambasted the bloc on the anniversary of its failed five-point plan to restore democracy in Myanmar. Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah was responding Sunday to an open letter from a Southeast Asian parliamentarians group to the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In it, they urged the bloc to immediately and publicly meet with the NUG Myanmars parallel, civilian National Unity Government. I have informally met [through virtual conference] the NUG Myanmar foreign minister and the NUCC chairman before the last ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat. Lets meet and discuss, Saifuddin said via Twitter, referring to a ministerial retreat that took place in a hybrid format in mid-February after being postponed from an earlier scheduled date amid reports of differences among member-states. Myanmars National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) includes representatives of the NUG, civil society groups, ethnic armed organizations, and civil disobedience groups. In the tweet, Saifuddin tagged the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), the group that sent the open letter on Sunday, the anniversary of the day when Southeast Asian leaders and the Burmese junta chief, agreed during an emergency summit to a so-called Five-Point Consensus for action on post-coup Myanmar. Last October, Malaysias outspoken foreign minister had said he would open talks with the NUG if the Burmese junta kept stonewalling in cooperating with ASEANs conflict resolution efforts. Radio Free Asia (RFA), the parent company of BenarNews, contacted the foreign ministry of Cambodia, this years ASEAN chair, for comment but did not immediately hear back. Meanwhile, Bo Hla Tint, the NUGs special representative to ASEAN, questioned the Southeast Asian blocs seriousness in solving the Myanmar crisis. They have failed to implement, during the past year, the basic point of the ASEAN Common Agreements to end the violence. And then, they failed to comply with the second point systematic distribution of humanitarian aid, he told RFA. Id say the ASEAN leadership does not take seriously the policy or framework set down by the ASEAN leadership itself, if the leaders do not take any effective action [against the junta]. A five-point failure In Malaysia, two analysts praised Saifuddin for breaking from ASEAN and initiating separate action. Malaysia takes lead on call to review ASEANs approach to Myanmar (after a year of failed ASEAN five-point consensus), acknowledging informal meetings with NUG Myanmar, Bridget Welsh, a political analyst with the University of Nottingham Malaysia, tweeted. Another analyst, Aizat Khairi, a senior lecturer at Universiti Kuala Lumpur, agreed. Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullahs reaction to the APHR open letter is something refreshing, he told BenarNews. The five-point agreement reached between ASEANs leaders and Burmese military chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on April 24 last year included an end to violence, the provision of humanitarian assistance, an ASEAN envoys appointment, all-party dialogue, and mediation by the envoy. ASEAN has not succeeded in implementing any of these points, said Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington think-tank. I think there is no doubt every part of [the consensus] has failed, and with Cambodia as the chair and the junta increasingly backed by China, there is no way the consensus will succeed, or that ASEAN will do anything at all serious about Myanmar, Kurlantzick told BenarNews. Suspend Myanmar from ASEAN until a return to democratic rule. ... But ASEAN wont do that. He was referring to Beijings support for Naypyidaw at international forums, including at the United Nations, since Min Aung Hlaing toppled the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government on Feb. 1, 2021. Under ASEANs long-standing policy that its 10 members take all decisions collectively through consensus, if one member-state opposes a proposed move, it is shelved. And not every ASEAN member is on board with stricter action against Myanmar other than barring junta representatives from attending top ASEAN meetings, analysts have noted. A five-point failure is what the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), a group of independent international experts, calls ASEANs consensus. The junta has not held to a single point of the five-point consensus. The agreement has failed and a change of course from ASEAN is needed, SAC-M member Marzuki Darusman said in a statement issued Friday. In fact, since joining the consensus, Min Aung Hlaing has escalated the militarys attack on the people of Myanmar, and continued to target and detain political opponents, SAC-M said. Nearly 1,800 people, mostly pro-democracy protesters, have been killed by Burmese security forces, since the coup. This aerial photo taken by a drone shows Bin village in Mingin, a township in Myanmars Sagaing region, after villagers say it was set ablaze by the Burmese military, Feb. 3, 2022. [Reuters] Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said that the flow of arms to Myanmars security forces needed to stop. These activists urgently need the support of the international community in the form of a global arms embargo to stop the Myanmar military from using weapons of warfare to kill peaceful protesters, Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty Internationals deputy regional director for research, said Friday. In addition, Human Rights Watch criticized Western governments, saying that the five-point consensus had become a pretext for governments such as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and European Union member states to delay real action under the guise of waiting for ASEAN leadership. The junta has exploited the international communitys deference to the regional bloc, which has a long record of neglecting its responsibility to protect the people of Southeast Asia under its principles of noninterference and consensus, HRW said. Pro-junta group: Peace process cannot be completely one-sided Supporters of the Burmese junta, however, said that it was moving in the right direction. How much can the government oblige in the bargaining for peace? The peace process cannot be completed by one-side only, Thein Tun Oo, executive director of Thayningha Strategic Studies, a group of former military officers, told RFA. The government as well as the military has declared unilateral ceasefires and made offers for peace talks. we havent seen any satisfactory response from the EAOs [Ethnic Armed Organizations. Now we have a question what does the international community want to say about that? But according to the ASEAN parliamentarians, Myanmar coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has no intention whatsoever of abiding by the consensus unless he feels a strong pressure to do so. Given this failure, it is time for ASEAN to move on to sanctioning him. ASEANs credibility depends on its ability to act in accordance with the reality of the situation in Myanmar, APHR said in its letter to ASEAN. The question now is: will you allow the military to continue committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and threaten the human security and economic development of the region for another year? Nisha David and Suganya Lingan in Kuala Lumpur, and Zin Mar Win and Wai Mar Htun of the Myanmar Service of Radio Free Asia contributed to this report. Authorities in the Philippines have disbanded about 20 private armed groups working for politicians over concerns about potential poll-related violence ahead of the May 9 general election, the national police said Tuesday. Meanwhile, the election commission announced it was taking control in another eight municipalities to directly supervise polling officials and oversee security for the upcoming vote. Most of the disbanded armed groups were from an autonomous Muslim region in the south, where some members of gun-for-hire organizations are known to have links to militants, police spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo told a Manila radio station. More or less, we have dismantled about 20 from our list of private armed groups, Fajardo said, emphasizing that some of the armed men are members of local terrorist groups who hire themselves out during elections to politicians. Police and the military had carried out focused operations since the start of the year, she said, adding that politicians known to have employed these gunmen would be charged in court. At the moment, we have not monitored any credible threats, so to speak, that could disrupt the election, she said. Nonetheless, we will not let our guard down, and intelligence monitoring and gathering are being carried out with our AFP [military] counterparts and other law enforcement agencies. Last year, police had identified about 155 private armed groups across the Philippines, half of which, officials said, were highly active. The constitution stipulates that private armies and other groups not recognized by the government shall be dismantled. Comelec action Also on Tuesday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced that it was placing under its control another six municipalities in Maguindanao province, along with a city and municipality in Lanao del Sur province, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA). Comelec has assumed direct control of electoral supervision and law enforcement agencies for the safeguarding and integrity of polls in at least 20 municipalities, mostly in the south and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the run-up to the vote, according to officials. The national polls body took similar action in municipalities ahead of the 2016 general election. As regards to other areas, we are continuously upgrading and updating our assessment status, said Saidamen Pangarungan, the chairman of Comelec, according to PNA. Under an updated resolution adopted in January, Comelec may place any political division under its direct control and supervision. Leading up to the election, it shall exercise full control and supervision over all national and local law enforcement agencies as well as military officers and men assigned in the political division, subdivision, unit or area concerned. The resolution, among other things, allows Comelec to take action in communities: That have a history of or current intense rivalries that could motivate people to engage in violent acts; That have had incidences of politically motivated violence involving candidates and/or supporters; And that could have violence facilitated by the employment of private armed groups. The Philippines, with its long-running gun culture, coupled with feuding clans in tribal areas as well as rival political dynasties trying to outdo each other, has seen gun-for-hire groups commit violence in advance of elections. During the 2016 general election, as many as 50 people died in poll-related violence, according to police statistics. Three years later, during the 2019 midterm election, 23 people were killed and 50 injured. The bloodiest election-related violence occurred in November 2009 when members of the Muslim Ampatuan clan massacred 58 members of their rival clan, the Mangudadatu, their supporters and local journalists. In December 2019, dozens of Ampatuan clan-members were convicted of murder, but more than 50 others including dozens of police officers and body guards in the employ of the Ampatuans were acquitted. Some relatives and members of the Ampatuan clan are back in power and will be contesting local posts in Mindanao next month. Duterte: I will arrest you and your body guards About 65 million Filipinos are registered to vote on May 9 to elect President Rodrigo Dutertes successor along with 12 members of the Senate, 316 members of the House of Representatives as well as thousands of officials including governors, mayors, village chiefs and council members. Last week, Duterte warned candidates to follow election laws, saying that maintaining more than two bodyguards constitutes maintaining a private army. We have decided and have communicated this with the cabinet. ... The rule should really be followed that more than two bodyguards would be considered a private army, Duterte said. And if you think there is danger to your person and a certain place or person, call the regional director, call the chief of police and discuss matters to prevent quarrels and the use of guns, he said. Duterte vowed to let authorities arrest those candidates who would stoke violence during the remainder of the election season. I will arrest you and your bodyguards. Remember, the government will not allow terrorism in this election. We are not taking sides. We will enforce the law to make the elections peaceful, he said. 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. This opinion piece was written by The Food Shelf Work Group, Hunger Council of Bennington County Natalie Basil, Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services (GBICS) Linda Darlington, Bennington County Head Start and Early Head Start Scott Winslow, The Kitchen Cupboard (GBICS) Dare Chammings, Alliance for Community Transformations Bennington (ACT) Joni Charbonneau, His Pantry at Sacred Heart St. Francis (SHSF) Madelyn Gardner, Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA) Zach Hebert, Vermont Foodbank. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Bennington Banner. The U.S. is pressing its allies to move heaven and earth to keep Kyiv well-supplied with the weapons it needs to repel Russian forces, as Moscow rains fire on eastern and southern Ukraine A delayed experiment to enhance tourist access to the Berkshires will finally roll this summer, five years after a subsidy was secured. GRAPE DUMPLINGS Different versions of grape dumplings have been passed down and adapted over time and they are all delicious. Community Preservation Committee Community Preservation Committee just gave 11 projects the OK to spend $670K. Here's what you need to know PITTSFIELD A delayed experiment to enhance tourist access to the Berkshires will finally roll this summer, five years after a subsidy was secured. Officials with the Massachusetts and New York transportation departments said Monday that the Berkshire Flyer will provide limited train trips linking New York City with Pittsfield, starting July 8. If embraced, the service a Friday afternoon trip from Penn Station in Manhattan to Pittsfield and a return trip Sunday afternoon could become a regular feature, officials say. For now, it depends on subsidies and heavy marketing efforts, as well as the willingness of private owners of track to allow trips. The notion of providing dedicated service to New Yorkers seeking weekend getaways to the Berkshires was proposed as long ago as 2017. Despite the arrival of the pandemic in 2020, local officials hoped to test the service that fall, until legal issues sidelined the project. This has been years in the making, state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, said in a statement. Hinds lined up initial funding for the Berkshire Flyer in 2017, seeing it as a way to develop tourism in the Berkshires. In an interview in 2020, Hinds said that one year of funding for the project included $240,000 to underwrite operations, a $30,000 fee for a program director and $100,000 for marketing to build ridership. The service depends on a public sector subsidy, even with the sale of tickets to riders. A two-year pilot run, for 20 weeks a year, was to start in the spring of 2020, then pushed to the fall then delayed for nearly two more years. On Monday, Massachusetts officials said the investment can pay off for the Berkshires. Western Massachusetts and the Berkshire region offer a whole host of cultural and recreational opportunities during the summer and we hope this pilot service will encourage even more visitors to this part of our state, Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement provided by the state Department of Transportation. Travel details The service will leave Penn Station at 3:16 p.m. on Fridays and arrive at the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center, at 1 Columbus Ave. in Pittsfield, at 7:12 p.m. On the way north, the train will make the same stops as a typical Amtrak Empire Service train, officials say. The Sunday return trip will leave Pittsfield at 3 p.m. and get to New York at 7:05 p.m. Tickets will go on sale in May and will be available through Amtrak. For tickets, visit Amtrak.com or use the Amtrak app, or by visiting Amtrak ticket desks or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. After Mayor Jennifer Macksey files a lawsuit, New England Alchemy says it won't open a cannabis business in North Adams You don't want us? Then a cannabis business doesn't want North Adams, its owner, Rustin Kluge, said in effect Friday. Were just choosing another municipality that we feel is a better fit." Sentiments often characterized as not in my backyard or NIMBY are common in the Berkshires, particularly when it comes to pot businesses, as The Eagles April 15 editorial pointed out after North Adams Mayor Jennifer Mackseys lawsuit drove away New England Alchemys proposed operation on Ashland Street despite the fact that the company had already obtained a special permit from the towns Planning Board. Beyond the cannabis industry, developments that cause neighborhood disruption often meet these sentiments, such as a proposed Becket glamping operation that aims to revive the Dream Away Lodge is facing, with the potential influx of outside visitors being a major concern. The glamping resort will increase traffic along the two-lane County Road, Becket Road to Lee, and throughout the town of Becket roads that are already deteriorating and in need of constant repair, one such concern reads from a Change.org petition against the glamping proposal. Another reads: The impact to the environment of development of this size includes deforestation, flattening and trampling on vegetation, chopping of branches for campfires, degrading and destruction of wildlife habitats. But these sentiments are not universally shared. In fact, views similar to a phenomenon that has taken hold across the nation are being felt in the Berkshires: YIMBY, or yes, in my backyard. YIMBY finds its roots in San Francisco, and has been mostly fueled by rising housing costs and the lack of affordable housing, but its central ideas and sentiments are often present in those who are in favor of new developments, such as proposed businesses that face NIMBY opposition. The movement is fuelled by the anger of young adults from the millennial generation, many of whom are now in their late 20s and early 30s, Erin McCormick wrote for The Guardian in 2017, when the movement started to spread nationwide. Rather than suffer in silence as they struggle to find affordable places to live, they are heading to planning meetings en masse to argue for more housing preferably the very kind of dense, urban infill projects that have often generated neighbourhood opposition from NIMBYs. Locally, YIMBY sentiments have taken the form of backlash to NIMBY, though I would argue that a YIMBY mentality can also take the form of enthusiasm for new development. This is why it is so important to be engaged in your local politics, former North Adams City Councillor Jessica Sweeney wrote in a Facebook post responding to the New England Alchemy situation. These kinds of moments have ripple effects. Taxes will go up because we were not able to build or stabilize the tax base because new businesses no longer want to come to North Adams, then rents (commercial and residential) will rise, businesses will struggle, and residents will continue to struggle to afford to live here. Dalton OKs an event permit, two weeks after a neighboring property was denied one Officials in Dalton go to lengths to explain why one event permit approval can't be compared to a neighboring property's recent permit denial. Perhaps a better example of YIMBYism in the Berkshires came last year, when the Dalton Zoning Board of Appeals received backlash for denying a special permit in 2021 for the long running Halloween-themed Purgatory Road event that benefited the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention. The decision came after some neighbors expressed concerns, one of which was the increase in car traffic; ironically, two weeks later, the Dalton ZBA approved an event permit for a car show taking place in a neighboring property. The optics may not be so favorable, but I dont see an issue with this, Daniel Esko, a Dalton Select Board member, said of the approval of the car show. This instance of YIMBYism also had financial consequences, as supporters of the Purgatory Road event boycotted two businesses of a neighbor who opposed it. He admitted to The Eagle that the boycotts had affected his businesses, and later held a fundraiser for the coalition last fall. YIMBYism highlights how, while abutting property owners concerns about ambitious development projects deserve to be heard, so do the overall needs of their communities. In truth, YIMBY and NIMBY are two sides of the same coin, and successful communities need a healthy balance of both to succeed unchecked development can upheave local communities and ruin natural resources, while unchecked opposition to development stunts an areas economic growth. It must also be said that such labels are also very limited in their usefulness, presenting a stark binary that isnt always helpful when discussing individual proposals that have contextual nuance within the communities they hope to call home. SPRINGFIELD Federal and state officials on Tuesday agreed on a path forward to extend passenger rail service west of Worcester to the cities of Springfield and Pittsfield, an effort designed to finally connect the eastern and western parts of the state by rail. Speaking with reporters after a meeting at Springfields Union Station, Gov. Charlie Baker and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal described plans for the Legislature to create a new rail authority and an effort to take advantage of recently granted federal infrastructure funds to make the long-sought project a reality. Baker and Neal did not lay out a project timeframe, but spoke about the accord as if it marked a significant breakthrough. I thought today that its fair to point out that this was an historic meeting, Neal said. The governor has made a full commitment to east-west rail. The conversation has gone on for a long period of time. Talks about the project have run for five or six years, Baker said. He said that while he has been seen by some as an opponent, he believes he has secured greater clarity on what he described as important open-ended questions. There is an agreement on a path forward here and were going to work between now and the end of the legislative session to put the requisite building blocks that we need to put in place at the state level, which will then make it possible for us to leverage a lot of the available federal money thats there because the federal governments very interested and Amtrak in particular is very interested in building out in this Northeast Corridor, Baker said. So I think weve got a real opportunity. Neal said the agreement pivoted on setting up the new rail authority in a pending infrastructure bond bill and asking for a dedicated funding stream tied to the federal infrastructure bill. Neal said there has been a vigorous discussion about existing sales taxes, paid by by people statewide, that are already dedicated to the MBTA, the rail authority that oversees the vast network of bus, commuter rail and subway services in eastern Massachusetts. I have been clear about my thoughts that before we do free transportation anywhere we want to make sure that theres a corresponding effort for east-west rail or west-east rail, Neal said, referring to the push in eastern Massachusetts for fare-free MBTA service. Last August, Baker met for nearly two hours in his office to discuss the project with Neal and U.S. Reps. Jake Auchincloss, Seth Moulton and Stephen Lynch, Neal said. He said rail service in central and western Massachusetts has a great friend in Gov. Charlie Baker. The congressman identified remaining challenges as agreeing on the makeup of the rail authority board and executing necessary land takings. Just about every state lawmaker from western Massachusetts was either at Tuesdays meeting at Springfield Union Station, or looped into the meeting via technology, Neal said. This is a huge step forward today, Neal said. The governor, who had three Western Massachusetts stops in Chicopee and Amherst on his public schedule Tuesday, was asked to attend the meeting in Springfield by Neal and U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, Neal said. State Transportation Secretary Jamey Tesler also attended. Out in this side of the state everything goes through Union Station, said Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. So well be here to facilitate anything and everything to make sure that this comes to fruition. He added, Were ready to yell out all aboard the western part of the state to go east. Asked by reporters, Neal said he would be open to a train station in Palmer. The congressman also said the rail extension and popularity of remote work could help some people solve another problem: housing affordability. The cost of housing in the Boston suburbs is astronomical, Neal said. We believe that this would provide some relief for those who might want to live out here. Baker did not specify how much state funding would be needed to satisfy federal matching requirements, noting the federal government has yet to issue guidance on that topic. He said he did not expect the state to have any trouble coming up with its state match. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Galilee was the venue for most of Jesus ministry. It was located in modern-day Northern Israel, which in Jesus day was part of the Roman Empire. One of the three provinces of ancient Palestine, it included the whole northern section of the country, the Jordan River and Sea of Galilee forming the Eastern border. Lower Galilee, with great plain and hill country running down into the Jordan, was one of the richest and most beautiful sections of Palestine, explains Smith's Bible Dictionary Upper Galilee, known biblically as Galilee of the Gentiles, was mountainous. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, one of the two major cities of Galilee, says Encyclopedia Britannica. Isaiah 9:1 says, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan. Galilee can be translated to mean wheel or revolution. Though much effort was made by the Roman Empire to keep it a peaceful territory, word of Jesus and His followers threatened to disrupt that peace, and eventually reached all the way to Rome. Where Does the Bible Talk about Galilee? What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him (John 2:11). Mentioned 67 times in the Bible, Galilee appears more predominately in the New Testament (64 times) compared to the Old Testament (9). 1 Chronicles documents the fertile land, and its mention in Joshua and 1 Kings describes it as land gifted from Solomon to King Hiram. Isaiah includes it in a prophecy fulfilled in Matthew 4:13-16: when Jesus ministered in Capernaum- near the major highway from Egypt to Damascus, called the Way of the Sea. Galilee, where Jesus first called his disciples, is the location of many events recorded in the first three Gospels. The apostles were all Galileans by either birth or residence, records Smiths Bible Dictionary. Much of Jesus public ministry occurred there, including nineteen of Jesus thirty-two parables, and twenty-five of Jesus thirty-three miracles, according to Easton's Bible Dictionary. The first recorded miracle was when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana in John 2:1-11. Biblical scenes such as the Sermon on the Mount and the Transfiguration also occurred there. The entire province in encircled with a halo of holy associations, wrote Carl Hoffman, connected with the life, works and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew 4:23-25 reads, Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing disease and sickness among the people Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. Jesus is often referred to as Jesus of Galilee or Jesus of Nazareth, because custom associated people with cities instead of last names. The region is referenced in the Book of Acts as an identifying factor of His disciples and many early followers. Acts 13:30-31 says, But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people. Its possible The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16) Jesus delivered to His disciples after His resurrection occurred on a mountain in Galilee, commanding from its lofty summit a view of about 80 miles in every direction. What Is the Historical Significance of Galilee? King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted (1 Kings 9:11). Galilee, a piece of land containing approximately twenty towns, was gifted to King Hiram of Tyre by Solomon for his work in conveying timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem says Smith's Bible Dictionary. During the reigns of King David and King Solomon in the 10th century BC, Encyclopedia Britannica says it came under the northern kingdom of Israel. Historians have varying theories about why Galilee was largely deserted for over half a millennium after the Assyrian invasion. A century before Jesus, the area was re-populated by Judean immigrants. Galilee was the most pagan of the Jewish provinces, says theologian Frederick Bruner. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia adds, Their mixed origin explains the differences in speech which distinguished them from their brethren in the South, who regarded Galilee and the Galileans with a certain proud contempt. A large population settled there in the century before Christ. Galilee was a region of great natural fertility, records Bible Hub, continuing that It rejects no plant, for the air is so genial that it suits every variety. It was a rich land and a cultured people. Josephus (a 1st Century AD Roman-Jewish historian) estimates the population at 3,000,000, records the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. This helps us to understand the crowds that gathered and followed Jesus in this district. During the life of Jesus, Galilee was part of the Roman Empire. Located strategically between Syria and Egypt, Roman leaders and allies were placed in rule there to ensure peace. Ruled by foreigners, relations between the Gentiles and Jewish people were tense. Historically significant is Galilees strong resistance to the Roman Empire, putting up the greatest fight among Jewish populations. Eastons Bible Dictionary notes Galilee was the scene of some of the most memorable events of Jewish history. How Was Galilee Important in the Earthly Life of Jesus? After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away (Matthew 26:73). Jesus lived in Galilee for approximately thirty years. Galilean Jews had a recognizable accent, therefore Jesus disciples were easily identified. Jesus left Judea for Galilee when John the Baptist was arrested, to allude the Pharisees (experts in Jewish law). The way in which He traveled from Judea to Galilee is significant. Originally from Nazareth of Galilee, Jesus would have been very familiar with the route most Jews took to avoid going through Samaria. The Jews and Samaritans hated each other, yet Jesus chose to walk through Samaria before beginning His public ministry in Galilee. Every step Jesus took on earth was intentional. He had been rejected in His hometown of Nazareth, and so traveled to begin His ministry in the Galilean city of Capernaum. The people Jesus choose to preach to first were looked upon with contempt as rude and boorish, Matthew Henry records. The Galilean people were predominately Jewish, but heritage had been blended over the decades, leaving the purely Jewish element to be relatively small. Christ humbled Himself to begin His preaching, not to scholarly men, but those fit for soldiers. The people there were living in the darkness, meaning without Christ and without the Gospel truth. Matthew 4:16 says, the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Jesus pursues His own no matter where and what state they are in. The Christian places his faith, her hope of renewal, his confidence in forgiveness, in the actions of someone else- in Jesus Christ, wrote Kathy Keller for The Gospel Coalition. What Should Christians Remember about Galilee Today? Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? The same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). The hope of the early disciples as they gazed up into the clouds to which Jesus ascended is the same hope we cling to in our hearts today. In an effort to provide younger generations with the opportunity to connect with their faith, The Gospel Trail, which takes sojourners from Nazareth to Galilee, marks many of the important biblical events in Jesus life. While trekking through the paths where Jesus footsteps once blazed a trail can make us feel closer to Him, everything we need to experience His presence is within us through our salvation. Perhaps the most powerful thing we can remember about Galilee today is its real history. Christians have nothing to fear from questions, however searching, or doubts, however scathing, Kathy Keller writes, History is on our side. Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ. An author, freelance writer and blogger at Sunny&80, she earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University. Her first book, Friends with Everyone, is available on amazon.com. Meg leads/teaches Bible Study in Womens and Junior High Ministry. Living in Northern Ohio, shes been wife to Jim for a decade and counting, is mom to two tween daughters, a distance runner, photographer, and Cleveland Browns fan. Photo credit: GettyImages/irisphoto2 RATHDRUM - The Idaho Transportation Department is offering an intensive five-week training program June 13 through July 15 in Rathrdrum. Applicants selected for the program will receive free hands-on training in heavy equipment operation, cement masonry, welding and ironwork, and more. Applicants can also earn a free Commercial Drivers License. Now in its fourth year, 75% of the programs graduates have obtained employment with companies in the industry. Students can learn more about the program by watching this video. ITD is accepting applications until all program spots are filled. To apply, applicants must submit a resume and letter of interest to onthejobIdaho@gmail.com or by mail to P.O. Box 7129, Boise, Idaho 83707. All applicants must be at least 21, hold a valid drivers license, be available to attend all classes for the duration of the program, and pass a drug screening and DOT physical. No prior construction experience is necessary. Women, veterans, and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, contact Jessika Phillips by email at Jessika.Phillips@itd.idaho.gov or by calling (208) 334-8152. ITD receives funding through the Federal Highway Administration for this industry-leading program. State superintendent candidates Debbie Critchfield, Branden Durst and Sherri Ybarra verbally dueled for the Republican nomination Monday night, energetically clashing on school policy and trading one-liners in an hour-long debate broadcast across the state. The three GOP primary contenders put their campaign messaging on full display during Idaho Public Televisions Idaho Debates. Ybarra flexed her seven years in office, Critchfield struck at Ybarras lack of leadership, and Durst, again, portrayed himself as an outsider in the field. I believe we need to get government out of the way and let parents lead as God intended, Durst said. The debate saw: Durst defend his conduct during a profane exchange that occurred after a legislative committee and decry the Senates decision not to hear a bill that could have included jail time for librarians who disseminate material harmful to minors. Ybarra and Critchfield, who was president of the State Board of Education early in the pandemic, defend their roles in responding to the pandemic. The trio split on issues from critical race theory to backsliding early literacy test scores. The same was the case for early literacy funding, a hot topic in education politics this year. From open to close, Critchfield questioned Ybarras strength of leadership, arguing that the superintendent has played a back-seat role in securing increased funding for early literacy and more from the Legislature. Who is it that is driving education? Critchfield rhetorically asked, crediting Gov. Brad Little, and downplaying Ybarras role, in locking down a $46.6 million increase in early literacy funding from the Legislature this year. Notably, Ybarra had requested $39.3 million for full-day kindergarten programs, a smaller predecessor to Littles $46.6-million ask. Opposing the literacy funding boost, now signed into law, Durst echoed critical lawmakers, who said increased early literacy funding would cause the shuttering of half-day kindergarten programs for families who want them. Durst, a former Democratic state senator, repeated his support for a failed bill that would have allowed parents to spend tax dollars on private school tuition through education savings accounts. I believe that we should have the public schools competing with private schools for money and for students, Durst said. With some study Critchfield said she would support such a proposal if were not defunding our public schools and it could not come at the expense of our rural schools. Ybarra repeated a hardline stance that shes made on the campaign trail, opposing any tax money toward private school tuition and saying her opponents are voucher supporters to the vocal opposition of Critchfield. Things turned testy at times. At one point, as Ybarra touted an increase in the number of charter schools in the state, Critchfield interjected, pointing out that Ybarra isnt on the state charter school commission that authorizes new charters. Ybarra shot back, Excuse me. Like in a third-grade classroom, we teach our students not to interrupt. I was speaking and you can have your turn in a moment. The debate closed with stump speech-style closers and final blows that were sprinkled with political overtones. On May 17, youll get your final chance to do something youve wanted to do for a long time, which is say Lets go Branden, Durst said, playing on the insult of President Joe Biden. Critchfield in her closing remarks made an apparent dig at Ybarras use of fuzzy data to defend her record, and added, Its not about political rhetoric. Ybarra ended with, Like the kids say, please vote for Sherri in the primary. The candidates will debate again Tuesday night at 6 p.m. on KTVB, the last joint appearance they have planned before the May 17 primary. The debate will also air on the Treasure Valley news stations website. While the superintendents candidates will debate twice, contenders in other statewide offices wont ever square off. Some have refused to debate or reneged on commitments to debate, including Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin in the governors race; state Rep. Priscilla Giddings of White Bird in the lieutenant governors race; and incumbent Rep. Mike Simpson in his congressional race. There arent any debates scheduled on the Democratic side of the superintendents race, where former Idaho Education Association President Terry Gilbert is unopposed. The Republican nominee will face Gilbert in the general election in November. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, don't know much about history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices To develop artificial intelligence-powered diagnostic solutions To better understand how dementia develops in Asians and to advance new strategies that will one day help to predict and delay the progression of the disease, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has launched the Dementia Research Centre (Singapore). The research centre at NTU Singapores Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) will work with hospitals here to recruit 1,500 patients with mild cognitive impairment, the earliest stage of dementia, to shed light on Asian dementia and capture the changes in the brain before dementia sets in. Aside from this five-year longitudinal study- Biomarker and Cognitive Impairment Study (BioCIS), the research centre will also work with NTUs computer scientists and mechanical engineers to develop artificial intelligence-powered diagnostic solutions, such as using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to help clinicians accurately predict or assess dementia progression. The research centre is headed by its Director, NTU LKCMedicines Associate Professor of Neuroscience Nagaendran Kandiah. The team is advised by a panel of renowned neuroscientists from Canada, Australia, and the UK. This year, pharmaceutical company, Pharma Dynamics celebrates 20 years of increasing access to healthcare. Source: Supplied. Pharma Dynamics' chief executive officer, Erik Roos. The miracle of sound A growing enterprise To mark the important milestone, it is inviting staff, patients, pharmacists, healthcare practitioners and all those who helped to shape the company in the last two decades to collaboratively participate in the creation of a digital artwork that will take on the form of a heart.Erik Roos, chief executive officer of Pharma Dynamics says choosing the illustration of a heart is not only a symbol of the companys longstanding position as the market leader in cardiovascular medication, but also symbolises the heartbeat of the organisation.The artwork is our story that defines and articulates the way in which each employee and the company as a whole, is improving the human condition in a meaningful and sustainable way. Furthermore, it is symbolic of the connection and causal effect between the company and its stakeholders together making a difference in the world.Pharma Dynamics digital sculpture takes shape in response to sound. The more people contribute their voices in the form of voice messages, the more intricate the sculpture becomes.Since the introduction of digital technology, sound art is becoming more popular and comes in various forms, including kinetic sound sculptures, sound-walks, poetry and in Pharma Dynamics case, the spoken word. Its a new wave of sonic artistry that uses tones and audio effects to create an artistic expression the same way a painter uses colours on a canvas.Roos says just like every business is unique and follows a different growth journey of expansion and consolidation, no one journey is ever the same.The artwork represents our transformative business journey from startup to maturity, and is meant to be a compilation of heartfelt stories from people who helped us to get where we are now.Pharma Dynamics has much to celebrate. It is the ninth largest pharmaceutical and sixth largest generic company in South Africa, with 19 market-leading brands, operating in 30 therapeutic areas, which include cardiovascular, neuroscience, pain, digestive health, female healthcare, critical care, antibiotics, and complementary and alternative medicines (CAMS), among others.It is a level 4 BBBEE company and has remained a leading supplier of cardiovascular medication in the country for more than a decade amid fierce competition.Roos says its difficult to fathom that the small company, that started with only a handful of people some 20 years ago, now employs more than 160 staff countrywide. Over the years, the company has significantly contributed to the South African economy, not only in terms of broadening medicine access, but also in terms of job creation and social investment.As we look back on our growth, accomplishments and relationships built with our customers, we would like to thank everyone who has been involved in supporting Pharma Dynamics in reaching 20 years of success. It has been made possible, because of the trust that healthcare professionals and patients put in our products and due to our incredible team that goes the extra mile every day to service customers the best they can.In a way, companies are like families. We build them with all our heart, putting our blood, sweat and tears into making them grow and flourish. At Pharma Dynamics, we are a family and our values of integrity, passion for service excellence, teamwork, respect, care and entrepreneurial spirit underpin everything we do. Our values shape our culture and are our unique heartbeat."Together we have created a company known for its quality products, services and commitment to making healthcare affordable and accessible to all.While we celebrate our 20-year success, we remain future focused. We have already set new goals and benchmarks that we look forward to achieving in the coming years, and are directing our talent, focus and energy toward applying new ideas and tools for improving health for all, says Roos.To participate in Pharma Dynamics sonic sculpture, visit their website for instructions. Your unique contribution is downloadable for you to keep. Workers' Day is about rewarding all the hard work put in over the year and enjoying a day off. While we all get to enjoy a well-deserved break over Workers' Day weekend, there are those in the service industry who are working to make sure we can all enjoy ourselves. This Workers' Day weekend, Castle Lite's Tips on Tap initiative aims to extend the enjoyment to include SA's hard-working bar staff who will be serving up extra cold refreshments for their loyal patrons all weekend. To Liten up the bar staffs weekend as well as yours, Castle Lite will be tipping bar staff R5 for every 500ml Castle Lite draught served at participating outlets from Friday 29 April to Monday 2 May, and they are calling on South Africa to raise your glasses in support.Tips on Tap is an initiative about extending the enjoyment to our most loved bar staff this Workers' Day weekend. We wanted to ensure that South Africas bar staff, who will be working over the public holidays, get the extra support they deserve, they are the ones working to ensure you get served a perfect, extra-cold draught after all, says Colleen Duvenage, brand director at Castle Lite.All you have to do to be a part of this worthwhile initiative is to visit your nearest participating outlet, purchase an extra cold 500ml Castle Lite draught, and Castle Lite will tip the bar staff R5, its that easy to spread the enjoyment this workers day weekend!To make it as convenient as possible for every South African of legal drinking age to get involved with this initiative and to maximise our efforts to hit our tip target of over a R1m we have selected outlets all across South Africa. That means wherever you are enjoying your long weekend, you can find a participating outlet and spread the enjoyment.We understand that our restaurants and bars are still recovering from the last few years and we as Castle Lite wanted to show support for them, especially highlighting our skilled bar staff and the hard work they put in day after day.If youre unable to make it to one of the participating outlets over the long weekend, you can keep your eyes on Castle Lites social pages for more ways in which to engage with the campaign, spread the enjoyment, and play your part to ensure the SAs bar staff get the recognition they deserve.This Workers' Day choose Castle Lite, the beer that tips your bar staff. For more information and to locate your nearest participating outlet visit www.castlelite.co.za . Terms and conditions apply. Finnish dairy giant Valio has completed negotiations around its Russian divestment and will sell its operations in the country to Russian food producer Velkom Group. The transfer will commence immediately. Source: Supplied With the completed transaction, Valios operations in Russia have now ended.The sale includes Valios Russian operations and the processed cheese factory in Ershovo. The Viola brand of processed cheese sold and produced in Russia is also part of the deal, which means that the new owner has the option to continue producing and selling Viola processed cheeses in Russia.The Valio brand will still be seen on store shelves in Russia until the packaging materials have been depleted and product expiration dates have been reached.Product brand rights to the Valio Viola fresh cheeses sold in Finland and produced by Valio in Finland are not included in the transaction. The buyer must stop using the brands sold in Russia that are not included in the transaction by the end of the year within the framework of the transition period.Russias attack on Ukraine made it impossible to continue our operations in Russia, both ethically and from a business perspective. Exiting from Russia has proved difficult in this situation because of the constantly changing legislation and the reciprocal sanctions. We have sought out solutions and a suitable buyer throughout spring. With the transaction, we will complete this process and our operations in Russia will end, says Valio CEO Annikka Hurme.In 2020, Valios net sales in Russia were 87m and accounted for approximately 5% of Valios global net sales of about 1.8bn. The company decided on 7 March 2022 to withdraw from operations in Russia.Valio exports products to some 60 countries around the world. The total value of its international operations and exports is about 750m annually, i.e. about 40% of Valios total net sales. "Are you delivering 10x better, cheaper and faster than your competitors and peers in the same space? Can you radically and exponentially drop your marginal cost of supply? How flexible, agile, scalable, purpose-driven is your organisational structure? Are you a disruptor in your sector?" Salim Ismail, co-founder and chairman of OpenExO Chief community officer of OpenExO, Kevin Allen These are the imperatives of the decade, says Salim Ismail, Co-founder and Chairman of OpenExO, a global ecosystem focused on innovation and digital transformation.OpenExO helps organisations replace incremental innovation with the ability to be flexible, agile, scalable, and purpose-driven, and enables them to implement groundbreaking technologies and profitably achieve ten-fold improvements, fast.As the founder of some of the most influential tech companies at the core of our digital society, such as New York Grant Company, Confabb, PubSub Concepts, Fastrack Institute, Brickhouse, Yahoos incubator for new products and Angstro, which was acquired by Google in 2010.Ismail is also the author of the critically acclaimed 2014 treatise,In more than 150 entertaining, irreverent, epiphany-inducing presentations a year, Ismail shares these secrets with leaders of the worlds largest companies and heads of state.On 4 May 2022, Ismail and the chief community officer of OpenExO, Kevin Allen, will be addressing ECOM Africa 2022. The topic of their presentation isBusinesses that leverage the Exponential Organisations approach show higher financial returns, greater team retention and purpose driven alignment with customers. With Allen live at the CTICC and Ismail joining via video, the pair will discuss the keys to building an exponential organisation and why it is important for e-commerce.We are incredibly excited that OpenExO will be joining us for Ecom Africa and to have Salim and Kevin sharing their insights into building exponential organisations and opportunities for African businesses, says David Ashdown, CEO of the Vuka Group, organisers of Ecom Africa.Vuka Group is in the process of the organic evolution required to adopt the OpenExO operating model, and the impact has been immediate on our business. Salim and Kevin are calling this the Decade of the ExO and it is a massive opportunity for our delegates to hear what it takes to thrive in the 21st century from these globally respected strategists. Wait until you hear the insights of the data relating to the Top 10 companies of the FTSE 100!Over this next decade, pretty much every organisation, every nonprofit, every government department, every impact project will be organised according to these principles and if you are not, you wont be extracting or delivering as much value as others. The data weve recently uncovered ratifies this completely. The imperative becomes how do you apply these principles, says Ismail.Ismails team interviewed the top 200 unicorns around the world to find out what enables them to scale so fast. A second edition of Exponential Organizations is due out this year and will incorporate new data that shows how companies like Tesla, SpaceEx, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook are operating at 10x the results of anyone else.Ecom Africa 2022 provides the perfect opportunity to hear Ismail and Allen interpret their findings for an African audience."We are excited to be a part of Ecom Africa and to share these insights and our vision with delegates at Ecom Africa 2022. Were also looking forward to working with the Vuka Group on their development journey, said Allen.Ecom Africa is the continents largest e-commerce conference and exhibition. This years expo will be the eighth edition and the first hybrid edition of this gathering of specialists in the e-commerce, e-tailing, and fintech sectors. Limited tickets are available for the in-person event and the online broadcast.The in-person and online conference and expo will take place on 4 and 5 May 2022 at the CTICC in Cape Town.Leading innovators in the current, global e-business evolution will be represented at the upcoming Ecom Africa. These include Zappos, Meta, Nestle, Massmart, OneDayOnly, Bidroom, PicknPay, Chepa, Mantality, Konga, AutoTrader, Loot, UberEats, Sanlam, OneCart and RuggedIn addition to Ismail and Allen, the 40+ speakers include Alex Genov, head of Customer Experience Research at Zappos (USA), Michael Ros, CEO and co-founder of Bidroom (Netherlands), and local innovators Liam McCreedy, founder of Quench, Vincent Viviers, general manager: Pick n Pay Online Marketing & Commercial.Ecom Africa is the perfect opportunity for local and international solution providers to meet e-commerce players from all over Africa. By establishing relationships with these key players, solution providers can open up new opportunities for expansion into the region, says Terry Southam, Group director Retail, Vuka Group. We examine the programmes tackling youth unemployment A trip around southern Africa as we share the top places to visit Prof. Kondlo of the Institute for the Study of Legislatures tells us why public participation is important The Covid pandemic is it over yet? Treasury Deputy Director-General Ismail Momoniat In this edition we highlight the critical role transport and logistics play in developing the South African economy and dive into what Minister Patricia de Lilles Public Works Department is doing to contribute to growth. We explain why The South African Weather Service is at the forefront of combating climate change through their predictions and we celebrate veterinarians for the work they do and we also briefly discuss the new laws around workplace harassment.In his letter to the country on 1 April From the Desk of the President our president celebrated the countrys improved tax revenue which is supporting South Africas economic recovery and growth:Last week, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced in its preliminary tax revenue collection outcome that it had collected over R1.5-trillion between April 2021 and March 2022. This a 25% improvement over the previous year and a 15% increase over the last year prior to the COVID pandemic.Over the same period, SARS also paid out its highest amount in tax refunds since it was established 25 years ago.A competent tax revenue collection agency is at the heart of building a capable state. President Ramaphosa.His Excellency recently attended the Presidential Imbizo in the Free State where he met with community members who raised their service delivery concerns. President Ramaphosa recently announced the new National Commissioner of Police, General Sehlahle Fannie Masemola, and attended The South African Dubai 2020 Expo National Day where he addressed the celebration held at the Al Wasl Plaza. More good news is that His Excellency officiated at the launch of a locally South African-manufactured bakkie, the Isuzu-D Max, in the Eastern CapeThis bumper edition of PSL celebrates Freedom Day in April with a special reminder of why it is so important in our countrys history and this would not have been possible without including a feature on Madiba. Our Trailblazer this month is financial crime buster Treasury Deputy Director-General Ismail Momoniat and our Woman in Leadership is 'The Knitting Needle Guerilla', Honourable Thandi Modise, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.What is happening at Home Affairs? We take a look at the departments successes under the leadership of Minister Motsoaledi. Our Regional Focus is on the Eastern Cape looking at the province's attractions, economy and premier; and in Financial Fitness we zoom in on how public debt affects your personal finances and investments. In Other News PSL focuses on gems to visit in southern Africa and we address a topic which is top of mind the unemployment situation in the country.Whether you are in the public sector, the private sector, supply chain or an interested individual,has something for you. We hope you enjoy the read.Keep your finger on the pulse! To stay in the loop on all current affairs, check out the latest edition of thepublication on Issuu, here For enquiries , regarding being profiled or showcased in the next edition of thepublication, please set up an appointment with our National Project Manager, Emlyn Dunn, here Datsun dead again: Production ends in India Of course, Nissan South Africa had sourced its Datsun wares from the Indian plant. The company's local website still lists the Go and Go+ as being available, though a glance at recent sales figures suggests stock brought into the country from India has now almost run dry. Nissan SA last registered a three-row Go+ as long ago as November 2021, along with 105 units of the Go in the same month. That figure fell to 47 in December 2021, 27 in January 2022, 14 in February and just 7 in March. The four-strong Go budget hatchback had been priced from R184,600 to R213 800, while the three-variant Go+ line-up had run from R194,700 to R223,800. A few years back, Datsun had plans to launch a new budget-beating crossover locally, but that vehicle didnt ever materialise. Instead, the Nissan-badged Magnite which was originally destined to wear the Datsun insignia was introduced to South Africa in April 2021. The first Datsun was produced way back in 1931, before the badge disappeared in 1986. After a 27-year hiatus, Nissan announced the revival of the marque as a budget sub-brand for emerging markets in mid-2013. The Go, however, had a rocky start, being handed a zero-star crash-test safety rating by Global NCAP the following year. This article was originally published on Cars.co.za. Nissan SA last registered a three-row Go+ as long ago as November 2021, along with 105 units of the Go in the same month. That figure fell to 47 in December 2021, 27 in January 2022, 14 in February and just 7 in March. The four-strong Go budget hatchback had been priced from R184,600 to R213 800, while the three-variant Go+ line-up had run from R194,700 to R223,800.A few years back, Datsun had plans to launch a new budget-beating crossover locally, but that vehicle didnt ever materialise. Instead, the Nissan-badged Magnite which was originally destined to wear the Datsun insignia was introduced to South Africa in April 2021.The first Datsun was produced way back in 1931, before the badge disappeared in 1986. After a 27-year hiatus, Nissan announced the revival of the marque as a budget sub-brand for emerging markets in mid-2013. The Go, however, had a rocky start, being handed a zero-star crash-test safety rating by Global NCAP the following year. SOURCE Cars.co.za Cars.co.za is a leading online automotive retail portal that lists more than 70 000 vehicles stocked by hundreds of dealers countrywide, as well as the top-ranked branded SA YouTube channel. In 2015, Cars.co.za repositioned itself as a consumer champion by optimising its editorial content for the purposes of engaging and empowering its users. The Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey, in association with Lightstone Consumer, and the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by WesBank, underlines the companys objective to be the most comprehensive resource to South African vehicle buyers. Go to: Cars.co.za is a leading online automotive retail portal that lists more than 70 000 vehicles stocked by hundreds of dealers countrywide, as well as the top-ranked branded SA YouTube channel. In 2015, Cars.co.za repositioned itself as a consumer champion by optimising its editorial content for the purposes of engaging and empowering its users. The Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey, in association with Lightstone Consumer, and the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by WesBank, underlines the companys objective to be the most comprehensive resource to South African vehicle buyers.Go to: http://www.cars.co.za Twitter, which has been a hub of public discourse and a flashpoint in the debate over online free speech before, has seen the resurfacing of this debate with the announcement that Twitter will be sold to Tesla titan Elon Musk, and going private. Twitter is the digital town square In principle, I dont believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness. jack (@jack) April 26, 2022 Staff in an uproar, not happy Its absolutely insane @ Twitter right now in the virtual valves of private slack rooms & employee group texts, according to an internal source. Their take/breakdown just now: I feel like im going to throw up..I rly dont wanna work for a company that is owned by Elon Musk1/ talmon joseph smith (@talmonsmith) April 25, 2022 Struggled to generate revenue With more than 83 million followers, Musk is one of its most prolific users.Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, has criticised Twitter's moderation says Reuters But what does Musk mean by free speech? In a tweet on Monday, he wrote, I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.said: "He (Musk) wants Twitter's algorithm for prioritizing tweets to be public and objects to giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise."It further reports that political activists expect that a Musk regime will mean less moderation and reinstatement of banned individuals including former President Donald Trump.However, Trump told CNBC on Monday he wouldnt return to Twitter even if Musk reversed the former presidents ban, saying that hell be on his own service, Truth Social, within a week.Despite this,said: "Conservatives cheered the prospect of fewer controls while some human rights activists voiced fears of a rise in hate speech. Musk has also advocated user-friendly tweaks to the service, such as an edit button and defeating "spam bots" that send overwhelming amounts of unwanted tweets."In a statement on Monday Musk said: Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated."The richest man in the world began amassing a stake of about 9% in January.By March, he had ramped up his criticism of Twitter, alleging that the companys algorithms are biased and feeds cluttered with automated junk posts. He also suggested Twitters user growth was inflated by bots, says Aljazeera After rejecting an invitation to join the companys board, on 14 April, he offered to take Twitter private, saying hed make the platform a bastion of free speech and dropping other hints about the changes hed make as owner.While Musk stated: Twitter has tremendous potential I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it", it appears that his enthusiasm is not shared by many Twitter employees who have expressed their views on the platform.'I feel like im going to throw up..I rly don't wanna work for a company that is owned by Elon Musk,' one staffer said.Another Twitter employee reportedly complained: 'I don't rly know what I'm supposed to dooh my god, my phone's been blowing upWe have a meeting about it at 5pmthe CEO is going to address everyone about it. I hate (Musk) him, why does he even want this?'In its internal message rooms there was uproar reports The New York Times CEO Parag Agrawal and Bret Taylor, the chair of the board addressed staff at 5pm ET on Monday.It's important to acknowledge that all of you have many different feelings about what is happening. Some of you are concerned, some are you are excited, and some of you are waiting to see how this goes. I know this affects all of you personally. It is an emotional day, and I just want to acknowledge it," Agrawal said, according to two people who attended the meeting and spoke toStaff have been told that their jobs are safe for at least six months, until Musk takes over under the terms of a $44 billion deal accordng to The Mail Online By taking the company private, Musk has to figure out a whole new structure for employee pay. However the tech industry is dealing with a tightening and highly competitive market for talent, with employers are under more pressure than ever to retain what theyve got.And despite its reach and impact, the San Francisco-based one-to-many messaging platform has struggled to generate the kind of revenue seen by social media peers such as Facebook and TikTok.Since its founding in March of 2006, Twitter has amassed 217 million daily active users, more than 80% of them outside the US, but it did not taste profit until the end of 2017, and the following year was its first to finish financially in the black.Twitter reported a loss of $221m last year. Subscribe to daily business and company news across 19 industries SUBSCRIBE Creative Programme Manager Remuneration: cost-to-company Location: Johannesburg Remote work: Remote work allowed optional Education level: Degree Job level: Mid/Senior Own transport required: Yes Travel requirement: Occasional Job policy: Employment Equity position Type: 12 Reference: #YCCMan22 Company: YCC in collaboration with TILT Job description Strategic and day-today management of the YCC Programme and its members Arranging technical and theoretical training sessions Managing talent search and programme participant engagement Liaison with funders, clients, implementation partner team, agency and YES team on behalf of the programme Preparing feedback reports for funders and partners Maintaining strong relationships with key industry leaders and content creators Preference for an Alexandra (Johannesburg) resident Remuneration: R325-R380k p.a. Requirements Appropriate tertiary qualification/s preferable Understanding of photography/videography Minimum six years relevant experience Computer literate (Word, PowerPoint/Keynote, Excel, e-mail) Excellent communication, presentation and writing skills A can-do attitude and strong work ethic: resourceful/inventive Proactive: nimble/adaptable Excellent interpersonal skills Great project management skills, with detail- and results-orientation This exciting, funded project the Youth Content Collective (YCC) was launched in mid-2021 to help unemployed 18-35 year olds become independent producers of authentic photo, video and illustrated content. Content creation company, TILT, runs the programme.Strategic and day-to-day management of the YCC Programme and its two staff members.Posted on 26 Apr 15:30, Closing date 25 Jun Managing Editor Location: Johannesburg, Lonehill, Sandton Company: Creative Space Media Job description Managing editorial and production processes Ensure the effective management of high-quality production of content for multiple media platforms This includes both executing best quality content on your own as well as managing editorial content of your assigned creative team Managing a team of writers, designers and video editors Create content strategies and oversee implementation processes to prioritise content flow This position is the gatekeeper for quality; oversight of writing/editing copy, articles, social media posts, email marketing content, websites and more Supervising the content creation process from writing through editing and publishing Build a deep understanding of brand strategy for each of the companys clients, applying it to everything you create and oversee Requirements Experience in content production and managing editorial Exceptional writing and editing skills, including the ability to write for a variety of audiences and communications mediums to ensure the creative delivery presentations are best in class Solid understanding of project management principles Media relations experience, including writing press releases and statements and building media lists A leading creative agency in Lonehill is looking for a Managing Editor to manage editorial content for multiple lines of digital and web platforms. The candidate should be passionate about creating relevant and dynamic content that inspires and engages. They must have good leadership skills, be a good team player, while continually contributing to, reviewing, and optimising the work the team produces. This role involves working collaboratively with both the production team and content creators to deliver great creative content for web and digital channels.Posted on 26 Apr 10:56, Closing date 25 Jun Business Development Consultant Remuneration: basic plus commission Location: Cape Town Education level: Matric Job level: Mid/Senior Own transport required: Yes Travel requirement: Often Type: Permanent Company: Estate Living Job description Prospecting Creating strategic proposals Phone, Zoom and face to face meetings Closing sales Client Service Making sales target With an interest and understanding of digital sales mediums Basic Commission On Target Earnings Phone and Internet stipend Requirements Prospecting Creating strategic proposals Comfortable with Phone, Zoom and Face to face meetings Closing sales Customer relations orientated Making sales target With an interest and understanding of digital sales mediums Positive attitude Self-motivated Computer literate Good communication skills Fluent in English Team player We are looking for a competent Media Sales Executive interested in working with property development & residential estate media. Must be based in Cape Town, professional and efficient in all sales related tasks:Must have own tools: Reliable Transport, Phone, Internet and LaptopWork from the office, with occasional Work from home.Overall responsible for selling media and communication solutions and driving sales across multiple platforms to property developers, estates and their media agencies.Years of experience in media sales: 5+Salary To be Discussed at application processStart Date ImmediatelyPosted on 04 May 15:48, Closing date 25 Jun Former Slate journalist Franklin Foer, who currently works at The Atlantic, sent a draft copy of one of his propaganda pieces to Fusion GPS for editing, according to leaked emails highlighted by Special Counsel John Durham. Oh dear. @FranklinFoer gave draft copies of his Russia collusion hoax stories to Fusion GPS and asked them to edit. via @Techno_Fog https://t.co/IynMT2naUm pic.twitter.com/YZB7smLRXR Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 26, 2022 grave, grave journalistic no-no. But for a propagandist participating in a hoax, probably standard operating procedure. And it's not the only time he's been caught doing it with Fusion on a Russia collusion hoax story. Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 26, 2022 May, 2016: Here's @FranklinFoer going back and forth with Fusion GPS on Carter Page Franklin published the Alfa Bank hoax before the election. pic.twitter.com/FaCJjpFXdr Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) April 26, 2022 From TechnoFog: Here are e-mails between Franklin Foer and Fusion GPS, in which they discuss going after Carter Page in May 2016. Fusion GPS and Franklin Foer e-mails - in which Fusion GPS alleges Millian is clearly KGB. Fusion GPS telling a WSJ reporter to call Adam Schiff or Diane Feinstein about Carter Page. As Durham makes clear, no lawyers are copied in these e-mails and this doesnt have anything to do with legal advice. And even if there were some type of privilege or work product, it was waived when Fusion GPS distributed the info to the press. How many times have we seen this before? It reminds me of when Politico's Glenn Thrush (now with the New York Times) got exposed by Wikileaks for sending his articles to the Clinton campaign for editing. Foer is now writing propaganda pieces for The Atlantic hailing the Zelensky regime as champions of "liberalism." In the spirit of Passover, I wrote about the miracle of Ukrainian survivaland why it should give hope for liberalism. https://t.co/GLNUMe9YBp Franklin Foer (@FranklinFoer) April 13, 2022 Zelensky said three weeks ago his goal for Ukraine is not to become a "liberal" state but instead "a Greater Israel." Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, Minds and Telegram. Joe Biden agreed to pay son Hunter's legal fees for his deal with a Chinese government-controlled company, emails reveal. The revelation ties the president even closer to Hunter's overseas business dealings and makes his previous claims that he never discussed them with his son, even less plausible. Joe was able to pay the bills after earning millions of dollars through his and his wife's companies after he left office as vice president. Some of the wave of cash came from their book deals and speaking engagements. But the president's financial filings reveal that he declared almost $7million more income on his tax returns than he did on his government transparency reports, an analysis by DailyMail.com of the president's financial records shows. Some of that difference can be accounted for with salaries earned by First Lady Jill Biden and other sums not required on his reports but still leaves $5.2million earned by Joe's company and not listed on his transparency reports. The 'missing millions' combined with emails on Hunter's abandoned laptop suggesting Joe would have a 10% share in Hunter's blockbuster deal with the Chinese raise a troubling question: did Joe Biden receive money from the foreign venture? Emails reveal Joe Biden agreed to pay Hunter's legal fees for a deal with a Chinese government-controlled company In January 2019, Hunter's assistant Katie Dodge wrote an email to book-keeper Linda Shapero and Biden aide Richard Ruffner, saying Joe had agreed to pay his hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills One of the last items on a spreadsheet of Hunter's bills was $28,000 in legal fees for the 'restructuring' of Hunter's joint venture with the Chinese government-controlled Bank of China. The spreadsheet listed the bill as 'Faegre Baker Daniels: BHR Restructuring' costing $28,382 and due 'ASAP'. In January 2019, Hunter's assistant Katie Dodge wrote an email to book-keeper Linda Shapero and Biden aide Richard Ruffner, saying Joe had agreed to pay his hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills. The math behind Joe's missing $5.2million The president's financial filings show that he declared almost $7million more income on his tax returns than he did on his government transparency reports, raising the question: where did the extra cash come from? Joe Biden's Office of Government Ethics (OGE) filings: 2017 - May 2019 filing: Jill and Joe Biden income of $8,699,787 Income attributable to Joe Bidens company CelticCapri Corp: $7,451,727 May 2019 2020 filing: Income of $907,160 CelticCapri Corp income: $613,737 Total: $9,606,947, including $8,065,464 from CelticCapri Joe Bidens federal tax returns: 2017 Income of $11,031,309 CelticCapri Corp income: $9,636,690 2018 Income of $4,580,437 CelticCapri Corp income: $3,030,667 2019 Income of $985,233 CelticCapri Corp income: $578,178 Total: $16,596,979, including $13,245,535 from CelticCapri Tax return versus OGE difference: $6,990,032 Unaccounted-for difference from CelticCapri: $5,180,071 'I spoke with Hunter today regarding his bills. It is my understanding that Hunt's dad will cover these bills in the short-term as Hunter transitions in his career,' Dodge said. The assistant attached a spreadsheet of bills with the email, totaling $737,130.61. One of the last items was $28,000 in legal fees for the 'restructuring' of Hunter's joint venture with the government-controlled Bank of China. The spreadsheet listed the bill as 'Faegre Baker Daniels: BHR Restructuring' costing $28,382 and due 'ASAP'. BHR ('Bohai Harvest RST') is a private equity firm and one of Hunter's two major Chinese business ventures. The joint venture was co-owned by the state-controlled Bank of China. Hunter's personal attorney, George Mesires, is a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, now called Faegre Drinker. A separate October 2018 invoice from the law firm shows Hunter spent a total $68,933.41 on the 'restructuring' beginning in September 2016. The same year Joe took on these bills from Hunter, he promised that 'No one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they are a cabinet member, will, in fact, have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country.' Yet not only did Hunter hold on to his 10% share of BHR through 2021, confirmed by White House press secretary Jen Psaki last February, the emails also indicate Joe knew about it, and even agreed to pay Hunter's legal fees for the firm. The bills also include $412,309.23 in unpaid taxes dating back to 2015. The New York Times reported earlier this month that Hunter had taken out a million-dollar loan to pay his delinquent tax bill in an apparent effort to stave off an alleged tax fraud prosecution. Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who along with Senator Chuck Grassley is investigating Hunter's foreign business deals, said Joe Biden's unaccounted-for millions are 'another disturbing piece of information that raises questions that deserve answers.' 'When will the corporate media start doing their job and ask President Biden these questions?' he said. 'And when will President Biden start being honest with the public? The American people deserve the truth.' Iowa Republican Grassley told DailyMail.com: 'Evidence of the president's financial and business connections to Hunter continues to grow. It's imperative for the first family to show the American people the transparency that they deserve.' Gonzalo Lira just delivered a decent recap of the war in Ukraine. Cruciallythe Russians blitz on several axes pre-empted an imminent UKRAINIAN blitzkrieg. The AFU had been about to invade the Donbas. This was the immediate motivation for Russias invasion: To beat them to the punch and scuttle Ukraines imminent invasionwhich they did. The RF put 30K troops near Kievnowhere near enough to capture the citybut enough to pin down some 100K AFU defenders. The RF also launched several axes of attack, with reinforcements on standby (including a famed 40km long tank column), to see where they might be needed. Quick recap for those who havent followed whats been going on in Ukraine but want to understand: 02/24: The Russians invaded from the south, south-east, east and north, in a lightning campaign. The Russians invaded with 190K troopsagainst 250K combat troops from Ukraine. So the main AFU army was left stranded in east Ukraine, with the rest of the Ukr. forces isolated and pinned downwith no easy resupply from the West. The RF then went about hitting AFU command/control and resupply links, further isolating and immobilizing Ukrainian forces. The Russians soon nominally controlled land the size of the UK in Ukrainebut it was a tenuous control. The south of Ukraine was more fully in Russias grip. The AFU around Kherson simply scattered. Mariupol became a clear battleground, as did the Donbas proper. What the Russians initially wanted was to: Short-circuit the imminent Donbas invasion - which they did. Scare the Zelensky regime into negotiating a political settlement - which they failed to do. Kiev had no intention of negotiating a ceasefire because of orders given to them from Washington: Fight Russia to the last Ukrainian! Also, the Neo-Nazi goons around Zelensky threatened him if he negotiated and surrendered because they are terrified of the Russians. So Zelensky launched a massive PR and propaganda campaign, primarily to motivate AFU forces to fight to the death. Myths were created (Ghost of Kiev), false flags were carried out (Bucha, Kramatorsk) and relentless media stories were flogged relentlessly. The Russians kept negotiating and trying to NOT destroy Ukraine infrastructure. In fact at first they were even trying to minimize AFU casualties. The evidence for this is overwhelming: The RF did not hit civilian infrastructure - water, electric, phone, transportation. They did not hit AFU barracks, command centers, government buildings, etc. The Russians initial priority was for a *negotiated settlement*. But by late March, they realized this was impossible. This is why the RF withdrew from Kiev. There was no sense putting men near the city when they were not doing what they were supposed to do - putting political pressure on the Zelensky regime to negotiate. This withdrawal was claimed as a victory in the Battle of Kiev! lmao Starting in late March, the Russians pulled back and solidified their control over the area they had captured, ceding to the AFU areas that were either pointless to or potentially too costly to control. The Ukraine propaganda machine called all these pull- backs victories. There was still a glimmer that the war might end in a negotiated settlement but that ended in early April. After the Istanbul talks of 3/30, the Ukraine side gingerly agreed to some compromises but within a week publicly disavowed those concessions. Thats when the Russians realized the Zelensky regime was agreement-incapable: Their Washington masters, Victoria Nuland and Anthony Blinken in particular, wouldnt allow a peace. They want this war to sap Russia dry. It is a classic proxy war and Ukraine will pay the price. Something else the Russians realized: Sanctions. They hurt but Russia bounced back with remarkable speed. They didnt really hurt that bad. But the theft of Russias $300 billion in foreign reserves by the West DID hurt - badly. The Russians realized they were in a total war with the West and since their foreign reserves were lost forever (likely to be pilfered by corrupt Western politicos), the Russians now have nothing left to lose. By stealing their reserves, the West lost all power over Russia. This has sealed Ukraines fate: The Russians now have no incentive to give up what they have conquered. It has cost them too much in terms of men and treasure. And they know that they cant negotiate a ceasefire. The Zelensky regime will simply break it later. Which means: The Russians intend to conquer and permanently annex all the south and east of Ukraine. This is why their strategy on the battlefield has dramatically shifted: Now they are carrying out a slow, methodical grinding down and destruction of the AFU. The war in the first 30 days was speed, feints, nominally capturing vast swathes of Ukraine territory, with the aim of pressuring the Zelensky regime into a negotiated settlement. But the Wests total financial and political break with Russia means they have nothing to lose. And they have a lot to gain: The Donbas is mineral rich, the really productive farmlands of Ukraine are in the east and south, Kharkov is a major industrial city, the Sea of Azov has untold natural gas reserves. And besides - the people love them. Why would the Russians now give up this hard-won prize? And they *have* won - make no mistake. Ask any military man who is not a system pig, hell tell you: There is no way for the AFU to retake their country. They have no armor, no air defense, no fuel, no comms - its over. The great tragedy is that so many THOUSANDS of young men will die, and die NEEDLESSLY!!, in order to postpone the inevitable. These brave boys will have fought so valiantly - and died so young, so cruelly -because of the evil of the Zelensky regime. Thats the hard truth. And in the end, this will be the map that will remaina bitter image of Ukraines future. Russia will pour billions into their newly acquired territory. It will prosper and flourish. But the rump-state of Ukraine will be left poor, destroyed, forgotten. A tragedy. 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. IAEA holds first int'l conference on nuclear law Xinhua) 08:41, April 26, 2022 Photo taken on April 25, 2022 shows the scene of the first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" held in Vienna, Austria. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) VIENNA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) kicked off its first international conference on nuclear law here on Monday. Lawyers, representatives of national authorities, international organizations, nuclear industry and civil society from 127 countries are participating in the IAEA's first "International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate" to discuss emerging issues and trends in nuclear law and the applicable legal frameworks, according to an IAEA statement. Rafael Grossi, the IAEA Director-General, said in his opening speech at the conference that nuclear law is "not only about behavior and abiding by very important concepts and principles of law, but also driven by technological development." He added that nuclear energy, "a force for the greater good," can at the same time "pose challenges that must be solved." Dong Baotong, vice chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, said at a forum on the sidelines of the conference that China has established a nuclear law system in recent years and is currently formulating an atomic energy law to safeguard the peaceful development and use of atomic energy. Dong added that China is willing to share with other countries its experience in the development and legislation of the civil nuclear energy sector. The IAEA conference, which includes forums, exhibitions and other sideline meetings, will run until Friday. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) CFB SHILO The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry is conducting pre-deployment training for Operation REASSURANCE in preparation for being stationed in Latvia. Advertisement Advertise With Us CFB SHILO The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry is conducting pre-deployment training for Operation REASSURANCE in preparation for being stationed in Latvia. The ongoing training saw 321 soldiers and officers on the ground Monday in preparation for deployment to Europe sometime in June. The unit began training on April 4 and will conclude the exercises on May 9. "Were already where we need to be. Were just kind of confirming a couple of things and shaking off a couple of cobwebs," said A Company Second-in-Command Lt. James Molyneaux. "I think the company right now that is going to Latvia is ready to go." The soldiers will spend two weeks moving to a new location each day for exercises on the 100,000-acre training ground at CFB Shilo. Molyneaux and his unit had been camping on the military exercise grounds for four days as of Monday in the rain and snow. "Every morning you pack all your stuff up and get in your cars and you go do training and every night you occupy a new spot," Molyneaux said. "Youre constantly moving around. You never stay in the same spot for very long." A soldier with 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry takes his position a deployment readiness confirmation exercise in preparation for Op REASSURANCE Monday at CFB Shilo. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun) The on-the-ground military training helps prepare soldiers for their deployment overseas. They will spend about two-and-a-half weeks out training living outside and practising different exercises from around 6 or 7 a.m. to as late as midnight or 2 a.m. The training has been a progression of skills, Molyneaux said, because the unit includes amalgamated military members from across Canada. Units will be working with light armoured vehicles (LAV) each day growing from a section level with one vehicle and a crew of people to a full company of 15 LAVs with artillery support and a troop of engineers. Second Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) members are motivated to prepare for their deployment because the Latvia mission remains critical, Molyneaux said. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has members serving in Latvia as part of Operation REASSURANCE. Members are stationed in Central and Eastern Europe as part of NATO assurance and deterrence measures. During the operation, CAF is conducting training, exercises and some NATO-specific tasks. About 1,475 Canadian Armed Forces members are deployed in support of the operation, making it Canadas largest current international military operation. "Its super important that we have skills up to par because the consequences of not [doing so] are pretty grave. In Latvia, while youre there as a deterrence presence, but the training continues. A lot of our activities over there will look a lot like this just to keep the skills sharpened." Molyneaux was deployed to Latvia in 2019 for a six-month tour. It is an amazing experience living in Europe, he said, and recommended those who are deployed enjoy their time in the country. Master Cpl. Cody Monague has been tasked as crew commander of a LAV during the training exercise sitting on top of the vehicle for a birds eye view of the ground to help maneuver effectively with a driver and gunner. "Theres a lot of great people here, a lot of experienced men who fought over in Afghanistan and learning from them its been great," Monague said. A Company Second-in-Command Lt. James Molyneaux (left), Master Cpl. Cody Monague and Pte. Avery Scarrett participate in a Mondays deployment readiness confirmation exercise at CFB Shilo. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun) Monague was deployed to Latvia in 2019. It was an amazing opportunity offering important training exercises and the chance to work with different NATO allies. It is a fast-paced environment getting ready for deployment and ensuring soldiers are qualified on different weapons systems and vehicle operations, Monague said. There is no typical day for those preparing for deployment. For the past week or so they were practising company-level manoeuvres for attacking an objective and switched to defensive training on Monday. The training amalgamated different companies into one for the departure, he said. The CFB Shilo exercises offered the opportunity for them to work together for the first time. "The past couple of days thats what weve been doing, hashing out our standard operating procedures, and its looking pretty well so far," Monague said. Military training also drives home the need for camaraderie and support so CAF members are ready to step up to the plate if the need arises. A soldier sorts through his gear during Mondays exercise. "I like doing my job and Im happy to be out here right now, especially with all the guys," Monague said. "Weve got a great group of guys and everything is going well." Hailing from Portage la Prairie, Pte. Avery Scarrett, 22, was part of the training exercises in preparation for deployment to Latvia. "Theyre pretty tiring, but its pretty fun to work with all your co-workers and all your other soldiers," Scarrett said. "It really just shows you the ropes of working in a team working under your leadership, taking orders and fulfilling those orders." He is excited to get over to Latvia and work with other countries while furthering his soldiering skills. "Were just regular people doing our job," Scarrett said. ckemp@brandonsun.com Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp Montreal-based pianist David Potvin came out on top during the 45th Eckhardt-Gramatte National Music Competition, which took place this past weekend at the Brandon University School of Music. Advertisement Advertise With Us Montreal-based pianist David Potvin came out on top during the 45th Eckhardt-Gramatte National Music Competition, which took place this past weekend at the Brandon University School of Music. By placing first in this years contest, Potvin received a cash prize of $6,000 and will now take part in a cross-country tour that runs throughout October and November. David Potvin was the winner of the 45th Eckhardt-Gramatte National Music Competition, which took place this past weekend in Brandon. (Submitted) Potvin got his hands on an additional $1,000 by winning the City of Brandon Prize, which honours the best performance of the competitions annual commissioned piece. This isnt the first time that Potvins talents as a musician have been recognized, since he has already taken home accolades from the 2017 Stepping Stone and 2018 Shean Strings and Piano competitions. Outside of his career as a recording artist, Potvin also teaches music in both French and English and serves as a member of the Royal Conservatory of Musics college of examiners. On Sunday, Potvin described the E-Gre win as "the highlight of my career so far," with the event itself being a "wonderful opportunity to share my passion for Canadian music." "I am also grateful for the opportunities that the organizers of this competition give to pianists such as myself to perform," he said in a news release. "I look forward to presenting the repertoire that has become dear to me on tour across the country." Montreal-based pianist David Potvin performs during the 45th Eckhardt-Gramatte National Music Competition, which took place this past weekend in Brandon. (Submitted) This years E-Gre Competition focused on the piano and featured six finalists who hailed from Quebec and British Columbia. Gabrielle Gagnon-Picard, also from Montreal, ended up in second place, which entitles her to a cash prize of $2,500. Meanwhile, fellow Montreal-based pianist Edward Enman received $1,500 in cash for getting in third. The remaining finalists Risa Tonita, Andrew Zhou and Paul Williamson all received $1,000 for taking part. This years E-Gre Competition marks the first time that finalists were able to perform in person since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout 2020 and 2021, musicians had to compete online due to public health restrictions. The E-Gre Competition itself began in 1976 to pay tribute to famous composer and pianist/violinist Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatte. Every year, the contest alternates between featuring musicians who specialize in piano, voice and string instruments. The Brandon Sun Employees said they worried that Musk would undo the years of work they have put into cleaning up the toxic corners of the platform, upend their stock compensation in the process of taking the company private, and disrupt Twitters culture with his unpredictable management style and abrupt proclamations. Loading But Musk also has fans among Twitters rank-and-file, and some employees have welcomed his bid. In an internal Slack message seen by The New York Times that asked if employees were excited about Musk, about 10 people responded with a Yes emoji. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment. If Twitter is worth buying, much of its value is in the employees who build and manage the service, said David Larcker, a professor of accounting and corporate governance at Stanford University. The wild card is, what if it becomes a very different company than they thought they were working for? Its an uncomfortable working relationship, he said. Musk has made some of his intentions clear in regulatory filings, tweets and public appearances: The company must scrap nearly all of its moderation policies, which ban content like violent threats, harassment and spam. It must provide more transparency about the algorithm it uses to boost tweets in users newsfeeds. And it must become a private company. Twitter has been expanding its content moderation policies since 2008, when its 25th employee was hired specifically to combat abuse on its platform. The teams overseeing moderation and safety have now grown to hundreds of employees. Many Twitter employees feel personally invested in the companys effort to encourage healthy conversation even if they do not directly work on content moderation and have pressed executives to crack down further on hate speech and misinformation, six employees said. They see Musks proposal to revert to Twitters early, lax approach as a rebuke of their work. Twitter chief Parag Agrawal told employees that their stock options would convert to cash when the deal with Musk closes. Credit:AP But other employees have argued in internal messages seen by the Times that their co-workers have shifted too far to the left side of the political spectrum, making employees who support Musks plans too uncomfortable to speak up. In a worker-run survey of nearly 200 Twitter employees on Blind, an anonymous workplace review app, 44 per cent said they were neutral on Musk. Twenty-seven percent said they loved Musk, while 27 per cent said they hated him. Although executives and employees at Twitter have agreed with Musk about changes to its algorithm, that work is in its earliest stages and could take years to complete. That could test something Musk is not particularly known for patience. One of the top concerns among Twitter workers is whether they will take a financial hit from Musks acquisition. Many Twitter employees make 50 per cent or more of their total compensation from Twitter stock. Some employees said they feared missing out on the long-term value of their stock at Musks price of $US54.20 per share. Loading At a meeting with employees, executives tried to assure employees that they wouldnt be shortchanged by Musks acquisition. Agrawal told employees that their stock options would convert to cash when the deal with Musk closes, which he estimated would take between three and six months. Employees would receive their same benefits packages for a year after the deal was finalised. In an earlier attempt to quell financial worries, Sean Edgett, Twitters general counsel, told employees that any potential buyer would likely be required to keep employee equity as is or provide equivalent compensation, like a cash award. Edgett, who made his comments before the deal with Musk was announced, stressed that employees should not view his guidance as insight into the deal-making. This is meant to provide some peace of mind and explain how these things typically work, not because we believe there will be one outcome versus another, he wrote in messages to employees reviewed by the Times. Twitter has been on a hiring spree, spending $US630 million on stock-based compensation in 2021, a 33 per cent increase from the previous year. Twitter predicted in a February earnings report that it would spend between $US900 million and $US925 million on stock-based compensation this year. Loading But Musks campaign has also begun to undercut Twitters attempts to recruit new employees, according to internal documents outlining the companys hiring efforts that were viewed by the Times. Prospective hires have expressed scepticism about Musks plans to transform Twitter and upend its content moderation, those documents said. Employees have also wondered: Could he also move Twitters headquarters to Texas, as he did with Tesla? Could he end the companys flexibility about returning to the office, which has become a selling point for employees and recruits? Musk, after all, fought with officials in California to keep his car factory open early in the pandemic. Agrawal tried to calm his workforce. In a Q&A session, he urged employees to operate Twitter as we always have, adding that how we run the company, the decisions we make and the positive changes we drive that will be on us, and under our control. The Morrison government is being accused of breaking a promise to victims of paedophiles, who say they are unable to receive compensation while their abusers are allowed to keep their cash locked in their superannuation accounts. In 2018, the then financial services minister Kelly ODwyer guaranteed to close a legal loophole that allows offenders to quarantine their superannuation savings from civil compensation payouts to victims. At a press conference held with victim advocate groups, including Bravehearts, ODwyer said legislation would be introduced before the end of the year. It wasnt. Victims of crime advocate Howard Brown was with ODwyer for the announcement, after earlier presenting her with a petition containing 20,000 signatures demanding the law be changed. The financial crimes watchdog Austrac says it will work more closely with Victorias casino regulator, in a partnership said to assist law enforcement in investigations into criminal activity. Austrac on Wednesday said it had signed an updated memorandum of understanding with the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) that would allow the two bodies to share information. It comes after Austrac last month launched civil action against Crown Resorts seeking penalties for serious and systemic non-compliance with anti-money-laundering laws. Crown Resorts has also in recent years faced financial penalties in Victoria and a royal commission over its past dealings with junkets tour operators that bring wealthy gamblers, mainly from China, into casinos. Austrac chief executive Nicole Rose. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Austrac chief Nicole Rose said the memorandum of understanding was an important step, as it showed both agencies were committed to collaborating and sharing financial intelligence. The impact on the community of criminals exploiting the gambling industry to launder the proceeds of serious crime cannot be underestimated. It is critical for Austrac and its state and territory-based regulatory and government partners to work together to ensure the gambling industry is hardened against misuse by criminals, Rose said. VGCCCs executive director of compliance, Adam Ockwell, said the memorandum would give the state watchdog access to financial transaction information, allowing it to identify threats and assist law enforcement agencies. Having faster access to Austracs financial intelligence will strengthen our work in identifying any emerging financial crime issues so we can take appropriate regulatory action, including education measures, to minimise harm, protect the community and ensure the integrity of the gambling industries in Victoria, Ockwell said. Former West Australian treasurer given suspended prison sentence on domestic violence charges Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss The search for a teenager swept off the rocks on the Illawarra coast has failed to locate the man, after three friends Anzac Day fishing trip came to a distressing end on Monday afternoon. Emergency services returned to Hill 60 park at Port Kembla about 8am on Tuesday, after responding on Monday to reports that 19-year-old Brenden Buxton Hurd was missing off the headland. Reports 19-year-old Brenden Buxton Hurd was missing off the headland were made on Monday afternoon. Credit:Nine News The man had been fishing with his friends, aged 17 and 50, who said he was hit by a large wave and was washed off the rocks into the sea. Emergency services were alerted about 3.45pm. The friends entered the water in an attempt to rescue Hurd but could not reach him. The state coroner has recommended the police consult with Queensland Health about prisoners in hospitals, after an officer was forced to defend herself and shoot a man who violently attacked her. Tyson Lee Jessen died in 2018 in Ipswich Hospital from gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen after he attacked Senior Constable Leesa Richardson while he was under police guard. Inquest findings into Jessens death found the Queensland Police Services procedures were inadequate, but also that Jessen had probably lulled officers into a sense of false security with compliant behaviour before the attack. Jessen had an extensive criminal history in Victoria. Labors tight control on media appearances and daily messaging has left prominent frontbenchers including Tanya Plibersek and Bill Shorten effectively frozen out, creating growing frustration inside the party about restrictions on who is featured during the six-week election campaign. A leaked internal memo sent by Labors campaign headquarters on the eve of the election revealed the party would only be releasing transcripts of media appearances for Labor leader Anthony Albanese and a select few shadow ministers. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, centre, with the chosen few and frozen out. Credit:SMH/The Age All interviews, including regular appearances across TV and radio, also had to be approved by campaign headquarters (CHQ). Two and a half weeks into the campaign, an analysis of the transcripts and media alerts sent out by Labors CHQ reveals shadow ministers who are part of Albaneses inner circle and leadership group are being heavily promoted and relied upon to deliver the campaigns daily message. Kyiv: Ukraine accused Moscow of trying to drag Moldovas breakaway region of Transnistria into its war on Kyiv after authorities in the Moscow-backed region said they had been targeted by a series of attacks. Authorities in Transnistria, an unrecognised sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, said on Tuesday that explosions had damaged two radio masts that broadcast in Russian and that one of its military units had been attacked. It provided few details, but blamed Ukraine, raising its terrorist threat level to red and introducing checkpoints around its towns. The Kremlin, which has troops and peacekeepers in the region of Transnistria, said it was seriously concerned. The traces of these attacks lead to Ukraine, Russian news agency TASS quoted Vadim Krasnoselsky, the self-styled president of Transnistria, as saying. I assume that those who organised this attack have the purpose of dragging Transnistria into the conflict. The youngest of the men, Dania, grabbed Anna by the hood of her coat and dragged her back into the street, where she was instructed to knock on another door. By this point she was paralysed with fear. The three Russians had started arguing among themselves and in all of the commotion became separated from the commander. Now it was just Anna and the two younger men. When they knocked on the final door, the husband of their next victim tried to stop the men from entering. They told him to get back, we will take your woman, Anna said, grimacing. When he refused, they shot him dead in front of me. The young men then marched the women to an abandoned house and forced them to climb through a broken window. When Anna hesitated, worried that she would cut herself on the shards of glass, the soldiers pushed her through it, berating her. They were being rude to us, Anna said, remembering the derogatory remarks they made about their feed. The Russians were talking to each other and complaining, one is 41 and the other is 43, and the other said well, what can we do? The streets of Borodyanka, near Kyiv, where Anna says Russian soldiers rounded up women in order to rape them. Credit:Ivor Pickett I was afraid, Anna said, as she watched the other woman being led upstairs, leaving her alone with Dania. She begged him not to attack her. I asked him how old he was, she remembered, shaking as she thought back to the moment he did terrible things to me. Loading He told me he was 19 and I said to him that I could be his mother, that I have a son his age. I asked him how old his mother was but he would not answer me. I think she was my age. After Dania raped her, he threatened Anna that if she disobeyed him, she would be taken to the headquarters and made to serve all of the soldiers. But when he left the room in search of his friend she decided to take her chances and run. By now it was past midnight and she was screaming her husbands name as she ran down the street. Sobbing, she returned to her house, where she heard her husband whisper her name. Alex was hiding on the roof. She climbed up on to the uneven, corrugated iron and lay next to her husband in the freezing cold where they stayed until daylight. Hundreds of women had been raped by Russian soldiers, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, said last week. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said that war has given rise to gender-based violence, such as rape, sexual violence or sexual harassment. The Ukrainian police forces said they had only officially prosecuted 10 cases of rape so far. But Kateryna Pavlichenko, deputy interior minister, said this was likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. Pavlichenko said: For Russians, it is a routine tactic. We saw them use similar tactics in Chechnya and Syria. Russians rape to destabilise civilians. She said that Ukraine had formed specialist teams for investigating rape in the wake of the war. The Russian army has been accused of using rape as a tactic during the invasion. Credit:AP The teams, made up of 20 people ranging from psychologists to police officers trained to speak with children, will comb the villages in the Kyiv region that were under Russian occupation to find evidence. Such is the complexity of the situation that the teams will keep returning to villages to allow victims to come forward. It is a problem that people do not want to admit what has happened to them, she added. We are trying not to press them so as not to retraumatise them, but we try to explain that if they share their story it will help to tell the world the atrocities that the Russians committed in Ukraine. Loading Pavlichenko added: Rape is the hardest crime to talk about ... People want to forget it so the scale could be much bigger than we will ever know. The rape and murder that Anna was subjected to that night has left her with severe anxiety. If a dog barks, she jumps and she still worries that the Russians will return and find her. Having so far catered to the lead acid battery-powered L3 category of three-wheelers, with its recent foray in (EV), Gujarat-based Ltd. would now be looking to cater to the lithium ion-powered L5 vehicles that compete with conventional three-wheelers. Recently, the company announced its foray into EV three-wheelers through its wholly-owned subsidiary Atul Greentech Pvt Ltd (AGPL) which is engaged in designing and developing innovative solutions for last mile electric mobility for domestic and export markets. Over the past few years AGPL has developed automotive grade fixed thermal battery solutions, battery management systems and vehicle telematics solutions. However, recently AGPL announced collaboration with Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt Ltd and Valeo to develop a prototype cargo and passenger three-wheeler vehicle. "So far, was only present in the L3 category of electric three-wheelers which mostly comprised pedal rickshaws. However, with AGPL the company is now foraying into the L5 category of EV three-wheelers which compete directly with conventional three-wheelers where we are already present with diesel and alternate fuel models," said Jitendra Adhia, president - finance at Ltd. The EV business of AGPL will be divided into two separate models. Firstly, AGPL will be selling EV three-wheelers entirely manufactured by Atul Auto with fixed battery solutions. However, the second model involves battery swapping powered by Honda's Mobile Power Pack and Valeo's powertrain system. AGPL would launch the e-vehicle after successful completion of field trials. The vehicle with swapping battery will be equipped with Valeo's integrated compact electric powertrain system. "This world class swappable solution from AGPL will enable our fleet and individual customers to lower the Total Cost of Ownership and up front capital expenditure," Adhia added. In its conventional three-wheeler business, Atul Auto Ltd. manufactures 0.5 and 0.35 tonnes capacity vehicles in diesel as well as alternate fuel ranges including and . While passenger vehicles form 50-55 per cent of its business, the rest comes from cargo models. The company has two plants with 60000 units per annum capacity each totaling 120,000 units per annum along with over 10000 batteries per annum capacity. Having witnessed a setback in the last couple of years due to factors led by COVID-19 pandemic, the company is expecting to bounce back in the financial year (FY) 2022-23. "We expect a stable economic environment as well as availability of retail finance to lead the three-wheeler industry back to normal," said Adhia. Atul Auto has already incurred a capex of roughly Rs 300 crore for vehicular platform, fixed battery solutions and production facility even as investment continues on product development. For the nine months of FY22, the company reported total revenue from operations of Rs 220 crore while that for the entire fiscal year of 2020-21 stood at Rs 295.90 crore. Giving its India growth story another fillip, Apple shipped nearly 1 million 'make-in-India' iPhones in the country in the first quarter of 2022, a massive jump of 50 per cent (year-on-year) in iPhone shipments from within the country, data showed on Tuesday. According to data shared by market intelligence firm CyberMedia Research (CMR), iPhones in India registered an overall growth of 22 per cent in the Q1 2022, led by iPhone 12 and 13 sales. "Our insights point to the contribution of 'Make in India' iPhones in Q1 2022, increasing 50 per cent YoY. The contribution of newer generation iPhones, such as iPhone 13, is almost equal to iPhone 12," Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group at CMR, told IANS. Apple's enhanced and diversified iPhone production capabilities in India, along with aggressive retail initiatives, continue to contribute to its strong growth momentum in India. Earlier this month, the tech giant confirmed it has started manufacturing its top-selling iPhone 13 smartphone in India. Apple first started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017, with iPhone SE. "As Apple further diversifies its manufacturing base, the newer generation iPhone models will fuel Apple's India growth story," said Ram. The tech giant manufactures some of its most advanced iPhones in the country, including iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and now iPhone 13 at the Foxconn facility while iPhone SE and iPhone 12 are being assembled at the Wistron factory in the country. In Q1 2022, iPhone 12 maintained a lead with 52 per cent share, followed by iPhone 13 at 20 per cent and iPhone 11 at 18 per cent in India. When it comes to iPads, Apple registered a 31 per cent growth in India, led by iPad 9th generation (Wi-Fi) that garnered 45 per cent market share. Apple is expected to register a 5.2 per cent market share in India this year. "With its enduring brand appeal, Apple continues to attract premium buyers. This is a break from the past when older-generation iPhone models gained consumer favour through aggressive and attractive price offers," said Ram. --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.) 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 Mistry and six other directors have resigned from the board of Eureka Forbes, with the new owner Lunolux Ltd taking control of the vacuum cleaner and water purifier maker. The board of Eureka Forbes, in a meeting held on Tuesday, approved the appointment of Arvind Uppal as chairman with immediate effect, the company said a regulatory filing. The board also appointed two non-executive directors and two independent directors, it added. Uppal is the non-executive chairman of Whirlpool of India Ltd and a nominee of Lunolux Ltd on the board. Seven directors, including Mistry, have stepped down from the board, it added. "The Board has also considered and accepted the resignation of Homi Adi Katgara as Chairman of the Board with immediate effect, who will however continue to serve as an independent director on the Board," it said. Lunolux Ltd is a special purpose vehicle incorporated by AI Global Investments (Cyprus) PCC Ltd, which operates as the investment hub for Asia for all the funds managed by Advent International. In September 2021, Advent International signed a deal to buy a majority stake in Eureka Forbes Ltd, the consumer durable flagship of the Group, for Rs 4,400 crore. As per the share purchase agreement, Lunolux has acquired 63.86 per cent of the total issued and paid-up share capital of Eureka Forbes on April 25, 2022. "Consequent to such transfer, the Acquirer has acquired control over the Company and has become a promoter of the Company with effect from April 25, 2022," said Eureka Forbes Ltd. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The (ED) on Tuesday carried out massive searches at 26 locations of in Mumbai, Pune, and Surat, in connection with its probe into what could be the countrys biggest bank fraud. Surat-based and its former promoters are accused of duping a consortium of 28 banks to the tune of Rs 22,842 crore. About 24 locations at Mumbai and one each in Pune and Surat have been covered, said an agency official without giving further details. Searches are to be continued on Wednesday, he indicated. Early this month, the federal agency had questioned the shipping firms former Chairman Rishi Agrawal. The enforcement agency is looking into the alleged "diversion" of bank loan funds, the creation of shell firms to launder the public money, and the role of the executives of the company and others. The ED case has been filed under various sections of the Prevention of Act (PMLA) after the investigators studied the CBI complaint and the forensic audit report, sources said. ABG is accused of cheating a consortium of 28 banks led by ICICI Bank, with ICICI having the highest exposure of Rs 7,089 crore, followed by IDBI Bank ( Rs 3,639 crore), State Bank of India ( Rs 2,925 crore), ( Rs 1,614 crore) and ( Rs 1,244 crore). Fintech major has appointed Srinivas Yanamandra as its Group Head Regulatory affairs and Policy. He has over 20 years of experience in building compliance systems and processes at large and fast growing businesses. Yanamandras last stint was New Development Bank in Shanghai, where he served as chief of the compliance division. Prior to that, he worked as a compliance professional both at ICICI Bank and IDFC First Bank in Mumbai focusing on various aspects of banking regulation including governance, risk management, prudential reporting, risk-based supervision, digital banking, and more. Yanamandras appointment comes at a time when the fintech ecosystem in India is under the RBIs glare. In March, the central bank directed founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma- promoted Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to stop opening new accounts amid "material supervisory concerns" observed in the bank. Later, the promoter also clarified that all user data resides in the country after a report claimed that Paytm Payments Bank Ltd's servers were sharing information with China-based entities that indirectly own a stake in Paytm Payments Bank. Yanamandra is a member of the policy working group of the Digital Currency Global Initiative, which is a collaboration between Stanford University and the International Telecommunication Union. He said, Paytms contribution to the Indian fintech landscape is exemplary, augmented by the business-friendly regulatory developments in the country. Im excited to make my contribution in fuelling the companys journey further as it continues to achieve new milestones. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm said, "Indian regulatory initiatives have acted as enablers for Digital India as well as payments & financial services in the country. We are excited to welcome Dr Srinivas to the Paytm team. His years of expertise in the financial industry will further contribute to the rapidly growing Paytm ecosystem. (RIL) and the Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC (TAZIZ) on Tuesday signed a shareholder agreement for a chemical project in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The development acquires significance as it will focus on chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride (EDC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production, which is used in a wide range of industrial applications. This is expected to unlock new revenue streams for RIL as well as the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, who are strategic partners in TAZIZ, a joint venture company. For the uninitiated, RIL derives over 60 per cent of its revenue and nearly 55 per cent of its operating profit from its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business. This includes refining, petrochemicals and fuel retail. Retail and telecom, on the other hand, contribute 29 per cent and 17 per cent each to revenue, respectively, said analysts tracking RIL. The investment in the TAZIZ chemical project is estimated at over $2 billion, though RIL clarified that the final investment decision was expected later this year and was subject to regulatory approvals. Chlor-alkali enables the production of caustic soda, crucial to the alumina refining process. While EDC is used in the production of PVC, which is used to manufacture a wide range of products including pipes, windows fittings, cables, films and flooring. RIL said that a formal shareholder agreement was signed by senior executives during a visit of Ambani, who is chairman and managing director (MD) of RIL, to the headquarters. The company said that Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and MD and Group CEO exchanged a signed framework agreement with RIL for the exploration, development and production of conventional and unconventional resources in Abu Dhabi as well as in decarbonisation of operations. Experts said that the TAZIZ project would benefit from the free trade agreement between India and the (UAE), which was signed in February this year. Chemicals was a priority sector for the UAE, with RIL considering investing in more such projects. This joint venture is a testimony to the strong and growing ties between India and the UAE and will be a benchmark for more such projects built on the strengths of the two nations. I am looking forward to implementation of the project at an accelerated pace, taking a step further in enhancing the lives of our people in the region, Ambani said. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Ltd has signed a formal shareholder agreement for the USD 2 billion TA'ZIZ chemical joint venture in the UAE and inked a pact to collaborate with in finding and producing conventional and unconventional resources. "Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC Ltd (TA'ZIZ) and Ltd (RIL), have signed the formal shareholder agreement for the TA'ZIZ EDC and PVC project," the company said in a statement. TA'ZIZ is joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and sovereign wealth fund ADQ. Under the terms of a strategic agreement, Reliance and TA'ZIZ will build plants with the capacity to produce 940,000 tonnes per annum of Chlor-alkali, 1.1 million tonnes a year of ethylene dichloride and 360,000 tonnes per year of polyvinyl chloride at the TA'ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone. Chlor-alkali is used in water treatment and manufacture of textiles and metals, while ethylene dichloride is typically used to produce PVC, which has a wide range of applications across housing, infrastructure and consumer goods. "The TA'ZIZ EDC & PVC joint venture will construct and operate a Chlor-Alkali, Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) production facility, with a total investment of over USD 2 billion. "These chemicals will be produced in the UAE for the first time, unlocking new revenue streams and opportunities for local manufacturers to 'Make it in the Emirates'," the statement added. The formal shareholder agreement was signed by senior executives during a visit of Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance, to headquarters. During the visit, Ambani met Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and Group CEO, and discussed opportunities for partnership and growth in upstream, new energies and decarbonisation across the hydrocarbon value chain, the statement said. "Dr Al Jaber and Mr exchanged a signed framework agreement between ADNOC and Reliance to explore collaboration in the exploration, development and production of conventional and unconventional resources in Abu Dhabi as well as in decarbonization of operations, including in carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration," it said. Al Jaber said: "Reliance is a valued strategic partner and our collaboration at TA'ZIZ underscores the important role of industrial and energy cooperation as a means of strengthening the deep-rooted and friendly ties between the UAE and India." "We are building on this partnership and the progress at TA'ZIZ to unlock more opportunities to drive the UAE's industrial and manufacturing growth, while advancing cooperation on decarbonization, new energies and upstream production," he said. The TA'ZIZ EDC and PVC project is making solid progress towards the detailed design phase in advance of the final investment decision (FID) which is expected to be taken later this year. Ambani said: "This joint venture is a testimony to the strong and growing ties between India and the UAE and will be a benchmark for more such projects built on the strengths of the two nations. I am looking forward to the implementation of the project at an accelerated pace, taking a step further in enhancing the lives of our people in the region." It is anticipated that the TA'ZIZ complex will benefit from the free trade agreement between India and the UAE, which was signed in February this year. Bilateral trade between both the nations will be boosted as new trade and development opportunities, such as TA'ZIZ, are further unlocked. Ambani also met with Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, to explore potential opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy and green hydrogen, both of which are key priorities for the UAE and India. He was briefed on the UAE's ambitious plans to grow its world-leading renewable energy portfolio and strengthen its clean hydrogen production capabilities. In December 2021, it was announced that the UAE will create a global clean energy powerhouse, under the Masdar brand, consolidating the efforts of ADNOC, TAQA and Mubadala in renewable energy and green hydrogen to create a new world-class entity. During his visit to Abu Dhabi, Ambani was briefed on strong progress made at the TA'ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, the statement added. Chemicals is a priority sector for the UAE's industrial growth strategy. The chemicals set to be produced by the TA'ZIZ EDC and PVC joint venture with Reliance have a wide range of industrial applications, enabling local supply chains and meeting growing demand in key export markets. Chlor-Alkali enables the production of caustic soda, crucial to the alumina refining process. EDC is used in the production of PVC, which is used to manufacture a wide range of industrial and consumer products including pipes, windows fittings, cables, films and flooring. The production of Chlor-Alkali, EDC, and PVC will create opportunities for export to target markets in Southeast Asia and Africa, as well as provide local industry with a source of critical raw materials manufactured in the UAE for the first time. (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.) Telehealth Platform Truemeds, closed its series B funding round at $22 million led by private equity fund Westbridge Capital. The new funding round also saw participation from existing investors including InfoEdge Ventures, Asha Impact and IAN Fund. The round witnessed oversubscription from new and existing investors. The company plans to utilise the funds to accelerate growth in the untapped domestic market and expand its coverage across the country. Founded by Ex-Abbott executives, Akshat Nayyar and Dr. Kunal Wani, Truemeds has witnessed phenomenal growth in the last 2 years on the back of strong product-market fit and a massive organic demand. Commenting on the announcement Akshat Nayyar, Co-founder & CEO of Truemeds said India is one of the very few markets where we have pseudo-categorisation of medicines in branded and generic-generic to create different price tiers between them. 95 per cent of the drugs sold in India are off-patent (thus technically generics). There is absolutely no difference in the scientific composition of generics and branded drugs." He further added" "Indian generic-generic market is growing at 1.5 times the overall pharmaceutical market and following the US landscape where the generics prescription share moved from 40 per cent in 2005 to over 85 per cent in 2019. The market move towards generics is inevitable and Truemeds will lead that change. At present, Truemeds have presence in Maharashtra and the company is currently fulfilling over 100,000 orders every month and growing rapidly. In an effort to improve the customer experience and reach, the company plans to triple its fulfilment centres across the country in the next 6 months. Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director, Westbridge Capital commented, We are excited to partner with Truemeds as they create value for patients by delivering high quality drugs at extremely affordable prices at the patients' doorstep. The founding teams strong category understanding has resulted in the success at Truemeds and we are excited to help take the company to the next level. India on Tuesday called on developed nations to enhance their commitments, ahead of the next climate summit COP27 to be held later this year. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said so during a meeting with Aminath Shauna, Minister of Environment, and Technology, Republic of Maldives where he discussed about issues relating to vulnerabilities of climate change, cooperation on climate actions, and follow-up to the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. During the meeting, he underlined the need for developed countries to enhance commitments ahead of COP27 including on climate finance and technology support, adaptation finance provisions, etc. Yadav appreciated the climate actions taken by Maldives and stressed the importance of concrete actions on adaptation in tackling . After the meeting, Yadav tweeted that India and Maldives discussed issues related to the dangers posed by . We should join hands to fight climate change to ensure climate justice to all, especially to the developing countries, he said. Yadav emphasised that concrete actions are necessary to implement the Glasgow Climate Pact or COP26. However, implementation of climate actions by developing countries is contingent to adequate delivery of climate finance, technology transfer, and other implementation support from the developed countries, he said. India and Maldives agreed to further strengthen ongoing bilateral cooperation between the countries not only for combatting environmental issues and climate change, but also to enhance cooperation for greater economic integration, the environment ministry said in a statement. (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 special court Monday granted the Anti-Terrorist Squad seven-day custody of Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi in connection with an attack on security personnel at the temple earlier this month. His custody period would begin Tuesday and end on May 3. The ATS had produced Murtaza in the court of in-charge ATS judge Mohammad Gazali after bringing him from a jail. It also produced a letter of the jail superintendent, requesting that Murtaza be sent to a jail in Lucknow. Initially, the court granted his judicial custody till April 30. However, the ATS moved an application seeking Murtaza's custody for seven days. It was submitted that some important data was received from electronic equipment recovered from him, and his social media platform, and it was necessary to take his custody to interrogate him on these. Abbasi, an IIT graduate, tried to forcibly enter the famous Gorakhnath temple premises on April 3 and attacked security personnel with a sickle, injuring two Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) constables, police had said. He was soon overpowered by other security staff and arrested. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest of the Gorakhnath temple and frequently visits and stays there. The stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has been invoked against the accused. The UAPA allows investigating agencies to get a longer remand of the accused and an extended duration to file a charge sheet. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The has issued a notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya, asking him to join the ongoing probe into the Delhi Chief Minister's residence vandalism case. "We have issued him a notice to join the investigation," a senior police official told IANS. When asked whether the police have given any time limit to the leader, the official said that MP Surya is cooperating with the and has assured to meet us once he is in the capital. A ruckus was created outside the residence of Chief Minister on March 30 during an agitation in which some protesters who breached the barricades, carrying a small box of paint, threw it outside the door and wall of the house. In the imbroglio, a boom barrier arm was also vandalised along with a CCTV camera The protest was spearheaded by the BJP's Yuva Morcha over Kejriwal's remarks in the Delhi Assembly on 'The Kashmir Files' that were deemed as "against the Kashmiri Pandit community" among the saffron clans. The had been continuously demanding from the to make 'The Kashmir Files' tax free in Delhi, however, Kejriwal, turned down all such requests in the Assembly and further asked the saffron party to upload the movie on YouTube and spend the earned money on the welfare of the Kashmiri Pandits. Furthermore, the Chief Minister also insinuated that 'The Kashmir Files' is a "jhoothi" (not based on facts) film. Surya is President of the Yuva Morcha. Meanwhile, observing a serious lapse of security in the vandalism incident, the Delhi High Court on Monday directed Commissioner Rakesh Asthana to look into the matter. (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 Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, that he be placed under house custody instead of being lodged in prison. A division bench of Justices S B Shukre and G A Sanap held that his grievances and apprehensions about lack of medical aid and basic facilities at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai, where he is currently lodged, are "ill-founded". The Supreme Court has laid down in past cases that undertrial prisoners can be placed under house arrest depending on the allegations against them, their age, health condition and several other factors, the judges said. Navlakha's case did not meet any of the criteria, the HC added. "The petitioner has stated that Taloja prison is overcrowded. The conditions and environment of Taloja Central prison is not compatible to the health of the petitioner....The case of the petitioner does not fit in any of the criteria (provided by SC). The apprehension of the petitioner that he will not be provided medical aid and his life will be miserable in unhygienic conditions and atmosphere of the prison, seems to be ill-founded," the high court said. Navlakha (70) approached the HC earlier this year through his lawyer Yug Mohit Chaudhry, complaining about poor facilities at the Taloja prison. He was denied a chair, pair of slippers, spectacles and a P G Wodehouse book by the prison superintendent, he said. Prison toilets were dirty and his health deteriorated in jail, Navlakha claimed. His lawyer argued that Navlakha had no criminal antecedents, had cooperated with the police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and there was no risk that he would abscond, so his was a fit case for house custody. But Taloja prison authorities denied Navlakha's claims about lack of facilities. The Maharashtra government told the HC that Navlakha was lodged in a high-security cell where he was the only inmate. Inmates of high-security cells are responsible for cleaning the toilet themselves, it added. The high court in its order on Tuesday said the activist has the right to seek basic facilities in prison, but he should have raised his grievances before the special NIA court which is hearing the Elgar Parishad case. Earlier this month, while denying co-accused Varavara Rao permanent bail on medical grounds, the HC had issued several directions to the Inspector General of Prisons, asking the authority to deal with grievances regarding medical aid and basic facilities. Implementation of the orders in Rao's case should take care of Navlakha's problems too, the judges said. On Navlakha's argument that trial in the case was not likely to begin anytime soon, the HC said, "It is not that the NIA is dragging its feet. It has come on record that the conspiracy is deep-rooted and, therefore, despite filing of the charge-sheet the investigation is being conducted." The NIA had also opposed Navlakha's plea, arguing that house custody would lead to difficulties such as the inability to prevent him from using social media. It was common knowledge that India is a crowded nation and Mumbai is overcrowded, hence the Taloja jail being overcrowded was not an adequate reason to grant house arrest, the central probe agency had 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 Commissioner's Office (JCO), which is under attack from various quarters for unavailability of raw materials at the price fixed by the government, on Tuesday said it continues to safeguard farmers' interests but cannot allow "illegitimate" gains for a section of players in the industry by revising the price cap. The JCO, which looks after orderly development and promotion of the industry in India, also stated that no decision was made as of now to alter the raw price fixed at Rs 6,500 per quintal amid allegations that mills are not getting the golden fibre below Rs 7,000 per quintal amid the bumper crop of 90 lakh bales in the 2021-22 season. "No farmer or farmers' body has complained about price fixation. If relaxed, it will have illegitimate gain for a certain section of the industry," Commissioner Moloy Chakraborty told a press conference here. He denied allegations of neglect of West Bengal's jute industry. BJP MP Arjun Singh, whose constituency Barrakpore has 20 jute mills, had on Monday slammed the central government for neglecting the state's jute industry. He also supported ruling TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's demand for removal of the price cap on raw jute to current market-driven prices to support farmers. "There is a lot of misinformation around. Almost 95 per cent of farmers are marginal and they have already diluted their produce. The majority of the raw jute is now with traders and middlemen," Chakraborty said. He said that the raw jute price was fixed at Rs 2,000 over and above the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 4,500 per quintal and it is quite reasonable for the farmers. To a question on de-hoarding of the golden fibre, the jute commissioner said it is up to the state agencies to step up their action. State enforcement officials claimed that the JCO has not been able to provide a "verified" jute traders list yet. After Chakraborty's press conference, Arjun Singh claimed that the JCO "painted an untrue picture to satisfy his bosses by ruining the future of millions of workers and farmers" Several jute mills have downed shutters in the past few months reportedly due to unavailability of raw jute at the price fixed by the JCO. The claim that the state government had earlier accepted Rs 6,000 per quintal rate is "false as it was temporary because the price had shot up to Rs 9,000 per quintal due to Amphan calamity" in 2020, the BJP MP asserted in a statement. Earlier this month, Trinamool Congress Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, sought the intervention of the Centre to resolve the jute crisis claiming that 60,000 workers have lost their jobs following the closure of 15 jute mills. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With only 4.64 lakh people taking their third Covid jab since April 10, Indians could be grappling with vaccine fatigue, a reluctance to take a booster shot that experts attribute to a combination of fear, confusion and misinformation. As India's Covid graph inches upwards, not enough people are getting their booster shots. Among the reasons for the apparent lethargy are the fear of adverse effects, the view that Covid is now a mild infection and doubts over whether a precaution dose is indeed useful, said scientists, public health experts and industry insiders. According to virologist Dr T Jacob John, vaccine fatigue has set in, also because the "cacophony of new experts" has been confusing. I get a number of questions for clarification on booster doses -- hence I know that the educational activity' of the government that wants to prevent COVID-19 deaths, hospitalisations and severe symptoms by completing the vaccination schedule in highly vulnerable people was more confusing than clarifying, John told PTI. For a long time, people were told that full vaccination meant two doses so the term precaution dose added to the confusion, added the former director of the Indian Council for Medical Research's Centre of Advanced Research in Virology. Vaccine fatigue, experts explained, is when people do not take proactive action to get vaccinated. Last week, (SII) CEO Adar Poonawallah, whose company manufactures the Covishield vaccine, said they have a lot of unsold inventory. "We stopped production on December 31, 2021. Currently, we are sitting on over 200 million doses. I have offered this to anyone willing to pick them up for free. But there hasn't been a good response to that also. "Seems there is vaccine fatigue among the people now as even after the price was slashed to Rs 225, there has been no major uptake," Poonawalla said at the Times Network India Economic Conclave. The firm has slashed the price from Rs 600 to Rs 225 a dose. In the view of Praveen Sikri, Ikris Pharma Network CEO, people are questioning the need for a precaution dose, thinking the last wave was mild. The large number of misinformation campaigns launched by anti-vaxxers such as campaigns about children developing liver failure and developing clots and people dying of vaccines had played a role in the reluctance. and because the Omicron wave has been not a very dangerous one, so it is adding to the vaccine fatigue, said the pharma industry insider who has closely been following India's Covid trajectory. He added there is need to counter this by developing more conversations around vaccines, letting people becoming involved in decision making. It is important to let people know that countries that have not had adequate vaccination programmes or have had vaccines which are not effective are suffering very severely now due to Covid, Sikri said. Factual information with believable evidence will allay the anxieties of people, John added. When the risk from disease has markedly reduced as the epidemic is over, people worry about the risk of serious AEFI (adverse event from immunisation). Once vaccine hesitancy has been created, it is going to be tough to overcome it Prevention is always better than cure, he said. Dr Ankita Baidya, consultant, infectious disease, at the Manipal Hospital in Delhi, said people are coming forward with complaints following vaccination, particularly the booster dose recommended recently. As an infectious disease physician, I would like to stress that malaise is a common side effect of vaccination. But I have also seen that summers are ongoing and there are some components of psychological factors that after booster doors people are experiencing such kind of fatigue. Even if it is there, it should not be long-lasting. If someone feels fatigued or malaise and has body ache in the initial days after vaccination, this could be just a post-vaccination mild side-effect of the vaccine and it will go away, she said. Counselling over the usefulness of a booster dose is important, Baidya stressed. Dr Vikas Deswal, senior consultant, internal medicine, at Gurgaon's Medanta Hospital concurred, saying there is lack of understanding of the benefits of the booster doses. Many believe that double vaccination is enough. A sense of complacency has settled in. But booster doses are very important because they keep us immunised. This ensures that even if the virus attacks us, there are enough antibodies to ensure that the infection is mild. The only way to counter vaccine fatigue is to constantly explain the benefits of the booster dose, make it more easily accessible and available, he said While experts debate the reasons for vaccine fatigue, Neha Sharma, a Noida-based IT professional, said her menstrual cramps had worsened after she took her first and second jabs. Though the doctor told me that it is unrelated to the vaccine, I am still scared to take the third dose. Also I feel that now the Omicron driven infection is getting milder so Covid is akin to seasonal flu... why complicate things by taking a third dose, she said. Amna Hasan, a resident of Lucknow based homemaker, added that she has just started feeling better after contracting Covid twice. Why take a chance by inducing the same dead virus in my body again, Hasan, who was infected in both the second and third wave of COVID-19, said. Shaunak Sharma, a Noida based engineer, has no plans to take the precaution dose either. We have developed immunity from COVID-19 in the past two years, I recently got my antibodies tested and had enough so though my precaution dose is not due for the next few months. I don't plan to take precaution dose. he said. On April 10, India began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 years at private vaccination centres. An estimated 4,64,910 precaution doses have been administered till Tuesday morning, according to Union Health ministry data . Of these, about half, 2,46,962 were administered in the 18-59 age group between April 20-26. On Tuesday, India recorded 2,483 new infections. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.55 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.58 per cent, according to the ministry. Certain areas are reporting a higher positivity rate. Delhi, for instance, reported 1,011 fresh cases on Monday and a positivity rate of 6.42 per cent. (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 knowledge-sharing agreement was signed on Tuesday between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann, who said 117 schools and mohalla clinics will be developed in the state recently won by AAP. Mann said that education, health and power were a priority of his government and Punjab can learn from Delhi where a lot of work was done in these fields. Delhi can also learn from Punjab about agriculture, he said. Kejriwal said India will progress if every state starts learning from the good work done by others. "It will be wrong to say that only we have done good work. There were several islands of excellence across the country but there were divisions of parties and states, and nothing was learnt from that," he said in a press conference held jointly with Mann. The Punjab chief minister said that he visited the schools, hospitals and Mohalla Clinic of Delhi and his government will take these facilities to the next level in Punjab. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Raising concerns over the surplus sugarcane production in Solapur, Union Minister on Monday urged owners to reduce the production of sugar and increase the production of . Gadkari was in Solapur on Monday for the foundation stone-laying ceremony of highway projects. The minister said if the production goes on like this, then farmers would have no option other than suicide. Meanwhile, India's sugar exports surged by 64.9 per cent to $4.6 billion in the financial year 2021-22 from $2.79 billion recorded in the previous year, according to the latest government data. As per data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI & S), India exported sugar to 121 countries across the world during the financial year ended March 2022. India is the world's second-largest sugar producer after Brazil. Since 2010-11, India has consistently produced surplus sugar, comfortably exceeding the domestic requirements. The record exports would enable the sugar producers to reduce their stocks and would also benefit the sugarcane farmers, as the increased demand for Indian sugar is likely to improve their realisations, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka account for nearly 80 per cent of the total sugar production in the country. The other major sugarcane-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab. (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.) External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr will travel to Dakha on Thursday to invite Bangladesh Prime Minister to visit India. "Yes, the EAM will pay a one-day visit to Dhaka on Thursday," Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters in Delhi on Monday. "He will carry a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite Prime Minister to visit India," Shringla was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune. Shringla made these remarks in response to queries from journalists at an event at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Foreign Secretary and Bangladesh High Commissioner Muhammad Imran on Monday attended the award-giving ceremony for felicitating winners of a competition conducted on the occasion of Friendship Day. During the event, Shringla shared views on strengthening the bilateral partnership. Both representatives felicitated the winners of the Maitri Diwas logo and backdrop competition conducted on the occasion of Maitri Diwas. "FS @harshvshringla and Bangladesh High Commissioner Muhammad Imran felicitated the winners of the #MaitreeDiwas logo and backdrop competition. Also shared views on further strengthening bilateral ties, including youth connect, innovation and emerging areas," said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted. (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.) Secretariat on Monday sought a factual report from the Government of Maharashtra within 24 hours in connection with the arrest of Amravati MP Navneet Rana. "A copy of the email/complaint dated April 25, 2022, received from Navneet Ravi Rana, MP alleging patently illegal arrest and the consequent inhuman treatment meted out to her in Khar Police Station, Mumbai is sent herewith for being placed before the Minister of Home Affairs," reads the letter of secretariat to Ministry of Home Affairs. "The Ministry of Home Affairs is requested that a 'Factual Note' in the matter may kindly be obtained from the Government of Maharashtra and furnished to this Secretariat within 24 hours for being placed before the Speaker, Lok Sabha," the letter added. Amravati MP Navneet Rana on Monday wrote to Speaker Om Birla issuing a clarification that she wanted to ignite the flame of 'Hindutva' in Shiv Sena, not to create any religious tensions by chanting the "Hanuman Chalisa" outside the residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The MP-MLA couple was arrested in Mumbai on Sunday. They were then sent to judicial custody for 14-days by a Metropolitan Magistrate court in Bandra. Currently, MLA Ravi Rana is lodged in Taloja Jail and MP Naveneet Rana is lodged in Byculla Jail. On Saturday, a row started when MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana stated that the couple plans to chant Hanuman Chalisa outside 'Matoshree' (Maharashtra CM's Mumbai residence), after which a huge crowd gathered outside the residence of the political couple waving flags with an aim to prevent them from reaching the Chief Minister's residence. However, the Ranas withdrew their plan to chant Hanuman Chalisa amid the protests from Shiv Sainiks that culminated in their arrest on the charge of creating enmity between different groups. Earlier on Monday, the Ranas approached the Bombay High Court seeking cancellation of the FIR in connection with the Matoshree-Hanuman Chalisa row. However, the High Court dismissed the petition moved by Rana couple for quashing the FIR registered against them for allegedly assaulting the police officer who came to arrest the couple. (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.) Irked by unscheduled power cuts and shortage of drinking water, people on Tuesday staged protests in different parts of the city with Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) warning that the consumers will stop paying bills if the crisis is not resolved forthwith. The industrialists also expressed grave concern over the alleged failure of the administration to provide electricity to the industrial estates and said the unit holders are planning to go for single shift work which might lead to retrenchment of the staff. Over the past 10 days, we are faced with the worst-ever electricity and contrary to the repeated assurances by the administrationpeople are approaching us and are contemplating to stop paying their bills which is a right decision given the situation, JCCI president Arun Gupta told reporters here. Gupta, who was also flanked by president Bari Brahmana Industrial Association Lalit Mahajan and office bearers of the JCCI, urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to take all possible steps to provide round-the-clock power supply to bail out industry and common households from the crisis. Mahjan said the has caused huge losses to the unit holders. In view of the unscheduled power cuts, the industrialists are planning to go for single shift work which will lead to retrenchment of the staff at a time when unemployment is on rise, he said. Suggesting the administration to go for purchase of power like the governments in the past to overcome the crisis, the JCCI president said the silence of the administration over the crisis is beyond the tolerance of the people who are reeling under rising mercury. Earlier, a group of Shiv Sena Dogra Front activists led by its president Ashok Gupta staged a protest in the heart of the city to protest against the power and . Carrying empty utensils and buckets, the protesters chanted slogans in support of the demand for uninterrupted power and water supply. The situation is very bad due to unscheduled power cuts and non-availability of water, Gupta said, requesting personal intervention of the Lt Governor to provide relief to the public. Protests against water and electricity departments were also reported from over a dozen places in the city including Talab Tillo, Sidhra, Janipur, Trikuta Nagar and Paloda. The protesters briefly blocked the roads demanding restoration of water supply and an end to unscheduled power cuts. We have raised the issue of acute with the concerned department time and again but no action is being taken which is very unfortunate, a resident of Waliabad locality of Sidhra said. Mayor Chander Mohan Gupta said the first priority of the corporation is to ensure uninterrupted power and water supply to the consumers. We are aware of the problems and are making steps As far as the are concerned, the Municipal Corporation (JMC) will work with the Public Health Engineering department to ensure water supply to every household in the city, he said. There are shortcomings which are being taken care of. Lakhs of gallons of water is leaked and wasted, while the water lifting pumps have not been upgraded for the past two decades, he said, adding the corporation will work overtime to fulfill the dream of har ghar nal ka jal' as envisioned by the prime minister. Even as the power development department is out of the ambit of the corporation, Gupta said he will not hesitate to reach out to the union ministry of power to request for additional supply to overcome the present crisis. We will take up the issue with the Lt Governor and the concerned department as the power supply is required to lift water and provide it to the consumers, he said. Apni Party activists led by Jammu provincial president Manjit Singh staged a protest demonstration outside the PDD Chief Engineer's office here against the unscheduled curtailment of the electricity. As the electricity supply has remained irregular with eight hours long power cuts, the water supply, industrial sector and farmers and other sectors have adversely affected, Singh said. He appealed to the administration to take immediate corrective measures to supply adequate electricity to the consumers. Prime Minister on Tuesday called for setting new goals and global vision for the next 25 years while stating India will have global footprints in all spheres of life when India celebrates of Independence. "It is time to set new goals and take a new oath... After 25 years, India will celebrate of Independence... In this journey of 100 years, India's achievements should be global, and for that our vision should also be global," said PM Modi while addressing the inaugural ceremony of year-long joint celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the Sivagiri Pilgrimage and Golden Jubilee of Brahma Vidhyalaya. PM Modi also said that while many countries deviated from the path of spirituality to materialism, India should not make the same mistake. "When many countries and civilizations of the world deviated from their religions, they took the path of materialism in place of spirituality. But saints and spiritual leaders here always promoted good thoughts and practices in India," he said. PM Modi's comments for India to bag global achievements and stay in touch with India's spiritual and cultural powers came days after he laid the foundation of the World Health Organizations (WHO) Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar of Gujarat. PM Modi had then said that countries across the globe are putting emphasis on traditional herbal systems to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that Yoga has helped people to find a mental balance by eliminating stress all over the world. International Yoga Day is also scheduled to be celebrated on June 21. (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.) Wherever there are major mountain ranges, which invite people to ascend them for adventure, sport or military purposes, there are also local people who form highly skilled teams to rescue adventurers who find themselves in trouble. In the French Alps around Chamonix, France, the so-called Peleton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne (PGHMP) is the busiest and perhaps the most highly skilled mountain rescue team in the world. PGHM employs around 250 rescue specialists, with each unit having access to helicopter transport and medical support, An even harsher environment is faced by the Indian Army, which guards thousands of kilometres of Himalayan frontier but, until 2016, relied for high-altitude knowhow mainly on its vast experience in operating in altitudes above 18,000-20,000 feet in legendary battlefields like the Saltoro Ridge, which towers above the Siachen Glacier. In addition, the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) runs a laboratory that studies the high-altitude environment. Named the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), it is located near Manali and has conducted decades of valuable research on avalanches one of the biggest high-altitude killers in which tens of thousands of tonnes of snow and ice hurtles down the mountain, obliterating everything in its path. Now, the army is also assisted by a team of experienced civilian climbers called the Tiranga Mountain Rescue (TMR). Founded by Hemant Sachdev in 2016, TMR is a non-profit organisation that is affiliated with the Indian Army. TMR provides multiple teams of highly motivated and qualified avalanche rescue professionals who are deployed in snow bound and difficult areas during the winter season. TMR teams have been instrumental in providing dedicated avalanche rescue and mountain craft training to Indian Army personnel. On Tuesday, Defence Minister recognized the services rendered by TMR, when he interacted with a TMR mountain rescue team in New Delhi. was briefed on the activities of TMR and the defence minister commended TMR for its work in saving the lives of soldiers from deadly threats like avalanches and for raising awareness and training soldiers deployed in super-high altitudes. Calling the TMR a source of strength for soldiers deployed in avalanche-prone areas, the defence minister appreciated the fact that there had been no army casualties in the locations where TMR is deployed. The defence minister stressed that TMR has a big responsibility on their shoulders as avalanches are likely to increase in the coming days due to climate change. described the work being carried out by TMR as a shining example of partnership between the Government and civil society. He emphasised that a Nation moves forward on the path of development only when the government and civil society work together. Government and civil society are the wheels on which the country can achieve the goal of all-round sustainable development, he said. The chief-designate of the army, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, the Director General of Military Operations, Lieutenant General BS Raju and other senior military officials were also present when Rajnath Singh felicitated the TMR. Defence Minister on Tuesday held talks with British Minister of Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin, focusing on bilateral cooperation in areas such as aviation and shipbuilding. "Had a wonderful meeting with the UK Minister of Defence Procurement, Mr. Jeremy Quin. We discussed the opportunities available in areas pertaining to aviation, ship building and other defence industrial programmes for both the countries," Singh tweeted. The talks between Singh and Quin took place days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson agreed on a new and expanded India-UK defence partnership. During his visit to India last week, Johnson announced that the UK is creating an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for India to "reduce bureaucracy and slashing delivery times" for defence procurement and that London will help New Delhi in the co-development of military hardware including indigenous production of fighter jets. (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.) Independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana will continue to be in jail till a sessions court in hears their application for bail on April 29. On Tuesday, the court asked the police to file on April 29 their reply to the jailed couple's bail plea. The couple had on Monday moved the court seeking bail in an FIR registered by the police against them on charges of and promoting enmity, after they gave a call to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra. When the matter came up for hearing in the court on Tuesday, the police said they want to respond with an affidavit to the bail plea. The court accepted this and posted the matter for further hearing on April 29. The politician couple was arrested by the on Saturday. While Navneet Rana was sent to the Byculla women's jail here, her husband Ravi Rana was shifted to the Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai. Ranas' advocate Rizwan Merchant on Monday said the couple decided to withdraw their bail plea pending before the Bandra magistrate court that had remanded them to 14-day judicial custody on Sunday. Merchant had said the suburban Khar police initially booked the Ranas under Indian Penal Code Section 153(A), for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups. At the time of their remand, the police informed the magistrate court that they had added the charge of sedition, under IPC Section 124A, against the couple in the first FIR. Their bail plea said the call to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside 'Matoshree' was not a calculated move to promote feelings of enmity or hatred and the charge under section 153(A) cannot be sustained. There was no intention on part of the applicants to instigate or create hatred by offering Hanuman Chalisa near 'Matoshree', the couple said in their plea. It is submitted that by no stretch of imagination can the acts of the applicants be stated to constitute the offence of sedition, the plea said. Further, the had issued notice under section 149 of the CrPC and the applicant (Navneet Rana) had complied with the police's direction and not stepped out of her residence, it added. Navneet Rana, the Lok Sabha MP from Amravati in eastern Maharashtra, and Ravi Rana, the MLA from Badnera in Amravati, had eventually dropped their plan to recite the Hanuman Chalisa (hymns dedicated to Lord Hanuman) on Saturday outside Thackeray's home, citing the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mumbai for an event on Sunday. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expressing displeasure over the way the investigation was conducted into the death of a 17-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, the has handed over the probe to the Inspector General of Police on a complaint by his mother. A bench of Jusices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi said the probe conducted by the investigating officer cannot be said to be fair and impartial. The boy was allegedly assaulted in police custody for violating coronavirus restrictions in the state. The top court said fair investigation is the backbone of criminal justice system and the object of the probe is to search for the truth so that it would help in meeting the ends of justice by way of fair trail in court. "At the same time, the need to ensure fair investigation of crime is undoubtedly imperative because it protects at one level the rights of the victim and the fundamental rights of every citizen in ensuring that crime is investigated and dealt with in accordance with law," the bench said. The apex court said after going through the records it was of the prima facie view that the complaint of the petitioner deserves indulgence of this court. "We have an option either to send the matter to the for further re-investigation, but after we have heard counsel for the parties, consider it appropriate at this stage that let senior police officer, Bhagwan Swarup, Inspector General of Police, Intelligence, HQ, shall personally undertake further investigation of the complaint made by the petitioner in a fair and impartial manner, the bench said. The apex court said the report be furnished to this Court within a period of eight weeks. The State is directed to hand over all papers including charge sheet and other material to the officer positively within seven days and render all assistance to him, if required. The matter is listed for next hearing on July 19. The incident took place when the deceased Mohammad Faisal was reportedly selling vegetables outside his house in Bangarmau town in Unnao beyond curfew timings. Accused policeman Vijay Chowdhary and homeguard Satyaprakash allegedly started beating him for breaking curfew rules, according to the boy's father. The teenager was arrested and taken to the local police station where officers assaulted the boy further, his family had alleged. Following the assault, the boy's condition deteriorated and he was taken to the Community Health Centre, where he was declared brought dead. (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.) SpiceJet on Tuesday said it will start flights connecting Bhavnagar in Gujarat with and Mumbai from May 5 onwards. In a statement, the airline said it will also start additional flights on the Ahmedabad- route. The Bhavnagar- flight will operate under the Central government's UDAN scheme, it mentioned. Under the UDAN scheme, financial incentives from the Centre, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports and to keep airfares affordable. SpiceJet will deploy its Q400 aircraft for the flights. (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.) Former Chief Minister of and AIADMK Coordinator O.Panneerselvam on Tuesday demanded that the state government transfer the custodial death case of Vignesh to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He also asked Chief Minister M.K.Stalin to pay Rs.50 lakh to the family of Vignesh as compensation and a government job to a family member. Panneerselvam said two persons, Vignesh and Suresh were taken into custody by the city police recently for allegedly carrying ganja and a knife. The next day Vignesh, who worked for a horse owner letting the animal for joy ride on the beach, had vomited and died. Condemning the death while in police custody Panneerselvam said as per reports, the police officials had paid a sum of Rs 1 lakh to the victim's brother. As per reports, Vignesh's employer had given the amount to the police towards funeral expenses. The city police in turn gave the sum to the victim's brother. Panneerselvam said people are doubting that the DMK government is trying to cover up the crime. Though the police officials involved in the incident have been suspended and the case is transferred to the Crime Branch Crime Investigation Department (CBCID), the victim's family feels that justice will not be delivered as the probe agency falls under the state government, Panneerselvam 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.) External Affairs Minister on Tuesday countered criticism of India's position on Ukraine, saying the Western powers have been oblivious to the pressing challenges facing including last year's events in and the continuous pressure on the rules-based order in the region. In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar said the crisis in Ukraine could be a "wake-up call" for to also look at what has been happening in Asia, saying it has not been an "easy part" of the world for the last 10 years. To a specific question by Foreign Minister of Norway Anniken Huitfeldt on the situation in Ukraine, Jaishankar said India has been pressing for an urgent cessation of fighting and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. "I think where the conflict in Ukraine is concerned, we have a very clear position that has been articulated. A position which emphasises the urgent cessation of fighting, which urges a return to diplomacy and dialogue which stresses the need for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states," he said. "You spoke about Ukraine. I remember, less than a year ago, what happened in where an entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world," he said. "I would say quite honestly, all of us would like to find the right balance of our beliefs and interests, of our experience, and that is what all really try to do. It looks different from different parts of the world. The priorities are different and that's quite natural," he added. The minister was responding to a series of questions from his counterparts from Norway and Luxembourg as well as by former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt on the Ukraine crisis. "Quite candidly, we have been hearing for the last two months a lot of arguments from saying things are happening in and should worry about it because this could happen in Asia," Jaishankar said. "Things have been happening in for the last 10 years. Europe may not have looked at it. So this could be a wake-up call for Europe, not just in Europe, it could be a wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia," he said. The external affairs minister said it is not that problems are going to happen and that the problems have been happening in Asia. "This is not been an easy part of the world for the last decade and this is a part of the world where boundaries have not been settled, where terrorism is still practiced often sponsored by states," he said. "This is a part of the world where the rules-based order has been under continuous stress for more than a decade and I think it is important for the rest of the world, outside Asia to recognise that today," Jaishankar said. In his question, Bildt asked the external affairs minister what conclusion China could draw from what's happening in Ukraine and whether there was a possibility of Beijing seeing the possibility to do things that otherwise would not be allowed. Also to the Swedish leader's comment that the conclusion that China could draw from the crisis in Ukraine could have major repercussions perhaps for India's security, Jaishankar said the questions should have been asked to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. "I cannot honestly answer that question. But I do not think international relations necessarily function by precedence. People do not need to see something out there and say aha that's what I am going to do," Jaishankar responded. "That's how mostly bureaucracy functions. But I think world affairs has sort of a much more self-driven, self calculating way of working," he added. Jaishankar identified events in Afghanistan, the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine and big power rivalry as "major shocks" the world is witnessing and said they have global consequences. (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.) Haryana's Independent MLA from Meham, Balraj Kundu on Monday alleged that was at its peak in the state, but the BJP-JJP government was in denial mode. " is at its peak in Haryana, but the government is not ready to accept the fact and is in a denial mode. It trashes the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) figures, which has in the past put the rate at over 30 per cent. "The government speaks a white lie when it claims the unemployment rate in the state is only around 6 per cent," Kundu told reporters here. He also said let the government come out with unemployment figures of any district or any one assembly constituency. "I challenge the government that I will also get an independent survey done later from the same district or constituency and the real picture will be before people," he said. He said youth are going astray and taking to petty crimes because they are unable to find jobs. "Nearly 30,000 posts are vacant in the education department, 17,000 posts are lying vacant in the health department, but the government is not filling them up to provide jobs to the youth," he alleged. Kundu alleged that corruption is rampant and the law and order situation is worsening. The power situation is also bad, with cuts being imposed daily, he said. Kundu further said that the government schools are in a bad shape in forcing parents to get their children admitted in private schools. The legislator also alleged that various sections are fed up with the alleged misrule of the state government, which he claimed has failed on all fronts. He also hit out at the government after four people died due to inhaling some poisonous gas inside a tank of a sewerage treatment plant at a village in Hisar district on Tuesday. Two sewage workers had entered the 50-feet deep tank in Buddakhera village for maintenance work while two others went inside to check when they did not come out, but all four died due to inhaling some poisonous gas, police had said earlier. "Four precious lives were lost in the incident due to government negligence because the workers did not have proper safety gear. I will write to the chief minister urging that the next of kin of each deceased should be given a financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh and a government job," the MLA said. Kundu, meanwhile, said the government's decision to ban the sale of wheat residue, which is used as cattle fodder, outside the state was an "anti-farmer" step. "Banning the sale of tudi' (wheat residue) outside the state is not a wise decision. This decision should be withdrawn immediately," he said. "First farmers had to face difficulties due to unseasonal rains followed by summer setting in early. The vagaries of weather have resulted in loss in wheat yield by 5-10 quintal per acre. "Rather than compensating the farmers for their loss, the government comes out with decisions of banning sale of 'tudi'," he said. Kundu along with six other Independent MLAs, had lent post-poll support to the BJP when it came to power in alliance with the JJP after the October 2019 assembly polls. However, in February 2020, Kundu cited alleged corruption in the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government and levelled allegations against a former minister after which he announced to withdraw his support to the government. Kundu had also come out in support of the farmers' agitation against the now repealed central farm laws. (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 uptick in export of following the global shortage due to the Ukraine-Russia war has led to a situation where procurement is likely to be lowest in last 12 years from across India, especially from and Haryana, the two largest contributors to the central pool. was till last week headed to a record production but the heat wave that started in March and continued in April over northwest is set to affect produce, especially in and . As per Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs data, as on Sunday, 136.93 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of were procured under the central pool in Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2022-23 in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Gujarat, Bihar, and Rajasthan. In this, procurement in was 74.18 LMT, (36.09 LMT) and Madhya Pradesh was 25.76 LMT. "The procurement is still going on. We can expect the numbers to increase further," said an official. The Food Corporation of (FCI) data showed that as on April 20, the quantity of wheat procured for RMS 2022-23 in Punjab was 55.25 LMT, followed by 32.39 LMT, Madhya Pradesh 21.58 LMT and smaller quantities from Uttar Pradesh (0.51 LMT), Chandigarh (0.03 LMT), Rajasthan (0.01 LMT) and Uttarakhand (0.01 LMT). However, there was zero procurement in Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and West Bengal till April 20. Last 12 years' data from FCI shows that the all India procurement for RMS22-23 of 109.78 LMT is nowhere near the annual all India procurement under RMS 2010-11 (225.13 LMT), RMS 2011-12 (283.34 LMT), RMS 2012-13 (382.15 LMT), RMS 2013-14 (250.72 LMT), RMS 2014-15 (281.31 LMT), RMS 2015-16 (280.88 LMT), RMS 2016-17 (229.61 LMT), RMS 2017-18 (308.24 LMT), RMS 2018-19 (357.95 LMT), RMS 2019-20 (341.32 LMT), RMS 2020-21 (389.92 LMT) and for RMS 2021-22, the procurement was 433.44 LMT. Similarly for Punjab, the from RMS 2010-11 till RMS 2021-22 was (all in LMT) 102.09, 109.58, 128.36, 108.95, 116.44, 103.44, 106.49, 117.06, 126.92, 129.12, 127.14 and 132.22 respectively, again, far higher than 55.25 LMT procured till April 20 of this RMS. Haryana story is no different. from RMS 2010-11 till RMS 2021-22 was (all in LMT) 63.47, 69.28, 87.17, 58.55, 65.08, 67.78, 67.52, 74.32, 87.84, 93.20, 74.00, 84.93, almost more than double all years than 32.39 LMT till April 20 this RMS. "One is that scores of farmers are yet to bring out their produce waiting for appropriate rates. Second, it is clear that much of the wheat is being diverted for private trading, obviously farmers and traders both want to profit in view of the good export prospects," officials said. India has reported a wheat export worth of USD 2352.22 million in the last three years, including the first 10 months of current fiscal 2021-22. Earlier last week, a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had declared that Ukraine-Russia war led speculation surge for Indian export of wheat may bring down government procurement under Minimum Support Price (MSP). It had pegged the marketing year 2022/2023 (April-March) wheat production at a record 110 from 30.9 million hectares, and up from last year's record 109.6 MMT from 31.1 million hectares. (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's in May are set to rise above 600,000 tonnes despite the restriction imposed by on exports as most of the contracted quantity will be loaded before Jakarta's ban becomes effective, traders told Reuters. The world's biggest palm oil exporter plans from Thursday to stop shipments of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein but will allow exports of crude palm oil (CPO) or other derivative products. The ban could dent India's imports in June as refiners are struggling to secure supplies from Malaysia, traders said. "Vessel loading is nearly done for May shipments at Indonesian ports. That quantity would be unloaded in India next month," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm. India is the world's biggest importer of palm oil and relies on to fulfil nearly half of its palm oil requirement of around 700,000 tonnes per month. In March, India imported 207,362 tonnes of palm oil from Indonesia, including 145,696 tonnes of RBD palm olein. As hasn't banned exports of CPO, Indian refiners will also buy small amounts in the coming months, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm. "Indonesian CPO supplies for exports are very limited. Buyers will switch to Malaysia, but it has limited surplus," the dealer said. India imported 539,793 tonnes of palm oil in March, while shipments in April are expected to rise to 600,000 tonnes. Before Indonesia announced restrictions, industry officials were expecting India's in May could rise above 650,000 tonnes, but now they are expecting shipments of slightly more than 600,000 tonnes. "Indonesia and Malaysia are main suppliers of palm oil, but in coming months industry will try to source more palm oil from Thailand and Papua New Guinea," said Atul Chaturvedi, president of trade body the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA). But supplies from these small producers are insufficient and there could be a shortage in June, Chaturvedi said. India also imports soyoil from Argentina, and sunoil from Ukraine and Russia, but their supplies are curtailed. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; editing by David Evans) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India has a clear position on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday, stressing that New Delhi "urges a cessation of hostilities, return to dialogue and national sovereignty". During an interaction at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar said the conflict in Ukraine is one of the most dominating issues at present "not only because of interests or values concerned, but also because of the consequences worldwide". "And there is a wide world out there where sustaining a rules based order is often an issue." When asked about India's stand on the war, he said: "When rules-based order was under challenge in Asia, the advice we got from Europe was; do more trade. At least we are not giving you that advice." He also stated that what happened in Afghanistan clearly stated what was the rules-based order. "We have to find a way to return to diplomacy and to do that, the fighting must stop." Talking about the wider consequences of the war, the Minister said "there will be no winners out of this conflict" and added that the immediate issue is the effect on oil and food prices. When asked about what "three things that keeps him up at night", Jaishankar replied: "The shocks that the international order is experiencing, particularly in the past two years -- the Covid 19 pandemic, Afghanistan and Ukraine, and the friction between the West and Russia, the US and China." He also explained that Ukraine is not a precedent for China, such events have been underway in Asia for the past decade without Europe's attention. "So, this is a wake-up call for Europe to start looking at Asia. This is a part of the world with unsettled boundaries, terrorism, and continuous challenges to the rules-based order. The rest of the world has to recognise that problems are not 'going to happen', but that they are happening." On India's role in the Western Indo-Pacific, the Minister said: "We need to reclaim our history. Our ties and trade were disrupted in colonial times, but in a more globalised world, we should focus on how we aim to rebuild and interact with each other, rather than through intermediaries." He also said that the aim should be to recreate the Indian Ocean community, look for solutions amongst and partner with each other instead of looking to countries far away. "The Indian and Pacific Oceans have become much more seamless. It is increasingly untenable to see them in compartmentalised terms, which is part of a larger geopolitical shift." Talking about India's actions towards climate change, Jaishankar said that from New Delhi's perspective, there are two parts to the issue - one is climate action, and the other is climate justice. "We need both... When it comes to climate action, everyone needs to do their utmost. But we also need to ensure that the more vulnerable, less-resourced countries and societies are supported. "Today, we do need to find ways to work together - on connectivity, climate change, and India is prepared to step forward in a much more substantive way on these global issues," the Minister added. --IANS sk/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Parts of and adjoining areas such as Thane saw a power outage on Tuesday following a transmission issue. The outage points to the deepening in the state amid a strong heat wave and a pick-up in industrial activity. While power supply was subsequently restored within an hour of the outage, Maharashtra continues to face a power deficit of 3,500 megawatts (MW) per day, according to analysts tracking the sector. In a statement, a Tata Power spokesperson said that a transmission line of the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company had tripped at the 400 kilovolt (KV) Kalwa grid, which supplies power to and suburban areas. It is a known fact that Mumbai's power network is wired up to keep the city's system safe from widespread outages in case of any major tripping. In such a scenario, automated power supply trimming gets activated, like what has happened today, resulting in load trimming to effectively manage the issue, Tata Power said. An Adani Electricity spokesperson said that the tripping of the transmission line had affected its customers in areas such as Chembur, Bandra and Santacruz in . "However, through proactive network rearrangements Adani Electricity could restore entire power supply within 40 minutes of the incident," the spokesperson said. Though Mumbai does not face routine power outages, it has seen disruptions in the past, such as the one that lasted for nearly 18 hours on October 12, 2020 due to a grid failure. This year, however, say sector experts the megapolis may see a few more rounds of power cuts as demand peaks owing to soaring temperatures and a return to normalcy after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Currently, Mumbai's power demand is around 3,500 MW per day, which is being met by distributors Adani Electricity and Tata Power, according to informed sources. The rest of Maharashtra has a power demand of around 28,500 MW per day, which an official at the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL), which distributes power to regions outside Mumbai, said was being met to the tune of 88 per cent or 25,000 MW. So, the power deficit of 3,500 MW per day was being tackled by the state government by buying additional power from producers such as the Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL), which has a power plant in Mundra, Gujarat. Power producers in Maharashtra have also been facing a shortage of coal with daily coal requirement at 1,38,710 metric tons (MT) versus supply which is around 84,000 MT. "Load shedding is inevitable as demand will outstrip supply in summer. However, there is a protocol to be followed with load shedding. Areas where losses are high will see greater load shedding. At the same time, alternative fuel sources such as wind power will not come up now. It will start from May as pre-monsoon winds will pick up by then. Solar power, on the other hand, tends to be intermittent and hydro power depends on the supply of water," Pramod Deo, former chairman, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, said. MSEDCL, said informed sources, had been allowed by the state government to explore alternative options to purchase power in the event the demand-supply mismatch was high. By Neha Arora NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Russian and Indian officials met last week in an effort to resolve an impasse over the shipping of to Indian steelmakers, which has dried up since March over payment methods, a trade source and an Indian government source said. Russia usually supplies about 30% of European Union, Japanese and South Korean needs, while India had planned to double its Russian imports to around 9 million tonnes this year. Imports make up around 85% of India's overall needs, which total 50-55 million tonnes a year, and New Delhi last year signed a deal to import from Russia. But complications with processing of payments and logistics as a result of sanctions against Russia mean steel mills are opting for alternative sources such as Australia and the United States, pushing up prices in the process. Australia, India's top supplier of coking coal, has raised its prices from $200 to $700 per tonne this year, while flows from Russia have dried up completely since March, the two sources said on Monday, raising worries among India's steelmakers over their supplies. As a result, Indian government officials and executives from JSW Steel met a delegation from Russia in New Delhi on Friday, the sources said of the previously unreported meeting. Russian trade officials expressed concerns during the meeting over the sanctions imposed by the West and asked India to move forward with last year's deal, the sources said. "Their concern was that they have been hit hard by the sanctions," one of the sources said, adding: "They were primarily interested in how we can take the MoU (memorandum of understanding) forward." The Russian delegation asked Indian representatives to visit Moscow to work out how to achieve smooth shipments of coking coal, the sources said, while state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) requested better insurance cover for supplies. The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to talk to the media. Russia's trade ministry declined to comment, while India's federal steel ministry, foreign affairs ministry and SAIL did not immediately reply to requests for comment. In an emailed response, JSW Steel declined comment. Russian coking coal producers Raspadskaya and Mechel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The head of Russia's customs service said last week it had temporarily suspended publication of import and export data in order to exclude errors and "speculation". India has not imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", and has abstained from a United Nations vote condemning it. (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Alexander Smith and Christopher Cushing) (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 burqa-clad Baloch woman suicide bomber struck a van inside Pakistan's prestigious University of Karachi, killing three Chinese nationals and their local driver, in the latest targeted attack against Chinese citizens in the country's financial capital. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) linked Majeed Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack on the teachers that took place near China-built Confucius Institute - a non-profit institute teaching Chinese language to local pupils - in the university. It said the attack was carried out by a woman suicide bomber. A spokesperson for the university said that three of the victims were Chinese nationals. They were identified as Confucius Institute Director Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sa and Khalid, the Pakistani driver. The spokesperson added that two others, including Chinese national Wang Yuqing, and Hamid were injured in the blast. "Academic activities and public dealings will remain suspended at KU on Wednesday to mourn the loss of the Confucius Institute's faculty members," he said. Counter-Terrorism Department official Raja Umar Khattab said that the suicide attack was carried out by a woman, adding that ball bearings were found at the site of the blast, Dawn newspaper reported. He said the van was properly guarded as a Rangers team was escorting it. Four Rangers who were behind the van on motorcycles were also injured. However, their condition is stable. CCTV footage of the attack showed a burqa-clad woman standing outside the entrance of the Confucius Institute. The woman detonated herself just as the van neared the institute's entrance. A spokesperson of the BLA, the separatist outfit which is banned in Pakistan, the UK and the US, said that the attack was carried out by Shari Baloch alias Bramsh - the "first female suicide bomber of the brigade". The attack marks "a new chapter in the history of Baloch resistance," he added. A picture of the bomber in circulation showed the woman along with her two small kids. In a purported video issued by the group, a BLA spokesman said that the motive of the attack was very clear. "It was a simple and clear message to and to withdraw immediately from Balochistan," said the masked spokesman surrounded by armed men on a hilly terrain. "Baloch Liberation Army guarantees you the CPEC will fail miserably on Baloch land," the spokesman, who was holding an assault rifle, said in fluent English. He warned that a special unit has been formed particulary to attack Chinese officials and installations in Balochistan. The group opposes Chinese investment in Pakistan, especially in the restive Balochistan, saying local people do not benefit. Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the USD 60 billion China- Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said that it was unfortunate that teachers had been targeted. Asked whether a threat had been issued prior to the attack, the senior officer said that there was "always a threat". He said tight security arrangements were already in place at the varsity. Senior police official Muqqadas Haider earlier said that the explosion took place at the van's right side at the institute's entrance. Urdu language Jang newspaper reported that the van was bringing the foreign nationals who used to teach Chinese at the IBA institute inside the Karachi University from their guesthouse when the blast took place. Videos of the blast-hit van were also posted on social media with flames of fire completely destroying the vehicle as police and paramilitary rangers reached the scene immediately and cordoned off the area. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed the Counter-Terrorism Department and SSP East to immediately reach the site of the incident. He also asked the Karachi commissioner to submit a report. He later visited the Chinese Consulate where he briefed Consul General Li Bijian about the blast. The chief minister assured the Chinese official that the incident would be fully investigated, a statement issued by the CM's office said. "Those involved in the incident will be brought to justice. We value the services rendered by Chinese experts in the country and the province," Shah said. "Some elements do not like the partnership between the two countries," he said, adding that the miscreants behind the incident would be dealt with an iron hand. Prime Minister also expressed grief over the blast and assured Shah of the Centre's full help and cooperation in dealing with such incidents. "The prime minister said that terrorists are [the] enemies of . He vowed to eliminate the remainder of terrorists through collective efforts and unity. He directed for the provision of the best medical facilities to the injured," the PMO said. "My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families. I strongly condemn this cowardly act of terrorism. The perpetrators will surely be brought to justice," the prime minister said on Twitter. Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also condemned the attack. "Sindh police will soon get to the bottom of the incident," he said, adding that the perpetrators would be punished. He called for steps to be taken to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens. The Foreign Office spokesperson condemned the attack, offering condolences and sympathies to the families of victims. "We strongly condemn the reprehensible terrorist attack in Karachi which claimed innocent lives, including those of Chinese nationals working at the Confucius Institute," he said. It added that the "cowardly incident is a direct attack on the Pakistan- friendship and ongoing cooperation". "Pakistan and are close friends and iron-brothers. Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan," it said. This is not the first time Chinese nationals have been the target of terror attacks in Karachi, which is Pakistan's biggest city and economic hub. In July last year, masked armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on a vehicle carrying two Chinese nationals in Karachi in which one of them was critically wounded. In the same month, nearly a dozen Chinese engineers were killed when a bus carrying construction workers was "attacked" in northwest Pakistan. In November 2018, Baloch militants had attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi but failed to break through the security barrier with three of them killed on the spot. Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on a host of projects being carried out under the aegis of the CPEC. North Korea parades ICBMs, vows to boost nuclear arms North Korea staged its first military parade in seven months, with leader Kim Jong Un pledging to strengthen his states atomic arsenal as he presided over an event showcasing nuclear-capable weapons that threaten the US and its allies. The parade was held on Monday night in central Pyongyang, the states official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday. The event included displays of tactical weapons and the countrys biggest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, KCNA said. Bloomberg Russia court orders seizure of $7 mn in Google property A Moscow court has ordered the seizure of 500 million rubles ($7 million) worth of Googles property and funds in Russia, news agencies said, in a lawsuit concerning restrictions the US tech firm has placed on the YouTube channel of a prominent television firm. Russian news agencies reported that the case concerns Gazprom Media Holdings GPM Entertainment Television, which filed a suit demanding that Google restore access to its YouTube account.Reuters Meta fined over LGBT propaganda A Russian court on Tuesday fined Meta Platforms 4 million rubles ($54,030) for failing to delete posts that contained what it calls LGBT propaganda, the Interfax news agency reported. A 2013 Russian law, decried by Western countries as state-enforced bigotry, bans the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations to minors. Reuters Djokovic can play, no vax required, says Wimbledon Novak Djokovic will be allowed to defend his title at Wimbledon, despite not being vaccinated against Covid-19, because the shots are not required to enter Britain, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said on Tuesday. Djokovic, a 34-year-old Serb who is ranked No. 1, missed the Australian Open in January after being deported from that country because he was not vaccinated against the illness caused by the coronavirus, which has led to the deaths of millions during the pandemic that began in 2020. PTI Uber agrees to pay fine for misleading users on fee Uber agreed to pay a 26 million Australian dollar ($19 million) fine for misleading riders by falsely warning they could be charged a cancellation fee and for inflating estimates of comparable taxi rides, the ride share firm and Australia's consumer watchdog said on Tuesday. Uber BV, a Netherlands subsidiary of the San Francisco-based Uber Technologies, admitted breaching Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading statements in its app.AP (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.) Three critically-endangered Sumatran have been found dead after being caught in sling snares in a private oil palm plantation in Indonesia's Aceh province, the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency said. The agency's head Agus Arianto on Monday said the tiger carcasses were found on Sunday by a member of a non-governmental organisation, who thought that the carnivores had died for days, Xinhua news agency reported. "We strongly condemn this incident. An investigation is underway," Arianto told Xinhua. A medical team has taken the body parts of the for necropsy, while the police are conducting a field investigation to uncover other factors causing the deaths. (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 Afghan delegation led by the Taliban's acting minister of refugees and repatriations is set to visit Iran's capital to hold talks over refugee-related challenges and the border tension, local media reported. "We are trying to visit to talk about all the problems that Afghans are struggling with there; we hope we can talk and solve the problems," said Khalilurahman Haqqani, acting minister of refugee and repatriations, according to TOLOnews. Meanwhile, Afghan students and refugees residing in said that they have always faced visa issues as well as residence and employment problems across . "One of the serious challenges is receiving visas, when the students receive visas and come for an education. The second problem is the permission for residence, it takes a long time," TOLOnews quoted Khan Mohammad Seerat, an Afghan student in Iran as saying. An Afghan delegation visit to comes following the recent tensions between Islamic Emirate forces and Iranian border guards. On Saturday, a dispute occurred between and Iranian border forces in the Islam Qala district of Herat province after Islamic Emirate forces wanted to pave a road alongside the border. Afghan and Iranian border forces have faced each other several times in Nimroz and Herat provinces since the Islamic Emirate took power in last 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.) The European Union's internal market chief said on Tuesday that could adapt as he wishes after he acquires the social media site but warned the billionaire that the bloc has strict rules for online platforms to tackle illegal content. "It will be up to to adapt themselves ... to our rules," Thierry Breton told Reuters and one other media outlet on the deal sealed on Monday by Tesla's chief executive to buy for $44 billion. "I think knows Europe very well. He knows very well that we have some rules for the automotive industry ... and he understands that. So in Europe, in order to protect freedom of speech and to protect individuals, any will have to fulfill this obligation." Musk, the world's richest person, calls himself a free speech absolutist and has criticised Twitter's moderation of a hugely influential platform that is populated by millions of users and global leaders. The EU has rules under which content forbidden offline is also forbidden online, Breton said. Under a Digital Services Act (DSA) agreed by the EU's 27 member states and lawmakers last week, Alphabet unit Google, Meta and other large online platforms will risk hefty fines if they do not control illegal content. Breton said big platforms of more than 45 million users would have to have more moderators than smaller ones, including moderators in every European language, and they would have to open their algorithms to regulators. Under the DSA, big tech face fines up to 6% of their global revenue for violating the rules while repeated breaches could see them banned from doing business in the EU. The new rules ban advertising aimed at children or based on religion, gender, race and political opinions. Critics of Musk's takeover of Twitter fear it will mean less moderation and the reinstatement of banned individuals, including former U.S. President Donald Trump. Breton said he had no intention of interfering in the Trump question because such matters would now be regulated in Europe and company boards would not have a say. "Remember, the information space does not belong to any private company," he said. "The information space is part of our responsibility as politicians. Like territorial space ...airspace, our digital space is our responsibility to organize." (Reporting by John Chalmers; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) (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.) Twitter's India-born CEO has told worried employees that he doesn't know what direction this company will go in once the whopping USD 44 billion deal, which will take the giant private, closes with new owner billionaire . The remarks by Agrawal, who took over the helm of the social networking giant just five months ago, came during a meeting with employees on Monday afternoon after the company said it had accepted Musk's offer to buy it for about USD 44 billion. It's important to acknowledge that all of you have many different feelings about what is happening, The New York Times newspaper quoted Agrawal as saying. The American daily, which listened to the meeting, said that Agrawal told employees that he estimated the deal might take three to six months to complete. In this moment, we operate as we always have," he said, adding that how we run the company, the decisions we make, and the positive changes we drive that will be on us, and under our control. Uncertainty now hangs over the fate of employees, who voiced concern over layoffs in the wake of the acquisition by Musk. The NYT report added that it is unclear how hands-on Musk plans to be at Twitter. Among the unanswered issues are whom he might pick to lead the company and how involved he would be in running the service, it said, adding that Agrawal is expected to remain in charge at least until the deal closes. The NYT report added that in the employee meeting, Agrawal acknowledged the uncertainty ahead. Once the deal closes, we don't know what direction this company will go in, 37-year-old Agarwal said. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Twitter Board of Directors, is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. On Monday, as Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor announced that Tesla and SpaceX founder Musk will acquire the company, Agrawal tweeted, Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important. The NYT report said that in the meeting with Twitter employees, Agrawal and Taylor nodded to the emotions of the day and how workers were most likely processing the news of a sale. Agrawal said compensation would remain largely the same under Musk but he did not make the same assurances about Twitter's policies and culture, the NYT report said. Agrawal told employees that their stock options would convert to cash when the deal closes. Employees would receive their same benefits packages for a year after the deal was finalised, the NYT report said. In response to a question about whether former President Donald Trump, who was permanently suspended from the social networking site in January 2021, would be allowed back on the platform, Agrawal said We constantly evolve our policies. Following the acquisition, Musk, the world's wealthiest person, said, Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated." "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it," the 50-year-old Tesla CEO said. The site's co-founder Jack Dorsey, who had stepped down in November last year, had declared that his trust" in Agrawal as our CEO is bone deep when he had named the India-born executive as Twitter's new CEO on November 29, 2021. Dorsey had said that after almost 16 years at the company he had decided it was finally time for him to leave and the first reason he had given for why it was the right time for his departure was Parag becoming our CEO." "The board ran a rigorous process considering all options and unanimously appointed Parag. He's been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs. Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He's curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware, and humble. He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep," Dorsey had said. Agrawal had said in a note posted on Twitter that he was honoured and humbled by his appointment and expressed gratitude to Dorsey's continued mentorship and your friendship. An IIT Bombay and Stanford alumnus, Agrawal had joined Twitter 10 years ago when there were fewer than 1,000 employees. While it was a decade ago, those days feel like yesterday to me. I've walked in your shoes, I've seen the ups and downs, the challenges and obstacles, the wins and the mistakes. But then and now, above all else, I see Twitter's incredible impact, our continued progress, and the exciting opportunities ahead of us, he had said in the post following his appointment. Our purpose has never been more important. Our people and our culture are unlike anything in the world. There is no limit to what we can do together, he had said. We recently updated our strategy to hit ambitious goals, and I believe that strategy to be bold and right. But our critical challenge is how we work to execute against it and deliver results - that's how we'll make Twitter the best it can be for our customers, shareholders, and for each of you. The world is watching us right now, even more than they have before. Lots of people are going to have lots of different views and opinions about today's news. It is because they care about Twitter and our future, and it's a signal that the work we do here matters, Agrawal had 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.) Afghanistan's former President has raised concerns over the closure of schools for girls, above grade 6, by the regime, stating that the people of want their girls to return to schools. "There is no way... that the country can live without our girls going to school. It can't be. The Afghan people will not allow that and I am sure the schools for girls will reopen because that is what the Afghan people want and want clearly," Karzai said as cited by Tolo News. The has received constant backlash from other countries as well owing to its decision to shut schools for girls from grades 7 to 12 and it has been about 120 days since Afghan girls have been barred from going to school. Several Afghan clerics, notable politicians and members of the civil society have urged the to consider the reopening of schools for the female students and grant them access to education, reported Tolo News. Further, Human Rights Watch has expressed concerns that banning girls from going to school will lead to a rise in early marriages for them. Associate Director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, Heather Barr said that thousands of Afghan girls have been denied education for almost a year, emphasizing that blocking them from receiving education will become the cause of child marriage and forced marriage. "They are imposing a new law with each passing day, but there is a serious will to reopen the schools," said Naveeda Khurasani, a women's rights activist as reported by Tolo News. Earlier, the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said that the closing of secondary and high schools for girl students is a serious issue. It has also planned on paying a two-month emergency cash support of about 200,000 to the teachers across and has provided over 35 million textbooks in the country so far. (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.) When Vladimir Putin congratulated on his re-election as France's president and wished him success in your activities, the Russian leader probably was being more polite than sincere. As he embarks on a second term, with the intention of keeping at the forefront of efforts to force Putin to change course in Ukraine, Macron has given a green light for the delivery of modern artillery pieces to Kyiv that could help stem Russia's new offensive in the east of the country. Firing six rounds per minute over 40 kilometers (25 miles) or more, the truck-mounted Caesar cannons will allow Ukrainian crews to pound Russian troops from afar, then move and pound them again. Used to great effect against Islamic State forces in Iraq and in other conflicts, they represent a step up in France's assistance to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government. In another remarkable move, Macron is talking openly about the guns, lifting a veil of secrecy he'd thrown over French military aid. The delivery and the publicity together signal a tougher line from Macron in his dealings with Putin - talking less and engaging more in brinksmanship with the Kremlin. "Initially, we were a bit shy to show what was being provided," said retired Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations. But we have been escalating week after week, testing the reaction." Macron was in the closing stages of his presidential re-election campaign when he name-dropped the Caesar cannons in an April 21 interview with the newspaper Ouest- . He also mentioned Milan anti-tank missiles, although those supplies had already been reported. Macron didn't give numbers. Citing unidentified French sources, Ouest- said 12 Caesars will be drawn from the French arsenal and that 40 Ukrainian artillery soldiers were arriving for training at a military base in the south of France. Macron said his red line remains not entering into direct conflict with Russia, but within that limit, we must provide maximum help to the Ukrainians." We are delivering consequential equipment, he said. "We need to continue down this path. His armed forces minister tweeted that thousands of shells would also be part of the delivery. Sunil Nair, an analyst who specialises in artillery systems for the defense publication Janes, said the cannons could be used independently of each other or together as a battery. "It does give you firepower, no doubt about it," he said. It's a question of how they use it and where they use it. Before and after Russia's Feb 24 invasion, Macron had kept an open line with Putin. But the horrors discovered by Ukrainian troops as they retook control of villages near Kyiv once Russian soldiers withdrew gave Macron pause. His office said last week that the two leaders haven't spoken since March 29. Macron says that, eventually, he'll need to pick up the phone again - because not talking to Putin will allow the leaders of China, India and Turkey to take the lead in trying to negotiate the peace, whenever that time comes. We'll have to prepare a cease-fire at some stage, and Europe will have to be around the table, Macron said last week. In the meantime, French weapons will do some of the talking - in hopes of adding to the pressure on Putin. (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.) Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Tuesday expressed confidence that going forward India would be on the same page as the European nations on the Ukraine issue, noting that there can be different reactions for a certain period due to various reasons, including domestic politics. Participating in a session at the Raisina Dialogue, Rau asserted that India for Europeans is the "biggest democratic partner" in the world which means that "we share the same values, principles and that we stand for the same political judgements and political solutions". Asked what message he has for the Indian prime minister to make him see from the European point of view the urgency for Ukraine to prevail, Rau cited the example of the five principles of peaceful coexistence signed between India and China, also known as Panchsheel, and claimed that they point to supporting the victim of Russian aggression. "We can react in a different way till a certain period of time for various reasons, including domestic politics, but in terms or values and therefore in terms of our future cooperation, I am sure we are going to be on the same page," he said. Foreign ministers of Luxembourg and Lithuania -- Jean Asselborn and Gabrielius Landsbergis -- stressed on the need for weapons delivery to Ukraine. "We have a discussion in Europe, should we deliver weapons or not, what kind of weapons is also under discussion. In Germany, very intensive discussions are on about heavy weapons...In EU, we have never been confronted with such a challenge," Asselborn said. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis said if Russian President Vladimir Putin is successful in his war in Ukraine then he will "export it further", therefore it is important that Ukraine wins this war and "we have to do our part". On the issue of weapons delivery, he noted that at the beginning of the war, it was not clear how long the war would take and this perception is changing. He said now there was increased confidence that Ukraine can win this war. Asked about sanctions against Russia, Asselborn said there was no alternative as in the UN Security Council, China and Russia would have blocked it, so they had to go the way of European sanctions along with 40 countries. "This was our only way to say to Putin, 'if you do this you would be excluded, not only for a short time but for a long time, out of the community," he said. The Lithunia foreign minister said it is a reality that Ukraine is fighting for "all of us in Ukrainian territory". (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.) Indians moving to were the largest overseas migrant cohort in the past decade and have supplanted as the second-biggest diaspora living Down Under, government data show. From 2011 to 2021, Indian-born migrants rose by 373,000, followed by 208,000 from and 118,000 from the Philippines, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Tuesday. As a result, Indians now account for 2.8% of the population, compared with Chinas 2.3%, while Britons lead with 3.8%. Yet reflecting the distortions of the pandemic, the proportion of Australias population who are overseas-born actually edged down to 29.1% in 2021 from 29.8% a year earlier. That was due to the shuttering of the borders, meaning almost no new arrivals and few Australian departures in the period. Just under half of all Australians were either born overseas or had a parent who was, according to the most recent data from 2016. Immigration played a central role in avoiding recession for 28 years until Covid-19 finally sent the economy into reverse. Chinas fall from second to third place as a source of immigrants came as ties between and its top trading partner were deteriorating. They went into freefall in 2020 as Prime Minister Scott Morrison led calls for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus that first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Beijing, infuriated, responded with a volley of punitive trade actions that have hit commodities from coal to barley, lobsters and wine. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told Bloomberg in an interview last month that Australia will look to reduce its dependence on in the face of economic coercion from Beijing. Indias swelling population -- set to overtake Chinas in 2027 -- suggests ongoing opportunities to diversify the trade portfolio. FTA Deal Australia recently signed a free trade agreement with India in a bid to boost trade -- currently dominated by coal -- from a modest A$24.3 billion in 2020. Arindam Chakraborty at ANZ Banking Group Ltd. said the expansion of Indias diaspora is likely to be a significant source of human capital for Australia in the years to come, and the deal may prove lucrative for energy shipments. Supportive factors include expectations of Indias rapid growth over the next decade, including an increase in its urbanization rate, which stands at less than 40%, he said. This means, as the economy grows, power demand will rise. He also sees significant scope for expansion of Indias IT service exports to Australia. on Tuesday decided to reopen the Erez crossing point on the northern tip of the Strip after economic losses in the impoverished coastal enclave had piled up. "After an assessment of the security situation, it was decided to resume the entry of workers and merchants from into through the Erez crossing as of tomorrow, Tuesday," Major General Ghassan Alyan, coordinator of Government Activities in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement to the press on Monday. "The opening of the crossing to the movement of merchants and workers, and other civilian steps from the Strip into is conditional on maintaining security and stability in the region," the statement said. Israel closed the crossing point on Sunday after unknown militants fired several rockets from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel, according to the Palestinian coordination office with Israel. This happened against the backdrop of growing tension in East Jerusalem and the Israeli arrest campaigns in the West Bank during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Gaza economists said that keeping the crossing open would have constituted a qualitative leap in breaking the current state of economic deterioration and stagnation that has continued for more than 15 years due to Israeli blockade. They said that some 12,000 Palestinian workers and merchants are crossing from the Gaza Strip to Israel every day, bringing financial liquidity of 5 million Israeli Shekels (1.52 million US dollars) to the coastal enclave. These revenues, which were supposed to enter Gaza through the workers, would greatly alleviate the economic, social, and living crisis suffered by the Gaza Strip residents. (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.) announced his intention to nominate Bridget Brink for US Ambassador to Ukraine, a vacant post since May 2019. The announcement on Monday by the White House came shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin held a press conference at an undisclosed location near the Polish-Ukrainian border following a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kiev, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Xinhua news agency reported. Blinken told reporters he shared with Zelensky "a number of things" the US is committed to regarding Ukraine in its military conflict with Russia, "including President Biden's intent to nominate a new Ambassador to Ukraine, Ambassador Bridget Brink." The US Secretary of State described Brink, a Michigan native appointed by former President Donald Trump to serve as the US Ambassador to Slovakia in August 2019, as "deeply experienced in the region, who'll be a very strong representative for the United States in Ukraine." The US has been without a Senate-confirmed Ambassador to Ukraine since May 2019, when Trump recalled then-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch over claims she was undermining the former President's efforts to press Ukraine to investigate the Biden family's business ties with the country. Blinken also said US diplomats, who left Ukraine due to the war, will return to the country next week and "start the process of looking at how we actually reopen" the US embassy in Kiev, which ceased operation in the lead-up to Russia's military operation in Ukraine. --IANS int/khz/ (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.) More Sri Lankans will slip into this year, the has warned, as it urged the debt-ridden island nation to undertake urgent policy measures to address the high levels of debt, trim the fiscal deficit, and mitigate the adverse impacts on the poor and vulnerable. is currently in the throes of an 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. Around 11.7 per cent of people in earn less than USD 3.20 per day, the line for lower-middle income countries, up from 9.2 per cent in 2019, the Bank said in its Spring Update on the South Asian region. The other reason for the increase in rates in the country was because the government's Samurdhi programme, which covers around 1.2 million poor families in the country, remained inadequate. Less than half of the poor were beneficiaries of the Samurdhi, Sri Lanka's social safety net programme, and benefit amounts remain largely inadequate, it said. Due to the pandemic, the Sri Lankan has contracted by 3.6 per cent in 2020, it stated. The World Bank's April 2022 update of Macro Poverty Outlook for asserted that the heightened fiscal and external risks as well as the challenging political situation pose significant uncertainty to the economic outlook and the country faces an external financing gap in 2022 and beyond. Sri Lanka's economic outlook is highly uncertain due to the fiscal and external imbalances. Urgent policy measures are needed to address the high levels of debt and debt service, reduce the fiscal deficit, restore external stability, and mitigate the adverse impacts on the poor and vulnerable, the development lender said in its twice-a-year regional update. The necessary adjustments may adversely affect growth and impact poverty initially, but it will correct the significant imbalances, subsequently providing the foundation for stronger and sustainable growth and access to financial markets, it added. Last week, the readied a USD 10 million package to Sri Lanka for the purchase of medicines and other essentials. Sri Lanka needs at least USD 4 billion to tide over its mounting economic woes, and talks with international institutions such as the as well as countries like China and Japan for financial assistance have been going on. Sri Lankan officials led by Finance Minister Ali Sabry were in Washington last week to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. India has agreed to extend an additional USD 500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka import fuel. India has already agreed to defer USD 1.5 billion in import payments that Sri Lanka needs to make to the Asian Clearing Union. 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. Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, clamoring for the removal of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, blaming him for the gross mismanagement of the . (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 accuses NATO of engaging in a proxy battle that created a serious risk of nuclear war as US convened its allies to pledge the heavy weapons Ukraine needs to achieve victory. With Russian forces having been forced back from Kyiv and now attempting a new advance in Ukraine's east, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomed officials from more than 40 countries to Ramstein, headquarters of U.S. air power in Europe. "As we see this morning, nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia's imperial aggression," Austin said. "Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here." In a marked escalation of Russian rhetoric, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked on state TV about the prospect of World War Three and whether the current situation was comparable to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that nearly caused nuclear war. "The risks now are considerable," Lavrov said, according to the ministry's transcript of the interview. "The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it," Lavrov said. "NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war." U.S. officials have shifted emphasis this week from speaking mainly about helping Kyiv defend itself to talk of a Ukrainian victory that would deliver a blow to Russia's ability to threaten neighbours in the future. Austin, who visited Kyiv along with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, said on Monday: "We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine." Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, flying to Tuesday's meeting, told reporters the next several weeks in Ukraine would be "very, very critical". "They need continued support in order to be successful on the battlefield. And that's really the purpose of this conference." The aim would be to coordinate aid that includes heavy weapons such as howitzer artillery, as well as killer drones and ammunition, General Milley said. 'BRAVADO' Kyiv and its allies played down Lavrov's remarks about nuclear war. Russia had lost its "last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted after Lavrov's interview. "This only means senses defeat." British Armed Services Minister James Heappey called Lavrov's remarks an example of "bravado" that had become the Russia's foreign minister's "trademark". "I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation," Heappey told BBC Television. The U.S. State Department on Monday approved the potential sale of $165 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine. The Pentagon said the package could include ammunition for howitzers, tanks and grenade launchers. Moscow's ambassador to Washington told the to halt shipments, warning that Western weapons were inflaming the conflict. GUTERRES TO MOSCOW U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was due in on Tuesday to meet President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov, the highest profile peace mission since the war began, although Western countries have said they have little hope of a breakthrough. Russia's two-month-old invasion of Ukraine has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad. calls its actions a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West call this a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression. Russia has yet to capture any of Ukraine's biggest cities. Its huge invasion force was forced to pull back from the outskirts of Kyiv in the face of stiff resistance last month. But it has since announced new war aims to focus mainly on the east, and sent more troops there for an assault on two provinces where it has backed a separatist revolt. "It is obvious that every day - and especially today, when the third month of our resistance has begun - that everyone in Ukraine is concerned with peace, about when it will all be over," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Monday. "There is no simple answer to that at this time." Ukraine's general staff said on Tuesday that Russia's offensive continued in the eastern Kharkiv region with Russian forces trying to advance towards a village called Zavody. Russia is probably attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the country's east, the British military said in an update on Tuesday. Reports say the town of Kreminna has fallen, with heavy fighting in the south of the city of Izyum, as Russian forces try to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Britain's defence ministry said on Twitter. Russian forces kept up their bombing and shelling of the vast Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol where fighters are hunkered down in a city reduced to rubble by Russian siege, Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovych said. (Additional reporting by Reuters journalists; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Angus MacSwan) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) says leader has vowed to bolster his country's nuclear capability at the maximum speed. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday that Kim made the remarks during a military parade the previous night. KCNA cites Kim as saying will continue to take steps to further bolster and develop its nuclear forces at the maximum speed. Kim's speech came as remains locked in a long-running diplomatic standoff with the United States over the North's nuclear programme. In recent months, Kim carried out a spate of missile tests in what experts say was an attempt to pressure the U.S. to win sanctions relief and other concessions. North Korea began a much-anticipated military parade in its capital on Monday to mark the 90th anniversary of its army's founding, with outside experts saying it was likely to display powerful missiles and other weapons capable of targeting the United States and its allies. South Korea's military said the march began late Monday evening in Pyongyang after a pre-parade ceremony. It didn't immediately provide other details, such as whether North Korean leader was present. NK News, a North Korea-focused news site, cited unidentified sources as saying that 12 illuminated flying objects, possibly drones or helicopters, were seen in the sky above Pyongyang, followed by the sounds of fireworks. In past parades, North Korea has often displayed newly built nuclear-capable missiles and goose-stepping soldiers in an attempt to intimidate its rivals and bolster internal unity. Kim has also given speeches highlighting his commitment to boosting the armed forces to cope with what he calls U.S. hostility. The parade comes as Kim is reviving nuclear brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept North Korea as a nuclear power and remove crippling economic sanctions. Analysts say North Korea is exploiting a favourable environment to push forward its weapons programme as the United Nations Security Council remains divided over Russia's war in Ukraine. Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since 2019 because of disagreements over the potential easing of U.S.-led sanctions in exchange for North Korean disarmament steps. Kim has stuck to his goals of simultaneously developing nuclear weapons and the country's dismal economy in face of pressure and has shown no willingness to fully surrender a nuclear arsenal he sees as his biggest guarantee of survival. North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of weapons tests this year, including its first flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017. There are also signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground that was last active in 2017, possibly in preparation for a resumption of testing. It could also conduct a banned launch of a long-range rocket to put a spy satellite into orbit or test-fly missiles over Japan, experts say. North Korean state media did not immediately report the parade. Earlier Monday, official newspapers ran editorials calling for stronger public support of Kim. The respected Comrade is the symbol of the mightiness of our party, state and revolutionary armed forces and the representative of their great dignity, the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial. All happiness and rosy future lie in following the respected General Secretary Kim Jong Un. North Korea's recently tested weapons are potentially capable of striking the U.S. homeland as well as South Korea and Japan. The North has spent much of the past three years focusing on expanding its short-range arsenal targeting South Korea as nuclear negotiations with the United States stalled. Kim's aggressive military push could also be motivated by domestic since he doesn't otherwise have significant accomplishments to show to his people as he marks a decade in power. He failed to win badly needed sanctions relief from his diplomacy with former U.S. President Donald Trump, and the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed further shocks to the country's broken economy, forcing him to acknowledge last year that North Korea was facing its worst-ever situation. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to speed up development of his country's nuclear arsenal while overseeing a huge military parade that displayed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), state media reported on Tuesday. The parade took place on Monday night during celebrations for the 90th anniversary of North Korea's armed forces, the state news agency KCNA said. Pyongyang has recently stepped up weapons tests and displays of military power as denuclearisation talks with the United States have stalled and a new conservative administration takes power in South Korea. U.S. and South Korean officials say there are signs of new construction at North Korea's only known nuclear test site, which has been officially closed since 2018, suggesting Pyongyang may be preparing to resume testing nuclear weapons. "The nuclear forces of our Republic should be fully prepared to fulfil their responsible mission and put their unique deterrent in motion at any time," Kim told the gathering, according to KCNA. He said the fundamental mission of the North's nuclear force was deterrence, but that its use "can never be confined to the single mission". "If any forces try to violate the fundamental interests of our state, our nuclear forces will have to decisively accomplish an unexpected second mission," Kim said. Hong Min, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said Kim's speech could signal a change in his nuclear doctrine to leave open the possibility of "nuclear first use". "Though he did not specify what makes the 'second mission' or 'fundamental interests', he indicated more broadly that the nuclear force might be used pre-emptively, not only when they're under attack, but also under certain circumstances," Hong said. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Kim's remarks could have been aimed at the incoming government of South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has warned of possible pre-emptive strikes if an attack from the North is imminent. WEAPONS SHOWCASE Yoon takes office on May 10. His transition team criticised Pyongyang for developing offensive weapons while appearing to pursue talks. "The parade proved that has outwardly called for peace and dialogue over the last five years but in reality it focused on developing the means to threaten not only the Korean peninsula but Northeast Asia and world peace," deputy spokesperson Won Il-hee told a briefing. "Securing the capability to deter North Korea's grave and real threat is the most urgent task," he added, vowing to bolster an alliance with the United States and expand Seoul's deterrence. Dressed in a white emperor-style suit, a smiling Kim waved and shook hands with senior officials when North Korea's largest known ICBM, the Hwasong-17, appeared in the parade, state television footage showed. The missile was unveiled in 2020 and first tested last month, but Seoul officials believe it exploded in mid-air. The video featured what appeared to be hypersonic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) being carried on trucks and launch vehicles. Kim saluted as a squad of people wearing orange hazardous material suits and gas masks, an apparent symbol of anti-coronavirus efforts. The procession also included rows of conventional weapons such as rocket launchers and prototype tanks, plus tens of thousands of goose-stepping troops shouting "Long life!" to Kim Jong Un. is banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions from developing ballistic missile and nuclear weapons, and is under economic sanctions as a result. On April 16, Kim oversaw the launch of what state media said were short-range missiles that could deliver tactical nuclear weapons. Visiting Seoul last week, U.S. envoy on Sung Kim vowed to "respond responsibly and decisively to provocative behaviour," while underlining his willingness to engage with Pyongyang "anywhere, without any conditions". North Korea has said it is open to diplomacy, but has rejected Washington's overtures as insincere and criticised what it calls "hostile policies" such as sanctions and joint military exercises with the South. (Reporting by Josh Smith, Soo-hyang Choi and Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Jack Kim and Minwoo Park; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Gerry Doyle) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Foreign Minister Joao Cravinho's visit to India is an opportunity for the two countries to expand their bilateral ties, External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday. Taking to Twitter, Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "Glad to welcome FM (Foreign Minister) @JoaoCravinho (Joao Cravinho) of to India. The visit is a renewed opportunity to expand our ties." Cravinho is in the national capital to attend a conclave on geopolitics and geoeconomics. Foreign ministers of Argentina, Armenia, Guyana, Nigeria, Norway, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland and Slovenia are participating in the event, according to the MEA. Earlier in the day, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn and Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis arrived in New Delhi to attend the conclave. "Warm welcome to FM Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg @MFA_Lu. The visit will further deepen our bilateral cooperation," MEA tweeted. Bagchi said that it will be the first visit of Landsbergis to India. MEA Spokesperson said that Lithuania is an important partner in the Baltics. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are called the Baltic countries. (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.) Ahead of Shehbaz Sharif's visit to Saudi Arabia, the newly-elected Prime Minister has been caught in the controversy over his plans to travel privately along with a large entourage. is scheduled to visit the Kingdom of in the next few days. Dozens of officials and political leaders will accompany the Prime Minister on his maiden visit to the Kingdom. After Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) raised questions about this visit, Pakistan Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb responded on Monday, saying would travel to at his own expenses. She slammed PTI leaders for spreading "lies" about the trip set to take place later this week. "Contrary to lies being propagated by PTI, Prime Minister will be travelling to later this week on a commercial flight at his own expense," Marriyum said on Twitter. "Even during his 10 years as CM Punjab during 2008-18, he always travelled commercially and at his own expense," she added. Earlier on Monday, the newly-elected Pak PM presided over a meeting here to review preparations for his official visit to Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, he said that Pakistan valued its long-standing brotherly ties with Saudi Arabia and it was looking forward to enhancing the same in future. According to The News International, he directed the relevant authorities to make effective recommendations for strengthening the Pak-Saudi Arabia bilateral ties. (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.) unleashed a string of attacks Monday against rail and fuel installations deep inside Ukraine, far from the front lines of Moscow's new eastern offensive, in a bid to thwart Ukrainian efforts to marshal supplies for the fight. The U.S., meanwhile, moved to rush more weaponry to and said the assistance from the Western allies is making a difference in the 2-month-old war. is failing. is succeeding, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared, a day after he and the U.S. secretary of defense made a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken said Washington approved a $165 million sale of ammunition non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely for Ukraine's Soviet-era weapons and will also provide more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took his comments further, saying that while the U.S. wants to see remain a sovereign, democratic country, it also wants "to see weakened to the point where it can't do things like invade Ukraine. Austin's comments about weakening Russia appear to represent a broader U.S. strategic goal. Previously, the U.S. position had been that the goal of American military aid was to help Ukraine win and to defend Ukraine's NATO neighbours against Russian threats. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said weapons supplied by Western countries will be a legitimate target for Russian forces. He also warned that the risk of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. Speaking in an interview on Russian television, Lavrov said the arming of Ukraine is an attempt to drag on the fighting until the last soldier to inflict the most suffering on Russia. Regarding the possibility of a nuclear confrontation, Lavrov said: I would not want to see these risks artificially inflated now, when the risks are rather significant. The danger is serious," he said. "It is real. It should not be underestimated. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of trying to "split Russian society and to destroy Russia from within. In other developments, fires were reported at two oil facilities in western Russia, not far from the Ukrainian border. Their cause was not immediately known. When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, its apparent goal was the lightning capture of Kyiv, the capital. But the Ukrainians, with the help of Western weapons, thwarted the push and forced Putin's troops to retreat. Moscow now says its goal is to take the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine. While both sides say the campaign in the east is underway, Russia has yet to mount an all-out ground offensive and has not achieved any major breakthroughs. On Monday, Russia focused its firepower elsewhere, with missiles and warplanes striking far behind the front lines. Five railroad stations in central and western Ukraine were hit, and one worker was killed, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of Ukraine's state railway. The bombardment included a missile attack near Lviv, the western city close to the Polish border that has been swelled by Ukrainians fleeing the fighting elsewhere around the country. Ukrainian authorities said that at least five people were killed by Russian strikes in the central Vynnytsia region. Russia also destroyed an oil refinery in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, along with fuel depots there, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. In all, Russian warplanes destroyed 56 Ukrainian targets overnight, he said. Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. general who was NATO's top commander from 2013 to 2016, said the latest strikes against fuel depots are part of a strategy to deplete key Ukrainian war resources. The strikes against rail targets, on the other hand, are a newer tactic, he said. I think they're doing it for the legitimate reason of trying to interdict the flow of supplies to the front, he said. The illegitimate reason is they know people are trying to leave the country, and this is just another intimidation, terrorist tactic to make them not have faith and confidence in travelling on the rails. Phillips P. O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said the war is, for now, settling into a campaign of incremental battlefield losses and gains. The two sides are sort of every day weakening each other, he said. So it's a question of what can you bring in that's new and what can you destroy on the other side. In Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova that sits along the Ukrainian border, several explosions believed caused by rocket-propelled grenades hit the territory's Ministry of State Security. There was no immediate claim of responsibility or reports of injuries. Transnistria is a strip of land with about 470,000 people and about 1,500 Russian troops based there. Moldova's Foreign Ministry said the aim of today's incident is to create pretexts for straining the security situation in the Transnistrian region." The U.S. warned previously that Russia may launch false-flag attacks against its own side to create a pretext for invading other nations. Last week, Rustam Minnekayev, a Russian military commander, said the Kremlin wants full control of southern Ukraine, which he said would open the way to Transnistria. An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian troops holed up in a steel plant in the strategic southern port city of Mariupol are tying down Russian forces and apparently keeping them from being added to the offensive elsewhere in the Donbas. Over the weekend, Russian forces launched new airstrikes on the Azovstal plant to try to dislodge the holdouts. Some 1,000 civilians were also said to be taking shelter at the steelworks, and the Russian military pledged to open a humanitarian corridor Monday for them to leave. The Russian offer was met with scepticism by Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine does not consider the route safe and added that Russia had breached agreements on similar evacuation routes before. She called on the United Nations to oversee an evacuation. The city council and mayor of Mariupol said a new mass grave has been identified about 10 kilometers north of the city. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities were trying to estimate the number of victims. It was at least the third new mass grave discovered in Russian-controlled areas near Mariupol in the last week. Mariupol has been gutted by bombardment and fierce street fighting over the past two months. In addition to freeing up Russian troops, the capture of the city would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said that after two months of war, The life of peaceful cities and villages has been turned into hell. A part of Ukrainian cities and communities has been destroyed down to stone. He said his country's goal is to maintain resistance and make the occupiers' stay in our land even more intolerable, while Russia drains its resources. Britain said it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Moscow began its invasion. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said 25% of the Russian combat units sent to Ukraine have been rendered not combat effective." Ukrainian officials have said about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed as of mid-April. (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 President says Moscow still hopes to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Ukraine, even as the fighting has continued. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting Tuesday with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Putin noted that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made what he described as a serious breakthrough in their talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month. He claimed, however, that the Ukrainian side later walked back on some of the tentative agreements reached in Istanbul. In particular, Putin said Ukrainian negotiators have changed their position on the issue of the status of Crimea and separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, offering to leave it for the countries' presidents to discuss. Putin charged that the shift in the Ukrainian stand makes it hard to negotiate a future deal. Putin has demanded that recognize Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and recognize independence of separatist regions in eastern as part of a future agreement on ending the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that those issues could only be decided by a future nationwide vote. During Tuesday's Kremlin meeting, Guterres criticized Russia's military action in as a flagrant violation of its neighbor's territorial integrity. He also urged to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped at a giant steel mill in Mariupol surrounded by the Russian forces. Putin responded by claiming that the Russian forces have offered humanitarian corridors to civilians holed up at the Azovstal steel plant, charging that the Ukrainian defenders of the plant were using civilians as shields and not allowing them to leave. accused of creating a serious risk of a by arming Ukraine in a proxy battle as Washington and its allies met on Tuesday to pledge the heavy weapons Kyiv needs to achieve victory. US officials have shifted emphasis this week from speaking mainly about helping Ukraine defend itself to bolder talk of a Ukrainian victory delivering a blow to Russias ability to threaten its neighbours. They have approved shipments of hundreds of millions of dollars in arms, including artillery and drones they held back from sending in earlier phases of the war. Nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russias imperial aggression, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said, welcoming officials from more than 40 countries to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, headquarters of US air power in Europe. Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here. In a notable shift, Germany, where the government had come under pressure after refusing Ukrainian pleas for heavy weapons, announced it would now send Gepard light tanks with anti-aircraft guns. In a marked escalation of Russian rhetoric, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked on state TV about the prospect of World War Three and whether the current situation was comparable to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that nearly caused . The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it, Lavrov said, according to the ministrys transcript of the interview. Nato, in essence, is engaged in a war with through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war. Britains armed forces minister played down comments by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on the possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine- conflict. Lavrovs trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I dont think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation, James Heappey told BBC. Attempt to raise tensions, says Moldova, after blasts in pro-Russia region Moldovas president warned on Tuesday that a spate of attacks in its Russia-backed breakaway region of Transdniestria were an attempt to escalate tensions, blaming pro-war factions within the territory. Meanwhile, the head of the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria said attacks on the territory could be traced back to Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. I assume that those who organised this attack have the purpose of dragging Transdniestria into the conflict, Vadim Krasnoselsky, the self-styled president of the breakaway region was quoted as saying. Speaking at a news conference after an emergency Security Council meeting, President Maia Sandu said she did not plan to talk with the Kremlin about the incidents over the past 24 hours that included an attack on Transdniestrias interior ministry and the destruction of two radio masts that broadcast Russian radio. Moldovas president warned on Tuesday that a spate of attacks in its Russia-backed breakaway region of Transdniestria were an attempt to escalate tensions, blaming pro-war factions within the territory. Meanwhile, the head of the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria said attacks on the territory could be traced back to Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. I assume that those who organised this attack have the purpose of dragging Transdniestria into the conflict, Vadim Krasnoselsky, the self-styled president of the breakaway region was quoted as saying. Speaking at a news conference after an emergency Security Council meeting, President Maia Sandu said she did not plan to talk with the Kremlin about the incidents over the past 24 hours that included an attack on Transdniestrias interior ministry and the destruction of two radio masts that broadcast Russian radio. (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.) Swedish newspaper Expressen on Monday confirmed the information of the Finnish media that and are preparing to jointly apply to on May 16-20. On Monday, the Finnish Iltalehti newspaper reported that the applications of and to should be published in the week starting May 16. A state visit of the Finnish President Sauli Niinisto to at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is scheduled for the same week, May 17 to 18. "The information is correct and now there should be an agreement between Sweden and that any applications must be submitted in that particular week [week 20], which also coincides with Finland's state visit to Sweden. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto arrives in Stockholm on May 17-18," Expressen reported, citing sources. Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that has warned Sweden and Finland about the consequences of joining . Russia's military operation in Ukraine launched on February 24 spurred an extensive debate both in Finland and Sweden on NATO membership, with the two countries considering the possibility of abandoning years of neutrality and joining the military bloc. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that the alliance would welcome Finland and Sweden and would ensure their quick accession if they choose to apply. (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.) One of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies said on Tuesday that was spiralling towards a collapse into several states because of what he cast as a U.S. attempt to use Kyiv to undermine Russia. The comments from Nikolai Patrushev, the powerful secretary of Russia's Security Council, appeared to be an attempt to blame the for any division of that emerges from the conflict. In an interview with the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Patrushev said the had for years been trying to instill hatred for everything Russian in Ukrainians. "Using their henchmen in Kyiv, the Americans, in an attempt to suppress Russia, decided to create an antipode of our country, cynically choosing for this, trying to divide essentially a single people," Patrushev said. "The result of the policy of the West and the regime in Kyiv can only be the disintegration of Ukraine into several states." His comments, nearly nine weeks into the war, provided the latest indication that Moscow - despite saying at the outset that it had no intention to occupy Ukraine - is set on dismembering the country. Having been beaten back in an initial attempt to storm the capital Kyiv, Russian forces have regrouped for what Moscow says is a campaign to "liberate" the eastern Donbas region, part of which has been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. Last week a Russian general went further, saying Russia would look to take the whole of the east and south of Ukraine. Putin says the "special military operation" is necessary because the was using Ukraine to threaten Russia and Moscow had to defend Russian-speakers against persecution. Putin, who says Ukraine and Russia are essentially one country, casts the war as an inevitable confrontation with the United States, which he accuses of threatening Russia by meddling in its backyard and enlarging the NATO military alliance. Ukraine says it is fighting an imperialist land grab by Russia and that Putin's claims of genocide are nonsense. The United States says it is helping Ukraine stand up to Russia but that Moscow is angry because Kyiv is increasingly turning westwards beyond Russia's historical sphere of influence, seeking European Union membership and ties with NATO. "If anything today unites the peoples living in Ukraine, it is only fear of the atrocities of nationalist battalions," Patrushev said - a reference to units of Ukraine's armed forces that Moscow has branded as Nazis. "However, history teaches that hatred can never become a reliable factor in national unity." (Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Heinrich) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) accused NATO of engaging in a proxy battle that created a serious risk of nuclear war as Washington convened its allies on Tuesday at a German air base to pledge the heavy weapons Ukraine needs to achieve victory. DIPLOMACY, SANCTIONS, AID U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Moscow that conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine should be created as soon as possible. FIGHTING The following reports could not be immediately verified by Reuters: * Russia's defence ministry said its missiles destroyed six facilities powering railways used to deliver foreign weapons to Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region. * Four people were killed and nine wounded in Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region, the region's governor told Ukraine's public broadcaster. * Two villages in Russia's Belgorod region came under fire from Ukraine, and at least two people were wounded, the region's governor said. * Ukraine's general staff said was shelling its second biggest city, Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine and towns and villages to the south but that Ukrainian forces had repelled assaults on three settlements. * Russian forces carried out strikes on Ukrainian positions in the Azovstal steel plant, the main remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol where more than 1,000 civilians are also sheltering, Ukrainian officials said. * Ukrainian human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said the Russian military had destroyed 347 health facilities including all in the Luhansk part of the Donbas, threatening thousands of lives. All of Luhansk province was without electricity on Monday after Russian attacks, the governor said. QUOTES * "NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war." - Russia's Sergei Lavrov. * "In terms of Russia's war aims, Russia has already failed and Ukraine has already succeeded." - U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. (Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Angus MacSwan) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have reaffirmed their commitment to ending the conflict in Ukraine and to creating conditions to end the suffering of civilians, said a UN spokesman. Guterres met Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. The UN chief expressed his support for Turkey's ongoing diplomatic efforts in relation to the conflict in Ukraine, Farhan Haq, Guterres' Deputy spokesman, told reporters in New York. "He and President Erdogan reaffirmed that their common objective is to end the war as soon as possible and to create conditions to end the suffering of civilians. They stressed the urgent need for effective access through humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and deliver much-needed assistance to impacted communities," said Haq. They agreed to stay in contact to follow up on ongoing initiatives, he added. Guterres and the Turkish President also discussed the impact of the Ukraine conflict on regional and global issues, including energy, food and finance, said Haq. The UN chief was in Ankara on Monday before travelling to Moscow and Kiev. Turkey, a major mediator, has also indicated its willingness to become a security guarantor of Ukraine. The UN Secretary-General will visit Moscow and have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday. He will be received by President Vladimir Putin. Guterres then will travel to Ukraine, where he will have a working meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and will be received by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. He will also meet with staff of UN agencies in Ukraine to discuss the scaling up of humanitarian assistance. --IANS int/khz/ (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 and its allies pledged new packages of ever heavier weapons for Ukraine during a meeting on Tuesday at a German air base, brushing off a threat from Moscow that their support for Kyiv could lead to . U.S. officials have switched emphasis this week from speaking mainly about helping Ukraine defend itself to bolder talk of a Ukrainian victory that would weaken Russia's ability to threaten its neighbours. One of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, Nikolai Patrushev, said Ukraine was spiralling towards a collapse into "several states" due to what he cast as a U.S. attempt to use Kyiv to undermine Russia. The comments seemed to be an effort to blame Washington for any break-up of Ukraine that emerges from the war, now in its third month. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, welcoming officials from more than 40 countries to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, headquarters of U.S. air power in Europe, said: "Nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia's imperial aggression." "Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here." The has ruled out sending its own or NATO forces to Ukraine but Washington and its European allies have supplied Kyiv with arms including howitzer heavy artillery, drones and anti-aircraft Stinger and anti-tank Javelin missiles. In a notable shift, Germany, which had come under pressure after refusing Ukrainian pleas for heavy weapons, announced it would now send Gepard light tanks with anti-aircraft guns. Washington welcomed the move. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, believe Russia will rely heavily on artillery strikes to pound Ukrainian positions while moving in ground forces from several directions to try to envelop and wipe out much of Ukraine's military. But Washington also estimates that many Russian units are depleted, with some operating with personnel losses as high as 30% - a level considered by the U.S. military to be too high to keep fighting indefinitely. U.S. officials cite anecdotes of Russian tanks with lone drivers and no crew, and substandard equipment that is either prone to breakdowns or out of date. WAR BY 'PROXY' In a marked escalation of Russian rhetoric, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked on state TV late on Monday about the prospect of World War Three and whether the current situation could be compared to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis that nearly caused . "The danger is serious, real," Lavrov said, according to the ministry's transcript of the interview. "NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war." Pentagon spokesman John Kirby decried Lavrov's comments. "It's obviously unhelpful... and certainly is not indicative of what a responsible (world power) ought to be doing in the public sphere," Kirby said. "A cannot be won and it shouldn't be fought. There's no reason for the current conflict in Ukraine to get to that level at all." Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters while flying to Tuesday's meeting in that the next few weeks in Ukraine would be "very, very critical". "They need continued support in order to be successful on the battlefield," he said. Ukraine's general staff said Russia's offensive continued in the eastern regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk, where it said they were taking "actions along almost the entire line of contact". Russia is probably trying to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the east, the British military said in an update on Tuesday, adding that forces were trying to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. In an interview with the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Putin ally Patrushev accused the of "trying to divide essentially a single people", echoing Putin's contention that Ukraine is really a historic part of Russia. "The result of the policy of the West and the regime in Kyiv can only be the disintegration of Ukraine into several states," added Patrushev, who is secretary of Russia's Security Council. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on a visit to Moscow on Tuesday, said he was ready to fully mobilise the organisation's resources to save lives and evacuate people from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Guterres, who is also due to visit Kyiv, proposed a "Humanitarian Contact Group" of Russia, Ukraine and U.N. officials to seek opportunities "for the opening of safe corridors, with local cessations of hostilities, and to guarantee that they are actually effective". Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no corridors were operating on Tuesday due to continued fighting. MOLDOVA A new source of concern is Transdniestria, a separatist region of Moldova just to the west of Ukraine, which has been occupied by Russian troops since the 1990s. Two radio masts there were destroyed by explosions early on Tuesday, following other blasts in Transdniestria on Monday. The separatist authorities said they were raising their terrorism threat level to red, while the Kremlin said it was concerned. Russia's TASS news agency quoted the separatist leader as saying the attacks could be traced back to Ukraine. Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu blamed the "escalation attempts" on "pro-war" factions in Transdniestria. Moldova expressed alarm last week after a top Russian general said Moscow aims to forge a path through Ukraine to Transdniestria, where he said Russian speakers needed protection from oppression. Moldova, an ex-Soviet state, has close cultural and linguistic ties to NATO member Romania. Russia's two-month-old invasion of Ukraine has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad. Moscow calls its actions a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West call this a false pretext for an unprovoked war to seize territory. (Additional reporting by Reuters journalists; Writing by Peter Graff and Gareth Jones; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Mark Heinrich) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The said the world was galvanized against Russia's two-month-old invasion of Ukraine as it hosted defence talks in involving over 40 countries that sought to speed and synchronize the delivery of arms to Kyiv. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted the event at Ramstein Air Base following a trip to Kyiv where he pledged additional military support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's war effort, which is at a crossroads. "As we see this morning, nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia's imperial aggression," Austin said at the start of talks. "Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here." U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cautioned that Ukraine needed more security assistance - now - to help it defend against an unfolding and potentially decisive Russian onslaught in the east. He said the coming weeks were "critical." "Time is not on Ukraine's side," Milley said during closed-door remarks provided to reporters traveling with him. "The outcome of this battle, right here, today, is dependent on the people in this room." Milley added: "The Ukrainians will fight. We need to make sure they have the means to fight" Driven back by Ukrainian forces from a failed assault on Kyiv in the north, Moscow has redeployed troops into the east for a ground offensive in two provinces known as the Donbas. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, assess that will rely heavily on artillery strikes, trying to pound Ukrainian positions as Moscow moves in ground forces from several directions to try to envelop and wipe out a significant chunk of Ukraine's military. But the also estimates many Russian units are depleted, with some operating with personnel losses as high as 30% -- a level considered by the U.S. military to be too high to keep fighting, officials say. U.S. officials cite anecdotes like Russian tanks with sole drivers and no crew and substandard equipment that is either prone to breakdowns or out of date. British assessments showed that about 15,000 Russian personnel had been killed in the conflict while 2,000 armored vehicles including some 530 tanks had been destroyed, along with 60 helicopters and fighter jets, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Monday. has so far acknowledged only 1,351 troops killed and 3,825 wounded. still has advanced capabilities and superior force numbers, and has shown a willingness to keep pouring soldiers and units into the fight, U.S. officials said. Moscow can also economically afford to wage a long war in Ukraine despite being hammered by Western sanctions, defence experts and economists said. For its part, Ukraine boasts high morale, creative and adaptive battlefield tactics and local knowledge of the terrain, along with arms and intelligence from the and its allies. "They definitely stand a fighting chance," a U.S. military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The meeting is taking place at Ramstein, a sprawling air base southwest of Frankfurt which only months ago was grappling with an influx of Afghan evacuees after the Taliban takeover of that country last summer. Organizers said over 40 countries were attending and a scan of the meeting room showed countries mainly from Europe but also from the Middle East including Israel and even Africa. On a screen, representatives from South Korea and Japan attended virtually. "This gathering reflects the galvanized world," Austin said. Germany, for the first time, announced the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. "We decided yesterday that will facilitate the delivery of Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine," German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said at Ramstein, according to the script of her speech. Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States - by far the world's two biggest nuclear powers. Putin says the "special military operation" in Ukraine is necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia and Ukraine was guilty of the genocide of Russian-speaking people. Ukraine says it is fighting a land grab by Russia and that Putin's accusations of genocide are nonsense. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; additional reporting by Sabine Seibold in Berlin; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, William Maclean) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 12th ministerial conference of the will take place from June 12-15 in Geneva. The Ministerial Conference (MC) is the highest decision making body of the 164-member Geneva-based multilateral body. The meet was originally scheduled to take place from November 30 to December 3 last year but was postponed in view of the outbreak of Omicron variant, which led to the imposition of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in Switzerland and many other European countries. "In a communication forwarded to members on April 25, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the 12th MC Mr Timur Suleimenov of Kazakhstan and General Council Chair Ambassador Didier Chambovey of Switzerland informed delegations that the WTO's 12th MC will take place on June 12-15, 2022 at headquarters in Geneva," WTO said in a statement. The conference will be attended by trade ministers and other senior officials from the member nations. Usually, MC happens every two years bringing all members of the WTO together, all of which are countries or customs unions. The last meet was held at Buenos Aires during December 10-13, 2017. WTO formulates rules for global exports and imports and adjudicates disputes between two or more than two countries on trade-related issues. India is its member since 1995. (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.) Shares of Adani Enterprises hit a new high of Rs 2,412, on rallying 5 per cent on the BSE in Tuesdays intra-day trade amid heavy volumes on multiple report. The trading volume at the counter nearly doubled with a combined 2.3 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE till 02.10 pm. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 1 per cent at 57,172. Adani Enterprises, a flagship of Gautam Adani-led group company, is presently focused on businesses related to airports, roads, water, data centre, solar manufacturing, defence and aerospace, edible oils and foods, mining, integrated resource solutions and integrated agri-supply chain. Adani Enterprises has 122 subsidiaries as on March 31, 2021 which includes Adani Airport Holdings, Adani Cementation and Adani Railways Transport. In June 2021, Adani Enterprises had incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary namely, Adani Cement Industries to carry on business as manufacturers, producers, processors of all types of cements. According to a Bloomberg report, Gautam Adanis conglomerate is in advanced talks to acquire Holcim Ltd.s businesses in India. The billionaires Adani Group could sign an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Ltd. from Holcim as soon as in the coming days, the agency reported quoting familiar with the matter. CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT According to Business Standard report, Adani-owned Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has reached an agreement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on resuming revenue payment. The state-owned airport operator is also in final discussions with Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on the matter. This is likely to begin as early as next month, people aware of the development said. CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT Meanwhile, on April 8, 2022, International Holding Co had agreed to invest $2 billion in three Adani Group companies -- Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises -- through the preferential allotment route. Adani Enterprises had said it will allot 4.02 million equity shares at price of Rs 1,915.85 per share aggregating to Rs 7,700 crore. The transaction is expected to be completed in a month, after all necessary approvals are obtained. The capital will be utilized for pursuing the growth of the respective businesses, further strengthening of the balance sheet and for general corporate purposes, the company had said in exchange filing. CARE Ratings also revised and upgraded credit ratings assigned to the principal protected market-linked debenture (MLD) issue, non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue and bank facilities of Adani Enterprises. "The revision in the ratings takes into consideration the strengthened financial flexibility of the Adani group. The factors are led by established track record of successful incubation of businesses across various verticals, completion of substantial capex in subsidiaries of Adani Enterprises and recovery of passenger traffic in the airport segment during 9MFY22 (refers to the period April 01 to December 31)," said CARE Ratings in rating rational on March 21, 2022. Shares of firms continued to slide for the second day in a row on Tuesday, plummeting up to 20 per cent. With the proposed deal with Reliance falling through, investors have been dumping the shares of since Monday even as the broader market made substantial gains after declining for two consecutive sessions. Future Lifestyle Fashions tumbled 19.90 per cent, Future Supply Chain Solutions plummeted 16.87 per cent, Future Consumer shares tanked 13.08 per cent, Future Enterprises declined 9.89 per cent and fell 4.86 per cent on the BSE. On Monday also, the scrips witnessed similar trends. Reliance Industries Ltd, on Saturday, said the secured creditors of Ltd have voted against the proposed deal. In view thereof, the subject scheme of arrangement cannot be implemented, it had said. Under the scheme, the retail and wholesale business and the logistics and warehousing business of was to be transferred to Ventures Ltd (RRVL) and and Fashion Lifestyle Ltd (RRFLL). On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 776.72 points or 1.37 per cent to close at 57,356.61 points. (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's imports of petcoke are expected to more than double this year, industry officials say, as competitive prices are driving cement makers to switch to the fuel as an alternative to coal. A tonne of petcoke, a refinery byproduct, is more expensive than coal, but produces more energy when burnt. It is generally not used as fuel because of toxic emissions, but is widely used by the cement industry - its largest consumer, as sulphur dioxide emissions are absorbed by limestone. Global are near record highs due to fears of a supply crunch following the European Commission's decision to ban coal imports from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Imports of petcoke are expected to more than double in 2022, a coal trader and two executives at large Indian cement manufacturing companies told Reuters. "I am expecting 10 million tonnes of petcoke to come into in 2022," said Vasudev Pamnani, general manager at coal trader Iman Resources. A diversion of domestic coal supplies to utilities to address a power crisis and increased internal use of domestic petcoke by refineries are also contributing to higher imports, the executives said. Consumption surged 34% to 4.2 million tonnes during the quarter ended March, the fastest pace in nearly six years and the first quarterly growth in over two years, government data shows. Imported petcoke accounted for nearly half the total consumption during the quarter, with Saudi Arabia and United States accounting for the bulk of shipments, data from trading firm Iman Resources showed. "Import of fuel-grade petcoke was slow during 2021 due to high price and tightness in supply. But in the near past, fuel-grade petcoke is again becoming competitive to coal and its users are switching from coal," Indian coal trader I-Energy said in a note. (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 Rs 1,581 crores-initial public offer (IPO) of Hyderabad-based Rainbow Childrens Medicare Ltd will open for subscription on Wednesday, April 27, and close on Friday, April 29. The consists of a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 280 crores and an offer-for-sale worth Rs 1,301 crores by the companys promoters and selling shareholders. The price band of the issue has been fixed at Rs 516-542 per share. The firm is a multi-specialty paediatric and obstetrics and gynaecology hospital chain operating 14 hospitals and three clinics in six cities with a total bed capacity of 1,500 beds. While analysts are positive on the issue from a long-term perspective given the companys focus on specialised services, strong clinical expertise, and strong track record of financial and operational performance, they have flagged concerns around increased competition from bigger hospital players, and the inability to sustain profitability levels. Heres a compilation of brokerage views on the issue: Swastika Investmart | Subscribe for long-term The exponential rise in the company's profit during 9 months till December, 2021, might not continue in the future as it was driven by Covid-19 hospitalisations. The profitability for 9 months ended 31st December 2021 increased substantially to Rs 126.41 crores from Rs 38.53 crores in the same period of last fiscal. "The specialised nature of the business, experienced management team, proven ability to attract, train and retain high-calibre medical professionals, under penetration of hospitals in India, makes this issue good for long-term investors," said Santosh Meena, head of institutional research at the brokerage. Angel One | Neutral The hospital's 70 per cent plus current bed capacity is matured beds, with higher occupancy rates. This is a major positive for the company, in addition to its dominant market position in South India for paediatric and obstetrics. However, the brokerage believes it could be challenging for the company to maintain EBITDA margins given its plans to increase capacity by 500 beds in the next 4-5 years. "Average revenue per operating bed (ARPOB) has increased by 57 per cent in the last two years, but it will be difficult to increase it from these levels, which will create pressure on EBITDA margins," said Yash Gupta, Equity Research Analyst at the brokerage. Based on April-December 2021 numbers, the issue is priced at a price to earning ratio of 30.4 times and EV/EBITDA of 13.8 times at the upper price band, which is in-line with listed peer group. Axis Capital | Not rated The ability to recruit and retain high calibre medical professionals is a plus. The chain follows a doctor engagement model where most of their core specialists work exclusively at the hospitals on a full-time retainer basis. This model has led to a high degree of full-time doctor retention (at 81 per cent during April 2019 to March 2021). Moreover, it follows a hub-and-spoke model in Hyderabad. This model has strengthened their market position in and around Hyderabad, providing them with synergies through referrals for tertiary and quaternary care to their hub arising from the spoke hospitals. Kotak Securities | Not rated The hub-and-spoke model has enabled them to evolve from a single secondary care hospital in Hyderabad to six hospitals in the city. The company is implementing a similar model in Bengaluru, Karnataka and planning to replicate it in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi-NCR. Moreover, over the last six years, they have added 985 beds across 10 hospitals, expanding their presence. Going forward, they may seek to expand the hospital network through the acquisition of brownfield assets or development of greenfield assets. Key risks Analysts said the companys revenues are highly dependent on hospitals in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It is also significantly dependent on certain specialties for a majority of its revenues. It may face intense competition from other healthcare service providers. And lastly, its reliability on third-party suppliers, manufacturers and services providers for supplies and equipment and other services exposes it to major risks. today: After a consecutive two-day sell off, the are likely to start Tuesday's session on a positive note. At 7:30 am, the SGX nifty futures were quoting at 17,121 levels, hinting at a gap-up open of 100 points on the Nifty50. Meanwhile, here are some stocks that may see market action today: Q4 Earnings today: Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life, Macrotech Developers, KPIT Technologies, NELCO, Atul, AU Small Finance Bank, Gateway Distriparks, IIFL Securities, Sanofi India, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Mahindra Logistics, Nippon Life India Asset Management, Schaeffler India, Som Distilleries & Breweries, Tata Coffee, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), United Breweries, UTI Asset Management Company, VST Industries, D-Link (India), International Travel House, Gujarat Hotels, Jindal Hotels, JK Agri Genetics, and Jumbo Bag. GMDC (Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation): GMDC Ltd reported 86.86 per cent growth year-on-year (YoY) in total revenues for Q4 on consolidated basis at Rs1,057.28 crore. The consolidated net profit for Q4 turned around to a profit of Rs176.99 crore compared to a net loss of Rs-184.64 crore in the Q4FY21. Net margins stood at 16.74 per cent in Q4FY22 compared to -32.63 per cent in March 2021. : Mahindra CIE Automotive Ltd reported 18.22 per cent growth in sales revenues YoY for the Mar-22 quarter on consolidated basis at Rs 2,588.36 crore. The consolidated net profit for Q4 was up nearly 16-fold at Rs 161.43 crore while it doubled on a sequential basis. Tata Motors: The company has partnered with Lithium Urban Technologies, an electric vehicle-based urban transportation service provider, to deploy 5000 XPRES T Electric Sedans, across the country, for employee transportation. The deiveries will commence in phases and will complete the deployment by next year. Prestige Estates: The Bengaluru-based company crossed the pre-sales mark of Rs 10,000 crore in FY22. This is the highest ever pre-sales for the company and also the highest among listed real estate players that have released their numbers so far. The Bengaluru-based company crossed the pre-sales mark of Rs 10,000 crore in FY22. This is the highest ever pre-sales for the company and also the highest among listed real estate players that have released their numbers so far. Read more YES Bank & Zee learn: YES Bank Ltd has moved National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against Zee Learn. YES Bank has allegedly claimed that the total amount in default with respect to a financial facility is Rs 468 crore. YES Bank Ltd has moved National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against Zee Learn. YES Bank has allegedly claimed that the total amount in default with respect to a financial facility is Rs 468 crore. Read here Eveready Industries: Due to lower demand and increase in input cost, dry cell battery maker Eveready Industries India posted a net loss of Rs 38.41 crore on a consolidated basis in the quarter ended March 31. Last year the company had posted a net loss of Rs 442.53 crore. ue to lower demand and increase in input cost, dry cell battery maker Eveready Industries India posted a net loss of Rs 38.41 crore on a consolidated basis in the quarter ended March 31. Last year the company had posted a net loss of Rs 442.53 crore. Read more Bank of Maharashtra: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slapped a penalty of Rs 1.12 crore on the bank for non-compliance with certain regulatory directions, including those for know your customer (KYC) norms. This action is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with customers. Bank of India: Bank of India (BoI) said it will raise up to Rs 2,500 crore by issuing fresh equity shares in order to comply with the minimum public shareholding requirement of 25 per cent. Bank of India (BoI) said it will raise up to Rs 2,500 crore by issuing fresh equity shares in order to comply with the minimum public shareholding requirement of 25 per cent. Read here Veranda Learning Solutions: The learning solutions provider has acquired T.I.M.E. (Advanced Educational Activities Pvt Ltd), the leading test-prep institute with a pan-India presence operating through 188 centres. The company bought T.I.M.E. for Rs 287 crore. Ramco Cements: The company said its power generation capacity by using waste heat recovery tech will touch 39.15 MW. Bank of India said that its board has approved the capital raising plan upto Rs 2,500 crore by issue of fresh equity capital via qualified institutional placement (QIP) or follow on public offer (FPO) or preferential issue. The government backed lender said that the main purpose of capital raising plan is to increase the minimum public shareholding from the present 18.59% to 25% or above in order to comply with the minimum public shareholding requirements. For this purpose, the bank has decided to obtain the permission of shareholders in the ensuing annual general meeting or the extra-ordinary general meeting called for this purpose. Bank of India is a public sector bank. The Government of India held 81.41% stake in Bank of India as on 31 December 2021. The bank reported a 90% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 1,027 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 541 crore in Q3 FY21. Total income during the quarter decreased by 8% YoY to Rs 11,211 crore. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bank of India: The bank said its board of directors considered and approved the capital raising plan upto Rs.2,500 crores by issue of fresh equity capital in the form of QIP / FPO / preferential issue. Lemon Tree Hotels: The company has signed a license agreement for a 60 room hotel at Kharar, near Chandigarh under the company's brand 'Lemon Tree Hotel'. The hotel is expected to be operational by November, 2025. Veranda Learning Solutions: The company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire T.I.M.E. (Advanced Educational Activities Pvt Ltd) for a consideration of Rs. 287 crore. T.I.M.E. is India's leading test-prep institute with a pan-India presence operating through 188 centres including franchisees spread across 98 cities in India. Hubtown: A meeting of the board of directors of the company, is scheduled to be held on 28 April 2022 to consider and approve the issue of securities (convertible warrants) on preferential allotment basis to persons forming part of promoter and promoter group. Also the board will consider raising of funds by issue of equity shares by way of a rights issue to the eligible equity shareholders. Avantel: The company said its board will consider bonus issue of shares on 6 May 2022. The board will also consider Q4 March 2022 results and recommend dividend for the financial year 2021-22. 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 domestic equity barometers traded in a narrow range near the day's high in early afternoon trade. The Nifty continued to trade above the 17,150 level. At 12:24 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex was up 638.82 points or 1.13% to 57,218.71. The Nifty 50 index added 204.50 points or 1.21% to 17,158.45. The broader market traded with gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 1.49% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index surged 1.04%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 2,114 shares rose while 1,159 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged. Derivatives: The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slumped 9.16% to 19.31. The Nifty 28 April 2022 futures were trading at 17,158, at a discount of 0.45 points as compared with the spot at 17,158.45. The Nifty option chain for 28 April 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 86.5 lakh contracts at the 17,200 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 83.4 lakh contracts was seen at 17,000 strike price. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Metal index rose 1.28% to 6,336.75. The index had declined 4.77% in the past two sessions. Adani Enterprises (up 3.41%), Vedanta (up 1.94%), SAIL (up 1.86%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.45%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.20%), Tata Steel (up 1.14%) and Coal India (up 1.06%) advanced. Stocks in Spotlight: IndiaMART InterMESH rose 2.57% to Rs 4933. The company said its board will consider a share buyback on 28 April 2022. The company's board will also consider Q4 March 2022 results and consider final dividend, if any, on 28 April 2022. Premier Explosives added 3.20% to Rs 390.10. The company received an order from Ministry of Defence, Government of India, worth Rs 57.90 crore. The order is for the supply of 50 MM MTV flares. The order is to be executed within twelve months. Varun Beverages slipped 1.13% to Rs 1084.55. The company's board will meet on Thursday, 28 April to consider proposal of bonus issue of equity shares. On the same day, the board will also consider financial results for quarter ended 31 March 2022. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For supply of its range of insulin 'Insugen' Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, announced that its subsidiary Biocon Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia has been awarded a three-year contract valued at USD 90 million for its recombinant human insulin brand Insugen, by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Biocon Sdn. Bhd. will manufacture and supply its range of insulins to its partners Duopharma Marketing Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of Duopharma Biotech, a leading pharmaceutical and biotech company in Malaysia. Biocon Biologics' Insugen formulations will be available to patients at all Ministry of Health hospitals, district health offices and health clinics. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Feature: Chinese artemisinin medicines at front line of Sudan's fight against malaria Xinhua) 08:56, April 26, 2022 KHARTOUM, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Three weeks into April, Sudan is ushering in an earlier summer as daytime temperatures climbed to over 45 degrees Celsius. The sudden rise in temperatures augurs badly for the African country because it means an earlier than usual rainy season, and more mosquitoes spreading malaria in the country. Liu Hongbo, 38, still sweating in his air-conditioned office in northern Khartoum, was lost in his thoughts on the production plans of his company "Shanghai-Sudan Pharmacies LTD," one of the leading producers of artemisinin-based drugs in the country. Liu said the production of artemisinin-based drugs in his company had been at full speed and capacity since early April, and this year's output of the major product Artemether &Lumefantrine Tablets would be no less than 9 million, equivalent to the level of 2021. "We are trying to build up an artemisinin umbrella for the Sudanese people against malaria, which still poses one of the gravest threats to public health in Sudan," Liu said. Liu is the general manager of an eight-member Chinese team managing the Shanghai-Sudan Pharmacies LTD, which was established in 1998 by Shanghai Pharmaceuticals and the Sudanese health ministry. Now the joint venture is selling anti-malaria drugs in all of the country's 18 states and enjoys some 80 percent share of the anti-malaria medicine in the country. Esmat Nagi, 31, the Sudanese manager of the company, told Xinhua that 220 Sudanese people were working on the production lines of the company, which was a house-held name in his neighborhood and communities. Artemisinin drug represents the first-line treatment for malaria and is available in most pharmacies in Sudan, according to Sudanese pharmacists. "The Artemisinin drug has proved to be highly efficient," said Ahmed Abdalla Khidir, a pharmacist and owner of El Nadi pharmacies group in Khartoum, told Xinhua. Al-Wathiq Mohamed Ahmed, a drug and toxicology expert in Sudan, said Chinese artemisinin medicines, particularly from the shanghai-Sudan pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, are more competitive than their counterparts from other countries in terms of quality and price. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that more than 240 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have benefited from artemisinin treatment, and about 1.5 million patients have escaped death thanks to the treatment. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New Delhi yesterday. Both leaders reviewed progress in the vibrant India-EU strategic partnership and agreed to deepen cooperation in areas of trade, climate, digital technology, and people-to-people ties. The leaders agreed that as large and vibrant democratic societies, India and Europe share similar values and commonality of perspectives on many global issues. They reviewed the progress in the India-EU Strategic Partnership, including the forthcoming re-commencement of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement and Investment Agreement. Modi and Leyen announced the establishment of an India-EU Trade and Technology Council. This new mechanism will bring about high-level coordination on the intersecting aspects of the trade, technology, and security and provide the political steer needed for in-depth strategic engagement. Both leaders noted the increasing policy convergences in Indo-Pacific and exchanged views on other regional and global issues of mutual interest including cooperation in WTO, G-20, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. They expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and called for an immediate end to violence. Prime Minister Modi stressed the importance of giving peace a chance and the need to return to dialogue and diplomacy as the only way to achieve peace. The leaders had an extensive discussion on climate-related issues, including on possibilities of collaboration between India and the EU in areas like Green Hydrogen. They also discussed the continuing challenges of COVID and stressed efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics in all parts of the world. 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 benchmark indices ended with strong gains on Tuesday, snapping a two-day losing streak. Value buying, positive global cues and decent earnings by domestic firms lifted investors sentiment. All the sectoral indices on the NSE closed in the green. Auto, realty and banks stocks were in demand. The Nifty crossed the 17,200 mark. As per the provisional closing data, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex surged 776.72 points or 1.37% at 57,356.63. The Nifty 50 index jumped 246.85 points or 1.46% at 17,200.05. The 50-unit index corrected 2.52% in the past two sessions. Bajaj Auto (up 6.03%), Bajaj Finance (up 3.61%), Hero MotoCorp (up 4.95%) and Reliance Industries (up 3.46%) boosted indices. In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.62% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.76%. The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,951 shares rose while 1,444 shares fell. A total of 107 shares were unchanged. COVID-19 Update: India recorded 2,483 new COVID-19 infections as of Tuesday, slightly lower than the previous day's 2,541 cases. The active cases also dipped to 15,636 from 16,522, while the positivity rate declined to 0.55%. The country reported 1,399 COVID-related deaths. Of these, 1,347 were reported from Assam to reflect the number of COVID-positive patients who died due to other reasons, the Union Ministry of Health said. The state reported zero COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, it added. Similarly, the 47 deaths reported in Kerala were based on reconciled figures. Stocks in Spotlight: Atul tumbled 4.46% after the company's consolidated net profit declined 22.2% to Rs 136.26 crore despite a 22.8% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1,370.42 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Total expenses during the quarter increased by 34.7% YoY to Rs 1,212.68 crore, due to higher raw material costs (up 30.3% YoY), higher power, fuel and water charges (up 46.2% YoY) and higher other expenses (up 33.9% YoY). Profit before tax in Q4 FY22 stood at Rs 181.79 crore, down by 23% from Rs 236.12 crore in Q4 FY21. Sanofi India rose 0.14% after the company's standalone net profit surged 63.39% to Rs 238.40 crore on a 2.49% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 707 crore in Q1 March 2022 over Q1 March 2021. Profit before tax (PBT) jumped 67.11% to Rs 325.70 crore in Q1 March 2022 as against Rs 194.90 crore in Q1 March 2021. Mahindra CIE Automotive surged 13.29% after the company's consolidated net profit surged to Rs 161.4 crore in Q1 CY2022 from Rs 10.1 crore in Q1 CY2021. Revenue from operations increased by 18.2% year on year to Rs 2,588.4 crore in Q1 CY2022. EBITDA improved by 1% to Rs 3,079 crore in Q1 CY2022 from Rs 3,062 crore in Q1 CY2021. EBITDA margin was 12.6% in Q1 CY2022 as against 14.7% in Q1 CY2021. Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem tumbled 7.26%. The company's consolidated net profit declined 17.09% to Rs 17.51 crore on 9.33% decline in net sales to Rs 98.53 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. EBITDA declined 18% to Rs 22.3 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. EBIDTA margin for the quarter was at 23% in Q4 FY22 as against 25% in Q4 FY21. Profit before tax (PBT) fell 22% year-on-year to Rs 18.98 crore during the quarter. Eveready Industries India rose 0.12%. The company reported a standalone net loss of Rs 38.40 crore in Q4 FY22 as against a net loss of Rs 441.20 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Operating income during the quarter declined by 12% YoY to Rs 241.24 crore. The company reported a negative operating EBIDTA of Rs 35.61 crore in Q4 FY22. It had recorded an operating EBIDTA of Rs 40.99 crore in Q4 FY21. Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation fell 1.65%. The company's net profit fell 16.83% to Rs 175.79 crore on 86.86% increase in net sales to Rs 1,057.28 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21. Core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Core EBITDA) was reported at Rs 459 crore in Q4 FY22 as against Rs 241 crore in Q3 FY22. IndiaMART InterMESH rose 3.74% after the company said its board will consider a share buyback on 28 April 2022. The company's board will also consider Q4 March 2022 results and consider final dividend, if any, on 28 April 2022. Premier Explosives jumped 3.23% after the company received an order from Ministry of Defence, Government of India, worth Rs 57.90 crore. The order is for the supply of 50 MM MTV flares. The order is to be executed within twelve months. Global Markets: Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday after a sell-off at the start of the week. Chinese stocks reversed early declines on Tuesday after plunging the previous day, despite COVID-19 fears in China as Beijing expands mass testing. In the US market, Twitter jumped roughly 5.7% in the previous session after the social media company announced it accepted billionaire Elon Musk's buyout deal valued at about $44 billion. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem fell 7.82% to Rs 2303 after the company's consolidated net profit declined 17.09% to Rs 17.51 crore on 9.33% decline in net sales to Rs 98.53 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. On a consolidated basis, EBITDA declined 18% to Rs 22.3 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021. EBIDTA margin for the quarter was at 23% as against 25% in Q4 FY21. Profit before tax (PBT) fell 22% year-on-year to Rs 18.98 crore during the quarter. For the full year, the company's net profit rose 83.45% to Rs 95.87 crore on 44.38% increase in net sales to Rs 433.65 crore in the year ended March 2022 over the year ended March 2021. EBITDA rose 64% to Rs 117.10 crore in FY22 over FY21. EBIDTA margin for the year was at 27% compared with 24% in FY21. PBT rose 72% y-o-y to Rs 104.12 crore in FY22. Phase Transfer Catalysts (PTCs) comprised 23% of the revenue during FY22, reporting a revenue growth of nearly 20% y-o-y. These products are used as catalysts in manufacturing pharmaceutical APIs, flavors & fragrances, agrochemicals, etc. Structure Directing Agents (SDAs) comprised 52% of revenue during FY22 and reported a growth of 87% y-o-y in this segment. SDAs finds application in automotive emission control, petrochemicals, continuous flow chemistry, etc. During FY22, Electrolyte Salts (ES) comprised 1.3% of the revenue and in absolute numbers revenue grew by more than 87% y-o-y. ES is used in super capacitor batteries, which find application in automobile, electronics and also for energy storage devices. Under the Pharma Agro Intermediates and Specialty Chemicals (PASC) segment, the firm has seen a y-o-y growth of 12% and revenue has crossed Rs 100 crore, contributing 24% to the revenue. Chintan Shah, managing director, said: "for Tatva Chintan, FY22 has been a special year, as for the first time, we crossed the revenue mark of 4,000 million, we crossed an PBT of more than 1,000 million, our exports revenue crossed the mark of 3,000 million for the first time and in fact our export revenue of FY22 has exceeded the total revenue of FY21. Last and most memorable was successfully getting listed on Indian Stock Exchange. We are pleased to inform you that on together for sustainability platform, we have drastically improved our Audit score from 54% to 87%. This is a matter of pride for TATVA CHINTAN and it also demonstrates our genuine efforts in moving towards sustainable solutions. Our approach of being an integrated manufacturer, producing niche specialty chemical, having leadership position across product categories, diversified geographically with 79% exports as on FY22, focus on green chemistry by using cutting edge technology, in-house R&D facility with 24 employees including 10 senior highly qualified scientists has helped us steadily grow our presence and more importantly helped grow the customer's confidence in TATVA CHINTAN, despite the turbulent macro-economic situation of covid lockdowns and geopolitical tensions globally. We got listed on NSE/BSE on 29 July 2021, out of our net IPO proceeds of 2,072.81 million, 129.59 million have been utilized during Q4FY22 taking the total amount utilized to 640.97 million as on 31 March 2022. The expansion is underway at our Dahej SEZ manufacturing plant and at our R&D facility at Vadodara." Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem is an Integrated specialty chemical company, present across the value chain manufacturing phase transfer catalyst, structure directing agents, electrolyte salts and pharma & agrochemical intermediates and specialty chemicals. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Coming on the back of two postponements, British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons India visit last week more than made up for the apparent loss in time with a serious and focused agenda. The visit was high on symbolism as well as deliverables. Mr Johnson aptly described the high stakes of the visit by saying, . I dont think things have ever been as strong or as good between us (India-UK) as they are now. Indeed, the visit touched on quite a few firsts and created grounds for further elevation of India-UK partnership across trade, defence and ... Opposition and Tuesday slammed Chief Minister over the knowledge sharing agreement signed between Punjab and Delhi governments, alleging it was his way to "control" the AAP dispensation in the state from the national capital. The MoU was signed by Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann, enabling the two AAP governments to send and receive officials, ministers and other personnel to learn and share their knowledge, experience and skills for public welfare. leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the purpose of the MoU was to enable Kejriwal to run Punjab by "controlling" the state's bureaucracy. "This MoU btwn Punjab & Delhi Govt is nothing less than a mortgage of Punjab's interest & sovereignty to @ArvindKejriwal. Kejriwal Ji your East India company like agenda to control & confiscate Punjab is not acceptable to Punjabis! CM @BhagwantMann we urge you not to surrender," Sirsa tweeted after signing of the MoU. Delhi president Anil Kumar charged that 'Knowledge Sharing Agreement' was Kejriwal's "devious method to remote-control the in an unconstitutional manner." The recent incident of Kejriwal meeting senior Punjab officials, including the Chief Secretary of the state, undermined the powers of the Punjab CM, Kumar claimed. member and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri slammed the agreement, saying Kejriwal wanted to rule Punjab sitting in Delhi. "In the name of this agreement, Kejriwal will now summon ministers and officers of Punjab and run the government of the state from Delhi. It will render Punjab Chief Minister into a puppet," he alleged. The AAP campaigned in Punjab elections, selling its 'Delhi Model' of governance so everyone knew the government in the state won by the party will follow it, Bidhuri said, and questioned the need of the MoU. In a joint press conference with Mann after signing of the MoU, Kejriwal hit back at Opposition parties over their criticism. "Manish Sisodia (Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister) visited Europe and Finland to learn about their education system. It will be stupid if someone says the is being run by Finland. "Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin visited Delhi. It can't be alleged that the Tamil Nadu government is being run from Delhi," Kejriwal said. The two-day visit of the Punjab Chief Minister to see working of Kejriwal government's schools, hospitals and Mohalla Clinic, concluded on Tuesday. (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 Tuesday decided to remove former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar and Kerala leader K V Thomas from all party positions and suspended five of its MLAs in for anti-party activities, sources said. The Disciplinary Committee recommended action against Jakhar and it was initially decided to suspend him for two years but later toned down their decision keeping in view his seniority in the party. The panel, which met here this morning, recommended the suspension of the five MLAs in for supporting the ruling Democratic Alliance (MDA) in the state, defying the party's directives. Congress president has approved the disciplinary panel's recommendations. had received a letter from the president of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee, Vincent Pala, regarding the five MLAs actions in supporting the present BJP-backed government there. The committee has said that it discussed the issue extensively and resolved to suspend the MLAs Amrareen Lyngdoh, P T Sawkimie, Kimfa Marbaniang, Mayralborn Syiem and Mohendro Rapsang for a period of three years from the date of this meeting, the sources said. Regarding Thomas, the panel decided to remove him from the state political affairs committee and the executive committee of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. On the issue of Jakhar, it was discussed and resolved at the meeting to remove him from all party positions, the sources said. The sources pointed out that the panel earlier decided to recommend his suspension for two years and removal from all party positions, but later toned down their action and dropped his suspension. Some members also raised concerns over singling out Jakhar for suspension as other Congress leaders had also publicly made accusations during the election, they said. Jakhar is considered close to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his suspension would have paved the way for him to quit, and the party does not want its leaders to leave at this critical juncture, the sources said. "Both Jakhar and Thomas will continue to remain in the party. The committee has decided not to take any harsh action against them, keeping in view their seniority and contribution to the party," Tariq Anwar, a member of the panel, said. The five-member committee is chaired by senior party leader A K Antony and Tuesday's meeting was attended by members Anwar, J P Aggarwal and G Parameswar, besides Antony. Ambika Soni was not present during the meeting. Soon after the Congress disciplinary panel's recommendations, Jakhar wished his party "good luck" while refusing to reveal his own plans. "I wish the Congress good luck," he said when reporters sought his reaction to the panel's recommendation. He refused to comment when asked what would be his next step. Ahead of the Congress disciplinary committee meeting, Jakhar had said those who still have a conscience will be punished. "Aaj, sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki hai. (Today, those with a conscience will be beheaded). (My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb)," Jakhar said in a tweet. Jakhar had criticised former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability for the party after the Congress lost to the AAP in the state. He has also been critical of the party leadership in the run-up to the assembly elections in Punjab, which the Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Thomas, a former Union minister and senior leader from Kerala, had attended a seminar organised by the CPI(M) on April 9 in the state against the party's wishes and local state leaders had been seeking action against him. The sources said the five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya had joined the BJP-backed ruling alliance in the state, for which a show-cause notice was sent to them and an explanation sought from them. The state unit of the Congress had also sought strict action against the MLAS for supporting a BJP government in the state, they said. The legislators had joined the MDA in February, which brought the two arch foes together in a ruling coalition, and left Congress leaders fuming. The disciplinary panel had issued a show cause notice to Jakhar, Thomas and the five MLAs, and had asked them to explain why action should not be initiated against them for their actions. While Thomas had explained, Jakhar preferred not to reply to the panel's show cause notice. (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, April 26: On January 8, 2013, commandos of Pakistan's Border Action Team sneaked into Indian territory in Jammu, ambushed and killed two Indian army soldiers. Their bodies were found mutilated, one decapitated. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party raised passions over the series of such merciless killings reported from the Line of Control during the UPA rule. While visiting the soldier Hemraj's family in Shernagar UP, senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, said: "The incident that has happened, we should take revenge If we don't get this (Hemraj's) head, we should get ten of theirs (Pakistani Army's). Apart from the routine exchange of shelling, India is known to have retaliated with surgical strikes twice: first after the killing of 19 soldiers in a fidayeen (suicide) attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad on a military installation at Uri in September 2016 followed by an Indian Air Force strike on a terrorist training centre at Balakot in February 2019. The Indian action came in retaliation to the killing of 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama. Previously on February 10, 2018, six soldiers and a civilian, along with the three suicide attackers, had died in an attack on an army camp at Sunjuwan, Jammu. Notwithstanding the restoration of the year 2003 ceasefire on February 25, 2021, the ripple effects of the Pulwama fidayeen attack continue to persist. While the militants' capacity to attack the Police and security forces' camps has been drastically emaciated after February 2019, they continued low intensity grenade attacks besides fatal strikes on soft targets. Over a dozen people were shot dead ahead of the Home Minister Amit Shah's visit in October 2021. A fresh spree of armed attacks on Panches, Sarpanches, members of the minority community in Kashmir and non-local workers has started since March 19, 2022. In a dramatic development on Friday, two days ahead of the Prime Minister's scheduled visit, the Police in Jammu claimed to have killed two Pashto-speaking terrorists in suicide gear at Sunjuwan. They had reportedly infiltrated through the International Border in Samba, a few miles from the PM's venue of the public rally. But in sharp contrast to the BJP leaders' trademark diatribe, and contrary to the common expectations, Modi's 45-minute speech at Samba on Sunday had no reference to Pakistan or that country's hostilities in in the last 32 years. "I assure Kashmir's younger generation that they would not suffer the hardships their parents and grandparents did. This is my commitment. We will make it possible at whatever the cost," Modi asserted without any tangential attacks on the Pakistan-sponsored insurgency. In his address at the Panchayati Raj Diwas, Modi didn't mention even the four Panches and Sarpanches killed in Kashmir in the last 8 weeks. He didn't make even a cursory reference to the Sunjuwan encounter which, according to senior Police officials, signalled the indication of a plan to sabotage PM's visit. A large number of the members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), drawn from Kashmir and Jammu, as also the BJP supporters and common people participated in the rally. It was Modi's first civilian visit to after taking over as Prime Minister for his second term on 30 May 2019. It was also the PM's first civilian visit after creation of the Union Territory in 2019. Modi visited J&K's Rajouri district on October 27, 2019 and November 4, 2021 - both occassions to only celebrate Diwali with the troops. Contrary to his post-2019 speeches, Modi remained concentrated on development which also dominates his public addresses in UP, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Also avoiding typical attacks on Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, characteristic of the BJP leaders since 2018, Modi didn't speak about corruption or 'dynastic politics'. He was content with just a cursory reference to the gains accruing out of the abrogation of Article 370. Modi may be simply testing the intentions of the new leadership in Pakistan but there is a context to the dimmed areas of his statement. Significantly the change in the Indian Prime Minister's tone and tenor vis-a-vis Pakistan and insurgency has been noticed after the change of government in Pakistan early this month. The new Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's positive response to Modi's greetings provided an indication of Islamabad's interest or compulsion of reconciliation with New Delhi. Delhi did not take exception to a routine filler of the 'resolution of the Kashmir issue' in Sharif's letter. In his first speech at the Assembly, PM Sharif said that Pakistan had been dismembered economically and it was in its history's worst condition. He said that the total volume of the world debt on Pakistan was Rs 25,000 billion from 1947 to 2018 but Imran Khan's regime had added to it Rs 20,000 billion in just three years. The industrialist-politician, who has served as Chief Minister of the Punjab province three times, Sharif is supposed to realise that Pakistan's real existential threat was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt, rather than India's military might. Sharif is expected to realise that his country's increasing economic dependence on China would be a big compromise on sovereignty not affordable for Pakistan. His advantage is a harmonious wavelength with the Army on economic policy. The Army is known to be the only functional and dependable institution in Pakistan that has not only maintained equilibrium with China but also saved Islamabad's nose-diving relationship with the US during Imran Khan's rule. It alone can take Pakistan out of the FATF's grey list. Diplomatic circles in Delhi insist that the recent conviction of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba founder Hafiz Saeed would not be possible without a green signal from the Army. India is understood to have communicated its security concern and implications thereof to the Pakistani Army in view the unabated infiltration, smuggling of arms and drugs and recruitment of fresh guerrilla cadres in Kashmir. Reports from Pakistan suggest that in hours of the Sunjuwan encounter on Friday, the Army swooped on the headquarters of Masood Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammad and seized a quantity of arms and ammunition from the Centre. Unlike Imran Khan, who claimed to be turning Pakistan into an Islamic caliphate (Riyasat-e-Madina), Sharif's family is known for its camaraderie with India. In June 2014, PM Modi and PM Nawaz Sharif exchanged gifts of shawl and sari for each other's mothers. However the military leadership of that period did not take it well and ultimately ensured the Sharif family's ouster from power. One day ahead of PM's Jammu visit, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave the first signal of the BJP government's change of heart on AFSPA in J&K. "Some people believe that the Indian Army does not want AFSPA to be removed. I want to say from this forum today that the Indian Army has a minimum role in the matter of internal security. Army only wants that soon the situation in should be completely normal and AFSPA can be removed from there too," Singh said while felicitating the 1971 War veterans and their family members in Guwahati, Assam. In the changing ground realities, in which the August 2019 Indian interventions in Kashmir are moulding into fait accompli, Modi's muteness on Pakistan and terror could be a harbinger of detente and peace. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative (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.) Late President and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's birthday (June 3) will be henceforth celebrated as a government function, CM MK Stalin announced on Tuesday. Making a statement in the state Assembly, Stalin, Karunanidhi's son, also listed out the various pro-people initiatives of his late father in various sectors, including women empowerment and social welfare. Further, a statue of the stalwart will be unveiled at the Omandurar estate here, the chief minister added. Stalin also pointed out that the stalwart, a five-time chief minister, had never lost an election in his life, right from the 1957 Assembly polls, when he was elected from Kulithalai constituency to 2016 when he represented his native Tiruvarur in the state Assembly. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has turned down an offer to join the Congress, party leader and spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said hours after Kishor was invited to join the Empowered Action Group (EAG) 2024, to work as part of a team ahead of the general elections 2024. With this, one chapter in the history of Indias oldest political party appears to have ended. Following a presentation and discussions with (Prashant) Kishor, president has constituted an EAG 2024 and invited him to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility. He declined. We appreciate his efforts and suggestions given to the party, tweeted Surjewala on Tuesday. Kishor confirmed he had turned the proposal down. In a tweet posted on his official account, Kishor said: I declined the generous offer of the to join the party as part of the EAG and take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, more than me, the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms. The proposal to rope Kishor into the was enthusiastically backed by Vadra, but supporters within the party owing allegiance to Rahul Gandhi were less than enthusiastic about it, possibly worried that their own turf would be severely curtailed. Former chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan said: When Kishor met me, he said he was almost ready to join the Congress party but his conditions were that Rahul should not be associated with the party: he can be associated with parliamentary work if he wants to be a future prime minister. But not both. Chavan said that would never have happened because control of the party represented control of a revenue flow which no president could afford to give up. Others in the party said although Rahul was abroad, leaders in Delhi were in live contact with him on the phone. He (Rahul) didnt agree to it was the terse comment of another leader. Rahul returns to Delhi on May 6 and goes to Karnataka where the Bharatiya Janata Party government under Basavaraj Bommai is facing challenges. Earlier in April, Kishor made a presentation to the Congress top leadership on the changes that the party should effect to become more efficient. This document is yet to be authenticated by Kishor, but is in public domain (leaked mostly by interested Congress members to some of whom it represents an existential political threat). It suggested paring Rahuls role in running the organisation and the appointment of a non-Gandhi as party president. To deal with this level of disruption via broader consultation, Sonia Gandhi set up an eight-member group which presented a report on it to her on Monday. Apparently, there were differences of opinion among the eight members. The Karnataka group said we will not take directions from Kishor. The Kerala group was not happy, said a leader. But leaders said even though Kishor has tried to distance himself from his political consultancy I-PAC, the company signed a contract with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrashekhar Rao. This party is in direct competition with the Congress in Telangana. So Kishors primary loyalty itself was suspect. You cant be a member of one party and advise another party which is in direct competition with the Congress, said a leader. Priyanka wanted Kishors political advice, Rahul was cold to it, and Sonia wanted to convey the impression that something is happening because all of us told her, after the Uttar Pradesh elections, that you have to do something: this state of affairs cannot go on, the party is completely demoralised, said leaders. Party leaders agree that now, for the party reeling from serial electoral debacles, it is back to the drawing board. The Congress will meet in Udaipur, they said, and once again there will be a concerted attempt to make him party president. But this time, there could be some changes. Conversation on these changes has now begun within the party. Days after the disciplinary committee issued a show-cause notice to party leader Sunil Jakhar for his reported derogatory statement against party leaders, the leader expressed his displeasure over the party's action. On April 11, leaders KV Thomas and Sunil Jakhar were issued show-cause notices for breaking party discipline and were asked to reply within a week. Sunil Jakhar, however, has not yet presented any statement before the committee. Congress disciplinary committee member JP Aggarwal while speaking to ANI had said that a decision on Jakhar is likely to be taken in the committee's meeting which is currently underway. Speaking to ANI over the phone before the meeting, Sunil Jakhar said that he is very angry and upset with the attitude of the Congress Disciplinary Committee. Jakhar while giving his opinion on the notice of the disciplinary committee said that he is not a slave of the Congress party but a disciplined worker. Stating that he has a 50-year-old relationship with the Congress party, Jakhar said, "For years, I have acted as a disciplined worker of the Congress party," he said. The Congress leader also expressed his displeasure over the Gandhi family, saying that if the party wanted to know anything from him, then core Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi or any other senior Congress leader could have called him to know about the issue against which he had complained. Expressing displeasure over the members of the Disciplinary Committee, Jakhar said that despite having an old relationship with most of the members of the committee, the party is trying to humiliate him in the eyes of the people. Adding up, Jakhar said that the committee can take whatever decision it wants to take but he is not ready to bow down. (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 26 (ANI/NewsVoir): LT Foods, a 70-year-old Consumer Food Company has launched Daawat Biryani Kit for consumers to cook authentic Biryani at home with utmost convenience. Over the years LT Foods has been growing and solidifying its position in India, North America, Europe, Middle East, while expanding its reach to consumers in more than 60 countries across all channels. At the same time, LT Foods has been expanding its product portfolio through Innovation to meet evolving and emerging consumer trends globally by focusing on Convenience and Health platforms - consistent to its growth strategy. In the past, the Company has witnessed phenomenal success with new product launches with breakthrough innovation such as launch of Daawat Quick Cooking Brown Rice on health and convenience platform, wherein it met the consumer need of healthier food with convenient cooking. Daawat Brown rice enjoys leadership position in this segment with more than 50 per cent share in India. The Company has been continuously expanding its product portfolio in India and International market such as Daawat Cuppa Rice, Kari Kari Rice cracker Japanese snacks, Royal Ready to Heat Rice products (Royal being leading rice brand in North America). LT Foods with its strong heritage of Daawat, the Finest, Basmati Rice for Biryani, is taking a significant step forward by combining the Daawat MasterChef culinary expertise to build a "Rice with Spice" journey by introducing a range of Ready to Cook Biryani Kits. In continuation to its legacy of innovation, the company has decided to launch Ready to Cook Biryani Kit based consumer insights and research i.e. fulfilling consumer need statement on "how to cook fresh authentic biryani at home with convenience". Biryani Kit will be available in three most popular regional variants ie, Hyderabadi, Kolkata, and Lucknowi. Biryani the most searched recipe, and is perfect blend of finest basmati, choicest spices, flavours and aroma. Perfected by Daawat culinary experts, this is the Finest easy to use Biryani Kit. The Biryani Kit contains all the essentials to prepare the finest and authentic biryani in less than 30 minutes. These recipes are packed with carefully selected, high quality natural ingredients without any preservatives and artificial colours, which are true to the source of their origin in just the right mix. Speaking on the launch, Ashwani Kumar Arora, MD & CEO LT Foods said, "As a Consumer Foods Company, we are committed to innovation and new product development initiatives which meets the consumer's emerging and evolving needs. Our unconditional commitment is to offer the best quality food products - which have high quality natural ingredients without any preservatives and artificial colours. In this journey, our latest offering Daawat Biryani Kit is to redefine authentic and fresh biryani cooking experience at home. Our Biryani kit is finest blend of authenticity with convenience. We would be taking Biryani experience across our global distribution network. This is one more step in our journey to continuously expand our product portfolio on convenience and health platforms, using innovation and consumer insights." With the launch of Daawat Biryani kits, LT Foods expects to further increase its household penetration of Daawat. The Company's constant endeavor is to identify and understand consumer needs and staying relevant with all classes and age group of consumers with innovative solutions like Biryani Kit. This initiative will encourage consumers to enjoy freshly cooked Authentic Biryani with their loved ones. Daawat Biryani Kit shall be available across channels including General Trade, Modern Trade and E-commerce platforms across the LT Foods distribution network within India and International markets. LT Foods Ltd. (NSE: DAAWAT, BSE: 532783), LT Foods is a 70-year-old Consumer Food Company that is a leading player in the specialty rice and rice products business across the globe, delivering the finest quality and taste experiences in more than 60 countries. The Company portfolio includes a range of power brands that include Daawat- one of India's most loved and consumed Basmati brands, Royal- North America's no. 1 Basmati player and other regional leading brands. The Company is also proudly expanding its organic play by supplying organic food ingredients to leading businesses as well as offering organic staples to consumers in markets across the globe. The Company has consolidated revenue of around Rs 4,773 crore as on FY21. The Company has an integrated "Farm to Fork" approach with well-entrenched Distribution Network with Global Supply Chain Hubs backed by Automated state-of-the art and strategically located Processing Units in India, the US and Europe, and a robust distribution network with 1300+ distributors across globe. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 20 months after announcing that it would buy Future Groups retail, wholesale and logistics business for Rs 24,713 crore, Mukesh Ambanis on Sunday backed out of it. Reliance said the deal cannot be implemented after the secured creditors of Future Groups flagship firm Future Retail, which operates Big Bazaar and Easyday stores, voted against it. Once Indias second-largest retailer with more than 1,500 stores, Future Retail along with other group are now expected to go to the National Company Law Tribunal as lenders seek to recover their dues of almost Rs 29,000 crore under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The deal has been at the centre of a lengthy legal battle between and Reliance. has challenged the takeover in various forums and obtained legal injunctions that stalled the deal. In August 2019, had invested about Rs 1,500 crore for a 49% stake in Future Retails promoter entity Future Coupons, indirectly gaining a 4.8% stake in the former. Amazon says its 2019 deal came with an agreement that bars Future Group from selling its retail assets to Reliance without its permission. Amazon was looking to expand its foothold in Indias vast retail market. In 2018, Amazon and private equity firm Samara bought food and grocery retail chain More from Aditya Birla Group. When it comes to tapping Indias retail consumer base, like Amazon face more hurdles. Foreign investment in offline multi-brand retail is tightly controlled. India allows 51% FDI in multi-brand retail under the government route, subject to the investor fulfilling several conditions. States can also decide whether to allow foreign-owned multi-brand stores. Indias retail market was worth $883 billion in 2020, according to Forrester Research. The market size is expected to grow to $1.3 trillion by 2024, dominated by the grocery segment. With the Future Groups retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units, Reliance was aiming to bolster its JioMart app and increase its presence in the online grocery delivery space. Even as the deal fell through, Reliance is in a sweet spot after taking over 947 stores of Future Group, citing non-payment of rent, after transferring the leases to itself. These include 112 Central and Brand Factory outlets of Future Lifestyle Fashions. Reliance may reportedly bid for the remaining Future Group assets at the NCLT, leaving few options on the table for Amazon. According to Utkarsh Sinha, Managing Director, Bexley Advisors, Future Retail creditors, shareholders ended up worse off following this development. Reliance has scored a win in the short term. If Amazon seeks to limit the growth of Reliance, it can stretch the dispute. Reliance, however, got what it wanted, as it is evident now that Amazon underestimated Reliance. Future Retail last month said it was committed to taking back its stores which were taken by Reliance, saying it had been surprised by what it called "drastic and unilateral action" by Reliance. Amazon and the lenders may also support the companys effort in this regard. Meanwhile, Amazon also might continue its legal battle related to the deal between Future and Reliance. Whatever be the outcome, Reliance will continue to enjoy its undisputable pole position in the countrys retail sector as the fall of Indias original retail king and Future Group founder Kishore Biyani is sealed. As for Amazon, the value erosion of Future Groups assets in the past two years means its effort to make any progress on its offline retail ambitions in India has been futile. Watch video The Reserve Bank of India last month, in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India, launched the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for feature phone users known as 123Pay. can, in fact, can be used on feature phones even currently, but the process is USSD based. It can be accessed through NUUP (National Unified USSD Platform) using the short code of *99#. But this option is cumbersome and remains unpopular. Considering that there are more than 400 million feature phone users in India, 123pay will materially improve the options for such users to access UPI. Feature phone users will now be able to undertake a host of transactions based on four technology alternatives. They include calling an IVR number, app-based functionality in feature phones, missed call-based approach and also proximity sound-based payments. Lets go through each option. UPI payment through pre-defined IVR numbers would require users to initiate a secured call from their feature phones to a predetermined number and complete UPI on-boarding formalities to be able to start making financial transactions without an internet connection. With the IVR providing multiple language options, customers can avail this service in their preferred languages. In app-based functionality, an app would be installed on the feature phone through which the user can access several UPI functions. In this type, the interested solution providers will need to partner with the feature phone mobile manufacturers to enable a native payment app. This UPI apps look and feel is similar to smartphone-based apps, however with certain limitations of the feature phone. Currently, it can offer the majority of UPI functionality except for Scan and Pay, which is a work in progress. U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer ON Semiconductor Corp. has received the green light to reopen its Shanghai distribution center after a temporary shutdown due to the citywide Covid-19 lockdown. The move follows Onsemis announcement last week that it has suspended operations at the Shanghai distribution center and planned to run some of its shipments through Singapore and the Philippines. That notice fueled market concern about the potential retreat of foreign businesses from China due to its strict zero-Covid policy. For other categories of seats, as well as in air conditioned and air-cooled theatres, exhibitors can charge Rs 30 more per ticket for seven days. Twitter HYDERABAD: The much-awaited Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan starrer Acharya will cost a bit more for movie-goers in the two Telugu states, as both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have agreed for a hike in ticket rates. The movie is scheduled for release on April 29. The AP government issued orders on Monday, allowing exhibitors to increase the ticket rates by Rs 50, cutting across all classes of theatres and seats, for 10 days from the date of release of the movie. In Telangana, the government not only approved a hike in ticket rates, but also allowed exhibitors to have five shows a day -- between 7am and 1am. However, these are allowed only for a week starting April 29, the state home department said in its order on Monday. Across Telangana, ticket prices for Acharya can be hiked by Rs 50 per seat for recliner seats in single- screen theatres, as well as large screen theatres including IMAX, as also in multiplexes. For other categories of seats, as well as in air conditioned and air-cooled theatres, exhibitors can charge Rs 30 more per ticket for seven days. There will be no change in admission rates for the movie in non-AC theatres, the TS home department said. A study released recently in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (and reported by the Canadian Press and Castanet) states "vaccinated people who mix with unvaccinated people have a significantly greater chance of being infected than those who stick with people who have received the shot." Further, "unvaccinated people's risk of contracting COVIID drops when they spend time with people who are vaccinated." Sounds good right? You would likely expect that this researcher from Toronto would have actually studied people in the real world, in real time, in order to come up with his conclusions, right? But, sadly, you would be wrong. Close to the end of the article, well after the attention-grabbing headline and the conclusions outlined in the first few paragraphs, the researcher admits that his study was actually a mathematical computer model. Then, the very last sentence of the article states, "He acknowledges that a simple mathematical model doesn't fully reflect the real world or the diverse factors that must be taken into account when setting public health policy." But how many people read all the way to the end? How many read only the headline and said, "See, I knew it. Those anti-vaxxers are wrong! They're putting us all at risk!"? Probably most. As a consumer of news and information, you have to be very careful what you read and especially what you believe. Lloyd Vinish, Kelowna Photo: The Canadian Press The mother of two deceased boys whose father is accused of killing them is seeking $2 million from the Quebec government, alleging youth protection services failed her family. In a lawyer's letter dated Friday, Emilie Arsenault accused Quebec's youth protection service of failing to act despite the fact the agency had been allegedly contacted three times prior to her children's deaths. The letter addressed to the Health Department and the regional authority responsible for youth protection said the provincial agency had been alerted by a hospital worker, provincial police and the mother, between May 2018 and January 2020. Valerie Assouline, the lawyer representing Arsenault, says youth protection workers did not visit the family at home after any of the calls, adding that the protection service decided to close the files involving the family without taking further action. The system, she says, needs to be held responsible for its failures. "I dont think the kids should have to pay with their lives because the system was not working," she said Monday in a phone interview. The bodies of Olivier, 5, and Alex, 2, were found Oct. 13, 2020, in a home in Wendake, Que., a Huron-Wendat First Nation territory near Quebec City. Their father, Michael Chicoine, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder. The details involving what led to the calls to youth protection are subject to a publication ban due to the ongoing court process. In the letter, the mother said the "wilful blindness of the entire system cost Olivier and Alex their lives" and caused irreparable harm to both the children and their mom. The Health Department on Monday declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal process. Assouline represents other families in similar circumstances, including the mother of a seven-year-old girl from Granby, Que., whose 2019 death triggered a widespread re-examination of provinces youth protection system. A commission on children's rights and youth protection released a 552-page report last May, saying the girl's death was a collective failure of Quebec society. Assouline said junior health minister Lionel Carmant was "very aware" of the problems in the youth protection system, but didn't act quickly enough. "The lack of training of the case workers," she said. "(Carmant) was aware of the delays that were unreasonable. He had to act immediately." Assouline said the system underplays allegations of intimate partner violence, often categorizing it as a "parental conflict" instead of the risk factor it is. She said she recognizes the $2 million her client is asking for is a higher figure than is usually demanded in such cases, but she said an "exemplary" judgment is needed to ensure a similar situation never happens again. Arsenault, she added, is well aware that no amount of money can bring back her children. "Shes not necessarily doing (this) for a question of money, but a question of imputability, of making sure someone is responsible for failing to protect the children," Assouline said. "Because she tried to. What more could she do?" Assouline said that if the government doesn't respond to the letter, the next step is to file a lawsuit. Mehreen Kaur is in a happy place! She is busy completing the shooting of her Kannada film, and is done with her Telugu comic caper F3. Her role in F3 is very different from the earlier iterations, and the actress says she will be at her comical best in the Anil Ravipudi directorial. In F2, my role (Honey) has a lot of spunk and I am like a little kid. But in F3, I look mature. The best part of the role is its layers, says the actress, adding that she liked the spirit of the character. Mehreen was one of the actresses who was busy working even during the pandemic. I started working for F3 during that time, she recalls. For F2, I had time to prepare for the part, but for F3, I havent prepared much, as I had to be spontaneous. Also, this is my first franchise film so its very special and I am excited, she says. According to Mehreen, her role mirrors her real-life character. I am quite funny and entertaining in general, and Honey is one of my favourite characters. Everyone loved watching Honey, she says. F3 is about how the situations in life make people run after money, the actress shares. It has a practical core, but has been told in an entertaining way. Mehreen says she loves travelling and taking frequent breaks from work. A peek into her social media handle reveals photos from her recent vacation in Turkey. Travelling is like therapy, she says. I want to meet new people and experience new cultures. I have made a conscious effort to do that more frequently of late, because, due to the pandemic I wasnt travelling, she adds. As someone who travelled extensively, Mehreen finds that, although culturally, people are different, they are all similar when it comes to thought processes. Her six-year-long journey in films, Mehreen says, has been full of learning. I have learnt a lot; I became a better person and my understanding of the craft is strong, she avers. Photo: The Canadian Press Quebec's police watchdog is investigating the death of a man who allegedly jumped into a river northeast of Montreal to evade police. The Bureau des enquetes independantes said police divers found the 27-year-old man's body today, several hours after police tried to stop the man's car. The watchdog says police attempted to stop a vehicle driving with its headlights off around 1:20 a.m. and began a pursuit when the driver allegedly refused to pull over. The independent police oversight agency says the driver stopped the car about a kilometre away in the driveway of a private residence in St-Lin-Laurentides, Que. It says the man fled on foot before he allegedly jumped into the nearby Jourdain River. Provincial police told the watchdog the man called for help but they lost sight of him. Photo: The Canadian Press Twitter's board accepted Elon Musk's US$44-billion bid to take over the social media platform on Monday. The blockbuster offer made by the controversial Tesla and SpaceX leader, who has Canadian citizenship, will see Musk pay US$54.20 per share, a 38 per cent premium to the closing price of Twitters stock on April 1. Musk has vowed to transform the company by taking it private, reducing content moderation and launching a long-requested edit button on Twitter. How did the deal materialize? In January, Musk began buying significant shares in Twitter, racking up a five per cent stake in the company in March and just shy of 10 per cent in April. The more than 73.4 million shares he owned made him the company's largest shareholder, though he failed to notify the Securities and Exchange Commission that his stake in the company surpassed five per cent within the required time, violating U.S. laws. Some Twitter investors have sued him for failing to disclose the size of his stake promptly. Musk was due to join Twitter's board on April 9, though the arrangement prevented him from owning more than 14.9 per cent of Twitter's outstanding stock. By April 10, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal had tweeted Musk had decided not to join the board and "this is for the best." But Twitter had not seen the last of Musk. On April 13, he filed his bid to buy the company. How does Canada figure into the bid? Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are two of the 12 banks offering Musk financing for the bid, shows a commitment letter filed by Musk's X Holdings III LLC. RBC offered US$750 million and CIBC has pledged US$400 million. How did the board arrive at its decision to accept the offer? Approving bids like the one Musk made largely comes down to money, said Dave Valliere, a professor at Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management. "The job of Twitter's board of directors is to do whatever is in the best interest of shareholders, and so when somebody comes along and offers a big premium over the existing value of the shares, it's pretty hard to turn that down," he said. What will Musk do with the company? Musk has mused about making several changes to Twitter. At an April 14 TED Talk, he said the company should be reluctant to delete tweets and mentioned that it should be "an inclusive arena for free speech." Musk has also suggested the company should offer users who pay for the company's premium subscription product Twitter Blue a verified mark, allow longer tweets and depend more on subscriptions than advertising for revenue. Perhaps his most popular recommendation has been an edit button, which he polled users on earlier this month. Twitter has long been working on the feature but has never rolled it out. While these ideas have generated Musk plenty of attention, Valliere said, "it's not automatically clear to me that he's got any great business strategy that does well for Twitter, the company.' How will Musk's ownership affect Twitter users? Just after Musk's bid was accepted, Musk tweeted that he plans to "make Twitter better than ever" by making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans. Valliere believes the deal is really about Musk being "a rich guy that wants to control the megaphone." "He wants a platform that he has some control over and so that people aren't going to hold him accountable in certain ways that maybe exists now," the professor said. "I don't see that there's a huge benefit to the other users of Twitter. I don't see the huge benefits for the existing shareholders of Twitter, other than you've already paid them a lot of money." Musk has a reputation for being a volatile leader known for Twitter rants and rash business decisions. What will this mean for Twitter staff? Some who see Musk as successful will stick with the company or try to join, said Valliere. But others may leave because they doubt he has shareholders' best interests at heart and Valliere expects "turmoil at the top." "Certainly some of the upper management can be expected to depart because if this goes through, this is a vote of non-confidence in the existing team." How will Musk handle running a company that is being circled by regulators and international governments looking to restrict harmful materials from being posted online? Valliere believes Musk won't help Twitter weather such conditions better because he is known for picking fights with his critics. "He's going to try and stick a stake in the ground and so it's going to be an interesting thing because the legislative agenda is pointing towards greater accountability, but he's got lots of money, so which one would you want to bet on?" Photo: The Canadian Press Motorists wait to cross the border seen from the Moldovan side of the Varnita-Bender crossing between Moldova and the separatist region of Trans-Dniester Two explosions in a radio facility close to the Ukrainian border knocked a pair of powerful broadcast antennas out of service in Moldova's separatist region of Trans-Dniester, local police said. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land with about 470,000 people, has been under the control of separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops in the breakaway region, nominally as peacekeepers. Ukrainian officials have expressed concern about Moscow using those forces to invade Ukraine, while the threat of renewed fighting over Trans-Dniester worries Moldovan authorities. The explosions happened in the small town of Maiac, roughly 12 kilometres west of the Ukraine border, according to the regions Interior Ministry. No one was hurt, officials said. The two antennas were used for broadcasting Russian radio shows. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts. The United States has warned amid the war in Ukraine that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops. On Monday, several explosions, believed to have been caused by rocket-propelled grenades, were reported to have hit the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, Trans-Dniesters capital. The Security Council of Trans-Dniester on Tuesday reported there had been a total of three incidents in the region explosions in Tiraspol on Monday, the ones in Maiac on Tuesday and damage to a military unit in the village of Parcani. Officials did not offer any details on the military unit incident, but declared a red level of terrorist threat and promised to impose additional security measures in the region. Trans-Dniesters president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, called Tuesday for imposing anti-terrorist security measures at a red level for 15 days, including setting up blockposts at the entrances to cities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that the situation in Trans-Dniester elicits concern in Moscow. A Ukrainian presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak warned in a tweet that Moldova might be attacked next, Bad news: if Ukraine falls tomorrow Russian troops will be at Chisinaus gates," he tweeted, referring to Moldova's capital. "Good news: Ukraine will definitely ensure strategic security of the region. But we need to work as a team. Moldovan President Maia Sandu convened the country's Supreme Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the incidents. After the meeting, she said a security analysis indicated that different forces within the region, interested in destabilizing the situation, carried out the blasts. The Security Council recommended ramping up border and traffic patrols, and increasing the alert level of institutions responsible for ensuring public order and security. We condemn any challenges and attempts to lure the Republic of Moldova into actions that could jeopardize peace in the country, Sandu said. Chisinau continues to insist on a peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. We will take all necessary measures to prevent escalation, to strengthen the security of the state and to protect our citizens, Sandu added. We remain open to continue the dialogue for the settlement of the conflict in the region in a peaceful, diplomatically negotiated manner. Photo: The Canadian Press A Canadian passport is displayed in Ottawa on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Canadians appear keen to venture to far shores for the first time since the pandemic began, but passport delays are keeping some on a short leash. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Canadians appear keen to venture to far shores for the first time since the pandemic began, but passport delays are keeping some on a short leash. Service Canada says it has seen a big boost in demand for passport renewals, which has made for long lineups and longer waits for documents. The federal agency aims to process passports within 20 business days for mail-in applications, but right now the wait is averaging 26 days. Service Canada says it processed nearly 1.3 million passports between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022 a sharp increase from the roughly 360,000 passports processed over theprevious fiscal year. People who plan to travel within the next month have been pushed to the front of the queue, and the agency says staff are working overtime and weekends to get through as many travel documents as possible. Conservative Michelle Rempel Garner and other opposition MPs have called on the government to do more to bolster the passport offices so travellers can be on their way. Photo: The Canadian Press Vladimir Putin Officials in Poland and Bulgaria say Russia is suspending their countries' natural gas deliveries starting on Wednesday. The governments of the two European countries said Tuesday that Russian energy giant Gazprom informed them it was halting gas supplies. The suspensions would be the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that unfriendly foreign buyers would have to pay the state-owned Gazprom in rubles instead of other currencies. Europe imports large amounts of Russian natural gas to heat homes, generate electricity and fuel industry. The imports have continued despite the war in Ukraine. Around 60% of imports are paid in euros, and the rest in dollars. Putins demand was apparently intended to help bolster the Russian currency amid the war in Ukraine. European leaders said they would not comply, arguing the requirement for them to purchase rubles and then pay Gazprom violated the terms of contracts and their sanctions against Russia. The Russian proposal for a two-step payment procedure is in violaton with the current contract and bears considerable risks for Bulgaria, including to make payments without receiving any gas deliveries from Russia, the Bulgarian government said. Bulgaria said it was working with state gas companies to find alternative sources. The government said no restrictions on domestic gas consumption would be imposed for now even though the Balkan country of 6.5 million meets over 90% of its gas needs with Russian imports. Polands state gas company, PGNiG, said it was notified by Gazprom that deliveries through the Yamal-Europe pipeline would stop Wednesday. Poland not only has refused to pay for natural gas in rubles, but the country has been a strong supporter of neighboring Ukraine during the Russian invasion. It is a transit point for weapons the United States and other Western nations have provided Ukraine. The Polish government confirmed this week that it was sending tanks to Ukraines army. On Tuesday, it announced a sanctions list targeting 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, including Gazprom. The Yamal pipeline carries natural gas from Russia to Poland and Germany, through Belarus. Poland has been receiving some 9 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually. PGNiG said that Russias demand to be paid in rubles represented a breach of the Yamal contract. Flow charts published on the website of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas showed drastic drops of gas flows at entry points in Kondratki, a town in eastern Poland, and Vysokaye, which is in Belarus. The Russian news agency Tass cited Gazprom as saying that Poland must pay for its gas supplies under a new procedure. Poland appeared to be the European customer to have its gas shipments halted by Russia. Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa stressed that Poland was prepared for such a situation after working for years to reduce its reliance on Russian energy sources. She said the country has been effectively independent when it comes to Russian gas for some time. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes, Moskwa tweeted. The minister repeated that message at a news conference, saying: Appropriate diversification strategies that we have introduced allow us to feel on the safe side in this situation, she said. Poland has been working since the 1990s to wean itself off of Russian energy and was already on track to end its reliance on Russian gas this year. It recently moved to stop imports of Russian coal. The government in Warsaw has urged other European countries to lessen their dependence on Russian energy sources. Photo: The Canadian Press 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. Rae denounced as undemocratic the Security Council's veto power as the General Assembly voted Tuesday to subject the world's most powerful body to more public scrutiny. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Bob Rae, the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, denounced as undemocratic the Security Council's veto power as the General Assembly voted to subject the world's most powerful body to more public scrutiny. The General Assembly adopted a consensus motion Tuesday that would require any of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the council Russia, the United States, China, France and Britain to appear before the 193-country assembly to justify its decision. The move doesn't get rid of the council's controversial veto power, but with Russia threatening to continue using it to prevent action against its war on Ukraine, Rae says the historic vote sends a signal that the world will be watching. "The veto power that is held by the five permanent members of the Security Council is as anachronistic as it is undemocratic," Rae said in explaining Canada's support. The unprecedented motion requires the General Assembly "to hold a debate on the situation" that gives rise to any council veto within 10 working days and for the country that uses it to be among the first to speak. Representatives from Russia and Belarus spoke against the motion, but they were countered by the envoys of dozens of countries that sponsored the motion, which was led by tiny Lichtenstein and included Canada. From the floor of the assembly, Rae delivered a blistering condemnation of a broken UN system that he said was enabling what he called a shameful and illegal act of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. Rae said the recent deadlock over Ukraine has happened when the world most needs the Security Council. "We're watching the destruction of cities. We're watching the killing of women and children. We're seeing the destruction of an entire infrastructure of a country and we're seeing a country fight back. The Security Council may not be able to act. That doesn't prevent us from having an ability to act," Rae said. Rae and the world's diplomats were speaking as Russian bombs continued pounding the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, large swaths of which have been reduced to rubble in a war that has killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions to flee their homes. "The use and threat of the veto in situations where atrocity crimes are being perpetrated in Syria and Myanmar, and Mariupol, for example, or in situations where a permanent member of the Security Council has launched a war of aggression against another UN member state, as the Russian Federation is now doing in Ukraine, are not only shameful, they are also contrary to obligations under the UN Charter and to international law." Photo: The Canadian Press A police officer walks between parked trucks as he distributes a notice to protesters, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022 in Ottawa.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld A senior Liberal minister says the government has two competing interests when it comes to sharing information about its use of the Emergencies Act: transparency and protecting national security. Government House leader Mark Holland was responding Tuesday to questions about what information the Liberals will provide to a judge tapped to lead an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the declaration of an emergency. While the government says Ontario Appeal Court Justice Paul Rouleau will have broad access to classified documents, it has not said whether that will include access to secret documents held by Trudeaus cabinet. That has sparked questions and frustration from civil liberties organizations and opposition parties who worry the inquiry will not be given access to key documents about closed-door discussions and decisions by ministers. Holland said the government will provide as much information as possible so Canadians have an absolutely crystal clear picture, right up to the point that its not injurious to national security. We have two competing interests, he told reporters ahead of a planned cabinet meeting in Parliaments West Block. The most important thing we can do is make sure the public has all the information they need to see clearly why decisions were made and how they were made. But we also know we have to protect national security. Those are difficult things to balance. The Liberals and opposition parties have previously butted heads when it comes to transparency and national security, notably over the governments refusal to hand over documents about the firing of two scientists at Canadas highest security laboratory. Little is publicly known about the firing of scientists Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, who were escorted out of Winnipegs National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 and subsequently fired in January 2021. Holland in December proposed creating a special all-party committee to review the documents, with a panel of three former senior judges determining what could be made public without jeopardizing national security. But the Conservatives rejected the proposal, pointing out that in the previous parliamentary session the Public Health Agency of Canada ignored multiple orders from a Commons committee and the House itself to produce unredacted documents. Holland nonetheless pointed to his previous proposal, as well as the governments offer to have Parliaments special intelligence committee review secret documents about the Winnipeg lab, as possible solutions to concerns about the Emergencies Act. Where there are disputes, I point to the Winnipeg labs example specifically we responded by creating a different model that allowed expanded access and a greater adjudication of those points independently, he said. So we continue to be reasonable and rational on this. Hollands reference to the Winnipeg labs dispute did not sit well with Conservative emergency preparedness critic Dane Lloyd, who accused the Liberals of hiding behind legal tools and called for the production of cabinet documents. If the Liberals are already suggesting they (intend) to approach this inquiry as they have the Winnipeg lab documents, it signals the Liberals' intent to hide the truth from Canadians, Lloyd said. To be clear, what Mr. Holland is suggesting when he refers to the Winnipeg Lab situation is to ignore two orders from a committee, and two orders from the House of Commons for the production of the Winnipeg lab documents, all with reasonable safeguards to protect our national security. The Liberal government declared an emergency under the act for the first time in history on Feb. 14, granting extraordinary temporary powers to police to clear people out and to banks to freeze the accounts of some of those involved. The temporary powers meant protesters and their supporters could face fines up to $5,000 or five years in prison during the emergency declaration. The Emergencies Act requires the government to call an inquiry within 60 days of revoking the emergency declaration to examine the circumstances that led to its declaration and the measures taken to deal with it. Monday was the last day the government could call the inquiry under the law. Rouleau must provide a final report in English and French to the federal government by Feb. 20, 2023. While many people involved in the "Freedom Convoy" said they were there to demand an end to all COVID-19 restrictions, some, including many of the most vocal organizers, also wanted the Liberal government overthrown. Throughout most of February, Parliament Hill and the streets around it were packed with people and trucks carrying signs and flags adorned with expletives directed at Trudeau. The protests significantly affected Ottawa residents and downtown businesses. Officials described a state of "lawlessness" as bylaws went unenforced by police for three weeks and the sound of air horns droned on at all hours of the day and night. However, several provincial premiers have spoken out against what they characterized as a serious overreach of power by the federal government, arguing police already had all the authority they needed to clear out protesters. The City of Ottawa's auditor general also launched a review of the local response, and several groups including the CCLA have initiated proceedings in Federal Court to challenge the government's use of the Emergencies Act. Another convoy, this one on motorcycles, is due to arrive in Ottawa next weekend. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has raised concerns the government wants to limit the inquiry to investigating the actions of protesters, but not its own decision making. The Conservatives have echoed that, accusing the government of trying to "whitewash" the inquiry. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman (PTI) and former premier Imran Khan on Monday said that he, along with his party workers, would stage a sit-in in Islamabad until the announcement of the next general elections, reported local media. In a video message, Khan asked PTI workers and the people of the country to make preparations for his call for a march on Islamabad in the next few weeks, reported The News International. "Now a defining moment has arrived when we will have to decide whether to live like slaves or as an independent country. We have to rally people for the real independence of Pakistan," the media outlet quoted him as saying. Reiterating his claims of "foreign conspiracy", the PTI chairman said that all the mafias joined hands to plot the ouster of his government. "Unfortunately, those, who have been involved in corruption for the last 30 years, have been again imposed on us. The incumbent Prime Minister and his son are involved in corruption cases of Rs 40 billion and they are now controlling the FIA, which is investigating the cases of their servants like Maqsood Chaprasi. I have given a call, go out and mobilize people in streets and neighbourhood for real independence," the media outlet quoted him as saying. Notably, earlier on Sunday, the PTI chairman thanked his online supporters for spreading the narrative of the "foreign conspiracy" that has been rejected by the ruling party and the country's powerful military. "I want to thank all our social media warriors who have valiantly taken our fight against US regime change conspiracy forward on all social media platforms," he said in a Twitter post late Sunday night. "Continue carrying on our movement for Pak's sovereignty & democracy. You are our frontline warriors," he added. (ANI) Read More Pakistan: Row erupts over PM Shehbaz Sharif's 1st foreign visit to Saudi Arabia Ahead of Shehbaz Sharif's visit to Saudi Arabia, the newly-elected Pakistan Prime Minister has been caught in the controversy over his plans to travel privately along with a large entourage. Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the next few days. Dozens of officials and political leaders will accompany the Pakistan Prime Minister on his maiden visit to the Kingdom. After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) raised questions about this visit, Pakistan Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb responded on Monday, saying Shehbaz Sharif would travel to Saudi Arabia at his own expenses. She slammed PTI leaders for spreading "lies" about the trip set to take place later this week. "Contrary to lies being propagated by PTI, Prime Minister will be travelling to Saudi Arabia later this week on a commercial flight at his own expense," Marriyum said on Twitter. "Even during his 10 years as CM Punjab during 2008-18, he always travelled commercially and at his own expense," she added. Earlier on Monday, the newly-elected Pak PM presided over a meeting here to review preparations for his official visit to Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, he said that Pakistan valued its long-standing brotherly ties with Saudi Arabia and it was looking forward to enhancing the same in future. According to The News International, he directed the relevant authorities to make effective recommendations for strengthening the Pak-Saudi Arabia bilateral ties. (ANI) Also Read: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warns of World War III In one of the pleas filed in the top court, the petitioner said the high court has "erred in creating a dichotomy of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience wherein the court has inferred that those who follow a religion cannot have the right to conscience." (Photo: AP) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider listing pleas challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict which had dismissed petitions seeking permission to wear hijab inside classroom. A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli took note of the submissions of senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for one of the petitioners, that the plea needed an urgent hearing. "I will list it. Wait for two days," the CJI said. Several petitions have been filed in the apex court against the Karnataka High Court verdict holding that wearing of hijab is not a part of the essential religious practice which can be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution. The high court had dismissed the petitions filed by a section of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, seeking permission to wear hijab inside the classroom. The prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to, the high court had said. In one of the pleas filed in the top court, the petitioner said the high court has "erred in creating a dichotomy of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience wherein the court has inferred that those who follow a religion cannot have the right to conscience." "The high court has failed to note that the right to wear hijab comes under the ambit of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It is submitted that the freedom of conscience forms a part of the right to privacy," it said. The plea said the petitioner had approached the high court seeking redressal for the alleged violation of their fundamental rights against the state government order of February 5, 2022, issued under Sections 7 and 133 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983. The high court had maintained that the government has the power to issue impugned order dated February 5, 2022, and no case is made out for its invalidation. By the said order, the Karnataka government had banned wearing clothes that disturb equality, integrity, and public order in schools and colleges, which the Muslim girls had challenged in the high court. Challenging the February 5 order of the government, the petitioners had argued before the high court that wearing the Islamic headscarf was an innocent practice of faith and an Essential Religious Practice (ERP) and not a mere display of religious jingoism. The petitioners had also contended that the restriction violated the freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(A) and Article 21 dealing with personal liberty. 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 A juvenile has been charged by the TBI with murdering a 59-year-old woman and her seven-year-old grandson at Chuckey, Tn., in Greene County. Authorities said, "As a result of an investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and detectives with the Greene County Sheriffs Office, an arrest has been made in connection with a double homicide. "At the request of 3rd Judicial District Attorney Dan Armstrong, TBI agents began working alongside the Greene County Sheriffs Office to investigate a double homicide that occurred Sunday evening. Just before midnight, Greene County deputies responded to a home in the 7100 block of Old Snapps Ferry Road in Chuckey. Upon arrival, they found Sherry Cole and her grandson, Jessie Allen, deceased. During the course of the investigation, a juvenile was identified as a possible suspect. "This afternoon, the suspect was charged via a juvenile petition in connection with the homicides. The investigation remains active and ongoing." The murders are believed to have happened outside a home on Old Snapps Ferry Road around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. The bodies were found Sunday evening. The Tennessee House on Monday passed a bill that says teachers do not have to go along with a students preferred pronoun if it does not match their biological sex. SB 2777/HB 2633 passed the House 67 to 25. It will be taken up by the Tennessee Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee on Tuesday. The bill says school employees would not be "civilly liable for using a pronoun that is consistent with the biological sex of the student to whom the teacher or employee is referring, even if the pronoun is not the student's preferred pronoun." It says the employees would not be "subject to adverse employment action" for not using the students preferred pronoun. The Tennessee General Assemblys Fiscal Review Committee had said in a fiscal note in February, "If found in violation of federal law, this legislation could jeopardize federal funding in FY22-23 and subsequent years." The ACLU of Tennessee said, "Today the Tennessee House passed a bill that insulates teachers and school employees who choose to harm or discriminate against transgender students by purposefully misgendering them from any accountability or adverse action." Henry Seaton of the ACLU said, We are extremely disturbed by todays vote. This bill raises serious statutory and constitutional concerns by singling out trans students for worse treatment than their peers all other students can be referred to by the pronouns that match their gender. Lawmakers have heard repeatedly how dangerous this bill can be, especially given the horrifying rates of bullying trans people face in Tennessee. "Some representatives listened and voted on the right side of history and we thank them. But most made a choice to reject and ignore the needs of a vulnerable population in our schools, and instead protect those who perpetuate bullying, stigmatization, and potentially trauma and violence. We will continue to fight for the thousands of trans children and youth across Tennessee. A couple on Clear Creek Road told police their house was for sale and that the woman had received a Facebook message from another person saying that a "Christopher Scott Daly" had listed their residence for rent on Facebook. The couple denied knowing a "Christopher Scott Daly," however the man said that one day he heard someone on his roof and he confronted the individual and told him that he did not request any work to be done. He said the worker on the roof told him that "Scott" had requested work on the roof. Police placed the house on the Watch List and informed the couple they should check the status of their home title to make sure no one has attempted to steal it. * * * A man on Glendale Drive told police that the windshield on his 1974 Chevy S10 got cracked by some rocks. He said he was not sure of the location, but believed it may have happened while crossing a bridge downtown. He said he believes the rocks came from a red dump truck. * * * A man told police he was leaving work at 1700 Broad St. around 3 p.m. and he placed his backpack down while he was getting into his vehicle. He said he forgot the backpack in the parking lot and, upon returning around 4:15 p.m., the backpack was gone. He said it was mostly filled with school supplies, but he did have an iPad in it. He said he was unable to track the iPad. * * * Police were in the area of 3600 Highland Ave. and observed two vehicles that were parked the wrong direction on Highland Avenue. Both vehicles appeared to be abandoned. The first vehicle was covered in filth and appeared to have been sitting for some time. The vehicle was stickered as an abandoned vehicle with a 48-hour notice to move the vehicle. The second vehicle had weeds and trash collecting around it and had several flat tires. It was also stickered as an abandoned vehicle with a 48-hour notice to move it. The vehicles were still there after two days and Yates Towing responded and towed the vehicles. * * * Police found a Maroon Infiniti (FL tag) that was parked between two driveways on Zachary Alley. The vehicle was unoccupied with the rear driver's side window partially down. The vehicle seemed to have not been driven in a while. Police observed pine needles and a build up of pollen on the vehicle. Police ran the vehicle's tag to ensure it was not stolen and placed an orange 48-hour tow sticker on the driver's side window. * * * Police observed a white Kia Spectra (TN tag) was abandoned at 286 Water St. Trash and weeds had gathered around the vehicle and the tires were also flat. The vehicle was stickered as an abandoned vehicle with a 48-hour notice to move it. * * * A disorder was reported at Reagan's Place, 24 Station St. The manager told police the disorder involved a security guard and a white female. At some point during the altercation, the female allegedly pulled the security guard's hair. Neither of them were on scene to confirm or deny the manager's story. The manager only wished to make a report to police due to regulatory board rules. * * * A woman on Campbell Street told police a random man has been knocking on her door all week and she is starting to become afraid. Police did not witness anyone in the area. Police told the woman to call back if he came again. * * * A disorder was reported at a residence on Carter Street. Police spoke with a woman who explained that she and her husband were having an argument and all she wanted to do was go to sleep. She could not tell police what the argument was over or why she needed police at this time. When I spoke with the husband, he said his wife gets like this sometimes when she drinks. He implied that she would sometimes drink and become angry and tell him that she was going to kill herself or would attempt to wander off. Police asked the husband if it would be a problem if the wife just went back to the room and went to sleep and he said it would not. Police told him if things looked like they were going to escalate, to leave the area but take the car keys, so his wife would not be able to drive off while intoxicated. The husband said he has some friends he could stay with if it became necessary. Police then spoke with the wife and asked if she was okay going to the room and getting some sleep. She said she could do that. She was asked if there was anything further she needed from the police, and she said there was nothing else she needed. * * * A woman on Mansion Circle told police someone had opened an account online with Bank of America using her information. She said she had received an email about it and has notified the bank. * * * A man on Chestnut Street told police someone got into his truck and stole several work tools. He said there were no signs of forced entry. * * * A man told police he left his vehicle parked in the lot at Gold's Gym, 5510 Highway 153, while he was there last Monday between 6-8 a.m. His wife then discovered damage on it that same day when he got home later around 5 p.m. He said all the damage is on the driver's side front area around the headlight, bumper and fender. He said there are no cameras there, but there might be one nearby at Aldis. He has gotten three estimates, all for around $3,000, and he said the vehicle is actually registered to his wife. There is no proof of how the damage was done or if it was intentional. * * * An employee of New Hope Missionary Church, 3777 Wilcox Blvd., told police it was discovered by the van driver that the catalytic converters had been cut off of two church vans. He said they were last driven last Sunday and were left parked there around 2:30 p.m. He said there was no video captured and there have been no estimates for repairs yet, so the value for $1,000 is just a guess. * * * A man on Mayfair Avenue told police someone attempted to cut his catalytic converter off his vehicle, but did not remove it completely. He there is not a cut on the converter and he is filing a claim with his insurance company. * * * A woman on Alton Park Boulevard told police that sometime over the weekend someone stole her daughter's women's Huffy Bicycle ($300) from her front porch. There is no suspect information available. * * * The manager of Sephora, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd, told police that at 3:15 p.m. a black female wearing a dark Nike sweat outfit with long hair wearing a mask entered the store. The woman walked over to the Tom Ford fragrance section and removed the security tags on 11 Tom Ford fragrances worth $1,988. The woman then walked past the last point of sale and continued in an unknown direction with the stolen cologne. Police collected a photo of the woman, as well as security footage, which was turned over to Property. Cleveland State Community College has finalized plans for its Spring 2022 Commencement Ceremony. Approximately 414 degrees and certificates will be awarded during the graduation ceremony. The ceremony will be held on Friday, May 6, at 5:30 p.m. in the L. Quentin Lane Center. Cleveland State President Dr. Bill Seymour will be the speaker of the ceremony. Dr. Seymour is originally from Dansville, NY, where he attended SUNY at Oswego, receiving a B.S. in psychology. He received his masters in education at the University of Missouri, specializing in counseling & personnel services. Dr. Seymour received his doctorate also from the University of Missouri in higher adult education. He is also a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard University, Graduate School of Education. Dr. Seymour has been an educator in Tennessee for 27 of his 43-year professional career in higher education. He was appointed by The Tennessee Board of Regents to serve as president of the college on Jan. 1, 2014. Before serving at Cleveland State, he previously served at Jackson State Community College in West Tennessee as vice president for Institutional Advancement and vice president for Student Services. He served as president of Lambuth University and was instrumental in transitioning that college to the University of Memphis. Under Dr. Seymours leadership, Cleveland State was selected by the College System of Tennessee as the 2019 College of the Year. In 2021, Dr. Seymour received the Shirley B. Gordon Award for Distinction, the highest award for community college presidents presented by Phi Theta Kappa. In 2022, he was named by the American Association of Community Colleges as a finalist for the CEO of the Year Award. After seven years at the college, Dr. Seymour will be retiring, and his last day in office will be June 30. My last commencement at Cleveland State will be the definition of bittersweet, said Dr. Seymour. Commencement is our biggest celebration of the year. It is what all of our students and employees have worked toward. I am just happy to celebrate with the Cleveland State family one last time. For those unable to attend the Cleveland State Community College Spring 2022 Commencement Ceremony, the event will be streamed live and can be viewed at mycs.cc/graduation. A Chattanooga man who was sentenced to almost 20 years in federal prison for selling cocaine has had his sentence commuted by President Joe Biden. Brandon Jermaine Huguley was among 75 people across the country getting sentences commuted for non-violent, drug-related convictions. Huguley was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine in Federal Court in Chattanooga. He was sentenced on Aug. 20, 2012, to serve 235 months in prison as well as five years of probation. The sentence was reduced to 188 months in prison on May 22, 2017. The Huguley sentence will now expire on April 26, 2023. The rest will be served in home confinement. He will continue under probation for the five years. A federal grand jury in Chattanooga has returned a four-count indictment against 10 individuals who are charged in dealing in meth and Fentanyl. They are Marquis Rollins, also known as Quez and as Q; Emanuel Rollins, also known as E Man; Malik Young, Keunte Suttles, also known as Kay Kay Watts; Michael Garrick, Brandon Rakestraw, also known as Lil Buddha; Xavier Bickerstaff, Michael Jones, Jr., also known as Mike Watts; Taurus Moore and Corey Long, all of Chattanooga. A Taurus Moore who lives in Harrison said the Chattanooga man arrested with the same name is younger than he is and is not related. The indictment alleges that between November 2021 and March 2022 in the Eastern District of Tennessee the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing Fentanyl and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years imprisonment and up to a maximum of life imprisonment, five years on supervised release, and a fine of up to $10,000,000. The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chattanooga Resident Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Chattanooga Police Department, Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, and Red Bank Police Department. Numerous agencies from the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force assisted in the investigation. The investigation was conducted as part of the Department of Justices Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justices drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nations drug supply. The investigation was also conducted as part of DEAs Operation Overdrive. Launched Feb. 1, Operation Overdrive uses a data-driven, intelligence-led approach to identify and dismantle criminal drug networks operating in areas with the highest rates of violence and overdoses. DEA, working in partnership with its fellow federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, has mapped the threats and initiated enforcement operations against those networks in 34 locations across 23 states in the initial phase of Operation Overdrive. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin T. Brown will represent the United States. He is a Special Assistant City Attorney with the Chattanooga Police Department assigned to the United States Attorneys Office to prosecute violations of federal firearm and drug laws. Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee announced the launch of the fourth annual Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge.The first ladys service challenge, which begins Wednesday, June 1 and will run through Monday, Aug. 1, encourages rising kindergarten through sixth grade students to devote a portion of their summer to serving others.From a young age, my parents demonstrated to me the importance of helping others, said First Lady Lee. Through this challenge, it is my hope that kids across our state will see firsthand the long-lasting impacts their service can have in their communities and in their own lives.To fulfill the challenge, kids must complete one activity in four of the eight service categories.The top participants will be invited to attend a carnival at the Tennessee Residence in September to celebrate their accomplishments over the summer.Parents and guardians can register their child and find additional information about the summer challenge here Since the summer challenge began in 2019, more than 800 kids have participated, serving a total of 3,420 hours in their communities.The first lady will visit elementary schools in Knoxville, Lawrenceburg and Jackson in the next two weeks to encourage participation in the Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge. Police detained the Teachers union leaders near Tummalapalli Kalakshetram, demanding the cancellation of the Central Pension Scheme (CPS) in Vijayawada on Monday. (Photo:DC) VIJAYAWADA: Police foiled the Chalo CMO march of the United Teachers Federation (UTF) and other organisations demanding cancellation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The police arrested the leaders and activists who tried to go to the CMO. The UTF had started bike rallies under Poru Garjana on April 18. UTF president N. Venkateswarulu and general secretary K.S.S. Prasad demanded that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announce the cancellation of the CPS by April 24. Else, they would hold the Chalo CMO. Police denied permission and asked the organizations to call off the protest. However, UTF leaders and activists in large numbers had already reached Vijayawada. On Monday, the police installed pickets on the outskirts and stopped other activists from entering the city at Machilipatnam, Nuzvid, Pottipadu tollgate, Kankipadu, Penamaluru, Mangalagiri and Guntur. The activists who reached Vijayawada in advance rushed to Tummalpalli Kalakshetram and were arrested. UTFs Venkateswarulu and secretary Prasad said that the CPS affected 2 lakh employees and teachers. EPB helped its customers adopt 15.6 million kWh of carbon-saving smart energy technologies in 2021, making Chattanoogas municipal utility the number one local power company across the Tennessee Valley Authority seven-state region when it comes to efficient electrification across all TVA EnergyRight programs officials said.EPB was named a top performer in 12 categories when it comes to helping residential and business customers save money and energy through the TVA EnergyRight program in their 2021 Highlights Report.TVA thanks EPB for helping customers embrace the changing energy industry, change their consumption habits and learn about new technologies, said Cindy Herron, vice president of TVA EnergyRight."EPB was also the number one local power company valley-wide for helping its industrial customers convert 11.4 million kWh away from fossil fuels and toward smart energy technologies through the TVA EnergyRight for Industry Smart Energy Technologies program," officials said.Maximizing efficiency for industrial power users makes a huge impact, said John Watts, EPB Energy Pro.EPB and TVA work with industrial users to create customized, plantwide approaches that help them control expenses, boost their bottom lines and use energy more efficiently, in addition to the environmental benefits."EPB helped its business customers save 2.8 million kWh through the same program by providing expert guidance, professional energy evaluation tools, research and service to commercial customers while supporting TVAs load optimization efforts," officials said.By providing energy assessments and incentives, qualifying businesses get to take even more control of their bottom line and energy use, said Mr. Watts."The EPB Energy Pros helped Chattanooga area families save 363,000 kWh in 2021 through its Home Uplift program, one of the top-performing programs in the TVA region," officials said.Home Uplift consists of free home upgrades that increase the energy efficiency and comfort of homes and enable families with limited means to lower their energy bills, said Mr. Watts. Funds are used for HVAC repair/replacement, insulation, air leak reduction, windows and doors, as well as minor health and safety repairs that enable energy upgrades.Officials said, "The EPB Energy Pros also helped families save 128,000 kWh with the DIY Home Energy Assessment, an online evaluation where residential customers can input information about their homes and receive a personalized report with energy efficiency recommendations. First-time participants receive an energy efficiency starter kit as well."EPB was recognized as a top performer for the North Star Award for helping lower the energy burden for underserved communities in the Valley and the Torch Award for increasing participation in the TVA EnergyRight program. EPB also received Community Champion, Communication and Innovation awards in recognition of partnerships with TVA and the state of Tennessee to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles with the goal of bringing over 200,000 EVs to the Valley by 2028 and creating a network of public fast-charging stations every 50 miles along major travel routes across Tennessee by 2030."The EPB Energy Pros can help all customers save energy and money with a free EPB Home Energy Checkup. They can analyze customers homes and provide personalized recommendations about the most cost-effective ways to make their homes healthier and more energy-efficient. This is available to both homeowners and renters in the EPB service territory. The EPB Energy Pros can also do a free energy bill analysis to help customers learn how to track costs, levelize their bills and take advantage of available rebates. They can recommend TVA-approved contractors, and theyll even inspect the contractors work when the project is complete to ensure optimal customer benefit. With 75 years of combined experience, the EPB Energy Pros can answer questions about all things energy including electric vehicles, energy-efficient appliances, home remodeling, new home construction, smart home technology, solar panels and much more."Schedule an in-person visit at EPB.com/energypros or call 423-648-1372 to speak with EPBs local, award-winning 24/7/365 customer service team." On Saturday, April 30 Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area Programs Coordinator Terrence Johnson will begin a kayakers dream trip paddling the length of the Tennessee River, completing a 652-mile journey. Little did Johnson know when he paddled the first four miles of the river last May during the Tennessee RiverLines official launch celebration, that he would be paddling the remaining 648 miles this year. Mr. Johnson will leave from Suttree Landing Park Pavilion and Kayak Launch in Knoxville at 6:30 a.m. As an outdoor and kayaking enthusiast, Ill consider this the trip of a lifetime or perhaps the start of many more adventures, Mr. Johnson said. I hope my trip can help highlight some of what the river has to offer as a recreational and environmental resource for all. I also want to focus on the work people are doing along the river to make that happen. Mr. Johnson and the MSNHA are working with the Tennessee RiverLine, an initiative led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Tennessee Valley Authority, as well as community partners across the region, to develop a continuous system of paddling, hiking and biking experiences along the Tennessee River, from its origin in Knoxville to its confluence with the Ohio River in Paducah, Ky. The initiative seeks to catalyze economic development, promote public health, improve equitable access to river spaces and experiences and inspire resource stewardship. The Shoals was one of the Tennessee RiverLines 2019 pilot communities, and a member of the Tennessee RiverTowns Programs inaugural cohort in 2021. As a proponent of the Tennessee RiverLine, Im excited to start this 37-day journey, during which I will be privileged to experience the riverscapes natural beauty. And, perhaps even more importantly, Im excited to meet people of Tennessee River communities who share the same passion for the river as me and interact with other Tennessee RiverTowns and paddlers along the way, said Mr. Johnson. Part of Mr. Johnson's agenda includes highlighting the importance of river access to a diverse community of paddlers, including those traditionally underrepresented on the water. For the first 10 days of the paddle, Mr. Johnson will be joined by Fred Vail, an adventure paddler and supporter of organizations promoting adaptive paddling and recreational opportunities in the region, such as Team River Runner and SPARC Chattanooga. Mr. Johnson will post regular updates during his trip on MSNHAs Facebook page, @muscleshoalsnha, and other social media using the hashtag #TJ652. The Tennessee RiverLine will also be sharing Johnsons progress on its social media accounts, @tnriverline. A partnership program of the National Park Service, National Heritage Areas recognize regions throughout the country that help tell Americas story. The MSNHA is hosted by the University of North Alabama and focuses on the themes of music Native Americans, and the Tennessee River. Email msnha@una.edu & visit msnha.una.edu for more information. 90 Day Fiance Season 7 stars, Anna-Marie Campisi and her husband, Mursel Mistanoglu welcome their first child together via surrogate. The reality TV stars had to travel to war-torn Ukraine to meet their baby for the first time. Heres their incredible story. Anna-Marie Campisi and Mursel Mistanoglu, 90 Day Fiance | TLC Anna and Mursel welcome their first baby together After 39-year-old Anna found out she would be unable to carry her and Mursels future children, the 90 Day Fiance couple turned to surrogacy. On April 25, the couple announced that they had just welcomed their first child together, a son, Gokhan John, on Instagram. The baby was born five weeks early on Monday, April 11th, via surrogate. Check out the photos of the couples newborn baby below: Anna shared photos of the newborn with the caption, Mursel and I are excited to announce the birth of our son! Gokhan John He was born 4/11/22, 5 weeks early. Hes doing amazing! Just a small guy at 5.3 pounds, 18 inches. Anna then revealed some details about her surrogate. She wrote, Our surrogate is also doing well! I was able to meet her and shes such an amazing woman! Anna and Mursels hectic journey to Ukraine to get their baby To see their child for the first time, Anna and Mursel traveled to Ukraine, where the surrogate is from. She revealed she and Mursel managed to travel to Ukraine safely with the help of a non-profit group, Dynamo Project. Anna said that once landing in Poland, they could get into Ukraine with the groups help. She explained that Mursel only had a visa that would allow him into Ukraine but not be able to leave it. She explained, If he came with to Ukraine, he wouldnt be allowed to leave. Anna had to go into war-torn Ukraine alone, but luckily, she could go with the Dynamo Project group. She explained, They planned the logistics including travel into Ukraine, a safe place to stay while in Ukraine, and travel while inside. They were with me the entire time. She revealed that thanks to the groups, she was able to complete the documents the next day while in Lviv, Ukraine. However, the stress was too much for Mursel, and he was whisked to the hospital due to chest pain. She revealed that Mursel was fine and that his tests came back normal. She revealed, Then I was transported to the border and walked across into Poland with the baby. They got me to the hospital where Mursel was. Anna and Mursels journey on 90 Day Fiance Fans first met this couple during season 7 of the franchise, where Mursel moved from a small village in Turkey to Bellevue, Nebraska, on a K-1 or fiance visa. 90 Day Fiance audiences watched as Mursel did his best to step into the role of step-dad for Annas three sons, Joey, Gino, and Leo, from a previous relationship. While many 90 Day Fiance fans werent convinced that this couple would make it due to the massive language barrier, they proved everyone wrong. Mursel and Anna continued to bond over their shared love of beekeeping and have even since started two successful businesses that incorporate their passions. 90 Day Fiance fans are happy to see Anna, Mursel, and baby Gokhan John are all safe. The journey to parenthood was difficult for this couple but well worth it. Congrats Anna and Mursel! 90 Day Fiance Season 9 airs Sundays on TLC and discovery+. RELATED: 90 Day Diaries Ukraine Special: How Natalie Mordovtseva Helped Her Mother to Safety Malia White said she was ready to be one and done after her first season of Below Deck Mediterranean, but it was Captain Sandy Yawns encouragement that inspired her to pursue a career in yachting. White was a green deckhand when she joined Below Deck Med Season 2. Her experience in boating was working on dive boats so the world of super yachting was new. After a tumultuous season, but also being promoted to lead deckhand, White wasnt entirely sure yachting was for her. Captain Sandy inspired Malia White to stay in yachting White is now working on getting her captains license. But at the time she wasnt sure she wanted to continue in the industry. I wasnt in yachting when I got cast for the show, she said on her Total Ship Show podcast. I got cast as a total green crew member. And by green, I mean I had never stepped foot on a yacht before. Malia White and Captain Sandy Yawn |Virginia Sherwood/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images/Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images I knew how to tie a line. And I knew what a cleat was, but I had never ever I hadnt even seen a yacht! she said. So my very first boat was the one I filmed on my first season. And from there I gave being a deckhand a try, and I remember telling Captain Sandy, Im probably gonna just go back to teaching scuba diving. And she was like, No. Youve got this.' Having a female captain on Below Deck Med changed Malias life And I was like, you know what? I may give it a go, she said. And that was my intro into yachting. Ive said this before. I dont know if I would have stayed in yachting had I not had a female captain to begin with. So I was very lucky that my intro into yachting was definitely not the norm. She added that she and Yawn are still friends and keep in touch. Last season White returned as Yawns bosun and they had some tension over an injury that wasnt reported. Fans wondered if the argument they had last season damaged their friendship. White addressed her relationship with Yawn in an Instagram story last season. Yes, of course! she replied about her friendship with Yawn in an Instagram story Q&A. We can disagree but I still have the utmost respect for her as both a captain and friend. White also told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that she and Yawn had drama during the last season of the show. There is a lot of drama thats already happened, she said. But there is a lot more to come. And I think you see clips with Captain Sandy and myself this season. Youll see a different side to our relationship. Yeah, definitely, just when you think all the fighting is over. How did Malia get into yachting? White applied to be on Below Deck before Below Deck Med Season 2. It didnt work out the first season, but she was cast for the second season the rest is history, she said on the Hollywood Raw podcast. She recalled when Below Deck producers told her she made the final rounds. They called me and were like hey we put you through again and youve actually made it, she said. If you wanna go you gotta like pack your bags and leave in like a week. Below Deck was my very first yacht that I worked on. And I worked on dive boats, but its not comparable at all. So I remember like the day before like the week before, I was like Googling like what is the bow? and the stern? RELATED: Below Deck Med: Malia White Says, I Dont Dislike Hannah After Season 5 Drama F*** All of This Cuba Gooding, Jr. is an award-winning actor in both television and film. His career took off when he took the role of Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire. He has also had prominent roles in major movies like As Good as it Gets, Men of Honor, Radio, and The Fighting Temptations. Goodings portrayal of O.J. Simpson in the drama series The People vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. Lately, Gooding hasnt made headlines for his acting but for his behavior offscreen. In 2018, he was accused of forcibly touching a woman at a nightclub. This allegation led to multiple women coming forward with similar stories about the actor. Recently, Gooding pleaded guilty in court after nearly two years of delays. The allegations against Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. at the Manhattan Supreme Criminal Court for his trial | Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The trouble began for Gooding when he was at a nightclub in 2018. A waitress accused the Daddy Day Camp star of kissing her without her consent. The allegation led to other women coming forward to tell their stories of non-consensual contact with the actor. These accusations were made public in October 2018 and June 2019. Both incidents were corroborated by Gooding. A third accusation was made public in October 2019. Cuba Gooding Jr.s trial has finally begun Gooding was originally supposed to stand trial in April 2020. However, with the coronavirus pandemic, courtrooms faced extended lockdowns. The case experienced multiple delays, and a motion filed to dismiss the case, which was denied. After nearly two years, Gooding finally received a court date in April 2022. Gooding entered a guilty plea to forcibly touching a woman, which is a misdemeanor charge in New York. According to CNN, the terms of Goodings plea agreement is that he must continue with current behavior modification treatment for alcohol. The actor must not have any further arrests within the next six months. Following successful completion of the terms, he will be able to re-plead down to an even lesser charge of harassment with a sentence of time already served. According to Assistant District Attorney Colleen Balbert, Gooding has been in counseling since September 2019 and is continuing with counseling to make sure that he does not re-offend. Famous men whove experienced similar allegations NEW: Harvey Weinstein's cronies are still making millions off of Weinstein company properties, a @RollingStone investigation reveals.https://t.co/wZhPcIcQiQ Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) April 21, 2022 Gooding is not the only prominent entertainer whos been accused of sexual misconduct. There have been many men, though not all of them have faced off with accusers in court. However, some have been sentenced with harsher punishments than Gooding. One of the most prominent cases over the past few years was that of Bill Cosby, once dubbed Americas Dad, for accusations of sexual misconduct spanning decades. While he was sentenced for one of those incidents, he ended up getting released after his conviction was overturned and served less than three years of his sentence. Another major player in Hollywood who had to face accusations of sexual misconduct was Harvey Weinstein. The prominent producer was accused of multiple acts against women and stood trial for some of these allegations. He ended up with a 23-year prison sentence after a multi-million dollar settlement for his victims was rejected. RELATED: The True Story Of The Man Who Inspired The Movie, Radio, Starring Cuba Gooding Jr. Josh Duggars sentencing appears to be going forward after Judge Timothy L. Brooks granted the defense a postponement. Originally set for early April, the sentencing will now be held on May 25. Ahead of the delay, the prosecution submitted a standard investigation report. The report included a victim impact statement. A victim submitted an impact statement ahead of Josh Duggars sentencing According to KNWA, a local news station, one of Joshs victims provided the prosecution with an impact statement ahead of sentencing. The statement was one of two addenda the prosecution submitted to the court on March 18. The identity of the victim remains unknown. In theory, one of the Duggars Josh victimized when he was a teen could have submitted the statement. Joshs fifth molestation victim could have also provided a statement. The identity of that victim remains unknown to the public. Members of the Duggar familys social circle are reportedly aware of their identity. The fifth victim is not related to the Duggars, according to insiders. Its also possible that one of the victims that appeared in the child sexual abuse images that Josh downloaded could have provided an impact statement to the courts. The identity of those victims remains confidential, as well. Josh Duggar speaks during the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) | Kris Connor/Getty Images According to the United States Department of Justice, a victim impact statement is always filed under seal. They are not considered part of the public court records. Any identifying information included in the statement is redacted in court records. The defense, defendant, prosecution, and judge all have the opportunity to read victim impact letters, though. Several Duggar family members sat through the trial While Josh Duggars sentencing wont take place for another month, family followers are already questioning which family members will be on hand at the sentencing. Several family members sat through the entirety of the trial and could possibly appear at the upcoming court date, too. Joshs wife, Anna Duggar, was at the courthouse daily, as were Derick Dillard and Austin Forsyth. Derick married Jill Dillard in 2014. Austin married Joy-Anna Forsyth in 2017. Josh molested both sisters when he was a teen. Jill and Joy-Anna appeared as well, although neither sat through the entirety of the trial. Jinger Vuolo did not travel from California for the trial. She was also one of Joshs victims. Jim Bob Duggar appeared at the courthouse during the trial. Joshs siblings Jason Duggar, Justin Duggar, and Jana Duggar, all sat in on the proceedings at various points. Reporters did not spy Michelle Duggar, Joshs mother, at the trial. Michelle remained out of public sight in the months leading up to the trial and several weeks after the conviction. She has just recently resurfaced at a handful of social events. How long will Josh Duggar spend in prison? Josh might have been found guilty on both charges in December 2021, but it has taken several months for the judge to review the case. On May 25, hell decide just how long Josh will spend behind bars. While the judge has the final say, he will use minimum sentences, maximum sentences, and guidelines to ensure a fair sentencing. Josh Duggar | Washington County Sheriffs Office via Getty Images When federal marshals arrested Josh in April 2021, they charged him two different crimes. The jury found him guilty on both, but he wont serve consecutive sentences. According to legal expert and YouTuber Emily D. Baker, only the more serious charge will factor into his sentencing. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Several legal experts note that a 20-year prison stint is unlikely as Josh is a first-time offender. According to Richard Hornsby, federal guidelines suggest prison terms for first-time offenders between 33 and 41 months. The guideline is a suggestion before aggravating factors are considered. Factors, including the nature of the images, the age of the victims, and the number of images possessed by the defendant, can all affect the length of a sentence. Several legal experts have suggested that Josh could face between eight and 12 years behind bars. Once Josh is sentenced, federal agents will move him to a federal facility. He has been held at a local detention center since his conviction. Josh will likely serve his prison term at a detention center outside of the state of Arkansas. How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support. RELATED: Duggar Family Followers Debate Just How Much Anna Duggar Knew About Joshs Charges Before His Arrest There is no shortage of show business stories about television actors who seemed wonderful on-screen but were surprisingly difficult to deal with off-screen (Brady Bunch actor Robert Reed comes to mind). In the case of Leave It to Beavers Barbara Billingsley, this was not the case at all, according to actor Jerry Mathers, who portrayed her son Beaver Cleaver on the series. In fact, he says, she was just as nice as June Cleaver. Left to right: Tony Dow, Barbara Billingsley, and Jerry Mathers of Leave It to Beaver | Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty Images The actor began her role of June Cleaver as a widow in real life Much like June Cleaver, Billingsley was married with two sons when she learned about the role that would make her famous, she told the Television Academy Foundation (TAF). In the pilot, The Beverly Hillbillies actor Buddy Ebsen originally played Ward Cleaver and the show was not called Leave It to Beaver, but Its a Small World. Billingsley confessed that while she was auditioning: I remember thinking, this is the dumbest thing Ive ever done, Im wasting their time. Because my husband and I were going to Spain, where he was directing a picture, she recalled. That was a Thursday. Her husband at that time, film director Roy Kellino, died soon after their trip of a heart attack, Billingsley recalled: I lost him on that Saturday. And about six months later, I got a call from my agent [for Leave It to Beaver]. Mathers said Billingsley was just like June Cleaver Billingsleys Leave It to Beaver son Jerry Mathers in his own conversation with TAF, revealed that (next to his own mother) Billingsley, who died in 2010, was a very tight runner-up when it came to mother figures in his life. She is the nicest lady, he said. My mother of course is always No. 1 in my heart but Barbara Billingsley is very, very close because she is just so nice and she exemplifies being a lady. She is just the perfect lady, always so nice. Shes as nice as youd think she would be if you met her, as she is on the screen. I fondly remember Barbara Billingsley, my good friend and mentor, on this her 101st birthday. She was always so upbeat, charming, and the perfect role model. #LeaveittoBeaver pic.twitter.com/Pmqlzl6kN8 Jerry Mathers (@TheJerryMathers) December 22, 2017 Billingsley will forever be known as June Cleaver Mathers continued, lovingly recalling the actor who played his mother on the pioneering television series: Barbara Billingsley was a New York model, he said. She had worked in a few other things but she was a very, very lovely New York model that came to Leave It to Beaver. For her part, Billingsley in her interview defended June Cleaver, saying that, although some viewers might have considered Mrs. Cleaver an unrealistic portrait of an American mom, she really was just like most regular mothers. She used to get teed off with the children, Billingsley said of her classic show character. She didnt always refer to the father as far as punishing was concerned. But she was a loving, happy, stay-at-home mom, which I think is great. RELATED: How a Glass of Water Got Leave It to Beaver Star Jerry Mathers Noticed by Alfred Hitchcock Celebrity chef Lidia Bastianichs baby kale-centric Caesar Salad fits the bill for a warm-weather meal. Top it off with her flavorful focaccia croutons and its absolute perfection. Heres how the public television host makes this hearty dish. Lidia Bastianich | Rick Kern/WireImage Bastianich on the popularity of Caesar Salad at her restaurants On her website, Lidias Italy where youll find the complete recipe, the chef wrote of this salad being one of the most in-demand dishes at her eateries. Caesar salad was one of the most popular things on the menus at my first two restaurants, she wrote. It is familiar and much loved, but here I add some kale for diversity and flavor. All of the components of this saladthe romaine, the kale, and the dressingcan be prepared beforehand, and kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to dress the salad, just before serving. For those Caesar Salad purists who prefer the classic dish as it was originally prepared, Bastianich adds, You can use all romaine for a more traditional Caesar, if you prefer. Lidia Bastianichs Caesar Salad recipe is a quick weeknight meal With drained oil-packed anchovy fillets, hard-cooked egg yolks, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic cloves, chopped romaine hearts, baby kale, and grated Grana Padano cheese, this salad comes together easily and quickly. Caesar salad has become so popular, everybody loves it, Bastianich said on her YouTube video, above, for this recipe. But Id like to give you a little different version; well make Caesar Salad with baby kale. Its easy, its delicious, and, you know, maybe more contemporary of the times, if you will. Anchovies give Bastianichs Caesar Salad dressing its zing The chef departs from traditional Caesar Salad even further here with her preparation of the dressing, which is usually made with raw egg yolk. In a food processor, she places raw garlic cloves, the cooked yolk of two eggs (It really kind of emulsifies the Caesar Salad), the mustard, lemon juice, and white wine vinegar. Lidia Bastianich here makes a traditional Caesar Salad. What gives the flavor to all this is the anchovies, she adds. The anchovies join the other ingredients in the food processor. You dont have to cut them. Oil is added as the processor blends everything to give it kind of that creaminess. Bastianich notes to be careful as you pour the dressing over the lettuces: Im confident that it will need all of this dressing. But otherwise, you know, put it in a little pouring cup and you can always add. Once you have the dressing added, you cant take it back. But you can always add, so always hold back some of the dressing. Its all tossed together with the greens, croutons, and grated cheese. The focaccia croutons are easily made by cutting day-old focaccia into pieces, toasting them in the oven until theyre nice and crunchy, and setting them aside to cool. Its delicious, Bastianich says of the salad. The combination of the romaine and the kale with the caesar dressing, really good. RELATED: Lidia Bastianich on the Role Julia Child Played in Her Success: She Was Such a Grand Lady When Dolly Parton isnt spending her time writing music or acting in films, shes focusing on philanthropy. Parton has a reputation as a kind and generous celebrity, and she likes putting her time and money where her mouth is. Over the years, she has worked on various causes, from education to animal welfare to public health. Here are just some of the causes that Parton has thrown her weight behind. Dolly Parton | Jim Dyson/Getty Images Dolly Parton launched the Buddy Program in her hometown Partons Dollywood Foundation has helped fund many different programs. The Buddy Program is one of them. In the early 1990s, Parton wanted to tackle the high dropout rate in Sevier County, where she grew up. At an assembly for seventh and eighth graders, Parton told students that if they graduated high school with their chosen or assigned buddy, she would write each student a check for $500. Per her Imagination Library, the dropout rate for those two classes dropped from 35% to 6%. The initiative also encouraged the community to focus on increasing graduation rates. She houses bald eagles at Dollywood Parton is also helping protect bald eagles from extinction. We have an eagle sanctuary at Dollywood, where we take injured eagles, nurture them, and release them back into the wild, she wrote in her book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. Back when we started it, bald eagles were beginning to be extinct. Weve helped to get it back to where they arent so scarce anymore. Good news! One eaglet hatched at Dollywood's Eagle Mountain Sanctuary on April 12. You can watch this eagle family live through this link: https://t.co/14MMbtIutm pic.twitter.com/2051kue2sE Dollywood Parks & Resorts (@Dollywood) April 17, 2020 The center works to rescue eagles. If they cannot be released back into the wild, they stay at Dollywood. A 2023 expansion of the sanctuary will also include a way station for migrating monarch butterflies. Dolly Parton provides children with books through her Imagination Library In 1995, Parton started her Imagination Libary. The monthly program mails free books to children under the age of five. It began as a way to foster a love of reading in Sevier County children. Since then, it has expanded throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Parton began the program for her father, who could not read. We never thought it would be this big, she told NPR. I just wanted to do something great for my dad and for my home county and, at the most, maybe a couple of counties over. But then it just took wings of its own, and I guess it was meant to be. She helped fund a new hospital in Sevier County In 2007, Parton performed at a benefit concert to raise money for the LeConte Medical Center. Per Billboard, the show raised $500,000, with an additional $500,000 coming from Dollywood and the Dixie Stampede dinner theater. The hospital opened in 2010 and includes the Dolly Parton Center for Womens Services. LeConte Medical Center celebrated 10 years of being open today. pic.twitter.com/OK2KjnBgsd Kyle Grainger WVLT (@KyleGrainger) February 27, 2020 Dolly Parton aided Tennessee families after devastating wildfires In 2016, eastern Tennessee sustained damage after wildfires swept through the area. To help those displaced by the disaster, Parton launched the My People Fund. The program promised $1,000-per-month stipends to all affected families. The stipends lasted for six months, with the families receiving $5,000 in the final month. It also raised scholarship funds for students who lost their homes in the fires. We started the distribution in December right around the longest night of the year and I know it felt dark and lonely for so many, Parton said, per NPR. But here we are in spring, a time for renewal and a time for hope. I know the money helps but most of all I want people to know we will always provide you a shoulder to lean on. She donated money to fund coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine research Most recently, Parton pledged $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Centers coronavirus research. The money helped fund research into the Moderna vaccine. When I donated the money to the Covid fund I just wanted it to do good and evidently, it is! Lets just hope we can find a cure real soon. pic.twitter.com/dQgDWexO0C Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) November 17, 2020 Im just happy that anything I do can help somebody else, she told Today. And when I donated the money to the COVID fund, I just wanted it to do good, and evidently it is! And lets just hope we find a cure real soon. RELATED: 9 to 5: How Dolly Parton Changed an Entire Movie Crew, According to Jane Fonda TL;DR: Peacock tweeted a deleted scene from The Office on Pretzel Day 2022 The clip featured Michael (Steve Carell) and Stanley (Leslie David Baker) eating pretzels National Pretzel Day falls on April 26 every year The Office: Steve Carell and Leslie David Baker in Initiation | Photo by Justin Lubin/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Happy Pretzel Day! Peacock celebrated the holiday by sharing a deleted scene from the Initiation episode of The Office. In the episode, a pretzel stand is set up at the business park where Dunder Mifflin is located. Michael and Stanely are forced to stand in line all day waiting for their pretzels. Pretzel Day deleted scene from The Office Initiation, the fifth episode of The Office Season 3, aired on Oct. 19, 2006. The episode primarily focuses on Dwight initiating Ryan into the sales team by making him do challenges at Dwights farm. Other storylines revolve around Michael and Stanley connecting over their shared love of Pretzel Day and Pam re-connecting with Jim, who moved to Stamford, Connecticut, following the events of the second seasons finale. At Dunder Mifflin Scranton, Michaels productivity suffers. Jan asks Pam to keep a list of all the things Michael does in one day. Unfortunately, the day in question happens to fall on National Pretzel Day. Free pretzels are given out to all the workers at the office, but the line is long. Michael and Stanley wait in line until they can get their free pretzels. The pair, who are usually at odds with each other, bond over their shared love of pretzels, Pretzel Day, and stopping others from cutting the line. In the deleted clip, Michael and Stanley eat their pretzels together outside the office. Stanley even makes a Thats what she said joke. How did this clip not make it into the episode? When each episode has to be cut down to 22 minutes, the editors leave out good scenes. The clip ends with Stanley saying, 364 days, til the next Pretzel Day. Watch the deleted scene from Twitter below. A #PretzelDay deleted scene felt necessary today. Every RT gets Stanley another . pic.twitter.com/eEX43xNrnl Peacock (@peacockTV) April 26, 2022 Pretzel Day is a real holiday in the United States If youre wondering if Pretzel Day is a real holiday, you came to the right place! Yes, National Pretzel Day is a real holiday in the United States. National Pretzel Day happens every year on April 26. In fact, you can even get free pretzels like Michael and Stanley. According to CNET, free pretzels are available at a variety of pretzels shops, including Auntie Annes, Wetzels Pretzels, Philly Pretzel Factory, and Bens Soft Pretzels. The Pretzel Day storyline in The Office was inspired by a real event Like so many of the storylines on The Office, the Pretzel Day storyline was also inspired by a real event. BJ Novak revealed on the Office Ladies Podcast in 2020 that the writers toured office parks and witnessed a variation of Pretzel Day. Novak didnt reveal exactly when and where it happened, but it gave the writers an idea that later became the storyline in Initiation. You can watch Initiation and all other episodes of The Office on Peacock right now. RELATED: The Office: Fans Favorite Stanley Line About Pretzel Day Wasnt the Original Line in the Script Visakhapatnam: Amid the recital of vedic hymns, idols of Rama, Seetha and Lakshman were consecrated at Kodanda Rama temple atop Bodikonda hills in Ramateertham in Nelimerla mandal of Vizianagaram district, about 70 km from Visakhapatnam on Monday. The temple drew national attention when the idol of Lord Rama was decapitated on 30 December 2020. The State government was quick in announcing Rs 3 crore for construction of the idols, basic infrastructure at the temple and the road to the hilltop. Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Endowments Kottu Satyanarayana, Minister for Education Botsa Satyanarayana, ZP chairperson Majji Srinivasa Rao, MLCs and local MLAs were present. The head priests of TTD and Dwaraka Tirumala and the main priest of the Ramateertha Temple K. Sairamachartyulu performed the special pujas and yagam. Speaking to the media on the occasion the endowment minister Satyanarayana said the government proved its commitment by completing the temple works and installation and the consecration of the idols before the scheduled time. Some vested interests vandalized Hindu temples in several parts of the state two years ago and they tried to slur the image of the YSRC government, the minister said. Regarding destruction of idols at Ramateertham, the minister said the investigation into the incident was going on and very soon the culprits would be arrested. Minister for Education Botsa Satyanarayana said he had proposed to the chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to conduct Ramanavami festival as the state festival from next year onwards. The celebration of Navami at Ramateertham is similar to the traditional events being held at Bhadrachalam, Botsa said. The ministers later felicitated the engineers who completed the temple work in record time. Selena Gomez has been getting a lot of praise and attention for her role in Only Murders in the Building. Gomez plays the part of Mabel Mora on the Hulu original. However, many of her fans have followed the actor since Disney Channels Wizards of Waverly Place. It is safe to say a lot has happened since then, on and off the screen. Selena Gomez has recently earned praise for opening up about her bipolar diagnosis and her work advocating and shedding light on mental health. Selena Gomez shared her bipolar diagnosis US singer Selena Gomez arrives for the 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on February 27, 2022. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) Gomez has always been open and candid about her medical journey. Back in 2014, the star faced a lupus diagnosis. The condition forced Gomez to undergo a kidney transplant. Things have been far from easy for the well-known actor. In 2020, while speaking on Miley Cyrus Instagram show, Gomez opened up to the public about her bipolar diagnosis. The actor explained, Recently, I went to one of the best mental hospitals in America, McLean Hospital, and I discussed that, after years of going through a lot of different things, I realized that I was bipolar. Gomez went on to add, When I go to know more information, it actually helps me. It doesnt scare me once I know it I wanted to know everything about it, and it took the fear away. That perspective and level of vulnerability have gained the star a tremendous amount of support, respect, and followers. Since then, Gomez continues to speak out on the mental disorder and why her diagnosis provided her with so much relief. One tip Gomez has shared that has helped her is being able to take breaks from social media. Selena Gomez co-founded Wondermind The news is out! We are so excited to unveil the building of our mental fitness ecosystem to the world. Selena, Mandy, and Daniella https://t.co/IN9fZl6uK1 Wondermind (@letswondermind) November 18, 2021 Gomezs latest project is a true testimony to her character and vision. This past year she has launched Wondermind, a community centered around mental health and mental fitness. Alongside her mom, Mandy Teefey, and Daniella Pierson, Gomez has created a space for people to understand better what mental health can look like. Wonderminds co-founders explained, Weve each had our own mental health struggles, and we realized there was no inclusive, fun, and easy place where people could come together to explore, discuss, and navigate their feelings. So we created it. Welcome to Wondermind. Through practice and routines, tangible tools, and vulnerable conversations, Wondermind is eliminating stigmas while changing the face of mental health. Gomezs fans and followers probably arent too surprised that the trailblazer would promote a project so close to her and her heart. Other celebrities who have revealed their bipolar diagnosis One of Gomezs, and Wonderminds, goals was to help people realize they are not alone. All too often, medical conditions such as anxiety and depression are treated as taboo subjects. Gomez is one of the most celebrities to make the headlines and media for her bipolar diagnosis. But she is by no means the only one. Kanye West, Pete Davidson, and even Gomezs former friend, Demi Lovato, are just a few other famous names who have opened up about living with a bipolar diagnosis. RELATED: Selena Gomez Shuts Down Body Shamers After Revealing Fast Food Order: I Dont Care About My Weight Suzanne Somers, known for playing Chrissy Snow in the groundbreaking ABC sitcom Threes Company credits John Ritter for creating the series magic. She recounted how iconic her character became in the world of pop culture, sharing how being fired from the series was one of her biggest regrets. Chemistry was magical between Suzanne Somers and John Ritter It was a magical time in the television era, she said on the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast. I think there was a chemistry between Suzanne Sommers and John Ritter that was magical. And Joyce Dewitt didnt enjoy this role, but she was the setup person for Chrissy and Jack to spar. Joyce Dewitt, John Ritter, and Suzanne Somers | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images It was easy to understand, she reflected. It was simple. I was in Israel and people are saying that they learned English watching Threes Company. I was with prime minister Netanyahu last spring. And he said, I know all about the books, but Ive been watching you for 25 years. He said there was one television station in Israel and it was Threes Company. So its been all over the world Chrissy Snow to me, I think of her as different from me. Shes appealing. Shes a woman child. Somers added, She has a circuitous route to logic. She never tells a lie, shed never steal your husband or boyfriend or girlfriend or anybody. So theres some people who felt protective of her. Suzanne Somers regrets getting fired from Threes Company Somers said she doesnt have many regrets in life but one. My only regret was getting fired from Threes Company, she said. I seemed to get fired a whole lot. I asked to be paid what the men were being paid at that time because all the men were making 10 to 15 times more than I was on lesser shows. Including John was making so much more money than me, she remarked. So when my contract was up, we went to the producers and they wanted to put a stop to Laverne And Shirley. And so they had decided before I even walked into that lawyers meeting that we have to stop this. So we take the biggest female star on television and fire her to stop all the other actresses from having the audacity. This month marks the 45th anniversary of #ThreesCompanys first episode starring John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt and an unknown girl from San Bruno, California! #TBT It was 1977 and I had no idea at the time full post: https://t.co/2oaGTyO55N pic.twitter.com/xnAmxhXO4m Suzanne Somers (@SuzanneSomers) March 24, 2022 So I was so sad to be fired from that show because I loved the job, but I was particularly sad that I didnt get to finish the character of Chrissy Snow, she said. I had so much more I was going to do with her and have her grow and become something that no one would ever forget. But maybe it was enough. Maybe theyll never forget her. Maybe it was enough. And clearly had I stayed on that show, I would have continued doing sitcoms, but I wouldnt have done all these other things, which I think are pretty valuable. So in the big picture from 350 feet, with perspective, I think its all gone as it should have, she concluded. RELATED: Johnny Carson Told Suzanne Somers She Looked Like F***ing Cream Is a Threes Company revival possible? Somers mused about a return to the hit series, even though Ritter died in 2003. She considered a new Threes Company using a hologram for Ritter and his son in real life playing Jack and Chrissys son. I had suggested a show where you would imagine that Chrissy snow and Jack Tripper eventually got married and they had a child and the child was Jason Ritter, she said. And I had suggested this to Jasons people and that the show would be me and Jason, but that John would appear as a hologram because itd be like he was back and alive, but Jason doesnt want to do anything reminiscent of what his father did. So that kind of went out of the way. That was the last time I got kinda turned on by thinking about doing a series again. RELATED: Threes Company Actor Blames Suzanne Somers Husband for Her Termination After a 2-year break due to the pandemic, SCDF's Fire Stations Open House are BACK! Starting from this Saturday, 30 April 2022, 17 Fire Stations around Singapore will be opened to the public every Saturday in two time slots from 9.00am to 9.50am and 10.00am to 10.50am. If you are visiting in group sizes of less than 10 pax, walk-ins are allowed. No pre-booking of slots required. What to expect at the Fire Station Open House? Kids (and adults) will be able to meet the SCDF firefighters and paramedics, and learn more on how SCDF responds to emergencies. In addition, kids will get the chance to get up close and learn more about SCDF's fleet of emergency vehicles. Who knows? They may get a chance to clamber onto a real fire engine or even spray the water hose too! Which was what Ash did eons ago. The listed fire stations with Open House are: Alexandra Fire Station (3 Queensway S149073) Ang Mo Kio Fire Station (2874 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 9 S569783) Bishan Fire Station (1 Marymount Lane S574029) Bukit Batok Fire Station (80 Bukit Batok Road S658072) Central Fire Station (62 Hill Street S179367) Changi Fire Station (491 Upper Changi Road S468965) Clementi Fire Station (Commonwealth Avenue West S129577) Jurong Fire Station (22 Jurong West Street 26, S648126) Kallang Fire Station (2 Guillemard Close, S397623) Marina Bay Fire Station (70 Marina View, S018962) Paya Lebar Fire Station (91 Ubi Avenue 4, S408827) Punggol Fire Station (151 Punggol Central S828727) Sengkang Fire Station (50 Buangkok Drive S545064) Tampines Fire Station (1 Tampines Industrial Avenue 3 S528777) Tuas Fire Station (7 Tuas Road S638483) Woodlands Fire Station (1 Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 2 S738782) Yishun Fire Station (533 Yishun Industrial Park, A S768774) For groups of 10 or more, please register for the visit at this link . Do note that the maximum number of pax for each group booking is 40 pax. IMPORTANT INFORMATION SCDF Fire Stations Open House Dates: Every Saturday (from 30 April 2022 onwards) Timings: Two time slots from 9.00am to 9.50am AND 10.00am to 10.50am Venue: Refer to list of Fire Stations above Cost: FREE *No pre-booking required if you are visiting in group sizes of less than 10 pax Celine Cortes, a Ph.D. student in the School of Biomedical Sciences Anatomy and Vertebrate Paleontology track at OSU-CHS, helps students at the Cherokee Nation Immersion School identify fossils at a simulated dig site at their school. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close A few months back, Cheshire resident and long-time birder Anne McNulty made an exciting discovery: a Eurasian Tree Sparrow was visiting her bird feeder. McNulty and her husband Henry have a summer home in Old Saybrook, and thats where the sighting took place. I had no idea, and admit that I was naive and somewhat clueless when I first saw the bird, said McNulty. The lightbulb went off soon after, as McNulty flipped through a copy of the Sibley Guide to Birds. Inside was a picture of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. That was my bird, she said. The website allaboutbirds.org states: In late April 1870, a shipment of European birds from Germany was released in St. Louis, Missouri, in order to provide familiar bird species for newly-settled European immigrants. The shipment included 12 hardy Eurasian Tree Sparrows. These chestnut-capped, white-cheeked arrivals prospered in the hedges and woodlots of the region, ultimately spreading through northeastern Missouri, west-central Illinois, and southeastern Iowa. Unlike its relative, the House Sparrow, it is not a bird of cities, instead using farms and lightly wooded residential areas. When the Eurasian Tree Sparrow next came to the feeder outside her kitchen window, McNulty managed to get a photo of it and promptly posted it online. Within minutes, Matt Bell of The Connecticut Audubon Society commented on the photo, and less than hour later, Bell and several other birders were at McNultys home to see the sparrow in-person. McNulty said Phil Rusch, co-secretary of the Connecticut Ornithological Association, also came out to see the bird. And in an email from the Avian Records Committee of Connecticut, the group said it unanimously accepted McNultys Eurasian Tree Sparrow sighting as a natural vagrant to the state and listed it as the 450th species on the official state list. My reaction to seeing the bird was twofold, McNulty said. I felt incredibly lucky that he chose my feeder to visit and I was proud to think that I recognized that it was different from the house sparrows and didnt just leave it at that. On the other hand, if I hadnt just happened to be looking in the guide and chanced to see the picture, I might have let it go at that. Also, McNulty gave a shout-out to her neighbors in Old Saybrook who she said were extremely tolerant of the many folks with binoculars and long-lenses congregating on their street. Revanth criticised BJP state president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who is currently on a padayatra in Assembly constituencies where the Congress is strong. (DC) Karimnagar: TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy visited Karimnagar district as part of the preparatory programme of party leader Rahul Gandhis public meeting in Warangal on May 6. Revanth Reddy accompanied by the personal security team of Rahul Gandhi paid a visit to Hanamkonda district and inspected a private school ground and Arts and Science college ground in Hanamkonda along with a parking area, helipad and arrangements to made for providing meals. Later, speaking to press persons, Revanth Reddy said that TRS was a dongala party (party of thieves) and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao was more dangerous than a poisonous snake. Congress will not even tolerate it if KCRs shadow falls on it. If the Congress joins hands with the TRS, then the BJP will be considered the main Opposition party in the state. Why will the Congress take a decision which will create a huge loss for it, he asked. The TPCC chief also criticised BJP state president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who is currently on a padayatra in Assembly constituencies where the Congress is strong. Sanjay must declare what developmental works he has taken up for the people of Karimnagar who had elected him MP and sent to Parliament, Revanth Reddy said. In the initial stages, Sanjay created a ruckus by complaining against illegal mining business that is rampant in Karimnagar district but after getting his share of money he turned silent, Revanth Reddy alleged. Events such as pandemics are major psychological stressors that are often not equally distributed, especially with the most vulnerable amongst us being disproportionately affected. There is a need to show compassion to those amongst us who experience unspeakable suffering during times of loss. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on families and societies. Poor vulnerable communities around the world with magnified vulnerabilities such as under-resourced health systems, housing problems, extreme poverty and high rates of unemployment have been severely affected by the impact of the ongoing pandemic. Most refugees and migrants were separated from their loved ones due to travel and lockdown restrictions, and some of them were not able to access the host countrys government financial support packages which, in most cases, are only available for citizens. Not to mention those amongst us living with chronic illness and are at high risk due to immune disorders. There is evidence to suggest that the pandemic and associated lockdowns have disproportionately affected the most vulnerable amongst us, who are more susceptible to poorer mental health, loneliness, and heightened levels of suffering. The loss of resources among these vulnerable people is the primary operating mechanism driving the stress reactions and suffering that arise in such circumstances. The resources can be economic (e.g., jobs, financial security), physical (e.g., access to healthcare and exercise), interpersonal (e.g., intimate and social relationships), and psychological (e.g., a sense of control over ones life and a sense of purpose). Compared to those in wealthier and more affluent areas, vulnerable people in low-income and under-resourced communities not only entered the pandemic with fewer resources (e.g., employment, social security, quality healthcare, and housing) but also lost a greater proportion of the resources they had due to more stringent lockdowns and greater job losses. Love your neighbor as yourself How can we respond to these vulnerable communities and people in those contexts experiencing loss and suffering? How can we help them safeguard against the conditions that made them susceptible to loss in the first place? The satisfying answer to these two questions can be found in the second greatest commandment to Love your neighbor as yourself. This commandment was first seen in Leviticus 19:18 and then used by Jesus in the Synoptic accounts of Mathew (22:39), Mark (12:31), and Luke (10:27). We also see Apostle Paul using the same words in his epistles (e.g., Gal 5:14; Romans 13:9). The instruction to love our neighbor has a broader implication for Christians, as we reflect on how to respond to our neighbors in a time of loss and suffering. As the world begins to recover from the pandemic, there is a Christian, moral, political and economic imperative to love our neighbors. A Christ-centered response to COVID-related loss would be one that is rooted in the teachings of Christ to love our neighbor. The Samaritan and Sternbergs Love Triangle ...the parable teaches us that the Good Samaritan showed a better intimacy. According to psychologist Robert J. Sternberg, love is about intimacy, passion, and commitment. Intimacy is the feeling of closeness to our neighbors and aims to strengthen the bond we share with them. Yet, the parable teaches us that the Good Samaritan showed a better intimacy. He makes a neighbor out of a stranger, rather than the regular neighbor that the Priest and the Levi are willing to help. The better Samaritan would seek redemptive intimacy with people of differing economic, racial, and religious backgrounds. Yet such intimacy is impossible without a Christ kind-of-like passion. Passion, ordinarily, is a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for a cause or a neighbor. But Christs passion is exemplified in His intimacy with our strange human nature, such that we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched by the feelings of our infirmities (Heb. 4:15). A better Samaritans passion is directed in a significant measure towards those who dont look or live like them for God commends His love towards us in that when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Roman 5:8). Commitment, on the other hand, involves a conscious decision to stick with one another, irrespective of the situation. Love, then, is a commitment to building intentional relationships with others, an excitement about the welfare of others, and a promise to protect and stand by one another. The Better Samaritan exemplified this, when he took the robbed and wounded man off the roadside, found a suitable clinic and caregiver for him, paid his bills, and promised to return to check on Him. Thats commitment! Sternbergs three principles of love are essential to understanding how we can effectively respond to our neighbors in a time of loss and suffering. Building meaningful relationships Love has to start with intimacy. This implies the ability to genuinely reach out to the vulnerable amongst us who are suffering due to the compounded effect of loss of resources to covid. Intimacy in the context of Christian relations can be expressed through social support - a psychosocial resource that is accessed in the context of interpersonal relationships and within ones social network. Research generally shows that social support reduces negative emotions in times of adversity, promotes wellbeing, and influences the neural regulation of stress responses during difficult conditions. Churches have an opportunity to build meaningful intimate communities that help facilitate a process of recovery. The goal here would be to understand how the pandemic has impacted those that may have been overlooked due to their socioeconomic and health inequalities. Such a support system can help the most vulnerable amongst us to cope with pandemic-related stressors. Though it is not immediately clear how social support influences wellbeing, the most likely explanation would be that it keeps peoples reactivity to stress relatively low through a positive appraisal of the potential stressors in the context of close relationships. Expressing enthusiasm Beyond building intimate communities of faith there is a moral imperative to be passionate about the cause of loving our neighbors. It is not enough to identify with the suffering of others without being a part of their journey toward wholeness. What good is a relationship if it lacks depth? A superficial relationship is one that is only on the surface, often because of the need to please others. This is not love. It is false pretense. It is pride looking for glory by masking as love. In the words of Apostle Paul, Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). The excitement that comes from loving one another, especially the most vulnerable amongst us, comes with an enduring passion of long suffering for the sake of seeing others thrive and flourish. Our job is not yet done until we see the most vulnerable succeed and regain the resources lost to covid. Unflinching commitment to love In order to hang on to that binary thread of hope and enthusiasm for the sake of a neighbors welfare, we need commitment to the cause of love. The commitment process in loving our neighbor can help support the psychological recovery of those who have experienced great suffering due to covid, as they build the spiritual resilience and fortitude to withstand the wiles of loss. Most importantly, such commitment must see them through to becoming better followers of Jesus through an intentional discipleship process that seeks to love people with purpose and lead them into a deeper relationship with Christ. Love is the nature of God's outflowing affection. It is an invitation to develop a genuine, meaningful relationship with the most vulnerable amongst us. It is the genuine enthusiasm to love our regular and remote neighbors in times of suffering and loss as Christ would, and a commitment to see the weak amongst us stand strong. If Christ were to walk the earth today, I am sure that his response to Covid would be to love the most vulnerable, and so should you. The Better Samaritan blog is produced by the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, a research institute which specializes in resilience and spiritual fortitude. To learn more and apply for a M.A. in Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership, visit our website Victor Counted, PhD., is an interdisciplinary psychological scientist and incoming associate professor in the School of Psychology and Counselling at Regent University. He is also a faculty affiliate of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and fellow of Western Sydney Universitys School of Psychology. His work examines how various aspects of psychosocial and psychospiritual resources shape health and well-being across cultures. He can be found online at www.vcounted.com or on Facebook and Twitter @VCounted. Grove City College insists its not going woke. A new report from the conservative Christian college in Pennsylvania denounced school-sponsored courses and trainings they say promoted CRT concepts and characterized inviting historian Jemar Tisby to speak at a 2020 chapel service as a mistake. Grove City College has not changed, a committee composed largely of Grove City board members said in the report released last week. It remains a Christ-centered, conservative institution. The report, a product of the committees assignment to ascertain any mission drift at the college, recommends re-adding the word conservative to the schools mission statement after it was removed in 2021 and lists remedial actions to curb the promotion of critical race theory at the school. These actions include replacing an education course accused of promoting pop-CRT, rebranding the schools Office of Multicultural Education and Initiatives, and exercising increased scrutiny of guest speakers and student trainings. Tisby, The New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise and How to Fight Racism, told Religion News Service the report uses CRT as a junk drawer for anything about race or justice that makes a certain type of person feel uncomfortable. Because of the rhetoric around CRT, he said, much needed conversations about racial justice are being muted in the environments where they are needed most, such as Christian colleges and universities. Others found the report encouraging. Megan Basham, an author at conservative news outlet The Daily Wire, tweeted that it offered a straight-forward, honest assessment, and said she appreciated its clarifying description of how CRT is incompatible with the schools mission. Well worth reading the entire report. Bravo! Matt Kennedy, rector at an Anglican church in Binghamton, New York, and his wife Anne Carlson Kennedy praised the report on their podcast. The best part of it is the description of critical race theory upfront, which is just one of the best short summaries of the problems of critical race theory Ive ever read, said Matt Kennedy. The report says critical race theory is incompatible with the schools vision, mission, and values because it evaluates people based on their race and antiracist works, cant be separated from political activism, uncharitably detects aggression where none is intended and sometimes demeans rational argument as itself racist and oppressive. The school, which has just 2,400 full-time students, was first accused of promoting critical race theory, an academic framework that sees racism as embedded in institutions and policies, in a November petition authored by Grove City parents and alumni. The petition alleged that this destructive and profoundly unbiblical worldview was asserted at the college in a fall 2020 chapel presentation by Tisby. The petition also called into question the chapel screening of a pre-recorded TED talk by Bryan Stevenson, an Equal Justice Initiative founder and criminal justice reform advocate; as well as a Resident Assistant training that invoked the concepts of white privilege and white guilt. Additionally, the petition decried several books used in an education studies class and in focus groups, including Ibram X. Kendis How To Be an Antiracist and Wheaton professor Esau McCaulleys Reading While Black. That initial petition triggered a flood of follow-up petitions, articles, and open letters debating whether the school had forsaken its traditional values. In February, the colleges board of trustees categorically rejected critical race theory and introduced a committee to investigate the allegations of mission-drift. Grove City College did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The report notes that Tisbys October 2020 chapel presentation is the chapel service that has drawn the most attention from critics. According to the report, most Grove City leaders interviewed said inviting Tisby to speak in chapel was a mistake due to what they described as his evolution. Most of those in GCC leadership with whom we spoke observed that the Jemar Tisby that we thought we invited in 2019 is not the Jemar Tisby that we heard in 2020 or that we now read about, the report stated, citing Tisbys short stint as assistant director of narrative and advocacy at Ibram X. Kendis Center for Antiracist Research and the progressive policies he advocates in his latest book as evidence of his transformation. Tisby told RNS that his convictions did not change between 2019 and 2020 what changed was the socio-political climate. The chapel in question, called The Urgency of Now, was a 21-minute sermon that drew parallels between the biblical story of Esther and the modern-day movement for racial justice. Tisby quoted Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech and letter from Birmingham Jail and called on those in attendance to engage in racial justice work. Many of you, unfortunately, are in the target demographic whom King called the white moderate,' Tisby said in the chapel. Tisby asked the listeners to fill your minds with an awareness of racial justice so that five, 10, 20 years from now, you dont have to say I never knew.' Tisby told RNS the allegations that his sermon promoted CRT are ludicrous. While the November petition charged Tisby with being an outspoken apologist for CRT, Tisby said he has never been trained in critical race theory. What most people, including compilers of this report, are calling critical race theory is not critical race theory, he said. My work is influenced by the study of history. It doesnt take a specific training in critical race theory to understand that racism is not simply a matter of personal prejudice but a matter of policy. The report also found that an educational course called Cultural Diversity and Advocacy effectively promoted pop-CRT because it offered readings such as Kendis How To Be an Antiracist, Robin DiAngelos White Fragility, and Ta-Nehisi Coatess Between the World and Me without a critical or opposing perspective. It found that the director of Multicultural Education and Initiatives promoted woke concepts in a book club and parroted CRT concepts in a training for Resident Assistants that criticized the concept of race neutrality. Warren Throckmorton, a professor of psychology at Grove City, said he doesnt have a lot of confidence in the reports findings because it offers a faulty definition of CRT. According to Throckmorton, the report says CRT embraces biological distinctions however, he said, CRT rejects biological distinctions because it sees race as socially constructed. He also pointed to a footnote that says: Our references to CRT include popular CRT-adjacent advocacy cloaked in the secular or religious language of social justice. That could be anything, couldnt it? asked Throckmorton. So when they say they found CRT, what did they really find? While the report promises not to ban books, Throckmorton said that promise has done little to reassure professors who are questioning if and how to teach on topics like health disparities or social justice in the classroom. Natalie Kahler, a Grove City alumna (94) who authored a March 8 petition asking the school not to inhibit discussions about racism on campus, told RNS shes worried the reports findings could lead to indoctrinating and not educating, especially given the fact that Grove City professors dont receive tenure and are given one-year contracts. If you create an environment where people are constantly afraid for their job, and are afraid something they might say could be interpreted as CRT because everybody is interpreting CRT in very different ways, theyre creating a culture where people arent going to be able to have hard conversations, said Khaler. In March, Jon Fea, professor of American history at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, wrote an article showing Grove Citys board chair, Edward D. Breen, has advocated for diversity, equity, and inclusion as CEO of the chemicals company DuPont. (I)s the Edward Breen who led the Grove City College Boards condemnation of critical race theory the same guy working for racial justice at DuPont? Fea asks. Another board member, David Forney, is pastor of a Charlottesville church and has offered a list of racial justice resources to his congregation on the church website, including TED Talks by Bryan Stevenson and the books How To Be an Antiracist and Between the World and Me, both of which the report characterized as promoting pop-CRT. I am puzzled that these resources are considered fine and helpful for a board member to recommend to his congregation but are considered off-mission for our faculty to assign as study resources for a college course, Throckmorton said in an email to RNS. Neither Breen nor Forney could be reached for comment. Tisby said that the CRT debate at Grove City points to a broader sorting in Christian higher education between schools working to be more racially and ethnically inclusive and those doubling down on appealing to a very small but loyal constituency that does not want to meaningfully engage with vital conversations around racism. On his podcast, Kennedy suggested that Grove City is exemplifying how other Christian organizations ought to approach CRT. Congregations, denominations, need to start seeing wokeness as a heresy, said Kennedy. He added that the language employed by especially Christian wokesters is very, very gospel-like. And so the unwary can be pulled-in and you have compassion on them. But the leaders of this thing, those people need to be driven out of the church. Tisby said Grove Citys response to CRT should be taken as a warning. (A)nyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, who speaks up for racial justice could be a victim of these kinds of attacks, Tisby said. And, I would say, these actions are all the more lamentable because they come out of Christian institutions. We follow a savior who said, You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But we have people who profess to be followers of Christ, who seem to be running from the truth about racism. Federal judge temporarily blocks Biden admin. from ending Title 42 border policy A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from ending Title 42 restrictions enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic aimed at limiting asylum seekers who can apply for protection at the U.S. and Mexico border. Judge Robert Summerhays, a Trump appointee, granted a motion for a temporary restraining order preventing the Biden administration from lifting Title 42 rules issued under the Trump administration in March 2020. A lawsuit against the administration's plan was filed by Missouri, Louisiana and Arizona. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced the restraining order on Monday. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention implemented the measure to limit the number of asylum seekers applying for protection at the U.S. and Mexico border. But the CDC announced its decision to end the order on April 1, with the Biden administration intending to implement the termination on May 23. "Today, the Court announced its intention to grant a temporary restraining order in Missouri, Louisiana, and Arizona's lawsuit against the Biden Administration over their planned suspension of Title 42," Schmitt wrote. "This temporary restraining order is expected to keep Title 42 in place until further court proceedings, a critical win for border security and the rule of law. My Office will continue to fight to secure the border and protect Missourians." Former Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan, who now serves as a visiting fellow at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, told The Christian Post the judge's ruling the right decision for health protection in this country." Homan believes Title 42 has been very successful in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and improving border security. The truth is we want to keep less infection from coming to the United States but also give border patrol more operational capability because when they close the borders, less people are coming, and that means border patrol ... can more than hold down the line, they're vigilant, to protect our national security, the former Trump administration official said. Several Democrats voiced opposition to lifting the public health directive, including Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly of Arizona. As Roll Call reported, the senators wrote in a March 24 letter to President Joe Biden that while Title 42 "should not be in effect indefinitely," it should remain in place until the administration implemented a better plan to process migrants' claims. The senators warned that abruptly ending a policy without a clear plan for replacing it would "significantly increase the strain on [Department of Homeland Security], border communities, and local nonprofits that are already near or at capacity." The senators also contend that the administration had not communicated with local government and community leaders in Arizona about changes to the policy. Last month when talking to reporters, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., also voiced opposition to lifting Title 42. "If anything we should be looking at permanency on Title 42," he said. "Maybe that would spur us to get a good immigration policy that works for Americans and secure our borders the borders have to be secure," he said. The progressive legal organization American Civil Liberties Union claimed in a March 29 statement that it believes Title 42 has been "misused as a border enforcement tool." "Our government has the tools it needs to safely screen people at the border, as our laws require, to determine whether they qualify for asylum or other humanitarian protections," the group wrote. "The CDC should resist any political interference from the White House and end Title 42 in its entirety." The CDC had voted to extend the Title 42 order in late January due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant. This past March, the CDC delayed implementing an order to rescind Title 42 until May 23 to allow Homeland Security to prepare for a dramatic increase in border crossings within the next few months. According to federal statistics submitted to a federal court earlier this month, DHS reported 221,303 total encounters at the Southwest Border during March. As CBS News reported last month, the government carried out 1.7 million deportations under Title 42. USCIRF laments 'disastrous downward spiral' for religious freedom in Afghanistan WASHINGTON For the first time in 20 years, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is recommending that the U.S. State Department designate Afghanistan as a country of particular concern as the Talibans takeover has led to a surge in the persecution of religious minorities. At a press conference on Monday, USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza spoke about the 2022 Annual Report, which highlights both state and non-state actors that are engaged in the most egregious violations of religious freedom. USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. advisory body dedicated to promoting the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad, she said, explaining that the annual report classifies countries as either a country of particular concern or placement on a special watch list. USCIRF has been authorized to compile reports on violators since the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The report classifies countries as either a country of particular concern or placement on a special watch list. Maenza defined countries of particular concern as countries whose governments engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom. Meanwhile, countries recommended for placement on a special watch list meet two but not all three of the systematic, ongoing and egregious categories, she said. The religious freedom violations in Afghanistan, where conditions have deteriorated following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, loomed large in the report. Religious conditions there went into an immediate and disastrous downward spiral following the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021 and the immediate takeover by the Taliban," Maenza said. "While we had long been concerned about conditions in Afghanistan, the Talibans return to power has had a chilling impact on religious freedom and [the] broader human rights environment. Given this precipitous decline in 2021, USCIRF has taken the steps of recommending in this years annual report that the State Department designate Afghanistan under the de facto rule of the Taliban as a country of particular concern, or a [CPC] state, she added. USCIRF last recommended Afghanistan for designation as a country of particular concern in 2001, just before the ousting of the previous Taliban regime, which had controlled most of the country since 1996. According to the report, Afghans who do not adhere to the Talibans harsh and strict interpretation of Sunni Islam and adherents of other faiths or beliefs are at risk of grave danger. Reports indicate that the Taliban continue to persecute religious minorities and punish residents in areas under their control in accordance with their extreme interpretation of Islamic law. USCIRF has received credible reports that religious minorities, including nonbelievers and Muslims with differing beliefs from the Taliban, were harassed and their houses of worship desecrated," the report adds. "By years end, the one known Jew and most Hindus and Sikhs had fled the country. Christian converts, Bahais and Ahmadiyya Muslims practiced their faith in hiding due to fear of reprisal and threats from the Taliban and separately from the Islamic State-Khorassan Province. While Maenza praised the Biden administration for its continued prioritization of international religious freedom during the first year, she pushed for stronger condemnation of religious freedom violations in Nigeria. The State Department labeled 10 of the 15 countries USCIRF recommended for designation as countries of particular concern on its November 2021 list of such countries, but Nigeria and Afghanistan were two of the five additional countries singled out as religious freedom violators that did not make it onto the list. In addition to Afghanistan and Nigeria, the countries USCIRF also recommended for designation as countries of particular concern that did not make it onto the State Departments official list were India, Syria and Vietnam. Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan comprised the State Departments list of countries of particular concern, which overlapped with USCIRFs recommendations. The report urged the Biden administrations State Department to add nine additional countries to its December 2021 Special Watch List, which already includes Algeria, Cuba and Nicaragua. USCIRF recommended the addition of Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey and Uzbekistan to the Special Watch List. A third category, entities of particular concern, listed nonstate actors that engage in particularly severe violations of religious freedom, according to the report. This year, the list of nine EPCs consisted of al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Houthis, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, and the Taliban. During the press conference, USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava said, this year, we actually did not have any dissents on any of the chapters in the report. Bhargava remarked that the absence of dissents reflected that the commissioners agreed on recommendations that were made in the report. Maenza reported that traditionally, all chapters in the report are approved by a majority vote. The unanimity surrounding the recommendations in the report is notable because the commissioners represent different religious, political and professional backgrounds. USCIRF currently consists of three members appointed by Republicans and five appointed by Democrats. Commissioners include Republican-appointed Tony Perkins of the socially conservative think-tank Family Research Council, a Christian; Democrat-appointed Khizr Khan, a Muslim; and Democrat-appointed Sharon Kleinbaum, a Jewish rabbi. The report is nearly 100 pages long and devotes about 1,800 words to each of the 27 countries recommended for designation as either a country of particular concern or for placement on the special watch list. Maenza mentioned that USCIRF compiles longer, more in-depth reports about specific countries throughout the year. In a statement released Friday, Maenza said they were "disheartened by the deterioration of freedom of religion or belief in some countries especially Afghanistan." "Religious minorities have faced harassment, detention, and even death due to their faith or beliefs, and years of progress toward more equitable access to education and representation of women and girls have disappeared. Steve Harvey tells 'Family Feud' audience God has given every living soul a gift Internationally recognized comedian Steven Harvey used his time between Family Feud segments to speak to the audience about their god-given gifts. The key is to locate your gift, he said. Its not your talent. Your talent has nothing to do with it. Be very careful with what you're talented in and passionate about. They sound like the same thing. What you are gifted at is your quest. The 65-year-old TV personality advised the younger audience members to identify their respective gifts because therein lies your greatest chance for success, adding: Every living soul God created at birth, He gave all of you a gift. All of you in this room are gifted. All of you are gifted. Listen to me. All of you are gifted individuals. Teaching is a gift, he said. Networking is a gift. Working with your hands is a gift. Being a caregiver is a gift. Babysitting is a gift; some people are just really good at it. All of this turns into something. To make his point and to show the difference between a talent and a gift Harvey told the crowd about one of his childhood friends, whom he called Clipper. Clipper, Harvey recalled, spent all his spare time cutting grass. Nowadays, Harveys 62-year-old friend owns an incredibly successful landscaping business in Cleveland, Ohio, bringing in $4 million a year. You know what Clipper do? Harvey is heard saying in a clip posted on his YouTube page. Clipper cut grass. He dont do nothin but cut grass. He found his gift and he was gifted at it. His gift has made room for him. In the video, titled Motivated Steve Harvey, the comedian advised those in the Family Feud audience to copy the Clipper who has found their gift. Your gift might be frying chicken, Harvey continued. Some of yall bake pie. Some of yall do hair. Some of yall fix cars. Some of yall paint. Go do that. Do your gift. Dont worry about which one of them talents. The reason youre struggling with that talent is because that aint what you was built to do. You were built to do your gift. Discover your gift, change your life, Harvey instructed. Thats the secret. Harvey regularly uses his platforms to speak about God and Jesus, including on his new show, "Judge Steve Harvey." However, Harvey stunned many of his Christian fans last year after he revealed that he believes there's more than one way to Heaven. Last year, Harvey posted a video on his official YouTube channel titled How Steve Harvey Prays that shows him at Abu Dhabis Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a majority Muslim Persian Gulf nation where Islam is the official religion. While Christian expatriates in the UAE are allowed to worship in private, they are prohibited by law from praying in public or evangelizing. "There's no one way to Heaven, no one way to paradise, Harvey declared. It's like television, now there's over 800 channels on cable, and they're all pretty entertaining. So I'm pretty sure that to get to Heaven, there's got to be more than one route. Because somebody watching another channel or taking another channel than you, they're still getting entertained, and they probably still getting to Heaven. In the Bible, however, Jesus clearly states that He is the only way. I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me, Jesus said in John 14:6. And in John 8:24 Jesus said: For unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins. The Apostle Peter echoed the words of Christ in Acts 4:12, saying, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Harvey captioned the video by writing, Theres many ways to serve GOD and keep your faith. My trip to The Emirates always reminds me how we can live in harmony and in the much-needed peace we all crave globally." In the nearly five-minute video, Harvey also shows viewers the exterior of the Mary Mother of Jesus Mosque, which is located near St. Andrews Anglican church. The mosque was renamed in 2017 by the order of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan to consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions, Al Arabiya reported at the time. "Can you imagine a mosque with the name Jesus on it? Yeah, the world could use a little bit more of that, Harvey said while standing outside the mosque that was renamed Mariam Umm Eisa (Mary Mother of Jesus Mosque). Andrew Garfield drawn to 'spiritual life': If I wasnt an actor, Id be doing theological study Actor Andrew Garfield who gained international recognition for his superhero role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, revealed that he's drawn to films that deal with faith and spirituality. Garfield has starred in films based on true stories or about people of faith throughout his career, from playing World War II Army medic Desmond T. Doss in Hacksaw Ridge to evangelist Jim Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Now he's starring in the true-crime series Under the Banner of Heaven, inspired by Jon Krakauer's bestseller of the same name. In the FX limited series, the actor plays a detective wrestling with matters of faith and murder. Questions of faith and spirituality, and the mystery of a spiritual life, is what Im drawn to the most, Garfield said in an interview with Vanity Fair. He continued, If I wasnt an actor, I think Id be doing some kind of theological study, and Dustins adaptation is that. He presents a study and a set of circumstances and unpicks the notion of fundamentalism and extremism, and how it undermines the virtues and the goodness that can come from having faith." In the past, however, Garfield's views about religion were scattered and confused. In 2016 Garfield told The Hollywood Reporter, Im not a Christian person. I consider myself pantheist, agnostic, occasionally atheist, and a little bit Jewish, but mostly confused. It's not clear where Garfield now stands concerning his faith journey because, in 2017, he recalled falling in love with Jesus Christ while playing a priest, Father Sebastiao Rodrigues, in Martin Scorseses film, Silence. What was really easy was falling in love with this person, was falling in love with Jesus Christ, that was the most surprising thing, the celebrity told America magazine at the time. That was the most remarkable thing falling in love, and how easy it was to fall in love with Jesus. In another recent interview with Collider, the 38-year-old revealed that his motivation for portraying characters with faith storylines comes from a fascination with life and death. Life and death is everything, he noted. The finite nature of being here and then suddenly dying is what intrigues him. For me, its a very fertile ground that is endlessly interesting, he added. Because if youre dealing with spirituality, youre dealing with faith, then youre really dealing with life and death. And whats more vital? Whats a greater question? Hyderabad: With the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) all set to celebrate its foundation day on April 27 with a plenary here, hoardings hailing the party head and Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao are visible across TS and in other states as well. They are on display in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Modi, as also in UP and Bihar. The TRS hoardings carry Chandrashekar Raos image alongside those of son K.T. Rama Rao, daughter K. Kavitha, and nephew T. Harish Rao, among others. These hoardings were put up by TRS leader from Qutbullapur constituency, Telangana Sai, who boldly proclaimed that KCR, the Telangana Chief Minister, is the nations future leader. With the slogan Desh Ka Neta, the hoardings in Gujarats Gandhinagar address the locals there in Gujarati. Those erected in Bihars capital Patna and Uttar Pradeshs Lucknow are in Hindi, highlighting the achievements of the Telangana CM. Judge holds Trump in contempt of court, orders him to pay $10K each day until he complies A New York judge has held former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for refusing to hand over documents as part of an investigation into financial dealings and will have to pay $10,000 every day until he complies. Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York County State Supreme Court ruled Monday that Trump is in contempt of court by refusing to follow an earlier order surrounding the finances of the Trump Organization. New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office has been investigating the Trump Organization over concerns about its financial practices, had subpoenaed Trump for various documents relating to the investigation. James' office is investigating Trump and the Trump organization in an attempt to determine if they "improperly inflated" the value of Trumps assets on annual financial statements to secure loans and tax benefits. Today, justice prevailed, James said in a statement. For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his companys financial dealings. Todays ruling makes clear: No one is above the law. Trump's lawyers have argued that Trump doesn't possess any records that the attorney general's office is asking for. However, Engoron contends that Trump's legal team has not offered any details about how such a search was conducted. Trump's lawyers plan to appeal the judge's contempt of court ruling. In February, Judge Engoron rejected Trump's attempt to challenge the attorney generals subpoena, instead stating that the former president had to comply in full. After Trump refused to provide the documents by the end of March, James' office filed a motion for contempt on April 7 against Trump. The New York Times reports that in a hearing on Monday, an attorney stated that the attorney general's office is preparing to file an action against Trump in the near future, likely a lawsuit. Trump released a statement last week denouncing the investigation as a never-ending Witch Hunt that ignored more pressing problems in New York. "[T]he racist and highly partisan Attorney General of New York State, failed Gubernatorial candidate Letitia James, should focus her efforts on saving the State of New York and ending its reputation as a Crime Capital of the World, instead of spending millions of dollars and utilizing a large portion of her office in going after Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization, stated Trump. This never-ending Witch Hunt must stop. We dont need racist political hacks going after good, hardworking people for highly partisan political gain. The people of our Country see right through it all, and wont take this Radical Left sickness anymore. Make New York Great Again! PCUSA lost 51K members, 100-plus churches, 4 presbyteries in 2021: report The Presbyterian Church (USA) lost over 51,000 members in 2021, as well as over 100 congregations, and even four regional bodies known as presbyteries, according to a new report. The largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States announced the release of its annual statistics on Monday, which were compiled by the PC(USA) Office of the General Assembly. According to the latest numbers, PC(USA) saw its number of congregations drop from 8,925 in 2020 to 8,813 in 2021. It also saw its active membership decline from approximately 1.24 million in 2020 to 1.19 million in 2021. The mainline Protestant denomination also saw a drop in the number of clergy, going from 18,785 ministers in 2020 to 18,458 in 2021, or a decline of 372. In contrast to recent years, PC(USA) also saw a slight decline in the number of presbyteries that make up the denomination, going from a total 170 in 2020 to 166 in 2021. This loss of four regional bodies can be traced to two events, the first being the reorganization of presbyteries in New Jersey in March of last year, which saw the number of regional bodies in the state go from seven to four. The second took place in California last July, when the Presbyteries of Sacramento and Stockton merged to form the Presbytery of North Central California. The merger came in response to a drop in member congregations. In an announcement about the results on Monday, PC(USA) General Assembly Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson emphasized that the drop in membership was smaller than the year before. We have come to the realization that our church has been forever changed by this pandemic, explained Nelson. But this report shows that even though the number of active members continues to go down, we are seeing a slight slowdown in number of people leaving. While noting declines in various areas, the statistics also reported a slight increase in the number of youth professions of faith and professions of faith & reaffirmations. According to the numbers, youth professions increased from 5,319 in 2020 to 5,708 in 2021, while reaffirmations and professions of faith rose from 9,210 in 2020 to 10,921 in 2021. These numbers are both well below pre-pandemic levels, as 2019 saw 9,023 youth professions of faith and 21,408 professions of faith and reaffirmations. The challenge for the PC(USA) and other Christian denominations is reaching and retaining young people, developing new leaders for tomorrows church, said Nelson, as quoted in the announcement. I am encouraged to see this turning around and it will be imperative that we find new ways of being church in the years to come. Approximately 82% of the churches in the PC(USA) submitted data for the report, representing 91% of all denominational membership. Over the past couple of decades, as with most other religious groups in the U.S., PC(USA) has experienced a considerable decline in its membership and number of congregations. In 2011, the mainline denomination slipped below the 2 million active member mark, while in 2014 PC(USA) saw its total number of congregations go below the 10,000 mark. One factor in its decline has been its increasingly theologically liberal stance on LGBT issues, which has prompted hundreds of congregations to leave in protest in recent years. In 2010, the PC(USA) voted to allow presbyteries to ordain non-celibate homosexuals and changed its definition of marriage in 2015 from "a man and a woman" to "two people, traditionally a man and a woman." In 2019, PC(USA) church in Virginia ordained the first clergy candidate who identified as gender nonbinary. PCUSA Lost Nearly 5 Percent Membership in 2017; Over 800K Decline in 10 Years, Stats Reveal Presbyterian Church (USA) has continued its years-long decline in numbers, losing nearly 5 percent of its membership in 2017, according to recently released official statistics. Statistics released by the PCUSA Office of the General Assembly found that the mainline denomination had approximately 1.415 million members in 2017 compared to 1.482 million members in 2016, or a loss of over 67,000 members. The 2017 membership total is also a quarter of a million fewer than reported in 2014 (1.667 million) and over 1 million fewer members than in 2000. PCUSA also reported having 147 fewer congregations in 2017 than 2016, with the total going from 9,451 churches in 2016 to 9,304 in 2017. This decrease for 2017 included 45 congregations being dismissed to join other denominations. The 45 dismissed congregations number is a noticeable decrease from years 20142016, when between 99 and 104 churches were granted dismissal on an annual basis. General Assembly Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson II, head of PCUSA, said in a statement released Monday that he believed it "is clear that Presbyterians are doing poorly at evangelism." "Churches leaving was a temporary roadblock. Our inability to share the faith, to demonstrate the power and justice of Jesus Christ and His church to change a world where inequality, injustice, violence and war seem to gain strength daily is a critical factor in our failure to grow," said Nelson. Despite the news of further decline, Nelson also said that he believed the PCUSA was "not dying" but rather "reforming." "... and that reformation must be built on a vision of God's kin-dom that is compelling to people who find us lacking," continued Nelson, using the term "kin-dom" in place of the usual "kingdom." "We have that vision it is part and parcel of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We simply must find new ways to proclaim it and, more importantly, live it out in our congregations." One factor in the decline has been the increasingly liberal theological direction of the PCUSA, which in recent years has seen hundreds of congregations vote to leave the mainline church for, among other things, its increasing acceptance of homosexuality. Conservative bodies formed largely from churches that split from PCUSA over the past several years include The Presbyterian Church in America, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, formerly called the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. In an analysis of the overall numbers posted Monday, Jeff Walton of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy noted that the decline has also made PCUSA less racially diverse. "The denomination is 91 percent white, not reflective of a diversifying United States population," wrote Walton. "In 2012, the PCUSA reported that it was 89.9 percent white, indicating that the denomination has somehow become both numerically smaller and less diverse in the same period of time that the United States population grew in size and became more diverse." The statistics on the PCUSA were released in advance of the denomination's 223rd General Assembly, scheduled for June 1623 in St. Louis, Missouri. PC(USA) lost over 140 churches, nearly 5 percent of active members in 2018 The Presbyterian Church (USA) lost over 140 congregations and nearly five percent of its active membership in 2018, according to recently released statistics by the denominations Office of the General Assembly. While still the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, from 2017 to 2018 PC(USA) saw their active membership decline by 62,375 people, going from approximately 1.41 million to approximately 1.35 million. The number of PC(USA) member congregations also fell, going from 9,304 in 2017 to 9,161 in 2018, or a difference of 143 congregations. PC(USA) did see a decline in the number of congregations dismissed to other denominations, going from 77 churches in 2017 to 46 in 2018, as well as a slight increase in new worship communities, from 144 in 2017 to 158 in 2018. In a statement released last week, the OGA of PC(USA) pointed out that the overall decline in active members appeared to be slowing down over the past year. For example, in 2015 the mainline denomination lost 90,000 active members, a decline much larger than the 67,000 plus lost in 2017, itself larger than the 62,000 plus lost last year. While the difference is not great, we are encouraged by the slowing trend downward, said the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), in the statement. The church of the 21st century is changing and we still believe God is preparing us for great things in the future. God is moving through churches, presbyteries and synods, finding new, innovative ways to share the gospel with a lost world and we are thankful for that. Nelson also stated that he believed statistics showed that the denomination must do a better job of reaching out to younger generations. The real work internally is creating opportunities for youth and young adults to be taken seriously by our congregations, continued Nelson. Many of them bring fresh perspectives to a rapidly changing world that can assist both sessions and congregations to live into 21st century ministries and new evangelism possibilities. As with other mainline denominations, PC(USA) has seen its number gradually decline over the past few decades. In 2011, the Church had its membership go below the 2 million mark. In 2000, PC(USA) reported approximately 2.5 million members, meaning that at present the denomination is getting close to having half as many members as they did a generation ago. Jeff Walton of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy wrote that at the current rate of decline, he believed the PC(USA) will not exist in about 20 years. A net 37 percent of members have died, transferred out, or simply vanished in the past decade, wrote Walton, who pointed out that this decline has continued amidst the PC(USA) pursuing theologically liberal positions. Walton went on to note that other, more conservative Presbyterian denominations are faring better when it comes to membership numbers. In 2012, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, was formed by congregations departing the PC(USA), while the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) split from the PC(USA)s Northern predecessor body in 1981 and has continued to attract congregations from the PC(USA), continued Walton. Separately, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) split from the PC(USA)s Southern predecessor body in 1973 and has posted 7 percent growth over the past five years. Satanic Temple sues school board for rejecting After School Satan Club The Satanic Temple has filed a civil suit against a Pennsylvania elementary school only a few days after the district voted down a parents request to create an after-school Satan club for non-religious students. The Dillsburg-based Northern York County School Board rejected the establishment of an After School Satan Club at the districts Northern Elementary School in an 8-1 vote on April 19. Samantha Groomer, the mother behind the proposal, said she suggested the club as a secular alternative to the Joy El Christian club, which operates in nine of 16 of the countys school districts and offers off-campus activities. Parents and others gathered at the Pennsylvania school board meeting applauded after the idea for the club was denied, as seen in a clip of the meeting obtained by The York Daily Record. In response, Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves promised the group would pursue legal action. Mathew Kezhaya, general counsel for The Satanic Temple, told The Christian Post that the issue being litigated is whether the school board discriminated against the Satan-worshipping group. Kezhaya alleged that school officials told The Satanic Temple that removing the word Satan from the clubs name would improve its chance of approval. Another issue regarding the groups equal access to government property stems from the superintendent reportedly expressing concern about public backlash." "This is direct evidence that the government improperly considered the popularity of the club's communicative activity when determining whether the club should be entitled to equal access to government property," Kezhaya told CP. "The First Amendment prohibits a government from considering the popularity of communicative activity when determining whether to facilitate that communicative activity on equal terms with other, similarly situated, groups." Some school districts have adopted extracurriculars sponsored by the Satanic Temple, such as the Jane Addams Elementary School in Moline, Illinois. In January, the school received criticism for passing out flyers promoting an After School Satan Club, defending the decision by claiming it does not discriminate against any groups looking to rent its facilities. Similarly, the Lebanon City School District in Lebanon, Ohio, also faced pushback in January for allowing the Satanic Temple to host an after-school activity for elementary school children. The After School Satan Club contends that U.S. Supreme Court precedent grants the club the right to hold meetings on public grounds after regular hours. The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 in the case of Good News Club v. Milford Central School that schools operate a limited public forum and that, as such, they may not discriminate against religious speech should a religious organization choose to operate an After School Club on their premises. In its handbook, the After School Satan Club claims to focus on free inquiry and rationalism, the scientific basis for which we know what we know about the world around us. The group also contends that it uses Satan in its title because, to them, the devil is not a supernatural being. Instead, Satan is a literary figure that represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny over the human mind and spirit, the handbook reads. It is our goal to provide a fun, intellectually stimulating, and non-proselytizing alternative to current religious after-school clubs being offered in our public schools, which aim to indoctrinate children into their religious view, the handbook continues. We are not offering any materials or lectures to your child about Satanism; instead, our focus will be on free inquiry and rationalism, bolstering scientific understandings of the natural world, and nurturing your childs already awesome ability to be curious about the wonders around them. The Satanic Temple and the Northern Elementary School did not immediately respond to The Christian Posts request for comment. COVID-19 restrictions 'harmed' religious minorities, violated freedom to practice faith: USCIRF report The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom warned Wednesday that some countries have used COVID-19 restrictions to discriminate against religious minorities or blame them for the spread of the virus. USCIRF, a bipartisan commission tasked with informing Congress and the federal government about global religious freedom concerns, released its 2021 annual report detailing the international religious freedom conditions in a year plagued by a pandemic. The cover of this years report, which details where religious freedom is improving or in peril, features a globe shrouded in a face mask, showing the worldwide implications the pandemic had. USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin said at a press conference that though public health measures in most countries to slow the spread of COVID-19 complied with international human rights standards, some countries used these measures to discriminate against religious minorities. Unfortunately, it had a negative impact in many ways , she said. What we found to be unacceptable were where minorities were targeted in much stricter fashion, and their activities were restricted much more harshly than other religions across the country, and thats where the problem arose. Also, there were countries that literally blamed the COVID-19 virus on a particular religion, [claiming] that they were responsible for the spread of that virus across their country, she continued. Some countries used the pandemic as an excuse to punish and penalize minority religious groups. While many of these restrictions were justifiable under public health exceptions defined in international law, some restrictions harmed religious minorities or otherwise violated freedom of religion or belief, the report reads. Where certain religions were targeted or blamed for causing the spread of the virus, there was a greater risk of being arrested and placed in prison or deplorable conditions. As the restrictions are lifted, we will be watching very closely to make sure that those restrictions are being lifted fairly across the country to all religions, Manchin said. One example is Malaysia, where non-Muslim houses of worship, including Hindu temples and Christian churches, were not prioritized for reopening and faced different reopening times than mosques. Additionally, the country banned refugees and migrants from entering mosques. In Turkey, an individual attempted to set fire to an Armenian church for bringing the coronavirus. USCIRF noted that in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, government authorities indicated Shia religious communities were responsible for the spread of coronavirus and subjected some neighborhoods and localities to stricter lockdown measures. In Pakistan, Sunni extremist groups blamed Shia Muslims for bringing coronavirus to Pakistan, calling it the Shia virus. According to the report, these extremists were egged on by government and media claims that the virus came from pilgrims returning from Iran. USCIRF also reported that Muslims in India and Cambodia faced increased stigmatization because some of the earliest patients to test positive for COVID-19 in those countries came from these communities. In India, Muslims were accused of spreading COVID-19, leading to a reported increase in attacks on members of the community. In Sri Lanka, authorities insisted on the cremation of those who died from COVID-19, including Muslims for whom the practice is religiously prohibited, the report notes. However, the World Health Organization cites a lack of evidence that cremation of COVID-19 victims is necessary for public health reasons. USCIRF expressed concern about this requirement, and welcomed its lifting in early 2021. The commission reported that the pandemic also fostered a wave of misinformation targeting religious minorities. The annual report assesses the religious liberty standards in 26 countries to provide policy recommendations to the U.S. government. USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department recognize over half of the countries analyzed as countries of particular concern. The CPC designation is for the worst of the worst countries whose governments engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The designation carries with it the possibility of sanctions. USCIRF named 14 countries to be designated CPCs. These include 10 countries already recognized by the State Department as CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The remaining four of the commissions CPC list include India, Russia, Syria and Vietnam, which are designated as CPCs by the U.S. State Department. The Indian government and its allies have reportedly pressured USCIRF to reverse its recommendation to label India as a CPC. The commission also noted how China continues to be an egregious violator of human rights, specifically toward Christians and Uyghur Muslims. Tony Perkins, USCIRF vice chair and president of the conservative Christian organization Family Research Council, said China was one of the most troubling developments in this years report. China is engaged in mass internment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang Province, which was declared a genocide and crime against humanity by the U.S. government under the Trump administration in January. The U.S. was the first country to adopt such terms to describe the CCPs human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore noted that the USCIRF first highlighted Uyghur persecution in its first report 25 years ago. But he said the world largely ignored the situation. Over two decades later, the plight of Uyghur Muslims in China has only exacerbated. This is not the time to give the Chinese Communist Party one inch. , Moore, an evangelical author and public relations executive, said. This issue is an issue that sits alone in its severity and its impact, and we speak with one concerted voice on it. North Korea, another CPC, is an oppressive abuser of human rights and forbids all competing ideologies outside of the deification of its leaders, USCIRF Commissioner Frederick Davie shared. North Korea treats religion as an existential threat, considering religious believers as hostile enemies of the state, resulting in intense persecution, Davie added. Nigeria, a CPC, is plagued with Islamic extremist violence in the northeast, communal violence in the Middle Belt and mass kidnappings. James Carr, a USCIRF commissioner, called Nigeria Africas "diamond in the rough." Nigeria is a country of 200 million-plus citizens, a standing military of 300,000, and reserves of 100,000, and they tell us they cant stop the kidnappings, the rapes, the murders of schoolchildren as well as adults? Let me quote President Biden, Give me a break, man, Carr said. Another development in this years report the committee raised is the rise of anti-Semitism globally. USCIRF released a report earlier this month on the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, which focused on findings in 11 European countries. We saw, all over the world, the Jewish community, in particular, targeted every way you can imagine as the virus spread, including the appropriation of some of the most obvious, egregious, unconscionable anti-Semitic tropes that should be relegated to the ash heap of history, yet they were almost ever-present in parts of Europe and in other places around the world as COVID-19 spread, Moore explained. Despite the pandemic and the overall worsening of religious freedom worldwide, the commission noted improvement of religious freedom conditions in some countries over the past year, which led to the removal of three countries from the USCIRF Special Watch List. Bahrain, Central African Republic and Sudan are no longer recommended for the SWL designation since their conditions had improved and no longer met the requirements for that second-tier State Department classification. Religious liberty in Sudan began improving after its dictator was ousted in 2019, a new constitutional declaration was issued and the transitional government took steps to improve freedom and human rights. Bahrain, a small Muslim-majority country, has improved by becoming increasingly tolerant of minority religions in recent years. Perkins said another positive that came from the past year was religious liberty prioritization in U.S. foreign policy. In June 2020, the Trump administration administered an executive order on advancing international religious freedom, which established religious freedom worldwide as a political priority of the United States." The USCIRF report includes recommendations for how the U.S. government should respond to religious freedom grievances for each country included in the report. The report also included a new section detailing how USCIRF recommendations were implemented in 2020 and early 2021, following the release of last year's report. Yale Divinity School holds first non-Christian service with 'black ecology,' 'pantheistic mysticism' Two centuries after its founding, Yale Divinity School marked its first-ever non-Christian service in honor of Earth Day. Around 80 students gathered on April 22 outside the universitys Marquand Chapel to mark the annual observance with singing and non-denominational prayers, according to The Yale Daily News. A student organizer told the independent student newspaper it was the first time a non-Christian service was held at the Yale Divinity School in its nearly 200-year history. Master of divinity student Tasha Brownfield led the event, which she described as Indigenous- and Black ecology-based with a sprinkle of cosmology and Pantheistic mysticism. The event featured an opening speech from Brownfield that included a land acknowledgment and a call for those in attendance to honor and respect the enduring relationships that exist between Native peoples and their land. There arent many spaces where people who fall outside a very particular Protestant lens can worship authentically at Yale Divinity School, Brownfield, who said she is trying to launch and curate "pantheistic mysticism" as a religious practice, told the newspaper. So for my colleagues and myself, I decided to make a space where people could worship authentically and include black Theology, Indigenous ecology, some southern charm that separated from the elitism of the institution to something thats really embodied and grounded within this space. Attendees took part in a chalice lighting ceremony under the Unitarian Universalist tradition, followed by a prayer to the Hindu fertility god Prithivi, which Brownfield described as the religions personification of Earth. Another student, Nai Garard, gave a speech on Black Ecology, which reportedly spoke to how pushing back against racialized aspects of climate change can be a means toward black liberation, The Daily News reported. Another 200-year-old theological institution, Harvard Divinity School, held a similar celebration Sunday for Earth Day called Gathering Light, which also featured musical and video performances. Founded in 1822, Yale Divinity School has hosted Earth Day festivities for over a decade, but Sunday marked the first time a non-Christian service was held at the school. The universitys website says training for Christian ministry was a main purpose in founding Yale College in 1701. But it wasnt until theology students asked to be recognized as a group distinct from the general student body that the divinity school was officially founded. Today, Yale Divinity School professes an "enduring commitment to foster the knowledge and love of God through scholarly engagement with Christian traditions in a global, multifaith context." "Participating in the vibrant life of Yale University, the Divinity School is uniquely positioned to train leaders for church and society given its ecumenical and international character, engagement with music and the arts, and commitment to social justice," the divinity school website reads. "Rigorous scholarly inquiry, corporate worship and spiritual formation, and practical engagement in a variety of ministries enable students to develop their knowledge and skills in a community that welcomes and affirms human diversity." The school hasn't shied away from controversy when it comes to orthodox Christian teaching. In 2008, Yale reportedly introduced a course called "Christian Theology and Harry Potter," which explored the popular series to examine Christian themes such as sin, evil and resurrection. Yale Divinity School made headlines in 2016 when a spokesperson urged Christians not to vote for then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump but to follow Jesus' command to love him just like He teaches people to "love your enemies." In a column published in USA Today, Yale Communications Director Tom Krattenmaker said that Jesus' command to "love your enemies" applies even in the American political context. Youth pastor arrested for sending nude pictures to underage girl Christopher Jaime Reyes, a former youth pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church on Marco Island, Florida, has been arrested for sending nudes pictures and lewd messages to an underage girl on social media. Detective Lorenzo Smith of the Marco Island Police Department told Wink News that Reyes, 26, was sending nude photographs, some of himself to the victim. Reyes was arrested on Friday and charged with transmission of material harmful to minors by electronic device or equipment and soliciting a child for unlawful sexual conduct using computer services or devices, Marco Eagle said. The former youth pastor worked for Wesley United Methodist Church from 2016 to 2021. Calls made by The Christian Post to the church seeking comment on Monday went unanswered. The police, however, are reportedly looking into whether or not Reyes preyed on any of the children from the church. Investigators who began investigating Reyes in October 2021 explained that he did not meet his victim at church. The relationship formed all on social media platforms, Instagram, Snapchat, Smith told Wink News. Reyes reportedly started asking his victim for more sexts. The victim provided us with screenshots of some of the lewd messaging, Smith said. The detective said as he continued working on the case, the youth pastor even tried meeting up with an underage girl, but the meeting never materialized. Its always an unfortunate thing when somebody who is a custodian of children, you know, aging from five to you know the teenage years are doing this kind of behavior, Smith noted. According to a Cybersurvey by Youthworks, of more than 6,000 young people age 13 or older who sexted, 18% said they were pressured or blackmailed into doing it. The study also showed that between the ages of 14 and 15, the more likely a child would sext. Boys were found to be slightly more likely than girls, 7% to 6%, to share images. The top reasons researchers found children gave for sexting were because they were in a relationship and wanted to do it or wanted to try it for fun. Others felt they looked good and wanted to show off their body while others simply wanted to see a reaction from the person they sexted. Children who were already vulnerable offline were found to be more likely to share sexual images. Children with mental health issues were also found to be twice as likely to send explicit images than those who had none. Anyone with information or the case is being asked to contact the Marco Island Police Department at (239) 389-5050. Align Your Money and Your Values with Medi-Share As Christians, we all want to spend our money in a way that supports our beliefs. But it can be hard to find businesses with the transparency and trust that allow us to do that. Thats why weve been long-standing partners with Medi-Share, the Largest and Most Trusted Name in Health Care Sharing for Christians. At Medi-Share they believe that healthcare should be affordable, reliable, and biblical. If this is your first-time hearing about Medi-Share, let us provide a quick overview to help you understand how health care sharing works. How does Medi-Share Work? Medi-Share members contribute a monthly amount called a share which is used to pay for the medical needs of other members. As a community of believers, the Medi-Share community only shares bills that are aligned with Christian values and every member gets a vote on the program guidelines. Here are just a few reasons why we love Medi-Share: Unlimited Telehealth Unlimited TeleBehavorial Health Direct Bill Management Nationwide Provider Flexibility Prescription, Dental, and Vision Discounts 98% Customer Satisfaction Rate Authentic Faith-Based Community Our friends at Medi-Share offer programs for every budget. So, if you are an individual, parent, small business owner, ministry leader, or self-employed, Medi-Share has options for you. The best part is their members on average save 50% or more on their health care costs. For nearly 30 years, Medi-Share has been successfully providing its 400,000 members nationwide with affordable health care solutions. Their members are given the individualized attention and prayer they need when times are tough. Medi-Share members say its more than just a community, its a family. As Christians, we are called to share each others burdens, and our friends at Medi-Share are doing just that. In addition to serving its members' mental, spiritual, financial, physical, and emotional needs Medi-Share is also active in its community. Medi-Share is a big proponent of community outreach efforts. Thats why Medi-Share works with several national outreach partners to transform society through stewardship opportunities. Medi-Share employees and members are often encouraged to share their time and talents with the community. Medi-Share does this to actively demonstrate its commitment to the Great Commission. Our friends at Medi-Share truly strive to make a positive impact in the world. If youre looking for an affordable, reliable health care option that you can trust, check out Medi-Share today! Click here to learn more! 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. Chinas armed forces always a force of justice safeguarding world peace 09:13, April 26, 2022 By Yan Yu ( People's Daily The 20th Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to Lebanon holds a solemn flag raising ceremony at its camp in southern Lebanon on Sept. 21, 2021, the International Day of Peace. Recently, 15 members of the 12th Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to South Sudan received the Sector Commanders Commendation conferred by the Sector West Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Brigadier General Measho Hagos Seyum for their outstanding achievements and great contributions in recent peacekeeping work. For a long time, Chinas Blue Helmets have built a strong defense line to safeguard peace in regions beset by conflict, demonstrating Chinas sense of responsibility as a major country. Peace is an aspiration and lofty goal shared by all mankind. UN Peacekeeping, as instrument developed for peace and began in 1948, is aimed at helping countries torn by conflict to create conditions for lasting peace, and has become an important means of safeguarding world peace and security. Over the past more than 70 years, UN peacekeepers have made selfless devotion and sacrifices in some of the toughest and most dangerous places in the world, while Blue Helmets have become a symbol of peace and hope in war-ravaged lands and Chinese Blue Helmets have grown into a key force in the UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKOs). In April 1990, Chinas armed forces dispatched five military observers to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and embarked on a new voyage as a participant in the UNPKOs. On April 16, 1992, China dispatched its first formed military unit of Blue Helmets to Cambodia for UN peacekeeping mission. Over the past 30 years or so, Chinas armed forces have contributed a growing number of peacekeepers across an expanding range of deployments. From a few military observers at the outset of its involvement, Chinas armed forces are now sending both formed units and military professionals. Chinese military peacekeepers serve on the UN missions in engineer, medical, transport, helicopter, force protection and infantry units, and as staff officers, military observers and seconded officers. All 410 members of the 19th batch of Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon are awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the Chinese troops camp in Hanniyah village in southern Lebanon, June 16, 2021. Batches of Chinese military peacekeepers have embarked on one mission after another with courage and fortitude, becoming steadfast guardians of world peace. Since 1992, China has sent nearly 50,000 peacekeepers to 25 UNPKOs in more than 20 countries and regions, including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic. China is the second largest contributor to both peacekeeping assessment and UN membership fees, and the largest troop-contributing country (TCC) among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. There are many touching stories about how Chinese peacekeeping forces have brought with them peace, security and the light of hope and warmth to people in war-torn areas. Since 2013, China has dispatched nine peacekeeping units to Mali, where they carried out duties including armed patrols and armed escorts and earned the reputation of des troupes d'elite of Sector East of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Over the past 16 years since the deployment of Chinese peacekeeping troops in Lebanon, Chinese peacekeepers successfully completed tasks including engineering construction and maintenance, providing medical services and humanitarian assistance, as well as clearing mines and explosives, during which they created the record of zero casualties for such tasks. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) holds an emergency drill for troops in the Juba sector and the UN police officers, April 24, 2020. The Chinese medical units in the DRC have run a twinning project in SOS Childrens Village Bukavu to offer help for 19 years. Touched by the love and care from the units, children in the village called the female members their Chinese mothers. In UNMISS, Chinese military peacekeepers have provided agricultural techniques, farming tools and vegetable seeds to local people. They were invited by local middle schools to teach lessons on Chinese culture and language. Chinese military peacekeepers are not only guardians of peace but also messengers of friendship. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said Chinas contribution to UNPKOs is very important. Peace needs to be fought for and safeguarded. China is a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order. And Chinas armed forces will always be a force of justice safeguarding world peace. Chinas Blue Helmets have constantly injected positive energy into world peace and will continue forging ahead courageously and unswervingly to safeguard peace with a strong sense of discipline and responsibility. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) HYDERABAD: A row has erupted over the proposed visit of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Osmania University here on May 7. The university is keeping its fingers crossed. On the one hand, the TPCC urged OU vice chancellor D. Ravinder Yadav to give permission for Rahul Gandhis visit and interactions with the students on the campus. On the other hand, the TRS partys students wing, TRSV, urged the vice chancellor to deny permission for Rahul Gandhis visit. The university officials landed in a dilemma. Former Rajya Sabha MP Hanumantha Rao, former MLC Ramulu Naik and some other Congress leaders met the vice chancellor at his chambers on Tuesday and sought his permission for the visit on May 7. Osmania University students had played a key role in the formation of Telangana state and they had sacrificed their lives for the cause. It was the Congress government at Centre that had granted the separate state, Hanumantha noted. He said that if the university rejected the permission, the Congress party will intensify its agitations in the state. The TRSV submitted a memorandum to the vice chancellor urging him not to accord permission for Rahul Gandhis visit. TRSV leaders said Rahul Gandhi's visit will spoil the academic atmosphere on the campus. Texas National Guard soldier feared drowned trying to save illegal migrants smuggling drugs A Texas National Guard soldier remains missing two days after he attempted to save a pair of migrants who appeared to be drowning as they illegally crossed the river from Mexico to the United States to smuggle drugs into the country. Many believe he drowned during the rescue mission. The search for the soldier, who went missing Friday after entering a river in Eagle Pass to save the two migrants, carries on, the Texas Military Department said Saturday in a statement. The soldier, whose identity has not been released, was assigned to Operation Lone Star, Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts effort to combat the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border. The service member selflessly attempted to help two migrants who appeared to be drowning as they illegally crossed the river from Mexico to the United States. The two migrants were involved in illegal drug trafficking and are in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol, the department said. Brave National Guardsman removed his armor before jumping in dangerous waters to save a human life. Please pray for the families of all those impacted, wrote Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, on Twitter. Brave National Guardsman removed his armor before jumping in dangerous waters to save a human life. Please pray for the families of all those impacted. ???? pic.twitter.com/yo9CwHcw44 Tony Gonzales (@TonyGonzales4TX) April 22, 2022 Dive teams searched the water Friday, but the strength of the rivers current forced the search and rescue teams to cease dive operations, which resumed Saturday, Fox News reported. The soldier is believed to have drowned in the Rio Grande, The New York Times said. Its very dangerous, this river, the Rio Grande its very tricky, Sheriff Schmerber, a former U.S. Border Patrol officer, was quoted as saying. The Texas Military Department said the search for the missing soldier will continue "until we have exhausted all available resources," adding: The Texas Military Department is thankful to all interagency partners for their continued support in this operation to locate our missing soldier. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family of the soldier. Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Rangers and Border Patrol are also supporting the search efforts. Drownings are not uncommon in the river, the sheriff said, adding that the drowning of a law enforcement officer is considerably more rare. When I was in the Border Patrol, we advised never to jump after anybody, he said. Collecting guide: the wines of Bodegas Vega Sicilia Spains pre-eminent wine producer makes classic wines that demand years of patience, as well as modern creations that are highly expressive of the austere Ribera del Duero region Time turns differently at Bodegas Vega Sicilia. Patience and reflection are enshrined in every barrel, every vine and every bottle. The winery takes the Spanish philosophy of manana to heart, and wines are allowed time to percolate gently in wood and to slumber in bottle. As a result, they are highly sought-after by connoisseurs. Vega Sicilia is seen as the premier cru of Spain, with ageing potential akin to Chateau Latour or Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. Collectors fall in love with the rich, powerful wines of the estate, to the point where gathering every release or vintage into their cellar can become an obsession. A pristine collection of wines from Bodegas Vega Sicilia, at the heart of our Finest and Rarest Wines sale in London on 28 April 2022, comes from the cellar of one such collector. Unico: Spains most collectable wine Unico, the flagship wine of the estate, is so named because it pioneered a unique style in the Ribera del Duero. In 1864, following a trip to Bordeaux, Vega Sicilias founder, Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, sank cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot deep into the chalky soil of the Ribera valley in northwest Spain. Local winemakers, focused on the Spanish Tempranillo grape, were shocked. The estate has maintained plantings of the Bordeaux grapes, and Unico is a blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Cabernet adding weight, drive and grip to the red-fruit warmth, chalky texture and delicate acid backbone of the Tempranillo. Unico rests in French and American oak barrels for 10 to 15 years, and can unfurl and expand in bottle over many decades, thrilling wine lovers upon its eventual awakening when the cork is pulled. Open a larger version of this image Vega Sicilia, Unico 1962. 1 magnum per lot. Sold for 3,000 on 28 April 2022 at Christies in London The 1962 vintage is a sensation, being awarded 100 points by critics and capturing the hearts of collectors. The magnum releases of Unico are the most collectable Spanish wines. Every vintage has a different artist label, and only Spanish artists the likes of Miquel Barcelo and Benjamin Palencia are invited to create them. For many collectors, putting together a magnum vertical has become as fascinating as seeking out artist-labelled bottles of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Reserva Especial: a unique product of the winemakers skill The estates passion for unique wines is also apparent in its Reserva Especial. Each release, in distinctive opaque bottles, is a blend of three vintages. The wine reflects the specific terroir of the Ribera del Duero, as well as highlighting the blending skill of the winemaker. Jesus Anadon (1956-1966), Mariano Garcia (1966-1996), Xavier Ausas (1996-2015) and Gonzalo Iturriaga (2015-2022) have all been responsible for releases of Reserva Especial. They have tasted their way through barrels of vintage wine, noted characteristics and then married their chosen vintages into a harmonious blend. Open a larger version of this image Vega Sicilia, Reserva Especial. 2010 release. Blend of 1991, 1994 and 1995 vintages. In original wooden case. 3 bottles per lot. Sold for 2,750 on 28 April 2022 at Christies in London The wine then spends 18 months in new oak casks, and 30 months more in old oak. Finding out which vintages are in each bottle has historically been difficult, which adds intrigue for serious collectors. The 2010 and 2011 releases, which represent the 1991-1994-1995 and 1991-1994-1998 vintages, are famous, long-lived wines. Valbuena 5 and 3 Valbuena 5 pays homage to the terroir of the Ribera del Duero, and particularly the village of Valbuena de Duero where the bodega is located. This wine is made from younger vines commonly 10 to 15 years old than those that produce Unico. Tempranillo leads the blend, with seasoning from silky, spicy Merlot. The wine is finished with five years (hence the name) in a mixture of new and old oak. Excitingly for collectors, Valbuena 3, aged for three years in oak, is a discontinued wine: production ceased in 1988. The cool blue label (below) is rarely seen at auction, and old vintages from the 1970s and and 1980s are now very collectable. Alion: the definition of Tempranillo Alion is an expression of the chalky complexity and red-fruited essence that defines Tempranillo. Three plots contribute to the making of the wine: the heartlands of the Vega Sicilia estate itself; the clay of Padilla de Duero; and the chalky soils of Pesquera de Duero. New oak is important to the style of Alion; indeed, until 2014, it was common for 100 per cent new oak to be used. Since then, 80 per cent has become more usual, and American oak and concrete are sometimes employed to give tension to hotter vintages. Alion can be viewed as a younger sibling to the mighty Unico, but stylistic differences make for wines of singular character. Open a larger version of this image Vineyards in Valbuena de Duero, the home of Bodegas Vega Sicilia. Photo: Cephas / Mick Rock Pintia: full-throated flavour The Duero river wends its way to Portugal where it becomes the Douro through the region of Toro. This is home to Pintia, a relatively recent project for the owners of Vega Sicilia, the Alvarez family. Most of Vega Sicilias vines in Toro are on their own roots, because the destructive pest phylloxera has not invaded much of the sandy soil in this region. Thus many of the vines are 50 years old, which gives concentration to the Tempranillo wine. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe The searing heat of the region also adds weight, as well as posing the winemakers greatest challenge. Drawing elegance and freshness from the ripe crop is a skill of the Vega Sicilia team, which produced the first vintage of Pintia in 2001. Subsequent vintages are marvellous examples of Tempranillo with full-throated flavour. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate POKROVSK, Ukraine As Russian forces intensify their shelling of eastern Ukraine, more people are leaving their homes in search of safety. In Pokrovsk, a town in the Donetsk region, people lined up Tuesday to board a train headed to the far west of the country along the border with Hungary and Slovakia. One person was lifted onto the train in a wheelchair, another on a stretcher. The passengers took with them cats, dogs, a few bags and boxes, and the memory of those who did not flee in time. We were in the basement, but my daughter didnt make it and was hit with shrapnel on the doorstep during shelling on Monday, said Mykola Kharchenko, 74. We had to bury her in the garden near the pear tree. He said his village, Vremivka, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Pokrovsk, was under heavy fire for four days and everything was destroyed. With tears in his eyes, Kharchenko said he somehow held himself together at home, but once he reached the train station he fell apart. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Nuclear chief: Russias Chernobyl seizure risked accident Poland, Bulgaria say Russia suspending natural gas supplies Putin gets what he didnt want: Ukraine army closer to West Top Russian diplomat warns Ukraine against provoking WWIII Frances victorious Macron boosts weapons, stakes in Ukraine Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra organized by Met, Polish operas Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be involved in the evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in Ukraines southeastern city of Mariupol. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that during their one-on-one meeting Tuesday, Guterres and Putin discussed the proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, namely in relation to the situation in Mariupol. The sprawling Azovstal steel plant has been almost completely destroyed by Russian attacks but it is the last pocket of organized Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. An estimated 2,000 troops and 1,000 civilians are said to be holed up in bunkers underneath the wrecked structure. Dujarric said that following the Guterres-Putin agreement in principle, discussions will be held with the U.N. humanitarian office and the Russian Defense Ministry on the evacuation. __ WASHINGTON The State Department says U.S. diplomats have begun returning to Ukraine by making day trips to temporary offices in the western city of Lviv from neighboring Poland. The department said the first group of diplomats crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border and traveled to Lviv on Tuesday morning before returning to Poland later in the day. The step came just two days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Ukrainian leaders during a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv that the U.S. would start restaffing its diplomatic facilities in Ukraine this week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agency has accelerated its review of re-opening the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, which was closed shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. He said operations at the embassy would resume as soon as possible depending on the security situation in the capital. ___ UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned about reports of new security incidents in a Russian-backed separatist region of Moldova and urges all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions that could escalate tensions. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Tuesday that Guterres has called for efforts to lower tensions throughout Trans-Dniester. Explosions rocked the region for the second day in a row, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Ukraine all but blamed Russia. Russian speakers of the strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine nominally seceded from Moldova in 1990, one year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fearing the country might shortly merge with Romania, whose language and culture it broadly shares. The separatist region fought a brief war with Moldova in 1992 and declared itself an independent state, though it remains unrecognized by any country, including Russia which bases about 1,500 troops there, calling them peacekeepers. Concerns are high that those forces could be used to invade Ukraine from the west. Haq said the U.N. continues to fully support efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to reach a political settlement of the Trans-Dniester conflict in the so-called 5+2 process which comprises Trans-Dniester, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE with the United States and the European Union as observers. The aim is to strengthen Moldovas independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, with a special status for Trans-Dniester. __ BERLIN Germanys vice chancellor says his country has come very, very close to independence from Russian oil and an embargo on deliveries would now be manageable. Germany, which has Europes biggest economy, has said so far that it aims to end Russian oil imports by the end of this year. Speaking Tuesday during a visit to Poland, Economy Minister Robert Habeck who is also the vice chancellor and responsible for energy said that his country has cut Russias share of its oil supply from 35% before the war in Ukraine to about 12%. Habeck said the situation is such that an embargo has become manageable for Germany. He added that the problem that just a few weeks ago seemed very big for Germany has become significantly smaller so that independence from Russian oil imports has come very, very close. Russian gas imports, however, are a bigger issue for Germany. Berlin has said that it will need longer to do without gas supplies from Russia. ___ LONDON Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain does not want war to escalate beyond Ukraines borders, and rejected an allegation by Moscow that the West is fighting a proxy conflict with Russia. But Johnson said Ukrainians are being attacked from within Russian territory and have a right to protect and defend themselves by striking inside Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused NATO of pouring oil on the fire with its support for Ukraine, and said the risk of World War III should not be underestimated. Russia has singled Britain out for criticism after a U.K. government minister said it was legitimate for Ukraine to hit fuel depots in Russia with U.K.-supplied weapons. In an interview with British station Talk TV, Johnson said its very, very important that we dont accept the way that the Russians are trying to frame what is happening in Ukraine. He said: They are trying to frame this as a conflict between Russia and the West, or Russia and NATO. Thats not what is going on. ___ BRATISLAVA, Slovakia Slovakias President Zuzana Caputova released a video addressing the invading Russian soldiers, their commanders and all whom it may concern, urging them to stop the war in Ukraine. In the three-minute video in Russian with the subtitles in Slovak, Caputova condemned war crimes against women, children and civilians. You justify your invasion by talking about liberation, Caputova told them. How were you intending to liberate Tatiana from Irpin, killed by a Russian grenade together with her two children? Or Olena from Hostomel, raped by one of you in a car? she asked. Referring to testimonies of women who have survived, Caputova says they find that words are not enough when they try to describe the pain you have made a part of their lives simply because... Well, why even? None of us knows Do you? She says with each passing day, you are only increasing the army of wounded souls and bodies of women, children and innocent people. If you still feel any leftover of humanity in you, bring it to life and end this horrible war. ___ MOSCOW Russias President Vladimir Putin says Moscow still hopes to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Ukraine, even as the fighting has continued. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting Tuesday with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Putin noted that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made what he described as a serious breakthrough in their talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month. He claimed, however, that the Ukrainian side later walked back on some of the tentative agreements reached in Istanbul. In particular, Putin said Ukrainian negotiators have changed their position on the issue of the status of Crimea and separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, offering to leave it for the countries presidents to discuss. Putin charged that the shift in the Ukrainian stand makes it hard to negotiate a future deal. Ukrainian officials have been evasive about the details of talks and the Russian claims of Ukraine walking back from its earlier proposals. Putin has demanded that Ukraine recognize Russias sovereignty over Crimea and recognize independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as part of a future agreement on ending the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that those issues could only be decided by a future nationwide vote. During Tuesdays Kremlin meeting, Guterres criticized Russias military action in Ukraine as a flagrant violation of its neighbors territorial integrity. He also urged Russia to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped at a giant steel mill in Mariupol surrounded by the Russian forces. Putin responded by claiming that the Russian forces have offered humanitarian corridors to civilians holed up at the Azovstal steel plant, charging that the Ukrainian defenders of the plant were using civilians as shields and not allowing them to leave. ___ KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern about the tensions in a Moscow-backed separatist region of Moldova. The ministry noted that an attack on an administrative building in Tiraspol, the center of the separatist Trans-Dniester province of Moldova, along with explosions that hit broadcast antennas and other facilities in the region follow a Russian officers statement about Moscows intention to fully take control of Ukraines south and build a land corridor to Trans-Dniester. It said in a Tuesday statement that Ukraine resolutely supports Moldovas territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and condemn attempts to draw the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova into the full-fledged war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and call for deescalating tensions. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land with about 470,000 people, has been under the control of separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops in the breakaway region, nominally as peacekeepers. ___ WARSAW, Poland The Polish climate minister gave assurances on Tuesday that the country has plenty of natural gas on reserve, following reports that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland. Anna Moskwa, minister for climate and environment, tweeted: Poland has the necessary gas reserves and sources of supply that protect our security we have been effectively independent from Russia for years. Our warehouses are 76% full. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes. Her tweet followed reports by the Onet news portal that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland under the Yamal contract. Onet reported that a crisis team had gathered at the Ministry of Climate to deal with the matter. Onet said, citing unnamed sources, that Russia had insisted on a Friday deadline for payment in rubles and that Poland has said it would not pay in rubles. Poland has been working to wean itself off of Russian energy sources and was due to end its reliance on Russian gas this year. ___ RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the war in Ukraine has already weakened Russias military capability. Austin said after meeting allies and partners at the United States Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday that, since Russia began the invasion, its land forces have sustained pretty substantial casualties, as well as lost a lot of equipment and used a lot of precision-guided munitions. He said that they are, in fact, in terms of military capability, weaker than when they started, and itll be harder for them to replace some of this capability as they go forward because of the sanctions and the trade restrictions that have been placed on them. Austin reiterated that we would like to make sure, again, that they dont have the same type of capability to bully their neighbors that we saw at the outset of this conflict. He criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs warning that the threat of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. Austin said that its unhelpful and dangerous to rattle sabers and speculate about the use of nuclear weapons. ___ MOSCOW A senior Kremlin official says that Ukraine may split into several parts. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said in remarks published Tuesday that the policies of the West and the Kyiv regime controlled by it would only be the breakup of Ukraine into several states. The statement comes as Russia says it has focused on expanding control over Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian troops there since 2014 when conflict erupted following Russias annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. Moscow launched military action in Ukraine on Feb. 24, days after recognizing the separatist regions independence. Last week, a senior Russian military officer said that along with taking control over Donbas, Russia also wants to overtake southern Ukraine, saying such a move would also open a land corridor between Russia and the separatist Trans-Dniester region of Moldova. ___ MADRID Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said Tuesday he was very worried by the explosions this week in the separatist region of Trans-Dniester, adding that they reminded him too much of occurrences in the Donbas region immediately prior to Russias invasion of Ukraine late February. I remember before Feb. 21, there have been some series of false-flag operations in Donbas region, so called people republics, that were used as the pretext by Russia to recognize and then to sign the so-called friendship and assistance treaties and then to start the military operation, Rinkevics told reporters in Madrid. Im very worried about the current trend in Trans-Dniester because that resembles a little bit that pattern that we have seen, he added. Police in Trans-Dniester say two explosions Tuesday in a radio facility close to the Ukrainian border knocked two antennas out of service. On Monday, several explosions were reported to have hit the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, the regions capital. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land in Moldova, has been under the control of separatists since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops there. The United States has warned that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops to those nations. Rinkevics was in Madrid to meet his Spanish counterpart and discuss the Ukraine war and the upcoming NATO summit in the Spanish capital. ___ The Russian military has warned it could strike Ukrainian decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital and said wouldnt be stopped by the possible presence of Western advisers there. The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused the U.K. of making statements encouraging Ukraine to use Western weapons to carry out strikes on the Russian territory, warning that if it happens the Russian military could retaliate by hitting government structures in Kyiv. It directly pointed at U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, who told Times Radio that it was not necessarily a problem if Ukraine British-donated weapons were used to hit sites on Russian soil. The ministry said in a statement that the Russian armed forces are ready to deal retaliatory strikes with long-range precision guided weapons on Kyiv centers that would make such decisions. It noted that the presence of citizens of one of Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centers wont necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action. The Russian military so far has avoided striking presidential, government and military headquarters in Kyiv during its campaign in Ukraine that has entered a third month. ___ WASHINGTON Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging Congress to fully fund the Biden administrations proposed budget for the State Department, telling lawmakers the spending is critical to ensuring that the war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for Russia and a message to other countries that might invade their neighbors. Blinken said his weekend visit to Kyiv with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had left him with the indelible impression that Ukraine is winning, particularly in the capital. It was right in front of us: the Ukrainians have won the battle for Kyiv, he said. Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that the U.S.-led global response to Russias invasion had underscored the power and purpose of American diplomacy. He said the $60.4 billion budget proposal for the next fiscal year was needed to continue to rally partners and allies in the cause. We will, we have to continue to drive that diplomacy forward to seize what I believe are the strategic opportunities and address risks presented by Russias overreach, as countries reconsider their policies, priorities, their relationships, Blinken said. The budget request before you predated this crisis, but fully funding it is critical in my judgment to ensuring Russias war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for the Kremlin and serves as a powerful lesson to those who might consider following its path. Blinken did not name other nations that might be considering following Russias lead but his comment was seen as a veiled reference to China, which has sided with Russia in the Ukraine conflict and has made no secret of its desire to re-unify the island of Taiwan with the mainland. ___ CHERNOBYL, Ukraine The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency says it was possible that an accident could have occurred when Russian troops seized control of the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster during the war in Ukraine. Speaking on a visit to the former nuclear power plant Tuesday on the 36th anniversary of the meltdown, Rafael Mariano Grossi said the situation in 1986 was completely different. In this case, what we had was a nuclear safety situation which was not normal, and could have developed into an accident. Russian troops moved into the radiation-contaminated Chernobyl exclusion zone in February on their way toward the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and withdrew late last month as Russia switched its focus to fighting in eastern Ukraine. The site is now back in Ukrainian hands and communications which were disrupted have been restored. Russian forces continue to hold a working nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia plant, where there was fighting nearby in early March which damaged the plants training facility. Clearly, the physical integrity of one nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, was compromised, we also had situations where the external power was interrupted including here (Chernobyl) so there were a number of events that were compromising the normal operations of any nuclear power facility, Grossi said. Those were avoided but of course, as I was saying, the situation was not stable and we have to stay on alert. ___ Natural gas prices have approached levels not seen in 14 years, briefly crossing the $8 per Mcf level this week before turning lower. The surge in prices prompted the Energy Analysis team at the American Gas Association to research whats driving prices. In its findings, the team said the market may be reacting to a confluence of circumstances. First, winter natural gas demand outpaced supply growth even though US natural gas production ended 2021 at record levels. Another factor is that underground storage inventories are lower than average while exports of liquefied natural gas remain at historic levels. Average natural gas demand increased by 3.9 billion cubic feet per day between Nov. 1, 2021, and April 18, 2022. By comparison, during that same time period, average supplies including production and Canadian imports rose by 3.6 Bcf per day. That has led to a net draw from storage, with current US underground natural gas inventories at 1.6 trillion cubic feet 24 percent below year-ago levels and 18 percent below the five-year average. The AGA, however, predicts inventories will rise to 3.5 Tcf by October. Average US natural gas demand month-to-date is 4.3 Bcf higher than in April 2021, with only 10 percent of that increase attributable to LNG exports, the AGA said. The remainder can be attributed to higher domestic consumption, including residential and commercial heating, and higher gas flows to power generation. Pipeline exports to Mexico are also part of the increase in demand. The AGA analysts say the US is on course to set new natural gas production records this year, citing an S&P Global Platts forecast that production is set to increase by 4 Bcf per day throughout the year and total flowing gas volumes could reach 97 Bcf per day by December. US natural gas prices have climbed 140 percent over April 2021 levels, but the AGA analysis points out that European and Asian markets are seeing natural gas contracts regularly trading above $30 per Mmbtu, including $70 contracts following Russias invasion of Ukraine. The AGA analysis sees some price relief coming for natural gas consumers, saying the market indicates easing of prices after next winter. Natural gas futures are priced above $7.00 per MMBtu for contracts through February 2023 as of April 20. After that, the price for contracted gas begins to fall. Contracts from April 2023 on, are trading below $5.00 as of April 20. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADRID (AP) The Spanish government passed a decree Tuesday aimed at boosting transparency in a monarchy still reeling from scandals involving King Felipe VIs father, former King Juan Carlos I. The government described the decree, approved at its weekly Cabinet meeting, as a step toward modernizing Spain's royal house. The move comes a day after Felipe made public his personal assets of 2.6 million euros ($2.8 million) for the first time. The decree will subject the accounts of the royal household to the scrutiny of Spain's national Court of Auditors and require members of the royal family to declare any gifts they receive. Felix Bolanos, who serves as Spain's minister of the presidency and relations with parliament, said the decree was "an advance in transparency, accountability, exemplarity and efficiency that is aligned to the highest standards with other European royal houses. In recent years, allegations of financial wrongdoing involving Juan Carlos tarnished the reputation of Spains royal family. The most recent involved investigations into millions of dollars in foreign accounts and prompted the former king to leave Spain for the United Arab Emirates in 2020. The palace said Monday that the unprecedented disclosure of Felipe's estate was part of a wider push to make the monarchy worthy of the respect and trust of its citizens. The palace said the king's wealth was made up of around 2.3 million euros in savings, current accounts and securities. The rest is in art, antiques and jewelry. The king does not have any real estate or any financial dealings abroad, a palace official said. Felipe's wealth stems from his earnings as king and those he received as heir-in-waiting to Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014. The palace said Felipe paid taxes on all of his earnings. In 2020, Felipe renounced his personal inheritance from his father following the allegations of financial wrongdoings. Spanish and Swiss prosecutors have since shelved their investigations of Juan Carlos' finances. Juan Carlos, who helped steer Spain back to democracy following the death of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco in 1975, was once Spain's most respected public figures. Scandals of one type or another involving the family began to mount in the later years of his reign. Christopher Smith/Christopher Smith/Invision/AP NEW YORK (AP) The quirky dance-pop outfit The B-52s are hitting the road one last time for a final tour this summer that will roam from coast to coast. No one likes to throw a party more than we do, but after almost a half-century on the road, its time for one last blow-out, said Fred Schneider, co-founder and singer for the Athens, Georgia-based band, in a statement. Shipley Do-Nuts, a staple in Houstonians' lives for more than 85 years, is planning an aggressive expansion that will significantly grow its footprint in Texas and nationwide. The chain wrapped its first quarter of 2022 by announcing it will open 350 new locations over the next five years, doubling the size of the company. Shipley is looking to new frontiers with this expansion, having signed franchise agreements for 25 shops in Maryland and 25 in the Atlanta area, both new markets. The first of these are planned to open at the end of 2022. Shipley is among other iconic Texas brands such as Whataburger and Buc-ee's that have spread the love outside the state in recent years. As with every fast food conglomerate, Shipley started small. Lawrence Shipley, Sr. and his wife, Lillie, founded Shipley Do-Nuts in 1936, selling doughnuts out of a bakery at 1417 Crockett Street in Houston's First Ward. Over the next decades, the business began offering kolaches, beignets and coffee, and now has 63 varieties of doughnuts. In 1987, it began franchising. Peak Rock Capital, a private equity firm based in Austin, acquired Shipley in January 2021. Today, under the leadership of CEO Clifton Rutledge, there are more than 330 Shipley franchise locations in 10 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and of course, Texas. As well as the 50 upcoming stores in Maryland and Georgia, the company signed an additional 20 franchise agreements for Texas, notably in Weslaco in the Rio Grande Valley and in north Texas. In 2022 alone, Shipley will debut about 40 shops, including the very first one in Tallahassee, Florida, which opened its doors in February. Rutledge said the company has taken steps to attract franchisees that are already qualified, multi-unit operators of other chains in order to build on Shipley's expansion. The brand continues to actively recruit potential franchisees and is currently focusing on deepening its presence in the Southeast, Colorado and Oklahoma. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) UC Berkeley sophomore Terrell Thompson slept in his car for nearly two weeks at the start of the school year last fall, living out of a suitcase stashed in the trunk and texting dozens of landlords a day in a desperate search for a place to live. The high-achieving student from a low-income household in Sacramento, California, was majoring in business administration at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Yet, Thompson folded his 6-foot frame into the back seat of his Honda Accord at night, wondering how he would ever find a home in the exorbitantly expensive San Francisco Bay Area city. Academically it was hard, because Im worried about finding housing and Im worried about my clothes and Im worried about getting my car broken into all the time, said the 19-year-old Thompson, who now lives in a studio apartment he found last September. I was anxious 24/7." College students across the U.S. are looking for housing for the 2022-23 school year and if 2021 was any indication, it won't be easy. Students at colleges from California to Florida were denied on-campus housing last fall and found themselves sitting out the year at home or living in motel rooms or vehicles as surging rents and decades of failing to build sufficient student housing came to a head. For some colleges, the housing crunch was related to increased demand by students who had been stuck at home during the pandemic. For others, including many in California, the shortage reflects a deeper conflict between the colleges and homeowners who don't want new housing built for students who they say increase congestion and noise. In March, the University of California, Berkeley, said it would have to cap student enrollment because of a lawsuit brought by irate neighbors over the school's growth. State lawmakers fast-tracked a fix to allow the campus to enroll as many students as planned for the 2022 fall semester, but the legislation does nothing to produce more housing. Nationally, 43% of students at four-year universities experienced housing insecurity in 2020, up from 35% in 2019, according to an annual survey conducted by The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University. Students reported being unable to pay utilities, rent or mortgage, living in overcrowded units, or moving in with others due to financial difficulties. And for the first time since it began tracking basic needs in 2015, the survey found an equal percentage 14% of students at both four-year and two-year colleges who had experienced homelessness in the last year, said Mark Huelsman, the centers director of policy and advocacy. This is a function of rents rising, the inability of communities and institutions to build enough housing for students and other costs of college going up that create a perfect storm for students, he said. For some students, the lack of affordable housing could mean the difference between going to college or not. Others take on massive debt or live so precariously they miss out on all the extracurricular benefits of higher education. Jonathan Dena, a first-generation college student from the Sacramento area, almost rejected UC Berkeley over the lack of housing, even though it was his dream program. He found a studio at the heavily subsidized Rochdale Apartments for under $1,300 a month, but he might have to move because the bare-bones units may close for a seismic renovation. Dena, 29, wants to continue living within walking distance of campus for a robust college experience. But the urban studies major and student government housing commission officer said it's kind of scary how high rents are near campus. Online listings showed a newer one-bedroom for one person at $3,700, as well as a 240-square foot (22 square-meter) bedroom for two people sharing a bathroom for nearly $1,700 per person a month. If I go to school in Berkeley, I would love to live in Berkeley, he said. Nationally, rents have increased 17% since March 2020, said Chris Salviati, senior economist with Apartment List, but the increase has been higher in some popular college towns. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, saw a 24% jump in rents and Tempe, Arizona, saw a 31% hike. In some cases, the rental increases have been exacerbated by a lack of on-campus housing. Last fall, demand for on-campus housing was so high that the University of Tampa offered incoming freshmen a break on tuition if they deferred until fall 2022. Rent in the Florida city has skyrocketed nearly 30% from a year ago, according to Apartment List. Rent in Knoxville has soared 36% since March 2020, and it could get worse after the University of Tennessee announced a new lottery system for its dorms this fall, saying it needs to prioritize housing for a larger freshman class. Even two-year community colleges, which have not traditionally provided dorms, are rethinking student needs as the cost of housing rises. Last October, Long Beach City College launched a pilot program to provide up to 15 homeless students space in an enclosed parking garage. They sleep in their cars and have access to bathrooms and showers, electrical outlets and internet while they work with counselors to find permanent housing. Uduak-Joe Ntuk, president of the colleges Board of Trustees, hesitated when asked if the program will be renewed. I want to say no, but I think we will, he said. Were going to have new students come fall semester this year that are going to be in a similar situation, and for us to do nothing is untenable. California prides itself on its robust higher education system, but has struggled with housing at its four-year colleges. Berkeley is notoriously difficult, with cut-throat competition for the few affordable apartments within walking distance to campus. "I definitely was not prepared to be this stressed about housing every year, said Jennifer Lopez, 21, a UC Berkeley senior from Cudahy, in southeastern Los Angeles County, and the first in her family to attend college. She imagined she would spend all four years on campus in dorms, but found herself in a scramble for a safe, affordable place to sleep. The urban studies major currently splits an attic space in what is technically a one-bedroom apartment shared by four undergraduates, one of whom sleeps in the dining room. The total monthly rent is nearly $3,700 laughably high in most U.S. cities but she's grateful for it. If I hadnt heard about this place, I was either going to end up living in a basement, or in this other apartment I know (where) the girls are struggling with leaks and mold, Lopez said. The Basic Needs Center at UC Berkeley, which operates a food pantry for students and faculty, found in a snapshot survey that a quarter of undergraduates reported they lacked a safe, regular and adequate nighttime place to stay and sleep at some point since October. Thats huge, said Ruben Canedo, co-chair of UCs systemwide Basic Needs Committee. This generation of students is navigating the most expensive cost-of-living market while at the same time having the least amount of financial support accessible to them." Thompson, the business administration major, started looking for an apartment last May, after spending his first year at home taking classes remotely to save money. He quickly realized that his rental budget of $750 was wildly inadequate and as a second-year student, he no longer qualified for priority in the dorms. By the time classes began in late August, he was in a panic. He tried commuting from his home in Sacramento, leaving before 6 a.m. for the 80-mile (130-kilometer) drive to Berkeley and returning home around midnight to avoid traffic. But that was grueling so he took to sleeping in his car. Initially he parked far away in a spot without parking limits. Then he parked at a lot between two student dorm complexes closer to campus, where exuberant partying kept him up at night. He attended classes, studied and ate sparingly to save on ballooning food costs. He looked at apartments where five people were squeezed into two bedrooms with pared-down belongings stored under beds. He slept in his car for almost two weeks until a sympathetic landlord who had also grown up in a low-income home reached out, offering a studio within walking distance of campus. The rent is $1,000 a month, and he hopes to stay until he graduates. "I think I have a little bit of a PTSD factor, he said. Most students have no idea of the housing situation when they choose to attend UC Berkeley, said 19-year-old freshman Sanaa Sodhi, and the university needs to do more to prepare students and support them in their search. The political science major is excited to move out of the dorms and into a two-bedroom apartment where she and three friends are taking over the lease. The unit is older but a bargain at $3,000 a month, she said. The housemates were prepared to pay up to $5,200 for a safe place close to campus. You dont honestly know the severity of the situation before youre in it, she said, adding that landlords hold all the cards. They know that whatever price they charge, well inevitably have to pay it because we dont really have a choice except maybe to live out of our cars. - AP journalist Terence Chea contributed from Berkeley, California. David Brock, the conservative journalistic hit man turned Hillary Clinton acolyte, described how he first became a reactionary in his 2002 book Blinded by the Right. Hed arrived at the University of California, Berkeley, at the dawn of the Reagan era as a Bobby Kennedy-worshipping liberal but grew quickly alienated by the campuss progressive pieties. Rather than a liberal bastion of intellectual tolerance and academic freedom, the campus was though the phrase hadnt yet been coined politically correct, sometimes stiflingly so, he wrote. A formative experience was seeing a lecture by Ronald Reagans U.N. ambassador, Jeane Kirkpatrick, shut down by left-wing protesters. Wasnt free speech a liberal value? he asked. The more Brock challenged the left, the more he was ostracized, and the more his resentment pushed him rightward. By the time he got to Washington, where he became an influential conservative journalist, hed developed what we might now call an edgelord sensibility. He traveled to Chile to write a defense of murderous dictator Augusto Pinochet. I was flippantly engaging in the extremist one-upmanship that characterized not only me, but many young conservatives of the era, he wrote. Of course, not just that era. The dynamic Brock described extremist one-upmanship meant to scandalize hated left-wing persecutors is a major driver of right-wing cultural innovation. Thats why stories about the American New Right (also called the dissident right, national conservatism and neo-reaction) seem so familiar, even if the movements ideology is a departure from mainstream conservatism. Last week, Vanity Fair published James Pogues fascinating look at the American New Rights constellation of thinkers, podcasters and politicians, many funded by Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire who once wrote that freedom and democracy are incompatible. Its hard to summarize the scenes politics; a milieu that includes both the aggressively anti-cosmopolitan Senate candidate J.D. Vance of Ohio and the louche hipster podcast Red Scare doesnt have a coherent worldview. What it does have is contempt for social liberalism and a desire to epater le bourgeois. It is a project to overthrow the thrust of progress, at least such as liberals understand the word, Pogue wrote. One of the movements leading intellectual lights is Curtis Yarvin, a blogger who sees liberalism as creating a Matrix-like totalitarian system and who wants to replace American democracy with a sort of techno-monarchy. According to Pogue, the movement has become quietly edgy and cool in new tech outposts like Miami and Austin, and in downtown Manhattan, where New Right-ish politics are in, and signifiers like a demure cross necklace have become markers of a transgressive chic. This might be an overstatement, but its pretty clear that theres cultural energy in the opposition to the progressive norms and taboos that are derisively called wokeness. BuzzFeed News writer Joseph Bernstein captured this energy in a March article about an anti-woke New York film festival funded by Thiel and headed by a Black queer provocateur named Trevor Bazile. Call it, if you must, a vibe shift: a new generation of internet-native tastemakers like many of the people crowded into Baziles party who find the moralistic gatekeeping of millennials all a bit passe, wrote Bernstein. This vibe shift was predictable; when the left becomes grimly censorious, it incubates its own opposition. The internet makes things worse, giving the whole world a taste of the type of irritating progressive sanctimony Brock had to go to Berkeley to find. Ive met few people on the left who like online progressive culture. In novels set in progressive social worlds, internet leftism tends to be treated with disdain not a tyranny, but an annoyance. In Torrey Peters Detransition, Baby, a young trans woman reacts with priggish outrage to a dark joke shared between the books heroine, Reese, and her friend, both older trans women. Reese recognizes her as one of those Twitter girls eager to offer theory-laden takes on gender, writes Peters. The girl has listened in on the joke and shakes her head insensitive! staring at them over her black-framed glasses with watery, wounded eyes. For those who get most of their politics online, this can be what the left looks like a humorless person shaking her head at others insensitivity. As a result, an alliance with the countrys most repressive forces can appear, to some, as liberating. I suspect this can last only so long as the right isnt in power nationally. Eventually, an avant-garde flirtation with reaction will collide with the brutish, philistine reality of conservative rule. (As Brock would discover, being a gay man in a deeply homophobic movement was not cheeky fun.) In the short term, however, its frightening to think that backlash politics could become somehow fashionable, especially given how stagnant the left appears. In New York magazine, Sam Adler-Bell recently wrote about a dispiriting lull in progressive movement-building: There appears almost no grassroots energy or urgency of any kind on the Democratic side. The one thing the left could count on in recent years is its cultural capital. What happens if that is squandered? Michelle Goldberg is a columnist for the New York Times. TIRANA, Albania (AP) Albanian authorities have decided to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions before the summer vacation season. The Technical Committee of Experts, the country's highest executive body during the pandemic, said Tuesday that coronavirus-related measures will end in Albania as of May 1. The decision means masks no longer will be required indoors and nightclubs won't be subject to an 11 p.m. curfew Proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test for the virus won't be needed at border crossings. Authorities urged residents to continue getting vaccinated against the coronavirus. Some 60% of Albanias 2.8 million people has received two vaccine doses, while only 12.4% has gotten a third dose. Authorities have encouraged people older than age 60 to get a fourth shot. Albania has reported a significant drop in new daily cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the Health Ministry has reported some 275,000 confirmed cases and 3,496 virus-related deaths. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California wildlife authorities have arrested nine people on suspicion of poaching sturgeon and other sea creatures and selling the animals on the black market, officials said. Officers were looking into two separate poaching cases starting last year when they discovered a connection between the suspects and the investigations were merged, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) A Brazilian federal court on Monday upheld the suspension of an environmental license for what would be the largest open-pit gold mine in the nation's Amazon rainforest, dealing a blow to the Canada-based company behind the project. Belo Sun Mining Corp. was appealing the same courts 2017 ruling, which found that the company's consultation with local Indigenous peoples and study on the projects socio-environmental impacts didn't meet the criteria required by the National Indian Foundation. In a 3-0 vote, the court maintained its prior ruling. Belo Sun can appeal the decision to a higher court. The company's Volta Grande project is located on the banks of the Xingu River, in the state of Para. It is located about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Belo Monte, the worlds third-biggest hydroelectric dam. The Belo Monte dam has reduced the flow in the Volta Grande (Big Bend) stretch of the Xingu River, where the Belo Sun project is located. Among other impacts, the fish population, a staple for the local population, is diminishing. My community wasnt consulted about the Belo Sun project, Lorena Curuaia, a leader from the Iawa village, told The Associated Press by phone. Belo Monte already has had a major impact on the Xingu. A second project could mean the death of the local peoples." Belo Sun has argued that it already consulted the Indigenous peoples, and that their closest community is more than 10 km (6 miles) away. The Federal Prosecutors Office states that the company only considered officially demarcated areas, and that Indigenous communities outside these places should also be taken into account. Contacted by phone and email Monday, Belo Suns office in Brazil didnt respond to AP requests for comment about the court's decision or if it would appeal. According to the company, the project covers 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres). This is another victory for the Indigenous and riverine people of Volta Grande do Xingu, federal prosecutor Felicio de Araujo Pontes Jr. said in a text message. They know that a mining project can have devastating impacts on the region. The judgment shows the resilience of this population. ___ Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about APs climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. BEND, Ore. (AP) Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a drought emergency in four more counties this week and now more than half the land area in the state is under a drought declaration. The emergency declarations allow people who use water to seek temporary relief measures, such as moving water rights, drilling emergency wells and applying for state and federal aid. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A 3-month-old baby who was kidnapped from his San Francisco Bay Area home was found Tuesday and three suspects were detained, police said. The baby, Brandon Cuellar, was unharmed but was taken to a hospital as a precaution, San Jose Police Department officials said during a news conference. This incident is a parents' worst nightmare. We are fortunate it resulted in a positive outcome," San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata said, declining to release details on where the baby was found or the identities of the three people who were detained. The child was taken Monday from his apartment in San Jose by a man who was seen on video walking away with the baby in a carrier. Police believe they have apprehended the man in the video, who was one of the three taken into custody, said San Jose Assistant Police Chief Paul Joseph. Also detained was a woman who was with the child's grandmother before the abduction, San Jose Police spokesman Sgt. Christian Camarillo told reporters. This was a person who was with the grandmother yesterday when they went shopping, she was present at the apartment complex when this happened, he said. There have been some inconsistencies with what she has told us. Obviously, drawing our attention to what she knows about this. Joseph did not provide details about the third suspect. Initial investigations indicated the abductors had a link to the family, he said. We know that there is some connection to the family, but we don't know exactly what that connection is," Joseph said. On Monday, police released a video showing the man walking calmly down the sidewalk holding the baby carrier covered by a white blanket. Camarillo told reporters Monday that the kidnapping was reported by the baby's grandmother. According to the grandmother, she came home to this apartment. ... She took the baby in the apartment, went downstairs to unload some groceries," Camarillo said. "In that short amount of time someone entered the apartment ... and left with the baby. Camarillo said the baby's mother was at work when he was abducted. Dad right now is out of the picture. He is incarcerated. I don't know, you know, whether that is going to play into this, but obviously we are going to talk to him soon, Camarillo said. SINGAPORE (AP) The Singapore Court of Appeal on Tuesday dismissed a last-minute legal challenge filed by the mother of a mentally disabled Malaysian man in an attempt to halt his execution for drug trafficking. The dismissal of the motion clears the way for the execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, 34, to proceed Wednesday. The motion, filed Monday by his mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, argued that Nagaenthran may not have received a fair trial because Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who presided over his previous failed appeals, was attorney general at the time he was convicted in 2010, creating a potential conflict of interest. Nagaenthrans lawyers and supporters say he has an IQ of 69, and that the execution of a mentally disabled person is prohibited under international human rights law. The court ruled Tuesday that the motion was devoid of merit and that no court in the world would allow the matter to be prolonged ad infinitum. There must come a time when the last word of the court is the last word, said Justice Andrew Phang, one of the judges. Nagaenthran was arrested in 2009 for trafficking about 43 grams (1.5 ounces) of heroin into Singapore and was sentenced to death in 2010 under the country's strict anti-drug laws. He previously failed in appeals to the High Court in 2011, the Court of Appeal in 2019 and a petition for clemency to the president of Singapore. Following the court ruling Tuesday, Nagaenthran asked for permission to hold his familys hands in the courtroom as a final wish. He was allowed to do so, and was granted two hours to spend with his family in the Supreme Court building. He and his mother appeared in court Tuesday without a lawyer, with his mother saying she was unable to find one to represent her. We need a lawyer, I want my son back alive, that is why I made his application, she said via an interpreter. We are in dire straits now, we really want to speak to a lawyer who can advise us on how to move forward. His case has drawn international attention, with public figures such as the founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson, and actor Stephen Fry publicly appealing for him not to be executed. Immediately dismissing this motion so they can rush Nagen to the gallows at dawn tomorrow lays bare the truth about what fair trial rights and access to justice looks like in death penalty cases in Singapore, despite the governments repeated claims to afford those facing the death penalty full due process, said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, a private organization. On Monday, hundreds of people in Singapore held a candlelight vigil at a park to protest the scheduled execution. Several recent death row cases have put the spotlight on Singapores policy of capital punishment for drug-related offenses. Singapores home affairs ministry says the country has a zero-tolerance stance against illicit drugs and that the death penalty is made clear at its borders. WARSAW, Poland (AP) The death toll from two coal mine accidents last week in southern Poland has risen to 13 after another injured miner died Tuesday, a doctor said. The miner died at the Siemianowice Slaskie hospital, which specializes in treating burns, where 20 other coal mine workers were still being treated for injuries from methane gas blasts, Dr. Przemyslaw Strzelec said. The man's death means that seven miners and rescuers were killed by repeated blasts Wednesday and Thursday at the Pniowek mine, near the Czech border. The search for seven others who remain missing was suspended after Thursdays blasts hurt 10 rescuers. In the nearby Borynia-Zofiowka mine, 13 teams of rescuers are searching for four miners gone missing after a tremor and methane gas discharge on Saturday. Six miners died in that accident. Prosecutors have opened investigations into the accidents. The mines are operated by the Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa, JSW. Most Polish coal mines are in the southern Silesia region and many have a high presence of methane in the rock. Some 70% of Polands energy comes from coal, a proportion that has been sharply criticized by the European Union and environmental groups who are concerned about CO2 emissions and meeting climate change goals. Poland has been trying to scale down its use of coal. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently said Poland has stopped coal imports from Russia and its ally Belarus in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine. For years Poland has been reducing its dependence on Russian energy sources that was built in communist-era times before 1990, when Poland was Russia's satellite. ___ Follow all AP news about climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate NEW ORLEANS (AP) A 3-year-old girl was fatally shot inside a house in New Orleans' French Quarter on Tuesday afternoon, and investigators were questioning her teenage brothers, police said. Detectives don't know whether the shooting was accidental, Capt. Hans Ganthier, commander of the 8th Police District, said during a brief news conference. EVERETT, Wash. (AP) In a change of plans, a man on Monday pleaded not guilty to aggravated first-degree murder in the shooting of Everett, Washington, police officer Dan Rocha. Richard Rotters lawyer said last week that Rotter planned to plead guilty. But at a hearing Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court, Rotter entered three pleas of not guilty, for the murder charge and charges of unlawfully having a firearm and possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver, The Daily Herald reported. Gov. Ned Lamont is withdrawing the nomination of Alina Marquez Reynolds as a judge of the Superior Court after questions at her confirmation hearing Monday about whether she had technically practiced law without a license. Reynolds, 56, is a member of the New York bar admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut, where she prosecuted cases as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1995 to 2019. At issue is whether she was tardy in obtaining a necessary credential after leaving the U.S. attorneys office to become the general counsel of Grace Farms Foundation in New Canaan in 2019. As general counsel, she did not appear in any Connecticut court, but state law requires that she be admitted to the state bar either as a fully licensed attorney or with a limited license allowing her to act as a general counsel. Reynolds was not admitted to the bar as a general counsel until 2021 and as a fully licensed lawyer able to practice law in a Connecticut court until an expedited admission last week. It was unclear how the Judicial Selection Commission placed her on the list of lawyers qualified for the trial bench in January without being fully admitted to the bar a requirement to serve as a judge. The governor can make nominations only from lists of those deemed qualified by the commission for nomination to the Superior Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court. To be admitted to practice in Connecticut, lawyers must either pass the bar exam or, in the case of lawyers in good standing in another state, be waived in after a background check. Given her New York license and long practice in federal courts in Connecticut, Reynolds presumably would have had little trouble being accepted to practice in Connecticut as a general counsel or a fully admitted lawyer. Rep. Craig Fishbein of Wallingford, the ranking House Republican on Judiciary, immediately challenged Reynolds about her licensing history as soon as she finished her opening statement. So in October of 2019, you obtained employment as general counsel for a Connecticut firm, but you were not licensed to do so. Is that what Im hearing? Fishbein asked. That is correct, but I was not appearing in court, she replied. But Fishbein said state law required licensure for a lawyer to even portray herself as a general counsel. Thats where Im having a little difficulty, said Fishbein, who noted the law allowed a grace period after beginning employment to complete the necessary paperwork. But its not until like two years later that a license is obtained to do this job in the state. Am I getting something wrong there? She called it an inadvertent oversight on my part. Reynolds said she was hired for two jobs at the foundation, one as general counsel and the other advising the foundations Justice Initiative in preventing gender-based violence. I wore two hats. I was part of the Justice Initiative and did a lot of training, outreach and policy work, advocacy work, she said. As the general counsel, really my function was to manage outside counsel. It was much more of an administrative function. The Democratic co-chairs of the committee, Rep. Steve Stafstrom of Bridgeport and Sen. Gary Winfield of New Haven, declined to call a vote on Reynoldss confirmation, a blow to her chances in the final full week of the session. By Monday night, her time as a nominee effectively was over. The governors office issued a statement to CT Mirror noting that Reynolds had met two prerequisites for the bench: An approval by the Judicial Selection Commission and her admission to the bar. That said, the governors office respects and understands the concerns raised by the committee today and will formally withdraw her nomination, the office said. Reynolds was one of 11 lawyers nominated as judges of the Superior Court on April 13, the same day the governor also nominated Joan K. Alexander to the Supreme Court and Hope C. Seeley to the Appellate Court. The committee voted Monday to recommend the full General Assembly confirm Alexander, Seeley and the other 10 nominees to eight-year terms. Stafstrom, reached before the governors office moved to withdraw the nomination, called the episode regrettable. I think its unfortunate in that she was seen as otherwise well-qualified, he said. Reynolds is her married name. She was born Alina Pilar Marquez in Colombia, the child of parents who fled from Cuba. We came to the United States because my parents, especially my dad, who only made it as far as the eighth grade in school, knew that it would be here in the United States where we would have the best opportunity to build a new life, she told the committee in her opening statement. Reynolds was the first in her family to attend college. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Boston College Law School. She began her legal career as an assistant district attorney in New York. Correction: The headline of this story has been updated to reflect the nomination was for the Connecticut Superior Court. JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli forces on Tuesday shot and killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man during a raid in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry said. The PA said the man, Ahmad Oweidat, was shot in the head. The army confirmed it carried out an arrest raid overnight at the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, south of Jericho. It said troops opened fire after dozens of Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at soldiers. Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS A 15-year-old boy was arrested at 2:10 p.m. Monday on a disorderly conduct charge after causing a disturbance at Garrison Alternative School, 936 W. Michigan Ave. ACCIDENTS William C.T. Hatchel, 33, of 1648 S. Main St. was arrested at 1:54 a.m. Sunday on charges of improper lane use and leaving the scene of an accident after the truck he was driving went off the road and became stuck in a ditch in the 900 block of West Morton Avenue. THEFTS, BURGLARIES Construction equipment valued at $20,000 was stolen April 10 from the 1000 block of East Morton Avenue, according to a report filed at 1:09 p.m. Monday. A man stole an unknown number of steaks from County Market, 1255 W. Morton Ave., about 7:56 p.m. Sunday by hiding them in his clothing. A woman took about $1,400 worth of merchandise from CVS Pharmacy, 936 S. Main St., about 2 p.m. Sunday without paying. A mailbox valued at $200 was stolen from the 2200 block of Mound Road, according to a report filed at 7:45 a.m. Sunday. South Jacksonville Police THEFTS, BURGLARIES A lawnmower was stolen from the front yard of a residence in the 200 block of East Greenwood Avenue, according to a report filed at 9 p.m. Thursday. Items were taken between Nov. 1 and Sunday from a shed in the 200 block of West Pennsylvania Avenue, according to a report filed at 1:41 p.m. Sunday. A license plate was stolen from a car in the 2400 block of Holiday Lane, according to a report filed at 5:13 p.m. Sunday. Pike County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Ashley R. Fulmer, 26, of Barry was booked into Pike County Jail at 7:24 p.m. April 19 on a petition to revoke. Russell C. Coats, 55, of Blandville was booked into Pike County Jail at 7:46 p.m. Sunday on a domestic battery charge. Angela M. Reveal, 34, of Griggsville was booked into Pike County Jail at 9:01 p.m. April 18 on a Pike County warrant accusing her of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of cannabis by a passenger, and bad checks. Christopher S. Bushey, 30, of Griggsville was booked into Pike County Jail at 3:18 p.m. Friday on a domestic battery charge. Pittsfield Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Christopher D. Edwards, 40, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 2:46 p.m. April 18 on charges of criminal damage to property, obstructing justice, theft and burglary. James R. Merryman, 55, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 3:31 p.m. Thursday on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Ashley E. Niffen, 36, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 5:09 p.m. Thursday on a theft charge and on a petition to revoke. HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) A report issued Monday urges a California coastal panel to deny a proposal to build a $1.4 billion desalination plant that would draw on the ocean to expand water sources in Southern California. Staff for the California Coastal Commission recommended the panel reject Poseidon Water 's proposal to build the 50 million gallon-a-day facility Huntington Beach. The project is up for discussion before the panel on May 12. This project raises significant and complex coastal protection policy issues, staff wrote in the report, including conformity with policies that require protection of marine life, water quality, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, and policies meant to avoid or minimize hazards associated with sea level rise, floods, tsunamis, and geologic hazards. The staff also wrote that the proposal raises significant issues about potential impacts on environmental justice communities. It also lacks, however, details about who would ultimately buy Poseidon's water and at what cost, the report states. Poseidon Water said it believed the commission staff erred in its recommendation. No water infrastructure project in the state of California has ever undergone this level of study and scrutiny, the company said in a statement. If this recommendation stands, it will effectively be the death knell for desalination in California. The proposal has been touted by some in California's Orange County as an alternative to a long-running drought and a way to expand water sources as the region grows. But environmental groups have long opposed the plan over concerns marine life will be sucked into the plant and argue that critical infrastructure shouldn't be built in a low-lying coastal areas as the region contends with sea level rise. They also say the water would be too expensive. The proposal comes as California faces prolonged drought, worsened by climate change, with its nearly 40 million residents heeding repeated calls in recent years to conserve water. It also comes amid rising concern about sea level rise, with a federal report recently forecasting that seas lapping against the U.S. shore could be 10 to 12 inches (0.25 to 0.3 meters) higher by 2050. Huntington Beach, which is known as Surf City USA" and relies on its waves and scenic shoreline for tourism dollars, approved a proposal more than a decade ago to build the plant near a coastal power facility. The plant would draw on the sea water and convert it so it could be used to replenish the local groundwater system, a key source of drinking water for many of Orange County's 3.2 million residents. But the state coastal panel in 2013 recommended a series of changes to the project to protect marine life. Additional studies were completed and Poseidon updated its proposals for structures used to draw in ocean water. Poseidon Water has been running a similar desalination plant in nearby Carlsbad, in San Diego County, since 2015. Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network and member of the Stop Poseidon coalition, praised the recommendation Monday to deny the proposal. In a statement, Jordan said it's time for Poseidon Water to recognize the deep and irrevocable flaws with this project, cut its losses and publicly recognize this project and this site are not good for Huntington Beach or California its time to shut it down for good. SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) A suspended western Pennsylvania prosecutor facing charges in a sexual assault case has now been charged in an unrelated assault almost a year ago. Jeffrey Thomas, 36, Somerset Countys elected district attorney, was jailed Monday on charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment after state police alleged that he was seen on a video call punching a woman as the two rode in a vehicle in May 2021. SEMINOLE, Ala. (AP) Authorities say tattoos have helped identify a body found 22 years ago in Alabamas Styx River as that of a Texas man who helped other migrants find work. DNA identified the body as Daniel Muniz Jr. after his stepdaughter, Amanda Galleher of Tennessee, found photos of the tattoos in a national database of missing and unidentified people, news outlets report. The man, whose cause of death was found to be probable drowning, was wearing only jeans when his body was found in March 2000, news outlets reported. The Baldwin County Sheriffs Office reopened the case in 2019, sending out a news release with photos of distinctive tattoos and posting them on websites about missing people. Galleher found them in June 2021 on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System clearinghouse and resource center. I was going through every one of the cases that there was, and I had seen the first tattoo pop up of the Indian head and that was of my fathers ex-wife that they had put on there, Galleher told WALA-TV in Mobile. It took until April 21 for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to positively identify Muniz. Al.com reported that he was a migrant worker from Texas. He had been in Baldwin County to help migrant workers find jobs, WPMI-TV reported. Because his body was found near the community of Seminole, the unidentified man had been listed as Seminole Doe, WKRG-TV reported. Galleher told WALA that she plans to travel to Alabama to visit her stepfather's grave. "They even got a tombstone, she said. Theres a lot of people in the world who have family and dont even have a tombstone, so I feel like the county hes in did him justice. She said she plans to have a new gravestone made. LONDON (AP) An independent monitor of Britain's use of surveillance cameras has asked for the government to clarify its positions on buying equipment from a Chinese technology company accused of involvement in human rights abuses. Fraser Sampson, the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner, said he raised concerns with senior Cabinet officials after Hikvision failed to answer questions about the extent of its role in China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in western Xinjiang province. There are serious unanswered questions about Hikvisions involvement in appalling human rights abuses in China," Sampson said in a statement Tuesday. The company seems unwilling or unable to provide assurances about the ethics of some of its operations and about security concerns associated with its equipment. Sampson said the company's cameras and facial recognition technology have been implicated in systematic human rights abuses against Uyghurs. He said widespread persecution of the minority group in Xinjiang is known to rely heavily on surveillance technology, including facial recognition software designed to detect racial characteristics. The Telegraph newspaper reported earlier this month that the U.K. health department banned Hikvision, which is part-owned by the Chinese government, from competing for new business after a procurement report found ethical concerns about the company. Sampson said all branches of the British government should rule out contracts with Hikvision until the company provides necessary information on ethics and security. It wasn't immediately clear how many of the firm's cameras have been purchased by local authorities or are in use in U.K. government buildings, although media reports have estimated that there were more than 1.2 million Hikvision cameras in the country. In 2019, the firm was blocked from selling to U.S. federal government agencies following security concerns. Hikvision, which is headquartered in Hangzhou, China, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The company's website says its products are used in more than 150 countries and regions and that it employs more than 42,000 people worldwide. GENEVA (AP) A United Nations team has landed in China ahead of a long-delayed visit by the U.N. human rights chief to Xinjiang, where rights groups and some Western governments allege the Chinese government is committing genocide and serious abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. The U.N. human rights office said Tuesday its staffers arrived in southern China on Monday to prepare for the visit by High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, expected in May. The advance team of five is initially spending time in Guangzhou, where they are quarantining in line with COVID-19 travel requirements, spokeswoman Liz Throssell said. Bachelet announced in March that her office reached an agreement with China's government that she could visit Xinjiang in far-western China. The rights chief has long talked about hoping to visit Xinjiang, and her office has also been compiling a long-awaited report into alleged human rights abuses in the region. Almost 200 rights groups have urged Bachelet to release her report, which diplomats said has been ready or very close to it for months. The advance team is in China to make sure that Bachelet would gain meaningful access to fully understand the human rights situation in China, Throssell said. Rights groups and researchers accuse China of locking up more than a million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and members of other minority groups in re-education camps, forced labor, forcing women from the region to undergo contraceptive measures and separating children from incarcerated parents. The U.S. government has declared that Beijings policies against the Uyghurs amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity. Legislatures in Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada have done the same. China denies the allegations and maintains its policies were meant to de-radicalize those influenced by jihadi propaganda following years of violent outbursts against Chinese rule in the region. What do we know about the new omicron mutant? It's a descendant of the earlier super-contagious stealth omicron and has quickly gained ground in the United States. BA.2.12.1 was responsible for 29% of new COVID-19 infections nationally last week, according to data reported Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it caused 58% of reported infections in the New York region. The variant has been detected in at least 13 other countries, but the U.S. has the highest levels of it so far. Scientists say it spreads even faster than stealth omicron. Cases are rising in places with increasing levels of the BA.2.12.1 variant, such as central New York, suggesting something about it is causing it to out-compete others, says Eli Rosenberg of New York state's health department. It appears a similar pattern will likely play out nationally, says Kirsten St. George, director of virology at New York states Wadsworth Center Laboratory. Scientists are trying to figure out other aspects of BA.2.12.1, including whether vaccines are as effective against it as previous variants. ___ The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Submit them at: FactCheck@AP.org. Read more here: How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed after two years? How many times can I reuse my N95 mask? Can your pet get COVID-19? Galveston Independent School District officials last week confirmed the uncovering of a network of cryptocurrency mining devices surreptitiously installed on six separate campuses. According to The Daily News' John Wayne Ferguson, district IT employees found a number of Bobcat cryptocurrency mining hotspots installed on school networks. The devices were discovered after workers monitoring the district's systems noted aberrations in network traffic, according to Galveston ISD President Tony Brown. "I can't describe it in any more details, because I'd be in way over my head, as far as what it was and what they did," Brown said, per Ferguson. Brown stated the devices were installed by a former district employee who was placed on leave after the discovery and has since resigned. The devices were found on April 8, according to Superintendent Jerry Gibson, and an investigation is ongoing. "Although the investigation related to the employee's misuse of district property is ongoing, it has been confirmed that there was no breach of data resulting from this incident," Gibson said. "We are pleased that the security measures put in place by the district were effective in detecting and preventing any potential issues." Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are digital currencies traded between users as payment for goods and services. These transactions are authenticated by miners, who use devices like the ones discovered by Galveston ISD employees to provide processing power that helps verify these transactions. The process is highly energy-intensive and requires large amounts of electricity and computer processing power, and miners who provide this service receive new Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in return. In short, crypto mining is a lucrative, energy-heavy enterprise, and lawmakers across the United States are scrambling to craft legislation in the hopes of attracting or regulating mining in their states as the practice proliferates. New York state senators are poised to vote on a bill in the coming weeks that would ban energy-intensive crypto mining in the state for the next two years. Proponents of the bill say it will disincentivize the use of fossil fuels in the creation of Bitcoin and help keep New York on track to meet its carbon emissions goals. In Texas, Republican lawmakers are courting large-scale cryptominers and hailing their arrival as enterprising businesses capable of fixing the state's infamously capricious power grid. Last June, Gov. Greg Abbott touted the arrival of cryptocurrency payment kiosks in a number of H-E-B grocery stores, claiming the Lone Star State would be the nation's "crypto leader" moving forward. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has repeatedly called for an influx of large crypto-mining concerns into the state to raise electricity demand in rural areas, a move he claims would help stabilize the grid by raising baseline demand and energy prices. "A lot of the discussion around Bitcoin views Bitcoin as a consumer of energy," Cruz said in October. "The perspective I'm suggesting is very much the reverse." Facebook / Chambers County Sheriff's Office Rescue crews on Tuesday recovered the body of a missing 88-year-old angler who didn't return home after a fishing expedition Monday in Trinity Bay east of Houston. The boater was identified as W.F. Childress, who entered the water at Smith's Point in the southeast portion of the bay around 8:30 a.m. Monday. When he didn't return that afternoon, his wife called the Coast Guard to report he never made it home. Crews from the Coast Guard, Chambers County Sheriff's Office and several fire departments did what they could Monday before storms moved into Southeast Texas and hindered their efforts. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, nearly all Texas public universities responded by making the submission of an SAT or ACT score optional for college admission. But although COVID infections are down and in-person standardized tests are widely available again, the majority of Texas public universities are keeping the SAT and ACT optional until the spring of 2023 or later. Even before the pandemic, some universities considered themselves test-optional because of a state law that grants automatic admission to Texas students who graduate in the top 10% of their high school classes. But the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many more schools to become test-optional for all applicants. It was an opportunity that a lot of schools are grateful theyve been able to take, said Chris Reed, executive director of admissions at Texas A&M University in College Station. The pandemic created an opportunity when it was the right thing to do. Now we have a living, breathing dataset to evaluate some of those assumptions. So far, Texas A&M has extended the policy through spring 2023. Stephen F. Austin State University in East Texas and the University of Texas at Dallas have already extended their test score policies through the fall of next year. Texas Tech University has extended its policy until 2025. Other schools, including the University of Houston, Texas State University in San Marcos and the University of Texas at Tyler, say they will make decisions on test score requirements in the coming weeks or months. Others, including Sam Houston State University, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Tarleton State University, have extended the test-optional policy indefinitely. Some private universities, including Baylor University and Rice University, have extended their test-optional policies through fall 2023 and say they will reevaluate afterward. It remains unclear whether the most selective public university in the state the University of Texas at Austin will continue to remain test-optional for all students past this fall. The university declined to comment about its plans. Meanwhile, the states two public historically Black universities continue to require standardized test scores. Texas Southern University in Houston requires test scores only for applicants with a 2.5 grade point average or below. Those with higher GPAs do not need to submit test scores. Prairie View A&M University reinstated its standardized test score requirement for fall 2021 applicants. A Prairie View spokesperson said most students continued to submit scores but did not explain why the school switched back to a test score requirement. Texas Southern said there has been no discussion to shift to a test-optional policy for all applicants. Even before the pandemic, there were discussions at some schools to make the SAT or ACT score optional. Some school leaders have argued that the tests are not predictive of student performance in college and are an additional barrier to enrollment for low-income students. Universities that shifted to test-optional policies said they rely on a holistic approach to applications, giving weight to areas like a students grade point average, the high school transcript and where the student attended high school. Reed cautions that its too early to definitively state the impact of the change to enrollment with test-optional policies. But he said early data shows that Texas A&M did not see retention rates dip from fall to spring during either of the last two years. Also, the average fall GPA for first-time students remained the same. These data points helped inform the universitys decision to continue the test-optional policy. Many Texas universities said they saw an increase in applications once standardized test scores became optional for admission. But they havent seen a significant change in the makeup of their freshman classes. College counseling experts said that is likely because the states Top 10% Rule allowed schools to enroll those students year after year. Many universities said they saw minimal changes in the diversity of students who enrolled. But a few universities reported some remarkable differences. The University of Texas at Arlington increased the number of Black students in its freshman class by almost 34%, from 519 to 694, in fall 2021. The number of Black freshmen at Texas State increased by 6%. Texas A&M International University in Laredo reported that it had accepted more students ranked in the top 40% of their graduation classes. Some schools, including West Texas A&M University, accepted more students who qualify for need-based federal grants, known as Pell grants. The regional public university in Canyon accepts any student who has at least a 2.0 GPA and meets at least one other requirement, which can include test scores. For those who dont meet the qualifications, the school has adjusted its alternative admissions process to include two essay questions and a high school recommendation letter. The test-optional trend has opened up a lot more opportunities for students who are low-income, who dont come from high schools that emphasize testing like more resourced counterparts, said Sara Urquidez with Academic Success Program Dallas, which helps low-income and first-generation college students apply for and enroll in college at 18 high schools in the Dallas area. But I dont think its changed the fundamental question of college affordability for low-income students. Many Texas public universities say they still use test scores to determine merit scholarships, but they also take a more comprehensive look at applications from students who apply without SAT or ACT scores. Yet Urquidez said she saw a stark reduction in the number of merit scholarships awarded to students who did not submit test scores, and many students and families are confused about what schools are using to determine merit scholarships. Its a black box for students and families, she said. We cant talk about test-optional being a vehicle for change when the vast majority of institutions are still using it in this other way. Urquidez said she sits on a few private scholarship committees and heard anecdotally from students that they were unaware that applying without a test score could negatively impact their chances of receiving aid from the university. She said she still encourages students to submit good scores if they have them. Yet some universities across the state saw a majority of students apply without scores for fall 2020 and fall 2021. At Texas A&M University-Kingsville, just 36% of applicants for admission last fall included standardized test scores. And at West Texas A&M University, which is keeping a test-optional policy permanently, nearly 80% of students did not submit scores. So far, about 35% of students applying to enroll next fall at the University of North Texas had submitted test scores. In contrast, 75% of Rice University applicants submitted test scores with their applications for the fall 2021 semester. Reed, the executive director of admissions at Texas A&M University, said more than two-thirds of applicants to the College Station school submitted scores. National experts say if schools want to make it clear they are truly test-optional, then they need to remain agnostic toward the exams. On some university websites, schools will say students wont be negatively impacted if they dont submit test scores but simultaneously encourage students to submit scores if they have them. Once they start making recommendations, its going to be interpreted as we would prefer this, said Akil Bello with the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, an organization that works to [eliminate] the racial, class, gender, and cultural barriers to equal opportunity posed by standardized tests. You see the same thing with [Advanced Placement] testing. AP classes are optional, but kinda not really. The confusion that test-optional policies can create for families is one reason St. Marys University in San Antonio became the first university in Texas to become test-free, meaning it does not consider standardized test scores at all. Rosalind Alderman, St. Marys vice president for enrollment management, said an analysis of student data determined that for the vast majority, the standardized test did not provide any additional information as to whether students would successfully make it to their sophomore year. Everyones worried about putting your best foot forward, she said. Sometimes families ... they kind of want a yes or no, and so [we said], No, were not considering it. While a majority of Texas universities have committed to continuing test-optional policies for the near future, some universities across the country have announced theyre beginning to require the scores again. Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it was bringing back the test requirement. The University of Georgia system recently reinstated its test-optional policies at all universities except at the University of Georgia, Georgia College and State University, and Georgia Tech. Urquidez said shes worried MITs decision will give colleges permission to bring the exams back at their schools, even if their circumstances around selectivity are different than MITs. Theres some institutions that are going to say we found ways to adjust, but higher ed is guilty of [saying], This is the way weve always done it. This is always a little bit easier. Disclosure: Baylor University, Prairie View A&M University, Rice University, Sam Houston State University, Texas A&M International University, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas and West Texas A&M University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/26/texas-universities-sat-act-test/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. Gov. Greg Abbott is inviting the public to help pay for buses transporting migrants from Texas border communities to the nation's capital. The Republican leader has added a donations page to his office's website under a "Border Transportation Funding" button on the site's "Border Crisis Update" page. The page notes that any unused border transportation funding will be applied to the state's border wall funding. Abbott promoted the donation page during a Sunday appearance on the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures" with host Maria Bartiromo. The Republican governor told Bartiromo that as soon as he announced the bus ride initiative, his office's "phone started ringing off the hook [with] people wanting to help." Twice mentioning the site's address, Abbott said, "You can contribute to us busing those migrants to Washington, D.C., and make the Biden administration deal with it themselves." The web page says donations "as of April 13" are "TBD," so it's unclear when the fundraiser began. Abbott's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when it started, how many donations have been made so far or information on other sources of funding. His office also did not confirm how many migrants have traveled during each trip. Abbott told reporters during a roundtable with San Antonio law enforcement last Wednesday that he does not know how many migrants have been sent. The governor announced the bus ride initiative on April 6 in response to the Biden administration announcing the end of Trump-era Title 42 pandemic restrictions, which allowed border officials to turn away migrants at the border because of the health crisis. The Republican governor warned of an upcoming influx of migrants if the measure is lifted next month. "Maria, with the sheer number of people coming across the border, beginning in a month, we will continue these bus routes to Washington, D.C.," Abbott told Bartiromo. Between April 13 and April 22, 10 of the buses have been sent to Washington, D.C., with migrants from the countries of Angola, Brazil, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, according to Abbott's office. In a separate Fox News program last Wednesday, Abbott told host Sean Hannity, "If he will not come to the border, I'm going to take the border to President Biden. He will see by these daily flows of buses... what Texans are dealing with and he and members of Congress are going to have to deal with directly." In a likely unintended outcome, migrants are thanking Gov. Greg Abbott for providing them free rides on charter buses from Texas to the nation's capital after they've crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Santo Linarte Lopez, a migrant from Nicaragua, told the New York Times that although he doesn't understand why Abbott paid for him to travel north, he was grateful since it got him closer to his final destination: North Carolina. "Imagine, how much would it cost to get from here to all the way over there," Lopez said, adding he only had $45 left of the $1,500 he had raised for his trip to the U.S. "I am very thankful to the governor," Reydel Grau, a Cuban man who traveled three weeks to reach the U.S., told the Times. "His help is very much welcomed." Earlier this month, Abbott announced his plan to bus migrants from Texas border communities to Washington, D.C. in order to protest the Biden administration ending Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed border authorities to turn away migrants due to the public health crisis. The Republican governor has warned of an upcoming influx of migrants if the measure is lifted next month. Abbott has stated that the intention of his bus plan was to "take the border to President Biden" so that he and members of Congress could deal with migrants directly. He's even said he's considering sending the buses to Biden's home state of Delaware next. However, some migrant advocates are saying the initiative is actually making their lives a little easier. "In a way it's actually perfect," Bilal Askaryar, a spokesperson for Welcome With Dignity, a collective of about 100 local and national groups that help migrants, told the Times. "Unintentionally, Governor Abbott sent them to one of the best places in the nation to welcome people." Askaryar told the Times there are advocates who understand the system and are ready to help migrants with their needs. "It might not have been the governor's intention I think he clearly wanted to create some kind of chaos but the reality is that we're really well prepared and really excited to welcome these people," Askaryar said. As of Monday, approximately 195 migrants have voluntarily made the 30-hour-long bus trip to Washington, D.C. since April 13 and more are en route, according to the Times. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki initially dismissed Abbott's bus program, calling it a "publicity stunt" However, Psaki later said it's "nice the State of Texas is helping them get to their final destination." When asked last week about some migrants expressing gratitude for getting a free ride to D.C., Abbott responded that his intent was to "alleviate the strain put on border communities." WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, April 25, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Brownsville has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northwestern Kenedy County in Deep South Texas... Northeastern Brooks County in Deep South Texas... * Until 715 PM CDT. * At 637 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Premont, moving southeast around 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... Falfurrias, Falfurrias Junior High School, Pleasant Park, La Colonia Park, Airport Road Addition, Falfurrias Fire Station, Flowella, Brooks County Airport, Cantu Addition and Brooks County Detention Center. This includes US Highway 281 between mile markers 710 and 726. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, April 25, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Brownsville TX 646 PM CDT Mon Apr 25 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northeastern Zapata County through 730 PM CDT... At 646 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 15 miles northwest of Escobas, or 16 miles north of Bustamante, moving southeast at 5 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and half inch hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. This storm will remain over mainly rural areas of northeastern Zapata County. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. LAT...LON 2727 9908 2715 9898 2700 9927 2726 9934 2727 9930 TIME...MOT...LOC 2346Z 333DEG 6KT 2722 9919 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH The National Weather Service in Corpus Christi has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southwestern Duval County in south central Texas... * Until 700 PM CDT. * At 646 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Las Lomitas, or 7 miles northeast of Hebbronville, moving south at 15 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Realitos. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. The National Weather Service in Brownsville has issued a Northeastern Jim Hogg County in Deep South Texas... Northwestern Brooks County in Deep South Texas... * Until 730 PM CDT. * At 649 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Las Lomitas, or near Hebbronville, moving south at 10 mph. HAZARD...Ping pong ball size hail and 60 mph wind gusts. 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. Hebbronville, Las Lomitas, Gruy Stadium, Hebbronville High School and Hebbronville Border Patrol Station. Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, April 25, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Brownsville TX 656 PM CDT Mon Apr 25 2022 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 715 PM CDT FOR NORTHWESTERN KENEDY AND NORTHEASTERN BROOKS COUNTIES... At 655 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near La Gloria, or near Premont, moving southeast around 10 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... Falfurrias, Falfurrias Junior High School, Pleasant Park, La Colonia Park, Airport Road Addition, Falfurrias Fire Station, Flowella, Brooks County Airport, Cantu Addition and Brooks County Detention Center. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. ...FLOOD ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues. * WHERE...A portion of south Texas, including the following counties, Duval, Jim Wells, Kleberg and Nueces. * WHEN...Until 900 PM CDT. * IMPACTS...Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 658 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. Minor flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly in the advisory area. Between 2 and 4 inches of rain have fallen. - Additional rainfall amounts up to 1 inch are expected over the area. This additional rain will result in minor flooding. - Some locations that will experience flooding include... Kingsville, Alice, San Diego, Bishop, Ben Bolt, Alice Acres, Palito Blanco, San Jose, Alfred, Tecalote, Alfred-South La Paloma, Ricardo, Agua Dulce and Lake Alice. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads. The National Weather Service in Corpus Christi has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southern Jim Wells County in south central Texas... Extreme Southwestern Kleberg County in south central Texas... * Until 745 PM CDT. * At 658 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Premont, moving south at 10 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... Premont and La Gloria. This includes US Highway 281 between mile markers 700 and 708. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, April 25, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Brownsville TX 726 PM CDT Mon Apr 25 2022 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 815 PM CDT FOR NORTHEASTERN BROOKS COUNTY... At 725 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Pleasant Park, or over Falfurrias, moving south at 5 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. SOURCE...Law enforcement. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. Locations impacted include... Falfurrias, Falfurrias Junior High School, Pleasant Park, La Colonia Park, Airport Road Addition, Falfurrias Fire Station, Flowella, Brooks County Airport, Cantu Addition and Brooks County Detention Center. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN JIM HOGG AND NORTHWESTERN BROOKS COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 730 PM CDT... The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe limits, and no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property. Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. However small hail and gusty winds are still possible with this thunderstorm. ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN JIM WELLS AND WESTERN KLEBERG COUNTIES IS CANCELLED... Therefore, the warning has been cancelled. However gusty winds are still possible with this thunderstorm. The National Weather Service in Brownsville has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Central Brooks County in Deep South Texas... * Until 815 PM CDT. * At 729 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 9 miles southwest of Falfurrias Junior High School, or 10 miles southwest of Falfurrias, moving south at 5 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and ping pong ball size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. * Locations impacted include... Hidalgo City Park. This includes US Highway 281 between mile markers 716 and 724. Large hail and damaging winds and continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southwestern Karnes County through 815 PM CDT... At 730 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over Nell, or 13 miles southwest of Kenedy, moving northeast at 15 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Kenedy, Karnes City, El Oso and Zunkerville. If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. LAT...LON 2868 9779 2867 9782 2868 9784 2870 9789 2872 9792 2869 9801 2877 9809 2893 9789 2871 9772 2867 9777 TIME...MOT...LOC 0030Z 243DEG 13KT 2871 9804 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, April 25, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Brownsville has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southeastern Jim Hogg County in Deep South Texas... Southwestern Brooks County in Deep South Texas... * Until 900 PM CDT. * At 812 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 8 miles northeast of San Rafael Ranch Airport, or 13 miles east of Agua Nueva, moving south at 10 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Agua Nueva, El Coyote Ranch Airport, San Rafael Ranch Airport and Puesta Del Sol Airport. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Small hail and damaging winds and continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN BROOKS COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 815 PM CDT... The storm which prompted the warning has moved out of the area. Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, April 26, 2022 _____ FLASH FLOOD WARNING Flash Flood Statement National Weather Service Brownsville TX 1035 PM CDT Mon Apr 25 2022 ...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1245 AM CDT TUESDAY FOR WESTERN HIDALGO AND EASTERN STARR COUNTIES... At 1035 PM CDT, Between 2 and 4 inches of rain have fallen across much of eastern Starr County. Although the heaviest rainfall has moved south of Starr County into northeast Mexico, areas of flash flooding are still ongoing within the warned area. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Radar. IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas. Some locations that will experience flash flooding include... Rio Grande City, McCook, Garciasville, La Grulla, Santa Catarina, Puerto Rico, La Reforma, San Isidro, La Gloria, and La Victoria. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. ...FLOOD ADVISORY HAS EXPIRED... The Flood Advisory has expired for a portion of Deep South Texas, including the following counties, Brooks and Jim Hogg. Flood waters have receded. The heavy rain has ended. Arroyo and small stream flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat. Please continue to heed remaining road closures. ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN ATASCOSA COUNTY IS CANCELLED... The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe limits, and no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property. Therefore, the warning has been cancelled. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO CORPUS CHRISTI Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Monday, April 25, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Corpus Christi TX 629 PM CDT Mon Apr 25 2022 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN DUVAL COUNTY... At 628 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Concepcion, or 15 miles west of Premont, moving south at 15 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and half dollar size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. Locations impacted include... Concepcion, Ramirez, Rios and Cruz Calle. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. The National Weather Service in Corpus Christi has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... Western Jim Wells County in south central Texas... * Until 830 PM CDT. * At 630 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Radar. IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas. * Some locations that will experience flash flooding include... Alice, Midway, Alice Acres, Ben Bolt, Palito Blanco, Tecalote, Rancho De La Parita and Lake Alice. Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. _____ 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 A step-by-step guide on how you can get Canadian permanent residence through the Federal Skilled Worker Program. How to immigrate through Canadas Federal Skilled Worker Program A step-by-step guide on how you can get Canadian permanent residence through the Federal Skilled Worker Program. How to immigrate through Canadas Federal Skilled Worker Program A step-by-step guide on how you can get Canadian permanent residence through the Federal Skilled Worker Program. How to immigrate through Canadas Federal Skilled Worker Program A step-by-step guide on how you can get Canadian permanent residence through the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Between its launch in 1967 and the start of the pandemic, the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) was the main immigration pathway for skilled workers to come to Canada. Following a temporary pause that has been in place since December 2020, Express Entry invitation rounds for FSWP candidates are set to resume in July. Also, the processing standard for new applicants is expected to return to six months. The FSWP is an attractive immigration pathway, as candidates can become eligible with no Canadian experience and no job offer. As a program managed by the Express Entry system, people who are eligible for the FSWP get a score on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Roughly every two weeks, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) holds Express Entry draws inviting the highest scoring candidates to apply for Canadian immigration. The following is a step-by-step guide on how you can apply for Canadian immigration through the FSWP: Get a Free Express Entry Assessment Step 1: Meet the FSWPs eligibility criteria In order to be eligible to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, potential candidates must meet the minimum requirements for work, language ability, and education. You also need to score at least 67 under the programs 100-point grid. The minimum requirements are: One year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the past 10 years in a skilled occupation classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B; Validated language ability equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in English or French across all abilities (reading, writing, listening, and speaking); and Canadian educational credential (certificate, diploma, or degree) or foreign credential and Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report. FSWP applicants must get at least 67 points on IRCCs six immigration selection factors. The table below shows the maximum number of points candidates can get for each category. FSWP grid Factors Points Education Up to 25 Language Skills Up to 28 Work Experience Up to 15 Age Up to 12 Arranged employment Up to 10 Adaptability Up to 10 Once you are eligible, you can enter the Express Entry pool. Step 2: Submit your Express Entry profile to the IRCC website When you go on the government website, create an IRCC secure account and follow the instructions. The online tool will prompt you to create an Express Entry profile, enter your personal reference code if you have one, and enter your personal details. You have 60 days to complete and submit your Express Entry profile, otherwise, you will have to start again. Once youve filled out your profile, you can submit it and IRCC will figure out which Express Entry program you are eligible for. If you are eligible for the FSWP, IRCC will place you in the Express Entry pool with others who are also eligible. You will get a score based on factors like work experience, education, age, and official language ability. Step 3: Check for an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence Completing an online Express Entry profile does not guarantee you will be invited to apply for permanent residence. You need to have a score that is high enough to meet the minimum threshold in a given Express Entry draw. While you are in the pool, get ready for IRCC to send you an ITA. If you receive one, youll have 60 days to submit a complete application. IRCC holds Express Entry draws approximately every two weeks. Step 4: If you receive an ITA, apply for immigration If you get an ITA, IRCC will send you a message telling you which program you have been invited for and what to do next. The system automatically invites candidates to apply under one of the Express Entry-managed programs in the following order: Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), FSWP, and then Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). IRCC will ask for proof of the information you submitted in your Express Entry profile. Immigration officers will assess whether the information you provided in your application is different from your profile. If they find false information, or important details left out they may refuse your application, find you inadmissible, or bar you from applying for immigration for five years. IRCC recommends checking the criteria for the program you have been invited to apply for to ensure you are still eligible. If your personal situation changes, you may have to re-calculate your score before applying. If your recalculated score is less than the minimum CRS cut-off for your round of invitations, IRCC recommends declining the invitation. Declining an invitation means you will be put back into the Express Entry pool of candidates and you may be considered for future rounds of invitations if you are still eligible. It does not affect whether you are invited to apply later. There is no guarantee you will be invited to apply again, however, you may be able to improve your chance by updating your Express Entry profile or getting a higher CRS score. If you do not respond to your ITA in 60 days, IRCC will take your profile out of the pool. To be considered for future draws, you will have to fill out a new Express Entry profile. Other ways to immigrate The PNP is another significant immigration program. Canada aims to admit more than 80,000 PNP candidates as permanent residents every year over the next three years, according to the 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan. Also, IRCC is still holding Express Entry draws every two weeks for PNP candidates. If you are in the Express Entry pool already, you may be invited to apply for a provincial nomination. Then if you get the nomination, it will mean you get 600 points added to your score and you will be able to apply for immigration as a PNP candidate. Conclusion The FSWP has been a prominent way to attract immigrants to Canada since 1967. Although the FSWP has been disrupted by the pandemic, surveys by World Education Services suggest that interest in immigration to Canada is still strong. Canadas borders have been reopened and IRCC has reduced its Express Entry backlog. This means the FSWP will once again become an important way to attract more skilled immigrants to Canada when Express Entry draws resume this July. Get a Free Express Entry Assessment CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Check out the Land Banks in PA Presentation How does a land bank work? How Does a Land Bank Work? Local government passes an ordinance creating a land bank or designating its redevelopment authority to act as a land bank. Jurisdiction can be county, municipal or multi-municipal (requires Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement (ICA); county-based land banks often seek municipal members. Can be administered by an existing government department or agency, non-profit or private sector provider. Governed by a volunteer board of directors selected in accordance with the PA Land Bank Act and the local ordinance or the RA board. Subject to all sunshine and ethics law. Consultant national pentru elaborarea conceptului unui program guvernamental de stagii pentru tinerii din diaspora - studenti sau absolventi ai institutiilor universitare de peste hotarele tarii You might think of TikTok as a platform reserved for children, teenagers or renditions of Ratatouille the Musical (yes, that was a real thing). Because of this, charities often feel apprehensive about using it. However, the platform has over one billion users making it a social media tool which could be as valuable to a charitys strategy as Facebook or Instagram. Indeed, many charities have already jumped on the bandwagon. With eight users joining TikTok every second, more charities will be looking at whether the platform can help them raise the profile of their cause. A spokesperson from CharityComms explains: TikTok can be a great way to let people find you because of your content, not necessarily because of your cause, and then get to know you through your videos. Reach younger audiences Battersea has 25,600 followers on TikTok and over 130,000 likes. It posts videos of the dogs and cats in its care, foster journeys and recipes for homemade pet treats. The animal charity began using TikTok when it noticed younger audiences were underrepresented among its social media followers. Lauren Rayner, head of digital and innovation at Battersea, says: We know that engaging younger audiences is crucial for driving generational change in the way that rescue is perceived and supported, so we saw an opportunity in TikTok, which has a user base that skews younger than our other social channels, to create a community of advocates for Battersea and the rescue cause, as well as future donors and supporters. Black Country Living Museum has the largest number of TikTok followers, out of the charities we spoke to, with a staggering 1.3 million followers and over 21.7 million likes. It posts educational videos about the history of the Black Country, as well as videos of employees in historic dress acting out roles from the past. All of its TikTok content is produced in-house. Similar to Battersea, the younger audience on TikTok was a draw for Black Country Living Museum. A spokesperson from the charity says: It's a fantastic platform that allows us to reach a wider audience that doesn't normally engage with museum social media. The majority of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 25, an age range that we don't normally engage with. Having a presence on TikTok gives us an avenue to create brand awareness with a different kind of audience. It's also a great way of giving the museum a personality, allowing us to challenge the stereotype of an old-fashioned museum. Raise awareness of charitable causes Shelter uses the platform to highlight its fundraising campaigns such as #NoHomeKit and create educational videos about the housing crisis in the UK. A spokesperson from Shelter says the charity likes the platform because its universal and if people like what youre doing, your message can spread far and wide. They continue: Some of our most engaging content has been about breaking down myths around eviction rules, explaining what hidden homelessness is, or giving practical tips such as how to help someone who is sleeping rough, or how to access free sanitary products if youre homeless and living in temporary accommodation. TikTok is a great platform for us to be able to create short, educational videos that are also entertaining and that show real people working at Shelter. British Red Cross, which has over 432,000 followers, also produces educational videos about the charity, as well as its response to current issues, such as its work to help Ukraine, and often answers medical questions from its followers. Nana Crawford, social media manager at the British Red Cross, says TikTok allows the charity to present its content in a different and more engaging way. Donation stickers helped Red Cross raise 90,000 Donation stickers are an in-app feature, which can be embedded into the videos or livestreams of verified accounts. When viewers click on the sticker they are directed to a donation window. These stickers were launched in 2020, and British Red Cross, which was one of the charities involved from the beginning, has so far generated over 90,000 from the feature. Crawford says: Since then we've used TikTok to support emergency appeals. I find that the more exposure you have about the work youre doing then the easier it is to talk about your work as people are already getting information about your organisation. The charity is careful about how it asks for donations. We don't always ask for donations on TikTok, Crawford adds. But when we do we position it as a way for people to continue to support our work. We talk about the impact of our donations and the impact our audiences can make; this helps us showcase how our work can make a difference but ultimately how someone's donation impacts another person. Brand awareness first, fundraising second The Black Country Living Museum does not use generally use the account as part of its fundraising strategy. Instead it uses it more as an educational tool or as a platform for brand awareness, but the charity has received anecdotal evidence from staff members that people do visit the museum having seen our TikTok account, according to the spokesperson. Likewise, Rayner from Battersea says that asking directly for donations has not been part of its strategy, but often uses the platform to raise awareness of upcoming fundraising events such as its Muddy Dog Challenge. So far, our strategy has been focused on establishing our presence on the channel and starting to build a follower base. We see TikTok as playing a role in growing awareness and building connection with new audiences, rather than being a direct driver of funds, she explains. Once the channel is more established, the charity may begin to experiment with paid advertising or donation stickers, it said. Similarly, Shelter has said it is exploring ways it can use the platform to fundraise. A spokesperson from the charity said: We would love to become an approved TikTok charity so that we can start using features like donation stickers. You have to build a following first of supporters before you can start asking for money It might seem counter-intuitive to spend hours working on a TikTok account and not use it to ask for donations. However, British Red Cross says its imperative charities focus on building a following and presence on the platform before doing so. Crawford advises: Before even trying to ask money you need to work on building your profile. Who are you as an organisation, what do you stand for and what do you do? You have to build a following first of supporters before you can start asking for money. When you do decide to ask for donations, then think about it as a campaign rather than simply an ask. How will you showcase the impact of people's donations and what will you be doing with their donations? Working with influencers can help reach new audiences and broaden the effectiveness of your campaign. What are the downsides of TikTok? Videos can be anywhere from 15 seconds to three minutes long, which can, according to Crawford, make it hard to keep up with TikTok trends. Likewise, Rayner from Battersea says creating a TikTok account for a charity requires time and attention, as with any social media channel. She continues: Its important to spend time building a community, being tapped into the culture and aware of the right trends. The fact that its built on a content graph can make it less predictable than other channels, as videos are shown to users based on their interests, rather than being limited to who they follow. It requires a bit of experimentation, and that takes time, and a willingness to take risks. Spokespeople from Shelter and the Black Country Living Museum add that creating TikTok content can take up a lot of time. For this reason, Shelter has begun batch-creating its content and aims to create approximately 40 to 50 TikToks in an afternoon and schedule them over the next few weeks. Black Country Living Museum said: TikTok can be massively draining on staff capacity with sometimes relatively little return. A video can take upwards of 12 hours to create from conception to delivery, which is a long time for a video that is generally under two minutes long. We are a small team so we don't have the capacity to post every day, as most high-performing accounts would. Therefore, it is worth considering whether TikTok is worth fits your organisation before starting it, as it can take up considerable time. Dont be afraid to use the platform The spokesperson from Black Country Living Museum advises: Don't be afraid to use the platform, it's a great way to engage with new audiences. Having said that, it would be wise to consider if this platform fits your brand, and if the audience youre looking to reach fits the audience profile on TikTok. Ask yourself: how can I create content that can share my message whilst still be engaging with users of this platform? Its also key to consider the size of your organisation content creation can be a huge drain on resources and time for staff, so its important to assess whether it is an effective use of time for your charity. Rayner, from Battersea, suggests that charities should develop a strategy specific to Tiktok. Its important that charities understand the culture of TikTok and develop a channel strategy, she says. It requires a bespoke approach, and charities need to be immersed in its trends in order to use it effectively. Its not a channel for reposting content from other social accounts. The unpolished nature of TikTok gives freedom to experiment so take risks! sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, Look, I did say maybe. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal was first to report that Twitterhaving initially appeared to balk at a takeover bid from Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, that itself followed weeks of tedious horseplay around his intentions as an investor and whether or not hed take a board seatwas now strongly considering his bid and that a deal could be finalized within the week, though we were warned that it could still fall apart. Some twenty-four hours later, a deal was done at a value of around forty-four billion dollars, pending a shareholder vote and regulatory approval. Bret Taylor, who chairs Twitters board, said that the proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitters stockholders. Musk called Twitter the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated, adding, Yesss!!! . The deal raised a big and obvious question: What does it mean for Twitter? Staffers at the company were among those seeking answers yesterday, having been kept largely in the dark as talks went on behind the scenes. According to Platformers Casey Newton, the hours before the deal was announced were like a classroom where the teacher is late and students are attempting to self-govern, with not much work getting done; after the announcement, Taylor and Parag Agrawal, Twitters CEO, met with staff and offered some assurances about stock options (will convert to cash) and layoffs (none planned for now), though Agrawal also acknowledged that he isnt sure where Twitter is headed, and deferred to Musk on several key points. A source told Talmon Joseph Smith, of the New York Times, that message boards for Twitter staff went absolutely insane yesterday; the Journals Salvador Rodriguez and Deepa Seetharaman reported that some staffers pledged to resign, while many raised concerns about Musks impact on internal diversity efforts, especially given that Tesla, his car company, has been sued for (allegedly rampant) racial discrimination. Some staffers seem excited about the takeover, but its hard to tell how many. Per Bloomberg, bosses moved to block staffers from making any unapproved product changes for now, lest a disgruntled employee go rogue. ICYMI: Abstention, the far right, and five more years of Macron Twitter users sought answers, too, when they werent offering up their own theories and visions of the platforms Muskian future. Many of the latter, particularly among liberal users, were hellish. Numerous users pledged to delete their accounts, in protest and/or to stop Musk getting their personal data (not that this would work, necessarily). The journalist Melissa Chan asked what Musk might do, given Teslas interests in China, should the government there ask him to silence dissidents on the platform; by the end of the day, Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post and founder of Amazon, had chimed in, asking, Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square? Erika D. Smith, a columnist at the LA Times, predicted that Musks takeover would mark the end of #BlackTwitter as an online community mobilizing for real-world change. The founder of a company that California is suing for allegedly silencing thousands of Black employees who complained about racism, she noted, is buying a company that has given millions of Black people a megaphone-like voice to complain about racism. Ultimately, we dont yet know the direction in which Musk will take Twitter. We do have some concrete clues to work with, though not many. Since before Musk made his investment in Twitter a few weeks ago, he has framed his interest in the company squarely in terms of free speech, and he did so again yesterday; more (though not much more) specifically, he promised to open Twitters algorithms to the public to increase trust, crack down on spam bots, and authenticate all human accounts. (I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, he said separately, because that is what free speech means.) Musk has yet to answer another consequential questionwhether he plans to reinstate the account of Donald Trump, who was banned last year following the insurrectionthough Trump claimed yesterday that he wouldnt return to Twitter even if invited, preferring instead to stick with his beleaguered Twitter knockoff, Truth Social. Musk, of course, is notoriously trollish and erratic, and Trump is notoriously dishonest, making it perilous to take the things either man says at face value. Trumps claim that he wouldnt jump at the chance to return to Twitter, in particular, strikes me as protesting too much; Musk, for his part, is a free-speech absolutist more in theory than in practice, making it implausible, as both I and my colleague Mathew Ingram have written in recent editions of this newsletter, that he wouldnt draw some significant lines around speech on the platform. Even taken at face value, Musks proposals invite skepticism. Authenticating accounts is a fraught proposition that risks unmasking users who have good reason to want to stay anonymous (at the very least, such users might fear being unmasked, and stay away) and neglecting the ways in which bots can be a form of speech. Algorithmic transparency and reform, meanwhile, is a knotty, time-consuming business. Its not nearly the funniest part of the list of things he intends on doing, The Verges Sarah Jeong argued, but making the algorithms open source and defeating the spam bots are goals that work against each other. Sign up for CJR 's daily email This leads to an important point: even as critics paint Musk as a maniacal and unpredictable trickster god, we already know that his intentions for Twitter, whatever they may be, will run up against limits. Even the worlds richest man is bound by the laws of logic (money cant reconcile fundamentally contradictory imperatives), business economics (even if making money from Twitter isnt his priority, he cant run it as a total commercial dumpster fire), and, at least sometimes, the actual law (not least in Europe, which just agreed on new measures expanding digital platforms duties around the moderation of content). Twitter cant run itself without employees who know what theyre doing. And it wouldnt be anything without users. It is, ultimately, not in Musks interest to make Twitter so horrible that people simply quit en masse, even if he rationalizes any mass defection as the snowflakes getting mad at free speech. As I see it, you can have a truly maximalist view of online speech or you can be the town square, but you cant do both. If you cant enter the square without witnessing a beheading, say, lots of people will just stay home. This isnt to say that Musk wont necessarily make Twitter (even more) horrible, and there are ample reasons to be concerned about his takeover, as Ingram and I wrote before. By taking Twitter private, Musk can make its practices (even more) opaque. His approach to content moderation, as currently stated, would surely unchain (even more) abuse and harassment, aimed particularly at women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and other groupsand whenever such voices conclude that a space is too toxic for them to stay, free speech suffers. It would also further corrode public discourse, and Twitters role there really matters, even though its smaller than Facebook and other rivals. As I wrote recently, things that are said on the platform often spill over into real world corridors of power. Whatever you think of it philosophically, reversing the Trump ban would clearly have a significant impact on his ability to amplify his message. Still, we should be careful, again, not to overstate these concerns. As my even mores above suggest, pre-Musk Twitter is hardly a paragon of respectful, well-policed discourse; indeed, Musks politics, while hard to pin down, dont seem radically different from those of the people who have run Twitter before. (Kara Swisher, of the Times, reckons that Twitters current leadership would probably have let Trump back on anyway, even absent Musks input.) As numerous observers have noted, prior leaders lofty visions of no-limits free-speech utopianism ran into reality, and so will Musks. And, again, users will continue to have power here; Trump returning, for instance, will only lead to his tweets driving the news cycle again if journalists decide that his tweets should drive the news cycle. The internet expert Joan Donovan tweeted yesterday that Trump returning would open the door for a viable 2024 run. That door is wide open already. If Twitter discourse can spill over into the worlds of politics and media, then it logically follows not only that Twitter is powerful, but that the real town square must be much bigger than Twitter. In the end, the metaphor, to the extent that its useful here, implies a dynamic that has always been fundamental to political speech and the debates around it: that the rules and physical layout of the square are hugely important, but the real town square lives in the people who populate it. As far as the former goes, our collective problems are much bigger than Musk alone; he may be a sui generis and, in some ways, uniquely zany character, but he operates within a much broader system that gives billionaires outsize power to shape the rules of speech. (It is, quite literally, rich for Bezos to raise questions about leveraging the town square.) Ironically, it is precisely Musks unique zaniness, and the exaggerated outcry around his takeover, that could, as my Columbia colleague Emily Bell noted yesterday, prove a trigger for lawmakers to better regulate the ownership of the platforms that set the rules. Then again, thats another maybe. Below, more on Musk and Twitter: The business side: While Twitter is an influential platform that sets the agenda for many in business, politics and society, Jason Karaian writes for the Times, as a business, its a sporadically profitable company with unpredictable cash flow; the company will report its first-quarter earnings on Thursday, and is expected to have generated a profit of nearly $40 million on $1.2 billion in revenuedown on its first-quarter profit last year. Musk recently said that he doesnt care at all about the economics of Twitter, but as Newton writes, given the way he structured his Twitter deal, he will face pressure (if not insurmountable pressure) to see a return on his investment. While Twitter is an influential platform that sets the agenda for many in business, politics and society, Jason Karaian writes for the Times, as a business, its a sporadically profitable company with unpredictable cash flow; the company will report its first-quarter earnings on Thursday, and is expected to have generated a profit of nearly $40 million on $1.2 billion in revenuedown on its first-quarter profit last year. Musk recently said that he doesnt care at all about the economics of Twitter, but as Newton writes, given the way he structured his Twitter deal, he will face pressure (if not insurmountable pressure) to see a return on his investment. The real estate side: The San Francisco Chronicles Roland Li asks what Musks takeover might mean for the city where Twitter is currently headquartered. There was speculation on social media that Twitters headquarters could move out of state, following Musks relocation last year of Tesla from Palo Alto to Austin, Texas, where its building what it calls a Gigafactory, Li notes, with Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, already calling for such a move. The tech analyst Dan Ives told Li, however, that he views relocation as unlikely. San Francisco is a core part of Twitter and its DNA, Ives said. Musk will view that presence as a key asset, not liability. The San Francisco Chronicles Roland Li asks what Musks takeover might mean for the city where Twitter is currently headquartered. There was speculation on social media that Twitters headquarters could move out of state, following Musks relocation last year of Tesla from Palo Alto to Austin, Texas, where its building what it calls a Gigafactory, Li notes, with Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, already calling for such a move. The tech analyst Dan Ives told Li, however, that he views relocation as unlikely. San Francisco is a core part of Twitter and its DNA, Ives said. Musk will view that presence as a key asset, not liability. The town square side: In a Twitter thread yesterday, Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote that he has no idea what Twitter will be like under Elons leadership and neither do you. But thats the point. We do know, he said, that two billionaires will now control four of the major digital public sphere platforms, a reference to Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Its embarrassing that weve been willing to have our public, civic conversations on platforms controlled by corporate boards. Musks purchase of Twitter just makes that absurdity even more apparent. In a Twitter thread yesterday, Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote that he has no idea what Twitter will be like under Elons leadership and neither do you. But thats the point. We do know, he said, that two billionaires will now control four of the major digital public sphere platforms, a reference to Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Its embarrassing that weve been willing to have our public, civic conversations on platforms controlled by corporate boards. Musks purchase of Twitter just makes that absurdity even more apparent. The Europe side: Daphne Keller, of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, argued yesterday that since anyone who tells you they know what Elon will do is lying, we may as well all focus on a more knowable, and massively important, development: the new platform regulations in Europe. The regulations will spell out specific operational obligations, mostly related to content moderation, Keller writes. These rules make it relatively clear what platforms are supposed to do, but they will require significant time and effort for smaller entities to hire, train, devise new UIs, and so forth to come into compliance. Other notable stories: ICYMI: On the role of computational prospection in news media Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) At least 100 people may have died in an explosion at an illegal oil refinery in southeast Nigeria, a local oil official said Sunday as the search intensified for bodies at the site and for two people suspected of being involved in the blast. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement, called the explosion a catastrophe and a national disaster. The explosion Friday night at the facility in Ohaji-Egbema local government area in Imo state was triggered by a fire at two fuel storage areas where more than 100 people worked, state officials told The Associated Press. Dozens of workers were caught up in the explosion while many others attempted to escape the blaze by running into wooded areas. Those who died in the disaster are estimated to be within the range of 100, said Goodluck Opiah, the Imo commissioner for petroleum resources. A lot of them ran into the bush with the burns and they died there. Buhari has directed the nations security forces to intensify the clampdown on such facilities being operated illegally in many parts of southern Nigeria, a spokesperson said in a statement. Although Nigeria is Africas largest producer of crude oil, for many years its oil production capacity has been limited by a chronic challenge of oil storage and the operation of illegal refineries. Nigeria lost at least $3 billion worth of crude oil to theft between January 2021 and February 2022, with shady business operators often avoiding regulators by setting up refineries in remote areas such as the one that exploded in Imo, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said in March. There are no arrests yet but the two culprits are on the run with the police now looking for them, said Declan Emelumba, the Imo State commissioner for information. Officials did not reveal the identities of the suspects. A mass burial is being planned for those killed in the explosion, many of who were burnt beyond recognition, said Emelumba. Environmental officials have started to fumigate the area. Such disasters are a regular occurrence in Africas most populous country, where poverty and unemployment at 33% according to the latest government estimates have forced millions of young people into criminal activities. Operating illegal refineries is not as popular in Imo state as it is in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, where militants have gained notoriety for blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping workers from petroleum companies. As many as 30 illegal oil refineries were busted in the Niger Delta region in just two weeks, Nigerias Defense Department said earlier this month when it announced a task force to curb crude oil theft. In the aftermath of the explosion in Imo state, the Nigerian ministry of petroleum told The AP there is a renewed action to tackle illegal activities in the oil sector. The government and the military are stepping up actions to minimize the criminalities along the oil production lines, said Horatius Egua, a senior official at the petroleum ministry. But many of the culprits are not deterred including in Imo state, one of the few places producing oil in Nigerias southeast. The problem of illegal refineries has never been this bad and remains difficult to end, said Opiah, the Imo petroleum commissioner. It is like asking why kidnapping or armed robbery has not stopped, he said. Even with this incident, not many people will be deterred. I am sure more illegal refineries will be cropping up in other places. About the photo: People gather Saturday April 23, 2022 at the site of an explosion that took place the day before at an illegal oil refinery in Ohaji-Egbema local government area in Imo state, southeast Nigeria. At least 100 people are feared to have died in the explosion, authorities told The Associated Press, as the search for bodies at the site and for two people suspected of being involved in the incident intensified. (AP Photo) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Firefighters were taking advantage of higher humidity and calmer winds Monday to work toward containing a wildfire in rural southwestern Nebraska that has killed one person, injured at least 15 firefighters and destroyed at least six homes, an official said. Jonathan Ashford, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team, told The Associated Press that more than 80 firefighters, emergency management personnel and others were helping fight the fire, known as the Road 702 Fire. It had burned nearly 65 square miles (168 square kilometers) in Red Willow, Furnas and Frontier counties by late Sunday. Officials initially reported the fire was spread over more than 78 square miles (202 square kilometers) of mostly rolling rangeland, but Ashford said aerial mapping Sunday gave a more accurate size of the blaze. The fire that began last week has been fueled by tinder-dry conditions and days of strong winds. More favorable weather Monday had firefighters scrambling to dig trenches and create other breaks along the blazes perimeter, Ashford said. Tomorrow, we expect higher winds to return, so time is of the essence, he said. In addition to the growing number of firefighters turning out to fight the blaze, the effort also has a couple of helicopters available to make water drops, he said. By late Sunday, the fire had destroyed at least six homes and threatened 660 others, along with 50 commercial or farm buildings, Ashford said. A retired Cambridge, Nebraska, fire chief who was helping as a fire spotter in Red Willow County died Friday night after his truck went off the road in a blinding haze of smoke and dust. The body of John Trumble, 66, of Arapahoe, was recovered around early Saturday. Trumble was the second person in a month to die while fighting a wildfire in southwest Nebraska. Elwood Volunteer Fire Chief Darren Krull, 54, was killed in a collision with a water tanker on April 7 in Furnas County as smoke cut visibility to zero. Fires have been reported in 14 Nebraska counties since Friday, including Perkins, Dundy, Burt, Butler, Scotts Bluff, Cheyenne, Duele, Blaine, Cherry, Brown and Thomas counties, leading some small towns to be temporarily evacuated. Those fires were either extinguished or mostly contained by Sunday. The region remains critically dry, said Ashford, who urged residents to use caution when doing anything that could spark a fire. The last thing we need is to have another fire started that we have to then fight, he said. About the photo: This image provided by the Nebraska State Patrol shows smoke from a wildfire, Saturday, April 23, 2022 near Cambridge, Neb. Several small towns, including Cambridge, Bartley, Indianola and Wilsonville, in Nebraskas southwest and Macy in its northeast, were forced to temporarily evacuate because of the wind-driven wildfires. (Nebraska State Patrol via AP) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Arch Appoints 3 Claims Handlers Arch Insurance International, a global insurer based in London, has appointed Janet Brook, Sheena Hooda and Tilly Milnes as senior claims handlers. Brook and Milnes have joined Archs financial institutions claims team. Hooda was appointed to healthcare claims. Brook, who is an admitted solicitor, was previously a senior associate at Kennedys Law, specializing in professional indemnity claims. She joined Arch in 2015 after holding positions at Shakespeare Martineau. Milnes, who is a qualified solicitor, focuses on directors and officers, professional indemnity and investment manager insurance. She was most recently a claims adjuster for W/R/B Underwriting, specializing in international directors and officers and other claims. Her previous experience includes claims adjuster roles at AXA, Chubb and Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. She was also a solicitor at Kennedys Law. Hooda was a previously a senior claims specialist at Axis Capital Group, a position she held since 2018. Before then she was a senior associate at Davies Group and a clinical claims manager at the National Health Services Litigation Authority. She is a qualified solicitor. Quality Claims Promotes 2 to Senior VP Roles Quality Claims Management Corp., a public adjuster and private investigation firm based in San Diego, has promoted Lorraine Tabron and Robyn Bui to senior vice president positions. Tabron joined Quality Claims in 2009 as manager of the client relations department, the company said in a press release. Bui joined the company in 2016 as a member of the client relations department and now leads the sales and business development team. Bui has been instrumental in the development of the companys OccuTrack product and heads the product line, the company said. SCA Appoints Business Development Manager SCA Claim Services, a national appraisal and adjusting firm based in Burbank, California, had promoted Brandon Cruz to business development manager. Cruz was previously customer success manager for the company. In his new role, he will be responsible for identifying business opportunities and and nurture new and existing clients, the company said in a press release. Cruz was previously an associate district manager for ADP in Orange County, according to his Linkedin Page. Before then, he was a shift lead at Malibu Farm in Newport Beach and manager at the Ho Sum Bistro in Newport Beach. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed emergency declarations as 20 wildfires continued to burn Sunday in nearly half of the states drought-stricken 33 counties. One wildfire in northern New Mexico that started April 6 merged with a newer fire Saturday to form the second-largest blaze in the state at more than 66 square miles (171 square kilometers), leading to widespread evacuations in Mora and San Miguel counties. Another wind-driven wildfire in northern New Mexico that began April 17 has charred at least 76 square miles (197 square kilometers) of ponderosa pine, oak brush and grass north of Ocate, an unincorporated community in Mora County. Meanwhile in Arizona, some residents forced to evacuate due to a wildfire near Flagstaff were allowed to return home Sunday morning. Winds and temperatures in New Mexico diminished Saturday but remained strong enough to still fan fires. Dozens of evacuation orders remained in place. Fire officials were expecting the northern wildfires to slow Sunday as cloud and smoke cover moves in, allowing the forests to retain more moisture. But they added that the interior portions of the fires could show moderate to extreme behavior, which could threaten structures in those areas. More than 200 structures have been charred by the wildfires thus far and an additional 900 remain threatened, Lujan Grisham said. Fire management officials said an exact damage count was unclear because its still too dangerous for crews to go in and look at all the homes that have been lost. We do not know the magnitude of the structure loss. We dont even know the areas where most homes made it through the fire, where homes havent been damaged or anything like that, said operation sections chief Jayson Coil. Some 1,000 firefighters were battling the wildfires across New Mexico, which already has secured about $3 million in grants to help with the fires. Lujan Grisham said she has asked the White House for more federal resources and shes calling for a ban of fireworks statewide. We need more federal bodies for firefighting, fire mitigation, public safety support on the ground in New Mexico, she said. Its going to be a tough summer. So thats why we are banning fires. And that is why on Monday I will be asking every local government to be thinking about ways to ban the sales of fireworks. 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. In Arizona, two large wildfires continued to burn Sunday 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Prescott and 14 miles (22 kilometers) northeast of Flagstaff. Coconino County authorities lifted the evacuation order Sunday morning for residents living in neighborhoods along Highway 89 after fire management officials determined the Flagstaff-area wildfire no longer posed a threat. The fire near Flagstaff was at 32 square miles (83 square kilometers) as of Saturday night. It forced the evacuation of 766 homes and burned down 30 homes and two dozen other structures since it began a week ago, according to county authorities. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared the fire a state of emergency Friday for Coconino County to free up recovery aid to affected communities. The wildfire near Prescott began last Monday and was at 4.8 square miles (12.4 square kilometers) and 15% contained as of Sunday morning as helicopters and air tankers dropped water and retardant to slow the fires growth. The cause of the wildfires in New Mexico and Arizona remain under investigation. About the photo: San Miguel County Sheriffs Officers patrol N.M. 94 near Penasco Blanco, N.M. as the Calf Fire burns near by Friday, April 22, 2022. Destructive 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 towering plumes of smoke filled the sky. (Eddie Moore/The Albuquerque Journal via AP) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The CMA recommends a UK Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order: Further signs of regulatory divergence? 26 April 2022 The authors* discuss the CMA's recommendation for a UK Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order and explore the potential areas of divergence from the EUs Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation set to expire on 31 May 2022. *Partner Alex Nourry, Associate Deepaloke Chatterjee and Akif Rahman, Trainee Solicitor, Clifford Chance LLP. This article was first published by Thomson Reuters, trading as Sweet & Maxwell, 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ in the European Competition Law Review as "The CMA recommends a UK Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order: Further signs of regulatory divergence?" in [E.C.L.R. 2022, 43(4) N-92-N94] and is reproduced by agreement with the publishers. Download PDF On 25 March 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that they have reached a preliminary agreement which will foster trans-Atlantic data flows and (allegedly) address the concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the 'Schrems II' decision of 16 July 2020 invalidating the Privacy Shield (Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems, Case C-311/18). Background Since the 'Schrems II' ruling (See our article: European Court of Justice renders new Schrems decision on international data transfers ), transfers of personal data to countries located outside the European Economic Area (EEA) that do not offer a protection equivalent to that of the European Union (such as the US) are highly restricted. In particular, 'Schrems II' invalidated the Privacy Shield (legal framework enabling personal data transfers to the US, provided that the data recipient in the US was self-certified with US authorities). Therefore, since 'Schrems II', alternative routes have to be used to transfer data to the US, such as the so-called 'standard contractual clauses' to be accompanied by 'appropriate supplementary measures' if the relevant transfer raises issues in terms of EU data protection once the data are in the US. ( See our more detailed briefing: US and EU Agree on Framework for Privacy Shield Replacement ) This amounts to burdensome assessments, onerous undertakings and legal uncertainty. Lawfulness of data transfers to the US is currently very fragile. For instance, Google Analytics has been declared illegal notably in France and Austria because of the data transfers to the US it entails [See our article: Google Analytics declared illegal in France ] For the same reasons, decisions from EU supervisory authorities on the lawfulness of other tools, such as Facebook Connect, are expected. The new political agreement, the so-called Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework (TADPF), aims to implement a new self-certification mechanism, which may ease transatlantic data flows. Key points of the agreement The preliminary agreement between the EU and the US has not been backed up yet with a legal text. However, the White House has announced in a press release that the US made "unprecedented commitments". More details on the agreement were disclosed by the European Commission which notably specifies that the US promises will be included in an Executive Order that will form the basis of a draft European Commission adequacy decision. The statement from the European Commission revealed that under the new TADPF the US would undertake: To implement new safeguards to limit access to data by US surveillance agencies to what is necessary and proportionate in the pursuit of defined national security objectives. To establish a two-tier redress system to investigate and resolve complaints of EU individuals on access of data by US surveillance agencies, which includes an independent Data Protection Review Court. To enhance oversight of intelligence activities. Legal challenges Despite those encouraging signals, it remains to be seen if the US commitments under the TADPF will satisfy GDPR requirements, in particular as interpreted by the CJEU. Moreover, the effectiveness of recourses before the new Data Protection Review Court will likely be key in terms of legal sustainability of the TADPF. Some privacy advocates have argued that the March 2022 US Supreme Court decision in FBI v. Fazaga would make it more difficult for the US and EU to reach a lasting agreement that would withstand a challenge before the CJEU. In Fazaga, the Court ruled that the US Federal government could invoke its state-secret privilege to prevent disclosure of information to individuals who claimed they had been subject to illegal surveillance from US authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). One of the key issues discussed in 'Schrems II ' was the broad scope of surveillance under FISA, and Fazaga may reinforce such concerns when the CJEU inevitably reviews whether TADPF satisfies the GDPR. Reactions Although such political agreement has been welcomed by EU and US companies, it has given rise to more cautious reactions, both from data regulators, and from privacy advocates. Maximilian Schrems, lead litigant in the CJEU's decisions 'Schrems I' and 'Schrems II' and founder of the NOYB association, declared that once the final text of the framework is published, NOYB or another activist group will likely challenge the TADPF before the CJEU if it does not comply with EU law. Furthermore, on 6 April 2022, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) released a statement on the announcement and welcomed this preliminary agreement. However, it underlined its willingness to pay special attention to "how this political agreement translates into concrete legal proposals", respecting EU law, CJEU case law and previous recommendations the EDPB issued on that basis. In particular, the EDPB specified that it will particularly analyse whether the collection of personal data for national security purposes is limited to what is strictly necessary and proportionate, and how the announced independent redress mechanism including the Data Protection Review Court will respect EEA individuals right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial. More specifically, the EDPB said that it would assess whether the Data Protection Review Court has access to relevant information, including personal data, when exercising its mission and whether it can adopt decisions binding on the intelligence services. The EDPB also said it would consider whether there is a judicial remedy against this Courts decisions or inaction. Some EU supervisory authorities, such as Danish and Swedish regulators, reacted to this announcement by reminding companies that everything remains 'as is' for the time being. The political agreement does not constitute a legal framework on the basis of which EEA data exporters can transfer data to the US, and data exporters must therefore continue taking the necessary actions to comply with the case law of the CJEU, in particular with the 'Schrems II' decision. Furthermore, companies using 'standard contractual clauses' to carry out their transfers should bear in mind that they have until 27 December 2022 to upgrade their documentation with the new templates issued by the European Commission. Next steps The European Commission and the US Government will now have to work on translating this agreement 'in principle' into concrete legal documentation. Before entering into force, the agreement will go through an entire European approval process. This process has historically taken several months (e.g. five months for the adoption of the Privacy Shield in 2016 and four months in the case of the UK adequacy). A final version of the TADPF is therefore not expected for a few months. It is then assumed that an adequacy decision will not be adopted until at least the end of 2022. China's artemisinin research boosts global war on malaria Xinhua) 09:20, April 26, 2022 BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs) have been widely used to treat malaria over the past two decades, employing Chinese wisdom to save millions of lives around the world. Malaria, an ancient acute infectious disease caused by plasmodium parasites, is still a threat to human health. According to the 2021 world malaria report released by the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 241 million malaria cases were recorded globally in 2020, and of these, 627,000 malaria patients have died. In ancient Chinese medicine, the sweet wormwood plant was used to treat various illnesses, including fevers typical of malaria. Around five decades ago, Chinese scientists identified its active ingredient, artemisinin. In 2005, the World Health Organization recommended ACTs as the most effective malaria treatment available. In order to achieve the WHO's goal of reducing malaria incidence and mortality by at least 90 percent by 2030 compared with 2015, Chinese researchers have spared no effort in conducting further artemisinin research. Tu Youyou, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for the discovery of artemisinin, is leading a new research team, using new technologies to help artemisinin research play a greater role in malaria control. The team is focusing on the treatment of the most harmful form of the illness, falciparum malaria. It is also studying artemisinin's mechanism of action and its drug-resistance mechanism. The team has published the relevant research results in a series of papers. The global malaria epidemic has rebounded in recent years, partly due to disruptions in prevention, diagnosis and treatment services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Global demand for artemisinin has increased, but the quality and supply of the substance have not been stable. The preparation of artemisinin still depends on extraction from sweet wormwood. The researchers have improved the varieties of sweet wormwood available for this purpose, increasing the artemisinin content to about 2 percent. Another Chinese research team, from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a new technology for producing artemisinin on a large scale. Compared to the traditional process, the time required to produce the same amount of artemisinin concentrate is reduced by 87.5 percent. Meanwhile, the purity of the final product is greater, reaching more than 99 percent, with less energy consumed in the process. "This technology solves the main shortcomings in the traditional artemisinin production process and could also provide ideas for the production of other natural products," said Zhang Suojiang, IPE director. Used in conjunction with other prevention approaches, ACTs have contributed to the global reduction of malaria morbidity and mortality. According to the latest WHO data, the fight against malaria saved an estimated 10.6 million lives globally from 2000 to 2020. Through developing ACTs, China has contributed its wisdom to the global battle against this disease. China's contribution can also be seen in the practical application of treatment methods in places where malaria poses a serious health challenge. It has built a malaria prevention and control center in the African island nation of Comoros, training over 4,000 medical workers there. The number of malaria cases has dropped by 98 percent in Comoros, while the number of deaths from the illness has been reduced to zero. The experience of anti-malaria cooperation between China and Comoros has provided a useful model for other African nations, such as Kenya, Togo and Gambia. According to Zheng Zhijie, an official with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the "Chinese experience" in anti-malaria cooperation is highly adaptable and has established an innovative malaria prevention and control model. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. At the end of Block 7, State of the Rockies Fellows Izzie Hicks '22 and Dova Castaneda-Zilly '23 traveled with Dr. Kat Miller-Stevens, director of the State of the Rockies Project, to the Midwest Political Science Associations annual conference in Chicago, Illinois. Hicks and Castaneda-Zilly presented a paper from the State of the Rockies Project's 2021 summer fellowship titled How Anger and Fear Influence Policy Narratives: Advocacy and Regulation of Oil and Gas Drilling in Colorado. The paper was co-authored with Miller-Stevens and Dr. Jonathan Pierce and two other State of the Rockies fellows, Evan Rao '23 and Saigopal Rangaraj '23. Rockies fellow Greta Forseth '23 also helped gather data for the paper. Hicks and Castaneda-Zilly presented the paper on a panel with three other academic papers applying the Narrative Policy Framework to a variety of policy arenas. Feedback from the conference will be used to revise the paper for submission to an academic journal. The 2022 State of the Rockies summer fellows are continuing the project and will produce a second paper to be presented at the annual conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organization and Voluntary Action in Fall 2022. The state House passed a bill Tuesday to ban hospitals from pursuing debt collections against patients if the hospitals are not in compliance with a federal law that requires them to post prices online. If enacted, House Bill 1285 would prohibit noncompliant hospitals from using debt collectors, filing negative credit reports against patients and obtaining state court judgements for outstanding debts. Noncompliant hospitals could still bill patients, but if they pursue collection actions, they must refund any debt paid by the patient, in addition to all legal fees. Were going to finally have pricing convergence, pricing competition and the macroeconomics of health care, said bill sponsor Rep. Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock. Its going to lead to a lot of consumer savings and better health care. More than a year after it went into effect, only 6% of Colorado hospitals are in full compliance with the price transparency law that allows patients to compare costs between hospitals, according to a report by PatientRightsAdvocate.org. That is below the national average of 14.3% compliance. The House passed the bill in a 63-1 vote, with only Rep. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction, voting against the bill. The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration. The bipartisan-backed bill is sponsored by the unlikely duo of Neville and Pueblo Democrat Rep. Daneya Esgar. This is the first time the ideological opponents have co-sponsored the same bill in the eight years they have served together. We dont always think alike but on this specific bill, were aligned. This is a bill about protecting consumers when it comes to health care costs, Esgar said. Its a good bill to move folks in the right direction and to protect those people who are looking for health care and making sure they know exactly what is going on in terms of pricing. Though lawmakers are united in support of the bill, hospitals have stood firmly against it. During a public hearing for the bill, large hospital systems claimed the bill would lead to frivolous lawsuits, while smaller hospitals worried it could threaten their businesses because they do not have the resources to comply with price transparency right now. On Friday, lawmakers amended the bill to give small, critical access hospitals with less than 25 beds more time to comply. For these hospitals, the bill would go into effect in February 2023 instead of this August as it will for all other hospitals. This will help out in the country, said Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, who proposed the amendment. This is to give them an opportunity to comply, rather than treating them like some of the folks that have a lot bigger budgets. Rich the only no vote against the bill still opposed the measure, saying she is just tired of the governments meddling in business. Also this week, the House unanimously passed House Bill 1284, which seeks to expand protections against surprise health insurance bills. If enacted, the bill would align state law with the federal No Surprises Act, which went into effect in January. The bill offers additional protections for patients, such as by requiring insurers to pay for post-stabilization services at the in-network level and to cover emergency health-care services, regardless of where provided, also at the in-network benefit level. A state Senate panel unanimously advanced legislation to invest around $100 million into the child care industry as Colorado struggles through an unprecedented child care shortage. If enacted, Senate Bill 213 would use $50 million of economic recovery and relief money and another possible $50 million in federal funds to pay for staffing, training and expansion of child care facilities. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved the bill on Monday, sending it to the chambers Appropriations Committee. The purpose is all about making sure were addressing some of the issues that have happened since COVID-19, said bill sponsor Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora. "Many families spend a huge amount of money on child care and others are remaining out of the workforce in order to care for their children. In Colorado, an average family with two young children spends $28,600 or 14% of their income on child care annually, according to federal data. Single parents fare even worse, paying on average 49.5% of their income on infant child care at Colorado centers, according to a Child Care Aware of America report. Some families can't find child care at all. In Colorado, 51% of residents live in child care deserts where there are more than three times as many children as there are licensed child care slots, according to Mile High United Way. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic closed around 7% of licensed child care centers in Colorado, providers only had the capacity to serve 62% of the state's 246,000 kids under 6 whose parents both work, according to a report that cited 2019 figures. That meant a shortage of more than 90,000 child care slots statewide. Unfortunately, most of that desert area is in rural parts of the state where we dont have the ability to have this type of child care, said bill sponsor Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling. The importance of this bill is how do we take care of kids that may not be taken care of. The bill received bipartisan support and sponsorship largely due to a portion that would delegate $7.5 million to train informal child care providers such as babysitters, nannies and family members on the best practices for teaching, fostering emotional development, nutrition and first aid. Sonnenberg said this informal child care is most common in rural, Republican areas of Colorado. The bill would also put $19 million towards opening new child care centers and expanding capacity at existing licensed child care facilities. Another $10 million would create employer-based child care facilities for business owners to provide employees with on-site child care, and $15 million would fund an existing grant program to train and recruit child care staff. The potential $50 million in federal funds would be used to implement the Child Care Sustainability Grant Program, offering licensed child care providers between $2,100 and $31,500 to spend on employee pay, benefits, training or hiring additional staff. In this session, this may be one of the most important bills that is before us, said Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont. Child care is so needed all over the state, its hurting us everywhere. During Mondays committee meeting, seven people testified in support of the bill and no one testified in opposition. Organizations backing the bill include Parent Possible, Mile High United Way, the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition and Executives Partnering to Invest in Children. 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. Would you like to receive our news updates? Signup today! Sign up to receive notifications when a new Columbia Gorge News e-Edition is published. Error! There was an error processing your request. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. News and Info from our Community Partners Information from the News and our advertisers (Want to add your business to this to this feed?) Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label. Leaders of nations congratulated French President Emmanuel Marcon for being elected to a second term as French president, defeating his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen. Among the world leaders that extended a message of congratulations is Russian President Vladimir Putin via a telegram, according to a report from Al Jazeera. "I sincerely wish you success in governance, firm health, and well-being," Putin noted, which the Kremlin posted on its official website on Monday. Macron and Putin have discussed several times since the start of Russian attacks on Ukraine in the last week of February, per The Independent. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated his French counterpart over the phone. On Twitter, Zelensky called Macron Ukraine's "true friend" and wished him "further success" for the sake of the French people. "I appreciate his support and I am convinced that we are moving together towards new common victories," he tweeted. Felicitations a @EmmanuelMacron, un vrai ami de lUkraine, pour sa reelection! Je lui souhaite de nouveaux succes pour le bien du peuple . J'apprecie son soutien et je suis convaincu que nous avancons ensemble vers de nouvelles victoires communes. Vers une Europe forte et unie! (@ZelenskyyUa) April 24, 2022 After Macron's convincing victory over Marine Le Pen, European Council President Charles Michel, as well as the prime ministers of Belgium and Luxembourg, were among the first to congratulate him, followed by practically all of the bloc's 27 leaders. Greetings From Significant Allies British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the outcome of the polls and committed to working with Macron. He also acknowledged that France is among the "closest and most important allies" of the United Kingdom. US President Joe Biden also praised Macron's triumph. In a tweet, he said France is America's oldest ally and "a key partner" in tackling global concerns. "I look forward to our continued close cooperation - including supporting Ukraine, defending democracy, and countering climate change," Biden tweeted. Congratulations to @EmmanuelMacron on his re-election. France is our oldest ally and a key partner in addressing global challenges. I look forward to our continued close cooperation including on supporting Ukraine, defending democracy, and countering climate change. President Biden (@POTUS) April 24, 2022 Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated his French equal, saying he hopes "to continue working with President Macron" to preserve diplomatic ties founded on "independence, mutual understanding, foresight, and mutual benefit." according to a government media agency. Read Also: USA, China, India Spend the Most as Global Military Expenses Reach $2 Trillion Mark; Russia Increases Budget Before War A President for Everyone In his victory speech in front of his supporters gathered on Champs de Mars in central Paris, Macron vowed to be the president of every French citizen. He also expressed gratitude to his supporters, recognizing that many of them voted for him to keep the extreme right out, as they did in 2017. Though Macron emphasized that his second term will focus more on addressing France's current problems and that his second term would not be a continuation of his previous administration, CNN reported. He also sent a message to Le Pen's supporters, saying that his leadership would be responsible for seeking the solution to the "anger and disagreements" that prompted them to vote for the far-right. According to the Ipsos polling agency, Emmanuel Macron was elected to a second term as French president on Sunday evening with 58.8% of the vote. Marine Le Pen, his far-right opponent, garnered 41.2 % of the vote in an election with the lowest voter turnout in 50 years, per France 24 report. Ipsos calculated a 28.2 percent abstention rate, up 1.9 percentage points from the first round and 2.7 percentage points from the second round in 2017. Le Pen considered the loss a "striking victory" and promised to fight back in the June parliamentary elections. Related Article: Emmanuel Macron's Victory in the Second Round of French Elections Signals the Start of Powerful EU Military @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Jamf has announced a series of significant updates to Jamf Protect, introducing a unique set of technologies designed to make enterprise devices more secure while also identifying and responding to incoming endpoint threats. The company also introduced, Jamf Trust, which aims to make this kind of security simple to use. (The latter is also available for Android and Windows.) Whats new in Jamf Protect? The big news for Mac security, Jamf Protect, now offers a comprehensive endpoint and network security solution, supplementing its existing protections with new tools for: Network threat prevention. This now combines threat prevention and remediation with network-based attack indicators. Comprehensive endpoint and network threat monitoring and logging. Logging such events makes it easier for InfoSec teams to detect or remediate threats and investigate incidents when they do take place. Controls to ensure sensitive data can only be written from the Mac to encrypted USB drives. This should help manage data leakage. Jamf Protect is a powerful tool and provides a unique solution for Mac endpoint protection. It's supported by the companys own in-house team of security researchers. Used on its own, it can prevent and quarantine malware; when used alongside JamfPro for MDM, it can do more to secure deployments, including locking down or erasing compromised Macs. Why do these moves by Jamf matter? Apples enterprise market is far bigger now than it has been in decades, with its products in use across most of the worlds biggest firms and a growing place in small enterprise. IDC recently reported that the Mac has become the fastest-growing computer worldwide among enterprises, with iPhones and iPads also seeing a lot of use. Particularly during the pandemic, this has led businesses to recognize the need to protect these many Apple endpoints, supplementing the platforms industry-leading security with additional protection. Zero-trust, location-specific, user-related single-sign-in approaches have evolved rapidly over the last two years. These latest new features add a component of automated situation awareness to the mix, which is a promising tech for fleet security. New on the block: Trust and Safe Internet JamfTrust is designed to be an easy-to-use employee focused app that gives your staff access to powerful security capabilities without affecting performance or productivity. It provides workflows related to the companys suite of security products and aims to eliminate the friction employees may feel when using these. The company plans to launch JamfTrust for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Android, and Windows systems next month. The company has also ramped-up internet protection with its student/K12 education product, Jamf Safe Internet. It combines content filtering and network threat prevention features, including the capacity to protect users from malware and phishing attacks. The company says it will filter results without invading privacy or affecting the learning experience. This is slated to be available for macOS and iOS in summer. What Jamf says Jamf is one of the very few companies in the world that offer both endpoint management and endpoint security giving Jamf the unique ability to identify, prevent, and remediate security threats automatically, Jamf CEO, Dean Hager told the author. And of the few companies in the market that do both, Jamf is the only provider that manages and secures the Apple-first enterprise, which is a critical differentiator since the iPhone is the #1 phone in the enterprise; the iPad is the #1 enterprise tablet; and the Mac is the fastest growing computer in the enterprise. Apple provides the endpoints for businesses of the future. Jamf not only supports this growth, we drive it by delivering a consumer-simple experience that employees love and an enterprise-secure solution that organizations trust, he said. Organizations should not have to choose between comprehensive security and exceptional usability in todays work anywhere environments, Michael Covington, vice president of portfolio strategy at Jamf, said in a statement. "Thats why we are excited to expand on the security capabilities available in the enterprise-secure, consumer-simple platform our customers know and love. We want organizations to confidently send devices into the world that have good baseline configurations that can detect and stop malware compromise, and that are equipped with preventative measures to block inbound attacks like phishing from impacting worker productivity. Jamf is on a roll as Apples enterprise share expands. Not only does it now protect more than 26 million devices, but the company also recently introduced two new Apple admin tools one to simplify and automate Mac app installations in business, another to manage and secure Apple devices at SMBs. Were witnessing a rapid increase in activity across the entire Apple integration space as MDM vendors strive to serve this expanding market. Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe. 04/26/2022 Photo (c) Manjurul - Getty Images COVID-19 tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.) Total U.S. confirmed cases: 81,045,532 (80,988,514) Total U.S. deaths: 991,629 (991,260) Total global cases: 510,331,384 (509,574,738) Total global deaths: 6,221,415 (6,218,431) FDA approves remdesivir to treat young children The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its approval of the COVID-19 treatment remdesivir to include pediatric patients, including infants. The drug may be used if children test positive for the coronavirus and are hospitalized. The drug may also be prescribed if a child is at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19. The FDA action makes remdesivir the first approved COVID-19 treatment for children under 12 years of age. Previously, the drug was only approved to treat certain adults and pediatric patients who are 12 years of age and older and weigh at least 40 kilograms, which is about 88 pounds. White House to make Paxlovid more available The White House today said it is taking steps to help more COVID-19 patients get access to Pfizers treatment drug Paxlovid. They say the drug could make the U.S. falling death toll decline even more. So far, the drug has been underused in the fight against the virus. To turn that around, administration officials say the government plans to double the number of places where patients can access Paxlovid. We can save more lives by getting this medication to more people, a senior administration official stated. The official said the drug will soon be available at as many as 10,000 locations in the U.S. Cruise ship reports outbreak Cruise ships were among the first venues to see a surge in COVID-19 cases in March 2020, before the rest of the nation fully grasped the severity of the pandemic. Now, at least one cruise ship is experiencing a disconcerting case of deja vu. CBS reports that the Ruby Princess docked in San Francisco earlier this month with 143 passengers who had tested positive for the virus. Travelers reported seeing some of their fellow passengers with symptoms not long after leaving Hawaii. But unlike two years ago, everyone aboard the cruise ship was vaccinated. The San Francisco Health Department reports that nearly all infected passengers had mild or no symptoms. Only one person was admitted to a hospital for treatment. Around the nation Through the years, Johnny Depp has portrayed different roles in his long acting career, both in television and cinema. From Edward Scissorhands to Captain Jack Sparrow, he has showcased versatile acting skills that made him one of the A-list actors in Hollywood. Born on June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky, Depp began his career in music, dropping out of school to pursue a career as a rock musician, which led him to go to Los Angeles after the breakup of his band, The Kids. Following his appearance in the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, he landed his first major role in the Fox TV series 21 Jump Street, for which he reportedly earned $45,000 per episode, according to a story published by Marca. In 1990, Tim Burton cast him in the cult film Edward Scissorhands, marking the start of a long and fruitful collaboration with the renowned filmmaker. Depp starred in several classic films thanks to his collaboration with Burton. The list includes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the animated film Corpse Bride, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows. Aside from acting, Depp is also involved with his production firm Infinitum Nihil, which he founded in 2004, and his sister Christi Dembrowski, who serves as president. Depp is a talented musician as well. In 2015, he founded the band Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. Read Also: Kanye West Claims "Family is in Danger When He's Not Home" in a New Song Amid Divorce, Custody Battle with Ex-Wife Kim Kardashian Hundreds Of Millions Lost Depp's fortunes, on the other hand, suffered when he discovered that he had lost $650 million in movie profits due to suspected financial mismanagement. Depp realized that he owed the IRS $100 million in overdue taxes since taxes had not been paid on his account for 17 years. According to Variety, Depp's finances were managed by a corporation called The Management Group for most of his career. In 2017, Depp filed a lawsuit accusing them of "gross mismanagement and, at times, outright fraud," alleging that they caused him to lose tens of millions of dollars, racked up more than $40 million in debt without his awareness, failed to file his property taxes properly, made unpermitted loans, and overpaid for security and other services, among other accusation. The Management Group countersued, saying that, despite receiving $650 million over the preceding 13 years, Depp's extravagant spending practices had left him with insufficient liquid cash to fulfill his basic monthly costs, which exceeded $2 million per month. They argued Depp placed himself in these circumstances through excessive spending. Lavish Lifestyle Depp is said to spend $3.6 million a year on a 40-person full-time staff, $30,000 on wine monthly, $150,000 on bodyguards, and $200,000 on private jet flights. He is also said to have spent $75 million on more than 14 properties throughout the world, including a 45-acre castle in France, a horse farm in Kentucky, and various Bahamas islands. He could sell his entire real estate portfolio for $100 million if he wanted to. He possesses multiple yachts, more than 45 automobiles, memorabilia worth $12 million in 12 storage facilities, and an art collection that includes artworks by Andy Warhol. Depp is also said to have paid $5 million to get the ashes of Hunter S. Thompson shot from a cannon off a 153-foot tower. Despite the massive losses in his wealth, Depp is still among the highest-paid performers in Hollywood. He gets $20 million upfront and 20% of the backend for each film. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise alone has earned more than $300 million as a result of this contract, while backend profits from "Alice in Wonderland" totaled $55 million. Johnny Depp has a net worth of $100 million, according to Celebs Net Worth. Johnny Depp's several successful films have made over $3.4 billion in the United States and $8.7 billion globally. With his reported annual income of more than $100 million in some years, Depp ranks among the highest-paid celebrities in the world. Related Article: Johnny Depp Accuses Ex-Wife Amber Heard of Having Affair with James Franco; Ireland Baldwin Slams "Manipulative, Terrible" Actress Amid Trial @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. 04/26/2022 Photo (c) naruecha jenthaisong - Getty Images Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a deceptive trade practices lawsuit against the online used vehicle dealer Vroom Automotive, which saw sales grow rapidly during the pandemic. In filing the lawsuit, Paxton noted that consumers have filed over 5,000 complaints since 2018 with both the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Office of the Texas Attorney General against Vroom and Texas Direct Auto, which Vroom owns. In a statement, the BBB said it noticed an increase in complaints starting in January 2020 that focused on two areas. Some consumers reported that the cars they received via delivery were not the same vehicles pictured online, or that they were dirty or damaged. Consumers also stated they were having customer service and communication issues when trying to reach out to the company to address their concerns, the BBB said. The organization added that consumers have also reportedly not received paperwork to get their cars registered, faced delayed deliveries for vehicles, and had issues concerning trade-ins. Unhappy consumers air concerns Similar reports have been posted at ConsumerAffairs, especially in recent months. Mary, of Davis, Calif., wrote in mid-April that she bought a Lexus in November and has waited five months for the car to be registered. Five months after buying my car and three months after the temporary registration expired and I still have no idea if they will ever register my car and no way to find out, Mary wrote. Todd, of Aurora, Colo., describes the process of purchasing a vehicle from Vroom as a headache. Hes waited even longer than Mary to get his license plates. Now six months later and we still do not have our plates, he wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. When I call to inquire why, they say they need to log a ticket and send me an email. The email they send is a no reply email. To be fair, not all of Vrooms ConsumerAffairs reviews are negative. Some consumers report a good experience, though many of the positive reviews are about the experience of selling a car to Vroom. Rapid growth may contribute to issues Auto industry analyst Cliff Banks, the publisher of TheBanksReport.com, says Vroom and its competitor Carvana are the only dealers that appear to be producing complaints about delays in titling. We're not seeing any issue with new car dealers or even large used chains such as Carmax, Echo Park, or Driveway.com, Banks told ConsumerAffairs. I think it's due to them both (Vroom and Carvana) trying to grow quickly and not having the processes in place as they enter new markets to adequately provide the services required in a vehicle transaction. ConsumerAffairs reached out to Vroom for comment, but the company did not immediately reply to our request. In its last annual earnings report, Vroom told investors that it has encountered operational challenges due to its rapid growth. During the past six months there has been an increase in customer complaints, leading to an increase in such regulatory inquiries, the report said. We endeavor to promptly respond to any such inquiries and cooperate with our regulators. What to do For customers dealing with these issues, the only recourse may be to submit a report about their experience. On forums where customers have aired their frustrations, many later amended their submission to say the issue had been resolved. It seems someone at the company is monitoring the reviews and responding. It may also pay to file a complaint with the state attorney generals office. WAVE-TV in Louisville recently reported that the Kentucky Attorney Generals office helped two Vroom customers resolve their issues. On Monday, Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog group, warned that Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter would bring Donald Trump back to the network and give extremists and white supremacists free rein. Republicans in the United States, however, some in the White House and elsewhere, are cheering a prospective Musk agreement with Twitter, believing that a takeover by the Tesla CEO could reverse the decision that led to Trump's removal from the platform. A group of 209 House Republicans asked for just that on Monday. Elon Musk Agrees To Buy Twitter For $44 Billion In a statement, Media Matters president Angelo Carusone stated, "The sale of Twitter to Elon Musk would be a victory for disinformation and the people who peddle it." Following the insurgency in the United States, Trump earned a lifetime ban from Twitter on January 8, 2021, according to Carusone. Within weeks, Capitol would return to the platform. Donald Trump isn't the only right-wing figure who could return to Twitter following a suspension. US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's account was suspended after she violated the company's COVID-19 disinformation policy, but she began fighting for its reinstatement using her Congressional account on Monday. Media Matters is pushing Twitter's board of directors to include specific stipulations in any potential arrangement with Elon Musk that would preserve existing community standards, including the expulsion of violators, according to Fortune. Read Also: President Macron Beats Rival Le Pen, Becomes First French Leader To Win Re-election Donald Trump Says He Won't Return to Twitter Meanwhile, Donald Trump has no plans to rejoin Twitter, and the previous president stated on Monday after it became introduced that billionaire Elon Musk sold the social media platform for $ forty-four billion. Instead, he's focusing on his program, TRUTH Social, whose popularity waned following a spike of interest after its buggy App Store debut. Android users are still unable to access it. Despite not posting since the platform's introduction two months ago, the former president told Fox News that he'd be a frequent user in as little as a week. "I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH. I hope Elon buys Twitter because he'll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUT," Trump told the outlet. Trump said that his app was receiving a better reaction than Twitter, although he did not explain how. The former president was permanently suspended from Twitter on January 6, last year, after a riot over a sedition message to his supporters. Some of his supporters rushed into the US Capitol that day, Daily Mail reported. Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter on Monday implies the social media network might undergo significant changes, including the return of Donald Trump, the verification of every human user, and the conversion of the company's headquarters into a homeless shelter. While Musk has not directly stated that he will allow Trump to return to Twitter, he has stated that the site's existing moderation procedures are excessively restrictive, leading to speculation regarding Trump's comeback. Elon Musk said last week that a social media platform's regulations are excellent if the most extreme 10% on the left and right are equally unhappy, indicating how he would manage content moderation concerns on Twitter. To combat spam, the billionaire has stated that he wants to authenticate all actual persons that use the site. Furthermore, Musk has stated that he is exploring auditing a Twitter "edit button," and that one approach to minimize misuse of the function may be to "zero out" retweets and likes when a tweet is modified. Musk has stated that he plans to make Twitter's algorithm public to address concerns raised by certain users who feel that particular tweets are unfairly boosted or degraded, as per New York Post. Related Article: Elon Musk Takes $46.5 Billion Step to Buy Twitter: What's Next for World's Richest Man? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. DONT fall in love with your improv classmate. Second City Hollywood/Lara Hillier Countless romances have sprung from two chairs and a suggestion. I say dont do this, but I know you will. We all do. Improvisers are notorious for falling in love with their classmates. It happens because to be good at improv, you have to dig deep and be emotionally honest. Playing one-dimensional characters is never fun to watch. Think about it: youre improvising a scene with someone where you have to play two people in love, and the only way to sell it for real is to really believe you are in love. Your mind knows youre performing, but your body doesnt. Those feelings of love that you improvised for that scene? Baby, those will linger. For a long time. I have had countless improv crushes and they all stem from something romantic or sexy that happened on stage. Continue Reading Below Advertisement Also, youre a goofy comedian who makes poop and fart jokes for a living. No one off the stage finds you at all attractive, so you turn to your comedy buddy. But it wont work out. Youll have a secret affair that your improv class will kind of know about and then youll inevitably break up and then there you are, doing a scene with a guy playing a doctor trying to get a flamingo out of your ass, and all you can think about is how this dude saw you naked far too many times. Almost no improv relationships work out. A few do, but theyre so few and far between that, they dont really need to be acknowledged. Also, a lot of them started as teacher/student relationships. Which by the way- It comes with the territory of being rich and famous. If youre not careful, some idiot will try to get your cash by threatening to spill your secrets. Here are five times that comedians claimed to be victims of blackmail schemes -- and more often than not, the comics dont come out looking great. 1 Chris Rock This one started when Rock appeared on Howard Stern with a story about a woman who allegedly tried to get the comic to pay up over a false pregnancy claim. The FBI was involved, according to Rock, investigating a large conspiracy that conned several stars into paying child support for kids that werent theirs. Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon These are psycho girls, claimed Rock. They know what they are doing." But the psycho girl turned out to be a Hungarian model who sued Rock for a number of equally ugly offenses, sexual and otherwise, in what The Hollywood Reporter called the filthiest lawsuit ever filed. Rock hired a private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, to investigate the model, who claims Pellicano illegaly broke into her home and took pictures of her daughter. Pellicano eventually went to jail over similar accusations. The models lawsuit never made it to trial, but Rock eventually paid an undisclosed sum to make the whole thing go away. A Michigan police officer revealed the identity of the Grand Rapids law enforcement officer responsible for shooting Patrick Lyoya, a Congo native, in the back of the head during an Apr. 4 traffic stop. The suspect, Christopher Schurr, said Chief Eric Winstrom is the officer that killed 26-year-old Lyoya after a struggle. In a statement, Winstrom said that in the interest of transparency, to reduce ongoing speculation, and to avoid any further confusion, he was confirming the identity of the man responsible for the heinous act. Identity of Patrick Lyoya Shooter The police chief said in the aftermath of the shooting and the release of the video footage of the incident that he would withhold the officer's name unless he were charged with a crime. It was known to be a long-standing practice that applied to the public as well as city employees. The family of the victim and Black leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, the host of MSNBC's "PoliticsNation," had repeatedly urged for transparency and the release of the police officer's identity. On Friday, Sharpton shouted that people wanted the officer's name, saying that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of personnel who have killed others unless he was charged, as per NBC News. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Chief Winstrom said that the Grand Rapids Police Department would be releasing documents regarding the incident. The shooting started off as a traffic stop where Lyoya then ran from the officer before the situation became a struggle between the two. The officer then shot the victim in the back of the head while the latter was still face down on the ground. Read Also: Climate Activist Dies After Setting Himself on Fire in Front of Supreme Court on Earth Day Schurr was on top of the victim, who was unarmed, and was heard on video footage demanding that the victim take his hand off the officer's Taser. A forensic pathologist who conducted an autopsy at the request of the victim's family said that the gun was pressed to Lyoya's head when the shooting took place. According to WWMT, authorities placed the officer on administrative leave and stripped him of his police powers until the conclusion of the MSP's investigation. Sharpton, prior to the release of the officer's name, argued that if Black people committed a crime, their identities would immediately be made public. Fatal Police Shooting Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demand for the officer's name after the funeral. He said that he would discuss the matter with Winstrom and city employment officials, which later resulted in the reveal of the officer's name. Michigan state officials have requested the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a "pattern-or-practice" investigation into Schurr's fatal shooting of Lyoya. The reason for the traffic stop is that the victim's car allegedly had an unregistered license plate. In the past, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), which was the one that made the request for the DOJ to launch an investigation, made similar requests. An official from the same office renewed the request with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan on Apr. 7, three days after the shooting of Lyoya and before it received significant national media attention, CNN reported. Related Article: Orsolya Gaal Case: Handyman Lover Gets Jealous, Says He Killed New York Woman After Discovering Texts to Another Man @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The whole goal of advertising is to get peoples attention and secondarily get them to remember a product. Whether the most shocking advertisements actually accomplish both of those goals is up for debate, but we would never deny a mad person their right to reel in the suckers with a boob here or there. Sometimes, though, advertising crosses a line into not fit for human consumption territory. Advertisement 15 Calvin Kleins Pedophiley Brooke Shields Ad (Calvin Klein) Calvin Klein is known for their gross commercials, but they went too far for CBS and ABC in 1980, when the networks banned a commercial featuring a panning shot over the body of a very 15-year-old-looking Brooke Shields, including directly into her crotch, before she peers coyly into the camera and whispers, You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing. Poor Shields didnt even realize what she was implying about her undergarment situation. Sorry about that, but yeah before Wood came on board to talk about tickling his butthole to get his little soldier pumping, Marlon Brando was the one to deliver lines about unleashing "the dog of war" and whatnot. The thought of it is more bananas than watching the scene we got in the end. Natasha Lyonne (who plays Megan, the possessed demon girl) revealed that she still has a VHS copy of the dailies in which Brando appears. She said she had no idea why the man would say yes to doing the spoof and that he was quite chatty on set. Continue Reading Below Advertisement "(Brando) had an oxygen tank, and he just kind of held my boob because that was in the script. He was supposed to be like, 'The power of Christ compels you ' I just remember being like, 'Ah, this is the surrealism that Andre Breton, Salvador Dali were talking about.' So, I had Brando with the earpiece and the hand on the boob, and the makeup, and 'The power of Christ compels you,' and not to curse, but, 'Your mother sucks cocks in hell,' and so on. This was all happening at once, and I remember like, 'You know, showbiz is alright.' In that moment, showbiz was A-okay." Continue Reading Below Advertisement Yeah, listen, Lyonne, we're going to need to see those dailies. Time to do the world a solid here. Of course, Brando's actual final and non-live-action role was equally hysterical: Doing the voice of an old lady, Mrs. Sour, in an unreleased animation called Big Bug Man a job for which he insisted on going full drag. He said it was the most fun he'd had since playing Julius Caesar. Zanandi is on Twitter and also on that other platform. Top Image: Dimension Films Nadeau's Auction Gallery, a Windsor-based auction house, is kickstarting its spring season with an upcoming auction featuring a number of ancient relics, rare art pieces and other valuable items such as watches and rings. Over 600 different lots will be available during the auction, all of which coming from a number of New England estates, according to a press release. The US and its allies have been imposing sanctions on Russia's major enterprises and corporate and political elites, all the way up to President Vladimir Putin, for many weeks. Alina Kabaeva, the woman the US government thinks to be Vladimir Putin's lover and the mother of at least three of his children, was spared in a last-minute decision. US Withholds Sanctions on Vladimir Putin's Alleged Girlfriend The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that US authorities decided against implementing penalties against Russian President Vladimir Putin's reputed lover, 38-year-old gymnast and Olympic gold winner Alina Kabaeva, since the move was deemed too harsh. According to the publication, a probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections indicated that Kabaeva profited from Putin's clout and personal fortune. The US government suspects Kabaeva of hiding part of Putin's riches overseas and believes she is the mother of at least three of Putin's children. However, possible penalties on Kabaeva were finally delayed since the move was seen as "such a personal blow to Mr. Putin that it may further aggravate tensions between Russia and the United States," according to the Journal. Kabaeva's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a subject of speculation for years. Putin had planned to divorce his longstanding wife, Lyudmila, to be with Kabaeva, according to the Russian publication Moskovsky Korrespondent in 2008. Two days later, the publication was shut down. Putin stated that he and Lyudmila had split up five years later. Kabaeva started her international rhythmic gymnastics career in 1996 and went on to win two Olympic gold medals, making her one of the sport's most decorated competitors. She retired in 2007 and was immediately promoted to high-ranking positions in the Russian government and state-owned enterprises. She was a deputy in the State Duma, Russia's parliament, for the ruling United Russia party from 2007 until 2014. She was named chair of the National Media Group's board of directors in 2014, with major holdings in propaganda-heavy channels including Channel One TV and the Life News tabloid, according to CBS News. Read Also: John Durham Placed the Clinton Campaign, the DNC Under Subpoena for Alleged Spying on Then-Presidential Candidate Trump Russia Denies Relationship Between Putin, Kabaeva Kabaeva's last public appearance was in December 2021, months before Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine. She made a rare public appearance last week in Moscow to attend a junior gymnastics festival, a patriotic event commemorating the Soviet Union's struggle against the Nazis during WWII. Moscow has long denied a link between Putin and Kabaeva, and Kabaeva has denied it as well. Putin is depicted as living a religious life and committing himself to public service in Russian official media. From his former marriage, he has two known children, ages 36 and 35. Kabaeva performed a rhythmic gymnastics performance in Moscow on Saturday, demonstrating support for the war. The United States has accused Kabaeva and her family of becoming rich from Putin's ties, and a US intelligence investigation into her 2016 elections nominated her as a beneficiary of Putin's money. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned, begged US lawmakers on April 6 to impose sanctions on Kabaeva, claiming he was helping Putin hide his money. The Ukrainian government has also called on Western countries to sanction Kabaeva and Switzerland to ban her from the countries in which she is commonly found. Kabaeva was in Switzerland, according to the Swiss authorities. In 2008, Russian media initially revealed Putin and Kabaeva's engagement. It was shut down days later after Putin denied the story. Since 2013, Kabaeva and her family have bought two houses, half-dozen apartments, and a number of acres of land. Kabaeva gave birth to Putin's kid in 2015 in Switzerland, according to officials from the US, Switzerland, and the European Union. The story was refuted by a Putin spokeswoman, as per Daily Mail. Related Article: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth? @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Connecticut saw a rise in reports of antisemitic incidents last year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League. There were 34 reported incidents in Connecticut in 2021, a 42 percent jump from the 24 incidents recorded in 2020, the data shows. More than half of these incidents 18 were harassment, while the remainder were considered vandalism, the report stated. There were no assaults recorded in 2021, the ADL said. Reports of antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high nationwide last year. Some 2,717 incidents were reported in the United States in 2021, or about seven incidents each day. ADL Connecticut Regional Director Stacey Sobel said the data shows that antisemitism remains a serious concern not only in the United States, but also in Connecticut. From white supremacist propaganda in the public square and on college campuses, to bomb threats against JCCs [Jewish community centers], antisemitism reared its ugly head in every facet of our society last year, Sobel said in a statement. One of these included a bomb threat that was called into the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven in June 2021. A staffer at the center received a call from a person who made antisemitic comments and the threat, officials said. More than 300 campers and staff had to evacuate the building while the FBI and state police investigated. The building was closed for the day. Another one of these 34 reports included a Zoombombing incident during a college readiness meeting in Stamford in early 2021. During the call, an individual joined and wrote death to Jews and yelled the n-word, ADL Connecticut said. The organization said 18 Connecticut municipalities had at least one antisemitic incident in 2021. Those incidents included schools, vandalism of Jewish institutions and white supremacist propaganda. ADL Connecticut said the nation saw a surge in these incidents targeting Jewish communities after May 10, 2021 when fighting broke out between Israel and Hamas. For 11 days, more than 4,300 rockets and missiles were fired from Gaza toward Israeli civilian centers, according to the ADL. This impacted Connecticut as well. The states ADL recorded a spike in antisemitic incidents during the month of May, most of which took place on college campuses. In the past five years, ADL Connecticut has received 184 reports of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault a remarkable figure that we hope will serve as a stark reminder of the hard work still ahead to tackle all forms of hate and antisemitism here in our state, Sobel added. Though there was a jump in 2021, the state had seen more incidents in previous years. In 2018, Connecticut had 39 reported incidents 19 harassment, 19 vandalism and one reported assault. The next year, it had 37 reports 21 of harassment and 16 of vandalism. In 2017, Connecticut saw 49 reported antisemitic incidents. Some 29 of these were considered harassment and 20 were vandalism, the ADL said. If you have experienced or witnessed an incident of antisemitism, extremism, bias, bigotry or hate, visit ADL.org/ReportIncident. In an emergency, call 911. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Coming up with $44 billion to buy Twitter was the easy part for Elon Musk. Next comes the real challenge for the worlds richest person: fulfilling his promise to make Twitter better than ever as a lightly regulated haven for free speech. His vision for improving the 16-year-old company leans heavily on a pledge to make speech as free as reasonably possible on the platform -- a commitment thats been celebrated on the political right and among followers of former President Donald Trump, whose account last year was permanently banned. For others who worry that Musk will give free rein to agitators who spew hate, lies and other harmful content, making the platform too toxic for advertisers and average users, Musk has offered few assurances. The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all, he tweeted Tuesday Many of Musks proposed changes reflect his own experience as a high-profile and outspoken Twitter user with more than 85 million followers and a swarm of pesky impersonator accounts that use his name and photo to promote cryptocurrency schemes. The statement announcing his acquisition of Twitter on Monday highlighted the need to defeat spam bots that mimic real users. But what about Twitters more than 200 million other users who arent getting banned or flooded with spam? Theres still a lot of uncertainty about whether his ideas are technologically feasible and whether these changes would benefit most regular users, or serve some other purpose. Hes made it pretty clear hes not interested in making Twitter a profitable enterprise," said Joan Donovan, who studies misinformation at Harvard University. Its about the power and the influence of Twitter itself and its importance in our culture." Experts who have studied content moderation and researched Twitter for years have expressed doubt that Musk knows exactly what he is getting into. And some of the problems he has identified aren't felt by most users. The spam bots, for him, are highly visible and somewhat personal, said Donovan. Most people dont see a lot of these spammy accounts. And for those unhappy with the company's crackdown on hate, harassment and misinformation, there are plenty of fledgling examples of free speech-focused social media platforms that have been launched in the past few years as Twitter antidotes, largely by conservatives. Many have struggled to deal with toxic content, and at least one has been cut off by its own technology providers in protest. This move just shows how effective (moderation features) have been to annoy those in power, said Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame. I would be worried as to how this would change Twitters values. The fact that no other bidders emerged in public before Musks deal was a sign that other would-be acquirers might find Twitter too difficult to improve, said Third Bridge analyst Scott Kessler. This platform is pretty much the same one weve had over the last decade or so," Kessler said. "Youve had a lot of smart people trying to figure out what they should do, and theyve had trouble. Its probably going to be tough to make a lot of headway. Musk received an effusive, if highly abstract, endorsement from Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who praised Musk's decision to take Twitter back from Wall Street and tweeted that he trusts Musk's mission to extend the light of consciousness a reference to Dorsey's notion that Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness. But others familiar with Twitter say they're dismayed at Musk's successful bid for the company. Twitter is going to let a man-child essentially take over their platform, said Leslie Miley, a former Twitter employee who has also worked for Google and Apple. Miley, who was the only Black engineer at Twitter in a leadership position when he left the company in 2015, echoed doubts about Musk's grasp of the platform's complexities. I am not sure if Elon knows what he is getting, Miley said. He may just find that having Twitter is a lot different than wanting Twitter. The more hands-off approach to content moderation that Musk envisions has many users concerned that the platform will reanimate accounts that propagated dangerous conspiracies and harassment. Wall Street analysts said if he goes too far, it could also alienate advertisers Twitter's chief revenue source. And it could make it harder to retain the San Francisco-based company's more than 7,500 employees, some of whom are already voicing concerns about the possibility of a backslide on content standards. In Europe, officials reminded Musk about a new law, the Digital Services Act, that will force tech companies to step up policing of their online platforms. Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules regardless of their shareholding, tweeted Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner in charge of the blocs internal market. Mr. Musk knows this well. He is familiar with European rules on automotive, and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act. Musks takeover is not yet a done deal and still awaits the approval of a majority of Twitter's stockholders. Twitter previously scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for May 25, but a regulatory filing Tuesday said the company will be convening a special meeting as promptly as reasonably practicable." While there are likely to be some bumps along the way, there don't appear to be serious enough obstacles to stop the deal, according to Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Twitter or Musk can walk away from the deal if its not completed by Oct. 24, but if either Musk or Twitter is deemed responsible for the deal not going forward, they would have to pay a $1 billion termination fee, according to details of the transaction contained in a regulatory filing published Tuesday. The filing also showed that Twitter will drop a poison pill measure it had earlier adopted to defend against Musk's takeover by making it prohibitively expensive. Normally when companies go private, dissenting shareholders are forcibly cashed out. Some could challenge the stock price in court, contending that Musk should pay more, but that probably wont hold up the sale, Elson said. Its likely that Musk would dissolve the current board and replace it with a new one that would agree with his management direction. And once Twitter is private, Musk will face fewer gripes from shareholders that often bring lawsuits, Elson said. Private companies also dont face as much scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been a finger in Musks eye for years, often because of statements he's made on Twitter. On Tuesday, shares of Twitter traded just under $50, below the $54.20 purchase price. Twitter will offer a glimpse into the health of its business when it reports its quarterly financial results Thursday. Twitter's constituents aren't the only ones anxious about Musk's $44 billion investment. Shares of Musk's electric car company, Tesla, have lost about 19% of their value since Musk announced his stake in Twitter, including about a 12% decline on Tuesday. Analysts say investors are fearful that Musk will be distracted by the social media company and less engaged in running Tesla. Hes going to be spending more time with another venture, Edward Jones Senior Equity Analyst Jeff Windau said of Musk, who also runs SpaceX, The Boring Co., which digs tunnels, and Neuralink, a computer-brain interface company. Theres a potential limit on the amount of bandwidth that you can apply to each of these companies." __ Krisher reported from Detroit. O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island. AP writers Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, Kelvin Chan in London and Sam Petrequin in Brussels contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Beefed up fire crews made major progress on a large prairie fire burning near the Nebraska-Kansas line on Tuesday and lighter winds allowed firefighters to keep flames from advancing significantly at big fires in the Southwest where some rural towns remain under evacuation orders. Stiff winds remained a challenge in the Midwest, but eased in Arizona and New Mexico where they're expected to pick up again in the days ahead after fires destroyed dozens of home and charred a combined 225 square miles (580 square kilometers) last week. It was a very good day, said Terry Krasko, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team. More than 200 firefighters are now battling the blaze in Nebraska that killed a former volunteer fire chief, injured several firefighters and destroyed several homes last week. No injuries. No more structures lost, Krasko told The Associated Press Tuesday night from Cambridge, Nebraska. I think the biggest loss we had today was a few hay bales. Overall containment grew there from 47% to 74% on Tuesday. That means crews have dug fire lines around about three-fourths of the fire that has burned 65 square miles (168 square kilometers) of mostly grasses and farmland. The major footprint of the fire stayed where it was supposed to be despite 30 to 40 mph winds," Krasko said. Critical fire conditions were forecast to return on Wednesday, but not as windy. More than 3,000 firefighters and support personnel were assigned to multiple fires Tuesday in the Southwest, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The focus was on efforts to corral blazes in northern New Mexico, where evacuations remain in place and several small villages were threatened. Authorities have started to survey the damage but have yet to tally the number of homes and other buildings that were destroyed. The largest of the wildfires has blackened more than 94 square miles (245 square kilometers) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Crews continued to make progress on that fire Tuesday, but they were bracing for the weather to take a turn later this week with more hot, dry and windy conditions forecast for the area. San Miguel County Deputy Manager Jesus Romero described the situation as touch-and-go as the winds cranked up Tuesday afternoon. Everybody is eager to get back home. Its still not really safe right now," he said. Theres plenty of forest still to be burned, plenty of fuels and its plenty dry and were dealing with the wind. Some places are a little bit better than others, but right now its just too risky. In Arizona, crews are working to encircle and mop up a 33-square-mile (85-square-kilometer) wildfire on the outskirts of Flagstaff that burned 30 homes and additional structures last week. Aircraft helped firefighters battling a different major fire that continued to grow, burning 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) in the Prescott National Forest in north-central Arizona. Four new fires were reported Monday, two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma and Virginia, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Nationally, 11 large fires have burned about 342 square miles (890 square kilometers) in six states, the agency reported Tuesday. ___ Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press reporter Margaret Stafford reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press writer Paul Davenport contributed from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Scott Sonner contributed from Reno, Nevada. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration released a plan Tuesday to deal with an expected increase in already high numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from the planned lifting of a public health order that prevents people from seeking asylum and that Republican and some Democratic lawmakers insist should be kept in place. A memo from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas outlines a more robust effort to enforce U.S. immigration law without the use of Title 42, which was invoked at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. "When the Title 42 public health Order is lifted, we anticipate migration levels will increase, as smugglers will seek to take advantage of and profit from vulnerable migrants," Mayorkas warns in a memo that comes a day before he is to testify to Congress on an issue that has become a potent element in Republican political messaging. The plan includes increasing the number of personnel in the border region from Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies, expanding detention capacity with the use of temporary facilities and aggressively deploying a process known as expedited removal to deport migrants who do not qualify for asylum or some other relief under U.S. law. It also relies on new Department of Homeland Security initiatives intended to streamline the evaluation of migrant claims, such as the deployment of asylum officers to the border to help determine whether someone should be granted temporary legal residency until an immigration court rules on their case. Unmentioned is the fact that a court could soon order the government to reverse course and halt plans to lift Title 42 on May 23 because of lawsuits filed by Republican-led states. On Monday, a federal judge in Louisiana said he would issue an order limiting the administrations ability to prepare but left specifics of the settlement to the federal government and the states. U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays, a Trump appointee, has scheduled a hearing on May 13 in the lawsuit by Louisiana and 20 other states seeking to keep Title 42 authority in place. Republicans and some Democrats in Congress have also urged the Biden administration to continue the order for now. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that Republicans are going to insist on a vote on keeping the public health order in place, likely as an amendment to a compromise $10 billion package of pandemic aid. That demand has put Democrats on the defensive ahead of fall elections in which congressional control is in play and some moderates face competitive races. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., conceded that the GOP effort is forcing Democrats to try finding a position they can rally behind. Theres divisions there now, he said. And Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., took the unusual step of criticizing the administration for sending conflicting signals on the issue. Were puzzled by the administration, some mixed messages around. Is the emergency over or isnt it over? Kaine told reporters. Were confused about it. And that leads different people to be in different spots until we get questions answered. Migrants have been expelled more than 1.8 million times under the rule, which was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under former President Donald Trump. Advocates for asylum-seekers support the end to the rule, which they say endangers people fleeing persecution back home and violates rights to seek protection under U.S. law and international treaty. The states challenging the administration say the U.S. is not ready for a likely influx of migrants resulting from the rules end, straining public services. It comes amid what the administration concedes are historic numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border due to factors that include economic and political turmoil in Latin America, as well as a backlog of people hoping to seek asylum. The increase in migrant encounters is also due in part to Title 42 itself. Immigration authorities stopped migrants 221,303 times along the Southwest border in March, a 33% increase from a month earlier, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. But many of those encounters were people coming back after being removed under the public health authority. CBP said the number of unique individuals encountered nationwide in March came to 159,900, still high but significantly below the total. Biden administration officials argue that the use of expedited removal is more of a deterrent because people subjected to it are inadmissible for five years and can be charged with a felony if they attempt to return to the country. Under Title 42, there are no legal consequences and many people simply turn around and come back. ___ Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this report. THOMASTON Landmark Community Theatre is holding auditions for the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, 6-9 p.m. May 1, and 6-8:30 p.m. May 2 on the main stage of the Thomaston Opera House. Auditions will be given on a first come, first served basis and no appointments are required. Foster Evans Reese will direct and choreograph the show, with music direction by Sean Lewis. Show dates are July 16-17, 22-24 and 29-31, for eight performances. Rehearsals begin May 9, continuing two to three times a week, depending on cast availability. All auditioning must be fully vaccinated. Auditioners must bring sheet music with them and be prepared to sing 32 bars (about a minute) of a fully memorized musical theater song showcasing the style and vocal range of the character for which they are auditioning. Songs from Jesus Christ Superstar will be allowed. Additional vocalizing may also be a part of the audition to determine vocal range and harmonizing skills. An accompanist will be provided; no recorded accompaniment is permitted. This production is comprised entirely of movement and song. Therefore, all people auditioning should be expected to dance at their audition. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Auditioners will be required to wear a mask or face covering until they are seen. Vocal warmups will not be allowed inside the building. LCT is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. As such, we encourage performers of all races and ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, abilities, and ages to attend every audition. To performers with disabilities, you are encouraged to audition. Please indicate if you need special services, assistance, or appropriate modifications to fully participate in this event by contacting Andrea Bingham, Production Manager, andrea@landmarkcommunitytheatre.org Plot Summary: A timeless work, the rock opera is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally-known series of events but seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Superstar follows the last week of Jesus Christs life. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as Superstar, I Dont Know How to Love Him and Gethsemane. A true global phenomenon and perfect pick for schools, community theaters and professionals alike, Superstar continues to touch new generations of audiences and performers. Roles: Jesus Christ - Tenor - Protagonist of the story, leader of the twelve Apostles, and son of God, Messiah and King of the Jews. Judas Iscariot - Tenor - One of the twelve apostles of Jesus; concerned for the poor and for the consequences of Jesus' fame. A tragic figure, a conflicted man, and a powerfully passionate guy. Most certainly not a bad guy he's as desirous of being pure as Jesus is, and believes he is doing the right thing. Mary Magdalene- Alto - A female follower of Jesus who finds herself falling in love with him. She's a prostitute, and she tries in her way to care for Jesus, so there is tenderness, and desire, but this is a woman of great strength. Pontius Pilate -Baritone - Governor of Judea who foresees the events of Jesus crucifixion from beginning to aftermath in a dream and finds himself being presented with that very situation. A man of his time and a leader capable of great brutality, yet also a man of a certain conscience. Caiaphas- Bass - Joseph Caiaphas was the high priest of Jerusalem who, according to Biblical accounts, sent Jesus to Pilate for his execution. Annas- Tenor - Fellow priest at the side of Caiaphas who is persuaded by Caiaphas into seeing Jesus as a threat. Peter- Baritone - One of Jesus' 12 apostles; denies Jesus three times upon the night of Jesus' arrest to save himself. Simon Zealotes - Tenor - One of Jesus' 12 apostles; urges Jesus to lead his followers into battle against the Romans. King Herod - Baritone - The King of Galilee; Jesus is brought to him for judgment after first being taken to Pilate. Ensemble: Apostles, Priests, Soul Girls, Lepers, Merchants, Soldiers. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FAIRFIELD Investment, expansion and automation were the topics of the day at the Bigelow Tea Co. headquarters on Monday. State and local officials came to tour the buildings warehouse after $2 million worth of improvements were recently completed. The new factory floor was abuzz with the whirring of machinery, and robotic carts moved pallets of tea across its main floor as part of a now partially automated packaging process. In addition to the robotic arms packing shipments and the self-driving carts moving tea around, Cindi Bigelow, Bigelow Teas president, said the factory floor was also reinforced to allow for offices to be built in the mezzanine of the warehouse. This is a huge investment for our organization, she said. This was a warehouse. What we then had to do was move to a warehouse in Orange. We emptied this out. We reinforced the floor for about $500,000. We put mezzanines in for additional offices, and then we installed all this equipment. The Orange site is remaining open, she said. Gov. Ned Lamont said the investments Bigelow made demonstrate innovation, showing it can be down outside of big companies like Amazon or Facebook. Here you have Bigelow Tea going all the way back to 1945, they have as modern and computerized distribution system as you can ask for, he said. So, theres room for innovation everywhere. The Fairfield location makes more than 750 million bags of tea a year a 400 percent increase since 1990, Bigelow said. That type of growth necessitates investment, she said, adding she anticipates installing more equipment there. This allows us to grow while maintaining the number of people we have in our workforce, she said, noting Bigelow has 200 employees in Connecticut and 450 system-wide. Bigelow said workers were very worried when the company notified them of the coming improvements, but many conversations took place with them about how the automation would not threaten their jobs. When these machines came in, we very much kept our finger on the pulse of their attitude and how employees were, she said. Now that this equipment has been in for two months, they realize that theyre needed more than ever. Its really been a good thing. Bigelow said the investments have slightly changed how her employees jobs work, but they are still an integral part of the process. She said the new offices added to the building help prepare for the future. As the business doubles, I dont want the people to double, she said. So, lets say the business doubles, maybe the people go up 30 or 40 percent. Bigelow said state programs, such as ones that help fund training for employees, free up funds for the company to buy new equipment. Bigelow said the company that shares her family name was not built on strong margins, but to ensure quality of product. It makes it very difficult in times of high increases of wages, materials, distribution, she said. We dont have any fat as a business. Were not a greedy organization. We dont spend a lot of money. The investment she made into the facility furthers the mission of ensuring a quality product, Bigelow said, adding she does not mind investing money for the future. Robert Todt said he watched from his Massachusetts home as his son was convicted of killing his wife, three children and their family dog. It was difficult to take, Robert Todt said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. His son, Anthony Todt, 46, a former Colchester physical therapist, was found guilty in Florida this month of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty for the deaths of his 42-year-old wife, Megan Todt; their three children, Aleksander, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4; and their family dog, Breezy. Osceola County Sheriffs Office / Contributed photo Following the six-day trial, Todt was sentenced to four consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was also sentenced to one year in county jail for killing their dog. Todts attorneys, who are public defenders with the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Orange and Osceola counties in Florida, declined to comment. The prosecutors for Todts case did not respond to Hearst Connecticut Medias request for comment. Todt filed an appeal Friday with the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Florida. Robert Todt believes there were issues with the prosecution using his sons confessions. If you look at how he was and listen to what went on, theres a lot of things there that didnt make a whole lot of sense, Robert Todt said. It just didnt seem right. When police took Anthony Todt into custody in January 2020, they said he was barely able to stand. He was taken to the hospital and told paramedics he took Benadryl to kill himself. He was then involuntarily committed, known as a Baker Act, according to court documents. Anthony Todts defense was not allowed to present evidence or testimony regarding any mental health issues or diminished capacity he may have had, including his Baker Act commitment, according to court documents. Robert Todt said the involuntary commitment was a key factor in determining the legitimacy of his sons confessions. You cant take someone after a tragic situation and expect to basically get the truth out of them. Its distorted, and its not meant to be, but it is, he continued. Tony doesnt remember a whole lot. It doesnt seem as if he was competent during that time. Robert Todt has been speaking to his son almost every day since his arrest. He said his son is holding up surprisingly well. Hes hoping his son can be placed in a mental health facility. Robert Todt knew his son was trying to file an appeal, but knows from firsthand experience that its pretty difficult to win. Robert Todt was arrested in July 1980 and charged with hiring one of his former students to shoot and kill his wife. The next year, he was found guilty of attempted homicide, criminal conspiracy and criminal solicitation. Robert Todt filed an appeal, which was denied, according to court records. Robert Todt said his son, who was 4 years old at the time, witnessed the man shoot his mother. He saw the gun, he saw the guy, he saw everything, he said. The man who fired the gun told law enforcement that Robert Todt offered him $800 to kill a woman Todt described as a babysitter, according to court records. Robert Todt said he served five years in prison and said he and his son didnt speak for many years afterward. I kind of gave up on the position as dad, he said, adding that his sons stepfather stepped in and was very much a leader. I had no part in raising him, lets face it, Robert Todt added. Robert Todt also believes his son and thinks hes innocent. Any father would, he said. The Todt family was found dead in January 2020 in their home in Celebration, Fla. A family member called police, asking for them to conduct a welfare check on the Todts since they had the flu and they had not heard from them for weeks. Police went to the home on Dec. 29, 2019, but no one answered the door. Police made several other attempts to reach them, according to the familys autopsy report. Authorities did not discover the family until they served Anthony Todt with an arrest warrant for health care fraud. In a statement to police, Anthony Todt said he went into his daughters room while she was asleep. He took time to sit with Zoe, 4, and then he rolled over on top of her until she suffocated, Assistant State Attorney Danielle Pinnell said in her opening statement. He then suffocated and stabbed Alek, Pinnell said. He then went downstairs where Tyler was sleeping and killed him in the same manner, Pinnell told the jury. In his statement to police, Anthony Todt claimed he and his wife had an agreement that everybody needed to die in order to pass over to the other side together because the apocalypse is coming, Pinnell said. In the statement, Anthony Todt claimed his wife stabbed herself twice and then he suffocated her with a pillow, Pinnell said. He also suffocated Breezy, their dog, according to Pinnell. The medical examiner ruled the deaths homicides through violence of unspecified means. The medical examiner also found toxic amounts of Benadryl in all four of them. The medical examiner found stab wounds to the abdomens on Megan Todt, Alek and Tyler, and no evidence of trauma on Zoe, the autopsy report stated. Anthony Todt maintained his innocence after he was sentenced, saying, I was not there the night my children died. Megan Todts aunt and godmother, Cynthia Kopko, told the judge that she previously warned her niece about Anthony Todts controlling behavior. We loved Megan and the kids very, very much, Kopko said with her voice breaking. And all I have is pictures and memories I can hold in my heart. We watched them grow up, she said. To have this happen is a nightmare. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT For the family of Emily Todd, it had been a long, agonizing three-year wait to see justice for the Bethel woman, who was shot and left to die by a Bridgeport boat ramp. But in that moment Tuesday morning, as the jury began to deliver its guilty verdicts against Brandon Roberts, it was as though the air had been sucked out of the courtroom. And then, there was a collective gasp from the family. We were terrified, Jennifer Lawlor, Emily Todds mother, explained later. You are at the mercy of a jury trial. We were scared, really scared for that answer to come out. It was like a relief period because of how much Emily deserved that word to be said. Roberts stood between his lawyers and showed no emotion as the 12-member jury repeatedly declared him guilty of murder with a firearm, felony murder, first-degree robbery, and carrying a pistol without a permit. But then he turned and mouthed something at Lawlor and her family. He then yelled, Im still alive, as judicial marshals hustled him out of the courtroom. It was just disgusting, to a room full of people who had been demolished. I really hope this makes the jury feel better about their decision, Lawlor said later. The 29-year-old Roberts faces up to 90 years in prison when he is sentenced by state Superior Court Judge Alex Hernandez on June 24. Roberts, a 2012 graduate of Ansonia High School, met Todd, a 25-year-old therapist, through an online dating app. She later broke up with him but police said on Dec. 8, 2018, he lured her to the boat ramp where he shot her once in the back of the head and then stole her car. During a trial that began last week, lawyers representing Roberts didnt challenge evidence showing he pulled the trigger, but argued he was under extreme emotional distress at the time by the death of his mother the previous year, being homeless, and his tumultuous, three-week relationship with Todd. During closing arguments Monday, attorneys on both sides focused on Roberts state of mind. Roberts lawyer, recently retired Public Defender Joseph Bruckmann, said the case was difficult, horrible, and tragic, but asked the jury to convict his client of manslaughter, arguing Roberts was suffering from an emotional whirlwind. States Attorney Joseph Corradino referred to surveillance footage of Roberts draining Todds bank account at two different ATMs after the shooting, calling the homicide deliberate, intentional, and planned. Roberts was arrested six days after the shooting at his fathers home in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and charged with Todds murder. While being questioned in the Shaker Heights police station, Roberts confessed to Bridgeport Police Lt. Chris LaMaine that he had killed Todd and shot another woman near Washington Park a year earlier. LaMaine stood in the back of the courtroom as the verdict was announced. I just wish there was more we could do to ease the familys suffering, he said. Corradino, who prosecuted the case with Assistant States Attorney Susan Campbell, later thanked LaMaine, Capt. Brian Fitzgerald and the detectives who worked on the case. The jury worked hard to reach the appropriate verdict in the case, Corradino later said. It had been a long road for the prosecution as well. In January 2020, it appeared the case was close to being resolved without a trial when Roberts offered to plead guilty in exchange for a 45-year prison term. However, the Todd-Lawlor family loudly protested the deal and a judge instead ordered the case go to trial. Its important for everyone to understand that the 45-year offer was developed by the person who killed my daughter, Jennifer Lawlor said Tuesday. And thats where the extreme reaction came from our family. We thought long and hard, knowing that there are so many risks from a trial and that it would be very painful. But as a family we had to decide what we could live with and living with that (the deal) wasnt collectively what we could do. Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked how the US and its allies turned to terror measures in pushing its anti-Russia agenda since the rollout of Russian troops on the Donbas and the campaign to secure the Russian border due to western encroachment. Western democracies are seen trying to strong-arm or sweeten arm deals to coax those snubbing the West from then on. Europe, the US Tried To Isolate Moscow The Kremlin has remarked that Western countries are not satisfied with their moves in the last two months, reported RT. Repeated failures by Washington and Brussels to destroy Moscow have failed; Kyiv and its alleged handlers in the West use aggressive terror tactics, stated Putin last Monday. Putin, addressing a meeting of the Prosecutor General's Office Board, explained how, in his opinion, Europe and the United States' priorities regarding Russians and its military operation in Ukraine had evolved in over the last few weeks. He added that high-ranking diplomats in Europe and the United States were doing unusual diplomacy by coaxing Kyiv to resort to all measures to win on the battlefield. Following his visit to Kyiv, top EU ambassador Josep Borrell made a contentious speech in which he stated that the fight should be resolved on the battlefield. Speaking with European Council President Charles Michel, Putin referred to irresponsible statements made by EU members about the need for military intervention in Ukraine. West Attempts To Divide Russian Society The West may have thought they could split and attack from within, but the plan has fallen on its face. Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russian society has demonstrated maturity, solidarity, and support for its armed forces and attempts to secure Russia's ultimate security and to support the people of Donbas, cited Azerbaycan 24. Read Also: Volodymyr Zelensky Children: Does the Ukraine President Have Kids? Mr. Putin claimed the terror of the West has turned into the attempted murder of Russian journalists that turned into a fiasco. Last Monday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that it had captured a gang of "neo-Nazis" instructed by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) to murder popular Russian TV host and journalist Vladimir Solovyov. Kyiv has denied involvement in the assassination attempt, noted the Great Awakening. Furthermore, the names of most Western handlers and all members of Western services, mainly the CIA, who are coordinating with Ukrainian security agencies. According to the Kremlin chief, they are offering them such instructions. Adding to this is their attitude toward journalists' rights, information dissemination, and human rights in general. One of the difficulties with the West is the regard for one's rights, with some treasuring imperial dreams and many others adhering to their colonial past in an old-fashioned way. Unfortunately, this will not work in Russia. The Kremlin's claims have been equivalent to the West's allegations that Moscow suppresses opposition, independent media, and dissent. An offensive in Ukraine and Moscow's subsequent steps to combat fake news and so-called foreign agents have drawn additional condemnation. A special operation ordered by Putin on February 24; is due to the refusal of Ukraine to implement the Minsk Agreement signed in 2014. Recognizing the Donbas republics of the DPR and LPR should have been done as part of their special status, and the failure of Kyiv to be neutral. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that the West is involved in despicable terror measures after the sanctions failed; the western democracies are not satisfied unless they take down Russia. Related Article: Trapped Neo-Nazi Azov Regiment Allegedly Attacked Mariupol, Demand Conditions From Russian Army After Failing Siege @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT When he was released from federal prison over a decade ago, Ernie Newton had a support system. I was married. I had a family. A home to go to, Newton recalled Monday. He is now in charge of a just-opened re-entry welcome center at 480 Bond Street for ex-offenders who do not have those same benefits. The ribbon cutting was Monday. Theyre gonna bring them to me instead of just sticking them on the streets, Newton said. We have a booklet were gonna give to the prisons. So those people who are six months out (from release) will be able to fill out this booklet to begin to get them thinking, Im gonna get out. What are some of the things I want to do? Now they have a place to come to. The center is a partnership between two prominent nonprofit agencies that already aid individuals with criminal backgrounds Career Resources, Newtons employer for the past few years, and the Recovery Network of Programs. Rob Hebert, Career Resources senior vice president of business development and re-entry affairs, said the goal is to provide immediate aid for returning citizens. Were gonna help them with transportation. Certainly basic needs. Our partner, RNP, will be doing work around housing, substance abuse and people who are going to come out needing mental health treatment, Hebert said. And were going to have it right there in the center. Boom. Day One. If they need meds, thatll be taken care of. Modeled after similar operations in Hartford and New Haven, the Bridgeport center has been an oft-stated goal of local officials like Newton, who want to help that population succeed. A current member of the City Council, Newton in 2005 while a state senator was convicted of federal corruption charges for taking a bribe and diverting campaign contributions to himself. He received a five year prison sentence. For the last six years Newton has been employed at Career Resources, which provides job training and work placement services, as the nonprofits returning citizen navigator. So shifting from that role to running the center is a natural transition. He will oversee a two-person staff. The center will also, through its association with Career Resources, help with employment needs. Scott Wilderman, Career Resources president, said at Mondays ribbon-cutting event that, when it comes to the jobs market, two things are helping those with criminal records overcome that traditional stigma changing attitudes and the low unemployment rate. Businesses are now more likely to look at returning citizens as part of their workforce, and theyre actually making major accommodations, a lot of them, to be able to do that, he said. So I think employers right now are turning to non-traditional work forces that they would not normally tap and saying, Listen, from warehousing to transportation to customer service, returning citizens have an opportunity to work in all these areas. And providing those opportunities is important if society wants to give people who have served their time a chance to make it outside of prison walls, he said. You cant continue to incarcerate people at the rate that we were and not giving them the second opportunity to actually have redemption, Wilderman said. He also noted how Bridgeport is unique because voters here not only re-elected Newton, but also current Mayor Joe Ganim, who helped lay the groundwork for the opening of the re-entry center in 2016 by establishing the Mayors Initiative for Re-Entry Affairs office in the downtown government center. Ganim was convicted in 2003 after a dozen years as mayor of federal charges of running a pay-to-play operation out of City Hall. He waged a political comeback in 2015 and won his old job back. He was then re-elected for another four years in 2019 and just launched his 2023 campaign. But MIRA got off to a slow start, with changes in leadership, little to no support staff, and no actual budget of its own. Things appear to have stabilized and improved under current director, Earl Bloodworth, the third individual to hold that position, who was hired in Septemer, 2019. Bloodworth too has publicly advocated for a welcome center. And then last fall, when the Ganim administration was distributing millions of dollars worth of federal coronavirus pandemic relief to local non-profits and small businesses, Career Resources applied for and was awarded funds to help open its center. Ganim was also at Mondays event. My reentry was probably not as difficult as others, he said. But if you come back to your home, your society, your city, with a mental health issue or with a health issue or with the inability to even get a job, this is the one stop. But does the city need both the welcome center and MIRA? Ganims current 2022-23 budget proposal pending before the council would spend $222,938 on MIRA. Hebert said the welcome center and MIRA share similar goals, but the latter also provides additional services. They have a pardons and expungement program, he said. They have money to help people secure IDs (from) the Department of Motor Vehicles. The way Newton sees it, he will focus on people who are just getting out of prison, while MIRA can be a resource for individuals who have been released for a while but still have needs. Newton is also co-chairman of the councils budget committee, which is currently reviewing Ganims municipal budget proposal. Its two different things, Newton said. Hearst Connecticut Media / Wes Duplantier UPDATE: A GofundMe page has been set up to help the 6-year-old boy whose family says he was burned after being hit by a ball that had been doused in gasoline and set on fire. BRIDGEPORT A child suffered burns after a group of children were playing with fire and gasoline while they were left unattended over the weekend, a city official said Tuesday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in Oklahomas ongoing battle with Native American tribes over the state's authority to prosecute people accused of crimes on Native American lands, following a 2020 Supreme Court decision. The court agreed earlier this year to consider limiting its 2020 McGirt decision, a ruling that the state says has produced chaos in its courts. The states appeal is in the case of Victor Castro-Huerta, who was charged with malnourishment of his 5-year-old stepdaughter and has since pleaded guilty to a federal child neglect charge and is awaiting sentencing. He was initially convicted in state court but that conviction and his sentence were overturned because of the way the state courts interpreted the law in the aftermath of the McGirt ruling. The state appealed with the strong support of Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and is the latest strain on his relationship with tribal leaders in the state. In the 2020 case, the Supreme Court ruled that a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation. The ruling applied to the Muscogee reservation, but led to similar lower court rulings upholding the historic reservations of several other Native American tribes in Oklahoma, including the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Quapaw and Seminole nations that cover nearly the entire eastern half of the state. The decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, meant that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal cases against American Indian defendants in parts of Oklahoma that include most of Tulsa, the states second-largest city with a population of about 413,000. Stitt said during his State of the State speech in February that Oklahoma has been robbed of the authority to prosecute crimes. The Supreme Court does not typically reconsider its decisions so soon. But the state argued that crimes are going uninvestigated and unprosecuted because federal authorities who can bring criminal cases on tribal land are overwhelmed. The state will argue that it has the right to protect Indian victims in front of the Supreme Court this week his spokesperson, Carly Atchison said. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. of the Cherokee Nation, the state's most populous tribe with about 261,000 citizens, believes Stitt is trying to take away tribal sovereignty after the Supreme Court in January rejected the state's request to overturn McGirt. I think his goal now is to whittle away at McGirt, Hoskin said, calling it a 19th century mindset toward the treatment of Native Americans. Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton agreed, calling the state's appeal and Stitt's support of the action an attack on tribal sovereignty. "Its put a strain on our relationship ... I would like to think its a lack of education rather than a lack of understanding of treaties between two sovereign governments, the United States and the Choctaw Nation, Batton said. Its becoming harder and harder the more hes not accepting history and what the United States agreed to do and who we are as a Choctaw Nation," Batton said. The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, made up of leaders of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole nations last fall rescinded a 2019 resolution commending and congratulating Stitt, a member of the Cherokee Nation, on his election as governor. Stitt and tribal leaders previously clashed over Stitts desire to renegotiate tribal gambling compacts that he claimed were expiring. Federal and state courts ruled against Stitt in lawsuits over the gambling question. Last year, Stitt decided to not renew hunting and fishing license compacts with the Cherokee and Choctaw nations as part of an ongoing dispute between the tribes and the Republican governor. Stitt has lost support among Native American voters due to his actions, according to Hoskin. He absolutely has, in my opinion hes the most anti-Native American governor in state history, Hoskin said. I think his defeat (for reelection) would be met with applause by many tribal leaders, certainly by me. Donelle Harder, manager of Stitt's reelection campaign said Stitt has had disagreements with a small number of top officials of the tribes," but has good relations with tribal citizens he meets during his travels in the state. I think every Oklahoman knows this is a critical conversation that must be had and no one group or organization should dictate the future of all 4 million Oklahomans, Harder said. ANSONIA A local man was charged Monday with fleeing from police after crashing a car into a pedestrian and another vehicle in July 2021, according to the Ansonia Police Department. Roland Collier, 49, was charged with first-degree assault, reckless driving, engaging in a pursuit, evading responsibility, first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal mischief, police said. He is being held on a $70,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court in Derby Tuesday. Police said there was also a male passenger in Colliers car who also fled. They have not been identified. The incident took place on July 16, 2021. Police attempted to stop a silver Audi, driven by Collier, on North Main Street at Liberty Street just before 2 p.m. that day. The Audi sped off and the officer did not pursue the vehicle, police said. The Audi, which was now traveling north in the southbound lane, crashed into a Hyundai attempting to turn left onto Third Street near North Main Street. The Audi then drove onto the sidewalk, struck a fire hydrant, a pedestrian and a tree before stopping at the entrance to the parking lot of a Daily Mart, according to police. The pedestrian suffered injuries to her head, arm and leg, and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The driver of the Hyundai and an infant passenger were also taken to a local hospital for evaluation. Two other Hyundai passengers were treated at the scene, according to police. The driver, identified as Collier, and his passenger ran from the car, through the parking lot and toward Fourth Street. Police determined that the Audi was not stolen. Collier was arrested shortly after the crash in Massachusetts for unrelated charges. He remained in custody there until Monday. Business people from Taiwan play active part in development of Hainan province 09:22, April 26, 2022 By Chai Yifei ( People's Daily A businessman from Taiwan checks mango trees in an orchard in south Chinas Hainan province. (Photo/Chinanews.com) More and more business people from Chinas Taiwan are seen in Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) in south Chinas Hainan province as they have been attracted by favorable policies in the free trade port and come to the southern island province to seek opportunities and expand business. Data showed that business people from Taiwan have registered 302 companies and actually invested more than $300 million in Hainan province since 2018; between 2019 and 2021, volume of trade in goods between Hainan and Taiwan grew by more than 50 percent a year; last year, trade between Hainan and Taiwan surged 81 percent year on year to 1.9 billion yuan (about $292 million). Hainan is endowed with abundant natural resources and advantageous geographical location; and the Hainan FTP enjoys full and high-standard opening-up as well as favorable policies that are not available elsewhere, said Fu Zhiguan, vice president of the All China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (ACFTC) and president of the Hainan province federation of Taiwan compatriots. Featuring zero tariffs, low tax rates, and a simple taxation system, policies in the Hainan FTP significantly lower operating costs of companies and provide opportunities for Taiwan compatriots in many aspects, including expanding into global markets, achieving mutual complementarity with related industries, pursuing development of high technologies, as well as introduction of high-end management talents, according to Fu. Our international medical center in the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone can enjoy franchises including using in bulk drugs and medical equipment that have been launched in the U.S., the European Union, Japan, or other countries and regions but yet to be released onto the market in the Chinese mainland, which is a privilege of Hainan province, Ling Kaijun, president of Enhance Biomedical Holding Company, told Peoples Daily. Photo taken on March 16, 2022 shows a cargo vessel sailing into a container terminal of Haikou Port in Haikou city, capital of south Chinas Hainan province. (Peoples Daily Online/Wang Chenglong) In addition to favorable policies for the development of industries, senior management personnel and professionals in the company can also enjoy preferential personal income tax rate, the businesswoman from Taiwan added. In an effort to promote the construction of the Hainan FTP, Hainan province has also rolled out favorable policies in the agricultural sector. The province has relaxed market access in the seed industry by taking concrete measures including canceling requirements on the area of office space, inspection room, processing plant, storage facility, etc. as well as rigid requirements on inspection room and instrument of seed companies. Taiwan residents and Taiwan-funded enterprises are allowed to set up or join various forms of farmers cooperatives, including farmers specialized cooperatives in Hainan. Besides, Taiwan-funded agricultural companies and local ones in Hainan enjoy the same farm machinery subsidies and other preferential policies for farmers. These measures and policies all help business people from Taiwan participate in agricultural projects and try growing and promoting new varieties of agricultural products in Hainan. Taiwan compatriots who have come to invest or start their own businesses in Hainan have not only brought capital but also advanced technologies and managerial experience to the province. In particular, their investments in the agricultural sector have contributed significantly to the fight against poverty and rural vitalization in Hainan, said an official with the Taiwan affairs office of Hainan province. Since the beginning of the construction of the Hainan FTP, business people from Taiwan have invested in more and more fields in Hainan; and modern services industry and high-tech industry are becoming key fields for investment from Taiwan, according to the official. In an effort to better help business people from Taiwan integrate into the development of Hainan and fully enjoy the same treatment as people from the Chinese mainland, Hainan province has introduced measures for promoting economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, also known as Hainans 30 measures to benefit Taiwan compatriots, and unveiled an action plan for advancing cooperation between Hainan and Taiwan for the construction of the Hainan FTP. These measures and plans have improved Hainans working mechanisms for the introduction of talents and related services, offering broader space for the development of Taiwan people and enterprises. Hainans 30 measures to benefit Taiwan compatriots specify that Taiwan-funded companies and people from Taiwan enjoy the same institutional convenience and policies rolled out by the central government and Hainan province on domestic and foreign trade, investment and financing, entry and exit, fiscal and financial support, as well as introduction of talents. In addition, Taiwan-funded companies operating in Hainan can apply for accreditation of high-tech enterprises, enjoy as Chinese mainland companies provisions on promoting the development of high-tech industry introduced by Hainan province once officially recognized as high-tech enterprises, and be granted special fund and support from relevant policies, according to the 30 measures. Photo taken on April 9, 2022 shows a birds eye view of the construction site of the public bonded warehouse for duty-free everyday commodities in Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Zone. The steel structure construction of the project in Haikou city, capital of south Chinas Hainan province, has been completed. (Peoples Daily Online/Shi Zhonghua) Moreover, the service stations for compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in the six key industrial parks of the Hainan FTP have also played an important part in attracting Taiwan enterprises, facilitating their growth, and better serving the needs of Taiwan people in Hainan. Favorable policies have brought a sense of gain to Taiwan compatriots and provided strong support for their efforts to fulfill their dreams on the mainland, said Fu. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Newly-released text messages between former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and other officials show that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wanted former United States President Donald Trump to declare martial law following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The conversations, which took place in mid-January 2021, took place just days before the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Greene texted Meadows and revealed that some GOP members privately suggested the order. Last week, the Georgia representative testified that she does not recall whether she encouraged the president to declare martial law or not. Newly-Leaked Texts In a text to Meadows on Jan. 17, 2021, Greene said that the only way to save our Republic was for "Trump to call for Marshall law." She said that she was not familiar with those types of things and told the then-chief of staff that she only wanted to let him know. Greene continued to claim that Democrats stole the election and argued they will destroy the country next. The text was only one of many that Greene sent to Meadows in the post-election period around Jan. 6, 2021. The Georgia lawmaker also told the former chief of staff that "we think" the people who assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6 "are Antifa" dressed like Trump supporters, as per CBS News. The vast trove of Meadows' texts showed that many of Trump's inner circle, supporters, and Republican lawmakers worked behind the scenes to try and overturn the elections. They also showed the reactions to the violent siege of the Capitol prior to Biden's inauguration. Read Also: First Lady Jill Biden Against Picking Kamala Harris as Joe's Running Mate After Debate Attack, Book Reveals Meadows selectively provided the logs to the House Select Committee responsible for investigating the events leading up to, amid, and immediately after the Capitol riot. They showed that the former chief of staff was at the core of sprawling conspiracy theories that baselessly claimed voter fraud in the election. According to CNN, the texts include messages sent by Trump's family, including Ivanka Trump, son-law Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr. The released logs also featured texts from White House and campaign officials, Cabinet members, Republican Party Leaders, Jan. 6 rally organizers, Rudy Giuliani, and several other high-profile individuals. Conspiracy Theories Meadows did not appear to respond to Greene's message regarding martial law and the Georgia lawmaker's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The remark was made in response to the large mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of Trump, who, for weeks, claimed that the election was stolen from him. Greene, who has a history of embracing right-wing conspiracy theories, also repeatedly sowed doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election following Biden's win. However, election experts, politicians from both parties, and Trump's own attorney general denied the allegations. They said that the process was not affected by widespread voter fraud. In a December 2020 text, Greene reached out to Meadows for advice about how to prepare for objections to certifying the election on Jan. 6. "We have to get organized for the 6th," the Georgia representative said, CNBC reported. Related Article: John Durham Placed the Clinton Campaign, the DNC Under Subpoena for Alleged Spying on Then-Presidential Candidate Trump @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Opinion: Floridas Dont Say Gay law inspired a plethora of states to propose similar legislation. Conservative lawmakers across the country are attempting to erase queer topics from the classroom. ---------- On March 28, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the homophobic Parental Rights in Education Act. The law restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. The act will take effect July 1. I wrote a piece about this already, before DeSantis signed the bill. Now this is just another example in an alarming trend of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in America. Over a dozen states have since proposed bills mirroring the language of Floridas law. Some states, such as Iowa, propose allowing parents to opt their children in or out of LGBT-inclusive curricula. All of this turmoil comes from legislators misguided belief that discussing queer topics in school makes children gay. For the narrow-minded individuals who think such, I can assure you thats not the case. For instance, queer relationships and genders outside the binary were not covered in my school curriculum anytime between kindergarten and third grade. I still came out as queer at 12 years old. Im not the only one. I spoke with second-year UO student Peyton, who chose to only go by their first name because they are not out to their conservative family members back home. Peyton attended public schools in Texas, where sexual orientation and gender diversity rarely came up in the classroom. People didnt like it, Peyton said. It was very frowned upon as opposed to having a straight-presenting relationship in a story. Technically speaking, discussion of cisgender, heterosexual relationships in schools at a young grade should also be restricted based on the language used legislators. However, its clear the terms sexual orientation and gender identity, when used in the context of these bills, refer to LGBTQ+ identities. Otherwise, the Florida law would imply that teachers can not use terms like boy or girl in classroom discussions. Funnily enough, opponents of the law propose doing just that. Although they saw little representation in their education, Peyton still realized they were queer in seventh grade and that they were non-binary in their junior year of high school. To a certain degree, I think my early education kept me from being out earlier, Peyton said. If I didnt have that fear, I think I definitely would have discovered who I was sooner. Avoiding discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms doesnt prevent students from being queer; it just instils a sense of wrongness that is difficult to avoid. I came out when I was relatively young, yet I still fight aspects of internalized homophobia to this day. I dont believe this would be the case if Id witnessed some representation in my learning environment. In Texas, Peyton didnt receive representation in their education either. Since moving to Oregon, things appear better, but appearances can be deceiving. While Peyton sees more queer acceptance in Oregon, discussion of underrepresentation is often swept under the rug. Such a big emphasis was placed on being straight and being cisgender in the South, Peyton said. I honestly think that my situation here in the Pacific Northwest isnt that much better than it was back home. We may consider Oregon to be a LGBT-inclusive state, but thats not necessarily true. According to the 2019 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Oregon isnt considered safe for most queer secondary school students. Although our state has nondiscrimination and anti-bullying policies for LGBTQ+ students, 71% of those surveyed reported hearing homophobic slurs within school buildings on a regular basis. Our numbers arent great, but our current governor doesnt seem to be following in the footsteps of other lawmakers. In response to the Florida law, Gov. Kate Brown came out to show her support for Oregon LGBTQ+ students on Twitter. Oregon will always be a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place no matter ones sexual orientation or identity, Brown said. However, the Oregon gubernatorial election is currently underway, and Gov. Brown cannot run again due to term limits. The densely populated areas in Oregon, such as Portland and Eugene, are generally blue, but the southeastern quarters of the state typically swing red when voting. We cant say who will be leading the state next, nor can we assume they will share the same views on LGBT-inclusive education as Gov. Brown. For all we know, Oregon may be about to experience a sufficient red wave, and I worry the state may fall into the countrys trend of queer erasure. In terms of legislation, 2021 was categorized as the worst year for LGBTQ+ people with 17 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being signed into law by May. This year is expected to be even worse. I understand we are all living in a very stressful era, but we can not let American legislators erase the queer community any more. We all deserve to be represented in the classroom, so stop assuming Oregon is a safe haven state and go make it one. The Daily Mail has never concealed its deep disdain for Emmanuel Macron. The French president is not only insufferably arrogant and petulant, but he possesses an almost pathological compulsion to stick the boot into Britain. Yet yesterday we joined the EU in breathing a huge sigh of relief after his election victory. Whatever our misgivings about 'Le Pipsqueak', the alternative would have been worse. Much worse. Leave aside the ugly far-Right extremism of Marine Le Pen's National Rally party. The fact she wanted closer ties with Vladimir Putin at this of all times made her patently unfit for the Elysee Palace. The French president is not only insufferably arrogant and petulant, but he possesses an almost pathological compulsion to stick the boot into Britain But while Macron won resoundingly, this was in no way a glorious triumph. With an ocean of abstentions, turnout was lower than in any presidential election for half a century. And that Le Pen's neo-fascist party could, in a supposedly enlightened Western democracy, bag four in ten votes is truly horrifying. Likened by some as a political choice 'between plague and cholera', the electorate held their noses and plumped for Macron. What does this mean for Britain? Anyone expecting a more cordial relationship with France now the president is done electioneering is in for a shock. After all, this is a man whose anti-Brexit hatred led him spitefully to trash the AstraZeneca jab, costing countless lives. Despite our countries' shared commercial, diplomatic and security interests, he has refused to pick up the phone to No10. Instead of delivering 'Le Snub', a mature leader would seek a constructive relationship on illegal Channel migrants, fishing rights, Northern Ireland and Ukraine. That this popinjay president tiresomely refuses shows the relationship will for some time be needlessly rocky. A shameful lottery Treatment equally available to all is a core principle of the NHS. A patient living in Cumbria should expect the same care standards as one in Cornwall. Yet when it comes to accessing replacement HRT drugs due to acute shortages, women are enduring a cruel postcode lottery. Delays in signing off new medications at local level means tens of thousands of women are unable to ease crippling menopause symptoms. Some are so desperate they've resorted to the black market to acquire supplies. Health Secretary Sajid Javid deserves praise for vowing to bang NHS heads together to solve the crisis. But this should have happened sooner. Local health chiefs will invariably feel pressure to ration care in an attempt to save money. But when a medical issue affects half the population, treatments must be rubber-stamped nationally. Banks' bad habits Will a day go by when we don't get more disappointing news about the banks slashing customer services? Not content with shutting thousands of branches, they've removed almost a quarter of free 'hole-in-the-wall' machines since 2018, says consumer group Which? As high street lenders seek to swell their vast profits by cutting costs, so countless people are deprived of easy access to their own money. To the gilded elite of the Square Mile, flashing plastic cards and smartphones in swanky restaurants, banknotes may have gone the way of the dodo. But for millions, especially the elderly and vulnerable, that is a daunting spectre. Many small businesses also rely on cash for their survival. The banks have fallen back into their old bad habits. If they won't voluntarily ensure consumers can get hold of their money, ministers must strong-arm them. Want to know the best endorsement of Elon Musk's audacious and game changing $44 billion takeover of Twitter? How its woke army of censors, er, I mean staff members working from home across outer San Francisco's poshest suburbs reacted. There were Twitter emoji tears, memes of people having an emotional breakdown and even vows of silence from those 'too in shock to speak', according to the Washington Post. Ironic given it's this same bunch of people who have spent the past decade silencing any controversial voice who goes against the orthodoxy of the champagne-swilling liberal metropolitan elite millionaires club. And then there's the army of so-called 'Twitter celebs', a bizarre group of privileged people who believe you should only be accepted online if you sign up to their politically correct world view. I'll certainly shed no tears over the departure of the deeply unpleasant, Meghan-defending woketopian Jameela Jamil, who vowed that Musk's future ownership meant she had sent her final tweet. 'Ah he got twitter,' she mourned. 'He's buying it for free speech. It's going to become an even more lawless hateful xenophobic, bigoted, misogynistic space. Jameela Jamil (pictured) vowed to leave Twitter after Elon Musk's takeover of the social media giant DAN WOOTTON: I'll certainly shed no tears over the departure of the deeply unpleasant, Meghan-defending woketopian Jameela Jamil, who vowed that Musk's future ownership meant she had sent her final tweet 'One good thing about Elon buying twitter is that I will *FINALLY* leave and stop being a complete menace to society on here. So it's win win for you all really.' But Jamil's temporary flounce off (she'll be back, I guarantee it, her ego won't let her stay silenced), was just the beginning of the hysteria. Occupy Democrats writer David Weissman raged: 'I still think Elon Musk owning Twitter is a bad idea. He will amplify racists, bigots, and misinformation. 'He is a bad-faith actor with his distorted views of free speech and censorship.' But that wasn't the end of it. When all else fails, the hard left who want to control what you consume turn to one thing: Racism. Activist Shaun King tweeted, before deleting his account like the coward he is: 'It's about white power. 'The man was raised in Apartheid by a white nationalist. He's upset that Twitter won't allow white nationalists to target/harass people. That's his definition of free speech.' Of course, the irony is lost on Mr King that he's the only racist in the room with such an outrageous comment. Deranged Sirius XM host Dean Obeidallah went even further, writing: 'Elon musk buying Twitter is a dream come true for white nationalists. 'After all musk is from the former apartheid country of South Africa which the white supremacists idolize. 'Wonder if Elon musk will copy the apartheid rules of his home country South Africa and give us check marks based on our skin color? The whiter the check mark the more rights you have on Twitter. #AskingForAFriend' DAN WOOTTON: How can any Twitter staff member genuinely accept that it's right for the democratically elected 45th President of the United States Donald Trump to be permanently banned from the platform, while the Taliban and the Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministry continue to spread their very obvious disinformation? (Pictured: Elon Musk) Such a response would be laughable, if it wasn't so terrifying. In the tyrannical world of the woke left, where cancel culture runs rampant, the go to solution to any perceived threat is to silence the opposition. Musk has described the phenomenon as the 'woke mind virus' ripping through Big Tech companies like Netflix, Meta and especially Twitter. In the meantime, the Tesla and SpaceX boss has been restrained and sensible with a commonsense view that Twitter, which has become the default public square, should be open to everyone. 'I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,' he tweeted just before the deal was done on Monday. Musk is 100 per cent right. How can any Twitter staff member genuinely accept that it's right for the democratically elected 45th President of the United States Donald Trump to be permanently banned from the platform, while the Taliban and the Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministry continue to spread their very obvious disinformation? By the way, my solution is not to ban any of those despotic regimes; I want to know what they think so we can try and combat what they're doing. But it's very obvious that, for Twitter to ever be taken seriously again, the moment Musk gains control of the toxic cesspit of a platform this autumn he needs to immediately reinstate Trump. That's just the start though. The number of people silenced for questioning the orthodoxy on the trans debate, Covid vaccines and lockdowns is, quite frankly, terrifying. There are too many revolting permanent bans to mention but there are two I'm particularly worked up about. Dr Robert Malone, the eminent American physician and biochemist whose stellar work helped develop MRNA vaccine technology, who was booted off for raising questions about the rollout. DAN WOOTTON: It's very obvious that, for Twitter to ever be taken seriously again, the moment Musk gains control of the toxic cesspit of a platform this autumn he needs to immediately reinstate Trump. Now I don't agree with every word Mr Malone has to say, even though he is an incredibly impressive man, but I happily gave him a platform on my GB News show, because scientific groupthink must be challenged at all times by experts. Then there's Father Ted creator Graham Linehan who was permanently suspended for standing up for the rights of biological women in the increasingly toxic trans debate that has also seen JK Rowling cancelled by Hollywood (but holding onto her powerful Twitter account). Lefties hate Musk because, as the world's richest person, he doesn't need them for anything and he loves pricking their bubbles of pomposity on everything from the dangers of remote working to his belief in exploiting the loose rules of capitalism to his own ends. But Musk has rightly pledged to improve Twitter with a host of new initiatives, including opening up its highly secretive algorithms that dictate which tweets and accounts get seen 'to increase trust'. Now I'm well aware that most happy, sane and ordinary folk don't use Twitter and I absolutely salute anyone who has stayed away from the platform, which is more than three quarters of Americans, by the way. Twitter has become a liberal authoritarian bullying hellscape where debate goes to die. It's a toxic stream of hate 24/7 that sees Be Kind warriors who proudly display the Ukraine flag on their profile wish death upon anyone who disagrees with them on the culture war issue of the day. But the reason I'm talking about it is because those who set the political and news agenda around the world every day are obsessed with tweets and they use what's trending to drive the agenda. Be in no doubt that Twitter has an outsized influence on international politics. As Musk argued: 'Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.' But, especially in the US, Twitter has become wholly unbalanced, with 67 per cent of users leaning toward the Democratic party, compared to 30 per cent who tend to support Republicans. That's no wonder given the rampant bias on display. Musk's challenge now is redressing that imbalance. Doing so will make him the most unpopular person in polite society internationally. He is going to be roundly attacked by virtually every newspaper and TV channel in the world, from the New York Times to CNN and the BBC. They've already revelled in this slight from his rival, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who sneered without a hint of irony, in reference to Musk's business interests in Asia: 'Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?' But I have faith in him to hold firm against the barrage of hatred set to be unleashed because he knows that this mission is even more important than sending a man to Mars. Elon Musk is the final hope to rescue free speech before the woke mind virus takes over big tech once and for all. This glitzy dance-themed brainteaser promises to put your observation skills to the test. The seek-and-find puzzle, from international online dance company Bloch, challenges players to find the hidden trumpet hidden in the showbiz scene. There are dancers and musicians in the scene created to celebrate International Dance Day... but can you find the trumpet in less than a minute? Scroll down for the reveal and more puzzles! The seek-and-find puzzle, from international online dance company Bloch, challenges players to find the hidden trumpet hidden in the showbiz scene To make things a bit trickier, the scene is crammed full of dancers and musicians. But its the trumpet you need to watch out for. Try not to get distracted by the bright lights of the glitzy scene. Found it yet? Look closely at the bottom right hand side of the scene. Still struggling? Scroll down for the answer Here it is! The trumpet is nestled in the bottom right hand corner of the picture next to a musical note It comes after from UK-based online experience day provider buyagift.co.uk created a seek-and-find puzzle to challenge players to spot the birthday present box hidden in the vibrant scene. There are icons of experiences including spa days, glamping and helicopter rides in the scene... but can you find the present box in less than 51 seconds? The seek-and-find puzzle, from UK-based online experience day provider buyagift.co.uk. challenges players to spot the birthday present box hidden in the vibrant scene To make things trickier, there are numerous other things to watch out for, such as indoor skydiving and afternoon tea. But its the birthday present you need to look for. If you're still stuck, look closely, the icons are bold and bright and might distract the eye. Need a hint? Try looking on the left-hand side of the image for the present box. Still struggling? Then scroll down for the answer. There it is! In between the helicopter and supercar experience It comes after UK-based online printing company instantprint.co.uk challenged players to find the single coffee cup hidden in the office supplies. There are clocks, staplers and notebooks... but can you find the only coffee cup? You'll need to look carefully as there are a number of reusable and takeaway coffee cups added to the mix. But it's the traditional mug that you need to keep an eye out for. The seek-and-find puzzle, from UK-based online printing company instantprint.co.uk, challenges players to find the single coffee cup hidden in the office supplies The bright colours and patterns will distract the eye - so you'll have to work extra hard to stay on track. Need a hint? Try looking in the top half of the image for a white cup. Still struggling? Then scroll down for the reveal. It's there! Right by the calendar and pile of mail to answer It comes after Hungarian cartoonist Gergely Dudas, better known as Dudolf, shared one of his classic brainteasers to Facebook, challenging players to find the snake among the tortoises. The adorable animals are all standing in a forest glade full of trees and ferns. Hungarian cartoonist Gergely Dudas, better known as Dudolf , shared one of his classic brainteasers to Facebook, challenging players to find the snake among the tortoises But somewhere in the idyllic scene there is also a single smiling snake. To make things even trickier, Dudolf has drawn the tortoises so their long necks look snakelike, making it difficult to tell the animals apart. Still struggling to see it? Look on the left side of the image and pay close attention. If you give up or need the answer then keep scrolling for the reveal. The snake is slithering alongside the tortoises on the left side of the image It comes after Dudolf created a loved-up seek-and-find puzzle in honour of Valentine's Day. The illustration shows loved-up animals embracing in a field of pink flowers. But somewhere in this vibrant image there is a single pink love heart. Do you have what it takes to find it? All loved up! Can you find the single pink heart in this Valentine's Day themed puzzle? In his typical fashion, Dudolf has made things trickier by adding plenty of little details that are designed to distract the eye. The canoodling owls, for example, have a single pink flower between them. Elsewhere a grey cat falls in love with his own reflection. If you're struggling to find the heart then try looking on the left-hand side of the image, near the owls and kissing bears. Still not having any luck? Then scroll down to check your answer. There it is! The tiny pink heart is tucked between some flowers, just above the canoodling owls It comes after players were challenged to find the only love-heart shaped balloon in a busy Valentine's Day scene. The baffling seek-and-find puzzle was created by British retailers 247 Blinds to celebrate the romantic holiday ahead of February 14. So, do you think you'll be able to find the hidden balloon ? Give it a try and put your observational skills to the test. Scroll down for the answer A tricky brainteaser is challenging players to find the only love-heart shaped balloon in a busy Valentine's Day scene (pictured) There are many hearts, Cupid's arrows and roses throughout the print, but hidden within the drawings is a love-heart-shaped balloon. If you're struggling to find the balloon, turn your attention to the middle section of the right hand side of the Valentine's Day scene. If you still haven't spotted the pesky object, scroll down to find the answer. There are many hearts, Cupid's arrows and roses throughout the print, but hidden within the drawings is a love-heart-shaped balloon (circled above) If you want some more, try your hand at these tricky brainteasers below. Designers have hidden a single open umbrella in this crowded street scene which is sure to leave you baffled. The extremely tough seek-and-find puzzle was created by hotel chain Premier Inn following a recent poll revealed that brollies are one of the nation's most lost items. There are many people featured in the crowded design, but only one of them is keeping dry under an umbrella. So, do you think you'll be able to find it or will you be left scratching your head? Give it a try and put your observational skills to the test. Hidden in the crowded street scene is a person holding an umbrella - but it's incredibly difficult to spot The hotel chain commissioned the brain teaser after research found umbrellas are one of the nation's most lost items: 10 per cent of Brits will lose or break 10 or more umbrellas in their lifetime. Almost a fifth of those polled (18 per cent) said they had broken or lost an umbrella after just one outing. The survey of 2,000 UK adults also showed 28 per cent have turned up to an important work meeting soaking wet as they didn't have a brolly. And despite almost a fifth of Brits owning three umbrellas, one in 10 have spent up to 50 on replacements. So, have you been able to spot the hidden brolly? If you're still struggling scroll down for the answer. So, have you been able to spot the hidden brolly? If you're still struggling take a look at the top left-hand corner of the scene Premier Inn commissioned the brain teaser to mark its new rental umbrellas trial in 30 of its hotels launched in partnership with DripDrop with a minimum of 15 percent of each borrowing fee going to the hotel chain's charity partner Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSH Charity). Elsewhere, an infuriating brainteaser challenges players to find a snowflake in an unlikely tropical scene. The seek-and-find puzzle, created by The French Bedroom Company in collaboration with wallpaper designer Elizabeth Ockford, features beautiful tropical birds and flittering butterflies, as well as palm fronds and ornate bird cages. But hidden among the tropical picture is a single snowflake, which is almost impossible to spot. The seek-and-find puzzle features beautiful tropical birds and flittering butterflies. Hidden among the tropical picture is a single snowflake, which is almost impossible to spot The creators claim it's so difficult that it takes players an average of 7 minutes and 23 seconds to find. The picture shows colourful budgies, butterflies, parrots and golden cages - but where is the snowflake? Nestled within elegant illustrations of botanical birds, leaves and butterflies, the snowflake has proved tricky for Brits to find. Focus your eye on the top corners of the painting - can you see it yet? The answer is below. Answer: The delicate snowflake can be seen in the top left hand coner of the picture beneath one of the palm leaves Can your brain handle more strain? Next up, this autumnal seek-and-find quiz challenges you to find the hidden hedgehog, but will you be up to the challenge? British blinds retailer 247 Blinds have created this challenging brainteaser with a seasonal theme to test your attention to detail. If you're looking for a clue, try focusing your attention on the bottom of the image and you might have more luck. Still struggling? Simply scroll down for the answer. Scroll down for reveal Can you find the tiny hedgehog hiding in this leafy scene for a brainteaser created by British blinds retailer 247 Blinds? To make it harder, the hedgehog is shaped to look like the items that surround him, so that you'll need to have a proper look at the picture to locate him. Struggling to find the little critter? Focus your attention on the bottom part of the picture. Giving up or want to check you got it right? You can scroll down to see the answer. The small hedgehog was hiding at the very bottom of the picture. It was hard to locate, because it was shaped like a pine cone Want to try your hand at other fiendishly difficult seek-and-finds? Look below for Femail's selection of some of the trickiest. To make things even trickier, Dudolf has made only the slightest changes between the mushrooms' markings so you'll really have to be eagle-eyed to spot the difference. The slight changes in colours patterns and shapes distracts the eye from the task. Struggling to find the one mushroom without a match? Try looking towards the lower half of the image. Still having difficulty? Then scroll down for the reveal. The odd mushroom out has a blue cap with red spots and is situated in the lower half of the image It comes after another puzzle challenged players to pick out the two safety pins hidden among vibrant sewing equipment. The brainteaser has been created by Dutch lingerie brand Hunkemoller, with puzzlers asked to spot the two tiny items in the sea of tools. But thanks to the brightly coloured products cluttering the graphic, it is almost impossible to notice the missing safety pins. According to the creators the puzzle takes an average of one minute and 23 seconds to solve, but with the mesmerizing colours, how quick can you spot the hidden items? This new seek-and-find puzzle challenges you to pick out the two safety pins hidden among vibrant sewing equipment (pictured) There's plenty of little details designed to distract the eye, so it's no wonder that some puzzlers struggle to stay on task and find the pins. If you're looking for a clue, try focusing your attention towards the centre of the image and you might have more luck. Still struggling? Don't worry, the answer is coming next so just scroll down to put yourself out of your misery. As their horrible episode cooled in the summer of 2018, Hunter Biden asked that his brother's widow, Hallie Biden, get tested for HIV, according to correspondence. In an email to Beau Biden's widow on July 27, 2018, Hunter Biden, 52, urged Hallie to get tested for HIV, approximately a month before he fathered an out-of-wedlock kid with former stripper Lunden Roberts. Hunter Biden's 2018 Email With Hallie Hunter Biden also accused Hallie of harming his mental health and attempting to sever ties with his niece Natalie three years after his brother, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, died of brain illness at the age of 46. In his April 2021 book, 'Beautiful Things,' President Joe Biden's son disclosed that he and Kathleen Biden separated after his first wife discovered erotic text exchanges between himself and his late brother's widow on an iPad. Hunter Biden's honest 271-page book detailed his rampages after the divorce, during which he began his affair with Hallie. However, the relationship had worsened by the following summer with Hunter proposing to his ex-girlfriend that she seek treatment, according to the New York Post. Hallie called Hunter Biden a passive-aggressive a-hole in an earlier email exchange that same month. Hunter Biden advised her to focus on your sobriety. Hunter Biden's remark came in response to an email from the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children's Vice-Chair Fred Sears to Hallie, Hunter, and Valerie Biden Owens, President Biden's younger sister, about salary arrangements for Josh Alcorn. At the time, Alcorn was the Chief Operating Officer of the Beau Biden Foundation. In his memoir, Hunter Biden claimed that he had no recall of Roberts. Hunter Biden was found to be the biological and legal father of Roberts' kid by an Arkansas judge in January 2020, and he was forced to pay back child support. Roberts became the latest to testify in response to subpoenas filed in the Department of Justice's inquiry into Biden's finances in February of this year. Hunter Biden's ex-girlfriend, lingerie magnate Zoe Kestan, recently testified before a Delaware grand jury. His excessive spending habits at premium hotels in New York and California were allegedly revealed to the grand jury by Kestan. Hunter, who is now remarried to South African filmmaker Melissa Cohen, originally announced that his tax affairs were being investigated by the IRS in December 2020. The inquiry is being led by US Attorney David Weiss for the District of Delaware, according to Fox News. Read Also: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Celebrates as Emmanuel Macron Wins France Re-Election Intelligence Declines To Rule Out Russia's Link to Hunter Biden Meanwhile, intelligence officials had met to advise select members of Congress about potential risks to US elections when No. 3 House Republican Elise Stefanik of New York attempted to shift the conversation to a new topic: Hunter Biden's laptop. During the April 1 briefing, Stefanik, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, asked the officials if they had any evidence of Russian involvement in the fall 2020 release of Biden's laptop to the news media, a possibility floated by high-ranking former government officials in the weeks leading up to the presidential election. The inquiry would be best answered by law enforcement, according to intelligence officials. Stefanik's inquiry reflected a prevalent belief among Republicans that questions regarding President Joe Biden's son's business connections remain unaddressed, Daily Mail reported. Related Article: Hunter Biden Probe: GOP Pushes More To Find The Truth as President Joe Biden Allegedly Met with Son's Business Partner at the White House @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A man with nine 'wives' has claimed he had to create a 'sex rota' to schedule in all of his lovers - while opening up about his 'tough' struggle to cope with the mammoth challenge of balancing his many partners. Arthur O Urso, from Brazil, made headlines last year after he collectively married his nine girlfriends in a bid to 'celebrate free love' and 'protest against monogamy'. Arthur and his first wife, Luana Kazaki, started off as swingers, and after meeting eight other women, they decided to formalise their union at a Catholic church in Sao Paulo, although it was not legally binding because polygamy is illegal in the country. Arthur O Urso during his wedding ceremony to his nine wives, who all claim to enjoy the sex life with their husband The Instagram model and his original wife Luana Kazaki, who were both swingers before they met eight women to join their marriage officially There have been ups and downs in the relationship, with one wife divorcing the group. And Arturo soon found himself struggling to balance the needs of all his partners, and claims he felt forced to introduce a sex schedule to ensure everyone was getting their fair share of lovemaking. But it proved tricky for the Instagram model who found the set-up to be too structured and stressful. Arthur, who dreams of having ten wives and a child with each of them, said: 'Our sex life is really fun and pleasurable, and initially I tried to have sex by appointment. 'But following a timetable caused a lot of problems and sometimes I felt like I had to have sex because of the schedule, and not for pleasure. While Arthur insists his wives don't mind how often the others make love to him, he says jealousy crops up when it comes to gifts and said: 'When I've given one of them an expensive gift and another a smaller or cheaper one, there has been jealousy among them' Arthur hanging out with his wives: The husband insists his sex life is now fun and pleasurable and unique and enjoys the fact they're all different in bed 'On other occasions I had sex with one wife while thinking about another.' The issues in the bedroom soon caused Arthur to give up the sex rota altogether and focus instead on letting things 'flow naturally'. The father-of-one admits his sex life is now better than ever, saying: 'It doesn't take long to get attention or affection when you have so many wives,' he added. 'It didn't seem right so we got rid of it and now the sex flows naturally, it's been great. 'It is very fun, pleasurable and unique to experience everything collectively, and they are all very different in bed. 'One of them, I won't name her to keep her privacy, likes to be dominant and I like a woman who tells me what she wants.' The father-of-one, pictured on his 'wedding' day, said his dream is to have ten wives and a child with each of them because otherwise 'it would be unfair' Arthur O Urso during his wedding ceremony to his nine wives in July 2021 While Arthur insists his wives don't mind how often the others make love to him, he says jealousy crops up when it comes to gifts. He said: 'When I've given one of them an expensive gift and another a smaller or cheaper one, there has been jealousy among them. I'm still learning about our relationship. 'They all demand attention, affection and sex to be part of our everyday life, and I can't do more for one than the other. Arthur has racked up 50,000 followers on Instagram from sharing sex tips and his unconventional relationship. Arthur already has a daughter but said 'The love I feel for each of them is the same. I think it would be unfair to only have children with one or two of them' One wife has had enough of the living arrangement and will be leaving the marriage One wife, however, had enough. Last month, Arthur, who also runs an OnlyFans account with his wives, revealed one wife will be leaving the marriage. He said: 'She wanted me all to herself. It didn't make sense we have to share. I was very sad about the separation and even more surprised by her excuse. She said that she was missing a monogamous relationship. 'My other wives thought her attitude was wrong and that she accepted the marriage for adventure and not for real feelings. 'I know I've lost a wife, but I'm not going to replace her yet.' Despite his plans to hold off on marrying anyone new for the time being, Arthur hopes to marry two more women to bring his number of wives up to an even 10. He added: 'I have a dream. My wish has always been to have 10 wives. I only have one daughter, but I want to have [a child] with each one of my wives. 'The love I feel for each of them is the same. I think it would be unfair to only have children with one or two of them. Most university students find it's enough of a challenge to drag themselves to lectures and hand in essays on time. But not high-achieving Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 20, who juggles her degree in history and politics in Oxford with military training back home. The future queen spent the last weekend of her Easter holiday at a training course in Leopoldsburg, near the Dutch border. HRH reporting for duty! Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 20, juggles her degree in history and politics in Oxford with military training back home. The future queen spent the last weekend of her Easter holiday at a training course in Leopoldsburg, near the Dutch border, pictured Leadership: The Belgian royal family released photographs of Elisabeth in face paint and camouflage combat gear as she joined fellow trainee soldiers to learn essential skills Talented: Princess Elisabeth enrolled at Lincoln College, Oxford, last October. The Belgian royal family released a series of photos of the royal on campus, including the one above The Belgian royal family released photographs of Elisabeth in face paint and camouflage combat gear as she joined fellow trainee officers to learn essential skills. This summer Elisabeth will return to Belgium for a camp run by the the Royal Military Academy (RMA), the university of the Belgian Defense, responsible for the academic, military and physical training of its future officers. Elisabeth enrolled in a course with the RMA in September 2020 and remains involved in training despite being a full-time first-year student at Oxford. The balance of academic and military experience is regarded an essential foundation for her future life as queen. Out in the field: Polished Princess Elisabeth is unrecognisable as she takes part in exercises Essential skills: The Belgian royal has completed a one-year course at the Royal Military Academy and remains involved with the institution. Above, holding a gun over the weekend Getting tough: The princess, pictured in front, was just one of the group as she joined other trainee officers at Leopoldsburg, near the Dutch border, over the weekend Elisabeth is the eldest daughter of King Philippe of Belgium, 62, and his wife, Queen Mathilde, 49. The couple also share sons Prince Gabriel, 18, and Prince Emmanuel, 16, and daughter Princess Eleonore, 14. The princess completed her secondary education at UWC Atlantic College in South Wales - based at a 12th-century castle and dubbed the 'Hippie Hogwarts' - where she boarded for 18 months. Spain's Crown Princess Leonor, 16, and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, 16, are both current students. Academic star: In October 2021 the Belgian royal household announced Elisabeth had started her undergraduate degree at Lincoln College, Oxford, and shared photos of her on campus On her own merit: According to a local newspaper, Elisabeth, pictured, completed a written entrance exam in history 'anonymously' so that her social status would not affect her marks When lockdown hit, Elisabeth returned to live with her parents in Brussels and completed her schooling remotely. In September 2021 she graduated from her one-year course in social and military sciences at the RMA, where her father also studied. The following month the Belgian royal household announced the princess had started her undergraduate degree at Lincoln College, Oxford. Future queen: Elisabeth is the eldest daughter of King Philippe of Belgium, 62, and his wife, Queen Mathilde, 49. The couple also share sons Prince Gabriel, 18, and Prince Emmanuel, 16, and daughter Princess Eleonore, 14. Pictured, the family together at Christmas According to Belgian newspaper Le Soir, the princess completed a written entrance exam in history 'anonymously' so that her social status would not affect her marks. Elisabeth is believed to have chosen the course herself, in agreement with her parents, and reportedly consulted with alumni from various universities and made her decision based on what would be most useful to her in her role as queen later in life. The royal family announced at the time that the princess would 'regularly return to Belgium and remain involved in Belgian public life' while she studies in the UK. A woman who was part of a teenage gang dubbed the Bling Ring, who stole $3million worth of goods from celebrity homes, claims she has 'empathy' for her past self. Alexis Haines, who lives in Los Angeles, reflected on her involvement in the crimes that took place between 2008 to 2009 in a discussion with ITV's Lorraine ahead of new Channel 4 documentary Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist. She claimed that each member of the group had different motives for targeting stars including Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan, but her own was to fund an addiction to drugs. Alexis said she has 'empathy' for the woman that she was at the time of the offences and claimed her apology to Orlando Bloom - whose home she was involved in stealing from - was cut from the documentary. Alexis served just over a month in prison for stealing from Orlando Bloom (pictured) to fund her drug addiction Alexis Haines (pictured), who lives in Los Angeles, reflected on robbing Orlando Bloom's house in a discussion with ITV's Lorraine The Bling Ring stole more than $3 million worth of cash, art, jewellery and designer goods, while checking gossip sites to see if their crimes were being investigated. A clip from the new documentary, airing at tonight at 10.05pm on Channel 4, reveals the group found a key for Paris Hilton's house underneath her door mat after returning to rob her house for a second time. Alexis Haines was given 188 days in prison for robbing Orlando Bloom's house but served just over a month. Daytime TV host Lorraine admitted that she was 'fascinated' by the documentary but was curious how Alexis justified her actions at the time of the crime. Alexis said: 'We all had different motivations but I know for me I was really struggling with a bad drug addiction. It was kind of a means to an end financially and a way to continue getting high. 'I had never been in trouble before that and a pretty good kid growing up. My addiction definitely got much worse as I got older and into my late teen years. 'That night, no I wasn't thinking about the consequences. Literally I was just thinking about how I could get more money in order to continue getting loaded.' Alexis said the new documentary doesn't 'glamorize' the Bling Ring's crimes as much as a film depiction by Sofia Coppola that was released in 2013. Alexis, who claims she wasn't involved in the Bling Ring's (pictured) other crimes, said she has since dedicated her life to helping other people on their path to recovery Alexis continued: 'I think the documentary spin on it is like a pop culture spin that tells the story. It's enticing and captivating for the audience to keep people around. 'Miles did an incredible job and this is why I was so excited to do this project. It's really talking about the underlying issues that are taking place for us societally and culturally that really motivated us to do what we did. 'It doesn't glamorize it at all. I'm not concerned about that. 'I'm happy to say that I am no longer a twice convicted felon and that's because I did use it as a turning point. Going to jail was the best thing that happened to me and it saved my life. 'Many people know addiction is dangerous and going to jail really was the best thing for me. It allowed me to take some time away from my life and to see that my behaviour and the disease I was dealing with, addiction and alcoholism, was going to kill me. 'I'm now 11 years sober, I own an alcohol and drug treatment centre with my husband and I dedicate my entire life to helping other people get on the path of recovery. 'None of that would've been possible had this not transpired the way that it did.' Alexis told presenter Lorraine (pictured left) that she had a traumatic upbringing and therefore has empathy for her teenage self Despite the Bling Ring's extensive rap sheet, Alexis claims she was only involved in the Orlando Bloom robbery. Daytime presenter Lorraine asked Alexis if she has had an opportunity to apologise to the Hollywood actor, with Alexis replying that she has a lot of 'empathy' for herself as a young woman. Alexis said: 'A lot of people don't realise that I grew up in a really traumatic environment in a household that was very toxic. It had every form of abuse. 'And so I have a lot of empathy for myself. 'Regarding Orlando Bloom I've made plenty of public statements saying that if I could go back in time obviously I would not do what I did. At the same time in a weird way that moment saved my life. 'In a bizarre fashion I have this gratitude towards him because I really don't think I would be alive today had I not gone to jail and had I not gone to treatment. Alexis (pictured) said she has made many public statements sharing her regret, but believes she wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for being caught for theft 'In the documentary I had a very long, emotional apology which got cut. I feel awful about what I did and there are no words. 'There are not enough sorrys that I could give to make it better.' Alexis's appearance on the daytime show left viewers unimpressed because many claimed criminals shouldn't be given a public platform. Taking to Twitter, one person wrote: 'As a victim of multiple burglaries, how is #Lorraine giving air time to these burglars? They might have targeted celebrities, but they're still human and still had their homes invaded! shocking' Another said: 'How can they justify making stupid American thieves famous. Doesn't matter who they burgled they still invaded someone's home and broke the law' A third added: '#Lorraine Why the f*** are you adding to the glorifying of criminals? Bad enough they've made a TV series. What is wrong with you?' A former doctor has revealed how she is raking in 6,000 a month after she quit her burgeoning medical career to go travelling with a Tinder date she met while on holiday in the Algarve. Jenna Carr, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and Joao Paias, both 33, met on Tinder in 2017 while she was on holiday in his native Portugal. They fell in love over their shared passion for travel and have since been on holiday to Greece, Cyprus, France, Switzerland, the US, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. They fund by their trips with their earnings from a website offering advice for travellers on a budget. When they fell pregnant with surprise baby Leo, now three, they ignored criticism and advice and took him on holiday aged just two weeks. Sharing parenting travel tips online to fellow nomads saw her audience grow until she was able to give up her stressful job as locum doctor in February. Jenna Carr, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and Joao Paias, both 33, (pictured with their son Leo in the Algarve) met on Tinder in 2017 while she was on holiday in his native Portugal A former doctor has revealed how she is raking in 6,000 a month after she quit her burgeoning medical career to go travelling with a Tinder date she met while on holiday in the Algarve. Jenna is pictured with Joao in Paris, left and with her son, right, on a cruise Just a few months after Jenna launched her website, it became so successful Joao quit his job as a civil engineer to work on the website full-time. Now they go on holiday most months, and fund their lifestyle entirely from advertising and hits on their site and social channels. 'We earned 6,000 last month from our website and have realised we could do everything we did before, just with a baby,' Jenna said. 'We don't have to live a boring life to provide for him. 'It's getting to the point where we can travel and be nomadic and live the life we want to live. They fell in love over their shared passion for travel and have since been on holiday to Greece, Cyprus, France, Switzerland, the US, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. They fund by their trips with their earnings from a website offering advice for travellers on a budget. They are pictured in Florida Sharing parenting travel tips online to fellow nomads saw her audience grow until she was able to give up her stressful job as locum doctor in February. Joao is pictured in the Philippines When they fell pregnant with surprise baby Leo (pictured) , now three, they ignored criticism and advice and took him on holiday aged just two weeks. They are pictured in the Algarve Just a few months after Jenna launched her website, it became so successful Joao quit his job as a civil engineer to work on the website full-time. Jenna is pictured boarding a flight, left, and at DisneyLand, right 'Taking Leo to Portugal at two weeks old was so easy - he slept the whole flight and was happy enough in Portugal. 'We had bought Glastonbury festival tickets before I knew I was pregnant and decided to take Leo with us. 'It went really well and we realised we could do whatever we wanted to do and it would make him confident and adaptable. 'Joao handed in his notice just a couple of weeks ago and I've been working on the website since February. 'The income we get is significant enough that we can both survive and we know this is the life we want.' Now they go on holiday most months, and fund their lifestyle entirely from advertising and hits on their site and social channels, they are pictured in the Algarve Jenna said the couple are now reaching the point where they can 'travel and be nomadic' and 'live the life they want to live'. Jenna and Leo are pictured left in Gran Canaria and right in New York In April, 2017, Jenna attended a hen party in Albufeira, Portugal, and when it came to leaving decided she wanted to stay and see more of the Algarve. Then training to be a doctor, she ditched the flight and booked a hostel in Lagos, Portugal - then found herself on Tinder looking for someone to hang out with. After matching with Joao on the app, the couple spent a few weeks exploring the beautiful beaches of the country and spending time together. 'During the hen party we would go out and lie by the pool, and when it came to leaving I realised I'd barely seen any of the Algarve,' she said. When Leo was two weeks old, they went to Portugal so Joao's family could meet him and that summer they even took him to Glastonbury festival with them - when he was just 12 weeks old (pictured) In April, 2017, Jenna attended a hen party in Albufeira, Portugal, and when it came to leaving decided she wanted to stay and see more of the Algarve where she met Joao (pictured with Leo in Mykonsos) Jenna, pictured in Santorini with baby Leo, says she and Joao don't 'have to live a boring life to provide for him' and want him to see the world 'I ditched the flight home and booked a hostel in Lagos but quickly realised the hostel was a bit dead and there wasn't much to do. 'I went on Tinder to find someone to hang out with and matched with Joao. 'I explained I was in Portugal for a few weeks and he showed me the lesser-known beaches - we went camping on this beach and cooked food outside and just had the best few weeks, it all felt really natural. 'I had texted my friends after one of the first times I'd met him, saying "I'm going to marry this man and have his babies" as a joke. When she had to leave, they continued to talk on WhatsApp - and Jenna swiftly booked another trip out the Algarve to see him again. Joao wanted to show Jenna the 'lesser known' parts of the Algarve. Jenna and Leo are pictured in the Bahamas The couple decided they wanted to give things a go and began a long-distance relationship, meeting up in England and Portugal, and travelling to the Philippines and Bali together. They are pictured in Bali In August, they decided they wanted to give things a go and began a long-distance relationship, meeting up in England and Portugal, and travelling to the Philippines and Bali together. In April 2018, Joao moved to England to be with Jenna who was living in her parents' house at the time - and it was only a few months later that they discovered they were expecting a child. 'He moved in with me in England and only a few months later discovered I was pregnant - I had previously tried for a baby for years and had been told I was infertile,' she said. 'I told all of this to poor Joao and said we didn't need to be too careful, so when I found out I was pregnant I was shocked. Leo Carr-Paias was born on March 15, 2019, and the couple quickly realised they could do everything they did before - just with a baby along for the journey too. He is pictured in Venice, left and right Jenna's budget travel tips 1. Pack light by using a rucksack as your free personal item so you dont have to pay extra for checked-in luggage. 2. Travel mid-week when flights are less in demand and therefore cheaper. 3. Travel off-season - April to May and September to October usually still have great weather with massively reduced prices compared to summer months. 4. Use flight and hotel comparison sites to look for the best deals - package deals are often more expensive than doing it yourself. 5. Look for rooms with a kitchenette and a nearby supermarket - a bit of effort making a meal or two can save you a lot of money. Advertisement 'It felt like it was bad timing, but secretly deep down I had been wanting a baby for so long and knew Joao was a good guy - we had already established it was a serious thing. 'I knew when we looked back, we would think it was perfect timing and we've now been trying for a second baby for two years and it hasn't happened, so Leo is definitely a bit of a miracle baby.' Leo Carr-Paias was born on March 15, 2019, and the couple quickly realised they could do everything they did before - just with a baby along for the journey too. When Leo was two weeks old, they went to Portugal so Joao's family could meet him and that summer they even took him to Glastonbury festival with them - when he was just 12 weeks old. Next, with Leo, they explored Cyprus and the Greek islands in 2019, as well as Italy, before travelling across the United States - with a quick jaunt to the Bahamas - and finishing in New York. Jenna's website and her big following on TikTok, where she posts under the username @thetravelmum, since February 2020, now allow her, Joao and their son to travel the world. So far in 2022, they've spent time in Italy and have plans to visit Japan later this year. Jenna set up the website - www.thetravelmum.com - in March 2021 to support her social media account, where she gives out budget travel tips to her thousands of followers. The daughter of Putin critic Alexei Navalny fought back tears as she described living with the reality that her father could be killed in a new documentary about the opposition leader. Stanford student Dasha Navalny, 21, also known as Daria, described how she had come to the realisation that her father's life is at risk when she was just 13 years old. 'Starting from 13 years old, I would think about "what would I do if my dad was killed?",' she said in 98-minute documentary Navalny, which aired on BBC Two last night and premiered in the US this week. 'We never had "the talk", it's not something you can sit at the table and discuss [the fact that his life was at risk].' Stanford student Dasha Navalny, 21, also known as Daria, described how she had come to the realisation that her father's life is at risk when she was just 13 years old Dasha, pictured, fought back tears as she spoke about how her dad risks missing major milestones simply for 'doing the right thing' Fighting back tears, Dasha continued: 'There was a point a year ago where my dad was almost not there for my high school graduation. He was in jail, once again. 'The whole day I was just thinking about how my dad would have been proud to see me walk on the stage and get my certificate. And he wouldn't get that option because he was in jail for doing the right thing.' Dasha, who has a younger brother, appears alongside her mother Yulia in the documentary, which follows Navalny as he prepares to return to Russia after an attempt on his life in August 2020. Navalny - a politician and pro-democracy campaigner who has built his platform on publicly criticising Putin as a 'corrupt thief' - was flying from Tomsk to Moscow when he fell gravely ill with suspected novichok poisoning. Dasha, who has a brother, appears alongside her mother Yulia in the documentary, pictured together, which follows Navalny as he prepares to return to Russia after an attempt on his life The documentary offers a glimpse at family life in the Navalny household, with cameras filming as Alexei and Yulia prepare to send daughter Dasha back to university (pictured) Alexei shares a hug with his daughter Dasha as he prepares to send her off to university. Dasha said she was proud of her father for returning to Russia despite the dangers The plane made an emergency landing and Navalny was whisked away to a hospital where doctors insisted there was no evidence of foul play and claimed anything from a health condition to 'drinking moonshine' was to blame. But there were claims the hospital was full of agents of the security service FSB, and his wife Yulia was initially prevented from seeing her husband. In an extraordinary turn of events, medics later allowed him to be discharged and airlifted to a German hospital where he received treatment. 'To have your dad, an opposition leader, being poisoned by... we don't know what, we don't know how, we don't know when,' Dasha recalled. 'And just be in a random hospital. It was surreal. It was like a book.' Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after he landed in Russia following an attempt on his life. Above, the politician standing inside a glass cell during a court hearing in Moscow Dasha Navalny, Maria Pevchikh (Poducer) and Yulia Navalny at the premiere of Navalny in New York earlier this month Doctors concluded he had been poisoned with a nerve agent from the same class used in the 2018 attack in Salisbury on ex-Soviet spy Sergei Skripal. Navalny blamed Putin for the attack. The Kremlin said it had no evidence that Navalny was poisoned and denied any Russian role if he was. How the 'FSB plot' unfolded August 12: Three FSB 'plotters' buy plane tickets to Siberia after Navalny's entourage books a flight there August 13: The alleged FSB team flies to Novosibirsk a day before Navalny arrives. Maria Pevchikh also flies to Siberia and is tailed as she leaves Moscow August 17: Navalny travels on to Tomsk, pursued by the alleged FSB operatives. When he books a flight back to Moscow, the 'plotters' do the same only minutes later August 19: Navalny has a drink at a hotel bar in Tomsk, leaving his room empty. There is a 'surge' in communication among members of the alleged FSB unit August 20: Navalny boards the flight in Tomsk and becomes critically ill on board, forcing an emergency landing August 22: The unconscious Navalny is airlifted to Berlin. A German military lab later finds evidence of Novichok Advertisement His poisoning and arrest sparked widespread condemnation abroad as well as sanctions from Western capitals. Moscow's FSB agency the successor to the KGB allegedly began tracking Mr Navalny after he announced plans to run against the Russian president. The documentary uses news reports, interviews and footage from Navalny's own extensive archive to piece together a potted history of the political path that led to him becoming the Kremlin's most outspoken critic, including a video of him attending a far-right rally. Following the poisoning, Navalny and his family relocated to the Black Forest, in Germany, where they can live in peace and 'walk for hours' without bumping into anyone. While recovering in Germany, he teamed up with Bellingcat investigative journalist Christo Grozev in an attempt to uncover who was behind the poisoning. Grozev explains on camera how he pieced together the plot that led to the uncovering of a web of FSB agents suspected in Navalny's poisoning. Using phone numbers bought on the Russian dark web, Grozev was able to follow a trail to agents including a chemist and ex-military figures. Agents were said to have kept Mr Navalny under surveillance on at least 37 trips before he was eventually poisoned on a flight from Siberia to Moscow in August 2021. They would take parallel flights or trains, travelling in twos or threes, mixing up teams to avoid being spotted and often using aliases, the report claimed. The chain of command led to the top of the FSB and, ultimately, to Putin. The Kremlin denied Putin's involvement and suggested Mr Navalny was working with the CIA. Bellingcat named three FSB officers who trailed the lawyer as he travelled from Moscow to Siberia in August, and a further five agents said to have been involved in the operation. The website, which worked with CNN in the US, Der Spiegel in Germany and The Insider in Russia, said it used telecoms records and travel data, including flight manifests, to track the agents' movements. Navalny is a politician and pro-democracy campaigner who has built his platform on publicly criticising Putin as a 'corrupt thief'. Pictured, the Russian president yesterday Cameras recorded Navalny as he phoned the agents one by one to ask them why they did it and eventually recorded one agent calmly discussing how he had placed novichok on the politician's underwear. Despite the risk to his life, Navalny felt it essential he returned to Russia. 'They are offended because they tried to kill me and I survived,' Nalvany said ahead of his return. 'So now they're threatening to throw me in jail. 'Putin might as well hang a banner over the Kremlin: "Alexei, please, do not under any circumstances come back home." And so I immediately went online and bought tickets for my return trip.' Dasha was supportive of her father's decision, saying: 'I know that my dad misses Russia, even though it's scary to go back. And if he didn't go back, I would say "you need to go back and fight". It's something worth fighting for.' There was optimism before Navalny boarded the flight but the documentary ends with him being arrested in Moscow. 'They are so scared of Alexei that they had to lock down everything around here,' his wife Yulia told cameras after he was arrested. 'The most important thing Alexei said today is, he's not afraid. And I'm not afraid either, and I urge you not to be afraid.' Alexei remains in prison where he faces up to 20 years. The Duchess of Cambridge gave a touching nod to her sister Pippa at the Anzac Day service yesterday. Kate Middleton, 40, cut a stylish figure in a white Alexander McQueen coat dress for the occasion, pairing the stunning piece with Princess Diana's Collingwood earrings, a matching headband by milliner Jane Taylor and black accessories. The mother-of-three also opted to wear a new diamond brooch for the occasion, which featured the same fern design as her sister Pippa's wedding day tiara. The jewels are believed to be crafted by Chelsea-based jeweller Robinson Pelham. The Duchess of Cambridge, 40, gave a touching nod to her sister Pippa Middelton at the Anzac Day service yesterday The mother-of-three also opted to wear a new diamond brooch for the occasion, which featured a fern design which was near identical to her sister Pippa's wedding day tiara (pictured) Carole and Michael Middleton commissioned a pair of earrings by the designer for Pippa ahead of Kate's wedding to Prince William. Pippa wore the jewels in her role as chief bridesmaid for the Duchess, before going on to wear the set for her own wedding day to James Matthews in 2017. The happy couple tied the knot at St Mark's Church in Englefield, the estate of former Conservative MP Richard Benyon. Kate's brooch appeared to match both Pippa wedding maidenhair fern tiara. The jewels, which feature the same fern leaves design, are believed to be crafted by Chelsea-based jeweller Robinson Pelham (left, the Duchess' brooch, and right, Pippa's headpiece) The Middletons are extremely tight-knit, with Kate's brother James and his wife Alizee even spending lockdown at his parents' Berkshire home, and have remained close even as Kate has ascended the ranks of the royal family. Last year, the Middletons' attended both the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall and her carol service in Windsor. Their appearance at two major royal events in quick succession appeared to hint at Kate's intention to bring her family even more into the royal fold as she and William continue to take on a more senior role within The Firm. Kate, who is known for her love of high street brands, showcased her thrifty side yesterday as she wore the dress for her daughter Princess Charlotte's christening in 2015. The Middletons are extremely tight-knit, and have remained close even as Kate has ascended the ranks of the royal family (pictured in 2012) Last year, the Middletons' attended both the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall and her carol service in Windsor (Pippa with their parents in 2021) She also wore the gown to Meghan Markle's and Prince Harry 's wedding in 2018, an event in Belgium in 2017 and Trooping The Colour in 2016. Yesterday, the Duchess swept her brunette locks behind her shoulders for the occasion, donning a smart white headband with a trendy black bow at the back. She donned Diana's Collingwood earrings for the service. Kate regularly wears jewellery that honours her mother-in-law, including her sapphire engagement ring, which once belonged to Diana. Kate recycled a dazzling white Alexander McQueen coat dress yesterday as she attended Westminster Abbey to commemorate Anzac Day The Duchess swept her brunette locks behind her shoulders for the occasion, donning a smart white headband with a trendy black bow at the back Meanwhile she kept her makeup neutral for the outing, opting for a sweep of blush and a dash of black eyeliner. The Duchess could be seen carrying a pair of white Cornelia James for the occasion. The traditional church service in the abbey featured an address by the Dean of Westminster, readings from the New Zealand and Australian high commissioners, prayers read by children of each country, and a Maori waiata performed by London-based Ngati Ranana London Maori Club. A man who claims to run the cheapest shop in Britain left viewers of ITV's This Morning unimpressed with his range of budget products. Stuart, who has been running The 20p Shop in Otley, West Yorkshire, for five years alongside his family members, explained that the shop aims to provide something 'cheap and cheerful' amid the rising cost of living. The entrepreneur claimed they are able to keep the costs of their goods low by buying in bulk and admitted that he's 'perfectly ok' with people reselling their purchases, having had one customer previously buy a ring that they didn't know was worth 120. But the segment left viewers unimpressed with some taking to social media to accuse Stuart of selling 'tat', while others noticed that no customers went into the shop during the live broadcast. Goods on sale include packets of noodles and bars of chocolate that are just past their best before date Stuart told presenters Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield that his family had a market stall before renting the shop premises. Stuart said: 'We started the idea on the market stall, selling items for 20p each and it flew out. After that we thought, "Well why not get a shop?" as in winter time working on a market isn't the greatest. 'We brought it indoors and five years later we're still here. 'We get stock from all over and buy quite in bulk to keep the cost down to around 10-20p each. Bits and pieces. 'We try our best to help the local community. That was the main aim behind the shop. Not everything needs to cost a fortune in the current state of the world with everything going up, cost of living go up and everything like that. 'We thought, why not make something cheap and cheerful for everyone? Stuart (pictured), who has been running The 20p Shop in Otley, West Yorkshire, for five years, left viewers of This Morning unimpressed with his product range Stuart said the family buy 'bits and pieces' in bulk to be able to keep their prices between 10 to 20p and help the local community. It stocks everything from books to household goods Bric a brace on the shelves - and it could be valuabStuart claimed that the family doesn't have any issues with customers reselling their purchases to make a profit 'Like every other small business at the moment we struggle, but we're doing our best to stay afloat and doing our best to help everyone out on the way round.' Stuart claimed press coverage of the family business has turned the shop into a 'phenomenon' with one customer travelling from as far as 120 miles to visit. Having previously stocked bikes and jewellery worth more than 20p, he claimed that he doesn't mind people reselling their purchases for a profit. Stuart said: 'If it can help someone out and help the normal person in life to go earn a few quit then why not. It's here to help people and we're not here to make millions of pounds. Stuart said one customer was able to resell a gold ring for 120 at a local jeweller across the road from his shop Stuart said his family's shop struggles like all small businesses but they are doing their best to stay afloat. Pictured: A box of hand sanitiser on sale Stuart told Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that they could buy books, home decorations and greetings cards all for the cost of 1 in total 'We do have a bit of costume jewellery in the shop. One lucky customer came in, bought a ring. Unknowingly it was a golden ring worth 120. 'The same day, they went across the road and sold it to local jeweler.' Stuart revealed Philip could buy a cook book, crockery, a decorative sign, pasta and a chocolate bar for 1 in his shop. He told Holly she could get two books, greetings cards and a chocolate bar for the same price. Stuart told Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby (pictured left) that his family aren't aiming to make millions of pounds from their business Despite the range of products on offer, viewers took to Twitter to criticize the items on sale in the budget retailer. One person wrote: 'The shop is pure tat, reminds me of hypervalue shops #ThisMorning' Another said: 'It's cheap... it's crass... and it ain't worth the travel fees #ThisMorning' 'F******* of tat in that shop. Looks like a cross between a down-market Sue Ryder combined with a fire sale #ThisMorning,' a third commented. A fourth added: 'People walking past don't look impressed' A cowboy who has two wives has opened up about how his 'plural marriage' works - from how he navigates bitter jealousy between the women and the way the three of them are raising their kids together to their sleeping arrangements and physical relationship. Colton Winder, 34, from Utah, who is Mormon, is married to both Tami and Sophie Winder. The throuple - who appeared in season three of TLC's show Seeking Sister Wife - all live together in one house, along with their three kids, but it is not always easy for them. Colton admitted that it sometimes feels like he's 'standing in the middle of a tornado' due to his wives 'very different' personalities. Tami and Sophie both have a physical relationship with Colton, but they do not have a physical relationship with one another. And despite admitting that there is 'definitely jealousy' between them, the three of them have found a way to make their abnormal relationship work through open communication and hard work. Colton explained that his choice to marry two different women came down to his 'faith,' adding that there is a 'very religious, spiritual purpose' behind it. A cowboy who has two wives has opened up about how his 'plural marriage' works - from how he navigates bitter jealousy between the women to their sleeping arrangements Colton Winder, 34, from Utah, who is Mormon, is married to both Tami and Sophie Winder The throuple all live together in one house, along with their three kids, but it is not always easy for them Clashing: Colton admitted that it sometimes feels like he's 'standing in the middle of a tornado' due to his wives 'very different' personalities while chatting with Truly recently 'Plural marriage for us is a little more specific than polygamy,' he told Truly during a recent interview. 'Plural marriage is polygamy lived with a very religious, spiritual purpose behind it. It's more about our faith.' In the Mormon religion, 'It was held that a person could only attain the highest level of the celestial kingdom after death if they had been a partner in a plural marriage,' BBC reported. Tami and Sophie both have a physical relationship with Colton, but they do not have a physical relationship with one another Colton and Tami got married 12 years ago. And although they both believed in 'plural marriage' from the start, they weren't on the hunt for another wife right away because they believed that if it was meant to be, it would happen naturally - and it did. 'When Colton and I got married, we both believed in plural marriage. Eventually, it got to the point of like, if we're supposed to live this way, we'll find another wife, and then we did,' explained Tami. Colton then wed Sophie in 2017, however, he called their union a 'spiritual marriage' since it is not legal in the state of Utah for a man to marry two women at the same time. 'My plural marriage is not recognized legally. Tami is my legal wife, Sophie is more of a spiritual marriage,' he said. 'In the state of Utah, until very recently, it was actually illegal to live the way we live, now it's not quite illegal but it's still sort of frowned upon.' Despite admitting that there is 'definitely jealousy' in their relationship, the three of them have found a way to make their relationship work through open communication and hard work Together forever: Colton and Tami (pictured early on in their relationship) got married 12 years ago They both believed in 'plural marriage' from the start, but didn't search for another wife because they thought it would happen naturally. Colton and Tami are pictured at their wedding And it did. Colton then wed Sophie in 2017, however, he called their union a 'spiritual marriage' since it is not legal in the state of Utah for a man to marry two women at the same time For the first two years of their joint marriage, Tami and Sophie lived in separate houses because they wanted to 'ease into' plural marriage 'at a comfortable pace.' Sophie admitted that at first, she 'didn't know what to expect,' with Tami adding that it 'took a while' for them to become comfortable with one another. Colton explained that his choice to marry two different women came down to his 'faith,' adding that there is a 'very religious, spiritual purpose' behind it When they finally decided to all live under one roof, it was difficult due to a clash in their personalities, but they eventually found a way to make it work. Sophie shared: 'The hardest part about it was realizing that Tami and I still didn't know each other really well. 'We didn't understand each other's personalities at that point. After moving in together, Tami and I finally got to know each other better and I finally got to know her personality better rather than just being totally clueless.' At first, Colton said it felt like he was living in the middle of a 'tornado,' and recalled desperately trying to 'get things to stop spinning.' 'One thing that's different about plural marriage is everybody comes with their own personality and Tami and Sophie are very different from each other,' he explained. For the first two years of their joint marriage, Tami and Sophie lived in separate houses because they wanted to 'ease into' plural marriage 'at a comfortable pace' Sophie admitted that at first, she 'didn't know what to expect,' with Tami adding that it 'took a while' for them to become comfortable with one another When they finally decided to all live under one roof, it was difficult due to a clash in their personalities, but they eventually found a way to make it work 'There were hard times, between both Tami and I, Sophie and I, and Tami and Sophie together. 'There were misunderstandings sometimes because personalities didn't quite mesh in the beginning. 'Sometimes it felt like I was standing in the middle of a tornado and trying to reach my hands out and get things to stop spinning for just a moment.' Colton recalled: 'Tami and Sophie are very different from each other. There were misunderstandings sometimes because personalities didn't quite mesh in the beginning. Sometimes it felt like I was standing in the middle of a tornado' One major problem that they faced was that Tami and Sophie would often compare themselves to one another, which resulted in them feeling like they weren't good enough wives. 'One of the other challenges I had was feeling like a [good] wife. You make a lot of comparisons,' Sophie admitted. 'I kind of asked Colton, "Do you have certain expectations of me as a wife?" I felt like I was falling short. But he said, "No. You're perfect the way you are."' And although they insisted that they have a great relationship now, the two women said they still get jealous of one another. 'There's definitely jealousies, as in any relationship. Like when Colton goes on a date with Sophie, I want to go on a date too,' Tami revealed. One problem that they faced was that Tami and Sophie would often compare themselves to one another, which resulted in them feeling like they weren't good enough wives And although they insisted that they have a great relationship now, the two women said they still get jealous of one another 'If I'm feeling jealous about something, then there's a need that's not getting met and I need to communicate that need. Then Colton and Sophie will do their best to alleviate that,' said Tami 'But if I'm feeling jealous about something, then there's a need that's not getting met and I need to communicate that need. Then Colton and Sophie will do their best to alleviate that.' Tami and Sophie do not have a physical relationship with one another, and they now think of each other as 'sisters' The throuple tries to go on a date night once or twice a month - sometimes with all three of them together and sometimes on separate dates. Tami and Sophie do not have a physical relationship with one another, and they now think of each other as 'sisters.' 'I think I have a really good relationship with Sophie,' gushed Tami. 'It's taken a lot of work to get here but I think we worked really hard to try and understand each other and to really become sisters.' As for their sleeping arrangements, the two women each have their own bedroom, and Colton switches between them each night - which sometimes makes Sophie feel alone. 'Tami and I both have our separate physical relationship with Colton but Tami and I do not have a physical relationship with each other,' she said. 'Colton doesn't have his own room, he'll sleep with me one night and then with Tami the next night. 'One of the hard parts of plural marriage is having your husband gone every other night. 'You don't have help with getting up with the children in the middle of the night, but at the same time I know that if I really needed either of [them] I could come and get [them] and they'd help.' 'It's taken a lot of work to get here but I think we worked really hard to try and understand each other and to really become sisters,' gushed Tami As for their sleeping arrangements, the two women each have their own bedroom, and Colton switches between them each night Tami welcomed a daughter, named Sadie, in 2016. Sophie then gave birth to a son, Ephraim, in 2020, and a daughter, Isabella, in 2021. Tami is pictured with Sadie and Colton Working together! 'We're co-parents in everything. We're raising our children together,' said Tami Colton said that having two wives has provided a lot of 'personal growth' for him because he had to 'learn to live with two different personalities' Tami welcomed a daughter, named Sadie, in 2016. Sophie then gave birth to a son, named Ephraim, in 2020, and a daughter, named Isabella, in 2021. Tami is now using IVF to try to have another child. 'We're co-parents in everything. We're raising our children together,' added Tami. Colton said that having two wives has provided a lot of 'personal growth' for him because he had to 'learn to live with two different personalities.' 'The things I enjoy the most from a plural marriage, aside from the religious aspects of it, it's a really great opportunity for personal growth because I've had to learn to live with two different personalities,' he concluded. Models starring in This Morning's fashion segment were mocked by viewers today after being dressed in outfits inspired by the 1920s to mark the release of the new Downton Abbey film. Presenting the segment, Lisa Snowdon, 50, who lives in London, said she had been inspired after seeing the cast of Downton Abbey: A New Era walking the red carpet in satin and feathers at the premiere last night. The presenter went on to reveal how it was that possible to recreate the most popular trends from the 1920s with pieces from the high street, before introducing four different models in satin dresses, head pieces and embellished shoes. However many of those watching were left unimpressed by the segment, with one posting on Twitter: 'Seriously? Not unless it was for a fancy dress party and even then...' Models starring in This Morning's fashion segment were mocked by viewers today after being dressed in outfits inspired by the 1920s - with many comparing their outfits to 'fancy dress' Models were dressed in pieces which presenter Lisa Snowdon called 'the epitome of the Roaring Twenties' including satin wrap dresses (left) and floor-length sequin gowns (right) Lisa appeared on the daytime show talking to presenters Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield. She introduced the first model, saying: 'Sue, who is the epitome of the Roaring Twenties in the satin and a beautiful headdress, absolutely gorgeous. 'This stunning satin shift dress just oozes elegance.' Saying the dress was 'very similar' to one worn by an actress in the Downton Abbey: New Era film, she continued: 'Even though the new film is set on the French Rivera the elegance is very much still there. 'I love the sleeve details. As I said, the shift dress is really flattering and get good underwear underneath there then you're good to go. Social media users claimed they wouldn't wear the outfits for fancy dress, describing the looks as 'vile' Meanwhile she suggested pairing the dress with a 1920s style headband, a pearl necklace and an art deco bag. Holly and Philip looked impressed as Lisa prepared to introduce the second model Kim, describing her outfit as 'Downton with a twist'. Lisa explained: 'Now with a lot of the styles in Downton it's very vintage and hard to wear for a lot of us ladies, so what we've done is a little twist. 'We've gone for this beautiful wrap shape dress but with those kind of muted jewel tones that you see in the twenties. It's got the paisley print and beautiful neckline that I think is super flattering.' Lisa (pictured right) told presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby (pictured left) that the outfits were 'elegant' and 'Downton Abbey with a twist' 'You've got the belt that cinches you in and that very pretty print which we're seeing a lot of in the film as well. Then the lovely kind of shimmer running through it is very 1920s.' Calling the outfit 'very pretty and very chic', she continued: 'We've added a headband, a little scarf into the hair, which I think also elevates the look.' 'Little bag, little gold clutch. You can't go wrong you'll wear that again with lots of different outfits.' 'Then can we look at these very pretty shoes? Little satin shoes with that little dip at the front, so flattering. 'You've got diamante around the ankle and diamante at the back as well, which I think is so elegant. Despite Lisa's enthusiasm for the unusual headpieces and jewels, many of those watching compared the outfits to 'fancy dress' costumes Lisa gushed about the 'very pretty shoes' paired with the paisley print dress, while claiming shoppers could wear each item repeatedly Introducing the third model, she said Alison looked like a 'French fancy', explaining: ' Literally you look like you're walking on the French Rivera, you look so beautiful, so romantic in this lovely, beautiful French fancy floral dress.' 'Really flattering. The elasticated waist gives you a bit of a waist but is still comfortable.' 'Then the shoes. This is just proving how much impact and effect that Downton Abbey is having on the High Street. 'Mary Janes are back and it's all this kind of little thin straps that are very reminiscent of the 20s and the 30s. 'A really comfortable heel, muted colour. You could dance all night in them.' Lisa claimed her last outfit was a 'showstopper' as the model stepped out in an ankle length dress covered in bronze sequins. Lisa teamed a tiered floral dress with a straw hat as she aimed to create the perfect outfit for being on the French Rivera She said: 'This is your forever dress. If you buy sparkles you know that you're going to be spending a little bit more money but they are the sort of dresses that you invest in and keep in your wardrobe. 'It's that I've got a big party an invitation comes through the letter box and you're like 'what am I going to wear', 'ah I've got the perfect dress'. 'You've always got that dress in your wardrobe.' Meanwhile she said the earrings would also add 'twenties glamour', while the shoes were 'stunning' and 'really elegant.' Despite Lisa's enthusiasm for the segment, a stream of viewers took to Twitter mocking each of the outfits that featured on the show. Presenter Lisa claimed the looks were inspired by the new Downton Abbey film, and compared one model's look to a gown worn by Laura Haddock in the trailer (pictured) The stars of Downton Abbey walked the red carpet last night in glittering gowns and thigh-skimming dresses (left, Michelle Dockery, and right, Laura Carmichael) Commenting on the first look, one person wrote: 'Where might Sue wear such an outfit #ThisMorning?' Another said: 'These fashion segments always make me howl #ThisMorning' 'These poor women,' a third commented. A fourth joked: 'I'm so pleased they've done this fashion segment. I often waft about big Tesco dressed like something from the 1920s #This Morning' One viewer claimed the outfits aren't even appropriate for a fancy dress party, while another commented on the material. 'What the f*** has she dressed the model as... #ThisMorning,' one wrote. A second added: 'Forget the dress the headband is doing her no favours.' A third commented: 'Omg this dress is shocking.' Ulrika Jonsson's daughter has revealed a glimpse of her nanny training at the prestigious Norland College, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's childminder learned her craft. Bo Jonsson, 21, who splits her time between Oxfordshire and Bath, regularly takes to her Instagram account to share snippets of her schooling - including photos of her in the traditional beige uniform. The third-year student also showcases to her 2,852 followers the various assessments she must complete - including sewing, cooking various meals such as fresh pasta and roasts, as well as placements caring for children as young as five weeks. Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo who looks after Prince William and Kate's three young children, George, Charlotte and Louis, is also a graduate of the prestigious Bath nanny school. Bo, who was born with a congenital heart defect and continues to be treated for the condition today, has held an ambition to work in childcare from a young age. Ulrika Jonsson's daughter (pictured together, right) has revealed a glimpse of her nanny training at the prestigious Norland College, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's childminder learned her craft Bo Jonsson (pictured), 21, who splits her time between Oxfordshire and Bath, regularly takes to her Instagram account to share snippets of her schooling - including photos of her in the traditional beige uniform The most famous nanny in the country! Maria Borrallo with Prince George and his grandmother the Queen at Princess Charlotte's christening in July 2015 She delights her followers with images of her completed assessments, including one of a 'fabric friend' she created from up-cycled materials and embroidery. Sharing a snap of the cat-like cushion, Bo wrote: 'I really enjoyed making this and challenging my sewing skills.' Elsewhere, the student posts photos from her placements, where she cares for children, helping them with homeschooling and arts and crafts. She also completed a course in Makaton during her second year, a language that uses signs and symbols to help people to communicate, and shared a picture of her posing with her certificate. Norland College has been producing childminders for the rich and famous since 1892. Bo, left, who was born with a congenital heart defect and continues to be treated for the condition today, has held an ambition to work in childcare from a young age The third-year student (pictured) showcases to her 2,852 followers the various assessments she must complete - including sewing, cooking various meals such as fresh pasta and roasts, as well as placements caring for children as young as five weeks The institution's students are known for their distinctive uniforms and are schooled in all aspects of looking after youngsters during their three-year degree course. The training costs 36,000 in total and includes martial arts training and stunt driving to its curriculum to cater for modern clients - many of whom are celebrities and the super-rich. Tae Kwon-Do is believed to be the martial art of choice - which has been specially adapted to include how to dodge a potential kidnapper with a pram. Nannies are also trained in how to deal with paparazzi and are taken to Castle Combe Racing Circuit in Wiltshire to perfect their driving skills and learn how to drive at high speed in any weather condition. Driving away from pursuing photographers being the main reason for the training. She also completed a course in Makaton during her second year, a language that uses signs and symbols to help people to communicate, and shared a picture of her posing with her certificate Ulrika's daughter Bo was born in 2000, during her relationship with German hotel manager Marcus Kempen, who left when their baby daughter was days old. The former weather presenter is also mother to son Cameron, 26, with John Turnbull, daughter Martha, 17, with Lance Gerrard-Wright and son Malcolm, with ex Brian Monet. Ulrika has often been open about daughter Bo's heart condition and in April last year revealed that Bo - who has a congenital heart defect - was rushed to hospital. The star nervously had to await test results for her ill daughter after she was admitted to hospital overnight, with Ulrika given hourly reports on her progress at the time. Ulrika has often been open about daughter Bo's heart condition and in April last year revealed that Bo (pictured) - who has a congenital heart defect - was rushed to hospital The star nervously had to await test results for her ill daughter (pictured as a child with her mother) after she was admitted to hospital overnight, with Ulrika given hourly reports on her progress at the time Bo has been in and out of hospital over the years as a result of her condition - she was born with double inlet left ventricle defect, a congenital defect that affects the valves and chambers of the heart. As a baby, she had to undergo life-saving surgery on her heart - but Ulrika did not reveal what had caused Bo to be hospitalised. The previous month Ulrika hailed Bo as a 'warrior' as she went to get a health check up. The TV presenter shared a series of snaps to her Instagram Stories of Bo lying down at the doctor's office as she received a liver scan. The former Celebrity Big Brother star posted a photo of the pair sat together in the waiting room as she called Bo her 'CHD Warrior'. During a trip to the southern border with fellow GOP members, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) warned that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas may face impeachment. The border trip was intended to kick off a week in which Republicans want to capitalize on the issue to boost their midterm election chances and to put pressure on Mayorkas. Kevin McCarthy Urges Joe Biden To Go, Witness Southern Border Situation During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Trump administration and later the Biden administration used Title 42 to turn away migrants at the border. It gave both governments the power to deny asylum claimants a court hearing. The Biden administration has been sued over the matter, although it has stated that Title 42 would be lifted on May 23. A federal court temporarily prevented the Biden administration from removing the prohibition later on Monday. Republicans have attacked the administration over border security, while vulnerable Democrats in the House and Senate have chastised President Joe Biden for his decision. Impeachment of Mayorkas by the GOP-controlled House is far from certain. To retake the majority, Republicans just need to pick up a few seats, and 30 House Republicans have signed on to an impeachment motion against Mayorkas, spearheaded by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), according to The Hill. According to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the migrant influx is "unsustainable," and it will become "overwhelming" if President Joe Biden's plan to repeal Title 42 is implemented, as per Fox News. Read Also: Taiwan Develops New Advanced Missiles, Drones, Vows To Protect Migrant Fishermen Amid Abuse Claims Court Blocks Biden on Lifting Title 42 A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from eliminating the pandemic health program known as Title 42 on May 23. The decision postpones what Homeland Security officials said would result in an unprecedented migrant influx to the US-Mexico border, and it is a huge victory for the three Republican states that filed the case in early April, which has now been joined by 18 other states. The complaint was filed in the United States while the Western District of Louisiana is a federal district court. On Monday, Judge Robert Summerhays issued a temporary restraining order in the lawsuit, instructing the Department of Justice and the states to sort out the terms of the policy's continuation. Even though Title 42 is still in place, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd stated that the government had begun detaining some migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, indicating that it was not deporting them. The lawsuit was launched after the Biden administration announced in early April that the restriction would be lifted following 14 months of lobbying from immigration groups, who said the rule unfairly penalizes people seeking asylum. The three states asserted that the White House's termination of Title 42 violates the Administrative Procedure Act's notice-and-comment obligations. Ending the regulation will encourage many more individuals to try to cross the border, worsening the current migrant problem that began shortly after President Joe Biden entered office, according to Republicans and some Democrats. Polls reveal that the public is dissatisfied with the administration's handling of the border, prompting centrist Democrats and those running for reelection in November to move away from Biden. The effort to repeal Title 42 has been met with opposition from nine Senate Democrats, Washington Examiner reported. Related Article: US Top Officials Blinken, Austin To Visit Ukraine Following Deadly Russian Missile Attack On Odesa @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ivy Getty looks like a natural modeling for Town & Country's May 2022 issue and that may be because it's in her blood. The 27-year-old covers the magazine, on newsstands May 3, 39 years after her grandmother, Ann Getty, graced the cover in 1983. 'I still have the magazine, which I keep in good condition,' she admitted. Ivy who tied the knot in November wearing some of her late grandmother's jewelry also has quite a few pieces from her closet, including several she wore for her own Town & Country shoot. Ivy Getty looks like a natural modeling for Town & Country's May 2022 issue - and that may be because it's in her blood The 27-year-old covers the magazine, on newsstands May 3, 39 years after her grandmother, Ann Getty, graced the cover in 1983 - and she even wore this dress that belonged to Ann Ivy has inherited some of her grandmother's fashion and jewelry collection - including the diamonds she holds in her left hand in this photo Ivy was raised by her grandmother, who died in September 2020 at age 79. She is pictured on her Town & Country cover in 1983 Ivy was raised by her grandmother, who died in September 2020 at age 79. 'I have so much of her in me. She taught me about fashion, but also how to be a human being,' she told Town & Country. Ann also passed down several of her enviable designer outfits, including the YSL fur coat she wore when she was photographed by Norman Parkinson at Linderhof Palace in Germany for Town & Country in 1983. 'Its my most prized possession. Its an art piece,' Ivy said. Ivy got to wear some pretty magnificent designer pieces herself for her shoot, including gowns by Dior, Carolina Herrera, Gucci, as she posed alongside actor Tom Blyth. But she included touches of her grandmother, too, including a shawl that she paired with a Ralph Lauren Collection jumpsuit. 'I have so much of her in me. She taught me about fashion, but also how to be a human being,' Ivy - pictured wearing her grandmother's shawl - said Ivy said the YSL coat her grandma wore in Town & Country is 'my most prized possession. Its an art piece' 'She appreciated craft, not showing off,' Ivy said of her grandmother's love of jewelry 'Even when my grandma gifted me things, I assumed they were costume. You wouldnt think such beautiful pieces could possibly be real, but they were,' she said In one shot, Ivy wears her grandma's vintage Christian Dior coat, and in another she holds diamond and platinum necklaces that had belonged to Ann. 'She appreciated craft, not showing off,' Ivy said of her grandmother's love of jewelry. 'Even when my grandma gifted me things, I assumed they were costume. You wouldnt think such beautiful pieces could possibly be real, but they were.' Ivy wore her grandmother's jewelry at her wedding to photographer Toby Engel at San Francisco's City Hall last fall. 'This day was so important to my grandmother, as she raised me. Being able to wear her jewelry meant everything to me,' she said. Among the pieces she wore were her grandma's sapphire and diamond earrings. Ivy got to wear some pretty magnificent designer pieces herself for her shoot, including gowns by Dior, Carolina Herrera, Gucci, as she posed alongside actor Tom Blyth Ivy is signed to Ford Models and has also appeared in the pages of Vogue Ivy has said her grandmother was 'really more like a mother to me' Ann was her paternal grandmother. Her mother was laregely absent Ivy is pictured with her grandmother when she was a child 'The dress was so stunning and intricate that I needed something simple and these studs brought everything together. If she was here today she would have given me the same exact pair,' she said. 'And it felt as though she was walking down the aisle with me.' She also wore her grandmother's choker made of freshwater pearls, aquamarine, citrine, and enamel by Italian jeweler Percossi Papi. Finally, her engagement ring included a center sapphire that belonged to her husband's mother, which was surrounded by her own grandmother's diamonds. 'I felt her presence with me the whole night,' Ivy said. I know she was looking down on Toby and me.' Meanwhile, she picked designer John Galliano to design her wedding dress as a tribute to her grandmother as well. 'My grandmother always wore John Gallianos designs,' Ivy told Vogue. 'My grandmother always admired him so it felt as if she was there with me during all of this.' Ivy wore her grandmother's jewelry at her wedding to photographer Toby Engel at San Francisco's City Hall last fall 'I felt her presence with me the whole night,' Ivy said. I know she was looking down on Toby and me' Her engagement ring included a center sapphire that belonged to her husband's mother, which was surrounded by her own grandmother's diamonds. Her grandmother likely would have worn Galliano's designs for Givenchy, which he helmed from 1995 to 1996, and Christian Dior, which he became creative director of in October 1996. He was ousted from Dior in 2011 after video surfaced of him going on a drunken antisemitic tirade in Paris, saying 'I love Hitler.' Getty said that knowing how much her grandmother liked Galliano's designs made it an easy choice. 'After my grandmothers passing she was really more like a mother to me I felt this connection to John. I knew I wanted him to create the dress for my wedding. My aunt Vanessa, who I am very close to, was connected to him through a friend, and here we are.' Galliano had her create a mood board, and took inspiration from it to make the dress in which he included nods to both her grandmother and her late father, who also died in 2020. She worked with controversial Maison Margiela designer John Galliano to custom-design her gown. Galliano was a favorite of her grandmother's 'Not physically having two of the most important people in my life with me on my wedding day is extremely hard, but through Johns vision and creativity, he was easily able to bring their presence to life,' Ivy said First, he included walnuts, which Ivy had put on her mood board because her grandmother had grown up on a walnut farm. He also included guitars, an homage to Ivy's father, who was a musician. 'Not physically having two of the most important people in my life with me on my wedding day is extremely hard, but through Johns vision and creativity, he was easily able to bring their presence to life,' Ivy said. She also held the reception at her grandmother's home, Getty Mansion. 'When my beloved grandmother passed away, I knew I wanted to have the wedding in my house to honor her,' Ivy said. 'My grandmother interior designed each room of the house which allows me to feel as if she is there with me. I would be able to look around the room and see something that reminds me of her. Her presence is everywhere in that home. The theme of my entire wedding is the house and my grandmother.' Salma Hayek's daughter Valentina Pinault has scored her first-ever Vogue cover at the tender age of 14 right alongside her movie star mom. Valentina and Salma, 55, share this month's cover of Vogue Mexico, where the genetically-blessed pair pout side-by-side with matching long lashes and glossy pouts. In an interview conducted in Spanish, Salma opens up about coming to motherhood later in life, how her daughter steals her clothes, and what she thinks about Valentina following in her Hollywood footsteps. Meanwhile, Valentina reveals her dreams of becoming an actress and a director, but also stresses the importance of helping others, which she does through volunteering at a soup kitchen. Salma Hayek's daughter Valentina Pinault has scored her first-ever Vogue cover at the tender age of 14 - right alongside her movie star mom Valentina and Salma, 55, share this month's cover of Vogue Mexico , where the genetically-blessed pair pout side-by-side with matching long lashes and glossy pouts 'We fight over clothes because she takes everything from my closet,' Salma said of her daughter Both mother and daughter donned designer clothes for the photoshoot, though Valentina insisted she often wears sweats. Still, she does benefit from her mother's closet of designer clothes furnished in part by dad Francois-Henri Pinault's company, which owns fashion brands including Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, and Yves Saint Laurent. 'We fight over clothes because she takes everything from my closet,' Salma said. 'Since she was little she never let me choose her clothes, and I always liked that,' Salma added. '[And] she's very good with makeup. I'm good at makeup, but now she teaches me.' The pair have more in common than just clothes: They also both speak Spanish, and like to do so to speak privately in public. 'Since she was little she never let me choose her clothes, and I always liked that,' Salma added. '[And] she's very good with makeup. I'm good at makeup, but now she teaches me' Valentina wants to follow her mom into Hollywood, first as an actress and then as a director Valentina also talked about her passion for helping homeless people, 'because I have friends who don't have a home' 'When we are with more people I like it because it is like a secret because nobody speaks Spanish, because with my dad I speak French,' Valentina said. What's more, Valentina wants to follow her mom into Hollywood, first as an actress and then as a director. She will no doubt have a leg up thanks to her parents, but Valentina also talked about how importat it is to be passionate about fixing world's problems. In particular, she is moved by the problem of homelessness, 'because I have friends who don't have a home.' To that end, she volunteers at a soup kitchen and the people she has met there have opened her eyes. Salma opened up about becoming a mother in her 40s, and said she almost retired from acting - but her husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, convinced her not to Her husband convinced her that at some point I might miss my profession' and 'it allows me to unleash my creativity, and because I am an artist' Valentina has recently begun accompanying her mom to events. The pair are pictured together in October 2021 'I learned that each person who is homeless has a different story,' she said. 'Everyone assumes they are homeless because of drugs or because they don't work. 'What's more, when you see someone sleeping on the street they have the same reaction: you're sorry, but you don't want to get close. I think it's important to get closer and listen rather than ignore them and believe that it's not your problem or our problem.' Elsewhere in the interview, Salma opened up about becoming a mother in her 40s, saying that by that point in her life she felt that she 'had already done many things in my life' and was 'proud of' her accomplishments. In fact, when she became a mom, she was ready to give up her acting career altogether but her husband convinced her to get back to work 'because at some point I might miss my profession' and 'it allows me to unleash my creativity, and because I am an artist.' The son of polygamous cult leader Warren Jeffs has opened up about growing up on an isolated compound where he had to call his father's child brides 'mom,' saying he was told his father was 'doing God's work' after he was arrested for sexual abuse. Wendell Jeffson, 21, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), spoke out against his father and his insular community ahead of Tuesday's premiere of Peacock's new true-crime documentary 'Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run with Warren Jeffs.' 'I grew up having moms that were 15 years old,' he told Insider. 'It's not right, but he was marrying 12-year-olds and I was told that they were my mom, and they weren't even that much older than me.' Scroll down for video Wendell Jeffson, 21, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), has spoken out against his father, polygamous cult leader Warren Jeffs Jeffs was convicted of sexually abusing two of his minor wives and sentenced to life in prison in 2011. Dozens of his brides are pictured liked up in front of his portrait Jeffson, who changed his last name, appears in the documentary with his mother, Vicki Thompson, and his sister Sarah. The four-part series also features an interview with Jeffs' favorite wife and scribe, Naomi Jessop. 'Preaching Evil' explores how Jeffs became the leader of the FLDS Church and established his Yearning for Zion Ranch, a 1,700-acre compound near Eldorado, Texas, before his imprisonment. The FLDS, a radical Mormon denomination, was founded in 1929 after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890 and excommunicated members who refused to give up the practice of plural marriage. Jeffs grew up outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, in a polygamous household. His father, Rulon Jeffs, had around 75 wives and 65 children. The FLDS holds polygamy as a fundamental belief, and its men take multiple wives in what are termed 'celestial marriages,' each performed in a ceremony called a 'sealing.' Jeffson appears in Peacock's new true-crime documentary 'Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run with Warren Jeffs' with his mother, Vicki Thompson (pictured), and his sister Sarah The four-part series also features an interview with Jeffs' favorite wife and scribe, Naomi Jessop (pictured) The FLDS, a radical offshoot of the Mormon Church, believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and a number of the marriages arranged in the community involved underage girls The church, which has an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 members, believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and a number of the marriages arranged in the community involved underage girls. Rulon became the spiritual leader of the religious sect in 1986 and was considered a prophet of God. Jeffs positioned himself as his successor before officially taking over as prophet following his father's death in 2002. In his interview with Insider, Jeffson recalled how his father started separating his children from their mothers in Colorado City, Utah, and relocating them to his ranch in Texas, when he was three years old. He has an early memory of his mother crying over their separation, but he explained that he wasn't old enough to understand what was going on. When he was reunited with his mother six months later, they all lived together in one large home on the compound. Jeffson described being shut out from the outside world for most of his childhood. He couldn't play with toys and was required to work. Children at the ranch had to wake up at 5 a.m. to help with breakfast before they were sent to the fields to work until lunch. Jeffs grew up outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, in a polygamous household. His father, Rulon Jeffs (pictured), had around 75 wives and 65 children In an interview with Insider, Jeffson recalled how his father started separating his children from their mothers in Colorado City, Utah, and relocating them to his ranch in Texas after he became the leader of FLDS in 2002 Jeffson grew up on Yearning for Zion Ranch, a 1,700-acre compound near Eldorado, Texas. He said he wasn't allowed to play with toys and was required to work on the fields as a kid Jeffson explained that his father would take child brides who were only a few years older than he was, and he 'grew up having moms that were 15 years old' 'There was no music, no internet, no TV, no movies, nothing of that nature,' he said of his father's strict rules. 'He just created an environment where we were only were exposed to things that he wanted us to be exposed to ... he had control over the way that we saw the outside world in every aspect.' Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List for arranging marriages between his followers and underage girls in 2006. That August, he was arrested during a traffic stop near Las Vegas, Nevada, on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and rape that were issued in Utah and Arizona. In 2008, police raided the ranch after being tipped off to underage marriages and sexual abuse while Jeffs was in prison. 'I remember those Texas rangers and the SWATs coming in with rifles and everything,' Jeffson told Fox News. 'I didnt know if I was going to survive. We had been taught that these people wanted to eliminate us. It felt like it only confirmed what Warren Jeffs had taught us.' In 2006, Jeffs was arrested on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and rape that were issued in Utah and Arizona. He is believed to have about 78 wives and at least 60 children The FLDS continued without Jeffs (pictured in 2007). In 2008, police raided the ranch after being tipped off to underage marriages and sexual abuse Jeffs has also been accused of sexually abusing his own children, as well as his niece and nephew, who have come forward with allegations. He is pictured in 2010 (left) and 2011 (right) Jeffson, who was about seven at the time, was one of the roughly 437 children removed from the property by The Department of Family and Protective Services. He and his sister Sarah were in a state shelter for six weeks before they were allowed to leave with their mother. Jeffs, who is believed to have about 78 wives and at least 60 children, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 after being convicted of aggravated sexual assault of two children, ages 12 and 15, that he took as wives. The FLDS leader has also been accused of sexually abusing some of his own children, as well as his niece and nephew, who have come forward with their allegations. Jeffson told Insider that he had questioned his father's teachings for years but was hesitant to break free from the church because he was manipulated into thinking he would 'burn in hell' if he did. When he was about to turn 18 and thinking about dating, his mother explained that he would be assigned a wife and forced into marriage like she was if they stayed in the FLDS. Jeffson, his mother, and his sister have since left the FLDS. He is now engaged and living abroad without any content with his father Jeffson's mother is remarried and recently welcomed a baby boy, while his sister is about to graduate high school 'Theres no hiding that he is a pedophile and deserves to be in prison. He ruined so many lives,' Jeffson told Fox news of his father Jeffson, his mother, and his sister chose to leave the church, and for the first time in his life, he was able to watch television and chose what he ate. His newfound freedom also shined a light on his father's crimes and what it meant to take a child bride. 'Once I was taught these things, I was like, no wonder he's in jail,' he said. 'He was marrying 12-year-old girls and having sex with 12-year-old girls. He deserves to be in jail because he knew better.' Jeffson's mother is remarried and recently welcomed a baby boy, while he is engaged and living in Guatemala. His sister is about to graduate high school. He told Fox News that he doesn't have a relationship with his father, saying he has 'no control' over his life anymore. However, he knows that Jeffs still has loyal followers who think is a prophet and was wrongly convicted. 'He was cunning, very manipulative in the way he made everyone love him so much. And he hid it for so long,' Jeffson said. 'Theres no hiding that he is a pedophile and deserves to be in prison. He ruined so many lives. 'I hope people understand they have the freedom to get out from under his control so that they can live their own lives. People need to be careful and watch out for someone like him, who only had his own interests in mind.' Queen Letizia of Spain cut an elegant figure in an emerald two-piece as she attended the Children and Youth Literary Awards in Madrid. The 49-year-old wore a light green two-piece, comprised of a sleeveless draped top and high-waisted palazzo pants for the event at the Green Patio Space in Madrid. Draping a white Felipe Varela coat over her shoulders for her arrival at the event, she completed her look with a pair of slingback Magrit pumps. She wore her long brunette locks loose and accessorised her look with gold hoops, a statement ring and a matching bag. The 49-year-old wore a light green two-piece, comprised of a sleeveless draped top and high-waisted palazzo pants as she attended the Children and Youth Literary Awards in Madrid Queen Letizia exuded elegance as she clutched her gold handbag at the awards The monarch was accompanied to the event by the Spanish Minister of Education Pilar Alegria, pictured The monarch was accompanied to the event by the Spanish Minister of Education Pilar Alegria. She greeted attendees and met with members of staff upon her arrival at the awards, which are also known as 'the Gran Angular' and 'El Barco De Vapor.' The former journalist spoke with the Education Minister before appearing on stage to make a speech and give the winners their awards. Queen Letizia is a lover of books and attends the awards in Madrid every April She completed her outfit with a pair of slingback Magrit pumps for the Madrid awards The 49-year-old grinned as she arrived at the awards tonight with the Education Minister Pilar Alegria She is a lover of books and presents the awards every year. Many of her good friends are involved in the awards including Ana Prieto, director of editorial corporate communications at CNN until 2014. This year's winners were Cristina Fernandez Valls and Gines Sanchez Munoz. Queen Letizia stepped out for the awards days after attending the Miguel de Cervantes Prize celebrations with her husband King Felipe II. The King and Queen spent a few days meeting with journalists and literary giants at the annual award ceremony. The monarch sported golden eyeshadow and light lipstick as she smiled at the event Many of the Spanish monarch's good friends are involved in the awards including Ana Prieto, director of editorial corporate communications at CNN until 2014 Queen Letizia stood on stage to make a speech and greet the award winners Cristina Fernandez Valls and Gines Sanchez Munoz The former journalist spoke with the Education Minister before appearing on stage to make a speech and give the winners their awards Queen Letizia smiles as she addresses the attendees of the Children and Youth Literary Awards Queen Letizia holds one of the awards for tonight's winners and poses for a picture This year the prestigious lifetime achievement award has been given to Uruguayan novelist Cristina Peri Rossi. 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. Tomorrow Queen Letizia and her husband will preside over the proclamation ceremony for the winner of the 2022 Princess of Girona Foundation Award in the Scientific Research category. Advertisement A clinical psychologist hired to review Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's relationship has claimed that the actress suffers from two personality disorders - and pointed out that symptoms of the disorders include 'taking on the personality' of loved ones and 'dressing like them' - days after Heard was accused of copying her ex-husband's courtroom outfits. 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. Last week, many social media users accused Heard of purposely picking out clothes for the $100 million defamation trial that looked similar to ensembles that Depp previously wore in an attempt to 'play mind games' on him. Now, a clinical psychologist has given a possible explanation as to why she might be attempting to dress like her ex-husband, and the doctor claimed that it's most likely because Heard suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). A clinical psychologist claimed Amber Heard suffers from two personality disorders - and pointed out that symptoms include 'taking on the personality' of loved ones, days after the actress was accused of copying Johnny Depp's courtroom outfits Clinical psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry (pictured) has given a possible explanation as to why Heard might be attempting to dress like her ex-husband, claiming that it's most likely because Heard suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Curry, who was called to the stand by Depp's legal team on Tuesday, explained that people with BPD - which she believes Heard (pictured) has - often have 'identity issues' which results in them dressing like the people 'they want to be around' Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry, who was called to the stand by Depp's legal team on Tuesday, explained that people with BPD often have 'identity issues' which results in them dressing like the people 'they want to be around.' 'They take on the personality of the people they want to be around. The way they dress. Interest. The way they talk,' explained Dr. Curry to the jury. 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. Depp is pictured in court on Tuesday 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 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. He has also worn glasses during many days of the trial, and Heard was seen using a pair that looked just like his on April 21. Depp has continuously denied Heard's 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. 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 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 The clinical and forensic psychologist told the court that she concluded Heard had traits consistent with (BPD), as well as Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) - two conditions found in people with patterns of emotional instability and attention-seeking behavior. While conducting her evaluation, Curry explained she reviewed various case materials including Heard's medical records, mental health treatment records, court exhibits, witness statements, and audio and video recordings. She also met with the Aquaman star for several hours over the course of two separate dates in December 2021, before finally coming to a diagnosis. She concluded that Heard 'grossly exaggerated' her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her relationship with Depp ended. Dr. Curry noted that Heard's BPD was marked by an 'underlying terror of abandonment,' and added that somebody with the condition often tends to make 'desperate attempts' to stop it from happening. These could be 'very extreme behaviors,' she added. Curry also said that as a result of these disorders, somebody like Heard could appear charming at the start of a friendship or relationship, but that they could then turn dark easily. 'You'll see relationships start very intensely, extremely close,' she said. 'This might be their perfect soulmate and initially everything seems great but reality sets in, people are not perfect. The clinical and forensic psychologist told the court that she concluded Heard had traits consistent with (BPD), as well as Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD). Heard is pictured in court on Tuesday While conducting her evaluation, Curry explained she reviewed various case materials including Heard's medical records, mental health treatment records, court exhibits, witness statements, and audio and video recordings. Heard is pictured in court on Tuesday She concluded that Heard 'grossly exaggerated' her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her relationship with Depp ended. The actor is pictured in court on April 20 'Most of us accept people as a whole, [but] with a person with BPD, things are in these extremes - that person goes from being idealized to dumpster, they are totally devalued, they're the worst. 'Then there will be a repair because the person with this disorder does feel remorse.' Curry stated that somebody with BPD is usually 'very, very interested in looks and utilizes their looks to get the respect they're looking for.' Curry called Heard a 'sophisticated' and 'calculated' case of BPD - adding that from her analysis, Heard seemed like somebody who would 'hit you where it hurts' and that she could be 'very, very destructive.' Meanwhile, the hallmarks of HPD, Dr. Curry explained, include an 'overly dramatic presentation' and 'quick shifts between emotions,' such as going from animated to sad very quickly. Those with HPD have a 'hypersensitivity to being slighted' and could melt down in the middle of a restaurant if somebody showed up two minutes later, Curry said. She added: 'They will make a lot of accusations, reactivity, a lot of escalation, they can react aggressively, physically prevent partners from trying to leave. 'Often they will be abusive to their partners, sometimes physically restrain them.' She stated that people with HPD, such as Heard, live a life marked by 'drama and shallowness,' adding that the underlying drive is to 'always be the center of attention' and without it, a person with HPD would feel 'pretty empty.' Dr. Curry testified that she was initially hired early last year to review files in the legal battle between the two feuding exes and identify behavior in their relationship that may be consistent with 'intimate partner violence.' Several people took to Twitter last week to share their thoughts on Depp and Heard's similar looks, with one calling her 'sick in the head' for 'mimicking' his clothes The psychology expert, however, revealed that her role would shift several months later in October, when she was asked to provide a psychological evaluation of Heard instead. 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. Tons of viewers took to Twitter to share their thoughts on Depp and Heard's alike looks last week, 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. Others took to TikTok to discuss Heard and Depp's outfits, with some videos showing off their similar looks racking up millions of views. Stills from a TikTok video in which the user discussed their matching Gucci ties are shown 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 18 (left) while Depp is pictured on April 21 (right) Some people were especially outraged by Heard's choice of clothing, since Depp's sister Christi Dembrowski testified in court that she once overheard Heard slamming Depp's sense of style. He is pictured in court on April 12 '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 that she once overheard Heard 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." 'It was insulting. Taking away that one moment, that insult is there.' In the 2018 article in question, Heard wrote about being a survivor of domestic abuse but never mentioned Depp by name. However, Depp's lawyer Benjamin Chew said it was clear Heard was referencing the Hollywood leading man. 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 13), in which she accused the actor of domestic abuse, defamed Depp (pictured left on April 12) Depp (pictured left on April 14) has continuously denied Heard's (pictured right on April 18) 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 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. During the trial, Depp stated that Heard (pictured on April 20) was the one who became violent when their relationship soured 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 last Wednesday. 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 is seeking $100 million in damages, and has alleged that his legal team falsely accused her of fabricating the claims against Depp. A single mum's idea of all-in-one travel bed for children has led to a business that's turned over more than $1.1million dollars. Johanna Constable, from Tweed Coast in New South Wales, launched Pilanky in March 2009 after listening to the needs of parents while selling handmade products at local monthly markets. The roll-up bed is the brand's 'hero product' and features a comfortable mattress, pillow, detachable double-width sheet and blanket. From humble beginnings, the 50-year-old only made $5,000 in the first year and now the brand turns over $200,000 annually. Single mum Johanna Constable, from Tweed Coast in New South Wales, (pictured) launched Pilanky in March 2009 after listening to the needs of parents while selling handmade products at local monthly markets The roll-up bed is the brand's 'hero product' and features a comfortable mattress, pillow, detachable double-width sheet and blanket (pictured) The brand also sells a portable nappy change bag (pictured), which includes a waterproof lining, two hand towels and washers, Paw Paw ointment, baby wipes and disposable nappy bags 'I thought it would be great to have an all-in-one bed with a detachable sheet and blanket that's machine washable to make it easier for parents to carry everything,' Johanna told Daily Mail Australia. Before launching Johanna knew she wanted to avoid returning to her corporate job and provide for her daughter, Rosana. 'More than anything, I wanted to spend quality time with my daughter and keep a roof over our heads. I also loved to sew,' Johanna said and quickly started working on creating the product. Being a single mum who wasn't working, she relied on Centrelink payments and said the beginning was a 'struggle'. She purchased fabric from Spotlight and invested only a 'couple hundred dollars' to get the business up and running, as it was all she could afford. Before launching the brand, Johanna knew she wanted to avoid returning to her corporate job and provide for her daughter, Rosana (pictured together) The busy mum crafted the handy blankets while her daughter slept and sold the products at monthly markets. 'It was a struggle at first and I had to live extremely frugally,' she said, adding: 'It's been a long, hard road.' In the first year she only made $5,000 as the markets were infrequent, but the second year she turned over $15,000 and by 2012 she was making $50,000 annually after moving to the Gold Coast. 'I was selling at markets three times a week compared to once a month,' she said. In 2017 she launched a television commercial to show exactly what the product is and how it works which generated $150,000. Since then she's sold the products exclusively online and the word has spread. 'I'm quite a positive person so I never thought about giving up,' she said. In 2017 she launched a television commercial to show exactly what the product is and how it works and turned over $150,000 (pictured, her daughter on one of the beds) 'More than anything, I wanted to spend quality time with my daughter and keep a roof over our heads. I also loved to sew,' Johanna (pictured) said Today Johanna continues to make the products by hand using her beloved sewing machine with assistance from two part-time women who help with preparing the fabric. 'I work 12-hour days, 80-hour weeks, but enjoy what I do and I'm able to structure my days around my daughter,' she said. Johanna has extended the product range and now makes miniature roll-out Pilanky blankets, pet Pilanky blankets and more. In 2019 the brand won silver at the AusMumpreneur regional awards and was a gold finalist in 2020. Hundreds of shoppers were left baffled after a dad's five-year-old son spotted a mysterious code printed on a blueberry. Callum, believed to be from the UK, was concerned after noticing the tiny multi-digit number and shared an image on the fruit to a popular Facebook group. 'Anyone ever seen lettering on blueberries? Our eagle-eyed five-year-old spotted this,' he asked. Many conspiracy theorists flooded the thread, however it was soon explained that the coding 'isn't dangerous or mysterious at all'. Dad Callum shared an image to a popular Facebook group of the 'coded' blueberry (pictured). At first he was concerned but a woman offered an explanation 'They laser print the fruit boxes, it's gone through a little hole onto the blueberry instead of the box! Not harmful though it's done with air compression or something so it's so delicate,' a woman wrote. After reading the comment, Callum inspected the box the blueberry was found in. In response he wrote: 'It seems that you are correct! The side of the carton was laser engraved with the matching letters...I'm impressed that it etched so neatly on the blueberry without harming it at all.' Other parents shared humorous conspiracy theories, including the code was a signal that the blueberry was 'micro-chipped' or held 'secret' government information. 'They laser print the fruit boxes, it's gone through a little hole onto the blueberry instead of the box! Not harmful though it's done with air compression or something so it's so delicate,' the woman wrote in the comments (stock image) After reading the entertaining responses, Callum found a definitive answer. 'On the side of the plastic punnet there are the same letters and numbers. It seems they do this with a CO2 etching device,' he wrote. 'This must have been done after the fruit was packed. This one blueberry was also etched through the plastic. 'CO2 etching seems to be gentle enough to not harm the surface of the blueberry. So I've learned something new! Hope you have too.' Adventurous Aussies are flocking to a secluded beach with crystal clear rock pools perfect for swimming, snorkelling and catching a glimpse of the native marine life. Bushrangers Bay is a rocky aquatic reserve just south of Shellharbour village and is said to be one of the best diving and snorkelling spots in New South Wales. Less than a two hour's drive from Sydney, the sheltered site is the perfect day trip escape for nature lovers. Ocean lovers have called Bushranger's Bay one of the best snorkelling and diving spots in New South Wales for its crystal clear rock pools Bushrangers Bay is a rocky aquatic reserve just south of Shellharbour village less than a two hours from Sydney The sheltered snorkelling and swimming site is the perfect day trip escape for nature lovers Tourists to the area have been capturing incredible snaps of the rugged coastline's glass-clear turquoise waters that jut out from the rocky shore. Visitors have called Bushranger Bay a 'true treasure' for its incredible rockpools swimming with native fauna. 'Beautiful doesn't do the place justice. Some of the most amazing snorkelling on the south coast. Plenty of aquatic life and crayfish to be seen,' one person wrote while another simply called the spectacular beach a 'hidden gem'. Some lucky beachgoers may spot the resident Port Jackson or Grey Nurse sharks, rays, fish, invertebrates and coral in the shallows or the whales and seals further offshore. Visitors have called Bushranger Bay a 'true treasure' for its incredible rockpools swimming with native fauna 'Beautiful doesn't do the place justice. Some of the most amazing snorkelling on the South Coast. Plenty of aquatic life and crayfish to be seen,' one person wrote Some lucky beachgoers may spot the resident Port Jackson or Grey Nurse sharks, rays, fish, invertebrates and coral in the shallows or the whales and seals further offshore The reserve has a 'no take' rule so there's no fishing or shell collecting allowed and touching the delicate coral is prohibited as they can break easily Adventurers can also explore the Bushrangers Bay reserve's nearby walking trails through the lush forest and site seeing spots to take in the picturesque views of the stunning coastline. The reserve has a 'no take' rule so there's no fishing or shell collecting allowed and touching the delicate coral is prohibited as they can break easily. Visitors are also advised to wear proper shoes as the rocky shore can sharp and difficult to walk on in some places. Ebola has claimed its second victim in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid a fresh resurgence of the deadly virus. Local health chiefs are now scrambling to contain the outbreak, which began two weeks ago. The first case a 31-year-old man from Mbandaka in the Equater province died from the killer virus on April 21. His 25-year-old sister-in-law is the second victim of the outbreak. No-one else has tested positive so far but doctors are monitoring 145 people who came into contact with the two confirmed cases. Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Africa, said: 'Time is not on our side.' Pictured: A woman is given an Ebola vaccine as part of a trial in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2019 Speaking after the first death, Dr Moeti said: 'The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up.' Genetic testing showed the 31-year-old man's infection was a new 'spillover event' transmission from an infected animal, such as bats, porcupines or primates. It is not linked to any previous outbreaks, according to the DRC's National Institute of Biomedical Research. He began showing symptoms on April 5, but did not seek treatment for more than a week. The man had also reportedly been vaccinated against Ebola before. His sister-in-law began experiencing symptoms 12 days before she died. Congo has seen 13 previous outbreaks of Ebola, including one in 2018-2020 in the east that killed nearly 2,300 people, the second highest toll recorded in the history of the haemorrhagic fever. The most recent outbreak ended in December in the east after six deaths. Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province, has also contended with two previous outbreaks. The country's equatorial forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus, which was discovered near the Ebola River in northern Congo in 1976. Ebola kills around half of people it infects, and the mortality rate has been as high as 90 percent during some surges. The virus spreads very easily and can quickly tear through populations. Contact with bodily fluids of a person sick with the virus can quickly cause infection, and the virus can also contaminate surfaces to transmit the virus. Ebola vaccines and treatments are beginning to become more widely available, and researchers are hopeful it can put an end to this extremely deadly disease. Advertisement A global surge in mysterious hepatitis cases in children may have been caused by lockdown and social distancing, health chiefs have warned as cases in the US rose to 11. Officials probing the outbreak in Britain said a lack of exposure to common infections during their 'formative' years may have left more children than usual vulnerable to the deadly liver disease. Many experts warned during the pandemic that locking down children, despite their low risk of severe Covid, could weaken their immunity against other illnesses, as well as hamper their education and long-term health. Officials have ruled out the Covid vaccine as a possible cause, with none of the 11 US cases being jabbed, and they say it's unlikely Covid itself is playing a role. So far 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' have been detected in 12 countries since last October, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced. The vast majority of cases have been among children age five and under, and so far one youngster has died and 17 have needed critical liver transplants. Nine cases have been spotted in Alabama and two in North Carolina, however experts told DailyMail.com Monday they may be the 'tip of the iceberg', as many symptoms are missed. Three-quarters of cases in the UK have been linked to adenoviruses, which usually cause the common cold. However, if someone's immune system is unable to fight off the virus, it can develop into hepatitis. There are also fears that a strain of adenovirus may have mutated to become more severe. The World Health Organization said it has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries as of Saturday Covid lockdowns may be behind the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases in children because they reduced social mixing and weakened their immunity, experts claim WHAT COULD BE BEHIND THE HEPATITIS OUTBREAK? While experts believe adenovirus a virus associated with many common colds could be behind the spate of cases, the jury is out on what the exact cause of the outbreak is. Co-infection One theory suggests children being infected with Covid and adenovirus at the same time could be at greater risk of hepatitis. Weakened immunity British experts have suggested lockdowns and restrictions have put children at greater risk because they have lower natural immunity to adenovirus. Adenovirus mutation Other scientists said it may have been an adenovirus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. New Covid variant UKHSA officials included 'a new variant of SARS-CoV-2' in their working hypotheses, when discussing the variant at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today. Advertisement The first cases were spotted in Scotland less than a month ago, prompting a warning from UK health officials who say they have detected as many cases in three months as they would expect to see in a year. The majority of cases have been spotted in under-5s who were initially hit with diarrhea and nausea before later getting jaundice the yellowing of the skin/eyes. Other symptoms can include dark urine, grey-colored feces, itchy skin, muscle pain, a fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and stomach pains. Dr Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging infections at the UK Health Security Agency, told the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Lisbon Monday that younger children were getting infected by the virus as they had not been exposed to it 'during the formative stages that they've gone through during the pandemic'. Hepatologists today told DailyMail.com they believe the official numbers may be just the 'tip of the iceberg' because many parents may brush off the warning signs. Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a hepatologist from Imperial College London, said: 'I think there are more cases out there. 'I'd imagine there are more cases than have been reported but they are likely to be less severe.' But he added there is no reason to panic because in '99 per cent' of cases the liver is able to regenerate and the chances of needing a transplant or dying because of the condition are low. Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician from University College London, told MailOnline mounting cases are 'a concerning and depressing situation for families' but parents should not fear. Up to 20 per cent of hepatitis cases have no known cause. He said: 'What is for families to consider [is] if their child develops jaundice after the first few months of life they need medical attention fast. 'But that is true of any child who develops jaundice after the first few months of life so is not new advice. With one death and no known cause life should continue as before. Nothing is more fearful than fear itself.' None of the cases have been caused by any of the five typical strains of the virus hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Data gathered has 'increasingly' suggested that the rise in severe cases of hepatitis may be linked to a group of viruses called adenoviruses, the UKHSA said. Adenovirus was found in 75 per cent of the sickened children who were tested for it in the UK. Sixteen per cent had Covid. The UKHSA's Dr Chand said: 'Information gathered through our investigations increasingly suggests that this rise in sudden onset hepatitis in children is linked to adenovirus infection. 'However, we are thoroughly investigating other potential causes. 'Parents and guardians should be alert to the signs of hepatitis (including jaundice) and to contact a healthcare professional if they are concerned. 'Normal hygiene measures such as thorough handwashing (including supervising children) and good thorough respiratory hygiene, help to reduce the spread of many common infections, including adenovirus. 'Children experiencing symptoms of a gastrointestinal infection including vomiting and diarrhoea should stay at home and not return to school or nursery until 48 hours after the symptoms have stopped.' The agency also said the number of admissions for the mysterious hepatitis so far in 2022 'is equivalent or greater than the number of admissions annually in previous years'. Top experts have speculated that Covid lockdowns may partly explain the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases, by weakening children's immunity and leaving them at heightened risk of adenovirus. Professor Taylor-Robinson told DailyMail.com: 'I think it is likely that children mixing in kindergartens and schools have lower immunity to seasonal adenoviruses than in previous years because of restrictions. 'This means they could be more at risk of developing hepatitis because their immune response is weaker to the virus.' The WHO has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, 12 in Israel, and 11 in the US. Elsewhere, cases have also been detected in Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Romania. UKHSA data shows there were 111 confirmed and possible hepatitis cases in the UK as of April 20. Of these, 81 cases were in England (white bars), 14 were in Scotland (blue bars), 11 were in Wales (red bars) and five in Northern Ireland (green bars). Between January 21 and April 18, 10 children have required liver transplantation Hepatitis cases have been tested for other pathogens when they were admitted to hospital. Adenovirus (far left bar) was the most common pathogen detected in 40 of 53 cases which have been tested, followed by SARS-CoV-2 (second bar) Health chiefs linked Covid and adenovirus data. This shows there has been a rise in both preceding adenovirus infections (grey bars), co-infections (navy bars) and secondary infection (blue bars) UKHSA data shows positive adenovirus tests from one to four-year-olds (green line) are higher compared to the previous five years. Between November 2021 to March 2022, approximately 200 to 300 cases of adenovirus were reported per week compared to 50 to 150 cases per week in the same period before the pandemic The first hepatitis cases were recorded in Britain, where 114 children have now been sickened. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, 12 in Israel and 11 in the US including nine in Alabama and two in North Carolina. The unusual illness has also been spotted in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Norway, Romania and Belgium. UK Health Security Agency experts were called to a briefing at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today to present data around the current situation in Britain. Dr Muge Cevik, an infectious diseases expert based at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, said Covid was a possible explanation. But she said: 'Acute severe hepatitis hasn't been a common feature of Covid in children, so it's less likely to explain this presentation. 'Adenovirus [Common cold virus] was detected in 40 of 53 cases, but not all cases are tested. Adenovirus testing has been inconsistent in other samples, and it's too early to confirm characterization. 'It's important for all countries to share their data once available.' Professor Graham Cooke, an expert in infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said it is unlikely Covid was responsible. He said: 'Mild hepatitis is very common in children following a range of viral infections, but what is being seen at the moment is quite different. 'If the hepatitis was a result of Covid it would be surprising not to see it more widely distributed across the country given the high prevalence of (Covid) at the moment.' A virology specialist at Imperial told The Telegraph it is 'very unusual and rare' for children to suffer severe hepatitis, especially to the extent that they require a liver transplant. The expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'The number of cases is exceptional. 'It makes people think there is something unusual going on such as a virus that has mutated or some other cause. It has sent alarm bells ringing.' Hepatitis numbers in children may just be the 'tip of the iceberg', experts claim amid growing fears over the mysterious global outbreak which has officially killed one youngster and sickened 169 By Joe Davies, Health Reporter for MailOnline Dozens of mysterious hepatitis cases spotted in children could be just 'the tip of the iceberg', experts warned today amid growing concerns about the mysterious global outbreak. Nearly 170 youngsters have been sickened around the world since the first case was detected in Scotland at the end of March, according to the World Health Organization. One has died and 17 have needed liver transplants. But leading virologists fear the real toll could actually be magnitudes higher because many parents may brush off the warning signs. Jaundice the yellowing of the skin or eyes, a tell-tale sign of liver disease has been spotted in fewer than half of the ill children. Other symptoms, such as nausea, diarrhoea, lethargy and stomach pains are usually put down to other illnesses, such as food poisoning or norovirus. Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a hepatologist from Imperial College London, told MailOnline: 'I think there are more cases out there. [17 transplants] is quite a high number for how many cases we have spotted. 'I'd imagine there are more cases than have been reported but they are likely to be less severe.' Asked if this could be the tip of iceberg, Professor Taylor-Robinson said: 'I think so yes'. Twelve countries have spotted cases of the hepatitis of unknown origin, with 114 British children and 11 Americans known to have been sickened. Health chiefs believe the illness may be triggered by an adenovirus usually to blame for the sniffles. Experts say lockdowns may have weakened the immunity of children and left them more susceptible to the virus, or it may be a mutated version. Investigations are ongoing but officials have yet to rule out a new Covid variant being to blame. Another theory is that children may have been battling the adenovirus at the same time as Covid. UK health officials have ruled out the Covid vaccine as a possible cause, with none of the ill British children having been vaccinated because of their young age. None of the cases in the US were jabbed either. The World Health Organization said it has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries as of Saturday Covid lockdowns may be behind the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases in children because they reduced social mixing and weakened their immunity, experts claim Professor Taylor-Robinson told MailOnline: 'I think it is likely that children mixing in kindergartens and schools have lower immunity to seasonal adenoviruses than in previous years because of restrictions. 'This means they could be more at risk of developing hepatitis because their immune response is weaker to the virus.' He said children are less likely to complain about symptoms than adults and urged parents to be alert to early issues including stomach pains and yellowing eyes. But he added there is no reason to panic because in '99 per cent' of cases the liver is able to regenerate and the chances of needing a transplant or dying because of the condition are low. WHAT COULD BE BEHIND THE HEPATITIS OUTBREAK? While experts believe adenovirus a virus associated with many common colds could be behind the spate of cases, the jury is out on what the exact cause of the outbreak is. Co-infection One theory suggests children being infected with Covid and adenovirus at the same time could be at greater risk of hepatitis. Weakened immunity British experts have suggested lockdowns and restrictions have put children at greater risk because they have lower natural immunity to adenovirus. Adenovirus mutation Other scientists said it may have been an adenovirus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. New Covid variant UKHSA officials included 'a new variant of SARS-CoV-2' in their working hypotheses, when discussing the variant at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today. Advertisement Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician at University College London, told MailOnline mounting cases are a 'a concerning and depressing situation for families' but parents should not fear. He said: 'What is for families to consider [is] if their child develops jaundice after the first few months of life they need medical attention fast. 'But that is true of any child who develops jaundice after the first few months of life so is not new advice. 'With one death and no known cause life should continue as before. Nothing is more fearful than fear itself.' World Health Organization (WHO) bosses have received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries. Cases were detected in children aged one month to 16, the majority of whom have been hospitalised. The WHO has not disclosed which country the only known death occurred in. The first hepatitis cases were recorded in Britain, where 114 children have now been sickened. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, 12 in Israel and 11 in the US including nine in Alabama and two in North Carolina. The unusual illness has also been spotted in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Norway, Romania and Belgium. The WHO said: 'It is not yet clear if there has been an increase in hepatitis cases, or an increase in awareness of hepatitis cases that occur at the expected rate but go undetected.' However, other scientists have suggested the amount of severe cases in children is unusual. Richard Pebody, who heads the high threats pathogen team at the WHO, told STAT News: 'Although the numbers aren't big, the consequences have been quite severe. It's important that countries look.' None of the cases have been caused by any of the five typical strains of the virus hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Experts say the cases may be linked to a virus commonly associated with colds, known as an adenovirus, but that further research is ongoing. 'While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent,' WHO said. It noted that the cold-like virus has been detected in at least 74 of the cases however not all children were tested. And 19 of the patients also had a Covid co-infection. One more child had Covid but not the adenovirus. Experts are probing whether the cases are linked to the two viruses. UK Health Security Agency experts were called to a briefing at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today to present data around the current situation in Britain. Scientists claimed they could not rule out Covid as a possible cause of the outbreak and also suggested a new coronavirus variant could be behind it. Dr Muge Cevik, an infectious diseases expert at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, warned the virus was a possible explanation but noted hepatitis has 'not been a common feature' of infections in children. 'Acute severe hepatitis has not been a common feature of Covid in children, so it's less likely to explain this presentation,' he said. 'Adenovirus [Common cold virus] was detected in 40 of 53 cases, but not all cases are tested. Adenovirus testing has been inconsistent in other samples, and it's too early to confirm characterization. 'It's important for all countries to share their data once available.' British scientists have also suggested that lockdowns may have played a contributing role, weakening children's immunity and leaving them at heightened risk of adenovirus. Others said the cases may be the result of a virus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. Only 80 per cent of hepatitis have an identifiable cause, experts said. Professor Graham Cooke, an expert in infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said it is unlikely Covid was responsible. He said: 'Mild hepatitis is very common in children following a range of viral infections, but what is being seen at the moment is quite different. 'If the hepatitis was a result of Covid it would be surprising not to see it more widely distributed across the country given the high prevalence of (Covid) at the moment.' A virology specialist at Imperial told The Telegraph it is 'very unusual and rare' for children to suffer severe hepatitis, especially to the extent that they require a liver transplant. The expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'The number of cases is exceptional. 'It makes people think there is something unusual going on such as a virus that has mutated or some other cause. It has sent alarm bells ringing.' 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. Russian attack has cut off water to desperate Ukrainians who are running out of food. Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, accused the Kremlin of targeting electrical plants and water pumps to punish Ukraine's people. Officials in Luhansk warned last week that Russian soldiers had purposefully targeted the eastern region's food supplies. They attacked the strategic city of Sievierodonetsk with missiles, destroying all food stores, marketplaces, and businesses. Russia Targets Supply Sources in Ukraine The city's 100,000-strong population has shrunk by 17,000 people, who are now depending on handouts. According to Luhansk officials, there were 7,500 power outages in the preceding 24 hours, and nearly the whole region was without water. Russia has denied attacking civilian facilities on several occasions, stating that all of the army's strikes are directed at military objectives. Last week, the United Nations reported that six million Ukrainians were fighting for safe drinking water daily. According to the report, Russian strikes in besieged regions of the nation have resulted in at least 4.6 million people having 'limited access to water sources. Water shortages pose serious health hazards, particularly to children and the elderly. Using contaminated water can lead to diarrhea and other dangerous infectious disorders, according to aid organizations. Last night, a spokesman for Ukraine's armed forces, Alexander Stupun, said that Russian troops were taking food and drink in seized Luhansk. Targeting food and water sources would be against international law and the Geneva Convention, which governs armed combat across the world, according to Daily Mail. Meanwhile, Russia encouraged the international community not to underestimate the serious risks of nuclear war, which it claimed it intended to reduce, and warned that conventional Western weapons might be used as legitimate targets in eastern Ukraine where hostilities were raging. Lavrov was asked if the present situation was comparable to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a low period in US-Soviet ties. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered greater military help to Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday. The US State Department issued an emergency declaration on Monday to authorize a potential $165 million munitions shipment to Ukraine. The cargo might include artillery ammunition for howitzers, tanks, and grenade launchers, according to the Pentagon. The Russian ambassador to the United States warned the US to stop supplies, saying that Western weaponry was inflaming the conflict. Russia's two-month invasion of Ukraine, the worst attack on a European country since 1945, has killed or injured thousands of people, Reuters via MSN reported. Read Also: USA, China, India Spend the Most as Global Military Expenses Reach $2 Trillion Mark; Russia Increases Budget Before War Russia Declares War With NATO Moscow says it is at war with NATO and claims that Western armaments are escalating the situation in Ukraine. Because of continuing supplies and military supply to Ukraine, Lavrov said on the 61st day of the war that the NATO alliance has positioned itself as in essence engaged in war with Russia. Lavrov has previously stated that there was a significant chance of the war progressing to nuclear weapons. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, but its soldiers have now completely retreated from Kyiv and parts of northern Ukraine, returning to Belarus and Russia. The Russian-controlled port city of Mariupol is now mostly under Russian control, and a large-scale Russian attack in eastern Ukraine has commenced with the goal of "full liberation" of the Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk's eastern territories, as per Sky News. Related Article: Russia Fires Missiles On 5 Ukraine Railway Stations Hours After US Top Officials Blinken and Austin Ride Train to Kyiv @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement A three-year-old girl struck down with the mysterious hepatitis sweeping the world has been spared death after receiving part of her father's liver. Lola-Rose Raine, from Gravesend, Kent, is one of nearly 200 children to fall ill with the same liver disease that has perplexed experts in recent months. After initially writing her vomiting off as just a stomach bug, Lola-Rose's parents grew concerned when her eyes developed a yellow tinge a hallmark sign of hepatitis. Hospital scans revealed her liver was not working normally and she was taken to a specialist unit at Kings College Hospital in London in March. But days after arriving her liver began to fail, with medics forced to put her in a coma. Doctors warned she could have died within hours unless they found a last-minute transplant. Her father Alan Raine, 27, who works in security, told MailOnline that it was like 'literally watching our little girl die before our eyes' as he waited to hear if his liver would be a match. He donated part of his liver to save his dying daughter on March 30 in an operation that lasted seven hours. Despite being told of the risks, Mr Raine said it was a choice between donating his liver or having his heart 'torn out' watching his child suffer. Almost a month after the surgery, Lola-Rose has made a full recovery and will be discharged from hospital this week. Alan Raine, from Gravesend, Kent, was told he could donate part of his organ to save his daughter Lola-Rose just hours before doctors feared she would die because of the inflammatory liver condition Now, four weeks after her surgery, Lola-Rose is back to being herself, singing Frozen songs at three in the morning 'for all the ward to hear', Mr Raine said The World Health Organization said it has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries as of Saturday. Two further cases were identified in North Carolina, US, since then TIMELINE: WHEN DID LOLA-ROSE FIRST BECOME ILL AND HOW WAS SHE TREATED? March 13 Lola-Rose begins throwing up and her mother Jane McNeill spots her eyes have gone yellow. She is taken to Darent Valley Hospital for treatment March 17 Lola is transferred to King's College Hospital in London, where doctors still don't know the cause of her liver damage. March 21 Doctors discover Lola's liver damage may have been caused by adenovirus. They give her medication through an IV drip. March 25 Lola is put in an induced coma after doctors discover an ammonia build-up causing her brain to swell. March 26 Lola is put on the urgent transplant list for a liver. March 30 Lola's father Alan goes under the knife to donate the left part of his liver to his daughter. April 26 Lola has fully recovered and is expected to leave hospital this week. Advertisement So far 'around 190' unexplained cases of hepatitis have been identified across the world, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced today. Data on cases varies, with the ECDC admitting that these figures are not yet precise. The WHO announced on Saturday 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' have been detected in 12 countries since last October, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A further two cases were diagnosed in North Carolina US after that. The ECDC toll also slightly undercounts the figures in the UK. The vast majority of cases have been among children aged five and under, and so far one youngster has died and 17 have needed critical liver transplants. Some 114 have been spotted in the UK, however experts have told MailOnline they may be the 'tip of the iceberg' as many symptoms are missed. Three-quarters of cases in the UK have been linked to adenoviruses, which usually cause the common cold or a stomach illness. However, if someone's immune system is unable to fight off the virus, it can develop into hepatitis. The UK Health Security Agency said a lack of exposure to common infections during lockdown and social distancing may have left more children vulnerable to viruses. Lola-Rose's mother, Jane McNeill, a student nurse, grew concerned when her daughter's her eyes had gone yellow. She was taken to hospital in Darent Valley Hospital in Kent where tests revealed her liver was not functioning properly. Puzzled as to why the youngster's organ was not working, she was sent to liver specialists in London on March 17. There, she was diagnosed with hepatitis and her parents immediately 'thought the worst', Mr Raine said. He did not know the condition could be found in children who rarely contract the condition. Mr Raine and Ms McNeill were given a glimmer of hope on March 21 when doctors discovered her hepatitis may have been caused by adenovirus. The virus is treatable and doctors gave her medication made up specifically for her given on an IV drip. Mr Raine told MailOnline: 'At the time we thought "fantastic, they've got the problem".' But two days later, doctors said she was still deteriorating and warned she would be moved to intensive care within 48 hours. She was put in an induced coma that day because her liver was not sending toxic ammonia to her kidneys to be filtered out the body. This meant the toxins were reaching her brain, causing it to swell up. Mr Raine said: 'We were literally watching our little girl die in front of our eyes. I have no idea how else to explain it. It was like someone's reached into your chest and torn your heart out. I was thinking "there's nothing you can do".' Lola-Rose was diagnosed with hepatitis in March this year after she started vomiting and Mr Raine's wife Jane McNeill, a qualified nurse, noticed her eyes had gone yellow WHAT COULD BE BEHIND THE HEPATITIS OUTBREAK? While experts believe adenovirus a virus associated with many common colds could be behind the spate of cases, the jury is out on what the exact cause of the outbreak is. Co-infection One theory suggests children being infected with Covid and adenovirus at the same time could be at greater risk of hepatitis. Weakened immunity British experts have suggested lockdowns and restrictions have put children at greater risk because they have lower natural immunity to adenovirus. Adenovirus mutation Other scientists said it may have been an adenovirus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. New Covid variant UKHSA officials included 'a new variant of SARS-CoV-2' in their working hypotheses, when discussing the variant at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today. Advertisement Her condition continued to worsen and she was put on the urgent liver transplant list the following day. Mr Raine and his wife both volunteered to donate their livers immediately, but had to wait three days before they could start the living donor process. By then, Lola-Rose was on the edge of her life, but tests found Mrs McNeill could not offer her liver to donate to her, despite being a blood match. Mr Raine only found out his liver was a match later that day, when doctors had given his daughter hours to live. He told MailOnline: 'They could have told me I wasn't going to survive the surgery and she was, and I would have gone straight ahead with it. 'All I was thinking is she's going to get better and we can help.' Mr Raine went under the knife the following morning to give Lola the left part of his liver. After her surgery, the yellowness in her skin faded almost immediately and her blood tests returned to normal within 48 hours. After a liver donation, the organ starts to regenerate back to its original size in both the recipient and donor, leaving both with healthy, functioning livers. Now, four weeks after her surgery, Lola-Rose is back to being herself, singing Frozen songs at 3am 'for all the ward to hear', Mr Raine said. She has recovered her strength after weeks of physiotherapy with her doctors and her bubbly personality has returned. Lola will be on medication for the rest of her life to stop her body rejecting the new organ. She does not yet understand what she went through, other than that she 'has a big scar across her belly like her daddy', he said. Some 114 UK hepatitis cases have been spotted since the first cases were publicly recorded in Scotland at the end of March. Hepatologists told MailOnline they believe the official numbers may be just the 'tip of the iceberg' because many parents may brush off the warning signs. Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a hepatologist from Imperial College London, told MailOnline: 'I think there are more cases out there. 'I'd imagine there are more cases than have been reported but they are likely to be less severe.' But he added there is no reason to panic because in '99 per cent' of cases the liver is able to regenerate and the chances of needing a transplant or dying because of the condition are low. UKHSA data shows there were 111 confirmed and possible hepatitis cases in the UK as of April 20. Of these, 81 cases were in England (white bars), 14 were in Scotland (blue bars), 11 were in Wales (red bars) and five in Northern Ireland (green bars). Between January 21 and April 18, 10 children have required liver transplantation Hepatitis cases have been tested for other pathogens when they were admitted to hospital. Adenovirus (far left bar) was the most common pathogen detected in 40 of 53 cases which have been tested, followed by SARS-CoV-2 (second bar) Health chiefs linked Covid and adenovirus data. This shows there has been a rise in both preceding adenovirus infections (grey bars), co-infections (navy bars) and secondary infection (blue bars) UKHSA data shows positive adenovirus tests from one to four-year-olds (green line) are higher compared to the previous five years. Between November 2021 to March 2022, approximately 200 to 300 cases of adenovirus were reported per week compared to 50 to 150 cases per week in the same period before the pandemic Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician from University College London, told MailOnline mounting cases are 'a concerning and depressing situation for families' but parents should not fear. Up to 20 per cent of hepatitis cases have no known cause. He said: 'What is for families to consider [is] if their child develops jaundice after the first few months of life they need medical attention fast. 'But that is true of any child who develops jaundice after the first few months of life so is not new advice. With one death and no known cause life should continue as before. Nothing is more fearful than fear itself.' None of the cases have been caused by any of the five typical strains of the virus hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Data gathered has 'increasingly' suggested that the rise in severe cases of hepatitis may be linked to a group of viruses called adenoviruses, the UKHSA said. Adenovirus was found in 75 per cent of the sickened children who were tested for it. Sixteen per cent had Covid. Choosing to 'shield' vulnerable Britons during Covid would have been even deadlier than draconian lockdowns, a study suggests. The idea was a key pillar of the Great Barrington Declaration, a hugely-controversial concept which called for young people to be allowed to return to normal life at the height of the pandemic. The approach would have seen the elderly and society's most vulnerable residents given 'focused protection', the declaration stated. Critics of virus-controlling curbs jumped on the idea, with signatories warning of the 'enormous' knock-on damage from blanket lockdowns. Others ridiculed the declaration, signed by dozens of top scientists, as a 'libertarian agenda packaged as science' and 'a manifesto for selfishness'. Now Bath University researchers claim to have calculated the GBD shielding strategy would have led to worse outcomes than the economically-crippling lockdown curbs. 'Shielding' vulnerable Britons from Covid instead of the draconian lockdown would have led to a higher death toll, experts have argued (stock image) WHO CREATED THE GREAT BARRINGTON DECLARATION? The declaration was written by Dr Martin Kulldorff (Harvard University), Dr Sunetra Gupta (Oxford) and Dr Jay Bhattacharya (Stanford). It has since been signed by some 1,500 scientists, 47,000 medical workers and 867,000 members of the public. The co-signers, who added their names to the report before it was published, were: Professor Sucharit Bhakdi (University of Mainz) Dr Rajiv Bhatia (Physician, USA) Professor Stephen Bremner (University of Sussex) Professor Anthony J Brookes (University of Leicester) Dr Helen Colhoun (University of Edinburgh) Professor Angus Dalgleish (St. Georges, University of London) Dr Sylvia Fogel (Harvard) Dr Eitan Friedman (Tel Aviv University) Dr Uri Gavish (Biomedical consultant) Professor Motti Gerlic (Tel Aviv University) Dr Gabriela Gomes (University of Strathclyde) Professor Mike Hulme (University of Cambridge) Dr Michael Jackson (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) Dr David Katz (Yale University) Dr Andrius Kavaliunas (Karolinska Institute) Dr Laura Lazzeroni (Stanford) Dr Michael Levitt (Stanford) Professor David Livermore (University of East Anglia) Dr Jonas Ludvigsson (Orebro University Hospital, Sweden) Dr Paul McKeigue (University of Edinburgh) Dr Cody Meissner (Tufts University) Professor Ariel Munitz (Tel Aviv University) Professor Yaz Gulnur Muradoglu (Queen Mary University of London) Professor Partha P. Majumder (Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata) Professor Udi Qimron (Tel Aviv University) Professor Matthew Ratcliffe (University of York) Dr Mario Recker (University of Exeter) Dr Eyal Shahar (University of Arizona) Professor Karol Sikora (Rutherford Health) Dr Rodney Sturdivant (Baylor University) Dr Simon Thornley (University of Auckland) Professor Ellen Townsend (University of Nottingham) Professor Lisa White (Oxford University) Professor Simon Wood (University of Edinburgh) Advertisement The experts which includes a member of Independent SAGE, a left-wing pressure group which has regularly called for tougher action said the GBD was 'misguided'. Modelling results suggested the shielding idea would have led to 'tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths' from the virus. By contrast, the death toll during the UK's first and longest national lockdown, from mid-March 2020 to June 1 that same year, stood at roughly 38,000. Co-researcher Dr Ben Ashby said: 'Although lockdowns are costly for many reasons, attempting to shield the vulnerable while letting the virus spread through the rest of the population is far worse.' The experts claimed that letting the virus spread through the population prior to the distribution of Covid jabs would have overwhelmed the NHS. In the study, published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health, various strategies were modelled on a hypothetical city of 1million people in England. It compared no shielding at all, with shielding that was adhered to imperfectly by the population, and a perfect shielding strategy. Even in the perfect shielding scenario, critical care capacity in hospitals would have been exceeded at least ten-fold at the peak of the outbreak, the authors said. Waning immunity from prior infection and the emergence of new variants would also make a shielding-only strategy untenable in the long term, they added. They concluded that while in theory shielding could protect the vulnerable, it would require such restrictive conditions on the population that it would be impossible to actually achieve. To be effective, shielders would need to be both rapidly and accurately identified by authorities. They would also be required to isolate from society for a indefinite and 'impractical' period of time, the authors said. One of the authors of the study, Dr Kit Yates said this meant that realistically Covid would have reached the vulnerable anyway, making a shielding-only strategy only slightly better than an uncontrolled pandemic. 'Even if we could have managed perfect shielding, our healthcare system would still have been quickly overwhelmed,' he said. 'In reality, some inevitable leakiness in the shielding system would almost certainly have led to big outbreaks amongst the vulnerable and resulted in huge numbers of deaths as well.' While Covid jabs have largely ended the threat of another draconian lockdown in the UK, the authors said it was critical to model the shielding scenario proposed by the GBD as an alternative for potential future pandemics. The merit of the initial Covid lockdown has been disputed, with some arguing it did more harm than good for the nation's health due to the impact on people's mental health, as well as the missed cancer and heart disease diagnoses. There are also now fresh concerns that a recent spate of mysterious hepatitis cases in children could be due to Covid lockdowns and social distancing weakening youngsters' immune systems. Some 114 British children mostly under the age of five have been diagnosed with the deadly liver disease and cases have been spotted in 12 countries. However, such anti-lockdown arguments have been criticised as having the benefit of hindsight given how little was known about Covid in the first half of 2020, or how long it might take to develop a vaccine at the time. The concept of herd immunity for Covid, while shielding the vulnerable, emerged briefly as a potential plan for Government prior to the national lockdown. However, it was quickly shot down by critics. No10 was spooked into the first lockdown after modelling from Professor Neil Ferguson and colleagues at Imperial College published on March 16, 2020, predicted 500,000 people could die if the UK took no action. Even limited action, excluding a full lockdown, would still have resulted in 250,000 deaths according to the Imperial modeling, although their working has been criticised. As of today, the latest official Covid death toll for the UK stands at 174,144 with the majority of virus fatalities occurring in January 2021 and spring 2020. Dermal fillers and lip injections should be made prescription-only to keep the public safe from botched cosmetic procedures on their faces, MPs were told today. Moving to a prescription model would lead to a crackdown on cowboy practitioners by making medical professionals responsible for dishing out the treatments, experts claimed. It would require Brits to have a face-to-face consultation with a medical professional capable of prescribing, like a doctor, who would explain the risks and benefits of the procedure. Professor David Sines, chair of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, called for the move to apply to dermal filler injectors, which deliver various substances under the skin. Under current rules an aesthetic practitioner in the UK does not need any mandatory qualifications, meaning anyone can go on a basic training course and then be allowed to perform dermal filler treatments. The comments were made to MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee during a session on the impact of body image on mental and physical health. We believe they should firmly become prescription only devices, because if they were then there would be a requirement for oversight from prescribers, which would provide greater protection for the public, Professor Sines said. Thousands of Britons, mostly women, get dermal fillers every year, a procedure where a substance, typically hyaluronic acid, is injected into the face to fill out wrinkles or make lips and cheekbones bigger or look more defined. The procedure has boomed in recent years as women aspire to look like celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, prompting concern from experts worried that Britons are falling victim to a largely unregulated cosmetic aesthetic industry. Cosmetic procedures like dermal fillers have boomed in Britain over the past few years as women seek to emulate the looks of celebrities like Kylie Jenner (left) and Kim Kardashian (right) What are the risks with getting lip fillers? The beauty industry in the UK is an unregulated 'wild west', with clinics not required to register or meet basic hygiene or safety standards. Ministers are currently preparing to regulate it, however, with plans now making their way through parliament. The NHS says the risks of getting fillers depend on whether the procedure was done correctly or what filler was used. Serious complications include: An infection; A lumpy appearance under the skin; Filler moving away from the intended treatment area; Scarring; Blocked blood vessels in the face, which can cause tissue death or blindness. Source: NHS Advertisement Professor Sines told MPs that by making dermal filler injectors need a prescription, it would crackdown on cowboy practitioners by making medically trained professionals responsible for signing-off treatment. 'It would be a matter of misconduct if a prescriber did not assure themselves that the person to whom they were delegating the prescription was actually fit and proficient,' he said. He added he was in discussion with the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency about the possibility of making dermal filler injectors prescription only, like Botox. Dermal filler treatments cost as little as 200 depending on the type of injections and number being offered. Various body image and cosmetic surgery groups have been campaigning for years for Government to take action and bring an end to what is seen by many as an unregulated 'wild west' industry. In February the Government announced it would introduce a licensing regime for non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as Botox and fillers. It said it would undertake a public consultation on the extent and details of such regulation, although no date has been announced. Today, MPs from the Health and Social Care Committee also discussed the prospect of requiring watermarks to be added to digitally altered images of people. These images, created through various filters are frequently posted online and have been blamed for fostering body dysphoria among Britons unsatisfied by how they look. This in turn drives people to seek out cosmetic procedures promising to help them achieve this digitally curated aesthetic. Kim Booker who has suffered from body dysmorphic disorder told MPs she would like to see the use of digitally altered images that promote unrealistic beauty standards banned Lucy Thorpe, head of policy for charity the Mental Health Foundation, said under-16s should be barred from using face and body altering apps Tory MP for Bosworth and member of the committee Dr Luke Evans is currently pushing a private member's bill through Parliament. The Digitally Altered Images Bill would require advertisers, broadcasters and publishers to feature a disclaimer when they digitally altered the image of a human body for commercial purposes. Today, Kim Booker, from Ringwood, Hampshire, who suffered from body dysmorphic disorder told MPs she would support such a warning system on online images, but added she would prefer to see them banned entirely. It should be made very transparent that people are using filters or theyve edited or photoshopped their images, she said. Ideally Id like them banned. Ms Booker, who underwent a swath of procedures from the age of 18-onwards, said more must be done to bring the industry to heel. You walk into these places and its like a conveyer belt, you have 10-15 minutes for a procedure that, start to finish, should take at least an hour, she said. She tearfully added that the impact on body dysmorphia sufferers of easy-access procedures could not be underestimated. Its never-ending, you get to the point where If that doesnt work I just dont know how I can live like this, she said. Lucy Thorpe, head of policy for charity the Mental Health Foundation, also told MPs that body and face editing apps should be banned for the under-16s. Advertisement Covid booster vaccines might not be needed every year because protection against severe infection is holding up 'pretty well,' top scientists say while the Biden administration promises to double the number of pharmacies offering antiviral pills 'in weeks' as cases surge 53 percent in a fortnight. Fourth jabs are already being offered to over-50s after they were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month, and plans are being prepared to roll out a fifth shot this fall. But Dr. Paul Offit, from the agency's jabs advisory panel which rubber-stamps shots warned Tuesday that the U.S. is in danger of sleep-walking into an annual Covid vaccination drive, like with the flu, without considering whether the top-up shots were actually needed. Other top scientists also raised concerns over extra boosters, saying the added doses would likely only give limited protection against infection with the virus. It comes as the Biden administration said it would double the number of pharmacies offering a Covid antiviral pill that slashes the risk of hospitalization for vulnerable people, by rolling it out to an extra 20,000. They also revealed plans to open more 'test-to-treat' centers, where someone would be given a course of Pfizer's Paxlovid drug after testing positive for the virus. The move comes after U.S. Covid cases surged over the last two weeks to 49,000 a day on average, the most since early March in the dying days of the last wave. A total of 42 states are now seeing an uptick in infections, with the more transmissible Omicron variant now behind 28 per cent of cases. Deaths from the virus have fallen 11 percent over the last week, however, and are now averaging about 388 a day. Hospitalizations are up four percent in a fortnight to about 15,000 a day, but the figure includes many patients who are not seriously unwell with Covid and were initially admitted for another illness before testing positive. The above map shows the proportion of people double-jabbed against Covid across all 50 U.S. states. About 68 per cent of over-65s in the U.S. have also got a booster dose, although it is not clear how many have got a second booster The above graph shows daily Covid infections in the U.S. reported by states. They have risen 53 per cent over the past two weeks to about 49,000 infections a day on average. A total of 42 states are also recording a rise The above graph shows the daily Covid deaths being reported across the U.S. Deaths are down 11 per cent on average over the past week, but these are a lagging indicator because of the time taken for someone who has the virus to fall ill Dr Paul Offit, (left) from the FDA's vaccine advisory panel, said that the agency is currently only asking what vaccine to use as a booster, rather than which booster is needed. Dr John Wherry (right), an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, said protection from severe disease is holding up 'pretty well' The above graph shows the gradually rising proportion of cases down to the more transmissible Omicron variant scientifically named BA.2.12.1. It is now at an estimated 28 per cent of infections The above map shows the proportion of cases in each state that are estimated to be triggered by different variants. The more transmissible Omicron variant (dark red section) is already dominant in New York and New Jersey. The other Omicron variant BA.2 (light pink) is still dominant across the rest of the U.S., which is still recording a few cases of the original Omicron (purple). No other variants are currently being detected through surveillance The U.S. is one of only seven countries recommending fourth doses, although others have approved them for older and more vulnerable populations. In Israel they are being offered to over-60s, while in the UK to over-75s. No data is available on how many Americans have got a second booster shot, but official figures show more than 68 per cent of over-65s or 33million people turned up for their first top up. Few health agencies have urged people to get the top up doses, however, as the country approaches the summer when Covid is expected to be less rampant. Biden to get Covid antiviral pill to twice as many pharmacies The Biden administration is set to double the number of pharmacies with a Covid antiviral pill within weeks. At the White House yesterday they said Paxlovid, which slashes the risk of a vulnerable person being hospitalized by up to 90 per cent, will be made available at an additional 20,000 pharmacies. There will also open more 'test to treat' centers, where patients can walk out with the pills after testing positive for Covid. Paxlovid is currently available on prescription in the U.S. to vulnerable patients and older adults, and must be taken within five days of developing symptoms. It is also free, with the Federal Government footing the $530 bill for each course. But more than 630,000 courses are currently sitting on shelves across the country as many patients say they are struggling to access the pills. Patients getting the treatment must take three tablets twice a day for five days. Advertisement Warning against plans to dish out Covid vaccines every year, Dr Offit who told his 20-year-old son not to get the first booster said there was 'enormous pressure' to dish out the jabs annually like with flu vaccines. He told Stat News at a recent FDA panel meeting 'the only question was what were we going to boost with, not whether we were going to boost'. He added: 'We didn't define what the goal of this extra shot was.' Dr John Wherry, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, also called for officials to look at the data carefully before approving annual boosters. He said: 'The efficacy data that I've seen from the CDC meeting and lots of other data really shows that our protection from severe disease is holding up pretty well.' Dr Kathleen Neuzil, from the Center for Vaccine Development at Maryland University, said on boosters: 'Any protection we get against infection mild infection, asymptomatic infection is going to be time-limited. Likely very time-limited. The severe disease protection is more durable.' Currently, the FDA decides whether to approve a booster vaccine based on surveillance of Covid antibody levels in the population. But scientists are calling on it to also consider other parts of the immune system such as T-cells which are much harder to measure. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is preparing to boost its roll out of Pfizer's antiviral drug to patients across the country. More than 630,000 course of the drug that can slash the risk of hospitalization are currently sitting on shelves in pharmacies, amid complaints from patients they are struggling to access it. The drug is available on prescription only meaning patients must be approved for it by their doctor and must be taken within five days of developing symptoms. The roll out of the drug has hit a brick wall for weeks, with supplies initially scare before recently becoming abundant. Experts have previously warned that too few doctors are aware that the treatments are in stock, and say a lack of Covid testing leaving many infections un-confirmed has left patients being unable to access the pills. There are also more than a 1.2million courses of Merck's antiviral pill available, along with 220,000 of AstraZeneca's Covid antibody drug Evusheld which are also designed for at risk patients. Covid cases in the U.S. rose 53 per cent over the last two weeks, data shows, the biggest fortnightly rise since early January when the Omicron wave was taking off. Officials warn a more transmissible version of Omicron scientifically named B.2.12.1 is likely behind the uptick in cases. CDC monitoring shows it is already dominant in the New York area, where it is behind almost every case, and has spread to every corner of the country. There is no evidence it is more likely to trigger hospitalization or death than the original mild Omicron variant. But a lack of Covid testing in many states, and with only five now reporting daily updates on infections, it is very difficult to monitor the spread of the virus. Michigan had the biggest uptick in Covid cases over the last two weeks (up 184 per cent), followed by Wisconsin (up 130 per cent) and Oregon (up 122 per cent). Cases also doubled in Nebraska (up 114 per cent) and West Virginia (up 104 per cent). On the other hand, Mississippi recorded the biggest two-week fall in cases (down 55 per cent), followed by Arizone (down 35 per cent) and Georgia (down 24 per cent). The other states reporting a fall were Wyoming, Colorado, South Carolina and Kentucky. Hospitalizations across the U.S. remain flat with a four per cent rise over the last two weeks. There are also 388 deaths a day on average, barely a change from the previous two weeks. Americans over 60 years old should not take a daily dose of aspirin to ward off a first heart attack or stroke, a panel of top doctors said today in a reversal from standard guidance. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) comprised of 17 top experts from universities across America released the update, citing a slightly higher risk of internal bleeding after taking the drug. It also said 40 to 59-year-olds must only take the medication daily if they are at a genetic risk of heart disease and after consulting a doctor. Those over 75 should not take the drugs because there is little benefit in older age. Aspirin is a common pain-killing drug that is often also used for prevention of heart attacks, blood clots, and other issues do to its blood-thinning properties. The drugs are also widely available over-the-counter for little cost when purchased generically. A U.S. task force issued new guidance saying adults over aged 60 who are at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke but have not suffered either should not take aspirin. (Stock iamge) WHAT IS ASPIRIN? Aspirin is an everyday painkiller for aches and pains such as headache, toothache and period pain. It can also be used to treat colds and 'flu-like' symptoms, and to bring down a high temperature. It is also known as acetylsalicylic acid. Aspirin is also available combined with other ingredients in some cold and flu remedies. You can buy most types of aspirin from pharmacies, shops and supermarkets. Some types are only available on prescription. It comes as tablets or anal suppositories. It also comes as a gel for mouth ulcers and cold sores. If you've had a stroke or heart attack or are at high risk of a heart attack, your doctor may recommend that you take a daily low-dose aspirin. This is different to taking aspirin for pain relief. Only take low-dose aspirin if your doctor recommends it. Source: NHS Advertisement Almost two decades ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended the pills should not be taken to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. The USPTF then updated its guidance to match that from the FDA. 'Based on current evidence, the task force recommends against people 60 and older starting to take aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke,' Dr Michael Barry, USPTF's vice-chair and professor of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, told ABC News. 'Because the chance of internal bleeding increases with age, the potential harms of aspirin use cancel out the benefits in this age group.' Doctors emphasized they are still recommending using aspirin to protect against a second stroke or heart attack. The guidance is only for patients beginning a course of aspirin, and not for those already taking it. They said no one should stop taking aspirin without consulting with their doctor first. 'It is important for the public to understand that for the vast majority of Americans without pre-existing heart disease, aspirin does not provide a net benefit,' Dr Steven Nissen, cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, said. 'The harms are approximately equal to any benefits. 'The USPSTF is just catching up with this widely accepted scientific viewpoint. For nearly 20 years the FDA has advised against routine use of aspirin for prevention in patients without heart disease.' People who take the drug are at about 0.47 percent higher risk of suffering internal bleeding, a British study published in 2019 found. The USPSTF warned heart disease was the leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for more than one in four fatalities every year. They said that every year an estimated 605,000 Americans have a heart attack for the first time, while 610,000 suffer their first ever stroke. In October last year the committee tweaked its guidance to say older adults who do not already have heart disease should not take a daily dose of aspirin. It backtracked on recommendations the panel made in 2016, but was in line with guidance for other medical groups. More than three in four American children and teenagers have caught COVID-19 since the pandemic began the most out of any age group, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed today. In the major study, the agency looked at the prevalence of Covid-fighting antibodies in more than 200,000 people across the U.S. over the last two years but despite the heavy disease burden among minors deaths remain low. Official figures show 1,001 Americans under 18 years old have had the virus mentioned on their death certificate, accounting for just 0.01 per cent of the almost a million deaths reported since the pandemic began. Dr Monica Ghandi, a top infectious disease expert from the University of California, San Francisco, said the data was yet more evidence booster shots are 'not needed' for youngsters. They are currently being offered to everyone aged 12 years and older. Among people above 65 years old who are most at risk from the virus barely a third had been infected with the virus over the last two years. The above graph shows how the proportion of children and teenagers with Covid-fighting antibodies (thick blue and blue dotted line) rose to 60 per cent in February 2022, the latest available. Across the U.S., three in five people are thought to have caught Covid Covid booster shots might not be needed every year, experts say Covid booster vaccines might not be needed every year because protection against severe infection is holding up 'pretty well,' top scientists say. Dr. Paul Offit, from the FDA's jabs advisory panel, warned Tuesday that the U.S. is in danger of sleep-walking into an annual Covid vaccination drive, like with the flu, without considering whether the top-up shots were actually needed. Other top scientists also raised concerns over extra boosters, saying the added doses would likely only give limited protection against infection with the virus. He told Stat News at a recent FDA panel meeting 'the only question was what were we going to boost with, not whether we were going to boost'. He added: 'We didn't define what the goal of this extra shot was.' Dr John Wherry, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, also called for officials to look at the data carefully before approving annual boosters. He said: 'The efficacy data that I've seen from the CDC meeting and lots of other data really shows that our protection from severe disease is holding up pretty well.' Advertisement In the study, scientists randomly swabbed 70,000 people a month for Covid-fighting antibodies between September 2021 and February 2022. They were tested for N-antibodies which are triggered by a Covid infection. The study did not look at levels of antibodies sparked by vaccines, which generate different virus-fighting proteins because they are based on the original Wuhan virus. Participants were drawn from across all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The seroprevalence report estimated three in five Americans had now caught Covid overall. Every age group saw a marked uptick in antibody levels over the period studied amid the arrival of the Omicron variant, which sent cases to record highs. Among 0 to 17 year olds, the levels rose from about 44 to 75 percent. For those aged 18 to 49, levels surged from 36 to 63 percent. And in people aged from 50 to 64-year-olds they went from 28 to 50 percent. Adults aged 65 and older were least likely to have immunity from a Covid infection by February, the study showed. Some 33 percent are estimated to now have Covid-fighting antibodies, compared to 19 percent five months. The report did not speculate on why so many children had tested positive for infection-triggered Covid immunity. Dr Kristie Clarke, co-lead of the CDC team that tracks infections, said although she had expected a rise she did 'not expect it to increase quite this much'. But Dr Monica Ghandi, an infectious diseases expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said it was more proof children did not need top-up jabs. 'The fact that 75 percent of our children and adolescents in the U.S. have now been exposed to Covid and have evidence of [antibodies] is further evidence that booster shots are not needed for this population,' She told DailyMail.com. 'Two shots are sufficient to produce a strong (long-lasting) [immune] response and natural infection generates a long-lasting response.' She said the CDC data along with that from previous studies suggesting strong immunity from natural infection 'argues against the need for a booster shot for our younger populations'. Ghandi has previously said she did not plan to get her 12 and 14-year-old sons boosters because the potential risks 'outweigh' the benefits. CDC data shows about 74 per =cent of people aged 12 years and over are now double-jabbed against Covid across the U.S. But among those who are now eligible for a booster this falls to 50 percent who have got the top-up dose. GPs should have personal assistants who do their paperwork so they can escape 'two hours' of admin each day, Jeremy Hunt claimed today. The former Health Secretary said its going to be 'very difficult' to get more family doctors into the NHS in the short-term, which already has 1,500 fewer GPs than 2016. So the health service needs to hire more staff to do doctors' paperwork after each appointment so they can focus on seeing patients, Mr Hunt told a GP conference. It comes amid a huge row over the working hours and conditions of family doctors and the 'postcode lottery' of bagging an appointment. Patients have for years complained over struggling to access their GP, and in-person appointments have failed to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels. But family doctors warn that the imbalance between the workload and workforce in the sector is only driving GPs who earn 100,000 a year, on average away from the profession. The former Health Secretary said its going to be 'very difficult' to get more family doctors into the NHS in the short-term, which already has 1,500 fewer GPs than 2016 Mr Hunt told the Pulse Live conference in London that 'it's going to be very difficult to get more GPs into the system in the short term' because it takes seven years to train a family doctor. 'We need to be looking at other people who can help GPs do their work, and GPs can leverage, who don't take quite so long to get into the system,' he said. Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs (pictured), warned general practice in England risks becoming 'really difficult to access', like dentistry He pointed to the US where physicians, who are equivalent to family doctors, have a personal assistant (PA) 'who works with them full-time who deals with all their admin after every appointment'. The PAs don't have a medical degree but may want to work in medicine or healthcare management in the future, Mr Hunt said. 'That way, a GP doesn't find at the end of a day of seeing 40 patients and then have two-hours of admin and that makes their job more rewarding,' he said. 'So we need to be a lot more innovative about ways to allow GPs to focus on their core work without having to be burdened by the admin,' Mr Hunt added. He noted that more family doctors were shifting to part-time work because doctors say it is 'not possible to work at that level of intensity for five days a week' and they are worried about getting tired, making mistakes and harming patients. The GP Worklife survey found more than half of family doctors worked for six sessions a week or less every week in 2021, with each session being four hours and 10 minutes. Nearly a fifth of the workforce saw patients for four sessions or less, while 12.4 per cent worked for five sessions and 27.9 per cent worked for six The graph shows the number of GP appointments per day in January. Since 2019, GPs have been asked to work evenings and weekends. But just 22,000 patients were seen on the average Saturday in January, compared to around 1.2million per week day NHS Digital data released today shows just 60 per cent of appointments in January were in-person, compared to 61 per cent in December Now GPs want to work even less! Doctors table 'urgent' motion in a bid to cut 'core' opening hours to 9-5 - shaving two-and-a-half hours off GPs are set to vote on whether their core working hours should be reduced by two-and-a-half hours per day. The proposal comes amid a huge row over the working hours of family doctors and the 'postcode lottery' of bagging an appointment. Avon Local Medical Committee (LMC) will table a motion at a conference in York next month calling for doctors' core hours to be slashed. Surgeries currently routinely operate between 8am and 6:30pm but the vote may see doctors call for this to be slashed to 9am to 5pm. 'Urgent action' is needed to manage the imbalance between doctors' workload and their workforce,' the same motion states. The motion from Avon LMC, which represents GPs in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, will be heard at the annual conference of UK local medical committees, which is taking place on May 10 and 11 in York. It states that 'urgent action' is needed to manage the mismatch between a lack of capacity, Pulse reports. Advertisement He said the traditional model of general practice is 'broken' and if it is to be at the 'heart of the NHS' then we have to 'think about how we can reduce that pressure so that people don't do the job and say 'I can't actually do more than three days a week'.' Mr Hunt, chair of the Health and Social Care committee, said there was a need to 'bring back the joy into the profession that a lot of older GPs remember' because the workforce problems are a 'retention issue rather than a recruitment issue'. But he dismissed the idea that the new NHS England contract, which comes into effect in October and sets out that each group of GP practices must offer evening and weekend appointments, was infeasible. Mr Hunt rumoured to be making 'discrete preparations' in the event of a Tory leadership contest today also admitted he hasn't 'ruled out' going back into frontline politics. It comes after GPs warned paperwork was adding to their stress and driving them away from the profession, with a third of family doctors planning to leave their profession in the next five years. The GP Worklife survey, which quizzed 2,200 family doctors, showed job satisfaction is falling among doctors, with only half saying they were happy being a GP in 2021. They also cited insufficient time to do the job justice, paperwork, long working hours and dealing with problem patients as causing the most stress. Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, told a conference in London yesterday that general practice faces the threat of becoming 'really difficult' to access 'like dentistry' and a 'significant' cash injection is needed to stop this. He added: 'The risk is that we might end up like the very worst of the US healthcare system where if you can pay to get good care, great, and if you can't, you have a very sub-optimal system for picking up the pieces. 'Or maybe like dentistry in this country over the last 15 years, where a growing number of dentists have gone private. There is an NHS system but it is really difficult to access. 'I don't think we want to see that in general practice and that seems to be a very significant and very real threat that we need to address.' It comes as a local medical committee (LMC) unveiled plans to vote on cutting GPs core hours from 8am to 6:30pm by two-and-a-half hours to 9am to 5pm. Avon LMC will table the motion at a conference on May 10 and 11 in York, attended by hundreds of family doctors. If the motion is passed, the practices want to lobby NHS England to make the changes. Doctors say the move would boost GPs' wellbeing, meaning they are able to provide a better, safer service and will be less likely to quit. But patient groups said patients are already struggling to see their doctor so further reducing their hours will only drive more patients to overstretched emergency departments. Dennis Reed, the director of Silver Voices, a campaign group for the over-60s, called the proposal 'unacceptable'. Advertisement Health officials are probing three probable cases of hepatitis among children in Illinois including one that required a liver transplant, it was revealed today after an expert warned that nearly a dozen recorded cases may be just 'the tip of the iceberg'. All the children were under ten years old the state's health department said, with two of the youngsters based in Chicago and the third in Western Illinois. Some 11 children sick with unexplained hepatitis have been confirmed in the U.S. in recent weeks, with nine cases in Alabama including two that needed liver transplants and two in North Carolina. If confirmed, the Illinois cases will take the total to 14. Experts are not sure what is causing the spike in cases, but it has been suggested that lockdowns weakening children's immunity and even a previous Covid infection may be to blame. Nearly 170 children with the unexplained hepatitis have been reported globally since the first case was detected in Scotland at the end of March, according to the World Health Organization. One child has died and at least 17 have needed liver transplants. Leading virologists fear the real toll of the infection could actually be magnitudes higher because many parents may brush off the warning signs. Jaundice the yellowing of the skin or eyes, a tell-tale sign of liver disease has been spotted in fewer than half of the ill children. Other symptoms, such as nausea, diarrhea, lethargy and stomach pains are usually put down to other illnesses, such as food poisoning or norovirus. 'I think there are more cases out there. [17 transplants] is quite a high number for how many cases we have spotted,' Simon Taylor-Robinson, a hepatologist from Imperial College London, in the UK, told MailOnline. 'I'd imagine there are more cases than have been reported but they are likely to be less severe,' he added, then saying he agreed that this is only the tip of the iceberg. At least twelve countries have spotted cases of the hepatitis of unknown origin, with the 114 cases detected in the UK which was first to spot the spate of infections. The World Health Organization said it has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries as of Saturday Health officials believe the illness may be triggered by an adenovirus usually to blame for the common cold. Experts say lockdowns may have weakened the immunity of children and left them more susceptible to the virus, or it may be a mutated version. Investigations are ongoing but officials have yet to rule out a new Covid variant being to blame. Another theory is that children may have been battling the adenovirus at the same time as Covid. Covid lockdowns may be behind the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases in children because they reduced social mixing and weakened their immunity, experts claim UK health officials have ruled out the Covid vaccine as a possible cause, with none of the ill British children having been vaccinated because of their young age. None of the cases in the US were among vaccinated children either. 'I think it is likely that children mixing in kindergartens and schools have lower immunity to seasonal adenoviruses than in previous years because of restrictions,' Taylor-Robinson told MailOnline. 'This means they could be more at risk of developing hepatitis because their immune response is weaker to the virus.' He said children are less likely to complain about symptoms than adults and urged parents to be alert to early issues including stomach pains and yellowing eyes. But he added there is no reason to panic because in '99 percent' of cases the liver is able to regenerate and the chances of needing a transplant or dying because of the condition are low. Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a pediatrician at University College London, told MailOnline mounting cases are a 'a concerning and depressing situation for families' but parents should not fear. 'What is for families to consider [is] if their child develops jaundice after the first few months of life they need medical attention fast,' he said. 'But that is true of any child who develops jaundice after the first few months of life so is not new advice. 'With one death and no known cause life should continue as before. Nothing is more fearful than fear itself.' WHAT COULD BE BEHIND THE HEPATITIS OUTBREAK? While experts believe adenovirus a virus associated with many common colds could be behind the spate of cases, the jury is out on what the exact cause of the outbreak is. Co-infection One theory suggests children being infected with Covid and adenovirus at the same time could be at greater risk of hepatitis. Weakened immunity British experts have suggested lockdowns and restrictions have put children at greater risk because they have lower natural immunity to adenovirus. Adenovirus mutation Other scientists said it may have been an adenovirus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. New Covid variant UKHSA officials included 'a new variant of SARS-CoV-2' in their working hypotheses, when discussing the variant at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today. Advertisement World Health Organization (WHO) bosses have received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries. Cases were detected in children aged one month to 16, the majority of whom have been hospitalized. The WHO has not disclosed which country the only known death occurred in. The first hepatitis cases were recorded in Britain, where 114 children have now been sickened. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, and 12 in Israel. The unusual illness has also been spotted in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Norway, Romania and Belgium. 'It is not yet clear if there has been an increase in hepatitis cases, or an increase in awareness of hepatitis cases that occur at the expected rate but go undetected,' the WHO said. However, other scientists have suggested the amount of severe cases in children is unusual. Richard Pebody, who heads the high threats pathogen team at the WHO, told STAT News: 'Although the numbers aren't big, the consequences have been quite severe. It's important that countries look.' None of the cases have been caused by any of the five typical strains of the virus hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Experts say the cases may be linked to a virus commonly associated with colds, known as an adenovirus, but that further research is ongoing. 'While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent,' WHO said. It noted that the cold-like virus has been detected in at least 74 of the cases however not all children were tested. And 19 of the patients also had a Covid co-infection. One more child had Covid but not the adenovirus. Experts are probing whether the cases are linked to the two viruses. UK Health Security Agency experts were called to a briefing at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today to present data around the current situation in Britain. Scientists claimed they could not rule out Covid as a possible cause of the outbreak and also suggested a new coronavirus variant could be behind it. Dr Muge Cevik, an infectious diseases expert at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, warned the virus was a possible explanation but noted hepatitis has 'not been a common feature' of infections in children. 'Acute severe hepatitis has not been a common feature of Covid in children, so it's less likely to explain this presentation,' he said. 'Adenovirus [Common cold virus] was detected in 40 of 53 cases, but not all cases are tested. Adenovirus testing has been inconsistent in other samples, and it's too early to confirm characterization. 'It's important for all countries to share their data once available.' British scientists have also suggested that lockdowns may have played a contributing role, weakening children's immunity and leaving them at heightened risk of adenovirus. Others said the cases may be the result of a virus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. Only 80 per cent of hepatitis have an identifiable cause, experts said. Professor Graham Cooke, an expert in infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said it is unlikely Covid was responsible. 'Mild hepatitis is very common in children following a range of viral infections, but what is being seen at the moment is quite different,' he said. 'If the hepatitis was a result of Covid it would be surprising not to see it more widely distributed across the country given the high prevalence of (Covid) at the moment.' A virology specialist at Imperial told The Telegraph it is 'very unusual and rare' for children to suffer severe hepatitis, especially to the extent that they require a liver transplant. The expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'The number of cases is exceptional. 'It makes people think there is something unusual going on such as a virus that has mutated or some other cause. It has sent alarm bells ringing.' 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. Pfizer, the leading manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccines in America, has submitted a bid to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin distributing booster shots for children aged five to 11. The New York City-based company made the announcement Tuesday afternoon, also revealing results of its Phase 2/3 clinical trials which raised Covid antibody levels in the age group 36-fold without any serious complications. If approved, it would be the first booster dose available to the age group, as the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is the only one available to Americans under the age of 18. Many experts disagree that the shots are needed in children of this age, though, with some pointing to the lasting immunity the shots have against serious infection - combined with the limited risk children face from the virus anyways. Earlier on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC), revealed that around 75 percent of U.S. children and teens had been infected with Covid, with a lowly 1,001 deaths recorded among the age group. Pfizer, the nation's leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer, has applied for authorization for it booster shot in children aged five to 11 years old. Pictured: A young child in Bowling Green, Kentucky, receives a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine Trials conducted by Pfizer, and the German company BioNTech which it has partnered with in the development of the shots, included 4,500 children aged six months to 12 years old. Researchers found that participants in the age group had six times move Covid fighting antibodies one month after receiving the booster dose than they had one month after the second dose. While the booster is likely to provide further protection against infection from U.S. children, some experts believe that children may be fine without this additional defense. Deaths from Covid among children have been extremely rare during the pandemic so far. The CDC reports that 0.01 percent of deaths from the virus over the past two years have been among the under-18 age group, despite 75 percent having been infected with the virus - by far the highest prevalence. 'The fact that 75 percent of our children and adolescents in the U.S. have now been exposed to Covid and have evidence of [antibodies] is further evidence that booster shots are not needed for this population,' Dr Monica Ghandi, a top infectious disease expert from the University of California, San Francisco told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. 'Two shots are sufficient to produce a strong (long-lasting) [immune] response and natural infection generates a long-lasting response.' A study from the University of Utah last year found that 50 percent of pediatric Covid cases are asymptomatic. The study was performed before the more-mild Omicron variant emerged, meaning the risk for children to even feel symptoms is likely lower now. Children may also be less likely to spread the virus when infected, with a German study finding that they release as little as only 25 percent of virus particles as adults do. Data revealed by New York state officials at the end of February also found that the shot was only 12 percent effective at preventing Covid infection for children aged five to 11. Pfizer, which is forecasting around $30 billion in revenue this year from sales of the COVID-19 vaccine, also previously made a push to get a three dose vaccine for children six months to four years old earlier this year. Those plans have since been halted. Currently, the company's two-dose vaccine series is available to all Americans five and older. Those 12 and older are eligible for boosters, and a fourth overall dose has been authorized for all Americans 50 and older. Once upon a time, not that long ago, investing for the younger generation - barring the select few with deep pockets - was tricky and expensive, with plenty of barriers of entry. However, a battle has emerged as platform giants and banking big boys look to entice novice investors, largely thanks to the success of Freetrade. They've wised up that 20-somethings grow-up, earning potential swells and if they can get them loyal with a slick app, low fees and good customer service, they could be with it for life. Banks historically battled for just left school current customers. Why? Well, there is plenty of research suggesting they will stay loyal. That will mean credit cards, loans, mortgages in the future. Wealth management was only really open to those with big balances. Investing is a Dodl: New AJ Bell app wants to take the fear out of investing But now, that has all changed. Investment platform AJ Bell, which experienced a surge in customers since the start of the pandemic, is looking to further solidify its presence in the market with newer investors. Its answer? A big cuddly monster. Last week it launched its long-trailed new investment platform Dodl, which will be cheaper to use than its traditional platform and charge no commission for buying and selling investments. Dodl will offer trading accounts, stocks and shares Isas, and self-invested personal pensions (Sipps), with the ability to invest in shares and funds. It will offer a selection of 50 UK shares and 30 funds with some popular US shares joining soon after. AJ Bell claims the app will make investing easy regardless of experience and it is streamlined 'so as not to overwhelm investors' with the promise of 'jargon-free investing'. AJ Bell boss Andy Bell said: 'This combination of simplicity and value make Dodl a great option for anyone looking for a low-cost, easy-to-use investment app to help them meet their investment goals.' It is clear AJ Bell sees opportunity in the growing space of low-price, commission-free investing which has been catapulted into the mainstream by apps like Trading212 and Freetrade. It is pitting itself directly against them with an annual charge of just 0.15 per cent, lower than AJ Bell Youinvest's charge of 0.25 per cent. But AJ Bell is not the only platform that is looking to take the fight to some of the older, legacy investment apps. As the competition hots up, what else is on offer for new investors? We look at some of the low-cost options for investors. Freetrade is one of the big beasts among this new wave of investment apps. Since its launch in 2017, it has quickly become one of the most popular investment apps in the UK. Its referral system, which promises a free share worth up to 200, has seen Freetrade's customer numbers surpass 1million and more than double its valuation to 650million in under a year. Freetrade users can start investing in over 6,000 UK and US stocks and ETFs with no annual administration charges and free dealing, they can also open or transfer an Isa or Sipp, but these come with extra costs of 3 and 9.99 per month, respectively. Easy to use: One of the selling points of Freetrade is the user-friendly app and interface While there is no charge for buying shares under its standard plan, not all investments are included, in order to access a wider market, including smaller company shares, investors can sign up to Freetrade Plus, which costs 9.99 per month. If they do that they do not pay the 3 monthly Isa fee or can pay 7 per month for a Sipp. Freetrade Plus also allows investors to earn 3 per cent on up to 4,000 of cash in accounts. A foreign currency charge of 0.45 per cent applies for overseas stocks. Wombat has been around slightly longer than other competitors. Launched in 2017 by Australian-born entrepreneur Kane Harrison, it promises commission-free trading with 'no hidden fees'. DIY PLATFORM COSTS If you start with 1,000, and then invest 100 per month, this is how much it will cost at each of these platforms in year one. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AND STOCKS AND SHARES ISAS Platform Annual charge Cost Dodl 0.15% 3.30 Freetrade 3 per month (or free with Freetrade Plus) 36 Wombat 0.1% (plus 1 a month) 14.20 InvestEngine (DIY) Free + ETF costs 0 Vanguard 0.15% 3.30 HSBC Cautious Portfolio - 0.62% 13.64 Barclays Smart Investor Investments in funds 0.2% All other investments 0.1% 6.60 Its users can also invest in a range of thematic funds including the British Bulldog, which includes some of the UK's best known businesses like Tesco, Barclays and Rolls-Royce, while The Money Maker theme includes some of the world's biggest banks. Wombat also allows users to buy fractional shares in some of the world's biggest companies including PayPal, Netflix, and a host of other domestic stocks. There is a minimum 10 deposit to start investing - as well as an option to contribute monthly - and charges start to kick in when the account value is over 250. It then costs 1 a month plus 0.10 per cent of the account value - billed monthly - as well as a fund provider fee of between 0.07 and 0.75 per cent. There also seems to be a push for financial education and responsible investing so its auto-invest function - which takes funds via direct debit - is a key differentiator. Online wealth manager InvestEngine launched its DIY service last summer. It is going up against Freetrade with its free Isa and trading offering. However the platform does not offer individual stocks, instead offering a range of more than 500 exchange traded funds (ETF). The costs are low: the DIY option has no account charge and no dealing fees, while customers who opt for the managed ETF portfolio pay a fee of 0.25 per cent plus ETF charges. Among the more established players, US giant Vanguard's UK investment platform is cheap with a 0.15 per cent year fee and has no costs for buying and selling. However, you can only invest in Vanguard's passive funds, its active range, or its popular LifeStrategy funds that invest in shares and bonds around the world. Banks have long tried to outbid each other with student perks to try and entice young savers with the hope they'll stay loyal for decades. Now it seems banks are starting to realise they need to offer low-cost mass-market solutions for investing. HSBC has started advertising its own investments, specifically targeting small-time investors. Investors can open an account with just 50 per month if they already have an HSBC current account, with a 0.25 per cent quarterly fee. Barclays' DIY platform Barclays Smart Investor charges 0.2 per cent on funds and 0.1 per cent on other investments. The platform fee is 4 per month minimum, or the sum of 0.2 per cent per year of funds plus 0.1 per cent of other investments in the account. They may have larger customer bases but what banks don't have on their side is technology. Often they have needed to replatform, as was the case with Barclays Smart Investor, formerly Barclays Stock Broker. However, if they are able to get a cut of this growing market the banks may have some success with a generation of new investors. Beijing authorities' plan to conduct mass testing on the region's roughly 20 million population has sparked panic buying among residents as the fear of another outbreak could result in stringent lockdown restrictions. There were growing lines of people waiting to be screened for the coronavirus infection on Tuesday after the Chinese capital ramped up its plans for mass testing. The situation worried people in the area that another lockdown could be imposed to curb the spread of the health crisis. Panic Buying in China Comparing Beijing to Shanghai, where more than 1,000 coronavirus cases were reported in March before the restrictions were put in place on the 26 million residents, many residents in Beijing flocked to supermarkets to stock up on food and supplies. They feared that sudden localized lockdowns could prevent them from acquiring various necessities or goods. On Tuesday, Chinese authorities started to close some gyms, theaters, and tourist sites only a day after Beijing began testing residents of the country's most populous district, Chaoyang. By the end of Monday, the capital announced that it was planning to test 10 other districts and one economic development zone by Saturday, as per the Times of India. The situation comes as Shanghai authorities have reported 51 deaths in relation to the coronavirus infection, which is the highest tally yet. The region also recorded 2,472 symptomatic cases, which is a jump from the previous 1,401 reported on Saturday. Read Also: COVID-19 Cases in China: Beijing Reveals 'Grim' Situation Amid Several Outbreaks Many photographs and video footage of residents have gone viral on social media platforms showing people making pleas to the government. In an interview, one foreigner whose residential complex was fenced said that no one was able to get out. They shared that they felt helpless and were unsure of when the lockdown was going to end. According to Yahoo News, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Zhong Hongjun, said that he regrets supporting the government's zero-COVID policy. Now, he has called the measures that authorities are imposing "inhumane." Coronavirus Situation The Beijing municipal government ordered that nearly every single resident in the city would have to have three P.C.R. tests for the coronavirus over five days. Authorities made the announcement after 70 coronavirus infections were recorded in the region since Friday. Chaoyang ordered on Sunday that all of its residents, which number roughly 3.5 million, were required to get tested on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The country's national government has relied heavily on lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus despite their high social and economic costs. Chinese President Xi Jinping has committed to his zero-COVID strategy to eliminate the spread of the virus. Many residents have seen that mass testing has become a prelude in nearly all Chinese cities. The Communist Party had ordered that the crowded nation's capital should be free of the coronavirus. If the authorities decide to enforce stringent restrictions in Beijing, they would add to the political and economic pressures that are already weighing down on Xi's government, the New York Times reported. Related Article: Shanghai Widens COVID-19 Testing Amid Rise of Asymptomatic Infections @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Most investors are focused on maximising returns rather than whether businesses they put money in pursue sustainable policies, new research reveals. But a similar number believe ethical investments are a good option that will also bring decent returns, and four out of five regard reneweable energy as a promising sector. Three quarters of people who hold at least one type of investment already - including stocks, funds and trusts - believe companies with strong environmental, social and governance credentials are becoming increasingly attractive investment options, according to the research by Charles Schwab. Investing trends: Four out of five investors regard reneweable energy as a promising sector However, the investment broker found that 19 per cent of the 1,000 nationally representative investors it surveyed hold any ethical investments at present. That compares with 13 per cent of investors who hold 'sin stocks' such as companies involved in alcohol, tobacco, gambling or weapons, and 39 per cent of investors who hold cryptocurrencies. Charles Schwab also found 44 per cent of investors regularly consider ethical factors when making a new investment, made up of 33 per cent who said usually and 11 per cent who said always. A further 34 per cent sometimes investigate how responsible or sustainable their investment target is while 11 per cent say they do so rarely and 11 per cent say never. The investors who take ESG issues into consideration usually or always were far more likely to be younger, with 56 per cent of 18 to 25-year-olds saying they did so and 55 per cent of 26 to 37-year-olds. Some 41 per cent of 38 to 55-year-old also took this approach to researching investments, and 28 per cent of over-55s. How to give your portfolio a green makeover Find a six-step guide to revamping your investments - and expert fund and trust tips here. Mystified by green investing jargon like ESG and greenwashing? Read an A-Z of what you need to know here. The Charles Schwab survey also found: - Some 78 per cent would be willing to switch into sustainable investments if all else remained equal, such as fees and returns - However, 70 per cent of people believe sustainable investment options cost more than non-sustainable ones, and 58 per cent say they are prepared to stomach this if necessary - More than half, or 55 per cent, say they don't mind if investments underperform as long as they are sustainable - though this finding in the survey appears to conflict with the 66 per cent who state they just want to maximise returns - Some 69 per cent were unsure how to check the sustainability of an investment before making decisions - see the box above. The broking firm's UK managing director, Richard Flynn, says: 'Despite being a major focus for asset management firms, our research shows ESG is not always a priority for retail investors. 'Looking at the trends, we found that considerations around environmental and social factors are often down to the social conscience of individual investors rather than their financial judgement. 'Most investors clearly have good intentions; however, many appear to be conflicted between moral and practical investment motivations. 'Investors often want to invest in companies that help to improve the environment, such as renewable energy producers. 'However, there is a reluctance to sacrifice investment performance or pay higher fees in return. This suggests that initially good intentions when investing are not always acted upon.' Almost 100billion was wiped off the value of Tesla after its boss Elon Musk struck a deal to buy Twitter. Amid mounting fears the audacious takeover of the social media platform would prove a distraction for the 50-year-old tycoon, the electric car maker's shares tumbled 12 per cent in New York. That sliced $125billion, or 99billion, off the value of Tesla. Tesla shares tumbled 12 per cent in New York amid mounting fears founder Elon Musk's audacious takeover of Twitter would prove a distraction It also reduced the value of Musk's 16.7 per cent stake by 17billion though it was still worth 120billion. The slump came as the 35billion takeover of Twitter continued to send shockwaves through Wall Street and Silicon Valley and attracted the attention of global regulators. Musk who is said to have a fortune of around 200billion already runs Tesla as well as rocket company Space X. He also founded and is heavily involved in brain-chip start-up Neuralink and tunnelling venture the Boring Company. Analysts warned the takeover could be damaging for Tesla shareholders as Musk implements his plan to unlock Twitter's 'tremendous potential'. There are also concerns that Musk is part-funding the takeover with a loan secured against 10billion of his shares in the electric car maker. Edward Moya, an analyst at investment platform Oanda, said: 'Tesla shareholders can't be happy that Musk will have to divert even more attention away from winning the electric vehicle race.' A fund manager with a significant holding in Tesla, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters: 'I fear this is going to be a distraction. He's juggling supply chains and factory delays and the expansion of the energy storage business and this doesn't fit at all.' Twitter Founder set to scoop $1bn after deal bonanza Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is in line to pocket nearly $1billion from the sale of the social media site to Elon Musk. The 45-year-old will receive a $978million (773million) pay out after Musk agreed to buy the site Dorsey created in a 35billion deal. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey will receive a $978m (773m) pay out after Musk agreed to buy the site Dorsey created in a 35bn deal Dorsey owns 18m shares equivalent to 2.4 per cent of the company which Musk will buy for $54.20 each. Dorsey, who sits on the board, has long declined a salary from Twitter instead taking the minimum allowed of $1.40 a year. Others in line to make a fortune include chief executive Parag Agrawal, who has only been boss for five months. Agrawal has history with Musk and many believe he will not survive under the new owner. Tesla has lost more than a fifth of its value since Musk first disclosed his over 9 per cent stake in Twitter in early April. His move to buy Twitter has raised concerns about the depth of executive talent at Tesla. 'Tesla feels very much like a start-up despite it being a trillion dollar company,' said Tesla investor Ross Gerber, chief executive of wealth management firm Gerber Kawasaki. 'It's as big or bigger than the biggest companies in the world, but it doesn't have the management infrastructure like other companies.' Tesla is racing to boost production at new plants in Texas and Berlin amid supply-chain snarls and higher raw materials costs, as well as get work at its biggest factory in Shanghai back on track during a spike in Covid-19 cases there. Despite those problems, Tesla last week posted record quarterly results as demand for its electric cars boomed. The company reported revenues of 14.3billion for the first three months of 2022 up 81 per cent on a year earlier while profits rose 147 per cent to 4.2billion. Garrett Nelson, vice president at research firm CFRA Research, gave a vote of confidence to Musk and labelled concerns over him selling Tesla shares as 'overblown'. He said: 'If anyone can juggle these companies, it's Elon. He's been able to successfully balance growth at both Tesla and SpaceX over the last several years and he's surrounded by a highly capable supporting cast at each company. 'We think concerns that Musk might have to sell Tesla shares in order to fund purchase of Twitter are overblown as we believe they are merely being pledged as collateral.' Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Tesla investor Dakota Wealth, said Musk could install someone else to lead Twitter. 'It seems like that would be the most logical thing,' he said. 'It seems like he has his hands full with Tesla and Space X.' Pressure is mounting on Sanjeev Guptas GFG Alliance after French police raided the firms Paris offices. The probe comes as French authorities investigate allegations of money laundering and misuse of corporate assets at GFG, which faces an inquiry by the Serious Fraud Office. Gupta has faced scrutiny ever since the collapse of its main lender Greensill Capital in March 2021. Questions: Sanjeev Gupta (pictured) has faced scrutiny ever since the collapse of GFG Alliance's main lender Greensill Capital in March 2021 A GFG spokesman said: We strongly reject any suggestion of wrongdoing and we will continue to cooperate fully with the French authorities to help them bring this matter to a swift conclusion. It is understood French prosecutors visited GFGs Paris office and an aluminium smelter in Dunkirk, during which they combed through company documents and files. Investigations in Dunkirk are reportedly concerned with transactions made before GFG lost control of the plant to private equity group American Industrial Partners last year. GFGs spokesman said: GFG has determined that there was no wrongdoing in its French businesses. Heathrow has warned it will not return to profit this year after pandemic losses topped 4billion. In its first quarter results, the west London airport said demand remains very volatile despite enjoying a surge in last-minute Easter getaway bookings. Heathrows revenues climbed 213 per cent from 165million last year to 516million in the first three months of 2022. Fragile recovery: In its first quarter results, Heathrow said 'demand remains very volatile' despite enjoying a surge in last-minute Easter getaway bookings And passenger forecasts were met after 9.7million people travelled through its airport in January, February and March. But the airport said it has lost 4bn since the start of the Covid pandemic. Heathrow said it expects to see 52.8million passengers pass through its airport this year up from a previous forecast of 45.5million. More than 95 per cent of passengers passed through security within five minutes during the Easter getaway, the airport added. Elderly homeowners are today warned to be on their guard against greedy salesmen flogging costly and complicated financial products that promise to help preserve their wealth for future generations. Unregulated legal firms claim that by transferring property and cash into a trust it will protect their assets from care home fees and inheritance tax, as well as avoid the need for probate the legal right to manage someones estate when they die. But experts warn these complex financial arrangements can be entirely unsuitable for many families and leave them facing hefty legal bills if something goes wrong. Unregulated legal firms claim that by transferring property and cash into a trust it will protect their assets from care home fees and inheritance tax, as well as avoid the need for probate Some are also being sold by salesmen with no qualifications or expertise in this area. Many trusted High Street building societies referred customers to unregulated legal services until as recently as 2018. Our findings come just one week after we warned about a rise in unregulated providers selling expensive probate plans. In one case, a family is still in limbo a year after their mother died because the company, which sold her a 2,000 plan, wont help them. Since then, we have been contacted by worried readers targeted by similar businesses selling other financial planning products such as trusts. A trust is a legal arrangement for managing assets, for example property, cash and shares. There are many legitimate reasons for setting one up like when a beneficiary of an estate is too young to inherit. But, increasingly, trusts are being sold as a way for families to shield their wealth as it means you no longer technically own the assets. One Money Mail reader says he and his wife were sold a 3,600 Family Probate Preservation Plus Trust in February after visiting a local legal firm, Harratts Legal Services, in Stockport, to update his will. A legal consultant from the company visited him at home and said it would help protect their property should they later need care. They were told the Government didnt publicise the arrangements because it would lose too much income if more people knew. The 82-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, says: My wife and I have lived in this house for 47 years and we wanted to protect it for our children and grandchildren. But there is no guarantee their money and home will be safe from care costs. Local authorities will investigate your finances should the need for care arise. And if it decides there has been a deliberate deprivation of assets to avoid paying for care, it can take any funds in the trust into account when calculating how much you owe. In England, you must have less than 14,250 to be eligible for the maximum funding. In Scotland and Wales, its 18,500 and 50,000, respectively. A Harratts Legal Services spokesman says it will investigate the matter. Any assets placed in trusts are owned and managed by appointed trustees usually responsible relatives or friends. But unregulated organisations may appoint themselves as a trustee giving them total control over any wealth you place inside. Trusted: Many high Street building societies referred customers to unregulated legal services until as recently as 2018 Gary Rycroft, from Joseph A. Jones & Co. Solicitors, says: Trusts are not a silver bullet to avoid legal complexity on death. If you try to use it to avoid care home fees, you are always up against the deliberate deprivation of assets rules. Tread carefully with appointing unregulated firms as trustees. You wont be able to sell your house without their involvement and they may charge fees for their time or disappear altogether. One legal services provider, Philips Trust Corporation (PTC), which manages these financial products, went into administration last Friday. The firm had taken over customers of Estate Planning Group, which comprised of The Will Writing Company and Family Trust Corporation. High Street building societies had referred hundreds or even thousands of customers to these firms between 2005 and 2018. Many, including the Nottingham, Newcastle and Leeds building societies, are now fielding calls from worried families experiencing difficulties. Newcastle BS has even set up a dedicated helpline. Chris Rumseys elderly parents were among those referred by Leeds Building Society in 2012. At the time, his father Philip was 90 and his mother, Valerie, who died in 2013, was 87. They had visited their local branch to discuss what to do with their savings and were directed to a staff member working in the mutuals financial services department who was also a representative of the insurer Aviva. He had suggested they invest their money in a five-year Aviva savings bond. But he also proposed they set up a discretionary trust to avoid an inheritance tax bill in the future. They were then visited by a salesman at home who charged a 4,000 fee to put 60,000 of bonds in a trust for each of them. Chris, 65, who lives in Aylesford, Kent, says his parents believed they were dealing with the building society staff, who they trusted. But they later discovered the trust had been set up by an unregulated firm called the Family Trust Corporation (FTC), which was later taken over by PTC. Chris, a former operating theatre technician, understood that the trust wound up if both parents died. But in 2018, he was informed by Aviva that someone from PTC was trying to withdraw money from his mother s trust. I was horrified. I told Aviva not to let them take the money, he says. At this point, Chriss father needed the money for care but PTC refused to let him make any withdrawals. Eventually, Aviva stepped in but it still took two years for the companies to step down as trustees. It also cost the family 6,000 in legal fees. Chris says: By the time you pay annual management fees, tax on any dividends, commission charges, withdrawal fees and other costs and expenses, you may as well have paid inherit- ance tax. And you dont realise that by appointing these firms as trustees you are gifting them your assets. a.murray@dailymail.co.uk Joe Biden agreed to pay son Hunter's legal fees for his deal with a Chinese government-controlled company, emails reveal. The revelation ties the president even closer to Hunter's overseas business dealings and makes his previous claims that he never discussed them with his son, even less plausible. Joe was able to pay the bills after earning millions of dollars through his and his wife's companies after he left office as vice president. Some of the wave of cash came from their book deals and speaking engagements. But the president's financial filings reveal that he declared almost $7million more income on his tax returns than he did on his government transparency reports, an analysis by DailyMail.com of the president's financial records shows. Some of that difference can be accounted for with salaries earned by First Lady Jill Biden and other sums not required on his reports but still leaves $5.2million earned by Joe's company and not listed on his transparency reports. The 'missing millions' combined with emails on Hunter's abandoned laptop suggesting Joe would have a 10% share in Hunter's blockbuster deal with the Chinese raise a troubling question: did Joe Biden receive money from the foreign venture? Emails reveal Joe Biden agreed to pay Hunter's legal fees for a deal with a Chinese government-controlled company In January 2019, Hunter's assistant Katie Dodge wrote an email to book-keeper Linda Shapero and Biden aide Richard Ruffner, saying Joe had agreed to pay his hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills One of the last items on a spreadsheet of Hunter's bills was $28,000 in legal fees for the 'restructuring' of Hunter's joint venture with the Chinese government-controlled Bank of China. The spreadsheet listed the bill as 'Faegre Baker Daniels: BHR Restructuring' costing $28,382 and due 'ASAP'. In January 2019, Hunter's assistant Katie Dodge wrote an email to book-keeper Linda Shapero and Biden aide Richard Ruffner, saying Joe had agreed to pay his hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills. The math behind Joe's missing $5.2million The president's financial filings show that he declared almost $7million more income on his tax returns than he did on his government transparency reports, raising the question: where did the extra cash come from? Joe Biden's Office of Government Ethics (OGE) filings: 2017 - May 2019 filing: Jill and Joe Biden income of $8,699,787 Income attributable to Joe Bidens company CelticCapri Corp: $7,451,727 May 2019 2020 filing: Income of $907,160 CelticCapri Corp income: $613,737 Total: $9,606,947, including $8,065,464 from CelticCapri Joe Bidens federal tax returns: 2017 Income of $11,031,309 CelticCapri Corp income: $9,636,690 2018 Income of $4,580,437 CelticCapri Corp income: $3,030,667 2019 Income of $985,233 CelticCapri Corp income: $578,178 Total: $16,596,979, including $13,245,535 from CelticCapri Tax return versus OGE difference: $6,990,032 Unaccounted-for difference from CelticCapri: $5,180,071 Advertisement 'I spoke with Hunter today regarding his bills. It is my understanding that Hunt's dad will cover these bills in the short-term as Hunter transitions in his career,' Dodge said. The assistant attached a spreadsheet of bills with the email, totaling $737,130.61. One of the last items was $28,000 in legal fees for the 'restructuring' of Hunter's joint venture with the government-controlled Bank of China. The spreadsheet listed the bill as 'Faegre Baker Daniels: BHR Restructuring' costing $28,382 and due 'ASAP'. BHR ('Bohai Harvest RST') is a private equity firm and one of Hunter's two major Chinese business ventures. The joint venture was co-owned by the state-controlled Bank of China. Hunter's personal attorney, George Mesires, is a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, now called Faegre Drinker. A separate October 2018 invoice from the law firm shows Hunter spent a total $68,933.41 on the 'restructuring' beginning in September 2016. The same year Joe took on these bills from Hunter, he promised that 'No one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they are a cabinet member, will, in fact, have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country.' Yet not only did Hunter hold on to his 10% share of BHR through 2021, confirmed by White House press secretary Jen Psaki last February, the emails also indicate Joe knew about it, and even agreed to pay Hunter's legal fees for the firm. The bills also include $412,309.23 in unpaid taxes dating back to 2015. The New York Times reported earlier this month that Hunter had taken out a million-dollar loan to pay his delinquent tax bill in an apparent effort to stave off an alleged tax fraud prosecution. Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who along with Senator Chuck Grassley is investigating Hunter's foreign business deals, said Joe Biden's unaccounted-for millions are 'another disturbing piece of information that raises questions that deserve answers.' 'When will the corporate media start doing their job and ask President Biden these questions?' he said. 'And when will President Biden start being honest with the public? The American people deserve the truth.' Iowa Republican Grassley told DailyMail.com: 'Evidence of the president's financial and business connections to Hunter continues to grow. It's imperative for the first family to show the American people the transparency that they deserve.' Hunter's personal attorney, George Mesires, is a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, now called Faegre Drinker. A separate October 2018 invoice from the law firm shows Hunter spent a total $68,933.41 on the 'restructuring' beginning in September 2016 Hunter's bill for over $68,000 on the 'restructuring' is seen in a statement of his account Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson (left), who along with Senator Chuck Grassley (right) is investigating Hunter's foreign business deals, said Joe Biden's unaccounted-for millions are 'another disturbing piece of information that raises questions that deserve answers' DailyMail.com obtained a copy of the abandoned laptop's hard drive and commissioned the founder of the FBI's cyber forensics unit to analyze it. Their report found the contents were genuine and there was no evidence of tampering by Russians or anyone else The president's son is under federal investigation for tax offenses, money laundering and illegal lobbying for foreign clients. Joe's financial transparency disclosures show that he had more than enough money to foot Hunter's burgeoning bills. While in office Joe had a relatively modest income, but he enjoyed a flood of millions of dollars soon after he left office, much of which came from his memoir book deal and eye-watering speaking fees. Between 2017 and 2019 he and First Lady Jill Biden reported $16.5million in gross income on their federal tax returns, released by the Biden campaign. The vast majority came from their two companies, CelticCapri Corp and Giacoppa Corp, which they use for speaking and writing engagements. But in Office of Government Ethics (OGE) fillings for the same period, Joe only reported $9.6million in income for himself and his wife. Joe Biden's 2019 disclosure to the Office of Government Ethics shows he received millions through his company, CelticCapri Corp but fails to account for all of the $16.5million shown in his tax filings The White House released President Joe Biden's tax returns last Friday, revealing that the first couple made more than $600,000 last year Joe's 2017 federal tax return shows $11million of adjusted gross income, almost $4.6million in 2018, and $985,233 in 2019. That's a total of about $16.5million Between 2017 and 2019 he and First Lady Jill Biden reported $16.5million in gross income on their federal tax returns, released by the Biden campaign. In Joe Biden's 2018 Amended Federal tax return document it showed a total of $4,580,437 Some of the remaining roughly $7million came from wages earned by the First Lady from her Northern Virginia Community College teaching job and a salary she paid herself from Giacoppa, which the couple were not required to report to the OGE. Hunters former business partner Tony Bobulinski claimed he met with Joe Biden to discuss a business deal with the Chinese But a comparison of the income reported by Joe from his CelticCapri company on OGE reports versus what he told the IRS, shows a difference of almost $5.2million which remains unaccounted for. No conclusive evidence has yet emerged that Joe profited from any of Hunters business deals. But the potential discrepancy in the presidents financial filings, and his alleged links to Hunters Chinese ventures, raise troubling questions over where the unexplained $5,180,071 came from. Joe's OGE filing submitted in July 2019 shows around $8,699,787 of income for him and Jill from 2017 through May 2019. This includes $7,451,727 which he said came from CelticCapri Corp. His OGE form submitted in May 2020 added another $907,160 that wasn't paid until after their 2019 report, bringing the total for the period to $9,606,947, and the total for CelticCapri to $8,065,464. Joe's 2017 federal tax return shows $11million of adjusted gross income, almost $4.6million in 2018, and $985,233 in 2019. That's a total of about $16.5million some $6,990,032 more than what was listed on his OGE forms. Joes tax returns detail income from CelticCapri of $9,636,690 in 2017, $3,030,667 in 2018 and $578,178 in 2019, making a total of $13,245,535. This is $5,180,071 more than the CelticCapri earnings he reported on his OGE forms. The OGE forms do not give precise figures for many of the couple's assets, only rough value ranges. But according to Joe's form for 2015 while he was vice president, he and Jill reported assets worth between $317,028 and $1,080,000. By July 2019, the couple had assets worth between $2,237,033 and $7,955,000. The figures show an increase in assets of at least $1,157,033 and could be as much as $7,637,972. Amid all the shocking messages involving Joe Biden, possibly the most important email of the 154,000 on Hunter's abandoned laptop is the infamous 'big guy' email, suggesting that the president was secretly involved in, and set to profit from, an alleged Chinese influence operation It is clear from the president's tax returns that his income largely came through his firm, CelticCapri Corp. Some of it is itemized on his OGE forms as being earned from speaking engagements and a book deal for his memoir, Promise Me, Dad. But where the remaining $5.2million money came from remains a mystery. In a now-infamous email sent by Hunter's business partner James Gilliar in May 2017, it was suggested 10% of the equity in their joint venture with Chinese oil giant CEFC would be 'held by H for the big guy'. Another partner in the deal, Tony Bobulinski, has claimed that the message meant Hunter would secretly hold the shares for his father, who was involved in the deal. Several other emails on Hunter's laptop refer to Joe as 'the big guy'. A report by Grassley and Johnson in September 2020 uncovered $5million in wire transfers from Hunter's Chinese partners to a company controlled by the president's son. One of the CEFC executives, Patrick Ho, also paid Hunter a $1million retainer to represent him over a Department of Justice bribery prosecution. In an audio-recorded conversation stored on Hunter's laptop, the president's son referred to Ho as the 'f***ing spy chief of China'. Ho did indeed appear to have ties to Chinese intelligence agencies, as he was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant aimed at investigating potential foreign spies. But Hunters claim that Ho was the spy chief of China - or a senior Chinese intelligence officer - has not been proven. An email address linked to Charles Herbster, embattled Republican Nebraska governor candidate who is backed by Donald Trump, was used to set up an account on the cheating website Ashley Madison, DailyMail.com can reveal. The address was among millions released by hackers in 2015. The revelation will increase scrutiny of Herbster's troubled campaign after a GOP lawmaker accused him of groping her, and seven other women subsequently made similar allegations. In a lawsuit lodged last Friday, Herbster said the accusations 'lack even a shred of credibility' and have damaged his reputation. Trump is due in the state on Friday for a rally to boost his favored candidate. Herbster, a wealthy cattle breeder and loyal Trump ally, launched his candidacy last year and used the email address charles@herbsterangus.com on his official filing with the Nebraska secretary of state. The same address was in the huge trove of Ashley Madison data dumped online by hackers, according to an independent analysis conducted by a cybersecurity expert for DailyMail.com. Donald Trump will be in Nebraska on Friday to hold a rally to boost the campaign of Charles Herbster in his run for the Republican nomination to be Nebraska's next governor One of Herbster's email addresses was among millions dumped online by hackers who accessed accounts of users of Ashley Madison, a website that advertised itself as catering to married people looking to have discreet affairs Earlier this month, Nebraska State Senator Julie Slama accused Herbster of putting his hand up her skirt at a public event. Herbster denies the accusation and has launched legal action The site caters to married people looking to have affairs, with the tagline, 'Life is short. Have an affair.' The 2015 data dump sent shockwaves through marriages around the nation, triggering separations and divorces. Log-on information associated with the Herbster email address shows the account was accessed from an IP address linked to Verizon Wireless, at a location that corresponds to Kansas City International Airport. Among Herbster's business interests is Conklin Company, which manufactures more than 130 products, including roofing and agriculture products, such as fertilizers and motor oil, and has its administrative offices in Kansas City, Missouri. He also owns Herbster Angus Farms, a cattle breeding business. In 2019 he spent a record $1.5m on an Angus bull. Proving who used particular email addresses, and whether the user signed up for an Ashley Madison account, is notoriously difficult. But the charles@herbsterangus.com address is listed in connection with Herbster Angus Farms in directories, as well as documents used to file his run for governor. Herbster has been married twice, and his second wife Judith died in 2017. The details will raise fresh questions for Herbster, whose campaign makes much of his born-again Christian credentials, business experience and relationship with Trump. His campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment until after this story was published. 'This is clearly another attempt by the fake news to smear Charles,' said spokesperson Emily Novotny. 'Charles 100% denies ever using Ashley Madison or creating an account.' Login information released by the hackers show the account was accessed from a latitude and longitude of 39.30204,-94.718377. The location corresponds to Kansas City International Airport. One of Herbster's business has its administrative offices in the city Herbster was married to Judith from 1982 to 2017, when she died of a heart attack Herbster was appointed chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee for Trump's presidential campaign in 2015, and said at the time he had been friends with the first-time candidate for a decade. Trump endorsed his run for governor last year He says he has been friends with the former president for more than a decade, and in 2015 took on the role of agricultural adviser to Trump's campaign. Photographs of the two together feature prominently in Herbster's promotional material. Trump's endorsement of Herbster, who has never held public office, is seen as another example of the former president taking a gamble on an ultra-loyalist, rather than better connected opponents. But it could be enough to turn Herbster into a real contender in a state that heavily backed Trump in 2020. 'Charles W. Herbster has been a tremendous supporter of America First and Make America Great Again, right from the beginning,' said Trump in his endorsement. 'He is running for governor of the great state of Nebraska and will do a fantastic job. 'A proud native of Nebraska, Charles is an extraordinarily successful businessman who will fight for our farmers and ranchers, support our military and vets, and protect and defend your under siege Second Amendment rights.' But Herbster's campaign was hit by scandal when GOP state Sen. Julie Slama told the Nebraska Examiner that the businessman had reached up her skirt during a 2019 Republican fundraising dinner. 'Today's Nebraska Examiner report about Charles Herbster sexually assaulting me in 2019, when I was 22 years old, is true,' she later said in a statement. Six other women, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Examiner that Herbster groped them on their buttocks, outside of their clothes, at public events. A seventh woman alleged that Herbster once cornered her and forcibly kissed her. Herbster has denied all the allegations. On Friday, he filed a suit in state district court accusing Slama of making false accusation in an effort to damage his reputation ahead of the hard fought Republican 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,' he said in a statement. 'I will not stop fighting until the truth is told and my name is cleared.' Slama responded with her own lawsuit on Monday, according to her lawyer, who said it included a claim for damages for 'the sexual battery she suffered.' 'We will not permit Charles Herbster to file a frivolous, bad faith lawsuit that purports to cast doubt on Senator Slama's account of her sexual assault, use his national media megaphone to herald the existence of that lawsuit for his own gain, but then take no steps to actually serve it and subject himself to the legal accountability such service would trigger,' said attorney Dave Lopez. 'Charles Herbster chose to subject himself to Nebraskas judicial system, and Senator Slama will hold him to that choice.' It requires that Herbster sit for a videotaped deposition on May 6, four days before the primary. This is the terrifying a trapeze star lost his grip and plunged more than 10 feet to the ground in front of a shocked audience. Eduardo Elenilson Gama, 20, fractured his pelvis in the accident during a performance by Circo Puerto Rico in Caucaia, north-eastern Brazil, on April 21. Video filmed from the audience captures him hitting the floor with a sickening thud after missing the safety net. Footage shows the performer apparently struggling to make a turn, before he loses his grip. The audience gasp and scream as he crashes to the ground before three circus workers rush over to help him. Paramedics rushed Eduardo to the local Dr Abelardo Gadelha da Rocha Municipal Hospital, then later transferred to the Dr Jose Frota Institute in nearby Fortaleza. Local reports reported that he initially reassured fans he was ok via social media. But an MRI revealed he had fractured his pelvis. He was due for further assessments at the hospital today. This is the terrifying moment that circus-goers watched 20-year-old trapeze star Eduardo Elenilson Gama lose his grip and plunge at more than 10 feet to the ground during a show Eduardo was performing with Circo Puerto Rico in Caucaia, north-eastern Brazil , on April 21. The audience audibly gasped and screamed at the accident, which left 20-year-old Eduardo hospitalised Speaking on Sunday, a friend of the trapeze artist, who preferred to remain anonymous, said despite the severity of the fall, Eduardo might avoid surgery. Trapezist Eduardo Elenilson Gama, pictured, fractured his pelvis when his high-flying move went wrong and landed on the hard floor with a sickening thud An X-ray revealed the fracture on Gama's pelvis, although a friend said he was hopeful the performer would avoid surgery The friend said: 'He now needs a lot of rest and must not exert himself. 'He will probably be seen on Monday by the spine and pelvis doctor and we'll wait for their opinion.' The performance took place before the troupe had received official authorisation to be able to perform, said the local authorities. The Urban and Environmental Planning Department (UEPD) confirmed that the troupe was fined for performing without the necessary permits. The circus remains banned from performing for the time being. One of the circus directors said the group did not receive authorisation to perform because a public holiday caused local officials to fall behind schedule. UEPD said the Fire Department will carry out a technical inspection. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has confounded Democrats over budget talks even while boasting about using her cleavage to reel in 'uptight' Republicans, according to a new book. Sinema, a weight-lifter and fitness buff, regularly draws attention in the buttoned-down Senate hallways with her eclectic fashion choices. But she has also developed ways to contend with Republicans in the minority, according to This Will Not Pass, a new book by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. Despite being more 'discomfiting' to the White House than any Democrat in the 50-50 Senate, Sinema had relationships across the political aisle. The former House member, who is the first bisexual member of the Senate, 'joked with Democrats about how easy it was for her to charm Republican men,' according to the book. 'Sinema, a fitness enthusiast who was 36 when she entered Congress, boasted knowingly to colleagues and aides that her cleavage had an extraordinary persuasive effect on the uptight men of the GOP. She told one House Republican that while she would never switch parties, her father would be delighted if she did,' the authors write. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) 'boasted knowingly to colleagues and aides that her cleavage had an extraordinary persuasive effect on the uptight men of the GOP,' according to a new book. Here Sinema taps Mitt Romney (R-UT) on the back as he speaks to the media at the U.S. Capitol on April 25, 2022 in Washington, DC The book also delves into President Joe Biden's governing woes including prolonged talks with Sinema, whom the authors dub an 'aloof Arizonan.' She became a progressive nemesis when she and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wouldn't go along with Biden's multi-trillion proposals, although she did cheer his infrastructure plan. After Biden signed the infrastructure bill, Sinema asked Biden's aides not to send the president to her home state for a 'victory lap,' even though he had won Arizona in 2020. White House aides were concluding she was 'simply a difficult person.' The book describes one early 2021 dinner with Senate Republicans after the election where where the Republicans asked Sinema to join and she requested to be able to enter through a back door to avoid being seen. She has won praise from Republicans for her opposition to changing the Senate filibuster, and a line of Republicans congratulated her on the Senate floor after voting with the GOP on a move to advance the Democratic leadership backed voting rights legislation. The book, which grabbed headlines with revelations about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, also contains details about former President Donald Trump and his election overturn effort. Sinema is a former House member who was elected to the Senate in 2018. Here she talks with U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) at a Senate Finance Committee hearing Sinema confounded Democrats during months-long negotiations Sinema previously served in the House. Here, she and Trey Hollingsworth, R-Ind., talk before a House Financial Services Committee hearing in 2018 Sinema asked Biden's aides not to send the president to her home state for a 'victory lap' after Biden signed the infrastructure bill, according to the book Trump's belief that he could prevail extended well after the time he left the White House and decamped to Mar-a-Lago. And it wasn't just Donald Trump's most passionate adherents who believed in the 'reinstatement' myth the former President himself was saying last spring he would be reinstalled within months, the book reveals. Trump stated his belief in the theory in May of 2021, four months after leaving office, according to the book. The idea of a Trump reinstatement was being promoted at the time by My Pillow exec Mike Lindell and QAnon adherents, although it would ultimately be believed by nearly a third of Republicans in a June Politico / Morning Consult survey. Trump phoned National Review editor Rich Lowry to tell him that the magazine 'would take off like a rocket if it recognized that he had actually won the election,' according to the book. 'In fact, Trump told Lowry, he expected to be reinstated by August, and Republicans would be put back in charge of the Senate once the supposedly pervasive corruption of the 2020 election was exposed.' Former President Donald Trump told columnist Rich Lowry in May 2021 he expected to be reinstated within months, according to a new book The Senate had flipped to Democratic control in 2000 after two Democratic wins in Georgia. There is no provision in the Constitution for 'reinstatement' once election results have been certified by the states and Congress has counted the electoral votes and the president and lawmakers have been sworn into office. (Lowry may have been an odd target for Trump's lobbying. He had called the Capitol riot in a Jan. 6th column a 'disgrace,' where he wrote that 'one point of the riot was to further pressure Pence (Hang Mike Pence!), but much of the lobbying took place behind closed doors, among Trumps advisers.') Trump also took a shot at now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. 'It was beyond belief, Trump said, that Mitch McConnell did not seem to understand this,' according to the book. 'The president's comments were pure madness,' the authors write. Congress ultimately counted the votes certified by the states following the Capitol riot. Joe Biden took the oath Jan. 20th after Trump left the White House Trump has been spending time at Mar-a-Lago and holding rallies around the country while dangling the possibility of a return to the White House There have been multiple reports on Trump's interest in getting 'reinstated.' After Trump withdrew his endorsement of Alabama GOP Rep. Mo Brooks, Brooks released a statement saying Trump had approached him with the idea. 'President Trump asked me to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency,' Brooks said in a statement. 'As a lawyer, Ive repeatedly advised President Trump that January 6 was the final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit what President Trump asks. Period,' he added. 'Ive told President Trump the truth knowing full well that it might cause President Trump to rescind his endorsement. But I took a sworn oath to defend and protect the U.S. Constitution. I honor my oath. That is the way I am. I break my sworn oath for no man.' Trump took back his endorsement in the Alabama Senate primary, citing Brooks' call for people to put the 2020 election 'behind you.' Lindell, who was advised Trump inside the White House in the last days of his presidency, has also repeatedly touted the idea. Other passages in the book reveal how Vice President Kamala Harris quickly learned not to come between President Biden and his negotiations with Congress. The authors recount one episode where the president snapped at her so harshly even Republican senators in the meeting were shocked. In a meeting last May, Biden tried to persuade Republican lawmakers to support $1 trillion in infrastructure spending. And while Biden was ready for a compromise, Harris thought the bill was skimpy. 'Harris thought that there was something missing from the conversation,' according to the book. She began turning the conversation toward Democratic priorities, including family and social spending, which were originally included in the larger Build Back Better bill. She 'began to make the case for a larger package than the one Republicans seemed to have in mind.' 'Biden dismissed her comment immediately,' the authors wrote, in so harsh a tone 'that even the Republican senators were taken aback.' Biden was typically 'scrupulously respectful' of his second-in-command, but the moment revealed that infrastructure negotiations were his and his alone. The Earl and Countess of Wessex were today urged to use their 'diplomatic influence' to achieve 'reparatory justice' for the island of Antigua and Barbuda. The country's prime minister Gaston Browne's words followed protests during the couple's visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday, where banners were held aloft saying 'compensation now' and 'Britain your debt is outstanding'. The history of slavery in the nation stretches as far back as 1674, when the first sugar plantation was established by Barbadian-born British soldier Christopher Codrington, who was also a plantation and slave-owner. Within four years, half of the island's population was made up of African slaves who had been shipped from Africa's west coast in horrendous conditions. Whilst tobacco, indigo and ginger crops were also grown, it was sugar that became the dominant source of revenue for the plantation owners on the island nation. Toiling for hours in the hot sun, the slaves were fuelling the thirst for sugar back in England. Toiling for hours in the hot sun, the slaves were fuelling the thirst for sugar back in England - Pictured: A slave showing his scars from being lashed by owners Within four years of Cordrington's arrival, half of Antigua and population was made up of African slaves who had been shipped from Africa's west coast in horrendous conditions - Pictured: A diagram of a ship being used to transport slaves across the Atlantic Antigua's flagship plantation was Betty's Hope. Many of its sugar mill towers still stand as a legacy of enforced enterprise that once took place. But even after emancipation, former slaves continued to work on Antiguan plantations continued in their old roles for a paltry wage due to the absence of alternative sources of income. Some historians believe that slavery and the associated malnutrition and disease was responsible for the destruction of the native Caribbean population - with modern inhabitants of the island descended mainly from Europe and Africa. One of Antigua's national heroes is the slave Prince Klaas, who in 1736 planned an uprising that led to him being executed by breaking wheel (pictured) The number of slaves in the mid-1770s peaked at 37,500 - treble the 12,500 present on the island in 1713 with the slaves in ever-worsening and overcrowded conditions Sugar became the main crop on Antiguan plantations as a result of Christopher Codrington's settling on the island. The number of slaves in the mid-1770s peaked at 37,500 - treble the 12,500 present on the island in 1713. By contrast, the white population had fallen by nearly half to 3000 from 5000 with the slaves in ever-worsening and overcrowded conditions. The Slave Act of 1723 made arbitrary murder of slave illegal but this change in the law did little to ease the suffering of the forced workers. One of Antigua's national heroes is the slave Prince Klaas, who in 1736 planned an uprising that led to him being executed. The slave, whose real name was Court, was crowned 'King of the Coromantees' in a pasture outside St. John's, in a ceremony that served as a declaration of war on whites. Colonists discovered the plot and suppressed the rebellion and Prince Klaas and four accomplices were executed by breaking wheel - a device which systematically broke the bones of its victims. Another sixty-four slaves were also killed for their part in the plot. Rebellions were not uncommon on the island with another slave named Hercules hanged, drawn and quartered with three others burnt alive for a conspiracy to kill slave owner Crump in 1729 Gaston Browne asked for help securing 'reparatory justice' for slavery at a meeting with the Earl and Countess of Wessex and his cabinet during their visit to the island today Rebellions were not uncommon on the island with another slave named Hercules hanged, drawn and quartered with three others burnt alive for a conspiracy to kill slave owner Crump in 1729. The nineteenth century was the twilight for slavery across the West. The American War of Independence at the end of the eighteenth century disrupted the sugar trade in Antigua after Britain enforced the Navigation Acts to stop trading with the newly-independent United States. The slave trade was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1807 and this created an economic groundshift in the colony. Sugar cane had already collapsed in price after the cheaper sugar beet - native to Europe - replaced it. Slaves also found themselves employed in the very jobs they were forced to do in the years before because of a lack of alternative employment in Antigua. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda today told the Earl and Countess of Wessex it is his country's wish to 'one day become a republic' - with Gaston Browne remarking that he wanted the royal couple to help Antigue and Barbuda achieve 'reparatory justice' for slavery on the island. Gaston Browne's remarks came at a meeting between Edward and Sophie, Mr Browne and his cabinet during their visit to the island today - and are a direct echo of Jamaican PM Andrew Holness, who told the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their own tour that his country is 'moving on' to become a republic. Will Smith is said to be on a "spiritual trip" to India to meditate, but he has yet to apologize or reach out to Chris Rock for his infamous Oscars slap. Many Hollywood insiders are rolling their eyes as Smith, 53, insists his trip is part of his vow to do "the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason." Ardent sources told People on Monday that Smith was "on a journey inward," one month after he shockingly slapped Rock, 57, onstage at the 2022 Oscars. Will Smith Hasn't Personally Apologized to Chris Rock Will Smith went to India for spiritual reasons to practice yoga and meditation. On Saturday, the actor landed at a private airport in Mumbai, India, for the first time since the Academy Awards, where he posed for photos with admirers. Smith was all smiles when he landed in India on Saturday, his first public appearance since the notorious Oscars slap. Smith appeared comfortable and pleased after landing in the South Asian country, dressed casually in a white t-shirt, dark grey shorts over white compression tights, and Nike sneakers. Will Smith then took a few photographs with security before turning to the supporters who were chanting his name and waving and smiling before taking a few more selfies and entering a building where he hugged someone. This is Smith's first public appearance in over a month, after hitting master of ceremony and comedian Chris Rock on live TV in front of his co-stars when he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's buzzcut. Will has resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, after winning Best Actor for "King Richard" at the Academy Awards last month. The Academy has barred the actor from attending any of its events for ten years. The Smith family has kept a low profile ever since the event occurred. Will Smith was sighted in Mumbai's Kalina airport almost a month later. In Mumbai, the 53-year-old actor was seen with a spiritual guru. For his journey to the country, the actor wore a simple white shirt and a spiritual thread around his neck. According to reports, the actor traveled to India for spiritual reasons to move on from the painful incident. The acclaimed actor was sighted in Mumbai with a pandit on April 23, 2022. To be clear, this is not the first time Will Smith has been spotted in India; on April 7, 2019, he revealed photos from his trip to the nation on Instagram. Jada Pinkett Smith has already stated that she will not bring up Will Smith's violent outburst at the Oscars 2022 Red Table Talk, as per Republic World. Read Also: Johnny Depp Accuses Ex-Wife Amber Heard of Having Affair with James Franco; Ireland Baldwin Slams "Manipulative, Terrible" Actress Amid Trial Chris Rock's Mom Speaks Out Meanwhile, his mother has spoken out while comedian Chris Rock has been silent since being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars. Rose Rock made an appearance on WIS-TV's Soda City Live in her home state of South Carolina. Will Smith never apologized to her son, implying that he never personally reached out, according to Chris Rock's mom. Rose Rock claimed she was watching from her house and assumed that the scene was staged until Smith started throwing slurs at her son. Smith's actions disrupted Chris Rock's speech; he was delighted to present the award for Best Documentary Feature to pal Questlove, according to Rose. On Sunday, Chris Rock, 57, appeared serious as he wandered across Manhattan in New York City, Daily Mail reported. Related Article: Comedians and Jimmy Kimmel Discuss the Ramifications of Will Smith's Chris Rock Slap at the Oscars @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. North Dakota's longest-serving state senator announced he would be resigning after it was revealed that he sent 72 text messages to a man who was arrested on child pornography charges. On Monday, Republican Ray Holmberg, 79, said he would resign on June 1 following an April 15 report from the daily newspaper Forum of Fargo-Moorhead about 72 text messages the state senator exchanged in August with accused sex offender Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier. The owner of a patio and yard care business called Team Lawn, Morgan-Derosier at the time was in custody at the Grand Forks County jail accused of sex crimes. Prosecutors allege Morgan-Derosier, who remains in jail, possessed several thousand images and videos depicting sexually abused children. He is accused of taking two children under the age of 10 from Minnesota to his Grand Forks home, with the intent of sexually abusing them. According to an affidavit, investigators found a thumb drive in Morgan-Derosier's Grand Forks home that contained thousands of videos and photographs of children being sexually abused, including two of his young nephews. The landscaper previously was charged with theft, construction fraud and contracting without a license in connection to his lawn care business. Republican North Dakota state senator Ray Holmberg, 79, (pictured) said he would resign on June 1 Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier (pictured) was in custody at the Grand Forks County jail on suspicion of child pornography and sex abuse crimes 'Recent news stories have become a distraction for the important work of the legislative assembly during its interim meetings,' Holmberg said in a statement announcing his resignation. 'I want to do what I can, within my power, to lessen such distractions.' Holmberg, who rose to become one of the state's most powerful lawmakers in a career that spanned 46 years, had announced in March that this term would be his last. It would have ended November 30. At the time, he said he was stepping down due to stress, saying a campaign would 'only exacerbate a weakened ability to concentrate on the matters at hand and effectively recall events.' Holmberg initially told the Forum that he had read a newspaper story about the charges against Morgan-Derosier, but said in a later interview with the paper that he had not. He told the Forum that his text messages with Morgan-Derosier were related to 'a variety of things,' including patio work Morgan-Derosier did for him. Republican North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (pictured) said in a statement he 'supports Senator Holmberg's decision to resign' and did not elaborate Holmberg told the paper that he no longer had the text messages. 'They're just gone,' he said. While the context of the text messages has not been released, during a January detention hearing assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl released some details about messages Morgan-Derosier sent while behind bars, including texts sent in August 2021 to an unidentified 77-year-old man, the Daily Beast reported. At the time Holmberg was 77, the Beast reported. In the August messages, the 77-year-old asked Morgan-Derosier to bring his boyfriend, Nicholas Beeche, 20 at the time, over for a massage. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl said that Beeche did not know that Morgan-Derosier would be 'serving him up to a 77-year-old man.' When pressed about the messages, Holmberg told the Forum: 'I don't know what you're talking about, Ok?' Holmberg's attorney, Mark Friese, a prominent North Dakota criminal defense attorney, said that Holmberg hasn't been charged with any crime, and there is no indication that he will. Republican North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said in a statement that he 'supports Senator Holmberg's decision to resign' and did not elaborate. Holmberg has been one of the Legislature's most powerful lawmakers for decades, serving as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He chaired the legislative management committee, which decides committee assignments and chooses study topics that often inspire legislation, four times. He also sat on the state's emergency commission, which allocates funding and resources in times of an emergency. Holmberg served on or chaired several GOP-led redistricting committees, leading to accolades from many North Dakota Republicans at the time. Following his resignation announcement, Holmberg will remain on the Legislature's payroll through May and on its state-funded health insurance plan through July, a benefit worth about $1,425 monthly. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was reportedly 'exhilarated' about what he thought was the demise of Donald Trump's reputation following the January 6 Capitol riot last year, a new book excerpt claimed on Monday. 'He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger,' the Senate Minority Leader said after the ex-president's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building. He added that it 'couldnt have happened at a better time.' McConnell spoke to one of the New York Times journalists behind a new book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for Americas Future, in the early hours of January 7, 2021 -- after Congress had certified President Joe Biden's victory following the riot. 'I feel exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself,' the Kentucky lawmaker said, according to an excerpt obtained by the Washington Post. He revealed at the time that he was considering a joint statement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top two Congressional Democrats, demanding that Trump stay away from Biden's inauguration. McConnell reportedly even told his staff Trump was a 'despicable person' following the riot. Speaking to New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin, the longtime legislator compared his aim to purge the GOP of Trump supporters to his previous attack on far-right Republicans in the 2014 elections. McConnell said Trump 'totally discredited himself' and that it 'couldn't have happened at a better time' during an interview in the early hours of January 7, 2021 'We crushed the sons of b****es,' McConnell recalled bluntly. 'And thats what were going to do in the primary in 22.' McConnell was among Trump's sharpest critics in the immediate aftermath of January 6, declaring on the Senate floor: 'The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.' He was not, however, one of the seven Senate Republicans who voted to impeach him for it. The video of those post-insurrection remarks was shared with Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows by Fox News host Sean Hannity, according to new text messages between the two revealed by CNN on Monday. 'Well this is as bad as this can get,' Hannity wrote of the January 19, 2021 video. But McConnell has since dialed back his criticism of Trump. He's thrown support behind pro-Trump candidates like Herschel Walker, who's running to unseat Democratic Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock in November. Excerpts from a forthcoming book on Trump and Biden reveals explosive new details on how close Republican leaders were to dropping the former president in the immediate aftermath of the riot -- though many have since returned to embracing him He later said he'd support Trump in a possible 2024 re-election bid, standing by the comments when pressed by Axios earlier this month. 'Well as the Republican leader of the Senate, it should not be a front page headline that I will support the Republican nominee for president,' McConnell said on April 7. 'I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party. And I will.' Speaking over journalist Jonathan Swan's interjections, McConnell continued, 'That will mean that whoever the nominee is has gone out and earned the nomination.' He vehemently denied that his views were 'inconsistent,' insisting that 'I stand by everything I said.' Trump, for his part, soured on McConnell after the riot as well. He frequently attacked the senator for much of last year over his vote in favor of Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure compromise. The former president declared McConnell to be the most unpopular politician in history in an April 7 interview with the Post. 'Ill take anyone over McConnell,' he said, reiterating past claims that McConnell's reign over the GOP must end. But despite that the longtime Republican leader enjoys near-total support among his colleagues. The forthcoming account of the end of Trump's presidency and beginning of Biden's reveals new details about the extent of GOP leadership's fury following the insurrection. It was the source of a New York Times report that revealed House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy had said he'd ask the ex-president to resign over last year's Capitol riot. McCarthy denied the conversation, and the Times and other outlets published audio recordings that proved the Republican lawmaker did have those conversations with his fellow GOP leaders. The Greens Party has pledged to introduce legislation to empower flood victims to sue major coal and gas companies for 'climate-fuelled damage'. Party leader Adam Bandt said the effects of climate change was 'ravaging' the NSW Northern Rivers region recently devastated by unprecedented flooding. Mr Bandt said coal and gas corporations had 'fuelled' the major weather event and called on those he deemed responsible to reimburse residents for the damage. 'The Greens want to stop new coal and gas mines and give the community, the council and governments the right to sue the coal and gas corporations that have knowingly made the climate crisis worse,' he told reporters. Greens' leader Adam Bandt (pictured) said the effects of climate change was 'ravaging' the NSW Northern Rivers region recently devastated by unprecedented flooding Legislation promised by the Greens will empower residents to sue coal and gas companies for flood damage (pictured, staff clean up their store in Byron Bay on March 31) Mr Bandt, joined by one of his key candidates Mandy Nolan, is due to announce the plan on Tuesday along with other climate-focused investments. Ms Nolan, a comedian and writer, is the candidate for the Greens priority seat of Richmond on the NSW North Coast. The seat is currently held by Labor MP Justine Elliot on a margin of 4.1 per cent, ahead of the Nationals, however the Greens are steadily gaining support. The party has pledged $190billion a year to the Richmond community to help rebuild and upgrade infrastructure to reduce the impacts of future flood events. They will also seek to increase emergency services funding to $5billion a year to bolster support for volunteers and residents in flood-affected areas. Mr Bandt said coal and gas corporations had 'fuelled' the major weather event that affected residents across NSW and southeast Queensland (pictured, residents in Brisbane in March) Ms Nolan, a comedian and writer, is the candidate for the Greens priority seat of Richmond on the NSW North Coast (pictured outside Parliament House in Canberra) The Greens also want $600m to be spent every year from the Emergency Response Fund which is currently restricted to $4.7billion. They also want $300million spent in 2027-28 on climate resilience projects. Mr Bandt said if Ms Nolan joined the Greens in the House of Representatives the party would 'kick the Liberals out' and invest in climate-focused projects. The candidate said residents shouldn't have to be clearing mud out of their houses 'wondering if the government is ever going to show up'. 'The people of the Northern Rivers are the collateral damage of a Budget that gives Billions to gas and coal,' Ms Nolan tweeted in the wake of the March flooding. The Greens also want $600m to be spent every year from the Emergency Response Fund which is currently restricted to $4.7billion. 'How do you recover from this? We are covered in s*** and mud and despair - it's the frontline of a climate war.' In an election proposal, the party pledged free access to the National Broadband Network for low-income Australians to cost $800million per year. Mr Bandt said the pandemic had showed how important internet access was, with school students, carers, low-income families and the unemployed to benefit. The free high-speed net would be free to anyone with a government healthcare card with about 1.5 million Australians expected to benefit. The Greens have also pledged to legalise marijuana, wipe student debt, make childcare free and ban petrol cars in an ambitious election agenda. Nearly 20 years after a young NSW mother went missing, police are offering a $1million reward for useful information about her suspicious disappearance. Amber Haigh and her six-month-old son had been living in Kingsvale, a town in the South West Slopes region, with a married couple when she vanished on June 5, 2002. Her devastated family made an emotional plea urging the public to come forward with any information that will help lay the 'kind, warm, loving' woman to rest. Amber Haigh disappeared on June 5, 2002 after she was dropped off at Campbelltown station on her way to see her sick father in hospital and was reported missing two weeks later In a video message on Tuesday, Haigh's sister Melissa Millar-Hodder and mother Rosalind Wright described her as a kind-hearted woman, who loved music, drawing and cats. 'Amber, she had a kind, warm, loving soul. She would help anyone in any way,' Ms Millar-Hodder said. 'Not able to lay her to rest, not able to pick up the phone or give her hugs one last time; that has been taken away from us.' Ms Wright said she did not believe her daughter would have willingly left behind her who was six months old at the time of her disappearance. 'I know in my heart that she would never have left her son,' Wright said. 'We just need to lay our Amber to rest.' The couple Haigh's was living with at the time of her disappearance reported her missing on June 19 - two weeks after she vanished. The couple said they dropped the 19-year-old at Campbelltown train station so she could visit her sick father in hospital in Mt Druitt, in Sydney's west. At about 8:45pm that night, money was withdrawn from her bank account at a Commonwealth Bank ATM on Queens Street in Campbelltown. In 2011, a Coroner found Ms Haigh had been murdered, or died of misadventure in early June 2002. Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty renewed calls for help from the public on Tuesday as he announced the reward for information about her disappearance had increased from $100,000. 'Amber's disappearance and suspected death robbed a young boy of a mother's presence in his life, and nobody has ever been held accountable for that,' Det Supt Doherty said in a statement. Advertisement Vladimir Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine as he wants to seize as much land as he can for Russia, according to Kremlin insiders. The three insiders claimed that the Russian president wanted to grab territory because he felt negotiations had reached a 'dead end', The Financial Times reported. One insider said: 'There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner.' 'Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big,' another insider added. A third said he wouldn't sign anything after the humiliation caused by the sinking of the Moskva. A senior member of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umirov, said: 'We continue the negotiation process. Primarily to save more lives of our people.' 'We will use all the political and diplomatic efforts to stop this bloodshed. But there are red lines we will never cross. Ukraine will never give up its people and its territories,' he told The Times. It comes as officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new '200-yard mass grave' has been identified north of the city that could contain hundreds of bodies. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about six miles north of Mariupol. This would be the third after satellite photos released over the last few days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves. On Saturday, chilling satellite photos revealed a second mass grave near Mariupol - as Russian forces continued to pummel the last 2,000 Ukrainian defenders trapped in a steelworks in the city. The photos from Maxar Technologies showed the site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne. It has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 131 feet long, Maxar said in a statement. Volodymyr Zelensky warned Vladimir Putin that if he tried to build a Nazi-style 'millennial Reich' he would 'lose'. Vladimir Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine as he wants to seize as much land as he can for Russia, according to Kremlin insiders A volunteer places the stretcher carrying Klavidia, 91, on the ground before boarding a train at a train station in Pokrovsk Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol People watch as a residential building burns following a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv Dead bodies wait to be identified outside a morgue in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv It comes as officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new '200-yard mass grave' (pictured) has been identified north of the city that could contain hundreds of bodies Emergency management specialists and volunteers remove the debris of a theatre building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Now Russia cuts off WATER supplies Desperate Ukrainians hit by a lack of food have had their water cut off by Russian shelling too. Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai accused the Kremlin of systematically attacking electricity plants and water pumps to punish the local population. Last week officials in Luhansk said Russian forces had deliberately targeted the supply of food to the eastern region. They swamped the key city of Sievierodonetsk with missiles that wiped out all food depots, as well as markets and shops. The citys 100,000 population has fallen by 17,000 and they are now reliant on aid supplies. Advertisement In his latest telegram broadcast, the Ukrainian president said: 'Russia can spend enormous resources to support the war and even to counter the entire free world. It can take away from its people everything that could develop Russia, and direct its potential to destroy the lives of neighbours. 'But the lessons of history are well-known. If you are going to build a millennial Reich, you will lose. If you are going to destroy neighbours, you will lose. If you want to restore an old empire, you will lose. And if you went against Ukrainians, you will lose.' He continued: 'It's obvious that every day and especially today when the third month of our resistance has started, everyone in Ukraine is concerned about the peace, when it will be all over, when and what will be the victory for Ukraine. There is a simple answer to this question, but at the same time there isn't. 'When victory comes, everyone will feel it, when peace comes, everyone will see it. But in order it make it happen and happen sooner, we must think not about when and what it will be. We must think every day about how to make the presence of occupiers at our land even more unbearable. 'Ukraine is ready for peace. It was ready even when the war continued in the Donbas. It's still ready now when Russian invasion has become large-scale. But in order to make Russia seek peace, every Ukrainian men and women must fight, must defend the freedom. Because every day of the fight will add years and years to the peaceful life after this war, after our victory. 'In two months a global anti-war coalition has been formed. Sanctions that have taken away its future were imposed against Russia. Ukraine is receiving support from dozens of countries, including the support with weapons, finances, necessary goods and direct political support. We have accelerated our way to the European Union.' Mariupol has been decimated by fierce fighting over the past two months. The capture of the city would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a closer view of new graves being dug at a cemetery near Vynohradne, approximately 12 kilometers east of Mariupol, Ukraine 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 On Thursday, Maxar released 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 Thursday could hold 9,000 bodies. The Kremlin did not respond to the satellite pictures. Meanwhile, Russian forces have resumed air strikes on and are trying to storm the Azovstal steel works where Ukraine's remaining forces in Mariupol are holding out, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Saturday. 'The enemy is trying to strangle the final resistance of the defenders of Mariupol in the Azovstal area,' Arestovych said on national television. Fresh attempts to evacuate civilians from the city on Saturday failed, an aide to Mariupol's mayor revealed. Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek has recalled the harrowing moment she received a sickening letter wishing that her children would die from painful cancers. Ms Plibersek said on Tuesday that she was left shaken many years ago when she found a hand-delivered note in her letterbox with the worrying message about her three young children. She shared the shocking story with horrified Sunrise host Natalie Barr while weighing into the latest saga surrounding Liberal candidate Katherine Deves, who claimed she and her family have fled their Sydney home following death threats over her controversial anti-transgender views. Ms Plibersek said it's '100 per cent unacceptable' for any election candidate to feel unsafe over their views, regardless of their political allegiances. Tanya Plibersek has recalled the contents of a hand-delivered note she received many years ago wishing ill wish on her three young children (pictured together in 2014) 'I've had something slip through my letterbox saying they hope my children die of painful cancers, there are some really awful people out there,' she said. 'This was years ago, I'm tough and can handle that stuff. But what really worries me about it is people hear stories like this think politics is not for me, I'm not going to get involved.' 'Our democracy is so much better when people do get involved and normal people who can have a civil debate actually get involved in our democracy. 'It's completely unacceptable any threats are being made during an election campaign.' Ms Plibersek appeared on the program alongside Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who was recently confronted by angry voter in a hostile encounter. The man has since been charged with threatening a member of the deputy PM's security team. She fears recent incidents will turn off aspiring politicians from running for office. Tanya Plibersek says it's unacceptable any election candidate is in fear of their safety and is concerned aspiring politicians will be put off by recent incidents 'We are so fortunate in Australia to have a democracy where we decide issues through the ballot box, through debate, and not through threat of violence,' Ms Plibersek added. 'I saw Barnaby copping it on the side of the road with someone getting angry with him, it's unacceptable. 'We are so fortunate to have a democracy where we decide issues through a ballot box and debate and not through threat of violence.' 'Barnaby and I will disagree but we can disagree in a civil way.' Mr Joyce agreed with the Labor frontbencher as he jumped to Ms Deves' defence. 'If you want to argue with someone, argue about their policy, argue about their position, but don't argue about them,' he said. 'Katherine has strong views in regard to fairness in sport and other issues, and that is why we have a parliament, you can have a discussion about that. 'We love our nation because you can say what you like and stand behind it. 'If your argument is ridiculous then you will lose your argument, which is reflected in the vote, and that is a civilised, safe way to deal with these issues.' Tanya Plibersek, (pictured with her husband and two of her children) once received a note in her letterbox wishing her children will die of painful cancers Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce (pictured) agreed with the Labor frontbencher on the issue of death threats faced by Katherine Deves Ms Deves has broken her silence over her pre-selection in her first television interview, claiming her family had to temporarily leave Sydney for their safety. The Warringah hopeful, hand-picked by Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attracted controversy for remarks made about transgender children playing school sport. She has apologised for Twitter posts, which have since been deleted, in which she described transgender children as 'surgically mutilated and sterilised', and said surrogacy was a 'human rights violation'. 'I have had to have the police and the AFP (Australian Federal Police) involved,'Ms Deves told SBS on Sunday. 'My safety has been threatened, my family are away out of Sydney because I don't want them to witness what I'm going through and nor do I want their safety put at risk.' A first-class plane passenger was arrested over claims he branded a flight attendant a 'f*g' for refusing to serve him more booze. Christopher Alexander Morgan is also said to have called the unidentified Delta worker 'queer' and whacked him with a cabin phone on the flight from Atlanta to Phoenix on April 22. The drama is said to have begun after Morgan reclined his chair before take-off, then refused to raise it again at the request of the cabin crew. He is said to have grown even more irate on being refused a second alcoholic drink after take-off and then hurled homophobic slurs before allegedly grabbing a cabin phone to use as a weapon. The incident left the plane's crew so fearful of Morgan's erratic behavior that they guarded the cockpit for the duration of the flight. And after he was arrested by the FBI on landing at Sky Harbor Airport, Morgan is said to have readily confessed to being a homophobe, the Daily Beast reported. Morgan now faces up to 20 years in prison on felony charges of interference with flight crew members or attendants. Morgan, who was sitting in the first row of first class is alleged to have called one of them a 'f*g' after being denied an alcoholic drink. File photo, A Delta Airlines Boeing 757 passenger aircraft taxis toward the runway at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport The affidavit as seen by The Daily Beast notes how the argument began before the plane even took off when Morgan who was sitting in the first row, in seat 1D, 'reclined his seat all the way back and refused to put on his seatbelt' for takeoff before becoming 'uncooperative [with the fight crew] and would not comply with their instructions.' Once airborne, Morgan ordered an alcoholic drink but was told he could only have soft drinks which angered him further. 'Morgan called one flight attendant identified as H.D. the f-word and a 'queer' and threw a glass of ice at H.D.,' the affidavit details. 'When passenger R.O., who was sitting in seat 2G, said something to Morgan to deescalate Morgan's display of aggression, Morgan became angry with the passenger R.O. and held the glass he was holding up to R.O.'s face.' Flight attendant H.D. then went into the galley to call the captain over the intercom to explain what was going on. Christopher Alexander Morgan was traveling from Atlanta to Phoenix in first class when he allegedly became abusive towards flight attendants on board (file photo) 'According to H.D., Morgan then got out of his seat, grabbed the telephone from H.D., and hit H.D. in the chest with the telephone. Passenger R.O. reported that he heard Morgan call H.D. a 'f*g' and that he observed Morgan take the airplane phone from H.D. and throw it at him.' The flight attendants were so disturbed by what they had witnessed, one stood guarding the door to the flight deck for the rest of the flight 'out of security concerns for the flight crew, after H.D. reported that he did not know what Morgan might do next.' Morgan was swiftly arrested upon arriving in Phoenix whereupon he attempted to justify his actions saying the fact 'the flight attendant was homosexual... and it made him uncomfortable,' according to the affidavit. 'Morgan said that he is homophobic and that it is possible he could have been intimidating to the flight attendants. He said that his homophobia may have caused his temper towards the flight attendant to escalate and he admitted that he called H.D. a queer,' the affidavit concludes. Morgan has denied all allegations of assault and said that he never touched the aircraft's intercom telephone. Activist and writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied has once again referenced a divisive tweet she made on Anzac Day five years ago that saw her flee Australia. Ms Abdel-Magied was heavily criticised in 2017 after tweeting 'Lest. We. Forget. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)' on April 25. She quickly deleted the post and apologised, but many Australians were left outraged she hijacked the national day of remembrance to make a political statement. On Monday, she brought up the incident with a tweet that read: '5 years, ay,' a reference to the fact it had been five years since her controversial ANZAC Day message. Yassmin Abdel-Magied has once again referenced a divisive tweet she made on Anzac Day five years ago that saw her flee Australia Her latest tweet was a reference to the post she made five years ago which saw her essentially be run out of the country In Anzac Day of 2020, she wrote 'Oh, it's that day I should stay off Twitter again', and in 2019 she said she 'used to really like Anzac day'. In August, 2018 she said: 'I really wanted to buy an Anzac biscuit at the cafe today, but then...' Her latest post was flooded with supportive comments, with many Twitter users saying the heavy abuse she copped 'wasn't fair'. 'Yassmin, the stand you took five years ago is still reverberating though our nation. You are an absolute hero to me and thousands of other Australians,' one replied. 'I think of you EVERY Anzac Day! The way you were treated was appalling. Hope that you are safe, well and happy,' tweeted another. Although for many, the damage done by her 2017 tweet was irreparable. Ms Abdel-Magied was heavily criticised in 2017 after tweeting 'Lest. We. Forget. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)' on April 25 'It's been lovely not having you here. I bet you are happy too, considering this country is apparently the worst place on earth according to you. Your comments on Anzac Day will never be forgiven,' one said. 'I think of you whenever I see some nationalist t**t bang on about free speech,' another commented. The 2015 Queensland Young Australian the Year quickly replaced her 2017 tweet with an apology after she came under an onslaught of criticism. 'It was brought to my attention that my last post was disrespectful, and for that, I apologise unreservedly,' she said. The self-proclaimed 'Australia's most hated Muslim' apologised for her tweet and deleted it quickly but for many Australians the damage was done In 2018 she tweeted saying she wanted to buy an Anzac biscuit Ms Abdel-Magied, who hosted the ABC's Australia Wide program at the time, was accused of disrespecting Anzac Day in favour of her own religious agenda. 'I love Australia, I'm super patriotic. Yet I feel like I've been duped, like I've been sold this false sense of belonging,' she said at the time. She also revealed in a speech at the Sydney Writers Festival that she had received harsh criticism over the post from a number of politicians. 'I posted an apology very quickly afterwards, but one of our senior cabinet members said 'Well Yassmin is un-Australian for saying this',' she said. In 2017, a conservative commentator on Sydney's 2GB radio station joked about wanting to 'run over' Ms Abdel-Magied, after she revealed the death and rape threats she had received. Ms Abdel-Magied had already left Australia for London by then. Ms Abdel-Magied, who declared herself at 'Australia's most hated Muslim' later said she felt 'betrayed by my country' following the reaction 'She has fled the country and is blaming all of us,' Prue MacSween told 2GB's Chris Smith. 'She says she's been betrayed by Australia and didn't feel safe in her own country. Well actually she might have been right there, because if I had seen her I would have been tempted to run her over mate.' Ms Abdel-Magied, who declared herself at 'Australia's most hated Muslim' later said she felt 'betrayed by my country' following the reaction. Towards the end of 2017, she likened the criticism she faced in Australia to 'dating an abusive guy'. Scott Morrison has come under fire from Labor after factory workers were caught covering up a sign about 'messing up' moments before the Prime Minister made a campaign stop. Mr Morrison was visited a factory in Townsville on Tuesday morning as part of a tour of key battleground seats in Queensland. Reporters witnessed an employee covering up a placard reading 'If you mess up, Fess Up' with a hi-vis vest moments, before Mr Morrison addressed media in the room. Liberal staffers appeared to tell a worker to cover up a motivation sign at a Townsville factory on Tuesday prior to Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaking in front of it Party staffers conduct 'advance' work prior to public appearances to prevent any PR nightmares, like that of then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott's infamous picture in front of a Canberra Reject Shop in 2015. Several members of Mr Morrison's Liberal team were pictured observing the sign prior to the PM's visit, with one man in a white collared shirt and backpack holding a high vis up to the sign. It was a factory worker who eventually placed the covering over the sign, but not before being caught by several members of the media. Labor were quick to pounce on the images, with the party's official Facebook page mocking the PM's blunder. 'REVEALED: Scott Morrison's political plan - If you mess up, cover up,' they posted. Labor were quick to pounce on the images, with the party's official Facebook page mocking the PM's blunder Andrew Leigh, Labor's Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Charities, also accused Mr Morrison of a 'cover up'. 'Scott Morrison's approach to leadership: if you see a sign exhorting you to fess up when you mess up, then cover up,' he posted to Twitter. Other social media users suggested the optics of being caught covering the sign were worse than him speaking in front of the slogan in the first place. 'So worried about the optics they actually make the optics worse,' one person tweeted. 'So the factory's values need to be hidden because they might embarrass the visiting PM,' another wrote. Others referenced the infamous picture of Mr Abbott, suggesting the Liberals had learned from past mistakes. 'Someone learned a lesson... sort of...' he posted. Many compared the cover up to the infamous picture of then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott appearing in front of a Reject Shop in Canberra in 2015 Mr Morrison spoke about the Coalition's commitment to growing the economy at the press event, again following the party line urging Australians to remain with the government they know rather than the unknown prospect of Labor. 'If we weren't running a strong economy, if we weren't managing our finances, we couldn't have done any of those things. That is why we say a strong economy means a stronger future and that is why you can't risk Labor,' he told reporters on Tuesday. 'You can't risk Labor because they can't manage an economy which means it would be a weak economy. With a weak economy, the essential services that you rely on are put at risk. 'My message is very clear, don't risk Labor, choose the Liberal and National candidates and LNP candidates, particularly here in Queensland, that way you can get a strong economy which means a stronger future.' Sharon Osborne says Whoopi Goldberg wasn't fired from The View for trivializing the Holocaust because 'nobody gives a f**k' about Jews. Osbourne, 68, implied there was a clear double standard that saw her fired from rival show The Talk in March 2021 for defending Piers Morgan during his war with Meghan Markle, while letting Goldberg retain her coveted job despite remarking in February this year that 'The Holocaust wasn't about race.' When The Times asked about the double standard, she said: 'I'll tell you why, because it's the Jews, and nobody gives a f**k. Osbourne - whose music producer father Don Arden was Jewish - added that she likes Goldberg, and was making a point about showbiz hypocrisy, rather than attacking the Ghost star personally. The drama with Osbourne began when Morgan stormed out of UK chat show Good Morning Britain on March 9 2021 after saying he didn't believe Meghan Markle was suicidal following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Sharon Osborne says Whoopi Goldberg wasn't fired from The View for trivializing the Holocaust because 'nobody gives a f**k' about Jews The suspension for Goldberg came a day after Whoopi, 66, made the controversial comments on The View. She referred to Jews and Nazis as 'two groups of white people' and said that because they were both white, it was about 'inhumanity' and not race' Osbourne - whose music producer father Don Arden was Jewish (pictured together in 2002) - added that she likes Goldberg, and was making a point about showbiz hypocrisy When asked to comment on his remarks on The Talk the following day, Osbourne said that although she disagreed with Morgan, she supported his right to express his controversial opinion on TV. Underwood, who is black, pushed back hard and accused Osbourne of downplaying Morgan's comments and giving 'validation' to his 'racist' views. Osbourne was later permanently suspended from her role on the show, and quit. The incident sparked a wider conversation about race and an internal investigation at CBS after Welteroth reportedly complained of 'a racially insensitive and hostile environment' at the show. Welteroth and Underwood would later address the controversy on air weeks later, saying the two had been forced to stay 'composed' in the face of someone 'who was not listening and who went off the rails into disrespect.' The suspension for Goldberg came a day after Whoopi, 66, made the controversial comments on The View. She referred to Jews and Nazis as 'two groups of white people' and said that because they were both white, it was about 'inhumanity' and not race'. She apologized hours later and again on Tuesday's morning episode, but the original remark sparked immediate international backlash with everyone from the Israeli Consular General in New York to the Auschwitz Memorial and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) taking offense. Osbourne - seen with husband Ozzy - will now host an hour-long panel debate show - also called The Talk - which will air at 9pm on TalkTV in the UK Osbourne had claimed that she was 'blindsided' on the show by questions about her tweet supporting Morgan after his departure was announced. 'I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you're paid for your opinion and that you're just speaking your truth,' she wrote to Morgan on Twitter. The next day Underwood asked Osbourne on air: 'What would you say to people who may feel that, while you're standing by your friend, it appears that you gave validation or safe haven to something that he has uttered that is racist, even if you don't agree?' Osbourne became defensive and fired back saying she felt like she was being placed on 'the electric chair' for being his friend and asked her co-hosts to show her what Morgan had said that was racist. 'Right now I am talking to a woman I believe is my friend,' Underwood said. 'I don't want anybody here to watch this and think we are attacking you for being racist.' Osbourne replied: 'I think it's too late. That seed is already sown.' After the episode aired, Osbourne issued an apology for her 'panicked' and 'defensive' response, but repeatedly claimed that CBS showrunners framed up the question to provoke an on-air blow up. The drama between Osbourne and her co-stars began after Sharon was grilled over her tweet stating her support for friend Piers Morgan after he was fired for criticizing Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey Osbourne will now host an hour-long panel debate show - also called The Talk - which will air at 9pm on TalkTV in the UK. The show will bring together five famous faces with different backgrounds and views to debate current affairs issues. TalkTV, the newest venture from News UK, will air on linear TV platforms as well as online services such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and YouTube. In the interview, Osbourne also sounded off on various topics, including the questioning of people's interest in the Kardashians. Her family's 2002 MTV reality show The Osbornes has been widely-credited as the prototype program that inspired later efforts from the Kardashians and others. 'I get why [the Kardashians] are as big as they are,' Osbourne says. 'But I'm old-school and think, 'Well, what's your talent?' This world of selfies in your underwear, selfies topless, selfies showing your food, selfies in bed I just think, 'Oh, for f**k's sake.' She also offered some advice to Prince Andrew as to how he should've handled his recent controversy with Virginia Giuffre, who alleges that he had sex with her when she was a teenage trafficking victim of Jeffrey Epstein. 'He should have said, 'I wasn't married. Everybody knew me as Randy Andy. My friend at the time [Epstein] was surrounded by young women, and [Giuffre] was up for it, I was up for it, and it's not illegal in England to have sex with somebody her age. Don't come up with bulls--t about a pizza place.' United States officials have warned of potential military action if Chinese authorities opt to establish a base in Solomon Islands as Beijing dismissed speculations that it was trying to build a military stronghold in the region after signing a security agreement. During a Monday news briefing, China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the "so-called Chinese military base in Solomon Islands is completely fabricated." The official noted that the speculation was disinformation made by a few people with ulterior motives. Chinese Base in Solomon Islands A leaked draft of the agreement was spread last month that said Chinese warships could stop in Solomon Islands for logistical replenishment. It also claimed that China would be able to send police and armed forces to the area to "assist in maintaining social order." In a statement, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has insisted that no Chinese military bases would be established in his country. Wang's remarks also came after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday said that China's recent security deal with the Pacific nation was a "shared concern" of regional nations, as per ABC. Furthermore, Morrison said that Beijing establishing a military base in Solomon Islands was a "red line" for his country. Last week, Defense Minister Peter Dutton warned that China would not waste any time in trying to expand its presence in the South Pacific after the controversial security deal. Read Also: USA, China, India Spend the Most as Global Military Expenses Reach $2 Trillion Mark; Russia Increases Budget Before War In response, one of the most senior United States officials in the Pacific has refused to rule out military action against Solomon Islands if it allowed China to establish a base in its territory. They said that the recent security agreement between the two nations presented "potential regional security implications" for the U.S. and its allies. According to The Guardian, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, was part of a high-level U.S. delegation to the Pacific country last week. The official said that the U.S. team, which also included Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, had a 90-minute "constructive and candid" meeting with Sogavare. Red Line for Australia and Allies Over the weekend, Morrison said that his government was closely working with partners in New Zealand and the U.S. regarding the potential Chinese base in Solomon Islands. "We won't be having Chinese military naval bases in our region on our doorstep," said the Australian prime minister. Solomon Islands, which houses roughly 700,000 people spread across several hundreds of islands, is located in strategically important waters in the South Pacific Ocean near Australia and New Zealand. The security agreement between the nation and China is a result of deadly riots in Solomon Islands last year. The resulting unrest and looting also led to the deaths of three civilians. The security deal also comes as the Australian prime minister faces a challenging battle for re-election this year. The Labor Party is arguing that the government should have been able to do more to prevent the deal between Solomon Islands and China. In a statement, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said that the Labor Party would have been able to prevent the situation, Fox News reported. Related Article: China Plans To Build Future Helicopters With More Advanced Technologies Than Super Choppers Built by the US @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Downing Street last night rejected claims on Russian state TV that Boris Johnson threatened to carry out a nuclear strike against Russia. The accusation was made on a chat show on Rossiya 1, a state-run TV channel based in Moscow, and widely circulated on pro-Kremlin social media channels and news websites over the weekend. Presenter Olga Skabeyeva said last week that the Prime Minister had signalled he would launch the deadly strike without consulting Nato. However, last night Downing Street said these claims were another example of disinformation peddled by the Kremlin. A statement added: The UK Government is entirely united with its Nato allies in supporting Ukraine against Russias illegal invasion. However, the baseless claim has already been propagated by a number of official figures and has run on pro-Kremlin news websites such as Pravda, and prompted threats of a counter-attack on the UK. Downing Street last night rejected claims on Russian state TV that Boris Johnson, pictured, threatened to carry out a nuclear strike against Russia Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russias Roscosmos space agency, tweeted the baseless claim last week to his 800,000 followers. He then threatened: Boris, if Sarmat [the worlds most powerful missile dubbed Satan II] is used, none of you will consult with each other. And there will be no one to style your hair, Mr. Prime Minister. Yes, and there will be nothing to lay. Vladimir Soloyvov, an anchor on Rossiya 1, had also shared the claim to more than one million followers on Telegram. It has since run on a number of pro-Kremlin news websites, such as Pravda. A harrowing image on one pro-Russian Telegram channel of London in flames was accompanied by the message: He should know what his nuclear strike on Russia would look like in reality. Presenter Olga Skabeyeva, pictured, said last week that the Prime Minister had signalled he would launch the deadly strike without consulting Nato. However, last night Downing Street said these claims were another example of disinformation peddled by the Kremlin. The rhetoric has already spread to Russian lawmakers, with one MP telling state TV this weekend: Consider the statement about the possibility of a nuclear strike against Russia without consulting Nato. Listen, we can carry out a nuclear strike against Great Britain without consultations with Nato. Great Britain is a prime target for that. It is an island nation, which would minimise the damage to the continent. Vladimir Putins regime has already announced it will be ready to deploy the nuclear-capable Satan II weapon, said to be the worlds longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile, by autumn. Top William Tyrrell cop Gary Jubelin threatened to destroy an innocent tradesman during the high-profile investigation into the toddler's disappearance, a court has heard. Mr Jubelin, who was then the head of Strike Force Rosann investigating the Tyrrell case, allegedly told the former person of interest Bill Spedding: 'Mr Nice Washing Machine Man, I'm going to ruin you'. The 2015 exchange took place after Mr Jubelin placed his face in close to Mr Spedding, who found the encounter intimidating, the NSW Supreme Court heard. Mr Spedding - who was later cleared of any involvement in the boy's disappearance - is suing the State of NSW for malicious prosecution. In another alleged incident, one of Jubelin's co-detectives turned around in the car in which they were driving Mr Spedding and screamed at him: 'We know you did it. Were going to get you'. Detective Justin Moynihan, who had 'increased his aggression' leaving Mr Spedding with his 'legs shaking, hot and sweaty and stressed', added 'Were going to come and arrest you, the court heard on Tuesday. A court has heard ex-cop Gary Jubelin frightened an innocent tradie Bill Spedding during the William Tyrrell case by saying 'Mr Nice Washing Machine Man. I'm going to ruin you' Bill Spedding is suing the State of NSW for malicious prosecution over historical sex assault charges laid against him during the William Tyrrell investigation The verbal attack on Mr Spedding came after a gruelling six-hour police interview in which detectives told Spedding they believed he had 'grabbed William from the front yard' of a Kendall address. Mr Spedding had visited the Kendall home of William's foster grandmother on the NSW Mid North Coast days before the toddler vanished from the house in September 2014. The confrontation occurred in January 2015, after detectives descended on Mr Spedding's Bonny Hills home to search the home for remains of William. On Tuesday, the court heard that Mr Jubelin, then Detective Chief Inspector, decided charging the repairman with historical sexual offences might crack the plaintiff open and might make (his wife) Margaret think different about him . Mr Spedding is claiming his arrest over the historical sexual charges of which he was eventually cleared was a 'collateral attack' designed to expose him back then as a possible suspect in William Tyrrell's disappearance. Mr Spedding was targeted by Mr Jubelin, who has since left the force and been convicted over illegally taping another Tyrrell suspect. Adrian Canceri, for Mr Spedding, told the court that sexual abuse allegations against Mr Spedding had previously been cleared by police and the courts, and that female children had been 'coaxed' during a bitter family dispute. They said Strike Force Rosann which probed the Tyrrell case, knew by January 2015 that a Supreme Court justice had cleared Mr Spedding and had 'excoriated' a witness. That witness had 'coaxed and tutored (children) to make claims of sexual assault against' Mr Spedding, and the Tyrrell detectives were well aware of this, Mr Canceri said. A forensic psychiatrist had testified that one of the children could have been coerced into claiming sexual assault because a threat of 'potential death by AIDS could have frightened' her. The court heard that Mr Spedding was acquitted of the historical charges in 2018 despite the Director of Public Prosecutions pursuing a case against him that was 'utterly hopeless and doomed to fail'. Former washing machine repairman Bill Spedding (above) is suing the State of NSW for malicious prosecution after being targeted as a suspect in sexual allegations of which he was cleared Mr Spedding claims ex-cop Gary Jubelin 'had it in for him' and used the false allegations to nobble him as a suspect in the disappearance of William Tyrrell Mr Spedding's home was searched and media were tipped off five months after he visited the Kendall home from which William Tyrrell, aged three, vanished in September 2014 Justice Ian Harrison told the court in a pre-trial hearing last week that Mr Jubelin was a 'major player' in the events which sparked the proceedings, although he was not personally being sued by Mr Spedding. Lawyers for the State of NSW have been granted permission to rely on a statement by Mr Jubelin and possibly call the ex-cop to give evidence at the malicious prosecution trial. The judge said Mr Spedding will argue Mr Jubelin 'had it in for him' during the Tyrrell investigation by Strike Force Rosann, which the since convicted and retired detective ran for four years before being removed in 2019. 'Mr Spedding's anticipated contention (will be) that during the course of a series of interactions or interviews with Mr Jubelin, he was referred to pejoratively as 'Mr Washing Machine Man',' Justice Harrison said, the Daily Telegraph reported. His Honour said Mr Spedding would rely on that 'associated comments to a similar effect' to contend 'that Mr Jubelin effectively had it in for him'. Justice Harrison also said Mr Spedding would contend that 'his arrest and ultimate prosecution on the historical sexual assault matters was inspired or energised by Mr Jubelin's role as the lead investigator in relation to the William Tyrrell disappearance'. William Spedding (above) before he became an alleged suspect in the William Tyrrell case, which caused him to lose his livelihood and family before he was cleared of any wrongdoing Detectives interview Bill Spedding, who was later cleared of both historical sexual charges and of any suspicion over William Tyrrell, and who is now suing the State of NSW Bill Spedding leaves his Bonny Hills home after he contends police tipped off the media when they searched for remains of William Tyrrell five months after the toddler vanished Mr Spedding denied any involvement in William Tyrrell's disappearance and was never charged. The court also heard that Mr Spedding was arrested at his home by Mr Jubelin while media crews were present 'in abundance'. Mr Spedding will argue the media had been notified by someone on behalf of the police and that the situation was orchestrated in order to embarrass him or to cause him serious harm, the court was told. Justice Harrison said Mr Jubelin would presumably deny that he or police under his command had notified media outlets that the arrest was to occur after reading a draft statement provided to the court. All charges against Mr Spedding in the unrelated matter were later dropped or dismissed. Mr Jubelin was convicted and sentenced of four breaches of the Surveillance Devices Act and lost his appeal in 2020. The Prevent anti-terror programme is at risk of dying the death of a thousand cuts because of failure to defend it from critics, claims a think-tank. The Policy Exchange, backed by David Cameron, warns of numerous but overlapping campaigns and activist voices aimed at establishing that the strategy is Islamophobic. It suggests the Government set up a new communications unit to rebut disinformation about counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies. Former Prime Minister Mr Cameron said that Prevent risks being scrapped because of malicious campaigns set up by Islamist groups to denounce the anti-terror programme as Islamophobic The end goal of these Islamist-led campaigns is the scrapping of Prevent and the counter-extremism programme, says the report. They effectively seek to eliminate from official analysis and policy the role of Islamist ideology in terrorism and harmful, extremist social practices. In a foreword, Mr Cameron warns: So just as we need to counter the Islamist extremist narrative, we need to counter the anti-Prevent narrative. We need to show that delegitimising counter-terrorism is, in essence, enabling terrorism. One of the report authors Sir John Jenkins, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, highlights the significant dangers of actively encouraging people not to co-operate with Prevent. He also complains the Government had singularly failed to counter claims that Prevent was Islamophobic. At worst it looks like the authorities are not even attempting to make the case for Prevent. That has to change, he said. Sir William Shawcross has begun a review of Prevent after a series of high-profile failures. A Liberal candidate has been slammed for a 'disrespectful' act on Anzac Day A Liberal party candidate has been slammed by the public after a mobile billboard with her face drove past an ANZAC service. Stephanie Asher, who is a candidate for the seat of Corangamite in Victoria's south west, had a campaign billboard mounted to a truck which drove past an Anzac Day service in the town of Drysdale several times on Monday. A Liberal party candidate has been slammed by the public after a billboard with her face was 'disrespectfully' showcased during an Anzac Day service Footage shows the moment the billboard is seen moving past a crowd as a speech is being read out about the ANZACs. The crowd were silent and paying their respects to those in the Australian armed forces, as the mobile billboard drove past. Local resident Brendan Tenson, who filmed the incident, told the Advertiser that he was at the 'Cenotaph at 10:30am' and saw the 'van' with the billboard drive past the crowd on at least three separate occasions. 'You could see the driver visibly looked over and saw all of us,' he recalled. 'Then did a U-ey and came back the other way and went even slower, then did another lap out.' 'The people close to me were shaking their heads. I thought it was distasteful for what we were doing. 'If he had have just driven up and driven off, it probably would have been nothing, but the fact he did it three times is a bit s**t. They would have known what was going on,' he added. Tenson posted the video to a Facebook group, where many viewers criticised the move as 'disgusting,' a 'low act' and completely 'disrespectful' to our troops. Stephanie Asher (pictured), who is a candidate for the seat of Corangamite in Victoria's south west, had a campaign billboard mounted to a truck which drove past an Anzac Day service in the town of Drysdale several times on Monday Asher (right) issued a short statement through a spokesperson later that day following public outrage, claiming the incident was a 'mistake'. (Pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson) Stephanie Asher issued a short statement through a spokesperson later that day, claiming the incident was a 'mistake'. 'The driver of a rental truck hired as part of my campaign was unaware his regular route would pass by todays ANZAC service in Drysdale. He left the vicinity without stopping,' the statement read. 'Nonetheless, we acknowledge the inappropriateness of the trucks presence and apologise unreservedly.' 'The truck advertising was not done with my knowledge today. I am so sorry it occurred.' Asher attended several Anzac Day services on the day at nearby Torquay, Barwon Heads, Portarlington and Ocean Grove. Advertisement An outbreak of children's hepatitis may have been brought on by Covid lockdown weakening immunity, health chiefs have said as they revealed that two more British children need liver transplants and dozens are sick. UK health officials said the global outbreak in cases may be as a result of pandemic measures which prevented children in their 'formative' years being exposed to common infections. In total, 114 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' have been reported in the UK in the last four weeks, with ten youngsters undergoing critical liver transplant procedures. The first cases were spotted in Scotland less than a month ago, prompting a warning from UK health officials who say they have detected as many cases in three months as they would expect to see in a year. The majority of cases have been spotted in under-5s who were initially hit with diarrhoea and nausea before later getting jaundice the yellowing of the skin/eyes. Other symptoms can include dark urine, grey-coloured faeces, itchy skin, muscle pain, a fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and stomach pains. Investigations are ongoing but officials believe the illness may be triggered by an adenovirus, a viral infection which is usually to blame for the sniffles, and has been linked to three quarters of all cases. Experts say lockdowns - which prompted concerns for children's physical and mental health - may have weakened the immunity of children and left them more susceptible to the virus, or the offending pathogen may have mutated to pose a greater threat. Dr Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging infections at the UK Health Security Agency, told the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Lisbon that younger children were getting infected by the virus as they had not been exposed to it 'during the formative stages that they've gone through during the pandemic'. The liver disease has been spotted in 12 different countries, including the US, Ireland and Spain, while one child has died so far. UK officials have ruled out the Covid vaccine as a possible cause, with none of the ill British children vaccinated because of their young age. None of the 11 cases in the US were jabbed either. The World Health Organization said it has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries as of Saturday Covid lockdowns may be behind the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases in children because they reduced social mixing and weakened their immunity, experts claim WHAT COULD BE BEHIND THE HEPATITIS OUTBREAK? While experts believe adenovirus a virus associated with many common colds could be behind the spate of cases, the jury is out on what the exact cause of the outbreak is. Co-infection One theory suggests children being infected with Covid and adenovirus at the same time could be at greater risk of hepatitis. Weakened immunity British experts have suggested lockdowns and restrictions have put children at greater risk because they have lower natural immunity to adenovirus. Adenovirus mutation Other scientists said it may have been an adenovirus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. New Covid variant UKHSA officials included 'a new variant of SARS-CoV-2' in their working hypotheses, when discussing the variant at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today. Advertisement Almost 170 cases have been spotted since the first cases were publicly recorded in Scotland at the end of March. Hepatologists today told MailOnline they believe the official numbers may be just the 'tip of the iceberg' because many parents may brush off the warning signs. Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a hepatologist from Imperial College London, told MailOnline: 'I think there are more cases out there. 'I'd imagine there are more cases than have been reported but they are likely to be less severe.' But he added there is no reason to panic because in '99 per cent' of cases the liver is able to regenerate and the chances of needing a transplant or dying because of the condition are low. Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician from University College London, told MailOnline mounting cases are 'a concerning and depressing situation for families' but parents should not fear. Up to 20 per cent of hepatitis cases have no known cause. He said: 'What is for families to consider [is] if their child develops jaundice after the first few months of life they need medical attention fast. 'But that is true of any child who develops jaundice after the first few months of life so is not new advice. With one death and no known cause life should continue as before. Nothing is more fearful than fear itself.' None of the cases have been caused by any of the five typical strains of the virus hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Data gathered has 'increasingly' suggested that the rise in severe cases of hepatitis may be linked to a group of viruses called adenoviruses, the UKHSA said. Adenovirus was found in 75 per cent of the sickened children who were tested for it. Sixteen per cent had Covid. The UKHSA's Dr Chand said: 'Information gathered through our investigations increasingly suggests that this rise in sudden onset hepatitis in children is linked to adenovirus infection. 'However, we are thoroughly investigating other potential causes. 'Parents and guardians should be alert to the signs of hepatitis (including jaundice) and to contact a healthcare professional if they are concerned. 'Normal hygiene measures such as thorough handwashing (including supervising children) and good thorough respiratory hygiene, help to reduce the spread of many common infections, including adenovirus. 'Children experiencing symptoms of a gastrointestinal infection including vomiting and diarrhoea should stay at home and not return to school or nursery until 48 hours after the symptoms have stopped.' The agency also said the number of admissions for the mysterious hepatitis so far in 2022 'is equivalent or greater than the number of admissions annually in previous years'. Top experts have speculated that Covid lockdowns may partly explain the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases, by weakening children's immunity and leaving them at heightened risk of adenovirus. Professor Taylor-Robinson told MailOnline: 'I think it is likely that children mixing in kindergartens and schools have lower immunity to seasonal adenoviruses than in previous years because of restrictions. 'This means they could be more at risk of developing hepatitis because their immune response is weaker to the virus.' The WHO has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, 12 in Israel, and 11 in the US. Elsewhere, cases have also been detected in Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Romania. Cases were detected in children aged one month to 16, the majority of whom have been hospitalised. The WHO has not disclosed which country the only known death occurred in. Professor Deirdre Kelly, an expert in paediatric hepatology at Birmingham Womens and Childrens Hospital, told the Telegraph: 'I do think that what we've seen so far may be the tip of the iceberg, because unless they're yellow, it probably doesn't come to medical attention. The other early symptoms are tummy ache, vomiting and diarrhoea - which aren't very specific in children.' UKHSA data shows there were 111 confirmed and possible hepatitis cases in the UK as of April 20. Of these, 81 cases were in England (white bars), 14 were in Scotland (blue bars), 11 were in Wales (red bars) and five in Northern Ireland (green bars). Between January 21 and April 18, 10 children have required liver transplantation Hepatitis cases have been tested for other pathogens when they were admitted to hospital. Adenovirus (far left bar) was the most common pathogen detected in 40 of 53 cases which have been tested, followed by SARS-CoV-2 (second bar) Health chiefs linked Covid and adenovirus data. This shows there has been a rise in both preceding adenovirus infections (grey bars), co-infections (navy bars) and secondary infection (blue bars) UKHSA data shows positive adenovirus tests from one to four-year-olds (green line) are higher compared to the previous five years. Between November 2021 to March 2022, approximately 200 to 300 cases of adenovirus were reported per week compared to 50 to 150 cases per week in the same period before the pandemic The first hepatitis cases were recorded in Britain, where 114 children have now been sickened. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, 12 in Israel and 11 in the US including nine in Alabama and two in North Carolina. The unusual illness has also been spotted in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Norway, Romania and Belgium. UK Health Security Agency experts were called to a briefing at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today to present data around the current situation in Britain. Dr Muge Cevik, an infectious diseases expert based at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, said Covid was a possible explanation. But she said: 'Acute severe hepatitis hasn't been a common feature of Covid in children, so it's less likely to explain this presentation. 'Adenovirus [Common cold virus] was detected in 40 of 53 cases, but not all cases are tested. Adenovirus testing has been inconsistent in other samples, and it's too early to confirm characterization. 'It's important for all countries to share their data once available.' Professor Graham Cooke, an expert in infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said it is unlikely Covid was responsible. He said: 'Mild hepatitis is very common in children following a range of viral infections, but what is being seen at the moment is quite different. 'If the hepatitis was a result of Covid it would be surprising not to see it more widely distributed across the country given the high prevalence of (Covid) at the moment.' A virology specialist at Imperial told The Telegraph it is 'very unusual and rare' for children to suffer severe hepatitis, especially to the extent that they require a liver transplant. The expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'The number of cases is exceptional. 'It makes people think there is something unusual going on such as a virus that has mutated or some other cause. It has sent alarm bells ringing.' Hepatitis numbers in children may just be the 'tip of the iceberg', experts claim amid growing fears over the mysterious global outbreak which has officially killed one youngster and sickened 169 By Joe Davies, Health Reporter for MailOnline Dozens of mysterious hepatitis cases spotted in children could be just 'the tip of the iceberg', experts warned today amid growing concerns about the mysterious global outbreak. Nearly 170 youngsters have been sickened around the world since the first case was detected in Scotland at the end of March, according to the World Health Organization. One has died and 17 have needed liver transplants. But leading virologists fear the real toll could actually be magnitudes higher because many parents may brush off the warning signs. Jaundice the yellowing of the skin or eyes, a tell-tale sign of liver disease has been spotted in fewer than half of the ill children. Other symptoms, such as nausea, diarrhoea, lethargy and stomach pains are usually put down to other illnesses, such as food poisoning or norovirus. Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a hepatologist from Imperial College London, told MailOnline: 'I think there are more cases out there. [17 transplants] is quite a high number for how many cases we have spotted. 'I'd imagine there are more cases than have been reported but they are likely to be less severe.' Asked if this could be the tip of iceberg, Professor Taylor-Robinson said: 'I think so yes'. Twelve countries have spotted cases of the hepatitis of unknown origin, with 114 British children and 11 Americans known to have been sickened. Health chiefs believe the illness may be triggered by an adenovirus usually to blame for the sniffles. Experts say lockdowns may have weakened the immunity of children and left them more susceptible to the virus, or it may be a mutated version. Investigations are ongoing but officials have yet to rule out a new Covid variant being to blame. Another theory is that children may have been battling the adenovirus at the same time as Covid. UK health officials have ruled out the Covid vaccine as a possible cause, with none of the ill British children having been vaccinated because of their young age. None of the cases in the US were jabbed either. The World Health Organization said it has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries as of Saturday Covid lockdowns may be behind the mysterious spate of hepatitis cases in children because they reduced social mixing and weakened their immunity, experts claim Professor Taylor-Robinson told MailOnline: 'I think it is likely that children mixing in kindergartens and schools have lower immunity to seasonal adenoviruses than in previous years because of restrictions. 'This means they could be more at risk of developing hepatitis because their immune response is weaker to the virus.' He said children are less likely to complain about symptoms than adults and urged parents to be alert to early issues including stomach pains and yellowing eyes. But he added there is no reason to panic because in '99 per cent' of cases the liver is able to regenerate and the chances of needing a transplant or dying because of the condition are low. WHAT COULD BE BEHIND THE HEPATITIS OUTBREAK? While experts believe adenovirus a virus associated with many common colds could be behind the spate of cases, the jury is out on what the exact cause of the outbreak is. Co-infection One theory suggests children being infected with Covid and adenovirus at the same time could be at greater risk of hepatitis. Weakened immunity British experts have suggested lockdowns and restrictions have put children at greater risk because they have lower natural immunity to adenovirus. Adenovirus mutation Other scientists said it may have been an adenovirus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. New Covid variant UKHSA officials included 'a new variant of SARS-CoV-2' in their working hypotheses, when discussing the variant at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today. Advertisement Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician at University College London, told MailOnline mounting cases are a 'a concerning and depressing situation for families' but parents should not fear. He said: 'What is for families to consider [is] if their child develops jaundice after the first few months of life they need medical attention fast. 'But that is true of any child who develops jaundice after the first few months of life so is not new advice. 'With one death and no known cause life should continue as before. Nothing is more fearful than fear itself.' World Health Organization (WHO) bosses have received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries. Cases were detected in children aged one month to 16, the majority of whom have been hospitalised. The WHO has not disclosed which country the only known death occurred in. The first hepatitis cases were recorded in Britain, where 114 children have now been sickened. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, 12 in Israel and 11 in the US including nine in Alabama and two in North Carolina. The unusual illness has also been spotted in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Norway, Romania and Belgium. The WHO said: 'It is not yet clear if there has been an increase in hepatitis cases, or an increase in awareness of hepatitis cases that occur at the expected rate but go undetected.' However, other scientists have suggested the amount of severe cases in children is unusual. Richard Pebody, who heads the high threats pathogen team at the WHO, told STAT News: 'Although the numbers aren't big, the consequences have been quite severe. It's important that countries look.' None of the cases have been caused by any of the five typical strains of the virus hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Experts say the cases may be linked to a virus commonly associated with colds, known as an adenovirus, but that further research is ongoing. 'While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent,' WHO said. It noted that the cold-like virus has been detected in at least 74 of the cases however not all children were tested. And 19 of the patients also had a Covid co-infection. One more child had Covid but not the adenovirus. Experts are probing whether the cases are linked to the two viruses. UK Health Security Agency experts were called to a briefing at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon today to present data around the current situation in Britain. Scientists claimed they could not rule out Covid as a possible cause of the outbreak and also suggested a new coronavirus variant could be behind it. Dr Muge Cevik, an infectious diseases expert at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, warned the virus was a possible explanation but noted hepatitis has 'not been a common feature' of infections in children. 'Acute severe hepatitis has not been a common feature of Covid in children, so it's less likely to explain this presentation,' he said. 'Adenovirus [Common cold virus] was detected in 40 of 53 cases, but not all cases are tested. Adenovirus testing has been inconsistent in other samples, and it's too early to confirm characterization. 'It's important for all countries to share their data once available.' British scientists have also suggested that lockdowns may have played a contributing role, weakening children's immunity and leaving them at heightened risk of adenovirus. Others said the cases may be the result of a virus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. Only 80 per cent of hepatitis have an identifiable cause, experts said. Professor Graham Cooke, an expert in infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said it is unlikely Covid was responsible. He said: 'Mild hepatitis is very common in children following a range of viral infections, but what is being seen at the moment is quite different. 'If the hepatitis was a result of Covid it would be surprising not to see it more widely distributed across the country given the high prevalence of (Covid) at the moment.' A virology specialist at Imperial told The Telegraph it is 'very unusual and rare' for children to suffer severe hepatitis, especially to the extent that they require a liver transplant. The expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'The number of cases is exceptional. 'It makes people think there is something unusual going on such as a virus that has mutated or some other cause. It has sent alarm bells ringing.' 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. Handcuffed for her appearance in court, this Russian journalist was yesterday facing prison for revealing the horrors of the siege of Mariupol. Maria Ponomarenko, who works for RushNews, was accused of spreading 'fake news' about civilian deaths in the Ukrainian port city. Mrs Ponomarenko will remain in custody until she next appears in court tomorrow, according to messages shared on encrypted app Telegram. Last month, Russias parliament passed a law meaning anyone deemed to have intentionally spread fake news about the military operation can be jailed for up to 15 years. Police in St. Pete have arrested journalist Maria Ponomarenko, pictured in handcuffs, for spreading 'fake' news when reporting on civilian deaths during the siege of Mariupol. She risks being sent to prison for up to 15 years due to a new law which bans reporting in Russia It came as Putin yesterday claimed the Kremlins spy agency had foiled what he described as a Western plot to kill prominent Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov. He said the Federal Security Service had halted the alleged plan - and used the unverified information to claim the West was now trying to target household names in the country. However six Russian men were later arrested and described as being part of a neo-Nazi group acting on behalf of Ukraines security services. This morning, the Federal Security Service stopped the activities of a terrorist group that planned to attack and kill one famous Russian TV journalist, Putin said. They have moved to terror - to preparing the murder of our journalists. And claiming the US may have been involved, which was denied, he added: We know by name the curators of Western secret services, primarily, of course, from the CIA, who work with the security agencies of Ukraine. Solvyov, who has prime-time shows on Russian TV, has been sanctioned by the EU as a propagandist and had villas seized by Italian police. And in a more surprising target for Russias wrath, chess website Chess.com has been banned by the Russian media regulator. In a statement, Chess.com, which has more than 50 million members around the world, expressed its shock. It noted however, that, since the invasion, sites such as Facebook, Twitter and BBC News have all been banned. Yesterday, Chess.com was banned by the Russian government agency Roskomnadzor, responsible for censorship within Russia - a busy occupation these days, a spokesman said. According to Roskomnadzor, their goal is to block two webpages: On The Invasion of Ukraine which outlines our policy and actions regarding the war on Ukraine and addresses FAQ and Ukrainian Chess Players In Times Of War which is a piece interviewing Ukrainian chess players on their circumstances and views during the early days of the war. Chess.com was banned by the Russian government agency Roskomnadzor, joining Facebook, Twitter and the BBC on a list of banned sites The spokesman added that, as these single pages could not be banned, the regulator had instead banned the entire site from Russia. They called on Russians wishing to play chess to continue if they could bypass Russias internet laws. We reaffirm our condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the Russian governments war of aggression against Ukraine and will continue to publish content to that effect. The statement added: We will continue to welcome Chess.com members from Russia who defy the governments ban and play on Chess.com. Chess.com had previously banned Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, who has publicly supported the invasion, from playing games on the site. Writing online about Russias decision to ban Chess.com, he said: Once again we are witness to a situation where Western platforms lose their Russian public because of their own phobia of Russia. Mr Karjakin was last month banned from chess competition for six months by the International Chess Federation for his support of Russias invasion. Barack Obama was 'jealous' that the media portrayed his successor and former vice president Joe Biden's administration as more 'transformative' than his was, a bombshell new book excerpt suggested on Monday. The popular Democrat helped Biden clinch the White House in 2020 over former President Donald Trump, capitalizing on the tight-knit friendship they were known for during Obama's years in office. But it was reportedly, at least at the time, a 'political fable.' The ex-president in reality had 'complicated feelings' about his former veep's presidential campaign, according to forthcoming book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for Americas Future, by New York Times journalists Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns. The two only 'occasionally' spoke at the beginning of Biden's White House tenure, though Obama did apparently confide in another Democrat in Washington -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 'Nancy Pelosi, who spoke regularly with the former president, came away from her conversations with Obama during this period with a matter-of-fact diagnosis,' an excerpt obtained by Fox News read. 'She told a friend: 'Obama is jealous of Biden'." Former President Barack Obama had 'complicated feelings' about his former Vice President Joe Biden becoming president in 2020, a forthcoming account of the beginning of Biden's presidency states DailyMail.com has reached out to Pelosi's office for comment. Obama's rare conversations with Biden were 'hardly the stuff of the tight brotherhood both men had sold to the country as a cheery political fable,' the book claims. Biden even gave his own assessment of the fallout, as quoted by an adviser. 'I am confident that Barack is not happy with the coverage of this administration as more transformative than his,' the book states Biden told them. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly spoke 'regularly' with Obama and said he was 'jealous' of Biden's White House At the time, the incoming leader was being praised for assembling the most diverse presidential Cabinet in American history and placing an unprecedented emphasis on inclusion all the way up to the top ranks of his administration. Comments in the book by Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile reveal some indication of national officials' frustration with Obama's in that respect -- despite his trailblazing status as the first black president. Brazile had reportedly complained to Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain about the 'lack of black appointees' in the new government, according to an excerpt obtained by the Chicago Sun Times. The Democrat had 'remembered well how the administration of the first Black president had been dominated by white men,' the book's authors write. 'On matters of diversity, Brazile shot back, Obama wasnt exactly the gold standard for Black folks.' Biden also reportedly complained Obama hadn't 'lifted a finger' to help him win the South Carolina primary in 2020, the race that cinched the Democratic nomination for him. The former president and his staffers also subtly worked to discourage Biden from running for president in 2016. They instead favored Hillary Clinton, who later lost to Trump, Politico had reported in 2020. 'I am confident that Barack is not happy with the coverage of this administration as more transformative than his,' the book claims Biden told an adviser 'The president was not encouraging' of Biden's potential White House bid at the time, the current commander-in-chief said. Meanwhile Biden told Obama that he intends to run for president again in 2024, The Hill reported last week. One person said Biden 'wants to run and hes clearly letting everyone know.' If successful, he would be 81 years old at the time of his second inauguration. Before becoming Obama's running mate, Biden had two previous presidential campaigns in 2008 and 1988, neither of which saw a long run. Earlier this month Obama made his first return to the White House since leaving office to mark the twelfth anniversary of passing the Affordable Care Act. When he took the stage at the event, Obama jokingly referred to the White House's current occupant as 'Vice President Biden.' A US spy left British military secrets online after he uploaded them so that he could work from home, it has been reported. Adam Sitzes included details of the RAFs 125million Typhoon jets, exposed arms deals and named top officials and counter-terror staff in the UK, Nato and Ukraine. It is feared Mr Sitzes, who is a US Air Force worker in his 40s, forgot about the unencrypted dossier after he uploaded it to file-sharing website Trello in 2020 and gave it public access so he could view it on any device while working from home. A source told The Sun newspaper: Hes likely to face an immediate investigation. Whitehall was informed of the breach and all files have since been removed. Adam Sitzes included details of the RAFs 125million Typhoon jets on the unencrypted document Ex-CIA terror expert Aki Peritz said: Making sensitive information available in one place, on a specific topic, with a shiny red bow tying it all together makes it easy for an adversary to exploit. Its so stupid. It comes as the Daily Mail revealed the UKs civil service jobs website is still advertising 64 vacancies involving partial or total working from home which include sensitive positions with GCHQ, the Governments intelligence and security organisation, and with counter-terrorism at the Home Office. A security expert warned of the absolutely enormous risks that could be posed by civil servants in these areas working from home, especially at a time of grave international danger given Russias invasion of Ukraine. Newly-released bodycam footage shows paramedics frantically trying to save a cinematographer after she was accidentally shot dead by Alec Baldwin. The distressing clip of Halyna Hutchins' final moments - including paramedics crying 'Halyna, stay with us!' was released as part of a trove of evidence shared by Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office Monday. Hutchins, who died aged 42, could be seen unconscious of the floor of a church set as emergency responders worked to save her after she was shot on the New Mexico set of the western in October 2021. She appeared to be unconscious throughout, having been shot through her right armpit, with the bullet that struck her later emerging again through the top of her shoulder. Not much can be heard other than encouragement for Hutchins and the paramedics barking instructions at one another. In another video, the crew from Rust, including Baldwin, can be heard asking how Hutchins is doing. Baldwin can be heard asking 'what's her story?' in reference to Hutchins and being told things are 'a little bit rougher.' Someone can be heard asking if the condition is life-threatening and the response is: 'enough to get air-lifted.' Dramatic police bodycam video shows medics battling to save Halyna Hutchins life after the Rust movie set shooting At one point, Hutchins' top layer of clothing was taken off to help paramedics who were working to save her Hutchins was also filmed being wheeled out of the church on a trolley while being given oxygen, before being put into a med-e-vac helicopter and airlifted away Hutchins is pictured before her death in October 2021. The Ukrainian-born cinematographer was a married mother-of-one One video showed him being approached by cops for the first time moments after the shooting, and being warned not to discuss what had happened with any colleagues before he'd been spoken to by cops. Another clip showed Baldwin sitting on the back of a truck and asking for an update on Hutchins, only to be told by the cop that EMTs were still working on her. A third set of footage showed him being grilled back at a police station afterwards. The investigation files also include rehearsal clips that show Baldwin in costume as he practices a quick-draw maneuver with a gun. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a statement that the investigation by his agency remains open and ongoing as it awaits the results of ballistics and forensic analysis from the FBI as well as studies of fingerprint and DNA. 'The sheriff's office is releasing all files associated with our ongoing investigation,' he said in the statement. Those files also include photos of ammunition from the set and examination reports. Alec Baldwin is shown being interviewed by Santa Fe Sheriff's Deputies on October 21, 2021 after accidentally shooting Halyna Hutchins Pictures taken by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office show the evidence left on the scene after paramedics departed At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza. They had been inside a small church during setup for filming a scene. In a video taken by police later that day, Baldwin makes a few frantic calls as he awaits a meeting with law enforcement officials. 'You have no idea how unbelievable this is and how strange this is,' he says over the phone. New Mexico workplace safety regulators last week issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against the 'Rust' film production company. New Mexicos Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training. Rust Movie Productions has indicated it will dispute the findings and sanction. Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was on set pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction when it went off without his pulling the trigger. Another video shows Alec Baldwin practicing his quick draw on the set of Rust Data files released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office included a video of investigators debriefing Baldwin within hours of the fatal shooting, talking with him inside a compact office New Mexico workplace safety regulators last week issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against the 'Rust' film production company The Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the film "Rust" was being filmed, appears in Santa Fe, N.M. on Oct. 23, 2021 This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021 The Santa Fe County Sheriff has released files from its investigation into the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust, including a video of Alec Baldwin being interviewed after accidentally killing the cinematographer. Baldwin was filming a scene in a church set when he drew the gun and accidentally shot Hutchins, a mother and experienced cinematographer. He has since cooperated with police as part of the investigation into her death. In the new images, he is shown with his hands outstretched, standing solemnly. It was minutes after the shooting but before he knew Halyna had died in the hospital as a result of the injuries he accidentally caused. He is not thought to have known at the moment of the interview that Hutchins had died. Baldwin was filming a scene in a church set when he drew the gun and accidentally shot Hutchins, a mother and experienced cinematographer. He has since cooperated with police as part of the investigation into her death Baldwin was somewhat calm but confused throughout the interview, telling the two female sheriff deputies that he'd 'never heard of anything like this'. At one stage, he drew a diagram of where he had been standing in relation to where Halyna was In these two photos, Alec Baldwin is shown on the set of the movie holding his hands out after the accident Alec Baldwin's hands were photographed at the scene before he was questioned A garment, thought to have been Halyna Hutchins hat, was left at the scene of the shooting In a video of his interview, he said he thought the gun was 'cold' when he was handed it by Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the movie. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died in the hospital as a result of her injuries Baldwin, at the start of the video, asks if he is being charged with anything. He then lets out a huge sigh and says: 'We've done this for two weeks and we've done it the right way every day.' He goes on to insist that the gun they had been using before was 'cold'. 'Right before you shoot. I went to lunch. 'She disarmed me - Hannah - she always handled the gun. I come back, they hand me the revolver - Hannah - they arm me. You're assuming it's a cold gun. I put the gag in the shot. 'I take the gun out , as it clears - I turn and cock the gun and the gun goes off. It's supposed to be a cold gun. 'Bang, she hits the ground. [Joel Souza] goes down, screaming going "Jesus Christ! 'I have never seen this before... What came out of that bullet that went through her shoulder?.... She was right in front of me.' The bullet went through Souza's arm first and then struck Hutchins. He recovered with an injury, but Hutchins died in the hospital. He went on to describe Gutierrez-Reed as 'the daughter of a famous gun guy' who gave him the weapon. Towards the end of the interview, Baldwin is shown a photograph of what was removed from Souza's shoulder. Baldwin pictured today in East Hampton. No one has been charged criminally over the shooting Baldwin is pictured on Monday in East Hampton after collecting lunch Shocked, he says: 'That's a bullet. Somebody put a live bullet in the gun.' He is then quizzed. 'Did you see the rounds in the gun?' 'No.' 'Have you seen what they look like?' 'I've watched her load and reload the gun many times.' 'Have you seen the bullets?' 'Sometimes the head is a casing, it's pinched and closed at the top and you put the cosmetic round in when you know you're going to see... those clay based rounds look exactly like a bullet. 'So cosmetically you see that in the cylinder. I am very upset right now... forgive me.' Discarded medical materials inside the church after the fatal shooting Bloody tissues and a script with a dirty foot print on it inside the church Crime scene photos show bloody gauze at the scene that was used by paramedics before Hutchins was taken away Scattered, discarded tissues and gauze pads at the scene of the shooting on October 21 Baldwin was asked if there was anyone who might have intentionally placed a live bullet in the gun. He referenced the fact there were crew strikes at the time and that many of the crew walked off set the previous day. 'Those people were on strike against the major studios but not the independent film community. A bunch of people on the set walked off anyway even though they were told not to. That was yesterday. 'I don't even know - I have no idea,' he said. The investigation into the shooting has never been able to prove whether or not the bullet was intentionally loaded into the gun, or if it was all an accident. Gutierrez-Reed has insisted throughout that she did not place it in the barrel of the gun and that she might have been sabotaged. Baldwin, at first, had the support of Hutchins' widower Matt. However he has since sued the actor and told how his parading in interviews since his wife's death made him angry. 'Watching him I just felt so angry to see him talk about her death publicly in such a detailed way and then not accepting any responsibility after he just described killing her 'Hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it, I just feel like, are we really supposed to feel bad about you Mr. Baldwin?' he said in an interview in February. Businesses have called for this years extended June bank holiday to be given a permanent place on the calendar. Bosses representing British firms have today written to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak urging them keep the extra day off in the diary. They claim the Government currently over-estimates the cost of public holidays and that a new one would help to boost health and productivity. The end-of-May bank holiday is being pushed back to Thursday June 2 to extend the weekend of the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Supporters of the campaign including Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden, Britains biggest business group the Confederation of British Industry and trade body UK Hospitality say it would be a fitting tribute to Her Majestys 70 years of public service and would also help out firms which rely on tourists and shoppers. The Government estimates that each bank holiday costs 1.4billion. But research by accountancy giant PwC suggests the figure is overestimated and a Monday off would cost 877million and a Friday 786million. Supporters of the campaign to extend the June bank holiday including Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden, pictured Bosses representing British firms have today written to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak urging them keep the extra day off in the diary (stock of people enjoying a sunny day in Brighton) Those backing Mrs Meaden include Britains biggest business group the Confederation of British Industry, bars and restaurants trade body UK Hospitality, and brands such as Siemens and Punch Pubs. Mrs Meaden said: The Great British bank holiday is enjoyed by one and all across society. We all have fond memories of trips away, gatherings with friends, or just enjoying some relaxing time with loved ones. But its also a major boon for many businesses - especially those sectors that have struggled during the pandemic. Im backing the campaign because I think it will be a fitting tribute to Her Majestys seventy years of public service, and that of all the people who make our communities kinder, nicer places to live. They claim the Government currently over-estimates the cost of public holidays and that a new one would help to boost health and productivity. Pictured: Purley Cross and town centre in Surrey The businesswoman, who founded a number of small companies in the leisure and retail sector and took over her familys holiday business before becoming an investor on BBC Twos Dragons Den, said a permanent extra day off would also provide the country with a social and economic stimulus we need after a difficult few years. If the June bank holiday is turned into a permanent feature, the UK would have nine public holidays in a normal year - still behind Germany and France, who each have 11. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: It is time for a Thank Holiday to mark the astonishing and enduring service of Her Majesty the Queen. Such a day would also provide the chance to recognise the fortitude of the entire nation, and local community heroes, in pulling through the challenges of the past two years. Thomas Markle, Meghan Markle's estranged father, has made headlines by announcing that he will come to the UK this year to witness the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The Duchess of Sussex's father told GB News' Dan Wootton that if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decide to go over for the celebration, he wants to meet them. Thomas Markle Makes a Shocking Announcement When Prince Charles visits in June, he hopes to see him and thank him for escorting his daughter down the aisle at the royal wedding in 2018. Thomas hasn't seen his 40-year-old daughter since her wedding, and his two grandkids have never met him. He called Prince Harry an 'idiot' for blaming security concerns for perhaps preventing him from attending the Queen's jubilee activities while speaking live from his home in Rosarito, Mexico. He called the couple's failure to bring their two children, Archie and Lilibet, to see their great-grandmother the Queen "another smack in the face." In another shocking accusation, he said that his daughter encouraged Harry to distance himself from his own family. Thomas Markle, 77, has also admitted that he worries about never seeing his grandchildren. He said that Prince Harry has "never grown up," referring to the Duke of Sussex's planned book, which is rumored to contain disparaging remarks about his relatives. He wished to visit the United Kingdom to "express his love and respect" for the Queen and the Royal Family, Thomas Markle stated. It comes after some of Prince Harry's previous statements about his grandmother ahead of her 70th year on the throne festivities, according to The Sun. Read Also: Amber Heard Hits Back at Johnny Depp During Libel Trial, Exposes Actor's Texts About Wanting to "Burn and Drown" the Actress The Sussexes Remain Undecided About Attending Queen's Platinum Jubilee Prince Harry and his family are expected to travel from California to mark the Queen's 70 years on the throne, Daily Mail reported. In June, Buckingham Palace reportedly offered the Sussexes full armed protection at all Royal Family engagements to reassure them after Prince Harry stated he felt unsafe in the United Kingdom. Even if Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles have removed the biggest roadblock to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Archie, and Lilibet attending the Platinum Jubilee, the Duke of Sussex is claimed to be genuinely undecided about flying in to celebrate his grandmother's 70 years on the throne. On June 2, the Queen's official birthday, the Sussexes would be welcomed onto the Buckingham Palace balcony with the rest of the royals to watch an RAF flypast and the Trooping the Color. However, because they left their duties as frontline royals when they went to Canada and then Los Angeles two years ago, they would be ineligible to attend working parts of the Jubilee. Prince Harry said in an interview that he wanted to make sure his grandmother was "protected" and had "the correct people around her," which sparked controversy. Prince Harry also discussed his particular bond with his grandmother, including his public assertion that she confides in him about topics she can't talk about with anyone else. According to NDTV, former US President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week that Queen Elizabeth should strip Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of their royal titles. Trump aimed at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in an interview with television personality Piers Morgan that will appear on Monday, accusing Prince Harry of being "very disrespectful to the country." Trump said that Prince Harry would get tired of being "bossed around" and that Meghan Markle would start seeing "some other guy better," but afterward released a statement accusing Piers Morgan of "unlawfully and falsely" altering the clip. Related Article: Donald Trump Suggests Queen Elizabeth To Strip All Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Royal Titles, Predicts Couple Will Split @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Teenage road vigilante, Beau Jackson, 17, spends his spare time alerting drivers to hidden police speed traps A grouchy middle-aged woman has confronted a teenage road vigilante who dedicates his spare time to warning drivers about 'unfair' hidden speed cameras. Beau Jackson, 17, has made a name for himself parking near mobile cameras around the NSW Central Coast with a makeshift sign warning unsuspecting motorists about potential speed traps. The teenager often parks in locations where he feels cameras are 'unfairly' trying to catch people to raise revenue - such as at the bottom of hills, or in places where the speed limit suddenly drops. Last week, he pledged to fight a $250 fine from NSW's Environmental Protection Agency for 'littering from [his] Yamaha' - claiming he didn't litter and insisting the fine is payback from the government for costing them millions of dollars in revenue. Mr Jackson told Daily Mail Australia that drivers often thank him for the heads up by buying him McDonald's or briefly honking their horns. But on Friday afternoon, one local resident demanded he stop. Beau Jackson was alerting motorists to a hidden speeding camera when a middle-aged woman, dubbed 'Karen' (pictured) asked him to stop The teenager shared a video of the woman with his 35,000 followers on his Tik Tok account, called 'speed cameras love me', with the caption: 'Have we met before? Oh that's right we have, your name was Karen right?' Mr Jackson filmed 'Karen' walking away, and said from behind the camera: 'This lady tried getting me by complaining about the honks - tried getting a photo of my number plate.' 'It's the first Karen interaction,' he laughed, as another passer-by honked their horn. 'She tried to take a photo of my number plate - I'm legally parked, there's nothing she can do about it.' When speaking with Daily Mail Australia, Mr Jackson explained he parked down he street from where she lived and stayed there for three hours until the mobile speed camera moved. 'She asked me to move because she was sick of the honking,' he said. 'I told her I was only parked there because the speed camera van was parked a few metres in front of me.' Mr Jackson tried to explain he was trying to warn drivers about 'unfair' speed cameras, but the woman (pictured left) didn't care The woman was unfazed about his mission to save Australians from spending hundreds of dollars in speeding tickets and continued demanding that he move. When he continually refused, she started taking photos of Mr Jackson and his bike. 'So I started taking photos of her,' he recalled. 'She backed right off when I did that, and then she starting making phone calls.' The teenager has no idea if anything came of her phone calls because the speed camera van left ten minutes after she got off the phone. 'When they left, I had no reason to be there anymore so I left,' he added. Mr Jackson (pictured) hoped to sell merchandise full-time. His mother Deanne said she 'couldn't be prouder' Beau Jackson (pictured) has a clean driving record, but was inspired to help others when his friend copped a $120 fine for moving just 3km over the speed limit While police support Mr Jackson and say he's doing the community a service - because he's making people slow down - he was recently shocked to get a $250 fine from the NSW Environmental Protection Agency for littering. 'I rang them and they said my sign and some drink cans were on the side of the road,' he told A Current Affair. However Mr Jackson says he always takes the sign and his rubbish home after each shift. 'I pack up my sign and rubbish and take it home. I still have my sign, so I certainly didnt leave it on the side of the road,' he said. The teen asked the EPA for photo proof, but was told there was no evidence. 'I couldnt believe it. I dont litter, all my friends and family know that,' he said. Beau Jackson says he's saved money for hundreds of motorists unaware of hidden speed cameras Beau Jackson says he has the support of police who tell him he's doing the community a service 'Clearly someone is upset with what I am doing, because Im costing them revenue, he said. Mr Jackson plans to take the matter to court. Despite having a clean driving record, the teenager was inspired to rail against hidden speed cameras after his friend was slapped with a $120 fine for moving just 3km over the speed limit. 'I had the idea for about a year because I'd see them in unfair locations, but no one was doing anything about it,' he explained. 'They're just getting innocent people, so I started protecting the community.' His mother Deanne said she 'couldn't be prouder' of her son. Mr Jackson will launch his line of bumper stickers on Wednesday. One sticker reads: 'Too many Karens! not enough Beaus! (pictured) Another sticker (pictured) says: 'Speed cameras don't slow people down!! Beau does!!' Motorists often go out of their way to thank Mr Jackson by buying him McDonald's, coffee, energy drinks, and meat pies - which he said is a bit awkward because he's vegetarian. 'I gift the pies to other people,' he said. The 17-year-old used to work mowing lawns and for Dominos, but he hopes to sell bumper stickers full-time - which will be on sale from Wednesday. 'I've got vinyl bumper stickers with different designs and slogans - they're high-quality and weather-proof,' Mr Jackson said. One sticker says: 'Too many Karens! Not enough Beaus!' Another reads: 'Speed cameras don't slow people down!! Beau does!!' Heartbreaking footage has captured the moment a five-year-old girl was left stranded on a train station platform after the doors closed before her mother could get off. The little girl is seen jumping out of her carriage at Melbourne's South Yarra station last month and waving her arms in the air. But she quickly freezes upon turning around to see the train's doors had closed with her mother still inside. A five-year-old girl was left stranded on the platform at Melbourne's South Yarra station last month when the doors closed before her mother could get off Two commuters walking by tried to open the carriage doors but the train drove off and the little girl was left behind. One man then walked with the child to nearby police officers, who took her hand and waited with her on a bench on the platform. Moments later, the distraught mother is seen running down the platform while wheeling a pram and wrapping her arms around her young daughter. Nearby police officers waited with the little girl for her mother to return The distraught mother is seen running down the platform with a pram after her daughter was left behind The pair then walk away together hand-in-hand. Victoria Police said the Good Samaritan was praised for his efforts in helping the five-year-old, while her mother will thank the officers for reuniting them on Tuesday. Protective services officers have this week returned to all railway stations in Melbourne. 'We know a PSO presence makes people feel safe and that is our top priority,' Acting Superintendent Craig Thompson said. 'Our members genuinely care about the community and we know they look forward to reconnecting with them.' A Minneapolis state representative who's a BLM activist has been accused of bullying cops who pulled his daughter over for driving on expired tags. John Thompson - a former Democrat who's now an independent - was accused of brandishing his official business card in what St Paul cops suggested was an attempt to cower them. He is also said to have screamed at officers following the traffic stop in St Paul on April 24, when his 26 year-old daughter Larraja Austin was pulled over. Thompson accused them of racism, and successfully managed to persuade the cops to let Austin drive off without being made to perform a sobriety test or arrested. Officers taking part in a crackdown on bad driving pulled the beautician over after watching her swerve, and are said to have smelt weed in her car on doing so. Condemning Thompson's alleged behavior in a blistering Facebook post, St Paul Chief of Police Todd Axtell wrote: 'It turned ugly fast. 'While the officer was attempting to get the driverwhose license was suspended and who was driving with tabs that had been expired for two yearsto cooperate and other officers backed her up, the drivers father pulled up in another vehicle, jumped out and immediately began interfering by yelling and questioning the traffic stop and identifying himself as State Representative John Thompson. State Rep John Thompson, above, was elected to the state legislature in November 2020. He has been embroiled in multiple scandals since his election including over previous criminal offenses and where his primary residence is located Cops pulled Larraja Austin, pictured, over for driving on expired tags, and are said to have smelt weed in the car. Her lawmaker dad then arrived on the scene, and is said to have bullied cops into not arresting the 26 year-old beautician 'Here we go again. Its an absolute shamethat an elected official would attempt to intimidate and bully police officers, that he would misuse his official position, that officers doing their jobs should have to endure illegitimate claims of racism, that John Thompson is still serving in the Legislature. 'Its a slap in the face to those of usincluding our police officerswho are working in good faith to make our city safer for everyone. How many times? How many times do our officers have to be berated? How many times do lies have to come to light? Axtell continued: 'Accountability matters. 'I want to be clear about this: My officers were put in an incredibly difficult position and made the best decision they could at the time to de-escalate and avoid being unfairly vilifiedagain.' Chief Axtell concluded by imploring Thompson and is daughter to allow the release of the officer's bodycams in a bid to clear up what exactly happened during the traffic stop. His department also wants Austin charged with failing to provide a sample. St Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell ranted over Thompson's alleged behavior on his Facebook profile Monday - and included a shot of a card he says Thompson gave his officers in what appeared to be an attempt to scare them off arresting his daughter Chief Todd Axtell said in a blistering Facebook post that he was upset that Thompson is allowed to continue serving in the legislature following the April 24 incident Chief Axtell said as the officer and her back up attempted to get Austin to co-operate, her father, State Rep. John Thompson showed up. According to the chief, Thompson began attempting to 'intimidate and bully police officers.' Axtell said that the officers were accused of racism by Thompson while he handed out his business cards that showed he was an elected member of the state legislature. The chief said that it was an 'absolute shame' that Thompson is continued to be allowed to serve in the legislature following his accusations. Thompson was elected to his office in November 2020. He represents over 42,000 citizens in St. Paul's District 67A. Thompson 'rose to prominence' following the shooting of his 'best friend' Philando Castile in St. Paul in 2016 According to Minnesota law, one of the reasons allowing for the release of bodycam footage is to 'dispel rumor or unrest.' While police were dealing with the incident, Thompson's daughter is accused of ignoring officers and having a video call while her father 'continued to yell and scream in an irate fashion,' CBS Minneapolis reported citing a police report. The report said that Austin refused to co-operate with officers and made a video call in front of them. Eventually, Thompson was allowed to take his daughter away from the scene. She was not charged. In the summer of 2021, the St. Paul Police Department released footage of Thompson being pulled over and making similar allegations of racism against officers. Thompson said that he was guilty of 'driving while black.' That incident led to it being revealed that Thompson held a Wisconsin driver's license. That revelation saw the media discover that Thompson had previous domestic abuse allegations levelled against him. Following those revelations, Thompson was removed from the Democratic Farm Labor party caucus in the Minnesota legislature. Thompson said in a statement after his expulsion that he would continue to serve his constituents as an independent. Thompson (C) marches with Black Lives Matter protesters outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on April 13, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Thompson's wife has previously come forward to say that her husband never abused her Thompson was accused of a series of domestic abuse incidents dating back to 2003. In one instance, the alleged abuse took place in front of his children. The state rep's wife, Lea Austin Thompson, came forward in 2021 to say of her husband, 'I have never been abused. He never has abused me.' Thompson attended Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's State of the State speech at 6 p.m. on the same day that his daughter was pulled over. The Democratic activist did not attend a vote at the legislature on the morning of April 25 but did vote remotely, reports Fox9. At the time of writing, Thompson has not addressed the traffic stop publicly. He did post a video on his official Facebook page regarding fundraising efforts for re-election. Thompson rose to prominence following the killing of his 'good friend' Philando Castile, according to a 2021 St. Paul Pioneer-Press profile. While a feature in Vice Magazine referred to him as Castile's 'best friend.' On his official website, Thompson writes, 'My family and I have always worked hard and kept to ourselves until the day my friend and co-worker Philando Castile was shot and killed during a traffic stop. At that moment, I knew that I could no longer remain silent.' On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot dead by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul. Castile was 32 years old. Yanez was later acquitted of second-degree manslaughter in the incident. A wrongful death suit brought by Castile's family was later settle by the city to the tune of $3.8 million. One commenter dubbed the bird 'Philip Morris' after the cigarette company The odd encounter occurred at the Reef View Hotel on Hamilton Island in QLD The cockatoo sits on a balcony and begins pulling cigarettes out with its beak A sneaky cockatoo has been been dubbed 'Philip Morris' after being caught stealing a pack of smokes from a tourist and then pulling a cigarette out and holding it in its beak like an everyday smoker. The sulphur-crested cockatoo was spotted on the balcony of a Queensland holiday resort inspecting a packet of cigarettes inquisitively by a tourist who filmed the encounter. Footage of the odd yet hilarious incident was posted to social media back in April, 2019, but it was only this week that the clip resurfaced online. The cockatoo was dubbed 'Philip Morris' by one commenter because of his antics, after the cigarette manufacturing company. A sneaky cockatoo has been caught stealing a pack of smokes from a tourist before pulling a cigarette out and holding it in its beak like an everyday smoker 'This happened while staying at the Reef View Hotel on Hamilton Island - Queensland, Australia,' the tourist wrote in the description of the clip at the time. The cockatoo is seen calmly sitting on the balcony and holding the open cigarette packet with its foot. He then begins pulling the cigarettes out one by one with its beak. The bird instantly drops the first smoke over the side of the resort and a second onto the balcony floor. The cheeky animal manages to pull out a third cigarette and lets go of the entire packet, which falls over the side of the building. It holds the third smoke in its beak temporarily like a smoker, rotating the tube around its mouth. The cockatoo then grabs the smoke with its foot and begins breaking it apart with its beak before dropping the remains. The cheeky animal manages to pull out a third cigarette and lets go of the entire packet, which falls over the side of the building It holds the third smoke in its beak temporarily like a smoker, rotating the tube around its mouth The iconic Australian bird has a knack of nabbing food and possessions left unattended by people. Last June, one mischievous cockatoo pinched a cafe diner's caramel slice in front of his eyes and flew off into the distance. The cheeky bird appeared to lull the man into a false sense of security by eating crumbs off his table at a cafe in Lorne on Victoria's Great Ocean Road. It then suddenly snatched the paper bag with the slice inside, with the diner trying and failing to retrieve the treat from the animal's mouth. The bird then flew across the road with the bag hanging from its mouth. A mischievous cockatoo pinched a cafe diner's caramel slice in front of his eyes and flown off into the distance Another clip posted last year saw a sulphur-crested cockatoo nibbling on a croissant while perched on a traffic sign in Bondi Another clip posted last year saw a sulphur-crested cockatoo nibbling on a croissant while perched on a traffic sign in Bondi. Footage posted to Instagram shows the laid-back bird dubbed 'Le Coqatou' enjoying a morning pastry in the beachside Sydney suburb. It balanced on the 'no stopping' sign while it surveys the area between beakfuls. The skillful bird even had sophisticated table manners as it gripped the meal with its claw, lifting the the buttery treat to its beak to take small bites. A council is putting pressure on grocery behemoths Woolworths and Coles to introduce mandatory trolley locks. A Gold Coast grocery store development, plus all others in future, are under threat if they don't comply as council tries to crack down on trolley dumping. Robina councillor Hermann Vorster said roving shopping trolleys were littering the Gold Coast's waterways and roads - coming at a high price for ratepayers. The Gold Coast development in the works (pictured is an artist's impression) is under heat to comply to a councilor's desire to rid the city of it's trolley abandonment problem He said tough laws were needed to clamp down on the illegal dumping. 'It costs ratepayers big bucks to pull trolleys from lakes when we're carrying out essential maintenance,' he told the Gold Coast Bulletin. 'The worst impacts can be for those living with low vision or in wheelchairs when their only safe path to work, services and public transport is blocked.' Most shopping centres employ others to collect trolleys, or use Trolley Tracker where the public help to report abandoned carts. Some shoppers believed the only way to make some people return their trolleys was to make them pay for it. 'Sick to death of lazy self-entitled people just leaving them wherever they unload and they damage cars parked next to where they leave them,' one wrote. 'The only thing they understand is money.' Cr Vorster said magnetic barriers and coin returns at grocery stores worked. Council's planning committee agreed to update its conditions of approval for supermarket developments to reflect more stringent regulation on trolley management. A Coles spokesperson said the grocery giant will 'comply with any new regulations brought about by the City of Gold Coast'. A proposal for a Coles building in a Varsity Lakes hub is the first up to face the new measures. The shopping centre, which will have a 3,236sqm supermarket, 153sqm Liquorland and two specialty shops, is before the council for approval. Both grocery giants said they were actively working to kerb the abandoned trolley problem. Coles said they will 'of course comply with any new regulations brought about by the City of Gold Coast'. Woolworths said it would work alongside local councils and the Gold Coast community in managing its trolleys, and invested 'many millions in collection services'. A manhunt has been launched for two men who allegedly knocked a woman unconscious before sexually assaulting her in her own home. The incident has prompted local authorities to issue an urgent warning to residents to lock up their homes in the NSW Hunter region north of Sydney. A Singleton woman was getting ready for bed shortly after midnight last Thursday night when she was confronted by two masked men allegedly armed with a knife. She was allegedly attacked and sexually assaulted by the men while unconscious. The men allegedly broke into the woman's home on this street in the town of Singleton, north-west of Sydney The victim was later taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment. It's understood the woman is still traumatised and is yet to give a formal statement to police. The alleged attack has rocked the close-knit community, including local leaders. 'We are very alarmed, disappointed that something like this would happen in Singleton,' mayor Sue Moore told the Daily Telegraph. 'We're cautioning people to make sure they've got their properties locked and made themselves as safe as possible until the offenders are captured.' Police have established Strike Force Currikee to investigate the alleged incident and have spent recent days scouring the area for evidence and gathering CCTV. 'An extensive canvas has been conducted in the Singleton area, and strike force investigators continue to work with local police to obtain and review all forensic evidence gathered during the initial stages to identify those responsible,' Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty said. High profile ABC presenter Fauziah Ibrahim was viciously attacked on social media over a fiery interview with Anthony Albanese months before she was caught out describing her critics as 'lobotomised sh**heads and Labor trolls'. The under-siege ABC Weekend Breakfast host has 'taken a break' from her on air duties in recent days, pending an investigation into the offensive comments made on her Twitter account. Ms Ibrahim had grouped a handful of Twitter followers into two lists on her personal account 'lobotomised sh**heads' and 'Labor trolls/thugs', which were left open for the public to see. Ms Ibrahim has since vanished from her usual role on the show at the weekend and deleted mentions of the ABC from her Twitter bio. Daily Mail Australia can reveal the latest episode in a long, quiet ordeal Ms Ibrahim has endured where trolls have viciously criticised her. When Ms Ibrahim came under fire over a live TV interview with the Opposition Leader back in January, ABC executives strongly backed her 'impartiality'. At the time, Ms Ibrahim was accused of showing 'arrogance and extreme bias' against the Labor Party and speaking over Mr Albanese. But the ABC offered her unwavering support. SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH FAUZIAH IBRAHIM'S INTERVIEW WITH ALBO The under-siege ABC Weekend Breakfast host vanished from the airwaves in recent days, pending an investigation into the offensive comments made on her Twitter account Fauziah Ibrahim was told she would be 'more suited to Sky News' than the ABC after a disastrous interview with Anthony Albanese months before she was ousted for describing her critics as 'lobotomised sh**heads and Labor trolls' Ms Ibrahim's interview with Mr Albanese centered on Covid rapid tests and vaccination figures and the presenter was accused on social media of rarely giving Mr Albanese an opportunity to complete a sentence. At one stage, he tried six times to answer a statement she made about Labor 'getting on board' with the Coalition's plan to boost vaccination rates. 'If you'll just wait a minute,' Mr Albanese said as Ms Ibrahim spoke over the top of him. The interview attracted criticism and upset several viewers enough they lodged complaints with the public broadcaster. In the wake of the interview, Ms Ibrahim was the subject of intense and persistent trolling and online bullying. 'Ms Ibrahim's ''interview'' was an absolute disgrace and should cost her her job,' one viewer said after the segment aired. The under-siege ABC News Breakfast host (right) was quietly stood down last week pending an investigation into offensive comments made on her Twitter account Daily Mail Australia can reveal it's not the first time Ibrahim had tangled with left-leaning trolls Another said he'd 'previously been an admirer of Ms Ibrahim', but she 'lost him' after the way she conducted herself during the interview. Countless others switched off the interview and vowed to no longer watch Ms Ibrahim's news breakfast weekend show in protest. 'So rude and disrespectful... she'd be better suited to Sky News after dark... Didn't expect to see that on ABC.' In response to complaints made about the interview, the ABC's Head of Audience and Consumer Affairs determined Ms Ibrahim 'conducted [herself] with due impartiality and complied with the ABC's editorial standards'. 'Ms Ibrahim employed the adversarial or 'devil's advocate' approach to interviewing. We are satisfied the interview with Mr Albanese was suitably rigorous and informative, the questions posed by Ms Ibrahim were relevant and based strictly on news value,' the statement read. 'Mr Albanese was afforded ample opportunity to respond to the questions in detail and at length. While rigorous, Ms Ibrahim demonstrated a consistently civil and objective approach.' The interview centered on Covid rapid tests and vaccination figures and Ms Ibrahim rarely gave Mr Albanese an opportunity to complete a sentence Ms Ibrahim has locked down her social media accounts in the wake of the controversy amid trolling from critics who have labelled her 'trash' and 'disgusting' ABC's response to complaint about Fauziah Ibrahim's interview with Anthony Albanese in full 'We have reviewed the interview and assessed its compliance with the ABCs editorial standards for impartiality. 'During this interview, Fauziah Ibrahim employed the adversarial or devils advocate approach to interviewing, which involves putting other points of view to the interviewee. It is Ms Ibrahims duty to conduct a testing interview that does not allow the interviewee to use the occasion as a political platform, and to interject and make reasonable efforts to ensure that the questions that were asked are answered. Posing testing questions and then allowing the interviewee to respond to those questions is a recognised standard of objective journalism. 'On review, we are satisfied the interview with Mr Albanese was suitably rigorous and informative, the questions posed by Ms Ibrahim were relevant and based strictly on news value, and Mr Albanese was afforded ample opportunity to respond to the questions in detail and at length. While rigorous, Ms Ibrahim demonstrated a consistently civil and objective approach. The interview was conducted with due impartiality and complied with the ABCs editorial standards. 'Thank you for giving the ABC the opportunity to respond to your concerns. Should you remain dissatisfied, you may be able to pursue your complaint with the Australian Communications and Media Authority.' Advertisement Social media users who found themselves grouped in the two lists - which were made public on Ms Ibrahim's account - accused her of displaying anti-Labor bias Just three months later, two controversial lists on her personal Twitter account were unearthed labelling her critics 'Labor Trolls/Thugs' and 'Lobotomised sh**heads'. Social media users who found themselves grouped in the two lists - which were made public on Ms Ibrahim's account - accused her of displaying anti-Labor bias. In the wake of the controversy, Ms Ibrahim was pulled off air. An ABC spokesman insisted she has not been sacked - but is 'taking a break' from TV screens. 'The ABC is reviewing recent social media activity by presenter Fauziah Ibrahim,' the spokesman said. Ms Ibrahim was absent from her program at the weekend without explanation. There was only a single passing reference to her. BEFORE: Fauziah Ibrahim's Twitter bio (pictured) used to make a very big deal out of her working for ABC AFTER: Fauziah Ibrahim's Twitter bio (pictured) now makes no mention of ABC whatsoever, leading to questions about her status with the broadcaster Her replacement John Barron told co-host Johanna Nicholson he was excited to be on air, noting he'd 'usually be watching you and Fauziah' from home. Eagle-eyed social commentators also noted Ms Ibrahim had removed any reference to her role at the ABC from her Twitter biography, including her cover photo. Some believe this may indicate an extended stint on the sidelines. Ms Ibrahim has locked down her social media accounts in the wake of the controversy amid trolling from critics who have slammed her conduct. Apart from obvious bias she was a terrible presenter,' one opined. Prior to working at the ABC, Ms Ibrahim worked at international television networks including Al Jazeera, the BBC and CNBC. She describes herself on social media as an 'eternal expat', a certified pilates instructor and of Singaporean heritage. Ms Ibrahim last year celebrated being one of two journalists of Asian descent to host the ABC's flagship breakfast program. Daily Mail Australia has sought comment from Ms Ibrahim about the developments. Ex-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has used Labor's main attack line to criticise Scott Morrison's government but refused to answer a burning question about his former electorate. During an appearance fro on the ABC's Radio National program on Tuesday, Mr Turnbull noted Foreign Minister Marise Payne hadn't visited the Solomon Islands since 2019. Mr Turnbull said it was a mistake for her not to have visited as a priority as there is no substitute for being on the ground and engaging in person. 'This is a hose you have to hold,' the former PM, who was calling in from New York, told the national broadcaster. Malcolm Turnbull (pictured with wife Lucy) has slammed the Coalition over the Solomon Islands saga, describing the outcome as 'an absolute failure on foreign policy' '(The Australia-Pacific relationship) needs time and attention, you cannot step away from responsibility ... the buck stops with the Australian government on this because it's adverse and contrary to what our policy objectives were. Mr Turnbull said the outcome was 'an absolute failure on foreign policy.' While he was highly critical of the Morrison government, he was tight-lipped about his former seat of Wentworth in Sydney's eastern suburbs. He refused to reveal who has his backing in the seat he held for 14 years until the 2018 by-election, adding either of the two lead candidates would do a good job. 'I'm staying out of the election contest,' Mr Turnbull said. 'My only contribution to the election in Wentworth will be to vote.' Current Liberal MP Dave Sharma faces a tough challenge to hold onto his seat from high profile independent Allegra Spender, 12 months after the tragic death of her mother, late fashion designer Carla Zampatti. The former prime minister was highly critical of his successor Scott Morrison (pictured with Darwin locals on Monday) and his Coalition government Mr Turnbull refused to budge when Patricia Karvelas asked who will get his vote on May 21. 'It's a secret ballot. they're both very good candidates. Dave Sharma is a very talented guy,' he said. 'Allegra Spender is an outstanding candidate. 'Whoever one of them is elected will be a very fine representative in the federal parliament.' Meanwhile, Senator Payne said the pandemic had stopped her from travelling but she had still been communicating with her Pacific counterparts. A visit to the Solomon Islands 'may or may not happen' during the election campaign but Australia's relationship with the nation was on good terms, she said. Malcolm Turnbull refused to say he'll be voting for in his seat of Wentworth but said current MP Dave Sharma and independent candidate Allegra Spender (pictured) would both do a fine job 'This is a strong partnership but it does not detract from the fact that governments will, of course, make their own sovereign decisions,' Senator Payne told ABC Radio National. 'I think it would be naive at best for Australians to operate on the basis that we can march into other people's countries and dictate and tell them what to do.' She said the Solomon Islands had assured her Australia would remain the security partner of choice and there would be no military Chinese base built in the nation. Mr Turnbull said he had ensured Australia provided solutions to Pacific nations when China was offering to build infrastructure such as internet cables. Meanwhile, Mr Morrison said war was not on Australia's doorstep, despite Defence Minister Peter Dutton's statement on Anzac Day that Australia must 'prepare for war to preserve peace'. Mr Turnbull said it was a mistake for foreign minister Marise Payne (pictured) to not to have visited the Solomon Island as a priority 'No one wants to see a war and no one is believing that is what is going to happen and I want to reassure Australians about that,' he told 2GB. 'We prepare for these things to ensure we can keep stability and peace within our region.' Mr Morrison said his government had signed partnerships with the United States and United Kingdom, known as the AUKUS arrangement, to secure Australia's stability. 'AUKUS is not just about nuclear powered submarines, it's about cybersecurity and cyber defence,' he said. 'The first shot fired in any conflict is actually in bits and bytes, it's not in bullets.' South Australia's new Premier will continue the mask mandate for year 7 to 12 students and staff for the first four weeks of Term 2. Masks will also be 'strongly encouraged' for those students in years 3 to 6. Peter Malinauskas confirmed the rule will remain during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. 'Wearing masks for kids in schools isn't convenient and isn't natural and I certainly feel for our students that are going to continue to wear masks for the next four weeks, but we're making this decision in their best interests,' Mr Malinauskas said. 'This was a difficult decision.. that's a tough judgment. 'School was certainly disrupted during term 1, we know (it was) a difficult period for many of our students and many of our teachers. Newly elected South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has confirmed that mask mandates will remain across the state 'Anything that we can do to prevent the consideration of (school closures) is something that we've got to keep on the table. 'Most adults now don't have to wear masks but our school students will. I don't particularly like that, but we're going to do everything we can to relieve students of the mask mandate in four weeks' time, but do it in a safe way.' Last month, Australia's former deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth warned mask mandates are detrimental to kids' learning. 'You're not actually protecting the kids themselves because it's a very, very mild disease in children with or without the vaccine,' he said. 'It doesn't stop them from getting very sick because they don't get very sick. 'Yes there's lots of cases around. The people who are getting very sick with this are the very frail elderly in nursing homes. Or the people with severe underlying conditions. 'There is an overemphasis on the risks posed by Covid in a fully-vaccinated population and an overemphasis on the benefits of masking kids.' Prof Coatsworth explained how he spent a week working in a hospital recently and struggled with wearing a mask. Students across Australia are preparing to head back to school after the Easter holidays with eased Covid restrictions this week (pictured, students at Tweed Heads Public School) 'I have trouble communicating with my patients (while wearing a mask),' he said. 'It's hard for them to hear me, it's hard for them to know who I am, and if that's hard for me then I can only conclude that it would be detrimental to kids.' Both Victoria and NSW have already scrapped many Covid rules for kids returning to the classroom. Students in year three to six Victoria will no longer be required to wear a mask as they return to classrooms on Tuesday. The Victorian Department of Education and Training still recommends face coverings in school settings, with some students to continue to wear a mask. School students and staff in NSW no longer need to isolate for seven days if they're a household or close contact of a positive case (pictured, students return to school in Sydney) While school staff and volunteers are required to be triple-vaccinated in Victoria, the vaccine requirement for parents and visitors to school grounds has been scrapped. Previously, visitors had to show proof of two doses, or a vaccination exemption. Victorian students deemed close contacts of a Covid-19 case will no longer be required to quarantine, as long as additional safety precautions are taken, in line with the requirements of close contacts in NSW schools. Parents or carers will be asked to notify the school the student is a close contact, with the child required to return a negative RAT five out of seven days. Meanwhile in NSW, teachers and students will still be able to attend school if someone they live with contracts Covid-19. They will have to take a rapid antigen test daily before attending and must wear a face mask indoors, with the exception of primary school students for whom face masks are only a strong recommendation. Supreme Court justices have temporarily reinstated a woke admissions policy at one of America's top schools despite a federal judge previously ruling it was racist. The high court did not explain its order Monday that allows the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology to continue using its admissions policy, while the Fairfax County School Board appeals the lower court's February ruling. Fairfax County School Board changed its admissions policy in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in May 2020 to boost 'equity' at the school. Black and Hispanic students made up a very small portion of the student body. That has now changed - but Asian-American parents say it has come at the expense of their children, and that it is racist. U.S. Supreme Court declined to block an elite Virginia public high school's admissions policy - designed to increase its racial and socioeconomic diversity. Pictured above, the school in question, Thomas Jefferson High School Parents had protested the 'unfair' admissions process at a school board meeting in March with some Asian American parents in Fairfax County saying the policy discriminated against their children. On this occasion, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to step in to prevent Fairfax County Public Schools from using the admissions policy for next school year. The county public school system made changes in order to try to bring more diversity to the school, leading to a lawsuit against the school board. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said they would have granted the request from the parents' group, Coalition for TJ, to suspend the admissions policy. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority, with the woke policy highly-likely to be struck out if it does appear before the justices as a full case. Asra Q. Nomani is the mother of a 2021 TJ graduate and co-founder of Coalition for TJ and vice president at Parents Defending Education who sued the school In February, the group persuaded U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton that a new policy that has boosted black and Hispanic representation amounted to impermissible 'racial balancing' at the selective school near the nation's capital. It is often ranked as one of the best public high schools in the country. Asian American students constituted more than 70% of the student body. Under the new policy, used to admit the school's current freshman class, Asian American representation decreased to 54%. Black students increased from 1% to 7% and Hispanic representation increased from 3% to 11%. Anti-Critical Race Theory campaigner Asra Nomani, whose child graduated from the school last year claimed the school was making race a factor in the admissions criteria and discriminating against Asian children. She said TJ, which ranked the number one school nationwide in the US News Best High Schools report last April and as a public school has no tuition fees, has 'systematically set out to reduce' the number of Asian students joining. Nomani said she and her fellow campaigners were disappointed with the Supreme Court ruling, but hopeful that their case would ultimately be upheld. Hilton had ordered the new policy suspended, but the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, said it could be used while the case continues to play out in the courts. The plaintiffs in the case said that increasing the number of black students 'had a substantial adverse impact on Asian American studentsin order to achieve its desired racial balance.' Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, all seen left, said they would have granted the request from the parents' group, Coalition for TJ, to suspend the admissions policy The school board also stated that the policy was race-neutral because it did not set any racial targets and the race of applicants was not known to admissions officials. In a statement Monday evening, Coalition for TJ said: 'We were hopeful that we would win this battle to vacate the stay in the highest court of the land, but our struggle for justice is not over. We are not at all dissuaded.' A statement from Fairfax County Public Schools reads: 'Today's action by the U.S. Supreme Court will allow a race-blind and fair admissions process to proceed for this fall's entering freshman class at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) while the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond considers the underlying appeal. The Fourth Circuit has approved Fairfax County Public Schools' request for an expedited schedule to resolve the legal issues involved in the admissions process.' 'We continue to believe our new plan for TJ admissions is merit-based and race-blind,' said FCPS Division Counsel John Foster. 'We are confident that after considering the facts and the law, the appeals court will decide that our plan meets all the legal requirements and guarantees every qualified student will have the chance of being admitted to the finest public science and technology high school in the country.' The Biden administration seeks to boost the number of COVID-19 patients treated with Pfizer's Paxlovid medicine as hundreds of people in the United States die from the COVID-19 each day. The federal government will double the number of locations where Paxlovid is offered, according to White House officials, because the drug has been underutilized in fighting the pandemic. Around 40,000 pharmacies, community health centers, hospitals, urgent care centers, and Veterans Affairs clinics will be among the venues, NBC News reported. According to the White House, as many as 10,000 sites might begin carrying the medicine as early as this week. One senior administration official claimed that there are "some folks who could have benefited from these medications." Hence, the government "can save more lives by getting this medication to more people." For weeks, authorities have been frustrated by the drug's minimal usage, claiming that many doctors and patients are likely unaware that it is widely available after months of shortage in supply. Patients have received almost 500,000 courses of medication so far, with the number of weekly prescriptions granted doubling since last month to 55,000 every week, according to a top administration official. Still, more patients may benefit from the treatment, according to the official. After tests revealed that a five-day course lowered patients' risk of hospitalization and death by 89%, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the drug in December for emergency use in high-risk people and kids over the age of 12 who screened positive. The medication would be available to about 60% of adults infected by the COVID-19 virus. US Might Lose COVID-19 Treatments Due to Funding Problems America has been first in line for COVID-19 vaccinations and medicines for the past two years. Now, as drug manufacturers work on the next generation of treatments, the White House is warning that unless Congress acts quickly, the United States will be forced to fall in line. Officials in the Biden administration are increasingly concerned that the United States is missing out on crucial ways of obtaining booster doses and new antiviral pills that could help the country sustain its recovery amid the threats of new variants and case surges, per US News. The White House said Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Hong Kong have all made orders for medicines and vaccine doses that the US cannot yet commit to. Officials said the US has yet to place an advance order, which would let the manufacturers expand capacity to mass-produce the drug due to funding delays. Read Also: COVID-19 Cases in China: Beijing Reveals 'Grim' Situation Amid Several Outbreaks 'Superspreading' Is Still Possible Meanwhile, medical experts say that, despite being regarded as drivers of COVID-19 infection, "superspreading" events are now a minor issue, according to CNN. "Superspreading" is defined as an incident in which a large number of people become infected, most often as a result of more than one sick person on occasion. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 95% of Americans 16 and older developed antibodies against COVID-19 as of December, the most recent data available. Current vaccinations are more successful at preventing severe COVID-19 infection, which can result in hospitalization or death, and they also provide some immunity in the first place. Furthermore, according to the CDC, keeping the COVID-19 vaccine up to date can reduce the chance of the virus spreading to others and boost immunity to new variants. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, however, said that despite the improved situation in the pandemic, superspreading can still happen. "They're definitely going to be one of the patterns we're going to see for some time to come from the disease, as long as we still have a variant out there that's highly infectious and a variety of people in various stages of immune protection," he said. Related Article: USA, China, India Spend the Most as Global Military Expenses Reach $2 Trillion Mark; Russia Increases Budget Before War @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Anthony Albanese has revealed he's been trying to get 'as much rest as possible' in Covid isolation after posting a picture with his dog showing a glimpse inside his home. The image posted at the weekend showed Mr Albanese's living room with a large TV, and a six-seater sofa while he worked on his speech for Labor's campaign launch in Perth on Sunday. 'Working on my campaign launch speech with my iso companion, Toto,' he wrote. The Labor leader - who will be released on Thursday - sounded bunged-up when he appeared on radio interviews on Tuesday morning from his Sydney home but said he has avoided any serious symptoms. Anthony Albanese has revealed he's been trying to get 'as much rest as possible' in Covid isolation. He shared this picture of him at home with dog Toto 'I have had some symptoms but I'm going a lot better than other people who have had it,' he told 6PR. 'When you have Covid you're not 100 per cent, that's the truth of the matter.' During his isolation, Mr Albanese has been conducting media interviews as well writing speeches and opinion pieces but has also managed to get lots of rest. 'I had just have to take the health advice which is seven days iso but also to get as much rest as possible during this period,' he said. 'It does make you tired. But I haven't had any of the headaches and other symptoms that others have spoken to me about so I consider myself to be quiet fortunate.' Mr Albanese (left with girlfriend Jodie Haydon) is due out of isolation on Thursday The Labor leader has also been writing opinion pieces, one of which was published in The Australian on Tuesday. Mr Albanese blasted Scott Morrison for 'failing' to invest in training more nurses and touted his plan to offer almost half a million free TAFE places. 'The federal election campaign has shone a long overdue spotlight on Australias severe shortage of nurses and doctors,' he wrote. 'Across the nation, our hospitals, aged-care facilities, community health centres and local medical practices are crying out for medical staff.' The 59-year-old also carried out three radio interviews on Tuesday morning as he prepares to return to the campaign trail. During a heated 2GB interview, host Ray Hadley quizzed Mr Albanese over how he would stop the country being flooded with asylum seeker boats and asked him to rule out ever having a carbon tax - which he did. The radio shock jock, who is a big fan of Scott Morrison, blasted the Labor leader over his 'fanciful' stance on temporary protection visas, arguing they are a crucial part of deterring people smugglers. Labor sources said the interview consisted of 'one man yelling and the other staying calm'. A Newspoll released on Monday night showed Labor was ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis by 53 to 47. This puts Mr Albanese on track to become Prime Minister on May 21. From floods to China: How Albo responded to Ray Hadley Immigration: 'We support boat turn-backs and we support offshore processing' Floods: 'Have a look at the map mate' China: 'Scott Morrison hasn't bothered to pick up the phone to (Solomon Islands) Prime Minister Sogavare' Carbon tax: 'There will be no carbon tax ever' Advertisement What are Labor's policies at the 2022 election? Cheaper childcare One of Labor's most significant policies is to increase childcare subsidies for all families earning less than $530,000. Mr Albanese would remove a cap that prevents families earning more than $189,390 from receiving more than $10,560 a year in subsidies. A family on $189,390 that uses childcare five days a week would instead get $21,608 in subsidies, more than double the current allowance. One of Labor's most significant policies is to increase childcare subsidies for all families earning less than $530,000 Lower income families would also benefit from increased subsidies. For example, a family taking home $80,000 a year would get an extra $2,389 a year for full-time care. The move is designed to encourage more second income earners - mostly women - into the workforce. Tackling climate change Labor will spend $20billion to upgrade the electricity grid to improve transmission, roll out 85 solar banks and 400 community batteries and invest in 10,000 'new energy apprentices' alongside a $10million New Energy Skills Program. Mr Albanese says the plan will allow cheaper renewable sources to supply 82 per cent of electricity by 2030. The plan is projected to create 604,000 jobs and slash average household energy prices by $275 a year by 2025 and $378 by 2035. The policies will reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, a slightly less ambitious target than Bill Shorten's 45 per cent aim which Mr Albanese called a 'mistake'. Labor has announced a target to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. Pictured: Mr Albanese with a hydrogen car on Wednesday The Coalition's target is to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels, although latest projections show the nation is on track for a 30-35 per cent reduction. A future Labor government would also spend $3billion on renewables manufacturing and deploying low-emissions technologies - as well as remove taxes on electric cars to make them cheaper. Aged care reform Labor wants to improved the aged care sector after a Royal Commission reported shocking incidences of neglect. It will require aged care homes to have a nurse on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week from July 2023, a year before the Commission recommended. It will also mandate at least 215 minutes of care per day and develop mandatory nutrition standards to improve food. The ALP will make a submission to the Fair Work Commission to support a pay rise for aged care workers. Manufacturing boost Labor will set up a $15billion National Reconstruction Fund to fund major manufacturing projects across the nation. The fund will provide loans, guarantees and equity to support projects in resources, transport, agriculture, medicine, energy and defence. Labor will set up a $15billion National Reconstruction Fund to fund major manufacturing projects across the nation. Pictured: Sydney tradies Labor says the policy will 'secure well-paid jobs, drive regional development, and invest in our national sovereign capability, broadening and diversifying Australias economy.' Trains, trams and ferries will be made in Australia instead of overseas and a fast rail line between Sydney and Newcastle will be built. First-aid clinics Mr Albanese has pledged 50 first-aid clinics across the country if he wins the election. The clinics will treat non life threatening injuries such as broken bones, minor burns, cuts and animal stings and will be open every day between 8am to 10pm. Labor's first-aid clinics will be based at GP surgeries and community health centres nationwide with locations yet to be announced. Anthony Albanese has pledged 50 first-aid clinics across the country if he wins the election. Pictured: A Sydney nurse Similar clinics operate in New Zealand where they help families avoid long wait times and ease pressure on hospitals. The clinics will be bulk billed, meaning people won't have any out-of-pocket costs accessing medical care. A trial of the clinics lasting four years will cost $135 million. Free TAFE Labor will provide 465,000 free TAFE places and 20,000 extra university places under a $1.2billion plan. The free TAFE places will be for courses in industries with a skills shortages such as trades and construction, resources, digital and cyber security, new energy and advanced manufacturing. Labor has no plans to reduce university fees after the Coalition hiked prices for humanities courses. Labor will provide 465,000 free TAFE places and 20,000 extra university places under a $1.2billion plan. Pictured: Sydney tradies Corruption watchdog Labor will set up a federal integrity commission which the Morrison Government promised in 2019 then failed to deliver. The ALP does not support the Government's proposed model because it cannot hold its own independent inquiries, public inquiries or investigate past scandals. More permanent jobs Labor wants to re-define casual work to give Australians more chance at securing permanent jobs. In March 2021 the Government defined casual work for the first time as a situation where a worker has 'no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work according to an agreed pattern of work'. But Labor wants to change this so employment status is determined by workers' shift patterns. There are around 2.6million casual workers in Australia. They are most commonly in the hospitality, retail (pictured), health, education and construction industries If an employee has regular shifts for a defined time period then they would be permanent not casual, such as a coal miner who has a 12 month fixed roster. Labor believes this would push up wages by increasing bargaining power because permanent workers have stronger rights and cannot be left off a roster for requesting a pay-rise like casuals can. There are about 2.6million casual workers in Australia. They are most commonly in the hospitality, retail, health, education and construction industries. These workers receive no annual or personal leave, no notice of termination or redundancy pay - but get an extra 25 per cent on top of their pay to make up for this. Minimum wage for gig workers Mr Albanese also wants to improve the rights of so-called gig workers such as Uber drivers and Deliveroo drivers. Labor would extend the powers of the Fair Work Commission to include 'employee-like' forms of work. This would allow the tribunal to cover app-based gig jobs even when workers are technically self-employed. Labor wants to improve working conditions for casuals and gig workers such as Uber drivers, food delivery workers, hospitality, and retail staff The Commission would then be able to set minimum pay and conditions for gig workers so they can no longer be paid below minimum wage. Labor believes there is a big difference between an empowered independent contractor who runs their own business and a low paid worker on a bicycle. They should not both be treated the same as self-employed workers, the Opposition believes. Same job, same pay Labor will also bring in new laws to make sure workers who do the same job are paid the same if they are employed directly or through labour hire firms. Companies use labour hire firms when they need to get extra workers in. This is most common in the mining sector but also happens in customer service, healthcare, aged care, disability care and manufacturing. But Labor believes companies are deliberately using the firms to keep wage bills down because the hired workers are casuals who earn less. If Labor wins the election then it will introduce laws to make sure workers placed by labour hire firms are paid the same as permanent employees. Pictured: Air crew at Sydney Airport For example a big mining company which has negotiated an agreement with its workers and the union could circumvent the agreement by bringing casuals through a labour hire company. Labor would pass laws to make sure labour hire firms have to match the wages of the employees already doing the job. This means workers placed by a labour hire firm will be paid the same as the permanent staff alongside them. The idea is to increase the number of people in permanent work and push up permanent wages. Banning pay secrecy clauses Pay secrecy clauses in employment contracts are designed to stop workers talking about their pay-packets. They are most common in industries with discretionary payments and bonuses such as finance and law. Labor believes that banning the clauses would give workers greater bargaining power because they could more easily find out what their colleagues earn. Banning pay secrecy clauses will reduce the gender pay gap because female workers would be allowed to ask their male counterparts what they earn, Labor says. Pictured: Sydney tradies Of course, workers can still decline to reveal their salary to colleagues if they want to keep it secret. In particular, the move is excepted to help reduce the gender pay gap because female workers would be allowed to ask their male counterparts what they earn. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australian men earn 13.4 per cent more than women. The move mirrors the UK which outlawed secrecy clauses in 2010 under its Equality Act. Labor will also force companies with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap publicly so they are shamed into reducing it. Kim warned that he could use his atomic arsenal if North Korea's 'fundamental interests' were threatened Advertisement North Korea will rapidly accelerate development of its nuclear arsenal, leader Kim Jong Un said while overseeing a vast military parade showcasing his most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported Tuesday. Despite biting sanctions, North Korea has doubled down on Kim's military modernisation drive, test-firing a slew of banned weapons this year while ignoring US offers of talks - as analysts warn of a likely resumption of nuclear tests. Dressed in white military uniform trimmed with gold brocade, Kim watched with his wife Ri Sol-ju as tanks, rocket launchers and his largest ICBMs were paraded through Pyongyang late Monday for the founding anniversary of North Korea's armed forces, state media reported. Kim vowed to 'strengthen and develop our nation's nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace,' according to a transcript of his speech at the event published by the official Korean Central News Agency. Repeated negotiations aimed at convincing Kim to give up his nuclear weapons programmes have come to nothing, and he warned Monday that he could use his atomic arsenal if North Korea's 'fundamental interests' were threatened. Dressed in white military uniform trimmed with gold brocade, Kim walked with his wife Ri Sol-ju by the military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang, North Korea Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles take part in a nighttime military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea Multiple rocket launcher vehicles take part in a nighttime military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife wave to the crowd of military personnel during the military parade Kim waves as he attends a grand military parade held at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to commemorate the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army Military personnel take part in a nighttime military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with his wife Ri Sol Ju attends a banquet to mark the 90th anniversary of North Korea's army in Pyongyang He stressed North Korea will prepare to use nuclear 'deterrence' any time and warned that any state seeking military confrontation will cease to exist, reported Yonhap news agency. 'The basic mission of our nuclear force is to deter war, but our nuclear weapons cannot be bound to only one mission,' he said, according to the KCNA transcript. 'If any forces try to violate the fundamental interests of our state, our nuclear forces will have to decisively accomplish its unexpected second mission,' Kim said. North Korea had paused long-range and nuclear tests while Kim met then-US president Donald Trump for a bout of doomed diplomacy, which collapsed in 2019. Last month Pyongyang test-fired an ICBM at full range for the first time since 2017, and satellite imagery shows signs of activity at a nuclear testing site, which was purportedly demolished in 2018 ahead of the first Trump-Kim summit. Hong Min, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said Kim's speech could signal a change in his nuclear doctrine to leave open the possibility of 'nuclear first use,' after previously confining their purpose to deterrence and defence. 'Though he did not specify what makes the 'second mission' or 'fundamental interests', he indicated more broadly that the nuclear force might be used preemptively, not only when they're under attack, but also under certain circumstances,' Hong said. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Kim's remarks could have been aimed at the incoming government of South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has warned of possible preemptive strikes if an attack from the North were imminent. 'It's noteworthy that Kim is now talking more specifically about the purpose of his nuclear weapons,' said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. 'South Korea's president-elect Yoon has threatened a preemptive strike on Pyongyang if needed, and Kim seems to be indirectly saying that he may have to respond with nuclear tactics should Yoon indeed proceed.' The transition team of Yoon, who takes office on May 10, criticised Pyongyang for building menacing weapons while appearing to pursue talks. 'The parade proved that North Korea has outwardly called for peace and dialogue over the last five years but in reality it focused on developing the means to threaten not only the Korean peninsula but Northeast Asia and world peace,' deputy spokesman Won Il-hee told a briefing. 'Securing the capability to deter North Korea's grave and real threat is the most urgent task,' Won added, vowing to bolster the U.S. alliance and expedite weapons development to beef up Seoul's deterrence. Despite biting sanctions, North Korea has doubled down on Kim's military modernisation drive, test-firing a slew of banned weapons this year while ignoring US offers of talks - as analysts warn of a likely resumption of nuclear tests. Pictured: Kim stands on the balcony to oversee the military parade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his wife Ri Sol Ju attends a banquet to mark the 90th anniversary of North Korea's army in Pyongyang on Monday Troops in armoured vehicles participate in a military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) is seen attending a celebration with his wife in Pyongyang of the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army Kim vowed to 'strengthen and develop our nation's nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace,' according to a transcript of his speech at the event published by the official Korean Central News Agency. Pictured: Missile vehicles are seen at the military parade as North Koreans wave the national flag Military aircraft light the night sky up in red as they perform a flyover during the military parade in Pyongyang North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at his troops from a balcony during the military parade, as his wife stands behind him North Korean troops watch fireworks explode over the nighttime military parade in Pyongyang North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, centre, with his wife Ri Sol Ju attends a banquet to mark the 90th anniversary of North Korea's army in Pyongyang Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said Kim could have been sending a coded message by wearing his white uniform with the marshal's star - North Korea's highest military rank. 'It symbolises his ultra-strong stance to the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration, who has identified the North as its enemy and said it plans to develop the ability to launch pre-emptive strikes.' Photographs showed huge black-and-white missiles on mobile launchers driving through Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, as North Koreans in traditional dress waved flags and flowers. KCNA said the parade had showcased the North's most sophisticated weaponry, including the Hwasong-17 ICBM, which it claims to have successfully tested on March 24. At the time, state media trumpeted the 'miraculous' launch of the country's most advanced ICBM, publishing dramatic photos and videos of leader Kim personally overseeing the test. But analysts identified discrepancies in Pyongyang's account, and South Korean and US intelligence agencies have concluded that North Korea actually fired a Hwasong-15 - a less-advanced ICBM which it had already tested in 2017. 'For all the hype and months of practice, Monday's North Korean military parade didn't really show many novel capabilities,' said Chad O'Carroll of Seoul-based specialist website NK News. 'Stills suggest this was largely a re-rerun of the spectacular and ground-breaking Oct. 2020 parade, albeit with a handful of new items thrown into the show,' he added in a tweet. North Korea stages military parades to mark important holidays and events, often featuring thousands of goose-stepping troops followed by a cavalcade of armoured vehicles and tanks and culminating with the key missiles Pyongyang wants to display. Observers closely monitor these events for clues on North Korea's latest weapons development. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks with a rose in his hand to place it at the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on Mount Daesong to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang North Korean leader Kim Jong Un places a wreath at the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on Mount Daesong to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army Members of the cavalry salute Kim Jong Un during the military parade at the Kim II Sung Square in Pyongyang KCNA said the parade had showcased the North's most sophisticated weaponry, including the Hwasong-17 ICBM (pictured), which it claims to have successfully tested on March 24 North Korean rocket launchers are paraded at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 90th anniversary of North Korea's army Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh two Trump appointed conservatives are suggesting that the administration has a better argument than the states when it comes to putting an end to the Migration Protection Protocol (MPP). At least one of the justices needs to side with the administration if President Joe Biden's case is going to have a chance of winning the challenge to the rule. Even if the court did side with the White House, a decision on Biden v. Texas, 21-954, isn't expected until late June, which is after Biden plans to end Title 42 another immigration policy aimed at reducing the number of migrants in the country during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned lower-court orders that have blocked the Biden administration from ending a controversial Trump-era immigration program for asylum-seekers. MPP, more commonly called the 'Remain in Mexico' policy, allows for Border Patrol agencies to send migrants back to Mexico to await asylum claim and immigration court proceedings rather than releasing them into the U.S. pending hearings. Questions from conservative and liberal justices during nearly two hours of arguments suggested that the court could free the administration to end the MPP. Biden suspended the program on his first day in office. Two Trump-nominated conservative Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh (left) and Amy Coney Barrett (right) suggested that President Joe Biden has a better argument than the states suing to stop him from ending the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) MPP was a Trump program that allowed migrants to be sent back to Mexico to await their hearings in the U.S. Pictured: Border agents collect information from Venezuelan migrants before taking them into custody in Eagle Pass, Texas on Monday, April 25, 2022 A man from Nicaragua sits at a shelter for migrants on Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Tijuana, Mexico as he waits in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, part of a Trump-era policy that was be argued Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court After Texas and Missouri sued, lower courts required immigration officials to reinstate it, though the current administration has sent far fewer people back to Mexico than its predecessor. The heart of the legal fight is whether, with far less detention capacity than needed, immigration authorities must send people to Mexico or have the discretion under federal law to release asylum-seekers into the United States while they await their hearings. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, Biden's top Supreme Court lawyer, told the justices the law does not contain a provision requiring migrants to be returned to Mexico and that there is a 'significant public benefit' to releasing migrants who pass criminal background and other checks into the U.S., keeping detention beds free for more dangerous people. Conservative Justices Barrett and Kavanaugh suggested Tuesday that the administration had a better argument than the states. 'You lose, right, if the government is right about what significant public interest is,' Barrett said during an exchange with Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone II. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (centers) speaks alongside Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (second left) and Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone (right) on April 26, 2022 in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after arguments in their case about Biden ending Title 42 Once Title 42 is lifted next month, internal projections show that illegal immigration numbers could triple after already reaching a decades-high record of crossings in March with CBP encountering 221,303 migrants Several justices also picked up on Prelogar's point that no administration, including Trump's, fully complied with the requirement to make migrants wait in Mexico. If the states are reading the law correctly, Justice Clarence Thomas asked, 'Wouldn't it be odd for Congress to leave in place a statute that's impossible to comply with?' Liberal Justice Elena Kagan was among members of the court who wondered whether the lower courts were dipping impermissibly into international relations since reinstating the program depends on Mexico's willingness to accept the migrants and close coordination between the countries. 'What are we supposed to do, drive truckloads of people to Mexico and leave them in Mexico?' Kagan asked Stone. Justice Samuel Alito appeared to be the strongest voice on the states' side, questioning the administration's assertion that it assesses migrants on a case-by-case basis before releasing them. Border agents stopped migrants 221,000 times in March 2022 and nearly 66,000 migrants were released in the United States, according to a government court filing. Alito said the situation seemed akin to people waiting to get into a Washington Nationals game. If they have a ticket and no alcohol or guns, they're admitted, Alito said. 'That's basically what you're doing. You've got a little checklist and you go, boom, boom, boom,' Alito said. Alvaro Galo, of Nicaragua, sorts through a list of lawyers as he tries to find one to help him apply for asylum in the Untied States at a shelter for migrants on Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Tijuana, Mexico About 70,000 people were enrolled in the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, after President Donald Trump launched it in 2019 and made it a centerpiece of efforts to deter asylum-seekers. After Biden's suspension of the program, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ended it in June 2021. In October, DHS produced additional justifications for the policy's demise, to no avail in the courts. The program resumed in December, but barely 3,000 migrants had enrolled by the end of March, during a period when authorities stopped migrants about 700,000 times at the border. The high court pondered what to make of the limited nature of the challenged program. Chief Justice John Roberts said he was sympathetic with the administration's position that it can't detain everyone or possibly comply with the law. 'But where does that leave us?' he asked. Those being forced to wait in Mexico widely say they are terrified in dangerous Mexican border cities and find it very hard to find lawyers to handle their asylum hearings. Democratic-led states and progressive groups are on the administration's side. Republican-led states and conservative groups have sided with Texas and Missouri. Those include the America First Legal Foundation, led by former Trump aides Stephen Miller and Mark Meadows. As the court is weighing the asylum policy, the administration is expected to end another key Trump-era border policy that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. It allows authorities to expel migrants without a chance to seek asylum. The decision to end Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law, on May 23 is being legally challenged by 22 states and faces growing division within Bidens Democratic Party. Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter will see substantial changes implemented on the social media platform with everything from longer tweets and paid subscriptions using 'joke' cryptocurrency Dogecoin all within the realm of possibility. Musk has vowed to let everyone say whatever they want on Twitter after his takeover of the social media giant. He is said to favor temporary 'timeouts' for users who break the new rules, rather than permanent bans such as those given to Donald Trump. Details of his immediate plans are slim, but the Tesla chief portrays himself as a free-speech absolutist. Other mooted changes include blue verification checkmarks for anyone who subscribes to Twitter's premium Blue service, which costs $2.99 a month. Musk is said to favor a subscription-based model over advertiser funding, as it would make Twitter less beholden to advertiser pressure. He has even suggested users could pay with cryptocurrency, including joke currency Dogecoin which Musk has long had an affection for. He's also likely to fire many of the firm's woke staff. Workers have been told the transfer of ownership will last around six months, after which Musk is likely to wield the ax. The firm's downtown San Francisco could also be turned into a homeless shelter at Musk's behest, with the California city engulfed by one of the worst homelessness crisis in the United States. Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter will see substantial changes implemented on the social media platform with everything from longer tweets and paid subscriptions using 'joke' cryptocurrency Dogecoin all within the realm of possibility On March 25, Musk tweeted a poll: 'Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?' A top priority for Musk is to eliminate 'bots' which frequently generate spam and run scams Musk said that his take over of Twitter would lead to the take down of spam bots and provide all human users with blue check marks to verify their identities Musk has also teased at other new features including an 'edit' button to adjust previously posted tweets and also making the platforms algorithms 'open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans.' That would enable people to see exactly why Twitter had chosen to make some tweets more visible to users than others. A top priority for Musk is to eliminate 'bots' which frequently generate spam and run scams. Earlier this month, he spoke during an interview at a TED conference where he outlined how he might change the company which has more than 200 million users around the globe. On Monday, Musk reiterated his push to relax Twitter's policy on the moderating of content. Twitter takes its content moderation seriously arguing that it is good for business but if Musk follows through it could put the onus on users to combat bullying and misinformation on the platform. 'Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,' Musk said in a news release announcing the deal. Musk has made it clear that he is not keen on the permanent banning of users and prefers timeouts instead. It is well known that an edit button would be widely welcomed by users. Musk polled Twitter users to see if they wanted one. It resulted in four million people responding with 70% voting in favor. Twitter said at the time that it had been working on such a feature since last year. It doesn't necessarily mean that tweets would become shorter. On the contrary, Musk has told of his desire for Twitter to allow 'long-form' tweets. In most cases, tweets can contain up to 280 characters which is double the previous limit of 140. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted earlier this month asking his followers whether they would like Twitter to have an edit button The company clarified that it was already working on adding an edit button before Musk's poll, pointing to an April 1 tweet announcing their plans Twitter also shared a mock-up of what an edit button would look like, giving users the ability to change their posts after sharing Twitter Blue, launched in June 2021, is Twitter's first subscription service and offers 'exclusive access to premium features' on a monthly subscription basis Musk has spoken of making the algorithm Twitter uses as open source. It would allow people outside of the company to suggest changes and and even create fixes to Twitter's code. Also in April, he suggested that users who paid for Twitter Blue would be able to receive a check mark which shows their account is 'authenticated'. Twitter Blue, launched in June 2021, is Twitter's first subscription service and offers 'exclusive access to premium features' on a monthly subscription basis, Twitter says. It is available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Musk has also suggested Twitter could move towards a subscription-based model and a shift away from advertising which currently generates 90% of its overall revenue. Twitter Blue allows for extra features for a monthly fee of $2.99. Throughout April, Musk has been suggesting further changes to Twitter's business model including tweaks to the platform's premium Blue service, including a cheaper subscription price, banning ads and offering the option to pay in cryptocurrency 'Price should probably be ~$2/month, but paid 12 months up front & account doesn't get checkmark for 60 days (watch for credit card chargebacks) & suspended with no refund if used for scam/spam,' Musk said in a tweet earlier this month. Dogecoin is widely seen as a joke cryptocurrency, with one Dogecoin worth $0.158 as of April 26 'And no ads,' Musk suggested. 'The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive.' Musk also proposed an option to pay with dogecoin and asked Twitter users for their views. The company already lets people tip their favorite content creators using bitcoin. Twitter had said last year that it planned to support authentication for NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which are digital assets such as images or videos that exist on a blockchain. On Monday, Dogecoin jumped 26% to $0.1673 after Twitter announced it was accepting Musk's buyout offer. Musk has been a longtime fan of the meme-based cryptocurrency with his tweets helping to push the price higher. On a company level, Musk has floated the idea of closing down the San Francisco headquarters in order to save money and that board members may also not receive a salary, shaving off another $3 million in expenses. Twitter's board members may also not receive a salary, shaving off another $3 million in expenses Earlier in April, Musk took aim at the company's lax remote working policies, saying he came up with the plan 'since no one shows up anyway.' The second tweet about deleting 'w' saw Musk give two options without no as an answer, with 55.8 percent saying 'yes' and 44.2 percent 'of course' of 445,158 votes to-date Musk also started a poll on his Twitter account earlier in April - which has more than 81 million followers - asking whether the firm's San Francisco headquarters should be converted to a homeless shelter as 'no-one shows up (to work there)'. The poll got more 300,000 votes in an hour, with 90% answering yes. It comes weeks after Twitter brass - who offered staffers the option of working from home 'forever' during the pandemic - reopened its offices March 15, with remote work remaining an option for staffers. 'It's been almost two years since we closed our offices and travel and I'm excited to announce that we're ready to fully open up business travel and all our offices around the world!' Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal wrote in a note to employees posted to Twitter March 3. 'Business travel is back effective immediately, and office openings will start on March 15,' the exec wrote. In the statement, Agrawal, who was promoted to CEO of the San Francisco-based company in November, said that he would be honoring a policy put in place by former head exec Jack Dorsey during the early days of the pandemic, that said staffers could work remotely 'forever' if they wanted to. 'Our top priority since the beginning of the pandemic has been to keep you all safe and this will continue,' Agrawal wrote. The riot-ravaged city of Kenosha is considering whether to erect a public memorial to an ex-convict skateboarder who was shot dead by Kyle Rittenhouse. Aldermen listened to the proposal to honor Anthony Huber with a tree and plaque in the city's Anderson Park at a hearing on Monday evening. They delayed making a decision until a later date. Huber's girlfriend Hannah Gittings put forward the motion forward for a public memorial to Huber almost two years after he was one of two men shot dead by Kyle Rittenhouse, who was then 17. If the commission votes to move forward with the proposal, the responsibility for the upkeep would fall on Gittings. The shooting occurred amid nights of violent protests in the city following the non-fatal shooting by police of black domestic abuser Jacob Blake. The city of Kenosha in Wisconsin is considering whether to erect a memorial plaque to Anthony Huber, pictured, who was shot dead by Kyle Rittenhouse during BLM riots in 2020 Anthony Huber, right, and Lindsay Gettings, left, brought forward the proposal for a public memorial to her slain boyfriend to placed in a public park in Kenosha Huber was fatally wounded after chased Kyle Rittenhouse on the night of August 25, 2020. Prior to killing Huber, Rittenhouse had already shot 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum dead During arguments on the issue, Huber's past criminality, including a domestic abuse charge, was brought up. It is unclear if that will ultimately sway a decision on whether to give him a memorial. In 2018, Huber found guilty of domestic abuse and disorderly conduct. While in 2012, Huber spent time in prison following a choking incident involving his brother. One of those who spoke at the hearing was Kevin Mathewson, a former Parks Commission alderman and Kenosha Guard militia leader. Mathewson described the events of August 25 as 'justified.' He added, 'Don't play games. Deny this. This is a man who is a felon who held a knife to his sister's throat' and 'sliced his brother's neck.' The militia leader said that Huber was a 'multiple felon' who 'played a stupid game on August 25 and unfortunately he lost his life.' Rittenhouse, left, with backwards cap, walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wis., with another armed civilian Another speaker, Kenosha resident Kathy Woods said, 'Of all the bone head things you guys could consider. Don't consider this.' Woods added, 'This is an insult to the people who have memorials. Who have done good things.' Matthewson said that Huber's family 'deserve our prayers but they do not deserve to be honored and memorialized in this city.' Huber was fatally wounded after Rittenhouse shot him in the chest. Huber had hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard prior to being mortally wounded. The skateboarder had given chase after Rittenhouse shot-and-killed another man, 36-year-old convicted pedophile Joseph Rosenbaum. Rittenhouse was acquitted of murder charges in November 2021. Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum (left), 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on August 25, 2020 In April 2022, Huber's girlfriend Hannah Gittings, filed paperwork asking for a public memorial to placed on a flowering dogwood tree in Anderson Park, Kenosha, according to documents filed with the City of Kenosha. The park is located three miles from where Huber was killed. The motion was voted on by the Kenosha Park Commission on the night of April 25. The committee voted to delay a final decision on the memorial. The commission is made up of five city aldermen. In November 2021, Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in relation to the killings of Huber and Rosenbaum. Hannah Gittings has expressed sympathy toward Rittenhouse During arguments on the issue, Huber's past criminality, including a domestic abuse charge, was brought up. In 2018, Huber found guilty of domestic abuse and disorderly conduct. While in 2012, Huber spent time in prison following a choking incident involving his brother. In his obituary, Huber was referred as being a passionate skateboarder who was known for his 'quick wit and comedic personality.' Despite the killing of Huber, Gittings told The New York Post in a November 2021 interview, 'I do have a lot of sympathy for [Rittenhouse] because he is just a kid to me so it was just like a really dumbass kid who unfortunately became the figurehead for this.' Gittings went on to lay some of the blame for Huber's death at the feet of the city of Kenosha saying, 'Kenosha also needs to be held responsible for allowing this militia to show up and do exactly what they came here to do.' Two notorious criminals landed in a prison hospital after a bloody brawl fueled by a gangland feud at Australia's toughest jail. Convicted murderer Adnan 'Eddie' Darwiche and drug kingpin Riad Taha went at it behind bars at Goulburn in NSW supermax about 2pm on Saturday. Taha came of second best when Darwiche, who is serving two life sentences and an additional 20 years without parole, stabbed him in the neck. Mr Darwiche (left), is believed to have stabbed Mr Taha in the neck following a violent brawl at Goulburn maximum-security prison. The violent altercation was witnessed by triple murderer Abuzar Sultani (right) who is refusing to co-operate with police Notorious underworld hit man Abuzar Sultani, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of three crime figures in 2016, witnessed the brawl, according to The Australian. However, Sultani, who was convicted of triple murder in December last year, is refusing to cooperate with police. Police said they found Taha, 37, inmate with multiple stab wounds and he was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Darwiche refused medical treatment despite suffering minor facial injuries during the clash between Sydney's gang affiliated criminals from the Darwiche and Hamzy families. Police were called to Goulburn Jail just after 2pm on Saturday following reports of a violent clash between Sydney's notorious gang affiliated criminals from the Darwiche and Hamzy families Darwiche was in 2006 sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Ziad Razzak and Melissa Nemra - the so-called Lawford Street killings - after spraying their home with bullets while they slept. The killings were part of a long-running turf war between the Darwiche and Razzak families, which began when members of both families were involved in marijuana supply in south-west Sydney in 2001. Sydney's gangland feuds peaked last October after a slew of gruesome drive-by shootings between the Hamzy and Almeddine crime families resulted in the death of five people and three men sentenced to live in prison. The latest attack is the second prison stabbing committed by the 47-year-old in less than five years. Darwiche stabbed Fadi Shamoun in September 2015 at Cessnock jail and was relocated to Goulburn supermax after he was knifed eight times by two inmates linked to the Assyrian Kings gang. Police believed the attack on Shamoun was an act of revenge because of his connection to the Assyrian Kings. Police have not identified the cause of Saturday's attack but it is understood that Taha is linked to Bassam Hamzy, a known enemy of the Darwiche family and leader of Brothers For Life gang. Taha was arrested after a 2015 drug bust seized $600,000 worth of meth, heroin and cocaine, a semiautomatic pistol, and a sawn-off shotgun. He was also charged with shooting a man in the leg twice. At the time of his arrest, police accused the drug kingpin of recruiting drug runners as young as 17-years-old. Darwiches latest attack is his second prison stabbing committed in less than five years - the convicted murderer stabbed Mr Shamoun as an act of revenge for his connection to Bassam Hamzy (pictured), the jailed gang leader of Brothers For Life Police on Monday said no charges had been made over the prison brawl but an ongoing investigation was underway. Hamzy, Darwiche, and Taha are all serving their sentences in supermax and are considered some of the country's most dangerous prisoners. The supermax prison had a major upgrade last year that almost tripled its capacity to accommodate 121 inmates. It houses criminals who are not allowed to mix with the wider NSW jail system, who are institutionally violent inmates, or have a high capacity to influence others. They include terrorists, mass killers, and major organised crime figures. Among Supermax's first inmates were several who were sentenced to die in jail: backpacker killer Ivan Milat, mass murderer Malcolm Baker, and five-time killer Lindsey Rose. A solemn Anzac Day memorial service suddenly became a flashpoint when a proud mum tried to display a flag honouring Indigenous diggers at her local war memorial. Cindy Roberts draped her Aboriginal flag alongside the Australian flag flying at half-mast before the service began in flood-ravaged Lismore, northern NSW, on Monday. But a local RSL member allegedly refused to let her, stopping her twice and calling in police, sparking outrage among those there and online. 'It was a huge over-reaction,' said former Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell who saw the row unfold. 'It wasn't a huge protest in any way and was absolutely done respectfully. Cindy Roberts (pictured) draped her Aboriginal flag alongside the Australian flag flying at half-mast before the service began in flood-ravaged Lismore, northern NSW, on Monday 'It was embarrassing and awkward and it should have just been allowed to pass without the fuss from the RSL member.' Ms Roberts - whose family, including her daughter, grandparents and uncles, have served the nation for generations - had already taken part in the dawn service and attended the traditional march to Lismore Memorial Baths for the memorial ceremony. But when she arrived, the only flag flying was the Australian flag, despite many other venues flying the Aboriginal, Australian and Torres Strait flags, side by side. Ms Roberts' daughter Skye Roberts (pictured) was a ship technician in the Australian Navy for five years and was with her mother at the memorial when the row erupted 'I just wanted to remember my ancestors that had fought in every single war, including the frontier war,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'So I stood and I felt a spirit upon my heart tell me to just lay the flag out. I didnt put it on the flagpole, I just placed it on the ground underneath the Australian flag. 'Then I was approached by a member from the RSL and asked to remove the flag. 'I said, "But my grandfathers and my uncles and my ancestors fought in the wars of this country." He said, "This is not the time or the place." 'I thought. "Well when is the time to bring unity?"' The only flag flying at the Lismore service was the Australian flag, despite many other venues flying the Aboriginal, Australian and Torres Strait flags, side by side She added: 'I picked up the flag and walked around to where the wreaths were laid. 'Then he approached me again and told me to remove the flag again and with the police this time. One of their great uncles was celebrated Aboriginal WWII soldier Clarrie Combo who fought for Australia in Egypt, Libya, Crete, Syria, Greece, Sri Lanka and New Guinea. 'When this happened, I cried. I broke down and everyone saw me but I still stood there in the crowd behind the children with the Aboriginal flag.' Ms Roberts' daughter Skye was a ship technician in the Australian Navy for five years and was with her mother at the memorial when the row erupted. One of their great uncles was celebrated Aboriginal WWII soldier Clarrie Combo who fought for Australia in Egypt, Libya, Crete, Syria, Greece, Sri Lanka and New Guinea. 'Our people have been through so much and Im tired of them not being acknowledged,' Ms Roberts said. 'First Nations people who fought in these wars deserve more respect because they put their lives on the line.' Former Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell (pictured) branded the RSL member's response an over-reaction and said Ms Roberts' actions were done respectfully Ms Dowell said she couldn't understand why Ms Roberts was treated the way she was as she tried in vain to reason with the RSL member. 'I saw the reaction from a member of the RSL who was saying repeatedly, it's not appropriate, it's not appropriate,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I didn't quite know what was not appropriate. I thought it was very disappointing - and not one speaker in the whole ceremony even acknowledged country. 'I thought that was poor. The situation could easily have escalated if Cindy had chosen to do so but she didn't and many there may not have even noticed. 'I thought she was very respectful and hopefully we can all learn from this incident - and that it doesn't happen again.' Local RSL President Wilson McClelland said he was 'extremely disappointed' about the incident RSL President McClelland said he had been forbidden from discussing the incident. But he told Daily Mail Australia: 'I'm extremely disappointed in the whole thing. 'The people that created this problem have no idea how much work actually went into getting that day on for the community of Lismore yesterday. 'That's all I'm saying.' An RSL NSW media statement in 2020 appeared to encourage flying all the flags together. 'The use and placement of flags during commemorative services by RSL NSW follows Australian national flag protocols, which include the flying of the Australian Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Islander flag,' it states. RSL NSW Acting President, Ray James said at the time: 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service people have proudly served in conflict alongside their fellow Australians throughout our history. 'They are recognised as veterans on ANZAC Day and during all other commemorations throughout the year.' Details of the flare-up appeared on the town's Facebook group, sparking fury from many in the local community who backed Ms Roberts Details of the flare-up appeared on the town's Facebook group, sparking fury from many in the local community who backed Ms Roberts. 'To the beautiful Indigenous woman advocating to raise the Indigenous flag today at the service following the march, I am beyond apologetic for the utter disrespect you were shown,' posted one local. 'I'm so glad someone else has acknowledged and saw this women,' wrote another. 'My 11 year old saw the multiple "confrontations" and was so confused as to what the problem was and thought the man was extremely rude. 'To the woman - we're both sorry this happened to you today.' Another said: 'I am so sorry this happened. It was so disrespectful to ask you to remove the flag. 'My kids and I were so upset about the blatant refusal to acknowledge our First Nation people today.' A few however insisted the soldiers had all fought under the Australian flag in wartime and that flag should cover everyone A few however insisted the soldiers had all fought under the Australian flag in wartime and that flag should cover everyone. 'The thing is, there is protocol. The Aboriginal flag hasn't been around that long,' added one. 'Soldiers etc didn't fly that flag in battle. It's not a matter that is solved on a public street.' Another said: 'They fought under the Australian flag. We are all Australians.' RSL NSW did not respond to repeated calls from Daily Mail Australia. The boss of Guide Dogs Victoria has been stood down after backing Josh Frydenberg in social media videos and campaign leaflets. Karen Hayes has been temporarily stood down with pay while the charity investigates. Charities are not allowed to promote or oppose a political party or candidate under Government guidelines. Karen Hayes (pictured with Josh Frydenberg) has been temporarily stood down with pay while the charity investigates Ms Haynes appeared on the leaflets and in the deleted video holding a puppy, backing Mr Frydenberg as the member for Kooyong. 'Time and time again, Josh has shown his genuine care for Guide Dogs Victoria and the people with low vision and blindness we serve,' she said. In a statement, Guide Dogs Victoria chair Iain Edwards said: 'The board had no prior knowledge of the distribution of this material and does not endorse it. 'The board has launched an internal investigation and requested that this material be immediately removed from circulation.' The flyer was authorised by Mr Frydenberg's Hawthorn East office and complies with electoral laws. But charity organisations are bound by regulations enforced by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and can be stripped of their status if unable or unwilling to rectify serious breaches. The commission warns charity directors or committee members should only support a specific election outcome if 'it is solely in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the charity'. Ms Haynes appeared on the leaflets backing Mr Frydenberg for the seat of Kooyong 'It would not be prudent for officers and employees of a charity to use their position in a way that would imply that the charity itself endorses a particular candidate,' a response in the frequently asked question section reads. Guide Dogs Victoria, which was allocated an extra $2.5 million in federal funding in 2020 to upgrade its facilities, said it is committed to its work as a charitable apolitical organisation. Asked whether the body may have breached charity rules, Mr Frydenberg sought to blame 'fake independents' for drumming up 'confected outrage'. 'My political opponents are running around spreading lies about my community involvement and the reality is I've been delivering for my community in a way that they never have and never could,' he told reporters in Sydney. In a statement, Mr Frydenberg's main challenger for the blue-ribbon seat Monique Ryan said the Treasurer's response to the upset was insulting to voters and her campaign had been contacted by angry donors about the use of the charity in the flyers. The Liberal Party will tonight release an advertisement blasting Labor as a team of 'amateurs' after the ALP launched its attack ads last week. The advert, which will hit TV screens and cinemas across the nation, is a spoof of an Avengers movie trailer and features Labor frontbenchers Penny Wong, Tanya Plibersek, Jim Chalmers and Bill Shorten alongside leader Anthony Albanese. Daily Mail Australia has been shown a preview of the ad which starts with the Labor leader looking at a blank computer screen. The ad shows Mr Albanese forgetting the unemployment rate and getting hit in the head with a microphone on a boom after a campaign rally (above) The narrator says: 'There was an idea to bring together a group of inexperienced people to see if they could become something, anything.' As the narrator talks, clips show Bill Shorten awkwardly dancing in the Pacific nation of Kiribati and Penny Wong refusing to shake Finance Minister Simon Birmingham's hand. The advert then cuts to a press conference in Perth where Mr Albanese refused to take a question from member of the public. The narrator then says: 'This May, get ready for no economic plan, un-costed policies, weak leadership' as clips show Mr Albanese forgetting the unemployment rate and getting hit in the head with a microphone on a boom after a campaign rally. The advertisement finishes with a dig at the left-leaning media showing rave reviews by the ABC and the Guardian but a terrible review from the Australian people before introducing the film as 'The Amateurs'. It is part of the Coalition's plan to portray the ALP as weak on the economy and national security and inexperienced. The Government trails Labor in the latest Newspoll by 53-47, a gap that if replicated on election night would see Mr Albanese become Prime Minister with a majority. As the narrator talks, clips show Bill Shorten awkwardly dancing in the Pacific nation of Kiribati On Thursday Labor went on the attack with a brutal new ad slamming Scott Morrison over his Covid and bushfire missteps. The 30-second advert carries the slogan 'no more mistakes, no more Morrison' and has been deliberately timed to hit screens after Mr Albanese's win at the first leaders' debate on Wednesday night. The ad features images of Mr Morrison trying to force an exhausted firefighter to shake his hand during the Black Summer bushfires as well as pictures of him on holiday in Hawaii as the nation burned. The narrator starts by saying: 'Going to Hawaii when half the nation was burning was a mistake.' It then criticises the PM for 'not making sure we had enough vaccines and rapid tests' with a clip of him saying 'it's not a race' at the start of the jab rollout. 'No one gets it right all the time, but Scott Morrison makes too many mistakes and always makes excuses,' the narrator says. The ad then shows a clip of Mr Morrison forcing a distressed firefighter to shake his hand in Cobargo in southern NSW after the area was ravaged by bushfires. 'Next time something goes wrong do you trust him to make it right,' the narrator asks. The clip concludes with three examples of the Prime Minister saying the state governments are responsible for certain policy areas. 'That's not my job,' he says three times in the edit. ALP bosses sent the adverts to supporters with a letter reading: 'Over the next four weeks, this campaign will be shining a relentless spotlight on Scott Morrison's failures as Prime Minister. 'No more mistakes. No more excuses. No more Morrison. 'Australians know that when things get hard, Scott Morrison goes missing in action. And when things go wrong, all he's got are excuses. 'From going on holidays to Hawaii during the bushfires, to the bungled vaccine rollout and not securing enough rapid tests his failures have held Australia back.' Prominent Indigenous elder and actor Jack Charles has told Victoria's truth-telling commission he was a guinea pig in a 'social experiment' to assimilate into white Australian society. The Yoorrook Justice Commission opened public hearings on Tuesday, with Uncle Jack the first witness. He described how he was taken from his Bunurong mother at four months old after being discovered at Daish's Paddock, an Aboriginal camp near Shepparton. He was eventually moved to the Box Hill Boys' Home, where he was abused - at times sexually - by staff and other boys during his 12-year stay. Prominent Indigenous elder and actor Jack Charles has told Victoria's truth-telling commission he was a guinea pig in a 'social experiment' to assimilate into white Australian society Uncle Jack is seen speaking to the commission on Tuesday As the only registered Aboriginal child at the home, Uncle Jack was taunted over the colour of his skin, bashed because 'Captain Cook was killed by black fellows', and 'whitewashed' of his family and race. 'I wasn't even told I was Aboriginal - I had to discover that for myself,' Uncle Jack told the inquiry. 'I don't recall any other Aboriginal-looking kids with me in that home, and in reflection I believe that it would have been seen sooner as a failed social experiment ... if other black fellow kids had been moved in with me.' In his testimony, the respected elder gave a full rendition of a tune he used to sing at the Salvation Army-run home, referencing everybody living in 'gladness' because of the white man's arrival in Australia. His troubles didn't end at age 14 when he was fostered to a woman who told him he was an orphan, a claim he came to learn was lie. At age 17, he was informed by family relations at a local pub that his mother was alive and living in Swan Hill. Uncle Jack was the first witness speaking at the Yoorrook Justice Commission He told his foster mother and was surprised she didn't share his joy. 'She says ''Oh, those people will tell you anything, you can't believe them''. I raised my arm and I said ''Yeah, well I believe them'' and I could see the fright in her eyes,' he said. He put on his pyjamas to go to bed but was instead called to the front door, where a divvy wagon was waiting to take him to a home for juvenile offenders. 'I do remember crying myself to sleep,' Uncle Jack said. It was the first of 22 incarcerations for him. At 18, he reconnected with his mother, but it took until last year for him to learn the identity of his father, Hilton Hamilton Walsh, in an episode of SBS program Who Do You Think You Are? Uncle Jack said he was blessed to be in a unique position where people were 'tripping over themselves' to retrace his family history. He never got a chance to meet his Wiradjuri father before his death but was proud to discover he's following in his footsteps as a mentor to many in the community. Genealogists also linked Uncle Jack's family tree to Tasmania, with his five-times great grandfather, Mannalargenna, a leader of his people. He said Mannalargenna was conned into convincing his people who hadn't been killed or married into white society to move to a camp on Flinders Island, run by George Augustus Robinson. 'It was a death camp. The soldiers were there to make sure nobody left. You put a church on this death camp, it becomes a mission,' Uncle Jack said The commission has been tasked with establishing an official public record of Indigenous experiences since the start of British colonisation. It will recommend reform and redress by June 2024 and the findings will guide Victoria's Treaty negotiations. US tech billionaire Elon Musk has taken over tech platform Twitter after resistance from the board, which initially objected to the well-known free speech advocate. The multi-billion takeover has ended years of canceling conservatives and those who have opposed the agenda of the left supported by the platform. Social media expects a sign of relief as freedom of speech will not be stifled by a few; one of its most famous victims is ex-President Donald Trump. Musk Agrees to Free Speech on Twitter Musk paid a total of 44bn last Monday when he made the bid only two weeks back, reported Express UK. The 50-year-old exposed his plans to make Twitter better while in his stewardship, many are asking what will change according to his vision. The platform was under censorship for several years, and heads of the social media giant silenced voices, but now it will change. After the deal went through, the statement regarding plans to implement changes was outlined. Free speech is the foundation of a healthy democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where important issues affecting humanity's future are argued, cited the BBC. Furthermore, he wishes to improve Twitter by adding new features, making the algorithms open source to enhance trust, eliminating spambots, and verifying all humans. Several weeks back, changes were requested to the draconian control called restrictions to silence dissenting voices and to take out fake accounts, noted Reuters. Elon Musk posted a tweet to all his followers on the tech platform asking whether free speech is important to a functional democracy. This is what is happening in America, where conservatives feel deprived of their freedoms. Read also: Donald Trump Children: What You Need to Know About the 5 Trump Kids Next; is a question asking if the platform does follow such a principle. He opened up an idea for an 'edit button' as an option for users. Making waves and rocking the Twitter boat Several other suggestions were revealing the platform's algorithms public; he added much to the chagrin of the board of directors that they will get zero cents when he buys out the company. He posted on social media and took a dig that the board salary gets $0 should his bid is successful. Not paying them will save the billionaire about $3m yearly. Meanwhile, observers are waiting to see if Mr. Musk can reinstate ex-US President Donald Trump to the platform after being indefinitely expelled in January 2021. Though he hasn't addressed Trump's suspension directly, he has advocated for platform "timeouts" instead of permanent bans. A few weeks ago, it was disclosed that he had become Twitter's majority shareholder, with a 9.2 percent stake. Then invited to join Twitter's board of directors but declined before making a sensational bid for the firm on April 14. The board attempted a poison pill to keep the tech billionaire away, but it did not work. This move will make it hard to gain more share in the tech firm as a last-ditch move by the desperate board of Twitter. Not easily deterred by the woke board, a total of $25.5 bn for the deal and a $21bn as a stake in the social media platform. Who will be the head of the tech firm that Parag Agrawal leads. Elon Musk and the taking of the tech platform is again for the free speech proponent, but a huge setback for the woke left and Democrats, which are lamenting the loss of power to shut down freedom online, mentioned Yahoo Sports. Related Article: GOP Claims To Win the House and Senate in the Midterm Elections Citing Proof of Overwhelming Victory @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Australia's population has surged during the past 10 years - with the upward trajectory only temporarily pausing as Covid saw the international border closed. By the end of 2021, Australia was home to 25.738 million people - a massive 15.2 increase since 2011, when the population was 22.34million. Australia surpassed the 25million milestone in 2018 - 24 years earlier than forecast by Treasury's inaugural Intergenerational Report in 2002. This surge coincided with net annual immigration climbing above the 100,000 mark in 2002 and the 200,000 level just 11 years later. Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Tuesday also showed Australia becoming a lot more racially diverse, with migrants making up almost one-third of the population. Of Australia's top ten nations for country of birth, six of them are in Asia. Australia's population has surged during the past decade with the Covid border closure only temporarily interrupting that trajectory. At the end of 2021, Australia was home to 25.738million people - a 15.2 increase on the 22.34million figure of 2011 (pictured are pedestrians in Sydney) Australia's population growth 1881: 2.3 million 1918: 5 million 1959: 10 million 1981: 15 million 1991: 17.4 million 2004: 20 million 2013: 23 million 2016: 24 million 2018: 25 million 2020: 25.7million 2061*: 38.8million * Intergenerational Report, 2021 forecast Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics Advertisement Those born in India, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Sri Lanka make up 8.6 per cent of Australia's total population, and 29.4 per cent of the population born overseas by the end of 2021. A decade earlier, people from those six nations made up 6.1 per cent of the Australian population and 22.6 per cent of the migrant population. Almost a third or 29.1 per cent of Australia's resident population was born overseas, with 7.5million migrants on our shores. A year earlier in late 2020, 29.8 per cent of people were born overseas, with 7.7million born overseas. The decrease last year marked the first annual decline since 2000. Australia's population increased by 45,000 from June 2020 to June 2021. But Jenny Dobak, the ABS's head of migration statistics, said the overseas-born population fell. 'The decrease reflected reduced overseas migration in and out of Australia, given the Covid-19 travel restrictions,' she said. 'The travel and migration intentions of many people changed due to the pandemic, including those migrating to work or study. 'In the first year of the pandemic there were fewer people born overseas migrating to Australia, as well as fewer people born in Australia departing to live overseas.' New Australian Bureau of Statistics data, released on Tuesday, also showed Australia becoming a lot more racially diverse with migrants making up 29.1 per cent of the population (pictured is a woman at Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west) Between June and September 2020, Australia's population fell by 4,200 people or 0.02 per cent, as more people left than arrived and births failed to make up the shortfall. The closure of Australia's border to foreigners in March 2020 saw the population shrink for the first time since 1916, during World War I. International students and skilled migrants were allowed into Australia again in December. The past 40 years have seen Australia's population grow at an average, annual pace of 1.4 per cent. Before the pandemic in 2019, Australia's population growth pace stood at 1.5 per cent - a level almost double the rich-world OCED average. Turbo-charged immigration was also well above the global average of 1.064 per cent as calculated by the World Bank. Now the era of high immigration is back, with Treasury forecasting a net intake of 235,000 by 2024. hold a 53-47 lead in crucial two-party preference, according to NewsPoll Labor remains favoured to topple the Coalition and win the Australian election next month, according to latest figures released by the TAB. The development comes despite a recent surge towards the Liberal Party following Anthony Albanese's now infamous gaffe surrounding national unemployment figures and the cash rate. With the Labor leader still in quarantine after contracting Covid-19, the figures made public on Tuesday will have Prime Minister Scott Morrison on edge as he looks to make up ground on his political rival. As it stands, the TAB's market has the Coalition at $2.20, with Labor at $1.67. With attention this week turning to the fallout from the ChinaSolomon Islands security pact, the next move of both major parties could be critical. Crucially, Labor still hold a 53-47 lead in the two-party preference category. Labor remains favoured to topple the Coalition and win the Australian election next month, according to the latest odds released by the TAB (pictured, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon) With Labor leader Anthony Albanese still in quarantine after contracting Covid-19, the figures made public on Tuesday will have Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured, with his family) on edge as he looks to make up ground on his political rival Earlier on Tuesday, it emerged Mr Morrison has increased his lead over Mr Albanese as Australia's preferred prime minister. Mr Morrison's popularity as the nation's preferred leader has extended to 46 per cent - a two per cent rise since the last Newspoll. The result is unchanged from the last two Newspolls conducted since the election was called a fortnight ago. The Coalition has lifted its primary vote to 36 per cent, just one point behind Labor, which remains steady at 37 per cent. Support for the Greens dropped to 11 per cent and Pauline Hanson's One Nation also fell by one point to three per cent. Clive Palmer's United Australia Party remains steady at four per cent. Meanwhile, the latest Ipsos poll for The Australian Financial Review also shows Labor still ahead of the Coalition - despite a two point drop in the party's primary vote. Around 42 per cent of voters surveyed believe Labor will win the May 21 election, while 34 per cent believe the Coalition will claim a fourth consecutive term in power. Labor has 34 per cent of the primary vote, two points clear of the Liberal Party which has recorded a one point rise since the last Ipsos poll three weeks ago. Mr Albanese's disapproval rating increased to 35 per cent - a rise by three points - while dissatisfaction with the prime minister remains steady at 48 per cent. But the Ipsos poll has Mr Albanese as Australia's preferred prime minister with 40 per cent two points ahead of Mr Morrison. In terms of overall competency, both leaders are tied at 42 per cent - the lowest level for either a prime minister or opposition leader in 27 years. 'This underscores the views of the undecided voters participating in the focus group who, irrespective of past voting behaviour, expressed a lack of enthusiasm for the options presented at this election,' Ipsos concluded. Advertisement Russia's top diplomat has warned that NATO is now fighting a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and there is a 'very serious' risk the conflict could turn nuclear. Sergei Lavrov, speaking on Russian state TV last night, accused western leaders of risking a third world war by supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine with the goal of 'wearing down the Russian army' - an aim he described as an 'illusion'. Accusing NATO and its allies of attempting to bully Russia on the international stage, Lavrov said that tensions between east and west are now worse than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War. Asked directly about the possibility of a nuclear war, he replied: 'The risks are very significant. I do not want the danger to be artificially inflated [but] it is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated.' Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, has warned that NATO is now fighting a proxy-war against Moscow and there is a 'very significant' risk the conflict will turn nuclear Lavrov accused the West of risking a third world war in Ukraine by supplying weapons with the hope of 'wearing out the Russian army' - a goal he called 'an illusion'. This aerial photograph shows a destroyed residential area in Irpin People walk near a residential building destroyed during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol A Ukrainian soldier sits on a Armoured personnel carrier driving on a road near Slovyansk lined with anti-tank defences Smoke emerges from a substation near the Krasne Railway Station following Russian shelling near Lviv Russia has lost more than 300 officers, analysis shows Russia has lost more than 300 officers fighting in Ukraine, according to new data collected by an independent Russian newspaper. In total, 317 officers of junior lieutenant rank and above have been killed in a little over two months of fighting, analysis by outlet MediaZona revealed today. Almost a third came from the most senior grades - major or above - including at least two generals and the deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet. MediaZona, which is currently blocked in Russia but continues to operate online, compiled its data by looking at public reports of troop deaths from local government officials, newspapers, or families posting on social media. That means the figures will be far lower than the true total because of delays between the troops being killed and their deaths being reported, difficulties in identifying bodies, and deliberate cover-ups by Moscow. In total, MediaZona found 1,744 reports of military deaths in Ukraine - higher than the Kremlin's official figure of 1,351 which it has not updated since late March. It found 317 of those deaths were of officers, which accounts for almost a fifth of the total figure. MediaZona believes that is because officer deaths are more-likely to be reported than those of foot-soldiers. The highest-ranked deaths that Russia has acknowledged are of Andrei Sukhovetsky and Vladimir Frolov, who were both Major Generals. Russia has also acknowledged the death of Captain 1st Rank Andrei Paly, the deputy commander of its Black Sea fleet, MediaZona said. Advertisement Lavrov said: 'During the Cuban Missile Crisis there were not many "written" rules. But the rules of conduct were clear enough. 'Moscow understood how Washington was behaving. Washington understood how Moscow was behaving. Now there are few rules left. He added: 'In those years, there was a channel of communication that both leaders trusted. Now there is no such channel. Nobody is trying to create it.' America did set up a 'deconfliction line' to Moscow in the early days of the Ukraine war, but said the Russia side stopped answering. Lavrov also repeated warnings that shipments of western weapons into Ukraine will be considered legitimate targets by Russia - a day after missiles struck the country's train network in an apparent attempt to stop the deliveries. he spoke as western nations shift focus in Ukraine from supplying small arms and defensive weapons such as anti-tank and anti-aricraft missiles, to providing heavier arms such as tanks, helicopters, aircraft and long-range artillery. The move comes in response to calls from Kyiv to provide its armed forces with the means to recapture territory occupied by Russian forces, in the wake of atrocities carried out by Putin's men in places such as Bucha and Irpin. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin travelled to Kyiv on Sunday for a face-to-face meeting with President Zelensky to discuss supplies, before pledging another multi-million dollar shipment. Austin will also chair a meeting of more than 40 defence ministers at Ramstein air base in Germany today, aimed at securing additional supplies and coordinating efforts between allies to ensure Ukraine has everything it needs. Ahead of the meeting, Austin stated the goal is to ensure Ukraine 'can win' the war against Russia and 'weaken' the country to the point where it cannot repeat its invasion a second time. Ahead of the meeting, German media reported that the country will end weeks of dithering and agree to supply heavy arms to Ukraine in the form of 50 Gepard anti-aircraft systems. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday night that he regards Russia's scaremongering as a sign of weakness. Lavrov, speaking to Russian state TV, said tensions between east and west are now at a worse point than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War Russia considers western arms shipments to Ukraine legitimate targets for attack, Lavrov added, after the US pledged to send heavier weapons to the country this week (file image) Maria, 13, holds a photograph of her father Yurii Alekseev, 50, a territorial defence member who according to his family was killed by Russian soldiers, as she mourns him during his funeral today Tetyana Boikiv, 52, right, meets and hugs her neighbour Svitlana Pryimachenko, 48, during a funeral service for her husband, Mykola Moroz Germany will finally authorise tank deliveries to Ukraine Germany will finally authorise the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine today after weeks of dithering that has tarnished its reputation on the world stage and led to questions about its commitment to European security. Defense minister Christine Lambrecht is expected announce the delivery of around 50 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine during a meeting of more than 40 nations that will take place at Ramstein air base today. Germany's defence industry has been offering to sell the Gepard vehicles to Ukraine since February, but had been blocked from doing so by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government which led to outcry both inside and outside the country. Scholz, whose SPD party traditionally maintains close ties with Russia, had argued that it would take too long to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the weapons, that Germany had no weapons to sell, and that selling weapons could provoke Putin. But under strong pressure from Germany's international allies as well as his own coalition partners, Scholz now appears to have decided to change course. Lambrecht will today deliver a speech at Ramstein air base in which she will say the government has agreed to sign off the delivery of used Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. At the same time, a plan will be submitted to parliament calling for the government to 'continue and, where possible, accelerate the delivery of equipment to Ukraine.' Equipment will be extended to include 'the delivery [of] heavy weapons and complex systems', according to a draft of the document shown to AFP. The same document will suggest that Ukrainian soldiers are brought to Germany and other NATO nations so they can be trained how to use the weapons. Advertisement Russia had lost its 'last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine,' Kuleba wrote on Twitter after Lavrov's interview. 'This only means Moscow senses defeat.' British armed forces minister James Heappey agreed with that assessment today, saying he does not see an imminent threat of escalation in Ukraine and dismissing Lavrov's comments as 'bravado'. 'Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation,' Heappey told BBC Television. 'What the West is doing to support its allies in Ukraine is very well calibrated ... Everything we do is calibrated to avoid direct confrontation with Russia.' Heappey told Sky News that while NATO had been reinforcing its eastern flank, it was not, as an organisation, providing military aid. 'The donor community is not NATO,' Heappey said. 'The donor effort is something that has been brought together by countries that are yes, many of them are from NATO, but others are from beyond ... it is not NATO that is doing the military aid.' During a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promised more military aid for Ukraine. The U.S. State Department on Monday used an emergency declaration to approve the potential sale of $165 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine. The Pentagon said the package could include artillery ammunition for howitzers, tanks and grenade launchers. Moscow's ambassador to Washington told the United States to halt shipments, warning Western weapons were inflaming the conflict. Lavrov said: 'NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.' Russia's two-month-old invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European state since 1945, has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced over 5 million people to flee abroad. Moscow calls its actions a 'special operation' to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West says this a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression by President Vladimir Putin. The United States is due to host an expected gathering of more than 40 countries this week for Ukraine-related defence talks that will focus on arming Kyiv, U.S. officials said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (centre) and Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley (centre left) chair a meeting to agree more arms for Ukraine at Ramstein air base in Germany Christine Lambrecht, German defence minister, meets her Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov as she prepares to announce supplies of heavy arms to Kyiv Russia is trying to 'destabilise' breakaway Moldovan region Kyiv today accused Russia of trying to 'destabilise' Moldova's breakaway region that borders Ukraine after two explosions there prompted fears of Russia launching 'false flag' attacks to justify invading the territory. The explosions destroyed two powerful Soviet-era radio antennas that were re-broadcasting Russian stations in the region of Transnistria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, on Tuesday. The blasts occurred in the small town of Maiac roughly 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of the border with Ukraine, just days after a Kremlin military chief warned that 'Russian-speakers' had been 'oppressed' there. A day earlier, several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the Ministry of State Security in the city of Tiraspol, the region's capital. No one was hurt in the explosions, officials said. On Tuesday, a military unit in the village of Parcani was also targeted. Officials did not offer any details on the incident, but declared a 'red level of terrorist threat' and promised to impose additional security measures in the region. Advertisement Britain said all tariffs on goods coming into the country from Ukraine under an existing free trade deal will be axed and it would send new ambulances, fire engines, medical supplies and funding for health experts to help the emergency services. Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that it had declared 40 German diplomatic staff 'personae non gratae' in a retaliatory move after Berlin expelled the same number of Russian diplomats. Russia has yet to capture any of the biggest cities. Its forces were forced to pull back from the outskirts of Kyiv in the face of stiff resistance. 'It is obvious that every day - and especially today, when the third month of our resistance has begun - that everyone in Ukraine is concerned with peace, about when it will all be over,' President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Monday. 'There is no simple answer to that at this time.' Having failed to take the capital Kyiv, Moscow last week launched a massive assault in an attempt to capture eastern provinces known as the Donbas, which if successful would link territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine's general staff said on Tuesday that Russia's offensive continued in the eastern Kharkiv region with Russian forces trying to advance towards Zavody. Russia's defence ministry earlier said its missiles destroyed six facilities powering the railways that were used to deliver foreign weapons to Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region. Reuters could not verify the report. The head of Ukraine's state rail company said that one railway worker had been killed and four injured by Russian missile strikes on five Ukrainian railway stations on Monday. Ukrainian forces have repelled five Russian attacks and killed just over 200 Russian servicemen, said the Ukrainian military command in the southern and eastern sectors. An Ukrainian tank drives through obstacles on a road near Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, today amid the Russian invasion A huge pile of missiles is gathered up by members of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine after shellings in Kharkiv Firefighters extinguish fire at a substation near the Krasne Railway Station following Russian shelling, amid Russia's attack Five tanks were also destroyed, along with eight armoured vehicles, it said in a statement. Russia is probably attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the country's east, the British military said in an update on Tuesday. Reports say the city of Kreminna has fallen, with heavy fighting in the south of the city of Izium, as Russian forces try to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Britain's defence ministry said on Twitter. The governor of Russia's Belgorod province, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukraine had fired on two villages, and at least two people were wounded. Reuters was unable to verify the Ukrainian or Russian reports. Russian forces were continuing on Monday to bomb and shell the vast Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol where fighters are hunkered down in a city ravaged by a siege and bombardment, Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovych said. Moscow said it was opening a humanitarian corridor to let civilians out of the plant but Kyiv said no agreement had been reached. Ukraine war timeline: Putin's invasion enters its third month Russia heads into the third month of its invasion of Ukraine on Sunday with no end in sight to fighting that has killed thousands, uprooted millions and reduced cities to rubble. In the face of mounting sanctions and fierce Ukrainian resistance bolstered by Western arms, Russia has kept up its long-distance bombardment and opened up a new offensive in the east. Some key events so far: February 24: Russia invades Ukraine from three fronts in the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two. Tens of thousands flee. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is launching a 'special military operation' to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweets: 'Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself.' February 25: Ukrainian forces battle Russian invaders in the north, east and south. Artillery pounds Kyiv and its suburbs and authorities tell residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to defend the capital. February 26: A U.S. defence official says Ukraine's forces are putting up 'determined resistance'. February 28: The first talks between the two sides make no breakthrough. March 1: Russia hits a TV tower in Kyiv and intensifies bombardment of Kharkiv in the northeast and other cities, in what is seen as a shift in tactics as Moscow's hopes of a quick charge on the capital fade. A U.S. official says a miles-long Russian armoured column bearing down on Kyiv has not made any advances in the past 24 hours, bogged down by logistical problems. March 2: Russian forces bombard the southern port of Mariupol for 14 hours and stop civilians leaving, its mayor says - the start of Moscow's blockade of the city. Russia denies targeting civilians. Russian troops reach the centre of the Black Sea port of Kherson and claim their first capture of a large urban centre. March 3: Russia and Ukraine agree to set up humanitarian corridors for fleeing civilians. A cargo ship sinks near a Ukrainian port hours after another is hit by a blast at another port. A million people have fled Ukraine, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) says. March 4: Russian forces seize Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's biggest. NATO rejects Ukraine's appeal for no-fly zones, saying it would escalate the conflict. March 6: 'Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine,' Pope Francis tells crowds in St. Peter's Square. 'This is not just a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction, and misery.' March 8: Civilians flee the besieged city of Sumy in the first successful humanitarian corridor. Two million have now fled Ukraine, the UNHCR says. March 9: Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing a maternity hospital in Mariupol, burying people in rubble. Russia later says the hospital was no longer functioning and had been occupied by Ukrainian fighters. March 13: Russia extends its war deep into western Ukraine, firing missiles at a base in Yavoriv close to the border with NATO member Poland. The attack kills 35 people and wounds 134, a local official says. March 14: Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova bursts into a state TV studio during a live news bulletin, with a banner reading: 'NO WAR. Stop the war. Don't believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.' March 16: Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing a theatre in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians are sheltering. Moscow denies it. March 25: Moscow signals it is scaling back its ambitions and will focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east, as Ukrainian forces go on the offensive to recapture towns outside Kyiv. March 29: Ukraine proposes adopting a neutral status during talks in Istanbul. March 30: More than 4 million people have fled Ukraine, the UNHCR says. April 1: Ukraine recaptures more territory around Kyiv from Russian soldiers who leave shattered villages and abandoned tanks as they move away from the capital. April 3/4: Ukraine accuses Russia of war crimes after a mass grave and bodies of people shot at close range are found in the recaptured town of Bucha. The Kremlin denies responsibility and says images of bodies were staged. April 8: Ukraine and its allies blame Russia for a missile attack on a train station in Kramatorsk that killed at least 52 people trying to flee the looming eastern offensive. Russia denies responsibility. April 14: Russia's lead warship in the Black Sea, the Moskva, sinks after an explosion and fire that Ukraine says was caused by a missile strike. Russia says the ship sank after an ammunition explosion. Washington believes the warship was hit by two Ukrainian missiles. April 18: Russia launches its assault on east Ukraine, unleashing thousands of troops in what Ukraine described as the Battle of the Donbas, a campaign to seize two provinces and salvage a battlefield victory. April 20: More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine, the UNHCR says. April 21: Putin declares the southeastern port of Mariupol 'liberated' after nearly two months of siege, despite leaving hundreds of defenders holding out inside a giant steel works. April 22: A Russian general says Moscow wants to take full control of southern and eastern Ukraine. April 24: Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin travel to Kyiv, becoming the highest-level US delegation to make the journey since war with Russia broke out April 25: Germany agrees to send anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine, reversing earlier policy not to supply heavy weapons Advertisement EXCLUSIVE: Boobytrapped milk carton primed with a BOMB is given to grandmother by Russian soldier distributing 'humanitarian aid' in Ukraine By Ed Wight for MailOnline A Ukrainian grandmother has narrowly escaped death after a Russian soldier gave her a boobytrapped carton of milk loaded with explosives. In a disturbing new twist to Putin's war on Ukraine, Russian soldiers are now pretending to hand out 'humanitarian aid'. But when the pensioner from the besieged city of Kherson went to open the screw top carton she noticed wires attached to the lid. Further investigation revealed the wires led to a detonator. The OAP's son told local media in.kherson.ua: 'My retired mother noticed that there was something wrong with this milk, as if someone had been drinking from it before, or if it was broken. 'She carefully unscrewed the cap and showed me what was there.' The boobytrapped milk carton contained a homemade explosive attached to a fishing line which when opened would detonate the bomb. A Ukrainian grandmother has narrowly escaped death after a Russian soldier gave her a boobytrapped carton of milk loaded with explosives. When the pensioner from the besieged city of Kherson went to open the screw top carton she noticed wires attached to the lid Further investigation revealed the wires led to a detonator placed inside the carton in what appeared to be a cruel boobytrap An elderly Ukrainian woman is pictured receiving aid from soldiers in Ukraine - it is not clear whether this is the woman who picked up the boobytrapped milk carton The OAP's soon told local media in.kherson.ua: 'My retired mother noticed that there was something wrong with this milk, as if someone had been drinking from it before, or if it was broken. She carefully unscrewed the cap and showed me what was there.' The boobytrapped milk carton contained a homemade explosive attached to a fishing line which when opened would detonate the bomb The woman's son added: 'The bag of aid was bought home by my mother, although I had asked her not to. 'But yesterday she took the groceries. She saw that the screw in the milk was not airtight, she thought that someone had already drank it, that it might be spoiled, she carefully unscrewed it and saw something like thread.' To fool locals into thinking the products are safe, Russian soldiers are using products made in Ukraine. On Sunday, the UK's MOD reported that Russia plans to hold a staged referendum in Kherson to justify its occupation. In its daily intelligence update, the ministry wrote: 'This city is key to the Russian goal of creating an overland corridor to Crimea and dominating southern Ukraine. 'Russia previously held an illegal referendum on the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation in 2014 to retroactively justify the occupation of the peninsula.' Now Russia cuts off WATER supplies Desperate Ukrainians hit by a lack of food have had their water cut off by Russian shelling too. Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai accused the Kremlin of systematically attacking electricity plants and water pumps to punish the local population. Last week officials in Luhansk said Russian forces had deliberately targeted the supply of food to the eastern region. They swamped the key city of Sievierodonetsk with missiles that wiped out all food depots, as well as markets and shops. The citys 100,000 population has fallen by 17,000 and they are now reliant on aid supplies. Advertisement Evidence of Russian soldiers boobytrapping humanitarian aid packages for elderly Ukrainian residents comes as Kremlin insiders told The Financial Times that Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine and is intent on seizing as much land as possible. The three insiders claimed that the Russian president wanted to grab territory because he felt negotiations had reached a 'dead end'. One insider said: 'There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner.' 'Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big,' another insider added. A third said he wouldn't sign anything after the humiliation caused by the sinking of the Moskva. A senior member of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umirov, said: 'We continue the negotiation process. Primarily to save more lives of our people.' 'We will use all the political and diplomatic efforts to stop this bloodshed. But there are red lines we will never cross. Ukraine will never give up its people and its territories,' he told The Times. Meanwhile, officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new '200-yard mass grave' has been identified north of the city that could contain hundreds of bodies. Vladimir Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine as he wants to seize as much land as he can for Russia, according to Kremlin insiders Emergency management specialists and volunteers remove the debris of a theatre building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about six miles north of Mariupol. This would be the third after satellite photos released over the last few days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves. On Saturday, chilling satellite photos revealed a second mass grave near Mariupol - as Russian forces continued to pummel the last 2,000 Ukrainian defenders trapped in a steelworks in the city. The photos from Maxar Technologies showed the site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne. It has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 131 feet long, Maxar said in a statement. Volodymyr Zelensky warned Vladimir Putin that if he tried to build a Nazi-style 'millennial Reich' he would 'lose'. A man is due to appear in court later today over the death of a British friend following a fatal stabbing at an Algarve tourist apartment. The unnamed suspect, believed to have been on holiday with his pal, was held after the discovery of the victim's body by a wall at a luxury apartment complex in the popular resort of Albufeira early yesterday morning. He had already gone into cardiac arrest by the time emergency responders arrived and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. The dead man was initially described as English but one local report today said both the dead man and the suspect held by police were from Northern Ireland. It was a Bank Holiday yesterday in Portugal and police have yet to make any official comment. Police cordon off the site of a fatal stabbing in a gated holiday resort in Albufeira, Portugal The unnamed suspect, believed to have been on holiday with his pal, was held after the discovery of the victim's body by a wall at a luxury apartment complex. This image shows the block of apartments where the pair were staying The ongoing investigation is being handled by the Policia Judiciaria following an initial intervention by the GNR police force. Firefighters were among the first to reach the scene of the crime, a gated estate called Correeira Luxury Residence. Albufeira fire chief Rui Fernandes told respected Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias: 'We were alerted at 6.37am to a person who was said to be unconscious in the street. 'We arrived to find a man who was in cardiac arrest, with rigor mortis and incise wounds to his chest.' He also told the paper the victim was inside the tourist complex against a wall rather than outside in the street. The man arrested by police, who is understood to be around 20, is believed to have been sharing the apartment with the man he is suspected of killing. He was described by Portuguese tabloid Correio da Manha as being disorientated and apparently 'under the effects of alcohol or drugs' when he was taken away by police. Officers also removed a knife thought to be the weapon used in the attack. Wide sandy beach in Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal The exact relationship between the two men is not yet known. Police are said to be working on the theory the victim was stabbed inside the apartment and collapsed on the ground outside the property as he tried to reach the street to raise help. The dead man is believed to have been aged around 25 to 30. An autopsy has yet to take place. The Correeira Luxury Residence apartment complex is situated around a mile from popular Oura Beach. It has two swimming pools for guests. China has hit back at claims it wants to build a military base in the Solomon Islands calling it 'fake news' and slamming Defence Minister Peter Dutton for 'smearing China' and 'clinging to a Cold War mentality'. The secretive deal allows Beijing to send armed police and military personnel to the country at the request of Honiara. It also states the People's Liberation Army can 'make ship visits, to carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in Solomon Islands'. But China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed on Monday at a Beijing press conference that speculation of a military base was 'pure disinformation'. 'The security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands is based on equality and mutual benefits... within the sovereignty of our two countries and consistent with the international law,' he said. China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin (pictured) said the speculation of a Chinese military base in the Solomon Island was 'pure disinformation' 'The cooperation is open, transparent, legitimate, lawful and irreproachable.' He said a 'handful of people with ulterior motives' were fabricating speculation about a military base. 'The US and Australia accuse the deal of not being transparent. When will the US and Australia invite South Pacific island countries to review AUKUS cooperation?' 'The nearly 800 military bases in 80 countries and regions across the world run by the US have long been of major concern. When will the US shut down those bases?' 'Island countries in the South Pacific are independent and sovereign states, not a backyard of the US or Australia.' The Chinese official was then pressed by a reporter about claims recently made by Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton that China regularly pays bribes to win international deals. Scott Morrison (pictured) has said a Chinese base on the Pacific nation would be a 'red line' for his government The security deal would see armed personnel sent to the Solomon Islands (pictured: Chinese president Xi Jinping at a military parade in 2017) 'The Chinese don't play by our rules. If you look at what has happened in Africa, there are corrupt payments being made,' Mr Dutton told Sky News Australia on Sunday. 'We can never compete with that sort of playbook. We have values and we have the rule of law that we abide by.' 'China's incredibly aggressive acts of foreign interference, the preparedness to pay bribes to beat other countries to deals - that is the reality of modern China.' Wang then singled out Mr Dutton and claimed he was using the security deal to win votes in the federal election. 'Certain Australian politicians are clinging to the Cold War mentality and smearing China with rumors to sow discord between China and countries it has friendly ties with,' he said. 'The politicians should earnestly face up to the concerns of people at home and abroad, instead of spreading disinformation to disparage China for their own political gains,' he said. Shadow Foreign Affairs minister Penny Wong said the China-Solomon Islands security deal was a monumental foreign policy failure which had occurred on Scott Morrison's watch. A Ukrainian girl cannot travel to the UK with her aunt and cousin after Government officials questioned whether they were related despite being given legal papers proving it. Alisa Miroshyna, nine, is being cared for by her aunt Viktoria Sochka, 38, and cousin Anastasiia, 14, while her mother Kateryna, 35, and father Oleksii, 41, serve in the Ukrainian armed forces. The three of them were last month offered spare rooms to stay in at the home of Nick Anderson, 59, and his partner Karen Jones, 54, in Hartlepool, County Durham. But they are still trapped in Poland while they wait for visas to be issued, despite Nick applying on their behalf more than five-weeks-ago. In the latest twist to the saga, civil servants are said to have asked for further proof that Viktoria is really the aunt of Alisa and is entitled to travel with her to the UK. Viktoria Sochka, 38, her daughter Anastasiia, 14, and niece Alisa, nine, have been waiting for visas since being offered spare rooms with a couple in Hartlepool, County Durham Nick Anderson said officials have requested further proof that Viktoria is really the aunt of Alisa - leaving them unable to travel to the UK But Nick insists that officials dealing with the application already have a Lasting Power of Attorney, giving Viktoria the right to care for her niece. He said: It is just farcical and so frustrating. We have a home ready here for Viktoria and the two girls, but it seems to be one issue after another keeping them away. When social services came to look at our house several weeks ago to make sure it was suitable, we were told that Viktoria should get a Lasting Power of Attorney to prove she was acting as a guardian for her niece. I passed on the advice and they got the official document from the authorities in Ukraine about two or three days later, and I uploaded it as part of their application. But now the officials seem to be querying this. It is just absolutely ridiculous and is putting unnecessary obstacles in the way. Our civil servants appear to be deliberately obstructing refugees when civilians are being killed by bombing every day. It really is sickening. Ms Sochka previously booked tickets for a flight - from Warsaw to Doncaster Sheffield airport - so they could join Mr Anderson and Ms Jones at their six-bedroom detached home Ms Sochka (pictured with her daughter and niece) told Mr Anderson that her husband Andrii, 43, was fighting in the Ukrainian Army and had returned to the frontline The issue is the latest delay to beset the application for Viktoria and the two girls to get visas which is being handled by the Home Office. Earlier this month, MailOnline told how officials had questioned the spelling of Anastasiias name and had asked to see her passport to prove it, despite already having a copy of it. An official claimed that it was not the usual way the name was spelt in Ukraine, despite being told that the teenager originally came from the Donbas region where spellings are different. The misunderstanding led to Viktoria and the two girls being unable to board a Wizz Air flight from Warsaw to Sheffield Doncaster airport so they could join Nick and Karen at their six bedroom detached home. Nick, a semi-retired financial adviser, and care worker Karen who have eight grown up children between them decided to offer to help a refugee family as they live alone in their house. The couple made inquiries online, saying that they had three spare rooms available, and were put in touch with railway worker Viktoria who was looking for a place in the UK with her daughter and niece. Ms Sochka is currently looking after her niece as Alisa's mother Kateryna (pictured), 35, and her father Oleksii, 41, are also serving in the Ukrainian armed forces Nick was told that her husband Andrii, 43, was fighting in the Ukrainian Army and back on the frontline after being injured in February. Viktoria also said she was having to look after her niece so her sister and brother-in-law could also serve in the countrys armed forces. Nick said he spent several hours applying for the visas online on March 20, and enlisted the help of the office of Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer after becoming frustrated with the delays. The intervention of Ms Mortimers staff led to him being assured that a decision on whether to grant visas would be made by April 4. As a result, Viktoria and the two girls left their home in war torn Dnipro and embarked on a 26 hour train journey to Warsaw, so they could board their flights to the UK booked for April 6. But civil servants failed to meet their self-imposed deadline on whether to grant visas, meaning they were unable to get the flights and lost the money they had spent on their tickets. Nick said: We are now nearly three weeks further on, and they still have not sorted it out, despite my MPs office getting on at them constantly. The problem with the spelling of Anastasiias name has not been mentioned since, so I am guessing that has been sorted out. Jill Mortimers secretary Alison Shepherd has spent literally hours on the phone trying to get things speeded up, but it is like banging your head against a brick wall. She is tearing her hair out over it. The latest thing they raised with her was that we had to prove that Viktoria is really Alisas aunt. The couple - who have eight grown up children between them - made enquiries online, saying that they had three spare rooms available It is just a nonsense when they already have the Lasting Power of Attorney document which we were advised to get by social services. Alison told me that she could not understand it. She does not know what additional proof she can give. She said that she has nieces herself, but does not actually have any paperwork proving it. It seems like we are just stuck in a never ending loop. I cannot believe that they keep coming up with questions like this. It is just ridiculous. Viktoria and the two girls are staying in a hostel in Poland, sharing a single room with another mother and her daughter, when they could be over here with us. Every day she is asking me for news and I am having to let her down by telling her that the visas have still not been sorted out. All the stress has made her ill, and she needs to see a doctor in Poland because has come out in a rash. Alisa (left) pictured with her aunt Viktoria (centre left), mother Kataryna (centre right) and cousin Anastasiia (right) Mr Anderson and partner Ms Jones first applied on March 20 for Viktoria and the two girls to be allowed to stay with them Nick earlier told MailOnline: I feel embarrassed to be British because of all this, especially when other countries are just waving through refugees. How can we be treating people like this? It shows how incompetent the Home Office is. The whole thing is a flipping farce. He added: We decided we had the space to help out a family after being horrified by what is happening in Ukraine. Karen and I quickly got all the necessary DBS checks and had our house checked by the local council to make sure everything was suitable. Viktoria cannot speak any English, but Anastasiia can speak a bit, so we have been communicating through her on Messenger. Nick said that Viktoria and the two girls had been living in fear in her flat on the ninth floor of an apartment block in Dnipro before fleeing to Warsaw. He added: It was terrifying for them. They often had to shelter in the corridor when they could hear bombardments as there was no time to reach a bomb shelter. Their lives were at risk constantly while they waited to hear whether they were going to get visas. It is just so frustrating when they have a place of safety here. The awful thing is that they were bombed out of their original home by the Russians in 2015 so they are refugees twice over. A British man who took his own life at home in southern France is believed to have murdered his wife prior to his suicide amid 'financial difficulties'. A murder investigation has been opened in Boudrac, in the foothills of the Pyrenees south of Toulouse, after the pair's corpses were found at their isolated countryside home. They had part-converted their home and outhouse into a bed and breakfast, but cut the project short due to financial problems. Friends of the couple who have not yet been named called in at the house on Sunday afternoon to check in after not hearing from them for at least three days. When they arrived at their home which was due to be turned into a bed and breakfast guest house they found the lifeless body of a 65-year-old woman. 'She has been dead for some days and had a rope around her neck,' said local prosecutor Christophe Amunzateguy. 'Wounds were also found on her body there were signs of strangulation and blows.' Police who were called to the scene then discovered the body of her husband, 64, in an outhouse. Amunzateguy said he appeared to have hanged himself. A British couple has been found dead at their isolated countryside home in Boudrac, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, south of Toulouse. Friends had not heard from them for the last three days, but upon checking on them found the pair hanged on Sunday afternoon 'He was found hanged, and had left a note' said Mr Amunzateguy, adding: 'The couple had a project to open a guesthouse but it was ended because of financial difficulties.' The prosecutor said the evidence 'clearly makes us think of a wife killing. We have not, at this stage, evidence of the presence of a third party.' He said the couple had no criminal record. A note found at the scene also spoke of financial trouble, according to Connexion France. The couple had bought their house in Boudrac which has a population of around 130 in early 2021 and wanted to turn it into a bed and breakfast. Amunzateguy added that postmortem examinations would be conducted on the bodies today to establish a cause of death for both individuals. Feminist groups say at least 33 women have been killed by their husbands or partners so far in France this year. The figure for 2021 was 113, according to The Times. Germany will finally authorise the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine today after weeks of dithering that has tarnished its reputation on the world stage and led to questions about its commitment to European security. Defense minister Christine Lambrecht is expected announce the delivery of around 50 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine during a meeting of more than 40 nations that will take place at Ramstein air base today. Germany's defence industry has been offering to sell the Gepard vehicles to Ukraine since February, but had been blocked from doing so by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government which led to outcry both inside and outside the country. Germany will supply 50 Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, the defence minister is set to announce today- after weeks of dithering on the issue Christine Lambrecht, Germany's defence minister, hugs Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov during a summit to discuss supplying arms at Ramstein air base today Scholz, whose SPD party traditionally maintains close ties with Russia, had argued that it would take too long to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the weapons, that Germany had no weapons to sell, and that selling weapons could provoke Putin. But under strong pressure from Germany's international allies as well as his own coalition partners, Scholz now appears to have decided to change course. Lambrecht will today deliver a speech at Ramstein air base in which she will say the government has agreed to sign off the delivery of used Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. At the same time, a plan will be submitted to parliament calling for the government to 'continue and, where possible, accelerate the delivery of equipment to Ukraine.' Equipment will be extended to include 'the delivery [of] heavy weapons and complex systems', according to a draft of the document shown to AFP. The same document will suggest that Ukrainian soldiers are brought to Germany and other NATO nations so they can be trained how to use the weapons. German arms company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann first said back in February that it had 50 Gepards that could 'quickly' be supplied to Ukraine if the federal government gave it permission to do so. Scholz resisted, saying that it would take too long to train Ukrainian crews in how to use the system which would ultimately make it useless. But pressure has been growing to change tack, especially since other nations - led by the US and UK - have begun supplying heavier weapons to Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky has argued Ukraine needs the weapons in order to re-take territory Russia has captured and prevent atrocities of the kind suffered by civilians in occupied parts of the country such as Bucha and Irpin. Scholz's stance - coupled with his reluctance to ban Russian oil and gas shipments on which the Germany economy relies - had seen him accused of aiding Russia and undermining European security. Some had even begun to question Germany's commitment to NATO's mutual defence pledge because arguments used to avoid supplying Ukraine - that it could provoke confrontation with Russia - could also be used against invoking the pledge. Olaf Scholz, whose SPD party has traditionally maintained close ties to Russia, had been increasingly isolated from the international community by refusing to supply Ukraine weapons US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (centre) and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley (centre left) chair a meeting in Germany to agree more arms supplies to Ukraine Gepards were first developed in the 1960s and for decades formed the backbone of Germany's air defence forces, having undergone several upgrades to its radar and targeting systems. Built on the chassis of a Leopard 1 tank, Gepards are equipped with two 35mm cannons which were designed to take out incoming aircraft and cruise missiles, but can also be used against drones and - if necessary - against ground targets. Later models were equipped with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, but it is unclear if these are fitting to the ones that will be supplied to Ukraine. The Bundeswehr began phasing out the vehicle in 2010 in favour of the more modern Wiesel 2 Ozelot that is equipped with missiles as standard. Any Gepard vehicles supplied to Ukraine are expected to come from stockpiles that have sat un-used since the Ozelot came into service. America has led the way in delivering heavy arms to Ukraine in recent weeks - sending long-range artillery and thousands of round of ammunition, along with helicopters and suicide drones. The US has also agreed to back-fill stocks of Soviet-era tanks and other weapons owned by allied European states if they supply those weapons to Ukraine. Slovakia and the Czech Republic are thought to have taken advantage of the offer to send tanks to Kyiv, while the UK has reached an agreement with Poland to supply Challenger tanks while Warsaw sends its old T-72 models into the fight. France and Canada have also agreed to provide long-range artillery and precision munitions to Ukraine. A Ukrainian woman takes a picture with her smartphone while standing on the top of a destroyed Russian tank on the outskirts of Kyiv (pictured) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will lead the meeting at Ramstein air base today, which bring together defence ministers from 40 nations with the aim of coordinating arms supplies to Ukraine to ensure it has the weapons it needs. Austin, speaking on Monday after a visit to Kyiv to see President Zelensky, stated outright that the goal is to ensure Ukraine can 'win' the war while 'weakening' Russia to the point where 'it can't do the things that it has done in invading Ukraine.' The bold remarks mark a distinct shift from Washington's policy in the early days of the conflict which was to provide Ukraine solely with defensive arms, and will come as a comfort to Kyiv and eastern European nations fearful of an assertive Russia. The meeting is also aimed at ensuring Ukraine's security in the longer term once the war is over. 'It's really largely about modernising 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,' said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Friday. The meeting on Tuesday will not be held under the auspices of NATO, even if the alliance's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg will be attending. 'As you know, NATO as an alliance is not providing security assistance to Ukraine, so this is not being done under the NATO umbrella at all,' stressed Kirby. Among the 40 invited countries are not only Washington's European allies, but also countries further afield like Japan or Australia, which fear that a Russian victory in Ukraine could set a precedent and spur on the territorial ambitions of China. Finland and Sweden, traditionally neutral countries now looking at joining NATO following Russia's aggression in Ukraine, are also among countries at the talks. A Ukrainian grandmother has narrowly escaped death after a Russian soldier gave her a boobytrapped carton of milk loaded with explosives. In a disturbing new twist to Putin's war on Ukraine, Russian soldiers are now pretending to hand out 'humanitarian aid'. But when the pensioner from the besieged city of Kherson went to open the screw top carton she noticed wires attached to the lid. Further investigation revealed the wires led to a detonator. The OAP's son told local media in.kherson.ua: 'My retired mother noticed that there was something wrong with this milk, as if someone had been drinking from it before, or if it was broken. 'She carefully unscrewed the cap and showed me what was there.' The boobytrapped milk carton contained a homemade explosive attached to a fishing line which when opened would detonate the bomb. A Ukrainian grandmother has narrowly escaped death after a Russian soldier gave her a boobytrapped carton of milk loaded with explosives. When the pensioner from the besieged city of Kherson went to open the screw top carton she noticed wires attached to the lid Further investigation revealed the wires led to a detonator placed inside the carton in what appeared to be a cruel boobytrap The OAP's son told local media in.kherson.ua: 'My retired mother noticed that there was something wrong with this milk, as if someone had been drinking from it before, or if it was broken. She carefully unscrewed the cap and showed me what was there.' The boobytrapped milk carton contained a homemade explosive attached to a fishing line which when opened would detonate the bomb An elderly Ukrainian woman is pictured receiving aid from soldiers in Ukraine - it is not clear whether this is the woman who picked up the boobytrapped milk carton The woman's son added: 'The bag of aid was bought home by my mother, although I had asked her not to. 'But yesterday she took the groceries. She saw that the screw in the milk was not airtight, she thought that someone had already drank it, that it might be spoiled, she carefully unscrewed it and saw something like thread.' To fool locals into thinking the products are safe, Russian soldiers are using products made in Ukraine. On Sunday, the UK's MOD reported that Russia plans to hold a staged referendum in Kherson to justify its occupation. In its daily intelligence update, the ministry wrote: 'This city is key to the Russian goal of creating an overland corridor to Crimea and dominating southern Ukraine. 'Russia previously held an illegal referendum on the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation in 2014 to retroactively justify the occupation of the peninsula.' Now Russia cuts off WATER supplies Desperate Ukrainians hit by a lack of food have had their water cut off by Russian shelling too. Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai accused the Kremlin of systematically attacking electricity plants and water pumps to punish the local population. Last week officials in Luhansk said Russian forces had deliberately targeted the supply of food to the eastern region. They swamped the key city of Sievierodonetsk with missiles that wiped out all food depots, as well as markets and shops. The citys 100,000 population has fallen by 17,000 and they are now reliant on aid supplies. Advertisement Evidence of Russian soldiers boobytrapping humanitarian aid packages for elderly Ukrainian residents comes as Kremlin insiders told The Financial Times that Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine and is intent on seizing as much land as possible. The three insiders claimed that the Russian president wanted to grab territory because he felt negotiations had reached a 'dead end'. One insider said: 'There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner.' 'Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big,' another insider added. A third said he wouldn't sign anything after the humiliation caused by the sinking of the Moskva. A senior member of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umirov, said: 'We continue the negotiation process. Primarily to save more lives of our people.' 'We will use all the political and diplomatic efforts to stop this bloodshed. But there are red lines we will never cross. Ukraine will never give up its people and its territories,' he told The Times. Meanwhile, officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new '200-yard mass grave' has been identified north of the city that could contain hundreds of bodies. Vladimir Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine as he wants to seize as much land as he can for Russia, according to Kremlin insiders Emergency management specialists and volunteers remove the debris of a theatre building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about six miles north of Mariupol. This would be the third after satellite photos released over the last few days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves. On Saturday, chilling satellite photos revealed a second mass grave near Mariupol - as Russian forces continued to pummel the last 2,000 Ukrainian defenders trapped in a steelworks in the city. The photos from Maxar Technologies showed the site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne. It has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 131 feet long, Maxar said in a statement. Volodymyr Zelensky warned Vladimir Putin that if he tried to build a Nazi-style 'millennial Reich' he would 'lose'. 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 The Queen may travel to Trooping the Colour by Range Rover instead of a royal carriage for the first time in her 70-year reign to boost her comfort after suffering from mobility issues. The monarch, 96, may make the journey from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade by 4x4 as part of several contingency plans being drawn up by officials ahead of the Platinum Jubilee weekend. During her reign, the Queens attendance at most engagements has been planned for months and often announced publicly weeks in advance. But the presence of the monarch who marks her 96th birthday on Thursday will now be a bonus, rather than guaranteed and 'will be decided on the day' due to mobility issues. Last night, Buckingham Palace distanced itself from the suggestion that the Queen would watch Trooping the Colour from the Major-General's office overlooking the parade ground rather than inspecting the troops on a dais, The Telegraph reports. A royal insider said: 'I cannot imagine in 100 years that if attending, Her Majesty wouldnt be seated on a dais in Horse Guards Parade. The Queen pictured inspecting troops on Horse Guards Parade in a traditional open topped carriage in June 2007 The Queen was pictured travelling on the Sandringham Estate in a Range Rover on Monday in the week after celebrating her 96th birthday From left: Prince Andrew, the Queen, Meghan Markle, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Kate and Prince William attend the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony in June 2018 The Queen looked a picture of happiness on Monday as she continued her 96th birthday celebrations with friends and family at Sandringham 'All the plans are fluid at the moment and nothing has been finalised.' The Queen's most recent public appearance came on March 29 at the thanksgiving service for her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey. But over the past six months she has withdrawn from several other events historically central to her diary, including the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph and the annual Commonwealth Service. Aides are hopeful the Queen will be able to attend some of the events organised to mark her 70th jubilee in person, although it is expected these will be few in number. The Household Cavalry is said to have been informed of alternative options in light of her mobility problems. The 4x4 proposal would see four mounted divisions escort the Queen's vehicle up The Mall on June 2, with other Royals sticking to the tradition of travelling by carriage. Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Anne are expected to take part in the parade on horsebacks as part of their roles as 'Royal Colonels'. Another royal source told the Telegraph that the reason for the plan was 'both speed and comfort' as it is no longer comfortable for the Queen to 'travel by carriage or to be standing on a dais for an extended period'. Typically, the Queen is joined by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, as well as more distant relatives like her niece, nephew and cousins. She has extended the invitation to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who she saw together for the first time in more than two years when they stopped off at Windsor Castle last week on their way to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games. Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, would attend in an informal role, following their decision to step down as working members of the Royal Family. Buckingham Palace is said to have promised the Sussexes full armed security at all Royal Family events in June in a bid to reassure them after Harry said he felt 'unsafe' in Britain. The Queen pictured sitting during a military ceremony in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle to mark her Official Birthday on June 12, 2021, in Windsor The Queen traditionally travels to Trooping the Colour in an open topped carriage, but may travel to the parade in a 4x4 for comfort on June 2. Pictured: The Queen travelling to Trooping the Colour in 1994 Harry and Meghan wave to the crowds from an open topped carriage during the Trooping the Colour in June 2018 But despite Her Majesty and Prince Charles removing the main obstacle for Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet attending, the Duke of Sussex is still said to be genuinely undecided about whether to jet in to celebrate his grandmother's 70 years on the throne. It comes after the Queen looked a picture of happiness on Monday as she continued her 96th birthday celebrations with friends and family at Sandringham. Wearing sunglasses and a trademark headscarf, Her Majesty grinned and chatted as she headed out into the Spring sunshine on her Norfolk estate. The monarch was taking the time to see her horses as they prepare for the flat racing season, including the Epsom Derby in June, which she hopes to attend. To embrace a global governance philosophy that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits 09:31, April 26, 2022 By He Yin ( People's Daily As the world undergoes profound changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, new traditional security risks and governance issues are arising, further fueling the tensions in international situation and increasing the difficulty of maintaining international order. Photo taken on April 17 shows street lamp banners of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 posted near the Boao airport in Qionghai, south China's Hainan province. (People's Daily Online/Meng Zhongde) Against this backdrop, Chinese President Xi Jinping, aiming to safeguard common interests of the world and create a future shared by mankind, encouraged the world to work together to tackle global governance challenges and embrace a global governance philosophy that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, when addressing the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 on April 21. He also stressed promoting the common values of humanity and upholding true multilateralism, saying it is particularly important for major countries to lead by example. His proposals fully demonstrated China's sense of responsibility to lead the reform of global governance system and promote historical progress in the quest of peace and justice. The world must uphold solidarity as it rises up to global governance challenges. "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." President Xi's simile vividly explained that countries around the world share a same future. Facing outstanding global challenges, the right choice remains to enhance international cooperation and give full play to the global governance system, rather than doing the opposite and arbitrarily hindering international cooperation under all kinds of excuses. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, some countries have been trying to tie the whole world to it, turning world economy into a political issue, a tool and even a weapon, with a total disregard for whether it would impact the life of the people around the world. Such practice will not help solve the crisis at all, and may destroy the international economic cooperation outcomes achieved in the past decades. As it confronts global governance challenges, the world must uphold real multilateralism. Photo taken on April 17 shows the International Conference Center of the Boao Forum for Asia. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Chen) While the globe remains in the grip of the pandemic, it is facing new traditional security risks. Meanwhile, the widening development gap is further bothering the sluggish global recovery, and new issues such as digital governance are emerging while climate change and other governance issues still need to be addressed. It is never a good idea to go it alone to solve these problems. Global actions, response and cooperation are required to overcome these concerns. Only by practicing a global governance philosophy that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, can countries expand common ground and build the most powerful strength. Hegemonism and power politics are presently posing a grave danger to the world's peace and progress. It is urgent to uphold true multilateralism and firmly safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law, which is also a common aspiration of the international society. Major country must fulfill their responsibilities as the world rises up to global governance challenges. A sub-forum of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 is held, April 20, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Chen) A countrys international status is measured by its openness of mind, breadth of vision, and sense of responsibility rather than its size, strength or power. "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," President Xi said. To maintain their hegemonic status, a few major countries have stuck to Cold War mentality and provoked confrontations, which further exacerbated tensions and separation, making more troubles for the troubled world. 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. Major countries should follow the trend of the times and play a constructive role in global governance. China is enhancing and improving global governance with concrete actions. Facing the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, it is actively promoting all relevant parties to improve global public health governance, so as to build concerted strength against the virus. When addressing the outstanding security risks, it has proposed a Global Security Initiative to contribute to the reform of the global security governance system. To jump-start the sluggish world economy, the country is also committed to improving global economic governance and building an open world economy. It has raised and is implementing the Global Development Initiative to help countries tide over difficulties. 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. Difficulties and challenges are not to be afraid of. What's important is to up hold solidarity and be courageous. China will collaborate with the international community to follow the trend of the times featuring peace, development and win-win cooperation, cope with global challenges with cooperation and enhance global governance with concrete actions, so as to move in the direction of building a community with a shared future for mankind. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cautioned the West not to underrate the heightened possibility of a nuclear war in Ukraine and World War III, accusing NATO of engaging in a proxy war against Russia by supplying weapons to Kyiv. In an interview aired on government-run television, Lavrov stated that the military situation in Ukraine would be at the heart of any accord to resolve the conflict. According to Daily Mail, Lavrov was asked if the current situation was comparable to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, which marked a low moment in the US-Soviet relationship. Lavrov said that Russia is working hard to defend the objective of avoiding nuclear war at all costs. The Russian official added he does not intend "to elevate those risks artificially." "Many would like that. The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it," Lavrov said. Russia's attacks on Ukraine killed thousands of people, destroyed towns and cities, and caused nearly 5 million people to evacuate their homeland. Moscow views the two-month onslaught as a "special operation" aimed at disarming Ukraine and protecting it from fascists. Ukraine and the West argue that this is a ploy to justify President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion, as per Reuters. In defending Moscow's measures, Lavrov also slammed the communication gap on the part of the United States. He accused Washington of halting dialogue. "The United States has practically ceased all contacts simply because we were obliged to defend Russians in Ukraine," Lavrov noted. He also claimed that Western weaponry shipments, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles, and powerful drones, were provocative actions geared to extend rather than terminate the war. According to Lavrov, Kyiv officials were not negotiating in good faith and said President Volodymyr Zelensky was only functioning to please the public rather than focusing on the negotiations. Ukrainian Official Says Russia Is Showing Its 'Weakness' Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed on Monday night, following Lavrov's interview, that Russia's scaremongering is a sign of weakness. Kuleba said that Russia's last hope to "scare the world off supporting Ukraine" is now gone. 'This only means Moscow senses defeat,' he tweeted. Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a real danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine. Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security. Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 25, 2022 Read Also: Switzerland Blocks German Request for Swiss Made Ammunition Destined for Ukraine, Cites Neutral Status in Hostile Conflicts British armed forces minister James Heappey echoed the Ukrainian official's analysis, stating he does not anticipate an imminent threat of aggravation in Ukraine. He also sees Lavrov's statements as a false show of bravery. "Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado," Heappey stated in a BBC report. 'What the West is doing to support its allies in Ukraine is very well calibrated ... Everything we do is calibrated to avoid direct confrontation with Russia," he added. Military Assistance for Ukraine Continues Heappey has confirmed that the UK will provide a modest number of anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine. It came as Russia concentrated its troops in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, with the UK Defense ministry stating that the city of Kreminna, in the Luhansk region, had surrendered. While NATO is strengthening its eastern front, Heappey told Sky News that the organization was not offering military assistance. Since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February, however, Western countries have provided significant amounts of money in military aid to Ukraine. NATO and European Union leaders also meet in Germany to discuss future military assistance to Ukraine. Related Article: Vladimir Putin Children: Does Russia's President Have Kids? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Britain backed Ukraine to use weapons it supplied to attack targets inside Russia today - saying Kyiv has 'every chance of kicking Vladimir Putin's forces out of the country. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said logistics sites on Russian soil were legitimate targets, amid a series of explosions at oil depots in recent days. And he said the UK was happy for weapons it has supplied to be used. Mr Heappey also hit back at nuclear sabre-rattling by Kremlin henchman Sergei Lavrov, saying his comments were just 'noise'. Russia's top diplomat has warned that Nato is now fighting a proxy war in Ukraine and there is a 'very serious' risk the conflict could turn nuclear. Mr Heapey told Times Radio: 'It is completely legitimate for Ukraine to be targeting in Russia's depth in order to disrupt the logistics that if they weren't disrupted would directly contribute to death and carnage on Ukrainian soil. 'There are lots of countries around the world that operate kit that they have imported from other countries; when those bits of kit are used we tend not to blame the country that manufactured it, you blame the country that fired it.' Armed forces minister James Heappey said logistics sites on Russian soil were legitimate targets, amid a series of explosions at oil depots in recent days, The UK is supplying arms including the Starstreak missile system and Stormer vehicles to carry it, to Ukraine Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, has warned that Nato is now fighting a proxy-war against Moscow and there is a 'very significant' risk the conflict will turn nuclear Lavrov accused the West of risking a third world war in Ukraine by supplying weapons with the hope of 'wearing out the Russian army' - a goal he called 'an illusion' The comments mark a further strengthening of the UK's position, as allies shift from caution against antagonising President Vladimir Putin to supplying more and more lethal aid. Lavrov accused Nato forces of 'pouring oil on the fire' by providing weapons, as he warned against provoking 'World War Three'. Claiming Nato its allies were attempting to bully Russia on the international stage, Lavrov warned that tensions between east and west are now worse than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War. Asked directly about the possibility of a nuclear war, he replied: 'The risks are very significant. I do not want the danger to be artificially inflated [but] it is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated.' But Mr Heappey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the chances of nuclear warfare are 'vanishingly small'. He told Mr Lavrov to 'reflect' on the reason there is a war in Ukraine being that Russia invaded, telling Sky News: 'All of this noise from Moscow about somehow their attack on Ukraine being a response to Nato aggression is just utter, utter nonsense.' Mr Heappey said there is 'every chance' that the Ukrainians will see off the Russians in the invasion, arguing that Moscow's victory in the east of Ukraine is not inevitable. 'We'll see a conflict between two forces that are much more evenly balanced, where the Ukrainians have the advantage of defensive positions that have been dug in and prepared over the last eight years, and that's going to make it an extraordinarily difficult nut for the Russians to crack,' he told Sky. 'And with all the support that the Ukrainians are getting from around the world, there's every chance the Ukrainians can see them off.' Germany will supply 50 Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, the defence minister is set to announce today- after weeks of dithering on the issue Olaf Scholz (left) had been accused of undermining European security by refusing to supply Ukraine, with minister Christine Lambrecht (right) due to announce a change of policy today Germany is expected to finally authorise the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine today after weeks of dithering that has tarnished its reputation on the world stage and led to questions about its commitment to European security. Defense minister Christine Lambrecht is expected announce the delivery of around 50 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine during a meeting of more than 40 nations that will take place at Ramstein air base later today. Germany's defence industry has been offering to sell the Gepard vehicles to Ukraine since February, but had been blocked from doing so by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government which led to outcry both inside and outside the country. The Gepard was first developed in the 1960s and for decades formed the backbone of Germany's air defence forces, having undergone several upgrades to its radar and targeting systems. Built on the chassis of a Leopard 1 tank, Gepards are equipped with two 35mm cannons which were designed to take out incoming aircraft and cruise missiles, but can also be used against drones and - if necessary - against ground targets. Later models were equipped with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, but it is unclear if these are fitting to the ones that will be supplied to Ukraine. The Bundeswehr began phasing out the vehicle in 2010 in favour of the more modern Wiesel 2 Ozelot that is equipped with missiles as standard. Any Gepard vehicles supplied to Ukraine are expected to come from stockpiles that have sat un-used since the Ozelot came into service. German arms company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann first said back in February that it had 50 Gepards that could 'quickly' be supplied to Ukraine if the federal government gave it permission to do so. Advertisement Although many Brits will be able to enjoy the sunshine on the May bank holiday, others will be resigned to grey skies and rain, as a weather split falls across on the country. The UK will be divided as forecasters predict sunny weather in the south but rain in the north and Scotland. Many would have hoped for a sizzler like the last bank holiday at Easter that saw the hottest day of the year, with Brits flocking to beaches to enjoy the glorious sun. Stephen Dixon, a forecaster at the Met Office, told MailOnline temperatures would be above average in the week leading up to the bank holiday. Yet he said there would be a split across the UK in terms of weather. He said today would see high pressure largely dominant for much of the UK. 'The northeast and Scotland will have some showers and some patchy rain,' he said. For the south, some good spells of sunshine.' A sunny day on the south coast of the UK lead people to take a lazy day by the sea in Southbourne, Dorset, today Mist rises over the River Thames on a sunny morning in the pretty village of Sonning, near Reading, Berkshire, on April 26 A man enjoys the warm afternoon as he relaxes with his feet up on a deck chairs in the spring sunshine at St James's Park, London, today Two-year-old Sprocker Spaniel Inka couldn't get enough of today's wonderful weather as she bounded through a field of bluebells in East Horsley, Surrey The Royal Liver Building in Liverpool was illuminated by a dazzling sunrise this morning. Temperatures are set to remain above average this week Two walkers surveyed a mass of bluebells at Dockey Wood near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, today. Many Brits will be hoping May lives up to April, which was exceptionally warm, especially on the Easter bank holiday On the bank holiday weekend and beyond temperatures are likely to stay the same and there will be sunny and dry spells with a smattering of rain across the north and in Scotland He added: 'On Wednesday, good sunny and clear spells in the north and generally a sunny day. For Thursday, high pressure continues to sit over the UK.' Mr Dixon said there would be 'some good spells of sunshine to be found' because of 'this high pressure we are seeing', before patchy clouded starts to spread across Britain on Friday. However, Saturday will be a 'change in condition' and the forecaster admitted there is 'uncertainty' ahead. As the week draws on there will be highs of 62.6F for much of the week, well above the average of 53.6F for this time of the year. However, as the weekend approaches he warned the threat of frost will increase will colder nights and temperatures as low as 24.8F. Western Scotland may even see as much as 20mm of rain over the May bank holiday weekend. As a dry April ends, May is looking set to be more unsettled. However, with summer fast approaching the toasty temperatures could return. Former Met Office meteorologist John Hammond said the UK's weather 'will go into reverse' this week. 'The mercury will go into reverse, with a cooler trend to end April,' he told the Mirror. 'Fresh waves of Arctic air mean a good chance, even across southern Britain, of temperatures falling close to or below freezing.' Mr Hammond added: 'One or two wintry showers are not ruled out later in the week, most likely on higher ground in the North.' Two Exmoor ponies with walnut-coloured fur grazed in green fields in the morning sunshine today near Dover Castle in Kent The medieval castle was built in the 11th century and historians have called it the 'key to England' owing to its defensive position on the British coast One of the emerald Liverbirds that sits on top of the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, was illuminated just before sunrise today The morning seemed rather mystical in Berkshire today as a light frost gave way to the warmer temperatures seen across much of the UK Brits sizzled in the sunshine on the last bank holiday ahead of splendid Easter Sunday after experiencing the hottest day of the year so far. Pictured: Girls from the Talk of the Coast show at The Viking Hotel in Blackpool show off their beach bodies After an early morning with some mist and fog, Easter Sunday was set to be a fine day with some 'spells of sunshine'. Pictured: Families enjoy the bright sunshine on the beach in Bournemouth, Dorset on Easter Sunday Forecasters say Easter Sunday will be cooler, with showers confined mainly to the north and west ahead of a wetter Monday. Pictured: Two women sunbathing on Wimbledon Common, south west London on Good Friday Colourful surfboards are out at Porthmeor beach in St Ives as people hit the waves to make the most of the warm, sunny spells on April 16 The mercury hit 23.4C in St James's Park in central London on Good Friday afternoon, the Met Office said, making it hottest day of the year so far - and warmer than California. Pictured: Sun-seekers flock to Brighton beach on first day of Easter holidays People enjoy the good weather at Bournemouth Beach in Dorset as the UK is set for another day of warm weather ahead of Easter Sunday The beach is busy as holidaymakers flock to Durdle Door in Dorset to enjoy the scorching hot sunshine on Easter Sunday Bournemouth university students Samira Al-Nasser (left) and Alice Hussein, both 23, soak up the Good Friday sun on Bournemouth Beach A hen do poses for photos as the ladies sit on their deck chairs on Brighton beach, Friday April 15, 2022 Jennifer Moore, 26, poses for a photo on the beach at St Annes-on-Sea, Friday April 15, 2022 On the bank holiday weekend and beyond temperatures are likely to stay the same and there will be sunny and dry spells with a smattering of rain across the north and in Scotland. The sun will shine especially brightly in Bristol, which is set for a glorious week of sunny weather and temperatures of up to a whopping 59F, while Brighton will also see warmer patches. Colder nights will see more frost and the evenings are more likely to see frost in rural areas of the countryside. Stuart Henderson enjoys sunshine from his beach hut on Bournemouth beach, Friday April 15, 2022 Huge crowds of sun-seekers enjoy a day out in Brighton at the start of the weekend, Friday April 15, 2022 People are pictured queueing for ice cream in Hyde Park, London on the hottest day of the year, April 15, 2022 People enjoy the water at Warleigh Weir on the river Avon near Bath in Somerset on Good Friday Bank Holiday A beautiful wild badger explores the bluebells in a wood in Battle, East Sussex, on April 15 amid glorious weather Horticulturist Rose Philpot tends to the labyrinth of daffodils and tulips that have bloomed due to the recent warm weather at Arundel Tulip festival at Arundel Castle in West Sussex The wind will only be lightly breezy, although the east coast may see stronger gusts as May goes on. There will be clear and sunny spells for most of the middle of May, although again conditions could change and bring a longer rainfall. Yet the end of May will see a return to warmer weather, which is likely to be a good sign for people looking ahead to a summer holiday. Bosses at Heathrow Airport warn the current surge in demand will subside in a 'winter freeze' as the UK's busiest flight hub expects to remain loss-making throughout 2022. The west London airport, which expects to see more than 52million passengers this year alone, is not expecting a return to profit-making despite a recent deluge of travellers. Passenger numbers are expected to return to around 65% of pre-pandemic levels, after Heathrow announced since it had lost 4billion since March 2020. But the airport's chief executive John Holland-Kaye warned demand remains 'very volatile' as fears of a fourth wave of Covid, skyrocketing global oil prices and the conflict in Ukraine all continue to affect consumer confidence. The airport is predicting a 'winter freeze' that will follow the bursting of a booming summer travel 'bubble', with major airlines already canning autumn flights. Heathrow hopes to further hike airlines' landing charges to accelerate it's recovery from the pandemic despite nine million travellers passing through the airportin the first three months of the year. It comes as thousands of passengers hoping for a relaxing Easter getaway were hit with huge queues at airports across the UK as the aviation industry buckled under a surge in last-minute bookings as Covid restrictions were slashed. Heathrow's chief executive John Holland-Kaye warned demand remains 'very volatile' as fears of a fourth wave of Covid, skyrocketing global oil prices and the conflict in Ukraine all continue to affect consumer confidence Passenger numbers are expected to return to around 65% of pre-pandemic levels, after Heathrow announced since it had lost 4billion since March 2020. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, April 23 Insurers refuse claims amid travel chaos Holidaymakers could be left thousands of pounds out of pocket because insurers will not cover claims for the current travel chaos. Since the disruption is now a known event from media reports, travel insurers may refuse to reimburse customers for money wasted on unused accommodation, car hire and excursions. Others are relying on Covid-related exclusions in the small print to deny claims. Martyn James, from complaints website Resolver, said: Just because we know Covid is prevalent does not mean we can treat flight disruption as a given. Insurers cannot absolve themselves of responsibility. Advertisement Some 9.7 million passengers travelled through Heathrow Airport in the first three months of the year, which was in line with forecasts. January and February were 'much weaker than expected' due to restrictions brought in to tackle the Omicron strain of Covid-19, according to Heathrow. But passenger numbers increased in March after the 'unexpectedly quick removal' of all UK travel restrictions on March 18. Mr Holland-Kaye told BBC R4's Today programme that the airport was seeing a 'wave of pent-up demand' since Covid travel restrictions were axed on March 18. But he believes the outlook for air travel remains 'quite uncertain' after the summer with existing pressures on the wider economy expected to bite down hard on the pockets on millions of British families. 'We've got the risk of 4th wave, higher oil prices, lower GDP growth and of course war in Ukraine that puts a lot of passengers off coming to Europe and particularly into the UK', he explained. 'That's why we've got a bit of an uncertain outlook but we are doing everything we can to make sure passengers travelling through Heathrow over the summer have a fantastic experience they can expect.' It comes as passengers are set to be hit with increasing ticket prices despite two years of travel chaos since the onset of the pandemic. Heathrow increased landing fees by a third in January, and has plans to increase by up to 90 per cent over the next five years, reports the Telegraph. Mr Holland-Kaye defended any future rise in costs as an 'affordable' plan that will help passengers with a 'smooth and predictable journey through the airport'. Heathrow's passenger numbers increased in March after the 'unexpectedly quick removal' of all UK travel restrictions on March 18 Passengers are set to be hit with increasing ticket prices despite two years of travel chaos since the onset of the pandemic Heathrow boss says passport application processing delays are 'really disappointing' Delays in processing passport applications are 'really disappointing', the boss of Heathrow Airport has said. Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said it is 'vital' that people can go on holiday this summer in case the UK reintroduces coronavirus travel restrictions. It emerged on Monday that the Passport Office is dealing with a backlog in applications. Mr Holland-Kaye said: 'Normally the Passport Office is very slick in processing passports. It's really disappointing to hear (about delays). 'If it's not resolved, it is going to mean that people can't get away. 'After two years of lockdown, we need to make sure people can have a good holiday because many of them have vouchers that they've been saving up, they've got trips of a lifetime that they've put on hold, and we don't know when things might get closed down again. 'Making the most of the summer is vital.' The House of Commons heard about one woman who has waited more than five months to receive her daughter's new passport, with services branded 'either really very good or an absolute shambles'. Home Office minister Kevin Foster said said the Passport Office dealt with a million applications last month, compared with seven million per year before the pandemic. Conservative MP Simon Hoare described the backlog as 'unprecedented, true, but foreseeable, absolutely'. Advertisement Airlines including British Airways and EasyJet have already slashed thousands of flights in the previous month, with industry insiders fearing the worst is yet to come. BA boss Sean Doyle originally told staff in an internal message that flights would be cancelled until the end of next month, partly due to staff shortages. There are fears that other carriers could also be hit with issues after easyJet cancelled hundreds of flights over Easter - with BA axing at least 101 short haul flights to or from Heathrow on Tuesday. The transport chaos over Easter saw flights to destinations into Europe and the US cancelled by BA and easyJet as they were hit by Covid absences, lack of staff and a surge in demand for travel as restrictions were lifted. MPs have since called for an 'automatic refund' for holidaymakers whose travel plans are affected by cancellations or last-minute alterations. A report by the Commons transport committee called for the industry regulator to be handed new powers to fine airlines which fail to pay compensation quickly for cancelled or delayed flights. Heathrow said more than 95% of passengers got through security within five minutes during the Easter getaway. It added that it is 'planning to continue delivering a good service over a busy summer' by reopening Terminal 4 by July and recruiting more than 1,000 new security officers. A Heathrow spokesman told MailOnline: 'Demand remains very volatile and we expect these passenger numbers to drop off significantly after the summer. 'We are already seeing airlines cancelling services into the autumn and the realities of higher fuel costs, lower GDP growth, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing pandemic will drag on demand. 'We are still in a pandemic, with many markets still closed, nearly 80% with testing and vaccination requirements, and another variant of concern could see the return of UK travel restrictions.' Heathrow has said it plans to recruit 1,000 new security staff and will reopen Terminal 4, which has sat dormant during the pandemic. The airport will also 'assisting' airlines, ground handlers and retailers fill more than 12,000 vacancies across its own services. Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: 'I want to thank colleagues who worked very hard to ensure the start of 2022 has gone to plan, and I want to reassure passengers that we're redoubling our efforts to ensure this summer's journeys go safely and smoothly.' A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: 'With remaining UK travel restrictions now removed, Heathrow is set to be the busiest airport in Europe this year. Virgin Atlantic is expecting to reach 100% of 2019 Heathrow passenger flying levels during the summer peak with forward bookings well into the year recovering strongly. 'Despite the return of travel at scale, Heathrow is seeding doubt in the strength of demand so it can seek excess returns to shareholders and secure an unjustified increase in charges that would hurt UK competitiveness and consumers. 'We urge the CAA to ignore Heathrows cynical forecasts and conflicting statements, choosing instead the credible, independent evidence of returning demand, in order to make a decision on charges that puts consumers first. 'Already Europes most expensive airport, charges were hiked 56% at the start of 2022 and as passengers return in greater numbers, there is also a clear case for this interim increase to be rolled back. 'The Transport Select Committee carefully considered the issue this week and rightly concluded that the CAAs final proposals must be based on accurate recovery data to achieve a fair decision.' Advertisement A new multi-million pound council headquarters has been left virtually empty while staff continue to work from home, it has been claimed, as civil servants in London continue to do the same with the latest figures showing some Government departments are less than half full. New Shire Hall, the newly built headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council, was opened last summer in Alconbury at a cost of 18million to the taxpayer but social distancing measures still in place at the council mean it is yet to reach full capacity. Critics said the decision to continue limited use of the building 'beggars belief' and said it was 'costing residents money'. It comes as the Civil Service is resisting attempts by ministers to force them to ditch working from home and return to Whitehall. London ministries are said to be less than half-full despite the efforts of Jacob Rees-Mogg to pry them from their spare rooms and kitchen tables. Mr Rees-Mogg's attempts to end WFH, including leaving notes on empty desks, have not been backed by other ministers, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries accusing him of a 'Dickensian' approach to the issue. The Cabinet is also said to have backed away from the idea of stripping London weighting from the salaries of people who are still not yet commuting back into the capital. Critics of home working claim it makes staff less productive and creative, damages career prospects and harms the economies of town centres. In Cambridgeshire, reports suggest the county council's brand new head office remains largely unoccupied due to lingering Covid social distancing measures which mean many staff members are still working from home - despite the Government scrapping WFH advice earlier this year. Cambridgeshire County Council reportedly still has the majority of staff members working from home or at alternative venues meaning the brand new building has yet to reach full occupancy. According to the Telegraph, the building is operating with a skeleton staff as a result of 'Covid guidelines'. A notice on the council's website, updated on March 25, states that all county council buildings, including those with reception services, are closed to the public due to Covid-19 regulations. The Government's work from home advice was scrapped in England back in January as the nation's focus moved to Living with Covid and returning to pre-pandemic lifestyles. Even patients in hospitals and GP surgeries are no longer advised to socially distance, although masks are still a requirement in NHS healthcare settings. The new multi-million pound Cambridgeshire County Council headquarters (pictured) has been left virtually empty while staff continue to work from home, it has been claimed, as council bosses continue to enforce social distancing measures The new building in Alconbury replaced the former county council headquarters (pictured) based at Shire Hall in Cambridge Despite this, members of the public in Cambridgeshire have reported being told that there are no staff working at the county council's new headquarters due to Covid guidelines. The Telegraph reported that there were as few as three cars in the car park of the 18million building. The council, run by a Liberal Democrat-Labour coalition, has yet to disclose how many staff members are currently working from home or exactly what Covid guidelines the council was still enforcing. Council documents published last month show that even full council meetings are still being held at external venues due to 'the requirement for social distancing'. The document, presented to the Strategy and Resources Committee, reads: 'While the severity of the pandemic has reduced over recent months, COVID-19 remains a threat. 'A local authority meeting that was held recently has reportedly resulted in a significant number of participants contracting COVID-19. 'As a result of this, the MFR (multi-function room) will not be suitable for use for Full Council until the requirement for social distancing is removed under Public Health guidance and safety risk assessments. 'CCC will continue to use alternative venues that provides sufficient space for social distancing until it is deemed safe to reduce or remove the requirement for social distancing.' Despite acknowledging that the MFR 'formed part of the core design requirements' for the building, the document also outlines concerns over its suitability as a venue for full council meetings. It states that members have raised concerns over the safety and security of councillors due to the proximity of the public gallery to the councillors' seating area. The report highlighted that the council chamber previously used in the old Shire Hall headquarters had a first floor balcony that physically separated councillors and the public, for 'all but the most determined persons, [for example] those attempting to bring abseiling equipment into the building'. The council has refuted claims that the building is unused but has not disclosed exactly how many members of staff are working there. The note (pictured left) which was left on empty desks at Whitehall by Jacob Rees-Mogg (right) who has been campaigning for civil service's return to work and has recently started patrolling government departments to carry out headcounts Figures show that some departments are less than half full (pictured: Foreign and Commonwealth Office earlier this year) It has been suggested that the numbers will increase as 'virus levels continue to decline' but has not shared a timeline on how or when this would happen. PM backs Jacob Rees-Mogg's drive to get civil servants back to their Whitehall desks Boris Johnson backed Jacob Rees-Mogg's drive to get civil servants back to their Whitehall desks - despite a Cabinet row erupting over the 'Dickensian' campaign. Mr Rees-Mogg, the Cabinet minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, is currently leading Government efforts to end home-working practices among officials after the Covid pandemic. In his determination to fill Whitehall offices again, Mr Rees-Mogg was revealed to have been conducting personal headcounts of officials in some Government departments. He has also left notices in offices for civil servants not at their desks, which read: 'Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.' Mr Rees-Mogg's notes have been branded 'supremely passive aggressive' and 'patronising' by critics. And his campaign to end work from home (WFH) for civil servants has also enraged some of his fellow Cabinet ministers. The Times reported that Mr Rees-Mogg gave a presentation to Cabinet last week, which included a league table highlighting the departments where the fewest staff had returned to work. According to the newspaper, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries voiced her objections to Mr Rees-Mogg's campaign and said that the focus should be on civil servants' productivity. She told him that his letter to government departments brought to mind 'images of burning tallow, rheumy eyes and Marley's ghost (from A Christmas Carol)'. Ms Dorries added: 'There's a whiff of something Dickensian about it. Why are we measuring bodies behind desks? Why aren't we measuring productivity?' Several other Cabinet ministers are also said to have reservations about the campaign to force civil servants back to their Whitehall desks. Mr Rees-Mogg wouldn't comment on the dispute, which was described as 'good natured' by one Government source. In reference to Cabinet confidentiality rules, Mr Rees-Mogg told PA: 'If it's leaks from Cabinet, I'll comment under the 30-year rule when we're all a little bit older.' Despite the concerns among other Cabinet ministers, the Prime Minister yesterday offered strong backing for Mr Rees-Mogg's efforts. Mr Johnson's official spokesman said Mr Rees-Mogg was seeking to 'do everything possible to get the civil service to return to the pre-pandemic level'. They added: 'That is what he is seeking to do. That is supported by the Cabinet Secretary (Simon Case) and obviously the Prime Minister.' Asked if the notes left on desks by Mr Rees-Mogg were helpful, the spokesman said the PM 'supports any initiative that encourages people to return to pre-pandemic working'. 'We are not talking about putting an end to flexible working, which continues to have a place in the modern workplace, we are talking about returning to pre-pandemic use of taxpayer-funded departmental buildings,' they continued. Advertisement Jake Berry, the Conservative MP and former minister told the Telegraph: 'There is little or no reason whatsoever that people working for Cambridgeshire County Council should not go back to work. 'We have seen Covid restrictions rolled back across the country and it beggars belief that the only place they haven't heard about this is in Cambridgeshire.' Steve Count, Cambridgeshire county councillor and leader of the conservatives, said the move was a 'politically motivated attack' on the building which was commissioned by the Tories under a former administration. He said: 'The purpose built New Shire Hall is a fantastic new asset, commissioned by the Conservative administration when they were in charge, which should be delivering over 40m of savings for the Taxpayers of Cambridgeshire. 'It's a shame that the new Liberal Democrat and Labour alliance are continuing to not occupy this excellent building and adding further unnecessary expense on to our hard pressed residents. 'Covid excuses are their thin disguise to what is essentially a politically motivated attack, that is costing our residents money.' However, council leader Lucy Nethsingha hit back at the claim which she branded 'disgraceful', insisting that council staff continued to work 'incredibly hard' despite working from home. She said: 'Not only has New Shire Hall been open for public meetings since May last year, but the comment from Conservative MP Jake Berry that 'people working for Cambridgeshire County Council should go back to work' is deeply offensive. 'Staff at Cambridgeshire County Council have worked incredibly hard over the past 3 years to support thousands of vulnerable people under extremely difficult circumstances. 'To have this comment from a Conservative MP shows just how out of touch they are with the phenomenal efforts that all those working in public services have put in during the pandemic. 'Our staff have worked above and beyond the call of duty during the pandemic to keep people safe in their homes, they have struggled with home schooling while coping with ever changing government advice and guidance.' Ms Nethsingha also said it was 'inaccurate' to suggest the building was largely unused but did not comment on the impact of the council's use of social distancing and Covid guidelines on the building's occupancy. Newly appointed chief executive Stephen Moir answered critics in a tweet he put out yesterday. 'Reflecting upon issues of work, workplace and workforce. 'IMHO, work is what you do, let's not confuse or conflate this with where you do it from,' he wrote. 'Workplace can describe a range of settings & locations, some fixed, some variable, some virtual, so let's instead focus on outcomes' Labour leader Elisa Meschini said 'plenty of staff' work in the building including the council's chief executive who is in every day. She added: 'I firmly believe that work is something you do - not a place you go. 'Like the leader of the council I find it totally offensive for anyone to suggest that our staff who include social workers, reablement staff, school welfare teams, highways maintenance crews, librarians, registrars have not been working flat out over the course of the pandemic. 'I couldn't be prouder of them or our record during the pandemic and beyond and anyone who suggests this is not the case has no clue whatsoever about how local authorities serve local people day in and day out. 'Where people need to be in our buildings they are, and we will continue to support them working from where ever they can do this the most effectively.' A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council said essential public services have been running throughout the pandemic from a 'range of workplaces and settings'. Pictured: Inside the council's brand new headquarters in Alconbury which is not being used at full capacity due to Covid rules Conservative MP Jake Berry (pictured) said there is 'little or no reason' people should not be back at work in Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire County Council says New Shire Hall is just one of several buildings from which the council operates from It said New Shire Hall was just one of multiple buildings that the council operates from and that many public facing services are operated from other sites. The spokesman added: 'The Government's Living with Covid plan does remove the restrictions at a national level. 'However Cambridgeshire has remained stubbornly high in respect of both positive case numbers and hospitalisation rates so our local Public Health professional advice has been, until late last week, to continue to apply social distancing and the use of face coverings in our Council owned premises. 'These measures do not and have not prevented reoccupation of our buildings, and as virus levels and hospitalisation rates have started to fall, we are planning for changes to this advice, but fully expect hybrid work to continue where this supports staff well-being, recruitment and retention and good outcomes for the people of Cambridgeshire.' The situation in Cambridgeshire reflects that of the Civil Service in London where many staff members continue to work from home despite the removal of Covid restrictions. Jacob Rees-Mogg recently started patrolling government departments to find out how many are still empty after lockdown restrictions lifted. And it emerged at the weekend that when he makes his unannounced visits, he leaves behind messages that are politely worded but whose meaning is clear. They state: 'Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.' They are signed 'with every good wish' and carry his name and title. The country's most senior civil servant, Simon Case, had privately warned Johnson against forcing officials back to the office It is understood Mr Rees-Mogg, in charge of civil service reform, left a number of the notes in his Cabinet Office department several days ago. Mr Rees-Mogg has written to Cabinet ministers calling on them to issue a clear message to staff about a 'rapid return to the office'. Downing Street said Boris Johnson supported Mr Rees-Mogg's efforts. 'What the minister is seeking to achieve is to do everything possible to get the civil service to return to the pre-pandemic level,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said. 'That is what he is seeking to do. That is supported by the Cabinet Secretary and obviously the Prime Minister.' But the Guardian later reported that the country's most senior civil servant, Simon Case, had in fact privately warned Mr Johnson against forcing officials back to the office. The newspaper said at least four permanent secretaries were also understood to have voiced concerns about the Government's rhetoric on the matter. Asked if the notes left on desks by Mr Rees-Mogg were helpful, the PM's spokesman said Mr Johnson 'supports any initiative that encourages people to return to pre-pandemic working'. Dave Penman, the secretary general of the Civil service union, criticised Government's 'obsession' with returning to the office 'We are not talking about putting an end to flexible working, which continues to have a place in the modern workplace, we are talking about returning to pre-pandemic use of taxpayer-funded departmental buildings.' The Times reported that Ms Dorries' response was highly critical of Mr Rees-Mogg's approach. Mr Rees-Mogg presented figures to Cabinet last week showing that some Government departments were using as little as 25 per cent of office capacity in early April - the figure for Ms Dorries' Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was 43 per cent. While the number of staff at their desks in Whitehall has increased in recent weeks, it remains well below pre-pandemic levels despite the end of Covid curbs. The Department for Education had just 25 per cent of staff in the office in the week beginning April 4 although officials said the school holidays meant it was not representative. WFH officials will be ordered back to desks if they're looking after children during office hours Civil servants will be forced back into the office if they are found to be looking after their children when they are supposedly working from home, it has been revealed. Staff at major government agencies have been warned against taking advantage of the new 'hybrid working' arrangements that allow them to spend only two or three days a week at their desks. Internal HR policies obtained by the Daily Mail make clear that working remotely cannot be used as a way to avoid paying for childcare or putting in fewer hours, and that employees' privileges can be removed if their performance is found to be suffering. Advertisement Despite multiple pressures on the Home Office, including migrant crossings and processing visas for Ukrainian refugees, on average only 42 per cent of staff were at their workplace. The Foreign Office, a key department responding to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, saw just 31 per cent of staff in its King Charles Street building that week. And despite the cost of living crisis, the Department for Work and Pensions had just 27 per cent of its civil servants at their desks. Astonishingly, the figures could overestimate the numbers in the office as some departments recorded the figures by asking security staff to click people in and then loosely adjusted the figures to account for lunch breaks. Other departments used data from pass readers. The figures suggest that a plea issued by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay three months ago for departments to return to full occupancy fell on deaf ears. Mr Rees-Mogg used a Mail on Sunday article to warn that officials may lose the London weighting on their pay or see their jobs moved elsewhere if they were not at their desks. 'Essentially, if people are not back in their office it will be fair to assume that the job does not need to be in London,' he said. Responding to the reports in The Guardian, a Government spokesperson said: 'We want to see office attendance across the civil service consistently back at normal, pre-pandemic levels. 'There is total agreement across Government on there being clear benefits from face-to-face, collaborative working and we know that this is particularly important for the learning and development of new members of staff. 'The minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency has written to departments to underline the importance of workplace attendance and request that they review their existing guidance on the minimum number of days staff work in the office.' Last week, union bosses accused ministers of being 'vindictive' and 'obsessed' with working from home. Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA civil service union, accused Jacob Rees-Mogg of being 'vindictive' and obsessed with ending flexible working after the minister demanded mandarins return to Westminster. Penman stressed that 'there is no rationale' for this approach, as 'ministers can't point to productivity losses' linked to increased hybrid working in the civil service. He also warned that, if the Cabinet insists 'on micro-managing the civil service' in this way, it will 'only deter good people from joining while simultaneously demotivating those already there'. Advertisement A further group of Just Stop Oil protesters are set to be arrested today after breaching an injunction by standing in front of an oil terminal holding placards saying 'dangerous radicals' and 'if only they listened to petitions'. The 16 activists outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire said police approached them to say they would be arrested for breaching an injunction which stops them demonstrating at Britain's largest inland oil storage depot. The group of protesters held white signs saying 'investing in new fossil fuels is moral and economic madness'; 'oil is stealing my future'; 'don't stop us - stop oil'; 'we are breaking the injunction'; and 'dangerous criminals'. Valero Energy, the Texas-based company which owns the Kingsbury oil terminal, secured a first injunction on April 11 which stops anyone from damaging the land at its sites or 'affixing themselves to any other person or object'. Three days later on April 14, a second injunction was granted in the High Court for North Warwickshire Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police, which gives the authorities more powers of arrest. Just Stop Oil, which is linked to the wider Extinction Rebellion group, said any arrested protesters are likely to face a charge of contempt of court - and could then face an unlimited fine or up two years in prison if found guilty. Warwickshire Police confirmed the protesters arrived at 7.30am and said at 11am that 'a number of arrests have been made'. The force could not yet give a confirmed number because the activists were being processed. These Just Stop Oil protesters demonstrating outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today are set to be arrested The activists outside Kingsbury today said police approached them to say they would be arrested for breaching the injunction The protesters are today breaching an injunction granted to Valero Energy, the Texas-based company which owns Kingsbury Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue One former NHS doctor at today's protest said: 'I'm not a criminal, I've worked 32 years in the NHS as a doctor. But I'm risking arrest and imprisonment simply by standing here today breaking an injunction against protesting about new fossil fuels. It's not a big ask that our Government, one of their climate pledges, stop new UK oil.' Another protester added: 'I'm here because we are receiving warnings like 'it's now or never', 'code red for humanity', 'direct existential threat', things like that - and we are extremely concerned that we are expanding production of fossil fuels. So we're here to demand that we stop doing that, it's very simple.' The organisation has been blocking oil terminals and tankers across England including in Birmingham, Essex and Hampshire since April 1 and said nearly 1,000 arrests have now been made over the past month. It said disruption would continue 'until the Government makes a statement that it will end new oil and gas projects in the UK'. Just Stop Oil protester Amy Pritchard, 37, a care worker from London, said prior to the demonstration at Kingsbury today: 'If my imprisonment helps wake people up to the seriousness of the situation, it's worth it. 'The UN Secretary-General clearly states 'fossil fuels are a dead end' and 'delay means death'. No new oil and gas is not a controversial demand. I want to have children and I want them to have a future.' Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue One of the Just Stop Oil demonstrators stands outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire this morning Just Stop Oil said any arrested protesters outside the Kingsbury oil terminal are likely to face a charge of contempt of court These Just Stop Oil protesters demonstrating outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today are set to be arrested She was quoting a statement by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in February in which he said 'fossil fuels are a dead end for our planet, for humanity, and yes, for economies'. Sarah Webb, 51, a special educational needs tutor from Oxfordshire, was also involved in the demonstration today. Speaking prior to the action, she said: 'I'm injunction breaking at Kingsbury and risking two years in prison, to stand peacefully on a grass verge, not blocking anything. 'Our Government and judicial system have now effectively outlawed peaceful protest. Is this Russia, is this China? No, it's the UK. 'It's down to us ordinary people now. Can you trust the government to do what is right and end new fossil fuel licences? Can you trust the fossil fuel companies to stop drilling and start building wind turbines? No, me neither. So we all need to stand up and force the government to take action.' Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue Just Stop Oil said any arrested protesters outside the Kingsbury oil terminal are likely to face a charge of contempt of court The group of protesters held white signs today saying 'investing in new fossil fuels is moral and economic madness' Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue The demonstration in Warwickshire today comes after nearly 1,000 arrests have already been made over the past month Warwickshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Dave Gardner said: 'The High Court injunction remains in place and I would strongly advise against people coming to Kingsbury to conduct any protest activity. 'Although the force respects the right to the peaceful protest, we will always take action against anyone found to be acting outside of the law. 'If you are believed to be in breach of the order, officers will arrest you and you will be taken into police custody until you have to appear before the courts. 'A number of arrests have been made this morning and our priority continues to be to minimise any disruption to the community and the local road networks, while ensuring the terminal can go about its day-to-day operational activity. 'A heightened police presence will remain in the area as we deal with the protesters and continue to protect the public from harm. 'I would like to thank the local community for their continued patience. It remains a challenging time but we are working in conjunction with our partners to minimise any disruption.' A French policeman has been arrested and placed in custody after he shot dead two people and injured a third when their car refused to stop at a checkpoint at a popular Parisian tourist site. The shooting occurred on the ancient Pont Neuf in the heart of the French capital on Sunday night, as partisans of French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated his re-election. The unidentified officer has admitted opening fire with his police-issue Heckler and Kock G36 assault rifle after the car - a Volkswagen Polo - came speeding towards his patrol on the historic bridge. An investigating source said the car was speeding away from officers who had jumped out of the way when the policeman in question began shooting. 'The claim by the officers is that they were being targeted by the car,' said the source. 'They got out of the way, and then one of them starting shooting with his Heckler & Koch assault rifle.' The driver of the car was killed behind the wheel, while the front-seat passenger was shot dead as he leapt from the car and began running away. A third man, who was in the back seat of the car, was wounded in the arm and is recovering in hospital. The officer meanwhile was taken into custody and is under investigation for 'intentional violence resulting in unintentional death,' said a spokesman for the IGPN the French police unit that investigates alleged crimes carried out by officers. The vehicle was driving against traffic on the Pont Neuf in Paris on Sunday night, and was trying to hit the officers, who then opened fire, according to a police source Police investigate the site of a shooting where two people were shot dead by police in Paris on Sunday night A dozen shots were fired from the policemen's HK G36 according to the investigation's initial reports, of which 'five or six impacted the individuals'. None of the unarmed victims involved have been identified, but police say the two individuals who were killed were known to be involved in the drugs trade. The backseat passenger who is currently recovering in hospital was not known to the police. Four other officers who were with the shooter are considered key witnesses and have been interviewed at length about the incident. Meanwhile, a taxi driver who was interviewed at the scene has 'confirmed the police acted legitimately in self-defence', according to a police source cited by Le Monde. A parallel enquiry has been opened by the Paris prosecutor into the 'attempted killing of public officials'. The bloodbath happened at around midnight on Sunday, soon after the re-election of French president Emmanuel Macron. Crowds were in the Pont Neuf area, some of them on the way back from Macron's victory speech by the Eiffel Tower. The Pont Neuf dates back to 1578 and is one Paris' most famous tourist spots, typically bustling with people. A security perimeter had been set up at the scene in the heart of the capital shortly after the shooting According to Le Monde, the Volkswagen Polo arrived at Pont Neuf with its hazard lights illuminated and came to a stop close to the checkpoint. When police officers approached the car, it launched 'at speed towards one of the officials who jumped aside to avoid the oncoming vehicle.' There was no return of fire from those inside the car, none of whom are thought to have been armed. 'It seems that they were simply in a car that was being driven erratically,' said a police source. There were no early clues pointing to a link with the presidential election, or any terrorist acts. A security perimeter was set up at the scene in the heart of the capital and the public prosecutor Laure Beccuau arrived shortly after. A woman was handcuffed, threatened with weapons, raped and beaten in a nightmare four-day ordeal after she was kidnapped by a man she met on a dating app. Robert Wilson, 35, pleaded guilty to multiple charges in Victoria's County Court on Tuesday over the sickening attacks on the 39-year-old. The woman - who is just 45kg compared to Wilson's 105kg frame - met him through dating app Badoo before she was locked inside a bedroom at his house at Darley in Melbourne's northwestern suburbs from March 25 to 29 in 2019. The court heard the room was rigged so that the moment she stepped outside the bedroom door into a hallway an alarm would be triggered to notify the father-of-two, The Herald Sun reports. Neighbours have claimed Wilson (pictured) continued about his daily activities while keeping the woman captive The woman (pictured) was only released from Wilson's home after her friend Thein Truong, contacted the father-of-two on Facebook asking for information on her whereabouts Throughout the woman's horror ordeal Wilson threatened to kill the her while pointing a spear-gun at her head. He also held a knife to her throat when she tried to call a friend for help. As he held the woman hostage, he demanded large amounts of cash be transferred to him and told the her he would 'pimp her out' to make money. Wilson (pictured) pleaded guilty in Victoria's County Court to multiple charges Wilson raped the defenceless woman on 18 occasions, beat her with an iron bar, threw her around the room, stomped on her stomach, and strangled her. She told the court in a statement she felt humiliated and that her injuries were so bad she could not see because her eyes were swollen. 'The only thing I could think of is 'I must stay alive. I must get out of this situation',' the woman of Vietnamese heritage said. The court was also told the woman's friends desperately searched for her as she was missing, publicly posting on Facebook and trying to locate Wilson's house. She was released back to her home in the suburb of Richmond on the condition her friends deleted the posts and did not go to authorities. However, her friends were so shocked at her injuries they convinced the terrified woman to go to a police station where an ambulance was immediately called. Wilson pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, rape, theft and intentionally causing injury. His pre-sentencing hearing continues on Wednesday. For support services call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline 13 11 14. A cosmetic surgeon risks losing his 1.25m family home after a decade-long bitter spat with his ex-wife has cost the pair hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal bills. Dr Adam Greenbaum married former nurse Barbara Lockwood in 2006 and they settled and had two children in his Forest Hill home 'gifted' to him by his father. But two years after relocating to New Zealand in 2009, the couple split and began their 'destructive litigation that has lasted ever since'. The surgeon was ordered to pay his ex-wife a lump sum of 216,000 by a New Zealand divorce judge in 2016, but Ms Lockwood claims she has already spent it all during their legal battles. Dr Greenbaum then won a separate court ruling in 2018, ensuring he was now owed 225,000 to cover Ms Lockwood's share of the couple's joints debts. In the latest twist in the former lovers' long-running saga, Ms Lockwood was granted permission to bring proceedings to London's High Court as she fights for her share of the couple's 1.25m former London home. Presiding over their latest divorce row, Mr Justice Philip Moor described the case as being 'expensive and thoroughly damaging' to the pair who 'only have themselves to blame'. And he went on to warn that the new 'no fault' divorces will not stop savage court fights if couples refuse to act 'reasonably' towards each other. Top cosmetic surgeon Dr Adam Greenbaum married former nurse Barbara Lockwood in 2006 and they settled and had two children in his Forest Hill home 'gifted' to him by his father But in the latest twist in the former lovers' long-running saga, Ms Lockwood was granted permission to bring proceedings to the High Court as she fights for her share of the couple's 1.25m former London home (pictured above) While the court in New Zealand had ordered a 215,000 payout for Ms Greenwood, judges had also ruled that she had no claim there for a share of their detached 1.25m south London house. She was however liable to pay back 225,000 to her ex to cover her half of the 'relationship debt' they accumulated by borrowing money from Dr Greenbaum's mum to do up the house and emigrate, the New Zealand judges ruled. That order left the wife penniless, heavily in debt to her surgeon ex and at one stage facing a bid by him to make her bankrupt. She has now been granted permission to fight her case against the 'unfairness' of the New Zealand rulings in London's High Court. Granting her application, Mr Justice Moor bemoaned the 'sad and troubling' case, saying it would 'appear to me that Mr Greenbaum was arguing that Ms Lockwood should share in the liabilities but not the assets'. 'I do not find his approach attractive,' the judge added. 'I heard the case on the day on which the new 'no fault' divorce provisions came into force in this jurisdiction following the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020,' Mr Justice Moor added. 'Whilst extremely welcome, this new law will not end the sort of attritional litigation in relation to ancillary matters, such as financial remedies, seen so vividly in this case, unless the parties recognise that such an approach is entirely destructive, extremely expensive and thoroughly damaging to everyone involved. 'To date, these parties have not so recognised,' the judge said, adding that 'neither party (had) behaved reasonably' during their battle down under. Campaigners have heralded new 'no fault separation' as the biggest shake up of divorce law in half a century, and a 'hallelujah moment' for couples wishing to split without apportioning blame and dredging up the past. But some experts fear it will usher in a flurry of divorces from partnerships that could still be saved by counselling or other means, while others say it fails to protect people in abusive partnerships or properly deal with the issue of money. The New Zealand judges had observed that 'Ms Lockwood's perception of unfairness is acknowledged,' and suggested she would have to fight her case in England, he said. 'Any claim by Ms Lockwood that she has an interest in the house can only be determined by an English court,' he continued. 'I consider Ms Lockwood had virtually no alternative other than to apply for permission in this jurisdiction to bring an application*for financial provision following an overseas divorce. 'The fact that the foreign court could not deal with the property was of crucial significance.' The new 'no fault' divorce law will 'help couples move forward' and enable them to 'secure the best outcome for their family without unnecessary conflict', campaigners say Lawyers for the husband argued that to let the wife fight her case again in the English court would be giving her an unfair 'second bite of the cherry.' But granting her the right to fight in London, the judge said: 'The simple fact is that the New Zealand court was constrained by New Zealand law to take into account the liability for the cost of the works done to the house, but not able to take into account the value of the asset itself. 'Nothing I have said in this judgment should be taken as my having given any indication as to the likely outcome of the claim, other than that Ms Lockwood is entitled to permission to make it. 'In one sense, it is a great shame that this extremely long running and bitter litigation now has to be dealt with yet again. 'These parties have, to date, been completely incapable of agreeing anything. 'I urge these parties finally to see sense and come to a sensible agreement, whether by mediation or other similar dispute resolution,' he concluded. The Civil Service is resisting attempts by ministers to force them to ditch working from home and return to Whitehall. London ministries are said to be less than half-full despite the efforts of Jacob Rees-Mogg to pry them from their spare rooms and kitchen tables. Mr Rees-Mogg's zealous attempts to end WFH, including leaving notes on empty desks, have not been backed by other ministers, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries accusing him of a 'Dickensian' approach to the issue. The Cabinet is also said to have backed away from the idea of stripping London weighting from the salaries of people who are still not yet commuting back into the capital. Dave Penman, the secretary general of the Civil service's FDA union, said: 'Hybrid working can save taxpayers millions by reducing the government estate and the pandemic showed that effective public services can be delivered regardless of where staff are placed.' London ministries are said to be less than half-full despite the efforts of Jacob Rees-Mogg to pry them from their spare rooms and kitchen tables. The Guardian reported that the country's most senior civil servant, Simon Case, had privately warned Mr Johnson against forcing officials back to the office Dave Penman, the secretary general of the Civil service's FDA union, said: 'Hybrid working can save taxpayers millions by reducing the government estate and the pandemic showed that effective public services can be delivered regardless of where staff are placed.' Mr Rees-Mogg has written to Cabinet ministers calling on them to issue a clear message to staff about a 'rapid return to the office' and has been leaving notes in empty Whitehall workspaces with the message: 'I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.' Downing Street said Boris Johnson supported Mr Rees-Mogg's efforts. 'What the minister is seeking to achieve is to do everything possible to get the civil service to return to the pre-pandemic level,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said. 'That is what he is seeking to do. That is supported by the Cabinet Secretary and obviously the Prime Minister.' But the Guardian later reported that the country's most senior civil servant, Simon Case, had in fact privately warned Mr Johnson against forcing officials back to the office. The newspaper said at least four permanent secretaries were also understood to have voiced concerns about the Government's rhetoric on the matter Asked if the notes left on desks by Mr Rees-Mogg were helpful, the PM's spokesman said Mr Johnson 'supports any initiative that encourages people to return to pre-pandemic working'. 'We are not talking about putting an end to flexible working, which continues to have a place in the modern workplace, we are talking about returning to pre-pandemic use of taxpayer-funded departmental buildings.' The Times reported that Ms Dorries' response was highly critical of Mr Rees-Mogg's approach. Mr Rees-Mogg presented figures to Cabinet last week showing that some Government departments were using as little as 25 per cent of office capacity in early April - the figure for Ms Dorries' Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was 43 per cent. Ms Dorries told him his letter to Government departments brought to mind 'images of burning tallow, rheumy eyes and Marley's ghost' - a reference to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The Times reported she said: 'There's a whiff of something Dickensian about it. Why are we measuring bodies behind desks? Why aren't we measuring productivity?' Ms Dorries told him his letter to Government departments brought to mind 'images of burning tallow, rheumy eyes and Marley's ghost' - a reference to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1938 film version, below). The two ministers have long disagreed about the need to return to places of work following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. But the dispute between the two was 'good natured', one Government source said. Mr Rees-Mogg would not comment on the row, citing Cabinet confidentiality rules. Unions have objected to Mr Rees-Mogg's approach, with warnings his stance is damaging civil service morale. Mr Penman warned that 'good people will leave and the civil service brand is trashed in a highly competitive employment market'. Mr Rees-Mogg used a Mail on Sunday article to warn that officials may lose the London weighting on their pay or see their jobs moved elsewhere if they were not at their desks. 'Essentially, if people are not back in their office it will be fair to assume that the job does not need to be in London,' he said. Responding to the reports in The Guardian, a Government spokesperson said: 'We want to see office attendance across the civil service consistently back at normal, pre-pandemic levels. 'There is total agreement across Government on there being clear benefits from face-to-face, collaborative working and we know that this is particularly important for the learning and development of new members of staff. 'The minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency has written to departments to underline the importance of workplace attendance and request that they review their existing guidance on the minimum number of days staff work in the office.' A family are campaigning to restrict how involved killer parents can be in the upbringing of their children, after their daughter was murdered by her estranged husband. The family of Jade Marsh - also known as Jade Ward - are campaigning to create a law in her name, after she was murdered by Russell Marsh in August last year. The 29-year-old was handed a life sentence for the brutal attack that saw Ms Ward, 27, die at his hands. He will serve at least 15 years in prison after he stabbed, slashed and strangled the Shotton mother yards away from their sleeping children. Despite being locked up for killing their mother, Marsh still holds his parental responsibility over their four boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Ms Ward's family are petitioning for 'Jade's Law', to ensure that no other families going through similar circumstances have to face the killer when making decisions about the children's lives. Jade Ward, 27, had ended her relationship with her 'controlling' husband the week before he murdered her Russell Marsh, 29, still holds his parental responsibility over their four boys because imprisonment does not automatically restrict parental responsibility In the UK, imprisonment does not automatically restrict parental responsibility. This can only happen following a voluntary agreement or if the other parent takes the incarcerated parent to court. This means Marsh still has control over various aspects of their welfare such as their future medical needs or if they are ever taken out of the country. If the family wanted to take any of the four boys on holiday somewhere outside the UK, Marsh would have to give his permission. This would be done through a family court hearing. Family friend Edwin Duggan - a law graduate - was approached by Ms Ward's mother Karen Robinson (pictured) for help with the campaign Ms Ward's family are campaigning for 'Jade's Law' which would automatically suspend parental responsibility of any parent found guilty of murdering the other parent. Pictured, Paul Ward the father of Jade Ward beside her grave The family want to make sure that nobody else needs to endure the added pain of being faced with the killer time after time Ms Ward's family want to make sure that nobody else needs to endure the added pain of being faced with the killer time and time again. Family friend Edwin Duggan - a law graduate - told North Wales Live that he was approached by Ms Ward's mother Karen Robinson for help with the campaign. He has since launched a petition calling for the automatic suspension of parental responsibility of any parent found guilty of murdering the other parent. He said: 'I've known Karen since she was a teenager - through being friends with her brother about 40 years ago - and I've therefore known Jade since she was young. What happened to the family was utterly tragic. Floral tributes, balloons, photographs, written messages, candles and teddies were left on the pavement yards from the home where Jade Ward, 27, was found dead last August 'At the moment, as the law stands, Marsh still has parental responsibility. 'Although that is limited during his time in custody, the family are now faced with having to seek his permission for anything that relates to their welfare during the time they are in the care of anyone other than their parents. 'We all want this change in the law to create some sort of measure for future children that find themselves involved in tragic circumstances such as these and their surviving family from having to go back through further court processes.' Mr Duggin said that a petition was set up once before in the wake of Ms Ward's death. However, due to the ongoing legal proceedings at the time, it proved difficult to share and generate awareness without impacting on Marsh's then upcoming trial. So far, the petition has been signed by more then 1,700 people from across the UK. There is a target of gathering at least 10,000 signatures by October for the UK Government to respond. The scene outside the Chevrons Road home where Jade Ward was found dead with multiple stab wounds Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. animated movie adaptation's release date should have been on December 21 or before 2022 comes to an end. But the film starring Chris Pratt is now delayed to 2023. Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Movie Intended Release The untitled animated film adaptation of the revered Super Mario Bros. game was first teased during the Nintendo Direct event last Feb. 9. Nintendo also confirmed during the said event that the release date of the animated movie is on Dec. 21. However, as per a news story by The Verge, the upcoming animated film will no longer hit the theaters this year. Super Mario Bros. Release Delayed The creator of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, himself took over the official Twitter account of Nintendo of America to announce the delay of its release date. The Mario creator said that he consulted with the co-producer of the Super Mario Bros. movie, Chris Meledandri, before delaying the animated film. Chris Meledandri, who Miyamoto refers to as Chris-san, is the CEO of the animated movie firm Illumination, which is notably famous for its massive Minions franchise. The announcement straight from Miyamoto revealed that the global release of the Super Mario Bros. film has officially been pushed to Spring 2023 instead of December 2022. To be precise, the release of the animated movie in North America has been moved to April 7. Following that, it will be hitting the theaters in Japan on April 28. The Mario creator went on to issue an apology to its fans of the Super Mario Bros franchise. On top of that, Miyamoto promised that the wait would be worth it. This is Miyamoto. After consulting with Chris-san, my partner at Illumination on the Super Mario Bros. film, we decided to move the global release to Spring 2023April 28 in Japan and April 7 in North America. My deepest apologies but I promise it will be well worth the wait. Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 26, 2022 Read Also: Super Mario Bros. Movie 2022: Best Memes on Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach! Super Mario Bros. Film Starring Chris Pratt The Verge noted in the same report that Pratt will still be starring in the animated film as Mario depsite its delay. According to a recent report by The Hollywood Reporter, it also includes massive voice actors and actresses, such as Anya Taylor-Joy, who will star as Princess Peach, and Charlie Day as Luigi. On top of that, Keegan-Michael Key portrays Toad, whereas Jack Black stars Bowser. Both Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) and Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen) will also be part of the animated film. The Super Mario Bros. film adaptation is the love child of the Japanese gaming firm Nintendo and the American animation studio Illumination. As such, the CEO and founder of the latter, Chris Meledandri, and the iconic Mario creator, Miyamoto, are co-producing the upcoming animated film. It also includes the giant firm Universal, which serves as its distributor in North America. Related Article: Did You Know That Nintendo Started Off as a Company Selling Playing Cards? Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs (pictured), warned general practice in England risks becoming 'really difficult to access', like dentistry General practice faces the 'real threat' of ending up like dentistry, the nation's top GP has warned. Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, argued the job of a family doctor is becoming 'more and more difficult'. Growing pressures heavily fuelled by a staffing crisis could push them out of the health service and into private work. He said this risks the remaining NHS general practice system being 'really difficult' to access 'like dentistry' and a 'significant' cash injection is needed to stop this. Professor Marshall also warned general practice could end up like the 'very worst of the US healthcare system', with only those who pay able to access 'great care'. It comes amid a huge row over the working hours and conditions of family doctors and the 'postcode lottery' of bagging an appointment. Patients have for years complained of struggling to access their GP, and in-person appointments have failed to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels. But family doctors warn that the imbalance between the workload and workforce in the sector is driving GPs who earn 100,000 a year, on average away from the profession. In the latest development, a conference next month will see doctors vote on whether their core hours should be slashed by two-and-a-half hours. The GP Worklife survey found more than half of family doctors worked for six sessions a week or less every week in 2021, with each session being four hours and 10 minutes. Nearly a fifth of the workforce saw patients for four sessions or less, while 12.4 per cent worked for five sessions and 27.9 per cent worked for six The graph shows the number of GP appointments per day in January. Since 2019, GPs have been asked to work evenings and weekends. But just 22,000 patients were seen on the average Saturday in January, compared to around 1.2million per week day NHS Digital data released today shows just 60 per cent of appointments in January were in-person, compared to 61 per cent in December Speaking at a Pulse GP conference in London yesterday, the family doctors' trade magazine reported Professor Marshall said: 'Some practices really have struggled [and] fallen over. '[But] I don't think the model of general practice is going to disappear completely, I don't think it's going to break. 'But what I do think is if we continue under the current pressure that we're under, general practice is going to become a more and more difficult job to do and a more and more difficult job to do well.' He added: 'The risk is that we might end up like the very worst of the US healthcare system where if you can pay to get good care, great, and if you can't, you have a very sub-optimal system for picking up the pieces. 'Or maybe like dentistry in this country over the last 15 years, where a growing number of dentists have gone private. There is an NHS system but it is really difficult to access. 'I don't think we want to see that in general practice and that seems to be a very significant and very real threat that we need to address.' Now GPs want to work even less! Doctors table 'urgent' motion in a bid to cut 'core' opening hours to 9-5 - shaving two-and-a-half hours off GPs are set to vote on whether their core working hours should be reduced by two-and-a-half hours per day. The proposal comes amid a huge row over the working hours of family doctors and the 'postcode lottery' of bagging an appointment. Avon Local Medical Committee (LMC) will table a motion at a conference in York next month calling for doctors' core hours to be slashed. Surgeries currently routinely operate between 8am and 6:30pm but the vote may see doctors call for this to be slashed to 9am to 5pm. 'Urgent action' is needed to manage the imbalance between doctors' workload and their workforce,' the same motion states. The motion from Avon LMC, which represents GPs in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, will be heard at the annual conference of UK local medical committees, which is taking place on May 10 and 11 in York. It states that 'urgent action' is needed to manage the mismatch between a lack of capacity, Pulse reports. Advertisement It comes as GPs are set to vote next month on whether their core working hours should be reduced by two-and-a-half hours per day. Surgeries currently routinely operate between 8am and 6:30pm. But Avon Local Medical Committee (LMC) will table a motion at a conference on May 10 and 11 in York, attended by hundreds of GPs, calling for doctors' core hours to be slashed to 9am to 5pm. Doctors say the move would boost GPs' wellbeing, meaning they are able to provide a better, safer service and will be less likely to quit. If the motion is passed, the practices want to lobby NHS England to make the changes. But patient groups have hit back at the move. Dennis Reed, the director of Silver Voices, a campaign group for the over-60s, called the proposal 'unacceptable'. He said: 'We hear every day from patients who are struggling to see their GP or can only secure and appointment for a few weeks' time. 'Further reducing access in this way will drive more patients to A&E, which are already overstretched, or leave people without the care they need. 'Working families appreciate the earlier opening times and later closing times and reducing these will cause inconvenience or lead to them missing out.' Dr Richard Vautrey, former chair of the British Medical Association's GP committee, said reducing hours may encourage more doctors to stay in the profession. But he admitted it is 'not the solution to the current problems' because it will inevitably mean there are 'more patients going without the care they need'. 'What we really need is more GPs in order to improve patient access,' Dr Vautrey added. Meanwhile, a separate motion set to be heard at the conference next month, from Cambridgeshire and Cleveland LMCs, calls for plans to introduce 'safe workload limits' for general practice to protect staff and patients. Another motion states the public have emerged from the pandemic with 'additional and unrealistic expectations of general practice'. The motion, tabled by Ayrshire and Arran LMC, calls for an education campaign for patients to 'appropriately utilise' self-care and turn to pharmacy, optometry and dental services. Doctors in attendance will also vote on whether patients who abuse general practice staff should be removed from their list and whether all hospital doctors should have to work in GP surgeries as part of their training. Dr Rachel Ward, of the Rebuild General Practice campaign, said: 'GP workload is at an unmanageable and unsafe level. 'As a doctor who came into general practice to look after patients, it terrifies me that GPs are currently delivering many more appointments per day above what is considered the safe limit. 'GPs and patients want the same thing to give and receive the best healthcare and to do that we need more GPs so we have more time to care.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'GP teams have worked incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, and we are working to improve access, tackle the Covid backlog, and grow the general practice workforce. 'Patients should be able to see their GP in a way that they choose, including face to face, online, or over the phone consultations, and we have made 520million available to improve access and expand general practice capacity. 'We are working with the NHS, Health Education England and the profession to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice.' Police have located the three-month-old baby who was kidnapped by a stranger while his grandmother unloaded groceries from her car, and three suspects have been detained. Brandon Cuellar was snatched from an apartment in San Jose, California, Monday during the day. 'Baby Brandon has been located,' the San Jose Police Department tweeted Tuesday, adding that he would be 'taken to a local hospital as a precaution but he has been located alive.' They did not elaborate on where the boy was found or his condition. 'A million thank yous to all who assisted.' Three suspects were detained, the department said. The announcement came shortly after police told reporters that a woman was detained as 'a person of interest' in the case, after inconsistencies in her statements about the kidnapping. Authorities later said three suspects total were detained but did not disclose whether the woman was among them. The woman who was detained, has not been identified. She was with the child's grandmother before little Brandon was abducted Monday by an unknown man, San Jose Police spokesman Sgt. Christian Camarillo told reporters Tuesday. 'This was a person who was with the grandmother yesterday when they went shopping, she was present at the apartment complex when this happened,' he said. 'There have been some inconsistencies with what she has told us. Obviously, drawing our attention to what she knows about this.' A suspect walked into a home in the 1000 block of Elm Street at around 1 p.m. Monday and left with the young boy. Police released haunting video that shows the man walking down the sidewalk holding a baby carrier covered by a white blanket. Scroll down for video Brandon Cuellar (left) was snatched from an apartment in San Jose, California, in broad daylight yesterday (right) The three-month-old was found on Tuesday, police announced He was taken to a local hospital out of precaution 'The family does not recognize this suspect,' police had said in a Twitter post. Camarillo said the baby's mother was at work at the time and his father is in jail. 'Dad right now is out of the picture. He is incarcerated. I don't know, you know, whether that is going to play into this, but obviously we are going to talk to him soon,' Camarillo said. It's unclear why the father is in jail. '[The grandmother] came to this apartment, she took the baby in the apartment, went downstairs to unload some groceries,' Camarillo said during a news conference Monday. 'In that short amount of time, someone entered the apartment and left with the baby.' Authorities did not issue an Amber Alert because investigators did not have a vehicle description. Police had said the suspect is believed to be a Hispanic male who was wearing black pants, a dark blue shirt and grey shoes. He did not appear to be unkempt or a vagrant. Camarillo had said it was hard to make out the man who took the baby because he was wearing a mask. 'We need the public's help right now in San Jose to find this baby. Today someone is walking around with a three-month-old baby that they did not have yesterday,' he said. Police said the suspect is believed to be a Hispanic male who was wearing black pants and a dark blue shirt and grey shoes Police released a video clip that shows the man walking down the sidewalk holding a baby carrier covered by a white blanket Brandon had been last seen wearing a white long-sleeved onesie with dinosaurs on it. In the early hours, police said officers and FBI agents were going door-to-door in the neighborhood to appeal for witnesses or information. They said: 'All available resources are assisting with this investigation.' Figures show how the UK lags the rest of Europe when it comes to public holidays as calls for an extra day off for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee continue to grow. The statistics reveal a contrasting picture across the continent - with some workers able to put their feet up for as many as 16 times a year, while in some countries workers only enjoy eight paid days off. The number of public holidays enjoyed by each EU nation varies greatly, with England and Wales falling behind their European counterparts with just nine public holidays in 2022. Spain, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland are next with 10, along with Denmark, Scotland and Northern Ireland who have 11 this year. Meanwhile, Sweden will enjoy the most public holidays among the EU nations in 2022, with employees able to enjoy 16 paid days off. It comes as calls for a new permanent bank holiday in the UK have gathered pace and Rishi Sunak is understood to have requested formal advice from the Treasury on the costs of another annual day off. Business leaders and MPs are said to be discussing the possibility of a 'Thank Holiday' - both celebrating Her Majesty's 70 years on the throne and the dedication of millions of workers who battled on throughout the pandemic. But Downing Street today appeared to pour cold water on the prospect of any long-term changes, after the Prime Minister's official spokesman said a bank holiday was estimated to cost the economy 2bn. The number of public holidays enjoyed by each EU nation varies greatly, with England and Wales falling behind their European counterparts with just nine public holidays in 2022 The map, created by mapping and analytics company Esri UK, found that the number of public holidays in England and Wales dragged well behind their European counterparts. Sam Bark, cartographer at Esri UK said: 'Interactive maps like this help make data more accessible in an engaging and educational way, revealing patterns and trends that would otherwise lay hidden.' Seven countries (Austria, Romania, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Finland) trail Sweden's high of 16 public holidays this year and have 15 of their own. On the other end of the scale, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain enjoy the fewest within the bloc with 10 days off this year. The EU average of public holidays sits at 12.8 days, while the USA normally has 13. China will see 18 days of public holidays this year, while Japan will enjoy 19 paid days off. Globally, the country with the most public holidays is Myanmar, whose workers will this year will see 30 days as paid holidays - or a whole calendar month. Meanwhile, Switzerland's employees will only be able to count upon five official public holidays this year - with the rest being individually determined by the country's 25 cantons. Supporters of the campaign to extend the June bank holiday including Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden, pictured Both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are said to be 'supportive' of a new campaign to enshrine 2022's Platinum Jubilee as a permanent bank holiday in honour of the Queen The news comes as bosses representing British firms have today written to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak urging them keep the extra day off in the diary. The Chancellor is said to be 'supportive' of a blossoming campaign to enshrine 2022's Platinum Jubilee as a permanent bank holiday in honour of the Queen, reports the Telegraph. 'The Treasury is not saying 'no' off the bat, despite previously being institutionally allergic to the idea of a new bank holiday. 'Rishi is supportive of the campaign and the thought behind it and has asked for all the projected costs', a Treasury source told the newspaper. Experts claim the Government currently overstates the cost of public holidays and that a new one would help to boost health and productivity. Whitehall insiders have estimated that each bank holiday costs the public purse 1.4billion. But research by accountancy giant PwC suggests the figure is overestimated and a Monday off would cost 877million and a Friday 786million. The end-of-May bank holiday is being pushed back to Thursday June 2 to extend the weekend of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Now businesses are calling for this year's extended June bank holiday to be given a permanent spot on the calendar from next year - dubbed a 'Thank Holiday'. People took to social media to share their excitement at the potential addition of another bank holiday for future calendars Supporters of the campaign including Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden, Britain's biggest business group the Confederation of British Industry and trade body UK Hospitality say it would be 'a fitting tribute to Her Majesty's 70 years of public service' and would also help out firms which rely on tourists and shoppers. Those backing Mrs Meaden include Britain's biggest business group the Confederation of British Industry, bars and restaurants trade body UK Hospitality, and brands such as Siemens and Punch Pubs. Their calls are also supported by Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the Scouts, TUC, Royal Voluntary Service and more. Mrs Meaden said: 'The Great British bank holiday is enjoyed by one and all across society. We all have fond memories of trips away, gatherings with friends, or just enjoying some relaxing time with loved ones. 'But it's also a major boon for many businesses - especially those sectors that have struggled during the pandemic. I'm backing the campaign because I think it will be a fitting tribute to Her Majesty's seventy years of public service, and that of all the people who make our communities kinder, nicer places to live.' Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, added: 'It is time for a Thank Holiday to mark the astonishing and enduring service of Her Majesty the Queen. 'Such a day would also provide the chance to recognise the fortitude of the entire nation, and local community heroes, in pulling through the challenges of the past two years.' Britons are already set for an extra day off on June 3 to mark the monarch's Platinum Jubilee but the spokesman stressed that was a 'unique national celebration' that was important to mark. 'I'm not aware of any plans to make it permanent,' the spokesman said. 'But obviously we keep the cost of these things under review.' The spokesman said each bank holiday 'presents a considerable and significant cost to our economy and therefore each proposal would have to be considered carefully on that basis'. In 2012, there was a bank holiday for the Queen's diamond jubilee, which the government estimated would cost the UK 1.2billion. The nation also enjoyed an extra day off a year earlier when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wed at Westminster Abbey. Transnistria, a region on the border with Ukraine, is recognised internationally as part of Moldova but is effectively controlled by Russia Kyiv today accused Russia of trying to 'destabilise' Moldova's breakaway region that borders Ukraine after two explosions there prompted fears of Russia launching 'false flag' attacks to justify invading the territory. The explosions destroyed two powerful Soviet-era radio antennas that were re-broadcasting Russian stations in the region of Transnistria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, on Tuesday. The blasts occurred in the small town of Maiac roughly 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of the border with Ukraine, just days after a Kremlin military chief warned that 'Russian-speakers' had been 'oppressed' there. A day earlier, several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the Ministry of State Security in the city of Tiraspol, the region's capital. No one was hurt in the explosions, officials said. On Tuesday, a military unit in the village of Parcani was also targeted. Officials did not offer any details on the incident, but declared a 'red level of terrorist threat' and promised to impose additional security measures in the region. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak accused Russia of trying to destabilise Transnistria and warned that 'if Ukraine falls tomorrow, Russian troops will be at Chisinau', the Moldovan capital. 'Russia wants to destabilise the Transnistrian region and hints Moldova should wait for 'guests',' Podolyak said. 'Good news, Ukraine will definitely ensure strategic security of the region. But we need to work as a team.' The United States has warned amid the war in Ukraine that Russia could launch 'false-flag' attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops. Last week, Kremlin military chief Rustam Minnekayev said Russia sought control of southern Ukraine, which could provide access to Transnistria, 'where there have been cases of oppression of the Russian-speaking population'. The explosions destroyed two powerful Soviet-era radio antennas that were re-broadcasting Russian stations in the region of Transnistria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, on Tuesday A day earlier, several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the Ministry of State Security in the city of Tiraspol, the region's capital. No one was hurt in the explosions, officials said The Transnistrian authorities said the offices of the state security ministry in Tiraspol were hit by what appeared to be a grenade-launcher attack on Monday evening Transnistria, a strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine, is recognised internationally as part of Moldova but is effectively controlled by Russia, which has given citizenship to separatists Minnekayev, the deputy commander of Russia's central military district, said Moscow planned to forge a corridor between Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014, and the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Moldova's foreign ministry summoned Russia's ambassador over the comments, which it called 'unfounded and contradicting Russia's position in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country within internationally recognised borders'. 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. And today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is closely following events in Transnistria, adding that news from the region was a cause for serious concern. Moldova's president Maia Sandu said the attacks in Transnistria were an attempt by factions within the territory to increase tensions, as she urged the country's citizens to remain calm. Speaking after Moldova's Security Council held an urgent meeting, Sandu said: 'From the information we have at this moment, these escalation attempts stem from factions from within the Transnistrian region who are pro-war forces and interested in destabilising the situation in the region.' She said the security council had recommended improving the combat readiness of security forces, increasing the number of patrols and checks near Moldova's border with Transnistria, and monitoring critical infrastructure more closely. Sandu said: 'We urge citizens to keep calm and feel safe,' while urging authorities to tighten public safety measures and protection of critical infrastructure. Transnistria's president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, also called on Tuesday for anti-terrorist security measures to be imposed at a 'red level' for 15 days, including setting up blockposts at the entrances to cities. The Moldovan authorities are sensitive to any sign of growing tensions in Transnistria, especially since Russia invaded their neighbour Ukraine. Transnistria, a strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine, is recognised internationally as part of Moldova but is effectively controlled by Russia, which has given citizenship to separatists. An estimated 1,500 Russian troops are permanently stationed in the Transnistria, but concerns are high that the region could be used as a launch pad for new attacks on Ukraine. Russia's military base still guards a stockpile of some 20,000 tonnes of munitions which were brought there when Soviet troops withdrew from Europe. In the early hours of Tuesday, two explosions hit a radio tower re-broadcasting Russian stations near the Ukrainian border. 'Early on April 26, two explosions were heard in the village of Mayak in Grigoriopolsky district,'it said in a statement. It said the blasts at 6:40 am and 7:05 am (0340 GMT and 0405 GMT) targeted the 'Mayak' radio centre, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the regional capital Tiraspol. Antennas of the 'Mayak' radio centre are seen lying on the ground on Tuesday following the blasts in the village of Mayak in Grigoriopolsky district in Moldova's Russian-backed breakaway Transnistria region A law enforcement officer is seen standing in front of the 'Mayak' radio centre antennas following the blasts in the village of Mayak on Tuesday Kremlin military chief Rustam Minnekayev on Friday said Russia sought control of southern Ukraine, which could provide access to Transnistria, 'where there have been cases of oppression of the Russian-speaking population'. Pictured: Pro-Russian troops move along a road in Mariupol, southern Ukraine The ministry said two 'powerful' antennae that were re-broadcasting Russian radio were out of order, and shared images of them lying on the ground. There were no injuries, it added. This came after the Transnistrian authorities said the offices of the state security ministry in Tiraspol were hit by what appeared to be a grenade-launcher attack on Monday evening. No one was injured in the incident, which happened at around 6:00 pm on a public holiday for the Orthodox Easter. But windows were blown out in the state security ministry building and smoke was 'billowing out of the buildings', the Transnistria region's interior ministry said in a statement. There was no immediate reason to suggest a link between the two incidents. The conflict in Ukraine has provoked fears in Moldova that the country could become Russia's next target. Moldovan President Sandu on Tuesday called for a meeting of the country's Supreme Security Council in response to the incidents. 'The Supreme Security Council will meet from 1300 (1000 GMT) at the Presidency. After the meeting, at 1500, President Maia Sandu will hold a press briefing', the president's press office said in a statement. On Monday, the Moldovan government said the Tiraspol blasts were aimed at creating tensions in a region it had no control of. Moldova, one of Europe's 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. Unlike Ukraine and Georgia, Moldova is not seeking Nato membership. The landlocked country, with a population of just 2.6million, has only a few thousand active military personnel, so it would not be able to withstand a Russian invasion. A report conducted by French aviation experts has concluded that the crash of EgyptAir flight MS804 in 2016, which killed all 66 people on board, was likely caused by a fire sparked from a pilot's cigarette. Flight MS804 was bound from Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport to Cairo, but plunged into the sea between Crete and the northern coast of Egypt after disappearing from radars on May 19, 2016. France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) initially suspected that there was a mechanical failure or inadequacy that led to the crash, while Egypt refused to publish a report into the tragic incident and claimed the plane had been subject to a terrorist attack. A 2018 BEA report concluded the crash had been caused by a fire on board the aircraft upon analysis of black box data, but stopped short of establishing a specific reason as to why the fire was ignited. But a new report, which was sent to a Parisian court last month at the request of French judges - a copy of which has been seen by Italian daily Corriere della Sera - concluded the fire was likely caused by the cigarette of a smoking pilot, which ignited oxygen that had leaked from one of the pilot's oxygen masks. Paris' Court of Appeal is investigating the incident on grounds of manslaughter, as 15 French citizens were on board the plane when it plunged into the sea. A report conducted by French aviation experts has concluded that the crash of EgyptAir flight MS804 in 2016, which killed all 64 people on board, was likely caused by a fire sparked from a pilot's cigarette (An EgyptAir Airbus A320 is pictured) Flight MS804 was bound from Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport to Cairo, but plunged into the sea between Crete and the northern coast of Egypt after disappearing from radars on May 19, 2016 The new report concluded the fire was likely caused by the cigarette of a smoking pilot, which ignited oxygen that had leaked from one of the pilot's oxygen masks (The compartment for the oxygen mask is visible behind the seat in this stock image of an Airbus cockpit) A lifejacket is pictured, having been recovered from the wreckage found in the sea north of Egypt after flight MS804 crashed in 2016 Some of the passengers' belongings and parts of the wreck of EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen as more wreckage found north of Alexandria, in Egypt on May 21, 2016 The team of experts met 23 times between August 2021 and February 2022 to draft the report, re-examining black box data that had been recovered following the 2016 crash. A 134 page report contends that an oxygen mask in the cockpit of the plane had leaked shortly before the crash occurred - evidenced by the black box audio recording which captured the sound of the oxygen hissing from the mask as it sat in its compartment. The mask in question had been replaced just three days prior to the fatal flight by an EgyptAir maintenance worker, and inexplicably had its release valve set to the 'emergency' position - a significant detail as this setting forces oxygen to be released at a higher pressure. The Airbus safety manual states that 'oxygen leaks may occur' when left in the emergency position. Meanwhile, the ashtrays in the airplane's cockpit had been replaced two months prior to the crash due to their excessive use, as pilots were not forbidden to smoke at the time. All passengers and crew on board, including 40 Egyptians and 15 French citizens, lost their lives in the A320 Airbus crash. But Egypt's civil aviation authority to this day has not released a report into the matter and has been accused of refusing to co-operate with French authorities. In July 2018, Egypt's prosecutor general rejected findings published in France's BEA report of the same year which contended that a cockpit fire had caused the crash - though it did not establish the cause of the fire. However, the report did say the crew could be heard discussing a fire on the cockpit voice recorder and that the plane's automatic ACARS messaging system had flagged smoke on board. The BEA's official statement in 2018 read: 'A fire broke out in the cockpit while the plane was at cruising altitude and the fire spread rapidly, causing the loss of control of the aircraft.' Its report also mentioned the suspicious replacement of the oxygen mask three days prior to the crash, stating that 'the replacement of this equipment requires careful checking, given the danger of oxygen leaks.' People attend an event in Egypt's capital Cairo on May 19, 2017, marking the first anniversary of the crash of EgyptAir MS804 A follow up report in 2019 said there were several incidents concerning the operation of the aircraft which were not reported by the pilots and thus not followed up by maintenance teams. These faults 'were not signalled when the aircraft was at its principal base in Cairo, apparently so that it would not be grounded for repairs'. 'The examination has shown that this aircraft should have been subject to checks during its four previous flights and should not have taken off from Cairo after a sequence of recurring faults which were not signalled by successive crews,' the 2018 conclusion read. Antoine Lachenaud, a lawyer for the family of Clement Daeschner-Cormary, a 26-year-old passenger who died, said the report showed that the crash was due to error and not chance. 'When warnings are ignored in a systematic manner this results in a crash and it becomes impossible to maintain that this is due to chance,' he said. 'Based on this report and the investigations, there should be consequences over the responsibilities of those involved.' However, Egypt's office of public prosecution released a statement saying the French findings were 'unfounded' and that its own investigation in to the crash was 'ongoing'. An official Egyptian probe in 2016 suggested the plane had been bombed, saying traces of explosives had been found on the remains of those killed, but this was widely dismissed. French authorities in particular were skeptical of Egypt's insistence the plane was subject to an attack, saying that no traces of explosives were detected and pointing out no organisation had claimed responsibility for any attack. Investigators and the families of the French victims have deplored a lack of cooperation from the Egyptian authorities. Content criticizing U.S. President Joe Biden on Twitter and Facebook was censored 646 times in two years, a new report has found. According to the Media Research Center (MRC), through its CensorTrack database, the various censored content included comedic memes and generic posts taking aim at the Commander in Chief, who entered the White House in January 2021. Users who posted such content saw their comments deleted, had their activities on the platforms restricted, or were out-right suspended. The release of the report comes as the world's richest man Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter $44billion, in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders. The self-described 'free speech absolutist' wants Twitter's algorithm for prioritizing tweets to be public and objects to giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise, and has said he wants to stop banning users. The CensorTrack report looked at bans between March 10, 2020 to March 10, 2022. This time period covers when Biden was running his presidential campaign culminating in his 2020 victory, and his first year occupying the White House. The largest category of banned posts related to Biden's reputation for inappropriate contact, CensorTrack said. Biden was forced to address this during his campaign. In one example cited by the organization, a user told CensorTrack that Facebook deleted one of their posts that showed Biden kissing someone - reportedly his granddaughter - on the lips. A caption with the image said: 'Find someone who kisses you the way Joe Biden kisses his granddaughter.' Screenshots sent by the user suggested that Facebook claimed the post breached its community rules on 'nudity or sexual activity.' Meanwhile, more than a quarter of the 646 actions taken against users were related to the Hunter Biden laptop story, broken by the New York Post, which involved a cache of 103,000 text messages, 154,000 emails, more than 2,000 photos and dozens of videos that were authenticated by experts retained by DailyMail.com. When the New York Post reported on the revelations, Twitter went as far as locking the newspaper's account for 17 days, and placed a 'warning label' on the GOP House Judiciary Committee's website after it linked to the story. Criticism of U.S. President Joe Biden on social medial platforms Twitter and Facebook was censored 646 times in two years, a new report has found Emails leaked from the computer sparked a scandal before the 2020 presidential election in October, but were dismissed as Russian disinformation by the Bidens and other senior Democrats, social media giants Twitter and Facebook, and several major media organizations. Last month however - after initially dismissing the story - the Washington Post finally admitted Hunter Biden's laptop is real, nine months after first receiving a copy and a full year after DailyMail.com authenticated it. A story based on the laptop's contents published by the newspaper focused on the millions of dollars Hunter and his uncle, Joe Biden's brother Jim, received from their partnership with a Chinese government-linked oil behemoth CEFC. The Washington Post had cyber forensics experts validate material on the abandoned laptop hard drive, using similar methods that experts hired by DailyMail.com used back in March 2021. Its admission also followed a similar concession from the New York Times, which quietly noted 1,200 words into a long story published earlier in March that it had also validated material from the laptop. Stories on Hunter Biden by the New York Times and The Washington Post were both allowed to be shared on their Twitter feeds. Some have suggested some of the media's suppression of the story could have contributed towards the 2020 election result falling in Biden's favor. CensorTrack also reported an example which saw the Big Tech companies ban users who blamed the current inflation crisis on Biden. In one case, it said Facebook censored Heritage Action - the advocacy arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation - after the group posted a video on March 15 that quoted Biden's statements on energy policy. The video in question showed Biden and other officials within his administration explaining how the energy policies would cause gas prices to rise. In response, the Silicon Valley giant suppressed the post's reach on its platform. CensorTrack detailed 232 cases - more than a third of the anti-Biden content - that were categorized as 'comedic memes, videos, or generic posts about Biden's conduct.' The group also said some were banned for just quoting the now-President, for making him appear less than competent. In one example cited by CensorTrack that was posted by news outlet Breaking 911 to Twitter, Biden was quote sarcastically saying 'Freedom! ... I have the freedom to kill you with my COVID. No, I mean, come on! Freedom?!' The post was deleted. More than a quarter of the 646 actions taken against users were related to the New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop story, which documented alleged corrupt activity and found a collection of pictures of Hunter obtained after the FBI seized his laptop (pictured) Former U.S. president Donald Trump, as well as lawmakers Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) were among senior politicians who were subject to bans or actions by the Big Tech companies, according to CensorTrack The website shared a list of users who were censored by Facebook or Twitter, which included a number of influential figures in the United States. Former U.S. president Donald Trump, as well as lawmakers Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) were among senior politicians who were subject to bans or actions by the Big Tech companies. Other figures that saw their accounts reprimanded included Donald Trump Jr., actor James Woods, and media personalities like the Daily Wire's Candace Owens and radio hosts Sebastian Gorka and Dana Loesch, CensorTrack said. Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany saw her Twitter account locked when she attempted to share the Post's Hunter Biden story. Media outlets were also targeted, including the New York Post, The Washington Free Beacon, the Federalist and The Babylon Bee - a satire site. The research by the Media Research Center Think Tank, used a database collected by Free Speech America's CensorTrack, which logs and describes why people were censored on social media. CensorTrack said that it has so far received 3,600 overall reports of people who have seen their activities on Big Tech platforms censored for discussing a variety of issues, including climate change, race, Covid-19 and elections. According to the group's website, Free Speech America - which is behind CensorTrack - is working to stop what it calls censorship of conservatives. Its board of advisors includes Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and Jenny Beth Martin, the Co-Founder of Tea Party Patriots - the largest national umbrella group without the Tea Party movement. The release of the report comes as the world's richest man Elon Musk (pictured in April) clinched a deal to buy Twitter $44billion, in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion cash on Monday. It is a seminal moment for the 16-year-old company, which emerged as one of the world's most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges. Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, has criticized Twitter's moderation. He wants Twitter's algorithm for prioritizing tweets to be public and objects to giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise. Political activists expect that a Musk regime will mean less moderation and reinstatement of banned individuals including former President Donald Trump. Conservatives cheered the prospect of fewer controls while some human rights activists voiced fears of a rise in hate speech. Musk has also advocated user-friendly tweaks to the service, such as an edit button and defeating 'spam bots' that send overwhelming amounts of unwanted tweets. 'Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,' Musk said in a statement. In a tweet last Tuesday before the deal was announced, Musk wrote: 'A social media platforms policies are good if the most extreme 10% on left and right are equally unhappy,' suggesting he would aim to limit extreme political views on the platform. THREE PARDONS: Abraham W. Bolden, Sr. Chicago, Illinois Abraham Bolden is an 86-year-old former U.S. Secret Service agent and was the first African American to serve on a presidential detail. In 1964, Mr. Bolden was charged with offenses related to attempting to sell a copy of a Secret Service file. His first trial resulted in a hung jury, and following his conviction at a second trial, even though key witnesses against him admitted to lying at the prosecutors request, Mr. Bolden was denied a new trial and ultimately served several years in federal custody. He has steadfastly maintained his innocence, arguing that he was targeted for prosecution in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the U.S. Secret Service. Mr. Bolden has received numerous honors and awards for his ongoing work to speak out against the racism he faced in the Secret Service in the 1960s, and his courage in challenging injustice. Mr. Bolden has also been recognized for his many contributions to his community following his release from prison. Betty Jo Bogans Houston, Texas Betty Jo Bogans is a 51-year-old woman who was convicted in 1998 of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in the Southern District of Texas after attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice, neither of whom were detained or arrested. At the time of her conviction, Ms. Bogans was a single mother with no prior record, who accepted responsibility for her limited role in the offense. Because of the harsh penalties in place at the time she was convicted, Ms. Bogan received a seven-year sentence. In the nearly two decades since her release from custody, Ms. Bogans has held consistent employment, even while undergoing treatment for cancer, and has focused on raising her son. Dexter Eugene Jackson Athens, Georgia Dexter Jackson is a 52-year-old man who was convicted in 2002 for using his business to facilitate the distribution of marijuana in the Northern District of Georgia. Mr. Jackson was not personally involved in trafficking marijuana, but allowed marijuana distributors to use his pool hall to facilitate drug transactions. He accepted full responsibility for his actions at the time he was charged, and pled guilty. Since his release from custody, Mr. Jackson has converted his business into a cell-phone repair service and hired local high school students through a program that seeks to provide young adults with work experience. Mr. Jackson has also worked to build and renovate homes in a community that lacks quality affordable housing. 75 COMMUNTATIONS: Sergio Acosta Montgomery, Alabama Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine (Eastern District of Kentucky). Sentence: 97 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (February 23, 2018). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Kathy Marie Albrecht Jamestown, North Dakota Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute a controlled substance (District of North Dakota). Sentence: 150 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (November 6, 2014). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Maria Isabel Arreola San Bernardino, California Offense: 1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine (Eastern District of Texas). 2. Conspiracy to distribute cocaine hydrochloride (Middle District of North Carolina). Sentence: 1. 121 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (March 24, 2016). 2. 130 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (November 17, 2016). Prison sentences and terms of supervised release in each case to run concurrently. Commutation Grant: Sentences commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year terms of supervised release. Roberto Barrio South Gate, California Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute cocaine base and cocaine powder; interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprise (four counts); use of a telephone to facilitate the distribution of cocaine base and cocaine powder (two counts) (Western District of Oklahoma). Sentence: Life imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (October 23, 2000). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Kelvin Beaufort Charlotte, North Carolina Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (Western District of North Carolina). Sentence: 324 months of imprisonment, 20-year term of supervised release (December 10, 2007); amended to 262 months of imprisonment, 20-year term of supervised release (January 20, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the 20-year term of supervised release. Brandon Todd Berry Sikeston, Missouri Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine (Eastern District of Missouri). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (October 19, 2010). Commutation Grant: Sentence to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Sharon Louise Boatright Richardson, Texas Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 190 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (December 16, 2013); amended to 188 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (July 15, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the four-year term of supervised release. Terry Booty Morgan City, Louisiana Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine (Eastern District of Louisiana). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release, $10,000 fine (November 13, 2008). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $10,000 fine. Ramola Kaye Brown Huntsville, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and less than 50 kilograms of marijuana (Southern District of Texas). Sentence: 145 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (September 15, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Julian Burford Bedford, Ohio Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine (Northern District of Ohio). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (September 17, 2009). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Mark Richard Burton Odessa, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and/or 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine (Western District of Texas). Sentence: 121 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $15,000 fine (March 16, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Nickolas Cano Amarillo, Texas Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (September 5, 2014). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the four-year term of supervised release. Ruben Lopez Cazares Chula Vista, California Offense: Conspiracy to distribute controlled substance (District of Nebraska). Sentence: 300 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (June 7, 2007); amended to 262 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (January 12, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Jose Luis Colunga Juniata, Nebraska Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana (Eastern District of Tennessee). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (July 13, 2010). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on October 26, 2023, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Paul Hernandez Contreras Perris, California Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine (District of Colorado). Sentence: 108 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (January 8, 2019). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Karen Cox Salt Lake City, Utah Offense: Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine (District of Wyoming). Sentence: 121 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $900 community restitution (June 16, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the 60-month term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $900 community restitution. Lori Jean Cross North Richland Hills, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (September 12, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Mario Cruz Grand Rapids, Michigan Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute an unspecified quantity of cocaine and heroin (Western District of Michigan). Sentence: 121 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (January 23, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Christopher Dancy Prince George, Virginia Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine hydrochloride (Eastern District of Virginia). Sentence: 336 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (February 27, 2009); amended to 288 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (December 19, 2018). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Catalina Davis San Antonio, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (Western District of Texas). Sentence: 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (March 6, 2014); amended to 151 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (August 31, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Stacie Demers Constable, New York Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute marijuana (Northern District of New York). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (October 26, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Deborah Ann Dodd Forney, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectible amount of methamphetamine or 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine (Eastern District of Texas). Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (February 19, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Manuel Ruben Duran-Pimentel Miami, Florida Offense: Conspiracy to import controlled substances; laundering of monetary instruments (District of Puerto Rico). Sentence: 151 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (April 20, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Nova Neal Finau Fort Worth, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (March 31, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the four-year term of supervised release. Tina Marie Finazzo Las Vegas, Nevada Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (District of Hawaii). Sentence: 172 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (February 16, 2012); amended to 168 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (May 19, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. David C. Frazier St. Louis, Missouri Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing cocaine; maintaining a drug involved premises (Eastern District of Missouri). Sentence: 144 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (May 21, 2014). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Julio Garza Edinberg, Texas Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 10 kilograms of cocaine (Southern District of Texas). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (May 13, 2010). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Odell Givens Certe, Illinois Offense: Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (three counts) (Northern District of Illinois). Sentence: 186 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (December 14, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Dianna Gonzalez-Agosto Altura de Rio G, Puerto Rico Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 3.5 kilograms but less than 5 kilograms of cocaine within a protected location (District of Puerto Rico). Sentence: 87 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release (July 14, 2020). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the eight-year term of supervised release. Virgil Goodman, Jr. Lexington, Tennessee Offense: Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute (Western District of Tennessee). Sentence: 262 months of imprisonment, six-year term of supervised release (June 30, 2005). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the six-year term of supervised release. Christopher Gunter Columbia, South Carolina Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana; possession with intent to distribute a quantity of marijuana and a quantity of MDMA (District of South Carolina). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (September 25, 2008). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Rachel Lynn Hanson Richton Park, Illinois Offense: Possession of an unspecified quantity of cocaine with intent to distribute (Western District of Michigan). Sentence: 151 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (March 4, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Stephanie Hernandez Dallas, Texas Offense: Distribution of a controlled substance (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (April 21, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Brandon Jermaine Huguley Chattanooga, Tennessee Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base (Eastern District of Tennessee). Sentence: 235 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (August 20, 2012); amended to 188 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (May 22, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. David Charles Jenkins Beaumont, Texas Offense: 1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Western District of Louisiana). 2. Violation of supervised release (Eastern District of Texas). 3. Production of counterfeit access devices (Eastern District of Texas). Sentence 1. 151 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release, $5,000 fine (November 28, 2011); amended to 121 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release, $5,000 fine (February 9, 2018). 2. 24 months of imprisonment (January 5, 2012). 3. 24 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, $2,516 restitution (April 29, 2015). Prison sentences and terms of supervised release in each case to run consecutively. Commutation Grant: Sentences commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the eight and three-year terms of supervised release, and the unpaid remainders, if any, of the $5,000 fine and $2,516 restitution. Douglas Dean Johnson Dickens, Iowa Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and possess and distribute pseudoephedrine following a felony drug conviction; travel in interstate commerce and aid and abet travel in interstate commerce with the intent to promote and facilitate a business enterprise involving the manufacture and distribution of controlled substances (Northern District of Iowa). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (December 8, 2008). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Gregory Jones Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Offense: Conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; attempted possession with the intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and aiding and abetting (East District of Pennsylvania). Sentence: 216 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,500 fine (March 30, 2012). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $2,500 fine. Stephan George Jones Rosebud, South Dakota Offense: Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance (District of South Dakota). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $1,000 fine (April 11, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $1,000 fine. Terri Kelly Rialto, California Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams of methamphetamine (Eastern District of Kentucky). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (November 30, 2009). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Tellas Levallas Kennedy Glennville, Georgia Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride (Southern District of Georgia). Sentence: 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $4,800 fine (September 30, 2013); amended to 168 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $4,800 fine (October 22, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release and $4,800 fine. Vincent Edward Kennedy Surfside Beach, South Carolina Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; money laundering (District of South Carolina). Sentence: 180 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (June 26, 2014); amended to 145 months of imprisonment 10-year term of supervised release (June 29, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Brittany Krambeck Fort Worth, Texas Offense: Maintaining drug involved premises; structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 220 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (October 29, 2010). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2024, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. Carry Le Duluth, Georgia Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants (Southern District of Texas). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (March 4, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. David Lee Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Offense: Conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin and to distribute or manufacture in or near a school zone; distribution and possession of heroin with intent to distribute (seven counts); use of communication facility (Eastern District of Pennsylvania). Sentence: 300 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release, $1,500 fine (October 1, 2007); amended to 243 months of imprisonment,10-year term of supervised release, $1,500 fine (June 24, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release and $1,500 fine. Rosamaria Lucero New Braunfels, Texas Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting (Western District of Texas). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (February 13, 2018). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Paul A. Lupercio Blue Springs, Missouri Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and five kilograms or more of cocaine (Western District of Missouri). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (May 8, 2008). Commutation Grant: Sentence to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Angelica Marquez Apple Valley, California Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine (District of Kansas). Sentence: 117 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (April 23, 2018). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Eddie Mateus New York, New York Offense: Conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine (Southern District of New York). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (January 17, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Stephanie McMurphy Adel, Georgia Offense: Distribution of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school (Middle District of Georgia). Sentence: 102 months of imprisonment, six-year term of supervised release (October 22, 2018). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the six-year term of supervised release. Byron James Miller St. Louis, Missouri Offense: 1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine (Eastern District of Missouri). 2. Possession with intent to distribute heroin; possession of heroin in a federal prison (District of Central Illinois). Sentence: 1. 292 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (June 6, 1997); amended to 188 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release (December 17, 2019). 2. 210 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (March 5, 1999). Prison sentences and terms of supervised release in each case to run consecutively. Commutation Grant: Sentences commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the consecutive eight and three-year terms of supervised release. Bethel Cheyenne Mooneyham Spencer, Tennessee Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine (Eastern District of Tennessee). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (June 13, 2011). Commutation Grant: Sentence to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Colleen Mossberger Crest Hill, Illinois Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (June 5, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Quang Nguyen Houston, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants (Southern District of Texas). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (March 30, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Rickey Wayne Norton Augusta, Georgia Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (Southern District of Georgia). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, $40,000 fine (October 17, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $40,000 fine. Shannon Ann Norton Augusta, Georgia Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (Southern District of Georgia). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, $40,000 fine (October 17, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $40,000 fine. Thomas Perkins Louisville, Kentucky Offense: Conspiracy to distribute in excess of 5 kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride (mixture) and 50 grams or more of cocaine base (mixture) (Southern District of Indiana). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (December 22, 2008). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Aaron Ponce Odessa, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute a controlled substance, 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine (Western District of Texas). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (July 11, 2013). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Rose Trujillo Rangel Waco, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a schedule II-narcotic-drug-controlled substance (Western District of Texas). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, $5,000 fine (April 14, 2008). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $5,000 fine. Alejandro Reyna Brownsville, Texas Offense: Importation of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine (Western District of Texas). Sentence: 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,000 fine (January 16, 2014); amended to 180 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,000 fine (February 26, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $2,000 fine. Fermin Serna Rio Grande City, Texas Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, a schedule I controlled substance (Southern District of Texas). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (November 9, 2007). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Mackie Shivers Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine (Southern District of Florida). Sentence: Life imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (April 10, 2001). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release. Kirstie Marie Smith Israel Albertville, Alabama Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (Northern District of Alabama). Sentence: 97 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (August 23, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release. To ny Lee Stanfield Villa Rica, Georgia Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (Western District of North Carolina). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (November 2, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Cleola Sullivan Tallahassee, Florida Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and 5 kilograms or more of cocaine; possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine (Northern District of Florida). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (December 13, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Charles Arnold Thomas Inglewood, California Offense: 1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of phencyclidine, or one kilogram or more of a mixture containing a detectable amount of phencyclidine (Southern District of Texas). 2. Possession of a prohibited item by a prison inmate (Eastern District of Arkansas). Sentence: 1. 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (August 4, 2011). 2. Seven months of imprisonment (April 25, 2018). Prison sentences in each case to run consecutively. Commutation Grant: Sentences commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Edwin G. Tierney Council Bluffs, Iowa Offense: Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine (District of Nebraska). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (November 8, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Jesse Alan Trimue Burton, Michigan Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 5 grams of actual methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture, a schedule II-controlled substance (Eastern District of Tennessee). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release (June 6, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the eight-year term of supervised release. Daniel Valencia Maylene, Alabama Offense: Importation of a quantity of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine (Southern District of Texas). Sentence: 135 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,000 fine (April 24, 2015). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $2,000 fine. Martin R. Vandemerwe Price, Utah Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (District of Utah). Sentence: 20 years of imprisonment; five-year term of supervised release (September 23, 2009). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. James Darrell Walker Lubbock, Texas Offense: Distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Northern District of Texas). Sentence: 327 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (August 21, 2006); amended to 262 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (June 9, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Cindy Noella Williams Casper, Wyoming Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (District of Wyoming). Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $800 restitution (October 10, 2018); amended to 102 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release; $800 restitution (November 4, 2019). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $800 restitution. Cynthia Lynn Yeley-Davis Mills, Wyoming Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute methamphetamine (District of Wyoming). Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release, $1,000 fine (December 17, 2009). Commutation Grant: Sentence to expire on August 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $1,000 fine. Andrea Zavala Waterloo, Iowa Offense: Conspiracy to distribute at least 50 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine and 5 grams of actual methamphetamine (Northern District of Iowa). Sentence: 108 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (June 7, 2017). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Courtney Donnell Zeno Warner Robins, Georgia Offense: Distribution of cocaine base (five counts); possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; forfeiture (Western District of Louisiana). Sentence: Life imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (August 31, 2010); amended to 240 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release (February 7, 2013). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the eight-year term of supervised release. David L. Zouck Buffalo, Missouri Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; distribution of five grams or more of actual methamphetamine (Western District of Missouri). Sentence: 132 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (March 30, 2016). Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release. Russia has lost more than 300 officers fighting in Ukraine, according to new data collected by an independent Russian newspaper. In total, 317 officers of junior lieutenant rank and above have been killed in a little over two months of fighting, analysis by outlet MediaZona revealed today. Almost a third came from the most senior grades - major or above - including at least two generals and the deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet. Vladimir Putin's army has suffered heavy losses since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with the UK this week saying 15,000 troops have died. Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky is one of the highest-ranking commanders that Russia has acknowledged were killed fighting in Ukraine Mikhail Nagamov, 41 (left), and Alexander Chirva (right), are two of the most-recent officers Russia has admitted died in its war on Ukraine MediaZona, which is currently blocked in Russia but continues to operate online, compiled its data by looking at public reports of troop deaths from local government officials, newspapers, or families posting on social media. That means the figures will be far lower than the true total because of delays between the troops being killed and their deaths being reported, difficulties in identifying bodies, and deliberate cover-ups by Moscow. In total, MediaZona found 1,744 reports of military deaths in Ukraine - higher than the Kremlin's official figure of 1,351 which it has not updated since late March. It found 317 of those deaths were of officers, which accounts for almost a fifth of the total figure. MediaZona believes that is because officer deaths are more-likely to be reported than those of foot-soldiers. The highest-ranked deaths that Russia has acknowledged are of Andrei Sukhovetsky and Vladimir Frolov, who were both Major Generals. Russia has also acknowledged the death of Captain 1st Rank Andrei Paly, the deputy commander of its Black Sea fleet, MediaZona said. Ukraine claims to have killed a total of 10 generals, including two who it says died at the weekend on a strike of a command post near the city of Kherson. Kyiv claims to have killed more than 22,000 Russian troops fighting in Ukraine since Putin declared the start of a 'special military operation' on February 24 (file) Ukraine also claims to have destroyed hundreds of Russian tanks and thousands of other vehicles, putting large parts of Putin's army out of action One more general was critically wounded in the strike, Kyiv claimed, adding that it believes a total of 50 officers were inside the post at the time it was blown up. Despite Russia's claims not to be sending conscripts to fight in Ukraine, MediaZona uncovered several cases where conscripts had been killed. Pavel Pozanen, 20, died in fighting near Kharkiv, while Denis Yaroslavtsev, 18, and 19-year-old Alexander Bobrov were killed just over three months after being drafted in November last year. Ukrainian commanders put the total number of Russian troops killed during the invasion at more than 22,000. British MPs were told Monday that 15,000 have died. The true figure is likely to remain a mystery amid reports that Russian troops are burning some of their dead on the battlefield, burying them in mass graves, or simply leaving bodies where they lie. MediaZona figures also suggest 500 of the dead come from elite Russian units such as paratroopers, marines, and special forces. It suggests these troops - which were among some of the first into battle around key target such as Kyiv - have borne some of the heaviest combat losses. That could prove a problem for Russia as it tries to regroup and launch a fresh assault on the Donbas region after failing in its mission to take the capital. Russia has acknowledged that Captain 1st Rank Andrei Paly, the deputy commander of its Black Sea fleet, has died - likely in the sinking of the Moskva battleship (pictured) British intelligence said on Monday that Russian forces in the east of Ukraine have 'yet to achieve any significant breakthrough' in the region - with many units 'exhausted' from fighting elsewhere. Ukrainian defenders holed up in the Azovstal steel work in Mariupol - which has now been under siege for months - are continuing to pin down 'many' Russian units which is stopping them from deploying to Donbas, the UK added. While Putin's men have made some small gains, they have come at a 'high cost' that analysts and observers have argued will be unsustainable in the long term. Meanwhile the West has stepped up deliveries of arms and heavy equipment to Ukraine, as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the aim is to give Kyiv the weapons it needs to 'win' the war with Russia. Austin added that the secondary goal is 'to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine'. His comments mark a significant departure from Washington's aims early on in the conflict, which were to give Ukraine the means to defend itself. But - in the wake of atrocities committed by Russian forces occupying the likes of Bucha and Irpin - the argument has shifted to giving Ukraine the means to recapture territory it has lost. The US along with the UK, France and Canada are now starting to ship heavier weapons to Kyiv - including long-range artillery, helicopters and armoured vehicles. Western nations are also striking agreements to back-fill stocks of old tanks held by ex-Soviet states if they supply them to Ukraine, with Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic taking up the offer. Even Germany - which has for months opposed sending such weapons - today agreed to supply 50 anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine. Advertisement Smiling broadly while holding her seven-year-old daughter's hand, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is back on the school run and doing something she had dreamt of while held captive for 2,173 days in her Iranian jail cell. The mother-of-one, 43, skipped along with her child Gabriella, carrying her purple rucksack like any other parent, as she dropped her daughter at her North London primary this morning. The scene is extraordinarily poignant, given the pain her imprisonment on trumped up spy charges caused her, her husband Richard and their only child, who she did not see for the final three years of her Tehran jail term. MailOnline revealed shortly after she arrived back in Britain in mid-March that Nazanin was most excited about doing 'normal' things like take her daughter to school, having missed her first day. And one witness said mother and daughter were in 'very high spirits' as they trotted along the street to get to the gates on time in London's spring sunshine today. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe is known to have been focussing on having time with her only child after 'six years of hell' being held captive by the Iranians. Gabi had famously refused to believe her mother was coming home after several 'false dawns' and years of tortuous detention by Ayatollah Khamenei's hardline regime, only believing it when she saw it with her own eyes. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe smiles as she was spotted with her daughter heading to school this morning Nazanin looked thrilled to be with her daughter Gabi, having told friends that the school run and going to the shops with her child were what she looked forward to most Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe has shared her first family selfie with her husband Richard and daughter Gabrielle following her release from an Iranian jail after 'six years of hell' MailOnline has tried to reach Ms Zagari-Ratcliffe to comment. In an extraordinary and emotional video filmed by the daughter of Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, who was also released by Iran in March in return for a 400million debt repayment, the seven-year-old could be heard yelling 'mummy, mummy - is that mummy?' as Nazanin walks down the steps of the British jet at Brize Norton in the early hours of March 17. The moment Richard and Gabriella were reunited was not filmed - though the tears of joy could be heard - but a picture of the ecstatic family was taken seconds later. Nazanin then emerged from behind a blue screen and could not stop tenderly hugging and kissing her only child, who she had not seen or touched for three years. Nazanin held her daughter's hands and stroked her hair throughout the reunion, leaning in for regular kisses and cuddles. During one tender embrace Gabriella told her: 'You smell nice', to which her mother laughed and hugged her again, saying: 'Do I smell nice? I haven't had a shower for 24 hours. Is that okay?'. Nazanin then held her daughter's hand again and said: 'I will be back in just a minute' and then looks down at her and said: 'That is a very very cool jumper'. Gabriella had also picked out her favourite toys to show her mother on her return. In the days after her release, Nazanin and her husband Richard shared a selfie of their family taking a walk with spring daffodils in the background in the British countryside. And while staying in a MoD property their local MP, Labour's Tulip Sidiq, shared an image of Gabriella and her grinning mother spreading cheese on the lunchtime pizza. Ms Sidiq tweeted at the time: 'Nazanin told me that this is what she missed most while she was imprisoned - every day moments with her little girl. Today was Gabriella's choice of making homemade pizzas for lunch'. MPs are to stage an inquiry examining the UK's efforts over the years to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori from their detention in Iran, it emerged earlier this month. The Foreign Affairs Committee said it would review evidence of how their cases were handled by British officials as part of a wider investigation into 'state level hostage situations'. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, who was detained for six years, and Mr Ashoori, who was held for almost five, were released last month after the UK agreed to settle a historic 400 million debt dating back to the 1970s. Following their return both have been critical of the failure of the Foreign Office (FCDO) to secure their freedom sooner. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Gabriella were also pictured making pizzas as they bonded again at a Government safe house after her return from Iran The family have been reunited after the mother-of-one's harrowing six-year stint in an Iranian jail on trumped-up spy charges (pictured before her arrest) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (centre) criticised the delays in her case in a press conference with her husband Richard (left) and MP Tulip Siddiq (right) after her release Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori arriving at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on March 17 In a press conference with her husband Richard after her release last month, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe took issue with the Government's handling of her case and said: 'How many Foreign Secretaries is it going to take for someone to get out? Five? What will evidence will the inquiry examine? The inquiry is set to ask the following questions: What were the merits and mistakes made in the approach of the FCDO to the handling of the Iranian hostage situation and any other similar situations in recent years? Does the Government's approach provide an effective deterrent to state-based hostage situations? What efforts is the Government taking, or should take, to secure international agreement on deterring and handling state-based hostage taking? Advertisement 'It should have been one of them eventually. So now, here we are. What happened now should have happened six years ago. It shouldn't have taken six years. And I think we have gone through a lot, it has been a tough journey.' Since arriving back in the UK, both Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori's families have stayed in government safe houses along with their families. Announcing the inquiry, Foreign Affair Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat MP said: 'Nazanin and Anoosheh's homecoming is wonderful news, but long overdue. After years of imprisonment, in extremely difficult circumstances, Nazanin and Anoosheh are right to ask for answers.' He said that it was also important to look at the wider issues raised by Iran's use of the detainees as leverage in the debt negotiations. 'Iran is not the only country engaging in state hostage taking,' he said. 'The tactic is fast becoming a tool of choice for authoritarian states and recent high-profile cases have highlighted the challenges governments face when securing the release of hostages held captive by states. 'This inquiry will examine the support provided by the FCDO to hostages in recent cases, as well as take a look at the broader picture and ask how the Government can clamp down on the practice internationally.' The announcement of the inquiry was welcomed by Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's local MP, Tulip Siddiq, who was involved in the campaign for her release. 'While in Iran, Nazanin was blindfolded, handcuffed, interrogated and subjected to solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and torture,' she said. 'The Government has serious questions to answer about why this was allowed to happen to an innocent British citizen, who was caught as a pawn in a political dispute between two countries. The inquiry will discuss the approach taken by the UK Government in securing the release of the detainees in Iran, and other similar situations. It will also aim to assess the likely impact the FCDO's approach may have on deterring other states from using this tactic and will consider options for multilateral action to further deter such behaviour. A British woman has died from respiratory complications brought about by Covid after she discovered she had been infected while on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. The 60-year-old, who has not yet been named, died at the San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona hospital in Salerno in the early hours of Friday morning. Her husband was also infected with Covid but has not experienced life-threatening symptoms. The pair had been isolating and were tended to by medical teams on board when the Bolette cruise ship came into port at Salerno on Wednesday night, after they tested positive for Covid. Bolette, of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, was carrying 800 people on a cruise of the Mediterranean, having previously sailed through the fjords of Norway. The 60-year-old, who has not yet been named, died at the San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona hospital in Salerno (pictured) in the early hours of Friday morning Upon arrival into Salerno port on Wednesday evening, the condition of the woman was already serious. She was transported by wheelchair into an ambulance waiting in the port and was rushed directly to the Ruggi hospital. Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno reported the victim was suffering with extreme breathing difficulties, and by the time she arrived in the hospital was experiencing cardiogenic shock. Doctors wanted to transfer the woman to a nearby Covid intensive care ward in the nearby hospital in Scafati roughly 18 miles away, but could not risk moving her due to her extremely low heart rate and blood pressure. Despite the best efforts of the Ruggi medical staff, the woman died in the early hours of Friday morning, just over 24 hours after leaving the Bolette. Her husband is recovering from his infection. The cruise ship meanwhile quickly left port, in accordance with safety protocols designed to limit the spread of Covid according to Corriere. The cruise ship Bolette, on which the woman first discovered she had been infected with Covid, was carrying 800 people on a cruise of the Mediterranean (Bolette is pictured centre in Tenerife in 2021) Peter Deer, Managing Director at Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: 'We were extremely sad to learn of the passing of one of our guests after she was transferred to hospital ashore in Italy. 'Our medical teams worked very quickly to support her and arranged for her to be transported to hospital as soon as the ship arrived in port. 'We are in close contact with her husband, and their family, and doing all we can to support them in light of this sad news.' There have been just over 56,000 recorded cases of Covid in Italy in the past 24 hours, according to WHO data. 1,003 people died from complications attributed to Covid in Italy last week according to the same data. Are you tired of filtered and overly edited photos? Here's a new app that will show the authentic you. BeReal is an app that aims to give you a more authentic and real way to show your stories in the social media world. According to the company, the app offers "a new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life." It was launched in early 2020 by French entrepreneur, Alexis Barreyat. Majority of its users, at least 65%, have signed up in the first quarter of 2022, CNN reported. The BeReal social media app is focused on authenticity. You will be prompted once a day to share a photo of what you're doing at that moment, which gives your friends and others an unvarnished glimpse into your life. It has no filters and no edit buttons so people would see the reality of where you are and what you are currently doing. How Does BeReal Work? BeReal is aiming to change the standards that Facebook and Instagram have set that you need to have blemish-free skin and have a perfectly curated pose in photos. With BeReal, there is only one requirement you have to be yourself. So here's how the new app works. Every day, you get a notification from BeReal that tells you that it's time to post your photos for the day. You have two minutes to do it. At the same time, your friends will also get notifications. You take a photo of whatever you're doing at that time when the notification appears, no matter how mundane or exciting. You could be lying in bed, waiting at a bus station, playing with your cat, or eating your breakfast. You can be totally doing anything and it's totally okay. With your back-facing camera, you take one photo of what you're doing, and at the same time, with your front-facing camera, your phone takes a photo of you. That's it. Filters or third-party apps to change your appearance are not integrated into the app. You may retake the photos and you can still post if you miss the window, but in both cases, your friends will see that you retook the image or posted late, as explained by CNET. BeReal also allowed users to see where their friends are on a map and discover other publicly posted. The catch is before you view anyone else's post for the day, you have to post your own photos, as per CNET. Read Also: Truth Social App: Where and How to Download Donald Trump's Social Media App What Make BeReal Popular? At least 65% of lifetime downloads of BeReal happened in the first quarter of 2022. The app's 315% year-to-date increase in downloads is also notable. BeReal is targeting college students with its ambassador program and it seems to be working, said NPR. It has become popular among many Generation Z because according to them, other social media apps encourage them to look good whereas BeReal is more of a down-to-earth app that allows users to post their authentic selves. As per an NPR report, the curation that individuals do on other social media platforms is part of what BeReal is trying to break with the lack of filters and the timestamps it has. It aims to offer a more intimate view of your life. Related Article: Social Media Cybersecurity Threats Katie Price will appear in court tomorrow charged with allegedly breaching a restraining order against harassing the fiancee of her former husband Kieran Hayler. Katie, 43, who has rekindled her romance with fiance Carl Woods, will appear before magistrates in Crawley on Wednesday. She is accused of allegedly breaching a restraining order against Michelle Penticost, Kieran's fiancee. Breaking the terms of the restraining order carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. Katie also risks jail time for being arrested while still on licence for her drink-drive BMW crash. The troubled reality star was arrested on January 21 over claims she sent an abusive text to Michelle. She spent the night in a cell after being quizzed by officers at Worthing Police station who had earlier picked Katie up from her home in Horsham after a report was made. Katie allegedly branded flight attendant Michelle a 'c***ing w***e piece of s***' and a 'gutter s**g. Price may have breached the order a second time when she sent an anonymous letter attacking Michelle to a relative just before flying out to Thailand. Katie Price, 43, is accused of harassing ex-husband's fiancee Michelle Penticost in a message Kieran and Michelle, who Katie is banned from contacting directly or indirectly under law A source said: 'Katie is playing a dangerous game and her actions have led her into deep trouble. 'Kieran and Michelle were deeply concerned after a relative received a letter, believing Katie is ignoring the rules of the restraining order as this is the second time it's happened in three months. 'It was sent anonymously from Heathrow on the day she left for Thailand. 'They know it's her and are concerned by her unpredictable behaviour.' A police source told MailOnline: 'Katie Price was arrested a few weeks ago for breaching a restraining order placed against her following an argument with the fiancee of her former partner, Kieran Hayler. 'Now she is believed to have written an anonymous note attacking Michelle Penticost via one of her family members. 'As such Katie has been charged with harassment and will appear before Crawley magistrates.' Mother of five Katie was banned from contacting Michelle, 39, 'directly or indirectly' after swearing at her in a school playground in 2019. Katie and Carl Woods, her boyfriend, cuddle up in a recent social media picture on Instagram Katie is under a suspended prison sentence for drink-driving so could be punished further if she is convicted of this Michelle has grown close to Katie's two children she shares with Kieran, son Jett, eight, and daughter Bunny, seven. She also has her own child with the ex-stripper, seven-month-old son Apollo, and a ten-year old son Valentino from a previous relationship. The couple met in 2018 and got engaged the following year. Former Loose Women host Katie travelled to the Far East with Carl for her latest bout of cosmetic surgery - a boob job and full body liposuction procedure - and has remained there for over two weeks. The couple, who got engaged last April, have experienced a tumultuous 12 months. Katie avoided jail in December when she was handed a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, as well as a two-year driving ban after admitting drink-driving while disqualified in December. She also tested positive for cocaine after she rolled her BMW near her home in Horsham. Last month, fiance Carl issued a public denial on Instagram over abuse claims, saying he 'didn't lay a finger' on Katie and said he had 'black and white proof' to clear his name after he was charged with using threatening and abusive behaviour towards her in an incident at their house in Essex. Carl is Katie's first serious major relationship since her split from Kieran in 2019. They were together for seven years, marrying in 2013 in the Bahamas, but their romance was marred by Kieran's two flings with two of Katie's close pals. She was previously married to Peter Andre, father of her two children Junior, 16, and Princess, 14, for four years, before her ill-fated marriage to husband No2 Alex Reid, which lasted just 11 months. A nursery school teacher, a pensioner and two children aged five and six have been shot dead by a gunman who opened fire at a nursery in Russia's central Ulyanovsk region on Tuesday. The gunman, who has been identified as Ruslan Akhtyamov, 26, went on frenzied rampage killing his neighbour Alexander Dronin, 68, before attacking Ryabinka nursery in the Veshkayma settlement of Ulyanovsk. Teacher Olga Mitrofanova was killed as she heroically tried to prevent Akhtyamov entering the premises, and the children were shot mercilessly as they cowered under their bedsheets. The dead children were later named in full as Vladimir 'Vova' Krylov, five, and Ekaterina 'Katya' Sosnova, six. Images which the MailOnline has chosen not to publish due to their gruesome nature showed the bodies of Akhtyamov's child victims in pools of blood, with their remains splattered across the walls. The shooter finally put the killing spree to an end by shooting himself in the head. Images published on Telegram showed his lifeless corpse slumped on a bed with a gaping hole in his face. A nanny, Elena Karpova, 52, also suffered an arm injury and is in a stable condition at hospital according to local officials. The armed man, who had a hunter's license, walked into the kindergarten during nap time and fired from a Soviet-era double-barrelled hunting shotgun, an IZH-27. There was no guard on duty. Ruslan Akhtyamov, 26 (pictured) killed his neighbour Alexander Dronin, 68, before attacking Ryabinka nursery in the Veshkayma settlement in the Ulyanovsk region with a shotgun. He killed teacher Olga Mitrofanova, Vova, 5, Katya, 6 and wounded nanny Elena Karpova, 52 Pictured: An unconfirmed image of the scene outside the nursery where the gunman opened fire The suspects father identified his son (pictured) as the gunman behind the nursery massacre 'A man with a gun entered the nursery in the village of Veshkayma during the ''quiet hour'', shot two children and a teacher, and then committed suicide,' the source told Interfax. 'According to preliminary information there was a shooting in a nursery . As a result, two children, a teacher and the attacker died,' the head of the Ulyanovsk region information department, Dmitry Kamal, said. He said investigators were working at the scene to establish further information. A source in law enforcement told news agency TASS that the shooting may have been the result of a 'domestic conflict'. The shooter had a hunter's licence and bought the gun he used in the attack legally, authorities said. 'The man had all the necessary documents and licenses for the IZH-27 gun. He was a hunter and bought the gun legally,' an informed source said. The attacker's motives are not yet known, though the shooter is not believed to have been linked to the children. The child victims also have different surnames and are not thought to have been linked outside of the nursey. Akhtyamov lived on the same street as the Ryabinka nursery, and was known to go shooting frequently with his neighbour Dronin, who was also a hunter A nanny, Elena Karpova, 52, also suffered an arm injury and is in a stable condition at hospital according to local officials The suspects father identified his son as the gunman behind the kindergarten massacre. Akhtyamov lived on the same street as the Ryabinka nursery, and was known to go shooting frequently with his neighbour Dronin, who was also a hunter. Dronin's body was found next to his car with gunshot wounds. 'I express my deep condolences to the families and friends of the victims. This is an irreplaceable loss for all of us', the region's governor Alexei Russkikh said in a statement. Investigators have opened a criminal case over the incident, Russia's Investigative Committee said. A far-right politician who was sacked after bosses discovered his 'offensive' views when he ran for Parliament has had his discrimination claim thrown out. Graham Moore was suing the London-based Southern Housing Group after he was fired for standing as a candidate for the English Democrats in the December 2019 general election. His employers said he had failed to declare his intention to run, while his views on English nationalism had left other staff members 'distressed'. Moore, who was dismissed in January 2020, claimed he was discriminated against for his 'race' as an 'indigenous Englishman', and for his philosophical belief in 'English self-determination' and independence. The self-described 'Daddy Dragon', who hosted a YouTube show called 'The Full English' on his page with 25,000 subscribers - before being banned from the site - believes in the 'English constitution' which started with the Magna Carta in the 13th century, and believes people guilty of committing treason against the state deserve the death penalty. Employment Judge Fiona Louise McLaren said Moore's claims had no merit, as the firm - which has offices in London and Horsham, West Sussex - was within its rights to dismiss him for failing to declare 'conflicting interests' and for contacting a journalist and claiming he was being 'harassed' over his beliefs. However she ruled that a belief in England can pass as a 'cogent and cohesive' philosophical belief, protected by law. Ruling at the south London tribunal in Croydon, Judge McLaren said: 'We conclude that Moore's belief in England as one nation under God, English self-determination and English independence, while based on his opinion of English history, amount to a philosophical belief that is more than a statement of opinion. Graham Moore (pictured) was suing the Southern Housing Group after he was fired when bosses discovered his 'offensive' and 'disturbing' views on English nationalism, which they said left other staff members 'distressed' 'His views - about socialism being unlawful [and] on what constitutes treason - potentially infringe on others' rights within a democracy, but we conclude that his beliefs do not involve a very grave violation of the rights of others tantamount to the destruction of those rights. 'He is not espousing violence or hatred in its gravest of forms. 'We conclude his beliefs fall into the category of beliefs that are offensive, shocking or even disturbing to others but are within the less grave forms of hate speech which are not excluded from protection.' Moore claims the English 'have been suppressed by the British since 1825' and insists 'English history is being erased'. He also calls for the death penalty for those committed of treason, the tribunal heard. He once branded Conservative defector Anna Soubry - who opposed Brexit - a 'traitor'. The panel heard that when he landed a project supervisor job at the housing association, he failed to declare his views and that he was a member of the English Democrats. Moore was annoyed that he had to tick 'British' for his nationality during the application process as there was no 'English' option, the hearing was told. Soon after joining the association in October 2019, Moore (far left) announced he was standing as a parliamentary candidate in the Bexleyheath and Crayford Constituency, London, for the English Democrats in that December's General Election He noted his ethnic origin as 'other ethnic group' to reflect his English origin, it was also heard. Soon after joining the association in October 2019, he announced he was standing as a parliamentary candidate in the Bexleyheath and Crayford Constituency, London, for the English Democrats in that December's General Election. He suffered a resounding loss with 520 votes, a mere 1.2 per cent of the total share. His bosses had not known about his specific beliefs as he did not declare them when he joined, and around the time of the election colleagues were left 'distressed' when he spoke about his affiliation. Now, after trying to sue Southern Housing Group for race discrimination and philosophical belief discrimination, both the claims have been struck out at an employment tribunal. A tribunal report laid out Moore's beliefs in further detail. It read: 'Moore has a belief in England, English identity, English culture, English independence and actively promotes the English constitution and legal system, and English system through various media outlets. 'His belief in English culture included his belief in the English constitution and therefore English common law. His belief in 'England' is the same as a belief in an English nation, one nation under God. 'He is both a nationalist and a constitutionalist. He believes in the law of the land; the freedom and liberty English laws gave us, which the British have taken away. The tribunal heard Moore attended the November 2019 trial of fellow English Democrat Amy Dalla Mura on her behalf. Mura was found guilty of targeting MP Anna Soubry (pictured), who left the Tories to join Change UK 'He believes in the nation state in England which gave us the laws starting with the English Magna Carta... He believes English history is being erased. 'He explained that while he talks of England and one nation under God, he did not limit being English to what he describes as white, indigenous English, which he also described as being white Anglo Saxon. 'He explained that individuals who are black can be English, although not indigenous English. 'Again, he stated that he did not have any issue with non-Christians, despite his belief in one nation being under a Christian God.' Moore's beliefs mean he 'demands the British state formally acknowledge the existence of the English as an ethnic group'. The tribunal heard Moore attended the November 2019 trial of fellow English Democrat Amy Dalla Mura on her behalf. Mura was found guilty of targeting MP Soubry, who left the Tories to join Change UK. Moore viewed Soubry as a 'traitor', adding that he would 'advocate for the death penalty' if an individual was found guilty of treason. As an English Democrat, Moore claimed: 'We are true Conservatives unlike Nigel Farage who is the equivalent to Benedict Arnold, he is British not English'. His YouTube account was banned for 'violating' its rules and his Twitter profile has also been removed. The twin brother of policeman David Rathband, who was shot and blinded by killer Raoul Moat, said he will not watch a new drama about the gunman. Darren Rathband, 54, has urged people to remember the victims of Moat's deadly attack in July, 2010, instead of focusing on the killer. He said he will not be watching ITV's upcoming series, The Hunt for Raoul Moat, based on the substantial search for the 37-year-old. The broadcaster confirmed last week that it has started filming the programme. Mr Rathband, 54, said his family do not need any more reminders of what happened to his twin brother. 'David loss gives us a painful reminder everyday. If its based on facts and not fiction, the story remains the same,' he told ChroniceLive. 'I dont watch them, dont need to and never will. I sadly lived being involved in it.' PC David Rathband (left) with his twin brother Darren, after being shot in the face twice by Raoul Moat. He was left blinded by the attack Police officer David Rathband (left) was shot and blinded by Raoul Moat, 37, less than 24 hours after he shot his ex-girlfriend and her new partner. Darren Rathband, 54, his twin brother, said he will not watch the new ITV drama being filmed about the case PC Rathband took his life on February 29, 2012, after his 20-year marriage ended the year before. Pictured, his funeral in Stafford PC Rathband, 42, was sat in his police car on a roundabout above the A1 in Newcastle when he was shot in the face twice by Moat. It happened less than 24 hours after Moat injured his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart with a shotgun and killed her new partner Christopher Brown with it. Afterwards, Moat took refuge with a pair of accomplices in Rothbury, Northumberland. Armed police were drafted in from around the country to find him, in one of the nation's most notorious manhunts. He was eventually cornered by armed police before a six-hour stand-off began. As negotiators tried to get Moat to put down his weapon, the crazed killer shot himself in the head. Left, Raoul Moat, who was 37 at the time of a shooting spree in 2010. Right, Matt Stokoe, who will play him in a new drama Raoul Moat holds a shotgun to his head after being confronted by armed police in Rothbury Sitting on the grass with a sawn-off shotgun, actor Matt Stokoe, 33, was pictured last week playing the killer Raoul Moat in his final moments before he took his own life The ITV drama, which will tell the story of one of the most notorious manhunts in the UK, filmed the gripping scenes in Yorkshire with Stokoe in the lead role. Actors posing as police officers are pictured during filming this week Police pictured in July 2010, during their confrontation with fugitive Raoul Moat Raoul Moat's horrific final days before dramatic six-hour stand off Thursday, July 1, 2010: Released from Durham prison after serving a short time for assault Saturday, July 3, 2010: Moat shoots dead Chris Brown, who is the new partner of his ex girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, who he also tried to shoot twice through the window of a property Sunday, July 4, 2010: Moat shoots PC David Rathband and the public are urged not to approach him Monday, July 5, 2010: Cleveland, Humberside, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Cumbria Police join up with Northumberland Police to help them with the search for Moat Tuesday, July 6, 2010: Moat declares war on the police. Police also investigate an armed robbery from the day before as the description matches Moat's Wednesday, July 7, 2010: Police offer 10,000 reward for information leading to his capture Thursday, July 8, 2010: Police urge public to be vigilant as they release new images of Moat Friday, July 9, 2010: Moat located in Rothbury with witnesses saying he is on the floor with a gun to his head near the riverbank Saturday, July 10, 2010: Moat shoots himself after a six-hour stand off with police Advertisement PC Rathband survived the attack by lying in his blood and pretending to be dead, before calling for help from the force on his radio. He healed from some of his injuries but was left blind. He returned to work and set up a charity for injured emergency service staff. He also wrote an autobiography and won a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain award for his bravery. The officer took his life on February 29, 2012, after his 20-year marriage ended the year before, when his wife found out he was having an affair with a 7/7 bombing survivor. Mr Rathband hopes that anyone viewing the ITV drama will think of Moat as a 'coward', and remember his victims. 'Victims of crime are often forgotten by the names of the cowards that carry out despicable acts of violence towards others,' he said. 'This event and actions by a coward are no different. 'The public should remember the names of those effected by violence, those who are no longer here to be heard, instead of the names of those who commit these heinous crimes.' A spokesperson for ITV said that The Hunt for Raoul Moat also focuses on the three victims, Ms Stobbart, Mr Brown and PC Rathband. Scriptwriter Kevin Sampson said he hopes the drama condemns a narrative of victim-blaming when it comes to violence against women. He added that televised coverage of the manhunt in 2010 'gripped' him, and he was interested when Moat was portrayed as a 'legend' by some despite his 'brutality'. Simon Heath and Jake Lushington, commenting on on behalf of producers World Productions, said that Mr Sampson has written a 'compelling and unflinching' account of the events. They said the programme highlights 'the human tragedy behind the lurid headlines', adding: 'The drama is a timely reminder of how social media and fake news can create a dangerous myth, in this case that Raoul Moat was any kind of hero.' Lee Ingleby is pictured filming the scene of the notorious standoff from 2010 for the ITV drama Stokoe is pictured behind the scenes of a new ITV drama about the horrific shooting spree in 2010 Sally Messham, pictured right, has signed on to play Moat's ex-lover Samantha Stobbart, who sustained severe injuries after being shot in the stomach by the crazed gunman Stokoe, famous for roles in the Channel 4 series Misfits, the BBC series Bodyguard and Sky's Jamestown, has assumed the lead role of Moat, while Sally Messham (Doc Martin) and Josef Davies (Chernobyl) will play Moat's ex-lover Stobbart and murder victim Brown. The drama will also star The A Word's Lee Ingleby as Northumbria Police Officer Neil Adamson, who was among the main police officers searching for Moat while he evaded capture. Sonya Cassidy (The Last Kingdom) and Vineeta Rishi (Holby City) have also been announced as cast members. Downing Street continued to play down talk of a rift with France today as officials confirmed Boris Johnson has still not spoken to Emmanuel Macron in the wake of his re-election. Macron saw off far-right rival Marine Le Pen in the second round of the French presidential election at the weekend. But despite leaders including Joe Biden, Germany's Olaf Scholz and even China's Xi Jinping calling the Elysee to congratulate him on his second term, No10 said there was no call scheduled today. Mr Macron, 44, clashed with the Prime Minister in recent months as he sought to see off hard-right challenger Marine Le Pen. There have been stand-offs over fishing rights and also the way French authorities have failed to stem the tide of small boat crossings, despite taking millions of pounds off the UK Government. Macron saw off far-right rival Marine Le Pen in the second round of the French presidential election at the weekend. Despite leaders including Joe Biden, Germany's Olaf Scholz and even China's Xi Jinping calling the Elysee to congratulate him on his second term, No10 said there was no call scheduled today. World leaders who have managed to pick up the phone to the Elysee Joe Biden (United States) Xi Jinping (China) Olaf Scholz (Germany) Advertisement The Prime minister's official spokesman told reporters today there were no plans for them to talk today, adding: 'You'll know they've spoken very regularly in recent weeks and months and I'm sure that will not change. Not least because of the situation in Ukraine.' He went on: 'You will appreciate when it comes to world leaders' calls, timings can change quite often - both people being exceptionally busy.' Ministers hope that victory for Macron will trigger an end to the relentless 'Brit-bashing' of his campaign and open the door to a new deal on stemming the flow of illegal migration across the Channel. The Macron administration was seen as talking tough to limit the impact of Le Pen, who comes from an anti-EU, anti-migrant background. But Downing Street yesterday voiced hopes that a new era of co-operation can now be launched. 'Hopefully now his electioneering is out the way we can come together around the table and look at sensible solutions to solve what is a shared problem,' a Government source said. Centrist Macron beat Le Pen 58.5 per cent to 41.5 per cent to win re-election on Sunday but Le Pen produced her highest-ever level of support in her three attempts to become France's leader. His win will be made official on Wednesday and Macron will hold a Cabinet meeting before setting a date for his inauguration ceremony, which must be held by May 13. The president will also make a speech tomorrow. Macron faces a new election battle to keep his Republique en Marche party in control of France's National Assembly. The centrist leader will be under pressure in the June polls to convince a divided nation to push through his election manifesto. His tighter winning margin than in 2017 shows the discontent in France with his domestic record. Five years ago, Mr Macron's party won 308 out of 577 seats in the lower house of parliament. Voters will have to choose between Mr Macron's pro-EU agenda, Marine Le Pen's populist National Rally and the radical-Left France Unbowed party led by Jean-Luc Melenchon. If they can steal seats from Mr Macron's party or form a coalition to vote down many of his plans, he will effectively be left as a lame-duck president for five years. Eric Zemmour of the hard-Right Reconquest party has suggested forming a Right-wing alliance to block the leader's reforms. Mr Melenchon, who won 22 per cent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, has said he should become the next French PM in the June polls. He said: 'Macron's election is the worst result of the Fifth Republic. He swims in an ocean of abstentions and spoiled ballots.' Turnout in French parliamentary elections is usually lower than the presidential vote and was just 42 per cent of eligible voters in 2017. French economist Christopher Dembik said: 'He [Mr Macron] risks being a lame duck faced with major social discontent if he wants to implement sensitive reforms such as for pensions.' Plans to line part of the bank of the River Cam, in Cambridge with a gold-coloured metal artwork at a cost of up to 150,000 has drawn fierce criticism from locals. A campaign group, Friends of the Cam, says the river 'does not need gold bling' to enhance its natural beauty. The group, which wants to restore the health of the river, has gained hundreds of signatures for a petition opposing the public art. Called 'Selvedge', the glinting structure, designed by local artist Caroline Wright, would see a 50-metre stretch of the riverbank at Sheep's Green covered in gold-coloured metal. Comments on the petition call the sculpture 'pointless and unsightly', with others such as Ros Sinclair saying it: 'Is an obscene waste of money and will spoil something beautiful.' Tony Booth, meanwhile, felt that it is: 'an absurd waste of money and an insult to the people of Cambridge who deserve better in the name of public art.' Odile Martin believes the design is 'totally inappropriate for the location.' It has also been criticised for being ill be 'about as far away as it could be' from communities which could benefit from extra funding. A golden public art sculpture which may be built along the banks of the River Cam (pictured), in Cambridge, has drawn large amounts of criticism from residents who are angry at the money being spent on it The 50m stretch of the bank on Sheep's Green could be covered in 'an undulating golden wave' The sculpture is planned to be installed along the riverbank in Sheep's Green, Cambridge (pictured) The sculpture is part of a programme of events and activities for local people, called the 'To The River' project, which has already had 120,000 allocated to it. Cambridge City Council says the funding has been 'secured specifically' for public art projects, through Section 106 developer contributions money paid to the city council by developers. Labour council leader Cllr Anna Smith said that the money had to be used for public art and if it was not used then it would have to be returned to the developers. Though more than 330 people have now signed a Change.org petition to stop the sculpture being built - although it already has undergone public consultation. Part of the petition reads: 'The Cam does not need to be "enhanced" with 50m of gold decoration along the river bank at Sheep's Green nature reserve as Friends of the Cam and many other groups and individuals wrote in response to the public consultation. 'Please join in our call to the city council to ensure that no money is wasted on this vanity project and that there is now a genuine consultation on what would really be of benefit to the people of Cambridge.' Councillor Mairead Healy said many people criticising the To the River proposals were mainly middle class. She said: 'A lot of the things I have seen in the media and a lot of the criticism is predominantly coming from white, middle class people. 'It upsets me a bit because I know that a lot of the people who have been involved with the consultations have been people from working class backgrounds.' The River Cam is a popular location for tourists to visit and enjoy a punting tour (pictured) Cambridge City Council say on their website that they hope to unveil the artwork as part of World Rivers Day in September, but add that it is subject to planning permission and the consent of Conservators of the River Cam and the Environment Agency. Caroline Wright (pictured) has been the artist in residence for the River Cam since 2018 The council describe the work as being 'an undulating golden wave flowing in, out and over the riverbank' that will be etched with a Cambridge Lace pattern, 'paying homage to the female influences on the river'. The artist Caroline Wright was appointed by the council to be an artist in residence for the River Cam in 2018 and has helped 'celebrate and promote' the story of the River Cam and how it has shaped the city of Cambridge. A Green Party councillor spoke to the Cambridge Independent about the planned artwork, she said: 'The proposed location Newnham is about as far away as it could be from communities, like Abbey, who would benefit the most from this huge amount of funding. 'The numerous residents who raised concerns about this ahead of and during the meeting have had them ignored, when we should be welcoming everyone and their contributions, and making decisions collaboratively.' Tim Westwood is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by women who claim he abused his position within the music industry to take advantage of them. The 64-year-old has been accused of initiating unwanted sex by three women, while four others allege he groped their bottoms or breasts at events, reports the Guardian and BBC. It is claimed the first alleged incident took place in 1992, while the most recent came in 2017. One woman who claims her breast was grabbed by the veteran DJ in 2000 said she was left feeling 'cold and dirty' after the alleged incident. One of the women described how she 'froze' and felt 'very intimated' after Westwood allegedly said 'lemme grab some ass', before putting his hand down the back of her shorts after meeting the girl at a club in Ayia Napa, Cyprus in 2009. Three others, aged 17, 19 and 20 at the time, describe a pattern of alleged 'opportunist and predatory sexual behaviour' after agreeing to meet with him. Two of them, who had aspirations of working within the music industry, claim they agreed to meet Westwood in London to discuss music, before he 'initiated unwanted and unexpected sex' that left them feeling 'completely powerless' and 'scared'. A further four women say Westwood groped them while posing for a picture with him after his nightclub performances. Veteran DJ Tim Westwood is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by women who claim he abused his position to take advantage of them. The DJ has strenuously denied all allegations One accuser claims Westwood (pictured) drove her to a flat in central London and initiated unwanted sex when she was 19 and he was 53. The DJ has denied all allegations The DJ, who is not married, has strenuously denied all claims. A spokesperson for the DJ told MailOnline: 'Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour. 'IT WAS MENACINGLY SILENT... I WAS SO ASHAMED OF MYSELF' Isabel was 19 when she says she handed Westwood her mixtape in a club, knowing he was 'the main gatekeeper' for a dream spot on Radio 1. Westwood, then 53, called her the next day and invited her to come to London from her home in the Midlands. He picked her up from the railway station, but she started to panic when he drove out of central London. The mood turned 'menacingly silent' before he tapped her arm. She turned and claims he had undone his trousers and exposed his genitals. She told the BBC: 'I've looked and I've seen and I'm like 'oh, no, oh no,' like, 'oh my God'.' Isabel* claims Westwood took her to his flat, where she felt 'completely powerless' and 'very, very scared'. Westwood allegedly left the room before re-entering 'completely naked'. He started undoing a condom from a packet with his face on it from a promotional Durex campaign. Isabel was left 'frozen with fear' and 'knew what was going to happen at this point' as the DJ forced himself on her, she claims. 'I just remember feeling so deflated,' she added. 'So sad. Feeling really ashamed of myself and bad.' * Names have been changed to protect identities Advertisement 'In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially. Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing.' The women, who do not know one another, were aged in their late teens or early 20s when they claim they were set upon by the former Radio 1 star. Each have provided their own claims in the wake of anonymous sexual misconduct allegations levelled against Westwood on social media two years ago. One accuser claims Westwood drove her to a flat in central London and initiated unwanted sex when she was 19 and he was 53. She told the BBC she felt 'completely powerless' and 'very, very scared' when he allegedly exposed his genitals to her in a car'. Another woman, who was 17 at the time, alleges Westwood, then aged in his mid-thirties, also subjected her to unwanted sex. Using the alias Tamara, she claimed the encounter took place after giving Westwood a demo of her own work while she was a member of an R&B group. 'Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power. He could make or break your career', she said. But once they arrived at a London flat, she claims Westwood, without saying anything, pulled down her trousers and underwear before performing oral sex on her. One woman, using the pseudonym Isabel, alleges she was 19 and the DJ was 53 when he exposed his genitals to her in a car. Isabel told the BBC that upon entering a flat in London, a naked Westwood entered the room with a drink in hand. He was allegedly holding a condom and initiated sex with her while she remained 'frozen'. Westwood, pictured above in 2005, is at the centre of a sexual misconduct storm after allegations were levelled against him in recent years One accuser claims Westwood drove her to a flat in central London and initiated unwanted sex when she was 19 and he was 53. He has denied all of the women's claims Another woman was in her 20s when she told the BBC she met Westwood after reassuring her mother that it was work experience to help the DJ connect with a younger audience. She claims when Westwood picked her up in a large American-style vehicle he started touching her inappropriately before his 'erratic driving' was picked up on by a police officer. Later, in a London flat, she claims the DJ sat next to her and tried kissing her before they had sex. She claims the work experience he offered never materialised. Other women claim Westwood groped them during photo shoots with the celebrity after his shows. One said she was aged 22, and Westwood 59, when he 'moved his hand up the back of her skirt' at a New Year's Day event in London in 2017. The women, whose identities have been anonymised, will share their accounts in a new BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power which airs at 9pm tonight. 'He offered work experience, then started kissing my neck' Pamela was 20 when she says Westwood invited her for work experience at Radio 1 after meeting her through her job in the music industry. She claims he told her he wanted to learn how to 'get a younger audience', and reassured her 'stern Jamaican mother' that she would be safe to travel to London from the Midlands. However, when he picked her up from the railway station in his car he started 'stroking her leg and touching her face', Pamela* claims. Westwood allegedly took her to his flat where he began trying to kiss her neck and remove her clothing. She says she thought: 'I'm in London alone with this man. Now if I try and get out of this, who's to say how he's going to react... so I just submitted to it.' She said the ordeal in 2000 was 'traumatic' and 'disgusting'. The promised work experience never materialised. Pamela hit out at the BBC for allowing Westwood to abuse his 'celebrity status', adding: 'Who are they going to believe? This little girl from the Midlands, or this big, shiny star from London?' * Names have been changed to protect identities Advertisement A statement released by the BBC in response to Westwood's allegations said: 'The BBC is against all forms of inappropriate behaviour and we are shocked to hear of these allegations. The BBC has strict codes of conduct for all those engaged by the BBC, including on-air presenters.' The allegations are likely to further rock the music industry after hundreds of musicians spoke out about their struggles with bullying and harassment in 2021. X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson previously demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the music industry and called for greater regulation to protect artists from 'bullying' agents and managers. She said that she had been sexually harassed by a music executive and, in a series of tweets, claimed she knew two women who had been raped and others who had been driven close to suicide by the industry. Westwood, son of the former Bishop of Peterborough, is a well known figure on the hip hop scene. He began his career with local radio before joining Capital Radio in London and was later given his own show by BBC Radio 1. Westwood is considered among the most influential rap and hip hop DJ in Europe and is a winner of numerous radio industry awards, including best radio DJ in the Music of Black Origin ceremony. In 1999 he was the victim of a drive by shooting in south London after leaving a concert. Two men on a motorbike pulled up alongside his Range Rover and fired several shots. Westwood suffered an arm injury and later said the attack was part of an extortion attempt by a gang. In 2020, Westwood was forced to deny involvement in similar allegations when the hashtag #survivingTimWestwood appeared on Twitter. Westwood's name and the allegations began trending on Twitter after an unnamed woman posted messages describing a four year relationship. Tim Westwood, son of the former Bishop of Peterborough, is a well known and award-winning figure in the UK hip hop scene Using the Twitter name @survivingtimwestwood she admitted she was in love with the DJ and had not gone to police with any of her allegations. Others responding to the Twitter messages called on bosses at Global Radio, where Westwood works for Capital Xtra, to investigate his behaviour towards young black women. The renowned DJ vehemently denied sensational allegations on social media that he has behaved inappropriately with student fans. In October 2013, Westwood was condemned by students for a 'vulgar and sexist' stage show he put on during a Fresher's event at the University of Leicester. While performing as guest DJ at the O2 Academy he was heard shouting over the microphone: 'Girl in the front row with the black dress on, I will be f****** you later.' Pennsylvania Republican primary candidate tore into rival Mehmet Oz by claiming there is no 'miracle cure for flip-flopping' and the former television doctor mocked his opponent for not getting Donald Trump's endorsement. David McCormick's one-liner comment during Monday's GOP primary debate for U.S. Senate took aim at Dr. Oz's promotion of remedies on his long-running show The Dr. Oz Show and also knocked him for previously opposing fracking. The one-hour event Monday evening saw the five GOP candidates Oz, McCormick, Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, and Carla Sands throwing jabs just three weeks before the primary election in the Keystone State. Oz is the candidate who earned Trump's endorsement in the race to take retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey's seat. The former president will rally for Oz in Pittsburgh outskirt town of Greensburg on Friday, May 6. During the debate Monday evening at ABC27 studios in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania turned to fracking at one point with McCormick pointing out Oz's past opposition over the natural gas extraction method opposed by many environmentalists. 'Dishonest Dave is at it again,' Oz said in response to McCormick's criticism using Trump's tactics to dub adversaries with alliterative, disapproving nicknames. Pennsylvania Republican candidates for U.S. Senate Mehmet Oz (left) and David McCormick (right) got into a back-and-forth during Monday's debate over Trump's endorsement and fracking 'Dishonest Dave is at it again,' Dr. Oz said in response to McCormick's criticism that there is 'no miracle cure for flip-flopping' specifically referencing fracking 'He went groveling to President Trump with these types of allegations,' the television personality added. 'President Trump saw right through him, did not endorse him, and then he endorsed me, because as he said in his announcement which he wrote himself, I know how exactly to manage our energy issues and deal with many of the factors that we as a nation have to be strong and bold on.' Trump's endorsement of Oz has come at the chagrin of many Republicans in the state who claim that he is not a true Pennsylvanian. Oz was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1960 to Turkish immigrants and spent his summers in Turkey as a child including two years in the Turkish army after college in order to maintain dual citizenship. After earning his undergraduate degree in biology from Harvard, Oz went onto the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine to earn his MD and MBA degrees. He has a medical license in Pennsylvania. Oz is a longtime New Jersey resident, but registered to vote at his in-laws' address in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania in 2020. On November 30, 2021, he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania's 2022 race. McCormick responded at the debate Monday to Oz's criticism of not earning Trump's backing with: 'The reason Mehmet keeps talking about President Trump's endorsement is because he can't run on his own positions and his own records.' Five GOP candidates took stage for the primary debate in Pennsylvania on Monday evening. From L-R: Jeff Bartos, Mehmet Oz, David McCormick, Kathy Barnette and Carla Sands 'And what's true is that he has flip-flopped on every major issue we're talking about in this campaign. He's never in his entire media career advanced a conservative agenda,' the former hedge fund CEO added. 'The problem, doctor, is there's no miracle cure for flip-flopping,' he accused in a one-liner jab at Oz. 'And Pennsylvanians are seeing right through your phoniness and that's what you're dealing with. And that's why you're not taking off in the polls.' Oz has faced criticism for promoting questionable remedies for various ailments in his previous role as a medical personality on television. The doctor also previously took liberal positions on several issues like abortion, energy and guns. But the candidate is now trying to distance himself from that in his bid to win the nomination in the swing state that went blue for Joe Biden in 2020 by just 1.2 percent. An April poll from Nexstar/Emerson College Polling/The Hill showed that among 1,000 likely Republican Pennsylvania voters, McCormick is the most popular with 17.8 percent. Oz comes in second with 16.6 percent, even with Trump's support. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Oz last month and will rally for him in Pennsylvania on Friday, May 6, 2022 in the Pittsburgh outskirt of Greensburg Even though McCormick will not be able to ride the former president's coattails to Washington, D.C., the former Bridgewater Associates head was endorsed by Trump-era Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz. McCormick also was Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs during George W. Bush's administration. In the poll for the Senate race in Pennsylvania, Barnette finished third with 10.2 percent, Bartos came in fourth with 8.9 percent and Sands earned 7.7 percent. A massive 32 percent of voters said they were still undecided just weeks before heading to the polls. Candidates needed at least 5 percent in either the March or April polling to be invited to attend the debate on Monday evening. Tesla shares have plunged a day after CEO Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44billion - wiping $114billion off the carmaker's market capitalization. Stocks plummeted by up to 12 per cent on Tuesday to $876, marking a 28 per cent drop from its highest ever valuation in November. It also erased $25billion from the billionaire's finances, which had already taken a hit by forking out for the social media giant. It comes as the price of Dogecoin shot up nearly 40 percent amid expectation Musk will incorporate the 'joke' cryptocurrency into the site. The so-called 'meme coin' rose to 16.7 cents after the purchase was announced on Monday, up from 12 cents that morning. Musk had previously floated the idea that users could pay for Twitter's premium service with the coin. 'Joke' cryptocurrency Dogecoin went up by nearly 40 percent after Elon Musk finalized a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion in cash Musk has repeatedly promoted the cryptocurrency on his social media and on TV appearances, coinciding with a rise in interest in the 'meme coin' last year Last May, Musk played a financial expert trying to explain crypto on SNL's Weekend Update. He jokingly admitted that Dogecoin was a 'hustle,' sending the price down 22 percent Dogecoin stock went up by more than 15 percent after Musk tweeted that his electric car company, Tesla, will accept Dogecoin for merchandise Twitter stocks were down Tuesday morning, as experts worried that Musk's 'free speech absolutism' would clash with the company's advertiser-based model Shares of electric car maker Tesla were also down on Tuesday, by nearly 7 percent Oanda analyst Edward Moya warned Tesla shareholders must be concerned by the nosediving share price. He told Forbes: 'Tesla shareholders can't be happy that Musk will have to divert even more attention away from winning the electric-vehicle race.' Meanwhile Dogecoin investors would have been thrilled by it being worth 15 cents as of Tuesday morning after Musk bought out Twitter. The cryptocurrency was created as a 'joke' in 2013. Its mascot is a Shiba Inu dog. It was valued at less than one cent at the start of 2021, until the SpaceX founder and others started promoting it on social media, hyping it up and driving up the price. The billionaire's mere mention of the coin caused it to fluctuate. It plunged when he joked about it on air on Saturday Night Live last May. In December, it went up when he said Tesla would accept the coin as payment for merchandise. The 'joke' crypto that started as a meme... what is Dogecoin? Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency created as a 'joke' in 2013. Its mascot is a Shiba Inu dog, made popular from the 'doge' meme featuring photos of the canine overlaid with text written in broken English. It can be bought or sold on crypto exchanges like Coinbase or on trading apps like Robinhood and Webull. One Dogecoin is worth 16 cents as of Tuesday morning. It's never been worth more than 64 cents. Creator Billy Markus said last year that he invented the coin as a joke. 'I'm half detached, but it's weird that something I made in a few hours is now part of internet culture,' he said. 'It's amusing to see Elon Musk talk about it. It feels silly, but there's this huge upwelling behind it.' Advertisement Musk and Twitter reached a deal shortly before 3pm Monday afternoon. The Tesla magnate agreed to pay shareholders $54.20 in cash for each share of common stock before the bombshell deal was struck. The move shifts control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world's richest person. Musk vowed to protect free speech on Twitter, 'defeat the spam bots' and 'authenticate all humans' as he welcomed the acquisition. He previously proposed a series of changes to the company's fledgling premium service. 'Everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (ie pays $3/month) should get an authentication checkmark,' he tweeted. 'Price should probably be ~$2/month, but paid 12 months up front & account doesn't get checkmark for 60 days (watch for CC chargebacks) & suspended with no refund if used for scam/spam,' he said. 'And no ads. The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive,' he added. 'Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?' Some Twitter users are worried about the future of the company at the hands of Musk, who is known to use the platform to post inflammatory messages and tease his followers, sometimes with the idea of using Dogecoin legitimately. In January, he tweeted: 'Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin.' The stock went up by more than 15 percent that same day, CNBC reports. Last May, Musk played a financial expert trying to explain crypto on SNL's Weekend Update segment. 'They're a type of digital money but instead of being controlled by a central Government, they're decentralized using blockchain technology,' he explained, letting out a nervous giggle. In a bit about how difficult it is to explain, the segment's host repeatedly asked him, 'What is dogecoin?' 'I keep telling you, it's a cryptocurrency you can trade for conventional money.' Dogecoin creator Billy Markus admitted last year that he created the coin as a joke, and that it was 'amusing' to see Elon Musk promoting it 'Oh, so it's a hustle,' Michael Che finally said. 'Yeah, it's a hustle,' Musk replied. The stock dived by 22 percent while the show was airing. Dogecoin creator Billy Markus told Bloomberg last year that he invented the coin as a joke. The coin was being traded a lot early last year, reaching a high of 64 cents in May, months after amateur investors managed to send shares of video game retailer GameStop soaring. Markus cashed in his Dogecoin and abandoned his pet project in 2015. 'I'm half detached, but it's weird that something I made in a few hours is now part of internet culture,' he said. 'It's amusing to see Elon Musk talk about it. It feels silly, but there's this huge upwelling behind it.' Tuesday's slump notwithstanding, Twitter stock is up by more than 9 percent since April 19, when Musk made his offer to buy the company entirely. Tesla shares, meanwhile, fell by about 0.7 percent in the same time. Twitter stock is up by more than 9 percent since April 19, when Musk made his offer to buy the company entirely A New York Times reporter says that an unidentified Twitter employee told him they feel like 'throwing up' at the thought of working for Musk Inside Twitter, employees are reportedly dismayed at the realization that Musk is now their boss. 'I feel like im going to throw up..I rly don't wanna work for a company that is owned by Elon Musk,' one employee told a New York Times reporter. Some raised concerns about whether Musk, a staunch opponent of labor unions who is worth a reported $266 billion, would push the price of shares down as he seeks to take the company private, hitting employees who are partly paid in stock especially hard. The unidentified Twitter employee added: 'I don't rly know what I'm supposed to dooh my god, my phone's been blowing upWe have a meeting about it at 5pmthe CEO is going to address everyone about it 'I hate him, why does he even want this? 'I feel like he's this petulant little boy and that he's doing this to trollhe doesn't know anything about our policies and what we dohis statement about our algo was f****** insane 'Were just gonna let everyone run amok?nobody knows.' Earlier, the 50-year-old tycoon called for his 'worst critics' to remain on the platform because 'that is what free speech means.' Still, employees are worried about the SpaceX founder's plans for the company. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal (left) on Monday spoke to employees to try and reassure them. Co-founder Jack Dorsey (right) holds a board seat, but is expected to give it up in May Musk is known for using Twitter to post inflammatory messages, much like former President Donald Trump. Parag Agrawal, the CEO, said on Monday that it was up to Musk to decide whether to readmit Trump. Trump on Monday said he would not be rejoining the site if Musk allowed him to - instead saying he would continue to use his own TRUTH Social. Some experts are pointing to a tough road ahead for Twitter if Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, gets his way. 'We expect advertisers will be less willing to spend on Twitter if Elon Musk removes content moderation in order to promote free speech,' MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson said. The 16-year old company, which has emerged as one of the world's most influential online public squares with about over 200 million users, reported $4.51 billion in ad revenue for 2021, accounting for about 89% of its overall sales. 'The challenge (for Twitter) will be maintaining and building revenue given that the controversial opinions (Musk) hopes to give more of a free rein to are often unpalatable to advertisers,' Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said. Tesla tycoon versus Big Tech: How swashbuckling billionaire Elon Musk fought off 'poison pill', lawsuits and hostile board of directors before $44bn Twitter takeover It has been one of the most dramatic takeover attempts in history, seeing a swashbuckling billionaire pitted against one of the largest tech giants in the world. But Elon Musk's seizing of Twitter has been a months-long pursuit that has seen him send shockwaves through the world of business. The Tesla magnate started hoarding shares in the social media firm at the start of the year in an apparent bid to preserve free speech online. He quickly rocketed to the top of its shareholders' list, acquiring a huge 9% stake in the tech giant. But then he hit choppy waters, accepting a place on the board then rejecting it, getting embroiled in lawsuits and seeing rival companies circle to buy Twitter. Meanwhile bosses at the social media firm appeared to do all they could to ensure he could not not seize it - even launching a 'poison pill' strategy to sink his chances. Yet Musk brazenly blasted through all the obstacles, punting a $43 billion offer earlier this month and showing how he would finance it. The two sides were reportedly working into the early morning on Monday to finalize the 'fast-moving' negotiations. It saw Twitter shares in the US soar by four percent as the markets opened to $50.84 a share. On Monday, Musk called for his 'worst critics' to remain on the platform because 'that is what free speech means'. Here, DailyMail.com looks at the rollercoaster journey he has been on over the last few months as he seizes his prize. The Tesla magnate started hoarding shares in the social media firm at the start of the year in an apparent bid to preserve free speech online January 31: Musk hoards Twitter shares and buys them 'almost daily' Musk started buying Twitter stock on January 31 and continued to buy shares during every trading session through April 1, according to an SEC filing. Just days earlier, he told his 80 million followers on the site he was ' giving serious thought ' to creating his own social media platform. A user asked him: 'Would you consider building a new social media platform, @elonmusk? 'One that would consist an open source algorithm, one where free speech and adhering to free speech is given top priority, one where propaganda is very minimal. I think that kind of a platform is needed.' The Tesla and SpaceX CEO replied through his official account: 'Am giving serious thought to this.' The billionaire businessman, 50, appeared to be suggesting he was sick of Twitter over the right to freedom of speech. April 4: Musk says he bought 9.2 percent stake in firm a month earlier Musk revealed he had purchased a 9.2 percent stake in the social media giant on March 14. He tweeted 'oh hi lol' after the news sent shockwaves through the business world and across social media. He added: 'Do you want an edit button?' April 5: He joins Twitter's board of directors - sees share price rocket Twitter said the tech tycoon was joining the company's board of directors, causing the social media platform's shares to rise over 7 per cent in premarket trading. It led to speculation he would try to address what he called the platform's 'failure to adhere to free speech principles' and 'fundamentally undermine democracy'. Under the terms of the agreement, Musk would have served on the board until the company's 2024 annual shareholders meeting. As long as he remains a director, the agreement said, he could not won more than 14.9 percent of the company's stock. It meant he would not have been able to take over the company until well after his term on the board was over. The firm said: 'Twitter is committed to impartiality in the development and enforcement of its policies and rules. 'Our policy decisions are not determined by the Board or shareholders, and we have no plans to reverse any policy decisions.' 'As always our Board plays an important advisory and feedback role across the entirety of our service. 'Our day to day operations and decisions are made by Twitter management and employees.' April 8: Asset managers take over Musk as largest shareholders Asset manager Vanguard Group increased its stake to overtake Musk as the largest shareholder. Vanguard owned 10.3 percent of Twitter, while the Tesla tycoon owned 9.1 per cent, making him the largest individual shareholder. Vanguard, led by CEO Tim Buckley, increased its stake in the company at some point during the first quarter, according to SEC filings made on April 8. It previously reported owning 67.2million shares of Twitter or about 8.4 per cent of the company as of the end of December, according to FactSet. Other owners of large quantities of Twitter stock included Morgan Stanley, Fidelity and Black Rock. Vanguard, led by CEO Tim Buckley, increased its stake in the company at some point during the first quarter, according to SEC filings made on April 8 April 9: Musk rejects the offer to join Twitter's board of directors Musk rejected an offer to join Twitter's board after disclosing his stake in the company. Analysts said the move signaled his intention to take over the company as a board seat would have limited his stake to just under 15 per cent. Parag Agrawal said the board would still 'remain open' to Musk's input, but warned: 'There will be distractions ahead but our goals and priorities remain unchanged.' He said: 'The board and I had many discussions about Elon joining the board, and with Elon directly. We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. 'We also believed that having Elon as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The board offered him a seat.' Agrawal continued: 'We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance. 'Elon's appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board.' Parag Agrawal said the board would still 'remain open' to Musk's input, but warned: 'There will be distractions ahead but our goals and priorities remain unchanged' April 12: Twitter shareholder Marc Bain Rasella files suit against Musk Marc Bain Rasella filed a lawsuit against Musk for alleged securities fraud at a Manhattan federal court, according to a Bloomberg report. The suit claimed the billionaire was required to disclose his holdings to the SEC by March 24, but the delay kept Twitter's share price down allowing Musk to buy more. Musk was accused of violating a regulatory deadline to reveal he had accumulated a stake of at least five per cent. Instead, according to the complaint, Musk did not disclose his position in Twitter until he had almost doubled his stake to more than nine per cent. That strategy, the lawsuit alleges, hurt less wealthy investors who sold shares in the company in the nearly two weeks before Musk acknowledged holding a major stake. April 14: The Tesla tycoon offers to buy Twitter for $43 BILLION Musk offered to buy Twitter for $43billion, a regulatory filing showed, as he moved to seize the social media giant. Musk's offer price of $54.20 per share represented a 38 per cent premium to the closing price of Twitter's stock on April 1. This was the last trading day before the Tesla CEO's over nine per cent investment in the company was publicly announced. It even appeared to reference marijuana - also known as 420 - a common reference used by Musk on Twitter. Twitter said in a regulatory filing Musk provided a letter containing a proposal to buy the remaining shares of Twitter he did not already own. April 15: Twitter launches 'poison pill' strategy to stop Musk buyout Twitter's board announced a dramatic poison pill plan to prevent Musk from increasing his stake in the company. Also known as a shareholder rights provision, the plan would trigger a dilution of shares if any shareholder builds up a 15 per cent stake without the board's approval. The plan did not prevent Twitter from accepting Musk's offer or entering negotiations with him or other potential buyers. But it did stop the billionaire from putting pressure on the board by buying up ever more shares on the open market. Musk hit back with a laughing emoji to a version of the classic 'Distracted Boyfriend' meme mocking Twitter's board. The imaged depicted 'Twitter's board' looking wistfully at the option to 'keep that easy gig that gives me shares' as 'Twitter investors' look on with disgust. Twitter's board is led by chairman Bret Taylor, who is also the co-CEO of business software giant Salesforce April 16: Musk tweets Love Me Tender in tease of hostile takeover Musk tweeted 'Love Me Tender' as he again teased at the possibility of a hostile takeover of Twitter. The billionaire posted the Elvis Presley lyrics in a potential bid to lure shareholders with a tender offer that could see him seize control. A tender offer would see him bypass the board and go to shareholders with his offer of $54.20 a share - but he would need to show how he would finance his bid. He also appeared to suggest he would strip board members of their salaries, saying they would get '$0 if my bid succeeds'. April 18: Jack Dorsey slams the Twitter board for 'plots and coups' Jack Dorsey slammed the board of Twitter as he weighed into the toxic fight over Elon Musk's attempted hostile takeover for the first time. The former CEO, who is still a member of the board himself, blasted the 'plots and coups' that were 'consistently the dysfunction of the company'. In a series of bombshell tweets and replies, he endorsed one posting saying that 'a bad board will kill a company every time'. Replying to one post, he said: 'When I was fired in 2008 and made chair, the board took most of my shares away from me. 'I also gave 1 per cent of the company back to the employee pool in 2015. So, ended up with very little of company.' He also replied to one comment mentioning 'plots and coups' in the Twitter board saying: 'it's consistently been the dysfunction of the company'. Earlier in the thread, he replied to a post quoting a 'Silicon Valley proverb' by venture capitalist Fred Destin. It said: 'Good boards don't create good companies, but a bad board will kill a company every time.' Dorsey said: 'Big facts.' Former CEO Dorsey slammed Twitter's board of directors on as he replied to a series of unfriendly tweets April 21: SpaceX boss unveils his $46.5billion financing package Elon Musk unveiled his $46.5billion financing package to fund his takeover of Twitter - using Tesla as collateral. The world's richest man filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining how he would seize the social media giant. He committed $21billion in equity, $13billion from Morgan Stanley in debt facilities and another $12.5billion from the bank and others in margin loans. But 'a portion' of his shares in Tesla have been put forward as collateral, which analysts feared could have a huge impact on the firm. The 50-year-old billionaire also revealed he was weighing up launching a tender offer for Twitter after the company ignored his acquisition offer. He said he was exploring getting stocks directly from shareholders but admitted he 'has not determined whether to do so at this time'. Musk filed the document with the SEC showing how he planned to take over Twitter for about $46.5billion. He secured a debt commitment letter from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding to the tune of $13billion in financing. This was made up of a loan of $6.5billion, a senior secured revolving facility for $500million, a bridge loan of up to $3billion and an unsecured bridge loan for up to $3billion. He also got a margin loan commitment letter from Morgan Stanley for $12.5 billion in margin loans. And Musk also got $21billion through equity financing. But he has used 'a portion' of his shares in Tesla as collateral in the high-stakes move, which analysts warned could have huge ramifications for the company. April 22: Musk posts 'boner' killer picture of Bill Gates on Twitter Musk dissed Bill Gates' gut on Twitter, posting a photo of the Microsoft mogul next to Apple's controversial pregnant man emoji 'in case you need to lose a boner.' He posted a follow-up image in response to the Friday post of six hooded figured captioned 'shadow ban council reviewing Tweet'. The joke could further infuriate woke Twitter staffers angered by Musk's ongoing bid to buy the firm after saying he would support free speech. That is because the pregnant man emoji is aimed at being inclusive to transgender people - with Musk frequently taking aim at what he sees as woke overreach. April 25: Musk finalizes deal to buy Twitter Musk was closing in on seizing Twitter as talks between the Tesla magnate and the tech giant entered their final stages, reports say. The tycoon's representatives were said to be hammering out terms including a timeline and fees if an agreement was signed and then fell apart. The two sides were reportedly working into the early morning to finalize the 'fluid and fast-moving' negotiations. Twitter shares soared by four percent as the markets opened to $50.84 a share amid reports it would be seized by Musk. On Monday afternoon, Twitter announced it had 'entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.' A heartbroken mother wept on the stand as she tearfully described how she desperately tried to wave down Rebecca Grossman just seconds before the socialite ran over her two sons with her Mercedes during an alleged street race. Nancy Iskander appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday to testify in the preliminary hearing for the case, nearly two years after the hit-and-run crash killed her sons Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8. 'I still see it every night. It haunts me every night,' Iskander said, once again having to relive the nightmare of losing her children. The hearing in a Van Nuys courtroom was to determine whether the Grossman, 58, of Hidden Hills, California, should be brought to trial for the charges. Several witnesses will testify this morning with a decision expected later today. The socialite is currently charged with two counts of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 34 years to life in prison if convicted, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. She accused of running over and killing two young brothers while they were in the crosswalk at a Westlake Village intersection in September 2020. The boys' mother broke down in tears on the stand as she testified that on the day of the crash, she was walking with the two boys as well as their 5-year-old brother in the crosswalk when she heard loud engines and suddenly saw two SUVs hurtling toward them. Karim and Nancy Iskander parents of Mark and Jacob Iskander leave Los Angeles Superior Court Monday after a hearing for Rebecca Grossman, who is accused of killing their two children as they were crossing the street in Westlake Village 'I heard the engines from two SUVs coming at us at insane speeds,' Iskander said. Iskander said she waved frantically to try to get the drivers' attention before pushing her 5-year-old son out of the way. But said neither Grossman's white Mercedes Benz nor Scott Erickson's black SUV stopped. 'I heard a really loud noise, I looked back and I either felt or saw the other car speeding also,' Iskander said. 'I realized something happened to Mark and Jacob.' Iskander was horrified to find Jacob lying in the roadway 'as if he was sleeping,' and her other son Mark had been on the hood of Grossman's vehicle, which kept going after the crash. Rebecca Grossman and attorneys arrive for a court hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court for driving DUI and killing two children as they were crossing the street in Westlake Village in Los Angeles County and leaving the scene of the accident Rebecca Grossman leaves Los Angeles Superior Court after a hearing for DUI and killing two children as they were crossing the street in Westlake Village in Los Angeles County Grossman, 58, kept her head down and clutched her husband's hand as she arrived at the Van Nuys courtroom on Monday. She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. But despite the severity of the crimes she's accused of, she's been free on bail since being charged two days after the tragedy. That $2 million bail, plus the slow pace of court proceedings including several hearings where Grossman didn't show up have sparked outrage from protesters who believe her wealth and 'connections' have kept her out of jail. The Mercedes that struck and killed two brothers. Investigators said street racing may have been involved in the crash, which happened at the intersection of Triunfo Canyon Road and Saddle Mountain Drive The Iskander brothers had been walking across a crosswalk with their parents and two siblings, Zackary and Violet, when they were struck The brothers are pictured in this undated school photos. One was declared dead at the scene while the other died in hospital Two petitions, claiming to have a combined total of more than 50,000 signatures, have been circulating, calling for Grossman to be locked up. 'Justice must be served, regardless of Grossman's financial means, status, privilege and connections,' declared one. 'We demand that Grossman is prosecuted and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law and that she face serious consequences for her actions that took away the lives of Mark and Jacob.' The other petition proclaimed, 'Let's push to spread awareness about this case and put Rebecca Grossman behind bars. Justice for Mark and Jacob Iskander.' One of the protesters, mother-of-two Julie Cohen, 58, - who made the Mark and Jacob T-shirts bearing the words 'JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED, plus similar stickers - told told DailyMail.com, 'There have been too many delays already. Placards were left outside the courtroom in Van Nuys, California, during the hearing inside 'These continual delays are awful for the family,' said Iskander neighbor Julie Cohen. 'It's time she was put behind bars, where she belongs' Protestors say Grossman is being given preferential treatment by the legal system due to her wealth and connections 'Since the boys were killed a year and a half ago, Grossman has been free on bail, free to do whatever she wants, while the boys' parents are living a nightmare.' Cohen, a neighbor of the Iskander family in Westlake Village, added, 'If Grossman didn't have money and connections, she would have been in custody all this time instead of free on bail. 'These continual delays are awful for the family. It's time she was put behind bars, where she belongs.' At a hearing in March, Judge Shellie Samuels apologized to the victims' patents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, for the many continuances and postponement in the case, the most recent of which was Grossman's need to look for and hire a new lawyer after her previous attorney fell ill. If Grossman didn't have money and connections, she would have been in custody all this time instead of free on bail...It's time she was put behind bars, where she belongs Iskander family neighbor Julie Cohen 'This case has taken way too long,' said the judge. 'I do apologize for the delays.' It wasn't the first time that Judge Samuels has expressed sorrow over the many holdups in the case against Grossman. At a hearing last December, the judge also said that the victims' parents, have been enduring 'torture and heartbreak' while the case drags on. On September 14, Samuels blasted Grossman for not showing up at her previous five scheduled court appearances, all of which were continued. 'We can't keep continuing this. This is a serious case. These victims lost two children. It's detrimental to them that this is taking so long. The family is suffering. Brothers Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, were walking with their parents and siblings in Westlake Village, California, in September 2020 when they were struck and killed The Iskander brothers had been walking across a crosswalk with their parents and two siblings, Zackary and Violet, when they were struck. The parents told cops that when they heard Grossman's white Mercedes approaching at speed, they reached out to protect their children, but could only grab the closest, Zackary and Violet. Jacob and Mark were both hit by the Mercedes. Mark died at the scene and Jacob a few hours later in the hospital. Mark was allegedly carried 100ft on the hood of Grossman's car before she braked, at which point he fell off the car and she ran him over again as she fled the scene, say prosecutors. Police claim that when the boys were hit by her car, Grossman was driving over the 45mph speed limit and may have been racing with her friend and near-neighbor, World Series-winning pitcher Scott Erickson, 54, while the two were on their way to the same house party. Erickson, who won his ring in 1991 with the Minnesota Twins, has been charged with reckless driving but he has not been accused of any other offenses connected with the brothers' deaths. With her husband, prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, 59, Grossman is the founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and ex-publisher of Westlake Magazine. Grossman lives in a sprawling $9.5million mansion in Hidden Hills that features nine bedrooms and 12 bathrooms on the same street where Full House actress Lori Loughlin lives A view of the pool area of the home is shown in the estate's sprawling backyard She was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and DUI after her front-end-damaged car broke down a quarter mile from the crash site. She has not been actually charged with DUI. Grossman lives in a $9.5 million, nine-bed, 12-bath mansion, in nearby Hidden Hills, on the same street as Full House actress Lori Loughlin. According to its website, the Grossman Burn Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Grossman Burn Centers Inc, which treats the victims of severe burns all over the world. Grossman has also been involved in other humanitarian causes, including the prevention of violence against women, human rights and the American Heart Association, from whom she won a 'Woman of the Year' award in 2007. After Monday's hearing, Grossman, left court hand in hand with her husband. The optional Windows 10 KB5011831 cumulative update is finally made available by Microsoft for Windows 10 20H2, Windows 10 21H1, and Windows 10 21H2. It fixes 26 bugs together with other improvements. It also fixes an issue where the operating system would crash with a black screen. The update includes many bug fixes together with other improvements, including those for Microsoft OneDrive, Remote Desktop, News and Interest, Azure Active Directory, and delays in booting Windows 10, as per a Bleeping Computer report. The KB5011831 cumulative update preview is part of Microsoft's April 2022 monthly "C" update. It will allow admins to test upcoming fixes to be released during the May 2022 Patch Tuesday updates. Meanwhile, Windows Latest said that the patch is offered via Windows Update and users can download the offline installer of Windows 10 KB5011831 to update multiple PCs without downloading the same package. The update is also useful if Windows Update fails for some reason. How To Install Windows 10 KB5011831? It is easy to install Windows 10 KB5011831 update. Windows users just have to go into Settings, then click on Windows Update, and manually perform an update check by clicking on "Check for Updates." Since this is an optional update, users will be asked whether they wish to install it by clicking on the "Download and install" button. Read Also: Microsoft Windows 10 Update: What Is Unified Update Platform? What's New in Windows 10 KB5011831? Windows 10 20H2 will be updated to build 19042.1682, Windows 10 21H1 will be updated to build 19043.1682, and Windows 10 21H2 will be updated to build 19044.1682 after installing Windows 10 KB5011831. The Windows 10 KB5011831 cumulative update preview includes not just bug fixes but also some improvements, totalling 26 key updates. Here are some of them: It has updates for the servicing for the Secure Boot component of Windows to include new improvements. It updates an issue that causes Internet Explorer to stop working when copying and pasting text using an IME. It also updates an issue that causes a black screen for some users when they log in and log out of Windows. Additionally, it fixes a bug that causes Microsoft OneDrive to lose focus on a file after it is renamed and Enter is pressed. Windows 10 KB5011831 also fixes a bug that causes the News and Interest panel to open on its own. Also, it updates an issue that prevents users from changing an expired password when they log into Windows. Windows 10 21H2 Deployed for Everyone Microsoft also deploys Windows 10 21H2 for everyone, according to Windows Latest. Microsoft is still actively working on Windows 10 to address potential issues despite the fact that Windows 11 is the focus. Microsoft recently declared that Windows 10 version 21H2 is "ready for broad deployment," implying that it's now safe to install the feature update if you're not willing to upgrade to Windows 11, as per the Windows Latest report. According to Microsoft, "As always, we recommend that you update your devices to the latest version of Windows 10 as soon as possible." According to Windows Latest's report, Microsoft previously said the company will continue supporting Windows 10 until October 2025, which means another feature update with a limited set of improvements will be released in the fall. Related Article: Microsoft Promised To Release Windows 10 Updates Every Year, Redstone 3 Arrives in September Dramatic footage captured the moment police arrested an armed burglar accused of stealing a cash box from an Upper East Side Republican club. On April 21, members of the Metropolitan Republican Club reported that a man dressed in a maintenance uniform walked in while they were hosting an event in support of U.S Senate candidate Mark McCloskey and took off with a metal cashbox. Police said they charged 61-year-old Gerard Jackson from the Bronx with robbery, two counts of assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Police did not specify if they found they retrieved the cashbox that the club members reported contained $425. Club President Ian Walsh Reilly told Fox News that after calling police, he followed the suspect outside along with two other club members, caught up with him and detained him. Scroll Down For Video: On April 21 members of the Metropolitan Republican Club claim that a man dressed in a maintenance uniform (pictured) walked into the club and took off with a metal cashbox Two club members corner the suspect, holding a hand to his chest telling him: 'Give me the money back and we'll let you go!' 'He walked into the wrong club that night,' Reilly said. That night the conservative club was raising funds for McCloskey, the gun-toting attorney rose to notoriety in 2020 after he and his wife were caught on camera emerging from their home in an upscale neighborhood in Missouri brandishing firearms at protesters marching past. McCloskey quickly became a GOP poster boy and is now running for US Senate. In a video of the incident, two of the club members corner the suspect and hold their hands to his chest, saying: 'Give me the money back and we'll let you go!' The man then argues that he doesn't have money or checks. The suspect goes through his pockets while one of the men confronting him pulls out his cellphone and records him. At one point, one of the club members actually searches his pockets, and the suspect says, 'C'mon man', and proceeds to walk away. He crosses the street as the club members contact police. 'Sir, were gonna get you to talk to the police, if you don't mind waiting', the person recording says as the suspect continues to walk away. Then as police pull up, the members of the club, which is at 83rd Street and Lexington Avenue, point to the suspect and say: 'This guy robbed us!' Police chase the suspect down, knocking him to the ground. Then as police pull up the club members point to the suspect and say: 'This guy robbed us!' and police chase the suspect down, knocking him to the ground The two NYPD officers and a security guard get into a struggle as the suspect fiercely resists arrest and at one point one of the officer tell him to 'drop the knife' After a brief struggle in the streets officers are finally place the handcuffs on the suspect After he is finally detained the knife he pulled out is visible laying in the street at the foot of one of the officers Two NYPD officers and the suspect struggle as the suspect fiercely resists arrest. At one point, one of the officers tells him to 'drop the knife.' The person recording tells the suspect 'Stop resisting! you deserve it'. The suspect he is heard saying, 'I cant breathe' and video shows his head bleeding. A man wearing a shirt that reads 'security' crosses the street to help officers finally place the handcuffs on the suspect. After he is finally detained, a knife he pulled out is visible in the street at the foot of one of the officers. Reilly said the club will install 'more advanced security systems' following the incident but that the burglary will not change how the club operates. 'We will adapt, but we will not be changed,' Reilly told Fox News. The club president added that the incident was reflective of how crime in NYC is out of control, but said he is thankful for the swift response. 'Even in the daylight, the everyday New Yorker has to constantly look over their shoulder just to remain safe,' Reilly said. 'We faced a situation that could have gone horribly wrong, but thankfully, when called upon, the NYPD reacted quickly, professionally and without hesitation to ensure our safety.' From the beginning of 2022 to April 3, major crimes are up 44 percent from the same period in 2021, with felony assault up 19 percent and robberies rising 47 percent, the latest NYPD data show. Although murders have ticked down 9 percent, other crimes are well up, with shooting incidents rising 14 percent, burglary up 31 percent, and grand larceny auto soaring 81 percent. In 2021, 20,543 crimes were reported at this point, whereas this year, nearly 30,000 have been reported to the NYPD - an increase of 44 percent. Crimes in nearly all categories, including felony assaults, shootings, rape and robbery, have risen in comparison to last year except the city's murder rate. Felony assaults have increased by 19.1 percent. In the same period in 2021, 4,673 assaults were reported, while this year, 5,673 have been reported. Shootings are getting worse despite the state's strict gun laws. Compared to the same period last year when 290 shootings were reported, this year's numbers have gone up a staggering 14.5 percent - 332 shootings have been reported so far in 2022. Last year, 354 rapes were reported over the same period as this year, 410. Robberies are by far the most common crime in the city. There have been 3,945 robberies committed so far this year. In 2021, over the same time period, 2,680 had been committed. The latest crime surge comes after Mayor Eric Adams last month promised a designated subway police task force to tackle crime and homelessness in stations and on trains. Adams, a Democrat and former NYPD captain, took office in January and was elected on a vow to crack down on crime and clean up the city. Downing Street today dampened hopes of Britons getting an extra bank holiday on a permanent basis in tribute to the Queen's 70-year reign. This year, to mark Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee, people across the UK will get an extra day off on 3rd June. As well as the moving of the usual end-of-May bank holiday to 2nd June, this will allow a four-day weekend to celebrate the Queen's record-breaking time on the throne. There is now a campaign for this year's extra bank holiday to be made permanent. Charities, businesses and organisations are all calling for a new annual 'Thank Holiday' from 2023 to recognise both Her Majesty's service to the country, as well as the work of millions of others. These include the Royal Voluntary Service, the Confederation of British Industry, Hospitality UK, the Trade Union Congress, the Scouts, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. In an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, a number of those who have joined the campaign wrote: 'A Thank Holiday would provide a moment every year for individuals and communities to come together, to thank those who have contributed in ways big and small to making our country a better place to live, and to create new bonds that will strengthen our society.' 'The campaign has already received widespread support from an extraordinary number of individuals and organisations. We are pleased to show that businesses are also firmly behind the idea. 'We are convinced that the benefits of a new holiday would outweigh the costs, as well as serving as a demonstration of our national values and compassion. 'As a business community, we stand ready to work with you to achieve this.' However, Number 10 poured cold water on the prospect of Britons getting an extra day off beyond this year. The PM's official spokesman said each bank holiday was estimated to cause a 2billion hit to the UK economy. 'I'm not aware of any plans to make it permanent,' the spokesman said. 'But obviously we keep the cost of these things under review.' He added that each bank holiday 'presents a considerable and significant cost to our economy and therefore each proposal would have to be considered carefully on that basis'. Britons will get a four-day weekend at the beginning of June to mark the Queen's 70-year reign. It has led to a campaign for this year's extra bank holiday to be made permanent Britons celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 with a street party in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire Boris Johnson's official spokesman said each bank holiday was estimated to cause a 2billion hit to the UK economy However, research by accountancy giant PwC suggested Government figures on the cost of a bank holiday are overestimated and a Monday off would cost 877million and a Friday 786million. If this June's extra bank holiday is turned into a permanent feature, the UK would have nine public holidays in a normal year - still behind Germany and France, who each have 11. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: It is time for a Thank Holiday to mark the astonishing and enduring service of Her Majesty the Queen. 'Such a day would also provide the chance to recognise the fortitude of the entire nation, and local community heroes, in pulling through the challenges of the past two years. Nicaraguan migrants seeking to cross illegally into the US by swimming across the Rio Grande from Mexico are getting help from a swim instructor in their native country on how to survive the perilous waters. Mario Orozco has been offering free lessons to adults in the Central American country's city of Esteli after one of his friends had drowned when he got pulled under by the waterway's rip current as he tried to reach Texas. The supposed goodwill gesture by Orozco has been met by consternation on both sides of the border after the recent death of a National Guardsman who died trying to rescue someone he thought was drowning in the Rio Grande. 'It is better that he dedicate himself to something else and not to encourage the crossing of illegals. Although people know how to swim, the Rio Grande is very treacherous,' one commenter posted on Facebook. DailyMail.com has reached out to officials on both sides of the US-Mexico border for comment. Swimming instructor Mario Orozco (left) teaches would-be migrant Martha Martinez (right) a first aid measure for drowning in anticipation of the dangerous crossing of the Rio Grande River Free swimming lessons are being offered to would-be migrants in Esteli, Nicaragua, to help them make the perilous journey to the United States. In order to get to the border, they will most likely have to cross from Mexico via the dangerous waters of the Rio Grande Swimming instructor Mario Orozco teaches would-be migrant Eddy Hurtado how to swim. Orozco told Telemundo Laredo he came up with the idea after he had a nightmare of migrants drowning in the Rio Grande. He had the dream after learning one of his friends had drowned while trying to reach the United States Mario Orozco told Telemundo Laredo he was in the middle of conducting a swimming lesson when a friend broke the sad news that a pal of theirs had drowned after he had gotten swept by the waterway's rip current as he tried to reach Texas. He decided to provide swimming lessons to people in Nicaragua who are thinking about illegally migrating to the United States Orozco has said that he doesn't encourage migrants to attempt to cross into the US but wants to give them a fighting chance should they try after dreaming about his dead friend and others who have drowned. 'I tried to help them, but I couldn't,' he recalled of his dream. 'So, there was a message that God was giving me, that He needed me to do that for those people.' Orozco told the network that the humane gesture to teach would-be migrants started with a group of 13 people before the group expanded to 20 at the swimming school in the northern Nicaraguan city. Martha Martinez, who is out of work and has plans of migrating to the United States, recently told Reuters that she is among those who have taken up Orozco's free-of-charge offer after learning of it via a Facebook post. The dangers of crossing the same river, where a Texas National Guard soldier died last week while trying to rescue two migrants suspected of trafficking drugs, are already engrained in her thoughts. 'So many people, women and children, have died in the Rio Grande,' Martinez said. 'I decided to come because I don't know how to swim.' Felicita Sosa, 49, from Nicaragua, drowned in March while she and three other women, including her 26-year-old daughter, were crossing the Rio Grande Hassivett Rivera swims while her companions simulate a wave during a training session at a swimming pool in Esteli, Nicaragua, as would-be-migrants are learning how to swim to combat the dangerous currents of the Rio Grande, a river that serves as an international barrier between Mexico and the United States Mario Venerio teaches would-be migrant Martha Martinez how to swim at a pool in Nicaragua Accidents are not uncommon in the Rio Grande's fast-moving waters. This year, a Venezuelan girl died while trying to cross the river. Luis Jimenez, a 52-year-old Nicaraguan, was found dead April 9 on the Coahuila, Mexico, Rio Grande riverbank between two rocks after drowning in a fail bid to reach the U.S. border. Felicita Sosa, 49, also from Nicaragua, drowned in March while she and three other women, including her 26-year-old daughter, were crossing the Rio Grande. 'This river has many strong counter-currents, so I'm teaching the techniques so they can survive,' Orozco told Reuters. Although he can't show them how to overcome the Rio Grande's strength on Nicaraguan waters, he is simulating the effects of the river inside the pool. 'So, we created a canal in the pool with a rail simulating that we are inside the Rio Grande with 10 people on both sides and creating turbulence with a swimming board,' Orozco explained. 'And that person was on the canal doing the floating technique.' Bertha Calderon swims during a training session at a swimming pool in Esteli, Nicaragua, where future migrants train to cross the Rio Grande that looms large before their dream of a better life in the United States Eddy Guzman, who also joined the swimming classes, said he hopes to reach the United States to earn money to send back to support his aging parents. He knows the Rio Grande is only one of many dangerous points along the migration trail. Some migrants are victims of extortion or kidnapping by organized crime groups in Mexico, while others who seek to avoid the river crossing must brave the expansive Sonoran desert. Still, for Guzman, the swimming classes offer him some comfort. 'Already I've lost my fear of the water,' he said. 'And once I learn the techniques, I think I could make it to the other side.' While he is completely against illegal crossings of the Mexico-United States border, he considers the swimming classes as a life-saving tool for those who are willing to risk their lives to reach the United States. 'I do not agree with what they do, it is simply very sad to see people who are dying at the time of that journey that they are making,' Orozco said. A Twitter user wrote: 'Stay in your own country and then you won't have to learn how to swim.' Vice President Kamala Harris quickly learned not to come between President Biden and his negotiations with Congress, when the president once snapped at her so harshly even Republican senators in the meeting were shocked. In a meeting last May, Biden tried to persuade Republican lawmakers to support $1 trillion in infrastructure spending. And while Biden was ready for a compromise, Harris thought the bill was skimpy. 'Harris thought that there was something missing from the conversation,' New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns wrote in their book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for Americas Future. She began turning the conversation toward Democratic priorities, including family and social spending, which were originally included in the larger Build Back Better bill. She 'began to make the case for a larger package than the one Republicans seemed to have in mind.' 'Biden dismissed her comment immediately,' the authors wrote, in so harsh a tone 'that even the Republican senators were taken aback.' Biden was typically 'scrupulously respectful' of his second-in-command, but the moment revealed that infrastructure negotiations were his and his alone. The latest revelations in This Will Not Pass include claims Jill Biden was opposed to her husband selecting Harris as his running mate after she attacked him during the Democratic primary debate in June 2019. It also follows reports last year of tension between Biden and Harris and allegations of bullying and a 'toxic culture' from staff in her office. Biden also, according to the book, expressed reservations himself about selecting Harris for his ticket. Vice President Kamala Harris quickly learned not to come between President Biden and his negotiations with Congress, when the president once snapped at her so harshly even Republican senators in the meeting were shocked. In a meeting last May, Biden tried to persuade Republican lawmakers to support $1 trillion in infrastructure spending Noting her 'past romantic relationship with Willie Brown, the California politician who appointed Harris to a pair of minor political positions,' the book said Biden described romance 'as the kind of thing that should be off limits.' Harris had a relationship with Brown, who later served as San Francisco's mayor, between 1994 and 1995, when Harris was beginning her career in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. In other meetings Harris kept quiet, and there was less friction. The reporters wrote of one meeting soon after Biden and Harris took office that the White House set up with governors to discuss coronavirus relief. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said that Biden took charge and was eager to work with the governors. But he said that Harris's role in the meeting was 'very strange.' 'Harris did not say a word,' Hogan reportedly said, leaving him to question whether she was 'just being deferential to the president didn't want to step on him.' Harris reportedly felt belittled by the president's staff, but Biden's team did not take her concerns seriously. 'Some of Harris's advisers believed the president's almost entirely white inner circle did not show the vice president the respect she deserved,' Martin and Burns wrote. 'Harris worried that Biden's staff looked down on her; she fixated on real and perceived snubs in ways the West Wing found tedious.' Harris even sent out chief of staff Tina Fluornoy to scold Biden's staffers for not standing up when she entered the room, the way they do for the president. 'The vice president took it as a sign of disrespect,' according to the book. Biden tasked Harris with addressing immigration and the vice president took opportunities to share her dissatisfaction with the role. According to the book, Harris' aides felt that the task of addressing the southern border crisis, in any way, was politically undesirable and wanted the vice president to have a softball foreign policy assignment like overseeing relations with Nordic countries. 'Harris thought that there was something missing from the conversation,' New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns wrote in their book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for Americas Future 'Staff floated the possibility of the vice president overseeing relations with the Nordic countries a low-risk diplomatic assignment that might have helped Harris get adjusted to the international stage in welcoming venues like Oslo and Copenhagen,' the authors wrote. They added that the prospect of overseeing Nordic countries was 'rejected' by White House aides and even 'privately mocked.' 'More irritating to Biden aides was when they learned the vice president wanted to plan a major speech to outline her view of foreign policy,' they added in the book. 'Biden aides vetoed the idea.' 'Why should a vice president have their own independently articulated view of global affairs?' Biden's team questioned. The border crisis was transferred from Biden's portfolio to Harris' shortly after inauguration. After a trip to Guatemala and Mexico that drew criticism in the press, Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain 'reminded her she was hardly the first vice president to endure tough coverage.' Biden and Harris had reportedly said little about the portfolio she would take on in the run-up to Inauguration Day. And once in office, a senator close to Harris claimed the vice president's frustration level was 'up in the stratosphere' as she realized her political flight path looked like a 'slow rolling Greek tragedy.' 'Biden dismissed her comment immediately,' the authors wrote, in so harsh a tone 'that even the Republican senators were taken aback' Trump pushed Lindsey Graham to tell reporters how good he was at golf and urged him to say how important his endorsements were, new book claims Donald Trump demanded that Lindsey Graham tell a pair of reporters how good he is at golf when the Republican senator called the former president during a press interview, a new book excerpt revealed on Monday. Trump had been speaking with New York Times journalists Jonathan Marin and Alex Burns when Graham called, according to their forthcoming book 'This Will Not Pass.' The ex-president put Graham on speaker. 'Tell them about the Trump endorsements,' Trump ordered Graham, according to an excerpt obtained by the Washington Post. Graham, who the authors note had denounced Trump for the Capitol riot just three months prior, obeyed. 'I've never seen it quite like this,' the South Carolina lawmaker said. 'President Trump's endorsement is the most consequential endorsement of any politician I've seen in my 20-something years.' The performance continued with Trump following up, 'Most importantly, would you tell them one thing.' 'Can Trump play golf?' the former president asked. Graham fawned, 'If you don't believe it, go play with him.' Later that day, he reportedly mocked Trump behind his back in an interview with the Times reporters. Trump's love of golf is well known. The former president has bragged about making a hole-in-one on multiple occasions The lawmaker said Trump was a good conversationalist 'as long as it's about him.' Their conversation occurred just months after last year's Capitol riot -- when Graham, known as a vocal Trump ally in Congress, famously said 'count me out' of the ex-president's circle over his role on January 6. But he's since reversed course, like many of his fellow Republicans in Congress. Since Trump has left office the senator has touted how often he still connects with the former leader, particularly on the golf course. Pupils at a school in Sydney's west are loving life now they have a four-legged classmate to play with. Yale, a guide dog Labrador, was brought in to help ease return-to-school anxiety for many young students in the wake of the Covid pandemic. The golden pooch has been trained as a well-being canine and is a welcome addition at Trinity Catholic Primary in Kemps Creek. Pupils at a school in Sydney's west are loving life now they have a four-legged classmate to play with (Yale, the well-being dog, is pictured) It is hoped Yale, a guide dog Labrador, will help reduce return to school anxiety levels for many young students at Trinity Catholic Primary School in Kemps Creek It's hoped the therapy hound will not only calm the nerves of students but also teachers as well. 'We decided to get a dog as part of one of the strategies in our return to school after Covid-19,' Principal Cathy Hey told Nine News. 'We thought it would be really good for the students well-being and staff well-being in terms of improving attendance and in terms of making people feel good about being at school.' For the past two years classroom learning across Australia has been disrupted by the pandemic with at-home learning put in place at various times. Yale will also be used as part of a 'reward system', where students can spend time with him if they are achieving their goals in the classroom Yale will also be used as part of a 'reward system', where students can spend time with him if they are achieving their goals in the classroom. Numerous students are said to be ecstatic about the new face in the playground. 'It's very exciting,' one said. Yale will live with one of the teachers but will be brought into school every day to act as a 'calming influence.' Advertisement Alec Baldwin may still face charges for accidentally killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October, sheriffs revealed on Tuesday morning after releasing a trove of documents and videos from their investigation into the on-set accident. Baldwin, 64, was rehearsing a scene for the movie Rust on October 21, 2021, when he pulled his gun from his costume. It fired and shot Hutchins, 42, in the armpit, fatally wounding her. The gun fired a live round which had been loaded into what Baldwin thought was an empty gun. So far, no one has been criminally charged over the accident but Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza suggested on Tuesday morning that charges may still be brought. Appearing on Good Morning America on Tuesday, Sheriff Mendoza said said that Baldwin is not in the clear because he was who was handling the weapon. 'He was the one that handled the weapon that fired the round that led to the fatality. 'We're going to work with the DA's office to determine if there is criminal neglect or criminal charges. We kind of know who didn't do their jobs here. That was one of the key questions,' he said. Mendoza added that police are still waiting for forensics and ballistics reports into the shooting that happened more than six months ago. 'The key component is the analysis on the firearm and the FBI report. Once that's all corrected, [the DA] will make the determination of who's responsible, if anyone.' Scroll down for videos Alec and Hilaria Baldwin outside their New York City home on Tuesday as the Santa Fe County Sheriff said his investigation remained ongoing and that Baldwin, among others, could still face charges Appearing on Good Morning America on Tuesday, Sheriff Mendoza said said that Baldwin is not in the clear because he was who was handling the weapon TRANSCRIPT OF BALDWIN'S CALLS INSIDE POLICE STATION AFTER HALYNA HUTCHINS SHOOTING Alec Baldwin in the sheriff's office on October 21 Call #1 with Hilaria Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Hey I'm at the police station. The sheriffs are about to come and interview me. How is everyone at home? How are the kids? The kids are great. The kids are great. Hold on a second please. Did you tell Carmen what's going on? No I didn't. OK. Are you convinced you don't want to come tomorrow? I mean I don't think it's a good idea. Look, look call me after you talk with the sheriffs but like, I don't think it's a great idea. I think, I think this is... you know... Just to be clear, just to be clear they're going to make me stay here tomorrow anyway to talk to insurance investigators. This is really...I'll talk to you more but this is... I'm so sorry you must have such like, you must be so traumatized (Baldwin then takes her off speakerphone) No what I am is, someone who - I don't want to do this film anymore. I don't. I don't want to be a public person. You know, I'm the one holding the gun in my hand that everybody is supposed to have taken care of. They always hand me a cold gun. Where are you now? Michelle who? And where are you? I'll call you back when I'm done OK. Call #2 with an unknown woman, thought to be a nanny or assistant Hi Alec Hey. Where are the kids? They're sleeping. The boys are sleeping? Carmen is awake. Did she tell you what's going on? Yeah I'm trying to convince her to come. Right? We should come. And just spend the time here. They're going to do what they gotta do, deal with what they gotta deal with, and I'll go work and we'll go enjoy ourselves. It's all paid for. And they're not going to give us the money back. And we should be staying away from the vultures here. Are they outside? No but I imagine they will be. I think it's a great idea. You should come for that reason also. All right, I'll call Carmen on her iPad, OK? OK yeah she's on charge, she left her phone. I'm just very sorry Alec. You have no idea. You have no idea. How unbelievable this is and how strange this is. I'll explain later. I'm so sorry you're in this position I hope everyone's OK, I hope you're OK. (sighs) I'll call you back. Thank you. Advertisement He added that 'no one' had yet confessed to bringing the live rounds on set. Hutchins is pictured before her death in October 2021. The Ukrainian-born cinematographer was a married mother-of-one Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for the weapons, has said repeatedly through lawyers that she is not at fault. 'There was at least one live round on the set that was fired from the weapon. These are two separate investigations. 'There was complacency, disorganization, they were not adhering to proper safety protocols and industry standards to be honest. 'There was a degree of neglect - whether that neglect reaches a criminal standard that will be up to the district attorney to determine,' Sheriff Mendoza added. His remarks come as more footage of Baldwin on the day of the shooting has emerged. In one video, he appears in the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office before being interviewed, seemingly on the phone to his wife Hilaria. The actor can be heard asking her to fly from their home in New York out to New Mexico to be with him. 'Can you hear me? Can you hear me? I'm at the police station. How is everyone at home? 'How are the kids? 'The kids are great,' she replies. He asked her if she had told their daughter Carmen 'what was going on.' Baldwin in New York City on Tuesday. He has said in the past that the sheriff's department explicitly told him not to speak to the media about the tragedy 'Are you convinced you don't want to come tomorrow?' She replied: 'I don't think it's a good idea. Call me after you talk with the sheriff but I don't think it's a great idea. He fired back: 'Just to be clear. They're going to make me stay here anyway.' Then, bringing the phone to his ear, he said: 'I don't want to do this film anymore, I don't. I don't want to be a public person. I'm the one holding the gun in my hand that everyone was supposed to have taken care of. 'They always hand me a cold gun.' He then seems to quiz his wife on her whereabouts, asking: 'Where are you now? Michelle who? And where are you? I'll call you back when I'm done, OK?' Baldwin was somewhat calm but confused throughout the interview, telling the two female sheriff deputies that he'd 'never heard of anything like this'. At one stage, he drew a diagram of where he had been standing in relation to where Halyna was The clip, filmed by the production's cameras, shows Baldwin in full costume sitting in a church pew, drawing his prop pistol from his waistcoat jacket. Baldwin goes to draw his gun in the rehearsal of the movie scene on October 21 last year Data files released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office included a video of investigators debriefing Baldwin within hours of the fatal shooting, talking with him inside a compact office Alec Baldwin's hands were photographed at the scene before he was questioned In these two photos, Alec Baldwin is shown on the set of the movie holding his hands out after the accident Next, the actor FaceTimes someone who seems to work for his family. His first question is 'where are the kids?' The woman on the other end of the call told him they were sleeping. He then relayed the conversation he had with Hilaria. 'I'm trying to convince her to come. I think we should come and spend the time here. I'll go to work and we'll enjoy ourselves. It's all paid for. They're not giving us the money back.' The woman replies: 'And stay away from the vultures here.' He then said he planned to phone the couple's daughter Carmen on her iPad. 'You have no idea how unbelievable this is and how strange this is,' he adds. Two sheriff's investigators then entered the room and began a 30 minute interview with him, where he told how he had always been handed a 'cold' weapon by the crew. The sheriff's office also released dozens of text messages and emails to and from Dave Halls, the assistant director of the movie, on Monday. Assistant Director Dave Halls gives a DNA sample on October 21 after the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins Assistant Director Dave Halls gives fingerprints on October 21 after the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins Three days after the shooting, Dave Halls received these texts warning him that Baldwin and the producers were trying to scapegoat him for the accident Those messages show how his friends and confidantes warned him that Baldwin's 'PR machine' was 'in overdrive' trying to blame him for the tragedy. One message, written to Halls by a friend named Julie Burris, said: 'It looks as though everyone is going for their 15 minutes of fame and AB PR team is in overdrive trying to shift the blame away from himself on a worker bee who doesn't have the money or the power to refute any of it. 'I think you should thoroughly discuss this aspect with your attorney because the most important thing right now is to make sure there aren't any criminal charges brought against you - AND what the sheriff's office affadavit [sic] actually says. 'And then after the fact assess what person (s) and/or news outlets you can sue for libel/slander/defamation.' The first part of her message referred to claims of film industry insiders and people who previously worked with Halls that he flouted safety violations on other movie sets. In other interviews, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told cops she is who 'loads the guns and hands them to the actors' In another message that day, Burris told Halls: 'All of this says to me, in my opinion, is that the people with money and power are using you as a scapegoat knowing you can't afford to fight the press of legal bills and that they don't care about you at all. 'Notice I don't see much of AB in the press and haven't heard about any of the producing team. Not one thing.' Halls is filmed giving investigators a swab of his DNA and his fingerprints in one of the interviews. Of all of the people involved in the shooting, he has said the least in the six months since it happened. Gutierrez-Reed, the 24-year-old armorer, has repeatedly issued statements protesting her innocence. She said she was overworked on set. In bodycam footage that emerged yesterday, she is seen telling police that she is worried her career is over as a result of the accident. In her own police interview, she told the investigators: 'I check the guns and I load the guns and I hand the guns to the actor.' 'We went to set, we had the guns on set. I dummied the guns up with the dummy rounds. Nothing happened and then we came back from lunch and...' At one point, Hutchins' top layer of clothing was taken off to help paramedics who were working to save her Hutchins was also filmed being wheeled out of the church on a trolley while being given oxygen, before being put into a med-e-vac helicopter and airlifted away Discarded medical materials inside the church after the fatal shooting Crime scene photos show bloody gauze at the scene that was used by paramedics before Hutchins was taken away Chernobyl's radiation levels are have returned to normal after Russian occupation, the UN atomic watchdog said today on the anniversary of the nuclear disaster as he condemned Putin's 'very, very dangerous' seizure of the site. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Putin's capture of the plant was 'abnormal and dangerous' after troops dug up trenches and risked power failure at one of the world's most radioactive sites. But he reported the heightened radiation around the plant appeared to have returned to expected levels, almost one month after Russian troops evacuated the area in northern Ukraine. Grossi said during a visit to the site today: 'The radiation level, I would say, is normal. 'There have been some moments when the levels have gone up because of the movement of the heavy equipment that Russian forces were bringing here, and when they left. 'We are following that day by day.' Ukrainian officials said earlier this month that Russian soldiers may have been exposed to radiation after digging fortifications in 'many places' at the site and stirring up clouds of dust with their armoured vehicles. It came amid reports a contingent of Russian solders who were responsible for making trenches and moving heavy equipment in the infamous 'Red Forest' had been taken to Belarus to be treated for symptoms consistent with radiation poisoning. Trenches and firing positions sit in the highly radioactive soil adjacent to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Chernobyl's damaged reactor is now encapsulated in concrete and a thick steel shell to prevent further radioactive leaks Russian troops took over the site on February 24, the first day of the invasion of Ukraine (pictured: tanks at the plant) Russian troops took over the site on February 24, the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, taking Ukrainian soldiers prisoner and detaining civilian staff. The occupation lasted until the end of March and raised global fears of nuclear leaks. Drone footage taken from the exclusion zone around the abandoned nuclear plant appeared to have confirmed reports that Russian troops dug trenches and fortifications in some of the most irradiated parts of the region. The footage, which was geolocated and widely shared on social media, showed mounds of disturbed earth and fortifications dug on the outskirts of the Red Forest, just a few miles west of the Chernobyl plant. After the drone camera zooms out from the abandoned Russian positions and pans out, the ominous steel confinement dome that encapsulates the destroyed reactor can be seen in the distance. The Red Forest sits firmly inside the inner exclusion zone around Chernobyl, and was the area most heavily affected when the No. 4 reactor exploded in 1986, causing the world's worst nuclear accident. Thousands of tanks and troops rumbled into the forested exclusion zone around the plant, churning up highly contaminated soil Drone footage taken from the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant appears to have confirmed reports that Russian troops dug trenches and fortifications in some of the most irradiated parts of the region Huge swathes of land in and around the Red Forest were heavily polluted by radioactive smoke and dust in the aftermath of the disaster, and many of the trees and wildlife in the forest died. The site got its name when dozens of square miles of trees that did not die in the aftermath of the explosion turned red after absorbing incredible doses of radiation. In the years following the accident, the land was razed and covered with fresh soil and sand before new trees were planted, but the radioactive particulates still remain trapped underneath the forest's top soil. The region has become a natural wildlife reserve in recent years as all manner of flora and fauna have flourished unperturbed by humans, and the powerplant still maintains a number of employees tasked with maintenance and safety work - though they were rotated regularly prior to the Russian invasion. But experts believe that Russian troops who returned to the exclusion zone to dig trenches and fortifications may have sustained major doses of radiation as they became exposed to the irradiated dust and soil which had remained sealed underground for decades. This map of the exclusion zone around Chernobyl shows just how close the Russian trenches were dug to the site of the 1986 disaster, a stone's throw away from Pripyat - the abandoned town where the plant's workers lived with their families prior to the explosion Drone footage which revealed Russian fortifications in the Red Forest panned out to the left and captured the ominous steel dome that contains the destroyed nuclear reactor at Chernobyl power plant Thirty-six years ago today, on April 26, 1986, an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction destroyed one of Chernobyl's reactors in an accident that was initially covered up by the Soviet authorities. A total of 28 staff members and emergency workers died from radiation poisoning in the days following the explosion, as well as two workers who were killed instantly in the blast. But studies conducted in the years following the disaster discovered a considerable increase in incidences of thyroid cancer among the population who lived near the plant. According to a United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) report, there had been almost 20,000 cases of thyroid cancer reported in children and adolescents who were exposed at the time of the accident between 1991-2015. Increased awareness of the risk of cancer from radiation exposure and improved detection methods are two of the factors associated with the startling figure, but at least 5,000 incidences of cancer were directly attributable to children drinking fresh milk containing radioactive iodine from cows who had eaten contaminated grass in the first few weeks following the accident. The Chernobyl power station's three other reactors were successively closed, with the latest shutting off in 2000. Ukrainian forces patrol the area near the nuclear plant after Russian troops withdraw from the site Approximately 169 Ukraine National Guard Soldiers who guarded the site were locked in an underground nuclear bunker for a month with no access to natural light, fresh air or information, but they were gone when Ukrainian forces regained control of the site. It is not known where they are now, but Ukrainian authorities suspect they may have been taken to Russia via Belarus. Workers kept the Russians from the most dangerous areas, but the plant was without electricity, relying on diesel generators to support the critical work of circulating water for cooling the spent fuel rods. Russia's invasion marks the first time that occupying a nuclear plant was part of a nation's war strategy, said Rebecca Harms, former president of the Greens group in the European Parliament, who has visited Chernobyl several times. She called it a 'nightmare' scenario in which 'every nuclear plant can be used like a pre-installed nuclear bomb.' Nationals senator Matt Canavan has declared a net-zero target 'dead' as cracks begin to emerge in the coalition over the government's climate change policy. Just weeks out from the May 21 election, Scott Morrison on Tuesday reaffirmed his party's pledge of net-zero emissions by 2050 as 'absolute' policy, following comments from a coalition candidate describing it as not binding. But hours later, his assertation was once again undermined by other LNP members, including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce who backed the idea there was 'wriggle room' in the commitment. Senator Canavan went further, suggesting the initiative should be paused. 'Net zero is dead anyway,' he told the ABC. 'Boris Johnson said he is pausing it, Germany is building coal and gas infrastructure, Italy is reopening coal-fired power plants - it's all over. It's all over bar the shouting here. Nationals senator Matt Canavan (pictured) has undermined the Prime Minister by declaring the net-zero target 'dead' 'We're talking about something that is 28 years away. What will happen in 28 years' time, or the policies that will happen in 10 or 20 years, I think, should be up to the Australian people in 10 or 20 years, some of who might not even be voting.' The division emerged after Colin Boyce, the LNP candidate for the Queensland seat of Flynn, labelled the commitment 'flexible' and noted 'wiggle room' within it. Mr Joyce described Mr Boyce's view as 'completely understandable'. 'We've said we've set a target, we're going to try and meet but I think where Colin's coming from, it's completely understandable,' he said. 'Coal remains one of our nation's strongest exports.' The comments prompted Labor to demand the prime minister clarify the government's position. 'Scott Morrison has a job to do today. Is net zero a firm commitment of the government? Or is it simply a flexible guideline as the candidate for Flynn has said?' opposition energy spokesman Chris Bowen told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday. Scott Morrison on Tuesday claimed net-zero emissions by 2050 were 'absolutely' part of his government's policy Mr Bowen said the coalition was saying one thing on climate change in seats such as Hinkler in Queensland, and another in Higgins in metropolitan Melbourne and Queens Park in eastern Sydney. 'They want to be on both sides of the stream - well they can't be.' Mr Morrison claimed Mr Boyce was talking about the pathway to net zero, rather than the strength of the pledge. 'He wasn't talking about the commitment itself, he has clarified that,' he told reporters in Townsville. 'Our commitment to net zero by 2050 is a commitment of the Australian government that I made in Glasgow. It is the government's absolute policy.' Mr Boyce earlier said the net-zero pledge would not be legislated, although moderate Liberal MP Dave Sharma has previously described it as binding. Pictured: LNP's candidate for Flynn, Colin Boyce 'It leaves us wiggle room as we proceed into the future. Morrison's statement that he has made is not binding,' Mr Boyce told the ABC on Tuesday. The Liberals and Nationals agreed to an unlegislated target of net-zero emissions by 2050, following tense negotiations ahead of the COP26 UN climate change conference in late 2021. Mr Joyce acknowledged the government was on a pathway to net zero, but insisted major export sectors such as coal could not be exited immediately. 'We have acknowledged that, along that pathway, it is not a lineal form,' he told reporters in Shepparton while campaigning in central Victoria. 'We understand that for this nation's economy to prevail, we cannot just step aside from our second biggest export or our third biggest export - that would be completely and utterly economically irresponsible.' Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce (pictured) backed the idea there was 'wriggle room' for the climate change policy Asked whether Labor's own climate targets were designed to appeal to voters in a number of marginal seats, Mr Bowen said the party's targets would be sold nationwide. Labor is aiming for a 43 per cent emissions cut by 2030, exceeding the government's forecast figure of 35 per cent, but falling well short of a 75 per cent pledge by the Greens. But Labor's foreign affairs spokesperson Penny Wong said their targets would not be heightened as Pacific nations call for greater actions. Labor had previously pointed to the government's lack of climate change action as one reason the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China. 'We will be a genuine partner (on climate change) ... there are obviously areas where people would like us to go further, any minister who's represented the nation knows that internationally,' Ms Wong said. 'But what we will not do is treat them disrespectfully and in the way this government has, which has in part been a contribution to the situation within the Pacific.' Putting trigger warnings on books like Harry Potter 'to protect university students' is doing them a 'disservice', a minister has said. Universities minister Michelle Donelan has called for 'common sense' after the University of Chester placed warnings on the first book of the JK Rowling series over 'difficult conversations about, race, sexuality, class, and identity'. Its English Department sounded the klaxon to freshers on its Approaches to Literature module, led by Dr Richard Leahy, and even told them they could raise concerns with him if they had 'any issues' with the topics discussed. But Ms Donelan today said students 'have to be able to live in the real world' as she questioned whether universities 'are getting their priorities right'. She added: 'Harry Potter is actually a children's book. Fundamentally it is probably a multimillion-pound industry that has been franchised into films. 'To say that we need to protect some of our brightest and our best from the likes of Harry Potter is to not only do our universities a disservice but to do our students a disservice.' 'And it's not the way to ensure that they can enter the world having those skills at their fingertips - the ability to challenge, to be critically astute - and that's certainly not the interpretation that I'd had talking to students, that they want or they need this from their universities.' Universities minister Michelle Donelan (pictured) has said putting trigger warnings on books like Harry Potter 'to protect university students' is doing them a 'disservice' The minister's comments come after JK Rowling's (pictured last month) views on transgender rights has seen her criticised from some quarters The warning at the bottom of the University of Chester's course description is not found on other modules for the year The cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first published in 1997, which has had trigger warnings placed on it by the University of Chester Harry Potter: a magical masterpiece or a triggering tome? For most JK Rowling's wizarding fantasy is pure escapism - and a classic battle between good and evil. But the University of Chester's concerns mere discussion of it could spark triggering themes is not the first time it has been flagged in this way. Most recently an anti-semitism row was sparked over the goblins that run Gringotts bank over the suggestion they were caricatures of Jewish people. It was claimed they were based on figures from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an infamous text that purports to show a Jewish plan for world domination. Ms Rowling has always been a staunch opponent of anti-semitism. Meanwhile the portrayal of Dudley Dursley, who is one of the larger characters and is initially a bully, has prompted some calls of 'fattism'. Ms Rowling has spoken about it herself and said Harry Potter characters who were 'on the plumper side' include 'several of my most important, admirable and loveable characters'. There are also some themes of racism within the books. The series' villain Voldemort believes pureblood wizards are supreme and any other people are inferior. There are also themes of loss and abuse in the books of some of the young characters. A literal reading might prompt some to question why there are no mental health interventions available to them at Hogwarts School. There has also been concerns raised at the lack of diversity in some of the books. One of the characters Cho Chang has attracted attention, with some describing her name as 'stereotypical and inaccurate'. And despite Hermione being one of the series' main characters, there have been accusations of sexism in the books. Some readers feel many of the female figures are portrayed as being annoying or tag-alongs to the males on their adventures. Advertisement She continued: 'There are no trigger warnings every day as you operate. I've not met students who have called for these trigger warnings either. 'They are not the issues that students are bringing up to me - they're bringing up sexual harassment, they're bringing up antisemitism.' Ms Donelan also questioned the priorities of universities that have not yet signed up to the international Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, adding that the institutions should focus on tackling harassment and antisemitism rather than looking at trigger warnings on content. She said: 'I think their priorities, fundamentally, should be the welfare, the wellbeing and the education of students.' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is one of the University of Chester course's three set literary texts alongside Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Philip Pullman's Northern Lights. The trigger warning, seen by MailOnline, tells students: 'Although we are studying a selection of Young Adult texts on this Module, the nature of the theories we apply to them can lead to some difficult conversations about gender, race, sexuality, class, and identity. 'These topics will be treated objectively, critically, and most crucially, with respect. If anyone has any issues with the content, please get in touch with the Module Leader to make them aware.' It comes after JK Rowling's views on transgender rights has seen her criticised from some quarters. But Ms Donelan said there is 'an undeniable link between quality and free speech', pointing to 86 per cent of Nobel Prize winners coming from countries with the highest rating for academic freedom - with just one per cent from nations with the lowest. The minister added: 'Vice-chancellors need to ensure that they're not on the wrong side of history on this. We want them to proactively be supporting their members of staff - they may face criticism but certainly shouldn't face harassment when they put forward their views and their academic research.' Today, Ms Donelan told a meeting at the Policy Exchange think tank in London that supporting free speech is 'no longer enough' and, instead, it is something that has to be 'actively defended'. She continued: 'Where would we be now if the views of 100 or even 200 years ago had never been challenged? 'As a woman, I doubt I would be a Member of Parliament, let alone the Minister for Higher and Further Education," she said. 'But, sadly, where once we found critical debate and arguments which were run on their merit, today we have seen an upsurge in physical threats and complete intolerance of opposing ideas.' She said professors have been 'harangued and hounded just for doing their jobs', as well as 'prominent, well-respected guests no-platformed'. 'Who would you rather employ - an inquisitive, critical, open-minded graduate, or a self-contained cookie-cutter graduate who is afraid to be challenged or confront new ideas?', she asked. Ms Donelan also referred to the case of Kathleen Stock, who was forced to quit the University of Sussex due to her views on gender identity. The minister said she found it 'completely deplorable' how 'balaclava-clad protesters forced a female academic to stay off campus under threats of physical violence'. She added that Ms Stock's case was not an 'isolated event' as an 'intolerant mob' threatened the Israeli ambassador outside an event held at the London School of Economics just a few weeks later. 'We're not talking about peaceful protest here, the right of which of course is sacrosanct. We are talking about threats, intimidation and harassment', she said. Ms Donelan said Policy Exchange polling had shown that 32 per cent of academics identifying as right-wing had refrained from airing their views in teaching or research, while around 15 per cent identifying as politically centrist or left-wing also reported self-censoring. University vice-chancellors, academics and students should not 'allow the history books to record your name as part of the small cabal of the intolerant', she added. Instead, the minister called on vice-chancellors to 'go into bat' for their staff and "put their money where their mouth is" on the issue rather than bowing to the 'intolerant few'. The Government's Free Speech Bill has been carried over to the next session of Parliament. Ms Donelan said she expects the House of Lords will have 'a lot to say on this subject', but that the Bill is less about what happens in Parliament than 'a culture change that will reverberate through the sector'. A centuries-old church bell is at in a court case controversy in Hartlepool A centuries-old church bell has been at the centre of a court case as conservationists argued whether or not it should remain out of tune. The 432-year-old bell in All Saints Church, Stranton, Hartlepool, was created in 1599 but has only been out of tune since 1907, when it was last retuned. Yet some have rallied against retuning it again because it would mean the bell would sound different to generations of people living there. The 432-year-old bell in All Saints Church, Stranton, Hartlepool, was created in 1599 but has only been out of tune since 1907, when it was last retuned People living near the church were worried retuning would make an audible difference to their experience of the bells Conservation group the Church Buildings Council said the bell's out of tune sound was a key 'aural link to the past'. Yet Andrew Frost, one of the Hartlepool Guild of Bellringers, said the bells needed retuning. He said: 'They were tuned as well as it was thought possible at the time, but there's much better tuning these days.' Yet Andrew Frost (pictured), one of the Hartlepool Guild of Bellringers, said the bells needed retuning The central part of All Saints Church (pictured inside) was made in the 12th century, while the tower was built in the 14th century He said they would still sound like the bells people living in the area were used to. A church court has now decided the retuning should go ahead. Adrian Iles, the Chancellor of the Diocese of Durham, acted as a judge for the case and said although 'historic bells form a rare and important link with the past,' this one was 'caked in grime'. He added: 'Any harm caused by retuning is slight and outweighed by the benefits to the church and community.' Choo Kyung-ho, left, the nominee for deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, speaks to Land Minister nominee Won Hee-ryong during a meeting of the presidential transition committee at its office in Jongno District, Seoul, Monday. Joint Press Corps By Yi Whan-woo Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance nominee Choo Kyung-ho has called for an overhaul of the state pension fund, which experts agree is crucial considering the country's aging and shrinking population. "Given the low birth rate and the increase in the elderly population, failure in reform will dent the fund's financial soundness and drastically increase the burden on younger generations," Choo said in a Q&A submitted to the National Assembly as part of the preparations for his Assembly hearing scheduled for May 2. He views the current pension fund management system under the National Pension Service (NPS) as inefficient, saying, "It will only increase the national debt and will not last long." He called for a "comprehensive check-up" on the premium rates and the minimum age that people are eligible to receive pension benefits, among other factors. The pension fund is on course to be depleted under the existing system, possibly in the 2050s. Worse still, the population is aging rapidly. According to the Korea Economic Research Institute, which operates under the wing of the business lobby group, the Federation of Korean Industries, the ratio of those aged 65 and older is expected to rise from the current 17.3 percent of the population to 37.0 percent in 2045, surpassing the world's No. 1, Japan, with 36.8 percent. The institute also speculated that the fund will go into a deficit in 2039 and be depleted in 2055 if the pension scheme is maintained as it is. In 2055, those born in 1990 will reach 65, the age when they can begin to claim pension benefits, but the pension fund will have dried up. Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was one of several of his colleagues to vote in favor of convicting Trump after his second impeachment trial A sitting Republican senator is planning to campaign against firebrand GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's re-election bid, it was reported on Tuesday. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is throwing his weight behind Jennifer Strahan, a healthcare advisory firm executive who is aiming to unseat Greene in Georgia's May 24 primary elections. Cassidy will be a 'special guest' at a reception for Strahan held by the View PAC, according to a flyer obtained by Punchbowl News. The group is dedicated to electing Republican women to federal office. It's an unusual move for an incumbent GOP lawmaker from another state to go up against another, but it's illustrative of a wider fracture happening in the GOP. The event is expected to be held on May 3, the day after early voting begins in the Peach State. Multiple public opinion polls have pointed to November's midterm elections ushering in a red wave to give the GOP control of Congress next year. But before then, warring factions of Republicans will have to battle for who comes out on top and -- by extension -- defines the future of the party. One of those battles is being fought in Georgia's 14th Congressional District. Strahan bills herself as a pro-Trump, 'no-nonsense conservative' while setting Greene up as an ineffective legislator who's more interested in being a celebrity than caring for her constituents. Donald Trump won the district by 48 points over President Joe Biden in 2020. Cassidy's appearance on Strahan's behalf comes after the candidate told DailyMail.com that she's seen some behind-the-scenes support from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Georgia's 14th Congressional District is gearing up for a heated primary race between two pro-Trump conservatives -- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (left) and Jennifer Strahan (right) Asked during an April 14 interview if she gets the sense they would prefer someone like her as a colleague, Strahan said that was 'absolutely' the case. 'I have had a lot of conversation with current representatives and senators -- and a lot of support -- because at the end of the day, again, she throws as many bombs on the Republican as the Democrat side,' Strahan said of Greene. 'She's not there to work with colleagues. And that doesn't mean just by working with individuals -- even if you disagree with them -- doesn't mean you're sacrificing your values or your beliefs, but you have to be able to have those tough conversations around really important issues.' Cassidy's is not a surprising name to find in Strahan's circle. He's previously criticized Greene for promoting wild conspiracy theories and said she should 'not be taken seriously.' 'I'm a senator, but I will point out any time somebody says with a straight face that a Jewish family set off laser beams to start fires in California and those spread, you've got to first say, "Wait, is this like a satire?" And then when you realize it was said seriously, that person should not be taken seriously,' the Louisiana Republican said on Fox in February of last year. He was referencing one of multiple eyebrow-raising claims Greene endorsed on social media before being elected to office. Cassidy is appearing on Strahan's behalf on May 3, the day after early voting begins in the Georgia primaries. It comes just over a week after Strahan told DailyMail.com in an interview that she has seen 'support' on Capitol Hill Some of those claims, and promotions of violence against prominent Democrats, got the freshman congresswoman stripped of her committee assignments soon after coming to Capitol Hill. DailyMail.com has reached out to both Strahan and Greene's spokespersons with questioned linked to the upcoming View PAC event but has not yet heard back. Cassidy's office has also not returned a request for comment. Before the upcoming fundraiser was announced, however, recent campaign filings show Strahan received a $5,000 donation from Cassidy's political operation Americas Strength and Security PAC. The first-time candidate has caught the eye of multiple GOP groups and figures, raking in $322,625 so far. It's a significant haul for a new name entering politics, but still below Greene's $8.4 million fundraising total for this cycle. The Republican Jewish Coalition and View PAC are two groups who have endorsed Strahan while also lining her campaign coffers in the most recent quarter ending on March 31. View PAC's other endorsements include a slew of incumbent GOP lawmakers like Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Strahan has also secured a $2,900 donation to her primary campaign from a member of the board of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow. Former Vermont GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock also donated to Strahan's effort to unseat Greene. Both candidates have billed themselves as pro-Trump conservatives, though only Greene managed to cinch Trump's critical endorsement. In comments to DailyMail.com earlier this month, Greene dismissed Strahan as 'clueless' and 'naive' after the latter claimed Greene was not making any attempts to reach out to the people who voted her in -- including military veterans who need their representative's help. 'This no-name candidate is not insulting me, shes insulting my staff who are well known and loved by everyone all over our district,' Greene told DailyMail.com. 'No one knows or cares who this naive candidate is but everyone knows and loves my staff.' Strahan's campaign shot back that the congresswoman was refusing 'to take responsibility for her own failures.' Russian forces fired two missiles close to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant early this morning, sparking fears that a fresh nuclear disaster akin to Chernobyl could be triggered if fighting in the area continues. A statement released by Ukrainian state nuclear agency Energoatom said the cruise missiles flew at low altitude at 6:41am and 6:44am, soaring over the power plant and impacting targets in Zaporizhzhia city centre a short distance away. Zaporizhzhia is home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which contains six nuclear reactors besides other nuclear facilities. But it was captured in the early days of the Russian invasion and has remained in occupied territory, serving as a military base for Putin's forces. 'The flight of missiles at low altitudes directly above the ZNPP site, where nuclear facilities with a huge amount of nuclear material are located, poses huge risks,' said Energoatom chief Petro Kotin. 'After all, missiles can hit one or more nuclear facilities, and this threatens a nuclear radiation catastrophe which will be felt around the world.' Zaporizhzhia's Regional Military Administation reported at least one person was killed and one injured in the attack, which it said 'destroyed the infrastructure of an enterprise in the city'. A third missile was shot down by Ukrainian air defences and landed in a field on the outskirts of the city. Six power units generate 40-42 billion kWh of electricity, making the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant the largest nuclear power plant not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe A view shows a damaged administrative building of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on March 4. Russian forces shelled the power plant as they attempted to wrest control of it from the defenders Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko echoed a warning given by Energoatom chief Petro Konin about the dangers of continued missile strikes and fighting near the nuclear power plant IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks at a press conference about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine in Vienna, Austria, Friday, March 4, 2022. Russian shelling caused a fire in an administrative building close to the reactors Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko said of the incident: 'This morning two cruise missiles flew above #Zaporizhzhia atomic plant towards the city at a low height. Later explosions were heard in Zaporizhzhia. 'Rockets flying low directly above the plant which has [six] nuclear reactors and a lot of nuclear material is extremely risky,' he posted on Twitter. Fears that a nuclear catastrophe could occur at the ZNPP were first sparked on March 3, when Russian forces attempting to wrest control of the plant from the Ukrainian defenders shelled the facility. Video footage of the incident shows a training building located a stone's throw from the nuclear reactors catching fire while plant workers pleaded with the invaders over the loudspeaker to stop shelling the location. Today's warning of the potential consequences of armed conflict in close proximity to the nuclear power plant comes on the 36th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident. On April 26, 1986, a reactor at Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the north of what was then Soviet Ukraine went into meltdown and exploded. Huge clouds of radioactive smoke and dust were spread from the reactor, prompting mass evacuations from the nearby town of Pripyat where families of the plant's staff lived and the creation of an exclusion zone which remains in place to this day. A total of 28 staff members and emergency workers died from radiation poisoning in the days following the explosion, as well as two workers who were killed instantly in the blast. But studies conducted in the years following the disaster discovered a considerable increase in incidences of thyroid cancer among the population who lived near the plant. According to a United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) report, there had been almost 20,000 cases of thyroid cancer reported in children and adolescents who were exposed at the time of the accident between 1991-2015. On April 26, 1986, a reactor at Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the north of what was then Soviet Ukraine went into meltdown and exploded. Huge clouds of radioactive smoke and dust were spread from the reactor, prompting mass evacuations from the nearby town of Pripyat where families of the plant's staff lived and the creation of an exclusion zone which remains in place to this day (a steel containment dome is seen above the remains of the reactor) A total of 28 staff members and emergency workers died from radiation poisoning in the days following the explosion, as well as two workers who were killed instantly in the blast. But studies conducted in the years following the disaster discovered a considerable increase in incidences of thyroid cancer among the population who lived near the plant (exclusion zone in Chernobyl pictured) Meanwhile, Energoatom said Russian troops, who have occupied the Zaporizhzhia plant since March 4, were keeping heavy equipment and ammunition on the site. 'Thirty-six years after the Chernobyl tragedy, Russia exposes the whole world to the danger of a repeat of the nuclear catastrophe!' it said. Russia did not immediately comment on Energoatom's statement. It has previously offered safety assurances about Ukraine's nuclear power facilities since launching what it says is a 'special military operation' on February 24. Russian troops also occupied the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power station soon after invading Ukraine but withdrew in late March as Putin's forces geared up for redeployment in a new, targeted offensive in the eastern Donbas region. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), visited Chernobyl on Tuesday. A young father who was caught driving while unlicensed has claimed he was rushing his baby son to the hospital after a health scare. Slade James Watson, 25, from Deception Bay north of Brisbane was pulled over by police about 1.45pm on November 10 last year. He made the decision to drive despite having no license after his son was having breathing problems and he was told an ambulance could take 45 minutes to arrive, he told Caboolture Magistrates Court on Tuesday. 'I just had to save my son. I knew I would get in trouble but I just had to do it,' Watson told the court, reports The Caboolture Shire Herald. Slade Watson (pictured) said he was rushing his baby to hospital when he was pulled over for unlicensed driving He said he and his fiance were were worried about their son's breathing on November 10, 2021 before he drove. Watson has a substantial criminal and traffic record, has done multiple stints in jail since he turned 18, and battled mental illness, the court heard. Magistrate Andrew Hackett said he understood the situation would have been a 'moral emergency'. Watson, who works in security, pleaded guilty to unlicensed driving and was fined $300 and disqualified for driving for one month. No conviction was recorded. The company producing the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that have proved so effective in Ukraine said on Tuesday it will not be able to immediately resume production once existing stockpiles are depleted. The news will be a blow to Ukraine's armed forces, which say they need hundreds every day to repel Russian invasion. But Raytheon Technologies, which makes the shoulder-fired weapons, wound down production in recent years - as the Pentagon looked to more modern systems - and faces hurdles in ramping it back up. On a conference call with analysts, chief executive Greg Hayes said: 'We have a very limited stock of material for Stinger production.' The company may not be able to ramp up production until next year, following a surge in demand. 'We've been working with the Department of Defense for the last couple of weeks,' he said. 'Some of the components are no longer commercially available, and so we're going to have to go out and redesign some of the electronics in the missile of the seeker head. That's going to take us a little bit of time.' The U.S. has shipped more than 1,400 Stingers to Ukraine. The FIM-92 Stinger Man Portable Air Defense System entered service in 1981 and is used by the United States and 29 other countries. A file photo showing troops using a Stinger missile using Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADs) off the coast of Crete, Greece in November 2017 President Joe Biden has sent thousands of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine but now Raytheon chief executive Greg Hayes says it will be difficult to resume production of the ageing weapons system when stockpiles run out Lithuania has also been shipping Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. Crates are seen here being unloaded from a C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft outside Kyiv It is a lightweight, self-contained weapon that can be deployed quickly to defend against helicopters, airplanes, drones and even cruise missiles. It rose to fame in Afghanistan, where Mujahideen resistance fighters claimed they used Stingers to down more than 200 Soviet aircraft - although the numbers are disputed. But the Pentagon has not ordered new Stingers for 18 years, as the U.S. looked to more modern systems. The Stinger production line was closed in December 2020, said Pentagon spokesperson Jessica Maxwell. Since then, Raytheon Technologies won a contract in July 2021 to manufacture more Stingers, but mainly for international governments, according to the U.S. Army. The sole Stinger facility, in Arizona, only produces at a low rate. But the Ukraine conflict has seen the weapon in high demand, where its ease of use and portability have made it a crucial resistance tool. U.S. officials have balked at the idea of sending aircraft to bolster Ukraine's air force and instead have pointed to success of anti-aircraft systems to protect the country's sky from Russian warplanes. The portable missile systems entered service in 1981, but the Pentagon has not ordered them in 18 years and production by Raytheon has wound down The Pentagon, which has thrown together weekly meetings to discuss surging weapons demand from Eastern Europe, met with a group of eight defense-contractor chief executives in mid-April to discuss the supply of weapons to Ukraine, including the Stinger. Two sources familiar with the meeting said Hayes noted that it can require six to 12 months to restart a munitions production line. Industry executives also voiced reservations about increasing weapons production. One chief executive said that when the Ukraine war winds down, they do not want to be stuck with warehouses full of unsellable inventory without a guaranteed buyer, three people familiar with the discussion said. Congress also wants more Stingers, or at least something that can do the same job. The chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Representative Adam Smith, wrote Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last week and pointed out an 'apparent absence of a Department of Defense plan to meet short-range air defense replenishment requirements for not only our U.S. stocks of Stinger systems, but those of other contributing allies and partners.' Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Germany is to supply 50 Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine after weeks of dithering on the issue as the U.S. and its partners step up deliveries of weapons A Pentagon official who oversees weapons acquisitions for the Army, Doug Bush, told Congress on March 31 the Defense Department was putting together a plan to increase Stinger production and planned to inform Congress imminently. But as of late last week, a second congressional source who spoke on condition of anonymity said there has been no information about the plan. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate's Committee on Armed Services, asked Austin earlier in April at a Senate budget hearing about using the Defense Production Act (DPA) to restore depleted supplies of Stingers and Javelin anti-tank missiles. But using that law, which forces industry to put resources into an immediate effort to make a product needed for national security purposes, is premature, Pentagon spokesperson Maxwell said. In the longer term, the Army is looking for a replacement for the Stinger that will go into production in 2027. Museum bosses are seeking a 'social justice champion' who will be paid 35,000 to help 'decolonise' its collections. The successful candidate will address legacies of imperialism and patriarchal power structures, a job advert states. Paid between 29,000 and 35,0000, the senior curator for decolonial practice will operate at Ipswich Museum in Suffolk, which exhibits worldwide human and natural history. Ipswich Museum is hiring for a senior curator to 'decolonise' its human and natural history collection in Suffolk Last year councillors agreed that some displays at the 175-year-old museum were 'problematic, with certain artefacts of questionable provenance'. The new role - advertised on the government's Find a job website - is offered as an 'exciting opportunity' for a 'social justice champion'. The job description states: 'You will work with us and our local communities to address the legacies of imperialism, patriarchal power structures and inherent biases in our current displays. 'You will act as an advocate for tackling the colonial representation of objects, working to make the service more relevant and relatable to audiences.' Last year councillors agreed that some displays at the 175-year-old museum were 'problematic, with certain artefacts of questionable provenance' The curator will be trusted with a budget of up to 45,000 and will work 37 hours a week on a two-year contract. One of the key responsibilities is to work with museum colleagues to 'shape narratives relating to Empire'. Candidates are expected to have experience working in museums and equality, diversity and inclusion projects. The role, which is partly funded by a 4.5million grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, is open to applicants until May 6. The council-led Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service revealed plans last June to encourage transparency about the origin and context of its displays. This includes new research into the history of the artefacts it holds, along with a re-examination of how came to possess them. Left, the gold death mask which was made for Roman citizen Titus Flavius Demetrius, who died in Egypt between AD 80-120. The mask is on display at Ipswich Museum. The mask was excavated by archaeologist Flinders Petrie at Hawara in Egypt in 1888. Right, another of the museum's many artefacts in its collection One of the key responsibilities is to work with museum colleagues to 'shape narratives relating to Empire'. Pictured, artefacts from Nigeria which are on display at Ipswich Museum The group runs popular cultural sites including Colchester Castle, Colchester's Hollytrees Museum and Natural History Museum, Ipswich Art Gallery and Christchurch Mansion. A document approved by Colchester and Ipswich Borough Councils stated: 'The documentation of much of the world cultures collection, collected predominantly in the 19th century, is superficial and needs urgent remedial investigation. 'Whilst the museum has an array of world objects, its current ethnic visitor profile does not reflect that of the local, diverse demographic.' Frank Hargrave, Colchester and Ipswich Museums manager, said last year that he hoped for greater transparency and diversity in exhibits. Mr Hargrave said: 'It's not about being unnecessarily provocative, it's about finding long-term solutions and working with people to find solutions without being tokenistic or overly antagonistic.' Frank Hargrave, Colchester and Ipswich Museums manager, said last year that he hoped for greater transparency and diversity in exhibits. Pictured, inside the museum He added it was 'not about taking stories away or hiding things, very much the opposite. 'We will be looking at the holdings of human remains and religious artefacts, as well as those acquired by those with imperial agendas of their time such as colonial officers, expedition captains and missionaries.' On Colchester and Ipswich Museums' website, a message apologises for some of the 'historic terminology' used on its database. It says: 'Historic terminology for cataloguing objects and belongings are recorded on this database and some of the language is discriminatory, offensive and upsetting. 'We keep the historic terminology to allow us to see how people in the past perceived the world around them. 'We are working towards ensuring voices other than the Museums are reflected in the database.' A 15-year-old boy asked for a meeting with the dean of his $40,000-a-year private Chicago school to report that several students were bullying him via text messages and on Snapchat - one of which encouraged him to kill himself. The dean listened to Nate Bronstein, a 10th-grader at the Latin School of Chicago, but took no disciplinary action, according to a lawsuit recently filed by his parents. One month later, Nate was found dead, hanging from the shower in their home with a noose tied around his neck. Rose and Robert Bronstein had repeatedly raised concerns about their son's struggle to adjust to his new school with administrators, which was detailed in a 68-page lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County on Monday, but claim no action was taken. It wasn't until after Nate's death, that they learned the extent of the bullying their son endured by his classmates. In the suit, Nate's parents claim the school knew, but never reported it. 'Our son would still be alive today if Latin would have done their job and reported to us what had gone on within the school,' Rose Bronstein told CBS News. Nate Bronstein, 15, took his own life on January 13, 2022 at his family's home Rose and Robert Bronstein spoke exclusively to CBS News, saying they believe if the school would have 'done their job' and reported what went on at the school, he would still be alive' Nate hadn't been at the Latin School of Chicago, one of the most prestigious private schools in Chicago, for long, but he had a promising future. His parents described the 10th-grader as being a 'super-sharp, funny kid.' 'He definitely wanted to go to a college that had big time sports,' his father Robert Bronstein told CBS News. 'He loved to make people laugh, and laugh himself.' But the school was 'a toxic culture,' Rose said. 'So toxic that we lost our son from it.' According to the filing, Nate began experiencing and complaining about the the bullying in September 2021. In one incident, Nate and a fellow student at Latin were talking about the upcoming Homecoming dance, but was told he was not allowed to join this student or the student's friends. Days later, Nate learned that the student had been spreading rumors around Latin that he was unvaccinated. The last time he was in the student's home, the student's mother told Nate, 'it must suck to have to take a Covid test every week' to which Nate replied, 'I'm vaccinated. 'The student's mother sarcastically replied, 'yeah right.' Nate was, in fact, vaccinated, the suit claimed. The suit went on to expound on other incidents that stemmed from the rumors, like when Nate had been approached at school by students on two separate occasions with both students asking him if his parents were 'anti-vaxxers' following the incident with the student and student's mother. Nate's parents reached out to the student's parents and to the school to resolve the matter which only made matters worse because it led to continued harassment of Nate. The Bronsteins had concerns about their son adjusting to a new school, concerns they raised repeatedly with administrators, which is documented in a 68-page lawsuit filed Rose Bronstein called the school a 'toxic culture so toxic that we lost our son from it.' She said her son was bullied by his classmates to the point that he didn't want to live to see his future LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO RESPONDS TO CBS NEWS 'Our school community deeply grieves the tragic and untimely passing of one its students. It is a loss that impacts our whole community. Our hearts go out to the family, and we wish them healing and peace. With respect to their lawsuit, however, the allegations of wrongdoing by the school officials are inaccurate and misplaced. The school's faculty and staff are compassionate people who put students' interests first, as they did in this instance. While we are not, at this time, going to comment on any specific allegation in this difficult matter, the school will vigorously defend itself, its faculty and its staff against these unfounded claims.' Advertisement Another incident detailed in the lawsuit alleges that around October or November, a Latin geometry teacher relentlessly accosted Nate in front of the entire class in response to the teen's comment about mathematical proofs and ultimately announced to the class that Nate was 'going nowhere in life.' The lawsuit also details text threats and snapchat messages exchanged between Nate and school classmates, one of which encourages Nate to kill himself, and another was understood to be an indirect death threat. On December 13, 2021, Nate met with the dean of students to report the bullying, but the dean took no disciplinary action against any student. Nate's report was also kept from his parents, the suit claims. The Bronsteins told CBS News they were never told that Nate had asked for a meeting with his dean of students to report the harassment. 'It had been kept from us, so that's why we were completely, completely taken off guard when this happened,' said Robert Bronstein. According to the Illinois General Assembly Public Act, every school in the state, including private schools, must have an anti-bullying policy. That policy must include information about how bullying should be reported and how it is to be investigated, and also that bullying incidents must be reported to the parents of those involved. 'Look, our son was 15, and his perception of what he can and can't handle isn't necessarily accurate but that's why the policies exist, and that's why, now, the law exists to involve parents,' Robert Bronstein told CBS News. 'The school has to err on the side of a lot of transparency,' The family stresses that they are not suing Latin for the money. Instead, they've pledged to donate any money gained through legal proceedings to anti-bullying and anti-suicide charities - with their goal of helping others in similar situations. 'You can't allow this to go on, because it's going to happen to another child,' Robert Bronstein said. Nate was described by as a super-sharp, funny kid; A pillar in their family of five Nate was still adjusting as a being a new transfer last fall to the Latin School of Chicago, on the Gold Coast, when the bullying continued with no action from school officials The DailyMail.com reached out to the school for comment but has not heard back. The school released a statement to CBS News on Monday: 'Our school community deeply grieves the tragic and untimely passing of one its students. It is a loss that impacts our whole community. Our hearts go out to the family, and we wish them healing and peace. With respect to their lawsuit, however, the allegations of wrongdoing by the school officials are inaccurate and misplaced. The school's faculty and staff are compassionate people who put students' interests first, as they did in this instance. While we are not, at this time, going to comment on any specific allegation in this difficult matter, the school will vigorously defend itself, its faculty and its staff against these unfounded claims.' Advertisement A P&O ferry has been escorted back to safety after becoming adrift in the Irish Sea in yet another public relations disaster for the scandal-hit firm - just weeks after it sparked fury by firing 800 UK staff over zoom and replacing them with cheaper foreign crews. The European Causeway, which can carry 410 passengers, was adrift five miles off the coast of Northern Ireland for more than an hour on Tuesday afternoon, according to tracking website Marine Traffic, before being escorted to its planned destination at Port of Larne. It is the latest in a string of PR nightmares after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced earlier this month that the Insolvency Service had started 'formal criminal and civil investigations' into the company, which he said he would be 'following closely' along with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. The probe came after P&O Ferries admitted to breaking the law in the manner in which it terminated staff on March 17 to hire cheaper agency workers, a move that has caused a major backlash from politicians and workers - compounded this week by claims it wanted to cut the wages of its new workers even further. Meanwhile, the company's suspension of its Dover-Calais route has caused travel chaos on roads in Kent this month as other ferry companies have been placed under immense pressure to cope with the Easter demand. Dealing a further blow to its reputation, it was claimed this week that ships were prevented from sailing because their new poorly paid foreign crews had been trained so badly some did not even know where the liferafts were. The European Causeway had already been detained last month 'based on concerns over its safety' and to 'prevent them going to sea', the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said. The Pride of Kent was also detained in Dover on March 28 after it failed inspections to see if it was 'safe to go to sea without passengers or cargo'. The Marine Traffic website today said the European Causeway's automatic identification system status had been set to 'not under command'. A route tracking map appeared to show it off course and bobbing around in the Irish Sea The Marine Traffic website today said the European Causeway's (vessel pictured) automatic identification system status had been set to 'not under command', causing it to drift The European Causeway (pictured today) had been detained at Larne after an initial inspection by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on March 25 uncovered 31 safety failings The European Causeway, which can carry up to 410 passengers, is currently bobbing around It left Cairnryan at midday - with an unknown number of people onboard - due in to Larne Harbour at 2pm A timeline of the P&O Ferries fiasco March 17: A P&O Ferries executive is tells 800 staff in a Zoom call that they are being made redundant and replaced with agency workers. The firm also announces it has suspended sailings 'for the next few days.' March 18: Staff protests break out at ports in Dover, Liverpool and Hull. March 21: Foreign agency workers from India, the Philippines and Pakistan are pictured being transported to P&O Ferries' ships. March 24: P&O Ferries' millionaire chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite admits to MPs that his company 'chose' to break the law when it sacked its staff and says he would do the same again. March 25: P&O ferry the European Causeway is detained in Northern Ireland for being 'unfit to sail'. March 28: A second vessel, the Pride of Kent, is detained in Dover by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. March 30: Transport Secretary Grant Shapps vows to introduce new law to ban P&O Ferries from British ports if crew are not paid the minimum wage. April 1: Criminal and civil investigations are launched into P&O Ferries' mass sackings. April 7: P&O Ferries cancellations continue to cause gridlock on motorways Kent as queues of drivers waiting to cross the Channel build up. April 14: P&O Ferries suspends all of its passenger services across the Channel over Easter. April 19: Several P&O agency staff are fired after testing positive for alcohol. April 22: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency seizes a third vessel, the 700ft long Spirit of Britain. April 24: P&O Ferries are accused of trying to pay new staff even lower wages. April 26: A P&O boat comes adrift in the Irish Sea and has to be escorted back to safety. Advertisement This setting is reserved for use when a vessel is 'unable to manoeuvre as required by these rules and is therefore unable to keep out of the way of another vessel'. A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said it had been a temporary issue and the European Causeway was now travelling to Larne 'under its own propulsion'. The spokesperson said: 'Following a temporary mechanical issue, the European Causeway is now continuing on its scheduled journey to the Port of Larne under its own propulsion, with local tugs on standby, where it will discharge its passengers and cargo as planned. 'There are no reported injuries on board and all the relevant authorities have been informed. Once in dock a full independent investigation will be undertaken.' A RNLI spokesperson said that three lifeboats had been sent to the scene. The spokesperson said: 'Three RNLI lifeboats were requested to launch this afternoon to assist a passenger ferry in difficulty one mile south east of The Maidens. 'Larne RNLI's all-weather lifeboat launched at 2.17pm while Red Bay's RNLI's all-weather lifeboat launched at 2.35pm followed by the inshore lifeboat at 3pm. All lifeboats are currently on scene.' P&O said that the vessel had been affected by a 'mechanical issue'. The company tweeted: 'Due to a mechanical issue with the Causeway in the Irish Sea, tugs from Larne and Belfast were deployed to guide it back to port. 'Once the ship is back in Port a full inspection will take place.' The Rail, Maritime and Transport workers' Union (RMT) said the reports were 'deeply concerning, not least for the agency crew and passengers on board'. The European Causeway had been detained at Larne after an initial inspection by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on March 25 uncovered 31 safety failings. This was due to safety concerns after the company sacked nearly 800 seafarers and replaced them with cheaper agency workers. The ship was cleared to resume serving the Larne-Cairnryan route a fortnight later following another examination. The ferry company drew national outage last month when it illegally fired nearly 800 staff members without notice over Zoom and replaced them all immediately with cheaper foreign workers. The agency workers who were hired to replace 786 staff say they were asked to sign new contracts on even lower pay. The firm has not carried out a cross-Channel crossing since its mass sacking last month. This has caused a lack of capacity on the crucial Dover-Calais route, contributing to large queues of lorries on coastbound roads in Kent. One of its ships, the Spirit of Britain, was impounded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on April 12 over a string of safety issues, but has now been cleared for sailing. Another ship on the Dover-to-Calais route, the Pride Of Kent, remains in detention. Yesterday, travel expert Paul Charles said it was his understanding the ships had been impounded not due to actual physical deficiencies but because the new crews had not been trained well enough, with 'some not even knowing where the liferafts were'. An official inspection the European Causeway, which went adrift today, listed an inability to deploy lifeboats or life rafts as one of 31 failures that had been identified. The ferry normally operates between Cairnryan, Scotland, and Larne, Northern Ireland. P&O Ferries expects to restart sailings for freight customers by Wednesday, but does not anticipate carrying tourists until early next week, it is understood d P&O boss 'should be jailed' over sackings: Union chief The chief executive of P&O Ferries should be 'behind bars' after sacking 800 seafarers, a trade union president has said. Peter Hebblethwaite replaced the workers with cheaper staff in order to protect the company, he said. However, Pat Rafferty, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) president, said sacking the seafarers via Zoom last month was 'gutter' and 'inhumane'. Speaking at the annual conference in Aberdeen, Mr Rafferty said that the CEO should be put in jail to send a clear message to employers. Mr Hebblethwaite rejected a request from Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, to reverse the decision. He also admitted his company broke the law by failing to consult unions about the redundancies. It is understood the business needed to cut costs to avoid collapse as it was losing money at a rate of 100 million per year. Mr Hebblethwaite said re-employing the sacked staff on their previous wages would 'deliberately cause the company's collapse, resulting in the irreversible loss of an additional 2,000 jobs'. Mr Rafferty said: 'There is something seriously wrong with our society when a company CEO like P&O can swan into a Westminster parliamentary committee and openly state that he broke the law - and worse still, he'd do it again. What that clearly demonstrates is how useless the law is. There is no deterrent to companies like P&O who are getting away with destroying people's lives. 'The law needs to change. Peter Hebblethwaite should be struck off the directors register and put behind bars. That would send a clear message to employers, act irresponsibly towards workers and face the possibility that you will be jailed.' Mr Hebblethwaite was also accused of 'corporate terrorism' last month as he faced MSPs in Holyrood's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. He told MSPs he had not taken a cut to his 325,000 salary while replacing his staff with agency workers who receive less than minimum wage. Mr Rafferty, who is also Scottish Secretary of Unite the Union, urged trade union members to boycott P&O Ferries until the dispute had been resolved. Advertisement P&O Ferries expects to restart sailings for freight customers between Dover and Calais by Wednesday but does not anticipate carrying tourists until early next week, it is understood. On Monday morning the firm's website began selling passenger tickets for cross-Channel sailings on its ship Spirit Of Britain from Wednesday. The website later said there were 'no sailings available for your selected dates'. Spirit Of Britain was detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on April 12 after safety issues were found, but was cleared to sail on Friday. Meanwhile, Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Lynch claimed P&O Ferries has been 'prevented from further cutting the pay of vulnerable agency crew' by 'pressure from RMT seafarers'. The firm, owned by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, insisted no agency workers were asked to take a pay cut. It came after the RMT received reports of agency workers at Dover being asked to sign new contracts with reduced payments, according to the BBC. Mr Lynch said: 'There are no depths to which P&O and their Dubai owners at DP World will not sink to extract the maximum profit from ferry crews operating our vital maritime supply chains. 'This is underlined by the fact that, despite this U-turn, P&O are still only paying barely half of the UK minimum wage of 9.50 per hour. 'Ultimately, staffing ships with super-exploited agency staff is not just morally wrong, it undercuts those remaining ferry operators who do abide by union rates of pay and conditions, and undermines passenger safety. 'The only way out of this latest crisis at the ferry operator is for the Government to take over the running of P&O vessels and reinstate directly employed staff on union rates of pay.' A spokesman for P&O Ferries said: 'No agency seafarers were asked to accept reduced wages.' He went on: 'There was an administrative misunderstanding around the contract presented to one individual who appears to have been unaware of an appendix which made clear that he would be entitled to an additional 195 a month, meaning that there was no change in his overall pay. 'There are no plans to change or reduce the wages of any of our agency seafarers and we have made clear that we will continue to comply fully with any national minimum wage obligations introduced by the UK Government.' The company's chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, told MPs last month that the average pay of the agency crew is 5.50 per hour. That is below the UK's minimum wage but Mr Hebblethwaite said it is permitted under international maritime laws. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wants to create 'minimum wage corridors' on ferry routes between the UK and other countries. In a letter to the Mr Hebblethwaite in March in the wake of the scandal, Mr Shapps wrote: 'The past week has left the reputation of P&O Ferries and, I'm afraid, you personally in tatters. 'Not only were your letters of 22 March to the Business Secretary and myself wholly unsatisfactory, your appearance at the Transport Select Committee, during which you brazenly admitted to breaking employment law, demonstrated beyond doubt your contempt for workers who have given years of service to your company. 'There is no excuse for this behaviour, and as I said publicly on Friday, I believe your position as chief executive, and indeed as a company director, has become untenable.' Mr Shapps added: 'I will be bringing a comprehensive package of measures to Parliament to ensure that seafarers are protected against these types of actions in the way that Parliament and this Government already intended. Through that package, I intend to block the outcome that P&O Ferries has pursued, including paying workers less than the minimum wage.' MailOnline contacted P&O Ferries for comment about the allegation some of its crew did not know where liferafts were kept. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency declined to comment. It is claimed that if they refused to agree they faced being out of work and one agency worker emailed the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) , declaring: 'We are desperate.' P&O's boss Peter Hebblethwaite, who earns 345,000 a year, admitted firing the workers over Zoom without notice was illegal in testimony to MPs P&O Ferries reportedly offered some of the agency workers, who replaced the near 800 staff fired last month, new contracts with even lower wages Some crew earn just 748 a month for a 40-hour week barely 4.50 an hour. In one example reported by The Mirror, workers say chefs paid 2,336 a month on temporary contracts were asked to sign new deals giving them 195 a month less. Although it is not known who faced a cut in wages, or if staff on seven other ferries were targeted too. Darren Procter, national secretary of the RMT says some of the new workers were brought in on just a month's contract, and when those contracts expired the staff were offered 'inferior terms'. The RMT are campaigning for dismissed P&O staff to be reinstated, but 'irrespective of nationality' are concerned for the new staff members, Mr Procter added: 'they are just as much victims as our members.' Advertisement Insulate Britain protesters today glued themselves to court furniture as they appeared before magistrates charged over chaos on the M25. Activists had to be tackled by security staff at a court in Stratford before police arrived and cleared people out of the room as a hearing descended into farce. Diana Warner, 63, appeared charged with causing a public nuisance at the Poyle Interchange at junction 14 of the M25 near Heathrow Airport on September 27. However, before the hearing could begin she glued her hand to the window of the dock. 'I have glued my hand,' she told the court. Liam Norton, 36, who had entered the court to support her, then walked up to the witness box while filming with his phone. He was rushed and tackled by court staff as he approached the box. Warner then pulled her mobile phone out in the dock and began to film herself. Ana Heyatawin, 58, also pulled her phone out and began to film the proceedings. She then glued her hand to a bench inside the court. Police officers then arrived, clearing the press from the court. The mayhem came as a further group of Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested today after breaching an injunction by standing in front of an oil terminal holding placards saying 'dangerous radicals' and 'if only they listened to petitions'. The 16 activists outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire said police approached them to say they would be arrested for breaching an injunction which stops them demonstrating at Britain's largest inland oil storage depot. The group of protesters held white signs saying 'investing in new fossil fuels is moral and economic madness'; 'oil is stealing my future'; 'don't stop us - stop oil'; 'we are breaking the injunction'; and 'dangerous criminals'. Valero Energy, the Texas-based company which owns the Kingsbury oil terminal, secured a first injunction on April 11 which stops anyone from damaging the land at its sites or 'affixing themselves to any other person or object'. Three days later on April 14, a second injunction was granted in the High Court for North Warwickshire Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police, which gives the authorities more powers of arrest. Just Stop Oil, which is linked to the wider Extinction Rebellion group, said any arrested protesters are likely to face a charge of contempt of court - and could then face an unlimited fine or up two years in prison if found guilty. Warwickshire Police confirmed the protesters arrived at 7.30am and confirmed later in the day that all 16 had been arrested. The group included a 35-year-old man from Barnsley, a 74-year-old man from Telford, a 50-year-old woman from Oxfordshire, a 40-year-old woman from London, a 54-year-old woman from Birmingham, a 49-year-old woman from Manchester, a 70-year-old woman from East Barnet, a 75-year-old woman from Leicester, a 55-year-old man from Manchester, a 72-year-old woman from Cumbria, a 23-year-old woman from Leeds, a 41-year-old woman from Cumbria, a 37-year-old woman from London, a 52-year-old woman from Scarborough and a 51-year-old woman from Basingstoke. These Just Stop Oil protesters demonstrating outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today are set to be arrested The activists outside Kingsbury today said police approached them to say they would be arrested for breaching the injunction The protesters are today breaching an injunction granted to Valero Energy, the Texas-based company which owns Kingsbury Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue Assistant Chief Constable Dave Gardner said: 'The High Court injunction remains in place and I would strongly advise against people coming to Kingsbury to conduct any protest activity. 'Although the force respects the right to the peaceful protest, we will always take action against anyone found to be acting outside of the law. 'If you are believed to be in breach of the order, officers will arrest you and you will be taken into police custody until you have to appear before the courts. 'A number of arrests have been made this morning and our priority continues to be to minimise any disruption to the community and the local road networks, while ensuring the terminal can go about its day-to-day operational activity. 'A heightened police presence will remain in the area as we deal with the protesters and continue to protect the public from harm. 'I would like to thank the local community for their continued patience. It remains a challenging time but we are working in conjunction with our partners to minimise any disruption.' One former NHS doctor at today's protest said: 'I'm not a criminal, I've worked 32 years in the NHS as a doctor. But I'm risking arrest and imprisonment simply by standing here today breaking an injunction against protesting about new fossil fuels. It's not a big ask that our Government, one of their climate pledges, stop new UK oil.' Another protester added: 'I'm here because we are receiving warnings like 'it's now or never', 'code red for humanity', 'direct existential threat', things like that - and we are extremely concerned that we are expanding production of fossil fuels. So we're here to demand that we stop doing that, it's very simple.' The organisation has been blocking oil terminals and tankers across England including in Birmingham, Essex and Hampshire since April 1 and said nearly 1,000 arrests have now been made over the past month. It said disruption would continue 'until the Government makes a statement that it will end new oil and gas projects in the UK'. Just Stop Oil protester Amy Pritchard, 37, a care worker from London, said prior to the demonstration at Kingsbury today: 'If my imprisonment helps wake people up to the seriousness of the situation, it's worth it. 'The UN Secretary-General clearly states 'fossil fuels are a dead end' and 'delay means death'. No new oil and gas is not a controversial demand. I want to have children and I want them to have a future.' Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue One of the Just Stop Oil demonstrators stands outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire this morning Just Stop Oil said any arrested protesters outside the Kingsbury oil terminal are likely to face a charge of contempt of court These Just Stop Oil protesters demonstrating outside Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today are set to be arrested She was quoting a statement by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in February in which he said 'fossil fuels are a dead end for our planet, for humanity, and yes, for economies'. Sarah Webb, 51, a special educational needs tutor from Oxfordshire, was also involved in the demonstration today. Speaking prior to the action, she said: 'I'm injunction breaking at Kingsbury and risking two years in prison, to stand peacefully on a grass verge, not blocking anything. 'Our Government and judicial system have now effectively outlawed peaceful protest. Is this Russia, is this China? No, it's the UK. 'It's down to us ordinary people now. Can you trust the government to do what is right and end new fossil fuel licences? Can you trust the fossil fuel companies to stop drilling and start building wind turbines? No, me neither. So we all need to stand up and force the government to take action.' Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue Just Stop Oil said any arrested protesters outside the Kingsbury oil terminal are likely to face a charge of contempt of court The group of protesters held white signs today saying 'investing in new fossil fuels is moral and economic madness' Police at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire today as the protests by Just Stop Oil activists continue The demonstration in Warwickshire today comes after nearly 1,000 arrests have already been made over the past month Warwickshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Dave Gardner said: 'The High Court injunction remains in place and I would strongly advise against people coming to Kingsbury to conduct any protest activity. 'Although the force respects the right to the peaceful protest, we will always take action against anyone found to be acting outside of the law. 'If you are believed to be in breach of the order, officers will arrest you and you will be taken into police custody until you have to appear before the courts. 'A number of arrests have been made this morning and our priority continues to be to minimise any disruption to the community and the local road networks, while ensuring the terminal can go about its day-to-day operational activity. 'A heightened police presence will remain in the area as we deal with the protesters and continue to protect the public from harm. 'I would like to thank the local community for their continued patience. It remains a challenging time but we are working in conjunction with our partners to minimise any disruption.' Vladimir Putin is seen with a shaking hand and firmly gripping his chair in video captured two months ago - adding to mounting speculation over the state of the Russian president's health. The clip, which was taken on February 18, just before the onset of his invasion of Ukraine, shows him welcoming fellow strongman Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin. The Russian president has been dogged by claims of his failing health in recent months, fueled by footage of his bloated face, slouching posture, and constant gripping for support. Resurfaced footage of a wobbling Vladimir Putin has sparked fresh health rumours for the tyrant who shakes his hand uncontrollably He pulls it into his body in an attempt to quell the shakes, but then he almost stumbles as he unsteadily walks towards Lukashenko In the video taken in February, Putin is seen standing up awaiting his Belarusian ally as his hand starts to violently tremble. He pulls it into his body in an attempt to quell the shakes, but then he almost stumbles as he unsteadily walks towards Lukashenko. Later, Putin sits on a chair but is unable to remain still, constantly fidgeting and tapping his feet while he grips onto the arm for support. The resurfaced clip will do little to dampen the rumours about his potential illness, amid rumours he is battling Parkinson's, dementia or cancer. 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. Later, Putin sits on a chair but is unable to remain still, constantly fidgeting and tapping his feet while he grips onto the arm for support He alternates his right and left hand holding on to the chair as he continuously lifts his feet up and down Last week, he made a rare live appearance with defence minister Sergei Shoigu where they discussed the 'liberation' of Mariupol. 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. 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 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. Questions have also emerged over whether Putin really attended an Orthodox Easter service in Moscow this past weekend after pictures issued by the Kremlin bore a startling resemblance to images from last year. The images, purportedly taken one year apart, appear to show Putin dressed in the same suit and look extremely similar - the only clearly discernible difference being the colour of his tie. Putin is believed to have attended the midnight Easter service to mark Orthodox Easter on Sunday morning - April 24 - alongside Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin at Moscow's huge gold-encrusted Christ the Saviour Cathedral. But images and video footage of the event have been seized upon by opposition media in Russia and Ukraine, suggesting the new clips were faked from last year's service on May 2, 2021. There are only subtle differences in lighting and the colour of Putin's tie between both sets of images from the Easter service, prompting suggestions that the images have been manipulated (Putin at Easter service in 2021 pictured left. 2022 image is pictured right) Putin (L) is believed to have attended the midnight Easter service to mark Orthodox Easter on Sunday morning - April 24 - alongside Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin (R) at Moscow's huge gold-encrusted Christ the Saviour Cathedral He appeared to chew the insides of his mouth, shifting uncomfortably, adding to a swirl of commentary that the pressure of Russian setbacks over the war in Ukraine There are only subtle differences in lighting and the colour of Putin's tie between both sets of images from the Easter service, prompting suggestions that the images have been manipulated. 'Putin is standing in the same suit and with the same candle as on May 2, 2021,' reported Russian outlet The Village. 'This is evidenced by a photo report from the temple on the Kremlin website.' Opposition investigative media Agentstvo also claimed that this year's footage of Putin attending the ceremony - an appearance he makes annually - seemed to have been distorted. 'In the broadcast of the Easter service from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Putin seemed to disappear for a moment,' said the outlet. 'This happened during the switching of shots, from a close-up with the president to a more general one 'The place where Putin should be seems to be empty.' The claims were set upon by Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Herashchenko, who said: 'Putin's directors were again caught using video editing and [manipulation]. 'This time at the broadcast of the Easter service.' Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit (We Can Explain) posted: 'Putin-2022 at the service in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is almost indistinguishable from Putin-2021. 'Social media users, having studied the photos, doubted that the President attended a public event.' The channel urged followers to 'spot the difference' between Putin this year and last. Some comments believe his face has changed since last year despite similar expressions. Russian Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill, who has supported his invasion of Ukraine, led the service. Eastern Orthodox churches observe the ancient Julian calendar, and this year celebrate the Orthodox Easter on April 24 'Putin has the same hairstyle, almost the same facial expression, the same candle,' said Mozhem Obyasnit. 'Both are on the same background in the same aisle of the cathedral. 'True, in 2021 Putin was sometimes shown against the backdrop of parishioners and priests, but this year, for some reason, they did not do this. 'Social media users conclude that reports of Putin's participation in this public event at the height of the war are illustrated with pictures from a peaceful 2021.' During the service, when Patriarch Kirill - head of the Russian Orthodox Church - declared 'Christ has risen', Putin did not join in with the other members of the congregation to reply 'truly he is risen,' according to Reuters. In the video, the typically stoic and steadfast Putin was shown grimacing, fidgeting and biting his lip. This was interpreted by some as a sign of his state of mind during the war, while others have posited he may be suffering from Parkinson's disease. 'I am persuaded by a lot of medical advice that he is an ill man and the most persuasive diagnosis is that he has early Parkinsonia,' said former government defence and Nato adviser Professor Gwythian Prins, appearing on Good Morning Britain over the weekend. 'I happen to live with a clinical neurological psychologist - my wife - who has spent 30 years dealing with people who have had degenerative brain diseases.' He said people living with Parkinson's often show 'all or nothing thinking' where they become disinhibited, stopping them from taking in information rationally. A group of Russian-linked hackers claimed to have hacked Coca-Cola and put rucks of data up for sale. Stormous said it stole 161 gigabytes of financial data, passwords and accounts before putting the information on the market for $640,000 or 16 million Bitcoin. The team revealed on Monday it had infiltrated the drinks company and got out 'without their knowledge'. Coca-Cola said it has launched an urgent investigation and already contacted the police. The Stormous hacking group posted online that it has stolen 161 gigabytes of data from Coca-Cola, and is now selling the information The hack reportedly comes after the group posted a poll asking which company it should target, and Coca-Cola received the most votes 'You will win and we will win,' read an apparent message from the group, which was later posted on Twitter. 'You will also contact us! We will explain more,' the message, in apparently broken English, continues. 'Good deal, we'll give you the right to pay the amount you want depending on the amount of data you want.' It said the group downloaded 161 gigabytes from the company, which it would sell for more than $640,000 or more than 16 million in Bitcoin. Among the stolen files, according to CISO Advisor, are financial data, passwords and commercial accounts. The group had previously made waves for expressing its support of Russian forces in its invasion of Ukraine. It also previously posted a poll on the Telegram messaging service asking which company it should go after. After 103 votes were cast, Security Affairs reports, Coca-Cola received 72 percent. Coca-Cola has previously pulled its operations from Russia during the invasion of Ukraine On Tuesday, its shares were down almost half a percentage point following a first quarter report that concluded the decision may reduce net revenue and operating profit for the year by 1 to 2 percent Hackers supporting Russia over Ukraine... who are Stormous? Stormous is a relative newcomer in the hacking world but gained attention at the beginning of the year. They said they had stolen 200 gigabytes of data from Epic Games and later made headlines when it announced its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It remains unclear where the group is based, with The Record reporting most of its messages are in Arabic. It wrote in English at the beginning of March: 'The Stromous team has officially announced its support for the Russian governments. 'And if any party in different parts of the world decides to organize a cyber attack or cyberattacks against Russia, we will be in the right direction, will make all our efforts to abandon the supplication of the West, especially the infrastructure. 'Perhaps the hacking operation that our team carried out for the government of Ukraine and a Ukrainian airline was just a simple operation, but what is coming will be bigger,' the group warned. It also issued a warning against 'western unions' and US-based companies, after it said it was 'attacked' by US companies that shut down their site. Advertisement Stormous is a relative newcomer in the hacking world but gained attention at the beginning of the year. It said it had stolen 200 gigabytes of data from Epic Games and later made headlines when it announced its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It remains unclear where the group is based, with The Record reporting most of its messages are in Arabic. It wrote in English at the beginning of March: 'The Stromous team has officially announced its support for the Russian governments. 'And if any party in different parts of the world decides to organize a cyber attack or cyberattacks against Russia, we will be in the right direction, will make all our efforts to abandon the supplication of the West, especially the infrastructure. 'Perhaps the hacking operation that our team carried out for the government of Ukraine and a Ukrainian airline was just a simple operation, but what is coming will be bigger,' the group warned. It also issued a warning against 'western unions' and US-based companies, after it said it was 'attacked' by US companies that shut down their site. Just a few days after the group's announcement, on March 8, Coca-Cola announced it was suspending its operations in Russia in opposition to its invasion. The company said: 'Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine.' It added: 'We will continue to monitor and assess the situation as circumstances evolve.' Coca-Cola executives estimate the decision will tentatively reduce the corporations net revenue and operating profit for the year by 1 to 2 percent. Its net profit has already decreased by 23.5 percent, compared to the same period last year, according to its first quarter report, issued on Monday. But its quarterly revenue rose by 5 percent to $9.02 billion from $8.6 billion. The firm is trading at $65.69, down nearly half a percentage point from the day before. But it is continuing to double down on its support for Ukraine, noting in its filing it will provide $15billion in aid to the country. It wrote: 'This funding will support further relief efforts by the Red Cross and other organizations operating in Ukraine and neighboring countries, heling millions of displaced people.' A spokesman for Coca-Cola said they are investigating the claims of stolen data, and have already contacted law enforcement. 'We are aware of this matter and are investigating to determine the validity of the claim,' communications vice president Scott Leith told The Record. An aerial view of the planned floating airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island off Busan / Yonhap Korea plans to build the country's first floating airport in the southern port city of Busan by 2035, the land ministry said Tuesday. Last year, the National Assembly approved a bill on a mega state project worth 13.7 trillion won ($10.97 billion) to build the new airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island off the coast of Busan, to handle growing air traffic demand and facilitate prosperity in the country's southeast region. According to the detailed plan announced by the ministry Tuesday, the new facility will be an offshore airport, which is to be built on a floating structure at sea. The government is pushing to skip a preliminary feasibility study to expedite the construction procedures, and a review committee under the finance ministry will make a final decision on the exemption later this week. The land ministry plans to begin drawing a detailed construction plan within this year following an environment survey. If the process goes without a hitch, the construction is expected to kick off in 2025, and the new airport will be put into operation in June 2035. A study shows that the envisioned airport would handle some 23.36 million passengers and 286,000 tons of cargo in 2065, the ministry said. But long-drawn controversies surrounding the project could continue, as lawmakers in the region have claimed that the central government's plan requires more budget and time. Critics say the new facility is not economically feasible and would negatively affect the environment in the region. The debate on the issue dates back nearly 10 years. The liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003-2008) first proposed the construction project to disperse the growing air traffic to and from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, the only international airport in the region, deemed almost saturated. The conservative Park Geun-hye government pushed for a project that would expand the existing Gimhae airport in Busan, but a state committee under the current Moon Jae-in administration virtually aborted it after reviewing its feasibility. Then ruling party lawmakers proposed constructing a new airport on Gadeok and have pushed to expedite the project. (Yonhap) Other local residents were also seen calmly watching the fire in town of Kotlas A woman has calmly enjoyed swinging on a play set with a child on her knee as a neighbouring building is destroyed by a raging fire in Russia. Video shows the pair casually rocking back and forth on the swing in a playground as the property is engulfed in flames in front of them in Kotlas, a town in western Russia. Other local residents were also seen calmly watching the raging inferno from the park benches as sirens of emergency vehicles blared around them. In front of the woman and child on the swing, a small crowd gathered a short distance away from the burning building to watch as the flames lit up the sky. The woman appears unfazed by the fire in front of her and even looks in a different direction as she continues to gain momentum on the swing. A woman has calmly enjoyed swinging on a play set with a child on her knee as a neighbouring building is destroyed by a raging fire in Russia Video shows the pair casually rocking back and forth on the swing in a playground as the property is engulfed in flames in the town of Kotlas, western Russia Other local residents were also seen calmly watching the raging inferno from the park benches The Department of the Ministry of Emergencies in Arkhangelsk region told Podyom news site a two-storey non-residential building had erupted into flames on Monday. 'The area of the fire was 480 square metres,' officials said. 'There are no casualties. The cause of the fire is being established.' The bizarre video of the woman calmly enjoying swinging on the play set in front of the fire comes after footage emerged in 2019 of a boy in Russia doing the same thing. Video showed the boy calmly enjoying playing on a swing as a house behind him burned to the ground in Noyabrsk, central Russia. A boy has calmly enjoyed swinging on a play set as a neighbouring house burns to the ground in Noyabrsk, central Russia, in 2019 The boy was also unfazed by the raging inferno behind him, as a small crowd gathered to watch the blaze. Toward the end of the video the boy slightly turns to see the blaze, but he does not get off the swing and does not look worried. During the fire, the building's structure partially collapsed, there was also a threat of flame spreading to the neighboring properties. But firemen at the scene managed to defend nearby homes, according to local media reports. Harvard University is setting aside $100million for an endowment fund and other measures to close the educational, social and economic gaps that are legacies of slavery and racism, the universitys president has said. The email from Lawrence Bacow included a link to a 100-page report by his universitys 14-member Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery. The panel was chaired by Tomiko Brown-Nagin, a legal historian who is dean of Harvard's interdisciplinary Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The move comes amid a wider conversation about redressing the impacts of centuries of slavery, discrimination and racism. The report laid out a history of slaves toiling on the campus and of the university benefiting from the slave trade and industries linked to slavery after slavery was outlawed in Massachusetts in 1783 - 147 years after Harvards founding. The report also documents Harvard excluding Black students and its scholars advocating racism. Harvard University is setting aside $100million for an endowment fund and other measures to close the educational, social and economic gaps that are legacies of slavery and racism, the universitys president has said (file photo) In his email, Harvard President Bacow (pictured) said a committee would explore transforming the recommendations into action and that a university governing board had authorized $100 million for implementation, with some of the funds held in an endowment While Harvard had notable figures among abolitionists and in the civil rights movement, the report said, 'the nations oldest institution of higher education ... helped to perpetuate the eras racial oppression and exploitation.' The report's authors recommended offering descendants of people enslaved at Harvard educational and other support so they 'can recover their histories, tell their stories, and pursue empowering knowledge.' Other recommendations included that the Ivy League school fund summer programs to bring students and faculty from long underfunded historically Black colleges and universities to Harvard, and to send Harvard students and faculty to the institutions known as HBCUs, such as Howard University. In his email, Harvard President Bacow said a committee would explore transforming the recommendations into action and that a university governing board had authorized $100 million for implementation, with some of the funds held in an endowment. The report's authors recommended offering descendants of people enslaved at Harvard educational and other support so they 'can recover their histories, tell their stories, and pursue empowering knowledge' (file photo) 'Slavery and its legacy have been a part of American life for more than 400 years,' Bacow wrote. 'The work of further redressing its persistent effects will require our sustained and ambitious efforts for years to come.' Other US institutions of higher learning have created funds in recent years to address legacies of slavery. A law enacted in Virginia last year requires five public state universities to create scholarships for descendants of people enslaved by the institutions. A shocking clip shows the moment a Houston Family Dollar employee killed a shoplifter, firing six shots into his back as he fled the store with motor oil. Antonio Batres, 21, faces a murder charge after he emptied the clip of his Glock 9mm pistol into 49-year-old Troy Odom around 4.30 pm on April 17 as shoppers looked on. In video taken by a shopper, two store employees are seen confronting Odom - one of the men can be heard shouting unintelligibly. Bottles of motor oil are strewn across the ground. 'He had that all in his pants,' says the woman filming the video. 'He had a lot of fuel.' 'He need to chill out,' the woman says as the shoplifter leaves the store, the two employees following him. It is unclear if he had motor oil or any other merchandise with him. Batres can be seen aiming, taking a wide stance and firing. Odom collapses out of view, and can be heard shrieking as six shots ring out. 'Further investigation determined the victim had his back toward Batres, who then pulled out a pistol and shot the victim several times,' reads a press release from the Houston Police Department. Scroll down for video Family Dollar clerk Antonio Batres, 21 (left) faces a murder charge after he shot dead Troy Odom, 49 (right) on April 17 as Odom fled the store with stolen motor oil Batres is pictured the moment before he begins firing his Glock 9mm pistol. He is currently being held on $75,000 bail, and was arrested after the shooting without incident Police could not tell DailyMail.com whether the weapon was owned legally. Odom was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The All People's Funeral Home in Houston confirmed that his funeral services were scheduled for Tuesday. His brother, Darrell Odom, told DailyMail.com that his brother 'had his struggles in life, but was a good man.' 'I am so p***** right now,' he said on Tuesday. 'I can't stop crying. I couldn't go to the funeral.' 'I failed him because I promised my mom I would watch over him... I only hope she forgives me. I hope [Batres] gets the death penalty.' 'I am also looking to sue Family Dollar because my [little] brother didn't have to die that way.' Batres was taken into custody at the scene, according to the Houston Police Department. His bail was set at $75,000 and he remained in jail as of Tuesday morning, according to the Houston Chronicle. The outlet reported that Batres had worked at the 7545 Martin Luther King Boulevard store in South Houston part-time for two or three months. Less than a month earlier, on March 30, another shooting took place at a different Family Dollar location on Collingsworth Street in Houston - this time, a store clerk was shot in an armed robbery. That victim, who was not named by police, survived the shooting with non-life threatening injuries. Two other employees and customers were inside the store at the time. The practice is currently automated, workers who wrote the memo revealed The leak comes as the company has come under fire for collecting unwitting users' personal information for purposes including advertising targeting Leaked documents have revealed that brass at flailing social media giant Facebook have failed to keep track of its nearly 3billion users' personal data, as the Mark Zuckerberg-led company continues to face scrutiny from privacy regulators. In an internal document obtained by Motherboard, privacy engineers for the site pointed out flaws in the site's data management system, admitting they were at a loss as to where its users' data goes. The leak was revealed after the company that changed its corporate name to Meta came under fire for collecting unwitting users' personal information for purposes including targeted advertising - a practice that is currently automated, workers who wrote the directive pointed out. Staffers who penned the memo, which was sent within the company sometime last year, referred to the current system in place as one with 'open borders' - one that does not allow for the careful management regulators across the globe have been calling for. 'We've built systems with open borders,' the document, which asked brass at the company 'to advise leadership on preparedness, investments and technology plans with respect to inbound regulations,' reads. The staffers, who are part of the Facebook's Ad and Business Product team, went on to offer an analogy to managers to explain their concerns regarding the overflowing mass of data. 'Imagine you hold a bottle of ink in your hand,' the ad ops team wrote. 'This bottle of ink is a mixture of all kinds of user data.' Leaked documents have revealed that brass at flailing social media giant Facebook have failed to keep track of its nearly 3billion users' personal data, as the Mark Zuckerberg-led company continues to face scrutiny from regulators 'We've built systems with open borders,' the 2021 document, which implored brass at the company 'to advise leadership on preparedness, investments and technology plans with respect to inbound regulations,' reads. The staffers, who are part of the Facebook's Ad and Business Product team, went on to offer an analogy to managers to explain their concerns regarding the security of users' data, which they warned they were unable to keep track of The unidentified staffers then pointed to several categories of the accumulated information, including third part data - information collected from the company's partners, such as those who develop apps for the site -and data garnered by the company itself. The memo also mentioned information categorized as 'SCD' - which stands for sensitive categories data. 'You pour that ink into a lake of water (our open data systems; our open culture) and it flows everywhere,' the document continues. 'How do you put that ink back in the bottle?' staffers wrote, questioning corporate strategy concerning data management. 'How do you organize it again, such that it only flows to the allowed places in the lake?' Pictured is Zuckerberg testifying before congress in 2018 after a data breach saw millions of users' data used to target American voters in 2016 The engineers went on to admit that they are struggling to make sense and keep track of where its 2.9billion users' data once it makes its way into Facebooks automated systems, and called on management to change how the company deals with users data to prevent it from running into trouble with regulators. 'We do not have an adequate level of control and explainability over how our systems use data, and thus we can't confidently make controlled policy changes or external commitments such as "we will not use X data for Y purpose,"' the document reads. 'And yet, this is exactly what regulators expect us to do, increasing our risk of mistakes and misrepresentation.' The release of the document, which was transcribed by Motherboard to protect a source, comes as regulators across the globe have sought to limit how platforms like Facebook can use their own users' data, after a slew of breaches and scandals brought attention to the social media giant's questionable data practices. The unidentified staffers went on to point to several sects of the accumulated information, including information collected from the company's partners - such as those who develop apps for the site -and data garnered by the company itself One of the most significant regulations implemented against the company is the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires personal data only be 'collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.' The guidance went into effect in May 2018 - two months after the largest known data leak in Facebook history became public knowledge. In March of that year, The New York Times, working with The Observer of London and The Guardian, obtained a trove of documents from the data firm Cambridge Analytica, owned by the right-wing hedge fund manager Robert Mercer. The documents proved that the firm, where former Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon - who was arrested in 2021 for an alleged scheme to use funds raised for construction to pay for personal expenses - then served as a board member, used data improperly obtained from Facebook to build voter profiles during the 2016 US Election. The breach saw a reported 87 million users' personal data, such as a user's location, political affiliation, and religious orientation, compromised. The news put Cambridge under investigation and thrust Facebook into regulators' crosshairs, who began to more adamantly assert social media users right to privacy and control their personal data as a result of the scandal. The 2018 leak saw the social media site - which has waned in popularity in recent years - fall into the crosshairs of regulators, who sought to put a stop to the company's previous practices of sharing users' information with partners for financial gain The EU guidance now requires the Palo Alto-based company to produce proof that they are only collecting data for a specific purpose, and that users' information was not reused for another reason. For instance, Facebook previously harvested phone numbers from users through its 'protect-your-accounts' feature, which along with a password comprises its 'two-factor authentication' practice, and used users' numbers, without their permission, to link them with other users via its 'people you may know' feature. The company would also shill that information, along with data concerning a users' background, hobbies, and other telling data, to advertisers, who would then build a personalized profile on that user to help bombard them with targeted ads. Tech news outlet Gizmodo, however, with the aid of several academic researchers, caught on to this practice in 2021, spurring Facebook to put a stop to the practice. Facebook subsequently agreed to the massive settlement in response to its violation of privacy rules through its work with the firm, and agreed to create an independent privacy committee that removes 'unfettered control by Zuckerberg over decisions affecting user privacy.' The Palo Alto-based company also agreed to have greater oversight over third-party apps, Reuters reported at the time. That settlement absolved Facebook and its top officials of any other consumer-protection violations known to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at the time - though Democrats in the agency said the settlement did not go far enough or require a large enough fine. GDPR, meanwhile, prohibits the company from repurposing users' information for financial gain - and the leaked document now suggests that the team responsible for the sites' ads, the driving force of its business model may not have the means to fulfill that promise and responsibly handle users' data. The document subsequently raises the question of whether staffers at the social media site - which has seen its popularity plummet in recent years - can skirt privacy regulations by pleading ignorance, due to the sheer amount of data it collects and where it flows within the company - making it next to impossible to comply. A Facebook spokesperson denied to Motherboard Tuesday that the document shows the company is not complying with mandated privacy regulations. 'Considering this document does not describe our extensive processes and controls to comply with privacy regulations, it's simply inaccurate to conclude that it demonstrates non-compliance.' the spokesperson wrote in a statement sent via email. 'New privacy regulations across the globe introduce different requirements and this document reflects the technical solutions we are building to scale the current measures we have in place to manage data and meet our obligations.' Regarding to the lake metaphor, the spokesperson asserted that the 'analogy lacks the context that we do, in fact, have extensive processes and controls to manage data and comply with privacy regulations.' The claim from the company seems to contradict the apparent call for guidance from the company's ad workers seen in the document, who used another aquatic metaphor to describe the wave of regulations thrust on the company as a 'tsunami' - one that will force the company to drastically change how it handles users data. A recent job listing posted by Meta for a position with the site's Ad and Business product team - the group that penned the memo - said the team's mission 'is to make meaningful connections between people and businesses,' According to the post, the team 'sits at the center of our monetization strategy and is the engine that powers Facebooks growth.' Meanwhile, social media platform's mobile app's download numbers took an unprecedented nosedive this month, thrusting the app out of its usual spot in the digital store's top ten most downloaded applications, and even out of the top 40. The social media giant's fall from grace comes amid bombshell claims from former employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen, who claimed in 2021 that the company ignored internal complaints from staff for years to put profits first, 'lied' to investors and shielded CEO Mark Zuckerberg from public scrutiny. It comes following bombshell claims from former employee turned whistleblower Frances Haugen that the tech giant ignored internal complaints from staff for years to put profits first (pictured outside the Houses of Parliament in London in October 2021) She claimed Facebook knowingly spread misinformation, fueled hate speech, failed to crack down on abuses spread on the platform and exacerbated body image issues, particularly among teenage girls. In the email sent to employees, obtained by the New York Times, Facebook said: 'As you are probably aware, we're currently the focus of extensive media coverage based on a swath of internal documents. 'As is often the case following this kind of reporting, a number of inquiries from governments and legislative bodies have been launched into the company's operations.' Facebook acknowledged to shareholders late last year that it was facing 'government investigations' in relation to the leaked documents, which reportedly contained information about the company's misuse of users' information. Despite the deal Facebook made, Haugen's massive trove - which spurred the FTC to launch a still-active investigation into the company to see whether staffers violated previous agreements reached between top brass and regulators - may prove that not much has changed since the company's Cambridge Analytica scandal. When asked for comment on the FTC probe, a Facebook spokesperson sent a statement to DailyMail.com that said, 'We are always ready to answer regulators' questions and will continue to cooperate with government inquiries.' The allegations in the leaked documents have prompted lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic to call for regulation of the tech firm. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) said the leaked documents show Facebook bosses 'chronically ignored serious internal alarms, choosing to put profits over people' and said the company is 'obviously unable to police itself.' Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called for a new federal agency to protect personal data and ensure privacy late last year Meanwhile Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called for a new federal agency to protect personal data and ensure privacy. In an op-ed for NBC News, she wrote: 'The approach companies like Facebook take to data is motivated not by protecting our privacy but by growing their profit and power.' Her proposed agency would review 'high-risk' data practices and write new rules for data privacy, she suggested. Legislation in the UK and the EU is further along with draft bills expected this year introduce independent digital regulation. It is not known whether the inquiries refer to the US Senate or the UK Parliament. Newly released bodycam footage shows the arrest of a Colorado lawmaker after school officials called police when he appeared to be drunk while picking up his elementary school kids. State Representative Matthew Gray, 41, tried to wrangle his way out of being handcuffed by telling cops he was a bigwig when they asked him for his name during the April 21 incident. 'I am the state f****ng representative for this state, so, like, you can Google me if you want to,' the three-term Democrat tells police as they try to ascertain his identity, the video shows. From there, his belligerence deepens throughout the nearly 18-minute video before he is cuffed and placed in the squad car while informing cops 'You should know I'm friends with the DA.' Police dispatched officers to the Coyote Ridge Elementary School in Broomfield, Colorado, at 4:49pm following reports from school authorities that Gray had arrived to pick up his kids - ages six and eight - from an after-school program, but appeared to be intoxicated. Colorado State Rep. Matthew Gray, 41, was arrested on April 21 for suspicion of a DUI after he showed up at his kids school to pick them up stumbling, mumbling, and smelling of alcohol Gray with his wife and kids - ages six and eight years-old. Gray told officers that they were preventing his daughter from getting to choir practice The school supervisor told police that she and co-workers had seen him stumbling in the hallway, and when she confronted him the police report shows that Gray 'became emotional and said she did not understand the situation she was putting him in.' The supervisor said Gray smelled like liquor and was mumbling, and that she and the school director told Gray they would not let him take his kids or leave without a new ride. The director told police that Gray told him 'You just think I am drunk, when it's just my anxiety.' The bodycam footage begins as police confront Gray in the school parking lot. School authorities told police that gray was stumbling, slurring words, and smelled of alcohol. Gray told them that he was just having a panic attack and reacting to medication As police questioned Gray he reminded them continuously that he was a state representative and that he had previously been a prosecutor of over 500 DUIs Sitting on the ledge of the school's loading dock in a Denver Broncos T-shirt, Gray tells police that he has arranged a different ride but that he is not drunk, and that he has not had anything to drink. Police ask Gray for his ID, but he tells them he will give them his ID if there is 'ever anything close to probable cause or reasonable suspicion.' He then adds, 'I'm a former prosecutor, I know what's going on,' - the first of many references to his past working for the state. He finally confirms his name and date of birth, but asks why the police need to know whether Gray is spelled with an 'E' or an 'A.' An officer tells him that they only need that information for their records, and Gray responds defiantly, 'I know! I used to prosecute crimes.' When officers told Gray that his ex-wife was coming to pick up the kids he began to hyperventilate and visibly panic Gray told officers that owing to his past as a prosecutor he knew the drill, and walked them through the case they were building against him Moments later he declares 'I am the state f****ng representative for this state, so, like, you can Google me if you want to.' Gray goes on to tell cops that he drove his car to the school in Broomfield from the statehouse in Denver - a 35 minute drive - that he 'parked it pretty well, it turns out,' and that they're causing his daughter to miss choir practice. As police interview Gray, he continually closes his eyes, repeats phrases, loses track of his train of thought, mumbles his words, and responds defiantly to the officers' calm lines of questioning. Gray was finally arrested after declining to take a breathalyzer test. Police had to ask him turn so they could cuff him several times. They were forced to turn him around themselves 'I need to keep a shred of dignity in my life,' Gray said as his children's' classmates and their parents looked on as they came and went from the school Gray, a former prosecutor, was elected in 2016 in District 33, which covers Broomfield and portions of Boulder. He is running for reelection in November. 'You have to understand that I know this process. I've prosecuted like, 500 DUIs, and a bunch of DD cases.' He then tells the police that they are surrounding him intentionally, 'You guys are in triple formation here,' he says. 'Where would you like us to stand, Matt?' they respond in mounting exasperation. Gray told school authorities and police that he had been suffering a panic attack while he was picking up his kids, and that the behavior they perceived as drunkenness may have been due to that and medication he was taking. Re-explaining his own story to him, the police offer a breathalyzer test to Gray. Gray refuses and says with his eyes closed, 'You know what I used to do for a living?' 'What did you do?' the officer responds. 'I was a prosecutor.' Gray explains that he is not going to take the breathalyzer test because he has already agreed to let somebody drive him home, and that it is 'insulting and hurtful to me that I'm being treated this way.' 'I need to keep a shred of dignity in my life,' he tells officers. When the officers tell Gray that his children's mother - his ex-wife - has been notified about the situation and is on her way, he begins to visibly panic, closing his eyes tight, breathing rapidly, clenching his teeth, and opening and closing his mouth while sticking his tongue out. As officers led Gray to their squad car he felt compelled to let them know that he was friends with the DA Gray repeated several times that he was 'very explicitly' telling officers not to treat him any differently than they would anybody else As Gray continues to interrupt officers and use his past as a prosecutor to weasel his way out of the situation, police tell Gray, 'You smell like alcohol right now,' to which he responds, 'Alcohol doesn't have a smell and you know that.' Finally, officers tell Gray 'We're trying to cooperate with you, we respect what you do for the state. But you can't show up to pick up your kids smelling like alcohol.' An officer then asks Gray to turnaround so he can cuff him, to which Gray whispers with closed eyes, 'No.' The officer asks Gray again, who then crosses his arms, opens his eyes and says, 'You think you have probable cause?' The officers then turn Gray around, cuff him, and lead him to the squad car as school kids look on. Gray, pictured here with his children, was issued a summons for a DUI and released. He is due in court on June 8 Gray, pictured here with his wife, tweeted the day after the arrest that a panic attack and his reaction to medication were mistaken for drunkenness. The tweet has since been deleted As they duck Gray into the back of the squad car, he tells officers, 'You should know, I'm friends with the DA,' and tells them that he is 'very explicitly' asking officers not to treat him any differently than they would anybody else just because of who he is and knows. 'That's why you're under arrest, sir,' an officer responds. Gray was then taken to the Broomfield Detention Center, where he was booked and released with a summons for driving under the influence. He is due in court on June 8. In a since deleted tweet from the following morning, Gray wrote 'I was not intoxicated, but my symptoms of anxiety and depression are such that too many people are worried when they're around me. I'm going to increase my levels of therapy and appreciate all the support.' When police called Gray's ex-wife to pick up the children, she told them that she 'has been dealing with his drinking on her own for years,' the report said. She also said she was not surprised Gray showed up drunk to the school, according to the report. A 15,000-a-year private school founded by Edward Colston has been renamed 'Collegiate' as the purge of the slave trader's name in Bristol continues after his statue was toppled. Colston, a 17th-century merchant who founded Colston's School in Bristol, made a fortune trading slaves and went on to donate so much money to philanthropic works in Bristol that his name appeared throughout the city on streets, schools and a concert hall. In a bid to be more 'welcoming' to an 'increasingly diverse' community the governors of 15,000-a-year Colston's School have said it will be renamed 'Collegiate' from September. Its governors denied the move was an attempt to change or deny history. The move by the private school for three to 18-year-olds comes as organisations around the country have continued attempts to distance themselves from British history in the wake of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Colston's name has been removed from dozens of schools, concert venues and pubs in Bristol following a Black Lives Matter protest that saw his statue toppled in 2020. Woke bosses at Colston's School in Bristol, which charges 15,000 a year, have decided to change the school's name. It claims it is not to escape associations with the school's founder, notorious slave trader Edward Colston The Board's chairman Nick Baker said: 'We believe it is important that students attending the school continue to be taught about the school's history. Specifically, Edward Colston's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. One of the first to take action in 2018 was Colston Primary School, which renamed itself Cotham Gardens primary school after the majority of parents, pupils and former students agreed to the change. These campaigns then came to a head during 2020's Black Lives Matter protests which saw his statue torn down and thrown into the docks. The events led to growing pressure on any Bristol businesses or institutions still honouring Colston in their title. The former Colston Hall was re-named 'Bristol Beacon' in September 2020 after more than 4,000 people participated in a public consultation. The management of the charitable music venue said in a post on their website that its former name had 'acted as a memorial to the slave trader Edward Colston'. The post said their long-awaited re-brand was 'an opportunity for a fresh start and a chance to play our part in creating a fairer and more equal society'. In November 2020, Colston's Girls' School became known as Montpelier High School, after a vote by staff and students. Principal Kerry McCullagh said the new name would 'allow the school to forge a new identity that represents its diverse and inclusive community'. A pub formerly known as The Colston Arms was also re-named after temporarily adopting the name 'Ye olde Pubby Mcdrunkface'. It is now known as the Open Arms, according to a post on the pub's Facebook page on December 20. Several other bars have made similar moves in recent months - with others likely to follow. A University of Bristol student housing block once known as Colston Street is now Accommodation at Thirty-Three. But Colston Street in central Bristol, and Colston Road in Easton, remain as yet unchanged. Colston became the Tory MP for Bristol in 1710, the same year he founded Colston's School He used a lot of his wealth, accrued from his extensive slave trading, to build schools and almshouses in his home city Street names across the UK are under review for potential links to slavery figures, while just days ago it was revealed Arts Council England has pumped millions of taxpayers' cash into Museum Development England's attempts to decolonise English museums, which allegedly depict a history written by 'white, wealthy, able-bodied men' Woke social justice warriors have spent years clamouring for a new world order that sees history whitewashed of potentially offensive names, statues and ideas. Some have denounced it as a bid to stop reminding people about unpleasant parts of history, such as the slave trade, which saw tens of millions of people taken from their homes and sold as a commodity around the world. Just last year three of Britain's best-known museums backed a report criticising the 'altering of history' though tearing down of statues, renaming of streets and the changing of school curriculum without a 'rigorous and non-partisan approach'. Victoria and Albert Museum chairman Nicholas Coleridge, Sir Ian Blatchford, the director of the Science Museum, and Dr Samir Shah, chairman of the Museum of the Home supported the paper written by broadcaster Trevor Phillips. Meanwhile, figures have indicated the hard-left elements of BLM are at odds with much of wider black British society in how to tackle systemic injustice as just one in six black British people believe tearing down statues is a legitimate form of protest, a study revealed last year. In 2020, BLM protesters toppled a statue of Colston into Bristol harbour following the killing of George Floyd in America by white police officer Derek Chauvin. However, Colston's School Governing Board claimed the change to the school's name was not an attempt to change or deny the school's history, which he said works for the 'collective good'. The Board's chairman Nick Baker said: 'We believe it is important that students attending the school continue to be taught about the school's history. London's streets and areas are under review or have been changed already due to their names being linked to slavery 'Specifically, Edward Colston's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. 'In order to assist with this, some historical aspects of the school, for example the crest and motto, will be retained and explained, rather than removed.' Mr Baker said the name Collegiate represents both the school's inclusivity and highlights the collaboration between different parts of the school and its community and was chosen from hundreds of suggestions given by parents, students, staff and former students. Meanwhile, Headmaster Jeremy McCullough welcomed the change. He said: 'Increasingly our student and parental body reflect the diverse nature of Bristol and we want to continue to work with our local communities in order to widen access to our school as much as possible. 'We believe moving forwards with this new name will help us to become an ever more inclusive and welcoming community.' The toppling of the Colston statue (pictured) on June 7 came amid a wider context of Black Lives Matter protests which spread across the world following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota by white police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 The statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston falls into the water after protesters pulled it down and pushed into the docks, during a protest against racial inequality It's not the first time the school has been renamed. It was founded by slave trader Edward Colston in 1710 as the Colston Hospital, a boarding school for boys. In 1991 it merged with the all-girls Collegiate School in Winterbourne and became Colston's Collegiate School. In 2005, school bosses decided to change it to Colston's School but now the 312-year-old school will part ways with an obvious association to one of Britain's most-notorious slave traders. A clinical psychologist hired to review Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's turbulent relationship told jurors the actress suffers from two personality disorders and 'grossly exaggerated' her PTSD after the couple's bitter split. Depp's legal team called expert witness Dr. Shannon Curry to the stand on Tuesday as the Hollywood star's highly publicized defamation trial against his ex-wife entered its ninth day. The clinical and forensic psychologist told the court she concluded Heard had traits consistent with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) - two conditions found in people with patterns of emotional instability and attention-seeking behavior. Dr. Curry testified that she was initially hired by Depp's lawyers early last year to review files in the legal battle between the two feuding exes and identify behavior in their relationship that may be consistent with 'intimate partner violence'. The psychology expert, however, revealed her role would shift several months later in October, when she was asked to provide a psychological evaluation of Heard, 36. 'The results of Ms. Heard's evaluation supported two diagnoses: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD),' Curry told the court. Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry (left) described her medical evaluation Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's relationship as she took the stand in the defamation trial Tuesday The psychology expert revealed she was asked to conduct an evaluation of Heard, who she concluded suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder What is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)? Borderline personality disorder (BPD) - also known as Emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) - is a disorder of mood and how a person interacts with others. It's the most commonly recognized personality disorder. In general, someone with a personality disorder will differ significantly from an average person in terms of how he or she thinks, perceives, feels or relates to others. People with BPD are often uncertain about their identity and therefore tend to change interests and values rapidly. They also tend to view things in extremes and are known to change their feelings towards people quickly. Risk factors for BPD include: Abandonment in childhood or adolescence Disrupted family life Poor communication in the family Sexual, physical, or emotional abuse Source: Mentalhealth.gov Advertisement What is Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)? Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a 'dramatic' personality disorder. People with HPD have an overwhelming desire for attention and often exhibit dramatic behavior in order to be noticed. They also might have rapid-shifting emotions, be excessively sensitive to criticism, and have difficulty maintaining relationships. People with HPD tend to be charming and have good social skills but are said to use these traits to manipulate others and steal the spotlight. HPD is more common in women than men. Potential causes include: Genetics Lack of criticism or punishment as a child positive reinforcement for specific behavior Unpredictable attention given to a child by a parent Source: WebMD Advertisement BPD, also known as emotional dysregulation disorder, is a mental disorder that impacts a person's ability to regulate their emotions and behavior and therefore negatively affects his or her relationships with others. Meanwhile, HPD, which also falls under the umbrella of 'dramatic' personality disorder like BPD, is characterized by a pattern of attention-seeking behavior and egocentrism. Through her evaluation, Dr. Curry said she concluded that Heard had 'grossly exaggerated' the post-traumatic stress the actress claimed to have suffered from her relationship with Depp and said that in the actress's eyes, the actor went from being 'idealized to the dumpster.' She noted that Heard's BPD was marked by an 'underlying terror of abandonment' and somebody with the condition tends to make 'desperate attempts' to stop it from happening. These could be 'very extreme behaviors', she said. As a result of these disorders, Curry explained, somebody like Heard could appear charming at the start of a friendship or relationship but could then turn dark easily. 'You'll see relationships start very intensely, extremely close,' she said. 'This might be their perfect soulmate and initially everything seems great but reality sets in, people are not perfect. 'Most of us accept people as a whole, [but] with a person with BPD, things are in these extremes, that person goes from being idealized to dumpster, they are totally devalued, they're the worst.then there will be a repair because the person with this disorder does feel remorse.' Somebody with BPD is usually 'very, very interested in looks and utilizes their looks to get the respect they're looking for,' she added. Heard, who wore a cream-colored blazer and styled her hair in a crown braid, sat quietly alongside her legal team during Dr. Curry's testimony, and at times was seen jotting down notes. She did not look up as the doctor confirmed her diagnoses but appeared to shift uncomfortably and at one point rolled her eyes when the expert described the characteristics of such disorders. According to Curry's diagnosis, Heard was a 'sophisticated' and 'calculated' case of BPD, somebody who would 'tend to hit you where it hurts a bit more' and be 'very, very destructive.' Dr. Curry also explained that people with BPD have identity issues and tend to change their interests and values constantly. Depp is suing his ex-wife (both pictured in court Tuesday) for $50million over a piece she wrote in the Washington Post that implied he abused her during their marriage The court heard the psychologist diagnosed Heard with two personality disorders found in people with patterns of emotional instability and attention-seeking behavior The expert's testimony will help bolster Depp's claims that his ex-wife falsely accused him of physically and sexually abusing her in a Washington Post op-ed in 2018, and that Heard was allegedly the real abuser 'They take on the personality of the people they want to be around. The way they dress. Interest. The way they talk,' she told the court. Heard was speculated to have displayed such behavior last week, when social media users pointed out that the actress seemed to be copying Depp's courtroom outfits and hairstyles. Users claimed Heard had been purposely wearing ensembles that look similar to ones that Depp previously wore during the trial, in an attempt to 'play mind games' on him. Dr. Curry went on to explain the hallmarks of HPD in a person, which include an 'overly dramatic presentation' and 'quick shifts between emotions' such as going from very animated to sad. Those with HPD had a 'hypersensitivity to being slighted' and could melt down in the middle of a restaurant if somebody showed up two minutes late, she said. 'They will make a lot of accusations, reactivity, a lot of escalation, they can react aggressively, physically prevent partners from trying to leave. 'Often they will be abusive to their partners, sometimes physically restrain them.' Somebody such as Heard lived a life marked by 'drama and shallowness,' she added. The underlying drive was to 'always be the center of attention' and without it a person with HPD would feel 'pretty empty.' While making her assessment, Curry explained she reviewed various materials in the case, including Heard's medical records, mental health treatment records, court exhibits, witness statements, as well as audio and video recordings. She also met with the Aquaman actress for several hours over the course of two separate dates in December 2021 before finally coming to a diagnosis. 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 She also revealed she was not asked to provide the same evaluation for Depp. The court heard two instances from Heard's medical notes which illustrated her condition. Firstly she admitted she had cut her arm in the past which was a 'typical thing' that somebody with BPD does. Heard's former friend Rocky Pennington told how they were once out shopping for Thanksgiving items and Heard struck her face 'out of the blue.' Dr. Curry said that could happen if Heard decided Pennington wasn't meeting her 'needs' and lashed out. When asked whether or not Heard had PTSD as a result of her relationship with Depp, Dr. Curry said no. In fact Heard was 'grossly exaggerating symptoms of PTSD' and claimed to have 19 out of a list of 20 conditions. She testified that according to one test Heard was in the 98th percentile for exaggerating her PTSD which indicated she had 'engaged in extreme levels of exaggeration.' Dr. Curry said that was 'not typical even of somebody with the most disabling form of PTSD' and that they dialed the number of issues down to three. They were sleep disturbance, an extended feeling of being startled and recurring nightmares that Heard was being 'held down'. But even then there was evidence these issues were in place before Heard and Depp got together, Dr. Curry said. Heard said that when she first moved to Los Angeles she suffered from 'blanket anxiety and depression', the jury heard. Twitter users on Monday noticed how Heard's facial expressions seemed to change quickly as she tries to defend herself against ex-husband Johnny Depp's defamation claim At one point in the ongoing trial in Fairfax, Virginia, she could be seen almost smirking Summing up her interactions with Heard, Dr. Curry said she was 'very likable' but her testing showed she 'approached it in a manner that very clearly minimized any psychological dysfunction but presented herself as free of problems and did so in a way that was not obvious'. The expert's testimony is set to help bolster Depp's claims that his ex-wife falsely accused him of physically and sexually abusing her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, and that Heard was allegedly the true abuser. Heard on the other hand has claimed Depp is smearing her by accusing her of lying in the article - and is countersuing for $100million. Under cross examination, Dr. Curry admitted that she thought Depp was a good actor and that she had enjoyed a four-hour dinner with him and his lawyers before being hired. Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft questioned Curry's decision to sit down for a 'three-to four-hour dinner' with Depp and his legal team at his home before taking the case. 'Don't you think that's a little odd you're getting interviewed by Mr. Depp to decide if you'll testify adversely against Amber Heard?' Bredehoft asked. Dr. Curry insisted that she was interviewed by Depp's legal team. Bredehort said: 'You'd seen a number of his TV and movie roles and you thought he (Depp) was a good actor?' Dr. Curry said: 'Yes'. The court heard that Dr. Curry has never since had dinner with a client before being hired as an expert witness. Bredehoft said: 'You justified it was OK because it was a high profile case?' Dr. Curry said: 'I sought consultation about it. 'This is a very visible case, it's been going on for a very long time and I knew there was a need to interview me and make an informed decision about my qualifications.' The trial has sparked much intrigue online, as revelations about the abuse Depp allegedly suffered at the hands of Heard come to light, with some Twitter users noticing the actress's quick-changing and 'unnatural' facial expressions during her ex-husband's testimony While taking the stand in the trial in Fairfax, Virginia, Depp, 58, has claimed over the past week that Heard abused him, and recounted how she once allegedly became angry at him for taking off his own boots instead of allowing her to do it, and how she allegedly severed one of his fingers. He told jurors how he and Heard had a routine in which she would take off his boots and give him a glass of wine when he returned from work - and one time when he broke that routine by taking off his own boots, she became irate. One Twitter user remarked that Heard's facial expressions 'frighten me,' accusing the actress of being a psychopath Throughout the trial, Heard could be seen talking to her lawyers, as her face expression seems to change - at one point seemingly smirking after apparently looking afraid. On Monday Twitter user Trish Lee wrote that those 'facial expressions frighten me,' calling the Aquaman actress a 'psychopath,' while Hasan Ibn Munawara Bint Sufiya said her 'facial expressions, attitude, her whole demeanor during this trial is like the mean girls in high school. 'She's such an abusive, vile, narcissistic person,' he said. 'Everything she accused Johnny of doing was actually what she did to him.' Lisa, meanwhile, wrote that she 'can't wait for all the clips of Amber Heard's reactions to sustained objections and blatant disconnect between her facial expressions,' and Kate said: 'The way Amber Heard changed her facial expressions so quickly during the trial is actually terrifying.' Others also took aim at her acting skills for the odd expressions. Lewis Johnston, for example, wrote: 'They say that Amber Heard has NO personality and with these facial expressions you can see why,' while another user claimed she was acting like a non-player character in a video game. 'She's full on making facial expressions like she's a Sims character,' he wrote, as another accused her of 'trying to come off as the victim in her facial expressions.' The trial is expected to last another five to six weeks, with celebrities like Paul Bettany and James Franco set to testify. A transport boss is blaming the axing of a 108-year-old bus route to and from Birmingham on the trend to work from home. The 144 service to Birmingham, which has been going since 1914, will be cut back from the end of the April with First Worcester's Nigel Eggleton citing 'flexible working patterns'. It will now go only the route between Worcester and Bromsgrove but not to Birmingham, according to the Guardian. Nigel Eggleton, the managing director, said the reasoning behind the cut was 'people working from home, flexible working patterns, confidence in being around public places and the use of other modes of travel to get around avoiding congested places'. It comes as the Civil Service is resisting attempts by ministers to force them to ditch working from home and return to Whitehall and council workers have reportedly urged bosses to let them come back to work at their new multi-million pound headquarters in Cambridgeshire. The 144 service to Birmingham (pictured), which has been going since 1914, will be cut back from the end of the April with First Worcester's Nigel Eggleton citing 'flexible working patterns' Bus routes cut across England, figures show The research by the Campaign for Better Transport looked at figures released by the Department for Transport. It emerged with the following findings: More than a quarter (27 per cent) of bus services in England (as measured by vehicle miles) have vanished in the last decade The number of bus services (as measured by 'live' bus registrations) dropped from 16,913 in March 2012, to 12,067 in March 2021 a decline of 29 per cent across England The biggest drop has been as a result of the pandemic: in the eight years between 2011/12-2018/19, bus vehicle miles in England dropped by ten per cent, whereas in the two years between March 2019 and March 2021, they fell by almost double that (18 per cent) The regions with the biggest declines are the North West and the East of England, both losing 38 per cent of services, followed by the East Midlands with a 35 per cent loss. Advertisement Residents want the service to stay and have signed a petition 2,000-strong to keep it going. Bromsgrove councillor Peter McDonald said: 'It will obviously take a certain while before people get back to normal and into their place of work instead of home. 'But people are now slowly returning to the workplace and they're relying on the bus to get there.' He also called it 'selfish' to cut the route after the bus service has made profit for 100 years and said it had created 'anxiety' and will have a 'devastating impact' on those who need to get to work. Mr Eggleton added that he was working with the local council to see 'if there is any funding available' to keep the 144 going. More than a quarter of bus services in England vanished in the past decade with the biggest drop brought during the pandemic, figures from the Department for Transport show. The research - compiled by lobby group the Campaign for Better Transport - revealed that 27 per cent of English bus services were cut between March 2011 and March 2021. The rate of the decline worsened during the outbreak of Covid. Whereas in the eight years from 2011 to 2019, bus vehicle miles in England fell by 10 per cent, in the two years between 2019 to 2021 bus vehicle miles dropped by a massive 18 per cent. The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) called for a national campaign to encourage people back on board and turn around the fortune of buses in April. CBT Chief Executive Paul Tuohy said: 'Buses are relied upon by millions of people and should play a central role in a green transport future, but they have been struggling for some time, and the pandemic has made things much worse. 'The Government must recognise the need for a national campaign to attract passengers back to public transport.' Research compiled by lobby group the Campaign for Better Transport revealed that 27 per cent of English bus services were cut between March 2011 and March 2021 Government Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is continuing his efforts to lure London ministries back to work, which are less than half full. But his efforts to end WFH have been blasted as 'Dickensian' by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and the Cabinet is also said to have backed away from the idea of stripping London weighting from the salaries of people who are still not yet commuting back into the capital. Critics of home working claim it makes staff less productive and creative, damages career prospects and harms the economies of town centres. In Cambridgeshire, reports suggest the county council's brand new head office only has a handful of staff due to lingering Covid social distancing measures - despite the Government scrapping WFH advice earlier this year. Few staff - many wearing face masks - were seen working inside the building on Tuesday with most socially distanced across desks and offices, with one worker saying the building was only at 30 per cent capacity. A blind man who fell off a platform edge and died after he was struck by a train was left untreated for a 'critical' ten minute window because paramedics were not informed that power to the tracks had been turned off, an inquest has heard. Cleveland Gervais, 53, struck by a train at Eden Park station in south east London shortly after 7pm on February 26, 2020. London Ambulance Service (LAS) paramedics arrived at the scene 17 minutes later, but they were unable to provide him 'crucial' clinical care until 7.28pm as they were left awaiting confirmation that the power had been turned off. A woman who rang emergency services two minutes after the fall said Mr Gervais had been speaking to her until paramedics arrived. But he was not verbally responsive when paramedics spoke to him, only showing signs of laboured breathing. And by the time ambulance crews received confirmation they could access the tracks and treat him, Mr Gervais was no longer breathing and had gone into cardiac arrest. Peter Gallon, clinical team leader for LAS, gave evidence during the second day of an inquest into his death at Croydon Coroner's Court on Tuesday. Jude Bunting, representing Mr Gervais' family, asked: 'During that crucial ten minute period no clinical care was given? Mr Gallon replied: 'Yes, thats correct sir.' Cleveland Gervais fell off the platform edge at Eden Park train station (pictured) in south east London in February 2020 When he first arrived with his team of paramedics, he said he was advised by railway staff that they believed the power was off, but that this had not been confirmed. He said: Once we knew that the patient was still breathing and could be rescued our next objective was to obtain power off train stopped. If the power is not off and I send one of my team down there and they touch the live rail that will kill them so its potentially fatal to my team if I cant confirm that the power is off. 'If we make a mistake here then a member of my team is going to die. There's no plan B. There's no backup plan. This isnt a situation where you get a second chance. I need to be sure. To confirm the power is off, thats either by a Railway Incident Officer at the scene or by our control room making a call to Network Rail.' When the paramedics arrived, there was no Railway incident Officer (RIO) at the scene. Mr Gallon also approached a London Fire Brigade commander and British Transport Police commander, but neither could confirm that the power was off and said they needed to do further checks with their control rooms. He then contacted his own control room just at 7.22pm, who told him that an authorised member of staff on the scene needs to confirm that the power is off before they jump onto the tracks to treat Mr Gervais. But the court heard how power had actually been turned off at 7.12pm, but this vital information was not relayed to Mr Gallon. Mr Bunting said various people were aware that the power was off before the LAS was authorised to go onto the tracks. The 999 caller told the handler three times that the power was off. At 7.12pm, Network Rail staff informed the London Fire Brigade that the power was off and at 7.15pm, there is a note in British Transport Police records that the power was off, the court heard. At around 7.18pm, there is also recording of the train driver saying: Ive confirmed that the power is definitely off. Mr Gallon said that none of this information reached him. Theres ten minutes when lots of people knew the power was off when no care was being provided to Mr Gervais, said Mr Bunting. Mr Gallon waited from 7.18pm when he arrived until 7.28pm when the Rail Incident Officer arrived and made the requisite safety checks before sending his team onto the tracks. He said: I couldnt confirm the power was off through an appropriate method. 'The Rail Incident Officer couldnt confirm that the power was off, no other emergency commanders could confirm the power was off, and my control room couldnt confirm the power was off so I didnt let my team go down there. Paramedics arrived at the scene, where Mr Gervais was still breathing, but crews could not access him because they were awaiting confirmation that power to the tracks had been turned off 'In my mind, I've got to hear it from someone I can absolutely trust, someone who is authorised.' When the Rail Incident Officer arrived, he then spent a few minutes using his equipment to confirm that the power was off. Coroner Catherine Wood asked Mr Gallon whether he had any reason to believe that the information relayed to him by his control room was incorrect. He said he 'accepted the response'. The LAS policy on accessing rail tracks, read out in court, states that at Network Rail stations, confirmation that the power is off can either be given by a Railway Incident Officer at the scene, or by the control centre by making a call to Network Rail. Asked if he would challenge the control room if a similar incident occurred again, Mr Gallon: I still wouldve accepted the control's advice because I have to have trust in the control staff as these are the same controllers who wouldve said the power is off. I have to have faith in the control staff and the information theyre giving me. Once confirmation was finally received, paramedic Sean Warner jumped down to the tracks, where he was 'able to see the extent of his injuries'. Mr Warner told the court: 'There was a partially amputated right leg and that was the main injury that I could see.' He crawled under the train to reach Mr Gervais and pull him out over the rail and ont an awaiting stretcher - which the firefighters had prepared. Mr Warner said it was 'quite a difficult extraction' and Mr Gervais' heart had stopped by the time he was rescued'. Sergeant Stephen Hewitt, of British Transport Police (BTP), arrived at the scene at 7.18pm. He told the court: 'There was some suggestion Mr Gervais may have been visually impaired. Someone was pointing down on the track where there was a white stick. I believe I sent one of my officers to find driver of the train to get an overview of how Mr Gervais ended up where he was. Just making sure there were no crime elements to how he ended up there. He added: This is probably one of the most difficult in terms of access that Ive ever attended. Given there were two trains in the platform, access was very, very difficult.' Sgt Hewitt ordered a colleague to contact the BTP control room, who informed them that a Rail Incident Officer would be arriving shortly, so a decision was made to await the arrival of specialist live rail testing equipment. He said: As soon as he arrived I stuck with him and walked to the front of the train with him so the second he put his device on the rail to confirm there was no current I could call across and make sure everyone else knew that it was safe to access. He said that, in some circumstances, BTP officers would go onto the tracks without the RIO present to test the live rail. Unfortunately, in order to gain access to Mr Gervais, whoever it was who was going under the train had to crawl over the live rail', he told the inquest. A verbal confirmation that the live rail is off would not have given me confidence to touch that live rail. Its absolutely correct that we can go trackside if we feel the risk is enough that we can help someone without becoming a casualty ourselves. As traumatic of an incident that this was for everyone else, in my mind there is nothing I couldve done any differently to have sped up access to Mr Gervais, Sgt Hewitt added. But Mr Bunting claimed that Sgt Hewitt could have done some things differently. One thing you couldve done very easily is what you were trained to do, he said, request power off from Network Rail. Sgt Hewitt responded that he did ask his colleague to make that request. Mr Gervais regularly used public transport but was blind with light sensitivity only in his right eye and reduced acuity and tunnel vision in his left eye. The inquest is also expected to probe whether his life may have been saved if 'safer paving' had been in place to warn of the platform edge. The inquest continues. Advertisement Council workers have urged bosses to let them come back to work at their new multi million pound headquarters but have been told they are not allowed because of lingering Covid guidelines, it has been claimed. New Shire Hall, the newly built headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council, was opened last summer in Alconbury at a cost of 18million to the taxpayer but social distancing measures which are still in place mean it is yet to reach its full capacity. Employees, who claim the building is at about 30 per cent, have said working remotely has made their jobs more difficult and that they are becoming 'de-skilled' because of the lack of collaborative working. Critics said the decision to continue limited use of the building despite the Government scrapping social distancing guidelines 'beggars belief' and said it was 'costing residents money'. But Cambridgeshire County Council has defended its Covid policies, citing higher-than-average case numbers and the positive impact WFH arrangements have on staff well being as well as retention and recruitment. It comes as the Civil Service is resisting attempts by ministers to force them to ditch working from home and return to Whitehall. London ministries are said to be less than half-full despite the efforts of Jacob Rees-Mogg to pry them from their spare rooms and kitchen tables. Mr Rees-Mogg's attempts to end WFH, including leaving notes on empty desks, have not been backed by other ministers, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries accusing him of a 'Dickensian' approach to the issue. The Cabinet is also said to have backed away from the idea of stripping London weighting from the salaries of people who are still not yet commuting back into the capital. Critics of home working claim it makes staff less productive and creative, damages career prospects and harms the economies of town centres. In Cambridgeshire, reports suggest the county council's brand new head office remains largely unoccupied due to lingering Covid social distancing measures which mean many staff members are still working from home - despite the Government scrapping WFH advice earlier this year. Only a handful of staff - many wearing face masks - were seen working inside the building on Tuesday with most socially distanced across desks and offices, while one angry worker claimed the building was only at 30 per cent capacity. The woman, a social services employee, was based at home from March 2020 and was only allowed back to the office in January. She told MailOnline that just five people of her 30-person team had been allowed to work from the office - though some were only in one day a week. She said: 'A couple of my colleagues are struggling with relationships at home. They've asked to work from the office and been told to wait. 'We're becoming deskilled - we're not mixing with other professionals. If you need advice I can't just ask, I have to call colleagues and sometimes they don't pick up.' The new multi-million pound Cambridgeshire County Council headquarters (pictured) has been left virtually empty while staff continue to work from home, it has been claimed, as council bosses continue to enforce social distancing measures The new building in Alconbury replaced the former county council headquarters (pictured) based at Shire Hall in Cambridge 'The council arent being transparent and clear. They should tell us exactly why we can't come in. They should give a time scale. There's no clarity. 'People like to have a choice and not be told they can't do something. It's not what we signed up for - to work from home. 'Inside it's good. The building itself is cosy - it's well designed and work-friendly but it needs more people.' Signs encouraging social distancing and the wearing of masks are installed throughout public areas of the building. Outside, the car park appeared to be below half capacity and one council employee said he didnt know how busy the building was as he only worked from there one day a week. The man in his 50s said: 'I just work here one day a week. Thats when my team needs to be here.' Cambridgeshire County Council reportedly still has the majority of staff members working from home or at alternative venues meaning the brand new building has yet to reach full occupancy. A notice on the council's website, updated on March 25, states that all county council buildings, including those with reception services, are closed to the public due to Covid-19 regulations. The Government's work from home advice was scrapped in England back in January as the nation's focus moved to Living with Covid and returning to pre-pandemic lifestyles. Even patients in hospitals and GP surgeries are no longer advised to socially distance, although masks are still a requirement in NHS healthcare settings. The council, run by a Liberal Democrat-Labour coalition, has refused to disclose how many staff members are currently working from home or exactly what Covid guidelines they are still enforcing. Council documents published last month show that even full council meetings are still being held at external venues due to 'the requirement for social distancing'. The document, presented to the Strategy and Resources Committee, reads: 'While the severity of the pandemic has reduced over recent months, COVID-19 remains a threat. 'A local authority meeting that was held recently has reportedly resulted in a significant number of participants contracting COVID-19. 'As a result of this, the MFR (multi-function room) will not be suitable for use for Full Council until the requirement for social distancing is removed under Public Health guidance and safety risk assessments. 'CCC will continue to use alternative venues that provides sufficient space for social distancing until it is deemed safe to reduce or remove the requirement for social distancing.' Despite acknowledging that the MFR 'formed part of the core design requirements' for the building, the document also outlines concerns over its suitability as a venue for full council meetings. It states that members have raised concerns over the safety and security of councillors due to the proximity of the public gallery to the councillors' seating area. The report highlighted that the council chamber previously used in the old Shire Hall headquarters had a first floor balcony that physically separated councillors and the public, for 'all but the most determined persons, [for example] those attempting to bring abseiling equipment into the building'. The council has refuted claims that the building is unused but has not disclosed exactly how many members of staff are working there. The note (pictured left) which was left on empty desks at Whitehall by Jacob Rees-Mogg (right) who has been campaigning for civil service's return to work and has recently started patrolling government departments to carry out headcounts Figures show that some departments are less than half full (pictured: Foreign and Commonwealth Office earlier this year) PM backs Jacob Rees-Mogg's drive to get civil servants back to their Whitehall desks Boris Johnson backed Jacob Rees-Mogg's drive to get civil servants back to their Whitehall desks - despite a Cabinet row erupting over the 'Dickensian' campaign. Mr Rees-Mogg, the Cabinet minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, is currently leading Government efforts to end home-working practices among officials after the Covid pandemic. In his determination to fill Whitehall offices again, Mr Rees-Mogg was revealed to have been conducting personal headcounts of officials in some Government departments. He has also left notices in offices for civil servants not at their desks, which read: 'Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.' Mr Rees-Mogg's notes have been branded 'supremely passive aggressive' and 'patronising' by critics. And his campaign to end work from home (WFH) for civil servants has also enraged some of his fellow Cabinet ministers. The Times reported that Mr Rees-Mogg gave a presentation to Cabinet last week, which included a league table highlighting the departments where the fewest staff had returned to work. According to the newspaper, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries voiced her objections to Mr Rees-Mogg's campaign and said that the focus should be on civil servants' productivity. She told him that his letter to government departments brought to mind 'images of burning tallow, rheumy eyes and Marley's ghost (from A Christmas Carol)'. Ms Dorries added: 'There's a whiff of something Dickensian about it. Why are we measuring bodies behind desks? Why aren't we measuring productivity?' Several other Cabinet ministers are also said to have reservations about the campaign to force civil servants back to their Whitehall desks. Mr Rees-Mogg wouldn't comment on the dispute, which was described as 'good natured' by one Government source. In reference to Cabinet confidentiality rules, Mr Rees-Mogg told PA: 'If it's leaks from Cabinet, I'll comment under the 30-year rule when we're all a little bit older.' Despite the concerns among other Cabinet ministers, the Prime Minister yesterday offered strong backing for Mr Rees-Mogg's efforts. Mr Johnson's official spokesman said Mr Rees-Mogg was seeking to 'do everything possible to get the civil service to return to the pre-pandemic level'. They added: 'That is what he is seeking to do. That is supported by the Cabinet Secretary (Simon Case) and obviously the Prime Minister.' Asked if the notes left on desks by Mr Rees-Mogg were helpful, the spokesman said the PM 'supports any initiative that encourages people to return to pre-pandemic working'. 'We are not talking about putting an end to flexible working, which continues to have a place in the modern workplace, we are talking about returning to pre-pandemic use of taxpayer-funded departmental buildings,' they continued. Advertisement It has been suggested that the numbers will increase as 'virus levels continue to decline' but has not shared a timeline on how or when this would happen. Jake Berry, the Conservative MP and former minister told the Telegraph: 'There is little or no reason whatsoever that people working for Cambridgeshire County Council should not go back to work. 'We have seen Covid restrictions rolled back across the country and it beggars belief that the only place they haven't heard about this is in Cambridgeshire.' Steve Count, Cambridgeshire county councillor and leader of the conservatives, said the move was a 'politically motivated attack' on the building which was commissioned by the Tories under a former administration. He said: 'The purpose built New Shire Hall is a fantastic new asset, commissioned by the Conservative administration when they were in charge, which should be delivering over 40m of savings for the Taxpayers of Cambridgeshire. 'It's a shame that the new Liberal Democrat and Labour alliance are continuing to not occupy this excellent building and adding further unnecessary expense on to our hard pressed residents. 'Covid excuses are their thin disguise to what is essentially a politically motivated attack, that is costing our residents money.' However, council leader Lucy Nethsingha hit back at the claim which she branded 'disgraceful', insisting that council staff continued to work 'incredibly hard' despite working from home. She said: 'Not only has New Shire Hall been open for public meetings since May last year, but the comment from Conservative MP Jake Berry that 'people working for Cambridgeshire County Council should go back to work' is deeply offensive. 'Staff at Cambridgeshire County Council have worked incredibly hard over the past 3 years to support thousands of vulnerable people under extremely difficult circumstances. 'To have this comment from a Conservative MP shows just how out of touch they are with the phenomenal efforts that all those working in public services have put in during the pandemic. 'Our staff have worked above and beyond the call of duty during the pandemic to keep people safe in their homes, they have struggled with home schooling while coping with ever changing government advice and guidance.' Ms Nethsingha also said it was 'inaccurate' to suggest the building was largely unused but did not comment on the impact of the council's use of social distancing and Covid guidelines on the building's occupancy. Newly appointed chief executive Stephen Moir answered critics in a tweet he put out yesterday. 'Reflecting upon issues of work, workplace and workforce. 'IMHO, work is what you do, let's not confuse or conflate this with where you do it from,' he wrote. 'Workplace can describe a range of settings & locations, some fixed, some variable, some virtual, so let's instead focus on outcomes' Labour leader Elisa Meschini said 'plenty of staff' work in the building including the council's chief executive who is in every day. She added: 'I firmly believe that work is something you do - not a place you go. 'Like the leader of the council I find it totally offensive for anyone to suggest that our staff who include social workers, reablement staff, school welfare teams, highways maintenance crews, librarians, registrars have not been working flat out over the course of the pandemic. Pictured: Inside the council's brand new headquarters in Alconbury which is not being used at full capacity due to Covid rules Conservative MP Jake Berry (pictured) said there is 'little or no reason' people should not be back at work in Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire County Council says New Shire Hall is just one of several buildings from which the council operates from 'I couldn't be prouder of them or our record during the pandemic and beyond and anyone who suggests this is not the case has no clue whatsoever about how local authorities serve local people day in and day out. 'Where people need to be in our buildings they are, and we will continue to support them working from where ever they can do this the most effectively.' A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council said essential public services have been running throughout the pandemic from a 'range of workplaces and settings'. It said New Shire Hall was just one of multiple buildings that the council operates from and that many public facing services are operated from other sites. The spokesman added: 'The Government's Living with Covid plan does remove the restrictions at a national level. 'However Cambridgeshire has remained stubbornly high in respect of both positive case numbers and hospitalisation rates so our local Public Health professional advice has been, until late last week, to continue to apply social distancing and the use of face coverings in our Council owned premises. 'These measures do not and have not prevented reoccupation of our buildings, and as virus levels and hospitalisation rates have started to fall, we are planning for changes to this advice, but fully expect hybrid work to continue where this supports staff well-being, recruitment and retention and good outcomes for the people of Cambridgeshire.' The situation in Cambridgeshire reflects that of the Civil Service in London where many staff members continue to work from home despite the removal of Covid restrictions. Jacob Rees-Mogg recently started patrolling government departments to find out how many are still empty after lockdown restrictions lifted. And it emerged at the weekend that when he makes his unannounced visits, he leaves behind messages that are politely worded but whose meaning is clear. The country's most senior civil servant, Simon Case, had privately warned Johnson against forcing officials back to the office They state: 'Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.' They are signed 'with every good wish' and carry his name and title. It is understood Mr Rees-Mogg, in charge of civil service reform, left a number of the notes in his Cabinet Office department several days ago. Mr Rees-Mogg has written to Cabinet ministers calling on them to issue a clear message to staff about a 'rapid return to the office'. Downing Street said Boris Johnson supported Mr Rees-Mogg's efforts. 'What the minister is seeking to achieve is to do everything possible to get the civil service to return to the pre-pandemic level,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said. 'That is what he is seeking to do. That is supported by the Cabinet Secretary and obviously the Prime Minister.' But the Guardian later reported that the country's most senior civil servant, Simon Case, had in fact privately warned Mr Johnson against forcing officials back to the office. The newspaper said at least four permanent secretaries were also understood to have voiced concerns about the Government's rhetoric on the matter. Dave Penman, the secretary general of the Civil service union, criticised Government's 'obsession' with returning to the office Asked if the notes left on desks by Mr Rees-Mogg were helpful, the PM's spokesman said Mr Johnson 'supports any initiative that encourages people to return to pre-pandemic working'. 'We are not talking about putting an end to flexible working, which continues to have a place in the modern workplace, we are talking about returning to pre-pandemic use of taxpayer-funded departmental buildings.' The Times reported that Ms Dorries' response was highly critical of Mr Rees-Mogg's approach. Mr Rees-Mogg presented figures to Cabinet last week showing that some Government departments were using as little as 25 per cent of office capacity in early April - the figure for Ms Dorries' Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was 43 per cent. WFH officials will be ordered back to desks if they're looking after children during office hours Civil servants will be forced back into the office if they are found to be looking after their children when they are supposedly working from home, it has been revealed. Staff at major government agencies have been warned against taking advantage of the new 'hybrid working' arrangements that allow them to spend only two or three days a week at their desks. Internal HR policies obtained by the Daily Mail make clear that working remotely cannot be used as a way to avoid paying for childcare or putting in fewer hours, and that employees' privileges can be removed if their performance is found to be suffering. Advertisement While the number of staff at their desks in Whitehall has increased in recent weeks, it remains well below pre-pandemic levels despite the end of Covid curbs. The Department for Education had just 25 per cent of staff in the office in the week beginning April 4 although officials said the school holidays meant it was not representative. Despite multiple pressures on the Home Office, including migrant crossings and processing visas for Ukrainian refugees, on average only 42 per cent of staff were at their workplace. The Foreign Office, a key department responding to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, saw just 31 per cent of staff in its King Charles Street building that week. And despite the cost of living crisis, the Department for Work and Pensions had just 27 per cent of its civil servants at their desks. Astonishingly, the figures could overestimate the numbers in the office as some departments recorded the figures by asking security staff to click people in and then loosely adjusted the figures to account for lunch breaks. Other departments used data from pass readers. The figures suggest that a plea issued by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay three months ago for departments to return to full occupancy fell on deaf ears. Mr Rees-Mogg used a Mail on Sunday article to warn that officials may lose the London weighting on their pay or see their jobs moved elsewhere if they were not at their desks. 'Essentially, if people are not back in their office it will be fair to assume that the job does not need to be in London,' he said. Responding to the reports in The Guardian, a Government spokesperson said: 'We want to see office attendance across the civil service consistently back at normal, pre-pandemic levels. 'There is total agreement across Government on there being clear benefits from face-to-face, collaborative working and we know that this is particularly important for the learning and development of new members of staff. 'The minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency has written to departments to underline the importance of workplace attendance and request that they review their existing guidance on the minimum number of days staff work in the office.' Last week, union bosses accused ministers of being 'vindictive' and 'obsessed' with working from home. Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA civil service union, accused Jacob Rees-Mogg of being 'vindictive' and obsessed with ending flexible working after the minister demanded mandarins return to Westminster. Penman stressed that 'there is no rationale' for this approach, as 'ministers can't point to productivity losses' linked to increased hybrid working in the civil service. He also warned that, if the Cabinet insists 'on micro-managing the civil service' in this way, it will 'only deter good people from joining while simultaneously demotivating those already there'. A photo exhibition held by North Korea in Pyongyang, April 24, to celebrate the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, which falls April 25, is seen in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap North Korea held a military parade in Pyongyang, Monday evening, to mark a key national anniversary, an informed source said, in what was seen as a highly choreographed event to cement internal unity and highlight its military heft. The North kicked off the parade at Kim Il Sung Square at 10 p.m. on the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA), according to the source. It was not immediately known whether the current leader, Kim Jong-un, attended the parade. In the run-up to the event, satellite imagery had shown the North mobilizing thousands of troops and key pieces of military equipment in apparent rehearsals a sign the parade could be a large-scale display of its military clout. Observers said Pyongyang could bring up to 20,000 troops for the parade and flaunt its newest strategic weapons, such as the Hwasong-17 ICBM, the Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile and a guided weapon carrying a tactical nuclear warhead. North Korean students hold a ball at an outdoor plaza in Pyongyang, April 25, to celebrate the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, in this screen capture from footage supplied by the Korean Central Broadcasting Station. Yonhap Joe Biden's trade envoy warned that Washington was watching Britain's ongoing row with the EU over Northern Ireland today, after holding talks in London. Katherine Tai met International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan as Boris Johnson prepares to potentially tear up the post-Brexit deal that introduced border checks that have turned into a running sore. Ministers are drawing up laws allowing them to unilaterally suspend parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, which has been blamed for driving a wedge between the province and the rest of the UK. The move will allow ministers to 'switch off' controversial border checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea, which have been blamed for disrupting trade and causing shortages. But the move would likely create a furore in Washington. Mr Biden - who is of Irish ancestry - warned even before entering office last year against any moves that upset the stability of the Good Friday Agreement. Asked today if talks on a UK-US free trade deal could take place while the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol remains unresolved, Ms Tai said her country is 'watching the issue closely'. 'We in the United States respect and value and commit to the Good Friday Agreement and its legacy,' she told reporters. Katherine Tai met International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan as Boris Johnson prepares to potentially tear up the post-Brexit deal that introduced border checks that have turned into a running sore. Mr Biden - who is of Irish ancestry - warned even before entering office last year against any moves that upset the stability of the Good Friday Agreement. Asked today if talks on a UK-US free trade deal could take place while the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol remains unresolved, Ms Tai said her country is 'watching the issue closely'. 'I've heard the same values there from the Secretary of State.' She said the pair had had 'very candid' discussions on the topic and that Ms Trevelyan had been 'very forthright with me in our conversations'. 'It is an area where we continue to urge the UK and the EU to channel their best selves in terms of co-operation and courage, and we support them in that,' Ms Tai said. Ministers fear the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will refuse to continue with power-sharing after next month's Stormont elections if the protocol remains in place. Ministers have engaged in talks on the issue with Brussels for months. But a source said negotiations were 'going round in circles'. The protocol was included as part of the PM's Brexit deal. Because the province effectively remains part of the EU's single market, Brussels demanded the right to impose checks on goods entering from the rest of the UK. But ministers say the heavy-handed checks are disrupting trade. A two-star general was ordered Tuesday to forfeit $10,910 of his monthly salary for five months after he was found guilty by a military court of forcibly kissing and touching a civilian in the first-ever court martial for an Air Force soldier of his rank. Major General William Cooley of Ohio, 56, was accused of forcing his tongue into a woman's mouth, pushing her hands to his genitals and grabbing her breast with one hand and her crotch with the other in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 12, 2018, according to an Air Force charge sheet. That woman was also his sister-in-law, according to the Daytona Daily News. On Saturday, Cooley was found guilty of forcibly kissing the woman after a weeklong court-martial at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. He was acquitted of two other charges alleging forcible touching. On Saturday, Major General William Cooley (pictured) was found guilty by an Air Force judge of forcibly touching and kissing his sister-in-law in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 12, 2018 He was ordered to forgo $10,910 of his monthly salary - in total, he makes $15,966 each month Cooley had the option of a trial by court member jurors or by military judge, and chose to have the case heard by the judge. He had faced a maximum punishment of dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for seven years. Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Cooleys civilian attorney, Dan Conway, told The Dayton Daily News that his client is 'very thankful for the judges compassion here.' Conway said the punishment was 'a very significant sentence,' and he said a letter of reprimand may have implications in terms of the rank at which Cooley will be allowed to retire, if he chooses to do so. A former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory, Cooley was fired from that post in January 2020 after an Air Force investigation and has worked in an administrative job since then. Conway said its still Cooleys hope that he may continue serving in the Air Force. Officials said the verdict marked the first court martial and conviction of a general officer in the Air Forces 75-year history. Cooleys monthly pay is $15,966, so the total financial penalty against him reaches nearly $55,000. 'If this result influenced just one survivor to know that his or her attackers rank or status would not prevent them from being held accountable, that is a win for the United States and the military justice system,' Lt. Col. Matthew Neil, who served as lead prosecutor, said Tuesday. Cooley was fired from his position as an assistant to General Arnold Bunch at the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio (pictured) in January of 2020 Cooley was off-duty when he forced himself on the woman, who is his brother's wife, as he drove her home in her Jeep from a family backyard barbecue, she claimed. She is a civilian, and Cooley's brother is a civilian employee of the Air Force in New Mexico. Cooley's sister-in-law issued a statement through her attorney, Ryan Guilds, following the landmark decision. 'Today marks the first time an Air Force general officer has been held responsible for his heinous actions,' he said on her behalf. Cooley's sister-in-law issued a statement through her attorney, Ryan Guilds (pictured), following the landmark decision: 'Hopefully, this will not be as difficult for the next survivor' 'Sometimes family members are the abusers, abusers who count on silence in order to wield their extensive power.' The victim said through her attorney that Vanessa Guillen, an Army soldier who was murdered by another soldier in 2020 while she was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, inspired her to pursue charges against Cooley. Guilds said that 'at the end of the day, [Cooley] was found guilty. If that can be achieved for her, it can be achieved for others - that doesn't mean it's easy.' Cooley's brother and sister-in-law reported the assault to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in December 2019. The general was fired from his position as an assistant to General Arnold Bunch at the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in January of 2020. The sexual assault charge was brought against Cooley in November 2020, and an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a civilian grand jury, was held on Feb. 8, 2021. Cooley was off-duty when he allegedly forced himself on his brother's wife, as he drove her home in her Jeep from a family barbecue After the Saturday ruling, Bunch said that he 'implicitly trust[s] our military judicial system and respect[s] the decision of the judge.' 'This entire process has demonstrated the Air Forces commitment to prevent sexual assault, protect victims and take appropriate action against offenders when it occurs,' he continued. 'The trial was impartial, fair and transparent. I appreciate everyone who supported this process for their due diligence in the pursuit of justice, and for doing everything possible to protect both the victims rights and the rights of the accused to a fair trial.' Earlier in his career, Cooley was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal and Air Force Achievement Medal. He joined the Air Force out of the ROTC in 1988 as a second lieutenant and entered active duty in January 1990 after completing a master's degree from the University of New Mexico. Cooley climbed the ranks until the Air Force promoted him to major general in July 2018. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday defended President Joe Biden from accusations that he's interfered in a federal tax fraud investigation into his son, Hunter Biden. Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee grilled Garland on the first son's foreign business ties during an appropriations hearing for the Justice Department's 2023 budget request. Garland refused to say whether he or senior officials at the DOJ had been briefed on the ongoing probe, instead explaining that it was being run 'unsupervised' out of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. That official, Garland pointed out, was appointed by former President Donald Trump. 'There will not be interference of any political or improper kind,' Garland said during his sworn testimony. Hagerty asked, 'Would it be appropriate for the president to call you into the Oval Office and tell you that his son didn't break the law regarding this matter?' 'Absolutely not,' Garland answered vehemently. 'The president has not done that. The president has committed not to interfere, not only in that investigation but any kind of--' The senator cut Garland off to highlight recent instances during which the president's advisers defended Hunter Biden publicly. Garland said during a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that Biden would 'absolutely not' interfere in the Hunter Biden investigation Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty accused Biden of a conflict of interest over the matter White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain appeared on ABC's This Week two days after it was reported that a federal grand jury has been hearing testimony in recent months about Hunter Biden's cash flow while serving on the board of Ukraine energy company Burisma. Klain said: 'Of course the president's confident that his son didn't break the law.' And Press Secretary Jen Psaki was forced to dodge a question at her regular press briefing on Monday about a report that the president met with one of Hunter Biden's business partners at the White House in 2010. Biden was Barack Obama's vice president at the time. Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, specifically in Ukraine and China, are the subject of a federal tax fraud probe Hagerty asked Garland on Tuesday how Americans 'can be confident that this administration is conducting a serious investigation.' 'Because we put the investigation in the hands of a Trump appointee, from the previous administration, who is the United States Attorney for the District of Delaware,' the law enforcement chief replied. 'Because you have me as the attorney general, who is committed to the independence of the Justice Department from any influence from the White House in criminal matters.' The federal tax investigation into Hunter Biden's business dealings began as early as 2018. It deals with his foreign ties dating back to when his father was Obama's vice president. The New York Post recently reported that one of Biden's son's top business partners, Eric Schwerin, met with Biden at the White House in 2010. Schwerin is the former president of Hunter Biden's investment firm Rosemont Seneca. His visit with Biden was one of 19 total he paid to the White House, visitor logs uncovered by The Post reveal. The president has on multiple occasions denied having anything to do with his son's business dealings. When asked about the report on Monday, Psaki said she had 'no information' on the matter. The ongoing tax fraud investigation into Hunter Biden reportedly involves a laptop that was linked to him and contains numerous correspondences about his business. It also may contain information that Biden did indeed profit off of his son's dealings. One email that appears to be divvying up profits for a new Chinese energy venture describes a 10 percent stake The contents of the laptop were first reported on by the New York Post in October 2020, and was authenticated by DailyMail.com early the next year. It contains a vast tranche of emails shedding light on Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine and China -- many while his father was vice president -- as well as lewd images of sex acts, prostitution and drug use. However, what Republicans hoped would be a massive roadblock in Biden's 2020 presidential campaign was quickly dismissed and ignored by most mainstream media outlets until the New York Times claimed to have authenticated it last month. The Washington Post's subsequent report using evidence recovered from the laptop has forced a reckoning within the news media and prompted an onslaught of scrutiny for the White House over what exactly Biden knew and when. To date, however, the president has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. A tube commuter was said to have let out an 'unholy scream' as a man hacked his head with a machete exposing his skull, a court heard today. Ricky Morgan, 34, allegedly slashed James Porritt, in his 30s, on the Jubilee Line between Green Park and Bond Street on 9 July last year. Jurors heard Morgan swung a machete and cut Mr Porritt on the head, the right hand and the shin, exposing his skull, shin bone and severing his hand into 'pieces'. Panicked passengers then clambered on top of each in desperate bid to escape, the Old Bailey also heard. Mr Morgan, of no fixed address, denies attempted murder and possessing a machete and lock knife at Green Park on July 9 last year. Ricky Morgan, 34, allegedly slashed James Porritt, in his 30s, on the Jubilee Line between Green Park and Bond Street on 9 July last year. Pictured: Police at the time Mr Morgan, of no fixed address, denies attempted murder and possessing a machete and lock knife at Green Park on July 9 last year. Pictured: Police at the time Mr Porritt, who was taken to a local hospital after the incident, told the Old Bailey: 'I must have left the gym just after 6pm and I was on my way to meet my girlfriend because my girlfriend invited me to her dad's birthday.' He was travelling from Tower Hill to Liverpool Street and had to change his route last minute due to underground delays. 'That, members of the jury, was unfortunately a big mistake for James Porritt,' said Grace Ong, prosecuting. He got onto the Jubilee Line at Westminster station and was joined in the same carriage by Mr Morgan at Green Park. Ms Ong said: 'On that Jubilee Line at about 6:30/6:45 in the evening when James Porritt was looking at his mobile telephone and a bit nervous about meeting his girlfriend's dad for the first time, Ricky Morgan got up from his seat on that carriage and attacked James Porritt with that machete. 'The attack nearly severed one of the fingers on one of his hands and it means that James Porritt will never be able to use his right hand properly again. 'He also suffered very serious injuries, a laceration, a cut to his head that went all the way down to his skull but didn't fracture the skull. 'And he suffered another knife wound from that machete a cut to his shin that went all the way down to his shin bone and fractured his shin bone.' The two were 'complete strangers', the court heard. She added: 'This was, the prosecution say, a completely unprovoked attack upon a commuter on the Jubilee Line going about his daily business.' The court was told the defendant denied responsibility for the attack by reason of insanity. Pictured: Armed police in Bond Street Mr Porritt said he was looking at his phone when he suddenly heard screaming and felt someone hitting him over the head with an object. 'He put up a hand to his head to protect himself and his hand was hit as well,' Ms Ong said. 'He showed the police his right hand which was in pieces. 'He could see through to the white bone of his fingers. Blood was coming from his head, his hand and his elbow. At one point Mr Porritt lifted his leg to protect himself further and this was struck as well. 'Almost impossibly, he managed to finally get away from his attacker holding the separated parts of his hand together. 'He managed to get through a carriage door and it was closed by one of the other passengers. 'His attacker appeared to be fixated on Mr Porritt because Mr Porritt heard him shout, "I don't want anyone else I just want you".' Jurors listened to Mr Porritt giving evidence in a recorded police interview, sporting a white bandage on his head and a right hand branded with dark lines of stitches. Just before he suffered the first blow, Mr Porritt was 'confused' as to why people in the carriage were screaming, the court heard. He said 'I pleaded with him to stop, but he didn't, he just continued to strike me. 'At this point I was in shock because I realised that my right hand was in separate pieces.' Mr Porritt continued: 'He just went smash smash smash on my shin. He was relentless. I was in shock because it was like a horror movie. 'I genuinely thought this person was going to kill me. When he hit me...I didn't feel anything. It doesn't make sense.' The self-employed businessman went on to say that the attack was 'surreal'. A map showing the distance between Bond Street and Green Park Tube Stations in London He added: 'He was just like a machine. Just like, what is that movie? Basically like Terminator, that is exactly what it was like. 'He was emotionless, he didn't seem to have any kind of, no compassion. But he seemed very focused and relentless and he was just hell bent on doing what he was doing.' Recalling the chaos of the tube, Mr Porritt described the scene as one of 'pure terror'. It was like a horror movie. It was like a stampede. People were terrified.' He went on to describe how he 'ran for his life' and managed to get to the next carriage. He added: 'Someone tried to lock the door to shut him out but he opened his one and the window was open and he was brandishing the knife through the open window.' Asked what the knife looked like, he said it was 'like a sword out of Arabian nights'. He claimed he could not think of anything, inadvertent or accidental even, that could have motivated the attack. Jurors also heard how the carriage descended into chaos in the wake of the attack. Ella Blake, travelling with her sister Erin and friend Grace Rogers, were on their way to a concert in Shepherd's Bush, the court was told. 'As the doors were closing, she said he reached into a rucksack and took out a large knife,' Ms Ong said. 'He yelled something and swung the knife. 'A lot of people got up at this point and started screaming. Ella Blake thought he was about to slash people. 'Ella, as did many of the other passengers, tried to run but you can visualise the panic in that carriage. She ended up on top of people on the floor. 'She saw a man who must be James Porritt slumped on the floor and heard the impact of the knife hitting him and she described Mr Porritt as letting out an unholy scream. 'She noticed that her legs were wet with blood. She managed to get to the next carriage with her sister Erin. She could not see her other friend Grace and she feared that Grace had died.' Erin had to pull herself out from underneath someone else to get to her sister and to the safety of the next carriage, the court heard. Panicked passengers then clambered on top of each in desperate bid to escape, the Old Bailey, pictured, also heard It is said their friend, Ms Rogers, heard Morgan shout: 'This is not a terrorist attack.' Another passenger, Andrew Court, who pulled the train's emergency alarm, allegedly overheard something similar: 'This isn't a terrorist attack I only want him.' It is said another man, Vladislav Schirco, locked the carriage door. 'At that stage Mr Porritt was in that carriage being helped by another passenger,' Ms Ong said. 'He [Mr Shrico] saw the defendant walk towards him, open the door on his side. 'He started banging on the second door and shouting, 'I don't want to kill you I want to kill him. He was trying to kill me.' 'He carried on shouting, 'Let me come through, let me come through. I kill him, I kill him.' Mr Morgan was to tell a psychiatrist he had been carrying the machete and lock knife around for some time, Ms Ong said. Ms Ong told jurors the defendant denied responsibility for the attack by reason of insanity. He also had an almost empty bottle of vodka in his rucksack, the court heard. The Old Bailey trial continues. Advertisement U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday said that 'saber rattling' rhetoric from Moscow and threats of nuclear war were 'very dangerous and unhelpful.' During a visit to Germany he hit back at Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov who said that Western leaders risked a third world war by supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine. 'That kind of rhetoric is very dangerous and unhelpful,' Austin said. 'Nobody wants to see a nuclear war happen. It's a war where all sides lose. 'And so rattling of sabers and, you know, dangerous rhetoric is clearly unhelpful and something that we won't engage in.' Austin spoke after hosting defense talks at Ramstein Air Base involving more than 40 countries seeking to speed and synchronize supply of weapons to Kyiv. Several nations have stepped up the supply of long range weapons - such as howitzer artillery systems - as the war enters a crucial new phase and Russia focuses on the eastern Donbas region. Austin was also asked about his recent controversial comments that the U.S. wanted to 'weaken' Russia, and he did not back down. 'We do want to make it harder for Russia to threaten its neighbours and leave them less able to do that,' he said. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin slammed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for spreading dangerous rhetoric on Tuesday. 'That kind of rhetoric is very dangerous and unhelpful,' he said during a visit to Germany, a day after Lavrov accused N.A.T.O. of waging a proxy war in Ukraine, bringing the 'very serious' risk of a nuclear confrontation Western nations have upped the supply of heavy weapons in the past couple of weeks to counter the threat from Russia. Here pro-Russian troops are seen atop an armoured vehicle in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 21 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 during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Moscow's war machine had been badly degraded by 62 days of war, he continued. 'They've lost a lot of a lot of equipment. They've used a lot of precision guided munitions,' he said. 'They've lost a major surface combatant [vessel], and so they are in fact, in terms of military capability, weaker than when it started. 'It'll be harder for them for them to replace some of this capability as they go forward because of the sanctions and the trade restrictions that have been placed on them. 'And so we would like to make sure again, that they don't have the same type of capability to bully their neighbours that we that we saw at the outset of this of this conflict. Earlier Lavrov, claimed N.A.T.O. was now fighting a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, bring a 'very serious' risk the conflict could go nuclear. Speaking on Russian state TV on Monday night, accused Western leaders of risking a third world war by supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine with the goal of 'wearing down the Russian army' - an aim he described as an 'illusion'. Accusing NATO and its allies of attempting to bully Russia on the international stage, Lavrov said that tensions between east and west are now worse than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War. Asked directly about the possibility of a nuclear war, he replied: 'The risks are very significant. I do not want the danger to be artificially inflated [but] it is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated.' Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, has warned that NATO is now fighting a proxy-war against Moscow and there is a 'very significant' risk the conflict will turn nuclear Lavrov accused the West of risking a third world war in Ukraine by supplying weapons with the hope of 'wearing out the Russian army' - a goal he called 'an illusion'. This aerial photograph shows a destroyed residential area in Irpin People walk near a residential building destroyed during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol A Ukrainian soldier sits on a Armoured personnel carrier driving on a road near Slovyansk lined with anti-tank defences Smoke emerges from a substation near the Krasne Railway Station following Russian shelling near Lviv Russia has lost more than 300 officers, analysis shows Russia has lost more than 300 officers fighting in Ukraine, according to new data collected by an independent Russian newspaper. In total, 317 officers of junior lieutenant rank and above have been killed in a little over two months of fighting, analysis by outlet MediaZona revealed today. Almost a third came from the most senior grades - major or above - including at least two generals and the deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet. MediaZona, which is currently blocked in Russia but continues to operate online, compiled its data by looking at public reports of troop deaths from local government officials, newspapers, or families posting on social media. That means the figures will be far lower than the true total because of delays between the troops being killed and their deaths being reported, difficulties in identifying bodies, and deliberate cover-ups by Moscow. In total, MediaZona found 1,744 reports of military deaths in Ukraine - higher than the Kremlin's official figure of 1,351 which it has not updated since late March. It found 317 of those deaths were of officers, which accounts for almost a fifth of the total figure. MediaZona believes that is because officer deaths are more-likely to be reported than those of foot-soldiers. The highest-ranked deaths that Russia has acknowledged are of Andrei Sukhovetsky and Vladimir Frolov, who were both Major Generals. Russia has also acknowledged the death of Captain 1st Rank Andrei Paly, the deputy commander of its Black Sea fleet, MediaZona said. Advertisement Lavrov said: 'During the Cuban Missile Crisis there were not many "written" rules. But the rules of conduct were clear enough. 'Moscow understood how Washington was behaving. Washington understood how Moscow was behaving. Now there are few rules left. He added: 'In those years, there was a channel of communication that both leaders trusted. Now there is no such channel. Nobody is trying to create it.' America did set up a 'deconfliction line' to Moscow in the early days of the Ukraine war, but said the Russia side stopped answering. Lavrov also repeated warnings that shipments of western weapons into Ukraine will be considered legitimate targets by Russia - a day after missiles struck the country's train network in an apparent attempt to stop the deliveries. he spoke as western nations shift focus in Ukraine from supplying small arms and defensive weapons such as anti-tank and anti-aricraft missiles, to providing heavier arms such as tanks, helicopters, aircraft and long-range artillery. The move comes in response to calls from Kyiv to provide its armed forces with the means to recapture territory occupied by Russian forces, in the wake of atrocities carried out by Putin's men in places such as Bucha and Irpin. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin travelled to Kyiv on Sunday for a face-to-face meeting with President Zelensky to discuss supplies, before pledging another multi-million dollar shipment. Austin will also chair a meeting of more than 40 defence ministers at Ramstein air base in Germany today, aimed at securing additional supplies and coordinating efforts between allies to ensure Ukraine has everything it needs. Ahead of the meeting, Austin stated the goal is to ensure Ukraine 'can win' the war against Russia and 'weaken' the country to the point where it cannot repeat its invasion a second time. Ahead of the meeting, German media reported that the country will end weeks of dithering and agree to supply heavy arms to Ukraine in the form of 50 Gepard anti-aircraft systems. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday night that he regards Russia's scaremongering as a sign of weakness. Lavrov, speaking to Russian state TV, said tensions between east and west are now at a worse point than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War Russia considers western arms shipments to Ukraine legitimate targets for attack, Lavrov added, after the US pledged to send heavier weapons to the country this week (file image) Maria, 13, holds a photograph of her father Yurii Alekseev, 50, a territorial defence member who according to his family was killed by Russian soldiers, as she mourns him during his funeral today Tetyana Boikiv, 52, right, meets and hugs her neighbour Svitlana Pryimachenko, 48, during a funeral service for her husband, Mykola Moroz Germany will finally authorise tank deliveries to Ukraine Germany will finally authorise the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine today after weeks of dithering that has tarnished its reputation on the world stage and led to questions about its commitment to European security. Defense minister Christine Lambrecht is expected announce the delivery of around 50 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine during a meeting of more than 40 nations that will take place at Ramstein air base today. Germany's defence industry has been offering to sell the Gepard vehicles to Ukraine since February, but had been blocked from doing so by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government which led to outcry both inside and outside the country. Scholz, whose SPD party traditionally maintains close ties with Russia, had argued that it would take too long to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the weapons, that Germany had no weapons to sell, and that selling weapons could provoke Putin. But under strong pressure from Germany's international allies as well as his own coalition partners, Scholz now appears to have decided to change course. Lambrecht will today deliver a speech at Ramstein air base in which she will say the government has agreed to sign off the delivery of used Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. At the same time, a plan will be submitted to parliament calling for the government to 'continue and, where possible, accelerate the delivery of equipment to Ukraine.' Equipment will be extended to include 'the delivery [of] heavy weapons and complex systems', according to a draft of the document shown to AFP. The same document will suggest that Ukrainian soldiers are brought to Germany and other NATO nations so they can be trained how to use the weapons. Advertisement Russia had lost its 'last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine,' Kuleba wrote on Twitter after Lavrov's interview. 'This only means Moscow senses defeat.' British armed forces minister James Heappey agreed with that assessment today, saying he does not see an imminent threat of escalation in Ukraine and dismissing Lavrov's comments as 'bravado'. 'Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation,' Heappey told BBC Television. 'What the West is doing to support its allies in Ukraine is very well calibrated ... Everything we do is calibrated to avoid direct confrontation with Russia.' Heappey told Sky News that while NATO had been reinforcing its eastern flank, it was not, as an organisation, providing military aid. 'The donor community is not NATO,' Heappey said. 'The donor effort is something that has been brought together by countries that are yes, many of them are from NATO, but others are from beyond ... it is not NATO that is doing the military aid.' During a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promised more military aid for Ukraine. The U.S. State Department on Monday used an emergency declaration to approve the potential sale of $165 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine. The Pentagon said the package could include artillery ammunition for howitzers, tanks and grenade launchers. Moscow's ambassador to Washington told the United States to halt shipments, warning Western weapons were inflaming the conflict. Lavrov said: 'NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.' Russia's two-month-old invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European state since 1945, has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced over 5 million people to flee abroad. Moscow calls its actions a 'special operation' to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West says this a false pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression by President Vladimir Putin. The United States is due to host an expected gathering of more than 40 countries this week for Ukraine-related defence talks that will focus on arming Kyiv, U.S. officials said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (centre) and Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley (centre left) chair a meeting to agree more arms for Ukraine at Ramstein air base in Germany Christine Lambrecht, German defence minister, meets her Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov as she prepares to announce supplies of heavy arms to Kyiv Russia is trying to 'destabilise' breakaway Moldovan region Kyiv today accused Russia of trying to 'destabilise' Moldova's breakaway region that borders Ukraine after two explosions there prompted fears of Russia launching 'false flag' attacks to justify invading the territory. The explosions destroyed two powerful Soviet-era radio antennas that were re-broadcasting Russian stations in the region of Transnistria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, on Tuesday. The blasts occurred in the small town of Maiac roughly 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of the border with Ukraine, just days after a Kremlin military chief warned that 'Russian-speakers' had been 'oppressed' there. A day earlier, several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the Ministry of State Security in the city of Tiraspol, the region's capital. No one was hurt in the explosions, officials said. On Tuesday, a military unit in the village of Parcani was also targeted. Officials did not offer any details on the incident, but declared a 'red level of terrorist threat' and promised to impose additional security measures in the region. Advertisement Britain said all tariffs on goods coming into the country from Ukraine under an existing free trade deal will be axed and it would send new ambulances, fire engines, medical supplies and funding for health experts to help the emergency services. Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that it had declared 40 German diplomatic staff 'personae non gratae' in a retaliatory move after Berlin expelled the same number of Russian diplomats. Russia has yet to capture any of the biggest cities. Its forces were forced to pull back from the outskirts of Kyiv in the face of stiff resistance. 'It is obvious that every day - and especially today, when the third month of our resistance has begun - that everyone in Ukraine is concerned with peace, about when it will all be over,' President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Monday. 'There is no simple answer to that at this time.' Having failed to take the capital Kyiv, Moscow last week launched a massive assault in an attempt to capture eastern provinces known as the Donbas, which if successful would link territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine's general staff said on Tuesday that Russia's offensive continued in the eastern Kharkiv region with Russian forces trying to advance towards Zavody. Russia's defence ministry earlier said its missiles destroyed six facilities powering the railways that were used to deliver foreign weapons to Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region. Reuters could not verify the report. The head of Ukraine's state rail company said that one railway worker had been killed and four injured by Russian missile strikes on five Ukrainian railway stations on Monday. Ukrainian forces have repelled five Russian attacks and killed just over 200 Russian servicemen, said the Ukrainian military command in the southern and eastern sectors. An Ukrainian tank drives through obstacles on a road near Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, today amid the Russian invasion A huge pile of missiles is gathered up by members of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine after shellings in Kharkiv Firefighters extinguish fire at a substation near the Krasne Railway Station following Russian shelling, amid Russia's attack Five tanks were also destroyed, along with eight armoured vehicles, it said in a statement. Russia is probably attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the country's east, the British military said in an update on Tuesday. Reports say the city of Kreminna has fallen, with heavy fighting in the south of the city of Izium, as Russian forces try to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Britain's defence ministry said on Twitter. The governor of Russia's Belgorod province, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukraine had fired on two villages, and at least two people were wounded. Reuters was unable to verify the Ukrainian or Russian reports. Russian forces were continuing on Monday to bomb and shell the vast Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol where fighters are hunkered down in a city ravaged by a siege and bombardment, Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovych said. Moscow said it was opening a humanitarian corridor to let civilians out of the plant but Kyiv said no agreement had been reached. Ukraine war timeline: Putin's invasion enters its third month Russia heads into the third month of its invasion of Ukraine on Sunday with no end in sight to fighting that has killed thousands, uprooted millions and reduced cities to rubble. In the face of mounting sanctions and fierce Ukrainian resistance bolstered by Western arms, Russia has kept up its long-distance bombardment and opened up a new offensive in the east. Some key events so far: February 24: Russia invades Ukraine from three fronts in the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two. Tens of thousands flee. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is launching a 'special military operation' to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweets: 'Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself.' February 25: Ukrainian forces battle Russian invaders in the north, east and south. Artillery pounds Kyiv and its suburbs and authorities tell residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to defend the capital. February 26: A U.S. defence official says Ukraine's forces are putting up 'determined resistance'. February 28: The first talks between the two sides make no breakthrough. March 1: Russia hits a TV tower in Kyiv and intensifies bombardment of Kharkiv in the northeast and other cities, in what is seen as a shift in tactics as Moscow's hopes of a quick charge on the capital fade. A U.S. official says a miles-long Russian armoured column bearing down on Kyiv has not made any advances in the past 24 hours, bogged down by logistical problems. March 2: Russian forces bombard the southern port of Mariupol for 14 hours and stop civilians leaving, its mayor says - the start of Moscow's blockade of the city. Russia denies targeting civilians. Russian troops reach the centre of the Black Sea port of Kherson and claim their first capture of a large urban centre. March 3: Russia and Ukraine agree to set up humanitarian corridors for fleeing civilians. A cargo ship sinks near a Ukrainian port hours after another is hit by a blast at another port. A million people have fled Ukraine, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) says. March 4: Russian forces seize Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's biggest. NATO rejects Ukraine's appeal for no-fly zones, saying it would escalate the conflict. March 6: 'Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine,' Pope Francis tells crowds in St. Peter's Square. 'This is not just a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction, and misery.' March 8: Civilians flee the besieged city of Sumy in the first successful humanitarian corridor. Two million have now fled Ukraine, the UNHCR says. March 9: Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing a maternity hospital in Mariupol, burying people in rubble. Russia later says the hospital was no longer functioning and had been occupied by Ukrainian fighters. March 13: Russia extends its war deep into western Ukraine, firing missiles at a base in Yavoriv close to the border with NATO member Poland. The attack kills 35 people and wounds 134, a local official says. March 14: Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova bursts into a state TV studio during a live news bulletin, with a banner reading: 'NO WAR. Stop the war. Don't believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.' March 16: Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing a theatre in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians are sheltering. Moscow denies it. March 25: Moscow signals it is scaling back its ambitions and will focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east, as Ukrainian forces go on the offensive to recapture towns outside Kyiv. March 29: Ukraine proposes adopting a neutral status during talks in Istanbul. March 30: More than 4 million people have fled Ukraine, the UNHCR says. April 1: Ukraine recaptures more territory around Kyiv from Russian soldiers who leave shattered villages and abandoned tanks as they move away from the capital. April 3/4: Ukraine accuses Russia of war crimes after a mass grave and bodies of people shot at close range are found in the recaptured town of Bucha. The Kremlin denies responsibility and says images of bodies were staged. April 8: Ukraine and its allies blame Russia for a missile attack on a train station in Kramatorsk that killed at least 52 people trying to flee the looming eastern offensive. Russia denies responsibility. April 14: Russia's lead warship in the Black Sea, the Moskva, sinks after an explosion and fire that Ukraine says was caused by a missile strike. Russia says the ship sank after an ammunition explosion. Washington believes the warship was hit by two Ukrainian missiles. April 18: Russia launches its assault on east Ukraine, unleashing thousands of troops in what Ukraine described as the Battle of the Donbas, a campaign to seize two provinces and salvage a battlefield victory. April 20: More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine, the UNHCR says. April 21: Putin declares the southeastern port of Mariupol 'liberated' after nearly two months of siege, despite leaving hundreds of defenders holding out inside a giant steel works. April 22: A Russian general says Moscow wants to take full control of southern and eastern Ukraine. April 24: Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin travel to Kyiv, becoming the highest-level US delegation to make the journey since war with Russia broke out April 25: Germany agrees to send anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine, reversing earlier policy not to supply heavy weapons Advertisement EXCLUSIVE: Boobytrapped milk carton primed with a BOMB is given to grandmother by Russian soldier distributing 'humanitarian aid' in Ukraine By Ed Wight for MailOnline A Ukrainian grandmother has narrowly escaped death after a Russian soldier gave her a boobytrapped carton of milk loaded with explosives. In a disturbing new twist to Putin's war on Ukraine, Russian soldiers are now pretending to hand out 'humanitarian aid'. But when the pensioner from the besieged city of Kherson went to open the screw top carton she noticed wires attached to the lid. Further investigation revealed the wires led to a detonator. The OAP's son told local media in.kherson.ua: 'My retired mother noticed that there was something wrong with this milk, as if someone had been drinking from it before, or if it was broken. 'She carefully unscrewed the cap and showed me what was there.' The boobytrapped milk carton contained a homemade explosive attached to a fishing line which when opened would detonate the bomb. A Ukrainian grandmother has narrowly escaped death after a Russian soldier gave her a boobytrapped carton of milk loaded with explosives. When the pensioner from the besieged city of Kherson went to open the screw top carton she noticed wires attached to the lid Further investigation revealed the wires led to a detonator placed inside the carton in what appeared to be a cruel boobytrap An elderly Ukrainian woman is pictured receiving aid from soldiers in Ukraine - it is not clear whether this is the woman who picked up the boobytrapped milk carton The OAP's soon told local media in.kherson.ua: 'My retired mother noticed that there was something wrong with this milk, as if someone had been drinking from it before, or if it was broken. She carefully unscrewed the cap and showed me what was there.' The boobytrapped milk carton contained a homemade explosive attached to a fishing line which when opened would detonate the bomb The woman's son added: 'The bag of aid was bought home by my mother, although I had asked her not to. 'But yesterday she took the groceries. She saw that the screw in the milk was not airtight, she thought that someone had already drank it, that it might be spoiled, she carefully unscrewed it and saw something like thread.' To fool locals into thinking the products are safe, Russian soldiers are using products made in Ukraine. On Sunday, the UK's MOD reported that Russia plans to hold a staged referendum in Kherson to justify its occupation. In its daily intelligence update, the ministry wrote: 'This city is key to the Russian goal of creating an overland corridor to Crimea and dominating southern Ukraine. 'Russia previously held an illegal referendum on the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation in 2014 to retroactively justify the occupation of the peninsula.' Now Russia cuts off WATER supplies Desperate Ukrainians hit by a lack of food have had their water cut off by Russian shelling too. Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai accused the Kremlin of systematically attacking electricity plants and water pumps to punish the local population. Last week officials in Luhansk said Russian forces had deliberately targeted the supply of food to the eastern region. They swamped the key city of Sievierodonetsk with missiles that wiped out all food depots, as well as markets and shops. The citys 100,000 population has fallen by 17,000 and they are now reliant on aid supplies. Advertisement Evidence of Russian soldiers boobytrapping humanitarian aid packages for elderly Ukrainian residents comes as Kremlin insiders told The Financial Times that Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine and is intent on seizing as much land as possible. The three insiders claimed that the Russian president wanted to grab territory because he felt negotiations had reached a 'dead end'. One insider said: 'There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner.' 'Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big,' another insider added. A third said he wouldn't sign anything after the humiliation caused by the sinking of the Moskva. A senior member of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umirov, said: 'We continue the negotiation process. Primarily to save more lives of our people.' 'We will use all the political and diplomatic efforts to stop this bloodshed. But there are red lines we will never cross. Ukraine will never give up its people and its territories,' he told The Times. Meanwhile, officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new '200-yard mass grave' has been identified north of the city that could contain hundreds of bodies. Vladimir Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine as he wants to seize as much land as he can for Russia, according to Kremlin insiders Emergency management specialists and volunteers remove the debris of a theatre building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about six miles north of Mariupol. This would be the third after satellite photos released over the last few days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves. On Saturday, chilling satellite photos revealed a second mass grave near Mariupol - as Russian forces continued to pummel the last 2,000 Ukrainian defenders trapped in a steelworks in the city. The photos from Maxar Technologies showed the site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne. It has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 131 feet long, Maxar said in a statement. Volodymyr Zelensky warned Vladimir Putin that if he tried to build a Nazi-style 'millennial Reich' he would 'lose'. A defendant told the court that he did not kill Bonnie Harwood, 47, (pictured) at her home in Alton. She used a mobility scooter to get around and had known the defendant since he was a child A 32-year-old man has denied murdering a vulnerable woman who used to babysit him as a child. Matthew Reynolds is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of killing 47-year-old Bonnie Harwood at her home in Alton, Hampshire, in the early hours of October 10 2021. James Newton-Price QC, prosecuting, has told the jury that Reynolds, a drug addict, had financial difficulties and was in a 'state of turmoil' on the day of the fatal attack. He said Reynolds had drug debts which had led to him attempting to set up credit cards and bank accounts in his mothers name. The amateur beekeeper had also sold his hives and honey to raise money, having recently lost his job as an assistant at a builders yard, Mr Newton-Price said. The prosecution claim that Reynolds stabbed Ms Harwood - who was also a drug user and who sold heroin - multiple times in a robbery to steal her money and drugs. The defendant then left her to bleed to death, the prosecution claim. Giving evidence, Reynolds told the court that he did not kill Ms Harwood, who used a mobility scooter to get around, and said he had known her since he was a child. He said: 'We used to go camping together and she would babysit and we would go to London together.' Forensic experts examine the scene of murder at Aldersey Fields, Alton. Reynolds, from Alton, said he started using heroin at the age of 14, going on to use crack cocaine not long after Police are pictured investigating the scene of the murder. The amateur beekeeper had also sold his hives and honey to raise money, having recently lost his job as an assistant at a builders yard, the prosecutors told the jury Reynolds, from Alton, said he started using heroin at the age of 14 and had gone on to take crack cocaine as well. He said he would visit Ms Harwoods home 'practically every day', where he would swap crack cocaine for heroin from her. The defendant said he had previously witnessed Ms Harwood having a nose bleed, which caused him to get her blood on his shoes and clothes. The court has heard that Reynolds denies killing Ms Harwood and claims he had only been in her flat between about 10pm and 11pm on October 9, the night before she died. He said: 'I saw her at some point in the late evening to get two deals of heroin for smoking for two of my friends.' He added that he later received a call from Ms Harwood during which she asked him to get 20 of crack cocaine for her. The trial continues. President Joe Biden has a higher net favorability in only 10 U.S. states and a new poll reveals that he has a disapproval rate higher than his approval in the double digits in 33 states. A new Morning Consult Political Intelligence quarterly tracking shows that the president's job performance has worsened in the first quarter of 2022 in the majority of states including in deep red areas as well as battleground states that were pivotal to his 2020 victory. The only states where Biden isn't underwater are California, Washington, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Illinois, Rhode Island, Delaware, Hawaii and the District of Columbia. But even in those states, the net approval has dramatically shrunk since this time last year. In Biden's home state of Delaware, which he won by nearly 20 points in 2020, his net approval the share of voters who approve subtracted by the share who disapprove is only at 4 percent. The state with the lowest approval of Biden is West Virginia, where his net disapproval is at 50 percent, and the state with the highest job numbers for the president is California, where his net approval is 19 percent. Morning Consult's Political Intelligence quarterly tracking shows President Joe Biden's approval rating is underwater in 40 states and by double digits in 33 Biden's approval is lower than disapproval in 40 states, compared to last year when the numbers for the first few months of his presidency showed only 17 states where disapproval outranked approval and two states where it was tied at zero either way. Several states that voted for Biden in 2020 are now showing a net negative approval ratings, including swing states that flipped from red to blue from 2016 to 2020, like Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan. The latest is just a series of dire polls for the president and for Democrats in general as they head into the 2022 midterm elections. Average approval ratings have shown President Biden hovering around 40 percent in recent months. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain seemed to dismiss the poor polling, pointing in a tweet on Sunday to French President Emanuel Macron winning reelection despite an approval rating of 36 percent. In every state where there are hotly contested Senate or House races this fall, Biden saw a new approval drop by more than 20 percentage points, according to the Morning Consult tracking. Colorado, which Biden won by nearly 14 points in 2020, shows a 49 percent disapproval to 47 percent approval. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, Biden had an approval in the states of 57 percent, showing a 10 percent fall, and a disapproval of 38 percent, showing an 11 percent increase now. In the swing state of Pennsylvania, Biden's approval rating fell from 52 percent in March 2021 to 46 percent in March 2022. Biden has consistently slipped in polls, most recently showing a 40 percent national approval rating in several different surveys ahead of the 2022 midterm elections Former President Donald Trump will head to the Keystone State on Friday, May 6 to stump for Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running in Pennsylvania to replace retiring Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey. Democrats cannot afford to lose any seats in the Senate or else they face giving up their majority in the upper chamber, where the membership currently sits at 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tie-breaking vote. There are also razor-thin margins in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi can only afford to lose a handful of seats to keep Democrats in power there. NASCAR has ordered Denny Hamlin to go through sensitivity training after he apologized for posting an anti-Asian meme to ridicule Japanese-American driver Kyle Larson for a crash at Sunday's Geico 500 in Talladega, Alabama. Larson, who has a Japanese-American mother, was involved in a late crash in Sunday's race, but still managed to finish fourth. Following the race, Hamlin posted a clip from the cartoon, Family Guy, showing an Asian woman driving a car across several lanes of traffic without using her blinker. To drive home the point, the since-deleted post was captioned: 'Kyle Larson.' NASCAR has ordered Denny Hamlin (right) to go through sensitivity training after he apologized for posting an anti-Asian meme to ridicule Japanese-American driver Kyle Larson (left) for a crash following Sunday's Geico 500 in Talladega, Alabama Hamlin admitted the tweet was offensive and apologized after deleting the post Denny Hamlin (right in 2017) and Kyle Larson (left) are reportedly friends 'I took down a post I made earlier today after reading some of the comments,' tweeted Hamlin. 'It was a poor choice of memes and I saw how it was offensive. It came across totally wrong. I apologize.' In response, NASCAR ordered Hamlin to begin sensitivity training this week. Hamlin and Larson are reportedly friends. The incident took place about two years after Larson was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing and suspended by NASCAR for using the N-word during a virtual race. Since using the slur on April 12, 2020, Larson was also ordered to go through sensitivity training before signing with Hendrick Motorsports and winning the 2021 Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas. 'Last night I made a mistake and said the word that should never ever be said and there's no excuse for that,' he said while apologizing for using the racial slur in 2020. 'I wasn't raised that way and it's just an awful thing to say. I feel very sorry for my family, my friends, my partners, the NASCAR community and especially the African-American community.' 'I understand the damage is probably unrepairable and I own up to that. I just want to let you all know how sorry I am and I hope everybody is staying safe during these crazy times.' Larson was speaking with other drivers on an open line that was being broadcast on Twitch, which live streams video game competitions among other things. The Twitch display shows viewers which driver is speaking at any given time (center of the screen, above the steering wheel but below the windshield). And although Larson appeared to think he was having communication issues, the audience could hear him clearly and see his name on the screen when he uttered the racial slur Larson was speaking with other drivers on an open line that was being broadcast on Twitch, which live streams video game competitions among other things. 'Hey Kyle, you're talking to everyone, bud,' fellow NASCAR driver Anthony Alfredo said. Another voice could be heard saying 'no way did that just happen,' while others chimed in with 'yikes' and 'oh my gosh.' 'Oh damn,' said another voice. 'He did not just say that.' The Twitch display shows viewers which driver is speaking at any given time. And although Larson appeared to think he was having communication issues, the audience could hear him clearly and see his name on the screen when he uttered the racial slur. Larson's slur was heard on IndyCar driver Conor Daly's live stream and subsequently went viral afterwards. Larson is half Japanese - his grandparents spent time in an interment camp in California - and he climbed from short track racing into NASCAR through its 'Drive for Diversity' program. He is the only driver of Japanese descent to win a major NASCAR race. The jilted lover and ex-handyman accused in the horrific slaying of the Queens married mother of two Orsolya Gaal will not testify before the grand jury due to the charges against him, his lawyer told the judge. David Bonola, 44, was marched into Queens Supreme Court in orange prison garb Tuesday with his long curly brown hair tied back and a mask partially covering his face. The handcuffed Bonola did not utter a word as the female translator spoke to him in Spanish and his lawyer addressed the judge. 'Mr. Bonola will not be testifying before a grand jury. We withdraw from their request for him to appear before a grand jury,' Attorney David Strom from Queens Defenders said. Police escort a handcuffed Bonola into the courtroom on Tuesday 'Mr. Bonala will not be testifying before a grand jury. We withdraw from their request for him to appear before a grand jury,' Attorney David Strom of Queens Defenders told the judge regarding his client, David Bonola, 44 The killer stands in court motionless next to his court-appointed attorney, David Strom Bonola, who is from Mexico, had been living in the US for the last 21 years. Police said he had been living in New York in violation of immigration law before the gruesome murder The former handyman was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree evidence tampering and fourth-degree weapon possession in relation to the brutal murder, a report said. Bonola allegedly admitted to stabbing Gaal more than 58 times before stuffing her body in a duffel bag and dragging it down her residential Forest Hills street in the early morning hours of April 16. He made his purported confession when questioned by police, making incriminating statements after voluntarily going to the police station amid the investigation. Bonola was taken away by police escorts after his appearance in court on Tuesday Bonola was obsessed with New York City crime and how to seduce women, according to his YouTube channel. One week before the murder, the suspect updated his playlist by saving videos including one titled: '7 Mindsets that Attract Women Like Crazy.' Some of the tips were how to attract beautiful woman and make 'you become unstoppable with women... without you really having to do anything.' Bonola did not upload videos himself, but instead saved a series of clips that he liked onto a playlist on his YouTube account, which is publicly visible. Other videos Bonola saved included titles like 'Pickup and first date confidence' and 'how to go down on a woman' Additional videos on his playlist were sexually graphic in nature, while others dealt with topics such as: 'How to deal with a relationship when a woman is just not that into you;' 'How you know you are with a Hungarian woman;' 'Male magnetic mindset that drives women wild. His YouTube channel shows he saved thousands of shooting, rapes and murders, on curated playlists, including 754 videos of local news reports of violent crimes, The New York Post reported. Some of the stabbing videos were eerily similar to the brutal slaying on the Queens mother. One of his videos shared the news report of Amie Harwick, a former sex therapist, who reportedly sought two restraining orders against ex-boyfriend before her February 2020 murder in Hollywood, the news outlet said The married mother of two, had stayed behind with her 13-year-old son, while her husband, Howard Klein, was traveling out-of-state with their older son Orsolya Gaal, who was the mother of two teenage sons, was of Hungarian-descent Gaal had hired Bonola to do handyman work in her Forest Hills home. The pair had been having an on-off affair for two years before he allegedly murdered her with a kitchen knife in her basement during the early hours of April 16, while her 13-year-old son was upstairs. Surveillance footage captured just hours after her murder showed Bonola walking along 114th Street near his apartment in Richmond Hill, just after 6am. He is seen with bandage wrapped around his left hand as he makes his way down the street before heading into his apartment. A photo of the tudor-style home that Orsolya Gaal, 51, had lived in with her husband and two sons before the tragic murder on April 16, 2022. The day of the killing, Bonola allegedly headed to a CityMD in order to receive help for cuts on his hands. He was referred Bellevue Hospital after urgent care doctors said the wounds were too deep for them to treat. Police said they received a call around 8.10am on Saturday for a report of 'a suspicious bag with blood on it at the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Jackie Robinson Parkway in Forest Hills.' The bag held Gaal's body. Cops then followed a trail of blood left by the dragged bag, leading back to Gaal's home. They found son, Leo, inside unscathed and took him in for questioning, putting him in handcuffs, before letting him go later that day. Gaal's husband Howard Klein and her older son Jamie, who had been on the West Coast, rushed back. They have not been seen or heard from since. He had reportedly gone over to the home in an attempt to resurrect the affair as the relationship had come to 'the end'. Bonola later confessed to the heinous crime after being spotted by police days after the murder. Police sources told the New York Post that he was very 'matter of fact,' and that he proceeded to eat a bagel with cream cheese as if nothing had happened 'It was very matter of fact, very thorough, he answered every question they had,' a police source told the newspaper. At no point did he request a lawyer. The day of Bonola's arrest he screamed: 'F**k you motherf****r!' when a group of reporters asked him why he he killed Gaal. Bonola has been living in the U.S. illegally after moving from Mexico 20 years ago. His estranged wife and children are believed to live in Queens with him. NYPD detectives declined to comment on Bonola's immigrant status but ICE has now filed a detainer with Queens Central Booking, where he is being held. It is unclear if he will face additional charges related to his immigration status. Bonola will next court appearance will be May 10, according to the Queens District Attorney's office. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) was reportedly cited for possession of a handgun at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Tuesday morning. Three sources told WSOC that the Republican congressman's 9-millimeter handgun was spotted at a security checkpoint, but the Transportation Security Administration declined to identify the person who had the gun. A photo obtained by Channel 9 shows a loaded Staccato C2 handgun. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it was standard procedure to issue a citation rather than press charges unless there are other felony charges. It said officers were alerted by the Transport Security Administration that a firearm had been found in a bag at a screening checkpoint. 'Responding CMPD officers identified the owner of the bag containing the firearm as David Madison Cawthorn DOB: 08/01/1995,' the department said in a Twitter thread. 'Mr. Cawthorn stated that the firearm was his and he was cooperative with the CMPD officers.' Officers issued a citation for Possession of a Dangerous Weapon on City Property. 'Mr. Cawthorn was released, and the CMPD took possession of the firearm, which is normal procedure,' it said. It follows an episode last year when Cawthorn tried to board a plane at Asheville Regional Airport with an unloaded Glock 9 mm handgun in his carry-on bag, along with a magazine of ammunition. Rep. Madison Cawthorn was reportedly cited for possession of a handgun at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Tuesday morning. His spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Cawthorn appeared in a 2019 ad for Shooter's World, riddled with basic gun safety violations This photo provided by the Transportation Security Administration shows the 9mm Staccato C2 handgun that officials say was found in Cawthorn's carry-on bag Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Cawthorn was cooperative after the firearm was discovered and that officers took possession of the weapon 'Five months ago, while boarding a flight, Rep. Cawthorn erroneously stowed a firearm in his carry-on (that often doubles as a range bag) instead of his checked bag,' a spokesman said when the incident came to light last July. 'The firearm was secured, and unchambered. 'Rep. Cawthorn endeavors to always follow TSA guidelines, and quickly rectified this situation before boarding his flight.' His staff did not immediately respond to the latest reports. Cawthorn is a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, and his reelection campaign is backed by the National Rifle Association. On Jan. 6 last year, as protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Cawthorn told conservative broadcaster Charlie Kirk that he was safe and had used his wheelchair to carry weapons and make sure everyone around him was armed. 'As you know I believe in the Second Amendment as well as a lot of other members,' he said. 'So we are armed. We're in a safe locations - can't disclose where.' Cawthorn has had a habit of generating headlines ever since winning election to the House in 2020 - either through his taste for bombast or run-ins with law enforcement. Dashcam footage emerged last week of a March traffic stop when a police officer informed the 26-year-old congressman that he was driving with a revoked license in his home state. He was asked to turn over his license and switch seats with a woman who had been in the passenger seat of his pickup truck, a two-minute thirty-two-second video shared by the Charlotte Observer shows. And Queen City News recently released footage from a traffic stop in October during which Cawthorn was pulled over for speeding. 'I do not have my wallet on me,' the lawmaker says when asked if he had his license. And Cawthorn again appeared surprised at being informed he was breaking the rules, with the officer in that incident telling him the car was registered to his father -- despite Cawthorn claiming it was in his name. He later reportedly pleaded guilty to improper equipment and paid a $25 fine. Cawthorn has also sought out the spotlight for himself, making wild claims about cocaine-fuelled orgies in Washington, which earned him the anger of colleagues. During an interview with John Lovell for the 'Warrior Poet Society' he was asked how closely Washington resembles the fictional version in the Netflix show House of Cards, specifically its elements of 'corruption, power, money and perversion.' The North Carolina Republican replied that the 'sexual perversion' and drug use is just like what people saw on television. The photos, obtained by Politico and look to make even the most devoted partiers blush, show the 26-year-old Republican with a vacant look in his eyes, wearing women's hoop earrings and a woman's necklace along with a bra and lingerie seT Cawthorn brushed off the photos on Twitter Friday evening, and claimed it was all part of a cruise ship game and was another attack from the left. 'The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington ... being kind of a young guy in Washington where the average age is probably 60 or 70, I look at all these people - a lot of them who I've looked up to throughout my life ... then all of a sudden you get invited to like, "well hey we're going to have kind of a sexual get together at one of our homes. You should come," like, what did you just ask me to come to? 'And then you realize they're asking you to come to an orgy.' But his colleagues were horrified that voters would assume Republican lawmakers were up to no good in the nation's capital. Fellow Republicans complained in a closed meeting he was soiling their reputation with the wild, non-specific claims and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said Cawthorn had 'lost my trust' and gave him a stern talking-to in his office. Before that, he came under fire for accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of being an alcoholic, although she is a tee-totaler, and called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky a 'thug.' Then last week photographs emerged of Cawthorn cavorting in women's underwear. Politico said it obtained screenshots of the images from someone who used to be close to Cawthorn and his campaign. The congressman shrugged them off. 'I guess the left thinks goofy vacation photos during a game on a cruise (taken waaay before I ran for Congress) is going to somehow hurt me? They're running out of things to throw at me...' he wrote on Twitter. Citizens walk past celebrative posters displayed on the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang, April 25. The poster reads "Historic root of our revolution." AP-Yonhap Religious freedom conditions in North Korea remain among the worst in the world, a U.S. government commission said Monday, recommending Washington designate the North as a country of particular concern. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also called on the State Department to bring up human rights issues when negotiating security issues with North Korea. "In 2021, religious freedom conditions in North Korea remained among the worst in the world," the commission said in its annual report, noting religious adherents in the country are severely persecuted. "The (North Korean) government attempts to provide an illusion of religious freedom to the outside world through state-backed religious organizations and sites such as the Jangchung Cathedral. In reality, religious freedom remains nonexistent in North Korea as the authorities actively and systematically target and persecute religious groups and adherents," the report added. The report provides country-specific recommendations to the Department of State, which, in turn, produces its own annual report on religious freedom. In 2021 the department designated North Korea as a "country of particular concern" for the 20th consecutive year. The USCIRF recommended the department re-designate North Korea as a country of particular concern and "impose targeted and broad sanctions" that are appropriate for religious freedom violation in the reclusive country. The commission said the U.S. may consider lifting certain sanctions in "return for concrete progress in religious freedom and related human rights." Nadine Maenza, head of the USCIRF, noted sanctions alone may not be enough to get North Korea to change when asked how they may promote religious freedom in the reclusive country. "It's not a magic weapon. It's just a piece of the puzzle in a way that the U.S. government can help to incentivize religious freedom," she said in a webinar marking the release of the 2022 report. Maenza added, "So there's different ways to use sanctions," noting the commission also recommends lifting certain sanctions when and if the North makes concrete progress toward religious freedom, The commission also recommended the U.S. government "integrate security and human rights as complementary objectives in broader U.S. policy toward and in bilateral negotiations with North Korea." "These are very difficult situations, and so there's a lot of different ways the U.S. government can still bring religious freedom to the table as they are dialoguing (holding dialogue) on security issues and other issues, and that's what we encourage them to do," said Maenza. To this end, the commission called on the government to "fill and maintain the position of special envoy for North Korean human rights issues at the U.S. Department of State," which has been vacant since January 2017. It said the special envoy can "promote and integrate religious freedom and human rights in U.S. policy toward North Korea, including by coordinating multilateral efforts in international fora, such as in the United Nations, and with the European Union and other like-minded countries." (Yonhap) A teenager was 'unsettled' on the day she was last seen alive because of the imminent release from prison of the man she had accused of raping her, an inquest heard. Gaia Pope-Sutherland, 19, who had been diagnosed with PTSD, had also reported to Dorset police before her death that she received indecent images via social media, jurors heard. The coroner said Miss Pope-Sutherland was also upset at the decision of Dorset Police not to charge the unnamed man she had accused of raping her in 2014 when aged 16. He was subsequently jailed for sexual offences committed against other people and was due to be released by prison in the autumn of 2017, the court was told. A large search operation was launched in the Swanage area for the teenager, after she went missing on November 17 2017 including police, HM Coastguard, National Police Air Service, Dorset Search and Rescue and members of the public. Her body was later found by police search teams in undergrowth between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point, close to the Swanage coastal path. Gaia Pope-Sutherland, pictured, 19, had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after revealing she had been raped by a man when she was 16 Rachael Griffin, senior coroner for Dorset, said: 'In December 2015 Gaia disclosed to her family that she had been raped the previous year when she was 16 years old. 'She made a report to the police and that report was investigated. The alleged perpetrator denied the allegation. He was not charged or convicted of any offence relating to Gaia. 'Approximately a year later, however, the alleged perpetrator was convicted of other sexual offences relating to other victims and sentenced to a term of imprisonment. 'He was due to be released from prison in the autumn of 2017. 'At the time of her disappearance on November 7 2017 Gaia was anxious about his imminent release. 'It is not relevant for you in your role in this inquest to hear any detail about the precise circumstances of the alleged rape, or any detail about the police investigation into the allegation of rape, or the decision not to charge the alleged perpetrator 'It is not for you to make any determination about the rape allegation. 'However, it is relevant for you to hear evidence about the impact of the alleged rape on Gaia, how upset Gaia was about the decision not to charge the alleged perpetrator and the impact of that on her mental health and the impact of the alleged perpetrator's imminent release on Gaia's mental health.' In her opening statement, Ms Griffin said Miss Pope-Sutherland was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2013 and continued to receive treatment from doctors in both Dorset and London for the condition. Dorset Coroner's Court heard the student, who suffered from severe epilepsy, was reported missing from her home in Swanage, Dorset, on November 7 2017. Pictured: The last picture of Gaia on the day she went missing The teenager was first referred to mental health services for assessment in December 2015 and 12 months later with post-traumatic stress disorder. 'She was last seen and assessed by a mental health team on the October 22 2017 when she was discharged back to the care of a general practitioner,' Ms Griffin said. The court heard that on November 2, Miss Pope-Sutherland reported to Dorset Police that she had received indecent images via social media and was to make a formal statement on the day she disappeared. 'Gaia was with her aunt on that day at her aunt's address on Argyle Road in Swanage as her aunt was assisting her to make arrangements to make a formal complaint,' the coroner said. 'Gaia appeared very unsettled that day and left her aunt's address, running away from the address at around 3.40pm. 'After Gaia left her aunt's address, her aunt contacted Dorset Police at 3.42pm to record that she was having some sort of episode and that her aunt was concerned for her welfare.' A large search operation, pictured in 2017, was launched in the Swanage area for the teenager, including police, HM Coastguard, National Police Air Service, Dorset Search and Rescue and members of the public The teenager, who suffered from severe epilepsy, was captured on CCTV at 3.40pm running along Morrison Road. 'Gaia then attended the address of a friend's grandmother and is behaving irrationally,' the coroner said. 'She leaves that address and the last know sighting of Gaia was on CCTV in Priest's Road at 3.59pm on November 7.' The coroner said the inquest would last until July and would consider 'how and in what circumstances' Miss Pope-Sutherland died. The jury will hear evidence of the care provided to her and what Dorset Police did from November 7, the day Miss Pope-Sutherland disappeared, until her body was found. The inquest will examine family evidence, pathological evidence, Gaia's epilepsy care and care provided by the mental health team. The inquest was adjourned until Wednesday. Young women say DJ Tim Westwood pressured them into unwanted sex, and groped bottoms and breasts as he took advantage of his powerful position in the rap world. Three women accused the 64-year-old of initiating unwanted sex, while four others allege he groped them at events, reports the Guardian and BBC. It is claimed the first alleged incident took place in 1992, while the most recent came in 2017. Three women, aged 17, 19 and 20 at the time they met Westwood, describe a pattern of alleged 'opportunist and predatory sexual behaviour' after agreeing to meet with him. Two of them, who had aspirations of working within the music industry, claim they agreed to meet Westwood in London to discuss music, before he 'initiated unwanted and unexpected sex' that left them feeling 'completely powerless' and 'scared'. A further four women say Westwood groped them while posing for a picture with him after his nightclub performances. The DJ, who is not married, has strenuously denied all claims. A spokesperson for the DJ told MailOnline: 'Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour. 'In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially. Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing.' Young women say DJ Tim Westwood pressured them into unwanted sex, and groped bottoms and breasts as he took advantage of his powerful position in the rap world Veteran DJ Tim Westwood is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by women who claim he abused his position to take advantage of them. The DJ has strenuously denied all allegations One accuser claims Westwood (pictured) drove her to a flat in central London and initiated unwanted sex when she was 19 and he was 53. The DJ has denied all allegations The women, who do not know one another, were aged in their late teens or early 20s when they claim they were set upon by the former Radio 1 star. Each have provided their own claims in the wake of anonymous sexual misconduct allegations levelled against Westwood on social media two years ago. One woman was in her 20s when, she told the BBC, she met Westwood after reassuring her mother that it was work experience to help the DJ connect with a younger audience. She claims when Westwood picked her up in a large American-style vehicle he started touching her inappropriately before his 'erratic driving' was picked up on by a police officer. Later, in a London flat, she claims the DJ sat next to her and tried kissing her before they had sex. She claims the work experience he offered never materialised. Using the alias Pamela, she said: 'Im in London alone with this guy who is a lot older than me. Now if I try to get out of it whos to say how he is going to react. So I just submit to it. 'It was really weird and from the back hes pulling my hair and Im thinking f***, motherf*****s going to rip my hair out. And I remember him going out to the bathroom and I was just sat there on the bed and I remember looking for my clothes so I could get dressed quickly. 'I dont want this man to see me naked even though hes just seen me naked. Its different. Traumatic. Thats how Id describe it. It was disgusting and I felt like s*** afterwards. Felt really disgusting. How have I let myself be subjected to that? Thats how I felt.' A woman using the alias Pamela claims Westwood drove her to a flat in central London and initiated unwanted sex when she was 19 and he was 53 A woman, using the alias Tamara, alleges Westwood, then aged in his mid-thirties, also subjected her to unwanted sex when she was 17 Another woman, who was 17 at the time, alleges Westwood, then aged in his mid-thirties, also subjected her to unwanted sex. Using the alias Tamara, she claimed the encounter took place after giving Westwood a demo of her own work while she was a member of an R&B group. 'Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power. He could make or break your career', she said. But once they arrived at a London flat, she claims Westwood, without saying anything, pulled down her trousers and underwear before performing oral sex on her. 'There was no talking,' she said. 'There was no kind of communication about that. It was just, before I knew it, thats what was happening. Im slim, Im about 5ft 3in, really small, definitely in comparison to him, hes 6ft something. 'I think I remember trying to push either his shoulder or his head but he just continued. And then I just realised that Im in a position where it has already gone too far. 'Im in a place, Im already far from home, I wouldnt know how to get home from here. I was manipulated into that position. I was led to believe one thing when he had something else in mind. Then he finishes and then its as if that hadnt happened. He just began a conversation.' One woman, using the pseudonym Isabel, alleges she was 19 and the DJ was 53 when he exposed his genitals to her in a car Tamara said she had sex with Westwood on a few occasions over the next couple of years until she eventually told him to stop. She added: 'His general demeaner, in effect, completely changed. His face changed. 'It was kind of like he couldnt believe I was actually saying no. 'I think I assumed he was 20-something but then much later I calculated it and I figured he would have been either 34 or 35 when I was 17. And thats really no age for a grown man to be removing around with teenagers.' A third woman, using the pseudonym Isabel, alleges she was 19 and the DJ was 53 when he exposed his genitals to her in a car after she gave him a mixtape showing what she could do. She told the BBC she felt 'completely powerless' and 'very, very scared' when he allegedly exposed his genitals to her in a car' before taking her to his flat. Isabel told the BBC that upon entering a flat in London, a naked Westwood entered the room with a drink in hand. He was allegedly holding a condom which was in a packet with his face on and initiated sex with her while she remained 'frozen'. She added: 'And then that was it. He was done. He got off. I think he left the room. I just remember feeling so deflated and so sad and feeling really ashamed of myself and bad.' One woman who claims her breast was grabbed by the veteran DJ in 2000 said she was left feeling 'cold and dirty' after the alleged incident. Another woman described how she 'froze' and felt 'very intimated' after Westwood allegedly said 'lemme grab some ass', before putting his hand down the back of her shorts after meeting the girl at a club in Ayia Napa, Cyprus in 2009. Westwood, pictured above in 2005, is at the centre of a sexual misconduct storm after allegations were levelled against him in recent years One accuser claims Westwood drove her to a flat in central London and initiated unwanted sex when she was 19 and he was 53. He has denied all of the women's claims Other women claim Westwood groped them during photo shoots with the celebrity after his shows. One said she was aged 22, and Westwood 59, when he 'moved his hand up the back of her skirt' at a New Year's Day event in London in 2017. The women, whose identities have been anonymised, will share their accounts in a new BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power which airs at 9pm tonight. A statement released by the BBC in response to Westwood's allegations said: 'The BBC is against all forms of inappropriate behaviour and we are shocked to hear of these allegations. The BBC has strict codes of conduct for all those engaged by the BBC, including on-air presenters.' The allegations are likely to further rock the music industry after hundreds of musicians spoke out about their struggles with bullying and harassment in 2021. X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson previously demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the music industry and called for greater regulation to protect artists from 'bullying' agents and managers. She said that she had been sexually harassed by a music executive and, in a series of tweets, claimed she knew two women who had been raped and others who had been driven close to suicide by the industry. Westwood, son of the former Bishop of Peterborough, is a well known figure on the hip hop scene. He began his career with local radio before joining Capital Radio in London and was later given his own show by BBC Radio 1. Westwood is considered among the most influential rap and hip hop DJ in Europe and is a winner of numerous radio industry awards, including best radio DJ in the Music of Black Origin ceremony. In 1999 he was the victim of a drive by shooting in south London after leaving a concert. Two men on a motorbike pulled up alongside his Range Rover and fired several shots. Westwood suffered an arm injury and later said the attack was part of an extortion attempt by a gang. Tim Westwood, son of the former Bishop of Peterborough, is a well known and award-winning figure in the UK hip hop scene In 2020, Westwood was forced to deny involvement in similar allegations when the hashtag #survivingTimWestwood appeared on Twitter. Westwood's name and the allegations began trending on Twitter after an unnamed woman posted messages describing a four year relationship. Using the Twitter name @survivingtimwestwood she admitted she was in love with the DJ and had not gone to police with any of her allegations. Others responding to the Twitter messages called on bosses at Global Radio, where Westwood works for Capital Xtra, to investigate his behaviour towards young black women. The renowned DJ vehemently denied sensational allegations on social media that he has behaved inappropriately with student fans. In October 2013, Westwood was condemned by students for a vulgar and sexist stage show he put on during a Fresher's event at the University of Leicester. While performing as guest DJ at the O2 Academy he was heard shouting over the microphone: 'Girl in the front row with the black dress on, I will be f****** you later. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called on locals to snitch on cops using their phones on subway platforms while on duty by sending him photos. Adams made the plea at a press conference Tuesday when asked by a journalist about reports of multiple uniformed cops being spotted scrolling through phones while on duty guarding the city's crime-ridden transport network. The former NYPD captain warned: 'We are going to start taking very aggressive actions to make sure police are patrolling our subway system and not patrolling their iPhone.' 'If you see it, send me a picture. I'll go to that district the next day and see exactly what is happening. 'Send me a shot. New Yorkers, you see that send me a photo and I will be at that station.' Adams spokesman told anyone with photos to send them to his press office, whose email address is pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov. The mayor said that if New Yorkers send him photos of officers on their phones, he will be at that district the next day to 'see exactly what's happening' Images of NYPD cops using their phones while on duty have infuriated New Yorkers as the city battles an exponential rise in violent crime Adams said that New Yorkers can look forward to a 'visible difference in policing in the next couple of weeks.' He spoke a fortnight after a gunman shot five people on a Brooklyn subway train, with numerous other horrifying crimes raising fears for commuters' safety. They include Deloitte manager Michelle Go, who was killed by a vagrant after being shoved off a subway platform at Times Square station and into the path of a moving train January. Taking photos or videos of officers comes could come with limitations. In March 2022, Adams slammed members of the public who got too close when recording officers who were making arrests. Adams said at the time, 'Stop being on top of my police officers while they carry on their jobs; not acceptable and wont be tolerated. If your iPhone cant catch that picture at a safe distance then you need to upgrade your iPhone.' Adams struck a different note in March 2022 when he slammed members of the public who got too close to officers when they were making arrests Earlier in his April 26 speech, Adams took aim at the rising crime rates in the city. 'New Yorkers have a right to be angry, a right to expect more to feel safe, to be safe, to know that your city is looking out for you, your family, and those in need,' Adams said in his speech after his first 100 days in office have been plagued by skyrocketing crime. The former New York City police captain took office this year with a central focus on making the city feel safe and trying to return it to some sense of normalcy post-pandemic. His speech came after Adams finalized his nearly $100 billion budget, which earmarked millions toward mental health and building affordable housing but did not designate money to hire more cops. Felony assaults are up 21 percent than at the same time in 2021, robbery is up nearly 47 percent, rape is up nearly 15 percent, and the percentage of shooting victims is up eight percent, according to the latest statistics from the city's police department. Murders are down just 13 percent. The mayor pointed out that hate crimes continue to be directed at Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. 'Our sister Michelle Go was pushed to her death in front of a train in an act of horrifying hatred,' he said, adding that dozens more of 'our New York City neighbors' have been killed by gun violence. Adams named several of the victims, including an aspiring rapper who was executed in cold blood, a 19-year-old girl was killed as she worked the night shift in East Harlem and two police officers who were shot dead responding to a call. 'Their names will echo in our hearts forever: Kristal, Jayquan, Kade, Sally, Angellyah. Detectives Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera,' he said, pointing out that many of the victims' families were at the speech on Tuesday. 'I can only imagine the loss you feel and the pain you live with,' he told them. 'But I will not rest until we have addressed the conditions that led to that loss. We will do what is necessary to make all of our communities safe. You have my word, as a former police officer, a fellow New Yorker, and your mayor.' Adams took office this year with a central focus on making the city feel safe, but violent crime rates have climbed since the pandemic, according to crime stats (pictured) The mayor's speech was full of hope and promises on Tuesday, but the first 3 1/2 months of his administration have been beset by a string of high-profile violent incidents, with last week's shooting on a subway train the most terrifying and public of all. The morning rush-hour attack, in which 10 people were shot on a system that serves as the arteries of New York, complicates Adams' push to address crime and persuade people that the city of nearly 9 million is safe. It also occurred amid a broader, multi-year debate about policing and crime, and how the city should respond. The mayor has been among Democrats who've pushed back on calls from liberals to cut police budgets and instead route resources to social services, and he has sought to bring back some controversial policing tactics, saying they can be employed as useful tools without a return to past abuses. In his speech at Brooklyn's Kings Theatre, Adams unveiled a $99.7 billion revised budget plan, with much of the money geared toward homeless services, mental health programs, affordable housing and education. 'There are four main areas that we will focus on as we go forward: protecting our people, growing our economy, uplifting our youth, and building our infrastructure,' he said, adding that the new budget reflects those values and provides for them. The budget also includes funding for a Blueprint to End Gun Violence, a 'plan to confront increased crime with strategic focus and realistic solutions.' 'The plan ensures the NYPD is laser-focused on apprehending the small number of individuals responsible for the majority of gun trafficking and shootings in our city,' he said. In partnership with President Biden, Governor Hochul, and law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels, Adams said they are working to 'cut off the flow of illegal guns into our city and crack down on repeat offenders.' The budget includes $55 million to expand the B-HEARD program, which stands for Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division. The program is comprised of EMTs and mental health professionals that respond to 911 calls involving mental health issues. Adams also detailed that things that have been accomplished in his first 100 days - highlighting that they have taken nearly 2,300 guns off the street. 'We have added more than 50,000 jobs in the first three months of this year, significantly outpacing the national average,' he said, adding that the unemployment rate dropped to 6.5 percent in March, down from 7.4 percent in December 2021. Adams also said that hotel room demand is now at 86 percent of pre-pandemic levels, up from 63 percent in January of this year. 'We have ensured more than 97 percent of adults in New York City have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,' he said. 'Ninety-seven percent thats a number to be proud of.' Adams said school attendance had increased by nearly 70 percent and there continues to be low levels of COVID reported in schools. 'We have added nearly 1,000 new beds for homeless New Yorkers, moved 2,500 families into shelter, and placed another 2,700 New Yorkers into subsidized housing,' he concluded. 'But this is only the start of our efforts to revitalize and rebuild this city,' he said. Since Adams took office Jan. 1, he's been speaking about policing and crime frequently, as the list of frightening incidents piled up quickly. The city saw a rash of random shootings, the killing of two police officers and attacks that included a woman - Michelle Go - shoved to her death in front of a train by a stranger. Michelle Go, 40, was died after being pushed by Martial Simon, 61, who is homeless NYC Mayor Eric Adams, 61, spoke at her vigil (pictured) and said the city couldn't go back to being filled with violent crime. Crime has only continued to rise since Go's death 'This has been particularly brutal. And I feel for him. I think hes done a fine job, especially as hes just getting used to it,' said Adams predecessor and fellow Democrat, Bill de Blasio. Most of the violence the city has experienced has not been in the subways but in neighborhoods, particularly in communities of color. But attacks on the subway, a vital sprawling network millions of New Yorkers rely upon, loom large in public perceptions of safety. Adams rode the subway to City Hall on his first day as mayor, calling 911 to report a fight near the train platform before he even boarded the train. He admitted later that he didnt feel safe on the train after encountering a yelling passenger and several homeless people, and said the city needs to tackle 'actual crime' and 'the perception of crime.' Adams had already announced plans earlier this year to boost the number of police officers on subway platforms and trains and to address crime generally. He has brought back a controversial police anti-gun unit, called for help from the federal government cracking down on ghost guns and pushed for changes to New Yorks bail laws. Critics contend that focusing just on beefing up police isnt a solution to making the city safe, but more investment is needed in mental health programs and other social services. Jayquan McKenley, 18, who went by the name Chii Wvttz, was shot dead outside a recording studio in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood earlier this year Growing up, drill rapper Jayquan McKenley, 18, went to five different high schools and programs as a teenager missed hundreds of days of school Frank James, the 62-year-old suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting, spoke of his own mental health struggles in a series of YouTube videos in which he described going in and out of mental health facilities, including some in New York City. Before Tuesdays attack, Adams had started sending out social work teams to try to connect people on the streets with mental health help and other services. The mayor also announced plans to significantly expand a summer youth job program designed to put young people in paid jobs when school is on break, with the aim of diverting them from activities that could lead to arrest or violence. After last weeks subway shooting, Adams, in a series of interviews, discussed plans to increase the number of police officers patrolling the subways and suggested metal detectors could be installed in stations - a decision that ultimately would rest with the transit authority, which falls under state control. Frank James, the 62-year-old suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting, spoke of his own mental health struggles in a series of YouTube videos Frantic commuters were seen trying to run for the exits after a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway station on Tuesday morning Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the nonprofit Riders Alliance representing New York City bus and subway passengers, said that despite a high-profile incident like the shooting, the subway is still the safest way to get around the city, with traffic accidents and pedestrians being struck by cars a far more likely hazard. Rather than explore metal detectors and other ways to scrutinize passengers, he said New York needs a better transit system overall that gets more people on board and provides safety with strength in numbers. 'By having transit that is faster and more reliable and gets to more places that people want to go is a way to boost ridership,' he said. De Blasio praised Adams attempts to address both crime and perceptions of crime, and said public safety experts recommend the best way to make the city feel safe is 'more normalcy, more recovery from COVID.' Getting people back on trains and back in the city is not just a reminder of New York's resiliency, but also an added layer of eyes and ears to compliment the police, the former mayor said. Among this year's dead are NYPD cops Jason Rivera, left, and Wilbert Mora, right, who were both shot and killed by a suspect in January 'The overall reality is NYPD has actually done a very good job over the years of making the subway safer and safer,' he said. 'Police can do so much, but they cant do it alone. They need eyes and ears - and cooperation of the public.' Former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said it's difficult to have a discussion about how to prevent Tuesday's shooting without knowing more about the alleged perpetrator and his motivation and mental health, and that makes it difficult to link it to a broader examination of other violent crime in New York. 'One of the challenges with crime is you can get three people shot in one night and theyre all shot for different reasons that have different solutions and different responses,' Quinn said. She said Adams, with his law enforcement background, understands that crime and criminals are not one-size-fits-all. And while guns may be involved in a lot of crimes and more illegal guns need to be taken off the street, other incidents can stem from gang issues, mental health issues or other factors. Confronting crime generally requires a multi-faceted response, she said, and help from many layers of government. 'There are very few things that one elected official can fix alone,' she said. 'Even in a big city like New York, a lot of what exists here is also controlled by the state and the feds.' 'But there is no bigger bully pulpit and convening power-short of the president of the United States-than that of the mayor of the city of New York. And we know Eric Adams is not afraid to use that,' she said. Former US President Donald Trump claimed the Queen and Camilla were competing with each other for his attention at a royal banquet, and also told Piers Morgan the monarch is 'truly a legend'. Mr Trump said he was in the company of Camilla and the 96-year-old Queen during an event at Buckingham Palace in June 2019, which he attended with his wife, Melania, and his older children. The ex-US president, who was speaking to Piers Morgan for his show on new channel Talk TV, with the second half of the interview airing at 8pm tonight, said: 'She [Camilla] was on my right, the Queen was on my left, and I said "Queen, I really have to talk to Camilla for a little while too". We couldn't break apart. '[Camilla] was funny, she was smart, she was quick, she was great. I like her too. I like Charles.' When asked if he thinks Charles and Camilla will make a good King and Queen when the time comes, Mr Trump said: 'I hope so. I think it's going to be tricky because they are truly replacing a legend when you talk about this woman [the Queen].' Former US President Donald Trump claimed the Queen and Camilla were competing with each for his attention at a royal banquet Mr Trump said he was in the company of Camilla, Charles and the 96-year-old Queen during an event at Buckingham Palace in June 2019, which he attended with his wife, Melania, and his older children Mr Trump also claimed the Queen had never had such a good time' than when he was sitting next to him at the state banquet. He said: 'And I sat next to her and we talked the whole night. And somebody said, we've never seen her smile so much. We had a great time. She was laughing and smiling. 'They said they've never seen her have such a good time at a state dinner. You know, normally they're a little boring. Okay, this wasn't boring.' Elsewhere in the Talk TV interview, Mr Trump blasted Prince Harry's 'terrible' choice to miss his grandfather Prince Philip's memorial service and said the Duke of Sussex is 'whipped like no person I think I've ever seen'. The ex-US president said it was the 'worst' decision Harry had made, blasted him for being 'so disrespectful' and an 'embarrassment' - and urged the Queen to strip the Duke and his wife Meghan Markle of all their royal titles. President Trump boasted that the Queen 'never had such a good time' as when she was sitting next to him at a State Banquet in June 2019 (pictured) During his interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, Mr Trump called the Queen a 'legend' Mr Trump added that the Queen should ban Harry from even visiting her in Britain and tell him: 'Frankly, don't come around.' When asked about Harry, he said: 'Harry is whipped. Harry is whipped like no person I think I have ever seen. 'I'm not a fan of Meghan. I'm not a fan and I wasn't right from the beginning. I think poor Harry is being led around by his nose.' When asked by Mr Morgan if he thinks Harry and Meghan's marriage is going to end, Mr Trump added: 'I do. I've been a very good predicter as you know. I've predicted almost everything. It'll end and it'll end bad. 'And I wonder if Harry's going to go back on his hands and knees and say "please". I think Harry has been led down a path.' 'The only thing I disagree with the Queen on - probably one of the only things ever - is that I think she should have said "if that's your choice, fine, but you no longer have titles and frankly don't come around". 'He has been so disrespectful to the country and I think he is an embarrassment.' The ex-US president was speaking to Piers Morgan for his show on new channel Talk TV, which aired at 8pm tonight The Sussexes were noticeably absent from Philip's memorial service at Westminster Abbey last month amid rows between Harry and the Home Office over personal protection during visits from their home in the US. After his grandfather died in April 2021, Harry returned for the funeral at St George's Castle in Windsor Castle - and was said to have wanted to travel to the UK for the thanksgiving service on March 29, along with his family. But sources suggested his legal position could have been 'undermined' if he had travelled from the US. Harry brought a High Court claim against the Home Office after being told he would no longer get the same degree of personal security when visiting the UK, despite offering to cover the costs himself. Mr Morgan spoke to Mr Trump about Harry missing the memorial, saying: 'I couldn't believe that he would not go to that, he was at the Super Bowl. He was at a Texas rodeo. But he couldn't find time to get on a plane.' A pair of children orphaned during the siege of Mariupol and snatched away into Russian-held territory received a visit from President Zelensky in their Kyiv hospital. Ilya Matvienko, ten, and Kira Obedinska, 12, both suffered injuries and lost their parents in Russian bombings of their homes. Russian forces then rounded them up and took them out of the city to enemy territory, according to the President's official website. Ukrainian authorities managed to return the children from Russian clutches to the Okhmatdyt National Children's Specialized Hospital and the arms of their grandparents. A video posted to Volodymy Zelensky's Facebook page showed Ilya Matvienko clearly delighted to receive an iPad from his beaming president on his birthday as his grandmother and doctors watched on. Ilya Matvienko receives an iPad from President Zelensky while he recuperates in hospital. He lost both his parents in the siege of Mariupol and was taken away to Russian-held territory Ukrainian authorities managed to return the children from Russian clutches to the Okhmatdyt National Children's Specialized Hospital and the arms of their grandparents President Zelensky hands over an iPad to Kira Obedinska, 12, who is recovering in a Kyiv hospital after losing her parents and being kidnapped by Russian forces Ilya lost his mother during Russian bombing of Mariupol which has seen over 10,000 people killed - a number that could easily double, according to the city's mayor, Vadym Boychenko. If the death toll reaches 20,000, it would amount to almost 5 per cent of the coastal city's pre-war population of over 400,000. In a touching scene, President Zelensky wished Ilya a happy birthday and doctors assured him that the boy would make a full recovery. 'We are most worried about the children. Children are our future. We will fight for every Ukrainian child to return home,' the President said. Kira Obedinska's father, a multiple Ukrainian water polo champion and former captain of the national team, was killed under Russian bombing. Her mother died before the war. Her grandfather Oleksandr Obedinsky, water polo coach of the Ukrainian national team, was at her bedside to greet President Zelensky. She also received an iPad. Zelensky greets the grandmother of Ilya Matvienko, ten, who was at his bedside and will take over responsibility for his care now that he is an orphan The Ukrainian wartime leader shakes the hand of Kira's grandfather, water polo coach of the Ukrainian national team Oleksandr Obedinsky The Ukrainian president was also effusive in his warm words towards the hospital's doctors, presenting them with state awards in their honour. 'Thank you for your important daily work, for saving the lives of Ukrainians. You are also on your frontline, like our military,' he said. The hospital visit would have been welcome respite for the president, whose country faces a tough battle to stop Mariupol from falling entirely into Russian hands. Russia's defence ministry yesterday announced a ceasefire around the Azovstal steel plant and claimed it would allow civilians there to evacuate from the industrial area that has been sheltering the remaining Ukrainian resistance in the port city. But Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Kyiv had not agreed to the 'humanitarian corridor' set out by Russia - and for that reason does not consider the route safe for civilians. He added that Russia had breached agreements on similar evacuation routes before. Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Meanwhile, hopes of peace talks appear to have been shattered as Vladimir Putin wants to seize as much land as he can for Russia, according to Kremlin insiders. The three insiders claimed that the Russian president wanted to grab territory because he felt negotiations had reached a 'dead end', The Financial Times reported. One insider said: 'There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner.' 'Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big,' another insider added. A third said he wouldn't sign anything after the humiliation caused by the sinking of the Moskva. A senior member of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umirov, said: 'We continue the negotiation process. Primarily to save more lives of our people.' Vladimir Putin has given up on peace talks with Ukraine as he wants to seize as much land as he can for Russia, according to Kremlin insiders 'We will use all the political and diplomatic efforts to stop this bloodshed. But there are red lines we will never cross. Ukraine will never give up its people and its territories,' he told The Times. It comes as officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new '200-yard mass grave' has been identified north of the city that could contain hundreds of bodies. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about six miles north of Mariupol. This would be the third after satellite photos released over the last few days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves. On Saturday, chilling satellite photos revealed a second mass grave near Mariupol - as Russian forces continued to pummel the last 2,000 Ukrainian defenders trapped in a steelworks in the city. The photos from Maxar Technologies showed the site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne. It has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 131 feet long, Maxar said in a statement. Volodymyr Zelensky warned Vladimir Putin that if he tried to build a Nazi-style 'millennial Reich' he would 'lose'. Dubbed the 'People's Convoy,' a small group of truckers that rolled through Oakland to protest a lawmaker's sponsorship of a pro-abortion bill and a Covid vaccine mandate bill, were pelted with eggs by upset residents. California assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, 44, represents the state's 15th District, which encompasses some well-known suburbs including Berkeley and Oakland. On Friday, her home was surrounded by police after it was targeted by a convoy of 20 drivers in 18-wheelers pressuring her to resign. Earlier in April, Wicks, who's held office since December 2018, sponsored a bill that would require all workers in California to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The bill was 'postponed' after it faced stiff opposition from labor unions as the omicron variant crested in the heavily vaccinated state. The Democrat stirred the pot even more after introducing another bill that would end the requirement for coroner investigations into stillbirths. It was characterized by anti-abortion commentators as 'the most extreme anti-life bill California has ever seen, essentially legalizing infanticide.' The convoy, which started in Adelanto, California in February, drove across the country to D.C. and is now back in California. On Tuesday it was staying near Sacramento - 81 miles away from Oakland - and planned to be there for at least a week while deciding its next move. A 'People's Convoy' of about 20 drivers protested through the streets of Oakland, California, on Friday due to two state bills providing access to abortion procedures for women and also requiring all employees working within the private sector to be vaccinated against COVID Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, introduced a bill that would protect people from prosecutions and criminalization of abortion or pregnancy loss in April. Her other bill on vaccination mandates for privately-owned COVID businesses was postponed by the state's legislature On Friday, many residents in the suburb of Oakland (pictured) threw eggshells against the convoy drivers as they attempted to make their way to Wicks' home Some onlookers stood in front of the trucks. Honking noises were heard throughout the day A woman gestures the middle finger to a protestor in Wicks' neighborhood, which was protected by police Last week's demonstration was similar to one carried out by the People's Convoy movement in Canada for a month between January and February. Motives for the protest were similar too, as Canadian truckers were opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Footage from Friday shared online by Rise Images shows residents and truck drivers clashing in the San Francisco suburb while the sounds of horns never ceases to erupt from every street. 'People have come from all over the United States to fight for your freedom,' a man told one of Wicks' neighbors while filming the protest on the streaming platform Twitch. He then pointed out a truck on the street with a Minnesota license plate, which had attended the demonstration, emphasizing his claim that drivers nationwide reassembled for the occasion. The convoy stayed around Wicks' neighborhood for a little more than an hour before going to other parts of the area. None of the participants was arrested or cited, according to California Highway Patrol and the Oakland Police Department. Earlier last week, the convoy drove through Sacramento to protest the same vaccination mandates. A spokesperson for Wicks told news outlets that the assemblywoman would be 'off the grid as far as communication goes' for the foreseeable future. 'Bullhorns and loud trucks lend no legitimacy to baseless conspiracy theories from out of state protestors, and Asm. Wicks will not indulge any attempts to influence her legislative work through harassment and intimidation tactics especially when it's directed at her home and her family,' Erin Ivie, a spokeswoman for Wicks' office, wrote in an email sent out over the weekend. DailyMail.com has contacted Wicks' office for further comment. Truck drivers participating in the Oakland convoy incessantly blasted their horns while making their way past the city's Safeway on College Avenue near Wicks' home. They were denied access from certain streets, though, where they were greeted by irritated onlookers. Some of them threw eggs at the trucks from local supermarkets and repeatedly yelled: 'Get out of our town!,' at the drivers, who got out of their trucks to confront them. One angry resident took as many egg shells as he could from a grocery store nearby in an altercation with protestors The same man gestured his middle finger to many of the truck drivers before yelling profanities in a bid to make them leave ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: A driver was caught on tape exiting his truck after he said that his 18-wheeler was 'vandalized' by counter protestors The driver then went up to a protestor who threw the eggshells at his truck and told him that he wasn't 'fighting for freedom' Another resident who was riding her bike confronted a driver in Wicks' neighborhood on Friday afternoon People gathered around a local market on a street in Oakland to throw eggshells at truck drivers, some of whom came from different parts of the country on Friday to be part of the demonstration Later, some residents stood in front of several trucks while gesturing at them, as loud honking noise continued to prevail around the sunny neighborhood. 'This is not freedom you are a disturber,' one woman said while clashing with a Twitch streamer, whose YouTube channel, WYSIWYGTV, shares 'unedited conversations with real people for you to make up your own mind,' according to its description. In other videos circulating online, some protesters refer to Wicks' bill as assisting with 'infanticide.' In fact, the bill, which has not yet been approved by the state Legislature, protects women from being criminally charged when carrying out abortions, or when they experience a miscarriage or stillbirth. Rather, the bill seeks to protect parents from legal prosecution if that perinatal death is the result of accidental causes, she said. Farah Diaz-Tello, J.D., Senior Counsel & Legal Director at If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, told Reuters, 'The bill as written reinforces existing California law that protects people from being criminalized based on an accusation that something they did or did not do during pregnancy caused a certain pregnancy outcome.' She said that as written the bill 'acknowledges, as do many other statutes across the country prohibiting criminalization of pregnancy outcomes, that sometimes an incident that occurs during pregnancy leads to the loss of the baby after it is born.' Wicks' representative reiterated the 'overall intention of the bill is to ensure that no one in the State of California is investigated, persecuted or incarcerated for ending a pregnancy or experiencing pregnancy loss'. Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Kirsch, foreground right, founder of the anti-vaccine group Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, speaks against vaccine mandates to the crowd gathered Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at the state Capitol for The People's Convoy Meanwhile, Wicks' other bill on establishing a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for all businesses in the private sector in the surrounding area was postponed. However, drivers on Friday put several phrases and slogans on their trucks with the phrase, 'We the People' and shouted 'Freedom!' as they surrounded Hicks' home, building up traffic. 'We are U.S. citizens, we believe in the Constitution and your legislations are a direct assault on the freedoms of this country!' one protester yelled out of a megaphone to local residents, who reacted with a chorus of boos. The protest comes as average daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to fall in the U.S., an indicator that the omicron variants hold is weakening across the country, and mandates are being loosened or lifted. Public health experts said they feel hopeful that more declines are ahead, but many worry U.S. vaccinations remain below expectations, concerns that are exacerbated by the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The Oklahoma Republican Party chairman who posted a photo of his family holding automatic weapons and compared vaccine mandates to wearing the Star of David has called for the execution of Anthony Fauci by firing squad. John Bennett, 47, who is running for US Congress in Oklahoma's June GOP primary under the slogan 'conservative to the core,' made the comments to a cheering crowd during a campaign stop. Raging about opponents like 'communist Democrats' and 'establishment RINOS,' Bennett made the usual claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and declared a war with 'bureaucrats who have forced vaccine mandates on us, mask mandates on us.' John Bennett, Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, said that Anthony Fauci should be executed for vaccine and mask mandates at a recent campaign event Bennett (left, with gun) alongside his family (right of Bennett, with guns) is running to be Oklahoma's second district representative to the U.S. Congress in the state's June primary 'And you know what? They're pushing this wokeness confusion down our throats now.' Then he added, 'And by the way, we should try Anthony Fauci and put him in front of a firing squad.' The crowd cheered and applauded in response. 'And for the Secret Service, if they're listening,' Bennett continued in a hushed voice, 'I'm not advocating we kill Anthony Fauci until he's convicted of his crimes through a court.' The comments are only Bennett's latest foray into far-right controversy. Bennett noted that Fauci (above) should only be executed after he has been given his day in court. The crowd at the event cheered and laughed in response to his comments In 2016, the Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan gave a talk in which he presented Islam as an organization founded on violence. 'The Quran... 90% of it is violence,' Bennett said during the talk, which came complete with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. During a 2017 run for the Oklahoma State House, Barrett distributed a flyer with a picture of his family clad in American-flag shirts and carrying assault rifles that exclaimed 'only one candidate for State House is endorsed by the NRA!' Last July, in a post on the Oklahoma Republican Party Facebook page, Bennett compared COVID vaccine mandates to the Star of David patches European Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves in the early days of the Holocaust. 'Those who don't KNOW history, are DOOMED to repeat it,' the caption read along with a photo of a Jewish-star patch with 'Unvaccinated' printed across it. On Tuesday, video of Bennett's comments about Fauci were posted on the Twitter account Right Wing Watch, which posts videos of the claims of far right organizations. Bennett is running to represent the Oklahoma's second district in the U.S. Congress. He was elected Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party a year ago in April 2021. Kim Kardashian admitted in court on Tuesday that she resented having to film episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians with Blac Chyna after she allegedly beat her brother with a metal rod. The E! Network, which aired both Keeping up with the Kardashians, and its spinoff Rob and Chyna, paid Chyna $370,000 to film four episodes of KUWTK after season one of the latter show ended. But that deal was inked without consulting the Kardashians, said Kim, who protested in an email that at E!, 'Nobody listens to usNo one respects us', the court heard. She then reportedly urged her sisters in a text to 'get on the phone today' with E! executives following the December 2016 fight. 'I was upset that Rob was so emotional and upset,' the 41-year-old reality star explained to jurors at Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday. 'I remember trying to be supportive of my brother - he was being so emotional,' said Kim, who wore a gray pin-striped suit with her hair pulled back into a bun, looking very fresh despite a trip to Washington D.C. and Orlando, Florida that made her miss court the day before. 'It's all such a blur,' she said, remembering that her brother, Rob, 'looked red and puffy and exhausted and drained.' Kim added: 'It was our show and she's not a family member.' But now Chyna, 33, is suing the entire Kardashian clan for defamation, claiming they intentionally interfered with her contract on the Keeping up with the Kardashians spin-off Rob and Chyna. Kim, 41, Khloe Kardashian, 37, Kylie, and their mother, family matriarch Kris Jenner, 66, are all named defendants in the $108 million suit. Kim Kardashian, sketched in court last week, testified on Tuesday that she was uncomfortable filming scenes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians with Blac Chyna after she allegedly hit her brother, Rob, with a metal rod E! Network executives paid Chyna $370,000 to film four episodes of KUWTK after season one of Rob and Chyna ended. She is seen at right in one of those episodes with Kim Kardashian In court on Tuesday, Chyna's attorney, Lynne Ciani, grilled Kim about the intent of the text message she sent to her sisters - and whether they ever had a family meeting about canceling the second season of Rob and Chyna. The lawyer pointed to an email from Kim to the producers of KUWTK in which she talked of taking a break from the show and warning them that 'you'll lose the rest of the Kardashians and Jenners' if they continued filming with Chyna. 'You already got Chyna off her show (Rob and Chyna) and now you didn't want her on your show (KUWTK) either?,' Ciani asked the reality star. 'I'm just saying this is our show,' Kim responded. 'We have the discretion of what we're going to film content wise. 'Why would you want to put my brother in this situation if he's going to end up crying and she's (Chyna) just going to show up to film and not be with him? 'Why would we film with her on our show? It was our show and she's not a family member.' Kim also told the lawyer at least four times that she did not remember why she sent the urgent text to her sisters. Also on Tuesday, Kim's sister, Khloe, testified that she, too, was worried about 'something crazy happening down the line' if there were a second season of the KUWTK spin-off. She confirmed Kim's comments about the metal rod, saying: 'I know it was a metal rod. I saw red indentations on my brother's neck.' But, she said, the family had 'no control' of whether E! would cancel Chyna's contract - a claim later confirmed by Adam Stotsky, the former president of the network. 'With all due respect to [the Kardashians], they do not have the authority to kill Rob and Chyna, only E! has the power to do that,' Stotsky said in court. And when the Kardashians' attorney, Michael Rhodes asked him: 'Did the Kardashians do anything whatsoever to cause you to say, 'No season 2,' Stotsky replied, 'No.' Instead, he said, the original premise for Rob and Chyna was the couple's 'newly blossoming relationship' with a light-hearted, romantic comedy feel to it. But when that relationship started 'falling apart' - with Rob and Chyna first fighting, then not even speaking to one another, he said, 'it was kind of gross.' Asked about the TV ratings for Rob and Chyna, Stotsky said: 'It was a top performer - it did very well.' When Rhodes questioned Stotsky about the defamation part of Chyna's lawsuit in which she alleged that the Kardashians 'made false claims about her' to E!, he told the court the family told him nothing that 'influenced our decisions about Rob and Chyna. And when Rhodes asked him about the part of Chyna's lawsuit in which she accuses the Kardashians of 'interfering' with her contract, Stotsky told him: 'There was nothing your clients did that affected our view of Chyna's contract.' American Idol's Ryan Seacrest - an executive producer on both Keeping Up with the Kardashians and and Rob and Chyna - was the next witness to be called upon. Former E! Network president Adam Stotsky also testified on Tuesday that the spin-off show Rob and Chyna was supposed to be about their 'newly blossoming relationship' but when that relationship started 'falling apart ... it was kind of gross.' Seacrest was not in court today so a video deposition he gave in May 2019 was played to the jury. But as it turned out, the deposition shed no new light on the case since he answered 'I can't remember' or 'I don't recall' to most of the questions he was asked. When the Rob and Chyna TV spinoff was pitched to him, he said he thought Chyna was 'bold and memorable' though he also admitted: 'I do not think I ever met Chyna.' He said he couldn't recall ever speaking to any of the Kardashians about a second season of Rob and Chyna. Nor could he remember hearing from any of the Kardashians about Chyna being physically abusive to Rob or 'beating the sh__ out of his face.' 'Did Rob ever talk to you about being physically abused by Chyna?' he was asked in the depo. 'I don't remember him saying that,' said Seacrest. When he was asked if he ever had any discussions with the E! network about Chyna's contract, he answered, 'I'm not aware of one.' Kris Jenner's boyfriend, Corey Gamble also took the stand Tuesday, telling the jury how he watched Chyna punch and hit her fiance Rob Kardashian in a drunken rage, screaming death threats and abuse at him. In the witness box on the seventh day of the Chyna v Kardashians trial, Corey Gamble, 41, said he and Kris were awoken just before daybreak the morning of December 15, 2016, by a phone call from Rob on the speaker phone. As Rob was speaking, 'Chyna was screaming in the background, 'F**k you, you fat motherf**ker', said Gamble. 'I could tell it was a hostile situation and needed to go there and help them.' Gamble dressed and drove the few blocks to Kylie Kardashian's home where Rob and Chyna were living at the time, Before he even went into their front door, he said, 'I could hear her screaming at Rob. She was telling him she hated him, she would kill him, she didn't like him.' When he got in the house, he recounted, Chyna was standing in the bedroom doorway with Rob about seven or eight feet away from her. 'When she saw me, she threw down whatever she had in her hand (he later said it was a rod a few feet long)..Then she ran toward Rob and she picked up a charger cord and started whipping it at him. 'When she got to him she started hitting him till I got in the middle of them. She also hit Rob when she was trying to hit Rob. 'I could smell the heavy alcohol on her..she was intoxicated. She was obviously very angry. She wanted to fight him, she wanted to hit him.' Gamble - who said that he didn't know where the couple's young daughter Dream was in the house while the fight was happening. But he added, 'The house was a mess. There was stuff everywhere. Obviously stuff had been thrown and smashed.' After 'physically separating' the couple, he told the court that he told Rob to get his keys and wallet from the bedroom and to get in his car and leave. As Rob was getting to his car, Chyna 'jumped on him again and was punching him and hitting him in the side of the head,' said Gamble, who added that she picked up a chair and threw it at Rob's car as he left.' He stayed back at the house with Chyna, 'to make sure she didn't get in one of her cars and chase Rob,' he said. 'I put her keys somewhere so she could not get them.' A female friend of Chyna was also in the house at the time and, said Gamble, 'She told me Chyna's been drinking all night and she's been fighting with Rob.she's been yelling the same stuff, 'I hate him I don't like him.I would not like this fat f______ if he was not part of this family'. Asked by Chyna's lawyer, Lynne Ciani, if he had ever witnessed Chyna abusing Rob prior to December 15 2016, Gamble told the court: 'That was the first time I witnessed it. 'But it was not the first time I heard about it. I heard that when she drinks or allegedly does drugs, she gets volatile. 'I heard that she had been drinking and hit him before - I heard that from Rob and the nanny who worked for them.' When he was asked how Rob looked when he got to the house that morning, Gamble said, 'He was scared. He was red around the neck. His face was red.' A 20-year-old Army Motor Transport Operator in training was killed in a car wreck at the Yakima Training Center in Washington state Monday. Private First Class Joseph A. Marquez, a native of Dover, Delaware, died during a training exercise, according to a 7th Infantry Division press release. He was a member of the 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Two other soldiers, who were not named, were injured and evacuated to Yakima Memorial Hospital - they have since been released. A media spokesman for the 7th Division told DailyMail.com that Marquez had enlisted about a year ago, but declined to give more details since the investigation is ongoing. It is unclear what type of vehicle killed Marquez and whether he was driving. Pfc. Joseph A. Marquez, 20 (pictured), a native of Dover, Delaware, died during a training exercise at Yakima Training Center in Washington state on Monday Army vehicles are pictured at Yakima Training Center earlier this week - it is unclear what type of vehicle killed Pfc. Joseph Marquez 'We are deeply saddened by the loss of Pfc. Marquez,' said Lt. Col. Michael Filanowski, commander of 8th Squadron, 1st Calvary Regiment, in a press release. 'Blackhawk Squadron sends its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. Our prayers and thoughts are with them during this difficult time. ' Members of the 8th Squadron paid tribute to their fallen comrade on Facebook. 'It is with a very heavy heart and incredible sadness that the Blackhawk Squadron announces the passing of one of our own.' '[Marquez] was pronounced dead on scene after a vehicle accident during a unit exercise at the Yakima Training Center on April 25.' 'PFC Marquez was known for his laughter and the light he spread everywhere he went. We knew him as a loving son and brother to his family, a faithful friend to his comrades and a loyal soldier to his nation.' In 2021, 20 soldiers died in on-duty training accidents, according to the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center. Eleven of those were in aviation crashes and the remaining nine were on the ground. Army vehicles are pictured at Yakima Training Center - it is unclear what type of vehicle killed Pfc. Joseph Marquez The Biden administration released a plan Tuesday to deal with an expected increase in already high numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the planned lifting of a public health order that has kept people from seeking asylum - and that Republican and some Democratic lawmakers insist should be kept in place. A memo from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas outlines a more robust effort to enforce U.S. immigration law without the use of Title 42, which was invoked at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The plan is to add 600 members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. There would be additional transportation and medical support as well. 'When the Title 42 public health Order is lifted, we anticipate migration levels will increase, as smugglers will seek to take advantage of and profit from vulnerable migrants,' Mayorkas warns in a memo that comes a day before he is to testify to Congress on an issue that has become a potent element in Republican political messaging. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas released a plan to send 600 Customs and Border Agents to the border for an anticipated crush of immigration when the administration plans to lift Title 42 authority May 23 The plan includes increasing the number of personnel in the border region from Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies, expanding detention capacity with the use of temporary facilities and aggressively deploying a process known as expedited removal to deport migrants who do not qualify for asylum or some other relief under U.S. law. The agency is planning for increased capacity by May 23, with 18,000 non-citizens in CBP custody. That is an increase from 13,000 in early 2021. The administration says it will comply with a court ruling if a judge issues a temporary restraining order, Axios reported. It also relies on new Department of Homeland Security initiatives intended to streamline the evaluation of migrant claims, such as the deployment of asylum officers to the border to help determine whether someone should be granted temporary legal residency until an immigration court rules on their case. Unmentioned is the fact that a court could soon order the government to reverse course and halt plans to lift Title 42 on May 23 because of lawsuits filed by Republican-led states. Senate Republicans are acting to try to force the administration to keep the policy in place, likely by attaching it to a COVID relief package that the administration desperately wants. Senate Minority Mitch McConnell told reporters, 'I think I'm safe to say Senate Republicans are going to insist on having an amendment to Title 42. This is extremely important. The border is already entirely too open. Pulling back the Title 42 authorities will only make it dramatically worse. And so I want to make it clear to you and to the majority leader that we'll need to have Title 42 vote at some point here, in all likelihood on the COVID package.' The administration has said without the new funds, it won't be able to secure purchases of upcoming coronavirus drugs being developed. A Mexican smuggler guides a Haitian family across the Morelos Dam over the Colorado River from Los Algodones, Mexico, on Feb. 4, 2022, to Yuma, Ariz., on the other side Members of the Texas National Guard are stationed along the Rio Grande River where U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy leads a congressional delegation visit to the southern border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. April 25, 2022. The Biden administration is planning to send an additional 600 Border Patrol agents for a planned lifting of a public health order U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pauses as he addresses the media during a congressional delegation visit to the southern border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. April 25, 2022. Republicans have pounded the Biden administration for the planned lifting of Title 42 in May On Monday, a federal judge in Louisiana said he would issue an order limiting the administrations ability to prepare but left specifics of the settlement to the federal government and the states. U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays, a Trump appointee, has scheduled a hearing on May 13 in the lawsuit by Louisiana and 20 other states seeking to keep Title 42 authority in place. Republicans and some Democrats in Congress have also urged the Biden administration to continue the order for now. Migrants have been expelled more than 1.8 million times under the rule, which was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under former President Donald Trump. Advocates for asylum-seekers support the end to the rule, which they say endangers people fleeing persecution back home and violates rights to seek protection under U.S. law and international treaty. The states challenging the administration say the U.S. is not ready for a likely influx of migrants resulting from the rules end, straining public services. It comes amid what the administration concedes are historic numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border due to factors that include economic and political turmoil in Latin America, as well as a backlog of people hoping to seek asylum. The increase in migrant encounters is also due in part to Title 42 itself. Immigration authorities stopped migrants 221,303 times along the Southwest border in March, a 33% increase from a month earlier, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. But many of those encounters were people coming back after being removed under the public health authority. CBP said the number of unique individuals encountered nationwide in March came to 159,900, still high but significantly below the total. Biden administration officials argue that the use of expedited removal is more of a deterrent because people subjected to it are inadmissible for five years and can be charged with a felony if they attempt to return to the country. Under Title 42, there are no legal consequences and many people simply turn around and come back. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gestures during a military parade held to celebrate the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, Monday. EPA-Yonhap Presidential transition team calls for stronger deterrence By Nam Hyun-woo North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to strengthen the regime's nuclear arms capability, threatening to use those weapons if provoked, according to the North's state media, Tuesday. In response, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition committee said the incoming government will respond with a "three-axis system," which includes air missile defense, preemptive strike system and massive retaliation plan, signaling that tensions between the two Koreas will likely escalate further under the incoming administration which is scheduled to be launched on May 10. During a military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of North Korea's army, which was held on Monday night, Kim said the regime will strengthen its nuclear forces at maximum speed, as well as expressing his intention to use nuclear weapons. "The basic mission of our nuclear forces is to deter war, but if an undesirable situation emerges on our land, we should not limit our capability to a single purpose of preventing war," Kim was quoted as saying by the North's Korean Central News Agency. "If any forces attempt to infringe on our fundamental interests, our nuclear forces will have no choice but to fulfill its second mission," Kim continued. "The republic's (North Korea's) nuclear forces should be readied so that they can carry on their responsibility and exercise deterrence whenever required." Kim's comments are interpreted as an official proclamation that the bellicose regime may use nuclear weapons to meet its interests and that the leader has returned to his nuclear brinkmanship tactics. Recently, reports have alleged that North Korea's seventh nuclear test is imminent, while South Korea's military believes that the North may conduct one next month. A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency shows a new Hwasong-17 missile displayed in a military parade held to celebrate the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, Monday. EPA-Yonhap Advertisement A Los Angeles police officer who was called to Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's penthouse after a fight testified that she did not identify the actress as a victim of domestic violence at the time. Officer Melissa Saenz appeared via a pre-taped video deposition on Tuesday. She was asked about the visit to the penthouse apartment that Depp and Heard shared on May 21, 2016. Under questioning from Heards lawyer Elaine Bredehoft, Saenz said, 'I did not identify her as a victim of domestic violence,' adding that she did not see any evidence of a crime, including broken glass or mess in the penthouse. It was the last argument between Depp and Heard before she filed for a divorce and a restraining order, which she did a week later. In request for the restraining order, Heard claimed that Depp hit her with a cell phone during that encounter, leaving her with a bruise on the right side of her face. In the court file, Heard included an image of the bruise. Officer Melissa Saenz appeared via a pre-taped video deposition on Tuesday. She was asked about the visit to the penthouse apartment that Depp and Heard shared on May 21, 2016 These photos were shown in court from May 2016 of Amber Heard with an apparently bruised cheek. Saenz said, 'I did not identify her as a victim of domestic violence,' adding that she did not see any evidence of a crime, including broken glass or mess in the penthouse In request for the restraining order, Heard claimed that Depp hit her with a cell phone during that encounter, leaving her with a bruise on the right side of her face Bredehoft showed the photo photo of Amber's face to Saenz and asked ,'Do you perceive there to be an injury or evidence of injury on amber's face in this photo?' Saenz responded, 'No I do not.' Bredehoft asked, 'What is your perception of the redness on the cheek and the eyelid and above the eyebrow?' Saenz responded, 'Its consistent with her crying - she's fair skin, her face is flushed.' Bredehoft asked, 'You don't think it's consistent with a cell phone being thrown at her?' Saenz responded, 'Correct, it does not look like an injury caused from a cell phone. It's consistent with someone crying.' Bredehoft asked, 'If you saw any signs of injury on Amber Heard or even just damage to the property, would you have been duty bound to make a report?' 'Correct.' Bredehoft asked, 'Now, your recollection is that there was damage to the flat, you searched the entire flat and there was no damage, no broken glass, or anything out of the ordinary, would you agree?' 'Correct' Bredehoft asked, 'When you got back to the elevator is there anything you remember thinking?' Saenz responded, 'I remember being impressed by the penthouse, how big and beautiful it was yes.' Bredehoft asked, 'When you got back to the elevator is there anything you remember thinking?' Saenz responded, 'I remember being impressed by the penthouse, how big and beautiful it was, yes.' Depp's penthouse building in LA is pictured Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over a piece she wrote in the Washington Post in which she described how she had been a victim of domestic abuse Her testimony followed expert witness Dr. Shannon Curry to the stand. The clinical and forensic psychologist told the court she concluded Heard had traits consistent with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) - two conditions found in people with patterns of emotional instability and attention-seeking behavior. Dr. Curry testified that she was initially hired by Depp's lawyers early last year to review files in the legal battle between the two feuding exes and identify behavior in their relationship that may be consistent with 'intimate partner violence'. The psychology expert, however, revealed her role would shift several months later in October, when she was asked to provide a psychological evaluation of Heard, 36. 'The results of Ms. Heard's evaluation supported two diagnoses: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD),' Curry told the court. She concluded that Heard 'grossly exaggerated' her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her relationship with Depp and said that in the actress's eyes, the actor went from being 'idealized to the dumpster.' Dr. Curry noted that Heard's BPD was marked by an 'underlying terror of abandonment' and somebody with the condition tends to make 'desperate attempts' to stop it from happening. These could be 'very extreme behaviors', she said. Curry added that as a result of these disorders, somebody like Heard could appear charming at the start of a friendship or relationship but could then turn dark easily. Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry (left) described her medical evaluation Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's relationship as she took the stand in the defamation trial Tuesday The psychology expert revealed she was asked to conduct an evaluation of Heard, who she concluded suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder 'You'll see relationships start very intensely, extremely close,' she said. 'This might be their perfect soulmate and initially everything seems great but reality sets in, people are not perfect. 'Most of us accept people as a whole, [but] with a person with BPD, things are in these extremes, that person goes from being idealized to dumpster, they are totally devalued, they're the worst.then there will be a repair because the person with this disorder does feel remorse.' Somebody with BPD is usually 'very, very interested in looks and utilizes their looks to get the respect they're looking for,' she added. Heard, who wore a cream-colored blazer and styled her hair in a crown braid, sat quietly alongside her legal team and at times was seen jotting down notes as the psychologist testified. She did not look up as the doctor confirmed her diagnoses but at one point appeared visibly uncomfortable as the expert described the characteristics of such disorders. According to her diagnosis, Heard was a 'sophisticated' and 'calculated' case of BPD, somebody who would 'tend to hit you where it hurts a bit more' and be 'very, very destructive.' Dr. Curry also explained that people with BPD have identity issues and tend to change their interests and values constantly. Advertisement The Kremlin has warned it could target military sites in the UK because of British support for Ukraine, while adding that it could also hit British diplomats returning to Kyiv after a defence minister's 'provocative' talk of bombing Russia. Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, suggested that strikes could be authorised against NATO states who provide arms to Ukraine. She warned: 'Do we understand correctly that for the sake of disrupting the logistics of military supplies, Russia can strike military targets on the territory of those Nato countries that supply arms to the Kyiv regime? 'After all, this directly leads to deaths and bloodshed on Ukrainian territory. As far as I understand, Britain is one of those countries.' Her words came after Britain's Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said that the UK backed Ukrainian air strikes on Russian infrastructure. He added that it would be 'completely legitimate' for British weapons to be used in such attacks, even though none are currently thought to be. Heappey also said that Britain would re-start the training of Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine if the conflict became 'frozen' in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. But his remarks were seized upon by the Kremlin, with the defence ministry accusing him of 'provocation'. In a significant escalation of tensions, Moscow also warned that it would be prepared to strike back at 'decision-making centres' in Kyiv in retaliation even if British and other Western diplomats were present. Meanwhile, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence select committee, said Heappey's remarks had the 'potential to invite retaliatory attacks into Poland'. He also warned that Russia could hit western targets outside Ukraine and told The Times that the West was becoming 'increasingly involved in a proxy war'. In a significant escalation of tensions, Moscow warned that it would be prepared to strike back at 'decision-making centres' in Kyiv in retaliation - and even strike NATO bases in other countries Russia's defence ministry issued a threat to strike UK diplomats in Kyiv when they return to the Ukrainian capital city UK diplomats are set to be among the first to return to Ukraine after the failed Russian siege of the city came to a halt a fortnight ago Mr Heappey told Times Radio yesterday the UK has a duty to support any Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure A British military instructor trains Ukrainian service members to use the next generation light anti-tank weapon, NLAW. A British defence minister has suggested UK soldiers could re-start training Ukrainians It comes after Boris Johnson last week announced that Britain will reopen its embassy in Kyiv two months after staff were evacuated as war broke out. The embassy is due to open this week 'dependent on the security situation'. Melinda Simmons, UK ambassador to Ukraine, is poised to become one of the first diplomats to return. On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during a visit to Kyiv that American diplomats would also be returning to the capital 'within weeks'. Responding to Mr Heappey's support for Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply lines, a Kremlin spokesman said: 'We would like to underline that London's direct provocation of the Kyiv regime into such actions if such actions are carried out will immediately lead to our proportional response. 'As we have warned, the Russian armed forces are in round-the-clock readiness to launch retaliatory strikes with high-precision long-range weapons at decision-making centres in Kyiv. The presence of advisers from Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centres won't necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action.' Mr Heappey told Times Radio yesterday the UK has a duty to support any Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure because these could prevent deaths of civilians. This week a key restocking depot in Bryansk 95 miles inside Russia was hit, causing explosions at fuel tanks and a refinery. Ukraine has not admitted carrying out the attack. Mr Heappey said: 'I think it is certainly the case that things [weapons] that the international community are now providing to Ukraine have the range to be used over the borders. But that's not necessarily a problem. It is completely legitimate for Ukraine to be targeting in Russia's depth in order to disrupt the logistics that if they weren't disrupted would directly contribute to death and carnage on Ukrainian soil.' He also insisted that Ukraine can still win the war if the West continues to provide the necessary equipment. Meanwhile, 40 Nato and EU defence ministers yesterday met in Germany to agree to send heavier weapon systems to Ukraine. After weeks of dithering, Germany announced it would provide 50 Gepard anti-aircraft systems. It followed harsh criticism from the US and Europe that it had been far too hesitant to deliver heavy weaponry as it feared widening the conflict. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin revealed senior officials from the alliance would meet once a month to ensure they optimised opportunities to send military equipment. He stressed: 'We have no time to lose. We have to move at the speed of war.' Foreign Secretary Liz Truss gave her support for the UK providing Ukraine with more powerful weapons. She said it was no longer enough to supply 'defensive weaponry' as the nature of the battle had changed. She told MPs: 'For too long there was a false distinction between defensive and offensive weapons. It became an excuse for some to drag their feet. That time has now passed.' This week a key restocking depot in Bryansk 95 miles inside Russia was hit, causing explosions at fuel tanks and a refinery. Ukraine has not admitted carrying out the attack. Armed forces minister James Heappey says Ukraine is within its rights to take the war across the border 'Considerable' risk of nuclear war, Putin's attack dog warns By Mark Nichol Defence Editor for the Daily Mail Vladimir Putin's attack-dog diplomat has accused the UK and other Western powers of risking nuclear war by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov claimed Nato's support for Ukraine intended to weaken Russia and had pitched Moscow into a 'proxy war' with the security alliance. In a chilling threat, he suggested the West's continued provision of military aid meant there was a 'considerable risk' of a nuclear conflict. Speaking at the Kremlin, the foreign minister, known for his disdain of the West, said: 'Everyone is reciting incantations that in no case can we allow World War Three. The danger is serious. It is real. It should not be underestimated. Speaking at the Kremlin, foreign minister Lavrov (right), known for his disdain of the West, said: 'Everyone is reciting incantations that in no case can we allow World War Three. The danger is serious. It is real. It should not be underestimated' 'Nato has entered into a war with Russia through proxies and is arming those proxies and pouring oil on the fire. 'Preventing nuclear war at all costs is our key position on which we base everything. But the risks are now considerable. '[Russia] has a feeling the West wants Ukraine to continue to fight and, as it seems to them, wear out, exhaust the Russian army and the Russian military industrial complex. This is an illusion.' Last night, however, Vladimir Putin raised some hopes of an end to the fighting. As he welcomed United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to the Kremlin, the Russian president said he hoped talks with Ukraine would yield 'a positive result'. He told Mr Guterres: 'Despite the fact that the military operation is ongoing, we still hope that we will be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic track. We are negotiating, we do not reject (talks).' Representatives of the warring parties are continuing to meet in virtual peace talks. But any summit between President Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky would require officials to first make significant progress in their online negotiations, the Kremlin leader said. He claimed previous talks in Istanbul between the two sides had achieved 'a serious breakthrough' but negotiations stalled following the discovery of the slaughter of civilians in Bucha, which Russia claims was staged by the West. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday: 'I think that what needs to happen to cause the conflict to come to an end is Mr Putin needs to make a decision to end this conflict. He's the person that started it. It will be his decision to de-escalate and then go back to the negotiating table.' The two-month long campaign has unquestionably weakened Russia, with more than 20,000 of its soldiers feared dead, the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet sunk and thousands of its aircraft, tanks and other vehicles destroyed. Ukraine seized upon Mr Lavrov's comments, as his opposite number in Kyiv, Dmytro Kuleba, said: 'This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine. 'Therefore the world must double-down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security.' The UK's Armed Forces Minister James Heappey described the Kremlin claims as 'bravado' while Mr Austin condemned them as 'dangerous sabre-rattling'. He said: 'Nobody can win a nuclear war and any bluster about using nuclear weapons is unhelpful. The US will do everything in its power, and Ukraine will do everything in its power, to ensure the conflict does not spin out of control. We are always mindful of having the right balance.' But the West's military support for Ukraine, which was reiterated at a Nato defence ministers' meeting in Germany yesterday, could lead to the break-up of the country, Russia warned yesterday. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council and a key ally of President Putin, said: 'The result of the policy of the West and the regime in Kyiv can only be the disintegration of Ukraine into several states. 'The Americans have cynically chosen Ukraine in an attempt to suppress Russia and have tried to divide essentially a single people.' President Zelensky condemned Mr Guterres' decision to visit Moscow first as Russia's bombardment of Ukrainian cities continued His remarks may have revealed Russia's position in any future peace talks, with Ukraine's eastern regions either becoming an independent country or part of the Russian Federation, in return for a ceasefire. But any settlement appeared a distant prospect last night following the visit to Moscow by Mr Guterres. After meetings with Mr Lavrov, the UN chief said it was clear there remained 'two different positions on what is happening in Ukraine', the position held by Russia and the position held by Ukraine and its allies. Mr Guterres is also due to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. President Zelensky condemned Mr Guterres' decision to visit Moscow first as Russia's bombardment of Ukrainian cities continued. Russia is trying to 'destabilise' breakaway Moldovan region that borders Ukraine, Kyiv warns, after two explosions prompt 'false flag' fears Two explosions destroyed two radio antennas in the disputed Moldovan region of Transnistria yesterday A Day earlier, explosions reportedly hit the Ministry of State Security in the breakaway region Transnistria, a region on the border with Ukraine, is recognised internationally as part of Moldova By Rachael Bunyan for the MailOnline Kyiv today accused Russia of trying to 'destabilise' Moldova's breakaway region that borders Ukraine after two explosions there prompted fears of Russia launching 'false flag' attacks to justify invading the territory. The explosions destroyed two powerful Soviet-era radio antennas that were re-broadcasting Russian stations in the region of Transnistria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, on Tuesday. The blasts occurred in the small town of Maiac roughly 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of the border with Ukraine, just days after a Kremlin military chief warned that 'Russian-speakers' had been 'oppressed' there. A day earlier, several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the Ministry of State Security in the city of Tiraspol, the region's capital. No one was hurt in the explosions, officials said. On Tuesday, a military unit in the village of Parcani was also targeted. Officials did not offer any details on the incident, but declared a 'red level of terrorist threat' and promised to impose additional security measures in the region. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak accused Russia of trying to destabilise Transnistria and warned that 'if Ukraine falls tomorrow, Russian troops will be at Chisinau', the Moldovan capital. 'Russia wants to destabilise the Transnistrian region and hints Moldova should wait for 'guests',' Podolyak said. 'Good news, Ukraine will definitely ensure strategic security of the region. But we need to work as a team.' The United States has warned amid the war in Ukraine that Russia could launch 'false-flag' attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops. Last week, Kremlin military chief Rustam Minnekayev said Russia sought control of southern Ukraine, which could provide access to Transnistria, 'where there have been cases of oppression of the Russian-speaking population'. The explosions destroyed two powerful Soviet-era radio antennas that were re-broadcasting Russian stations in the region of Transnistria, an unrecognised Moscow-backed sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, on Tuesday A day earlier, several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the Ministry of State Security in the city of Tiraspol, the region's capital. No one was hurt in the explosions, officials said The Transnistrian authorities said the offices of the state security ministry in Tiraspol were hit by what appeared to be a grenade-launcher attack on Monday evening Transnistria, a strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine, is recognised internationally as part of Moldova but is effectively controlled by Russia, which has given citizenship to separatists Minnekayev, the deputy commander of Russia's central military district, said Moscow planned to forge a corridor between Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014, and the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Moldova's foreign ministry summoned Russia's ambassador over the comments, which it called 'unfounded and contradicting Russia's position in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country within internationally recognised borders'. 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. And today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is closely following events in Transnistria, adding that news from the region was a cause for serious concern. Moldova's president Maia Sandu said the attacks in Transnistria were an attempt by factions within the territory to increase tensions, as she urged the country's citizens to remain calm. Speaking after Moldova's Security Council held an urgent meeting, Sandu said: 'From the information we have at this moment, these escalation attempts stem from factions from within the Transnistrian region who are pro-war forces and interested in destabilising the situation in the region.' She said the security council had recommended improving the combat readiness of security forces, increasing the number of patrols and checks near Moldova's border with Transnistria, and monitoring critical infrastructure more closely. Sandu said: 'We urge citizens to keep calm and feel safe,' while urging authorities to tighten public safety measures and protection of critical infrastructure. Transnistria's president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, also called on Tuesday for anti-terrorist security measures to be imposed at a 'red level' for 15 days, including setting up blockposts at the entrances to cities. The Moldovan authorities are sensitive to any sign of growing tensions in Transnistria, especially since Russia invaded their neighbour Ukraine. Transnistria, a strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine, is recognised internationally as part of Moldova but is effectively controlled by Russia, which has given citizenship to separatists. An estimated 1,500 Russian troops are permanently stationed in the Transnistria, but concerns are high that the region could be used as a launch pad for new attacks on Ukraine. Russia's military base still guards a stockpile of some 20,000 tonnes of munitions which were brought there when Soviet troops withdrew from Europe. In the early hours of Tuesday, two explosions hit a radio tower re-broadcasting Russian stations near the Ukrainian border. 'Early on April 26, two explosions were heard in the village of Mayak in Grigoriopolsky district,'it said in a statement. It said the blasts at 6:40 am and 7:05 am (0340 GMT and 0405 GMT) targeted the 'Mayak' radio centre, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the regional capital Tiraspol. Antennas of the 'Mayak' radio centre are seen lying on the ground on Tuesday following the blasts in the village of Mayak in Grigoriopolsky district in Moldova's Russian-backed breakaway Transnistria region A law enforcement officer is seen standing in front of the 'Mayak' radio centre antennas following the blasts in the village of Mayak on Tuesday Kremlin military chief Rustam Minnekayev on Friday said Russia sought control of southern Ukraine, which could provide access to Transnistria, 'where there have been cases of oppression of the Russian-speaking population'. Pictured: Pro-Russian troops move along a road in Mariupol, southern Ukraine The ministry said two 'powerful' antennae that were re-broadcasting Russian radio were out of order, and shared images of them lying on the ground. There were no injuries, it added. This came after the Transnistrian authorities said the offices of the state security ministry in Tiraspol were hit by what appeared to be a grenade-launcher attack on Monday evening. No one was injured in the incident, which happened at around 6:00 pm on a public holiday for the Orthodox Easter. But windows were blown out in the state security ministry building and smoke was 'billowing out of the buildings', the Transnistria region's interior ministry said in a statement. There was no immediate reason to suggest a link between the two incidents. The conflict in Ukraine has provoked fears in Moldova that the country could become Russia's next target. Moldovan President Sandu on Tuesday called for a meeting of the country's Supreme Security Council in response to the incidents. 'The Supreme Security Council will meet from 1300 (1000 GMT) at the Presidency. After the meeting, at 1500, President Maia Sandu will hold a press briefing', the president's press office said in a statement. On Monday, the Moldovan government said the Tiraspol blasts were aimed at creating tensions in a region it had no control of. Moldova, one of Europe's 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. Unlike Ukraine and Georgia, Moldova is not seeking Nato membership. The landlocked country, with a population of just 2.6million, has only a few thousand active military personnel, so it would not be able to withstand a Russian invasion. Passengers at Manchester Airport (pictured right and inset right) say they are facing a two-hour wait at security check-in this morning, with queues leading outside the terminal and into a nearby car-park. Meanwhile, at Birmingham Airport (pictured left and inset left), passengers have complained of 'ridiculous' queues at departures today, with long queues outside the main terminal building. There are also delays to flights, with at least ten late flights at Manchester and four at Birmingham as of 8am this morning. Meanwhile at Stansted, there were also claims of two-hour delays at passport control last night. It comes as airports up and down the UK continue to face staffing issues in the wake of Covid restrictions. Travel chiefs say the issues have been exacerbated by a huge increase in demand for travel following two years of Covid-enforced disruption. With holidaymakers flocking to airports this morning at the start of a new week, passengers again faced delays at Manchester and Birmingham. Bosses of both airports today said the queues were due to the ongoing staffing problems. It is also understood that Manchester has suffered additional problem, including passengers arriving up to six hours before their flight in the hope of beating the queues - creating bottlenecks at already busy times. However there did not appear to be queues at Heathrow and Gatwick today. Passengers at the travel hubs, the UK's two biggest airports, faced delays over Easter - when millions jetted off for a four-day weekend. One holidaymaker flying out from Manchester Airport today branded the situation a 'sh*t show', while others at Birmingham Airport said they feared missing their flight. The son of an Anglican bishop, British DJ Tim 'Big Dawg' Westwood couldn't have been a more unlikely pioneering champion of hip-hop music. Middle-class and privately educated, he was critics noted dryly Straight Outta Lowestoft in Suffolk, where the only 'hood' he would have been familiar with growing up was the one on his anorak. But just as his late father, the former Bishop of Peterborough, was a regular on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day slot, so too did his son become a BBC radio fixture for almost 20 years as the 'voice of hip-hop'. That, though, was where the similarities ended. British DJ Tim 'Big Dawg' (pictured back, centre), reported to be worth around 10million, he can command 10,000 for a gig and has sold more than two million copies of his compilation albums with a YouTube channel boasting more than 1.3million subscribers, is being accused of secual misconduct. His father was an Anglican bishop While the Rt Rev Bill Westwood, who died in 1999 aged 73, sought to inspire listeners with spiritual sermons, Westwood junior would bring them instead the violent lyrics of gangsta culture. Today, the gulf between father and son seems even wider with accusations of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Three have accused the DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour, while four others allege they were groped by him at events. Westwood has strenuously denied all the allegations, with a spokesman saying they were completely false and denied in their entirety. Over the years Westwood's passion for hip-hop would see him transform from a gangly, nerdy, moustachioed pirate radio jock into an edgy, award-winning if somewhat controversial figure, dressed in urban streetwear as he promoted a new wave of stars. Adopting the patois of his idols, his radio shows were peppered with phrases such as 'the bomb's about to go off, baby' and 'kick it to the curb, man'. Though he has always insisted this persona was entirely genuine, Westwood's enthusiastic use of pseudo-Jamaican slang inspired Sacha Baron Cohen's spoof character, tracksuit-wearing Ali G. 'Once I found out he was actually the son of a bishop, it became even more absurd. He was so keen to be presented as a gangsta,' Baron Cohen said of his muse. The Right Reverend William John Westwood, Bishop of Edmonton, and regular Radio Four Broadcaster who died in 1999 aged 73, is pictured outside Church House. Today, the gulf between father and son seems even wider with accusations of sexual misconduct As for Westwood, now aged 64, he has always declared himself mystified by accusations that he was trying to be something he wasn't. 'I came from a good home,' he once said in an interview. 'I never reacted against it. I loved my dad. He taught me dignity and respect. I'm a white guy, I'm not aspiring to be anything other than who I am. As for his fans in the clubs, and the black rap stars he promoted, he insisted they didn't care about his background. 'Honestly, baby, I get love out there, pure and simple,' was his response. Certainly, despite the mockery, he was the one laughing all the way to the bank. Reported to be worth around 10million, he can command 10,000 for a gig and has sold more than two million copies of his compilation albums. His YouTube channel has more than 1.3million subscribers. His passion for the emerging US hip-hop scene of the early 80s began when Westwood worked as a bottle collector and roadie in clubs in London's West End, graduating to become an apprentice DJ. He specialised in jazz funk until he heard one of the first rap records, and was hooked. In 1982, he started DJing for a pirate radio station based in Peckham. From there, he moved to Kiss FM and then Capital before the BBC came calling in 1994, cementing his status as the country's most influential hip-hop player. He reportedly revelled in creating an anarchic atmosphere, hiring a personal chef and dotting the studio with champagne bottles. 'Newsreaders would have to come in and, like, read the news with people spluttering on blunts [cannabis cigars] all around them,' said Westwood. The clean-living son of a clergyman, he did not drink or take drugs himself. By the time Westwood was axed from the Radio 1 Rap Show in 2013, aged 55, more serious questions were being asked about his devotion to a music culture which increasingly glorified guns, gang violence and misogyny. He still bears the scar from a bullet wound to his arm after he was the victim of a 1999 drive-by shooting. He would later say the attempted assassination was carried out by south London gang members who were trying to extort money from him. The front door of his one-bedroom Fulham flat, where Westwood unmarried and childless has lived for more than 30 years, is said to be reinforced by a metal bar as a security measure, a legacy of that gangland attempt on his life. Veteran hip hop DJ and radio presenter Tim Westwood started DJing for a pirate radio station based in Peckham. From there, he moved to Kiss FM and then Capital before the BBC came calling in 1994, cementing his status as the country's most influential hip-hop player. He said he rejects all allegations of wrongdoing after he was accused of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour by several women Westwood has said of the attack: 'Before the shooting, the only people who knew me were the hip-hop crowd. But the truth is that was real gangster s***. It made me big.' In 2018 Westwood was heavily criticised for making money from YouTube adverts after a leaked Metropolitan Police file cited 32 of his videos as potentially inciting violence. The DJ then deleted clips and posts on social media linked to 'drill' the notorious genre blamed for glamorising violence. A spokesman for Westwood said at the time: 'We aim and hope to provide opportunities and a positive path... we do not support or condone gangs. Any violence is obviously a concern.' However a year later Westwood made headlines again when surrounded by members of a street gang he posted a new drill rap session featuring lyrics boasting about gangland murders. Then, he posed with a toy gun champagne holder hours after a gang member stabbed Siddique Kamara who'd previously appeared with the DJ in a clip on his channel to death in London in what was described as a feud between drill rivals. As for Westwood's private life, he insisted in 2017 that there was nothing to excite any interest beyond his love of hip-hop. Love, marriage or children would be, he maintained, a distraction from his real passion: music. That didn't mean, apparently, a monk-like existence, however. Fans, may recall a 2018 Instagram post in which, holding up a credit card, Westwood gave a glimpse of his past relationships. 'My sugar daddy days are over,' he declared. I'm tired of buying... nails, shoes, bags, rent. I need an independent woman.' Russia has said it will turn off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria this morning over its refusal to pay in roubles. Polands state gas company PGNiG said it was notified by Russian gas giant Gazprom that deliveries through the Yamal-Europe pipeline would stop today. It is the first such suspension since Vladimir Putin warned that unfriendly countries must pay for gas in roubles, which would help prop up Russias heavily sanctioned economy. It is also a sign that the Kremlin will weaponise energy supplies, despite its claims to the contrary. Polands climate minister Anna Moskwa said the country was prepared for the situation as it had worked for years to reduce reliance on Russian energy. Bulgaria said it was working with state gas companies to find alternative sources and no restrictions on domestic consumption would be imposed for now, even though the Balkan country of 6.5 million people meets more than 90% of its gas needs with Russian imports. The Gaz-System gas distribution station in Gustorzyn, central Poland. Russia has said it will turn off Polands gas supplies this morning over its refusal to pay in roubles A Belarusian worker on duty at a gas compressor station of the Yamal-Europe pipeline. Polands climate minister Anna Moskwa said the country was prepared for the situation as it had worked for years to reduce reliance on Russian energy Poland was expected to end its orders of Russian gas this year anyway. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes, Miss Moskwa tweeted. Poland has been receiving nine billion cubic metres of Russian gas a year, meeting more than half of its demand. But it has alternative supply sources, including a gas pipeline connection with Lithuania that is due to open on May 1. Another new pipeline, delivering gas from Norway, is due to come online in October, reaching full capacity by the end of the year. Futhermore, Warsaws underground gas storage tanks are said to be 80 per cent full and, with summer approaching, demand will be lower. However, a long-term suspension could lead to restrictions on manufacturers, some of Polands biggest gas consumers. The Commons Speaker was facing a backlash last night after The Mail on Sunday rejected his bid to summon its editor. Sir Lindsay Hoyle had announced he would call in the papers editor and political editor over claims that Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner had used her legs to distract Boris Johnson at Prime Ministers Questions. But his move sparked a freedom of speech row and warnings that a Speaker should never be involved in deciding what the Press was allowed to print. David Dillon, who edits The Mail on Sunday, rejected the demand for a meeting, saying journalists should not take instruction from officials of the House of Commons, however august they may be. A row erupted on Sunday after Conservative sources told The Mail on Sunday that Mrs Rayner (pictured) tried to put Mr Johnson off his stride at PMQs by crossing and uncrossing her legs Responding to Sir Lindsay, he wrote: The Mail on Sunday deplores sexism and misogyny in all its forms. However journalists must be free to report what they are told by MPs about conversations which take place in the House of Commons, however unpalatable some may find them. Former Labour minister Kate Hoey was among those to criticise the Speaker yesterday, saying his intervention risked creating a worrying precedent. She added: Who is going to decide what should be reported on or not? I am very critical of a lot of the media but I genuinely believe in a free Press. Former Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick is also understood to have told the Speaker that it was quite wrong to interfere in journalistic freedom and summon a newspaper to his office ... which is not the role of Parliament. Three more MPs came forward to privately back up The Mail on Sundays report that Mrs Rayner had been the original source of claims that she had uncrossed her legs in the Commons to distract the PM. In addition to the original Conservative MP who spoke to the newspaper, three other MPs alleged that it was Mrs Rayner herself who joked about her tactic during a night on the Commons terrace. The Mail on Sunday has spoken to four MPs, who all gave the same account of what she said, including the use of a startling slang colloquialism. In other developments yesterday: Audio from a political podcast back in January revealed that Mrs Rayner herself had joked about being compared to Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, while saying it was mortifying; In the recording of a light-hearted question and answer session with comedian Matt Forde, she volunteered the fact that her appearance at PMQs that month had drawn comparisons with the infamous Sharon Stone character in the 1992 thriller; In a statement last night, Sir Lindsay appeared to back away from suggestions he could ban The Mail on Sundays political editor from the Commons; Speaking to ITVs Lorraine show yesterday, Mrs Rayner addressed the row directly, saying she had been left crestfallen by the claims but she had been heartened by the public reaction; The 42-year-old donned a trouser suit for the interview, saying she did not want to be judged for what I wear. The row erupted on Sunday after Conservative sources told The Mail on Sunday that Mrs Rayner tried to put Mr Johnson off his stride at PMQs by crossing and uncrossing her legs. We must decline: MoS letter to Speaker I and The Mail on Sunday have the greatest possible respect both for your Office and for Parliament. Along with a free Press they are the foundation stones of British democracy. For that reason and on the understanding that the intention was to draw a line under matters yesterday I and The Mail on Sundays Political Editor Glen Owen accepted your invitation to meet to discuss last Sundays story about Angela Rayner. However, since then two things have happened. Firstly, and regrettably, in your statement in the House yesterday you said: I share the views expressed by a wide range of members, including I believe the Prime Minister, that yesterdays article was reporting unsubstantiated claims and misogynistic and offensive. This indicated that you had passed judgment on our article without being in possession of the facts surrounding how it came to be reported. Secondly, following investigations by the Conservative Party, three other MPs who were part of the group on the House of Commons terrace, one of them a woman, have come forward to corroborate the account of Angela Rayners remarks given to us by the MP who was the source of last Sundays story. The Mail on Sunday deplores sexism and misogyny in all its forms. However, journalists must be free to report what they are told by MPs about conversations which take place in the House of Commons, however unpalatable some may find them. Britain rightly prides itself on its free Press. That freedom will not last if journalists have to take instruction from officials of the House of Commons, however august they may be, on what they can report and not report. I am afraid I and Glen Owen must now decline your invitation. David Dillon, Editor, The Mail on Sunday Advertisement Mrs Rayner condemned the claims as desperate, perverted smears, while the PM tried to distance his party from the allegations, describing them as misogynistic tripe. He later threatened to unleash the terrors of the Earth if the anonymous Tory MP behind the original story was identified. On Monday Sir Lindsay intervened, saying the comments were demeaning and offensive to women in Parliament and could only deter women who might be considering standing for election to the detriment of us all. Earlier he had summoned Mr Dillon, and political editor Glen Owen, to a meeting to discuss this issue affecting our parliamentary community. But responding to the Speakers summons last night, Mr Dillon said that while The Mail on Sunday had the greatest possible respect both for your Office and for Parliament [which] along with a free Press they are the foundation stones of British democracy, the invitation would be declined. Miss Hoey branded the Speakers intervention ridiculous, while The Daily Telegraph described the reaction of MPs and the Speaker as extraordinary. In a leading article the newspaper asked: Are newspapers now expected to tailor their reportage to the whims of what MPs consider appropriate? Downing Street said on Monday that the decision to call in the senior journalists was a matter for the Speaker but said Sir Lindsay had talked about respecting media freedom, which is something the Prime Minister is very passionate about. A government source described Sir Lindsays decision as madness, adding: No good can come from MPs trying to get involved in deciding what does and doesnt get written in newspapers. In a statement last night Sir Lindsay appeared to back away from suggestions he could ban The Mail on Sundays political editor from the Commons in response to a request from Caroline Nokes, chairman of the women and equalities committee. Sir Lindsay insisted he was a staunch believer and protector of Press freedom, saying he had refused a request from a Labour MP last week to ban The Timess sketch writer for making allegedly sexist observations. He added: I firmly believe in the duty of reporters to cover Parliament, but I would also make a plea nothing more for the feelings of all MPs and their families to be considered, and the impact on their safety, when articles are written. I would just ask that we are all a little kinder. That is what I wanted to talk about at tomorrows meeting. Angela Rayners Sharon Stone laughter: Labour deputy leader joked on podcast in January about mortifying Basic Instinct comparisons By Jason Groves Political Editor for the Daily Mail Angela Rayner joked about being compared to Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct during a light-hearted podcast this year. Labours deputy leader is at the centre of a sexism storm after Tory sources told The Mail on Sunday that she tried to put the Prime Minister off his stride by crossing and uncrossing her legs when sitting opposite him in the Commons. Mrs Rayner has condemned the claims as desperate, perverted smears. The Prime Minister has led Tory criticism, describing the suggestion as misogynistic tripe. Angela Rayner (right) joked about being compared to Sharon Stone on a podcast with Matt Forde (left) this year The Mail has edited the extract to remove an offensive word Night she joshed on stage with comic over THAT movie moment Angela Rayner (AR): ... there is a tint of misogyny in it. Ive gotta say it, you know I get quizzed on... Every time I do a PMQs [Prime Ministers Questions] somebody has an opinion on what I wear. Did you see the meme about Sharon Stone like I was doing it at PMQs? I was mortified [laughs] Matt Forde (MF): You what? AR: Like they did this whole like meme about me apparently doing the whole, you know whole, the old... [she and audience laugh] I was like when did I do that? [laughs] MF: Ive not seen that at all. AR: Did you not see like the Fatal Attraction thing? When she did the whole g*****r thing? MF: Ive seen the film but I wasnt aware... AR: I wasnt aware I did it but apparently like there was this whole meme about how my dress was like a bit revealing but I didnt think it was think it was. It was a perfectly suitable Karen Millen in the sale by the way [laughs] MF: But what was the theory? That you were doing that to distract Boris? AR: I dont... [she and audience laugh]. It dont take much does it? I dont need to do that. [laughs] MF: Its quite interesting watching you go up against him because there seems to be, and I know youre ideologically opposed, Im sure you have some very strong opinions on what hes been getting up to. Oddly though, in Parliament these rivalries get thrown together where theres clearly a bit of mutual respect. Like I think he has a level of respect for you like he seems to enjoy it when you are at the dispatch box. AR: Yeah, I think he has got a bit of a romance going on there somehow hasnt he, cus he... Do you know what I think it is, its like cus Michael Gove kinda did this as well. I think they try and, err, if you cant beat them, smooch them. Do you know what I mean? I think theres a little bit of that going on. Its a bit like ohh, you know its like, you cant beat a puppy. Do you know what I mean? You cant beat a seal. So like working class girl from council estate - if I start attacking her Ill look really crap as a posh guy from a posh school so Ill just try and compliment them in a sort of backhand way. I think thats how they try and sort of deal with me. Because they dont really know how to deal with me. Thats the thing. Advertisement Speaking at a comedy event in January, Mrs Rayner said she was mortified by the comparison with Miss Stones infamous character in the 1992 thriller but appeared to see the funny side. In a light-hearted question and answer session with comedian Matt Forde she volunteered the fact that her appearance at Prime Ministers Questions that month had drawn comparisons with Miss Stone, joking that it had sparked an internet meme of her crossing and uncrossing her legs. Speaking about her treatment as a senior woman in politics, she told the audience at Londons Duchess Theatre: There is a tint of misogyny in it. Every time I do a PMQs somebody has an opinion on what I wear. Did you see the meme on Sharon Stone like I was doing it at PMQs? I was mortified. In the audio from the recording of Mr Fordes Political Party podcast she can be heard erupting with laughter as she added: They did this whole meme about me doing the whole, you know the old ... Mrs Rayner said when she saw the meme I was like when did I do that? She then made a reference to the erotic thriller Fatal Attraction, mistaking it for Basic Instinct. She added: I wasnt aware I did it but apparently there was this whole meme about how my dress was a bit revealing, but I didnt think it was. Mr Forde asked if the suggestion was she was trying to distract the Prime Minister. Mrs Rayner laughed and replied: It dont take much does it? I dont need to do that. She also laughed at suggestions that the PM flirted with her when they clashed at the dispatch box, saying that Mr Johnson and other male ministers dont know how to deal with a working class woman. She told Mr Forde: Yeah, I think he has got a bit of a romance going on there somehow. Michael Gove did the same and think they have this thing If you cant beat them, smooch them. Do you know what I mean? You cant beat a puppy. You cant beat a seal. Working class girl from council estate, If I start attacking her Ill look really c**p as someone from a posh school so Ill just sort of compliment them in a backhanded way. I think thats how they try and deal with me. Because they dont know how to deal with me. In an interview with ITVs Lorraine show yesterday, Mrs Rayner donned a trouser suit, saying that she did not want to be judged for what I wear. The 42-year-old politician said she had been crestfallen at the claim she tried to distract the PM with her legs, saying she had had to prepare her children for what would be written about her. But she said she had been heartened by the public reaction. All I worry about when Im at the despatch box is doing a good job and being able to do justice to my constituents and the work Im doing, so I was just really crestfallen that somebody had said that to a paper and a paper was reporting that, she said. It wasnt just about me as a woman, saying I was using the fact Im a woman against the Prime Minister. A Labour source last night denied Mrs Rayner had not been offended by the comparison with Stones Basic Instinct scene when she spoke out about it in January. The source said: Angela clearly said how deeply hurt she felt at the misogynistic comments aimed towards her, and has spoken passionately about the sexism she has faced and her fear that it could discourage women who want to enter politics. Within seconds of two Russian cruise missiles slamming into his Odesa apartment block on Saturday, Andriy Bespalovs third-floor flat was engulfed in a fireball. With the flames burning the clothes off his back, he fled to the balcony to escape the inferno and leapt on to a neighbours balcony on the floor below. Despite his brush with death, the father of two, who now lies in an Odesa hospital ward with third-degree burns, considers himself lucky. For in the apartment above him on the fourth floor, Valeria Glodan, her three-month-old baby Kira and mother Lyudmila Yavkina were killed instantly. The Mail told the heart-breaking story of their tragic end on Monday. Now we can reveal what happened to the family on the floor below. To Andriy, a 43-year-old sailor, and his wife of two decades, Lyudmila, the apartment was their pride and joy, the home in which they had brought up their two boys, Pavel and Igor, to become fine teenagers. It is now nothing more than a scorched concrete void. Destruction: What is left of Lyudmila Yavkinas fourth-floor apartment. The apartment belonged to the mother-in-law of Yuri Glodan, and is where his wife, Valeria, three-month-old daughter Kira and mother in law, Lyudmila, were killed when a Russian missile hit their residential apartment building in Odesa, Ukraine. Pictured: The bedroom Dressed in a light blue and grey tracksuit, Lyudmila, a professional fitness instructor, rummages through a cupboard to see if anything has been left unscathed. Gone are the sofas from where they would watch TV together, and the kitchen where they planned to prepare their Easter Sunday meal is covered in a thick layer of ash. I have no plans for now, apart from going to stay with my mother, says 40-year-old Lyudmila. The most important thing is that my husband will be OK. I will suffer this pain later, not now. All that survived in her flat were some clothes, shoes and her cat Silver, who was found in a cupboard two days after the attack. He has just eight lives now, she observes poignantly. Much like the newly-widowed Yuri Glodan, who survived the blast that killed wife Valeria and his baby daughter because he had stepped out to go to the supermarket at the crucial moment, Lyudmila only managed to cheat death on that fateful day after deciding to run Igor, 13, to a swimming training camp on the other side of Odesa. Valeria was a new mother, her baby daughter Kira was just three month old. Russia took away their lives when its rocket hit a residential building in Odesa As she speaks, a team of rescue workers sweep away the debris of once-prized household possessions through the large hole in the side of the 16-floor block created by the impact of the missiles. Every few minutes, they shout warnings to the residents gathered below before throwing out blown-off doors, washing machines, or pieces of shattered glass. A group of ten shattered workers taking a break for lunch can only sit and watch in stunned disbelief from the front courtyard. The force of the blast left the block a crumbling mess with twisted steel rods sticking out from beneath the rubble. The ceiling between the flats on the third and fourth floors was destroyed in the explosion and from Lyudmila Bespalovas charred front room, you can peer into the flat above where three generations of Yuris family died. Come with us. This is where we found them, says one Ukrainian rescue worker, dressed in orange overalls, in perfect English. A Russian missile strike hit the apartment building in a residential area of the Black Sea city of Odesa Neighbour Oksana Boskaovsky describes Yuris mother-in-law Lyudmila Yavkina as the typical doting grandmother, a keen cook and baker who idolised Yuris three-month-old daughter. For her, Valeria and Kira were her reasons for living, she says. She loved them more than life itself. All three were innocent civilians looking to put aside the horrors of war for a few days as they celebrated Easter. When the air raid sirens blared across Odesa just before 2pm on Saturday, they ran to the bathroom in the mistaken belief that they would be safe there. But the walls of the bathroom were instantly turned to rubble by the explosion, crushing Lyudmila, Valeria, and tiny Kira to death. Wreckage: Lyudmila Bespalova in her charred apartment When a devastated Yuri returned to the flat after his trip to the shops, he found the smashed bodies of his beloved wife and daughter strewn across the floor. Yesterday mementoes of their final moments together still lay scattered amid the debris that covered the flats tiled floors. A box of Kyiv Easter chocolates, a pair of Valerias leather shoes, and a womans blue and pink nightgown lay covered in dust. In the kitchen, a fridge door had been blown ajar to reveal the collection of red and white wines that the Glodans had planned to share over dinner on Sunday. As two more rescue workers sift through the scene of destruction, the curtains from Lyudmilas front room flutter in the wind. Her bedroom, where Yuri and Valeria had spent the previous night with baby Kira sleeping safely beside them in a small carry cot, has been completely upended. Her books and parts of the ceiling are now strewn across the floor. The three of them are set to be buried later today and they were not the only victims, of course. Mila and Bogdan Chernetskaya who were expecting their first baby, were also killed in the attack Two of Lyudmila Yavkinas fourth floor neighbours, athlete Mila Chernetskaya and her husband Bogdan, could only be identified as the latest victims of Putins barbaric attack on Odesas civilian population as late as yesterday. They had only just moved to the apartment block and, adding to the heartbreak, Mila was pregnant their first child. A week before his death, Bogdan had told his sister that he and his wife were expecting a baby. My dear and sweet girl. What a wonderful, bright, and kind family you were. You were expecting a baby and life was just beginning, Milas friend Veronika Kas wrote on social media. Only the previous day, the bodies of another young couple with everything to live for had been recovered two days after the missiles hit. Mila, 28, and her 21-year-old husband had only been married since August last year. Bogdans sister Yana wrote on Instagram: But I have so many questions. Why did this happen on this particular day? I really hope I have kids, two of them. I will name them Mila and Bogdan.' Advertisement Dozens of civilians including the elderly and children were last night feared trapped in rubble following more intense bombing in the besieged city of Mariupol. Images of the stricken steelworks that has held out against the Russian advance emerged as Ukraine was pummelled on the 61st day of war. Moscow claimed it had struck 90 military targets across the country yesterday, killing at least 500 soldiers. Attacks were also reported in Zaporizhzhia, a south-eastern city to which Mariupol residents had been told to flee, as well as in the eastern region of Donetsk. Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. Dozens of civilians including the elderly and children were last night feared trapped in rubble following more intense bombing in the besieged city of Mariupol Civilians gather on Orthodox Easter Sunday at the Azovstal steel plant where Ukrainian soldiers are holding out and civilians sheltering An elderly woman trembling with fear is crudely bandaged as she is tended to by soldiers in the sorawling Azovstal steel works Last week, Vladimir Putin declared victory over Mariupol and appeared to call off the assault of the steelworks, all but condemning resistance fighters to starvation by instructing troops to block the site so 'even a fly cannot get through' At least three cities were also targeted in the Luhansk area. Plumes of black smoke filled the air in Mariupol after 35 airstrikes in just 24 hours. Many are now feared trapped in the labyrinthine underground tunnels which have acted as makeshift bunkers. Distressing footage released yesterday by the Azov Battalion, an elite unit which has vowed to fight 'until the last bullet', showed a crudely bandaged elderly woman trembling with fear as she was tended to by soldiers. In a statement released online, the soldiers said: 'The Azovstal plant, which houses the defenders of Mariupol, continues to be struck by enemy fire. 'In the past 24 hours, 35 airstrikes were carried out, during which one of the stores caught fire. 'Most importantly, they affected civilians who are now trapped. Soldiers of the Azov Battalion make every effort to free civilians from the rubble.' Last week, Vladimir Putin declared victory over Mariupol and appeared to call off the assault of the steelworks, all but condemning resistance fighters to starvation by instructing troops to block the site so 'even a fly cannot get through'. However Western observers believe he was solely attempting to present some sort of victory to the Russian people in a war where his troops have toiled and been pushed back. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, yesterday disregarded Russia's claims of victory, saying that the sprawling Azovstal site makes up one fifth of Mariupol, so the city cannot be said to have been seized without it. 'Fake country, fake victories,' he added. A view of the massive Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant which purports to take up 20% of the space of Mariupol This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol on Sunday, April 24, 2022. The stricken steelworks have held out against the Russian advance for 61 days An aerial view showing damaged buildings, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, in Mariupol. Last week, Vladimir Putin declared victory over Mariupol and appeared to call off the assault of the steelworks A pillar of smoke rises from behind a residential building after Russian missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine One person died after two missiles hit a factory in Zaporizhzhia, the first such attack in the area. In Luhansk, governor Serhiy Haidai said Russians had shelled civilians 17 times over the last 24 hours. Fierce resistance in the Donbas region saw the Ukrainian army destroy four Russian tanks, 13 armoured vehicles and two tankers, authorities said. In Kreminna, which the British MoD confirmed had fallen to the Russians yesterday, a number of Russians were reportedly killed in a 'gas explosion' at a council building. It is believed the blast was in fact the result of a resistance attack after occupying forces intended to announce the new regime in the city. There were reports that two villages in Russia's Belgorod region were attacked by Ukrainian troops, with two hurt, but this was not confirmed by Kyiv. The chief suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann 'has not provided German police with an alibi', a German prosecutor has said. Christian Brueckner, 44, was officially designated as a suspect, or 'arguido' by Portuguese authorities on Friday, in connection with the three-year-old British girl's disappearance on May 3, 2007, at a resort on the Algarve. Brueckner, who is already behind bars in his native Germany for an array of grisly crimes, reportedly exercised his right to remain silent when formally questioned by German police about the events of that night. However, Brueckner has allegedly told British investigator Mark Williams-Thomas in a new documentary about Madeleine's disappearance that he can prove he was elsewhere the night the toddler was kidnapped. But German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told The Sun: 'We're not aware of any alibi at all. 'He has not given any information so far not even via his defence attorney.' The Madeleine McCann: Prime Suspect documentary, created by US network AMC Crime, is due to air on Tuesday, May 3 - the fifteenth anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. Christian Brueckner, 44, the chief suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann 'has not provided German police with an alibi', a German prosecutor has said Madeleine McCann vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007 where she was on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry and siblings Madeleine vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007 where she was on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry and siblings. Brueckner, who has been linked to four other child murders across Europe since 1996, was sensationally named by German prosecutors as the man 'responsible' for Madeleine's kidnap and murder in June 2020. On Thursday, the child sex offender was handed a document in prison informing him he was being made an 'arguido' by Portuguese prosecutors. Two days ago, one of Brueckner's former lovers, 34-year-old Anastasia Meckesy, declared the sex offender had confessed to her in 2013 that he knew what happened to Maddie almost 15 years ago. 'He said that he ''knows what happened to little Maddie from England'',' Meckesy told The Sun on Sunday. She added: 'Christian is a human pig. That's how you should see him today. Today I know what he's accused of.' Maddie's parents Gerry and Kate McCann said they welcomed 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. '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.' On May 3, 2007, Maddie was staying with her family at the Ocean Club resort in the Portuguese Algarve's Praia da Luz, a few miles from a ramshackle property the German sex offender was renting at the time. The three-year-old 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. Madeleine's 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. Brueckner first arrived on the Algarve in 1995, as an 18-year-old backpacker fresh out of prison, and worked in catering jobs in the seaside resorts of Lagos and Praia da Luz. But he soon became involved in a criminal syndicate that trafficked drugs, and appears to have begun carrying out burglaries and other thefts in the tourist region. Maddie's parents Gerry and Kate McCann said they welcomed the news that a German man has been declared 'an arguido in relation to the disappearance of our beloved daughter, Madeleine 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, charged and jailed for seven years, a prison term he is currently serving. Only once Brueckner was charged with that rape 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. However, the new documentary is expected to say that despite his horrendous record, Brueckner has several alibis for his whereabouts on the night Maddie was snatched. Brueckner's 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. On May 3, 2007 Kate and Gerry McCann went to a small tapas bar metres away from their apartment to dine with friends. But when Kate returned to do a routine check on their children, she found that Madeleine had disappeared 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 suspicions that Brueckner was involved in Maddie's disappearance mounted in 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 which had been bought by Brueckner six years earlier. They found numerous items of children's 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. Shortly after Madeleine vanished in 2007, with the case increasingly the subject of frenzied media attention, Brueckner suddenly left Portugal. Local police 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 policemen's cigarettes later found to be one of the contaminants. In 1957, the Sunday Express editor was summoned to Parliament and reprimanded for publishing an article about MPs dodging petrol rationing in the wake of Suez. The bombshell scoop was true, and Sir John Junor became the last non-politician so rebuked. Today, there has been a chilling echo of that threat to Press freedom. The trigger? A story in our sister newspaper, The Mail on Sunday. It reported a Tory MP's claims that Angela Rayner had admitted using her legs to distract Boris Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions. A Tory MP claimed that Angela Rayner had admitted using her legs to distract Boris Johnson during PMQs Cue fury. Mrs Rayner was apoplectic with rage. There was a storm of criticism on social media. And the Commons Speaker, branding the story 'misogynistic and offensive', furiously vowed to haul in the paper's editor for an explanation. Some politicians even called for the journalist who wrote the story to be stripped of his Commons pass. Isn't this simply shooting the messenger? We have nothing but respect for the Speaker's esteemed office but does not his intemperate language reveal he has already passed judgment on the article without possessing all the facts? As we reveal today, three other MPs including one woman have corroborated the account of Mrs Rayner's remarks. Moreover, in a podcast in January, she herself raised claims that she had copied Sharon Stone to fluster the PM and, while saying she was left mortified, she also joked about it in the most vulgar vernacular. The Mail abhors sexism and misogyny in all its forms. And many will despair that so much energy and attention is focused on what they consider a trivial matter against the backdrop of war in Europe. Yet for democracy to function effectively, journalists must be free to report what they are told by MPs about conversations and events in Westminster however unsavoury. Through his crude attempt at censorship, the Speaker has plumbed troubling new depths. When newspapers fear having their wings clipped by Parliament, just because some might find stories unpalatable, it is a very slippery slope indeed. A Korean delegation sent by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to Japan had a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Tuesday, during which it appears to have delivered a personal letter from the incoming president. The meeting was held at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, two days after the seven-member team, led by Rep. Chung Jin-suk of Yoon's conservative People Power Party, arrived for "policy consultations" with Japanese officials ahead of the launch of the new administration May 10. Chung earlier told reporters that he was carrying Yoon's letter for Kishida on relations between the neighboring countries. Attention is being paid to the possibility of the prime minister attending Yoon's inauguration ceremony in Seoul. (Yonhap) It's a question that has baffled scientists for centuries where did the building blocks of life on Earth come from? Now, scientists have produced new evidence to back up the long-standing theory that they came from meteorites. The team, from Hokkaido University in Japan, discovered the compounds needed to form DNA and RNA on three separate meteorites that crashed to Earth in 1950, 1969 and 2000. '[The compounds'] delivery to Earth by meteorites may have subsequently played a role in the emergence of genetic functions for early life,' the researchers said. The team, from Hokkaido University in Japan, discovered the compounds needed to form DNA on three separate meteorites that crashed to Earth in 1950, 1969 and 2000. The Tagish Lake meteorite fell to British Columbia in 2000 For DNA and RNA to form, two types of chemical building blocks or nucleobases are needed Types of space rock An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt. A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system. A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up. This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere. If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite. Advertisement For DNA and RNA to form, two types of chemical building blocks or nucleobases are needed. These are the pyrimidines, which include cytosine, uracil and thymine, and the purines, including guanine and adenine. While previous studies have detected purines and uracil in meteorites, until now, cytosine and thymine were yet to be found. In their new study, the team analysed three space rocks the Murchison, Murray and Tagish Lake meteorites. The Murchison meteorite is a space rock that fell in Australia in 1969, while the Murray meteorite was found in Kentucky in 1950. The Tagish Lake meteorite fell to Earth most recently, arriving in British Columbia in 2000. The team's analysis revealed that the meteorites contained compounds that have previously been detected in space rocks, including guanine, adenine and uracil. However, they were also found to contain cytosine and thymine, at concentration levels of parts per billion. 'These compounds are present at concentrations similar to those predicted by experiments replicating conditions which existed prior to the formation of the solar system,' the researchers said. In their new study, the team analysed three space rocks the Murchison, Murray and Tagish Lake meteorites. Pictured: the Murchison meteorite, which fell in Australia in 1969 The team's analysis revealed that the meteorites contained compounds that have previously been detected in space rocks, including guanine, adenine and uracil. Pictured: the Murray meteorite, found in Kentucky in 1950 The findings suggest that the chemical building blocks of DNA may have been partly generated by photochemical reactions in the interstellar media, according to the researchers. They may have then been incorporated into asteroids as the solar system formed, they added. While many prominent scientists believe that the building blocks of life on Earth came from meteorites, several other theories are also in circulation. A 2008 study led by the University of California, San Diego, suggested that volcanoes may have provided the sparks of first life. In that same year, researchers from the University of Dusseldorf claimed that life may have begun at submarine hydrothermal vents. Other popular theories include life being sparked by lightning, or the first molecules of life meeting on clay. However, NASA's research suggests that life was likely brought to our planet from somewhere else in space. 'If life formed so quickly on Earth and there was little in the way of water and carbon-based molecules on the Earth's surface, then how were these building blocks of life delivered to the Earth's surface so quickly?' NASA said. 'The answer may involve the collision of comets and asteroids with the Earth, since these objects contain abundant supplies of both water and carbon-based molecules.' SpaceX will take an international crew of astronauts to the ISS tomorrow, in a Crew Dragon capsule named 'freedom' after the first American in space, Alan Shepard. Known as the Crew-4 mission, it will carry NASA's Kjell N. Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA's Samantha Cristoforetti to the ISS from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 3:52 a.m. EDT. The Expedition 67 astronauts named the spacecraft in honor of Alan Shepard, the first American in space - named for his spacecraft Freedom 7, flying on May 5, 1961. Crew-4 was originally due to launch last weekend, but had been delayed due to the Ax-1 commercial crew mission, which couldn't depart the ISS due to bad weather in the ocean where it was due to splashdown. Both missions were operated by SpaceX. The crew are scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station at 8:15pm EDT on Wednesday, with the hatch set to open at 9:45pm, allowing them on board. The next SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to take NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts to the ISS has been named Freedom by the crew. From left to right: Jessica Watkins, Robert Hines, Kjell Lindgren and Samantha Cristoforeti Known as the Crew-4 mission, it will carry NASA's Kjell N. Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA's Samantha Cristoforetti to the ISS from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 3:52 a.m. EDT SpaceX Crew Dragon 'Freedom' is the company's fourth to be named by its crew, with the others given the titles Endeavour, Resilience, and Endurance, in order of launch. 'FREEDOM!! Crew-4 will fly to the International Space Station in a new Dragon capsule named 'Freedom,' said mission commander Lindgren when it was announced. 'The name celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit.' This will be the fifth crewed spaceflight SpaceX has operated for NASA - after test flight Demo-2 and the three operational missions to the ISS in a Crew Dragon. Overall, this will be the seventh Crew Dragon flight, with one taking the fully private Inspiration4 crew into orbit for just short of three days last year, and the other taking the Axiom Space Ax-1 commercial crew to the ISS earlier this month. Ax-1 had to return to Earth before Crew-4 could launch, as its spacecraft was occupying the same docking port on the ISS that was needed for Freedom. From left to right: Jessica Watkins, Robert Hines, Kjell Lindgren and Samantha Cristoforetti It finally splashed down on Monday, after weather cleared up enough for the ocean recovery to be carried out safely. NASA announced the Crew-4 launch for Wednesday. This allowed for a few days of data analysis and preparation work, with the crew on board expected to spend at least six months on the orbital laboratory. 'Through the Commercial Crew Program, NASA and SpaceX have restored a national capability and we honor the ingenuity and hard work of those involved,' said Lindgren. 'Alan Shepard flew on Freedom 7 at the dawn of human spaceflight. We are honored to bring Freedom to a new generation!' Alan Shepard was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, and was the first American in space - launching on May 5, 1961. 'Alan Shepard flew on Freedom 7 at the dawn of human spaceflight. We are honored to bring Freedom to a new generation!' said Lindgren He selected Freedom as his spacecraft name in light of the Cold War space race between the US and Soviet Union. Crew Dragon Freedom is the second to draw inspiration from NASA's past for a title, with the first given to the Demo-2 capsule - called Endeavour after the Shuttle. 'We both had our first flights on shuttle Endeavour, and it just meant so much to us to carry on that name. So that is what we decided to go with,' said Doug Hurley, who travelled to space with Demo-2 in May 2020. Crew Dragon 'Freedom' was assembled at the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in March. Advertisement Get ready to be lifted to the top of the world. Author and long-distance adventurer Cam Honan, an Australian who has been described as the 'most travelled hiker on earth', has penned a book about the world's loftiest mountain region - and perusing its pages is a spellbinding experience. Wanderlust Himalaya, recently published by Gestalten, is lavishly illustrated with incredible pictures of dizzying peaks - and is packed with expert guidance on the best hikes that weave around them, crossing lush meadows, epic glaciers and breathtaking rivers. Honan, who has spent over a year hiking in the Himalayas, told MailOnline Travel: 'Common mistakes hikers make are poor campsite selection, overestimating their fitness and skill levels, and processing potentially dangerous scenarios subjectively rather than objectively. 'I always bring an appropriately rated sleeping bag, a shelter that holds up well in a storm, backpacking staples such as dried fruit and nuts, pasta, cereal, and chocolate - and the ability to maintain my sense of humour in crappy situations.' Scroll down to see some of the book's breathtaking photos, which show the incredible diversity of the Himalayan landscape. The sprinkling of tents in the breathtaking image above is the basecamp in Pakistan for the world's second-highest mountain - K2 (the pyramid-shaped peak in the background). Honan notes that the mountain, which is in the Karakoram Range and reaches a height of 8,611m (28,251ft), 'has long been regarded as one of the toughest and most dangerous to climb'. Reaching the basecamp, which sits at an elevation of 5,150m (16,896ft), is far less challenging and, Honan explains, 'is the turnaround point for one of the world's classic treks - an unforgettable journey through a primordial landscape of serrated peaks, towering cliffs and formidable glaciers'. The 147km (91-mile) route cannot be tackled independently though, he warns, as the terrain is 'demanding'. He adds: 'It's a trip best suited to fit and experienced hikers' This mesmerising image was taken on Nepal's Manaslu Circuit, which Honan reveals is a multi-week hike around Manaslu, which at 8,163m (26,782ft), is the world's eighth-highest mountain. He says: 'Physically challenging and culturally fascinating, it has equally impressive scenery as its better-known peers in the Annapurna and Everest regions, but with only a fraction of the crowds and tourist infrastructure' Two hikers tackle the 23.6-mile (38km) Advanced Everest Base Camp trek in Tibet, which is the world's highest-altitude trek without the need for specialist equipment. It tops out, Honan explains, at 6,415m (21,047ft) and begins and ends at Everest's northern base camp (5,150m/16,896ft). The author goes on to explain that while the popular route to Nepal's Everest Base Camp 'offers occasional glimpses of the world's highest mountain, the best views of Everest available to hikers are to be found on its Tibetan side' This stunning image shows horses being led along the route of the Phugtal Monastery Trek in India, which takes hikers to the 'picturesque' Phugtal Monastery, 3,902m (12,803ft) up in Zanskar, which Honan describes as 'the hidden kingdom of the Indian Himalaya'. He explains: 'Surrounded by impassable mountains and snowed in for more than six months a year, for centuries it was bypassed by all of the major trade routes across Asia. This geographic isolation, combined with its Tibetan roots, led Zanskar to become a haven of Buddhist culture. Phugtal was founded in the 15th century and is only accessible on foot. All supplies are brought in by horses, donkeys, or locals residents with strong backs and sturdy legs' Pictured above is the wide expanse of the Zanskar Valley in India, which is only accessible between June and October This jaw-dropping image shows Nanga Parbat in Pakistan looming over the tranquil Fairy Meadows National Park, which hikers heading to the base camp for the mountain pass through. 'It makes for a perfect place to stay at the end of day one' of the two-to-three-day hike, says Honan, describing it as an area of 'lush green pastures and meandering streams'. Nanga Parbat, Honan reveals, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth at 8,126m (26,660ft) in height and 'from a hiking perspective, [its] base camp is the easiest to access of all the Himalaya's highest summits', although reaching it does involve a drive, preceding Fairy Meadows, in a four-by-four up 'what is universally rated as one of the world's most dangerous roads'. Summiting the mountain itself is also dangerous. In fact, Honan notes, it 'has earned the nickname "killer mountain" for the high number of fatalities that have occurred on its slopes' A spellbinding image of the Sherpa village of Phortse in Nepal, with the 6,812m- (22,349ft) tall Ama Dablam mountain looming in the background. This area is traversed by hikers on the Three Passes Trek, which encompasses a complete circuit of the Everest region, the book reveals Pictured here is a melt pond on the 49km- (30-mile) long Hispar Glacier, as seen on the Snow Lake trek in Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. The trek, reveals Honan, measures 117km (72.7 miles) and traverses Hispar Glacier and the adjoining Biafo Glacier (67km/41.6 miles), which together form the world's longest glacial system outside the polar regions. Honan explains that 'after five days traversing Biafo Glacier... hikers will arrive at the edge of the legendary Snow Lake (4,877m/16,001ft)' which is 'surrounded by a jaw-dropping amphitheatre of soaring rock towers'. The author adds that 'it is a place so isolated that renowned mountaineer Eric Shipton described it in 1937 as "the last blank on the map"'. He also points out that Snow Lake is a misnomer - it's actually a glacial basin 16km (10 miles) in width A group of hikers gaze over Mustang, with the 8,000m (26,000ft) Annapurna mountains seen looming in the background. Mustang, Honan explains, was an enclave of Tibetan culture in the Annapurna region of Nepal that was closed to foreigners until 1992 - and is the most arid district in the country. The author says that there are 'myriad hiking possibilities' in Mustang, with the premier trek 'arguably a circuit around its Upper Region, beginning and ending in the village of Kagbeni' A female trekker on a spectacular cliff-hugging section of trail on the 7km-long (4.3-mile) Ultar Meadow Trek in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, which Honan says is suitable for all experience levels. Travellers to the Himalayas are bound to meet fascinating characters along the way, Honan reveals - 'curious Buddhist monks, hospitable villagers, and harder-than-nails porters all come to mind' Established in the 14th century, Baltit Fort, in the Pakistani city of Karimabad at the foot of the Ultar Glacier, offers 'outstanding views' and is declared a 'must-visit'. Honan describes it as 'one of the most photogenic buildings in Central Asia' They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Equally, you shouldn't judge a dessert by the fact that it looks like pieces of wall plaster, a point underscored by Opuses restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. Despite its dull and industrial appearance, the restaurants 9 (1,500 Japanese yen) Gray pudding has become its most popular dessert, simultaneously creating a stir on social media. The restaurant is revelling in this newfound publicity and told MailOnline Travel that it totally agrees and loves [the] comments about the sweet treat resembling DIY detritus. Above is 'Gray' - the signature dessert at Opuses restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, which looks like wall plaster 'It looks like concrete [but] is actually very delicious,' remarked Instagram user 'tatine0319' after their visit. Diner 're_ka_a' compared the dessert to a 'piece of cement', while another patron, '_k.a.n.a.s.u.g.a.r', likened it to 'wallpaper ice cream'. And when mimimimimitsu32 shared a picture of her Gray dessert on Twitter, several users jokingly replied with pictures of peeling wall plaster. Whats inside it? First, theres a layer of pistachio mousse, dolloped with scoops of berry ice cream. The piece de la resistance is the shards of black sesame meringue that are placed atop the dish. Opuses told MailOnline Travel that it totally agrees and loves [the] comments about the sweet treat resembling broken wall plaster The dish is made up of pistachio mousse and berry ice cream topped with shards of black sesame meringue The restaurant, which is part of The Royal Park Canvas - Ginza 8 hotel, recommends savouring the unusual dessert with a glass of Champagne. According to Opuses, the unlikely dish melts in the mouth. You cant whip up the dessert at home it's actually quite technical and time-consuming to create, Opuses reveals. Despite its dull and industrial appearance, the 9 (1,500 Japanese yen) dish has become Opuses' most popular dessert Luckily for those hoping to try it, 'Gray' is a set menu item and has even been named as the French-fusion restaurant's signature dessert. Its name was inspired by the restaurants concept colour grey. The dessert appears on the restaurants afternoon tea menu, alongside more traditional bakes such as carrot and cheese tart and caramel mousse salt meringue. The restaurant is housed inside The Royal Park Canvas - Ginza 8 hotel in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, pictured While the 'Gray' dessert has attracted a fresh new crowd to Opuses' tables, the restaurant was already a destination for foodies, as chef Yusuke Ikui - head chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant 'Ode' in Tokyo - oversees its menus. The restaurant is also popular for its rooftop terrace, which offers views across the bright lights of the Ginza shopping district. For more information visit www.canvas-ginza8.jp/en/restaurant. The delightful Melbourne home owned by Logie-nominated comedian and TV personality Shane Bourne sold for between $2.3million and $2.4million last week. The three-bedroom cottage in Albert Park sold to a 'couple who are downsizing from the eastern suburbs,' Greg Hocking of Jellis Craig Port Phillip told realestate.com.au. Located close to the beach, Port Melbourne and Albert Park Village, the Victorian single-frontage house underwent a complete renovation a decade ago. Going, going, gone! The delightful Melbourne home owned by comedian and TV personality Shane Bourne sold for between $2.3million and $2.4million last week The property, which started off as a two-bedroom weatherboard, was transformed by architects into an airy, light-filled and cosy two-level modern home. Keeping the modest frontage and ornamental archway to maintain the original character, the new design now boasts an impressive master bedroom. There is also a large bathroom with double vanity and oversized tub on the ground floor, plus a 'European' laundry and linen closet. Claim to fame: The Logie-nominated actor (pictured) is best known for appearing on Thank God You're Here and Hey Hey It's Saturday Estimates: The three-bedroom cottage in Albert Park sold to a 'couple who are downsizing from the eastern suburbs,' estate agent Greg Hocking said. (Pictured: the spacious living area) Modern: The stairs leading to the second level are seen on the left, next to the modern kitchen There is a second bathroom upstairs, next to a rear main bedroom that comes with a private balcony. A skylight was installed on the upper level, and glass doors replaced the old walls downstairs. Features include a large living area and courtyard, as well as a kitchen fitted with timber benchtops and upscale appliances. Well designed: The home's rooftop terrace (pictured) is perfect for entertaining Dining splendour: The downstairs outdoor patio and living area at the rear is seen here An upstairs terrace, perfect for entertaining, offers grand views of Melbourne and the leafy surrounds. Bourne, 72, a veteran of Australian media for more than 40 years, is best known for appearing on Thank God You're Here and Hey Hey It's Saturday. He replaced Daniel MacPherson as co-host of Dancing with the Stars in 2015. Lisa Wilkinson has faced plenty of scrutiny since the release of her memoir, It Wasn't Meant to Be Like This, in November last year. And The Sunday Project host now reportedly wants 'payback' on the press for fact-checking her tell-all book, reports The Australian. Wilkinson, 62, will address criticism of her memoir - including allegations she omitted key details about her pay dispute with former employer Channel Nine - during her national book tour, which is set to kick off in the coming weeks. Revenge: The Sunday Project host Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) reportedly wants 'payback' on the press for fact-checking her tell-all memoir, It Wasn't Meant to Be Like This Wilkinson will also set the record straight on 'some of the stories behind the headlines you might have read about in recent months' when she addresses a series of high-profile breakfasts for the women's networking group Business Chicks. In her book, she made a series of claims about her former Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic and how she left Nine over a reported gender pay gap dispute. She claimed the pay disparity between her and Stefanovic when they hosted the breakfast show was once 'so off the charts that no-one would have believed it'. Response: Wilkinson, 62, will address criticism of her memoir - including allegations she omitted key details about her pay dispute with former employer Channel Nine - during her national book tour, which is set to kick off in the coming weeks However, it was later reported that Wilkinson had actually earned more than Stefanovic for years at the start of their on-air partnership, and it wasn't until Seven tried to poach Stefanovic that he was able to negotiate the bigger salary. Wilkinson failed to mention this important detail in her memoir, instead focusing on the pay disparity during her later years at the helm of Today. In her book, she alleged Stefanovic had proposed in August 2015 they join forces to renegotiate their Nine contracts - not unlike how the cast of American sitcom Friends famously worked together to broker better deals with NBC. Lifting the lid: In her book, Wilkinson made a series of claims about her former Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic and how she left Nine over a reported gender pay gap dispute But she claims he ended up ditching this idea and instead played rival networks Nine and Seven off against each other in order to secure a better deal for himself. 'Weeks later... the media became awash with stories that Stefanovic was restless at Today and looking for greener pastures and more civilised working hours at Channel Seven,' she wrote. Stefanovic was soon at the centre of a bidding war between Nine and Seven that resulted in him re-signing a five-year deal with Nine worth at least $2million per year. Wilkinson's deal was worth significantly less, about $780,000 a year, and was only for two years. 'There was no doubt about it: Karl certainly knew the art of the deal,' she wrote. The who's who of Hollywood descended on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to celebrate Australian magazine editor Laura Brown's nuptials to comedian Brandon Borror-Chappell on Sunday. Laura, 47, who is the former editor of InStyle magazine, and her longtime boyfriend, 31, exchanged vows during an outdoor ceremony at The Club at Kukuiul, surrounded by A-list actors, models and fashion industry favourites. Among the star-studded guest list was Australian acting royalty Naomi Watts and partner of five years, actor Billy Crudup. Inside Australian magazine editor Laura Brown and Brandon Borror-Chappell's star-studded Hawaii wedding: From celebrity guests to a VERY unique pink wedding dress 'This is was what you call a WEDDING that we all needed!!' Naomi captioned an Instagram photo of herself at the nuptials on Sunday. 'The pandemic created a major delay but that just meant it was well worth waiting for,' she continued, adding: 'We adored the romance, found the light, bum-rushed the dance floor, over ate and drank, and we don't regret any of it.' 'Congratulations to the beautiful couple. May your love grow stronger with each year. Thank you for creating such a memorable experience. #loverules'. And the bride wore... pink! Sporting a light pink bridal frock, Laura, 47, who is the former editor of InStyle magazine, and her longtime boyfriend, 31, exchanged vows during an outdoor ceremony at The Club at Kukuiul Famous faces: Among the star-studded guest list was Australian acting royalty Naomi Watts (left) and partner of five years, actor Billy Crudup (right) Having a ball! Naomi and Laura posed for pouty selfies during the glamorous nuptials Fellow Australian actress Rose Byrne also attended the festivities alongside her partner Bobby Cannavale, while supermodel Miranda Kerr was spotted in the crowd wearing Monique Lhuillier and with her husband Evan Spiegel. Other celebrities in attendance included Australian actress Bella Heathcote and Hollywood glamazons Brooke Shields, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kate Bosworth and Jessica Alba. American actor Justin Long and American TV reporter Katie Couric were also spotted in the crowd. Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr (left) was spotted in the crowd wearing Monique Lhuillier with her husband Evan Spiegel (right) Acting A-listers attended the festivities en masse, including the likes of Rose Byrne (second, left) and her partner Bobby Cannavale (far left), Kate Bosworth (centre), Bella Heathcote (far right) and Justin Long (second, right) Around 230 friends and family travelled to Hawaii from across the globe to attend Laura and Brandon's highly-anticipated wedding, which had previously been postponed for three years due to the Covid pandemic. Eschewing bridal gown tradition, Laura sported a breathtaking, soft pink ballgown down the aisle complete with a matching pink veil. Laura's off-the-shoulder frock was custom made by Valentino, and featured a full skirt, tie waist detailing and even a set of pockets. Their big day: Around 230 friends and family travelled to Hawaii from across the globe to attend Laura and Brandon's highly-anticipated wedding, which had previously been postponed for three years due to the Covid pandemic Famous faces: Other celebrities in attendance included actresses Brooke Shields, Michelle Pfeiffer (left, centre) and Jessica Alba, and American TV reporter Katie Couric Think pink! Eschewing bridal gown tradition, Laura sported a breathtaking, soft pink ballgown down the aisle complete with a matching pink veil A bouquet of hot pink tropical flowers completed her playful wedding day look. Sharing details about her gown on Instagram, Laura cooed: 'My beautiful, singularly gifted friend [Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccioli] first sketched my @maisonvalentino wedding dress in January 2020. He made sure it had pockets. Pierpaolo, I love you with all my heart. Thank you.' Brandon, who has been dating Laura since 2016, sported a sleek black suit and matching bow-tie. Chic: Brandon, who has been dating Laura since 2016, sported a sleek black suit and matching bow-tie. Time to dine: Following the ceremony, Laura and Brandon's guests sat down to a formal luncheon beneath a large outdoor pavilion nearby Who's who of Hollywood: Jessica Alba posed alongside Laura and Hollywood aesthetician Shani Darden at the reception Following the ceremony, Laura and Brandon's guests sat down to a formal luncheon beneath a large outdoor pavilion nearby. The event rollicked into the night, with a performer keeping guests entertained with a fire twirling routine. Brandon previously wrote an editorial for Refinery29 in January 2017 regarding the 16-year age gap between himself and Laura. Here comes the bride! A bouquet of hot pink tropical flowers completed Laura's playful wedding day look 'Every time we go out to a nice dinner or stay in a beautiful hotel, I try to remember: I haven't earned this life yet,' he wrote at the time. 'I am reminded of this when I call down to concierge and am greeted with a 'Bonjour, Mr. Brown,'' he added, explaining he does 'what I can to contribute' in their relationship. Laura was born and raised in Australia, before relocating to New York City in September 2001, where she carved out a stellar career for herself in magazines. Laura's previous roles include executive director at Harper's Bazaar magazine, senior editor at W magazine and articles editor at men's magazine Details. She was also editor-in-chief of American InStyle until February, when the magazine announced they were ceasing to publish a print format, opting to go all-digital. Social media star Mary Magdalene has earned thousands of fans online thanks to her extreme plastic surgery. But now there are fears the OnlyFans model may be going too far, after she announced plans to get another round of dangerous butt injections. 'I'm getting my a** bigger in two weeks. I can't wait!' she wrote on Instagram, adding a series of needle emojis. Extreme: Surgery-addicted social media star Mary Magdalene (pictured) has announced plans to get more fillers in her buttocks Silicone or hydrogel injections in the buttocks are considered 'unsafe' because the fillers can travel to other parts of the body and cause health issues. Mary already has butt implants, along with multiple rounds of fillers on top. She almost died on the operating table during an operation to 'inflate' her vagina back in 2018. 'I almost died during [the] procedure,' she previously told The Sun. 'I had to get two blood transfusions. The doctor said I was losing so much blood, and turning very pale. He thought I was going to die.' Dangers: Silicone or hydrogel injections in the buttocks are considered 'unsafe' because the fillers can travel to other parts of the body and cause health issues Explaining the bizarre procedure on No Jumper, Mary said she wanted her nether regions to look 'inflated' so she could have 'the world's fattest vagina'. 'So basically there's this contraption that you use and it sucks your p***y and then it makes it very inflated, so I told the doctor that I just want it permanently to look like that,' she said. 'I would say it's a female ball sack. I'm gonna keep just growing it and getting it bigger. I'm gonna get injections.' 'He thought I was going to die': Mary almost died on the operating table during an operation to 'inflate' her vagina back in 2018 The heavily tattooed model had her first procedure done at the age of 21, when she was working as a stripper and escort. Over the years, her surgeries have included a brow lift, fat transfers, multiple nose and boob jobs, veneers, liposuction, butt injections and three Brazilian butt lifts. Earlier this year, she had a fourth nose job to create a 'Barbie nose', along with cat-eye surgery and eyebrow implants. She also had her teeth filed down to get porcelain veneers. Shocked: The OnlyFans star is unable to close her mouth following a lip lift and extreme fillers 'I might die': Mary is aware she could possibly lose a limb, or even her own life, every time she goes under the knife In April, she claimed she was unable to fully close her mouth anymore after a lip lift and another round of lip filler. On top of that, she had just had her saline breast implants topped up to 5000cc, which has left her unable to fit into most normal clothes. 'I got a lip lift so my mouth is always open,' she explained to her 105,000 followers on Instagram. 'Why? Because I think it looks a lot sl***ier and hotter,' she added, before admitting she wants to look like a 'bimbo'. Flashback: A fresh-faced Mary is pictured in her early twenties, before her extreme surgery Benedict Cumberbatch put on a stylish display on Monday as he stepped out from his hotel in London. The actor, 45, looked effortlessly cool in a pair of brown trousers, a white t-shirt and black jacket as he was escorted out by security in the midst of promoting the much-anticipated Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness. The star kept a low profile in a pair of black trainers while carrying a cap and being hounded by fans for selfies at the hotel entrance. Looking good: Benedict Cumberbatch put on a stylish display on Monday as he stepped out from his hotel in London Benedict - best known for playing Doctor Strange - was joined by his co-star Benedict Wong. The 50-year-old actor - who plays Wong in the Marvel films - dressed to impress in a blue blazer, trousers and a green top. The stars both appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which is set to be released on Friday, May 6. Stylish: The actor, 45, looked effortlessly cool in a pair of brown trousers, a white t-shirt and black jacket as he was escorted out by security Fame: The star kept a low profile in a pair of black trainers while carrying a cap and being hounded by fans for selfies at the hotel entrance Star: Benedict and his security guard didn't look impressed as one fan snapped a selfie with them as they tried to leave Benedict and his co-star Elizabeth Olsen, 33, recently attended a photocall for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness in Berlin. The co-stars play the leading roles of Dr Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel film, which serves as a sequel to 2016's Doctor Strange. Benedict looked suave as he posed on the red carpet in a blue blazer and a matching pair of trousers. Pals: Benedict - best known for playing Doctor Strange - was joined by his co-star Benedict Wong Dapper: The 50-year-old actor - who plays Wong in the Marvel films - dressed to impress in a blue blazer, trousers and a green top The film star also sported a white T-shirt along with a gold scarf and a pair of navy trousers. Meanwhile, the actress turned heads in a light blue metallic top which she wore with a plunging vest top with a sequinned detail. The new movie is about the further adventures of Dr Stephen Strange and his research on the Time Stone. He also is amazed by the chaos that is caused by the Multiverse as he faces off with Dark Strange. Stars: The co-stars looked glamorous as they attended a photocall for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness in Berlin This fall, the film underwent six weeks of reshoots, with cast and crew working for six days a week in Los Angeles. One source, played down the reshoots, telling The Hollywood Reporter: 'Even while in the middle of production, Marvel is scheduling you for more shooting.' Another added: 'We've had bigger reshoots on other MCU movies.' Smart: Benedict looked suave as he posed on the red carpet in a blue blazer and a matching pair of trousers However, some insiders believe the scale of the reshoots is significant, explaining: 'They're here until the end of the year. That's like a whole other movie.' Recently speaking about the reshoots on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', Cumberbatch said: 'Like everything with Marvel, it comes in fresh, pretty much, most mornings. It's really exciting and the film is shaping up to be something special.' Meanwhile, Benedict previously revealed he wants his acting projects to be able to justify spending time away from his wife Sophie Hunter and their sons Christopher Carlton, six, Hal Auden, four, and Finn, two. Speaking to Esquire magazine, he added: 'I mean... I like a challenge. I really enjoy my work. 'When I do work, I want to work hard. It has to be worth leaving my family and home for. To make them... Oh, this sounds weird but I guess to validate me not being there. 'And if I can get away with a new skill and call it work, lucky me, you know? That saves me a few night classes or, you know, time I don't have.' Selling Sunset fans took to social media questioning a sequence involving Jason Oppenheim on the seventh episode of the show's new fifth season. In a scene from the Netflix reality series titled It's Getting Personal, the 45-year-old real estate broker is seen speaking on a phone call while the front of his iPhone is set to the camera app, leading some to question if the call was fake. While it is technically possible to have the camera app open while making a call, many on social media questioned the authenticity of the call, in which The Oppenheim Group founder was speaking about a potential business deal on a property. The latest: Selling Sunset fans took to social media questioning a sequence involving Jason Oppenheim, 45, on the seventh episode of the show's new fifth season. He was snapped in LA last August A user shared a clip of the scene, writing, 'Not Jason Oppenheim getting up to make a call with his camera.' One user tweeted, 'My vibe today is Jason talking to his camera pretending to call a client #SellingSunset.' Another user said: 'Jason Oppenheim "on a phone call" during a scene in the new season of Selling Sunset. From what I see though his camera app is open.' A few social media users defended the Palo Alto, California native, with one person saying, 'You guys are aware you can still be on a call but on a different page, app' while another said, 'Sometimes the ear or face touches the screen and turns on other apps.' In a scene from the Netflix reality series titled It's Getting Personal, the 45-year-old real estate broker is seen speaking on a phone call while the front of his iPhone is set to the camera app, leading some to question if the call was fake A number of social media users shared screenshots of the sequence, questioning the authenticity of the phone call The fifth season of the show, which debuted on Netflix Friday, will chronicle Oppenheim's romantic relationship with Chrishell Stause, 40, which ended late last year after five months. Oppenheim last week spoke with People about seeing his relationship with Stause unfold on the fifth season of his series, saying he was 'pretty anxious about it,' and 'not looking forward to that at all.' He added: 'It's almost like if you got a divorce and had to watch your wedding video. Why would you want to do that? This has not been an easy breakup for me at all - my most difficult for sure - and I'm still processing. So to have to go through this when I'm already having a difficult time is not something I'm looking forward to.' A few social media users defended the Palo Alto, California native in regards to the technical details of the exchange The fifth season documents the relationship between Oppenheim and ex Chrishell Stause, 40. The former couple was seen at an event in NYC last autumn Stause, an actress and real estate agent, opened up about their breakup in December, as she said they were not on the same page in terms of starting a family. 'I have tried to embrace the world I have found myself in and that includes being open and honest about my relationships,' Stause said in a December 21 post on Instagram. 'It felt scary and terrifying knowing that it may not end in what society deems a success and what I am ultimately looking for. 'But after many long heartfelt talks, I am choosing to see it as a success no matter what label is attached to it publicly. Jason was and is my best friend, and other than our ideas for family ultimately not being aligned, the amount of respect and love we have for each other will not change going forward.' UN condemns violence against civilians, aid workers in South Sudan Xinhua) 09:33, April 26, 2022 JUBA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Monday condemned the rampant sexual violence, killings, burning alive of civilians, and attacks on aid workers in South Sudan's Leer County. In separate statements issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the UN humanitarian agency and UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) called upon all armed actors to respect international humanitarian law and immediately cease targeting civilians, women, humanitarian personnel and their assets. "I condemn in strongest terms the ongoing violence in Leer County, Unity State, and the conflict tensions across South Sudan. The surge in fighting in April has resulted in widespread devastation, with numerous people reported killed, wounded, women abducted and raped; homes burned, and properties looted," Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan Sara Beysolow Nyanti said. Nyanti said these atrocities happened at the time when humanitarians are responding to mitigate suffering as a result of rains and standing water from the 2021 floods as well as preparedness activities to mitigate the impact of the oncoming rains and projected flooding. She said the violence claimed the lives of innocent civilians and mourned the loss of a staff member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who was killed in Leer earlier this month while trying to flee a violent attack on his community. Nyanti said the continuation of violence hampers the delivery of humanitarian services to the most vulnerable, especially women, children, elderly and disabled people, and deteriorates further their already dire situation. "It increases the number of those in dire need of humanitarian assistance, and we do not have the funds to reach those already in need," she said. Some 6.8 million of the most vulnerable people in South Sudan will need urgent life-saving assistance and protection in 2022, according to the UN. Between Feb. 17 and April 7, some 72 civilians were killed, at least 11 injured, and 64 cases of sexual violence recorded, according to UNMISS human rights teams who have conducted 10 verification missions. Nicholas Haysom, the special representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan, said two survivors said that they were repeatedly raped and gang-raped after they came out of hiding to find food for their children. Haysom said another woman who had recently given birth recounted that she was raped and severely beaten for three days. "I am strongly appalled by these horrific attacks on civilians in Leer. We must all do everything we can to ensure that victims and survivors get the justice they deserve and receive the care and support they need," he said. According to initial reports, some 40,000 people have fled the violence in Leer, with thousands reportedly crossing the Nile to Fangak in Jonglei State. The UNMISS said thousands of cattle were raided, and markets, homes, and humanitarian facilities and warehouses looted and burnt down. The wet season has already begun, along with the risk of floods, creating a dangerous situation for thousands of internally displaced families. "The Mission urges national and local authorities to take immediate measures to reduce tensions and prevent further escalations and retaliatory attacks. Impunity on violations of human rights must end and perpetrators held accountable for these horrible crimes," said Haysom. UNMISS is also engaging with leadership at the capital and state levels to mitigate violence while civil affairs teams are meeting with communities to conduct focus group discussions in conflict-affected areas. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Deputy National Assembly Speaker Chung Jin-suk, fourth from left, who heads President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's delegation for policy consultations with Japan, delivers a personal letter from Yoon to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, fourth from right, during their meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Tuesday. Yonhap By Kang Seung-woo President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's delegation and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed, Tuesday, that Korea and Japan should make diplomatic efforts to repair their soured bilateral ties, according to the head of the delegation. However, the delegation didn't invite Kishida in person to attend Yoon's May 10 inauguration ceremony, saying that the ball is in the prime minister's court to decide whether he will be present. The seven-member delegation, led by National Assembly Vice Speaker Rep. Chung Jin-suk, flew to Tokyo on a five-day trip, Sunday, and paid a courtesy call to the Japanese leader at his office. "We concurred that the two countries should work hard for the development of future-oriented relations and mutual interest, while they are standing on the start line," Chung told reporters following the 25-minute meeting. "We had a good conversation." Chung also said the delegation had delivered Yoon's personal letter to Kishida, who accepted it with gratitude. According to Chung, Yoon's stance on Korea-Japan ties is that the two sides should face up to history and pursue future-oriented relations, based on the Kim Dae-jungKeizo Obuchi joint declaration, and such a message may have been included. The declaration signed between the two former heads of state in 1998 was an initiative to soothe worsening ties by attempting to institutionalize a framework for cooperation on historical reconciliation and other pending bilateral matters. So as to restore the deadlocked relations, Chung said that mutual trust should be built first. "To that end, we relayed our view on the need to expand and revitalize people-to-people exchanges which had been suspended due to COVID-19 and other reasons ... and Prime Minister Kishida shared that view," he said. According to Japan's Kyodo News, Kishida also stressed the urgent need to mend fences with Korea. "We have no time to spare in improving Japan-South Korea relations," he said, adding that the two sides need to resolve the issues lying between them. Upon Yoon's decision to dispatch the delegates, speculation has been rising that they may ask Kishida to attend Yoon's inauguration ceremony. However, Chung said Kishida was not invited to the ceremony, adding that whether a state leader will attend is up to the Japanese government. During the meeting, they also touched on thorny issues such as sex slavery and forced labor, which have been major sticking points in the bilateral ties. During his election campaign, Yoon called for a future-oriented approach to thorny issues between the two sides. Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister nominee Park Jin also said that the delegation would inform Kishida of Yoon's strong determination to improve the strained bilateral ties if their meeting is arranged. "I hope that the meeting will create momentum for Korea and Japan to restore their relationship based on coexistence and trust," he told reporters. Park, a four-term lawmaker, stressed that improvements in Korea-Japan ties will greatly advance trilateral cooperation that also includes the United States. "The Joe Biden administration is vastly interested in three-way cooperation," he added. Bilateral relations between the neighboring countries have remained at a historic low due to wartime history issues that have extended to the economic arena. Following Korea's Supreme Court ruling ordering Japanese companies to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor, the Japanese government has been imposing tighter export curbs on three materials to Korea used to make smartphone chips and displays since July 2019. On Monday, the delegation met with Japan's Trade Minister Koichi Hagiuda and discussed the issue. The minister nominee also agreed that these will be the most urgent issues in the Yoon administration's diplomacy with Japan, hoping that they will be resolved through open-minded talks between the two countries. He played a gender-fluid Time Lord whose character changes every few years, but Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi has questioned whether he should have accepted the role of poet Siegfried Sassoon, because they have different sexual preferences. 'Understandably, people will ask whether I, a heterosexual man, should be playing a homosexual perhaps not,' muses Capaldi, who performs the role of Sassoon in the film Benediction, to be released next month. 'A gay person would have insights into that world that I don't have. And it's absolutely right that we should be asking these questions. 'For far too long, there have been certain groups that have been excluded from the acting industry because of their sexuality, the colour of their skin or where they went to school. If our goal is to be in a better place, there needs to be some sort of rebalance.' Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi has questioned whether he should have accepted the role of poet Siegfried Sassoon, because they have different sexual preferences Capaldi, 64, explains to Saga magazine: 'I play the war poet Siegfried Sassoon as an older man trying to make sense of the horrors he saw in World War I. 'At the same time, he's also coming to terms with his homosexuality.' Sassoon was not openly gay as homosexual acts were illegal until 1967 the year of his death. Capaldi starred in Doctor Who for three years from 2014, after making his name as foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in political comedy The Thick Of It. He accepted the role of Sassoon because he was so desperate to work with celebrated screenwriter Terence Davies, 76, whose films include Distant Voices, Still Lives. Peter Capaldi in Benediction - the story of English poet, writer and soldier Siegfried Sassoon 'I suppose the truth is that I wasn't brave enough or gracious enough to step aside, because I wanted to work with my idol,' he says. 'And that was rather selfish of me.' Capaldi is not the first actor to voice such 'woke' doubts about accepting a role. Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne said it was a 'mistake' to have taken the part of Lili Elbe, one of the first people in the world to have gender reassignment surgery, in 2015's The Danish Girl. And Benedict Cumberbatch expressed regret at playing a non-binary model in 2016 comedy Zoolander 2, saying the part would 'never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor' today. Clarkson's girl takes the bus for her hen do Petrol head Jeremy Clarkson's daughter Emily hired an unusual set of wheels for her hen do a party bus. The blogger and author, 27, clutched two bottles of fizz on board the pink BJazzled Party Bus, wearing a hired bridal gown. She stayed with pals at Thornemead Castle in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where they ended up somewhat worse for wear. Emily was pictured sleeping on the kitchen floor. Petrol head Jeremy Clarkson's daughter Emily hired an unusual set of wheels for her hen do a party bus. The blogger and author, 27, clutched two bottles of fizz on board the pink BJazzled Party Bus, wearing a hired bridal gown She stayed with pals at Thornemead Castle in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where they ended up somewhat worse for wear 'It was the most fun I've ever had,' says Emily, whose mother is Jeremy's estranged second wife and former manager, Frances Cain. Emily's fiance is Alex Andrew, 29, a Dublin-born publicist she met at Glastonbury festival. Eugenie signs up Theresa May for anti-slavery charity As Prince Andrew seeks a route to redemption, he might want to consult his daughter, Princess Eugenie. I hear the Queen's granddaughter has just managed to persuade former prime minister Theresa May to join the new advisory board of the Anti-Slavery Collective, a charity she co-founded which campaigns to eradicate modern slavery. Andrew pledged to support victims of sex trafficking when he agreed to make a 'substantial donation' to Victoria Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights after the pair reached a settlement in February, said to be 7.5 million. He strenuously denied her claims of sexual assault. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason is bemused to be performing at the age of 78, long after his pals in 'regular' professions put their feet up. 'Fifty years ago, it was the rebellion, it was something that was solely for young people,' he says of rock music. 'Most of us assumed we'd be lucky to get two years of it and then have to go back and carry on doing something else. It was absolutely assumed that this was ephemeral. 'And now all my friends who went into banking or whatever have retired.' Kate Moss helps pal Emin draw a crowd One is a supermodel known for her hard-partying, the other a former enfant terrible of the art world. And Kate Moss, 48, was happy to lend her support to Tracey Emin, as the 58-year-old artist opened her latest exhibition in her hometown of Margate, Kent. Kate Moss, 48, was happy to lend her support to Tracey Emin, as the 58-year-old artist opened her latest exhibition in her hometown of Margate, Kent The 'raw, emotionally powerful' show, A Journey To Death, documents Emin's road to recovery after being diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2020. Moss, who was painted by Lucian Freud, once posed naked for a sketch by Emin which was donated to a charity raffle in 2009, with tickets costing just 1 each. Hirst's pampered pets in a pickle at the gym It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'walking the dog' . . . Damien Hirst's girlfriend has revealed she exercises their pampered pooches at the gym. 'Get off my treadmill,' jokes ex-ballerina Sophie Cannell, 28, who is 28 years younger than Hirst, the world's richest artist. 'Get off my treadmill,' jokes ex-ballerina Sophie Cannell, 28, who is 28 years younger than Hirst, the world's richest artist Damien Hirst and his girlfriend Sophie Cannell have three French bulldogs, Pablo, Chapo and Blanco, who enjoy a luxurious lifestyle at their 14-bedroom home in Regent's Park, London The couple have three French bulldogs, Pablo, Chapo and Blanco, who enjoy a luxurious lifestyle at their 14-bedroom home in Regent's Park, London. The mutts have travelled with their own seats on a private jet and been served platters of food. Raquel Cassidy cut an elegant figure as she attended the premiere of Downton Abbey: A New Era at Leicester Square's Cineworld on Monday evening. The actress, 54, who reprised her role of Phyllis Baxter for the film, stunned in a black gown with white panelling down the sides. The gown featured a plunging v-neckline with bow tying shoulder details, with a figure hugging waist before falling into a wide hem. Chic: Raquel Cassidy, 54, cut an elegant figure as she attended the premiere of Downton Abbey: A New Era at Leicester Square's Cineworld on Monday evening The star added a pair of open-toe stiletto heels in gold, carrying a soft blush mini handbag with a croc skin texture. Her ashy blonde tresses were partly pulled back, with some face framing pieces falling down beside her jaw. While Raquel added large gold leaf drop earrings and a silver bracelet to accessorise. Monochrome: She stunned in a black gown with white panelling down the sides Details: The gown featured a plunging v-neckline with bow tying shoulder details, with a figure hugging waist before falling into a wide hem Heels: The star elevated her height with a pair of open-toed stiletto heels in gold by Terry de Havilland She opted for a subtle makeup look to highlight her complexion, with dark eye makeup and a soft pink lip. The beauty put on a gorgeous display during the red carpet appearance, striking a myriad of poses. She showed off her toned legs upon exiting the bash, lifting up her dress to tackle the stairs with ease. Blonde beauty:Her ashy blonde tresses were partly pulled back, with some face framing pieces falling down beside her jaw Jewellery: Raquel added large gold leaf drop earrings and a silver bracelet to accessorise Age-defying: She opted for a subtle makeup look to highlight her complexion, with dark eye makeup and a soft pink lip Raquel was joined on the red carpet by her fellow co-stars, including Kevin Doyle, who plays Joseph Molesley in the period drama. The sequel to Downton Abbey's 2019 movie is long-awaited, after the initial premiere was set to take place in 2021. The film will see the Crawley family head to the South of France to uncover a mystery at a villa bestowed to Dowager Countess of Grantham, Violet Crawley, while an ambitious director plans to make a film at Downton. On-screen: Raquel reprised her role of Phyllis Baxter for the much anticipated film Co-stars: Raquel was joined on the red carpet by her fellow co-stars, including Kevin Doyle, who plays Joseph Molesley in the period drama Anton Du Beke has revealed he 'hasn't been told' whether he is returning to the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel, despite claims he's set to permanently replace Bruno Tonioli. The 55-year-old, stood in for Bruno Tonioli, 66, on last year's series when the Italian star was unable to travel to the UK from the US last year due to pandemic travel restrictions. When Anton wasn't on the list of professionals when the line-up was announced last week, it was assumed he would be back on the judging panel, but the dancer has insisted this is yet to be confirmed. Fingers crossed: Anton Du Beke has said he has yet to be asked to join the Strictly Come Dancing panel but would like to return as a judge for a second series Anton told Sussex Life Magazine: 'I'm hoping to get a call to say, "Look, here you go, come back judging please". 'But we'll wait and see. I'd like to think I'd be on the show in one way or another.' He continued: 'I wouldn't like to think they'd just get rid of me altogether. That would be a bit dramatic to go from dancer to judge to off the show. The truth is I haven't been told.' The father-of-two confirmed that any reports about him returning are 'just a rumour' at the moment. Replacement: The 55-year-old, stood in for Bruno Tonioli , 66, on last year's series when the Italian star was unable to travel to the UK from the US last year due to pandemic Hopes: When Anton wasn't on the list of professionals when the line-up was announced last week, it was assumed he would be back on the judging panel Happier times: Anton sat in on the famous panel last year alongside regular judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas The star sat in on the famous panel last year alongside regular judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas. Anton joined the BBC show in 2004 as a dancer in its first series but has never lifted the Glitterball Trophy in his 18 years partnered with celebrities. The pro revealed that he would 'love' to return as a dancer still. He added: 'Yes. I love the show. I've been doing it since the beginning and I'm very proud of that. I do it because I love it.' Speaking out: Craig Revel Horwood reportedly received a telling off by Strictly Come Dancing bosses after telling an audience that Anton is returning as a judge this year (pictured in 2019) Recently, Craig Revel Horwood reportedly received a telling off by Strictly bosses after telling an audience that Anton is returning as a judge this year while on his All Balls and Glitter Tour. A TV insider told The Sun: 'When Anton wasnt included on the announced line-up of Strictly pros, it was assumed hed be back as a judge again. 'But the BBC said nothing was nailed on yet. Secrets: Anton has since revealed he has not yet received any news about him returning to the hit show which he has been apart of since it first broadcasted in 2004 'Now Craig has blabbed the news and the Beeb arent happy they hadnt even told Bruno he was being replaced.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for Craig and for Strictly for comment. Speaking during a show on his All Balls and Glitter UK tour, Craig revealed bosses had told the judges that ballroom dancer Anton would be waltzing back to the judging panel this autumn. Waiting: Anton explain: 'I wouldn't like to think they'd just get rid of me altogether. That would be a bit dramatic to go from dancer to judge to off the show. The truth is I haven't been told' According to The Sun, Craig said: 'I really love Anton. I think he is fantastic. I think last year he did a great job on Strictly as a judge. 'And we have just found out he is going to do it again this year.' Craig went on to tell the audience that he did miss his co-star Bruno, who had been on the Strictly panel since the show launched in 2004. The choreographer said they remain to be 'great mates' after working side by side for 16 years together. He went on to reveal that while he did miss the Italian's energy - Bruno actually struggled to deal with his dramatic performance. He said: 'He always used to come off and say, ''Darling, I am exhausted.'' 'And I used to say, ''Well, you created this character darling.'' I will just sit there. My job is easy.' Craig previously branded Anton a 'great addition' to the Strictly judging panel as the pair admitted that they love playing 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' on the show. Howard Stern blasted actor Johnny Depp for 'overacting' during his televised defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. Stern, 68, was speaking about the trial on Monday's episode of his syndicated Sirius XM radio show, where he branded the 58-year-old Depp as a 'narcissist.' The talk show host added that he thought he would want the trial televised because he thinks he can talk his way out of anything. Overacting: Howard Stern blasted actor Johnny Depp for 'overacting' during his televised defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard Speaking out: Stern, 68, was speaking about the trial on Monday's episode of his syndicated Sirius XM radio show, where he branded the 58-year-old Depp as a 'narcissist' 'The reason I think he wanted it televised is that's what narcissists do. They think they can talk their way out of anything,' Stern began which his co-host Robin Quivers agreed with. He added that Donald Trump is, 'the biggest narcissist I've ever met in my entire life,' while adding why he thinks Depp is, 'a huge narcissist.' 'He figured, "Ill put this on TV and because Im so persuasive and because Im so smart, Im such a wonderful guy,"' as Robin added he thought, 'I could act my way through anything.' Narcissist: 'The reason I think he wanted it televised is that's what narcissists do. They think they can talk their way out of anything,' Stern began which his co-host Robin Quivers agreed with Narcissist: He added that Donald Trump is, 'the biggest narcissist I've ever met in my entire life,' while adding why he thinks Depp is, 'a huge narcissist' 'Ill play you some clips from the Johnny Depp trial. If he isnt acting I mean, hes so overacting because hes writing his own material as he goes along,' Stern said. 'You know, I gotta tell you, hes wrong. He shouldnt be putting this on TV in any shape,' as Robin added, 'He's trying to save his career. I don't think this is going to help.' 'Thats what narcissists do, "I will charm the pants off of America at the trial." No you wont! This will not go well. Its not going well for you, its not going well for her. Its not going well for anybody. You sound like two battling children,' Stern explained. Acting and writing: 'Ill play you some clips from the Johnny Depp trial. If he isnt acting I mean, hes so overacting because hes writing his own material as he goes along,' Stern said Charm: 'Thats what narcissists do, "I will charm the pants off of America at the trial." No you wont! This will not go well. Its not going well for you, its not going well for her. Its not going well for anybody. You sound like two battling children,' Stern explained He then mocked them sounding like two petulant children as they flung accusations back and forth, adding, 'Its just coming off really badly.' 'Johnny Depp testified in court for two days last week. Two days. Think about that, lots of room to embarrass yourself. Two full, f***ing days!' Stern said. 'First of all, his difficulty in speaking the English language is fantasticAnd the accent. First of all, isnt he from like the South of the Midwest? Johnny Depp was born in Kentucky. Does that sound like a guy from Kentucky?' Stern added. Embarrass: 'Johnny Depp testified in court for two days last week. Two days. Think about that, lots of room to embarrass yourself. Two full, f***ing days!' Stern said The former couple, who were married from 2015 to 2017, began their legal saga in 2019 when Depp sued Heard over a 2019 op-ed in the Washington Post. The $50 million lawsuit was met with a $100 million counterclaim by Heard. The trial began earlier this month in Fairfax, Virginia, which follows Depp losing a libel lawsuit to The Sun. Counterclaim: The $50 million lawsuit was met with a $100 million counterclaim by Heard Imagine Miriam Margolyes: Up For Grabs Rating: Long Lost Family Special: Shipped To Australia Rating: Miriam Margolyes is an actress of extraordinary talents a brilliant mimic, a magical voiceover artist, a fine reader and a rambunctious scene-stealer. She is also very difficult to like. Its not merely that she is coarse and vulgar. She sets out to shock, with complete disregard for other peoples feelings, and then takes umbrage when they are offended. Worse than that, she flaunts the very worst of herself and expects to be forgiven, simply because she has made a full confession. BBC 1's Miriam Margolyes: Up For Grabs features the 80-year-old actress in a confession-oriented profile episode Distinguished thesps popped up on Miriam Margolyes: Up For Grabs (BBC1) to regale us with anecdotes of Miriams scabrous behaviour on set. Charles Dance and Tony Robinson both seemed bemused, as though they knew the filthy stories were supposed to be funny but they struggled to see the joke. At the end of this hour-long profile for the Imagine series, interviewer Alan Yentob asked if there were any dark secrets she had failed to include in her autobiography. Miriam had an answer ready. She had, she declared, hit her mother Ruth following a stroke that left the older woman paralysed. I am deeply ashamed of it, the 80-year-old actress said through tears. The thing that really gets to me is that my mother forgave me. This happened half a century ago: Ruth died in 1974. But the admission was particularly appalling, because so much of the documentary focused on the close relationship that Miriam, an only child, insisted she had with the parents she still calls Mummy and Daddy. She recalled how mortified they were when she came out to them as a lesbian in the 1960s, and how they made her swear to stop sleeping with women (she broke her promise). And she asserted proudly that she cared for her father Joseph at her London home, as he declined with dementia during his last ten years. Her announcement, made without any explanation or mitigation, that she hit her disabled mother left me wondering if I could trust the emotional truth of anything she had said at all. Her tears appeared to be self-pity, not regret. What grieved her was the forgiveness, as if it robbed her of some moral high ground. Well never know, though, because Alan didnt ask. He has been presenting these arty biographies for years, but his interview style has not advanced beyond a list of prepared questions. He doesnt probe, he just offers prompts. Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell traced two families torn apart by the post-war Child Migrant schemes, which took children from care homes and sent them to the far side of the world, in ITV's Long Lost Family Special: Shipped To Australia When Miriam declared shed hit her crippled mother, Alan looked embarrassed and then offered to cook some chicken livers a dish that reminded Miriam of her childhood. It was as though he felt the best way to get over domestic violence was to have a nice hot dinner and forget all about the nastiness. Memories of childhood and violent abuse permeated Long Lost Family Special: Shipped To Australia (ITV). Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell traced two families torn apart by the post-war Child Migrant schemes, which took children from care homes and sent them to the far side of the world. They grew up brutalised in residential schools. This one-off episode was weaker than most in the series, because the reunions though moving were low-key. Two brothers had already found each other, decades ago. And a man who never knew his parents or his half-siblings met a niece for the first time but the rest of his family were no longer alive. Davina and Nicky worked separately, as usual. Perhaps the next Long Lost special could bring them together for the first time. Anna Vakili has revealed she was rushed to hospital after her skin flared up with a mystery red rash that left her feeling like she was 'on fire'. The former Love Island star, 31, took to her Instagram stories on Monday to share pictures of the burning rash as she admitted she did not know what caused it. She said she went to hospital to get the undiagnosed rash checked by a doctor after it spread all over her legs, arms, chest and back. Painful: Anna Vakili has revealed she was rushed to hospital after her skin flared up with a mystery burning red rash In one photograph, Anna showed the red blotches across her arms and legs as she wrote in a caption that the rash had spread 'all over' her body. She admitted she felt like she was 'on fire' as she shared other snaps showing the rash covering her neck and chest. The pharmacist said she had been taking antihistamines and hoped the rash would go, but to no avail, and she had to go hospital after the rash 'spread'. Alongside a snap of her neck, she wrote: 'So many DMs, thank u for all the messages. Came to hospital to get it checked because it's spreading - keep u updated.' (sic) Hospital: The former Love Island star, 31, took to her Instagram stories on Monday to share pictures of the blotchy rash Rash: She revealed she went to hospital to get the undiagnosed rash checked after it spread all over her legs, arms, chest and back After returning home from hospital, Anna updated her 1.2million followers in a lengthy Instagram video, where she said the rash had first appeared on Saturday. She said the doctor was not able to diagnose it and said she didn't have a temperature or a sore throat, and hadn't eaten any new foods or used any new products that may have caused an allergic reaction. Anna said: 'Thank you everyone that sent me a message telling me they've had it or what they think it is. I was actually trying to read most of them while I was waiting in hospital. 'But I went in to see the doctor and honestly this is why I hate going to the doctors because I feel like most of them are so s**t. As soon as I walked in, he didn't even look at the rash, straight away he said 'we're not good at rashes here'. 'He had a look, did tests - I don't have a temperature, my throat looked OK, my breathing was OK and he was like 'I don't know what it is, I honestly don't know'.' Ouch: The pharmacist said she had been taking antihistamines and hoped the rash would go, but decided to go to hospital to get it checked after it 'spread' 'On fire': After returning home from hospital, Anna updated her 1.2million followers in a length Instagram video, where she explained the rash first appeared on Saturday Anna said the doctor prescribed her stronger antihistamine tablets and a short course of steroids to treat the rash. 'I didn't take any antibiotics, nothing new, I didn't eat anything new, the whole of Saturday I was at home and it started on Saturday night,' she added. 'But anyway I basically told the doctor to prescribe me some stronger antihistamines and some steroids, so I'm going to take a short course of steroids and antihistamines and hopefully, it will go because it's horrible.' It comes after Anna spoke out about the secret abortion she had at the age of 21. The 31-year-old claimed her parents banned her from sex education at school and said she fell pregnant after having unprotected sex. Medication: Anna said the doctor prescribed her stronger antihistamine tablets and a short course of steroids to treat the rash She explained on her Sisters in the City podcast: 'I feel really scared to open up about this, but I think it's important to do it because I learnt from my own mistake, and if other people can learn from my mistake then it's the best thing to come from this. 'When I was younger about 21, I was having unprotected sex - I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking, and I ended up pregnant. 'Obviously I was really young and I wasn't ready, and I had an abortion. 'At that age you don't think what can happen and I have deep regrets that I did end up pregnant. Speaking out: It comes after Anna spoke out about the secret abortion she had at the age of 21, claiming her parents banned her from sex education at school 'I didn't wish to be pregnant and have to get an abortion I don't like that. So if you can avoid that do.' Anna said she was 'traumatised' when she was pulled out of her sex education class at school because her parents did not sign a consent form. She added that she missed out on learning about the importance of safe sex. 'Ever since then I've practiced safe sex and I'm now on the coil,' she continued. 'In school the teachers sent a letter home for our parents to sign to say if it was ok for us to sit in sex education, and my parents didn't sign it and it was the most embarrassing thing ever because the teacher took me out of the class when they did sex education. 'I was the only person, apart from one other Asian or Middle Eastern person. I'll never forget that - it was so traumatising.' Elsewhere on the podcast, Anna admitted that she thought that she and her sister Mandi 'were going to die' after a terrifying experience with Brazilian bum lift surgery. 'We thought we were going to die': Elsewhere, Anna Vakili recently detailed her 'horror' bum lift surgery in Turkey as she warned fans that 'it's cheap for a reason' The influencer and her sibling jetted to Turkey for the procedure, but Anna explained that she instantly regretted the secret surgery that left her looking 'like Frankenstein'. Speaking on their podcast, Anna said that her first bum lift surgery in London made her feel 'more confident' but she 'went too far' after choosing to go under the knife abroad. The siblings said they wanted 'a cheaper option' but were left 'covered in blood like a horror movie' from the risky surgery. Anna confessed: 'The second time we did it, we went abroad to Turkey and me and Mandi thought we were going to die abroad. It was very scary.' 'After our surgery, within a day or two, we were in a hotel room about to faint with blood all over the hotel room.' Scary: Anna said that her first bum lift surgery in London made her feel 'more confident' but she 'went too far' after choosing to go under the knife abroad (Pictured August 2021) She continued: 'It was like a murder scene, we both collapsed in hotel room. Bandaged up, bleeding... it was like a horror movie.' Her sister Mandi agreed as she detailed: 'We ended up like Frankenstein. The second time we went, we wanted a cheaper option so we went abroad. Do your research thoroughly - if it's cheap, it's cheap for a reason.' Hoping to teach her fans from her horrifying experience, she warned them of the risks. Anna added: 'So many people die. It's one of the most invasive surgical procedures a BBL and it's one of the most complicated and dangerous ones, so don't take the decision lightly. 'Without surgery you have a body that's not full of scars.' Love Island star Phoebe Thompson has revealed why she thinks American men make better boyfriends than their Australian counterparts. The single model, 31, who is currently on holiday in Los Angeles, was asked about the calibre of local men during an Instagram Q&A on Monday. 'The men are so polite and chivalrous,' she responded, before praising their 'old-school values' and 'respect' for women. 'The men are so polite and chivalrous: Love Island star Phoebe Thompson has praised American men for upholding 'old-school values' while on holiday in Los Angeles in this week Phoebe, who is of Jamaican and Anglo-German descent, added: 'I feel like I fit in more in America than I do Australia. I feel more embraced and more celebrated.' 'This trip has made me realise a lot about what I've been missing in my life growing up as a woman of colour in a very white, culturally stunted country,' she added. Phoebe also had praise for American women, saying: 'Girls compliment each other on the street! Everyone is so friendly and confident.' Feeling at home: Phoebe, who is of Jamaican and Anglo-German descent, added: 'I feel like I fit in more in America than I do Australia. I feel more embraced and more celebrated' She concluded her Instagram post by reflecting on Australia's cultural shortcomings. 'I've also realised how conservative Australia is. No one cares what you wear here [in America]. You can wear the most extra, skimpiest clothes and no one judges... if you're an OF [OnlyFans] girl, no one cares. People thrive on being different and standing out. It's a beautiful thing,' she said. Phoebe is perhaps best known for coupling up with another woman on season two of Love Island Australia in 2019. 'I've also realised how conservative Australia is': The 31-year-old concluded her Instagram post by reflecting on Australia's cultural shortcomings It was the first same-sex couple in the franchise's history. Phoebe has since embarked on a career as an adult model, recently launching her own subscription-based adult website. Her site contains nude photos and videos, which are available to paying subscribers. Making history: Phoebe is perhaps best known for coupling up with another woman on season two of Love Island Australia in 2019. (She is pictured on the show with partner Cassie Lansdell) In March, Phoebe came under fire for asking people to subscribe to her website so she could donate money to Queenslanders affected by the floods. At the time, Phoebe told her Instagram followers she was 'going to make a donation from my website to flood disaster in Qld... so get SUBSCRIBED'. But not everyone was impressed by her generosity, with some suggesting her pledge was self-serving, a claim she strenuously denied. One of Australia's most high-profile reality TV couples is moving overseas. Married At First Sight stars Michael Brunelli and Martha Kalifatidis are seeking a new start after calling it quits on their Bondi home. Personal trainer Michael, 31, revealed on Tuesday he was about to hop on a plane to join Martha, 33, who has already been living abroad for several weeks. Pastures new: Married At First Sight stars Michael Brunelli (right) and Martha Kalifatidis (left) are moving overseas after calling it quits on their Bondi home He shared a series of Instagram posts explaining how he was packing up their beachside home ahead of the big move. 'Martha and I spent some time making a big decision to move overseas for a while,' Michael said during a Q&A with fans. 'We've had a few problems with our house and the fact that the world is essentially open again, we decided now is as good a time as any.' Farewell, Australia: Michael revealed on Tuesday he was about to hop on a plane to join Martha (pictured), who has already been living abroad for several weeks 'Martha and I spent some time making a big decision': He shared a series of Instagram posts explaining how he was packing up their beachside home ahead of the big move While he insisted it wasn't a permanent move, Michael said the relocation was a 'change we both wanted to experience'. He didn't reveal where exactly they were moving to, but hinted it was either the USA, Europe, the UK or somewhere in South America. The couple are fairly well-known in Britain as their season of Married At First Sight aired there on the E4 network. 'Not a long-term move': While he insisted it wasn't a permanent move, Michael said the relocation was a 'change we both wanted to experience' Cryptic: Michael didn't reveal where exactly they were moving to, but hinted it was either the USA, Europe, the UK or somewhere in South America Earlier this month, the newly engaged couple were shocked to discover mould spreading across the walls and roof of their Bondi pad. 'Gorgeous we've come home to this. Wet walls growing mould,' Martha said. She shared photos to Instagram of her roof covered in the fungus, writing: 'We've been gone for five days.' Home struggles: Earlier this month, the newly engaged couple were shocked to discover mould spreading across the walls and roof of their Bondi pad Married At First Sight groom Cody Bromley has revealed that Selina Chhaur is no longer talking to him after he broke up with her in February. Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, the 31-year-old fitness trainer revealed Selina, 33, has 'cut him out completely' and isn't returning any of his phone calls. 'Selina's way of moving on is just to cut me out completely, and that's the way she deals with breakups, which is a shame,' he said. 'She cut me out completely' Married At First Sight's Cody Bromley, 31, (left) has revealed that Selina Chhaur, 33, (right) is no longer talking to him following their disastrous split 'After the reunion, we spent a couple of days together, which was incredible, and for me, it reminded us that there definitely was something there. 'I think I just wanted to validate the decision or respect the decision that I decided to break up. 'Time I thought was the best remedy, so you we could actually process it, but we had a good three hour conversation over the phone and it didn't sort of go as well as I would have hoped.' Heartbreak: Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, Cody said Selina has 'cut him out completely' and isn't returning any of his phone calls Fair enough: 'Selina's way of moving on is just to cut me out completely, and that's the way she deals with breakups, which is a shame,' he said Cody decided to end their relationship because things kept 'going back to that toxic environment' where they would 'revisit old issues'. 'I guess why I made the call. I wasn't intending to. The feelings were that the whole time, it was just a very pragmatic decision,' he said. 'It was one of those things. So final vows and leading up to the reunion, Selina kept, asking me ''Why are you still here? ''And she'd sort of say, just let me go. And that became very repetitive. Sudden: Cody decided to end their relationship because things kept 'going back to that toxic environment' where they would 'revisit old issues' 'I understand that was her pleading, she wanted me to put more of an effort in which I had tried, but it was also frustrating.' 'I feel like I failed her time and time again,' he added. Cody said he felt like Selina was 'taunting him to break up with her', which caused him to snap and finally pull the pin on their relationship. 'I was in a sort of feral mood, and just being back in the environment of the whole experiment ... The night of that dinner party, I just pulled the pin. It wasn't planned.' 'I am sure it was the right decision. But it was. Yeah, very abrupt.' Reunion break-up: Cody said that he felt like Selina was 'taunting him to break up with her' which caused him to snap and finally pull the pin on their relationship He explained they planned to keep their breakup a secret until they were picked up by their driver and Selina changed her mind. 'I gave her the option. I was like was happy to do whatever was best for her. And then about 30 minutes before our driver picked us out to go to the reunion, she said ''I can't do it, we need to tell them'' and there it was... so I brought it up on the couch,' he said. Elsewhere Cody said he still 'deeply cares' about Selina and hopes that they can be good friends having shared such a unique experience. Nasty: 'I was in a sort of feral mood, and just being back in the environment of the whole experiment. The night of that dinner party I just pulled the pin, it wasn't planned,' he explained 'That's the thing that didn't get illustrated at all. I literally did fall for Selina, like she was an awesome bird. But yes, it took me a bit longer than it took her,' he said. 'And that was I sort of set that precedent early on, where I really did let her down quite a bit, so from that point, I started to felt like I had to make it up to her. 'Hands down I actually really did get genuine feelings for the girl. I was so lucky to be matched with her.' A Married at First Sight star's relaxing holiday in Thailand came to a grinding halt on Monday after a frustrating incident at the airport. Cathy Evans, who spent the past two weeks in Phuket and Bangkok with her boyfriend, arrived at an unnamed Thai airport ahead of her flight home to Sydney on Monday. But she failed to lodge her Digital Passenger Declaration (known as a DPD) before checking in for her flight - a mistake which left her scrambling at the last minute. Nightmare: Former Married At First Sight star Cathy Evans' relaxing holiday in Thailand came to a grinding halt on Monday after a frustrating incident at the airport She also claims to have been 'cheated' out of $1,000 in VAT (value-added tax) due to a 'sneaky' tactic used by Thai airport officials. 'Had a nightmare experience at the airport,' Cathy, 28, wrote on Instagram on Monday, alongside a close-up photo of herself sitting in the terminal. 'Make sure, Australians, to submit your DPD prior to check-in. I had no idea about this and nothing has been mentioned about creating an account with the Australian Department of Home Affairs.' 'Had a nightmare experience': Posting to Instagram on Monday, Cathy explained she had unknowingly failed to lodge her Digital Passenger Declaration before checking in for her flight While Cathy claims she was not aware of the rules surrounding DPD submissions, the Department of Home Affairs website clearly states that overseas passengers arriving in Australia must lodge this document before departing. 'Passengers who do not complete a DPD before departing may face unnecessary delays on arrival in Australia,' the website warns. Cathy went on to complain about missing out on recouping her VAT after being given incorrect instructions by airport staff. Hmm: While Cathy claims she was not aware of the rules surrounding DPD submissions, the Department of Home Affairs website clearly states that overseas passengers arriving in Australia must lodge this document before departing Not happy: Cathy went on to complain about missing out on recouping her VAT after being given incorrect instructions by airport staff 'And for VAT tax back - I just got cheated [out] of $1,000 back, as you must get items searched with a stamp of declaration (there was nowhere for us to do this though - we were told to check in, then go through customs and go to the VAT office near the gate),' she said. 'So just be very mindful when you want to claim back your VAT! I swear it was done sneakily in a way so they didn't have to give our money back and because we had so much to claim back.' This isn't the first time Cathy has aired her frustrations about international travel. Debate: This isn't the first time Cathy has aired her frustrations about international travel She had sparked a lively debate as she flew from Phuket to Bangkok on Sunday. The socialite took to Instagram to detail her nightmare journey, complaining about a young child misbehaving in the seat behind her. She asked her 189,000 followers if they thought the situation was 'socially acceptable'. Not happy: She had sparked a lively debate as she flew from Phuket to Bangkok on Sunday Question: Cathy took to Instagram to complain about a young child misbehaving in the seat behind her, asking fans if they thought the situation was 'socially acceptable' 'Point of view: For the entire duration of the flight, the child is rapid kicking the back of your seat; however, the back is thin so you feel every kick to the spine,' she said. 'The child then starts slapping the tops of everyone's heads seated in front of him. Noise is insatiable. Begins tagging the walls of the plane, their table then your arms.' She added that she 'glanced over at the parent to hint at them to stop their child', but found herself at the receiving end of 'abuse'. The results are in! After three hours, 96 per cent of those who voted on her Instagram poll said it was 'absolutely not' acceptable, while just four per cent voted that 'this is fine' She concluded her post with: 'Is this socially acceptable?' After three hours, 96 per cent of those who voted on her Instagram poll said it was 'absolutely not' acceptable, while just four per cent voted that 'this is fine'. Cathy hails from New Zealand, and is of Welsh and Thai heritage. She rose to fame in 2020 on Married At First Sight with ex-'husband' Josh Pihlak. Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Korea Colin Crooks, right, points toward a photo at an exhibition on April 23 commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's visit in 1999 to Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Twenty-three years ago Crooks organized the visit with residents of Andong during his post at the Embassy of the U.K. in Korea. Yonhap Sienna Miller said her former relationship with Jude Law saved her from potential sexual harassment at the hands of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein. The American-English actress, 40, told The Guardian on Saturday, 'I was Judes girlfriend, and there was probably protection in that.' The G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra actress noted how Law 'was a big actor for Harvey,' appearing in films the disgraced producer backed such as The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain. The latest: Sienna Miller, 40, said her former relationship with Jude Law saved her from potential harassment at the hands of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, 70. She was snapped in London earlier this month Miller, who was linked to Law on an on-and-off basis from 2003 thru 2011, starred in the Weinstein-backed drama Factory Girl in 2006, portraying socialite Edie Sedgwick. 'I called Harvey "Pops" from day one, which Im sure helped,' Miller said, noting the non-sexual connotations of the nickname. Miller, who plays Sophie Whitehouse in the new Netflix miniseries Anatomy of a Scandal, told the outlet that Weinstein had once been verbally abusive to her over her active social life when not on set. 'I was rehearsing one day with Steve Buscemi and Harvey called and asked me to come to his office,' Miller told the outlet. 'I said, "Im in rehearsal." And he shouted, "Now!" and sent a car. Weinstein (pictured in 2020) is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in connection with his February 2020 convictions of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape Miller said Weinstein had once been verbally abusive to her over her social life 'He sat me down in his office and said, "Youre not f***ing going out any more, youre not partying, rah rah rah." I was having a lot of fun, but I managed to go to work on time. And he was standing over me while I was sitting in a chair, lip quivering, and then he slammed the door, and I burst into tears.' The Golden Globe-nominated actress said that Weinstein then returned to the room and told her, 'Its because Im f***ing proud of you,' slamming the door a second time upon his exit. Miller said she looked at the incident as a rite of passage, adding, 'You werent really inaugurated until Weinstein made you cry.' She continued: 'I imagined this is what Hollywood producers were like. I genuinely felt hed given me the biggest validation. I was so grateful. I wasnt scared of him, actually. Miller was linked to Jude Law on an on-and-off basis from 2003 thru 2011. The couple was snapped in May of 2010 'And I was not aware that he was raping people. He asked for one meeting with me in a hotel, and I brought the other producers and it was innocuous. Ive never been propositioned by anyone, for a job.' Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in connection with his February 2020 convictions of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. The Oscar-winning producer's downfall began in the fall of 2017 after allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and rape against him were detailed in articles from The New York Times and The New Yorker. Weinstein was subsequently accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by more than 90 women, including actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Rose McGowan, Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Uma Thurman. Olivia Frazer received backlash from Married At First Sight viewers after she was painted as the villain in her feud with rival bride Domenica Calarco. But she has one staunch defender in MAFS alum Melissa Rawson, who found herself at the centre of a major controversy on last year's season. The mother of two, 33, said during an Instagram Q&A on Monday that Olivia, 28, was 'polite and very sweet' when they met recently. 'Polite and very sweet': Married At First Sight alum Melissa Rawson (pictured in Melbourne on March 10) has emerged as a staunch defender of this year's main villain Olivia Frazer 'I won't comment on the show and how both girls acted / [were] perceived by the public. I can only comment on a person when I meet them,' Melissa said. 'I've not met Dom so I don't know what she's like... [but] I've met Olivia and she was nothing but polite and very sweet and I appreciated that she didn't speak about Dom or say anything nasty.' It comes after Melissa and her fiance Bryce Ruthven went on a double date with Olivia and her boyfriend Jackson Lonie in Sydney. The quartet appeared to be in good spirits as they were seen leaving Churrasco, a Brazilian barbecue restaurant in Coogee, after having dinner inside. Kindness: The mother of two said during an Instagram Q&A on Monday that Olivia was 'polite and very sweet' when they met recently. (Pictured: Olivia and her boyfriend Jackson Lonie) New mother Melissa led the way as she pushed twins Levi and Tate, six months, in a stroller while her husband Bryce, 33, followed. Bryce recently said he and Melissa had formed a friendship with Olivia and Jackson after watching their experience on the Channel Nine show. 'Our heart goes out to them,' he told The Herald Sun last week. Date night: It comes after Melissa and her fiance Bryce Ruthven (second from right) went on a double date with Olivia and her boyfriend Jackson Lonie (second from left) in Sydney 'Olivia and Jackson, watching them felt like we were watching us, just with roles reversed with Olivia being more like myself. 'We have been in touch with them and spoken to them and honestly they seem like two great humans and are nice people.' Bryce said the harassment Olivia had copped outside the show was 'next level' and 'unacceptable'. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick attended A Conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick at the Library of Congress on Monday. The spouses, 57 and 60, who attended as a tribute to American playwright Neil Simon, who wrote Plaza Suite which they are currently starring in on Broadway. Legendary playwright and four-time Tony winner Neil, who died aged 91 in 2018, wrote the play about three different couples in one famous hotel room. Special event: Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick attended A Conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick at the Library of Congress on Monday Each couple are played by SJP and Matthew, and the play follows Karen and Sam are a long-married pair whose relationship may be headed for an early checkout. Muriel and Jesse are former high school sweethearts who seem destined for an extended stay. And Norma and Roy are the mother and father of the bride, ready to celebrate their daughters nuptials if only they can get her out of the bathroom. Sarah and Matthew were joined on stage by director John Benjamin Hickey as they discussed the play and Neil's legacy at the Washington D.C. location. It comes after they made a full recovery after both testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this month. Glam: The ...And Just Like That star wore her glossy blonde locks loose as they fell over her shoulders in a wavy texture On stage! The spouses, 57 and 60, who attended as a tribute to American playwright Neil Simon, who wrote Plaza Suite which they are currently starring in on Broadway The ...And Just Like That star wore her glossy blonde locks loose as they fell over her shoulders in a wavy texture. They were styled in a middle part as they framed her face. She adorned her neck with a black necklace that she looped several times. The mother-of-three showed off her impeccable fashion sense in a little black dress that was banded at the waist. The long frock was slightly pleated as it fell down to her ankles, where it was punctuated with closed-toe black shoes. His look: Matthew complemented his bride in a dark grey suit that he teamed with a striped white shirt and a green tie The leading woman of the Sex And the City franchise layered the look with a grey ribbed sweater that had purple trimming. She carried a studded black bag and wore stud earrings in her ears. Sarah's eyes were lined in black makeup. The entertainer wore a nude coloured lipstick as she stopped for interviews along the event's step-and-repeat. Matthew complemented his bride in a dark grey suit that he teamed with a striped white shirt and a green tie. The actor wore round, dark-rimmed eyeglasses and was clean shaven for the gathering. Sleek: The ...And Just Like That star wore her glossy blonde locks loose as they fell over her shoulders in a wavy texture All better: Sarah tested positive for the virus earlier this month just days after her husband Matthew Broderick announced his own positive test Sarah tested positive for the virus earlier this month just days after her husband Matthew announced his own positive test. Their illnesses halted performances of Plaza Suite, the couple's three-act show. 'With both Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker positive for COVID, tonights performance of Plaza Suite is cancelled,' the shows producers said in a statement to Variety. 'The producers apologize for the inconvenience this has caused audience members. Ticket holders should contact their point of sale to reschedule for a future performance or obtain a refund.' Before receiving her own positive test, Sarah performed several times with Matthew's understudy, Tony winner Michael McGrath. Plaza Suite was originally supposed to begin its run of previews back on March 13, 2020 but all Broadway theatres were shut down the day before due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fashion staple: The mother-of-three showed off her impeccable fashion sense in a little black dress that was banded at the waist Glowing: Sarah looked radiant as she say up on stage Chatting: The trio talked fondly about their experience in Plaza Suite Thoughtful: Sarah enjoyed the special evening with her husband and their director Back on track! The couple were back to their best after recently suffering from Covid On pause: Their illnesses halted performances of Plaza Suite, the couple's three-act show The couple's outing occurred after Broderick appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and discussed how he was instantly attracted to his now-wife. The actor noted that he fell in love with Sarah during 'the first time I met her. I saw her walking down the street and thought "That's it."' The performer made a point of expressing that he was attracted to his now-wife's 'humor and wisdom,' among other qualities. He also recalled that Parker blindsided him with a 'trip one time a surprise, blindfolded, suddenly I was in the Caribbean.' Broderick went on to state that neither he nor his wife were particularly uncomfortable with seeing each other become intimate with on-screen partners. Channel Nine's Married At First Sight has dominated the ratings for the past six seasons. But it appears the upcoming season is set to be rocked by a major shake up, after Tara McWilliams, who is credited with transforming the show into a ratings juggernaut, stepped down as the show's executive producer. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, a MAFS production insider revealed that things may look very different on the show next year. Report: Tara McWilliams, who is credited with transforming Married At First Sight into the ratings juggernaut it is today has stepped down as the show's executive producer According to the source, while Tara will still be involved in the production she won't be getting involved in the everyday decisions. Her new job at Endemol Shine will see McWilliams oversee a portfolio of unscripted shows as Director of Content, while retaining oversight of MAFS. Speaking about her new role, ESA CEO Peter Newman said: 'Tara is without question one of Australias most outstanding unscripted creatives.' Promotion: Her new job at Endemol Shine will see McWilliams oversee a portfolio of unscripted shows as Director of Content, while retaining oversight of MAFS Her phenomenal experience and passion will now plug into even more of our exciting unscripted slate.' MAFS producers have announced they are already casting for next year. Channel Nine and producers Endemol Shine posted a casting call to MAFS' official Instagram account in February urging people to sign up. Coming soon: According to the casting call, the show will be filming between early July and November 2022. Pictured: Domenica Calarco and Jack Millar Applicants must be over the age of 25, and they must be Australian citizens or have held permanent residency for at least two years. They must also be 'single and genuinely looking for love'. This question is crucial, as producers urge applicants to 'be honest' when answering. Interested parties can apply via the show's casting website, marriedatfirstsightcasting.com.au. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Tara for comment. 90 Day Fiance's Mursel Mistanoglu and Anna-Marie Campisi announced that they had welcomed a baby into their lives with a post that was shared to the latter's Instagram on Monday. The reality television personality shared a set of images to her account, and the happy couple was seen spending time with their son while heading home in one of the shots. The media figure also wrote a short message in her post's caption to let her followers know how she and her husband were doing. New family member: 90 Day Fiance's Mursel Mistanoglu and Anna-Marie Campisi announced that they had welcomed a baby into their lives with a post that was shared to the latter's Instagram on Monday Campisi, 39, began her message by revealing her son's name and letting her fans know that he had been a part of their family for two weeks. 'Mursel and I are excited to announce the birth of our son! Gokhan John He was born 4/11/22, 5 weeks early,' she wrote. The reality television personality also wrote that her child was 'doing amazing! Just a small guy at 5.3 pounds 18 inches.' Campisi noted that she was grateful for the help of her son's surrogate mother, whom she complimented on her post. Healthy baby: The reality television personality also wrote that her child was 'doing amazing! Just a small guy at 5.3 pounds 18 inches' She wrote: 'Our surrogate is also doing well! I was able to meet her and she's such an amazing woman!' The reality television personality also spoke about how she had to enter Ukraine in order to meet her son, who was born in the war-torn country. 'So from there the plan was for Mursel to stay in Poland. If he came with to Ukraine, he wouldn't be allowed to leave. So I had to go into Ukraine alone,' she recalled. She recalled that, after crossing the Poland-Ukraine border by foot, she was able to take care of all of the paperwork related to securing her son. Going the distance: The reality television personality also spoke about how she had to enter Ukraine in order to meet her son, who was born in the war-torn country 'The next day I was transported to pick up our baby and get all of the documents completed while inside Lviv, Ukraine,' she noted. Campisi also pointed out that her husband, also 39, who had been experiencing medical complications during the process, remained in Poland a member of a non-profit organization that had assisted them the whole time. 'A member of Project Dynamo stayed with him until I was able to meet him so he wouldn't be lost in the shuffle,' she recalled. The media personality expressed her gratitude for the efforts of the organization, as she wrote: 'We will forever be grateful to them!' Lending a hand: Campisi also pointed out that her husband, also 39, who had been experiencing medical complications during the process, remained in Poland a member of a non-profit organization that had assisted them the whole time Campisi and Mistanoglu initially met online in a beekeeping enthusiast group before beginning a relationship. The reality television personality welcomed three sons named Joey, Gino and Leo into her life before meeting her now-husband. The now-couple went on to appear on 90 Day Fiance's seventh season, and they tied the knot at the end of the run of episodes. Campisi and Mistanoglu later announced that they would be welcoming a child into their lives this past January. One of Australia's most popular influencers has been caught telling little white lies about her recent holiday to Paris. Shani Grimmond spent two weeks in Paris, but delayed posting holiday snaps on Instagram until she was back home in Queensland - which led to some confusion when fans spotted her out and about in Brisbane. Despite having returned to Australia, Grimmond shared photos with her 1.4 million followers of herself swanning around the French capital and tagged Paris as her location. Wish you were here? Australian influencer Shani Grimmond (pictured) was recently spotted in her home city of Brisbane, despite posting on Instagram that she was on holiday in Paris 'Only a couple more days in Paris! I don't want to leave yet, this place is truly so magical,' Grimmond captioned a clip of herself eating breakfast at her hotel on Sunday. Several days earlier, she shared a photo of herself dining at an upmarket Parisian restaurant, along with the caption: 'Dinner last night was [chef's kiss emoji]. I still cant believe how beautiful this city is.' At the time she was posting these photos, a user on the private Facebook group Tea Time spotted Grimmond shopping in Brisbane, reports Outspoken the Podcast. Bonjour! Grimmond spent two weeks in Paris, but delayed posting holiday snaps on Instagram until she was back home in Queensland - which led to some confusion when fans spotted her out and about in Brisbane Location game: Despite having returned to Australia, Grimmond shared photos with her 1.4 million followers of herself swanning around the French city and tagged Paris as her location Because she delayed posting photos from the trip, it's unclear when exactly Grimmond was in Paris, but it's likely she was overseas at the start of the month. She began documenting her Parisian getaway on Instagram on April 18, so it can be assumed she was back in Australia by then. Discussing her decision to delay posting about her travels until after she'd returned home, Outspoken host Kate Tauber speculated she may have had security concerns. Ms Tauber noted that Grimmond had been robbed on holiday before after posting about her location in real time. 'I think it's really a smart move, because Shani has spoken candidly about how she was robbed during a holiday after she shared her whereabouts online, and it was found there was a direct correlation between Shani sharing her holiday details and her house being broken into,' she explained. Are you sure about that? 'Only a couple more days in Paris! I don't want to leave yet, this place is so magical,' Grimmond captioned a clip of herself eating breakfast at her hotel on Sunday Bon appetit! Several days earlier, she shared a photo of herself dining at an upmarket Parisian restaurant, along with the caption: 'I still cant believe how beautiful this city is' Delayed: Because she delayed posting photos from the trip, it's unclear when exactly Grimmond was in Paris. She began documenting her Parisian getaway on Instagram on April 18 In November 2015, a tearful Grimmond revealed on YouTube that a thief had broken into her home and stolen valuable items while she was on vacation in New Zealand. She claimed the intruder had stolen her camera, makeup and a set of keys. Ms Tauber likened Grimmond to Kim Kardashian, who was infamously robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016 after sharing her location on social media. 'I think people should be commending [Grimmond] for protecting her safety,' she said. 'And I think more influencers should be doing the same thing, because it is really dangerous when you think about how much people share of their lives online, and who is actually out there watching it.' Taking precautions: Grimmond has been robbed on holiday before after posting about her location in real time, so it makes sense she'd hold back sharing pictures online He relocated from Los Angeles to Sydney in March last year with his wife Sarah and their children. And on Monday, billionaire U.S. media baron Lachlan Murdoch, 50, and his family appeared happy to be back home as they landed in the Harbour City after a trip to French Polynesia. After touching down in his $90million private jet, Lachlan was seen pushing the clan's very modest luggage through Sydney Airport while his wife Sarah and their three children walked nearby. Not too posh to push! Billionaire media baron Lachlan Murdoch, 50, and his family appeared happy to be back home as they landed in Sydney after a trip to French Polynesia on Monday Hands full! Lachlan was seen pushing the family's very modest luggage through Sydney airport while his wife Sarah and their three children walked nearby The Fox CEO revealed his arm tattoo and a golden tan in a grey T-shirt and beige trousers as he strolled through the terminal. He completed his look with a pair of black New Balance sneakers and wore a face mask. Meanwhile, Sarah looked stylish in a long black sleeveless dress, brown sandals and her favourite $1,100 Loewe raffia bag. She threw a cashmere sweater around her shoulders and tied her blonde locks into a low bun. Stylish: Sarah looked stylish in a long black sleeveless dress, brown sandals and her favourite $1,100 Loewe raffia bag Luxurious: Lachlan, Sarah and their children disembarked their AU$90million private jet She accessorised with an eye-catching personalised gold necklace by the American brand Foundrae, where pieces can cost up to $56,000 (AUD) and a Cartier watch. The Murdochs relocated from Los Angeles to Sydney in March 2021. It seems the couple, along with their three children, sons Kalan Alexander, 16, and Aidan Patrick, 14, and daughter Aerin Elisabeth, 10, may be here to stay. In April last year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Murdochs will be in Australia 'for years, not months, as initially believed'. The family, who are based in their Bellevue Hill compound, known as Le Manoir, have settled into life in Sydney after Sarah was seen at the Royal Easter Show in Olympic Park with her children. Moving: The Murdochs relocated from Los Angeles to Sydney in March 2021 Making a move: In April last year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Murdochs will be in Australia 'for years, not months, as initially believed' The publication also confirmed the Murdoch kids were enrolled in Sydney schools. While no reason was given for the family's return to Australia, a report claimed it was the political climate in the U.S. that inspired them to leave LA in favour of Sydney. Despite having spent years in LA, where Lachlan is Executive Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, the couple have always maintained their Bellevue Hill home. Viola Davis started off her week in a glamorous hot pink pantsuit while accepting the Trailblazer of the Year award at CinemaCon. The 56-year-old actress took to the stage at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace during Sony Pictures' CinemaCon presentation on Monday evening. She was helped present the trailer for her new film The Woman King, which she called her 'magnum opus,' slated for release on September 16. Viola's look: Viola Davis started off her week in a glamorous hot pink gown while accepting the Trailblazer of the Year award at CinemaCon Davis stepped out with an elegant hot pink off-shoulder pantsuit as she took the stage on Monday night. Her bangs dangled over her forehead as she spoke to the nation's exhibitors during the annual convention, with bright blue earrings as she held her award. She spoke to the convention about her new film The Woman King, based on true events that happened in The Kingdom of Dahomey in Africa in the late 18th Century. Viola's look: Davis stepped out with an elegant hot pink off-shoulder pantsuit as she took the stage on Monday night Award: Her bangs dangled over her forehead as she spoke to the nation's exhibitors during the annual convention, with bright blue earrings as she held her award She told the crowd, 'You know the five words I dont want to take to my grave would be, "I was not brave enough." That I didnt risk discomfort, failure exposure.' The actress also revealed that icon Cecily Tyson was her inspiration to become an actress, when she was just nine years old. 'I just knew that when I was 9 years old and I saw [her] for the first time and saw that vision jump out of the screen, the radical power that gave me to believe in something bigger than my world, it touched down and landed in me and it landed in a generation of artists,' Davis said. Brave: She told the crowd, 'You know the five words I dont want to take to my grave would be, "I was not brave enough." That I didnt risk discomfort, failure exposure' 'And I wanted to do that in my work as an actor I wanted to play characters that have never been seen before in a body that looked like mine and be a producer who championed those stories with people, with a history that looked like me,' she added. 'There is a whole generation of people who want to be in the story,' she said, while TriStar Pictures president Nicole Brown talked about the 'bada** women' in the film and compared it to a real-life Black Panther story. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood was also on hand, praising Davis for championing the movie, 'like a general since day one' as both a star and producer. Women: 'There is a whole generation of people who want to be in the story,' she said, while TriStar Pictures president Nicole Brown (left) talked about the 'bada** women' in the film and compared it to a real-life Black Panther story 'She is everything we believe her to be, and she kicks ass in this film, Prince-Bythewood said on stage during the Sony presentation. Davis plays Nanisca in The Woman King, the general of an all-female military unit in The Kingdom of Dahomey. The Kingdom of Dahomey was considered one of the most powerful African states in the 18th and 19th centuries, with Davis starring alongside Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and John Boyega. Everything: 'She is everything we believe her to be, and she kicks ass in this film, Prince-Bythewood said on stage during the Sony presentation New role: Davis plays Nanisca in The Woman King, the general of an all-female military unit in The Kingdom of Dahomey Chelsea Lazkani was spotted while stepping out with her husband Jeff in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. The reality television personality, 29, was seen taking a call from a friend while taking a short stroll in Mo-Mo-Paradise's parking lot, and her husband also took a brief walk during the outing. The real estate agent's time with her husband comes just after the premiere of Selling Sunset's fifth season, in which she appears as a main cast member. Heading out: Chelsea Lazkani was spotted while stepping out with her husband Jeff in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon Lazkani wore an all-athleisure outfit that included a black velour track suit with matching pants during the outing. The reality television figure also rocked a set of sandals and accessorized with a trucker cap and a pair of sunglasses. Her gorgeous brunette locks were tied into a lengthy ponytail and fell onto her shoulders. Jeff kept it casual in a gray crewneck sweater and black sweat pants while he spent time with his wife. Staying comfortable: Lazkani wore an all-athleisure outfit that included a black zip-up hoodie and a matching pair of sweat pants during her outing Casual clothing: Jeff kept it casual in a gray crewneck sweater and black sweat pants while he spent time with his wife Lazkani appeared as a series regular during Selling Sunset's fifth season, which was released last Friday. The reality television personality previously worked in the oil and gas industry before becoming a realtor. She earned a master's degree in International Oil and Gas Management from the University of Dundee before entering the world of real estate in 2017. The media figure joined the Oppenheim Group in July of 2021 and quickly established friendships with many of the cast members. On screen: Lazkani appeared as a series regular during Selling Sunset's fifth season, which was released last Friday Lazkani opened up about her career during an interview with Today, where she noted that she wanted to maintain her personal style while working towards achieving her professional goals. 'Typically, real estate agents are not considered glamorous. But I always considered myself glamorous,' she said. The realtor also spoke about her friendship with cast member Christine Quinn, and she stressed that their rapport was real. 'Everything you saw transpire is exactly how it happened. Our relationship has always been electric, vibrant, fun boss vibes,' she said. Making it clear: Lazkani opened up about her career during an interview with Today, where she noted that she wanted to maintain her personal style while working towards achieving her professional goals Staying close: The realtor also spoke about her friendship with cast member Christine Quinn, and she stressed that their rapport was real Lazkani did point out that she also wanted to establish friendships with the rest of the show's cast members. 'I went in there going to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and hoping they'd give me the same too. It worked in my favor,' she stated. The reality television personality, who is also a mother to two children, spoke about what she wanted to teach them through her professional efforts. 'What I want to instill in my kids is they have this great life that they should be so grateful for and fortunate for but you see me and your father work in every day to maintain it,' she said. Today Show host Karl Stefanovic has denied rumours he's departing Channel Nine's breakfast show. On Monday, Woman's Day claimed Karl could be preparing to step up into a new role two years after returning to the show. But the 47-year-old shut down claims he's quitting TV after being questioned about the rumours by 3AW radio host Neil Mitchell. Denied: Today Show host Karl Stefanovic has DENIED rumours he's departing the breakfast show and preparing to step up into a new role 'No way, absolutely bulls**t,' Karl responded. It comes after the magazine claimed Karl could be swapping breakfast TV for the boardroom. 'He's committed to getting people back into regional Australia last week he was in country Victoria and NSW with the charity Gotcha4Life's Mateship Miles Roadshow he's passionate about this sort of stuff,' an insider told the publication. Claims: On Monday, Woman's Day claimed Karl could be preparing to step up into a new role two years after returning to the breakfast show. Pictured Karl and co-host Allison Langdon They alleged that Karl will continue to report on the big stories for the Today show, while also working at 60 Minutes. Karl was infamously sacked from the Today show in December 2018, before being rehired a year later after viewers didn't warm to his replacements. Earlier this month, it was reported Channel Nine had sent Karl to Switzerland to help the network land broadcast rights to three upcoming Olympic Games. 'No way!' But the 47-year-old shut down claims he's quitting TV after being questioned about the rumours by 3AW radio host Neil Mitchell He was dispatched to the Central European country with a handful of top executives to help 'seal the deal,' reported Mumbrella. Nine is hoping to score a major coup over Channel Seven by taking its mantle as Australia's exclusive Olympics broadcaster. The proposed deal would include coverage of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the 2028 Summer Olympics in LA, and the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane. Seven had the broadcast rights to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, which took place earlier this year, and the Tokyo 2020 Games. People enjoying craft beer at Magpie's 10-year anniversary party on April 9. / Courtesy of Joo Shangheun By Jon Dunbar It's been a good 10 years for beer drinkers in Korea. Before that, Magpie Brewing Co. didn't exist. The craft brewery has grown with Korea's craft brewing scene. It is also the likely origin of the term "pi-maek," a combination of the first syllables of pizza and the Korean word for beer, according to its owners. Magpie is celebrating its 10-year anniversary throughout the year, having already gotten the party started on April 9 with the release of a limited-edition sour IPA flavored with mango, passion fruit and guava, branded "Sipnyeongamsu" ("to lose 10 years") with imagery inspired by Korean traditional folk art. The same day, Magpie's original brewshop location hosted an anniversary event that ended up as more of a block party. "If I had to guess I'd say it was easily three times bigger than we had planned for," Erik Moynihan, co-founder of Magpie, told The Korea Times. "I think it was a confluence of weather, COVID fatigue and everyone having a reason to party. The most common comment I heard was regarding the feeling of nostalgia people had hanging out in the alley. It's been a long time since those streets have seen that many people. I'm really happy to see so many people come out and support." Magpie got its start a little more than a decade ago as a homebrewing studio and "idea incubator," selling beer-brewing equipment out of a quiet little back alley in Itaewon's Gyeongnidan area. In 2012 its owners applied for a restaurant license. In those days under strict regulations, craft beer producers like Magpie were prohibited from selling their product off-site at restaurants they didn't operate directly. Looking around the area, and especially that particular alley now, it's clear how much Gyeongnidan has changed in the last 10 years. "Generally I didn't think it was Magpie that drove it more that we were one of the examples of foreign-led businesses that bridged cultural barriers, but we weren't alone in that movement," Moynihan said. Magpie Brewing Co. co-owner Erik Moynihan, center in white mask, attends the brewery's 10th anniversary party on April 9. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar "I think the first wave in the area was led by us in that it brought a bunch of other beer related businesses to the area that later became defined as 'craft beer alley.' It was the attention on the rest of the area that caused its boom/bust a few years later." Originally Magpie was a small ground-floor spot to share beers with friends, but after a year it expanded to the much larger basement space of a nearby building. Shortly after that, Magpie's owners struck a lucrative partnership with Arario Gallery, which led to the opening of another bar location in Jeju City's aptly named Tap-dong area in 2014. Then in 2016, Magpie opened a full-fledged brewery on Jeju Island and ceased all OEM brewery relationships. As Magpie has kept its corporate headquarters in Seoul's Yongsan area, Moynihan describes Magpie as "bi-coastal." Although operating the brewery on Jeju has increased costs due to shipping and logistics, he says the benefits have been greater. Magpie has grown from a tiny alley shop to achieve more national recognition. And while Itaewon took a beating during the pandemic, Jeju Island captured a great deal of domestic tourism. "Generally," he said, "Jeju has been great for us." During Magpie's time, craft beer in Korea has gone from a foreign concept to a way of sharing culture. Magpie has ridden the wave of deregulation, as obstacles standing in the way of Korean craft beer have been removed and pushed back little by little. Magpie's 10th anniversary party on April 9 / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar Although convenience store coolers have been filling up with locally made craft beers in recent years, Moynihan sees this as a "straw man success story," and said while Magpie is exploring options, he doesn't see much opportunity for Magpie on convenience store shelves. What he would really like to see is permission for online sales and delivery. "They always say the further the beer travels from the brewery the worse it gets," he said. "I'd further that by saying it suffers with each set of hands it passes through. The more direct our relationship with the customers, the better the beer they will get." As for how he sees Magpie expanding in the future, he was a little vague. "We are always planting seeds and talking about the industry with whoever will listen but everything takes time, so nothing to report yet!" he said. "I think like most people we are just really looking to have a good year and get things back as close to 'normal' as we can. Hopefully [the April 9] event is indicative of the year we have ahead of us!" He made mention of a "Brewery Party" to be held this summer after a few years' hiatus. "It will be more of a celebration of our core values: culture, craftsmanship, and community," he said. "It will be a kind of mini festival down on the island but we are looking at venues to hold a mirrored event up in Seoul as well." Someone walks through the alley wearing a Magpie 10th anniversary shirt on April 9. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar Dame Joan Collin's looked radiant as she stepped out alongside her husband, Percy Gibson in West Hollywood on Monday. The legendary actress, 88, looked typically classy as she donned an iridescent skirt and white peep-toe shoes for dinner at Craig's. She added a blue and white blouse that she topped with a white shawl-type layer draped over her shoulders. Glowing: Dame Joan Collin's looked radiant as she stepped out alongside her husband, Percy Gibson in West Hollywood on Monday Glamorous: The legendary actress, 88, looked typically classy as she donned an iridescent skirt and white peep-toe shoes for dinner at Craig's The star wore her brunette hair down in voluminous curls with her bangs framing her made up face. She lined her eyes in dark makeup and made them pop with lengthy and fluttery lashes. Joan finished her face with a glossy red lipstick that perfectly outlined her shapely pout. Collins accessorized with dangling silver earrings and a silver-toned necklace with a heart pendant that had an arrow going through it. For his part, Percy accompanied his wife in deep blue denim jeans that he fastened with a lighter blue Hermes belt. He tucked a blue and white checkered button-up shirt into the trousers and added a tan blazer with brown buttons. He wore black-rimmed rectangular glasses and his face was clean shaven as he held his bride's hand. For shoes he went with a pair of gold and black loafers, completing his dapper outfit. Layered look: She added a blue and white blouse that she topped with a white shawl-type layer draped over her shoulders The couple attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party last month, bringing out their best glamorous looks for the soiree. Joan showed off her timeless fashion sense in a silver jeweled gown with bell sleeves and she pulled her dark locks into an updo. The veteran entertainer swiped a hot pink shade of lipstick on her lips, proving she still has her spunky style. Stunning pair: The couple attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party last month, bringing out their best glamorous looks for the soiree Getting candid, the Hollywood siren recently spoke with the New York Times about the Me Too movement. 'Sadly, I think that now young men are suffering from being labeled toxically masculine, because of this rise of anti-maleness,' she shared. Meanwhile she recalled that sexual misconduct 'happened to girls all the time' in showbiz when she was young. 'A lot of the time, I would just laugh in their faces.' As for whether the wrongdoing has continued to this day, she remarked: 'Im not having men making passes at me, so I dont know. But I think probably.' Michelle Penticost made a barbed dig at her fiance Kieran Hayler's ex-wife Katie Price, alongside a shot of herself holding hands with the model's youngest daughter, on Friday. And on Monday evening, Katie, 43, broke her silence by sharing sweet snaps of the two kids she co-parents with ex Kieran, 35: Jett, eight, and Bunny, seven. Alongside the photographs, the mother-of-five penned of the two adorable children: 'Jett and Bunny are so cute here!' On Monday, Katie Price, 43, broke her silence after Michelle Penticost, 39, made barbed dig at her as she shared sweet snaps of the two kids she co-parents with ex Kieran Hayler, 35 Katie's adorable shots showed Bunny flashing a peace sign while enjoying a fairground ride with her brother Jett. The family snaps were posted after Michelle, 39, shared a snap of herself holding hands with the glamour model's daughter on Friday. Flight attendant Michelle uploaded a throwback snap from a holiday to Mallorca's Puerto Pollensa which saw her twinning with Bunny as they wore matching white dresses with red-and-black stripes. In her caption, she wrote about blended families being 'hard work especially with added extras' which is thought to reference glamour model Katie being banned from contacting her after breaking a restraining order earlier this year. So cute! Katie's adorable shots showed Bunny flashing a peace sign while enjoying a fairground ride with her brother Jett So cute! Alongside the photographs, the mother-of-five penned of her two youngest children: 'Jett and Bunny are so cute here!' Fans praised Michelle for keeping her 'dignified' silence (until now), while claiming the 'added extra is a very toxic individual to put it mildly'. Kieran's partner had penned: '3 years ago!!! Our family holiday [heart emoji] We love to be twinning [heart emoji] times flies!!! Blended families are hard work especially with added extras!!! But we make it work [red heart] #family #blended #love #fun.' One wrote: 'Those added extras don't matter when your blended family has each other and reminds itself outside noise doesn't matter. [heart] Seeing your posts.' Another agreed: ;Jett + Bunny are so very lucky to have a mother figure like yourself to look up to. I dread to think what those little loves lives would become if you were not in it. You are exactly what they need [heart].' 'Blended families are hard... especially with added extras!' It comes after Kieran Hayler's fiance Michelle made a dig at Katie while twinning with her daughter Bunny on Friday Thinly-veiled: In her caption, she wrote about blended families being 'hard work especially with added extras' which is thought to reference the glamour model A third chimed in: 'I don't know how you refrain from biting back to the 'added extra' She is a very toxic individual to put it mildly. You and Kieran are both bringing your 4 kids up brilliantly. 'Providing Jett and Bunny esp with the stability and routine young kids need. No matter what anyone says, that can't be denied [clapping emoji]. And a fourth said: 'Blended families would work so much better if people didn't interfere and use the children as weapons You keep a dignified silence which must be so hard Just shows how much all the children mean to you [purple heart].' Michele recently shared an adorable Mother's Day card she received from Katie's son Jett on Instagram. Troubled: MailOnline has learned Katie will appear before magistrates in Crawley next month for allegedly breaching a restraining order against Michelle Support: Fans praised Michelle for keeping her 'dignified' silence (until now), while claiming the 'added extra is a very toxic individual to put it mildly' She posted the heart-warming gesture on her story while her fiancee Kieran Hayler reposted the snap to his social media. The mum-of-two seemed thrilled with the card which had the words 'you're like a mum to me' written on the front of it. Katie and Kieran are parents to Jett, eight, and Bunny, seven, while he and Michelle are parents to seven-month-old son Apollo. Michelle marked Mother's day with the post and wrote: 'Jett's card to me' with a pink heart emoji as she tagged her partner. Cute: Michele recently shared an adorable Mother's Day card she received from Katie 's son Jett on Instagram Kieran, 34, went on to share a video of his daughter Bunny cooking her step-mum Micheke a secial roast dinner. The ex-husband of Katie marked the occasion by sharing a sweet carousel of snaps to his Instagram to celebrate Michelle. He penned: 'Happy Mother's Day to Michelle. Me and all the kids are so lucky to have you. You are the most incredible mummy and step mummy to all of the children 'Couldn't ask for a better woman to have as a mother to Apollo and a step mum to jett and bunny. You really are perfect and I feel very lucky' Michelle and Kieran announced their engagement in March 2020 but had to delay their wedding due to coronavirus restrictions. Family: Michelle and fiancee Kieran have been inseparable since going public with their relationship in July 2018 and are parents to seven-month-old son Apollo They have been inseparable since going public with their relationship in July 2018. MailOnline has learned Katie will appear before magistrates in Crawley next month for allegedly breaching a restraining order against Michelle. The troubled model was arrested on January 21 over claims she sent an abusive text to Michelle. She spent the night in a cell after being quizzed by officers at Worthing Police station who had earlier picked Katie up from her home in Horsham after a report was made. Katie allegedly branded flight attendant Michelle a 'c***ing w***e piece of s***' and a 'gutter s**g. Happier times: Katie and Kieran (pictured together in 2017) were married from 2013 to 2018 MailOnline understands that Katie may have breached the order a second time when she sent an anonymous letter attacking Michelle to a relative just before flying out to Thailand. A source said: 'Katie is playing a dangerous game and her actions have led her into deep trouble. 'Kieran and Michelle were deeply concerned after a relative received a letter, believing Katie is ignoring the rules of the restraining order as this is the second time it's happened in three months. 'It was sent anonymously from Heathrow on the day she left for Thailand. Loved-up: Michelle and Kieran first got together in July 2018, with their sons attending the same primary school together 'They know it's her and are concerned by her unpredictable behaviour.' A police source told MailOnline: 'Katie Price was arrested a few weeks ago for breaching a restraining order placed against her following an argument with the fiancee of her former partner, Kieran Hayler. 'Now she is believed to have written an anonymous note attacking Michelle Penticost via one of her family members. 'As such Katie has been charged with harassment and will appear before Crawley magistrates next month.' Mother of five Katie was banned from contacting Michelle, 39, 'directly or indirectly' after swearing at her in a school playground in 2019. Breaking the terms of the restraining order carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. Katie also risks jail time for being arrested while still on licence for her drink-drive shame. Michelle has grown close to Katie's two children she shares with Kieran, son Jett, eight, and daughter Bunny, seven. She also has her own child with the ex-stripper, seven-month-old son Apollo, and a ten-year old son Valentino from a previous relationship. Olivia Colman wrapped up warm as she filmed an outdoor scene for Empire Of Light alongside her co-star Micheal Ward on Monday. The actors were also joined by the film's director Sam Mendes for the shoot, with the movie described as a love story set in the 1980s. Olivia donned a dark grey padded coat which she wore over a purple cardigan and a matching vest. Filming: Olivia Colman wrapped up warm in a dark grey coat as she filmed an outdoor scene for Empire Of Light alongside her co-star Micheal Ward on Monday It appears Olivia and Michael will both be playing a cinema worker in the project as they were both dressed in matching outfits. The Crown star also sported a purple skirt while she added height to her frame with a pair of heels. Olivia and Micheal were seen stroling through the streets before they appears to stop and chat on a bridge. Sam was seen chatting to members of the crew nearby, with the director wrapping up in a navy jacket and grey scarf. On location: The actors were also joined by the film's director Sam Mendes for the shoot, with the movie described as a love story set in the 1980s In character: Olivia donned a dark grey padded coat which she wore over a purple cardigan and a matching vest Scene: It appears Olivia and Michael will both be playing a cinema worker in the project as they were both dressed in matching outfits Along with Olivia and Michael, Empire Of Light will also star Colin Firth, Toby Jones and Crystal Clarke. Filming on the project began in early February in Margate, with the seaside town was transported back to the 1980s as builders could be seen transforming the area surrounding the Dreamland amusement park. For the first time Skyfall frontman Sam is set to direct a film that he didn't pen with the assistance of a co-writer. Shoot: The Crown star also sported a purple skirt and pair of black boots between takes Drama: Olivia and Michael were seen stroling through the streets before they appears to stop and chat on a bridge Cast: Along with Olivia and Michael, Empire Of Light will also star Colin Firth, Toby Jones and Crystal Clarke Project: Filming on the project began in early February in Margate, with the seaside town was transported back to the 1980s as builders could be seen transforming the area surrounding the Dreamland amusement park While plot details remains tightly under wraps, it is known the production is a love story 'set around a beautiful old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s.' Sam is producing Empire of Light alongside Pippa Harris through his Neal Street Productions, and he will also reunite with his longtime cinematographer Roger Deakins on the production. Aiming to release the film in late 2022, Sam said in a statement: 'I have long been an admirer of Searchlight and the dynamic way they have produced and released some of my favourite theatrical releases of recent years. 'This project is very close to my heart, and I couldn't be more delighted that it has found its ideal home.' Director: For the first time Skyfall frontman Sam is set to direct a film that he didn't pen with the assistance of a co-writer Story: While plot details remains tightly under wraps, it is known the production is a love story 'set around a beautiful old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s' Crown Princess Mary of Denmark visited a Rohingya refugee camp during her three-day trip to Bangladesh on Tuesday. The 50-year-old was seen greeting the community at the Kutupalong camp - the largest refugee camp in the world - in Cox's Bazar. The princess met with the Rohingya people and host communities on camps number five, six, and eight at the district's Ukhiya Upazila. Visit: Crown Princess Mary of Denmark visited a Rohingya refugee camp during her three-day trip to Bangladesh on Tuesday She also walked through the camps and visited the communities' homes to talk to the Rohingya people about their lives. For the occasion, the royal wore a casual blue blouse, beige trousers and walking boots. She teamed her look with a wide-rimmed hat to protect her face from the sun. Trip: The 50-year-old was seen greeting the community at the Kutupalong camp - the largest refugee camp in the world - in Cox's Bazar Talks: She also walked through the camps and visited the communities' homes to talk to the Rohingya people about their lives Princess Mary appeared in high spirits as she spoke to the community, and was also pictured gazing off a view point with a pair of binoculars. The royal began her working trip in Dhaka a day prior, where the mother-of-four was greeted by Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. Afterwards, accompanied by the Minister for Development Cooperation Flemming Mller Mortensen, Mary met with representatives from Danish companies based in Bangladesh in hopes the two countries can collaborate on green, Earth-friendly products. Happy: Princess Mary appeared in high spirits as she spoke to the community, and was also pictured gazing off a view point with a pair of binoculars Style: For the occasion, the royal wore a casual blue blouse, beige trousers and walking boots Next: On Wednesday, the princess will fly out to Satkhira to visit Kultoli village The Princess took to the Danish royal family's social media accounts to explain the purpose of her visit there. 'On this journey, the focus is on the consequences of climate change for the population, nature and biodiversity, for Bangladesh is one of the world's most climate vulnerable countries, and it is expected that by 2050, up to 20 million people will be displaced,' Princess Mary said. 'We need to focus more than ever on the diversity of nature and to promote projects aimed at conserving and protecting nature. Solemn: Princess Mary is pictured staring at the crowd during Tuesday's visit Arrival: The 50-year-old royal began her working trip in Dhaka, where the mother-of-four was received by Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed 'In Bangladesh, there is a worrying pressure on natural resources. At the same time, the country is one of the most vulnerable countries in relation to the negative consequences of climate change - also for the population. 'This means, among other things, that people often have to move because they can no longer grow their crops or because areas are flooded.' For the meeting Mary wore a blue and white silk dress by Beulah London and Dulong pearl and diamond earrings, a favourite of the royal's. Reason: The Princess took to the Danish royal family's social media accounts to explain the purpose of her visit there 'Love this dress on Princess Mary. The colours and fabric look light and fresh for Bangladesh's warm climate, and Mary looks cool and collected and ready for business. I like the pleating - it give a breezy look as well as some shape to the dress. Overall very nice look indeed,' one royal commenter remarked. 'It's so good to see countries working together to combat world issues. Thank you for all that you do,' said another. A third added: 'We love our Princess! Sending luck from Australia'. The promotional campaign for their new film continued in earnest on Tuesday as Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen attended a photocall in London. The co-stars were side by side as they posed in front of a suitably futuristic backdrop on Trafalgar Square, the latest pitstop as they promote forthcoming Marvel release Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Opting for a lemon yellow mock-neck beneath a chalk-stripe suit, leading man Benedict, 45, looked appropriately dapper as he greeted cameramen, fans and cosplayers at the central London landmark. Here we go: The promotional campaign for their new film continued in earnest on Tuesday as Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen attended a photocall in London He added to his look with a pair of casual trainers, while Oliver Peoples sunglasses shielded his eyes as temperatures continued to climb across the capital. Joining the British star, Elizabeth, 33, caught the eye in a sequin-embellished waistcoat and high-slung trousers, teamed with a pair of strappy black heels. The actress reprises her role as Wanda Maximoff in the new film, a character she previously played in Marvel's Captain America and Avengers franchises. Back at work: The co-stars posed in front of a futuristic backdrop on Trafalgar Square, the latest pitstop as they promote Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Close: The film's principal stars greeted one another with a kiss as they arrived at the event Smart: Benedict looked dapper in a lemon yellow mock-neck beneath a chalk-stripe suit by Canali, while Elizabeth caught the eye in a sequin-embellished waistcoat and high-slung trousers Relaxed: Benedict added to his look with a pair of casual trainers, while Oliver Peoples sunglasses shielded his eyes as temperatures continued to climb across the capital Their forthcoming film advances the Doctor Strange story arc by focusing on his research on the Time Stone, his fascination with the chaos caused by the Multiverse and his battle with nemesis Dark Strange. It's understood that the film underwent six weeks of laborious reshoots, with cast and crew working six days a week on location in Los Angeles. One source, played down the reshoots, telling The Hollywood Reporter: 'Even while in the middle of production, Marvel is scheduling you for more shooting.' Another added: 'We've had bigger reshoots on other MCU movies.' Getting involved: The co-stars chatted to members of the press while promoting the film on Tuesday morning All together: (L-R) Benedict Wong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen and Sam Raimi Welcome return: Elizabeth reprises her role as Wanda Maximoff in the new film, a character she previously played in Marvel's Captain America and Avengers franchises However, some insiders believe the scale of the reshoots is significant, explaining: 'They're here until the end of the year. That's like a whole other movie.' Recently speaking about the reshoots on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Cumberbatch said: 'Like everything with Marvel, it comes in fresh, pretty much, most mornings. It's really exciting and the film is shaping up to be something special.' Meanwhile, Benedict previously revealed he wants his acting projects to be able to justify spending time away from his wife Sophie Hunter and their sons Christopher Carlton, six, Hal Auden, four, and Finn, two. Co-star: Benedict Wong, also in attendance on Tuesday, plays Wong in the forthcoming film Greetings! Benedict greeted fans and cosplayers after they showed up dressed as his titular character Opening up: The actor previously revealed he wants his acting projects to be able to justify spending time away from his wife Sophie Hunter and their sons Upbeat: Benedict was in high spirits as he chatted to a young cosplayer at Tuesday's event Speaking to Esquire magazine, he added: 'I mean... I like a challenge. I really enjoy my work. 'When I do work, I want to work hard. It has to be worth leaving my family and home for. To make them... Oh, this sounds weird but I guess to validate me not being there. 'And if I can get away with a new skill and call it work, lucky me, you know? That saves me a few night classes or, you know, time I don't have.' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is released on Thursday, May 5. Time consuming: It's understood that the film underwent six weeks of laborious reshoots, with cast and crew working six days a week on location in Los Angeles Downton Abbey: A New Era (PG) Rating: Verdict: The gift that keeps on giving Back To The Future, Eyes Wide Shut and True Lies are fine examples of cinematic oxymorons - film titles which contradict themselves. And joining them last night was Downton Abbey: A New Era, which predictably plunges us straight back into Downton Abbey, the old era. Downtons creator Julian Fellowes did not get where he is today (the House of Lords, for starters) by denying his fans what they expect. So the new film, the second big-screen spin-off after 2019s Downton Abbey, positively bursts with all our favourite ingredients, not least the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Dame Maggie Smith) firing acid barbs through pursed lips, which is easier said than done. Downton Abbey: A New Era, the second big-screen spin-off after 2019s Downton Abbey, positively bursts with all our favourite ingredients The new era bit concerns the arrival of the movies. It is 1928, and a dishy director, Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), wants to hire the stately pile to make a silent film. Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) more or less declares that such commercial vulgarity will only happen over his dead body. Among the more ruthless of us at last nights glitzy world premiere in London, this kindled the fleeting hope that his lordship might be about to expire in spectacular fashion, perhaps of an overdose of kedgeree. Downton has always done death rather well. But no. A hefty cheque helps to change Lord Granthams mind, along with bossy Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), who is still in the process of dragging the estate into the 20th century and realises the film money might bring the house up to snuff. Coincidentally, just in front of me at the cinema in Leicester Square were Lord and Lady Carnarvon, owners of the real-life Downton, Highclere Castle. That storyline must have struck a chord. Below stairs, admirable Anna (Joanne Frogatt) and dopey Daisy (Sophie McShera) are both quivering with excitement at the prospect of seeing matinee idol Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and screen siren Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock, having more fun than anyone) up close and personal. The Dowager Countess of Grantham (Dame Maggie Smith) fires acid barbs through pursed lips, which is easier said than done Below stairs, dopey Daisy (Sophie McShera) is quivering with excitement at the prospect of seeing matinee idol Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and screen siren Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock It has never taken much to make Daisy quiver. A new valet in tight breeches, Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol) allowing her to go to the shops on her own ... these are the things that have always made Daisys day. But she is less of a dope now she is married to Andy the jug-eared footman (Michael Fox). Could Daisy even have a future in moving pictures? Probably not. But, against all the odds, nice Mr Molesley (Kevin Doyle) might. As always with Downton, the suspicion mounts that Fellowes has found out from Wikipedia what was happening at the time and shaped his narrative accordingly. So, with the South of France in the late 1920s becoming increasingly popular with the British aristocracy, off we duly pop to the Riviera, where old Lady G has controversially been left a handsome villa by a Frenchman, with whom she enjoyed an idyllic week back in 1864. The French sojourn allows Mr Carson (Jim Carter), dragged out of retirement, to beetle his brows more than ever in an outbreak of Francophobia, but really it is back at Downton where the more entertaining stuff is going on. The silent film is in trouble, you see, because the talkies have just arrived. Will the dishy director save the project himself? Of course not. He needs the help of Lady Mary and the servants. Meanwhile, Mr Barrow the butler (Robert James-Collier), who had a personality transplant some time ago and is no longer a rotter, is still grappling with his sexuality. But there is salvation in unexpected form. With the South of France in the late 1920s becoming increasingly popular with the British aristocracy, off we duly pop to the Riviera All this unfolds in amiable Downton style, ably directed by Simon Curtis, although regrettably he cant stop Lady Cora simpering (despite being married to Elizabeth McGovern, who plays her). Theres a birth, a death, a proposal, and a spot of disputed paternity, with all loose ends tied as neatly as if Mr Carson himself had attended to them. There are also some genuine chuckles, and a few shamelessly derivative storylines, with especially firm nods to My Fair Lady and Singin in the Rain. So what now for the Downton saga? My own hope is that Fellowes will be brave enough next time - and there will surely be a next time - to embrace a genuinely new era and let the Crawleys flog their ancestral home to the nation. After all, Downton is the gift that keeps on giving; how apt it would be to give it a National Trust gift shop. Downton Abbey: A New Era goes on general release on Friday Meanwhile, Mr Barrow the butler (Robert James-Collier), who had a personality transplant some time ago and is no longer a rotter, is still grappling with his sexuality Nasser Sultan made an incredible claim last week. The former Married At First groom posted a video to Instagram in which he claimed he was once a personal trainer for late conwoman Melissa Caddick. 'You know I used to train Melissa Caddick, the lady that took everyone's money that disappeared,' he said in footage filmed by a beach. What? Nasser Sultan (pictured) made an incredible claim last week. The former Married At First groom posted a video to Instagram in which he claimed he was once a personal trainer for late conwoman Melissa Caddick 'If I knew this was going to happen, I should of bloody charged her double and got her to buy me a car'. Some of his followers were dubious, with one suggesting that perhaps Nasser wasn't being honest. Caddick was last seen shortly after the Dover Heights mansion she shared with her DJ husband Anthony Koletti was raided by the Australian Federal Police and ASIC investigators. 'You know I used to train Melissa Caddick, the lady that took everyone's money that disappeared,' he said in a video that was filmed by a beach 'If I knew this was going to happen, I should of bloody charged her double and got her to buy me a car,' he added A financial advisor, Caddick scammed an estimated $30million from 60 clients, most of them friends and family, in order to fund an extravagant lifestyle. Three months after Caddick vanished in November 2021, a severed foot was found on the south coast of NSW near Tathra, about five and a half hours from Sydney. After DNA tests confirmed that the limb belonged to Caddick, 49, it was presumed the high-flying schemer was dead. Missing: Caddick was last seen shortly after the Dover Heights mansion she shared with her DJ husband Anthony Koletti was raided by the Australian Federal Police and ASIC investigators. Pictured: Caddick Many theories have surfaced since to explain the circumstances surrounding Caddick's disappearance including murder and suicide. Some experts who have examined the case argue that it is possible that Caddick faked her own disappearance, and is in hiding. Caddick's story was told earlier this month in Underbelly: Vanishing Act. He won the first-ever season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia in 2008. And while Jack Chambers has dropped out of the television spotlight, his career has continued in bounds. The 33-year-old dancer is starring in the upcoming production of Mary Poppins at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, in which he will play chimney sweep Bert. Star power: He won the first-ever season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia in 2008. And while Jack Chambers (pictured) has dropped out of the television spotlight, his career has continued in bounds He has also travelled around the world starring in musicals, including touring Europe and the USA as part of Hugh Jackman's The Man. The Music. The Show. 'I couldn't have pictured being able to do everything I have and so I feel very lucky,' he told The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday. Jack thanks So You Think You Can Dance for giving him a start in his chosen career. Past: Jack thanks So You Think You Can Dance for giving him a start in his chosen career. 'That show opened a lot of doors for me but in saying that, once those doors were open, you still had to jump through it and work really hard to get what you wanted,' he said. Pictured in 2008 'That show opened a lot of doors for me but in saying that, once those doors were open, you still had to jump through it and work really hard to get what you wanted,' he said. Jack recently thanked Hugh Jackman in an Instagram post, explaining that the pair have actually been friends since his So You Think You Can Dance days, before touring together in Hugh's Broadway show. 'I've been having a blast touring this ripper of a show! @thehughjackman - you are an inspiring human, professionally and personally, and I am super grateful to be up on that stage with you!' Jack wrote alongside a photo of the pair. On stage: The 33-year-old has also travelled around the world starring in musicals, including touring Europe and the USA as part of Hugh Jackman's The Man. The Music. The Show. (pictured) and will next star in Marry Poppins at the Sydney Lyric Theatre Pals: Jack recently thanked Hugh Jackman in an Instagram post. 'I've been having a blast touring this ripper of a show! @thehughjackman - you are an inspiring human, professionally and personally, and I am super grateful to be up on that stage with you!' Jack wrote Jack now lives in Brisbane with fiance Grant Almirall but the pair have had to postpone their nuptials dude to the pandemic. 'We were so, so close, almost there, and then COVID-19 came along,' he told Mamamia. 'We just thought we need to put it a little further in the distance because we just don't know when things will start to come back to normal.' Wedding belles: Jack now lives in Brisbane with fiance Grant Almirall but the pair have had to postpone their nuptials dude to the pandemic. Both pictured The pair have had a largely long-distance relationship due to Jack's international touring. 'We talk every single night on Skype. I feel like Skype should sponsor our wedding!' he added. Jack won So You Think You Can Dance Australia's first season in 2008, where his Broadway dancing style wowed judges Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe. He joined the social media app back in 2009 and has amassed a staggering 4.4 million followers. And during Tuesday's instalment of This Morning, Phillip Schofield revealed that he has deleted the Twitter app from his phone, because he wants 'no part of it' in his life - although his account remains active. The presenter, 60, branded the platform 'a cesspit' and asserted that there are 'vile and disgusting' trolls on it. During Tuesday's instalment of This Morning, Phillip Schofield, 60, revealed that he has deleted the Twitter app from his phone Discussing Elon Musk buying Twitter and the suggestion that all users may have to be verified, Phillip asserted: 'There's the side of the argument where, if you're gonna say something, make sure you can back it up with your own name. 'If that isn't the case, then it could become even more of a cesspit than it already is. I've deleted it off my phone. And I'll quite openly say that... 'Because, there is a section that is wonderful and magnificent and funny and informative.... And there is a section that is vile and disgusting and I want no part of it in my life.' Vanessa Feltz added: 'Well I've never been anywhere near it. I've never even looked at it, and the reason why is that I just don't think I have a strong enough constitution. The situation: He joined Twitter back in 2009 and has amassed a 4.4 million followers. Philip has not deactivated his page, but last sent a tweet in December 2021 'I would detest it, quite frankly. I'd be scared and I'd be horrified... I don't wanna get embroiled in it at all.' Philip has not deactivated his Twitter page, but hasn't engaged with in months, with his last sent a tweet in December 2021. The presenter is still active on Instagram - where he boasts 3 million followers - but has comments on his photos turned off. Cesspit! 'It could become even more of a cesspit than it already is. I've deleted it off my phone' said Phillip as he discussed Elon Musk buying Twitter It comes after Vanessa hinted she was planning to join OnlyFans during an appearance on This Morning in January. The broadcaster said she was keeping her 'options' open in a bid to 'provide for my old age' and family in the future. Phillip said: 'Well, Vanessa Feltz, talk about go down the social media route. She's just got her blue tick on her Instagram, now she's talking about joining Only Fans.' Vanessa explained: 'Why not?! Is that an bad idea? Just to provide for my old age and look after my starving orphan children. Would there be a market for it though, that's the thing, would there?' Not Twitter but maybe OnlyFans? It comes after Vanessa Feltz hinted she was planning to join OnlyFans during an appearance on This Morning in January An enthusiastic Holly Willoughby replied: 'Do it! I am your biggest supporter! Absolutely,' while Phil insisted: 'There's a market for everything.' Vanessa explained: 'You see my parents are dead, they can't really object to it. My father would say, "For this you went to Cambridge," but he can't anymore so what the hell, right? She clarified: 'Anyway, no one's asked me to, you should know that.' But Phillip continued: 'All options open, you should have a plan,' to which Vanessa cheekily hit back: 'And not just my options open!' Holly Kingston was enjoying a solo night out on Tuesday. The Bachelor star left boyfriend Jimmy Nicholson at home as she attended the Sydney launch of Downton Abbey: A New Era. The 27-year-old turned heads in a 1960s inspired ensemble that included a white mini dress. Out and about: Holly Kingston (pictured) was enjoying a solo night out on Tuesday. The Bachelor star left boyfriend Jimmy Nicholson at home as she attended the Sydney launch of Downton Abbey: A New Era The frock featured a high neckline with dainty buttons down the centre and lace detailing throughout. The whimsical design included long sleeves and layered skirting with crochet lace edging. Her trim pins were on display thanks to the short length of the dress, and Holly paired it with thigh-high tan boots. Looking good: The 27-year-old turned heads in a 1960s inspired ensemble that included a white mini dress Wow! The frock featured a high neckline with dainty buttons down the centre as well as lace detailing throughout For makeup, Holly chose a clean, glowing look with a rosy nude lipstick in a matte finish. She wore her blonde locks slicked back and pulled off her face, and added a pair of drop earrings. Holly completed the ensemble with a white belt with silver hardware and carried a cream designer handbag. Feeling romantic: The whimsical design included long sleeves and layered skirting with crochet lace edging Legs eleven: Her trim pins were on display thanks to the short length of the dress, and Holly paired it with thigh-high tan boots Details: For makeup, Holly chose a clean, glowing look with a rosy nude lipstick in a matte finish. She wore her blonde locks slicked back and pulled off her face The blonde has just returned from romantic holiday in Bali with her boyfriend Jimmy earlier this month. Jimmy and Holly fell in love in front of Australia on The Bachelor last year and recently celebrated their one-year anniversary together. The pair currently live together in North Bondi after moving in together in September last year following the finale of The Bachelor. Ten current and former employees of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) are under investigation on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for jobs at an unidentified U.S. Army base, with two of them in custody, police said Tuesday. The suspects, who were recruitment officers, were accused of receiving 175 million won ($140,000) from five Koreans in return for hiring them between April 2018 and December 2020, according to the Daegu Metropolitan Police. They allegedly had the applicants' career certificates fabricated and gave them the highest marks. Police said they launched the probe after receiving a report on the matter from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division and confiscated 160 million won of bribes in forfeiture. (Yonhap) Netflix has offered a first glimpse at forthcoming summer blockbuster The Gray Man ahead of its July release. The star-studded spy thriller finds Ryan Gosling, Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas involved in a global manhunt after a CIA mercenary inadvertently exposes agency secrets. Former Bridgerton heartthrob Rege-Jean Page also features in his first role since departing the steamy period drama - another Netflix release - to pursue other roles in 2020. Here we go: Netflix has offered a first glimpse at forthcoming summer blockbuster The Gray Man ahead of its July release Adapted from the 2009 novel of the same name by author Mark Greaney, The Grey Man has been brought to life with a budget of $200 million, making it the most expensive film ever made by the streaming giant. First images from the imminent release feature Gosling as CIA operative Court Gentry, aka Sierra Six - the elusive 'grey man' responsible for setting off a chain reaction of global terror. Gentry was once a highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death. But now the tables have turned and Six is the target. Ambitious: Adapted from the 2009 novel by Mark Greaney, The Grey Man has been brought to life with a budget of $200 million, making it the most expensive film ever made by Netflix Main man: First images from the imminent release feature Gosling as CIA operative Court Gentry, aka Sierra Six - the elusive 'grey man' responsible for sparking a global manhunt Viewers will see him hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen, played by Evans, a psychopathic former cohort at the CIA, who will stop at nothing to take him out. Fortunately for Six, Agent Dani Miranda, played by rising star de Armas, has his back - and hell need it. Russo Brothers Anthony and Joseph have directed the new film while sharing producer credits with Joe Roth, Jeffery Kirschenbaum, Mike Larocca and Chris Castaldi. Supportive: Fortunately for Six, Agent Dani Miranda, played by rising star Ana de Armas, has his back - and hell need it The filmmaking brothers are perhaps best known for their work with Marvel studios, having previously directed Captain America films Winter Soldier and Civil War, as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Executive producers are Patrick Newall, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Jake Aust, Angela Russo-Otstot, Geoff Haley, Zack Roth, and Palak Patel. Joseph Russo is also responsible for drafting the screenplay from Greaney's source material with co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The Gray Man will be released in select UK cinemas on July 15 and on Netflix globally on July 22. The Kardashians star Kim Kardashian finally created a solo TikTok account, which went live on Monday night. The 41-year-old SKIMS CEO's first video featured her hairstylist Chris Appleton and make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic responding to the challenge: 'So, you're an artist? Are you good at it?' The camera then cut to Kim, fully glam with a faux-nytail, posing while clad in a black crocodile-print long-sleeved dress and sunglasses to rapper Key Glock's 2021 song Ambition for Cash. 'Hey guys': The Kardashians star Kim Kardashian finally created a solo TikTok account, which went live on Monday night 'I'm just not a good dancer so it's hard for me,' Kardashian said of joining TikTok on a past episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 'I want to, but I just don't have time.' So far, the half-Armenian beauty is only following 11 accounts, but her extra 3M fans raises her total social media draw to an eye-popping 422.6M followers. Kim's prior account, Kim and North, with her eight-year-old daughter has 6.6M followers, but they haven't posted since January 31 after public outrage from her estranged third husband Kanye 'Ye' West. The 41-year-old SKIMS CEO's first video featured her hairstylist Chris Appleton (L) and make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic (R) responding to the challenge: 'So, you're an artist? Are you good at it?' Takes a village: The camera then cut to Kim, fully glam with a faux-nytail, posing while clad in a black crocodile-print long-sleeved dress and sunglasses to rapper Key Glock's 2021 song Ambition for Cash Kardashian said of joining TikTok on a past episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians: 'I'm just not a good dancer so it's hard for me. I want to, but I just don't have time' Bigger platform: So far, the half-Armenian beauty is only following 11 accounts, but her extra 3M fans raises her total social media draw to an eye-popping 422.6M followers 'Managed by an adult': Kim's prior account, Kim and North, with her eight-year-old daughter has 6.6M followers, but they haven't posted since January 31 after public outrage from her estranged third husband Kanye 'Ye' West Bright and early: On Tuesday, Kardashian donned a sauna suit for a 5:30am work-out session on the treadmill and stair master in a gym All of Kardashian's family members are on TikTok aside from her big sister Kourtney and her younger brother Rob. On Tuesday, the Calabasas socialite donned a sauna suit for a 5:30am work-out session on the treadmill and stair master in a gym. Kim and her boyfriend of six months - SNL star Pete Davidson - will reportedly return to Washington, DC this Saturday to attend the White House Correspondents' dinner at the Disney/ABC table. 'Host Trevor Noah could definitely turn his attention to Kim and Pete,' a source told Page Six on Monday. Next event? The Calabasas socialite and her boyfriend of six months - SNL star Pete Davidson - will reportedly return to Washington, DC this Saturday to attend the White House Correspondents' dinner at the Disney/ABC table A source told Page Six on Monday: 'Host Trevor Noah (pictured April 3) could definitely turn his attention to Kim and Pete. I don't think they should feel that they're safe' 'Thank you @potus!' Kim - a criminal reform advocate - might have the opportunity to thank President Joe Biden in person for granting clemency to 78 individuals, which she tweeted about on Tuesday 'I don't think they should feel that they're safe.' Kardashian - a criminal reform advocate - might have the opportunity to thank President Joe Biden in person for granting clemency to 78 individuals, which she tweeted about on Tuesday. And Hollywood Life is predicting the coy couple will finally make their relationship 'red carpet official' at the gilded glamour-themed Costume Institute benefit in Manhattan next Monday. 'Kim has been invited to the Met Gala and wants nothing more than for Pete to go with her as her date,' an insider told the mag. 'Kim and Pete are ready!' And Hollywood Life is predicting the coy couple (pictured September 13) will finally make their relationship 'red carpet official' at the gilded glamour-themed Costume Institute benefit in Manhattan next Monday Inseparable: This, after Kardashian and the 28-year-old girl-crazy comedian were seen spending time together in Orlando, FL last Saturday and Washington, DC last Sunday (pictured) Easter family portrait: With all the events and travel coming up, it's a wonder how the aspiring attorney - who allegedly spends 18 hours a week studying law - has any time for her four children with the 44-year-old rapper-designer 'They were both invited by [chairwoman Anna Wintour] separately, as they have been in the past. Kim and Pete are ready to make their grand debut as a couple and they feel that the Met Gala is the perfect place to do it.' This, after the aspiring attorney and the 28-year-old girl-crazy comedian were seen spending time together in Orlando, FL last Saturday and Washington, DC last Sunday. With all the events and travel coming up, it's a wonder how Kim - who allegedly spends 18 hours a week studying law - has any time for her four children with the 44-year-old rapper-designer. Catch more of Kardashian and her famous family in their 40-episode KUWTK spin-off The Kardashians - which airs Thursdays on Hulu, Disney+ internationally, and Star+ in Latin America. A first look at The Essex Serpent teases steamy scenes between lead characters Cora Seaborne [Claire Danes] and married pastor Will Ransome [Tom Hiddleston]. A new trailer which has been released for the Apple TV+ drama series and reveals that the two will embark on a illicit affair when Cora moves to the area and attracts the attention of Will, while investigating reports of a mythical serpent. Cora is called to look into the reports when a local girl goes missing and is presumed dead in the opening scenes of the trailer, where the sounds of a mysterious creature can be heard echoing across the marshes. Oh my word! A first look at The Essex Serpent teases steamy scenes between lead characters Cora Seaborne [Claire Danes] and married pastor Will Ransome [Tom Hiddleston] The girl's father says she was 'taken for her sins', while Will responds by telling him that it was 'an accident' and that 'God will look after her now. Cora arrives in Essex as she tells a local boy that she is there to discover whether the creature is real. As she insists that the serpent is 'real not mythical'. During a dinner at his family home, Will tells Cora: 'The serpent is an invention, a symptom of the times we live in.' First LOOK! A new trailer which has been released for the Apple TV+ drama series and reveals that the two will embark on a illicit affair when Cora moves to the area and attracts the attention of Will, while investigating reports of a mythical serpent While Cora counters: 'I'd rather believe in a create people have actually seen than an invisible God. Is that blasphemy?' Will's wife Stella Ransome [Clemence Poesy] chimes in: 'You won't get my husband to judge you. No matter how hard you try.' The pace then picks up as mysterious happenings begin, with Cora questioning whether she brought the illusive serpent to the area. On the hunt: Cora is called to look into the reports when a local girl goes missing and is presumed dead in the opening scenes of the trailer, where the sounds of a mysterious creature can be heard echoing across the marshes Traumatic: The girl's father says she was 'taken for her sins', while Will responds by telling him that it was 'an accident' and that 'God will look after her now' Martha [Hayley Squires], a friend of Cora's from London, asks her to come back home and tells her 'you need to forget about Essex.' In another scene a man says to her: 'It sounds like you're in love with her', while she replies: 'Everyone else is.' Character Luke Garrett [Frank Dillane] can be heard saying: 'We can't control our inner thoughts. But they can influence us', playing over a scene of Cora and Will dancing together in a ballroom. Opinion: Cora arrives in Essex as she tells a local boy that she is there to discover whether the creature is real. As she insists that the serpent is 'real not mythical' While Cora counters: 'I'd rather believe in a create people have actually seen than an invisible God. Is that blasphemy?' Will's wife Stella Ransome [Clemence Poesy] chimes in: 'You won't get my husband to judge you. No matter how hard you try' In a fit of a rage, Cora says to Will: 'You let them accuse me. You said nothing!' Will replies: 'I am their pastor'. While she relies: 'So you can't be my friend and a man of God?' He tells her: 'I can't think clearly when I'm around you.' She responds: 'I won't be blamed for your weakness.' Worries: The pace then picks up as mysterious happenings begin, with Cora questioning whether she brought the illusive serpent to the area He tells her: 'Love is not a weakness', before skipping to a steamy scene of him kissing her neck in a passionate clinch. While the lovers are stood outside on the moors, Will's wife Stella can be seen peeking her head around the curtain to watch them outside. The series, based on Sarah Perry's novel of the same name, will debut globally on on May 13, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday through June 10. Romance: Character Luke Garrett [Frank Dillane] can be heard saying: 'We can't control our inner thoughts. But they can influence us', playing over a scene of Cora and Will dancing together in a ballroom Intense: The pair can't look away from each other as they dance Set in Victorian England featuring a star studded cast led by Claire and Tom, as well as Frank, Clemence and Hayley, The Essex Serpent follows London widow Cora, who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent. She forms a surprising bond of science and scepticism with the local pastor, but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature. The Essex Serpent is directed by BAFTA Award-nominee Clio Barnard, written by BAFTA Award-nominee Anna Symon. Barnard and Symon also serve as executive producers alongside Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Patrick Walters. The series is produced for Apple TV+ by See-Saw Films. While she relies: 'So you can't be my friend and a man of God?' He tells her: 'Love is not a weakness', before skipping to a steamy scene of him kissing her neck in a passionate clinch Watchful eye: While the lovers are stood outside on the moors, Will's wife Stella can be seen peeking her head around the curtain to watch them outside She gained overnight fame (and 1.5 million Instagram followers) when she appeared on Love Island season 6. And on Tuesday, Shaughna Phillips, 28, revealed that she has had a mortgage approved, and admitted that she 'couldn't even afford to rent' on her own before reality TV fame. The former democratic services officer from London shared with her followers two weeks ago, that an offer she'd put on a house had been accepted. Yay! On Tuesday, Shaughna Phillips, 28, revealed that she has had a mortgage approved, after being unable to 'even afford to rent' on her own before Love Island (Pictured in February 2020) Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, she tweeted: My mortgage has been approved. I could cry, before Love Island I couldn't even afford to rent on my own, now I'm here, with a mortgage, on my own, before I'm 30. 'I am so f**king grateful I can't even put it into words. Okay I'm crying bye x.' She then added: 'Honestly though, I would not be where I am today without every single person who has supported me, this is basically all of our house 'I don't ever forget how fortunate I am, and how lucky I've been. I will never ever take it for granted. Just thank you really.' Congratulation! The former democratic services officer from London shared with her followers two weeks ago, that an offer she'd put on a house had been accepted E,otional! Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, she tweeted: 'My mortgage has been approved. I could cry, before Love Island I couldn't even afford to rent on my own' Last August, Shaughna revealed to MailOnline that her family was almost made homelessness while her late father Eddie was dying from cancer. The Love Island star reflected on the struggles she faced when her father, Eddie passed away almost six years ago, and praised Macmillan Cancer Support, after the charity came to her family's rescue. Shaugna explained: 'My dad was diagnosed with cancer in September 2015. He was a black cab driver in London. They're self-employed and work for themselves - most people don't realise that. Grateful! She then added: 'Honestly though, I would not be where I am today without every single person who has supported me, this is basically all of our house' 'So when he couldn't work anymore, he didn't get paid. There's no sick leave when you're self-employed. 'When people get cancer, all you think about is 'god I hope they get through'. You don't think about the impact on the whole family. We couldn't pay the rent. Macmillan came to the rescue. 'My mum as a lawyer contributed as much as she could, but it was quite a bit of shame for my dad, not being able to support the family financially. It had an impact on his mental state.' Shocking: Speaking exclusively to MailOnline last August, Shaughna revealed that her family was almost made homelessness, while her late father Eddie was dying from cancer The Love Island star praised the charity for their financial support, and explained how three months after her father's diagnosis, they helped to secure them new accommodation. She said: 'MacMillan gave us these 2 grants, and that relief completely changed his whole mood. I'm still in such debt to them. They're the only reason we weren't homeless. 'We tried to get help from the government, but that didn't work. Macmillan also got in touch with out local MP on our behalf and managed to get us a house. 'We found out on Christmas Eve that we were able to move into a house that accepted pets, so we could take our dog. I can't explain how much we owe Macmillan.' Reality TV siren Kourtney Kardashian smoldered when she modeled cute dresses for the clothing brand PrettyLittleThing in 2017. And now her future stepdaughter Alabama Barker - whose parents are Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler - has followed in the POOSH founder's footsteps. On Tuesday it was revealed that the 16-year-old up-and-coming model is the new face of the spring collection. New: Alabama Barker - whose parents are Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler - has followed in Kourtney Kardashian's footsteps Nice look: She is modeling for the clothing brand PrettyLittleThing this month Alabama was seen sucking on a lollipop with her long blonde hair worn down as she had on the latest looks from the popular brand. When Kourtney, 42, modeled for the brand she had on sparkly cocktail party dresses as she was seen heading out for the night. Kourtney became engaged to Travis last year after being friends for almost a decade. Spring has sprung: On Tuesday it was revealed that the 16-year-old up-and-coming model is the new face of the spring collection Her turn: When Kourtney, 42, modeled for the brand she had on sparkly cocktail party dresses as she was seen heading out for the night They plan to tie the knot this year and are also trying for a baby with the help of IVF. Last week Moakler said it was 'fantastic' that Kardashian and her ex Barker are trying for a baby. The 47-year-old star - who shares son Landon, 18, and daughter Alabama with her former husband Travis - revealed she is happy for the Blink-182 drummer and his fiancee Kourtney. Hi there: Alabama was seen with her long blonde hair worn down as she had on the latest looks from the popular brand So much pink: She had on a pink jacket with large white framed sunglasses She told Us Weekly: 'All I know is kind of, like, what everyone knows. I think they were trying with IVF and there were some complications. 'I think if that's a desire between the two of them then that's fantastic. I don't have any issues with that. Their personal relationship is really nothing I get involved in.' Shanna was married to Travis, 46, for four years before their 2008 split, and he is also stepfather to her 23-year-old daughter Atiana. So much kitsch it's cute: And here the star was seen in a vest and mini skirt on a bed Time for some primping: A man brushed her flaxen locks as she wore tinted glasses Green drink time: Here she flashed her white tipped nails as she held a matcha drink Shanna insisted she has not been watching The Kardashians, which Travis appears in but does not mind if her kids take part. She said: 'I'm kind of focused over here on just, you know, my work and getting myself in a really good positive place mentally and physically. 'I'm fine with my children doing whatever it is that creatively makes them happy. And if being on that show does that for them then, I mean, it doesn't bother me. All I care about is my children's happiness. 'And it's the one thing that Travis and I agree on and that's putting our children first and so as long as they're happy and they're being treated well by that family, then I'm happy.' So many kids: Kourtney and Travis seen with Alabama, left, as well as Atiana and Landon, and also in the image is Kourtney's son Reign Megan Fox has revealed that she bought books written by transgender children for her son Noah - after he developed a desire to wear dresses. Appearing on the cover of Glamour UK's April issue, the actress, 35, claimed that she encourages her brood to express themselves through clothing 'however they want' while assuring it has nothing to do with their sexuality. Megan shares Noah, nine, Bodhi, eight, and Journey, five, with her ex-husband Brian Austin Green, who she was married to between 2010 and 2021. She got engaged to musician Machine Gun Kelly in January of this year. Speaking about her struggles as a mother, the Teen Choice Award winner went on to cryptically admit she 'worries' about one child who 'suffers', adding that she 'wishes humanity was not like this'. However, ultimately Megan said that she wants to teach all three of her children that they can 'express themselves through clothing however they want' and hopes to ensure that none of them feel 'weird or strange or different'. 'I do have a child that suffers': Megan Fox revealed to Glamour UK that she has bought books written by transgender children after her son Noah, nine, developed a desire to wear dresses Doting mother: The actress, 35, said that she encourages her entire brood, including Noah (pictured in 2020 while on an outing with his father), to express themselves through clothing 'however they want' while assuring them it has nothing to do with their sexuality She told the magazine: 'I bought a bunch of books that sort of addressed these things and addressed a full spectrum of what this is. 'Some of the books are written by transgender children. Some of the books are just about how you can be a boy and wear a dress; you can express yourself through your clothing however you want. And that doesn't even have to have anything to do with your sexuality. 'So from the time they were very young, I've incorporated those things into their daily lives so that nobody feels like they are weird or strange or different.' Speaking about her fears over her son Noah, Megan - who graces April's Glamour UK cover in a futuristic silver look - admitted that she 'worries' about the nine year old's 'suffering', but added that the youngster is 'so brave'. 'I do have a child that suffers,' she said. 'So I have a lot of worries about that, because I just wish that humanity was not like this. 'Although my kid is so brave and my child is so brave and I know that they've chosen this journey for a reason. It's just hard as a mom.' Megan previously revealed Noah is sometimes taunted by other boys at school for wearing dresses, though she added that he 'doesn't mind' their teasing. While chatting on The View in 2019, Megan opened up about young Noah's impeccable style. 'He designs, he draws outfits. He's very talented, but he's still six,' she said. Candid: The Teen Choice Award winner went on to cryptically admit she 'worries' about one child who 'suffers' and 'wishes humanity was not like this' Megan opened up about young Noah's impeccable style in 2019, revealing: 'He's really into fashion... he'll dress himself and he likes to wear dresses, sometimes.' Noah is pictured left with his mother and siblings last month Discussing: She said: 'Even... here in California, he still has little boys going like, 'Boys don't wear dresses,' or 'Boys don't wear pink'' (Megan pictured with her three sons: (L-R) Journey, Noah and Bodhi) 'He's really into fashion. He's the one, like sometimes, he'll dress himself and he likes to wear dresses, sometimes. 'And I send him to a really liberal, like hippy school,' she continued. 'But even there, here in California, he still has little boys going like, 'Boys don't wear dresses,' or 'Boys don't wear pink.'' Despite the taunts from other boys, Megan has been teaching her son to follow his own course in life. 'We're going through that now, where I'm trying to teach him to be confident no matter what anyone else says.' The Transformers star explained that Noah had stopped wearing dresses for a while, though he wore one again this week. 'He came home and I was like, 'How was it? Did any of the friends at school have anything to say?' And he was like, 'Well, all the boys laughed when I came in,' but he's like, 'I don't care, I love dresses too much.'' Megan's exhusband, Beverly Hills 90210 star Brian Austin Green, stood up for his son in 2017 when his then-wife shared a photo of Noah wearing a dress from the Disney film Frozen. Megan's ex-husband Brian Austin Green previously defended Noah's outfit choices. 'My son, he's four. I've heard from some people that they don't agree with him wearing dresses. To them I say, I don't care'; pictured together in 2014 'My son, he's four,' he said at the time. 'I've heard from some people that they don't agree with him wearing dresses. To them I say, I don't care. He's four and if he wants to wear it then he wears it. 'And it's dresses or goggles or slippers or whatever. It's his life, they're not my clothes,' he continued. 'I feel like at 4 at 5, that's a time when he should be having fun. He's not harming anyone wearing a dress. So if he wants to wear a dress, good on him.' Megan has shared multiple photos of Noah to her Instagram, where he's usually pictured rocking a shaggy hairdo and sometimes wearing stereotypically feminine clothing. A Halloween photo from last year showed Megan with Noah, who was dressed up as a zombie cheerleader. Parenthood was not the only topic broached in the tell-all interview, as Megan also lifted the lid on her highly-publicised romance with Colson Baker, who professionally goes by Machine Gun Kelly. A palatial trip to Costa Rica last year, in Megan's words, 'bound them together' after they consumed the psychoactive plant brew ayahuasca, administered by a shaman, which is said to open the mind and heal past trauma. Love of her life: Parenthood was not the only topic broached in the tell-all interview, as Megan also lifted the lid on her highly-publicised romance with Colson Baker, who professionally goes by Machine Gun Kelly (pictured this month) Eyes on the prize: The now engaged couple may have only started dating in May 2020, but Megan believes she has been manifesting her hubby-to-be since she was four years old (pictured this month) Newlyweds: Megan counts Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker (pictured this month) among her close friends and called the couple 'magnetic' Of that bonding experience, she recalled: 'It confirmed a lot of things for us that I needed to know or I needed to feel. It opened a door for a lot of healing for me, from a personal experience I had with him, that allowed us to get to a place where we were now seeking the right outlets to heal moving forward.' The now engaged couple may have only started dating in May 2020, but Megan believes she has been manifesting her hubby-to-be since she was four years old. She explained: 'Because he's literally my exact physical type that I've been manifesting since I was four. I'm also four years older than him. 'So, I think I made him. My thoughts and intentions grew him into the person that he is, who knows what he would've looked like or been like if it wasn't for me.' Megan counts Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker among her close friends and called the couple 'magnetic.' She added: 'Nobody's really interacting with them too much, because they're just stuck We've been to Vegas with them a couple of times and events and things like that. 'But we're not going on picnics or road trips, we don't have a lot of double dates. I mean, between all of us, there's 900 kids!' Read the full interview in the GLAMOUR UK April Digital Issue online now. Penny Lancaster has revealed she is thankful for her husband Sir Rod Stewart's support as she deals with the menopause. The 51-year-old Loose Women panellist opened up about how she is determined to break down the taboo surrounding the menopause after recently struggling with severe symptoms. She went on to praise her music legend spouse, 77, for making men more aware of the issue by backing the Menopause Mandate campaign which has been championed by Penny and TV presenters Davina McCall and Mariella Frostrup. Brave: Penny Lancaster has revealed she is thankful for her husband Sir Rod Stewart's support as she deals with the menopause (pictured in February 2020) Penny told The Daily Telegraph: 'First of all he had empathy towards me and how I was suffering from it. We've always been good at communicating with one another and explaining how we feel, so he got to understand. 'Then he wanted to encourage men to sit up and take note. He's going: 'This isn't just a women's problem. We need to recognise it.' It affects husbands, partners, children.' The star, who married Rod in 2007, recalled how she suffered 'major meltdowns' as the symptoms began to impact on her. Strong: The 51-year-old Loose Women panellist opened up about how she is determined to break down the taboo surrounding the menopause after recently struggling with severe symptoms (pictured March 2022) Penny who shares sons Alastair, 16, and Aiden, 11, with Rod - said: 'I had a couple of major meltdowns. I couldn't justify my feelings and emotions, couldn't pull myself out of it and would collapse into a ball of tears of frustration and scream, which is not like me at all.' The model started to experience hot flushes during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and feared the worst initially. Penny explained: 'We were all terrified that anyone who gets (COVID) could die, and the fear of that exacerbated my feelings of anxiety.' Support: She went on to praise her music legend spouse, 77, for making men more aware of the issue by backing the Menopause Mandate campaign which has been championed by Penny and TV presenters Davina McCall and Mariella Frostrup (pictured March 2022) She started receiving treatment in the form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) but fears the current shortage in the UK will have a bad impact on her. Penny said: 'I needed a new prescription and they told me, 'I'm sorry but we're out of stock. The shortage is expected to be solved by June but that is of little comfort to Penny who fears she'll take it out on her family. She said: 'I'm warning my husband and children I might take a reverse turn. June is a long time for a lot of women to have to wait to feel better.' Rod previously discussed Penny's menopause journey on Loose Women and admitted he found the experience 'frightening' as he witnessed Penny change 'from the person I married'. He said: 'I googled menopause so much when she was going through it, she was in a fragile situation, I just had to listen and learn and get ready for saucepans being thrown through the kitchen. 'It was frightening, it wasn't the person I married, she explained it through the tears and we talked it through.' It comes after Rod and Penny appeared to be as loved-up as ever as they posed for snaps on their sun-soaked getaway to France. The musician and his model wife put on a smitten display as they cuddled up to each other and enjoyed an evening out at Annex Beach in Cannes on Monday. Soulmates: He said: 'I googled menopause so much when she was going through it, she was in a fragile situation, I just had to listen and learn and get ready for saucepans being thrown through the kitchen' (pictured November 2021) Rod was seen lovingly putting an arm around Penny as they went for a stroll, with the rocker sporting his beloved Celtic FC colours. In one sweet snap, shared on their respective Instagram pages, the Maggie May hitmaker cut a smart figure in white trousers and a cream roll-neck knit sweater. He completed his dapper attire with a pair of white suit shoes while he styled his silver locks in his signature spiked style. Meanwhile, Penny was the picture of elegance in a leopard-print satin gown with lace edging and a white cardigan. She sported a pair of beige studded sandals and accessorised her glamorous look with a long silver necklace. The photographer styled her golden tresses in loose waves across her shoulders while she let her natural good looks shine through with a light dusting of make-up. Alongside the snap, Rod gushed: 'Gorgeous then and still gorgeous now @annexbeachcannes.' And Loose Woman star Penny shared the picture to her own Instagram and penned: 'Love is in the air.' Advertisement Siren Jessica Alba has been in great shape her entire career and does not seem to be letting her looks slip one bit. On Monday the 40-year-old movie and TV star flaunted her fit figure in a string bikini top as she enjoyed a beach vacation in Hawaii. The siren, who turns 41-years-old on Thursday, was also seen hugging and kissing her husband of 14 years, businessman Cash Warren, with whom she has three children: Honor, 13, Haven, 10, and Hayes, four. Bikini babe at rest: Siren Jessica Alba has been in great shape her entire career and does not seem to be letting her looks slip one bit. On Monday the 40-year-old movie and TV star flaunted her fit figure in a print string bikini top as she enjoyed a beach vacation in Hawaii. A glow to her: The LA's Finest actress bent over to show off her lean legs and backside after getting a Hawaiian tan The looker seemed to be having a well-deserved break from running her hugely successful billion dollar Honest Company. The American company sells everything from skincare to diapers to household cleaning products. Alba launched the company in 2012 with just 17 products after taking three years to develop Honest. Her beach trip in Hawaii looked like just the right place to unwind in style. She was seen on the sandy beach with several pieces of wood strewn about as she went through her belongings. A booty-ful look: When she was on the shore she gave a cheeky show in her cute little string bikini bottoms And then the looker was spotted walking in the shallow end of the water as she modeled sunglasses and a white-and-blue triangle bikini top as she stood next to her spouse Warren. The social media favorite added black high-waisted bicycle shorts that ended mid thigh. Her highlighted hair was wet and worn over her tanned shoulders. And the Dark Angel actress had on many layers of jewelry, including several necklaces and bracelets for a bohemian vibe. Bathing beach bombshell: After stepping in the water, the cover girl took her sunglasses off for a moment In the surf: Alba was walking in the shallow end of the water as she modeled sunglasses and a white-and-blue triangle bikini top as she stood next to her spouse Warren Bling babe: And the Dark Angel actress had on many layers of jewelry, including several necklaces and bracelets for a bohemian vibe. She was also seen going into the water to cool off alone as she looked around with her hands on her hips. And then she and Cash got close as there seemed to be no kids around - they have three kids they raise together in Los Angeles. The little ones may have been back at their hotel or perhaps the parents were making some special time for themselves before Jessica's 41st birthday on Thursday. Us time: And then she and Cash got close as there seemed to be no kids around - they have children Honor, Haven and Hayes Just the two of us: The little ones may have been back at their hotel or perhaps the parents were making some special time for themselves Alba got her start in Hollywood at a very young age. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack. But then she took it a step up by starring in the prime time television series Dark Angel, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination, when she was still a teen. After that movies opened up to her as she starred in Honey, 2003, Sin City, 2005, Fantastic Four, 2005 and Into The Blue, also 2005. A Hollywood vet: Alba got her start in Hollywood at a very young age. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack A star: But then she took it a step up by starring in the prime time television series Dark Angel, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. After that movies opened up to her as she starred in Honey, 2003, Sin City, 2005, Fantastic Four, 2005 and Into The Blue, also 2005. I can't keep my hands off of you: They cuddled even though the waves were crashing and there was a woman next to them Several hits followed such as 2010's ensemble Valentine's Day before she popped up in lesser known films like 2015's Baby, Baby, Baby. In 2019 she starred with Gabrielle Union in LA's Finest as Nancy McKenna, but the show has been canceled. Up next for her is the film Trigger Warning where she plays Parker. And last week it was revealed that Alba and her friend Lizzy Mathis are set to host and executive produce Honest Renovations, a show on Roku about families putting together their dream homes and tackling tough parenting issues. Lean on me: Cash looked fit as he wore floral print swim trunks while he put his arm around his lady love Her highs and lows: Several hits followed such as 2010's ensemble Valentine's Day before she popped up in lesser known films like 2015's Baby, Baby, Baby Alba and Mathis, 39, will assist 'deserving families complete the home renovations of their dreams and confront issues about parenting through candid conversations,' Roku said in a news release, Deadline reported Wednesday. The series will begin with eight hour-long episodes and begin production later this year. Alba said in a statement that 'becoming a parent was exciting, scary and confusing all at once.' TV gal: In 2019 she starred with Gabrielle Union in LA's Finest as Nancy McKenna, but the show has been canceled. Up next for her is the film Trigger Warning where she plays Parker The Honest Company founder continued: 'Parenthood is the most transformative life experience, and no matter how much you think you're prepared; you never really are. I can't wait to share the stories of the special families and their incredible home renovations with viewers on The Roku Channel.' Mathis, who runs a lifestyle parenting blog called The Cool Mom Co., is mother to two daughters and a son. 'Parenthood turned my world upside down - it filled my cup with so much love and at the same time, tested my patience in ways I couldn't have imagined,' Mathis said in a statement. 'It's a uniting experience every parent can relate to. She never has a bad day: Even though she was wet and without glam hair and makeup, Jessica still looked like a 10 This Hawaii sighting comes after Jensen Ackles said he and Alba 'bickered' like brother and sister on the set of Dark Angel. The 43-year-old actor has claimed he was 'picked on' by his co-star - who rose to prominence after landing the role of Max Guevara in 2000s sci-fi series - because he was the 'pretty boy'. Speaking on the 'Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum' podcast, Jensen recalled: 'I was the new kid on the block, and I was picked on by the lead.' He continued: 'It wasn't that she didn't like me. She just was like, "Oh, here's the pretty boy that network brought in for some more window dressing because that's what we all need."' Jensen and Jessica weren't always at loggerheads, as while filming the show, the actress was there for the Supernatural star when he found out his grandfather had died. He remembered: 'My grandfather died while I was shooting it and she literally just walked into my trailer and held me for a half an hour. Side by side: The longtime couple walked together as they left the surf after getting cooled down in the hot setting 'So it was that kind of a relationship. If she walked in, we'd be all hugs, but she didn't make it easy on me.' However, in the end, the pair formed a 'mutual respect' for each other, and Jensen - who played Alec - has a lot of love for the Honest Company founder. He added: 'I love Jess, which I know kind of contradicts what I just said. 'She was under an immense amount of pressure on that show. She was young, she was in a relationship and that was causing some undue stress, I believe.' Jessica was famously in a relationship with their co-star Michael Weatherly (Logan Cale) in 2000 when she was 19 and he was 32, and the pair were engaged briefly but went their separate ways in 2003. And the Fantastic Four star later admitted she regretted the romance. She said: 'I don't know [why I got engaged]. I was a virgin. He was 12 years older than me. I thought he knew better. My parents weren't happy.' Time to go: After getting enough sun, the lovebirds were seen dressed and heading away from the shore Jourdan Dunn stunned in a silver ruched gown while Pixie Geldof cut a casual figure in jeans as the pair attend the International Woolmark final in London on Tuesday. Jourdan, 31, looked sensational as she wore a unique halter neck dress with navy silk draping across the front. The runway star showed off her incredible figure in the ensemble which flowed down to the floor with ruching detailing. Stunning: Jourdan Dunn, 31, (left)stunned in a silver ruched floor length gown as she joined Pixie Geldof, also 31, (right) for the International Woolmark final in London She showcased a radiant palette of makeup as she slicked her dark tresses up perfectly into a high ponytail. Jourdan opted for some silver and black heels to add a few inches to her stature and kept her accessorises simple by wearing one ring. The beauty was joined by the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, who rocked a navy suit and black T-shirt. Incredible: The model looked sensational as she wore a unique halter neck dress with navy silk draping across the front Glam: The runway star showed off her incredible figure in the ensemble which flowed down to the floor with ruching detailing Fashionista: The beauty was joined by the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, 50, who rocked a navy suit and black T-shirt The 50-year-old added a pair of black sunglasses to his look which he completed with matching trainers. The International Woolmark Prize celebrates outstanding fashion talents from across the globe who showcase the beauty and versatility of Australian Merino wool. The event was also attended by model Pixie, 31, who looked chic in a dark pair of jeans which she turned up the edges revealing a pair of towering black heels. The daughter of Boomtown Rats hitmaker Sir Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates, seemed in high spirits as she posed for cameras in a stylish black coat. Pose: Pixie, the daughter of Boomtown Rats hitmaker Sir Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates, seemed in high spirits as she posed for cameras in a stylish black coat The blonde beauty swept her locks back in a centre parting revealing her glam palette of makeup which included a bright pink lipstick. Pixie accessorised with a pair of drop earrings and carried her personal belongings in a small black shoulder bag. The model posed alongside BBC Radio 1 presenter Nick Grimshaw who sported a black suit and maroon shoes. Radiant: Pixie accessorised with a pair of drop earrings and carried her personal belongings in a small black shoulder bag Chic: Pixie posed alongside BBC Radio 1 presenter Nick Grimshaw who sported a black suit and maroon shoes Also in attendance was model Erin O'Connor who cut a stylish figure in a black shirt and cropped matching trousers. The 44-year-old added a long tan drape jacket over the top of the simple black ensemble. She accessorised with a black leather handbag and kept her look casual in a pair of dark sliders. Keeping it casual: Also in attendance was model Erin O'Connor who cut a stylish figure in a black shirt and cropped matching trousers High spirits: She accessorised with a black leather handbag and kept her look casual in a pair of dark sliders The brunette beauty sleeked her short locks back revealing her stunning features enhanced with a soft makeup palette. Former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris Carine Roitfeld beamed as she rocked a black midi dress under a leather jacket. The former model added height to her frame in a pair of pointed toe black heels as she opted for a smoky eyeshadow palette to complete the rocker chick look. The prize giving saw the likes of supermodel Naomi Campbell, Burberry's chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci and Edward take to the judging panel. Biker chic: Former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris Carine Roitfeld beamed as she rocked a black midi dress under a leather jacket Georgia Harrison has revealed she is 'never dating again' as she continues to struggle with 'trust issues' from her previous relationships. The former Love Island star shared that she has sought counselling to help her overcome her problems surrounding dating. The 27-year-old admitted she's been on the celebrity dating app Raya for over a year now but remains single while working on herself. Struggles: Georgia Harrison has revealed she is 'never dating again' as she struggles with 'trust issues' from her previous relationships In an exclusive interview, Georgia told MailOnline: 'I'm never dating again. I don't date. I genuinely think I've got a lot of issues. Trust issues potentially, and I've started counselling for it.' 'I don't date people enough, and it's not normal at my age. I'm 27, and at my age I should be dating and connecting with people. 'I find it very hard to date people but I'm trying to work through it. It's been around a year since I was on a date' 'I'd like to go to counselling more often, but it's really expensive. I go about once a month and it's really broken the bank. It's 70 [a session] it's not that expensive, but it feels like it is. Speaking out: The former Love Island star has opened up about receiving counselling to help her overcome her problems surrounding dating Georgia admits counselling has been a useful resource while getting over her dating fears, and reflects on her previous negative relationships. She said: 'I find it really good. I always thought it would be really negative having to bring up past things, but it made me think things about myself, like small patterns that I didn't notice. 'I've learnt why I go for men that won't perhaps treat me the way that I deserve. It's basically an underlying thing, and there's ways of dealing with it. So I feel like I've learnt a bit. When speaking about her experience on the celebrity dating app Raya, she said: 'Yes, I'm on there. Sophie Kasaei told me she was declined, so I can't believe I made it through the net. Somehow I made it on there. 'I've been on it for about a year, but I hardly ever use it, and my friend met her fiance on there. I've seen Lewis Hamilton on it. I can't say who else or they'll block me.' Self-love: The 27-year-old admitted she's been on the celebrity dating app Raya for over a year now but remains single while working on herself Georgia didn't name the person who has caused her trust issues, but had a traumatic break-up with her ex boyfriend Stephen Bear. Stephen was arrested in February after he breached bail conditions over charges related to revenge porn, which he has allegedly discussed online. The reality star, 32, faces trial for allegedly recording himself having sex with his former girlfriend Georgia Harrison without her consent and sharing the footage online. Georgia has given written permission to MailOnline to be named in connection to this case, waiving the normal anonymity afforded to complainants. Trouble: Stephen Bear, 32, faces trial for allegedly recording himself having sex with ex-girlfriend Georgia Harrison without her consent and sharing the footage online (Bear pictured outside court last July after pleading not guilty) The Celebrity Big Brother winner pleaded not guilty to two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs or films, and one count of voyeurism, in July 2021 last year. He was bailed following his initial arrest, but has allegedly been speaking about the case on social media since. Essex Police confirmed that the reality TV star has been re-bailed ahead of his trial in December after admitting a breach of bail conditions. Bear was first arrested in January 2021 upon arrival at Heathrow Airport following a holiday in Dubai. He was accused of secretly recording himself having sex with Georgia on August 2, 2020, before subsequently sharing the video without consent on adult websites OnlyFans and Pornhub on August 2 and November 8 respectively. Bear was formally charged in May with one count of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private, sexual photographs or films with intent to cause distress. Two reporters of an online news outlet were slapped with fines of 3 million won ($2,400) each Tuesday after being found guilty of entering a parking lot for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's apartment without permission in 2020 to interview him. Lee Myeong-soo and Jeong Byeong-gon, reporters for the Voice of Seoul, broke into the parking lot of the apartment building in southern Seoul on five occasions in August 2020 when Yoon, as a prosecutor-general at the time, was in a feud with then Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae over prosecution reform. The reporters lied to the security guard that they were visiting the apartment to meet a resident for a real estate purchase and approached Yoon but failed to interview him, according to court records. (Yonhap) Katie Price took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a snap from her sunny beach walk in West Sussex. The TV personality smiled for a picture with her black German Shepherd Blade, who sat by her as she held onto his lead. The 43-year-old kept it casual for the outing, donning a charcoal, velour matching tracksuit with a blush pink gilet. Beach day: Katie Price, 43, enjoyed a sunny walk on the beach with her German Shepherd Blade on Tuesday in West Sussex She sported white trainers whilst on the pebbly beach, with her lengthy blonde tresses falling behind her ears in a straight style. Katie appeared to have a subtle makeup look on, with her complexion looking dewy alongside her tattooed eyebrows. She seemed in high spirits for the snap, as Blade enjoyed himself while sitting with a red ball in his mouth. Part of the family: The reality star has had her dog Blade, who is trained as a protection dog, for three years Protection: She also has a black german shepherd Okra, who she welcomed to the family in 2021 to 'guard the home' - admitting she feels safer with the pooches there The former glamour model captioned: 'Love walking my dog blade on the beach' Katie has had Blade for three years, and also welcomed another black German Shepherd, named Okra, to the family in 2021 to 'guard the home'. A source told The Sun that Katie feels safer having the trained dogs around, explaining: 'Having both Blade and her new dog Okra around will help make Katie's home feel safer after it was burgled and she was assaulted' The post comes after her fiance Carl Woods confirmed that the pair are still engaged, despite a wave of split rumours. Going strong: The post comes after her fiance Carl Woods confirmed that the pair are still engaged, despite a wave of split rumours Carl confirmed: 'There was speculation but I can tell you that neither Katie nor me ever said that we weren't together' Rumours of the separation were rife after Katie allegedly cheated by sending 'flirty' messages to her ex-fiance Kris Boyson, 34, from her daughter's Instagram profile last month. But in an exclusive chat with MailOnline, Carl set the record straight, saying: 'There was speculation but I can tell you that neither Katie nor me ever said that we weren't together.' 'I love Katie, I think the world of her, I have always been in a happy relationship with Katie. I am currently on my way to Katie's house so I am happy, I think the world of Katie, I really, really do. She has a heart of gold and I am in a happy relationship with her. Katie deleted a series of pictures of Carl on her Instagram page, which added fuel to the fire that the couple had split. But standing his ground, Carl continued: 'I have always been in a happy relationship with Katie, and I am not interested in anything else.' Carl proposed to Katie last April just 10 months after they first started dating, with the pair seeming on track to tie the knot. Salma Hayek looked the epitome of chic on Tuesday as she was pictured on set for Magic Mike 3 in London, after taking over the role from Thandiwe Newton. The 55-year-old actress opted for a black figure-hugging maxi dress, as she wrapped a blazer over her shoulders and teamed the look with gold heels. The star looked youthful with her hair in a half-up half-down style, while sporting a bronzed makeup palette and nude lip. Stunning: Salma Hayek looked the epitome of chic on Tuesday as she was pictured on set for Magic Mike 3 in London , after taking over the role from Thandiwe Newton Salma dazzled with her gold accessories as she stepped in her new role for day two of filming. It comes as the House Of Gucci star also took to Instagram on Tuesday to wish her new co-star Channing Tatum happy birthday. The duo looked in high spirits as they danced around together in a trailer which was decorated for the special occasion. Salma penned: 'Happy Birthday Channing!!!! Youre such a Joy to be around. Feliz cumpleanos @channingtatum' Wow! The 55-year-old actress showed off her incredible physqiue in a black figure-hugging maxi dress, as she wrapped a blazer over her shoulders and teamed the look with gold heels Salma has been pictured on set for Magic Mike 3 in London, shooting her first scenes opposite Channing Tatum after taking over the role from Thandiwe Newton. Thandiwe exited the film earlier this month after just 11 days of shooting, following an alleged bust-up with the movie's producer and star Channing over Will Smith 's Oscars slap - she has denied the incident. While Salma, 55, shot her scenes in London's Clapham, Thandiwe, 49, was pictured 5,000 miles away in Malibu over the weekend, seemingly confirming the end of their 23-year marriage with a very public display of affection with musician Lonr, 25. Salma was pictured in the same costume which Thandiwe was previously pictured wearing on set last month, as she shared a conversation with Channing in between takes for the film, which is reportedly focusing on the female lead and not Channing's character Mike. Fun: The House Of Gucci star took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a birthday tribute for her new co-star Channing Tatum Playful: The duo looked in high spirits as they danced around together in a trailer which was decorated for the special occasion While Salma got to work, Thandiwe, who it has been said is heading to rehab, ditched her wedding ring and diverted her attention from recent adversity by kissing rapper Lonr, whose real name is Elijah Dias. At 25, Lonr is only a mere four years older than Thandiwe and Ol's eldest child, their 21-year-old daughter Ripley. The award-winning actress has joined her estranged husband in removing her wedding ring, as the director was spotted without his earlier this week as he left his London home. Lonr told The Post that all parties involved were focused on the welfare of Thandiwe's children when approached for comment on the new relationship, explaining: 'From the relatively short time I've been fortunate to spend with her, I know Thandiwe and Oliver care deeply about the welfare of their children. That's all I care about right now.' Taking over: Salma was pictured on the Magic Mike 3 set in London, shooting her first scenes opposite Channing Tatum on Sunday after taking over the role from Thandiwe who exited the movie after 11 days of filming (Thandiwe pictured right on set on March 31) While Thandiwe spent time with her new beau, Salma was pictured hours later looking relaxed on set, chatting happily with Channing. Filming took place on Sunday in Clapham, South London, with the Clapham Grand Victorian music hall dressed as a new venue called The Rattigan. Thandiwe has reportedly been urged to seek mental health support following the break-up of her marriage - and an alleged bust-up with Channing. The star has previously told how she has suffered 'a number of breakdowns' in her troubled past, as well as discussing her heartbreaking experiences of sexual abuse, racism and bulimia during her time in the industry. She has denied claims though that she was sacked from her Magic Mike leading role over a heated argument with Channing. Estranged: Thandiwe's on-set behaviour was said to be due to her split from film producer husband Ol Parker after 24 years of marriage, they share three children Ripley, 21, Nico, 17, and Booker, eight (pictured in 2018) The original Magic Mike movie premiered in 2012 and was loosely based on Channing's experience working as a stripper in Tampa, Florida. A sequel followed in 2015. Channing confirmed that he would reprise his role for Magic Mike's Last Dance in November on 2021. In a recent interview with PEOPLE he spoke about the importance on the movie having a lead female character. 'I want to have an equal, if not even more centralized female character for Mike to really play off of and almost to... I don't want to say, [to have her] take the baton, but really let the movie be about a female's experience and not Mike's experience, because it has been so much about Mike and the guys' experiences. 'These movies are very, very female-forward. At least that is our intention.' Warner Bros. has yet to release official plot details, but Channing and his producing partner Reid Carolin revealed in an interview with Variety in February, that the film will center on the female lead, and is in part inspired by Magic Mike Live - the hugely popular live strip show based on the movies. 'It's really about a woman stuck at a horrible strip show like a Chippendales and then realizing, 'What the hell am I doing here?'' Carolin told Variety. 'And then Magic Mike comes down from the ceiling. She gets to go down the rabbit hole and asks: What do I really want?' 'It's going to have a really strong, almost stronger than Mike, character that's female. We've never done a traditional love story, and this isn't a traditional love story,' Channing added, calling the film, 'the Super Bowl of stripper movies.' The actor also previously told the New York Times that the plot was a 'reverse-role 'Pretty Woman' story, suggesting Salma could be playing a version of the high-powered, wealthy Richard Gere character. Kim Kardashian was slammed by her first husband Damon Thomas for dismissing their marriage as a 'bad' drug-fuelled mistake. Kim, who was just 19 when she and Damon eloped in Las Vegas in 2000, said on a 2018 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians that she was 'on ecstasy' at the time of their nuptials. But in an interview with VladTV, Thomas, 51, said her claims made no 'sense' given they stayed married for years. 'That doesn't make any sense at all': Kim Kardashian was slammed by her first husband Damon Thomas for dismissing their marriage as a 'bad' drug-fueled mistake 'I don't remember that at all,' Damon said of the ecstasy claims. 'That's her thing.' Damon also said he found it 'irresponsible' how she had described their marriage. 'I think it's unfair to make those kind of blanket statements because we have kids now. I have children, my kid goes to the same school her kid goes to,' Damon said. 'So imagine him when he has to deal with at school. I think that she should be more responsible with those statements 'cause there's a lot more to that subject and those things. 'Everything bad would happen [when I was on drugs]': Kim previously claimed she was 'on ecstasy' at the time she and Damon eloped in Vegas in 2000 'And I could go on to that and blow up the spot but I wouldn't. And I've been very responsible in not talking about what that marriage was and what it meant to me...' 'Because it happened in the past, you can try to sweep it under the rug but you don't stay married to somebody or be with somebody for four to five years and it's just based off of you getting high off of ecstasy, you know? 'That doesn't make any sense at all. So I think that's a very irresponsible thing to say given our children go to the same school and things like that.' 'That's a very irresponsible thing to say': Thomas took issue with Kim's characterization of their wedding now that they both have children going to the same school Though he took issue with the way she characterized their relationship, he did speak highly of his ex. 'I'm proud of her, I'm proud of her family, I've seen Kris, I've seen Kris at Kenny's wedding. We all speaking, when I saw Kris last we were cool. I've seen her a couple of times,' he said. Kim claimed she was on the psychoactive drug at the time of their nuptials on a 2018 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. 'I got married on ecstasy. The first time,' Kim said. 'I'm proud of her': Though he took issue with the way she characterized their relationship, he did speak highly of his ex 'I did ecstasy once and I got married. I did it again, I made a sex tape. Like, everything bad would happen [when I was on drugs],' she also said. Damon said they decided to elope as Kim was not on speaking terms with her mother Kris Jenner. 'She wasn't talking to her parents at the time,' Thomas said . 'Or her mom at the time, I think. 'I mean, it was just young love,' he added. Not on speaking terms: Damon said they decided to elope as Kim wasn't speaking with her mother Kris Jenner at the time Damon, who is 10 years Kim's senior, married the future reality star in 2000. Their short-lived marriage lasted only three years before he filed for divorce. Kim later claimed the marriage was quite turbulent as he allegedly subjected her to physical abuse. The KKW Beauty mogul claimed in divorce papers he 'punched' her, to which he has denied. She also accused him of slamming her against a wall and throwing 'her across the room, leaving her bruised and battered.' Additionally, he reportedly made her quit her job, according to their divorce papers filed at Los Angeles Superior Court back in 2003. Matters of the heart: Damon, who is 10 years Kim's senior, married the future reality star in 2000; pictured 2009 'It's just absolutely not true,' Damon said of the allegations to InTouch in 2010, according to New York Daily News. According to Page Six, their marriage lasted from January 2000 to February 2004. Kim has gone on to remarry since her relationship with Damon ended. She tied the knot with Kris Humphries in 2011, only to infamously file for divorce 72 days later. The reality star married Kanye West in 2014, but after more than six years of marriage and four children together, filed for divorce from him in 2021. She was declared legally single earlier this year. Benedict Cumberbatch is set to house Ukrainian refugees, who he revealed have already fled the war-torn country. The acclaimed actor is 'monitoring their progress every day' and vowed to 'give them some stability after the turmoil they've experienced.' Speaking to Sky News while promoting his latest film Dr Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness in London on Tuesday, the 45-year-old gave a promising update. Kind: Benedict Cumberbatch is set to house Ukrainian refugees, who he revealed have already fled the war-torn country 'They've made it out of Ukraine, I'm monitoring their progress every day. 'Sadly, they are undergoing some medical treatment - to say anything more about that would be invasion of their privacy and too much about when they're coming and how that's being managed would invade mine - but I want to give them some stability after the turmoil that they've experienced, and that's within my home,' he explained. As well as lodging individuals in need, Benedict has been providing financial support to Ukrainian families - nationals who are UK citizens - preparing to take in their extended families. Generous: The acclaimed actor, 45, is 'monitoring their progress every day' and vowed to 'give them some stability after the turmoil they've experienced' Particular praise from Benedict was placed on charity Refugees At Home, which offer wider support for psychological trauma. The award-winning actor added: 'However gentle and generous and welcoming we are as hosts, we don't have the skills of the mental health professions to necessarily deal with those things.' Benedict, despite being 'very, very proud' of his native England, has urged people to seek out further help to 'bolster their efforts'. Dapper: Speaking to Sky News while promoting his latest film Dr Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness in London on Tuesday, the 45-year-old gave a promising update (pictured with co-star Elizabeth Olsen) Making a change: As well as lodging individuals in need, Benedict has been providing financial support to Ukrainian families - nationals who are UK citizens - preparing to take in their extended families Last month, Benedict revealed he hoped to take in Ukrainian refugees as he shared his support for the war-torn country at the BAFTA 2022 Film Awards. The actor took the opportunity to highlight the plight of his 'brothers and sisters who are suffering' in the wake of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Speaking to Sky News on the red carpet of the event at London's Royal Albert Hall, Benedict told how the suffering of millions of people can't be ignored as the war is 'something that hangs over us.' Pledge: Last month, Benedict revealed he hoped to take in Ukrainian refugees as he shared his support for the war-torn country at the BAFTA 2022 Film Awards. He explained: 'It is a really shocking time to be a European two and a half hours flight away from Ukraine, and it's something that hangs over us' before going on to note the 'civilians who are being shelled and shot at, and killed and made homeless without power, without water, without food'. And Benedict, who wore a Ukraine pin on his smart black tuxedo to show his support, continued: 'And while tonight is a celebration and this might look like tokenism, were celebrating the moving image, were celebrating pictures this is what Im trying to do. 'To show Im standing side-by-side with my brothers and sisters who are going through this. 'But we all need, as we know, to do more than wear a badge. We need to donate, we need to pressure our politicians to continue to create some kind of a refugee safety and haven here for people who are suffering. 'I know thats ongoing, I know thats happening but everyone needs to do as much as they can.' Judi Dench and Ian McKellen paid tribute to veteran actor John Gielgud as a memorial stone was unveiled at Westminster Abbey honouring the star on Tuesday. The Oscar-award winning British actor and director, who was a master of Shakespearean roles, died aged 96 in May 2000. A memorial stone honouring his life and work was unveiled by Judi, 87, as she pulled the cover off the incredible tribute. Incredible: Judi Dench, 87, paid tribute to veteran actor John Gielgud as a memorial stone was unveiled at Westminster Abbey honouring the star on Tuesday Judi read Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 as a tribute to John at the Abbey's Poets' Corner. The famous actress looked glamorous wearing a black suit and a silk patterned scarf. Ian, 82, also paid tribute to to the actor who starred in more than 60 feature films and TV productions. In memory: The Oscar-winning British actor and director Sir John Gielgud, who was a master of Shakespearean roles, died aged 96 in May 2000 (pictured 1992) Important: Ian McKellen, 82, also paid tribute to to the actor who starred in more than 60 feature films and TV productions The actor looked dapper in a black suit, a bright blue shirt and a patterned tie as he read an extract at the unveiling. Before reading an extract, Ian said: 'All I know of him is a witty tongue and a keen eye, but also a generosity.' Recalling his first meeting with John, the Lord of the Rings actor added: 'When I die the only reason I'll be remembered is because I'm the first queer actor to be knighted. Smart: The Lord of the Rings actor looked dapper in a black suit, a bright blue shirt and a patterned tie as he read an extract at the unveiling Unveiling: The Oscar-award winning British actor and director, who was a master of Shakespearean roles, died aged 96 in May 2000 'Isn't that sad. He was a victim of cruel laws.' English film and theatre director Richard Eyre described John's acting as 'casting a spell that's lasted a lifetime'. Reflecting on the stars career, which spanned seven decades, Richard, 79, said: 'It seems odd to say it now, but he convinced West End audiences of the joys of Shakespeare. The service: Judi read Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 as a tribute to Sir John at the Abbey's Poets' Corner Unveiling: A memorial stone honouring his life and work was unveiled by Judi who looked glamorous wearing a black suit and a silk patterned scarf. 'He consistently took risks and accepted challenges.' English playwright and director David Hare also paid tribute to Sir John, saying: 'John Gielgud was loved by audiences as much for his character, for who he was, as for his brilliant acting.' Sir John won the best supporting actor Academy Award in 1982 for playing Dudley Moore's valet in Arthur. Sir John was knighted in 1953 and was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1996. Memories: English film and theatre director Sir Richard Eyre described Sir John's acting as 'casting a spell that's lasted a lifetime' Amanda Seyfried and her husband Thomas Sadoski were seen chatting with director Kornel Mundruczo on the Manhattan set of Apple TV+ anthology series The Crowded Room on Tuesday. It's unclear what role the 45-year-old Tony nominee was cast in, but he was wearing a seventies-era leather jacket and blue jeans as his costume. Thomas leaned in close to the 36-year-old Oscar nominee to whisper something in her ear before shooting a street scene. Collaboration: Amanda Seyfried (M) and her husband Thomas Sadoski (R) were seen chatting with director Kornel Mundruczo (L) on the Manhattan set of Apple TV+ anthology series The Crowded Room on Tuesday Amanda portrays Rya - a clinical psychologist 'facing the most challenging case of her career' - in Akiva Goldsman's 10-episode drama about 'The Campus Rapist' Billy Milligan. Seyfried resembled a seventies-era professional woman in a brown tweed blazer over a white scoop-neck top, dark brown pleated polyester pants, and matching high-heeled boots. The Dropout producer-star wore her long natural blonde locks in a partial updo fastened with a barrette, and she kept her make-up minimal. Production began March 31 on The Crowded Room, which is based on Daniel Keyes' 1981 novel The Minds of Billy Milligan. Unannounced part: It's unclear what role the 45-year-old Tony nominee was cast in, but he was wearing a seventies-era leather jacket and blue jeans as his costume Intimate: Thomas leaned in close to the 36-year-old Oscar nominee to whisper something in her ear before shooting a street scene Strut: Amanda portrays Rya a clinical psychologist 'facing the most challenging case of her career' in Akiva Goldsman's 10-episode drama about 'The Campus Rapist' Billy Milligan Action! Seyfried resembled a seventies-era professional woman in a brown tweed blazer over a white scoop-neck top, dark brown pleated polyester pants, and matching high-heeled boots Big blue eyes! The Dropout producer-star wore her long natural blonde locks in a partial updo fastened with a barrette, and she kept her make-up minimal The true-crime show also stars Tom Holland, Emmy Rossum, Sasha Lane, Christopher Abbott, and Emma Laird. And while New York City normally has large piles of garbage littered on the sidewalks, the crew added even more trash to make the setting look more authentically 1970s. This is not the first time the married couple of five years who brought their dog Finny to the set have worked together. Real-life story: Production began March 31 on The Crowded Room, which is based on Daniel Keyes' 1981 novel The Minds of Billy Milligan Ensemble: The true-crime show also stars Tom Holland, Emmy Rossum, Sasha Lane, Christopher Abbott, and Emma Laird Trashy: And while New York City normally has large piles of garbage littered on the sidewalks, the crew added even more trash to make the setting look more authentically 1970s Woof! This is not the first time the married couple of five years who brought their dog Finny to the set have worked together Amanda executive produced and co-starred with Thomas in Eli Powers' horror short Skin & Bone, which will screen June 11 and 14 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. In it, Seyfried plays a reclusive farmer who hires a drifter (Sadoski) 'suffering from visions of men trapped inside the bodies of animals.' The Tommy actor was married to Kimberly Hope and the Mean Girls alum was dating Justin Long when they met in 2015 while performing in Neil LaBute's The Way We Get By at the Second Stage Theater. Coming soon! Amanda executive produced and co-starred with Thomas in Eli Powers' horror short Skin & Bone, which will screen June 11 and 14 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York Creepy: In it, Seyfried plays a reclusive farmer who hires a drifter (Sadoski) 'suffering from visions of men trapped inside the bodies of animals' 'Five f***ing years!' Sadoski was married to Kimberly Hope and Seyfried was dating Justin Long when they met in 2015 while performing in Neil LaBute's The Way We Get By at the Second Stage Theater Easter portraits: The Tommy actor and the Mean Girls alum who own homes in the Catskills and the Upper West Side are proud parents of five-year-old daughter Nina (L) and a 19-month-old son (R, rumored to be named Thomas Jr.) Thomas and Amanda who own homes in the Catskills and the Upper West Side are proud parents of five-year-old daughter Nina and a 19-month-old son (rumored to be named Thomas Jr.). Seyfried will next be honored at Variety's 2022 Power of Women event happening May 5 at The Glasshouse in Manhattan's Hells Kitchen neighborhood. The A Mouthful of Air actress will also appear on the May 4 cover of the Power of Women issue along with Venus Williams, Drew Barrymore, Queen Latifah, Camila Cabello, and Kim Cattrall. Cover girls! Amanda will next be honored at Variety's 2022 Power of Women event happening May 5 at The Glasshouse in Manhattan's Hells Kitchen neighborhood Stacked group: The A Mouthful of Air actress will also appear on the May 4 cover of the Power of Women issue along with Venus Williams, Drew Barrymore, Queen Latifah, Camila Cabello, and Kim Cattrall Cute: Amanda was spotted on set in her costume a she went for a walk with her dog and her husband On point: Thomas paired his cool leather jacket with a white patterned shirt and a matching brown tie Accessorized: She kept her pale pink mask hand and carried around a white patterned tote bag that didn't appear to be part of her costume 90 Day Fiance star Anny Francisco shared what appeared to be the final photos of her late son Adriel Hassan on Tuesday. The 32-year-old reality star posted images to Instagram of her seven-month-old child as he lay down in a hospital bed while he had a feeding tube inserted in his nose. Francisco, who shared her son with her husband Robert Springs, hasn't yet disclosed her late son's cause of death, though she noted in her caption that the last photos were taken shortly before he went into 'surgery.' Saying goodbye: Anny Francisco of 90 Day Fiance fame shared what appeared to be the final photos taken of her late son Adriel on Tuesday, just days after announcing he had died at seven months old The somber photos showed little Adriel alternately under the covers in a hospital bed while holding on to a yellow stuffed duck and a green pacifier and sitting in a baby carrier. In addition to the feeding tube, he appeared to have other wires attached to a white patch wrapped around one of his legs. The little boy gazed up intently at whoever was taking the photos, and he wore a cute blue shirt decorated with dogs wearing nurse uniforms and scrubs. Another touching image featured Adriel in extreme closeup as his mother rested her cheek on his head and held a pacifier to his mouth. Last glimpse: The somber photos showed little Adriel alternately under the covers in a hospital bed while holding on to a yellow stuffed duck and a green pacifier and sitting in a baby carrier In hospital: In addition to the feeding tube, he appeared to have other wires attached to a white patch wrapped around one of his legs Sweet: The little boy gazed up intently at whoever was taking the photos, and he wore a cute blue shirt decorated with dogs wearing nurse uniforms and scrubs 'This was the late pic an hour before my son's surgery,' Francisco captioned her post in Spanish. 'Life is unfair I just wanted my kids [broken heart emojis].' She didn't delve further into the surgical outcome. Previously, the reality fixture wrote that her son's 'heart couldn't take it' in an Instagram post from last week that announced his death. In the comments, Francisco received an outpouring of condolences and support from other 90 Day Fiance stars. Together: Another touching image featured Adriel in extreme closeup as his mother rested her cheek on his head and held a pacifier to his mouth Tragic: 'This was the late pic an hour before my son's surgery,' wrote Francisco, who shared Adriel with husband Robert Springs (pictured). 'Life is unfair I just wanted my kids [broken heart emojis]' 'Sometimes we dont understand Gods decisions, but I know he will comfort your heart,' wrote Larissa Santos Lima in Spanish. 'No mother deserves to go through this, may God comfort her heart,' added Juliana Custodio in Spanish. 'Beautiful Little Angel. Hugs and a lot of strength for you ,' commented Armando Niedermeier-Rubio, also in Spanish. Francisco took to Instagram on Thursday to share an image of a black ribbon with a caption which read: 'Today is one of the worst days of my life, my son Adriel spring died, I am devastated and my family... life is so hard and difficult. 'I never thought I would lose my son.' Devastating: Francisco and Springs announced the somber news on April 21; they are seen in August 2021 just a month before their son's birth Heartbroken: 'I never thought I would lose my son,' Francisco wrote as Adriel is pictured days after his birth in September The child's cause of death was not revealed in the post but the reality star wrote: 'He was a fighter... his heart couldn't take it... my heart is broken it's a big pain...so difficult.' Adriel was born on September 7, 2021 at 9 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches. Days after welcoming the baby boy, Francisco had posted a gallery of photos featuring the youngster as she wrote: 'I present to you my prince Adriel Hassan born on 9/7/2021 of 9 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches, I thank God that he took care of me and everything went well.' Terrible news: Francisco took to Instagram on Thursday to share an image of a black ribbon with a caption which read: 'Today is one of the worst days of my life, my son Adriel spring died, I am devastated and my family... life is so hard and difficult' Details: The child's cause of death was not revealed in the post but the reality star wrote: 'He was a fighter... his heart couldn't take it... my heart is broken it's a big pain...so difficult' Arrived: Adriel was born on September 7, 2021 at 9 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches Previous: Days after welcoming the baby , Francisco posted a gallery of photos featuring the youngster as she wrote: 'I present to you my prince Adriel Hassan born on 9/7/2021 of 9 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches, I thank God that he took care of me and everything went well' Sweet: Francisco shared a photo of herself kissing the newborn Back in November 2021, Francisco and Springs posted a video of their newborn son in the hospital and days later Springs had revealed Adriel was 'on his way home.' Several fellow stars from the 90 Day Fiance franchise of reality series took to the comment section to express their condolences on Francisco's post from Thursday. Fellow Pillow Talk costar Loren Brovarnik wrote: 'Our hearts are broken for you! We cannot imagine what you are going through, but as always, we are here for you!' Joyous moment: Back in November 2021, Francisco and Springs posted a video of their newborn son in the hospital and days later Springs had revealed Adriel was 'on his way home' Family: Francisco and Springs have a 20-month-old daughter named Brenda Aaliyah together as Springs also has five children from previous relationships including seven-year-old son Bryson who has appeared on the show, the four are seen together in September 2021 Debbie Johnson who is the mother of Colt Johnson also sent her thoughts and prayers as she said: 'Words can not express the sadness that I feel for you guys and your family. Im absolutely devastated. 'If I can do anything please let me know. Just remember that you guys need to be there for each other. This is just so very sad. My love and prayers are with you. [tear and prayer hands emojis]' Fellow Pillow Talk star David Toborowsky who is married to Annie Suwan Toborowsky wrote: 'Annie and are so so sorry for you and Robert. Sending our prayers and love and know we are a [phone emoji] away .. We love you guys [two prayer hands, two sighing while tearing up, and sparkle heart emojis]' 'Our hearts are broken for you': Several fellow stars from the 90 Day Fiance franchise of reality series took to the comment section to express their condolences Francisco and Springs also have a 20-month-old daughter named Brenda Aaliyah together. Springs also has five children from previous relationships including seven-year-old son Bryson who has appeared on the show. Francisco and Springs were featured on season 7 of 90 Day Fiance as they wed in September 2019. The two are also heavily featured in the franchise's spin-off shows including the aforementioned Pillow Talk and What Now? Bond: Francisco and Springs were featured on season 7 of 90 Day Fiance Sweet: They wed in September 2019 and the ceremony was featured on the show Kim Kardashian treated fans to a slideshow of snapshots taken during the red carpet premiere of her family's new Hulu series The Kardashians earlier this month. The 41-year-old reality star included two images featuring her boyfriend Pete Davidson, who was her plus one at the star-studded soiree in Los Angeles. Kim was captured exiting what appeared to be her custom Maybach while Pete held the door open for her. Memory lane: Kim Kardashian treated fans to a slideshow of snapshots taken during the red carpet premiere of her family's new Hulu series The Kardashians earlier this month Another Instagram shot showed the couple, who began dating in November of last year, braving a sea of photographers and attendees with their hands tightly interlocked. She was simultaneously having her makeup touched up by her longtime makeup artist Mario, while Pete shared a brief exchange with Kim's brother-in-law Scott Disick, 38. For the premiere, Kim slipped her impossible curves in a skintight silver latex gown by late fashion designer Manfred Mugler. She revealed in Tuesday's caption that the dress was designed just for her before Mugler's passing at the age of 73 in January 2022. 'I felt so honored to wear a special dress to the special night! Manfred Mugler made this dress for me last year before he passed away and I just felt the magic in him when I wore it!' the mother-of-four wrote. She included a mirror selfie that showcased the gown in all its glory, as well as her matching wrist cuffs and choker necklace. Plus one: The 41-year-old included two images featuring her boyfriend Pete Davidson, who was her plus one at the star-studded soiree in Los Angeles Gentleman: Kim was captured exiting what appeared to be her custom Maybach while Pete held the door open for her Kim slipped her feet into a pair of transparent platform heels and swept her hair up into a bun for the evening. As for Pete, the SNL funnyman - who notably skipped the red carpet - rocked a black blazer over a plain white tee and a pair of black slacks. He had a pair of shades over his eyes and looked more than happy to let his girlfriend dominate the spotlight. Kim also included an image of herself that was captured just seconds before she stepped onto the red carpet. Photographers were lined up along the carpet, while hoards of flowers made up the photo op's backdrop. Custom creation: For the premiere, Kim slipped her impossible curves in a skintight silver latex gown by late fashion designer Manfred Mugler. She revealed her Tuesday's caption that the dress was designed just for her before Mugler's passing at the age of 73 in January 2022 POV: Kim also included an image of herself that was captured just seconds before she stepped onto the red carpet. Photographers were lined up along the carpet, while hoards of flowers made up the photo op's backdrop Heading home: Last but not least, the SKIMS founder was captured flashing a peace sign as she slid into the passenger's seat of her luxury vehicle as the premiere came to a close Kim posed up a storm with her hands resting on her curvaceous hips and a huge smile on her face. Last but not least, the SKIMS founder was captured flashing a peace sign as she slid into the passenger's seat of her luxury vehicle as the premiere came to a close. While reflecting on the 'special night,' Kim also made sure to express gratitude for the positive reception her family's new reality series has received. 'THE KARDASHIANS PREMIERE!' she began. 'We premiered two weeks ago and I'm blown away that we had the highest premiere in HULU History! 'Beyond grateful when we heard that news!!' the influencer concluded. Smitten: Kim previously shared private snaps of herself and Pete from the The Kardashians premiere in a loved-up slideshow uploaded on April 11 So sweet! She captioned the post 'late night snack' since the photos showed the pair looking cozy as they dined in a booth at one of LA's celeb-loved eateries. Kim and Pete couldn't keep their hands off of one another in the shots, one of which showed the comedian nuzzling up to the reality star's cheek Kim previously shared private snaps of herself and Pete from the The Kardashians premiere in a loved-up slideshow uploaded on April 11. She captioned the post 'late night snack' since the photos showed the pair looking cozy as they dined in a booth at one of LA's celeb-loved eateries. Kim and Pete couldn't keep their hands off of one another in the shots, one of which showed the comedian nuzzling up to the reality star's cheek. The Kardashians, which also features Kim's sisters Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, and their mother Kris Jenner, made its Hulu debut on Thursday, April 14. They're back: The Kardashians, which also features Kim's sisters Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, and their mother Kris Jenner, made its Hulu debut on Thursday, April 14 The new series comes less than a year after the Kardashian-Jenner clan ended their long-running reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians. KUWTK, which catapulted the family into superstardom back in 2007, aired on E! for 14-years and 20 seasons. The series came to close in June 2021 following a two-part reunion special hosted by Andy Cohen. Though Kim's relationship with Pete has dominated headlines for months, the comedian will not be appearing on the new show's first season, according to TMZ. The lovebirds recently enjoyed a trip to Orlando, Florida over the weekend, where they reportedly spent three hours at the Ripley's Believe It or Not! office. Not this go around: Though Kim's relationship with Pete has dominated headlines for months, the comedian will not be appearing on the new show's first season, according to TMZ; the couple pictured in March Kim, who looked fabulous in a knotted white tank top which accentuated her tiny waist, was seen leading her boyfriend outside and into their car once their meeting wrapped. The duo's Saturday sighting came several days before it was reported they would be attending the upcoming 2022 White House Correspondents Dinner. Comedian Noah, 38, is hosting the event, and may be writing some new joke material for the expected roast with news that Kim and SNL star Pete will be sitting in the audience, PageSix reports. It will be the first time in five years that a sitting president has attended the bash, after Donald Trump was a no-show throughout his time in office. RSVP'd! It was recently reported they would be attending the upcoming 2022 White House Correspondents Dinner. Comedian Noah, 38, is hosting the event, and may be writing some new joke material for the expected roast with news that Kim and SNL star Pete will be sitting in the audience, PageSix reports; the couple pictured in October on Saturday Night Live In attendance: Kim and Pete made a rare public appearance as they attended the 23rd annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor on Sunday night (pictured) The dinner was also canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to coronavirus. 'I don't think they should feel that they're safe,' a source told the outlet. 'Trevor could definitely turn his attention to Kim and Pete.' Kim and Pete made a rare public appearance as they attended the 23rd annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor on Sunday night. The pair applauded for comedian Jon Stewart as he received the Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in humor. Pete and Kim began dating in late October after getting to know one another during the KUWTK star's first-ever Saturday Night Live hosting gig that same month. Opening up: In recent months, Kim has begun opening up about her relationship with Pete, including confessing to Ellen DeGeneres that he's gotten her name branded on his chest; Kim pictured with Ellen on April 13 Meeting the kids: She's since introduced Pete to the four children she shares with ex-husband Kanye West; Kim pictured with (L-R) Chicago, Saint, North and Psalm West on April 17 Kim's since confirmed her romance with the SNL funnyman and even made things 'Instagram official' with a loved-up post shared with her 298million followers last month. In recent months, Kim has begun opening up about her relationship with Pete, including confessing to Ellen DeGeneres that he's gotten her name branded on his chest. Pete also has 'my girl is a lawyer' inked on, which is direct nod to Kim's years-long pursuit to become a lawyer like her late father Robert Kardashian. She's since introduced Pete to the four children she shares with ex-husband Kanye West. Kim filed for divorce from Kanye in February 2021 after nearly seven-years of marriage. She was declared legally single last month. Seems like the China cut isn't the only 'cut' to bother movies. Saudi Arabia has asked Disney to cut out 12 seconds of showtime from its upcoming movie, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. Why? Because the movie shows a lesbian character, America Chavez, potrayed by Xochitl Gomez, refer to her "two moms". Disney has declined to go forward with Saudi Arabia's request. While The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the rumours of a ban on the movie, Saudi Arabias general supervisor of cinema classification, Nawaf Alsabhan told Agence France-Presse that the movie will never be banned. Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. Photo: Instagram/Marvel Alsabhan clarified, "It's never banned. It will never be banned. There's no reason to ban the film. It's a simple edit... so far they have refused. But we haven't closed the door. We're still trying." Alsabhan also explained to AFP why Saudi Arabia wanted those 12 seconds cut. "It's just her talking about her moms, because she has two moms. And being in the Middle East, it's very tough to pass something like this," said the supervisor. The reason for Saudi Arabia's request to cut showtime is because homosexuality is illegal in Gulf countries and is classified under capital punishment. It is not confirmed whether the 12-second-cut includes any mention of America Chavez's sexuality, as she is known to be gay in the Doctor Strange comic books. The movie has been banned in Egypt for the same reasons as Saudi Arabia's demand. IMAX Egypt tweeted, "Doctor Strange and Wanda will not be here during their journey between universes! #DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness won't be released in Egypt." Doctor Strange and Wanda will not be here during their journey between universes!#DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness won't be released in Egypt pic.twitter.com/Nqox2vGf5g IMAX Egypt (@IMAXegypt) April 23, 2022 Qatar has also banned the release of Multiverse of Madness in the country, over the same 12 seconds of LGBTQIA+ representation. Scheduled to release on May 6 in India, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness is the second installment of Marvel Cinematic Universe's Dr Strange series. The movie features Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer. Check out the official trailer here: The movie was introduced in one of the end credit scenes in Spider Man: No Way Home, and continues to follow events from the same timeline. Directed by Sam Raimi, Multiverse of Madness is expected to focus on the after-effects of Doctor Strange casting a forbidden spell, which opened up the multiverse in Spider Man: No Way Home. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marvel Entertainment (@marvel) But Multiverse of Madness isn't the only MCU movie that could be banned in the Gulf region. Chinese director and Oscar winner Chloe Zhao's Eternals also faced the Gulf ban for its potrayal of a gay couple; Phastos and his partner. At the time of the release of Eternals, Saudi Arabia had requested Disney to cut out scenes of Phastos and his partner from the running time but Disney did not comply, resulting in the movie's ban. From left, Ulsan Mayor Song Chul-ho, the presidential transition committee's regional balanced development committee head Kim Byeong-joon, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon and the South Gyeongsang Province governor's representative Ha Byeong-pil pose during a discussion about the three local governments' special self-governing body at the presidential transition committee's office in Seoul's Jongno District, April 19. Joint Press Corps. Busan, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province team up for megacity project By Ko Dong-hwan Some of the biggest provincial universities in Korea have been seeing ominous signs recently. After this year's enrollment registration closed, the schools saw that the total number of new students fell short of their maximum enrollement caps. Not only does that mean less tuition fees but less investment being made in the schools. When the top universities in larger regions are facing such crises, there's no doubt other smaller and less popular local universities face an even worse situation. The shrinking number of students points to a chronic imbalance in development and infrastructure between the capital region (including Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province) and the other regions in the country. It is an ongoing issue despite multiple national efforts in past administrations to resolve it. President Moon Jae-in mentioned the problem in an April 25 press conference. "Because the capital region is all interconnected by well-laid public transportation, it has attracted money and people and achieved a robust economy and competitiveness which local regions cannot possibly compete with." And so there is much hope that the new megacity project, announced last week, can address growing concerns among the residents of the included southern regions and avert difficulties that could lie ahead if such imbalances continue to grow. Under the project, two major southern cities Busan and Ulsan have teamed up with South Gyeongsang Province to launch a new "special coalition self-governing body," better known in the media by its acronym, "Bu-Ul-Gyeong." "Bu-Ul-Gyeong special coalition is the country's first self-governing body starting from Oct. 14 last year when the central government announced its strategic plan to support combined authorities in greater metropolitan areas across the country," the interior ministry said. The interior ministry expects the Bu-Ul-Gyeong special self-governing body will introduce new networks of public transportation and roadways between cities and share each local government's region-specific industries to boost the unified region's industrial competitiveness as a whole. The three local governments are also expected to stabilize the nurturing of local human resources and build a stable job market in the region. "It's a unitary autonomy that will run parallel with the capital region in terms of satisfying local residents' economic interests and other daily-life needs," the interior ministry said. "It's the country's first model that will be led by a local entity and supported by the central government." On April 19, the heads of the three local governments, two ministers (interior and safety, land, infrastructure and transportation) and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU stated the three local governments are to share authority under the new coalition body and cooperate to develop the now-unionized region across regional borders. In March 2020, the three local governments started working on establishing an exclusive megacity for the country's southeastern region. A special taskforce comprising the region's governors and council chairmen was launched in July 2021 to push forward with administrative and financial factors for the initiative. Prior to launching the Bu-Ul-Gyeong self-governing body, the interior ministry agreed to transfer control over part of the land ministry's state affairs to the new coalition body for the sake of improved efficiency in state affairs including planning public transportation networks connecting metropolitan regions nationwide as well as logistics-and-warehouse depots serving at least two cities or provinces. The new self-governing body will also carry out 30 short-term projects and 40 long-term projects, each of which is aimed at strategically decentralizing the capital region in terms of industry, human resources and population density. The interior ministry said the Bu-Ul-Gyeong coalition body will grow into a megacity with global competitiveness in future cars, aircraft and eco-friendly ships, and is expected to introduce a self-reliant system to nurture and employ local workers as well as develop networks of express transit routes covering greater metropolitan regions across the country. The Bu-Ul-Gyeong self-governing body, after regulations supporting its operation as well as governing organizations and their offices are completed, is scheduled to officially commence its first administrative day on Jan. 1, 2023. President Moon Jae-in, right, presides over a Cabinet meeting on April 19 when the launch of the southern megacity project was approved. Yonhap Upgrading local education, relocating gov't organizations essential To sustain the nascent unified entity and its ambitious goals, experts have put forward various proposals. One of them was upgrading local universities in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang so that they can secure a highly educated workforce and utilize those employed to compete against the expansive talent pools and industrial assets concentrated in the capital region. According to Han Sae-eok, a professor of public administration at Dong-A University in Busan, major universities in the Bu-Ul-Gyeong region are in desperate need of self-innovation lest they face mass shutdowns. "Pusan National University, Kyungpook National University and Chonnam National University (which are some of the country's largest provincial universities) have seen their recent enrollment pools not reaching full student capacities," Han told The Korea Times Han said the schools should start cooperating so that they do not offer the same programs as each other to boost competitiveness. "The schools should become more like research institutes so that they can adapt to the global trends that are now hinging on decentralization and globalization." Kang Jae-ho, a professor of administrative studies at Pusan National University in Busan, agreed that if the central government strengthens policies and invests more state budget in order to improve major local universities, it will "deconcentrate" the capital region's high-level educational functions across the country. "But boosting local universities is merely a measure for 'deconcentration' of the capital region," Kang said. "What the Bu-Ul-Gyeong is trying to enact is 'decentralization,' bringing over part of the central government's state agenda to a local governing body. So this is like the hunter who chases two rabbits at once and catches neither." Kang also argued that relocating some of the country's public offices to the Bu-Ul-Gyeong region will improve the region's self-reliance and help create more jobs for the local workforce. Han added that the relocation should be accompanied by the public organizations' efforts to faithfully employ local workers according to the rule of law. "The central government had promised a certain portion of local workers will be guaranteed jobs by public organizations but the authority ignored laws and neglected fully honoring those promises," Han said. "Local governments, companies and universities must cooperate to nurture a workforce for the particular demands of companies, as well as to encourage innovation in the region and develop its industries." Han also emphasized that the Bu-Ul-Gyeong region should come up with region-specific industries with which they can outperform the capital region. Each of the three local governments, according to the professor, should stop going its own way and start forming a greater metropolitan platform to jointly dismantle the power concentrated in the capital region. He said it resonates with a continuing global trend that brings together metropolitan regions in each country to a greater extent. "The Bu-Ul-Gyeong region's main industries, from vehicles to shipbuilding, petrochemical and mechanical engineering, used to lead the country's economy but not anymore," Han said. "They must come up with new industries that are free from the central government's policies and can exclusively feed the local economy something that the capital region hasn't laid its hands on." Han mentioned the local industry's energy transition to hydrogen as an example. Ulsan has already demonstrated feasibility in using hydrogen to generate power for vehicles and households through various projects, according to the professor. "The three local governments should share these technologies and mutually transition to hydrogen, developing new industries and raising competitiveness for existing industries," Han said. Seen above is a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle in a parking lot in Ulsan. The southeastern coastal city is Korea's leading hydrogen economy city, with the city government having invested in distributing hydrogen vehicles to local residents and developing fuel cell batteries. Korea Times file The ruling Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Gyeonggi governor, Kim Dong-yeon, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps By Nam Hyun-woo The Gyeonggi governor election has become a proxy battle between President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition (PPP) and his former rival Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), as the parties field candidates seen as representing the two politicians. During the DPK's primary on Monday to select its candidate for the Gyeonggi Province governor election on June 1, former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon clinched 50.47 percent of the support, outpacing Rep. An Min-suk and other contenders. "Candidate Kim will realize the DPK's tradition of one-team spirit and join efforts with other contenders to win the Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial election," Kim's camp said in a statement. Kim served as deputy prime minister and economy minister from 2017 to 2018 and ran in the presidential election earlier this year. He initially ran in the election as an independent candidate, but withdrew his campaign to support Lee. During this process, Kim and Lee agreed on Kim's ideas for political reforms that entail constitutional amendments. As Kim, a political rookie, is leading in the primary despite having almost no support base in the DPK, pundits said Lee's influence appears to have been affected. Lee is now serving as a standing supervisor of the party, taking a step back from the political frontline after the election loss. However, the former Gyeonggi governor is still exercising indirect influence over various matters in the party, with rumors growing that he is endorsing Kim as the Gyeonggi governor candidate. The People Power Party's candidate for Gyeonggi governor, Kim Eun-hye, listens to other participants during a meeting in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yonhap Education minister Sabitha Indrareddy along with TS Council for Higher Education Chairman R. Limbadri, and Vice Chancellor Venkata Ramana, OU VC Prof D. Ravinder and Koti Women's College principal Vidyutha. (DC) Hyderabad: A Telangana Womens University (Mahlia Vishwavidyalayam) the first for women in the state is being set up by the state education minister Sabitha Indrareddy said this is to ensure that women are at the forefront of higher education. She thanked Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao for facilitating this. The CM held a meeting with higher education department officials at his office here on Monday. Vice Chancellor of Osmania University, Professor D. Ravinder, was asked to transform the Koti Womens College into the Women's University. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been allotted for related works this financial year. She also directed the higher education authorities to introduce new courses, the quality of which should match with international standards. Professor R. Limbadri, chairman of the R. Limbadri, would formulate policies vis-a-vis requirements and appointments in the new university. The aim is to provide teaching and other facilities for students and infrastructure as soon as possible. An auto driver and resident of Amberpet, he was earlier involved in 11 vehicle theft cases and had been arrested, DCP, North Zone, Chandana Deepti said. (Representational image) Hyderabad: The Gopalapuram police on Monday arrested a habitual vehicle thief and recovered two stolen bikes from him. Pinnoji Jagadish was moving in a suspicious manner near Reliance Digital shop on SD Road. He was taken into custody. During interrogation, he confessed to the theft of two bikes. An auto driver and resident of Amberpet, he was earlier involved in 11 vehicle theft cases and had been arrested, DCP, North Zone, Chandana Deepti said. This apart, a thief moving suspiciously near Secunderabad railway station was detained by Gopalpuram police. A gold chain and two bangles, together weighing 100 grams and worth Rs 2,00,000 were recovered from him. The accused, Maskani Vinith, too was an auto driver and a native of Mahabubnagar. On April 14, he had stolen a bag of Dr Neelama who travelled by the auto. The gold seized was worth Rs 2 lakh,'' police said. Last month, proposals were invited from reputed and experienced firms for carrying out pre-feasibility study for the proposed semi-high speed rail connectivity in the two corridors. (Representational Image/ PTI) Hyderabad: Despite the hype, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authoritys (HMDA) is finding no takers for the ambitious semi-high speed rail connectivity to Warangal and to Vijayawada. According to officials so far no one has participated in the bidding process. That apart, officials also informed that the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (HUMTA), a wing of HMDA, did not make any effort to call tenders for improving public transportation. The UMTA had prepared a comprehensive transport report (CTR) that has been prepared by Delhi-based LEA Associates South Asia Pvt. Ltd. at a cost of Rs 15.24 crore a decade ago. According to the CTR, metro rail should run for a 417-km stretch in the Hyderabad metropolitan area, which includes the existing project, a bus rapid transport system for 438 km and extending the multimodal transport system (MMTS) to 438 km, which includes 47 km of the existing service. The UMTA has to conduct a feasibility study for the Rs 84,520 crore for the pending metro rail project, Rs 6,415 crore for the BRTS project, Rs 39,620 crore connecting highways passing through the city, Rs 4,750 crore for bus transport, Rs 3,390 crore for bus terminals and Rs 11,390 crore for traffic management. Last month, proposals were invited from reputed and experienced firms for carrying out pre-feasibility study for the proposed semi-high speed rail connectivity in the two corridors. The project would provide fast, safe and comfortable commuter systems at a reasonable fare for intra-regional movement of passengers. The two corridors have been proposed as the movement of passengers is high on these two corridors. The semi-high speed rail is different from conventional railway as it will provide reliable, high frequency, point-to-point regional travel along a dedicated pathway. The objective of this system is to reduce dependence of commuters on road transportation. However, officials said that none have participated in the bidding process so far for the pre-feasibility test. Several colonies in Old Alwal, where ground water levels have plunged, are in dire need of regular water supply. (DC) Hyderabad: Water shortage troubles are spreading to more and more colonies in the city. Residents complain that despite several pleas, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) officials are citing technical and operational reasons for the delays. Water supply problems are happening every alternate week in many areas while the supply timings are not maintained in under-served areas. Several colonies in Old Alwal, where ground water levels have plunged, are in dire need of regular water supply. Srinivas Munagapati, general secretary of Om Sri Sai Nagar Colony, said that the locals have been facing hardships for over a month now. It worsened last week. We are getting water once every three days and at low pressure for just 45 minutes. Same is the case in Surya Nagar in the area, where the supply is inadequate while the groundwater is next to nothing. We will inspect the area and try to resolve the issue immediately. Of late, there have been operational difficulties due to leakage of water in the area, explained G. Ramesh, manager, operations and maintenance, HMWS&SB, Old Alwal. Similar problems prevail in Ganga Nagar in Jiyaguda, Zeba Bagh in Asif Nagar, and Deluxe Colony at Tolichowki. There has been no water supply for four days and even the timings are not regular. We are forced to wait the entire night for water, complained K. Raghuvardhan of Jiyaguda. Even water tankers are taking two to five days to arrive despite the emergency. By Lee Hyo-jin The Working Group on Bribery (WGB) under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has expressed concerns over a controversial prosecutorial reform bill here which seeks to reduce the prosecution's investigative powers. National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug proposed a compromised version of the prosecutorial reform bill, which if bill passed, WGB chair Drago Kos was quoted as saying on April 22 that it is likely that laws stipulating the prosecution's investigative power on all crimes, including corruption, will be removed. The OECD logo is seen in this October file photo. AFP-Yonhap The prosecutorial reform bill aims to stop prosecutors from investigating crimes in six major categories: corruption, economic affairs, public officials, elections, the defense industry and large-scale incidents with mass casualties. Prof Murugeshi remarked that this could perhaps be the first rock engraving of the megalithic period found from Dakshina Kannada. (Photo by arrangement) Mangaluru: A team led by MSRS College History and Archaeology department Head Prof T Murugeshi has discovered a unique Megalithic burial site, dating back to 800 BC at a cashew plantation in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Based on the information provided by the villagers, the team visited Pandavara Guhe, (Cave of Pandavas) at Aturu-Kundaje government cashew plantation near Ramakunja of Kadaba taluk . To their surprise they found a unique type of rock cut cave- a Megalithic burial- at the place. Normally the rock cut caves of the Megalithic era are 2.5 or 3 feet long with openings in the centre and about a meter deep it is hemispherical in shape. But here, there is no central opening but a huge circle engraving. The circle is about 7 feet in diameter on the laterite surface. What is more interesting is that exactly below, there is a cave with the same measurement. On the side, there is an opening of about 2 feet in height, Prof Murugeshi told Deccan Chronicle. Usually, Megalithic burial sites are marked by stone circles, menhirs and stone carnes. But for the first time a sepulchral is marked by a circle, he said. Prof Murugeshi remarked that this could perhaps be the first rock engraving of the megalithic period found from Dakshina Kannada. According to Prof Murugeshi, the burial site dates back to 800 BC- 500 BC. Members of the excavation team entered the cave to get a clear picture of the structure inside. "About 4-5 people can easily sit inside. Interestingly at the centre we noticed an altar- like pit. We did not find any grave goods inside the cave as they might have been taken away long ago," he added. Hyderabad: Leaders in both the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), and the opposition Congress, heaved a sigh of relief after news was confirmed on Tuesday late afternoon that ace political strategist and consultant Prashant Kishor had declined the Congress offer to join the party and help in its revamp and electoral affairs. Speaking from between hectic work on the plenary preparations, a senior TRS leader, without wishing to be named said, The last few days have been tense with the news that PK might join the Congress. But once he met KCR at Pragathi Bhavan and spent two days here, and the formal announcement came that I-PAC would work for us, we were relieved. But the BJP had already started a response campaign that we will have an alliance with the Congress. That would have been disastrous for us. We are glad it is all behind us. Equally if not more exuberant was Telangana state Pradesh Congress Committee president A. Revanth Reddy, who was busy overseeing arrangements for party leader Rahul Gandhis rally in Warangal on May 6, saying, The Congress has won enough elections in its history without a consultant. Our leadership has enough strategic depth to lead us, and our cadre has enough spirit to fight against the autocratic reign of KCR in Telangana and against Narendra Modi in Delhi. Refuting that it was a setback for the Congress, Revanth Reddy said, Maybe it is a setback for Prashant Kishor. Many people want to join the Congress and we are happy to welcome them but only if they agree to stand for our ideology and accept the leadership. He is an overrated consultant, who keeps speaking of his wins but what about the defeats? How did he fare for the Congress, which had hired him before, in the Uttar Pradesh polls in 2017? How did he fare in Goa for the TMC recently, asked Revanth Reddy. Senior Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy said, it is a positive outcome for the Congress that a man who is a consultant and without idealogy and has hobnobbed with many parties, including Narendra Modi and K. Chandrashekar Rao, wont be joining us. It would have been hard for our workers to have trusted him. While most reports informally point to the eventual breakdown of the talks with the Congress and Kishor being over larger issues like national presidentship of the party to be entrusted to a person outside the Gandhi family and total control over the election campaign, the TRS leader gave a local twist, saying, As long as the Congress told PK that he had to work to defeat Modi in national elections, he was willing to join. The moment the party asked him to help the Congress to defeat KCR garu, he gave up, knowing that the TRS is all set to win over 100 seats. The BJP, meanwhile, stuck to its narrative. A leader said, Even if PK does not formally join the Congress, he will be managing the election campaign of the TRS-Congress alliance. The two parties have been exposed in front of Telangana people as secret partners, who instead of a political marriage overseen by Kishor, will now be a live-in relationship instead. Sri Lankan university students march during a protest over the country's worst economic crisis in decades in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 24, 2022. Banner in Sinhalese reads, "lower taxes and prices" (AP/Eranga Jayawardena) Colombo: More Sri Lankans will slip into poverty this year, the World Bank has warned, as it urged the debt-ridden island nation to undertake urgent policy measures to address the high levels of debt, trim the fiscal deficit, and mitigate the adverse impacts on the poor and vulnerable. Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of an 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. Around 11.7 per cent of people in Sri Lanka earn less than USD 3.20 per day, the international poverty line for lower-middle income countries, up from 9.2 per cent in 2019, the Bank said in its Spring Update on the South Asian region. The other reason for the increase in poverty rates in the country was because the government's Samurdhi programme, which covers around 1.2 million poor families in the country, remained inadequate. Less than half of the poor were beneficiaries of the Samurdhi, Sri Lanka's social safety net programme, and benefit amounts remain largely inadequate, it said. Due to the pandemic, the Sri Lankan economy has contracted by 3.6 per cent in 2020, it stated. The World Bank's April 2022 update of Macro Poverty Outlook for Sri Lanka asserted that the heightened fiscal and external risks as well as the challenging political situation pose significant uncertainty to the economic outlook and the country faces an external financing gap in 2022 and beyond. Sri Lanka's economic outlook is highly uncertain due to the fiscal and external imbalances. Urgent policy measures are needed to address the high levels of debt and debt service, reduce the fiscal deficit, restore external stability, and mitigate the adverse impacts on the poor and vulnerable, the international development lender said in its twice-a-year regional update. The necessary adjustments may adversely affect growth and impact poverty initially, but it will correct the significant imbalances, subsequently providing the foundation for stronger and sustainable growth and access to international financial markets, it added. Last week, the World Bank readied a USD 10 million package to Sri Lanka for the purchase of medicines and other essentials. Sri Lanka needs at least USD 4 billion to tide over its mounting economic woes, and talks with international institutions such as the World Bank as well as countries like China and Japan for financial assistance have been going on. Sri Lankan officials led by Finance Minister Ali Sabry were in Washington last week to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. India has agreed to extend an additional USD 500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka import fuel. India has already agreed to defer USD 1.5 billion in import payments that Sri Lanka needs to make to the Asian Clearing Union. 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. Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, clamoring for the removal of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, blaming him for the gross mismanagement of the economy. Senior Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar and former Union Minister KV Thomas may lose their organisational posts as part of disciplinary action against them for taking positions against the party. Jakhar was issued notice for his statements against the party line and Thomas for attending a seminar of CPI(M) despite Sonia Gandhi's instructions not to do so. The five-member disciplinary committee headed by senior leader AK Antony met here on Tuesday and recommended action against the leaders. They have sent their recommendations to party chief Sonia Gandhi for a decision. Sources said the panel recommended removal of Jakhar and Thomas from all party positions. Thomas is presently a member of the Political Affairs Committee and the member of executive committee of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. Earlier reports suggested that the panel has recommended suspension of Jakhar for two years. Congress General Secretary Tariq Anwar, who is also a member of the disciplinary committee said the panel has discussed complaints received from Meghalaya, Punjab and Kerala. "The Committee has taken a unanimous decision which has been sent to the party president for her final approval," he said. Responding to media reports about his possible suspension, Jakhar said, "I wish the Congress party good luck." Thomas said he has come to know through the media that the committee has met. "Congress president will take the decision, I will continue to be a Congressman. Let's see what will be the decision," he said. Jakhar has been making statements against party leaders, especially against former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The action against Thomas came after he attended a seminar on Centre-State relations organised by the CPI(M) as part of its Party Congress. On the advice of the Kerala unit, Sonia had instructed Thomas, Tharoor and Manishankar Aiyar not to attend it. While Tharoor and Aiyar did not attend, Thomas went to the seminar, which was also attended by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, and praised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Congress' Kerala president K Sudhakaran wrote to the central leadership seeking action. The panel has also recommended suspension of five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya, who were supporting the BJP government there. Watch the latest DH Videos here: A US commission said Monday that religious freedom has deteriorated "significantly" in India under the Modi government as it again recommended targeted sanctions over abuses. It was the third straight year that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom asked that India be placed on a list of "countries of particular concern" -- a recommendation that has angered New Delhi and is virtually certain to be dismissed by the State Department. In an annual report, the panel -- which is appointed to offer recommendations but does not set US policy -- voiced wide concern about South Asia and also backed the State Department's inclusion of Pakistan on the blacklist. Also Read: Uttar Pradesh govt orders removal of illegal loudspeakers from religious places In India, the commission pointed to "numerous" attacks on religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in 2021 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government promoted "its ideological vision of a Hindu state" through policies "hostile to minorities". "Religious freedom conditions in India significantly worsened," the report said. It pointed to a "culture of impunity for nationwide campaigns of threats and violence by mobs and vigilante groups" and arrests of journalists and human rights advocates. The Indian government in previous years has angrily rejected the commission's findings, accusing it of bias. President Joe Biden, like Donald Trump before him, has sought to increase ties with India, seeing common cause in the face of a rising China. Biden is expected to meet Modi next month in Tokyo as part of a four-way summit of the "Quad" with Japan and Australia. The commission also recommended adding Afghanistan to the blacklist following the triumph of the Taliban and relisting Nigeria, which was removed by the Biden administration. The countries on the State Department's religious freedom blacklist, which can trigger sanctions, are China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Watch the latest DH Videos here: After drawing flak for not condemning Russias aggression against Ukraine, India on Tuesday turned the table on Europe and the United States, slamming them for ignoring Chinas belligerence in Asia for years and for clinching a deal with the Taliban "by throwing the common people of Afghanistan under the bus". You spoke about Ukraine. I remember, less than a year ago, what happened in Afghanistan, where an entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, in response to a question from Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt. He was apparently referring to the deal the US inked with the Taliban in February 2020 after fighting it for two decades and the consequent withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan, leaving the people of the war-torn country under the regressive rule of the Sunni Islamist militia that returned to power in August 2021. When the rules-based order was under challenge in Asia (due to aggression by China), the advice we got from Europe is (to) do more trade (with China), added Jaishankar. Also read: Russia and India in talks to restart coking coal supplies New Delhi has been alleging that the US, the United Kingdom and the other western nations had for years overlooked growing belligerence of China, not only against India, but also against other nations in the Indo-Pacific region. His comment came a day after the European Commissions President Ursula Von der Leyen, while delivering the keynote address at the Raisina Dialogue, subtly nudged India to drop its policy of avoiding criticism of Russias aggression against Ukraine and warned it about the growing ties between the former Soviet Union nation and China. India called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It, however, did not join the US and other western nations to directly condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for ordering the launch of military operations in the East European nation. New Delhi took a cautious approach in view of India's decades-old strategic partnership with Russia and its dependence on the former Soviet Union nation for military hardware. India, however, drew flak in the US and Europe for its refusal to take a tough stand against Russia. The former Prime Minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, too asked Jaishankar on Tuesday what conclusion China could draw from Russias war against Ukraine and whether the communist country could take advantage of the situation and be encouraged to step up its belligerence in Asia. Also read: India's Russian oil purchases since Ukraine invasion more than double 2021 total This has not been an easy part of the world for the last decade and this is a part of the world where boundaries have not been settled, where terrorism is still practised, often sponsored by states, Jaishankar said, adding: This is a part of the world where the rules-based order has been under continuous stress for more than a decade and I think it is important for the rest of the world, outside Asia, to recognise that today. New Delhi apparently sought to drive home the point that what Europe was late in taking note of was that China had already been posing challenge to the rules-based order in Asia, not only by its aggression along the disputed boundary with India, but also in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait as well as elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region. "Things have been happening in Asia for the last 10 years. Europe may not have looked at it. So this could be a wake-up call for Europe, not just in Europe, it could be a wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia," he said. Check out DH's latest videos: Last year August's Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was viewed mainly as a strategic victory for Pakistan as it managed to establish a friendly government in Kabul after nearly two decades. Imran Khan, the then prime minister of Pakistan, observed, rather euphorically, that Afghans have "broken the shackles of slavery". Islamabad had been one of the principal backers of the Taliban's 'interim' government and lobbied for its recognition and urgent financial assistance from the international community. However, tension and friction in the otherwise cordial relationship have started appearing over the months. Issues such as the demarcation of the Durand line (the 2,670 km Afghanistan-Pakistan international land border that Afghanistan has never accepted) and the Afghan Taliban's support for the Pashtun Islamist Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (also known as Pakistan Taliban and TTP), Pakistan's biggest terrorist threat, have caused strains in the relations. Pakistan suspects the TTP leadership is operating from across the Durand Line. Islamabad's growing frustration about the inaction of Kabul's new rulers against the TTP was manifested in the Pakistani airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Khost, recently killing about forty-seven civilians, mostly women and children. Artillery shelling and cross border operations between the two sides have intensified in the recent past, but airstrikes within Afghanistan indicated a significant escalation. Coinciding with six weeks of acute political turmoil in Pakistan, the timing of the Pakistan army's air raid was crucial and carried a message about who has the 'real' authority in the country. Although Islamabad has maintained silence about the attacks, media reports suggested that the Pakistani bombings targeted the TTP groups in the province. The blatant violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty sparked anti-Pakistan protests in the country. The Taliban responded by summoning the Pakistani envoy in Kabul and issuing a strongly-worded statement by the Taliban spokesperson warning Islamabad of "bad consequences" if Afghan "territory and freedom" was "disrespected" again. The Taliban has maintained that it wants to address the issue of the TTP through political means, but the rise in border attacks from Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover escalated tensions between the two sides. The Afghan Taliban and the TTP are part of the same phenomenon that Pakistan has fermented as an ideological project - the TTP fought along with the Afghan Taliban against the US and its allies for decades. Linked by the shared Pashtun ethnicity and kinship - it is believed to be the closest to the Afghan Taliban (among all the radical Islamist groups operating in the country). Immediately after taking control of Kabul on August 15, the Taliban set free hundreds of TTP prisoners, including prominent leaders, from Afghan jails. But, the Pakistani deep state views the two groups very differently. While the Afghan Taliban are seen as freedom fighters, who fought to break away from the shackles of Western dominance and defeated the mighty United States, the Pakistani Taliban, on the other hand, is a heinous terrorist outfit with an agenda to destabilise Pakistan. Over the years, Islamabad had consistently argued that the presence of the US and its allies in Afghanistan fostered the TTP insurgency. Since its inception in 2007, TTP has been responsible for deadly attacks targeting Pakistan. In 2014, the Pakistani military launched a major offensive against the TTP and led many of its members to flee to Afghanistan. In 2021, with the advancement of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the TTP fighters increased their attacks in Pakistan. Hell broke loose in Pakistan when at least two of their assaults targeted Chinese workers and the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, making Pakistan's principal ally China extremely anxious. With the mediation of the Afghan Taliban, a ceasefire between the TTP and the Pakistani military was reached in November 2021, but that did not yield much result. Pakistan Taliban resumed attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians even while covert negotiations with Islamabad continued. The Afghan Taliban and the TTP share a vision of using violence to establish an emirate with their narrow interpretations of sharia. Although the Taliban have repeatedly assured that no one will use the Afghan soil to destroy the peace of another country, it is aware that pushing the TTP too hard could make it inch toward its enemy, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). The TTP, on the other hand, is apprehensive about losing its support base if it abandons its hardline approach to the Pakistan government. Then, with an escalation of attacks, there will be greater resentment and public pressure within Pakistan to take decisive action against the TTP and its main backer - the Afghan Taliban making any hope for stability a distant possibility. It is also important to remember that the Taliban did not give away their "guest" Osama bin Laden amidst acute international pressure twenty years ago as that would have entailed violating a sacred principle of the 'Pashtunwali' - the Pashtun code of life. It is unlikely that the Taliban will hand over the TTP to Pakistan since maintaining the Pashtun unity rhetoric would be far more important for the new rulers of Afghanistan. Despite Pakistan's attempt to erase the Pashtun identity (that links the people of Pashtun ethnicity on both sides of the Durand Line) and divert the Pashtun question towards other causes, the linkages between the Pashtuns on the two sides of the Durand Line remain strong, and that won't change anytime soon. As a result, it is quite likely that these issues will continue to fester and pave the way for tensions between the neighbours. It was known that radical elements in the region would be emboldened by the Taliban victory in Afghanistan, and the escalation of border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan only reiterated that. About a decade ago, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had warned Pakistan stating, "You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbour. Eventually, those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard." It would have helped if Pakistan had taken the warning seriously then. (Anwesha Ghosh is a strategic analyst and author based in New Delhi) Check out the latest DH videos here: Experts have predicted that the Covid-19 fourth wave may peak after June and have its effects till October, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday as he stressed learning to live with the virus by taking precautionary measures like vaccination and wearing masks. He said the prevalent variants of the virus are said to be Omicron's sublineages and an official report in this regard is likely in a couple of days. "IIT Kanpur has been sharing data and reports. According to a report shared by them it (the fourth wave) is likely to start from June end, but things have started a month ahead. According to them it is likely to peak after June and may go one till September and October," Sudhakar said. Also Read: 70 lakh children in Karnataka aged 5-12 will be eligible for Covid jabs Speaking to reporters here, he said the report submitted by them about the last three waves was by and largely accurate, and the current report too is based on scientific data and may turn out to be accurate. "It is two years since Covid began and we have complete information regarding it. We will also have to lead our lives. We are not in a position to say that Covid will completely vanish from the world, so we have to learn to live with it by following measures like vaccination, wearing masks and maintaining social distance. We have done it in the past too," he added. Asked whether the state is amidst the fourth wave of Covid, the Minister said, the cases are very less compared to other states, so it will be inappropriate to say that as of now. Should one trust this model? No, says the researcher Also Read | Here's why there are no fines for mask violations in Karnataka However, the IIT Kanpur model has been questioned by researchers for various reasons. Gautam Menon, Professor of Physics and Biology at Ashoka University, Haryana, whose research centres on modelling infectious diseases, on March 2 tweeted, "A recent paper by applied mathematicians from IIT Kanpur has led to some interest among news organisations and the public for its prediction of the fourth wave of Covid-19 starting June 22, 2022, reaching a peak on August 23 and ending on October 24. The precision of these claims should raise some questions immediately. No epidemiologist with any experience would dare to make a claim that a wave is expected to start 'on X day', four months into the future." "The methods used are purely statistical. The available data is fit using a sum of simple Gaussian functions, using machine learning methods. The data learnt from, a requirement here for the methods to work is from Zimbabwe, which had four Covid-19 waves. Why Zimbabwe? Because Zimbabwe and India have 'maximum visible similarities in the shape of the Covid waves' This is not a particularly scientific way to proceed. Why should Zimbabwe and India be different? Zimbabwe, as of a few days ago, had managed to vaccinate 40% of its eligible population, mainly with the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm. The analogous number for India is 75% or more," Menon argued. Also Read | Karnataka makes masks mandatory, but no fines yet "The Omicron wave was relatively mild. Most Indians had been exposed to the virus in the preceding two waves, in particular the Delta wave. Along with that, vaccinations added a further level of protection, contributing to what is called hybrid immunity. None of this is accounted for in the model. Thats just one part of it. The median age in Zimbabwe is close to 19. For India, it is close to 30. The impact of Covid-19 in every respect - cases, ICU requirements, deaths - are primarily driven by age," the professor said. "Should one trust this model at all? The answer, simply, is no. Epidemiology is not an exact science in the sense that Physics is or Chemistry. The waves of Covid-19 in India have been driven by variants: the original strain and its major descendants, Delta and Omicron. None of these could have been anticipated in advance. No one is able to do that. Modelling can provide helpful estimates but must rely on accurate inputs for their predictions to be trustable. They are more useful for broad policy than highly specific predictions of numbers," he added. "One can hope for the following: Even if antibodies wave, the fact of a number of exposures to different variants as well as vaccinations should protect against any new variant through hybrid immunity. That is as much as we can hope. We cannot predict the appearance of new variants, nor can we say with any certainty that a peak is or is not due. And no one can. So the worry over this prediction is overblown. No mathematical model is - or can be - as prescient as this would require. Nothing to see here, folks. Move on," Menon tweeted. Union Health Ministry acknowledges criticism The following day, in a union health ministry press conference, on March 3, Vinod Paul, the head of the Covid Task Force and NITI Aayog member, acknowledged this criticism and said, "Experts Manindra Agarwal and Gautam Menon have said they do not believe the IIT Kanpur prediction of the fourth wave", in response to a question from a reporter on what the government makes of this prediction. Free precaution dose for all? Queried whether precautionary doses will be administered freely to all, like the first and second dose vaccination, Sudhakar said, "let's see what discussion takes place during the Prime Minister's meeting tomorrow....we will have to analyse whether one dose vaccination has to be administered per year. The Centre and the state will take a decision keeping in mind all aspects." First dose vaccination coverage in Karnataka is about 105 per cent, while it is more than 98 per cent for the second dose, which means 10-12 lakh people are yet to take the second dose. About 55 per cent of people have taken the precautionary dose that is being administered freely to those above 60 years of age. Sudhakar urged parents to get their children above 12-years of age inoculated on priority, which is being administered by the government free of cost. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Foyle MP, Colum Eastwood, insists the SDLP has launched an ambitious programme for change to tackle the cost of living crisis. The SDLP leader was speaking at his party's manifesto launch for the 2022 Assembly Election in Dungannon this morning. Forty pages long, the document outlines the partys focus on addressing the cost of living crisis by providing direct support to every household, ensuring that working families receive more good quality childcare and that no child grows up in a household without savings. Launching the manifesto in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency today, Mr Eastwood said: The manifesto we have launched today is an ambitious programme for change that has at its heart a plan to tackle the biggest challenge facing every family, household and community in Northern Ireland today the cost of living crisis. The emergency that hard working families are waking up to today, and every day, needs to be addressed with the same urgency and at the same scale that the Covid-19 crisis demanded. We will not stand by as people are forced to turn off the radiators, to sit at home in their winter coats, to cut back on food for their families while Stormonts bank accounts bursts at the seams with hundreds of millions in unspent money. It is obscene. Well fight this crisis and put people first by getting an emergency support payment to every household worth at least 200. We will provide people who have been hit hardest by this crisis with up to 500 in direct payments. And we will make sure that no child goes hungry by getting more than 1200 to an average family with two children on free school meals between now and December. But the cost of living crisis needs more than just cash intervention. Thats why we are putting working parents first with a pledge to increase free pre-school childcare from 12.5 hours per week to 30 hours. Well end the injustice of children growing up in a household with no savings by creating a first-of-its-kind Childrens Future Fund that gives every child a 1000 investment in clean, green technologies that they can withdraw when they turn 18. We will also take tough political decisions to transform our society. Nowhere is that more important than for our health service which is at the point of collapse. That will mean change to how services are organised but, fundamentally, it will be about making sure that everyone can access a service that they need, when they need it. We will do that by investing 1 billion over the life of the next Assembly and making sure that our nurses get the pay rise they deserve. That's what this manifesto is about. It is a plan to tackle the cost of living emergency, to provide more free childcare, to invest in families and households that have no savings and to ensure that our government finally puts people first. The ruling Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun speaks during a party meeting, April 26. Yonhap The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing to pass controversial legislation on reducing and ultimately removing the prosecution's investigative powers, vowing to act alone if the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) refuses to endorse a compromise deal they reached last week. The DPK aims to complete deliberations on the legislation during a subcommittee meeting of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, and possibly pass the bills through a plenary committee session the same day. If it succeeds, the party hopes National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug will convene a plenary session as early as Wednesday to pass the bills. The ruling party has justified its move by claiming the PPP broke its promise when it demanded a review of the compromise deal that called for curtailing the prosecution's investigative right to two types of crime corruption and economic before removing it completely. The agreement represented a breakthrough compromise between the rival parties that had sparred fiercely for weeks over the DPK's headlong push for legislation that would immediately deprive the prosecution of all investigative powers. The deal, however, drew unexpectedly strong criticism from the public that lawmakers were colluding to shield themselves from prosecution investigations as the agreement calls for excluding crimes related to elections and public officials from prosecution probes. "In order to follow the compromise agreement that the National Assembly declared before the people, the Democratic Party of Korea held a legislation subcommittee meeting until late yesterday and wrote the provisions of the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act," DPK floor leader Park Hong-keun said at a party meeting Tuesday, referring to amendments that would reduce the prosecution's powers. "Deliberations at the subcommittee level will be completed today," he said. Monday's subcommittee meeting reportedly made little progress as PPP lawmakers pored over the details of each provision and the prosecution stressed the "unconstitutionality" of separating their investigative powers from their right to indict. The DPK has cast the PPP's concern over the exclusion of election and public officials' crimes as a stalling tactic aimed at portraying it as a tyrant ahead of the June 1 local elections. President Moon Jae-in told reporters Monday he thought the compromise deal brokered by Speaker Park was done well. Hours earlier, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol had called for the entire political community to reflect deeply on what was right in order to defend the Constitution and protect the people. Yoon's stance had been closely watched as the president-elect is a former prosecutor general who quit his post last year to protest the current administration's push to strip the prosecution of its investigative powers in the name of reform. Since Yoon's election last month, the DPK has pushed to use its majority in the National Assembly to pass the necessary amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, and to get them signed into law before Yoon could get a chance to veto them after taking office on May 10. The DPK has argued the reform measures are necessary to address longstanding concerns about the prosecution's abuse of power for political and other purposes. Opponents claim it would run counter to the Constitution and hurt ordinary people while protecting members of the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration from potential criminal investigations. Yoon's chief of staff told reporters Tuesday, "I believe President Moon Jae-in will exercise his veto." "I cannot help but ask if shaking up the criminal justice system and rushing it toward the end of President Moon's term is in line with the people's wishes," he said. (Yonhap) SDLP Foyle candidate Mark H Durkan has criticised the persistent failure of the Department for Communities (DfC) and its successive Ministers, to tackle regional imbalance within the Arts Sector. Mr Durkan stated that the latest example of the departments gaslighting on regional inequality comes as officials neglected to attend a meeting with Derry City and Strabane District Council. Councillors were denied the opportunity by the Department's 'no-show' to discuss with them the Arts Council's allocation of 19 million to Belfast organisations compared to just 1.7 million to Derry and Strabane. Regional inequality within the Arts Sector not only exists but persists despite the departments continued gaslighting on this issue, said Mr Durkan. In October, I tabled an amendment to the Arts and Creative Industries Private Members Bill, relating specifically to the disparity of Arts Council funding allocations. Evidently, lessons have not been learnt rather theyve been ignored completely. Its not only disappointing that DfC officials didnt even bother to meet with council to discuss the scandal of the Arts Council allocations, it is a slap in the face to the arts sector and creative within Derry and Strabane. It has been widely acknowledged that Arts Council investment is concentrated in Belfast, generally within organisations deemed 'too big to fail' discriminating against smaller arts groups outside of this geographical 'sweet-spot'. Failure to deliver in the North West is an issue the department would wish to sweep under the carpet and the cynic in me cant help but deduce that their non-attendance so close to an election was politically motivated. Its clear that the arts and creative industries have been among the hardest hit in terms of the pandemic, its restrictions and the impact on livelihoods. The industry is a significant employer in the north but more than that arts and creative industries make a substantial contribution to our economy, communities and health and well-being. The sector will be key in the regeneration of the economy and society post pandemic. An efficient and indeed sufficient long term strategy so important. The second city and previous City of Culture demands and deserves its fair share. Tackling regional inequality must be at the core of all arts strategies going forward as must the model of co-design, which will provide the best guarantee of fairness. Minister Hargey gave a commitment to tackle inequality as a key consideration of the renewed Culture and Arts Strategy. Its time organisations here feel the benefit of those promises. In response, a Department for Communities spokesperson said: The responsibility for the allocation of funds for the arts rests with the Arts Council, within a policy framework set by the Department. Assessment of individual applications and decision making on artistic merits is properly, a matter for the Arts Council. Since 2020, the Department for Communities has invested more than 50m to safeguard our creative talent and the sector for the future. Work on implementing the recommendations of the Culture, Arts and Heritage Taskforce is well underway. The local arts sector makes a critical contribution socially, creatively and economically. The Department recognises this and is working on a new Cultural Strategy in partnership with the sector. Equality, diversity and inclusion underpin the work ensuring all will have equal access to culture, arts and heritage. The government of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil has announced plans to invest $18.3 million in a new disaster recovery data centre. Procergs, a state-owned data processing company, is to receive the funds in order to bring its offering up to date and improve its preparedness. Procergs was launched on 28 December 1972 as the agency charged with carrying out the states information technology policy. It operates in all of the state executive bodies and processes millions of transactions daily said to be vital for the good functioning of the state. Part of the funds will be used to modernise the company's infrastructure, telecommunications and information security. The funds will also go towards the development of another data centre for disaster recovery purposes. The state is aiming to achieve 100 percent availability of its digital services. A disaster recovery site is a facility an organisation can use to recover and restore its technology infrastructure and operations when its primary data centre becomes unavailable. However, no timescale or capabilities for the new facility have yet been published, nor is it clear who will build it. According to the Data Centre Dynamics website, in February Rio Grande do Sul suffered a cyberattack that took most of its websites down, including that of Procergs. A group called Parana Cyber Mafia took responsibility for the attack. The Ethiopian government has switched up a national payment law to pave the way for Safaricom to launch its popular M-Pesa mobile money platform in the country. The East African reported, Ethiopias central bank has drafted a bill that enables foreign companies to launch mobile money services, a move that benefits Safaricom which recently became the first foreign investor to be granted a mobile licence (for US$850m), however, this does not cover mobile money. Safaricom connects over 51 million customers to financial services through its M-Pesa platform across seven countries in Africa. There is certainly demand for mobile money in Ethiopia as state-owned Ethio Telecom launched its Telebirr platform in May last year, and has reached over 17.6 million subscribers with a cumulative transaction value of ETB12.58 billion (US$245.2 million). The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) will reportedly announce its bill next week. NBE head of payment settlement Marta Hailemariam said: So far, there is no law that enables foreign operators like M-Pesa to acquire a licence in Ethiopia. If the new amendment is approved, it will allow M-Pesa to get a licence in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is currently under a programme to open up its telecoms sector to spur growth by rapidly digitising its economy. Mobile money has become an integral tool for citizens of developing nations, relying on platforms to carry out daily duties such as bill payments and making purchases. The GSMA said in its latest mobile money report, that the mobile money sector has hit a milestone of US$1 trillion in global transaction values, and it is increasingly becoming integral to growth for B2B and B2C operations. At Mobile World Congress 2022, we attended Huaweis Operation Transformation Forum Roundtable on the theme of Accelerating Digital Operations Transformation towards Business Success. The speakers were Jacky Zhou, the Vice President of Huawei Marketing & Solution, Simon Liang, Director of Huawei Consulting & System Integration Marketing & Solution, and Bin Feng, Director of Huawei Software Marketing & Solution. Jacky Zhou explained that in the last 5 years, Huawei has accumulated a lot of digital practices regarding O&M, delivery, marketing and sales. These have given the vendor a better idea about the directions of the future digital transformation, how to implement digital transformation, and how to create greater business value. Moving into the future, Huawei will continue to update the models it uses for assessing the maturity of digital and intelligent transformations. We asked about the possibilities that digital transformation will enable in emerging markets, and were told that in these regions, Huawei has observed the low penetration rate of both MBB and FBB users, with the 4G penetration rate remaining lower than 30% in some markets and home broadband penetration often below 10%. Huawei believes that to address this issue, it must help its customers to identify areas of high potential where users would be eager to adopt new technologies and then accelerate the process of user migration; however, the vendor acknowledged that relying solely on traditional methods for this would not be possible. Huawei believes that the answer lies in digital transformation and digital platforms, which will help its customers achieve swift business success. Across many global markets Huawei has deployed data-driven platforms to accelerate user migration for its customers. These digital methods have sped up the user migration journey faster than a traditional method could deliver, demonstrating the tangible benefits that digital transformation has delivered to Huaweis customers. With digital services developing quickly, the complexity of networks is also growing to the extent that Huawei does not consider digital transformation to be optional. In the last decade, the vendor has collaborated with operator customers, industry organizations, and other partners in the industry to encourage the distribution of digital transformation practices. Finding the right high-value scenario involves reviewing and analysing the entire customer journey, increasing agility during the purchase stage and user experience in the early stages, before introducing a higher level of network intelligence during the operations and management stage.HuaweH Through digital transformation, Huawei aims to migrate its partners from managed services so that they are able to manage their own services and offer digital transformation to their customers, thereby improving their revenue. Operator revenue faces a lot of challenges, for example from OTT vendors, but traditional operators enjoy their own advantages in the market such as a larger user base and stronger background of ICT technologies, as well as a better channel to reach their audience. In the B2C market, operators can tap into their larger user base to roll out a greater number of digital services, with FinTech a hugely successful example. In Africa, Huawei has helped a service provider to increase its FinTech subscribers penetration rate to 80% and boosted average revenue per user by additional US$32 annually. In the B2B segment, operators can leverage their ICT technologies and experience in the vertical markets. For example, traditionally operator customer service centres used voice agencies, but new types of Customer Engagement Centres introduce video and intelligence capabilities to the solution. This delivers two main benefits to the customer. The first of these is all-channel video capability, so many of the services that could only be accessed in the offline channel face to face can now be moved online. The second is Intelligent capability, which can reduce average cost per call by 30% by improving fault mitigation and reducing average call time. Working in tandem with the Customer Engagement Centre is Huaweis new cloud-converged billing platform CBS R22, which is a convergent and agile offering that helps to boost reliability from the previous fives nines (99.999%) to six nines (99.9999%). In addition to this, the platform can reduce TCO for carriers by as much as 30% - in part due to its agile service provisioning, which enables operators to introduce new software releases upgraded in just seven days, compared to the current typical three-month. Huawei identifies the frustrations or pain points faced by its customers, and notes best practices, digital assets and experiences in order to engage with customers to improve its digital transformation path. The company believes that digital transformation shouldnt start with a comprehensive or overtly ambitious plan its impossible to do everything at the very beginning, as its a continually evolving journey towards realising the potential of digital transformation. Through examining its own digital transformation practices along with those of its customers, Huawei has developed and released the Smart series of SmartCare and the i series of AUTIN, which are specifically designed to satisfy the goals of value scenarios, business process as well as the needs of users. The SmartCare series consolidates the previously siloed Smart series offerings into a whole package, bringing together solutions such as Smart Planning, Smart Optimisation, Smart Experience and Smart Decision to help optimise the network roll-out journey. Huawei has also introduced Smart DataCube, a converged data engine that can help operators unleash the value of data. The AUTIN i series includes four different offerings - iFM, iPM, iEM and iStudio which respectively address fault management, performance, event management and talent transformation. Operators can review their current digital transformation scenarios and select the required offerings, which can then be deployed on a unified data foundation. This makes it easier for operators to kick off their digital transformation. At the recent MPLS, SD & AI Net World Congress 2022 Congress (also called the MPLS Forum) held in Paris, France, Ping Wu, CTO of Huawei Datacom Product Line European Branch delivered a keynote speech titled "IPv6 Enhanced, Unleashing Connectivity Potential. In his talk Wu discussed the pivotal role played by IP networks in digital development, highlighting that the evolution from IPv4 to IPv6 for addressing space expansion is only the first step. It is also vital to introduce IPv6 Enhanced for improved deterministic quality, programmability, and maintainability of connections, thereby meeting the requirements of various industry scenarios, unlocking the full value of connectivity, and promoting the steady development of the digital economy. Digitisation is sweeping across the world. In most countries and regions, the growth rate of the digital economy is more than twice that of overall GDP. In recent years, many countries and regions have released their national strategies for digital economy development - for instance, the Digital China strategy put in place by China aims to accelerate the construction of a digital society, improve the level of digital public services, and build a robust digital ecosystem. Such strategies require an IP network that connects to all things at one end and a myriad of applications at the other. The rapid development of the digital economy places new requirements on traditional IP networks. For example, there will likely be tens of billions of IoT devices by 2030, making mass connectivity a fundamental capability required of IP networks. And with the advent of the cloud era, more and more enterprises will adopt multi-cloud connectivity for critical service backup and various applications, placing higher demands on network flexibility and real-time performance. In the future, not only will office services be moved to the cloud, but so too will production services. This will require much higher deterministic network quality. For example, in scenarios such as industrial control and telemedicine, the E2E network latency and jitter must be kept within microseconds. To address these challenges, Wu said the first step is to use IPv6 technologies to meet the requirements for huge volumes of IP addresses. However, further optimizing connectivity will involve innovative IPv6 Enhanced technologies for better deterministic quality, programmability, and maintainability. Only in doing so can we fundamentally meet the requirements of the digital economy and unlock the value of connectivity in the digital transformation of various industries. For example, the IPv6 Enhanced-based intelligent cloud-network solution helps operators build differentiated cloud access private lines based on their own network advantages, providing users with fast and smooth cloud access. On the access side, the one-box multi-connection solution helps users quickly access clouds, while for aggregation, the pan-private line scheduling solution enables unified access and smooth evolution. On the backbone side, the SRv6-based intelligent cloud-map algorithm enables optimal scheduling of cloud-network resources. In the smart manufacturing industry, IPv6 provides ample addresses for the access of many sensors, while network slicing provides dedicated network-level assurance for different services. After IP-based reconstruction of production networks, massive production data can be transferred to the cloud in a timely manner, and the computing power and intelligence of the cloud can be efficiently transferred to the production sites to guide production lines more accurately and efficiently. From human-to-human connectivity to connectivity of everything, IPv6 Enhanced has been put into commercial use at more than 100 sites around the world, effectively supporting the digital development of various industries such as finance, manufacturing, energy, education, and healthcare. Now is the time to embrace IPv6 and IPv6 Enhanced technologies to unleash connectivity potential and accelerate the advent of the digital world. The theme of the congress this year was "SRv6 Momentum", and many senior experts and analysts from the SRv6 industry covering device suppliers, operators, third-party independent test organizations, and standards organizations delivered keynote speeches on SRv6 technical standards, industry cooperation, and commercial use progress, among others. In addition, they shared insights into the status quo, commercial deployment progress, and future development trends of SRv6. SRv6, short for Segment Routing (SR) + IPv6, is a next-generation IP transport protocol. Utilizing existing IPv6 forwarding technology, SRv6 implements network programming through flexible IPv6 extension headers. SRv6 simplifies network protocol types, features good extensibility and programmability, meets diversified requirements of more new services, provides high reliability, and is especially suited to scenarios such as cross-domain interconnection, large-scale networking, service cloudification, and cloud-network synergy. On the first day of the Congress, Zhenbin Li, Huawei Chief IP Standard Representative and IETF IAB member, delivered a keynote speech titled "APN6 Enables Application and Network Collaboration". He said that the innovation of IPv6 Enhanced technologies oriented towards emerging services such as 5G and cloud is increasingly becoming a consensus in the industry. Innovative IPv6 Enhanced technologies, such as SRv6 and IP network slicing, have been deployed and applied on more than 100 sites worldwide, significantly enhancing the differentiated service capabilities of networks. He also introduced emerging technologies such as application-aware networking (APN) and computing-aware networking (CAN) developed along with the trend of in-depth convergence between clouds and networks and between computing power and networks as well as the development of the standards industry. Li underlined that the development of standards is critical to the development of IPv6 and IPv6 innovations. In a presentation titled "Progress of IPv6 Enhanced Standard and Industry", Li briefly introduced the IPv6 Enhanced technology system and its development status, emphasizing that IPv6 innovations are a growing trend in the global network field. The development of IPv6 Enhanced standards can be divided into three phases: 1.0 focusing on basic SRv6 capabilities, 2.0 focusing on 5G/cloud-oriented new network services, and 3.0 focusing on the APN architecture. At the SRv6 session, Xipeng Xiao, head of CTO Office for Huawei West Europe, delivered a keynote speech titled "Migration to SRv6: Momentum, Challenges & Progress". He mentioned how IPv6 has made great progress in recent years and laid a solid foundation for SRv6. In addition, SRv6 standards have become mature, while SRv6 has been widely deployed across the globe. Now is the best time for leading operators and enterprises to adopt IPv6-only networks. SRv6 is a natural choice in the IPv6-only world, helping to promote IPv6-only deployment. Carsten Rossenhovel, managing director and co-founder, EANTC AG, noted that vendor support for SRv6 is growing even if more advanced technologies are not yet being implemented. He did however add that this could easily adapt if the demand from service providers became clear, and that from a functional perspective, SRv6 is ready for prime time. Sameer Ashfaq Malik, senior principal analyst at Omdia, described IPv6 as a concept that provides ultra-connectivity for next generation networks, enhancing artificial intelligence and enabling protocols such as segment routing. For 5G and NBIoT, a robust transport network is required for success which means most operators around the world are now eager to deploy such networks. The number of IP-capable devices is set to increase sharply, but with IPv4 supporting only 4.3 billion IP addresses, new solutions are required especially with the trillion-dollar B2B vertical industry market now requiring full connectivity. IPv6 Enhanced provides differentiated service capabilities to implement high-speed, efficient, flexible, and intelligent next-generation Internet, meeting industry interconnection requirements in the digital era. In an address titled "IPv6 Enhanced Powers Digitization and Innovation", Latif Ladid, Chairman of the ETSI IPE Alliance, noted that IPv6 is developing rapidlywith countries prioritizing policies to promote the development of IPv6 globally. The ETSI IPE Alliance is actively promoting IPv6 development and innovation, with more than 80 members at present. This alliance defined IPv6 Enhanced in 2020. In 2021, it fully explored the value of IPv6 Enhanced in various scenarios, such as 5G, cloud, and data center, and systematically proposed IPv6 Enhanced innovations from six dimensions: ultra-high bandwidth, ubiquitous connectivity, automation, low latency, deterministic quality, and security. SRv6, as the core of IPv6 Enhanced, propels IPv6 innovations to new heights and can fully unleash the potential of connectivity. Weiqiang Chen, Principal Architect of IP Network from China Mobile, shared insights into the requirements, fundamentals, and progress of SRv6 header compression technology. In his speech, he introduced SRv6 compression requirements, SRv6 compression standardization progress at the IETF, and G-SRv6 industry progress, including interoperability tests, live network trials, and large-scale deployment. He explained that G-SRv6 solves the problem of high overhead of SRv6 headers while retaining the extensibility and programmability of SRv6, making it a key feature to accelerate large-scale SRv6 deployment. With joint efforts of upstream and downstream industry chains, it is widely agreed that SRv6, a successor of MPLS, will be the next-generation core protocol of IP networks and will be deployed on a large scare. In the future, SRv6-based service innovation will fully unlock the value of connections and promote the digital development of industries. Elon Musk now owns Twitter! Although there were rumours of Twitter plotting a poison pill to block Musk from owning the company, in the end, Musk won. After all, money talks. Even for the richest person in the world, a $44 billion bid proved challenging as Elon loaned a big portion of the amount from third-party investors. We will see the Musk-Twitter transaction details down below. And while we are at it, lets look at some of the biggest acquisitions in the tech space. Top Tech Acquisitions of all time Starting from the top of the ladder 1. Activision was acquired by Microsoft for ~$68 billion To date, the biggest deal in the tech industry is the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. It is the biggest ever in the gaming sector too. The deal involved Microsoft paying $95.00 per share while making it the worlds third-largest gaming company by revenue. 2. EMC Corporation bought by Dell for $67 billion Close to the Microsoft deal price is Dells payment of $67 billion to acquire the EMC corporation back in 2015. For the time, it was a surprising amount of money involved. Well, it still is. With this new property, Dell strengthened its corporate computing and especially IT services. 3. Twitter acquisition by Elon Musk for ~$44 billion In 2022, Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share price. Announcing the deal, Twitter revealed that Musk has secured $25.5 billion of the total $44 billion amount through debt and margin loan financing while he is also committing $21 billion in equity. He aims to make the platform more welcoming of free speech. 4. SoftBank bought Arm in 2016 for $31 billion. Softbank completed the Arm acquisition for a whopping $31 billion in 2016. This was the biggest deal for a European tech company. Since then, in fact, very recently, it has announced its plans to take the British firm public after the whole Arm Nvidia deal collapsed. Also Read: Elon Musk finally takes ownership of Twitter for a staggering $44 billion 5. Slack acquired by Salesforce for ~$28 billion In 2020, Salesforce closed the deal of acquiring Slack for $27.7 billion. The new owner aimed at defining the future of enterprise software with a competent messaging platform under its repertoire. Although Slacks user experience didnt see much change, it is believed to have improved Salesforces competitive advantage against the likes of Microsoft and Google in the business communication space. 6. LinkedIn bought by Microsoft for ~$26 billion While the above deals are relatively recent, this and the latter one still lurks in our memory. Microsoft completed the deal for $26.2 billion in 2016. The Windows maker had promised a bunch of enhancements to LinkedIn such as integration with the Office suite of apps and an Intelligent Newsfeed. While some of the changes are live on the career networking platform, not all have been implemented. 7. WhatsApp acquisition by Facebook for $19 billion This one had sent waves across the whole tech world, especially in markets like India wherein WhatsApp is the go-to instant messaging app. Although, the deal value was $16 billion in early 2014, by the time it went through, the price surged to $22 billion in October 2014. Today, the Meta (formerly Facebook) branded apps are ever more integrated and dominant in the markets like ours. 8. Google bought Motorola Mobility in 2011 for $12.5 billion. What started off as a collaborative endeavor eventually became a case of acquisition for Google. This was back in 2011 when the good old Moto G and X series of Motorola phones were the talk of the town. The silicon valley giant had paid around $12.5 billion (or $40 per share) in cash. Although this made sense to the whole stock Android software market, it didnt pan out as planned and Google sold the brand to Lenovo. 9. Skype purchased by Microsoft for $8.5 billion Skype is so popular that it became a verb over the years. So when Microsoft took the ownership of Skype in 2011, it was headlining news. The Redmond, Washington-based company has since introduced other video calling and messaging service like Teams, but Skype still holds a special place in tech culture. 10. GitHub acquired by Microsoft for $7.5 billion The coders amongst you would definitely recall this deal wherein Microsoft took reins of Github for $7.5 billion. We strengthen our commitment to developer freedom, openness and innovation, said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the deal announcement. There are other famous mergers and acquisitions that may not have made this list but are still important. For instance, Microsoft bought Nokia for $7.2 billion, YouTube was grabbed by Google for $1.65 billion, and Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion. We are sure more such big-scale deals will happen in the future and we will be keeping tabs on the same. As for other news, reviews, feature stories, buying guides and everything else tech-related, keep reading Digit.in. Musk called free speech the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. Twitter is now a private company and Elon Musk is its owner. As expected, the company announced that it has accepted Musks $54.20 per share buyout offer. The worlds richest person is paying $44 billion in cash to acquire the social media platform. He is making a $21 billion equity commitment and the remainder is sourced in the form of debt and margin loan financing. Musk, a strong advocate of free-speech wants to free the blue-bird app from the supposed cage of censorship. Even the Twitter founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey says, Elon is the singular solution I trust. In principle, I dont believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness. jack (@jack) April 26, 2022 So, lets see how Musk envisions this free-speech future for Twitter. Elon Musk on making Twitter a free-speech digital town square Commenting on the Twitter deal announcement, Musk said, "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spambots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it." As some critics are suggesting, a way Musk, a Twitter power user, can act for the betterment of the platform is by introducing changes to make his new purchase a powerful and secure messaging solution as well as a community platform that can work on scale. Speaking of scale, how he intends to fix the content moderation challenges and whether he is planning to kill all bots, even the useful ones, is something to be seen. Previously, while making his best and final offer, Musk had said, I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy. However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it. Thats Elon for you. The guy now has a social media platform under his belt that already included SpaceX, Tesla, The Boring Company, and Neuralink. Lets see how things pan out for Twitter in the coming times. Meanwhile, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has said while announcing the deal, "Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important." Later at a town-hall meeting, he was quoted as saying, "Once the deal closes, we don't know which direction the platform will go. We dont have all the answers. This is a period of uncertainty. As for other news, reviews, feature stories, buying guides and everything else tech-related, keep reading Digit.in. Cover image courtesy: @remonwangxt Subscriber content preview By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) In the aftermath of their hard-won labor victory, Amazon workers in the New York City borough of Staten Island popped Champagne, cheered their victory and danced in celebration. But their jovial attitude will be tested by a company that seems likely to be a tough negotiator. Among other things, the nascent Amazon Labor Union, or ALU, has said it wants longer breaks for warehouse employees, more time off and a dramatically higher minimum hourly wage of $30, up from just over $18 an hour now at the Staten Island facility. . . . Subscriber content preview SHORELINE The Village Vista and Village East apartments, at 20060 Whitman Ave. N. in Shoreline, sold for $8.9 million, according to King County records. The seller was Project S25 LLC, associated with Bode, which acquired the property in 2019 for a little under $5.7 million. . . . Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea stage a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday, denouncing the main opposition People Power Party for reneging on a bipartisan deal on prosecution reform. Joint Press Corps The ruling Democratic Party (DP) vowed to pass two controversial bills on prosecution reform through a plenary session of the National Assembly on Wednesday despite strong objection from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). Rep. Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the DP, said the party will convene the plenary session later in the day and pass the bill "without fail," after railroading the legislation through the judiciary committee in the wee hours Wednesday. The bills are aimed at reducing and ultimately removing the prosecution's investigative powers. Park told a party meeting that the DP "will not be swayed any more by the PPP and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol" over their objection to the bills that were originally agreed on by the two main parties. The DP has justified its move by claiming the PPP broke its promise when it demanded a review of the compromise deal that called for curtailing the prosecution's investigative right to two crime types corruption and economic crimes before removing it completely. The compromise deal represented a breakthrough between the rival parties that had sparred fiercely for weeks over the DP's headlong push for legislation that would immediately deprive the prosecution of all investigative powers. Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party stage a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday, to protest the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's push for controversial legislation on reducing and ultimately removing the prosecution's investigative powers. Joint Press Corps The PEACE IV Programme office in Louth County Council is seeking feedback from the general public which will form part of the selection process for a new artwork in Drogheda. Louth County Council recently tendered for an artist to create an artwork to be placed in the new Meeting Space at Peters Hill in Droghedas Heritage Quarter. This EU PEACE IV-funded commission is in conjunction with the planned redesign of the space at Peters Hill, which aims to establish a new shared meeting space and to create a new identity for this area within Droghedas Heritage Quarter. The tender commission sought an artwork that resonates with the spatial and physical aspects of the new space, of contemporary expression, in response to the character of this new public space. The new artwork will be placed centrally within the new Meeting Space and will be designed and fabricated to withstand an outdoor urban environment. Artists were invited to consider ideas relating to light, incorporating light, regenerative fire, regeneration, renewal, coinciding events, church bells, sound waves, growth and regrowth, or other concepts relating to Drogheda communities, collaboration and inclusion, giving tangible form to aspects of meeting spaces. The successful artist will be responsible for the design, creation, site delivery and liaising with the Consulting Engineers in the installation - which is expected to take place in September 2022. Three artworks were submitted and as part of the community engagement and participation, members of the public are now being invited to give their views on which of the three design proposals would be their preferred choice. The results of this process is just one of the many elements that the assessment panel will take into consideration in their deliberations, but an important aspect which will also generate huge interest and comment. The three artworks are entitled: 1. Artwork Concept Picture 1 2. Infinity Spiral Concept Picture 2 3. Inspired to Meet Concept Picture 3 A link to the public survey below gives an opportunity to view and select your preferred design. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TLTF996 which will be circulated via Louth County Council social media platforms. Closing date to submit your view is Thursday 5th May at 5pm. Further information: PEACE IV Office, Louth County Council, Town Hall, Crowe Street, Dundalk. Email: PeaceIV@louthcoco.ie This project is a commission by Louth County Council, and supported by the European Unions PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding has been provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland. 1. Artwork Concept Picture 1 2. Infinity Spiral Concept Picture 2 3. Inspired to Meet Concept Picture 3 Pet care chain Maxi Zoo has opened a new store in the Dundalk Retail Park. The Dundalk team consists of 8 employees and Store Manager, Sean Carolan. The new store is part of Maxi Zoo Irelands nationwide expansion which included the acquisition of the Equipet brand late last year. Maxi Zoo celebrated the opening of its new store in Dundalk Retail Park over the weekend of April 22nd- 24th with a spend and save incentive, where customers were offered 20% off all purchases and grooming services. Customers and their pets were also treated to an Outside Broadcast with LMFM as part of the in-store celebrations. According to Enrico De Luca, Country Manager of Maxi Zoo Ireland: We are delighted to announce the opening of our newest store in Dundalk Retail Park. This is an exciting time for Maxi Zoo as we continue to grow and steadily expand our retail presence throughout Ireland. "This expansion also provides us with a great opportunity to improve our customer experience even further across our entire retail network. "The combined expertise of experienced pet-care professionals in the new store will allow us to offer pet owners an unrivaled range of expertise and services. Maxi Zoos Dundalk Store Manager, Sean Carolan also commented: It's great to be part of a thriving company that offers so much pet care expertise and customer service, as well as a strong emphasis on community. Maxi Zoo is the largest pet care retailer in Ireland today. We pride ourselves on being experts in providing the best solutions, advice and products for pets and their owners. "Our stores are packed full of friendly staff who ensure that customer service is paramount, and this has helped create an ever-growing customer base that returns to Maxi Zoo again and again. I look forward to welcoming customers to our new store and for them to experience this care first hand. Maxi Zoo Ireland now has a combined retail network of 29 stores nationwide, 285 employees and an online store. Kazakh president, Chinese defense minister agree to strengthen military cooperation Xinhua) 09:33, April 26, 2022 NUR-SULTAN, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe voiced common readiness on Monday to step up bilateral cooperation. At a meeting with Wei in Nur-Sultan, Tokayev said Kazakhstan and China will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, and over the past three decades, the two countries have become permanent comprehensive strategic partners, maintained high-level coordination in the international political arena, and achieved remarkable results in cooperation in various areas. Tokayev recalled that he has frequently interacted with Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent years, injecting strong impetus to the development of bilateral relations. The Kazakh president said he believes that relations between the two countries will see greater breakthroughs and achievements. Tokayev said Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the military cooperation with China and hopes that the two militaries will continue to strengthen practical cooperation in peacekeeping operations, joint exercises, personnel training, military technology and other fields. Wei said that Tokayev, an old friend of the Chinese people, has made outstanding contributions to the establishment and development of China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Kazakhstan, Wei said, adding that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral relations have maintained a momentum of vigorous development and enjoy a very bright future, setting a good example of good-neighborly friendship and mutual benefit. China firmly opposes external forces deliberately instigating a "color revolution" in Kazakhstan and backs the Kazakh side in taking strong measures to safeguard national security and social stability, Wei noted. The senior Chinese official called for vigilance about certain major powers interfering in Central Asia to disrupt and undermine regional security. Wei said his visit demonstrated that China attaches great significance to and firmly supports Kazakhstan, noting that no matter what risks and challenges the two countries may encounter, they will jointly maintain regional stability and push ahead with the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. In recent years, the exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese and Kazakh militaries in various fields have been fruitful, he said, adding that the Chinese military is willing to continue to expand cooperation areas with the Kazakh side and deepen military-to-military relations between the two countries. On the same day, Kazakh Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov held a welcome ceremony for Wei and had formal talks with him. The two officials exchanged in-depth views on the international and regional security situations, the situation in Ukraine and the Afghan issue, and agreed that the two militaries will continue to strengthen strategic communication, conduct joint drills and training, and carry out practical cooperation. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) By Yoo Yeon-chul The Atomic Scientists in the Science and Security Board brought up an insightful perspective in their 2022 Doomsday Clock statement last January: Nuclear weapons and climate change are equally the two most serious existential threats to humankind. Nuclear weapons are regarded as a visible and immediate threat, while climate change is considered as invisible and slow onset threat. For this reason, taking swift action in tackling climate change is difficult. However, here comes a visible hand in addressing the climate threat: the scientific findings and suggestions made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), chaired by Dr. Lee Hoe-sung since 2015. The IPCC is the U.N. body for objectively assessing the science related to climate change. IPCC provides each government with periodic scientific assessment reports that are published every six to seven years. The latest Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) was published in 2014 and provided the main scientific input to the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015. IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) will be completed in September 2022. The report of Working Group III (WG III), the third installment of AR6, was released on April 4, 2022. To summarize the WG III report, it firstly explains the recent development in climate change. From 2010 to 2019, the average annual global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. The costs of solar and wind energies and batteries have decreased up to 85 percent since 2010 as a result of sustained climate action. Secondly, the report projects that without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5 Celsius degrees is beyond reach. If we continue with the current policies that have been implemented by 2020, GHG emissions are projected to rise beyond 2025. This will lead to a global warming of 3.2 degrees by 2100. Thirdly, this report suggests that the scenario of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees requires GHG emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and to be reduced by 43 percent by 2030. At the same time, methane emissions would need to be reduced by around one third. In this report, the following points capture our attention. WG III introduces a new chapter on the social aspects of mitigation, which explores the "demand side." Changes in our lifestyles and behaviors through the right policies can result in a 40 to 70 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2050. The decreased costs of electrified vehicles accelerate their adoption. There are growing concerns about obtaining the critical minerals needed for their batteries. Supply diversification strategies and circular material flows can reduce the risks for battery production. Nuclear energy is classified as one of the various mitigation options to offer substantial potential to reduce net emissions. Also, agriculture, forest, and other land use can provide emissions reductions and remove and store carbon dioxide at scale. However, land cannot compensate for delayed emissions reductions in other sectors. This means that using land for reducing emissions should not overshadow the primary use of land for food security. In order to limit global warming to below 2 degrees, there needs to be three to six times more funding for combating climate change. There is sufficient global capital that is yet to be funneled into investments related to climate change. Clear signals from the government, including stronger alignment of public sector finance, can reduce the risk of private investment. Climate governance is most effective when it integrates across the public sectors and connects national and sub-national policy-making levels. Coordinated cross-sectoral policies can maximize synergies in response to climate change. There is a strong link between sustainable development and climate risks. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted under the U.N. 2030 Agenda can be used as a basis for evaluating climate action in the context of sustainable development. As mentioned earlier, the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) is due in September 2022. This synthesis report compiles the WG I, WG II, and WGIII report, released in August 2021, February 2022, and April 2022, respectively. IPCC has already published 4 Special Reports on 1.5 degrees (2018), Land, Ocean and Guideline on GHG Inventories (2019). During the leadership of Chairman Lee, IPCC is expected to produce eight reports in total, the greatest number in its history. There has been progress in the number of participating Korean experts from none in the First Assessment Report released in 1990, AR 6 now has 18 Korean authors, including a coordinated leading author as a result of numerous research findings. Special thanks should go to Chairman Lee, his team and many experts involved for their strenuous and timeless efforts. The Republic of Korea is proud of the 8th U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon whose legacies are the Paris Agreement on climate change and Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015, and the current IPCC Chairman Lee whose legacies are eight significant reports on tackling climate change. In this regard, Korea should make exemplary efforts and play a central role in addressing climate change and achieving the sustainable development goals. This will improve our national competitiveness for continuous prosperity in the coming age. The new administration should bear this in mind when placing the highest value on climate and energy issues as one of top national agenda. Yoo Yeon-chul (ycyoo87@gmail.com) was ambassador for climate change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is now serving as vice chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also served as Korea's ambassador to Kuwait. 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. One Monday night, Knockbridge woman Lorna Clarke put her three kids to bed, had a shower and then found a lump in her breast. She was entirely certain that it was a cyst. After all, she was a fit, healthy 36 year old with no family history of cancer. Lorna was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2021 and had surgery in March and then again in April. Fast forward a year and Lorna has just recently had her one year checkup and was told that she is cancer free. Eager to give back and return the support she received throughout a difficult year, Lorna is Louths ambassador for this years 100k in 30 day fundraising appeal for breast cancer. An initiative founded by Blackrock couple Niall Carroll and Cara McAdam and launched in 2020 after Cara was diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the last two years, 38,000 people in 36 countries have taken part raising 3million for Breast Cancer Ireland. Lorna explained how what initially seemed like just another good cause soon gained extra significance for her and her family. In 2019, I would have seen Niall and Cara doing a great job and seen the pink T-shirts and a few flags going up and stuff like that. But, when I look back now, you know, it was just another charity, another event. And to be honest, it didnt mean anything to me personally because weve no family history [of cancer], and I didnt really give it much thought if Im honest. And then when I got my own diagnosis, and understood the work being done, oh my God it meant so much. I jumped on the bandwagon. And then when I was asked to do this, its part of giving back. What Niall and Cara have done is fantastic and the work that goes into it. So if I can help at all, I will. Lorna finished her first 100K in 30 Days in two weeks. She had no choice, as she then started 20 weeks of chemotherapy. She has seen firsthand the difference the money raised has made. I was up at an appointment in the Beaumont recently, and they have the new breast cancer unit open and Breast Cancer Ireland has a facility there as well. It was sponsored by the 100k. It was just lovely to see the efforts of the charity coming together. The new unit is fantastic up there. Shes also quick to praise the vital research carried out by Breast Cancer Ireland along with the support they offer to women going through treatment. Her doctors often reassured her by telling her about how much they had learned about breast cancer over the years and the research that guides their decision making and subsequently her treatment plan. She witnessed first hand the breast cancer research team in the hospital gathering data to continuously improve the services and treatments available to women When I was up and down to different appointments and for my surgeries, I would have gotten information and surveys and questionnaires and things like that. And, you know, I suppose in the blur, going through what I went through, I didnt realise the different supports I was getting and it wasnt really until after things had settled and I remember going to an appointment and this nice nurse came over to me and he said, you know, you signed up for the research and I was like, Yeah did I, she laughs. First, he introduced himself as being from breast cancer research Ireland and he asked if he could just get a blood sample. And it was at that moment, I realised that you know, they were there in the background behind the clinics and doing their work and how important their work will be in the future. Lorna is philosophical about her own personal experience and, while aware her life has changed, is determined that cancer doesnt take it over. You know, cancer doesnt end after chemo. So thats something that takes a bit of getting used to. You have to kind of get your head around that this is part of your life now. And its just about how much space you give it really. And thats where Im at the minute. Try not to give it very much space. Once all this is over, Im hoping not to be thinking about it as much. Its something Ive given a lot of thought to. You cant let cancer define you. I was lucky to be able to stay positive. And thats not always very easy. But I have a lot to fight for, you know, and kind of the message really is to say, to stay positive, even when you find it hard. Look around you and youll always find something to stay positive for. For me, it was my family and the children, and they kept me going through this. Look around you for something, you know, even on your lowest day, and youll find something to keep you going. You have to be mindful of how much you let cancer define you and how much space you give it, even in the aftermath. Ive decided that Im not gonna let it frame everything going forward. It was something that I did and Ive gone through, but I wont live in fear. Ive decided not to be watching over my shoulder and looking around every corner. Im getting on with things. And if it comes back, it comes back and Ill be ready for it. Launching this years event Niall Carroll, co-founder of 100K in 30 Days, encouraged people to come together to fight cancer: The success of the event over last two years, throughout a pandemic, has spurred us on to make 2022 the biggest year yet. We all know someone who has or has had breast cancer and the purpose of 100K in 30 Days is for everyone, young and old, grandparents to grandkids, to have fun and get the daily steps in while raising much needed funds for Breast Cancer Ireland. Im very proud of the success the pink army has achieved to date and wed be delighted to see new faces this year. I hope communities all across Ireland get behind it. Cancer isnt defeated alone. It takes a village. Its a challenge that can be done in your own time anywhere in the world and you can even get the dog involved! 100K in 30 Days, in aid of Breast Cancer Ireland sponsored by Sherry FitzGerald, takes place over the month of June. For more information and to register, see www.100kin30days.ie. The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) Branch Committee at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) says it has little enough confidence that the current leadership at DkIT could deliver on achieving Technological University status for the institute and says that this institute needs new leadership to take us forward. The DkIT TUI branch was responding to comments made to the Dundalk Democrat by a spokesperson at DkIT, where it said they are confident we are progressing in the right direction in their progress on seeking TU status. The Dundalk Democrat raised the matter with DkIT last week after concerns were raised by the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) at its annual conference about the lack of progress being made in seeking TU status. When asked about its plans for seeking TU status and how they were progressing, DkIT said it was pleased with the recent declarations of support from Simon Harris, Minister for Higher Education at his address of the TUI Congress 2022. In his address to the TUI congress Minister Harris said: There has been some concern expressed that Dundalk IT and IADT Dun Laoghaire will be left behind but, speaking for myself, for the Department and the HEA, I can assure you that that is not the case. The HEA continues to provide financial and expert guidance for these Institutes, indeed with a special adviser providing support. However, Institutes are autonomous and ultimately it is a matter for their governing bodies to decide. Of course, there is still room for diversity in the sector. We stand ready to assist both of these Institutes within the parameters of what is possible under the existing policy and legislation. DkIT says that the Minister's comments at the congress further solidified the commitment from the government to support the Institute on its journey to become a significant campus within a regional multi-campus Technological University. It went on to say that the Institute has received exchequer financing via the Technological University Transformation Funding to support its path towards Technological University designation. DkIT is also availing of the technical advice and support services of the respected Higher Education Authority (HEA) special advisor on higher education policy, Dr. Ruaidhri Neavyn, who will continue to assist the Institute as an external expert advisor. The Governing Body, Leadership Team and all staff are fully engaged with Dr. Ruaidhri Neavyn on the Institutes progression towards Technological University Status. The Dundalk Democrat put to DkIT that its statement covered information that had already been covered in the media in the past, including commitment of government support and exchequer financing, and the fact that the assistance of Dr Ruaidhri Neavyn in the project was first announced in 2020. The Democrat asked if this means that the Institute has not made any further progress in the project and questioned that if it has, to provide an update on what that progress was and asked if a timeline was available. In response DkIT said that the government is firm in its support which is important, and they continue to fund us on a yearly basis on our TU journey so their continued backing is a reflection of their confidence in us achieving TU status. They have repeatedly stated over the last 12 months that they recognise that the whole of the Institute is completely aligned and committed to become a campus of a Regional Technological University. It added that it continues to work on the metrics which are reviewed on a yearly basis, adding that is has three out of four with the last metric regarding research to be achieved by September 2022. With regards to the assistance of Dr Ruaidhri Neavyn in the project first being announced in 2020, DkIT acknowledged that this was the case, adding but since then he has been actively working with the Schools and Departments of the Institute on a granular level in preparation for us achieving TU Status. We are confident we are progressing in the right direction. The spokesperson added that Technologically University Status will be subject to a section 38, which will mean we will merge with an already formed Technologically University. The DkIT TUI branch said however that the Section 38 application requires a joint submission, from both DkIT and an existing TU. The trouble is, four years ago, without any consultation with the Leadership Team and or the Governing Body, the President's Office withdrew DkIT from discussions with the very institutes that went on to become the TUs, one of which we would now need as a willing partner if we are to implement a Section 38. The local TUI branch said that willfully ignoring the union's loud and consistent ringing of the alarm bell, the previous Governing Body and key senior managers refused to act while the President's Office took us out, and kept us out, of the TU conversation. Union action in response to this strategic misleading has resulted in the HEA stepping in to help guide our development. This is to be welcomed. Over the last twelve months, there have been three information sessions for all staff. The local branch added however that, at these meetings, the full impact of what the union had long warned was made clear. And yet, the President's Office refuses point blank to acknowledge any responsibility for the decisions to withdraw DkIT from the TU discussions and the negative consequences which have flowed from that strategic failure. This institute needs new leadership to take us forward. Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures released today show that Louth, along with Dublin was the least afforested county in Ireland last year, with a significant drop over the past five years and no afforestation taking place in the county at all in 2021. The figures released by the CSO today show that Louth went from 22 hectares being afforested in 2017, comprising 20 hectares broadleaf and 2 hectares conifer. This went down to just one hectare of broadleaf in 2019, two hectares of broadleaf afforestation in 2020 and no afforestation at all taking place last year. Dublin was the only other county which saw no afforestation taking place last year. The county with the lowest figure above that was Carlow, with five hectares afforested. At the other end of the spectrum, Cork afforested 343 hectares last year, followed by Roscommon with 190 hectares. Nationally, there has been substantial declines in annual afforestation areas with a decline from 6,947 hectares in 2007 to 2,016 hectares in 2021. Commenting on the release, Niamh Shanahan, Statistician in the Environment and Climate Division of the CSO, said: "This is the first time the CSO has published figures on afforestation. The report shows the area afforested in 2021 was 2,016 hectares which was 29% of the area planted in 2007. "The proportion of broadleaf species planted in 2021 was 41% which is the highest share in the 2007-2021 series. The share of afforested area planted by farmers in 2021 was 18% which was a sharp decline from their 2014 share of 97%. Alder and Ash were the main broadleaf species planted during 2007 to 2013 while Alder and Birch were the main species from 2015 to 2021. Sitka Spruce is the dominant conifer species and comprised 86% of coniferous species in 2021. By Deauwand Myers "White folks be a miracle of affliction ..." From Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" COVID-19, as deadly and crippling as it can be, provided, and indeed is providing, an important trove of information by which we can measure the scourge of white supremacist imperialism and the lethal consequences thereof. But let's go back to the early 1970s. In presidential recordings, then-governor Ronald Reagan joked to President Nixon about the "monkeys," actually high-ranking African diplomats of an envoy sent to America. Ronald Reagan was old before I was ever born, so Reagan joking to his fellow racist Republican (and anti-Semite) President Nixon that Black people were inhuman primates is an obvious, tired, old racial trope, rather boring and unimaginative. But mediocre, yet powerful white men are the norm, aren't they? When the release of this damning audio went public earlier this year, many white Americans clutched their pearls, scandalized by such an explicit display of racism. People of conscience and color weren't surprised at all. When Reagan ascended to the presidency, his policies exposed his moral disposition. Recipients of public assistance were "welfare queens," code for lazy, Black women living lives of dissipation and luxury off the grace of the State, or so Reagan pronounced during his campaign. Reagan made it fashionable to see poverty as a sin of the individual, whilst President Johnson saw poverty as what it is, a sin of the state. (Let's put that lie to rest. People who work the most hours and days for the least pay are statistically the poor, or working poor and are most often women of color). Worse, as the AIDS epidemic ravaged colored communities and sexual minorities in the 1980s, the Reagan administration didn't advocate for research funding to combat this deadly disease until countless thousands, indeed millions, died or were near death. It was the nasty, gay disease, after all. Let them die. That was the cruelty in his logic. The Republican Party has been a white supremacist death cult for generations, and so when many in this party are against masks, vaccinations and other health measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, I wasn't surprised at all. Whiteness says "I'm above rules and common decency. That's freedom." And just like the vilification of social welfare programs helping people in need, there's an inverse reaction to the deaths caused by this pandemic. Consider: by percentage, Black people, Latinos and the Indigenous are dying at much higher rates than their white counterparts, as well as the sick and immunocompromised. Indeed, one out of every five African Americans dies of COVID-19, in aggregate, over the course of this terrible pandemic. The death rates for Latinos, the Indigenous and Asians haven't fared much better. For native populations, the statistics can actually be even worse. Why? Black folks and their colored counterparts are often living in smaller domiciles with more people, particularly the elderly with poor health to begin with. They work in fields facing the public masses: post offices, grocery stores, restaurants, hospice care and hospitals, delivery services, schools, public welfare departments and public transportation. Some white folks find nothing wrong with that. To paraphrase the disgraced, conservative, republican former Fox News talk show host, Bill O'Reilly, these immunocompromised people were near death anyway, notwithstanding that the immunocompromised are still human beings, and some are young adults and children; "pro-life" indeed. You'll find, (but please don't search it, I did the work for you), some conservatives making similar arguments. They assert those who died from COVID-19 were meant to die. We all die. We have to live our lives with some risks. It's my right not to get the vaccine. In other words, death is OK for some of the population. Let's drink Courvoisier. Conservatives arguing this trash betray their true feelings: they are social Darwinists; Ayn Rand fans who believe that the wealthy and successful deserve it; the poor and displaced do not, regardless of the historical, socioeconomic and sociopolitical circumstances therein. I cannot reconcile this with many conservatives' self-proclaimed Christian faith, where we are to "take care of the least of these:" the poor, the widow, the orphan, the migrant, the refugee, the downtrodden and the abused. But then white, Christian evangelicals are most often white supremacists themselves, so they had very little angst in voting for Trump, a failed businessman who cheated on his first wife with his second, his second wife with his third, and his third pregnant wife with a sex worker, indeed, unprotected. White supremacy is that good crack cocaine. It's free and a renewable resource. America's answer to COVID-19 matriculated through this lens. Poor access to healthcare and insufficient social benefits to mitigate the disease exacerbated the social inequality inextricably connected to class and race. If a global pandemic doesn't break the back of whiteness and its fetishizing, I fail to see what will. Deauwand Myers (deauwand@hotmail.com) holds a master's degree in English literature and literary theory, and is an English professor outside of Seoul. Lam Research's R&D center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Lam Research Korea By Baek Byung-yeul Lam Research, a U.S.-based semiconductor equipment company, opened its R&D center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. The U.S. company is expected to further strengthen its partnership with Korean chip companies, given the research center is close to Samsung Electronics' factory in Yongin's Giheung District and is at the center of the K-Semiconductor Belt industrial complex, a government-led initiative. "Located in the Jigok Industrial Complex in the heart of Korea's K-Semiconductor Belt, the R&D center's proximity to customers will enable closer collaboration and accelerated development of solutions across the full range of the chip-making processes offered by Lam," Lam Research's Korean unit said. Lam Research plans to operate the Lam Research Korea Technology Center (KTC) as a core base for its global R&D network. "As the semiconductor equipment sector becomes increasingly important, we expect the opening of Lam Research KTC to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the Korean semiconductor industry," Park Jin-kyu, the first vice minister of trade, industry and energy, said during an opening ceremony held at the center. "The government will actively support Korea to become a stable and attractive investment destination for global semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies." "The Lam Research Korea Technology Center is a powerful extension to our global lab network," said Tim Archer, president and CEO of Lam Research. "By enabling deeper technology partnerships with our customers, this new facility further strengthens our ability to develop next-generation solutions faster." Lee Sang-won, president of the company's Korean unit, also said, "This new R&D center will provide an outstanding venue where those efforts can continue and will contribute to the strengthening of the K-semiconductor industry ecosystem for many years to come." Since launching its Korean unit in 1989, Lam Research has been working closely with Korean chip companies. In February, the company said it would produce etching equipment, a next-generation core piece of equipment for chip production in Korea. The new equipment is forecast to be used in developing next-generation Samsung memory chips and system chips. New 500 million facility responds to Turkeys ambitious new climate commitments For the first time, a GEFF incorporates technical assistance to improve corporate climate governance Facility combines EBRD finance with donor funding from CTF and Turkey-EBRD Cooperation Fund The EBRD has agreed a first transaction under a new financing facility that will benefit thousands of businesses and homeowners while strengthening the competitiveness of key Turkish companies and financial institutions. Signed earlier in April, the transaction is part of a 500 million EBRD Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), which combines EBRD finance with around 21.5 million of concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and about 7 million in grants for technical assistance from the CTF and the TurkeyEBRD Cooperation Fund, among others. The GEFF builds on the Turkey Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (TurSEFF) that has been running in Turkey since 2010. Participating banks and leasing companies will use the finance received through the facility to support individuals, businesses, vendors and producers of green materials and products with investments in high-performing green technologies. These financial institutions can also benefit from a technical assistance programme on corporate climate governance. This is the first time such a programme has been incorporated into a GEFF. Improvement in corporate climate governance to help maintain access to markets and capital Corporate climate governance refers to the rules, policies and processes organisations use to identify, assess, manage and disclose risks and opportunities resulting from climate change. Various frameworks have been developed to support good climate governance, but there has been a recent push for global standards in response to the introduction of mandatory climate-related disclosures by regulators and demand from investors. Although Turkey has advanced regulatory and institutional frameworks for corporate governance in listed companies, there is still work to do to apply best practices with regard to corporate climate governance. As of the end of 2021, only 16 per cent of the 2,913 supporters of one of the most widely recognised frameworks, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), were from emerging markets, with Turkish companies accounting for just over 3 per cent of those emerging-market firms. This matters because the lack of climate governance is already affecting companies access to capital. Rating agencies regularly upgrade and downgrade firms credit ratings based on data from providers and their own assessments. By helping Turkish institutions to integrate climate-related information into their decision-making and to disclose their responses to changes in climate and related policies, the new facility will enable them to reassure the investment community about their management of climate-related risks and opportunities. It will also help businesses maintain competitiveness in key export markets such as the European Union (EU). For instance, support to make green investments and establish robust monitoring, reporting and verification systems can reduce trade risks and annual costs stemming from the EUs Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), due to be phased in next year, which could run into hundreds of millions or euros. The new facility responds to Turkeys ambitious new climate commitments The size and design of the new facility is a response to Turkeys ambitious new climate commitments. In autumn 2021, Turkey ratified the Paris Agreement and announced its aim to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2053. Meeting this target will require a sharp increase in green investment, which could have huge economic benefits. The potential for the facility to help is there. Since 2010, the EBRD and its financing partners have made 2.5 billion available alongside CTF concessional funding and EU grants to 14 financial institutions in Turkey through a series of financing facilities. The total energy produced and saved by renewable-energy and energy-efficiency projects financed through the facilities is equivalent to that provided by about 12 per cent of the countrys 2020 coal imports for power plants. Purchasing this amount of coal at average 2021 prices would have cost the Turkish economy US$ 265 million. Financial institutions can play a leading role in the transition to a green economy The new facility will continue to support specific investments, but also aims to increase its impact by strengthening the competitiveness of key Turkish companies and financial institutions and accelerating changes in Turkeys financial system that will enable it to better support the countrys ambitions for green growth. It will pave the way for replication of the approach in other programmes in further EBRD economies and become a central element of the EBRDs engagement with its financial-sector clients in future. As the place where the financial system and the real economy meet, Turkeys banks and leasing companies are the source of the finance that most people invest in their businesses and homes. By combining finance for high-performing green technologies with support to assess, manage and disclose climate-related risks and opportunities, the new GEFF will increase these financial institutions ability to advise their customers and channel investment into decarbonisation and innovation across the economy. THE joy of seeing couples and families spending time together, breathing in the peace and beauty of this wonderful place, in which we are so blessed to be able to live, and to share with others. That is what brings smiles to the owners of Top of the Rock, Podpairc and Walking Centre, in Drimoleague, David and Elizabeth Ross. We catch up with the owners as we continue our series on some of Corks glamping sites. What was the initial inspiration behind opening the campsite? In the past, people driving through Drimoleague had no idea of the beautiful scenery that exists to the north of the village. This all changed in 2008 when nine miles of walkways were put in place with the help of the West Cork Development Partnership. As people from elsewhere began discovering these new paths, it became obvious that extra accommodation was needed. Our small farm is situated just north of the village at an ancient place known as the Top of the Rock, which has a panoramic view of Castledonovan and the Ilen Valley. The beautiful view, together with the need for a walking centre with accommodation, and the fact that our small farm needed a viable future, all came together to a point where we applied for planning and funding, and we were able to build what you see here today. One of the pods at Top of the Rock, Podpairc and Walking Centre. The design of your pods seems particularly unique to your site. What inspired their design? These pods were inspired by the shape of the Gallarus Oratory and were built in County Kerry. They really resonate with our landscape, and convey the sense of shelter, simplicity and earthiness. Ironically, the Irish name for Drimoleague, Drom Daimh Liag, points to the existence of a beehive cell church structure in this townland in the 7th century, so its like history repeating itself! How is it operating a farm and a campsite and how do they intertwine? Its a small farm thats full of life and variety with 30 suckler cows, each bearing a calf every year. There are six ewes with lambs, and about as many goats with kids. This, together with ducks, bantams, doves, a donkey, and our wonderful dog Daisy, makes for an environment thats full of surprises, new life and the wonder of Gods creation. The campsite is simply our way of sharing our farm with everyone who comes to stay here. The stunning views at Top of the Rock, Podpairc and Walking Centre. How is it having an endless array of new faces and families filing through your home all the time? Well, its certainly interesting. About 60% are people from Cork city and county, so its nice getting to know our neighbours! The rest are from all parts of Ireland and beyond. We have had families from Russia, Sweden, Chile, New Zealand, and of course many from the USA and the continent. At least two-thirds of our guests on any given day are return visitors, so we build up a relationship with these families over the years and they become long-term friends. Describe a day in your life during peak season at your Pod Pairc. David starts off at 7am cleaning bathrooms and communal areas. At 7.30am, Elizabeth bakes two ovens full of scones and presents her breakfast bags with fresh coffee at reception. At 10am, David starts off the Farmhands Tour, with Daisy taking the lead. Children, accompanied by parents, get to bottle-feed the lambs, gather the eggs, milk the cows, explore the bale maze, enjoy a hayride and hear the story of the farm its all about fun and learning, with a Farmhands Certificate at the end. At noon, the turnover begins for the next arrival of guests. From 3.30pm, Elizabeth, and Joanna, our daughter, welcome our new guests, and then theres time for a bit of a rest! At 6.30pm, David does the feeding of the farm animals, followed by the lighting of the communal campfire where children toast marshmallows and families enjoy a chat around the fire. By 10.30pm, we are trying to encourage everyone to go to their pods and get some sleep! Its a busy day! If you could describe the spirit of your campsite/land in one sentence, what would it be? Whatever St Finbarr brought here in the 5th century is still felt today peace and calm! A FORMER Cork model agent who rubbed shoulders with everyone from Naomi Campbell to Christy Turlington is parting with his most prized artwork in a bid to secure accommodation for Ukrainian refugees crossing the border near his home in Warsaw. Ed Jordan previously owned Profile Model Agency which, at the time, was known for being the most successful Irish business of its kind outside of Dublin. His success reached new heights when he had the opportunity to work with stars like Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell at a fashion show at the Point Depot in the 90s. Nonetheless, the artist said he wanted to pursue a life with more meaning. This eventually led to his decision to work with children in Belarus who had profound special needs in 1996. Now living in Warsaw, Ed is doing everything in his power to help displaced Ukrainian refugees. This comes years after he set up art therapy centres in institutions in Belarus as part of his humanitarian work. The former psychiatric nurse previously sold 120 paintings during his three-year art residency at the InterContinental Hotel in Warsaw. Last year saw him join forces with fellow artists to form the Has#tag Artists Collective. They have now decided to contribute 100% of sales to fund accommodation for displaced refugees. The appeal has a special focus on refugee mothers arriving in Warsaw from Ukraine with children who are vulnerable or living with disabilities. It sees refugees meet with volunteers at railway stations in Warsaw before they are accompanied to a hotel with a pre-booked family room. Each room has been pre-paid for with funds from the Has#tag Art Collective paintings. Ed described the trauma facing refugees where he lives. If your apartment was blown to smithereens and you cant afford to rebuild it, there is nothing to go back to, he said. People are in limbo and cant spend the next 10 years having their child lying next to them on a camp bed. Mr Jordan spoke of the palpable fear among the Polish community. One man in his 30s asked me if I could take his wife and one-year-old daughter to Ireland if anything happened to him, he said. He appealed to Corkonians for donations to the art collective. As I am selling the art directly, purchasers are bypassing the gallerys 40% commission, making the paintings more reasonably priced, he said. Painting prices begin at 40 and each painting is framed and dispatched by courier ready to hang on arrival at their destination five to seven days later and not in a tube needing to be framed at extra cost to the purchaser. "Some of my colleagues here in Warsaw have also donated some paintings to the appeal, with funds raised going directly to the emergency accommodation appeal. Anyone wishing to donate can email edjordan.ceann@gmail.com or hashtagartcollective.eu@gmail.com. The first mandate in the U.S. to require all-electric heating has passed in Washington state, where newly constructed buildings will need to install electric heating and hot-water systems. The mandate will go into effect in July 2023. The mandate passed 11 to 3 in a vote by the State Building Code Council to restrict the use of natural gas in multifamily housing complexes and commercial buildings by requiring installation of electric heat pumps. A similar mandate for smaller residential buildings will be considered within the next few months. The revised energy code will see that new buildings have heat pumps rather than HVAC systems powered by natural gas. At least 50% of water will also need to be warmed via electric heat pumps, although the remaining amount can be heated through other methods. Heat pumps are energy-efficient alternatives to furnaces. They work by taking in heat from one area and pumping it into another. For example, in the winter, heat pumps can pull heat from outside, even if the temperature is low, and move it indoors. In warmer months, the opposite happens the heat pump moves the warm indoor air outside to cool the buildings interior. We need to consider what our definition of risk is when were talking about climate change, said Katy Sheehan, Board member and executive director of Spokanes Community Building Foundation, as reported by The Spokesman-Review. Burning more fossil fuels is risky behavior. Taking a small step forward in reducing our natural gas usage is one way to reach our goal that were mandated to get to. Washingtons mandate has exceptions for hospitals, research facilities, and select other buildings, including buildings in cooler parts of the state where winter temperatures can drop well below 0F. Many cities across the U.S. have banned natural gas in new buildings, with some exceptions. California has also updated its building code to encourage alternatives to natural gas hookups, but it isnt mandated. Washingtons mandate is the first at the state-level, although a similar proposal was recently considered and ultimately dropped in New York state due to budget negotiations, Grist reported. Heat pumps are considered a sustainable alternative because they can generate three or four times the amount of energy they consume, according to The Conversation. Heat from fossil fuels actually wastes energy, because it needs to convert the energy from one form into another form rather than moving the heat from one place to another. To meet emissions goals by 2030, heat pump use will need to reach one-third of global heating systems. Social media platform Twitter is taking a stand against climate denial. The company announced on Earth Day that it would ban all advertisements that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change. We believe that climate denialism shouldnt be monetized on Twitter, and that misrepresentative ads shouldnt detract from important conversations about the climate crisis, Twitter director of sustainability Sean Boyle and global sustainability manager Casey Junod wrote in the announcement. Twitter said that it would base its actions on reliable sources like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports. At the beginning of their announcement, Boyle and Junod cited the latest IPCC report and its warning that greenhouse gas emissions must be speedily and dramatically cut to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Now more than ever, meaningful climate action, from all of us, is critical, they wrote. Twitters action follows growing concern about the spread of misinformation on social media platforms. A 2021 study, for example, found that 25 percent of tweets about the climate crisis sent around the time that President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris agreement were sent by bots, and that the bot-authored tweets tended to be skeptical of climate science, as Scientific American reported at the time. At the time of the COP26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow in November 2021, more than 200 scientists and activists sent a letter to the CEOs of major social media companies asking them to implement climate misinformation policies like the ones they instituted in response to the coronavirus pandemic, as CNN reported. Twitter has taken previous steps to promote accurate climate information. To support COP26, the company created pre-bunks of credible facts about climate-related themes, the company said. Other social media companies have also taken steps to address the online spread of climate denial. Pinterest announced this month that it would ban any climate denying posts on its platform and remove any that it found, as CNN reported. Google last year said that it would ban climate denying ads. Meta, meanwhile, introduced a Climate Science Center that features accurate climate information, The Guardian reported. It isnt clear whether the Twitter policy would apply to posts from individual users as opposed to advertisements, but the company said that more information was forthcoming. We recognize that misleading information about climate change can undermine efforts to protect the planet, Boyle and Junod wrote. In the coming months, well have more to share on our work to add reliable, authoritative context to the climate conversations happening on Twitter. Twitters announcement came hours before the EU reached a deal mandating that technology companies do more to control hateful or misleading content on their sites, as AP News reported. By Dana Drugmand You dont have to look far to find misinformation about climate science continuing to spread online through prominent social media channels like YouTube. Thats despite the overwhelming scientific consensus that humans are driving the climate crisis. A new report by the global activist NGO Avaaz reveals that, despite YouTubes pledge to combat misinformation, the popular video site owned by Google has failed to crack down on this problem when it comes to climate change. Videos containing false or misleading information on climate change continue to reach millions of users through YouTubes recommendation algorithm. Furthermore, ads including those from major brands and environmental groups displayed on these videos provide a monetary incentive, not only to YouTube, but to the videos creators to keep promoting fringe theories contrary to scientific reality. Avaaz asked @YouTube to extract such videos from its recommendation algorithms and include climate misinformation in the companys borderline content policy. In addition, it should allow advertisers to exclude their ads from videos with climate misinformation. #DetoxTheAlgorithm pic.twitter.com/OUKcLtbY51 Avaaz (@Avaaz) January 16, 2020 We found that YouTube is driving millions of people to watch climate misinformation videos every day, Avaaz writes in its report, titled Why is YouTube Broadcasting Climate Misinformation to Millions? YouTubes recommendation algorithm is giving these videos free promotion and showing misinformation to millions who wouldnt have been exposed to it otherwise. Monetizing Misinformation Examples of videos identified as containing climate misinformation include titles such as ACTUAL SCIENTIST: Climate Change is a Hoax and CIA Whistleblower Speaks Out About Climate Engineering Vaccination Dangers and 911. Other videos feature interviews with climate science deniers, such as Patrick Moore, and promote false claims that there is no evidence that CO2 emissions are the dominant cause of climate change (there is and they are). Not all of the channels promoting misinformation are owned by pseudonymous individuals with fringe ideas. Some come from established media organizations such as Fox News and the conservative media nonprofit PragerU. Avaaz uncovered these examples by reviewing over 5,000 videos using the search terms global warming, climate change, and climate manipulation. The NGO found a number of videos containing misleading or false information for each search term. For the search term global warming, 16 percent of the top 100 related videos included under the up-next feature had misinformation about climate change, the report states. The percentage of top 100 related videos with climate misinformation, promoted through YouTubes recommendation algorithm, dropped to 8 percent when the search term climate change was used. When the researchers typed in climate manipulation, however, that percentage rose to 21 percent. According to Avaaz, the climate misinformation videos it reviewed had 21.1 million views collectively. If you search for terms such as global warming on @YouTube, you might end up watching #misinformation about #climate change. Read more about it here: https://t.co/9SSqt3eijb (1/5) pic.twitter.com/Tl6YVBgJ5w Avaaz (@Avaaz) January 16, 2020 Avaaz researchers also found that some of these climate misinformation videos had accompanying advertisements, indicating that YouTube is incentivizing climate misinformation through its monetization program. As the report points out, 55 percent of the fee that advertisers pay goes to the video creator, while 45 percent goes to YouTube. Avaaz identified ads from over 100 brands appearing alongside the climate misinformation videos that it reviewed. These included major consumer brands such as Samsung and LOreal, ethical or green brands such as Ecosia and Nikin, and environmental groups such as WWF and Greenpeace. We from NIKIN want to join Avaaz in calling on YouTube to change their algorithm that disinformation doesnt get spread around the world and it should especially not be monetized, a company spokesperson for the Swiss sustainable fashion company said in response to the Avaaz report. We from NIKIN are a sustainable brand that used YouTube as an advertising platform, but our videos got shown before videos that call climate change a hoax. This is completely against what we want and the responsibility lies in YouTubes hand to change that. Avaaz Recommends Further Action, Youtube Defends Its Policies Avaaz acknowledged steps that YouTube and Google have taken to update the video platforms Community Guidelines policy and fight disinformation. In 2015 YouTube initiated a campaign to help change the way people discuss climate change, and climate-related videos now include a Wikipedia link to basic, definitive information on the term global warming. In February 2019 Google issued a white paper on fighting disinformation, stating: We set out to prevent our systems from serving up content that could misinform users in a harmful way, particularly in domains that rely on veracity, such as science, medicine, news, or historical events. Google said it introduced a higher bar for the promotion of YouTube videos. YouTube has also updated its policies on the kind of content it prohibits and has taken steps to protect its users from exposure to misinformation on vaccine safety and conspiracy theories. The relative number and views of the top 100 videos found searching for global warming on YouTube and identifying those featuring climate misinformation. DeSmogBlog / Avaaz But Avaaz says these actions are not enough. Climate misinformation threatens the health and safety of our societies and our planet. YouTube has taken notable strides to act against disinformation, but our research proves that more is needed, said Julie Deruy, senior campaigner at Avaaz. YouTube can and should immediately move to include climate misinformation in the companys borderline content policy and allow advertisers to exclude their ads from videos with climate misinformation. (Borderline content refers to videos that walk the line of violating YouTubes terms of service and has been the subject of much scrutiny). The Avaaz report outlines several recommendations, based on consultation with industry experts, advertisers, and legislators around the world. These recommendations, quoted here from the report, suggest the video platform: Detox the YouTube Recommendation Algorithms: The company must end its free promotion of misinformation and disinformation videos by extracting such videos from its algorithms, starting immediately by including climate misinformation in its borderline content policy. Demonetize Disinformation: Add disinformation and misinformation to YouTubes relevant monetization policies, ensuring such content does not include advertising and is not financially incentivized. YouTube should start immediately with the option for advertisers to exclude their ads from videos with climate misinformation. Correct the Record: Work with independent fact-checkers to inform users who have seen or interacted with verifiably false or misleading information, and issue corrections alongside these videos. Transparency: Although YouTube promises to work openly with researchers, the company maintains an opaque process around its recommendation algorithms and on how effective its policies are in dealing with misinformation. YouTube should immediately release data showing the amount of views on misinformation content that were driven by its recommendation algorithms. YouTube must also work with researchers to ensure access to its recommendation algorithms to study misinformation. DeSmog reached out to one researcher who has studied YouTubes promotion of videos containing conspiracy theories or false information on climate change. Dr. Joachim Allgaier, senior researcher at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, authored a study published last summer finding that YouTubes video recommendation algorithm boosted videos that misrepresented the scientific consensus on climate. Of the 200 videos he reviewed, more than half presented views contrary to mainstream climate science. Allgaiers findings are consistent with those of Avaaz, and he said he supports the recommendations in its new report. I hope [YouTube] will be more transparent on how science-related videos get recommended or not and what exactly they are doing against the promotion of misinformation/disinformation, Allgaier said via email. And they obviously need to stop the monetization of disinformation videos! To be more transparent and respond to requests and questions from researchers and NGOs would be a prerequisite for being a reliable source of information. From this point of view there still is a lot of room for improvement. Avaaz mock up of what effective misinformation corrections could look like on YouTube videos. DeSmogBlog / Avaaz DeSmog also reached out to Google, parent company of YouTube, and a company spokesperson defended YouTubes policies, saying that false information does not necessarily violate the sites community guidelines. YouTube indicated that it is not inclined to adopt the recommendations in the Avaaz report, due to concerns on limiting free speech. We cant speak to Avaazs methodology or results, and our recommendations systems are not designed to filter or demote videos or channels based on specific perspectives. YouTube has strict ad policies that govern where ads are allowed to appear and we give advertisers tools to opt out of content that doesnt align with their brand, a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement responding to the report. Weve also significantly invested in reducing recommendations of borderline content and harmful misinformation, and raising up authoritative voices on YouTube, the spokesperson continued. In 2019 alone, the consumption on authoritative news publishers channels grew by 60 percent. As our systems appear to have done in the majority of cases in this report, we prioritize authoritative voices for millions of news and information queries, and surface information panels on topics prone to misinformation including climate change to provide users with context alongside their content. We continue to expand these efforts to more topics and countries. Avaaz said it stands by its findings, and criticized YouTube for knowingly promoting false information on climate change. YouTube is the largest broadcasting channel in the world, and it is driving millions of people to climate misinformation videos, said Avaazs Deruy. This is not about free speech, this is about the free advertising YouTube is giving to factually inaccurate videos that risk confusing people about one of the biggest crises of our time. The bottom line is that YouTube should not feature, suggest, promote, advertise, or lead users to misinformation. Reposted with permission from DeSmogBlog. A powerful bomb blast was reported on the premises of the University of Karachi on the afternoon of April 26. The blast occurred in a van near China-built Confucius Institute, which is a non-profit institution that teaches the Chinese language to local students. Four people have been reportedly killed in the blast, including three Chinese nationals, two of whom were women, and the fourth person was a van driver who was a local. The incident is being termed as a case of suicide bombing. Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, in the past, outlawed militant separatist groups from the Balochistan province have claimed attacks on Chinese nationals who work in large numbers in different parts of Pakistan, especially Balochistan and Karachi. Senior police official Muqqadas Haider said that the initial investigation was being carried out and it was too early to make any suggestions or comments. He said that the CCTV footage, which showed a woman in a burqa outside the entrance of the institute, was being analysed. The woman is suspected of being the suicide bomber. He also informed that the nature of the blast can only be confirmed after the report is submitted by the bomb squad. However, it is suspected that a remote-controlled explosive device was planted either inside or near the van. A spokesperson of the university said that the victims had been identified as Confucius Institute Director Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai and Khalid, the driver. This blast is said to be the largest terror attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon, right, visits a Hyundai Motor research center in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, April 26. Yonhap The government plans to invest 397.5 billion won ($318 million) to build charging stations for electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles this year in an effort to foster the next-generation car industry, a senior official said Tuesday. The government also plans to focus on building infrastructure and developing technology for self-driving vehicles this year, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. "The government will continue to craft policy support for the next-generation car sector in a bid to help sharpen the industry's competitive edge and take the lead in the global market," Lee said during his visit to a research center of leading automaker Hyundai Motor in Hwaseong, south of Seoul. The administration designated the non-memory chip, bio-health and next-generation vehicle sectors as key three industries that it aims to nurture for job creation and innovation-driven growth. The government earlier said it plans to provide more support for zero-emission cars in an effort to help the country better achieve its greenhouse gas emission goals. Korea aims to raise the total number of eco-friendly vehicles to 4.5 million by 2030, including 3.62 million EVs. (Yonhap) The face-off between the DMK government and the Governor reached a new peak on Monday, April 25, with the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopting two Bills to limit the Governor's power to appoint vice-chancellors (VCs) to 13 States universities. The legislations seek to give effect to a promise made by Chief Minister MK Stalin in Assembly in January. The Bills were adopted even as Governor RN Ravi chairs a two-day conference of VCs of State, Central and private universities in Tamil Nadu at Ooty. The AIADMK opposed the Bills right from their introduction, and the BJP staged a walk-out in protest. The two Bills The Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2022, and the Chennai University Act, 1923 were adopted by a voice vote. While the legislations still require the Governor's assent to become law, analysts viewed the DMK government's move as a means of registering its protest against the actions of Ravi, who has been sitting on many Bills, including the NEET Exemption Bill. The Bills said according to the Acts in Gujarat, Telangana and Karnataka, the VC shall be appointed by the Chancellor with the concurrence of the State government. In line with the aforesaid other State University laws, the Tamil Nadu government is amending the laws to empower the State government in appointing VCs, the statement of objectives and reasons for the Bills said. What did the Chief Minister say? Speaking on the Bills, Stalin said that previously, VCs were appointed in consultation with the State government, but over the past four years the Governor has been acting as though he has the exclusive rights of appointment. Stalin pointed out that in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home State of Gujarat, the State government appoints VCs, while in Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh they are appointed with the State government's consent. "The elected government cannot appoint VCs now. This goes against democratic principles. Further, it causes shortcomings in administration of universities," the chief minister said. "The Punchhi Commission (2007) on inter-State relations observed that there would be a clash of functions and powers if the power to appoint VCs is vested with Governors, and recommended that it not be given to Governors. Nineteen States agreed with this view," Stalin recalled. He also noted that the AIADMK government had accepted this recommendation in 2017. After the DMK government assumed office last year, it reiterated this view to the Union government. "Above all, this Bill is about the rights of the elected State government. So I appeal to all members to adopt this Bill unanimously," he added. If the Governor gives his assent to these Bills, the State government can appoint VCs to Madurai-Kamaraj University, Anna University, Bharathiar University, Bharathidasan University, Mother Teresa Women's University, Alagappa University, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Periyar Univesity, Tamil Nadu Open University, Thiruvalluvar University, Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University, Annamalai University, and the University of Madras. What do the analysts say? "This effort was taken during the time of (former CM) J Jayalalithaa. But these two Bills would go against the norms of the University Grants Commission Act," political analyst Tharasu Shyam pointed out. "The DMK government has registered its protest against the Governor's activities. Beyond that, there may not be any use to the Bills. However, Ravi's moves are unbecoming of a Governor. The Bills can be forwarded to the President only after getting the Governor's assent. Had the government adopted a resolution, it could have been sent to all authorities immediately," Shyam opined. T Velmurugan, of TVK, said apart from these 13 universities, the State government should be able to appoint VCs to Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), MGR Medical University, and the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University. The CM should be Chancellor of all State universities, and a separate Bill should be adopted for this, he added. MMK leader MH Jawahirullah said, "The Tamil Nadu government has clearly said it will not accept the New Education Policy. The Governor convening a conference of VCs on that very subject has caused a clash and proved the Punchhi Commission report true." According to Congress leader K Selvaperunthagai, Jayalalithaa would have supported these Bills had she been alive as she had mooted the idea long ago. PMK leader GK Mani, Chinnappa (MDMK), Thalli T Ramachandran (CPI), Nagai Mali (CPM), and Chinathanai Selvan (VCK) supported the Bill. Police personnel have been deployed around Clarence High School, Bengaluru, by Pulakeshinagar police to prevent any untoward incident and in anticipation of protest in front of the school. This comes a day after Hindu Janajagruti Samiti made accusations against the school for making Bible compulsory for students. Over ten police personnel, which includes three sub-inspectors, are constantly monitoring the situation after rumours that pro-Hindu activists might initiate a protest. Since Sunday, April 24 and Monday, April 25, Hoysala patrolling staff have been keeping an eye on the movements of protestors and staff has been deployed to contain any situation that might break out, informed a senior police officer. As a precautionary measure, no permit has been given for protests or any gathering. Primary and Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh said that he will be looking into the issue. It all started when parents and activists grew angry with Clarence High School, a more-than-century-old school, about a declaration that parents were asked to sign. The declaration states, "You affirm that your child will attend all classes, including morning assembly, scripture class and clubs for his/her own moral and spiritual welfare, and will not object to carrying the Bible and Hymn book during his/her stay at Clarence High School." Activists visited the school on Monday, April 25, regarding the same and reported the matter to the Block Education Officer as well. They plan to meet Minister BC Nagesh soon. Lotte World Tower in Seoul / Korea Times file By Kim Hyun-bin Lotte Group is paying keen attention to whether Chairman Shin Dong-bin will be included in the government's planned special pardons for Buddha's Birthday on May 8, as the conglomerate needs leadership stability to push ahead with its entry into bioscience, healthcare, mobility and other new businesses, according to company officials Tuesday. Shin was sentenced to two years and six months in prison suspended for four years in connection with the national corruption scandal that put former President Park Geun-hye behind bars. Shin was accused of bribing the former president by offering 7 billion won in exchange for business favors for Lotte's duty free business. Five business lobby groups including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), and the Korea International Trade Association on Monday called for the Moon Jae-in administration to grant special pardons for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin. "Lotte Chairman Shin and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong both have similar restrictions if they are on parole or subject to a probation period," a KCCI senior official said. "Also, Lotte has suffered from the COVID-19 situation and announced its intent to invest in new businesses, so the big picture looks different when Shin is leading the M&A efforts or establishing new businesses compared to watching from the sidelines." Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin Manx Gas owe 'millions' to Manx Utilities The chairman of Manx Utilities says Manx Gas owes them millions of pounds after failing to pay bills on time. Rob Callister confirmed the overdue debt from Manx Gas had at one point peaked at nine million pounds. He said it currently stands at two point four with a further three point two million pounds invoice. It follows a Freedom of Information request seeking confirmation that Manx Gas had paid all of its between September 2021 and February this year. Mr Callister said: "Manx Utilities has been aware of both the potential public interest in the non-payment of significant sums of money to a public body and the potentially commercial sensitivities arising from the disclosure of such information. Manx Utilities requested several extensions from the requestor in order to consult with all parties, receive advice, collate feedback, consider the application of exemptions and appropriate redactions and prepare the response. Prior to Christmas 2021 Manx Utilities was concerned with the possible impact of high wholesale energy prices on Manx Gass ability to pay for the natural gas it was purchasing from Manx Utilities. As previously reported, a request from Manx Gas to forward purchase natural gas for winter 2021 was fulfilled but a further request was deferred pending the receipt of further information from Manx Gas, which Manx Gas declined to provide. On Christmas Eve Manx Utilities was notified by its banking provider that inward payments due from Manx Gas totalling 2.3 million had been cancelled by Manx Gas. Manx Gas subsequently confirmed this was the case. In January 2022 Manx Gas requested that its payment terms be extended from 30 days from invoice date to 90 days from invoice date. This request was refused by Manx Utilities but payments from Manx Gas continued to be outside the 30 days terms agreed and up to 104 days after an invoice was issued. During 2022 Manx Gas has made two payments to Manx Utilities the 2.3 million paid at the end of February 2022 and 6.5 million paid on 19 April 2022. The overdue debt from Manx Gas to Manx Utilities peaked at 9.0 million in April 2022 and currently stands at 2.4 million, with a further 3.2 million invoiced but not yet due for payment. Manx Utilities continues dialogue with Manx Gas to ensure natural gas is provided to Manx Gass customers and to ensure it is paid in full and on time for gas and gas services supplied to Manx Gas." DARPAs RACER program has been developing off-road autonomous combat vehicles that can travel as fast as crewed systems. The agency has now selected Intel to develop a simulation platform for these off-road AVs. The aim of the project, known as RACER-Sim, is to create computer models that mimic the type of rugged, unstructured terrain that these vehicles commonly encounter. Intel Labs will work with the Computer Vision Center in Barcelona and the University of Texas at Austin to craft these simulation tools. We brought together a team of renowned experts from the Computer Vision Center and UT Austin with the goal of creating a versatile and open platform to accelerate progress in off-road ground robots for all types of environments and conditions, said Intels Autonomous Agents Lab director German Ros in a statement. Developing AVs that can operate on backroads, hilly areas and other types of rough terrain have been a major challenge for the industry. Traditional lidar and camera sensors are designed for predictable settings like roads and highways. Off-the-road AVs must operate in a much more challenging environment, driving on extreme terrain with rocks, debris and vegetation. Over the next two years, Intel will work on speeding up the process of designing off-the-road combat AVs. During the first phase, it will create new simulation platforms and map generation tools that can mimic off-the-road environments. Intel during the second phase will implement the new algorithms without relying on robots, a measure designed to cut costs and time. The Pentagon for many years has been working on autonomous technologies for the U.S. military, including unmanned underwater vessels, pilotless fighter jets and more. But the cybersecurity and safety risks of such systems pose a real challenge to their everyday use. You can watch a preview of what RACER-Sim will look like in the video below: In response to fraudulent legal requests, companies like Apple, Google, Meta and Twitter have been tricked into sharing sensitive personal information about some of their customers. We knew that was happening as recently as last month when Bloomberg published a report on hackers using fake emergency data requests to carry out financial fraud. But according to a newly published report from the outlet, some malicious individuals are also using the same tactics to target women and minors with the intent of extorting them into sharing sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Its unclear how many fake data requests the tech giants have fielded since they appear to come from legitimate law enforcement agencies. But what makes the requests particularly effective as an extortion tactic is that the victims have no way of protecting themselves other than by not using the services offered by those companies. Law enforcement officials and investigators Bloomberg spoke to told the publication they believe the use of the tactic has become more prevalent in recent months. All the companies that commented on Bloombergs reporting, including Google and Snap, said they have policies and teams in place to verify the legitimacy of user data requests. "We review every data request for legal sufficiency and use advanced systems and processes to validate law enforcement requests and detect abuse, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Engadget. We block known compromised accounts from making requests and work with law enforcement to respond to incidents involving suspected fraudulent requests, as we have done in this case." A Discord spokesperson said the company validates all data requests to ensure they come from a genuine source. We are continuously investing in our Safety capabilities to address emerging issues like this one, the spokesperson added. Part of what has allowed the fake requests to slip through is that they abuse how the industry typically handles emergency appeals. Among most tech companies, its standard practice to share a limited amount of information with law enforcement in response to good faith requests related to situations involving imminent danger. Typically, the information shared in those instances includes the name of the individual, their IP, email and physical address. That might not seem like much, but its usually enough for bad actors to harass, dox or SWAT their target. According to Bloomberg, there have been multiple instances of police showing up at the homes and schools of underage women. The issue of fake data requests is reportedly prompting companies to think of new ways to verify legitimate ones. It has also pushed US lawmakers to weigh in on the issue. No one wants tech companies to refuse legitimate emergency requests when someones safety is at stake," said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon last month. "But the current system has clear weaknesses that need to be addressed." This mornings tech headlines are heavy on Musk. While the SpaceX and Tesla boss is still chasing hyperloop glory, yesterday Twitter accepted Elon Musk's buyout offer of $44 billion more than anyone else would have likely paid for the social network. Musk has already said hell take the company private and added he wants to upgrade Twitter by protecting free speech, open-sourcing algorithms, fighting spambots and "authenticating all humans." Now, there's no-one the internet and tech media loves to predict or bet against more than Elon Musk. What's odd is that Musk laid out his interest in Twitter so explicitly. He tweets so much. He makes headlines, not only in specialist press but across TV networks and major newspapers, with his casual missives running the gamut from typo-riven banter how I deal with Twitter, to be honest to angering America's Securities Exchange Commission and facing repercussions for it. Im interested to see how it compares to Jeff Bezos purchase of The Washington Post, which now seems like a sensible, innocuous media purchase in comparison. The Amazon founder has been pretty hands-off, as he said he would be. Bezos paid $250 million for a journalistic institution. Musk is offering up 176 times more for Twitter. How messy could it possibly get? Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed Maybe some people don't have phones. Way back in 2018, Blizzard revealed Diablo: Immortal , a game to fill the gaps of the story between Diablo II and Diablo III. However, the fact it was announced as a mobile-only game didnt exactly go over well with the publisher's hardcore fans to put it mildly . Nearly three and a half years later, theres a June release date, and Blizzard announced itll also be available on PC after all. Continue reading. The Boring Company will start one 'in the coming years,' he said. POOL New / reuters Elon Musk first started the idea of a high-speed hyperloop transport system between cities back in 2013, but he then left it to other companies. Next, in 2017, he announced he would build a hyperloop system after all, starting with a New York to Washington D.C. route. Now, Musk has tweeted The Boring Company will attempt to build a working hyperloop "in the coming years." The company hasnt completed any significant projects, apart from the Las Vegas LVCC Loop with 1.7 miles of tunnels. (It has announced but shelved or canceled several other projects). Continue reading. Theres a Lightning Rifle from 'The Matrix' and Channing Tatum's 'Jupiter Ascending' ears. Filmmakers Lana and Lilly Wachowski have announced they're holding an auction of props from films like The Matrix and Cloud Atlas to raise money for vulnerable trans youth. It comes after a record 238 anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed in the US this year alone, with roughly half targeting transgender people. All the money raised will go to the Protect & Defend Trans Youth Fund, which will distribute the funds to organizations in Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and elsewhere in the US. Continue reading. A vlogging workhorse, with some caveats Engadget Panasonic launched the GH5 over five years ago, powering a vlogging boom and confirming the potential of mirrorless cameras for video. Its replacement has finally come in the form of the $2,200 GH6. Perhaps unsurprisingly, its very good. But one area it struggles is crucial: autofocus. The GH6 only has contrast detect autofocus, which, while improved, means it lags behind rival Sony and Canon cameras. Continue reading. A hybrid could be available as soon as 2023. GM One of Chevy's most iconic cars will get the EV treatment. GM has confirmed it's developing a "fully electric" Corvette, and an "electrified" (read: hybrid) version will be available as soon as 2023. The automaker didn't provide more details, and even the video attached to the teaser doesn't offer any clues. A Corvette EV isn't entirely surprising, mind you. GM plans to exclusively sell EVs by 2035, and the car was only going to survive that transition by being electrified. Continue reading. The Twitter icon is displayed outside the company's corporate office in New York, New York, April 21. EPA-Yonhap Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion in cash Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world's richest person. It is a seminal moment for the 16-year-old company that emerged as one of the world's most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges. Discussions over the deal, which last week appeared uncertain, accelerated over the weekend after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer. Under pressure, Twitter started negotiating with Musk to buy the company at the proposed $54.20 per share price. "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in a statement. Shares were up about 6 percent following the news. The deal represents a near 40 percent premium to the closing price the day before Musk disclosed he had bought a more than 9 percent stake. Even so, the offer is below the $70 range where Twitter was trading last year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at an event in Hawthorne, California, April 30, 2015. Reuters-Yonhap Even Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal doesnt know what Elon Musks acquisition of the company means for the service or its employees. Thats the biggest takeaway from accounts of the companys first all-hands meeting following news of the $44 billion deal. Will Musk unban Donald Trump? Will there be layoffs? What about employees stock grants? For now, all those questions seem to be up in the air. Agrawal reportedly told employees there were no layoffs planned at this time, but acknowledged that he was also uncertain about the future. Once the deal closes, we dont know what direction this company will go in, he said according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, Twitter chairman Bret Taylor confirmed that the board will dissolve once the acquisition is finalized. The whole process could take another six months, Bloomberg reported . The deal has left many Twitter employees unsettled, and the company has reportedly locked down changes to its platform through Friday, in an effort to guard against rogue employees. In announcing the deal, Musk outlined a number of changes he wanted to make, including ridding Twitter of spam bots and authenticating all humans. One person who hasnt publicly weighed in yet is Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who has previously endorsed Musks involvement with the company. In its statement, Twitters board of directors confirmed that its decision to accept Musks offer was unanimous, meaning Dorsey had also approved the deal. Update 4/25 11:45pm ET: Jack Dorsey has weighed in on the deal, saying that "Elon is the singular solution I trust." Elon Musk has purchased Twitter for $44 billion dollars after pressure to accept his offer to buy the site for over $54 a share. Right away, the fatalistic tweets in the trending 'RIP Twitter' tag from this morning, are, in my humble opinion, more than a little premature. Me rolling up on my Twitter to see why RIP Twitter is trending: pic.twitter.com/EgQZgFSPYn In My Mind (@MeAloneInMyMind) April 25, 2022 The big blue bird app blew up this morning after news that celebrity billionaire Elon Musk was moving forward with his attempt at purchase of the social media site, now in serious talks with Twitter to buy the company and take it private. He had already bought several shares, and although Twitter refused his initial bid to take over the company, it seems his increased offer changed their minds - because, as of this morning, it was announced they will accept the offer. Negotiations have been ongoing thoughout the day. When the news hit Twitter, its users began to either mourn or panic - the tone is inconsistent - over these predicted upcoming changes. RIP Twitter. You will become the new My Space for MAGA. Jeff Thompson (@jeff_thompson) April 25, 2022 Those protesting are complaining because Musk has made it clear that one of his main gripes with the social networking site is with their censors - the things people can be banned or suspended for saying. This assumption comes from Musk's promise to transform Twitter into a "platform for free speech around the globe" - something that, due to the misuse of the term "free speech" by politcial radicals as "the ability to say whatever I want without fact-checking or attempting to be polite," people are justifiably nervous about. Many users seem to believe that the removal of those censors will only benefit politically alt-right fringe types - Trumpers, blatant homophobes or racists, conservative trolls, et cetera. Ironic that those gloating that Elon Musk will bring "free speech" to Twitter are doing so on...Twitter. RIP Twitter NJ11 Voter *Antifa AF* (@andartissa) April 25, 2022 #RIPTwitter isnt trending because liberals and progressives are afraid of hearing different opinions, its trending because many of the opinions will be lies and disinformation, and they could come from popular accounts with enormous reach. More election/COVID lies likely. Yocuteass of Borg (@__a1va) April 25, 2022 There is a serious risk that the removal of those censors will create a less safe or comfortable environment for some users, it's true. That said, however, speaking as someone who has been on Tumblr since 2012...it'll take more than a change of hands to fundamentally change this site. Yahoo bought Tumblr in early 2013, not even a full year after I joined. The site was wildly popular at the time, close to what Twitter is to teens now - when Yahoo purchased it, it was worth $1.1 Billion. Users panicked when they began to make changes, and for a while, the site became markedly more annoying to use, but over time the changes slowed, and as they got more used to Tumblr's userbase and learned to respond to what they wanted, things got a little better. The site was still in decline, but it had its core userbase already. Then, in 2017, Verizon bought Yahoo, and the Great Porn Ban of December 17 happened a year later. Before this aquisition, Tumblr had become a safe haven for sex workers and mature content, one that many liked because it wasn't part of the main-stream pornography industry that had a history of harming and objectifying its workers, especially the women. The site was more popular for home-grown content of varieties not often found on mainstream porn outlets, including accounts for queer and kink communities. So when Verizon banned all pornography and nudity on the platform, its userbase dropped significantly - but even then, predictions of a barren and useless site did not pan out. And better yet, when Verizon realized their plans for the site didn't align with what the userbase wanted, they decided to sell it to the owners of Wordpress - they had to, because collectively, we all basically said, "No, we don't like this" together. A lot. In fact, now, against all odds, many of us mid-twenties Tumblr Elders have been shocked to learn recently that the app is once again picking up favor with teens, and is experiencing a jump in activity. Listen. I'm a veteran of Tumblr. I know this seems scary but all we have to do is devalue this platform into the fucking ground. It is SHOCKINGLY easy. Zane Schacht - Voice Goblin (@VoicesByZane) April 25, 2022 Social media is a kind of unique and weird sort of business. The decisions that whoever is in charge of a website makes don't always present a Direct Stop to behaviors they don't want to see from users - sometimes those users will just find clever ways to get around them, or they'll build their own. In most businesses, the clientele can't rebel against you like this - which is why running a social media website is a little bit like being a politician. The people have a lot of the power. Social media websites really work more like places than they do businesses. People choose to spend their time there, and while you could argue that they're getting entertainment value out of the app, what they're really doing is - duh - socializing. Not just socializing though - they're forming communities. And that's what makes running a social media company different. You're running a business that is also a community, so your job is half CEO...and half Head of State. The people of Twitter can't vote on what they do or don't want to happen - all they can do is emmigrate. Leave the site and go find a different community. But the thing is, because it's a community, people aren't going to be as quick to leave as this trend suggests. They have connections here, rooms where they go to talk about familiar things, a familiar environment on their homepage. They don't WANT to leave - but, at the same time, they don't LITERALLY live there, so they will do so the moment it gets too uncomfortable to stay. I see people tweeting RIP Twitter . Are the same people who said that are leaving the country if Trump become President but they never did. Itachi-Macho (@AvocarlosCarlos) April 25, 2022 So, ironically, much as I am sure I would not agree with this man on literally any other topic (except maybe smooth or crunchy peanut butter, idk, something normal), I do agree with him here: You may WANT to leave Twitter if Elon Musk becomes the Guy In Charge, but you if live there - EG, have a community there - you probably won't. The dance of being head of a social media company is making changes slowly and carefully enough that you don't anger your userbase SO MUCH that they leave. If Musk buys Twitter, he's not going to be dumb enough to change it all at once - he may be kooky, but he's still a businessman. He's going to do one or two big things to test everyone's reactions, then he'll make small, incremental changes in places where he sees room as he better gets a feel for the userbase. If he makes changes too quickly, the users will get angry, the site will become less profitable, and he'll be forced to either put things back, sell the company, or find someone else to run things. (And hey, if he does actually completely ruin the site in one fell swoop, come back to Tumblr or something. It's pretty similar, but the Staff actually sometimes listen to our suggetions over there, and they don't make your feed for you with an algorithm. Eventually, Twitter will become something usable again. We'll recolonize.) HEIDELBERG, Germany, and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Novaliq, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on first- and best-in-class ocular therapeutics based on the unique EyeSol water-free technology, today announced that data from the second pivotal Phase 3 trial (ESSENCE-2) evaluating the investigational drug CyclASol for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED), was presented as part of a podium symposium at the American Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) annual meeting in Washington D.C. on April 24, 2022. CyclASol is the first topical preservative-free, water-free, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating ophthalmic solution, containing 0.1% cyclosporine in a novel vehicle, developed for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of DED. "The ESSENCE-2 data confirms that CyclASol has consistent and superior therapeutic effects on the ocular surface in patients with dry eye disease. These became significant after 15 days, and 71.6% of patients showed a clinically meaningful improvement in total corneal fluorescein staining at 4 weeks. Patients with high central staining scores showed superior relief of blurred vision in the CyclASol group compared to vehicle", highlighted John D. Sheppard, MD, MMSc, FACS, Professor of Ophthalmology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Mid-Atlantic Medical Director for Eye Care Partners, and leading CyclASol trial investigator. "The fact that 78.6% of patients rated their satisfaction with CyclASol as positive or neutral underlines the excellent safety and tolerability profile of this novel water-free drug therapy to treat inflammatory corneal surface damage secondary to dry eye disease." DED, one of the most common ocular surface disorders, negatively affects the quality of life for millions of people. Progressive corneal surface damage secondary to DED can lead to visual impairment and has a measurable impact on activities requiring sustained visual attention, including reading, driving, and work productivity.1 Corneal surface damage can have deleterious effects on visual outcomes of ophthalmologic surgeries including cataract and LASIK surgery and multiple guidelines recommend treatment of corneal surface damage secondary to DED prior to elective ocular procedures or treatments.2-5 "There is a high unmet need for a rapid, consistent, safe, sustained, and comfortable treatment for dry eye disease. These data support that CyclASol potentially has the power eye care professionals require with the comfort their dry eye disease patents desire," said Dr Christian Roesky, Chief Executive Officer Novaliq. "We intend to submit for approval in the USA in July 2022." ESSENCE-2 is an 834 subject multicenter, randomized, double-masked, vehicle-controlled clinical trial to assess efficacy, safety, and tolerability of CyclASol for the treatment of signs and symptoms of DED in patients not responding to artificial tears. Key results include: On day 15 and 29, change from baseline in total Corneal Fluorescein Staining (tCFS) was statistically significant in the CyclASol group compared to the vehicle group (p values = 0.0022 and 0.0278 respectively) On day 29, the proportion of patients showing a clinically meaningful improvement in tear production ( 10 mm increase) was statistically significantly higher compared to the vehicle(p = 0.0487) Additionally, 71.6% of CyclASol treated patients had a 3 grade improvement in tCFS at week 4. The proportion of responders was significantly higher compared to vehicle-treated patients(p = 0.0002). These responders also showed statistically significant improvements in a variety of symptoms including but not limited to Dryness (p = 0.0074) compared to non-responders at day 29. CyclASol was well tolerated showing an excellent ocular safety profile. The number of all adverse events (AEs) and ocular AEs, including instillation site reactions, were low. 99.8% of patients experienced no or mild instillation site pain. AEs were generally of mild intensity and similarly distributed between the two treatment groups. Up to 86.5% of the patients reported an immediate feeling of comfort when describing CyclASol water-free eye drops. About Dry Eye Disease Dry eye disease, one of the most common ocular surface disorders, impacts quality of life for millions of people. Although a multifactorial chronic disease, inflammation and immunologic processes play a key role in the pathology of dry eye. Infiltration of immune cells in the lacrimal glands, meibomian glands, conjunctiva, and cornea are dominant characteristics in dry eye disease. The inflammatory vicious cycle includes tear film instability, hyperosmolarity, inflammation and damage to the corneal and conjunctival epithelium. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors cause stress to the ocular surface, which accelerate the cycle and, in turn, exacerbate dry eye.6 About CyclASol Ophthalmic Solution CyclASol is a topical anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating ophthalmic solution, containing 0.1% cyclosporine in EyeSol, developed for the treatment of dry eye disease. The multi-dose, preservative-free, smaller and more physiologic droplet size profile provides unique clinical benefits and outstanding tolerability. Notably, an improvement in visual function associated with a clinically significant reduction of central corneal staining, as shown in clinical trials, differentiates CyclASol from existing therapies and are published in Cornea: The Journal of Cornea and External Disease.7 Results from a dose-finding, vehicle-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial with an open-label comparator arm (Restasis, Abbvie) evaluating CyclASol were published in Ophthalmology.8 The clinical development program for CyclASol is expected to conclude with an ongoing multi-center, open-label, single-arm, 12-month safety extension trial (ESSENCE-2 OLE). About Novaliq Novaliq is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialization of first- and best-in-class ocular therapeutics based on the worldwide first water-free technology EyeSol. Novaliq's proprietary water-free EyeSol technology uses ultrapure semifluorinated alkanes (SFAs) that are physically, chemically, and physiologically inert with excellent biocompatibility and a very good safety profile. Novaliq offers an industry-leading portfolio addressing today's unmet medical needs of millions of patients with eye diseases. CyclASol is the first drug product evaluated in a phase 3 clinical program utilizing EyeSol as a vehicle to enhance topical bioavailability of the drug on the ocular surface and at the same time provide outstanding comfort and tolerability. Novaliq GmbH is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany and Novaliq Inc. has an office in Cambridge, MA, USA. The long-term shareholder is dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG, an active investor in Life and Health Sciences companies. More on www.novaliq.com. References Any product/brand names and/or logos are trademarks of the respective owners. 2022 Novaliq GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany. Novaliq Media Contact:Simone Angstmann-Mehr info@novaliq.com +49 6221 50259-0 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1804666/Novaliq_GmbH_Logo.jpg Foreign exchange analysts at MUFG are increasingly concerned over the UK outlook and expects relative yield spreads will be a crucial element in undermining the Pound as the Federal Reserve tightens more aggressively than the Bank of England; It notes; We expect policy divergence between the BoE and Fed to be become even more apparent in the coming months. It also expects concerns over the implications of tighter financial conditions will undermine Sterling support. In this context, it recommends selling the Pound to Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate with a target of 1.2550. GBP/USD remained under pressure on Monday with 17-month lows at 1.2720 as equity markets also retreated further. Fed to Tighten More Aggressively MUFG sees clear evidence that confidence in in the UK outlook has deteriorated; The GBPs recent underperformance reflects concerns amongst market participants that the UK economy will be one of the hardest hit major economies by the Ukraine conflict as the disruption will reinforce the cost of living crisis. The bank also notes that the expectations of UK rates on a six-month view have increased around 30 basis points while the increase in US rates has been 105 basis points. The bank, however, notes that UK money markets are still pricing in rate hikes of at least 0.25% at all policy meetings over the remainder this year. In this context, it adds; It creates room for UK short-term yields to adjust lower in the coming quarters if the UK economy slows abruptly. Other Pound Risk Factors in Evidence MUFG also notes that there are other threats to the UK currency. Domestically, it notes the risk of Brexit tensions with the UK government threatening to give the government powers to switch off some parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol unilaterally. Developments after the May 5th local elections will be watched closely According to MUFG; We are assuming that neither the UK nor the EU really wants to create an additional negative shock for their economies at the current juncture, but it is a downside risk that needs to be monitored going forward. Global market conditions will also be very important for the Pound performance given its sensitivity to risk appetite. In this context, MUFG also notes the threat from a slide in global risk appetite; A deeper correction lower for global equity markets and a pick-up in financial market volatility would likely encourage a weaker cable rate as well going forward. ForensisGroup, The Expert of Experts, and a leader in providing experts, expert witnesses and consultants for legal, consulting, insurance, and other litigious matters, has raised the bar for uncovering the facts in complex litigious disputes and cases. ForensisGroup works with credentialed, vetted expert witnesses focused on uncovering the facts and providing unbiased expert opinions on complex legal disputes and cases. "Current events demonstrate how falsehoods can easily spread and be twisted as facts. While people may have interpretations of situations, the facts provide the proper insight into the truth of a situation and the consequences that can occur. We have seen in case after case that by bringing in experts who understand backgrounds and industries, the complexities of circumstances and who have the skills to explain and articulate the facts properly, the truth will prevail," commented Mercy T. Steenwyk, President of ForensisGroup. Over 100 million lawsuits are filed in U.S. state trial courts and roughly 40 million cases in federal trial courts each year. The stakes can be high both financially and emotionally, regardless of the type of case. It is critical that experts provide thoughtful insight based on their research, analysis, and understanding of the facts and the matter. "We have stepped up the process we use to evaluate our experts. We have drilled down into specialties to further identify areas of expertise within a specialty. And every client is assigned a case manager who works with our team to ensure that we provide the absolute best expert. No chance is taken to uncover the truth," Ms. Steenwyk continued. "Testimony from ForensisGroup experts has helped keep lead out of drinking water. Oil out of oceans. Dangerous chemicals out of food. It has led to safer skyscrapers. More reliable power grids. And prevented intellectual property theft. And, these were not won by accident. These cases were won with experts providing the information, insight and facts that made a difference in the case. As our world becomes more complex and the stakes higher, having the right experts who can make a difference is critical. ForensisGroup is proud to help uncover the truth one case at a time," she concluded. ForensisGroup recently released a new website that streamlines the search process, making it more efficient for clients to request an expert witness. And, in support of Intellectual Property attorneys and their work, ForensisGroup is a proud platinum sponsor at the upcoming LAIPLA (Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association) Spring Seminar from May 21 22, 2022, in Santa Barbara. Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally to boost Ohio Republican candidates ahead of their May 3 primary election, at the county fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio, U.S., April 23. A U.S. judge held the former president in contempt of court Monday for failing to turn over documents related to an investigation of possible fraud in the Trump family's business dealings. Reuters-Yonhap A U.S. judge held former president Donald Trump in contempt of court Monday for failing to turn over documents related to an investigation of possible fraud in his family's business dealings. Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $10,000 every day to the office of New York state Attorney General Letitia James until he complies with her subpoena. James is pursuing a civil probe into the ex-president and the Trump Organization. She said in January that her probe had found that the Trump Organization fraudulently overvalued multiple assets to secure loans and then undervalued them to minimize taxes. James successfully argued that Trump was in violation of a court order to produce the accounting and tax documents to her investigators by March 31. She declared the ruling a "major victory." "For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company's financial dealings. Today's ruling makes clear: No one is above the law," she said in a statement. Among the assets listed was Trump's penthouse in Manhattan's Trump Tower, which was claimed to be three times bigger in size than it actually was, overestimating its value by $200 million. James can sue the Trump Organization for damages over any alleged financial misconduct but cannot file criminal charges. The Trumps have claimed that James, who was elected to her position and is a member of the Democratic Party, is running a politically motivated investigation. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said she would appeal Monday's ruling. "All documents responsive to the subpoena were produced to the attorney general months ago. "This does not even come close to meeting the standard on a motion for contempt," she said in a statement emailed to AFP. Trump and his family have repeatedly tried to shut down James's investigation. In February, he and his children Don Jr and Ivanka were ordered by a judge to submit to questioning under oath. That order is under appeal. James's probe is one of several legal battles in which the 75-year-old is embroiled, threatening to complicate any bid for another run for the White House in 2024. The Trump Organization is also under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney for possible financial crimes and insurance fraud. Last July, the Trump Organization and its long-serving finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to 15 felony fraud and tax evasion charges. His trial is due to begin in the middle of this year. Trump has so far kept Americans guessing about whether he intends to seek the Republican nomination again. (AFP) Palo Alto, CAJotham Stein, author of Negotiate Like a CEO: How to Get Ahead with Lesson Learned from Top Entrepreneurs and Executives, Interviewed by Dr. Jonathan Westover on Human Capital Innovations Podcast. What does it mean to negotiate like a CEO? How important are employment agreements? How can you learn to protect yourself and your family if the worst does happen? These are all questions that Jotham S. Stein addresses in his book Negotiate Like a CEO, with the goal of equipping individuals with the tools they need to safeguard themselves in business and employment. Negotiate Like a CEO isn't afraid to get into the weeds about what you need to do to help your career. Stein peppers each chapter with captivating stories of employees who have found themselves in tight situations with their employerstories that many readers will find familiar. He follows each example with insider insights on how to navigate the situation and save yourself from heartache. Listen to the entire interview of Jotham Stein on HCI Podcast at https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/podcast/episode/4de07ecf/s35e10-negotiate-like-a-ceo-how-to-get-ahead-with-lessons-learned-from-top-entrepreneurs-and-executives-with-jotham-s-stein Expert Click Radio Jotham Stein, Author of 'Negotiate Like a CEO,' Interviewed by Jonathan H. Westover on HCI Podcast A graduate of Stanford Law School and Princeton University, Stein has more than two decades of experience in executive law, representing individuals from all walks of life, including entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, and less senior employees of all size companies. In his career he has negotiated robust employment agreements, separation agreements, M & A agreements, change in control agreements, stock option agreements, restricted stock agreements, management carve out agreements, non-compete agreements, and much more. "It's the concept to protect yourself, to read everything or get a good adviser to read everything, to negotiate with leverage, just like a CEO would negotiate with leverage. I wrote this book to help the people out there who have no idea how to help themselves in their employment relationships," says Stein. "Too many just don't know how or are too afraid to ask." Jotham Stein "Jotham has helped me throughout my career, from setting up strong employment agreements to securing stock compensation to protecting the management team during the sale of my company. Jotham is a guy you want in your corner. His book should be required reading for anyone who thinks 'this could never happen to me'." Andy Cohen, founder and former CEO, Caring.com "As a hi-tech Silicon Valley attorney Stein is brutally honest in assessing a situation and advising his clients. In Negotiate Like a CEO you'll learn to be aware, to recognize potential employment pitfalls, and how to protect yourself. You'll also learn that you may have more leverage than you might think, either now or as you advance in your career." Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Hall of Fame Reviewer "As a CEO and multi-time Silicon Valley executive, I was very fortunate to learn from Jotham early in my career the great importance of the protective employment offer letter. Employment law is very complex and with this book you can learn from the best." Bonnie Crater, co-founder and CEO, Full Circle Insights; former SVP salesforce.com; former SVP Genesys; former VP Oracle; former VP Netscape Watch the book trailer here: https://bit.ly/NegotiateLikeaCEOtrailer About: Jotham S. Stein is the principal of the Law Offices of Jotham S. Stein P.C. He has more than two decades of experience representing entrepreneurs and C-Suite executives, board members, venture capitalists, private equity principals, and investment bankers as well as less senior employees of all size companies. Stein is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Princeton University. He is admitted to practice in California, Illinois, New York, Colorado, and the District of Columbia as well as the United States Supreme Court, and several United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts. He is also a member of multiple bar associations, including the American Bar Association. Stein is the author of Executive Employment Law: Protecting Executives, Entrepreneurs and Employees, a how-to guide for practitioners. Stein's new book, Negotiate Like a CEO, is an enthralling look at how top entrepreneurs and executives protect themselves and how you can too. You can find out more about Jotham Stein at NegotiateLikeaCEO.net Negotiate Like a CEO, ASIN: B09TG125BQ, Published by Political Animal Press, Feb. 24, 2022, 294 pages, available on Kindle and paperback on Amazon. Media Contact: For a review copy of Negotiate Like a CEO or to arrange an interview with Jotham S. Stein, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 248-705-2214. Reach Lorenz on twitter @abookpublicist Tuesday, April 26, 2022 The Russian/Ukrainian War is a humanitarian disaster. 10% of Ukraines population are refugees, and the numbers are climbing quickly. 25% of their population has been displaced. UNCESCO reported last month that already more than half of their children had been displaced. As tragic as the situation is, it could easily become vastly worse. The more the war continues, the more human casualtiesincluding civilian massacres like Bucha and Irpenwill continue taking place. Its also a political and diplomatic disaster that has been building for a very long time. Politicians, legacy media, social media, and pundits in the West are fixated on punishing Putin for his unprovoked invasion. They accuse him of having expansionist plans that would threaten the EU and democratic neighbors. They ache for escalation, assuming Russia will capitulate because of strong Ukrainian resistance and economic sanctions. But theyre naive, and theyre wrong! Every conflict has two sides to the story. This conflict has been 30 years in the making, and it is complex. Theres more to it than what you are hearing in the news. It needs to be mediated now, before this small war turns into a much bigger one. Russia will destroy Ukraine rather than see it in the hands of NATO . . .whatever the cost. Heres why: In 1990, at the end of the Cold War, the final Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was signed. At the time, there was an understanding with the USSR that NATO would move not one inch eastward. By 2006, NATO had expanded into central Europe and had recruited most of the former Warsaw pact countries. NATO now had its sights on Georgia and Ukraine with a declared intent to make them NATO members. By 2007, Russia declared that Ukraine becoming a NATO member was an Existential Threat. In 2014, Russian ally Ukrainian President Yanukovych was overthrown. Anti-Russia rhetoric increased. Without firing a shot, Russia annexed, Crimea, unarguably a national security asset that Russia simply could not lose. Rather than use the situation to develop a durable resolution to what was becoming a crisis, NATO and Ukraine doubled down. Ukraine cut off the water supply to Crimea, threatening Sebastopol and Russias Black Sea Fleet Base, and knocking their water reservoirs down to 7%, putting them in a critical state. Fighting has been going on in Eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian and pro-Western combatants ever since. In 2019, Ukraines Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) voted to amend the constitution to state that Ukraines strategic objectives were joining the European Union and NATO. Currently, Ukraine is the only buffer between Russia and the NATO encroachment. If Ukraine joins NATO, Moscow would only be 800 miles from the NATO border. Russia feels threatened. Yet the West insists on accusing them of being aggressors. Based on what? Were talking about a country with the GDP of New Jersey in a civil war with a country with the GDP of Nebraska. Make no mistake about it, this is a proxy war being promoted by the West, which has duped Zelensky into believing that they have his back, which they dont. Yes, theyre providing the weapons that are keeping Ukraine in the fight. How long will that go on? How many people will die to punish Russia? Then theres the oil. Ukraine earns $1.2 billion annually from Russia for pipeline transit to Europe. Russia is building Nord Stream and South Stream pipelines with plans to shut down the Ukraine pipeline. And Ukraines oil and gas discoveries in the Black Sea Exclusive Development Zone threatens Russias hegemony. But thats another story. The bottom line is that this conflict is about security, economics of natural resources, water supply, national and international aspirations, historical grudges, ambitions, and corruptions. The quickest way to end this war is for a non-NATO (neutral) mediator to step in. Lets set aside anger, fear and biases and view the issues around this conflict critically and objectively. Lets have a useful dialogue, stop all the name calling, and all the bravado. We need to end this war sooner than later before this small war turns into a much bigger one. Former San Marcos Police Sgt. Ryan Hartman, who caused an off-duty crash in 2020 in which one woman was killed and another injured, was treated like a pariah after the accident and was fired on false pretenses, a union attorney says. The attorney made the claim Monday during the first day of a two-day arbitration hearing in which Hartman is seeking reinstatement to the force with back pay and benefits. In January, San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge suspended Hartman indefinitely, the equivalent of termination. City officials said the reason was Hartmans failure to complete administrative paperwork, employee evaluations and other supervisory tasks since as far back as 2019. On ExpressNews.com: Fired San Marcos cop who caused fatal wreck wants his job back In opening statements Monday morning, Alyssa Urban, a staff attorney for Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, argued that Hartmans supervisory failings amounted to little more than poor time management. The departments real reason for firing him was the negative publicity generated by the fatal June 2020 accident in which he was involved, Urban said. Ever since that time, the city has been pounded regarding this incident, Urban said, adding that city officials were pressured for months, over a year to terminate Sgt. Hartmans employment. On ExpressNews.com: Fatal wreck survivor says shell keep pushing for justice for her late partner Protests were set up, banners were flown, the survivor speaks at council frequently on her desires to have Hartman fired, she said. A slideshow of news headlines about the wreck and the aftermath were flashed on a large TV screen as Urban spoke. This gentleman sitting net to me is the pariah of the San Marcos Police Department, she said of her client. Hartman was off-duty and driving his personal Ford pickup on June 10, 2020, when he ran a pair of stop signs at the intersection of Maple Street and State Highway 130 in Lockhart. According to police reports, he slammed into the passenger side of a Honda Accord driven by 64-year-old Pam Watts. Watts partner of eight months, 56-year-old Jennifer Miller, was in the passenger seat. She was gravely injured and died before a medevac helicopter could arrive. Watts survived but sustained long-term injuries. A half-full beer can was found in Hartmans truck, but a blood test several hours after the accident found no evidence of alcohol in his system. Hartman was uninjured in the wreck. He was placed on paid administrative leave but was reinstated after a grand jury declined in November 2020 to charge him with any crime in connection with the accident. Watts, however, teamed up with the social justice group Mano Amiga to bring attention to the case and spearheaded a petition drive in an effort to have a grand jury reexamine the case. Shortly after returning to the force, Hartman was found to have violated the departments use-of-force policy during a traffic stop when he used his stun gun on a suspect who had his hands in the air and was complying with commands. After Standridge imposed the indefinite suspension in January, Hartman appealed, leading to the arbitration hearing. The hearing is a trial-like process before hearing examiner Bill Detwiler, who acts as a judge. Julia Gannaway, an attorney for the city, said Hartmans failure to complete administrative and supervisory tasks was the last straw after a string of problems that led police department leaders to lose faith in the 14-year veteran. Despite collecting more overtime than any other officer, Hartman demonstrated an inability, an unwillingness, what have you to complete basic paperwork and other duties, she said. Billy Calzada, Staff / Staff photographer In one incident cited by city officials, Hartman waited one year, six months and 14 days to finish a narrative report on a single-vehicle fatal crash on Dec. 7, 2019. Hartman also allegedly waited nearly seven months to file a supplemental report on a homicide investigation and never filed performance reviews and evaluations for subordinate officers. He didnt act like a supervisor, Gannaway said. Advocates seek justice Urban said during the hearing that the accident was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of (Hartmans) life. She asserted that mental anguish stemming from the crash contributed to his inability to complete or file paperwork on time. Because of the guilt hes feeling ... no sleep, barely eating, cant focus - it is believable that he would not perform at his best, she said. Still, Urban contended that his actions that day, although tragic, have amounted to nothing more than a minor traffic violation and thus do not warrant termination. A handful of friends of Watts and Millers who attended the hearing shook their heads as Urban spoke about the wreck. Hartman, dressed in a black suit, sat next to his lawyer and did not speak. During a mid-day break in the hearing, Amy Caperton, a close friend of Millers, said she believes Hartmans claims of mental anguish are 100% an act. He has not said hes sorry one time to any of us that lost Jen, Caperton said. Watts and other friends of Millers are protesting Hartmans ability to appeal his firing in the first place. Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code grants all Texas firefighters and police officers the right to appeal terminations. Chapter 143 allows police officers to avoid accountability, said Jordan Buckley, former head of Mano Amiga. Hartman is expected to testify when the hearing resumes Tuesday. It isnt clear exactly how much back pay he will receive if hes successful in his appeal. Public records show that as of 2019, he was being paid $41.46 per hour as a police sergeant. Detwiler, the hearing examiner, said he would issue a decision several months after the hearing concludes. Annie Blanks writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. annie.blanks@express-news.net. Melissa Lucio has spent the last 15 years on death row after she was convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. But she and her family have long maintained that Lucio is actually innocent and that no murder ever occurred. Lucio was scheduled to be killed by lethal injection on April 27 before the Texas Court of Appeals issued a stay. Here's what to know about the case that's been catapulted into the national spotlight. TEXAS RALLY: Melissa Lucio supporters plan to rally outside DA office Wednesday to demand her immediate release What did the Texas Court of Appeals decide? On April 25, two days before her scheduled execution, the Texas Court of Appeals granted a stay in Lucio's case. The judges remanded the case to the trial court, indicating that they are open to the argument that she is actually innocent. Lucios legal team raised nine different claims in her petition for clemency, a form of legal relief that would spare her from death row. The court found merit in four of those nine arguments: If the prosecution had not used false testimony, no juror would have convicted Lucio; Previously unavailable scientific evidence would preclude her conviction; Lucio is actually innocent; and Prosecutors suppressed favorable material evidence in violation of federal law. Lucio will not be executed as scheduled. The court's decision takes away the need for the governor, the Board of Pardons or the local district attorney to take action. Gov. Greg Abbott will no longer have a choice to make in Lucio's case. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles said in a statement that it will not be making a recommendation in Lucio's request for clemency either. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz had said if no one took action, he would consider staying the execution himself. EXPLAINER: What is a stay of execution? Key legal terms in death row cases like Melissa Lucio's, explained There are two pending motions in the trial court asking to recuse the presiding judge. The judge assigned after that decision will decide whether Saenz should be disqualified from prosecuting the case, if his office does not recuse itself beforehand, according to Tivon Schardl, one of Lucios attorneys. A decision on those motions could come in the next three days or so, he said. Who is Melissa Lucio? Lucio is a 53-year-old Harlingen mother of 14 who has struggled with a history of poverty, addiction and violence. She endured years of sexual abuse at the hands of family members and, later, sexual and domestic abuse from her partners. She experienced homelessness and extensive drug abuse and the household had been visited by Child Protective Services. While family admits Lucio was not a perfect mom, her lawyers contend that she never physically abused any of her 14 children. They point to decades of CPS records as proof that she never physically harmed them amid the struggles that brought social workers to her door. Courtesy/The Innocence Project Courtesy/The Innocence Project Courtesy/The Innocence Project Family photos of Melissa Lucio and her children. (Courtesy) Family photos of Melissa Lucio and her children. (Courtesy) The Cameron County jury at Lucio's capital murder trial never heard testimony about her background as a victim of extensive sexual and domestic abuse who faced homelessness and poverty. Would Melissa Lucio have been the first Latina put to death in Texas? Technically, yes. If Lucio had not been granted a reprieve or a stay of execution, she would have been the first Latina to be put to death in Texas in the modern era, and the first Texas woman executed in nearly a decade. The last woman to be put to death in Texas was Lisa Coleman in 2014, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The first was Josefa "Chipita" Rodriguez, who was hanged in San Patricio County in 1863. The Texas Legislature passed a resolution more than a century later that Rodriguez did not receive a fair trial. What happened to Melissa Lucio's daughter? Lucio's family says that Mariah fell down a rickety flight of stairs outside their Harlingen apartment in 2007 while the family was in the process of moving. Two days later, she died in her sleep. Innocence Project Innocence Project Innocence Project Mariah Alvarez was just two years old when her family says she fell down this hazardous set of stairs outside their Harlingen apartment in 2007. (Innocence Project) Mariah Alvarez was just two years old when her family says she fell down this hazardous set of stairs outside their Harlingen apartment in 2007. (Innocence Project) The Cameron County medical examiner ruled Mariah's death a homicide, stating that the bruising on Mariah's body was the worst case of child abuse she had ever seen. On the night of Mariah's death, Lucio, who was pregnant with twins, was questioned by investigators for a prolonged period. Her lawyers say police coerced her to give a false confession and her conduct during the interrogation, which they described as cold and detached, was unjustly used to build a case against her. Her lawyers say her history as a victim of sexual and domestic abuse could have made her more susceptible to being coerced by investigators. What has Melissa Lucio said about her case? Lucio has long maintained her innocence. On the night of Mariah's death, she told investigators both verbally and nonverbally she was innocent more than 100 times, according to her lawyers. In a 2020 Hulu documentary that argues for her innocence, Lucio contends she would never hurt her children and says she made the false confession under duress, in part to shield one of her older daughters from being blamed for Mariah's death. The older daughter told a private investigator she was the one to blame for Mariah's fall, according to deleted scenes from the documentary that have been viewed by the Houston Chronicle. What does Melissa Lucio's family say? Lucio's family members have traveled across the state, holding rallies, where they encouraged residents to see the documentary and sign an online petition calling for her release. They also held daily prayer vigils outside the Cameron County courthouse, calling on Saenz to review Lucio's case and withdraw her death warrant. Saenz's intervention was the safest and swiftest method for a reprieve, according to Death Penalty Action, an advocacy group that has traveled with the family and helped to spread awareness about her case. But Lucio's relatives were torn apart in the wake of her incarceration. Most of her adult children are living their own lives with children of their own. After the documentary suggested an older daughter was a possible culprit in Mariah's death, that daughter and a few other siblings took to social media to make claims against Lucio. They argued that the older daughter had nothing to do with Mariah's death as the documentary implies, but these daughters did not wish to see their mother executed. They signed a document alongside their other siblings pleading with Abbott and the Board to spare their mother's life. Most of Lucio's family, including her elderly mother, her son, John Lucio, and her sister, Sonya Valencia Alvarez, have been relentless in their mission to shed light on Lucio's case and get her off of death row. Yi-Chin Lee, Photographer / Staff photographer Denise Cathey, MBI / Associated Press Melissa Lucio's son, John Lucio (left) and sister, Sonya Valencia Alvarez (right). (Denise Cathey, MBI / Associated Press) (Yi-Chin Lee, Photographer / Staff photographer) Melissa Lucio's son, John Lucio (left) and sister, Sonya Valencia Alvarez (right). (Denise Cathey, MBI / Associated Press) (Yi-Chin Lee, Photographer / Staff photographer) My sister is innocent, Sonya Valencia Alvarez said at a Houston rally on a chilly February day. This is an innocent woman. This is a loving mother of 14 children who was sent to death. What new evidence is there in the Melissa Lucio case? Lucio's legal team raised nine different claims in her clemency petition. Specifically, the court found merit in her lawyers arguments in four of those nine arguments. Lucio's lawyers from the Innocence Project filed a clemency petition with evidence they said proves her innocence. Included in that petition were statements by five jurors at her capital murder trial who said they would have decided differently had they known about Lucio's personal history or seen other evidence that was not presented at trial. [T]he fact that you cant pinpoint what caused Mariahs death means that [Melissa] shouldnt be executed, juror Johnny Galvan said in his statement. Galvan wrote in an Op-Ed in the Houston Chronicle that he felt pressured to sentence Lucio to death and that he "wished I had never done so." A forensic expert stated in Lucio's clemency petition that Mariah's bruising was likely caused by head trauma the child sustained when she fell down the stairs. The expert said the medical examiner's ruling that the girl died as a result of child abuse was a rush to judgment. Anti-domestic violence organizations, faith leaders in Texas, death row exonerees and wrongfully convicted people have shared statements of support as part of her request for relief. LUCIO CASE: Catholic leaders urge Abbott to stop execution of Hispanic mother in childs death Beyond the unexplored evidence, Lucio's lawyers also argue her trial was unfairly influenced by bigotry and corruption from both sides of the courtroom, including the case brought by a DA who was later sentenced to prison. They say her trial lawyer failed to present evidence on hand that could have helped the jury acquit Lucio, and questioned his motives when he swiftly joined the DA's office after the trial. What were Melissa Lucio's options? Lucio's lawyers requested her death sentence be commuted to life in prison, or that she be granted an evidentiary hearing and a chance to prove her innocence. Her lawyers said that it's typical for the board of pardons not to decide about a clemency petition until just days before a person is set to be executed. The governor also has the authority to stop an execution, grant clemency or reduce a person's sentence. Lucio's third route was for Saenz to withdraw her death warrant and reinvestigate the case. Saenz remained silent for years, but Lucio's oldest son spoke with him briefly after stopping him in the courthouse parking lot during a protest in late March. Saenz was captured on video telling John Lucio he "would be glad to take a look" at his mother's case. He later testified before a legislative committee in Austin that if the board of pardons and Abbott didn't take action in Lucio's case, he would step in. Lucio also had an array of legal motions pending, one of those resulted in a stay on April 25. Her case has been remanded to a lower court to consider multiple arguments for possible dismissal. Who has spoken out about the Melissa Lucio case? Texas lawmakers and big-name celebrities asked the state to take action in Lucio's case. By late March, more than 80 Texas lawmakers requested clemency for her, pleading with Abbott and the board to intervene. Another group of Texas lawmakers later met privately with Lucio to hear her case and discuss efforts to stop her execution, the Associated Press reported. Kim Kardashian shared information about Lucio's case with her more than 70 million followers, calling her situation "heartbreaking." Death Penalty Action hosted weekly live streams with celebrity guests that include Carmela Zumbado from the Netflix show "You"; Sherry Cola from Freeform's "Good Trouble"; and Julissa Calderon from Netflix's "Gentefied," according to a representative from the organization. Where can I watch the Melissa Lucio documentary? The 2020 documentary, The State of Texas vs. Melissa, is available on Hulu and Amazon Prime. How did Melissa's Lucio react to the news of her stay? Lucio erupted in sobs the moment she heard the news her life would be spared. Texas Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who has become one of her most outspoken advocates, delivered the news. Listen in here. rebecca.hennes@chron.com The news of Melissa Lucio's stay of execution was a startling and very welcome surprise to the 53-year-old Harlingen mother, her family members and supporters around the country. LISTEN: Hear when Melissa Lucio, the Harlingen mom of 14 on death row, learned her life had been spared The inner circle of her lawyers and supporters had been bracing Monday afternoon for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to rule on her request for clemency or a temporary stay. But shortly before the board was expected to convene, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a comprehensive ruling that spared Lucio from the death chamber just two days before she was scheduled to be killed by lethal injection. CASE BACKGROUND: What to know about Melissa Lucio, Texas mom on death row whose execution was halted by a Texas court So what does it mean for a person to be granted a stay? And what other outcomes might Lucio have faced following the array of requests she filed seeking a reprieve? Here are some concepts to help explain where Lucios case now stands and what happens in general when Texas defendants file appeals and requests for relief following a death penalty conviction. BROWNSVILLE RALLY: Melissa Lucio supporters plan to rally outside DA office Wednesday to demand her immediate release What's a stay of execution? A stay is a legal halt that stops a court from enforcing a form of punishment. It essentially puts a hold on execution until a decision is made in a persons request for clemency. What is clemency? Clemency essentially means that a death row prisoner is granted mercy. It can take many forms and is granted by the governor, usually with a recommendation from the board of pardons. Clemency includes a full or conditional pardon or a commutation to a lighter sentence, according to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. A pardon exempts a person from remaining punishment. Its rare for a person to be granted clemency in Texas. The state has only granted it three times since 1976. During that time period, the state executed 574 people, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. On HoustonChronicle.com: Biden pardons Houston woman, grants clemency to 19 other Texans A clemency petition is the legal filing an inmate submits to ask the courts, the board or the governor for relief from the original sentence. Petitions include new evidence in a persons case, including victims impact statements, declarations from witnesses and often an array of newly discovered evidence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed Lucios case should go back to the trial court based on four of the nine claims her legal team raised in her clemency petition. The court found that Lucios case should be reconsidered because: If the prosecution had not used false testimony, no juror would have convicted Lucio; Previously unavailable scientific evidence would preclude her conviction; Lucio is actually innocent; and Prosecutors suppressed favorable material evidence in violation of federal law. What does it mean to get a pardon? This legal term boils down to exactly what it sounds like. The governor or a state board of pardons can forgive defendants for crimes theyve been convicted of and the prison will release them from custody. Presidents can also forgive people for crimes, something that began happening regularly for nonviolent offenders under U.S. Attorney General William Barr under the First Step Act, and for some federal inmates during COVID. Hundreds of death row inmates around the country have been granted clemency for humanitarian reasons, prompted by doubts about the defendants guilt and conclusions by the governor regarding the death penalty process, according to the ACLU. Since 1976, there have been five broad grants of clemency to all death row inmates: former governors Pat Quinn of Illinois in 2011, Jon Corzine of New Jersey in 2007, George Ryan of Illinois in 2003, and Toney Anaya of New Mexico in 1986 released all inmates. What's a commutation? Commuting a sentence means reducing the time a person serves, or in the case of the death penalty, it usually means lowering a person from a death sentence to a sentence of life in prison. Commutations can be granted by recommendation of the lawyers and judge in the county where a person was convicted, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Commutations must state that the current penalty is excessive and recommend a definite term based on new information the judge or jury did not see at trial. Who can halt an execution? There are several means for a defendant to request the state halt an execution. A court can grant a stay at the request of an inmate, as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did with Lucio. The stay may also include a finding by the court that the trial court hold an evidentiary hearing so the judge and review new evidence. The Texas governor has broad, independent powers in death penalty cases. The governor can issue a pardon or grant clemency or issue a 30-day stay of execution with no oversight from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. If the board issues a recommendation of clemency, the governor has multiple options, these include commuting a death row prisoners sentence to time served, life in prison, or granting a reprieve for a period of up to 120 days. The district attorney also has the power to stop an execution, and can unilaterally withdraw a death warrant and execution date. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, who requested Lucios death warrant, said in an early April hearing of the Texas House Criminal Justice Reform committee that he was unsure if he had that power. But lawmakers insisted he did, and they referenced a DA in nearby Nueces County who did that very thing. District Attorney Mark Gonzalez withdrew the death warrant for John Henry Ramirez, the Texas Tribune reported. Who issues the death warrant? Following a capital conviction, most defendants begin a series of appeals in state and federal court raising issues that were not considered at trial. Appeals courts can reverse a guilty verdict or the jurys death sentence or call for a case to be retried before a new jury. Some appeals request hearings happen at the trial court so the defense can present new evidenceincluding new witness testimony, recanted confessions and DNA findings. Once a persons appeals are exhausted, the district attorney in the county that prosecuted the case will ask a state district judge to set an execution date. These are usually set for one to six months from the DAs request, according to the Texas Execution Information Center. The state trial judge directs the court clerk to enter an order and issue a warrant directing the prison the set time, date and place for execution. Texas routinely schedules its executions for 6 p.m. on a weekday. Executions are usually carried out in Huntsville. What is the job of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles? The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, based in Austin, makes parole and clemency rulings in response to requests from inmates. The board also makes recommendations to the governor about clemency, including pardons. The board has six members who are appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the state Senate to serve six-year terms. It has the power to reject or grant requests from inmates who are scheduled for execution. It can issue a 120-reprieve, it can commute a defendants sentence for example, from death to life in prison and it can also issue an unconditional pardon. What's the role of a district attorney in an execution? The district attorney is usually the person who sets an execution in motion, after a death row inmates appeals are exhausted, by requesting a death date be scheduled. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man suspected of carjacking was shot by the vehicles owner at a gas station on the North Side, San Antonio police said. The man was shot multiple times after trying to steal a blue Honda Accord at the QuikTrip at 9907 San Pedro Ave., police said. At about 10 a.m., the Honda owner was pumping gas at the QuikTrip when the suspect reportedly drove up to the pumps in a silver pickup truck. As the owner was occupied filling his cars tank, the suspect jumped into the Hondas drivers seat, said Nick Soliz, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department. On ExpressNews.com: Man accused of shooting woman during Alamo Quarry carjacking confesses to other crimes, police say The car owner saw the suspect trying to take his vehicle and jumped in it, Soliz said. A fight between the two ensued, and in the struggle, the Honda was put in reverse. The car moved backwards and crashed in a rocky median next to the street. As the fight continued, the Honda owner pulled out a firearm and shot the other man multiple times, Soliz said. The suspect was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The car owner was taken to police headquarters for questioning. On ExpressNews.com: Teenager identified as suspect in King William shooting, carjacking Soliz did not have identifications for either man, he told reporters. And it is unclear what charges, if any, either man will face. Soliz said there was no one else in the pickup truck that the suspect was driving and that detectives are still sorting out what happened. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway A decade ago this month, an El Paso man was arrested for urinating on the Alamo. Daniel Athens, now 31, was charged with criminal mischief of a public monument or place of human burial and later sentenced to 18 months in a state prison. Just before 9:30 p.m. on April 15, 2012, Athens relieved himself on the mission near its front door, according to court records. He was tackled by an Alamo Ranger who saw the man defacing the mission-era landmark. On ExpressNews.com: Welcome to your nightmare: 38 years ago, feds raided a Kerr ranch where hitchhikers were tortured Athens was initially charged with public intoxication and public urination, but after nearly a year, then-District Attorney Susan Reed announced that the prosecution was enhancing the charges. In a press release titled Dont Whizz on the Alamo, Reed upped the severity from misdemeanors to a felony. The charge usually carries a maximum punishment of two years in prison. Athens was also ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution to cover the cost of repairing damage to the Alamo. On ExpressNews.com: Fatal stabbing of young Corpus Christi mother unsolved after 29 years Officials never said why Athens defaced the Alamo. Athens action wasnt the first time that someone used the Alamo as an urinal. In 1982, famous rocker Ozzy Osbourne was banned from performing at San Antonio-owned facilities after he urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph and bragged about it during a concert at HemisFair. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway Courtesy Former KSAT anchor Isis Romero is returning to TV news after almost a year off. In a Twitter announcement Tuesday, Romero said she will be joining KENS 5 as an evening anchor in June. Romero said in her Twitter thread that "this moment comes with so much joy" because she will be staying in San Antonio to tell its stories. About 40 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border along U.S. 277 in West Texas, you'll spot a memorial for the Arellano Family. Unlike other roadside memorials, the Arellano family didnt die in a car crash on this rugged, isolated stretch of roadway. You might also like: A woman was killed in her Terrell Hills home 46 years ago this month. Police are still looking for her killer Five family members were killed in two places near the memorial on April 16, 1968. Fifty-eight years later, authorities still have no idea who did it. The family was traveling from Mexico to visit a relative who had just given birth when their car broke down. Sometime afterward, the victims had been shot, beaten, stabbed, raped and robbed. The case is Texas "oldest unsolved mass slaying," according to the Associated Press. Traveling with the family were Manuel Sr., 25, his wife Monica, 25, their children, Manuel Jr., 5, Leticia, 2, and Eduardo, 15 months; and Arellanos sister Rosa Elia, 19. After the car broke down, the family, who were familiar with the United States and spoke fluent English, relied on a Good Samaritan to take them to get the car repaired. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio murderess Emma 'Straight Eight' Oliver was among first women to be sentenced to die in Texas A ranch hand discovered their bodies the next day. According to the Associated Press, The elder Manuel's body was discovered not far from the highway. His wifes body was in a ditch, about a mile south. Rosa Elia was discovered a few feet away from her. The children were discovered near their father. Leticia was shot in the head and was still alive, but died days later. Manuel Jr. was also shot in the head and stabbed and survived. After multiple surgeries, the boy was taken to Mexico to live with his grandparents. A witness told police a tall, sandy-haired man in his 30s wearing a straw cowboy hat accompanied the family in a pickup. While authorities questioned several people, the witness could not identify any of them as the sandy-haired man. Authorities never recovered the .22-caliber gun used in the brutal slayings, and no charges were ever filed. You might also like: Welcome to your nightmare: 38 years ago, feds raided a Kerr ranch where hitchhikers were tortured The case had turned cold by 1982 and stayed that way until 1999, when, according to the Associated Press, a caller told the Texas Department of Public Safety that he knew who the killer was. This tip was later dismissed but revived interest among law enforcement in the case. The brutal slaying of the Arellano family is one of 12 of the Texas Rangers top cold case investigations. In 2018, Pete Gomez Sr., who in 1968 was working on a project to widen Highway 277, installed an engraved monument to remember the family, according to the San Angelo Standard-Times. timothy.fanning@express-news.net Given better options, few people would likely choose to live in an apartment at 817 W. Poplar. They end up in such a place because they lack choices. In an article earlier this month, Express-News reporter Elena Bruess described it as a dilapidated four-unit apartment building just northwest of downtown. For the tenants who occupied those units, it was home, a place of refuge, stability, some measure of comfort, a place to keep their few possessions, a roof over their heads. Until, that is, the landlord sent them eviction notices. Bruess story was a riveting snapshot of this citys, and our nations, affordable housing problem and the struggles of low-income people to maintain the stability of a home. It also showcased the limited options and resources available to those who are evicted. During the worst of the COVID pandemic, a federal moratorium prevented many landlords from evicting tenants because of overdue rent. But last Septembers termination of the moratorium gave immediate rise to the number of eviction filings. Among those were the tenants of 817 W. Poplar, who for more than a year had endured sewage problems and a lack of hot water. The property is owned by Bradford Shepherd, whose company bought it in 2017. Tenants began complaining about water and sewage leaks in November 2020. In October, city code enforcement issued a citation for plumbing violations. The citation included a $300 penalty and a hearing. Shepherd didnt attend the hearing or pay the fine, eventually paying $25 before the case was closed. As Bruess reported, sewage from one tenants toilet flowed into the bathtub of another tenant, Cecilia Perez. She then showered by standing on the side of the tub, sticking her head under the cold-water nozzle. When Perez moved into the apartment, it had mildew on the walls, and the unit lacked a door. She cleaned the walls and bought a door. Tenants have the right to demand their landlords make repairs to address concerns that endanger health or safety, but the right is conditioned on tenants being current on rent and following the correct procedures for asking for these repairs. Shepherd refused to comment for Bruess story. But on Twitter, he said of his tenants, I dont want to know them, dont want them to know me. Referring to the return of his investment, he tweeted, Definitely bought the city is pouring in a ton of money bit. The area is still horrible. Shepherd and his tenants, all of whom receive government assistance, were beneficiaries of the pandemic-created Texas Rent Relief program, which helped tenants pay rents and utility bills. Perez received $6,715 from the Texas Rent Relief program in late April 2021, which covered past-due and future rent. But by fall 2020 and spring 2021, Shepherd was saying his tenants werent paying rent, and he didnt renew any of their leases. Whatever the reasons a tenant might not pay rent, its hard to think they are as inexcusable and vile as a property owner unconcerned that sewage is flowing, especially when hot water isnt. Because there are few attorneys who offer free services to tenants whove been evicted, nearly all must fend for themselves in eviction court, and few do well. In his masterful, Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond wrote, Establishing publicly funded legal services for low-income families in housing court would be a cost-effective measure that would prevent homelessness, decrease evictions, and give poor families a fair shake. We support a county-funded defense system for tenants facing eviction to ensure parity in the legal system. The story also demonstrates a clear need for the city to assist tenants in finding new housing once code complaints such as these arise. And, of course, if there were more quality affordable housing in our community, then heartbreaking situations like this would be less common. Thats another reason to support the citys proposed housing bond. We should all have access to affordable, decent shelter. And our dignity. A Ukrainian serviceman walks in a building near a frontline position in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 25. AP-Yonhap Russia's top diplomat warned Ukraine against provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict "should not be underestimated" as his country unleashed attacks against rail and fuel installations far from the front lines of Moscow's new eastern offensive. The U.S., meanwhile, moved Monday to rush more weaponry to Ukraine and said the assistance from Western allies is making a difference in the two-month-old war. "Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared, a day after he and the U.S. secretary of defense made a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken said Washington approved a $165 million sale of ammunition non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely for Ukraine's Soviet-era weapons and will also provide more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took his comments further, saying that while the U.S. wants to see Ukraine remain a sovereign, democratic country, it also wants "to see Russia weakened to the point where it can't do things like invade Ukraine." Austin's remarks appeared to represent a shift in broader U.S. strategic goals. Previously, the U.S. position had been that the goal of American military aid was to help Ukraine win and to defend Ukraine's NATO neighbors against Russian threats. In an apparent response to Austin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has "a feeling that the West wants Ukraine to continue to fight and, as it seems to them, wear out, exhaust the Russian army and the Russian military industrial war complex. This is an illusion." He said weapons supplied by Western countries "will be a legitimate target," adding that Russian forces had already targeted weapons warehouses in western Ukraine. Lavrov accused Ukrainian leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to become involved in the conflict, and he said NATO has effectively "entered into a war with Russia through proxies and is arming those proxies." "Everyone is reciting incantations that in no case can we allow World War III," he said in a wide-ranging interview on Russian television. Klavidia, 91, is carried on an improvised stretcher as she boards a train, fleeing the war in Severodonetsk at a train station in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, April 25. AP-Yonhap By providing weapons, NATO forces are "pouring oil on the fire," Lavrov said, according to a transcript on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website. Regarding the possibility of a nuclear confrontation, Lavrov said: "I would not want to see these risks artificially inflated now, when the risks are rather significant." "The danger is serious," he said. "It is real. It should not be underestimated." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that Lavrov's comments underscore Ukraine's need for Western help: "Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a 'real' danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine." When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, its apparent goal was the lightning capture of Kyiv, the capital. But the Ukrainians, with the help of Western weapons, thwarted the push and forced President Vladimir Putin's troops to retreat. Moscow now says its goal is to take Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine. While both sides say the campaign in the east is underway, Russia has yet to mount an all-out ground offensive and has not achieved any major breakthroughs. On Monday, Russia focused its firepower elsewhere, with missiles and warplanes striking far behind the front lines in a bid to thwart Ukrainian efforts to marshal supplies for the fight. Five railroad stations in central and western Ukraine were hit, and one worker was killed, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of Ukraine's state railway. The bombardment included a missile attack near Lviv, the western city close to the Polish border that has been swelled by Ukrainians fleeing the fighting elsewhere around the country. Ukrainian authorities said at least five people were killed by Russian strikes in the central Vynnytsia region. Russia also destroyed an oil refinery in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, along with fuel depots there, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. In all, Russian warplanes destroyed 56 Ukrainian targets, he said. A Ukrainian serviceman walks amid the rubble of a building heavily damaged by multiple Russian bombardments near the frontline in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 25. AP-Yonhap Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. general who was NATO's top commander from 2013 to 2016, said the latest strikes against fuel depots are part of a strategy to deplete key Ukrainian war resources. The strikes against rail targets, on the other hand, are a newer tactic, he said. "I think they're doing it for the legitimate reason of trying to interdict the flow of supplies to the front," he said. "The illegitimate reason is they know people are trying to leave the country, and this is just another intimidation, terrorist tactic to make them not have faith and confidence in traveling on the rails." Phillips P. O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said the war is, for now, settling into a campaign of incremental battlefield losses and gains. "The two sides are sort of every day weakening each other," he said. "So it's a question of what can you bring in that's new" and "what can you destroy on the other side." In Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova that sits along the Ukrainian border, several explosions believed caused by rocket-propelled grenades hit the territory's Ministry of State Security. There was no immediate claim of responsibility or reports of injuries. Transnistria is a strip of land with about 470,000 people and about 1,500 Russian troops based there. Moldova's Foreign Ministry said "the aim of today's incident is to create pretexts for straining the security situation in the Transnistrian region." The U.S. warned previously that Russia may launch "false-flag" attacks against its own side to create a pretext for invading other nations. Last week, Rustam Minnekayev, a Russian military commander, said the Kremlin wants full control of southern Ukraine, which he said would open the way to Transnistria. An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian troops holed up in a steel plant in the strategic southern port city of Mariupol are tying down Russian forces and apparently keeping them from being added to the offensive elsewhere in Donbas. Over the weekend, Russian forces launched new airstrikes on the Azovstal plant to try to dislodge the holdouts. Some 1,000 civilians were also said to be taking shelter at the steelworks. The city council and mayor of Mariupol said a new mass grave has been identified about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the city. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities were trying to estimate the number of victims. It was at least the third new mass grave discovered in Russian-controlled areas near Mariupol in the last week. Mariupol has been gutted by bombardment and fierce street fighting over the past two months. In addition to freeing up Russian troops, the capture of the city would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said his country's goal is to maintain resistance and "make the occupiers' stay in our land even more intolerable," while Russia drains its resources. Britain said it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Moscow began its invasion. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said 25 percent of the Russian combat units sent to Ukraine "have been rendered not combat effective." Ukrainian officials have said about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed as of mid-April. (AP) Few people want their taxes to increase, especially now with skyrocketing appraisals. But recent legislation deceives voters about a tax increase and has likely blocked school districts from successful bond elections. Statewide and locally, the type of school bonds that traditionally have passed instead failed last year. In November, school bond packages for $172 million at East Central ISD, $302.5 million at Judson ISD and $52 million at Southside ISD failed. On ExpressNews.com: Voters reject bond proposals in East Central, Judson, Southside ISDs This is no mistake. Senate conservatives slipped misleading language into House Bill 3, a landmark public school finance overhaul enacted in 2019. Now, school districts are the only entities required to include THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE on bond ballots even when there wont be an increase. Its asinine. Julia Grizzard, executive director and founder of the Bexar County Education Coalition, told us local superintendents are increasingly concerned by the change. They often make decisions to avoid tax increases. This penalizes districts for a potentially nonexistent tax increase and harms students. This election, Northside ISD is asking voters to approve a $992 million bond package that will not increase taxes, yet voters will read otherwise on the ballot. We support this bond. We also support Harlandale ISDs bond, which would raise taxes. But in the case of Harlandale ISD, its worth it because the needs are so great and urgent. The fallout is that districts are not getting funding they need, state Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, said of the misleading ballot language. Its another attack on public schools. Last year, Judson ISD sought to pass a $302.5 million bond to air-condition 16 gyms, build new schools and much more. The bond failed. The language on the ballot played a part in our bond not passing, Jeanette Ball, Judson ISD superintendent, said. We need a legislative change. The language shouldnt be required if it is not going to increase taxes. On Wednesday, the Texas Bond Review Board testified in a Senate Committee on Local Government hearing about a dramatic and alarming shift in school bonds. In the November election, only 47 percent of 110 propositions for school districts carried. In May, 82 percent of 113 propositions were approved. James Quintero, policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative organization that advocates for the new tax language, testified at the hearing that local governments have developed an over-reliance on public debt. We agree with state Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, who replied to Quintero by pointing to the dishonesty: Two wrongs dont make right. And if were going to make a statement that, and in my opinion, it tells electioneering at the ballot by saying this increases your property taxes, whether we know that it does or doesnt, across the board. School boards asking voters to approve bonds have been attempting to educate voters that the language isnt accurate, but convincing voters is a huge obstacle. Who can blame voters for believing what they read on their ballots? Lawmakers at the hearing Wednesday say they are studying the impact, but what is there to study? How is it in the public interest to require language stating something will increase taxes when it does not? The Texas Legislature must make it a priority next session to fix the language on school bond ballots. Reducing taxes and public debt are important, but so are honesty and supporting schools. Ballots shouldnt lie. This language is an affront to voters and undermines public education. John Austin sounds very confident these days. The Bexar County Republican Party chairman is predicting a big election cycle for his party, particularly in Bexar County, where he anticipates that the GOP will dominate the November slate of judicial races. Austin, who faces a runoff primary battle for his own seat next month against challenger Jeffrey McManus, visited the Express-News Puro Politics podcast on Monday. He talked about his expectations for this years midterm elections. I think a lot of people are mad our economys in shambles, Austin said. You know the president (Joe Biden) was supposed to be this big unifier, and hes nothing but the opposite. While some political observers have wondered whether the GOPs intensifying fixation on social issues targeting LGBTQ rights, critical race theory and abortion access will end up turning off moderates and independents, Austin said the partys tent is expanding. Were seeing a huge uptick of new Republicans in San Antonio, those traditional Democrat conservative Catholic business owners, he said. JENNIFER WHITNEY /JENNIFER WHITNEY Theyre still a little afraid because you know how society is right now attacking Republicans. But theyre ready to come out and vote, so I see a big surge for the Republicans, and fortunately we have a bunch of great candidates. Hear more from Austin on the latest edition of Puro Politics. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, long cautious in addressing corruption allegations against Attorney General Ken Paxton by his former aides, made a strong statement this week in support of the embattled top lawyer. The two Republicans filed briefs Monday urging the Texas Supreme Court to take up Paxtons challenge to an appellate court ruling that found that the fired former employees who have accused him of retaliation can sue under the states whistleblower law. If the high court takes the appeal, it would mean more procedural delays in a case thats been ongoing for a year and a half and has yet to get at the substance of the accusations. Paxton argues that he is protected by sovereign immunity, a legal principle that shields some governmental officials from lawsuits. BACKGROUND: Employees fired by AG Ken Paxton deserve whistleblower protections, appellate court rules Abbott and Patrick were brief in their arguments and stopped short of saying whether they agreed with Paxtons argument that he is immune from such a suit. Abbott, through his attorney, said a case like this concerning a state officials powers is most appropriately decided by a court with statewide jurisdiction. Patrick made a similar claim. The people of Texas deserve that a case of this importance be considered and reviewed by the highest court in the state, Patricks lawyer wrote. The whistleblower suit was brought by four of the eight former employees who accused Paxton of bribery and abuse of power for helping his friend and campaign donor Nate Paul, an Austin-based real estate investor. The FBI is reportedly investigating those claims. Paxton, a second-term Republican who has also been under indictment on charges of felony securities fraud for five years without going to trial, has denied all wrongdoing. After failing to secure enough votes to win his primary election this March, hes headed to a runoff with runner-up Land Commissioner George P. Bush next month. In a statement Wednesday, Paxton said he was grateful for the letters of support from Abbott, Patrick and others. This case is important to the jurisprudence of our State, to the separation of powers enshrined in our Texas Constitution, and to the fundamental principle that elected officials answer to the will of the people, not their aides, Paxton said. Abbott and Patrick initially called the accusations against Paxton concerning but said theyd withhold comment until the investigation was complete. But the two have shown solidarity with him on other matters, such as criticizing a State Bar of Texas investigation into allegations of professional misconduct against Paxton for his Supreme Court suit challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election. BACK TO THE BEGINNING: Austin investor Nate Paul at center of allegations against Texas AG Ken Paxton Patrick endorsed Paxton last month in the runoff, proclaiming that Texans cant find a more ardent defender of the peoples rights. Abbott has stayed out of the race. Last May, it appeared their relationship might be fraught after Paxton was quoted in the New York Times saying, I dont think he supports me; I dont support him. But Paxton quickly decried the story as fake news and later called Abbott a great governor and a great Texan. An attorney whose firm represented Paul, the friend and campaign donor to Paxton, also urged the Supreme Court on Monday to weigh in on the case, saying it presents far-reaching consequences for our state government. Statewide officials like Paxton need to be able to fire or retain employees based on whether they help advance their goals, wrote Kent Hance, founding partner of the Austin-based law firm Hance Scarborough. Inferior officers are carefully chosen by an elected official to provide competent policymaking advice in line with the policymaking goals as defined by the elected official, Hance wrote. This works well when the goals are in line with the advice, but what happens when they are at odds? A political action committee for Hances firm the HS Law PAC donated $25,000 to Paxton in June 2020, after he intervened in litigation involving Paul, as Hearst Newspapers reported. Lawyers for one of the whistleblowers pointed to the donation this week. Only somebody as shameless as Ken Paxton would get a lobbyist whose firm donated $25,000 to Paxton while it was representing Nate Paul companies to ask the Texas Supreme Court to rewrite the Texas Whistleblower Act, lawyers TJ Turner and Tom Nesbitt said in a statement. They declined to comment on the briefs by Abbott and Patrick. MORE ON THAT: Lawyers for Nate Paul gave AG Ken Paxton $25k after he waded into civil suit Hance did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but managing partner Jay Stewart, who is trustee of the PAC, has told Hearst Newspapers that it operates independent of the firms litigation section and that the donation had nothing to do with any cases. Paxton intervened in a civil lawsuit against Paul to push for a settlement, a move that the whistleblowers said went against their legal advice that the state had no interest in the case. Its one of several examples they offer in their suit of how he allegedly abused the power of his office to help Paul. taylor.goldenstein@chron.com Chasity Maynard, MBR / Associated Press The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday sent whats left of the major challenge to Texas six-week abortion ban back to a district court, with instructions to dismiss all charges. The order, a procedural step after the state high court ruled against providers in March, solidifies an end to the challenge over the once improbable law that has cut off most access to abortion in the state. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The top state officials who staged a mutiny against Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that he was using his office to benefit campaign donor Nate Paul, an embattled Austin real estate investor. Paul, a once high-flying businessman whose offices were reportedly raided by the FBI last year, gave Paxton $25,000 ahead of the attorney generals hard-fought re-election battle in 2018. The No. 2 official in the attorney generals office, First Assistant Attorney General Jeff Mateer, put Paul at the center of allegedly illegal activities by Paxton in a text message sent Thursday. Mateer, who resigned Friday, joined six other high-ranking employees in accusing Paxton, the states top law enforcement officer, of abuse of office, bribery and improper influence. Each of the individuals on this text chain made a good faith report of violations by you to an appropriate law enforcement authority concerning your relationship and activities with Nate Paul, Mateer wrote in the text message, which was obtained by Hearst Newspapers. RELATED: Midnight Rodeos operators locked out by landlord The group requested an immediate meeting with Paxton, but the attorney general said he was out of the office and asked them to email him with their concerns. The Austin American-Statesman, which first reported on the allegations against Paxton, published a letter the officials sent to the attorney generals human resources office on Oct. 1. TEXT MESSAGE SHARED WITH HEARST NEWSPAPERS Neither Paul nor his attorney returned calls or messages left on their voicemail. More for you Report: Ken Paxton allegedly took bribes, abused office Paxton said in a statement Sunday: The Texas attorney generals office was referred a case from Travis County regarding allegations of crimes relating to the FBI, other government agencies and individuals. My obligation as attorney general is to conduct an investigation upon such referral. Because employees from my office impeded the investigation and because I knew Nate Paul, I ultimately decided to hire an outside independent prosecutor to make his own independent determination. Despite the effort by rogue employees and their false allegations, the AGs office will continue to seek justice in Texas. The uprising against Paxton crystallized when a special prosecutor he appointed, Houston lawyer Brandon Cammack, issued grand jury subpoenas last week targeting adversaries of Paul, a senior AG official told Hearst Newspapers. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox The official who spoke with Hearst Newspapers said those subpoenas spurred the seven top deptuties in the attorney generals office into action. One of the signatories on the letter accusing Paxton, deputy attorney general for criminal justice J. Mark Penley, filed a motion in state district court in Austin to halt the subpoenas. The motion to quash them was granted on Friday, records show. In filing the subpoenas, Cammack represented that he was acting on behalf of the office of the Attorney General as a Special Prosecutor, Penleys motion said. He is not properly authorized to act as a Special Prosecutor, and has no authority to appear before the grand jury or issue grand jury subpoenas. Cammack declined to comment. An official with the Travis County District Attorneys office said the agency does not have an investigation into Paxton. The FBI and U.S. Attorneys offices declined to comment. Top Republicans statewide on Sunday acknowledged the gravity of the allegations but stopped short of calling for Paxton to step down. These allegations raise serious concerns, said Gov. Greg Abbott, who served as Attorney General for 12 years prior to Paxton. I will withhold further comment until the results of any investigation are complete. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the matter obviously concerning. I will wait until the investigation is complete before making any additional comments, Patrick said. Neither responded to questions about what they believe should happen to Paxtons office in the meantime. A real estate empire under a cloud The genesis of Paxtons relationship with the real estate investor Paul was not clear on Sunday. Paul cut a wide swath through Texas real estate circles in a short time, amassing a large portfolio of valuable holdings particularly in Austin, his home since 2002 in less than a decade and by the age of 30. According to published reports, his World Class Holdings owned the 156-acre former 3M campus, in northwest Austin, as well as prime downtown parcels. Together with a portfolio of storage facilities located in several states, the companys worth at one time reportedly approached $1 billion. Personally, Paul owns a 9,000 square-foot mansion west of downtown Austin appraised at $2.4 million, according to Travis Central Appraisal District records. Recently, the business empire has shown signs of severe stress. Over the past year, 18 of Pauls companies have declared bankruptcy, according to the Austin Business Journal, which has covered Pauls comings and goings extensively since his name suddenly became the most-searched phrase on the newspapers website, in 2014. World Class also is embroiled in several lawsuits involving investors and partners. And in August 2019, his business and home were reportedly raided by federal and state agents, although no criminal charges have been filed. According to published reports, Paul, the son of Indian immigrants, moved to Austin from Victoria as a teenager in 2002. He attended the University of Texas for three years before dropping out. In 2006, he formed World Class, acquiring his first property in 2007. I started with zero. There was no legacy. Im self-made, he said in a 2015 Austin Business Journal article. His sister, Sheena, joined the company as chief operating officer, according to a profile of her in Austin Woman. Nate came into the world as a business person, she told the magazine. When he was 4 or 5 years old, he wouldnt carry around trucks or G.I. Joes; he carried around a yellow note pad. And he still does, writing down ideas. Its almost like a security blanket. Paul said he was quickly able to acquire properties because of real estate prices suppressed by the 2009 recession. In 2015, he made a splash by bidding $800 million for a portfolio of properties including New York Citys legendary Plaza Hotel. He also began raising his personal profile. In 2015, he was photographed with then-candidate Donald Trump, a meeting set up by a business associate who once worked for Trump. He has reportedly hobnobbed with celebrities, including Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley, whom he met at UT; and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2018, he donated just under $50,000 to a variety of Republican politicians, Texas Ethics Commission records show. Paxton criminal case could be affected The recent allegations against Paxton are compounded by an ongoing criminal case against him that has been churning for more than five years with no trial in sight. It now sits before a Harris County judge who will decide whether to move the case to Collin County, as Paxtons lawyers have requested, or keep it under his jurisdiction. In that case, Paxton is charged with two felonies, accused of soliciting investments in a technology company without notifying investors that he would be compensated for it. Hes also charged with a third-degree felony of failing to register with the state as an investment adviser. Paxton has denied the claims and characterized the case as politically motivated. Kent Schaffer, a special prosecutor in that case, said Saturday that the latest accusations, if they lead to charges, could imperil Paxton's odds of securing any kind of deal to resolve the criminal case. We were trying to get this case resolved, but if this guys out committing crimes while hes on bond, then its going to become an extremely serious matter, Schaffer said. Im not saying that he has I dont know the specifics, (but if he has) then its game on. Maybe the people that reported him are not shooting straight, but I want to hear from both sides, if possible. Were going to do what we can to investigate. Schaffer said he contacted the Texas Rangers on Saturday immediately upon hearing the news. He declined to comment on whether the agency mentioned any existing investigation on the matter. Paxton has also been accused by his staff of accepting bribes in the past. In 2016, Paxton faced allegations of bribery and corruption lodged by an anonymous employee. He had accepted money for his criminal defense fund from a CEO whose company was being investigated by his office. While state law prohibits accepting gifts from parties subject to the offices authority, Paxton claimed the donors were friends, family friends and others with whom he had relationships that were independent of his position as Attorney General. A special prosecutor for the Kaufman County District Attorney agreed with Paxtons interpretation and declined to file charges. The revelations over the weekend appeared to have shaken the agency, where Ryan Bangert, deputy first assistant attorney general and one of the seven officials who reported Paxton to the authorities, sent out a letter of reassurance to staff. I write to assure you that the executive team remains committed to serving you, this office and the people of Texas, Bangert wrote. Your work, your sacrifice, and your dedication to this office inspire us all. Jordan Berry, Paxtons political adviser, said he resigned after news of the allegations broke. As news trickled into the political sphere, members of the Texas Legislature began speaking out among them Houston Republican State Rep. Sarah Davis. Although innocent until proven guilty, AG Paxton has been under indictment for the past five years, Davis said in a tweet Sunday. With these new allegations of bribery and abuse of office, Paxton needs to quickly address these allegations or resign so he can devote his time to his own personal legal matters. Democrats, who are waging an all-out battle to flip the Texas House this November, said the allegations prove Paxton is not fit for office. Ken Paxton is the top law enforcement official in the state, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement Saturday. Yet, he has proven for years that he cannot follow the law himself. Justin Nelson, who ran against Paxton in 2018 and lost by four percentage points, on Twitter on Sunday called for Paxton to resign. Chris Turner, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, echoed that sentiment, saying the ethical storm clouds over Paxtons head had grown darker and more ominous than ever. jay.root@chron.com taylor.goldenstein@chron.com eric.dexheimer@chron.com Amid a sea of hotels, office buildings, tourist traps and parking lots, Weston Urban is making a big bet on demand for downtown living. The San Antonio firm has begun construction of a 32-story high-rise at North Main Avenue and East Travis Street. The new tower will include about 354 apartments to be rented at market rates. The project, dubbed 300 Main, will have about 6,275 square feet of space for retail and a parking garage. Its expected to cost upward of $107 million and be completed in spring 2024. In two years time, a hot, soulless asphalt parking lot and I bet theres not a person here that can remember when it was anything else will transform by the work of a lot of great San Antonians into 32 stories of beauty and progress and, really, homes, Weston Urban co-founder and CEO Randy Smith said at a groundbreaking ceremony. Itll be a major injection of apartments in downtown, where no project of that size has been built and residential options are few. The areas housing stock includes about 247 apartments at the 17-story Inspire Downtown building at 100 N. Santa Rosa Ave., which was previously known as the Vistana, and about 59 condominiums at the 20-story Arts Residences at the Thompson Hotel at Lexington Avenue and North St. Marys Street. Theres also a sprinkling of apartments in buildings such as the Maverick at East Houston and North Presa streets and the Exchange on East Pecan Street. Courtesy of Weston Urban Rising rents, occupancy The 68 at Hemisfair, an eight-story building with about 151 units, was built through a partnership with the Hemisfair Park Public Facilities Corp., which provides a property tax exemption in exchange for including some apartments for tenants at lower income levels. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio firm getting another shot at Hemisfair development with new deal from City Council There are about 8,231 apartments within a 1.5-mile radius of Weston Urbans planned high-rise, according to an analysis by ApartmentTrends.com, which focuses on the Austin and San Antonio multifamily markets. The average rent among those complexes is $1,435 per month, and average occupancy is 91.1 percent, up about 15 percent and 4.6 percent annually, respectively. Rents are higher but occupancy lower compared to the metro areas overall multifamily market. Across 215,469 units, the average rent is $1,190 and average occupancy 94.3 percent. Metro-wide, thats an annual increase of 15.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Why hasnt more housing been built downtown? For one, its more difficult to secure financing and investors for downtown housing than for a hotel or a suburban apartment complex. Downtown also has less available land, and what is available is often smaller and pricier. A developer may also need to demolish existing structures, have the land rezoned and receive approval of plans from the Historic and Design Review Commission, said Robin Davis, founder and owner of ApartmentTrends.com. It has just been within the last year that (return on investment figures) have gone up enough for an appropriate rent on a downtown investment to make a new project feasible, Davis said. Another big project Courtesy of Weston Urban More apartments are in the planning phase across 16 projects, according to ApartmentTrends.com. Those include about 385 more units planned at Hemisfair and construction underway on the Floodgate residences along East Commerce Street. On ExpressNews.com: New hotel, restaurants and apartments to remake downtown San Antonio block The groups providing financing for Weston Urbans high-rise are Bridge Investment Group of Salt Lake City and Bank OZK of Little Rock, Ark. The firm is also receiving about $7.5 million worth of incentives through San Antonios now-defunct Center City Housing and Incentive Policy, which was created about a decade ago to spur downtown housing. This 32-story tower will become an important symbol and a part of San Antonios skyline ... and, in addition, sends a clear signal that San Antonio continues to move in the right direction, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at the groundbreaking ceremony. Weston Urbans package includes a 75 percent rebate on property taxes for 15 years and reimbursements for San Antonio Water System fees. The rebate is worth $8.7 million, but about $2.2 million, or 25 percent, will go into the citys affordable housing fund. The firm will also get a six-year, 40 percent abatement of Bexar County taxes, worth about $712,917. Developer is confident Smith said Weston Urban is confident theres interest in high-rise living downtown, particularly as the metro areas population is swelling, and noted that 300 Main isnt the firms only residential project downtown. I dont think youll catch us delivering 2,000 of these units over the next five years, but we do believe theres demand, he said. It has not been met, and well know in two years. On ExpressNews.com: City panel OKs plans to restore historic buildings and construct 15-story tower Several blocks southwest, it plans to turn a block bounded by San Pedro Creek and Commerce, Dolorosa and Laredo streets into a mix of apartments, offices and commercial space. The firm plans to rehabilitate the Arana and Continental Hotel buildings and construct a 15-story building with about 255 units between the two buildings. The housing is aimed at students, faculty and staff at the University of Texas at San Antonio, which is building its School of Data Science and National Security Collaboration Center nearby. If we can have backpacks and residents and folks after work, that is a cocktail for downtown that we just have not been able to piece together, Smith said. madison.iszler@express-news.net A resident gets tested outside an office building in the Haidian district in Beijing on Tuesday. China's capital Beijing is enforcing mass testing and closing down access to neighborhoods as it seeks to contain a new COVID-19 outbreak. AP-Yonhap Beijing launched mass coronavirus testing on Tuesday for nearly all its 21 million residents, as fears grew that the Chinese capital may be placed under a strict lockdown like Shanghai. Under its zero-Covid policy, China has used lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions to stamp out infections. Its biggest city, Shanghai, has been almost entirely locked down for weeks, and the mass testing order in Beijing has sparked worries the capital will be placed under similar restrictions. "Shanghai's situation has gone beyond everyone's imagination, and many people think it's absurd that a modern metropolis... has handled the situation like that," said Beijing resident Ms. Zhao as she did her regular shopping at a supermarket. "I believe our situation will not be as bad... but to be honest, we also bought some rice, noodles, grains and oil. We've made preparations for at least one to two weeks," the 35-year-old human resources professional told AFP. Beijing has ordered residents of the 12 central districts home to most of its population to undergo three rounds of testing after dozens of infections were found in recent days. The capital's most populous district, Chaoyang, was the first to order mass testing from Monday, with people waiting in long lines to be swabbed by health workers in protective gear. Eleven more districts began testing on Tuesday. The testing order for Chaoyang sparked panic buying on Sunday night, with residents lining up at supermarkets with full carts as state media tried to reassure the public there were plentiful supplies. Beijing residents told AFP they feared a repeat of the sudden lockdown in Shanghai, where people have struggled to obtain food and medical care for non-Covid conditions. Several residential compounds have already been sealed off in Chaoyang. One resident, who declined to be identified for fear of reprisal, told AFP he felt "a little anxious" after fences were suddenly put up in his neighborhood. Residents in his building were ordered Monday night to stay home for at least 14 days after one neighbor tested positive. "I'm worried that if we need medicine or other items in the future, we won't be able to get them delivered," he said. Meanwhile, Beijing suspended large gatherings such as wedding banquets, closed theatres, and ordered a halt in some construction projects. Many of the new infections were linked to one wedding party, officials told reporters, saying efforts to control the spread of the virus were at a "critical stage". They urged residents to wear stronger N95 masks. Multiple residents took to social media to lament the last-minute postponement of their weddings. "I'll develop psychological problems if this goes on," wrote a woman who said she would have to delay her wedding, planned for the upcoming May national holiday a popular time for couples tying the knot. Customers shop in front of a half-empty freezer for dairy products, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at a supermarket in Beijing, China, Monday. Reuters-Yonhap 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. Reducing endemic diseases in livestock can support the slowing of climate change by significantly reducing methane emissions, a new report has said. The report provides farmers and vets with available interventions to boost animal health and welfare on farm that will in turn reduce methane emissions. According to Defra, ruminants are responsible for 45% of UK methane emissions, the majority of which is through rumen digestion, manure and slurry. However, the area the sector can really make an immediate difference in is the contribution of certain livestock diseases to emissions, the report says. Acting on methane: Opportunities for the UK cattle and sheep sectors was produced by Moredun Research Institute and Ruminant Health & Welfare (RHW). RHW chair, Nigel Miller said: Ruminant health is one of a small, but important, group of mitigation measures which can reduce emissions while also delivering a cost-benefit. "Progress on health is identified immediately through herd or flock performance data, which feeds into on-farm carbon calculators and the national inventory. He added: Effective farm health strategies are a gateway into low emissions production, and should be a pillar of future low carbon production systems supported by flock or herd health security." The National Sheep Association (NSA) welcomed the evidence that improved health management will lead to numerous benefits alongside reducing methane emissions. It said this was one of the low hanging mitigation options as there were direct benefits on farm as well as on a national scale through disease reduction and eradication, with little additional cost to the farmer. However, the industry body warned of the 'potential dangers' of discussing methane emissions in isolation rather than on a whole farm basis. NSA chief executive, Phil Stocker said: Its important to look at methane and emissions but we have to see this within a bigger picture of Global Warming Potential and full/whole carbon life cycle measurements. "And also within wider sustainability assessments to include nature recovery/biodiversity, natural capital protection, animal welfare, production, social etc. He added: You cant deny that reducing days to slaughter will reduce methane emissions, but this needs to be within the context of driving efficiency generally through good health and good nutrition etc rather than any industry/policy direction. "This will affect markets and trade as well as having wider consequences overfeeding and pasture management, that could, in turn, have wider carbon or nature implications. There can be no one blueprint for the sheep industry on these sort of issues its a matter of getting farmers aware of, and owning the environmental challenges, and giving them the options as to potential solutions. The proportion of farmers and farm workers saving for later life has increased, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics. Employees with workplace pensions in agriculture has rocketed from 16.6% in 2012 to 64.3% in 2021, the ONS has revealed. Across the UK the proportion of employees with workplace pensions has risen from 47% to 79% in the same time. This increase follows the introduction of automatic enrolment in 2012, which made it a legal requirement for all employers, including farmers, to offer a pension to eligible employees. Separate NFU Mutual figures show the number of all farmers saving into pensions has also increased in recent years, rising from 66% in 2019 to 74% in 2021. This suggests a growing proportion of farmers and farm workers are saving for later life, whether through a workplace pension or a private pension. Sean McCann, chartered financial planner at NFU Mutual said: Farming is a way of life, and many farmers choose to never fully retire in the traditional sense. But having an independent source of income in later life gives you the option to take less from the business, making it easier to hand over the reins to the next generation." Defras new lump sum exit scheme may spark some farmers to think about their retirement plans, particularly the options available for taking money from their pension. Mr McCann added: Its good news that more farmers and farm workers are investing into pensions because there are some significant tax benefits. For employees, pensions can provide choice in later years. Many phase their retirement over time, reducing the hours they spend at work using their pension to supplement their income." Currently pensions can be accessed from age 55, increasing to 57 from 2028. For every 80 put into a pension, the government adds an extra 20, and higher rate taxpayers can claim up to another 20 from HMRC. Any growth within the fund is largely tax free. Up to 25% of the value of the fund can be taken as a tax free lump sum from age 55. Dozens of volunteers have hand-pulled, topped and tailed around 3,000kg of surplus leeks at a Lincolnshire farm helping to reduce waste and support the agricultural sector. Organised by Lions Club International, a global voluntary service, the initiative encourages people across the UK to pick surplus crops to shrink farm-level food waste. After being picked in Coningsby, the leeks were placed in crates and distributed to frontline charities and local groups via FareShares regional centres. Dr Chris Hibbert, a member of Lions Club International and holding the role of national hunger officer, formed the Lions Gleaning Hub two years ago. Since then, more than 38 tonnes of food from eight counties including Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire have been rescued. He said: Last year, we were inundated with pumpkins as they are getting more popular and we had opportunities with around a dozen farms. "While we managed to help most of them, the waste was still staggering. All those who volunteer for us have been shocked by the quality and quantity of food available on the farms we have managed to engage with and the variety of reasons for this surplus." He said that while food bank, community fridges and soup kitchens were well-supported, awareness of food waste generally was still not widely appreciated. Lions Club International is hoping to develop more opportunities with farms across the UK, as well as encourage more volunteers to get involved. "Another area we are keen to develop is around education of growing, preparing and cooking food as there is an over-reliance on takeaways and pre-prepared food," Dr Hibbert said. It is important for people to realise that the food we are picking is fresh, nutritious and delicious. "It isnt waste it is surplus and our aim is to stop it from becoming waste. 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! Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category The art and production design of every Sanjay Leela Bhansali film is a mood in and of itself. Whatever the setting or story, audiences have come to expect that signature look, which is dripping with rich detail and heavily incorporates Indian textile, artwork, colour, and texture. Gangubai Kathiawadi is no different. The film, set between the 1950s and 1960s in Mumbai's Kamathipura and the neighbouring Falkland Road and Grant Road neighbourhoods, is based on a section of the book Mafia Queens Of Mumbai by author S Hussain Zaidi. To commemorate the film's OTT release, Bhansali released this special Behind the Scenes video, which provides an inside look at the production. Gangubai Kathiawadi's producers released a behind-the-scenes video from the film's set with the caption, "A labour of love and emotions with a vision to bring a story to life. We bring to you the world of Kamathipura, this time through the lens of the filmmaker himself, #SanjayLeelaBhansali." When asked about Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his vision, Alia Bhatt explained, "He's a magician. I call him a magician. It's not only a scene and lines and walk from point A to B and say your dialogue. Everything has a purpose. He only eats, breathes, drinks, thinks about his movie and that's automatically what happens on his set when you're around. Everything about that vision." The montage shows the construction of the Kamathipura sets from the ground up. Production Designers Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty, studied for 11 years under one of their field's masters. Samir Chanda, who died in 2011, was regarded as one of the most talented production designers of his generation. Chanda taught them the fine line between glamorous realism and realistic glamour, which has served them well throughout their careers. Ray and Chakraborty landed Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical Padmaavat after working on productions by Vishal Bhardwaj and a slew of other directors. The duo collaborated with Bhansali once more for Gangubai Kathiawadi, bringing realism as well as glamour to Gangubai's world. Watch the video below: Updated iOS app for the Japanese market allows drivers to find parking at more than 100,000 locations nationwide and more than 2,000 on-street locations in Tokyo Highly accurate and complete data helps drivers to comply with strict parking restrictions in the country by providing information such as location, prices and opening hours LONDON, April 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Parkopedia, the global leader in digital parking services, has updated its free iPhone parking app in Japan, helping drivers to find parking at more than 100,000 off-street locations, across 1,300 cities and towns nationwide, and also at more than 2,000 on-street locations in Tokyo. As one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with nearly 60 million drivers1, space for parking is severely limited. The 1962 Garage Act (Shako Shomei Sho) requires that motorists provide evidence of access to a local parking space within 2 kilometres of their homes. The Parkopedia app, which is available to download from the Apple App Store, provides drivers with the precise location of more than 100,000 off-street parking facilities across the country, as well as details such as the number of spaces, prices, hours of operation, height restrictions and if electric vehicle (EV) charge points are present. The app also helps drivers to comply with the country's strict parking regulations and avoid expensive fines. In Japan, on-street parking is typically prohibited in major cities, however, a limited number of exceptions are made for daytime and evening parking at metered locations, featured within the app. The Tokyo metropolitan area, with a population of more than 37 million sees drivers compete for a very limited number of on-street parking spaces. Parkopedia's parking app allows drivers to find more than 2,000 on-street locations in Tokyo and provides them with the accurate information required to park with ease. In the near future, Parkopedia will be adding its dynamic parking service to the premium version of the app, which will be available for a one-off fee of 610 JPY. Dynamic predictive data provides drivers with information regarding space occupancy and accurately forecasts if a space will be available at their time of arrival, based on cutting-edge parking modelling research, which leverages parking payment transaction data, digital imagery and vehicle sensor data, to provide the highest quality predictions. Eugene Tsyrklevich, Founder and CEO of Parkopedia, said: "By updating our parking app in Japan and now covering over 100,000 locations, we are able to better support drivers across the country to find parking more easily. As part of our continued commitment to the Japanese market, we launched our dedicated Japanese subsidiary last year, whilst also continuing to expand the coverage of our market-leading parking data. Shortly, we will also be providing our reservation and payment solutions in Japan which are currently used by various global automakers for their drivers in Europe, North America and China. Our ambition is to provide seamless parking experiences for all drivers, and support automakers in Japan to cater to growing customer demand for next-generation driver convenience features." Parkopedia uses its industry-leading data collection services to deliver accurate and complete parking data in Japan. Recent Ground Truth Testing studies in both the US and China have named Parkopedia as the market leader for parking data, with a global database of over 70 million spaces across 89 countries. Notes to Editors As the global industry leader, Parkopedia works with major Japanese OEM brands worldwide, such as Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura, Mazda and Nissan. In Japan, Apple Maps, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group drivers all currently use the parking services provided by Parkopedia. Parkopedia Japan business website - https://business.parkopedia.com/ja Parkopedia's App is available to download from the Apple App Store now - https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/parkopedia-parking/id409340361 1 As of December 31, 2020, the driver's licence in Japan held most commonly was for class 1 middle-category motor vehicles, with 59.55 million licence holders - https://www.statista.com/statistics/1258739/japan-licensed-drivers-by-type/ About Parkopedia Parkopedia is the leading connected car services provider used by millions of drivers and organisations such as Audi, Apple, BMW, Ford, Garmin, GM, Hyundai Kia, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Sygic, TomTom, Toyota, Volkswagen, and many others. Parkopedia helps drivers find and pay for parking, EV charging, fuelling and tolls in 15,000 cities across 89 countries. Parkopedia is also developing highly detailed parking maps and corresponding algorithms to help drivers and self-driving vehicles navigate to an open parking space indoors. Visit business.parkopedia.com for more information. Japan Business Representative Tomohiko Ishibashi Commercial Director Parkopedia Japan Limited T: +81-90-9837-3698 E: tomohiko.ishibashi@parkopedia.com Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - April 25, 2022) - Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF) ("RFG" or the "Company") This is to give shareholders an update on the audit status and business development of the Company. China is still facing tightened COVID-19 restriction measures in light of the surging Omicron variant cases. China's authorities are still accelerating efforts in mass locking down several major cities to curb the recent outbreak. The zero Covid-19 policy ramping up by the China authorities is not only hindering the audit work of us but also of other public companies listed on overseas exchanges like US, Singapore and Hong Kong with business in China. As previously announced, we are unable to reach to an agreement with our Auditor MNP LLP on some outstanding audit matters in relation to the deployment of funds for our strategic supplier in China including, amongst others, the scope of the additional appropriate audit action, the procedure and logistic of the action, the workaround for certain limitations, as well as the additional audit fee. Considering the deadlock, MNP LLP has decided to resign as our auditor and served a notice to the Company on 23 April 2022. Considering the importance of filing the audit financial statement at the earliest possible time, we are now actively approaching different qualified auditors who could provide a more effective solution to resolve the aforesaid audit issues in China. Apart from this, in compliance with health protocols, the Raffles Financial Group is observing the avoidance of in-person visits and continues to work from home with the deployment of online communication tools. We envisage the effectiveness of our service level to our clients will be affected albeit the cases in our deal pipeline that need immediate attention and the fulfilment of their public listing expectation. We are completely committed to doing everything we can to get over the audit issue. We will keep shareholders duly informed on the progress of our business and the audit matter. About Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF) Raffles Financial Group is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange Purchasable under the stock symbol (CSE: RICH), the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Purchasable under the stock symbol (FSE: 4VO) and the OTC Markets under the stock symbol (OTCQX: RAFFF). On behalf of the RFG Board of Directors Monita Faris Corporate Secretary Phone: 604-283-6110 Email: monita@rafflesfinancial.co Website: www.RafflesFinancial.co The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release. Neither the Canadian Securities Purchase nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Purchase) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in Canadian securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121657 Taiwanese still choose to use free VPNs, while Hong Kong knows their real price LONDON, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest research by NordVPN showed that residents of Hong Kong and Taiwan have very high knowledge of VPN products. In fact, only 22% of Hong Kong residents could not name a VPN brand. Similar numbers can be observed in Taiwan, with 36% of respondents unable to identify a brand. However, there are certain differences in usage. In Taiwan, free VPNs are almost twice as popular as paid ones, while people in Hong Kong mostly choose paid VPN options. "It's always best to go premium if you want the best quality available. While the option of a free VPN is enticing, you must remember that a service needs to make money somehow. If the service is free, your data is normally the price you pay for it," Daniel Markuson, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN , says. 41% of Taiwanese choose free VPNs to access restricted content Hong Kong residents will use a VPN mainly for security (39%) and privacy (38%) purposes.. Privacy became especially important to people of Hong Kong in 2020, when the new national security law came into power. It stated that all content publishing platforms in Hong Kong must provide data or restrict access to users upon police request. The new law put millions' of people's online privacy under question and since then VPNs became the only way to maintain security while expressing yourself online. People can't afford to be caught, so paying for a premium online privacy tool is paramount VPN usage in Taiwan, however, has been more frequently linked with getting access to region-locked content (41%) rather than cybersecurity, that is why they choose free VPNs more often. Taiwanese are especially interested in Japanese content and the increase in demand for VPN coincides with each new online game release or anime premier. That also correlates with the fact that 40% of residents from Hong Kong stated that they are concerned about being watched online. Only 32% of Taiwanese stated the same, however, this number has increased by 25% since the last time the survey was conducted in August. ABOUT NORDVPN NordVPN is the world's most advanced VPN service provider, used by millions of internet users worldwide. 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. Sydney, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 25, 2022) - Austral Gold Limited (ASX: AGD) (TSXV: AGLD) ("Austral" or the "Company") is pleased to advise that the following documents were dispatched to shareholders today for its Annual General Meeting to be held on Friday, 27 May 2022 at 8:00am AEST in Sydney Australia: Notice of Annual General Meeting Shareholder proxy for shares traded on the ASX (where applicable) Shareholder proxy for shares traded on the TSX.V (where applicable) Annual Report (to those shareholders who have requested it) *The Notice of Annual General Meeting and the two sample Proxy Forms will be available at http://www.asx.com.au, on the Company's website at www.australgold.com and will be filed on Sedar under the company's profile. About Austral Gold Austral Gold Limited is a growing gold and silver mining, development and exploration company whose strategy is to expand the life of its cash generating assets in Chile, restart its Casposo mine in Argentina and build a portfolio of quality assets in Chile, the USA and Argentina organically through a Tier 1 or 2 exploration strategy and via acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Austral owns a 100% interest in the Guanaco/Amancaya mine in Chile and the Casposo Mine (currently on care and maintenance) in Argentina, a non-controlling interest in the Rawhide Mine in Nevada, USA and a non-controlling interest in Ensign Gold which holds the Mercur project in Utah, USA. In addition, Austral owns an attractive portfolio of exploration projects in the Paleocene Belt in Chile (including those acquired in the 2021 acquisition of Revelo Resources Corp), a non-controlling interest in Pampa Metals and a 100% interest in the Pinguino project in Santa Cruz, Argentina. Austral Gold Limited is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: AGLD) and the Australian Securities Exchange. (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult Austral's website at www.australgold.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. Release approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Austral Gold, Stabro Kasaneva. For additional information please contact: David Hwang Company Secretary Austral Gold Limited info@australgold.com +61 (2) 9698 5414 Ben Jarvis Director Austral Gold Limited info@australgold.com +61 413 150 448 Forward Looking Statements Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical, and consist primarily of projections - statements regarding future plans, expectations and developments. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "potential", "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import tend to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include that Company's annual general meeting will be held on Friday, 27 May 2022. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied, including, without limitation, business integration risks; uncertainty of production, development plans and cost estimates, commodity price fluctuations; political or economic instability and regulatory changes; currency fluctuations, the state of the capital markets especially in light of the effects of the novel coronavirus" uncertainty in the measurement of mineral reserves and resource estimates, Austral's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and management, potential labour unrest, reclamation and closure requirements for mineral properties; unpredictable risks and hazards related to the development and operation of a mine or mineral property that are beyond the Company's control, the availability of capital to fund all of the Company's projects and other risks and uncertainties identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed on the ASX and on SEDAR. You are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Austral cannot assure you that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Austral's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and Austral does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121679 Feature: Chinese-built bridge brings hope for transnational couple in Croatia Xinhua) 09:58, April 26, 2022 KOMARNA, Croatia, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The Peljesac Bridge, connecting Croatia's mainland with its southernmost region, is also a symbol of happiness for Croatian-born Ana Vulic, 32, and 34-year-old Talman Damtare, a native of Togo in Africa. The two first met -- and eventually got married -- in China. But it was the bridge, built by a Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), that brought and kept them together. Since "Talman" means "hope" in one of the local languages spoken in Togo, he was affectionately referred to as "Hope" by his Chinese colleagues during the bridge-building project. "We would like to express our love and gratitude to China," Hope and Ana said in an interview with Xinhua. The two met in Nanjing in 2009, where they both studied Chinese at the Nanjing Normal University (NNU). Back then, Hope often took Ana to the traditional local folk event known as temple fair and bought her various gadget gifts. It was in Nanjing where they fell in love, and it was also there that they both mastered the Chinese language, which would benefit them a lot in their future careers. Hope and Ana got married in 2016 in Hong Kong. Soon after, the pregnant Ana returned to Croatia to her family's care, while Hope, who was employed by a foreign trade company based in Shanghai, traveled back and forth between China and Croatia. "It is really a hassle to have to go back and forth between the two countries. I wanted to find a job in Croatia to enable me to take better care of Ana and the baby," Hope said. Construction work on the Peljesac Bridge started in June 2018. The 2.4-km bridge connects Croatia's northern Dalmatian coast with the southern region of Dubrovnik-Neretva County and thus it greatly promotes the development of the whole country's economy. No wonder the locals' heightened interest in participating in its construction. Ana was hired by the construction company in August 2018 for her skills as a Chinese-Croatian translator. As luck would have it, the foreign trade company in Shanghai that Hope worked for also had business ties to the Peljesac Bridge project. In November 2018, he also got hired by the Chinese consortium and was put in charge of customs clearance and transportation of materials. "Being able to work on the Peljesac Bridge project is something I never dared to think about before, and it is also the wish of many people," Hope said. Alongside Hope and Ana, over 60 locals have been employed successively at the construction. According to project manager Xie Jingli, the bridge project manager, the additional arrival of hundreds of Chinese builders has injected vitality into the local economy as hotels, restaurants and supermarkets are being opened one after another in the seaside village of Komarna near the bridge. Cooperation, a quest for mutual benefits and a win-win approach have characterized the work at the site since day one, Xie said. The consortium has signed more than 1,200 purchase contracts and orders with Croatian companies with a cumulative value of over 166 million Croatian kunas (23.5 million U.S. dollars) along with 91 business subcontracts whose value has exceeded 220 million kunas. The building of the bridge has brought together 18 design consulting firms, 45 construction companies, along with 112 equipment and material suppliers and environmental protection companies from the European Union. This fully complies with the principle of extensive consultation and cooperation advocated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xie said. Making the project even sweeter for Hope and Ana, the consortium has decided to employ both of them on a long-term basis. This means that even after the bridge opens to traffic later this year, the couple can continue to work at the bridge's maintenance service, and thus can count on a stable job and income. "When we heard the news, we immediately informed all our relatives and friends," Ana said. If it were not for China, Hope and Ana might not have met each other and got married, nor could they live a happy life as they do now. "We love China, we are so grateful to China," they said. (1 Croatian kuna = 0.14 U.S. dollar) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jazeera Paints' branch in Al-Jawf Province, north of Saudi Arabia, celebrated the coming of the holy month of Ramadan by launching one of its community-based initiatives. This initiative was in a form of a campaign to distribute Iftar meals to the fasting latecomers of Al-Jawf residents during the holy month. This comes in tune with the goodwill and benevolent spirit of Ramadan, as well as finding roots in the pioneering role Jazeera Paints plays, as a leading manufacturer in paints and construction solutions in the Middle East and North Africa. The campaign started on Thursday 11th of Ramadan, the 12th of April 2022, and lasted until Saturday 15th of Ramadan, the 16th of April 2022. During the five days of the campaign, the volunteers were able to successfully distribute around 1,100 Iftar meals to the residents of the region, who were unable to reach their homes in time to break their fast with their families and loved ones. The camping located itself around the crucial areas in the region, in: Sinaiyah Al-Jawf, Dumah Al-Jandal, Al-Jawf Airport, Al-Suq, Bike Park, Al-Nakheel Park, and Al-Jawf main traffic lights (Shalhoub, Al-Hassoun, and Sinaiyah) This campaign speaks to the great concerns Jazeera Paints attributes to its role in serving the community. It reflects the company's continuous efforts to strengthen the bonds of support, companionship, and solidarity among the communities the company is committed to serving. The company embraced the volunteering spirit that dwells within the hearts and souls of the twenty young people of Al-Jawf, who, because of their commitment to serve their people, spent a total of 80 hours, at a rate of 4 hours per volunteer, during the five days of the campaign. Follow us on https://twitter.com/JPaintsGlobal. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1803810/Jazeera_Paints_Iftar_Meals.jpg Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Allschwil, Switzerland - April 26, 2022 Idorsia Ltd (SIX: IDIA) today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2022. Business highlights PIVLAZ (clazosentan) for the prevention of cerebral vasospasm, vasospasm-related cerebral infarction and cerebral ischemic symptoms after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage launched in Japan on April 20, 2022 US launch of QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia on May 2, 2022 EC decision for QUVIVIQ expected in early May 2022 - CHMP adopted a positive opinion in February 2022 PRECISION, a Phase 3 study to demonstrate the antihypertensive effect of aprocitentan when added to standard of care in patients with resistant hypertension, on track to deliver results before mid-2022 Financial highlights US GAAP operating expenses in Q1 2022 at CHF 198 million Non-GAAP operating expenses in Q1 2022 at CHF 188 million Guidance for 2022 (unchanged): Net revenue around CHF 145 million - US GAAP operating expenses around CHF 975 million and non-GAAP operating expenses around CHF 920 million - leading to US GAAP operating loss of around CHF 840 million and non-GAAP operating loss of around CHF 785 million - unforeseen events excluded Jean-Paul Clozel, MD and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The months of April and May 2022 will be recorded in the Idorsia history books. These are the months in which we launch our first two products in two of the world's largest pharmaceutical markets. This transforms Idorsia into a fully-fledged biopharmaceutical company, delivering our innovations from bench to bedside, just 5 years after launching the company. PIVLAZ is already available in Japan for patients with aSAH, and now that the scheduling is complete, QUVIVIQ will become available in the US for patients with insomnia from May 2nd. I am incredibly proud of the entire Idorsia team who have put in an immense effort to make this possible." Financial results US GAAP results First Quarter in CHF millions, except EPS (CHF) and number of shares (millions) 2022 2021 Revenues 5 7 Operating expenses (198) (129) Operating income (loss) (193) (122) Net income (loss) (198) (105) Basic EPS (1.12) (0.63) Basic weighted average number of shares 177.1 166.6 Diluted EPS (1.12) (0.63) Diluted weighted average number of shares 177.1 166.6 US GAAP revenue of CHF 5 million in the first quarter of 2022 consisted of contract revenue recognized in connection with the collaboration agreements with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (CHF 3 million), Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (CHF 1 million) and Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (CHF 1 million) and revenue share from J&J (CHF 0.2 million), compared to a revenue of CHF 7 million in the first quarter of 2021. US GAAP operating expenses in the first quarter of 2022 amounted to CHF 198 million (CHF 129 million in the first quarter of 2021), of which CHF 95 million relates to R&D (CHF 97 million in the first quarter of 2021) and CHF 103 million to SG&A expenses (CHF 31 million in the first quarter of 2021). US GAAP net loss in the first quarter of 2022 amounted to CHF 198 million compared to CHF 105 million in the first quarter of 2021. The increase of the net loss was mainly driven by higher operating expenses, mainly in the commercial functions and a negative financial result. The US GAAP net loss resulted in a net loss per share of CHF 1.12 (basic and diluted) in the first quarter of 2022 compared to a net loss per share of CHF 0.63 (basic and diluted) in the first quarter of 2021. Non-GAAP* measures First Quarter in CHF millions, except EPS (CHF) and number of shares (millions) 2022 2021 Revenues 5 7 Operating expenses (188) (121) Operating income (loss) (183) (114) Net income (loss) (189) (95) Basic EPS (1.07) (0.57) Basic weighted average number of shares 177.1 166.6 Diluted EPS (1.07) (0.57) Diluted weighted average number of shares 177.1 166.6 * Idorsia measures, reports and issues guidance on non-GAAP operating performance. Idorsia believes that these non-GAAP financial measurements more accurately reflect the underlying business performance and therefore provide useful supplementary information to investors. These non-GAAP measures are reported in addition to, not as a substitute for, US GAAP financial performance. Non-GAAP net loss in the first quarter of 2022 amounted to CHF 189 million: the CHF 9 million difference versus US GAAP net loss was mainly due to depreciation and amortization (CHF 5 million), share-based compensation (CHF 5 million) and a positive non-cash financial result (CHF 1 million). The non-GAAP net loss resulted in a net loss per share of CHF 1.07 (basic and diluted) in the first quarter of 2022 compared to a net loss per share of CHF 0.57 (basic and diluted) in the first quarter of 2021. Financial outlook On April 20, 2022, the company launched PIVLAZ (clazosentan) in Japan. Furthermore, the company will soon launch QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) in the US and, pending marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency, in the first European markets before the end of the year. The clinical pipeline will advance with highlights including the conclusion of the Phase 3 registration study for aprocitentan and the Phase 2 proof-of-concept study with the selective orexin 1 receptor antagonist, the ramp-up of recruitment into the pivotal SOS-AMI study with selatogrel, as more sites are initiated around the globe, and the planned initiation of Phase 3 development of cenerimod. Accounting for all these activities, the company continues to anticipate net revenue around CHF 145 million, US GAAP operating expenses around CHF 975 million and non-GAAP operating expenses around CHF 920 million, all leading to a US GAAP operating loss of around CHF 840 million and a non-GAAP operating loss of around CHF 785 million for 2022, unforeseen events excluded. The company is committed to become profitable and with the current forecasts, continues to expect to reach this goal in 2025 with annual net sales above CHF 1 billion. Andre C. Muller, Chief Financial Officer, commented: "The launch of our first products is transforming the company into a commercial entity. I am happy that the first quarter of 2022 is the last quarter without sales figures, and I am really looking forward to seeing the initial uptake of our products and the corresponding results at the half-year reporting. No matter how well we guide the market, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I am confident that we can deliver on our ambitious targets and that will put sustainable profitability within reach in the not-too-distant future." Liquidity and indebtedness At the end of the first quarter of 2022, Idorsia's liquidity (including cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits) amounted to CHF 940 million. (in CHF millions) Mar 31, 2022 Dec 31, 2021 Liquidity Cash and cash equivalents 146 101 Short-term deposits 794 927 Long-term deposits - 160 Total liquidity* 940 1,188 Indebtedness Convertible loan 335 298 Convertible bond 794 794 Other financial debt - - Total indebtedness 1,129 1,093 *rounding differences may occur Commercial operations After establishing Idorsia's commercial footprint - the people, infrastructure and processes required for commercial operations - the company is now launching two differentiated products in two of the largest pharmaceutical markets at the same time, PIVLAZ in Japan and QUVIVIQ in the US. United States On January 7, 2022, QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) 25 mg and 50 mg was approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia, characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and/or sleep maintenance. More details can be found in the dedicated press release (https://www.idorsia.com/media/news-details?newsId=2665386). Under the leadership of Patty Torr, several innovative initiatives to educate the US market about the seriousness of insomnia as a very real, but often overlooked medical condition are fully up and running. These include a partnership with Jennifer Aniston to launch a unique educational campaign, Seize the Night & Day (https://www.idorsia.com/investors/news-and-events/media-release-details?newsId=2667731), aimed at revealing the dual impact of insomnia on both nights and days. Additionally, eye-opening results from Wake Up America (https://www.idorsia.us/documents/us/media-releases/220405_wake-up-america-survey_final.pdf), the largest US survey of people with trouble sleeping, as well as healthcare professionals, were published recently to bring to life the true burden of insomnia. The survey, which was supported by Idorsia, was created under the direction of The Alliance for Sleep (https://www.idorsia.us/documents/us/media-releases/211202_the-alliance-for-sleep-announcement_final.pdf), an organization comprised of some of the nation's foremost experts in sleep medicine. The Idorsia US team has also produced a feature-length documentary, The Quest for Sleep (https://www.thequestforsleep.com/s/), which premiered in March and explores people's struggles with insomnia and the science of sleep. On April 7, 2022, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) placed QUVIVIQ in schedule IV of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), as expected based on the scheduling of other sleep medications. QUVIVIQ will be available to patients in the US from May 2, 2022. For more information about QUVIVIQ in the US, see the Full Prescribing Information (https://www.idorsia.us/documents/us/label/Quviviq_PI.pdf) (PI and Medication Guide). Japan Product Mechanism of Action Indication Commercially available since PIVLAZ(clazosentan) Endothelin receptor antagonist Prevention of cerebral vasospasm, vasospasm-related cerebral infarction and cerebral ischemic symptoms after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) 20 April 2022 On January 20, 2022, PIVLAZ (clazosentan) 150 mg was approved for the prevention of cerebral vasospasm, vasospasm-related cerebral infarction and cerebral ischemic symptoms after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) in Japan. More details can be found in the dedicated press release (https://www.idorsia.com/media/news-details?newsId=2672197). The approval was based on a robust Phase 3 program in Japanese patients, as published in "Effects of clazosentan on cerebral vasospasm-related morbidity and all-cause mortality after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: two randomized phase 3 trials in Japanese patients (https://thejns.org/view/journals/j-neurosurg/aop/article-10.3171-2022.2.JNS212914/article-10.3171-2022.2.JNS212914.xml)" in the Journal of Neurosurgery. On April 20, 2022, PIVLAZ was launched and made available to patients in Japan. More details can be found in the dedicated press release (https://www.idorsia.com/media/news-details?newsId=2733314). The Idorsia Japan team, under the leadership of Satoshi Tanaka, has built a focused customer-facing organization to bring this innovative medicine to physicians and patients facing this life-threatening condition. The team is introducing PIVLAZ clinical data to physicians and engaging with local medical experts to improve and standardize the treatment of aSAH across Japan. Simon Jose, Chief Commercial Officer of Idorsia, commented: "We have all the ingredients needed to make both launches a success: two well differentiated products, hand-picked and focused teams with state-of-the-art commercial infrastructure, and innovative and ambitious go-to-market plans. We've been able to conclude all steps needed to launch PIVLAZ in Japan and QUVIVIQ in the US and finalize the pricing for both products. I'm very pleased that the innovative nature and impactful results of both products have been recognized by payors in Japan and in the US respectively. I am very confident that this will translate into commercial success, but more importantly, I am delighted that patients can now benefit from these innovative medicines." Europe and Canada region Idorsia is expecting the European Commission decision for QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) in early May 2022. This follows the positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) which recommended QUVIVIQ for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia characterized by symptoms present for at least three months and considerable impact on daytime functioning. More information can be found in the dedicated press release (https://www.idorsia.com/media/news-details?newsId=2696669). The core Idorsia country teams are in place in the top five European markets and Syneos Health has been engaged as the company's partner to build a salesforce to reach the large primary care market for insomnia. The Idorsia team is engaging with local medical experts, policy makers and payors to introduce the company and raise awareness of the significant unmet patient need in insomnia in Europe. The first European launches of QUVIVIQ are expected before the end of the year following regulatory approval. Clinical Development Idorsia's diversified and balanced clinical development pipeline, which covers multiple therapeutic areas, including CNS, cardiovascular and immunological disorders, as well as orphan diseases, is on track and progressing as described in February. Idorsia's clinical development pipeline Compound Mechanism of Action Target Indication Status Daridorexant Dual orexin receptor antagonist Insomnia Approved as QUVIVIQ in the US Under review in other countries Aprocitentan* Dual endothelin receptor antagonist Resistant hypertension management Phase 3 recruitment complete Clazosentan Endothelin receptor antagonist Cerebral vasospasm assoc. with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage Phase 3 outside of Japan Lucerastat Glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor Fabry disease Phase 3 primary endpoint not met, OLE ongoing** Selatogrel P2Y 12 receptor antagonist Suspected acute myocardial infarction Phase 3 Cenerimod S1P 1 receptor modulator Systemic lupus erythematosus Phase 3 in preparation ACT-539313 Selective orexin 1 receptor antagonist Binge eating disorder Phase 2 recruitment complete Sinbaglustat GBA2/GCS inhibitor Rare lysosomal storage disorders Phase 1 complete ACT-1004-1239 CXCR7 antagonist Immunology Phase 1 complete ACT-1014-6470 - Immunology Phase 1 ACT-777991 - Immunology Phase 1 * In collaboration with Janssen Biotech to jointly develop aprocitentan, Janssen Biotech has sole commercialization rights worldwide ** Open-label extension study Neurocrine Biosciences has a global license to develop and commercialize ACT-709478 (NBI-827104), Idorsia's novel T-type calcium channel blocker. ACT-709478is currently investigated in two Phase 2 studies for the treatment of a rare form of pediatric epilepsy and essential tremor. Further details including the current status of each project in the pipeline can be found in our clinical development fact sheet (https://www.idorsia.com/documents/com/fact-sheets-presentations/fs-clinical-development.pdf). Results Day Center Investor community: To make your job easier, we provide all relevant documentation via the Results Day Center on our corporate website: www.idorsia.com/results-day-center (http://www.idorsia.com/results-day-center). Upcoming Financial Updates Half-Year 2022 Financial Results reporting on July 26, 2022 Nine-months 2022 Financial Results reporting on October 25, 2022 Full-Year 2022 Financial Results reporting on February 7, 2023 Notes to the editor About Idorsia Idorsia Ltd is reaching out for more - We have more ideas, we see more opportunities and we want to help more patients. In order to achieve this, we will develop Idorsia into a leading biopharmaceutical company, with a strong scientific core. Headquartered near Basel, Switzerland - a European biotech-hub - Idorsia is specialized in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecules to transform the horizon of therapeutic options. Idorsia has a broad portfolio of innovative drugs in the pipeline, an experienced team of professionals covering all disciplines from bench to bedside, state-of-the-art facilities, and a strong balance sheet - the ideal constellation to translate R&D efforts into business success. Idorsia was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA) in June 2017 and has over 1,200 highly qualified specialists dedicated to realizing our ambitious targets. For further information, please contact Andrew C. Weiss Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil +41 58 844 10 10 investor.relations@idorsia.com - media.relations@idorsia.com - www.idorsia.com The above information contains certain "forward-looking statements", relating to the company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include descriptions of the company's investment and research and development programs and anticipated expenditures in connection therewith, descriptions of new products expected to be introduced by the company and anticipated customer demand for such products and products in the company's existing portfolio. Such statements reflect the current views of the company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Attachment Company also provides Q1 2022 Business Update and 2022 Outlook ONWARD Medical N.V. (Euronext: ONWD), the medical technology company creating innovative therapies to restore movement, independence, and health in people with spinal cord injury, today announces its annual financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Company also provides a business update for Q1 2022. The company further announces the publication of its statutory annual accounts for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS-EU), as drawn up and approved by the Board and included in the Company's annual report (the Annual Report). The full Annual Report is available on the Company's website in the Investors section (https://ir.onwd.com) and the website of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (www.afm.nl). The Company's Financial and Operating highlights for 2021 include the following: Awarded Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Company's ARCIM Therapy focused on restoration of normal blood pressure and trunk control for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). This is the Company's third such designation. Completed enrollment in its Up-LIFT pivotal study in December, ahead of expectations and in less than 12 months despite COVID-related challenges. Up-LIFT is the first large-scale pivotal trial of non-invasive spinal cord stimulation technology. Completed development of the initial generation of its ARCIM technology platform in preparation for first-in-human use of its IPG and Lead family, expected to occur in 2022 as part of the HeMon Study. Raised EUR 30 million through a pre-initial public offering (IPO) convertible note financing. Raised EUR 80 million in an IPO on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam in October, believed to be the largest early-stage medtech IPO in European history. The Company reported an Operating Loss of EUR 34.3 million for 2021 vs. EUR 20.0 million in 2020. The Company's year-end balance for cash and cash equivalents increased to EUR 89.4 million on December 31, 2021 vs. EUR 6.4 million on December 31, 2020. "Despite challenging conditions that impacted businesses worldwide, we executed strongly against our primary objectives in 2021", said Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD. "We demonstrated excellent progress in R&D by completing our implantable device platform, and in Clinical/Regulatory by completing enrollment in the Up-LIFT Study ahead of expectations and receiving our third Breakthrough Device Designation award from the FDA. Lastly, we successfully completed two important financings, including a large IPO that attracted a high-quality group of investors from the US, Europe, and across the world. We expect our strong cash position from these financings to provide runway through the end of 2024, but we will continue to explore options to raise even more capital and increase liquidity through financing activities." 2021 Financial Summary EUR millions 2021 2020 Total Grant Income 1.4 0.8 Total Operating Expenses (30.0) (16.3) Science expenses (2.7) (1.1) Research Development expenses (7.9) (5.8) Clinical Regulatory expenses (4.8) (2.8) Marketing Market Access expenses (1.5) (0.4) Patent Fees Related expenses (1.4) (1.2) Quality Assurance expenses (1.0) (0.4) General Administrative expenses (10.7) (4.7) Operating Loss for the Period (28.6) (15.5) Net Finance expense (5.7) (4.5) Net Loss for the Period (34.3) (20.0) Basic (and diluted) Earnings per Share (in EUR) (3.62) (5.56) Cash position at the end of the year 89.4 6.4 Interest Bearing Loans (11.5) (41.8) Equity 82.7 (32.1) Grant Income Grant income increased by EUR 0.6 million vs. 2020, totaling EUR 1.4 million in 2021 and driven primarily by proceeds from a DARPA grant that commenced in October 2020. ONWARD is part of a research consortium eligible to receive up to USD 36 million as part of the DARPA Bridging the Gap+ program. Operating Expenses Operating expenses increased by EUR 13.7 million vs. 2020, totaling EUR 30 million in 2021. The increase was driven primarily by a EUR 8.2 million increase in employee costs, with full-time equivalent (FTE) employees increasing from 55 in 2020 to 76.9 in 2021. EUR 2.4 million of the employee cost increase can be attributed to additional FTEs while EUR 5.8 million can be attributed to share-based payment expense due to accelerated vesting of the Company's Employee Investment Plan on the date of the Company's IPO. Consulting services and other costs associated with research and development of the Company's therapies increased by EUR 0.4 million vs. 2020. Activities to drive enrollment in the Company's Up-LIFT pivotal trial and other clinical study related costs contributed to an increase of EUR 1.4 million vs. 2020. The Company also incurred an incremental EUR 0.4 million for marketing and market access activities in the US and Europe. The Company's 2021 IPO and the incremental costs of operating as a public company added EUR 2.4 million not incurred in 2020. These costs include uncapitalized consulting and legal expenses relating to the IPO and assuring compliance with financial regulatory requirements. Operating Loss for the Period The Company's Operating Loss for the period increased by EUR 13 million, driven by the increase in Operating Expenses. Net Loss for the Period The Company realized a Net Loss for the period of EUR 34.3 million vs. EUR 20 million in 2020. EUR 13.0 million of this increase can be attributed to the Operating Loss for the period. An additional EUR 1.2 million is due to an increase in the Company's Net Finance Expense, driven primarily by an increase in Interest Expense. Cash Position Cash and cash equivalents increased by EUR 83 million vs. 2020. The year-end balance was EUR 89.4 million on December 31, 2021 vs. EUR 6.4 million on December 31, 2020. Net cash used in operating activities was EUR 19.9 million vs. EUR 12.9 million in 2020. The increase was driven by the increase in the Operating Loss for the period. The company invested EUR 2.3 million in assets in 2021, a EUR 2.2 million increase vs. 2020. The increase was driven primarily by IPO-related license fees paid and capitalized as intangible assets. The Company successfully raised EUR 110 million through investing activities in 2021. EUR 80 million was raised via the IPO on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam, preceded by a pre-IPO convertible note financing of EUR 30 million. The cash generated was offset by capitalized IPO fees paid in the amount of EUR 4.6 million. Net cash generated from financing activities was EUR 105.3 million in 2021 vs. EUR 4.4 in 2020. Interest Bearing Loans The decrease in Interest Bearing Loans from EUR 41.8 million in 2020 to EUR 11.5 million in 2021 was mainly attributable to the conversion of the Company's preference A shares into ordinary shares immediately preceding the IPO. Equity The positive Equity position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 was EUR 82.7 million, an increase of EUR 114.8 million vs. December 31, 2020. This increase resulted from the proceeds from the IPO (EUR 80 million), the conversion of the convertible note into ordinary shares (EUR 31 million), the conversion of preference A shares into ordinary shares (EUR 34 million) and the accelerated vesting of the Employee Investment Plan (EUR 8.5 million). The increase was offset by the Net Loss for the period (EUR 34.3 million) and the total paid and unpaid capitalized IPO fees (EUR 4.9 million). Q1 2022 Business Update and 2022 Outlook The Company's cash balance was EUR 83 million as of March 31, 2022, reflecting a cash burn of EUR 6.4 million during Q1 2022. This is in alignment with expectations that current cash on hand will fuel operations through the end of 2024. In January, the Company was awarded 9 new patents in collaboration with leading research universities. The Company now has over 320 issued or pending patents worldwide. In February, the Company's technology was leveraged to enable people with the most severe form of spinal cord injuries to walk and stand again. This breakthrough was published in Nature Medicine and featured by media outlets around the globe. In March, the Company enrolled the first participants in the LIFT Home Study, a trial designed to study the safety and performance of its ARCEX Therapy in the home setting. In March, the Company was added to Euronext Brussels' Bel-Small Index. In March, the Company confirmed its cash runway through the end of 2024. The Company believes its strong cash position will mitigate the impact of global supply chain challenges that may affect certain development programs. At this time and barring unanticipated events, the Company believes it has mitigated the risk of further impacts to critical components. In March, the Company added options to obtain rights to novel Brain-Spine Interface and Parkinson's disease IP developed by its research partners at EPFL and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). Building on progress shown in Q1, 2022, the Company expects to achieve several important milestones during the remainder of 2022: Completion of the Up-LIFT Pivotal Study for the Company's ARC EX Therapy Therapy Release of top line data from the Up-LIFT Pivotal Study for the Company's ARC EX Therapy Therapy Completion of the LIFT Home Study for the Company's ARC EX Therapy Therapy Release of top line data from the LIFT Home Study for the Company's ARC EX Therapy Therapy First-in-human use of the Company's ARC IM IPG IPG Commencement of the HeMon Feasibility Study for the Company's ARCIM Therapy "We demonstrated steady and consistent execution (and associated news flow) in Q1 2022", said Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD. "Our drive to execute will continue during the remainder of 2022, with several value-driving milestones expected, including top line data from the Company's first pivotal trial and first-in-human use of our novel, proprietary, purpose-built neuromodulation platform." Conference Call Webcast ONWARD will host a conference call with live webcast today at 4 pm CET 10 am ET. The webcast may be accessed on the Events page of the company's website or by clicking here. A replay of the webcast will be available on the ONWARD website. To learn more about ONWARD's ARC Therapy and the company's vision to restore movement, independence and health in people with spinal cord injury, please visit ONWD.com. THIS PRESS RELEASE CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE EUROPEAN MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (596/2014). About ONWARD ONWARD is a medical technology company creating innovative therapies to restore movement, independence, and health in people with spinal cord injury. ONWARD's work builds on more than a decade of basic science and preclinical research conducted at the world's leading neuroscience laboratories. ONWARD's ARC Therapy, which can be delivered by implantable (ARCIM) or external (ARCEX) systems, is designed to deliver targeted, programmed stimulation of the spinal cord to restore movement and other functions in people with spinal cord injury, ultimately improving their quality of life. ONWARD has received three Breakthrough Device Designations from the FDA encompassing both ARCIM and ARCEX. The company's first FDA pivotal trial, called Up-LIFT, completed enrollment in December 2021 with 65 subjects worldwide. ONWARD is headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. It maintains a significant team in Lausanne, Switzerland and has a growing U.S. presence in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. For additional information about the company, please visit ONWD.com. To access our 2022 Financial Calendar, please visit IR.ONWD.com. The Company is listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam as of 21 October 2021 under the ONWD ticker with international securities identification number NL0015000HT4. Disclaimer Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors' current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person's officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220425005913/en/ Contacts: For Media Enquiries: Simon Gentry- media@onwd.com +44 (0) 7884 496 251 For Investor Enquiries: investors@onwd.com For Company Enquiries: ONWARD -info@onwd.com Managing Director of Seng Fong, Mr. Er Hock Lai KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 26, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Seng Fong Holdings Berhad, a rubber processor producing and trading Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR) and premium grade block rubber, via its subsidiaries, is pleased to announce that the Company has, in the month of April 2022, obtained the approval of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to list on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.With history tracing back to 1986, Seng Fong is principally involved in the processing of Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR) and premium grade block rubber as well as trading in block rubber, where its customers are mainly tyre manufacturers or international rubber traders. The Company also operates a Malaysian Rubber Board-approved laboratory for the testing, grading and certification of the processed block rubbers.According to Seng Fong's draft initial public offering (IPO) prospectus posted on the Securities Commission Malaysia website, the listing exercise involves the initial public offering of up to 160.87 million ordinary shares comprising a public issue of 90.81 million shares and an offer for sale of up to 70.06 million shares.The IPO shares is divided into an institutional offering of up to 118.68 million shares representing 22.9% of the enlarged issued shares and, a retail offering of up to 42.20 million shares representing 8.1% of the enlarged issued shares.The institutional offering comprises:1. 64.87 million IPO shares representing 12.5% of the enlarged issued shares to bumiputera investors approved by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry2. 53.81 million IPO shares representing 10.4% of the enlarged shares to other institutional and selected investorsThe retail offering comprises:1. Malaysian public- 12.97 million IPO shares representing 2.5% of the enlarged issued shares to bumiputera investors- 12.97 million IPO shares representing 2.5% of the enlarged issued shares to non-bumiputera investors2. 16.25 million IPO shares representing 3.1% of the enlarged issued shares to eligible directors and employees of the Company as well as persons who have contributed to the success of the Company and its subsidiariesManaging Director of Seng Fong, Mr. Er Hock Lai said, "We would like to express our appreciation to the SC for approving our IPO on the Main Market of Bursa Securities. The listing will enhance our reputation and assist us in expanding our customer base globally while allowing us to gain access to the capital markets to raise funds for future growth opportunities.""The listing also enables us to raise the funds we need for the installation of a biomass system that will provide a source of fuel for our processing operations while at the same time achieve cost savings by reducing overall fuel costs. We are also installing two solar system units to help us lower electricity cost as well as help us achieve our sustainability goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions".A portion of the proceeds from the listing will also go to working capital needs, which will include increasing production capacity and repaying bank borrowings, which includes a term-loan for the Solar Systems installation.Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad (HLIB), Ms. Lee Jim Leng said, "We congratulate Seng Fong for having received the approval of the SC for its listing and look forward to working with its management in preparing for the listing on the Main Market. Seng Fong is a solid business with a history going back to 1986 in an industry where demand continues to grow steadily. We have no doubt that the Company will find favourable reception with investors".Almost all of Seng Fong's revenue is derived from sales to international customers for the financial years ended 31 December 2019 to 2021.Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad is the Principal Adviser, Underwriter and Placement Agent.Seng Fong Holdings Berhad: http://sengfongholdings.com/Source: Seng Fong Holdings BerhadCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. 26 April 2022 Clean Invest Africa Plc ("CIA" or the "Company") CIA advances its commercial opportunity in Colombia The Company is pleased to advise shareholders of the completion of the trial and testing phase of its thermal coal commercial project in Colombia. Trial production pellets made from coal fine samples received from a coal mine in Colombia, have now been sent by the Company and received by the client in Colombia. This step follows the Colombian mine having shipped coal fine waste to the Company production plant at Bulpan in South Africa, where the full batch was pelletised by the Company and the pellets then shipped back to the mine in Columbia, a process that has taken a number of months in terms of labour and resources. The arrival in Colombia of the completed sample produced to the client specification is to be followed up now by further commercial negotiations. These negotiations are based on a financial model for a 5,000 tonnes per month on site thermal coal plant, which model has previously been submitted to our Colombian partner for review. An off-take agreement for the 5,000 tonnes per month output is under discussion as part of the negotiations and these commercial discussions are expected to be finalised in about 8 weeks. It is worth noting that coal is much in demand. Recent research by Rystad Energy states "coal prices are soaring, hitting US$462/t on 10 March 2022, up from US$186/t on 23 February 2022 and likely to pass US$500/t this year." Further announcements will be made in due course The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this announcement. ENQUIRIES : Clean Invest Africa plc Filippo Fantechi - Chief Executive Officer: +973 3 9696273 Peterhouse Capital Limited Guy Miller: +44 20 7469 0930 Bluejay Mining plc / (EPIC:JAY) / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining Bluejay Mining plc ('Bluejay' or the 'Company') First Exploration Programme of 2022 at Enonkoski JV with Rio Tinto Confirmed LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Bluejay Mining plc, the AIM, FSE listed and OTCQB traded exploration and development company with projects in Greenland and Finland, is pleased to announce the approval of further exploration expenditure by the Company's joint venture ('JV') partner Rio Tinto Exploration Finland Oy ('Rio Tinto') at the Enonkoski nickel-copper-cobalt ('Ni-Cu-Co') Project in eastern Finland as part of the JV & earn-in agreement announced 10 November 2020. Highlights of the 2022 planned field activities Follow-up diamond drilling at targets drilled by the JV in 2021; followed by downhole electromagnetic surveys of selected drill holes. A top of bedrock drilling programme focusing on new targets, but also including infill sampling at targets tested by top of bedrock sampling in 2021. Geological mapping and sampling. The work programmes will commence in Q2 2022. In 2021, the Enonkoski JV diamond drilling focused on multiple near-mine areas northwest, west and southeast of the closed Laukunkangas Ni-Cu-Co mine. A top of bedrock ('ToB') drilling programme was ongoing simultaneously with the second phase of diamond drilling, as well as UAV 3-component magnetic surveys which were conducted at several sub-areas on the belt. The field activities were supported by extensive reference logging and sampling of historic drill core and a period of analysis carried out by the JV partners. Based on drilling and assay results and the continuous evaluation of historic and new data from the entire belt, the exploration activities are being continued. The assay results from the drilling in 2021 and from the reference sampling of historic core highlight a zone of pyroxenite in close vicinity of a sulphide droplet zone identified by the Company in previous drilling southeast of the closed mine. Planning for the upcoming exploration programme is ongoing and preliminary plans include up-to 1,500 metres of diamond drilling, up-to 60 ToB drill holes, downhole electromagnetic surveys, geological mapping and sampling to be conducted in Q2 at several target areas on the belt. Final decisions on possible ground gravity surveys will be made based on drilling results. Thomas Levin, COO of Bluejay subsidiary FinnAust Mining Finland Oy, commented: "I am delighted to report that our exploration activities at the Enonkoski JV project in eastern Finland will continue shortly. The exploration programme is currently being finalised, but we are aiming to commence diamond drilling in May targeting mineralisation at near-mine target areas with the focus on follow-up drilling of the drill campaigns in 2021. "We are highly encouraged by the quality of the bedrock drill core samples we received from the ToB sampling programme conducted last year, and we have decided to extend this programme to cover some new target areas, but also infill drilling will be conducted to cover additional parts of a large mafic intrusion in the central parts of the Enonkoski Belt. With the very high confidence in obtaining actual bedrock samples we consider the ToB drilling to be a highly effective and a very low environmental impact method to map the bedrock under till cover. The aim with the ToB method is to confirm the existence of mafic-ultramafic intrusions defined by geophysics but covered by till. In addition, we will also achieve a better understanding of the more ore potential parts of the intrusions and generate new diamond drilling targets for future exploration programmes. "Detailed interpretation work completed on the assay results from 2021 and early 2022, including a geochemical intrusion ranking study of known mafic intrusions on the Enonkoski Belt, shows that our activities are focusing on high potential targets on this underexplored nickel-copper-cobalt belt. This continuous evaluation work greatly assists in prioritising our targets, and we look forward to updating the market again in due course on this exciting project." Finland Overview Bluejay holds, through its 100% owned Finnish subsidiary FinnAust Mining Finland Oy ('FinnAust'), three large scale project areas in East Finland - the Enonkoski nickel-copper-cobalt ('Ni-Cu-Co') project, the Hammaslahti copper-zinc-gold-silver ('Cu-Zn-Au-Ag') project, and the Outokumpu copper-cobalt-zinc-nickel-gold-silver ('Cu-Co-Zn-Ni-Au-Ag') project. Bluejay subsidiary FinnAust signed a staged US$20 million JV and earn-in agreement with Rio Tinto for the Enonkoski Ni-Cu-Co project, announced 10 November 2020. In July 2021, the Company announced it has identified drill-ready targets at Outokumpu and signed a binding agreement for a partial divestment in a fourth Finnish project for 4 million. Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For further information please visit http://www.bluejaymining.com or contact: Kevin Sheil Bluejay Mining plc enquiry@bluejaymining.com Ewan Leggat/ Adam Cowl SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP(Nominated Adviser) +44 (0) 20 3470 0470 Andrew Chubb Hannam & Partners (Advisory) LLP +44 (0) 20 7907 8500 Tim Blythe/ Megan Ray BlytheRay +44 (0) 20 7138 3205 Notes Bluejay is listed on the London AIM market and Frankfurt Stock Exchange and its shares also trade on the OTCQB Market in the US. With multiple projects in Greenland and Finland, Bluejay has now secured three globally respected entities as partner, customer, and co-investor on three of its projects, giving the Company and its shareholders both portfolio and commodity diversification in high quality jurisdictions. Bluejay has signed a definitive joint venture agreement with KoBold Metals to guide exploration for new deposits rich in the critical materials for electric vehicles (The Disko-Nuussauq Project). Principal investors in KoBold include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate & technology fund, overseen by Bill Gates, and whose investors include Michael Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, and Ray Dalio. Other investors in KoBold include Andreessen Horowitz, the premier Silicon Valley venture capital fund and Equinor, the Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company. Bluejay's most advanced project is the Dundas Ilmenite Project in Greenland, which is fully permitted and being developed towards production in the near term, with preparatory activities scheduled to commence in 2022. Dundas has a Mineral Resource reported in accordance with the JORC Code of 117Mt at 6.1% ilmenite and a maiden offshore Exploration Target of between 300Mt and 530Mt of ilmenite at an average expected grade range of 0.4 - 4.8% ilmenite in-situ. The Company has agreed a Master Distribution Agreement with a major Asian conglomerate for up-to 340ktpa of its anticipated 440ktpa annual output. The Company has signed on a major European bank to head the financing syndicate for Dundas. The Company's strategy is focused on securing financing ahead of commencing commercial production at Dundas in order to create a company capable of self-funding exploration on its current and future projects. Bluejay holds two additional projects in Greenland - the 692 sq km Kangerluarsuk zinc-lead-silver project ('Kangerluarsuk'), where historical work has recovered grades of 41% zinc, 9.3% lead and 596 g/t silver and identified four large-scale drill ready targets; and the 2,025 sq km Thunderstone project which has the potential to host large-scale base metal and gold deposits. Bluejay has agreed a joint-venture agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Finland Oy at its Enonkoski Project in Finland and has recently signed a binding agreement for a partial divestment in another Finnish project. Bluejay also holds two additional key project areas in eastern Finland hosting several historic mines, the Outokumpu copper-cobalt-zinc-nickel-gold-silver project and the Hammaslahti copper-zinc-gold-silver project. **ENDS** This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Bluejay Mining PLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698867/Bluejay-Mining-PLC-Announces-First-Exploration-Programme-of-2022-at-Enonkoski POOLE, England, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Codestone Group, one of the top SAP and Microsoft cloud technology consulting firms, today announced the appointment of Michelle Htun-Kay to the company's first Group Marketing Director (GMD). This is part of Codestone Board appointments of Non-Exec Chairman Don Grantham and CFO Sam Bursey, following private equity-backing from FPE Capital. Michelle will be responsible for fuelling the company's marketing of its full portfolio of SAP ERP and Microsoft solutions combined with the company's best-in-class consulting and managed services, to further position Codestone as the leading one-stop-shop for cloud transformation services for SMEs and mid-market businesses. She has 25 years of international marketing and communications experience across industries, most recently as the Global Director of Marketing AKT Solutions (Israel/UK), where she led the company's marketing and communication strategies supporting its rapid expansion across Europe and SAP products. Previously, she was Director of Marketing and Communications at Beakerhead, Canada's largest S.T.E.A.M. organisation, engaging 115,000+ visitors to 50+ events annually. She held senior roles at National Australia Bank (UK) as Head of Marketing Europe and at ABN Amro (UK/Romania) as Head of Communications, Global Traded Markets. She also launched In-Country Value, a national business development and employment program in the Sultanate of Oman, for Petroleum Development Oman, a Shell Group joint-venture. Jeremy Bucknell, Codestone CEO said, "Michelle has had such an exciting and diverse international career covering every aspect of marketing strategy and communications. Her global work experience and managing truly unique projects will be invaluable to Codestone to help us achieve our company objectives." "It's an honour to become the Group Marketing Director of such an innovative and fast-growing company at such an exciting time," said Michelle. "I am fortunate to be working with a dynamic team that loves scaling opportunities and tackling challenges as much as I do. I resonate with Codestone's ethos of putting the customer at the centre of everything we do, and I look forward to what the future holds for the company." About Codestone For over 25 years, Codestone pioneered modern enterprise resource planning and today is the leading SAP Business ByDesign and Business One Gold Partner in the UK. Codestone offers end-to-end transformation ERP software and Microsoft Modern Workplace design and implementations, and 24/7/365 managed support services. https://www.codestone.net/ Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1803980/Codestone_Group.jpg LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Hochschild Mining plc (HOC.L), on Tuesday, reported first-quarter attributable production of 80,889 gold equivalent ounces or 5.8 million silver equivalent ounces with a better than expected result from Inmaculada offset by further disruption from Covid-19 impacting San Jose in Argentina and lower than expected grades at Pallancata. Further, the company noted that it is on track to meet its overall attributable production target for 2022 of 360,000-375,000 gold equivalent ounces or 26.0-27.0 million silver equivalent ounces. Also, the company reiterated that its all-in sustaining cost for 2022 is on track to be in line with the guidance of between $1,330 and $1,370 per gold equivalent ounce or $18.5 and $19.0 per silver equivalent ounce. 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. New meeting solution combines high-quality conference microphones and smart meeting technology to turn every meeting into an instant transcript Speech Processing Solutions, the global leader in professional speech-to-text solutions sold under the Philips brand, has teamed up with an exciting American start-up named Sembly AI. Together they'll unite to provide high-quality microphones and smart meeting technology. Sembly goes beyond simple speech recognition and offers users instant searchable meeting transcripts, highlights key discussion moments, and creates summaries. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005006/en/ Philips SmartMeeting (Photo: Business Wire) Every meeting, perfectly captured The new SmartMeeting Conference devices come with high-quality microphones that offer 360 recording, whilst capturing each speaker in the room and guarantees crisp, clear audio. USB and Bluetooth connectivity options ensure flexibility and allow for a wide-range of use-cases; whether in the office, or on the go. One product even features an intelligent camera, which can be configured to automatically recognize which participant is speaking and focus on them. "We are pleased to say, that the cooperation with Sembly AI gives us new market opportunities by offering best of both worlds. We provide best-in-class conference microphones and pair them up with a smart meeting assistant solution, which creates an automatic transcript, summary, and an action list of every meeting. Our unique solutions help busy professionals save time and conduct meetings more efficiently than ever before" explains Dr. Thomas Brauner, CEO of Speech Processing Solutions. "We are especially excited about the complementary nature and synergy between our two teams which is expected to boost both of our companies top and bottom lines. The Philips products seamlessly integrate with the included Sembly SaaS to provide more value to our end customers" continues Gil Makleff, CEO and Co-founder of Sembly AI. A cross platform breakthrough "No matter if you are working with Zoom, gMeet, Teams or Webex, our smart meeting assistant joins your meetings as an attendant and does the note-taking for you" adds Artem Koren, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Sembly AI. Users can easily forward the meeting summaries, for example to colleagues who happened to have missed the meeting. The new products will be available the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand from June 1st 2022. For more information and where to buy, please visit:www.philips.dictation.com/smartmeeting About Speech Processing Solutions Speech Processing Solutions (SPS) is an international technology company and a global leader in dictation solutions. More than four million users worldwide work with speech-to-text solutions developed by SPS and sold under the Philips brand. These solutions include web-based and desktop workflow software as well as dictation devices. These smart solutions save users' time and allow them to focus on their core tasks, making their business more efficient, customer-centric, and profitable. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, SPS has regional offices in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, and Austria, as well as a network of more than 1000 distribution and implementation partners worldwide. About Sembly AI Sembly AI is a voice and conversation analytics technology company, focused on bringing the power of natural language processing to professional meeting environments. Sembly's products can simplify the work life of distributed teams while providing powerful analytics to help teams attend less while getting more done. Sembly AI was founded by CEO Gil Makleff and CPO Artem Koren in 2019. Gil Makleff was CEO of UMT Consulting Group which was acquired by Ernst Young. Artem Koren was a Senior Manager at Ernst Young and CTO at Visual Trading Systems. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005006/en/ Contacts: Lea Pachta Senior Marketing Manager lea.pachta@speech.com Tel: +43 1605 291 744 The total private wealth currently held on the African continent is USD 2.1 trillion and is expected to rise by 38% over the next 10 years, according to the latest 2022 Africa Wealth Report, published today by Henley Partners in partnership with New World Wealth. The report reveals that Africa's 'Big 5' private wealth markets South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya together account for over 50% of the continent's total wealth. There are currently 136,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with private wealth of USD 1 million or more living in Africa, along with 305 centi-millionaires with USD 100 million or more, and 21 US dollar billionaires. South Africa is home to over twice as many HNWIs as any other African country, while Egypt now has the most billionaires. Mauritius has the highest wealth per capita in Africa, at USD 34,500, followed by South Africa at USD 10,970 and Namibia at USD 9,320. The Africa Wealth Report is the continent's annual benchmark for private wealth research and is now in its 7th year, providing a comprehensive review of the wealth sector in Africa, including trends among HNWIs, the luxury market, and wealth management. Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, says "Africa is home to some of the world's fastest growing markets, including Rwanda, Uganda, and Mauritius. We forecast private wealth growth of over 60% in all three countries in the next decade, driven by especially strong performance in the technology and professional services sectors." Dominic Volek, Head of Private Clients at Henley Partners, adds that there are already well-established wealth hubs on the continent, including South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco. "Strong growth in private wealth of over 50% is also predicted in Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, and Zambia over the next 10 years. HNWIs in Africa are extremely mobile and their movements provide valuable insights into future economic trends in each country." Mauritius is the fastest growing wealth market in Africa, with projected growth of 80% over the next decade. This will also make it one of the fastest growing high-income markets in the world, together with Australia, Malta, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Africa's two wealthiest cities are in South Africa Johannesburg is the wealthiest, with total private wealth of USD 239 billion, while Cape Town in second place has USD 131 billion. Cairo follows closely behind with USD 128 billion, and Lagos is in 4th position with USD 97 billion in privately held wealth. Commenting in the report, international entrepreneur, author, and CEO of MyGrowthFund Venture Partners Vusi Thembekwayo, says the ascent of new wealth economies, along with megacities and the diversification of wealth-creating sources are just some of the exciting trends driving the creation and flow of capital across the continent. "Africa's story is one of polar domination, with the largest wealth management centers traditionally situated in the most extreme south South Africa and the most extreme north Egypt and Morocco. The rise of frontier economies that are attracting new wealth by positioning themselves as preferred investment destinations is challenging this narrative. Mauritius and the Seychelles have recently been the most deliberate with this strategy." Despite a tough decade, South Africa still ranks 28th in the world when it comes to total private wealth, ahead of major economies such as Argentina, Malaysia, Thailand, and Turkey. It's also the largest luxury market in Africa by revenue, making USD 2 billion annually. Read Full Release and Download Full Report View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005019/en/ Contacts: Media Sarah Nicklin Group Head of PR sarah.nicklin@henleyglobal.com Mobile: +27 72 464 8965 LONDON, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at the 2022 Retail Technology Show, Retail Pro International is leading the conversation on strategies to streamline omnichannel store experiences globally with the Retail Pro Prism POS and retail management platform, and is showcasing a complete omnichannel solution with technology partners, Pinnaca Retail & IT Solutions, DataScan Retail Systems, RIOT, XRETAIL, Loqate, and PAR. "Retailers in 130 countries use Retail Pro and we are enthused at the momentum in retail today to transform digital strategies and unify retail on the Retail Pro Prism platform," said Retail Pro International's VP EMEAA, Bevin Manian. "As Retail Pro is a global platform, retailers are able to build streamlined operations with one robust technology - adapted to specific regional needs with localisations and fiscalisations - to manage their entire business across channels, countries and continents." New advances in the Retail Pro Prism technology are helping retailers improve efficiency in operations needed to support the omnichannel retail environment for more efficient omnichannel operations. With the Retail Pro Prism platform, retailers can: Connect all points of purchase for efficient order management and fulfillment Execute on BOPIS and curbside pickup with mobile POS Keep accurate inventory counts with integrated, affordable RFID for Retail Pro See inventory in the warehouse, in transit, in the back room, or on the sales floor "As an Authorized Retail Pro Business Partner, our team at Pinnaca participates firsthand in retailers' digital transformation, connecting amazing retailers with the advanced, mission-critical Retail Pro Prism platform," commented Pinnaca Retail & IT SolutionsCEO, Minesh Thakkar. "We dig in with retailers to consult on their goals and what they will need to build out their technology landscape most effectively for profitable omnichannel. Omnichannel, like retail, is always evolving, so having an adaptable platform like Retail Pro Prism is key to being able to act on learnings as retailers implement their strategies." Miniso UK is one such omnichannel retailer. "The easiest way to describe a true omnichannel experience, both from the business' and consumers' point of view, would be to establish how seamless it is," comments Miniso UK's Chief Operating Officer, Saad Usman. "One of the things that drew us in with Retail Pro Prism for our omnichannel POS platform is that it's scalable, and we can tailor it as we need for our business. Retail Pro Prism is a comprehensive software package - we're still learning new capabilities all the time with assistance from our Retail Pro Business Partner, Pinnaca Retail & IT Solutions. The fact that Retail Pro Prism can be cloud-based and that support is available remotely were also factors we took into account when we chose Retail Pro." Miniso UK merchandise will be on display at the Retail Pro stand as part of the RFID and omnichannel solution demonstration. Showcasing: Omnichannel Solution Joined by their Partners, Retail Pro International is showcasing a complete omnichannel solution and will be speaking with retailers about what it will take to unify retail technologies and operations for their unique business needs. Visitors to the Retail Pro stand will have the opportunity to learn about the following products and services: Retail Pro - Take control of omnichannel store operations and inventory management with flexible Retail Pro Prism POSand retail management platform. Pinnaca Retail & IT Solutions - Build your omnichannel strategy with full-service consulting, implementation, and support for Retail Pro Prism and all your retail technology needs from Pinnaca Retail & IT Solutions. DataScan Retail Systems - Leverage DataScan Retail Systems'expertise in analysis and design of effective Retail Pro Prism implementations. RIOT - Count physical inventory in seconds with greater accuracy for store fulfillment options with RIOT RFID. XRETAIL - Unify commerce, merchandising, marketing, and services across all channels with integration to supply chain, ERP, order orchestration and fulfillment from XRETAIL. Loqate - Capture and verify emails, mobile numbers, and addresses in real-time for your online forms and checkouts with data services from Loqate. PAR - Embrace mobility with sleek, versatile, and tough POS hardware from PARthat goes wherever you go. Retail Pro International and their Partners are exhibiting 26-27 April 2022 at Retail Technology Show stand 6E28. Attendees are invited to visit the booth to see how they can connect physical and digital store experiences for a streamlined approach to omnichannel. About Miniso UK MINISO UK is a franchise of the Japanese-inspired lifestyle product retailer, offering high quality household goods, cosmetics and food at affordable prices. MINISO values excellent product design, value for money and comfortable shopping experience for its shoppers. The company was founded by CEO Ye Guofu, and the MINISO brand has opened almost 5,000 stores in over 90 countries and regions since 2013, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, France, Italy, UAE, India, and Mexico. We own the sole rights to operate as Miniso in the UK and Northern Ireland. About Retail Pro International Retail Pro International is a global leader in retail management software that is recognized world-wide for rich functionality, multi-national capabilities, and unparalleled flexibility, and has been named top POS for mid-market retail by IHL Group. For 35 years, RPI has innovated retail software solutions to help retailers optimize business operations and have more time to focus on what really matters - cultivating customer engagement and capitalizing on retail's trends. Today, Retail Pro software powers unified commerce strategy for retailers in 130 countries with full POS, replenishment, inventory, promotions, and customer management functionalities available on any mobile or desktop Android, IOS, and Windows devices. About Pinnaca Retail & IT Solutions Founded in 2015, Pinnaca provides fully outsourced, Retail technology solutions and consulting to UK-based businesses. Through analysis, formulation, and implementation, Pinnaca defines, develops, and optimizes tailored solutions for retailers' strategies focused on needs and requirements. With comprehensive consulting services, Pinnaca aids in long-term planning, helping retailers determine the best direction for their future and what it takes to get there. Press Inquiries To schedule a briefing or to inquire about a posted news release please contact: Ms. Ulyana Avetisov uavetisov@retailpro.com +1 916 605 7206 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/56135e7c-adbf-4e80-9e6e-1ad1e4ec00f3 LONDON, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global provider of talent outsourcing and advisory services, AMS (formerly Alexander Mann Solutions), has appointed two new Directors, Jacqueline Welch and Franck Cohen, to its Board as it continues its strong growth trajectory. Jacqueline Welch, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at The New York Times, brings with her a wealth of relevant experience in senior talent roles in the professional services, financial services and media industries. Franck Cohen, formerly Chief Customer Officer at SAP and now on the board of several leading technology organisations, as well as serving as an advisor to Workday and UiPath, brings with him knowledge and expertise in the application of technology to the delivery of B2B services. This latest news follows a period of strong growth throughout the world, especially in the United States, where the team has grown four-fold in the last 18 months and is now close to 2,000 strong. Expansion in Europe and Asia with multiple new office openings in those regions further evidences the extent to which AMS is helping many of the world's leading organisations gain competitive advantage through talent. Rosaleen Blair, Founder and Chair of AMS, welcomed the new appointments: "It's an incredibly exciting time for AMS. The talent acquisition market is evolving at pace and in order to stay ahead of the curve and deliver the innovative solutions that businesses have come to expect of our firm, we need to continue to grow and expand our organisation. I have no doubt that the experience which Jacqueline and Franck will bring to the Board will be enormously valuable for our clients and our people, and we are all looking forward to working closely with them." Jacqueline commented: "I'm delighted to be joining the AMS team. The firm's commitment to driving innovative talent solutions and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion is inspirational. I'm looking forward to being part of the company's future growth." Franck added: "AMS provides its clients with market-leading talent technology expertise and I am excited to help the team on its journey to leading the market even further in this area. The future for the business is about further automation and ML/ AI capabilities to develop advanced services for its clients." About AMS We are AMS. AMS is a global total workforce solutions firm founded in 1996. We enable organisations to thrive in an age of constant change by building, reshaping, and optimising workforces. We do this through talent acquisition and contingent workforce management, internal mobility and skills development, and talent and technology advisory services. Our solutions are delivered by our 8,000+ experts who live our passionate, bold, and authentic values. The ultimate aim is to help clients around the world, including 100+ blue-chip companies, create workforces that are fluid, resilient, diverse, and differentiated. We call this true workforce dexterity-and we're here to help you achieve it. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1803660/AMS_Franck_Cohen.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1803661/AMS_Jacqueline_Welch.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1450773/AMS_Logo.jpg Press contact: Vickie Collinge vickie@bluesky-pr.com +44 (0)1582 790705 In 2022, the world's leading beauty brand welcomes an iconic cast of spokespeople and honours one promising female short film director in the second annual edition of the Lights On Women Award CANNES, France, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, L'Oreal Paris returns to the Festival de Cannes to celebrate 25 years as Official Partner. A landmark anniversary for the world's leading beauty brand, L'Oreal Paris will once again honour one promising female short film director in the second annual edition of the brand's signature Lights on Women Award program. The winning film will be chosen from the Short Films Competition and La Cinef's selection at Cannes. This year, the Award will be presented in person by Academy Award-winner, L'Oreal Paris spokesperson and Juror, Kate Winslet, at the Jeune Cinema dinner on May 27, 2022. For this milestone year, L'Oreal Paris will also welcome its iconic family of spokespeople to Cannes, who will walk the red carpet on the brand's behalf and come together to celebrate an inclusive and empowered vision of beauty. To mark the occasion, an exclusive anniversary dinner with the L'Oreal Paris family and friends of the brand will be hosted to pay tribute to the 25 years of partnership on May 18, 2022. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/9042251-loreal-paris-celebrates-25-years-festival-cannes-supporting-women/ CELEBRATING WOMEN IN CINEMA FOR 25 YEARS The L'Oreal Paris Family Returns to Cannes From across continents and cultures, the L'Oreal Paris spokespeople in attendance at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival will include iconic actors and actresses who embody beauty in all its diverse forms. Among them are: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Leila Bekhti Gemma Chan Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Viola Davis * * Elle Fanning Aja Naomi King Katherine Langford * * Eva Longoria Andie MacDowell Camille Razat Nidhi Sunil Kate Winslet * *First time attending Cannes on behalf of the brand. These exceptional individuals of different backgrounds reflect the diversity of L'Oreal Paris customers--whatever their age, whatever their origin--and uphold the feminist values at the heart of the brand. 25 Years of Beauty Expertise, Glamour, and Innovation As Official Makeup Artist to the Cannes International Film Festival since 1997, L'Oreal Paris is proud to continue to support the world of cinema, bringing what's new in beauty to the film industry's most significant global gathering. This year the brand will host 30 makeup artists from around the world, led by L'Oreal Paris creative genius Val Garland, to create unforgettable makeup looks throughout the duration of the Festival. Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, Global Brand President, L'Oreal Paris, says, "Twenty-five years at Cannes is an incredible milestone. Throughout this historic partnership, we have always aimed to bring our brand's beauty expertise to the forefront of the Festival, while also honouring the best cinematic talent from around the world. This year's Lights on Women Award will continue to break down barriers and encourage talented female filmmakers to achieve their dreams. As we look ahead to the next 25 years, my hope for the future is that this kind of award won't even be necessary, as women who make cinema continue to take their rightful place in the industry." FOR PROMISING FEMALE FILM DIRECTORS Lights On Women Award: Reshaping the Film Industry Through Recognition and Visibility The global film industry has historically underrepresented women, both in front of and behind the camera, with only 17% of women in directorial positions on top-grossing films, and only 25% working in key behind the scenes roles[1]. Further amplifying L'Oreal Paris' message of self-esteem and empowerment, the Lights on Women Award is a unique recognition that offers the winner financial support of up to 20 000. The final awards selection will be determined and announced by Academy award-winner and L'Oreal Paris spokesperson and Juror, Kate Winslet, who will attend the prize ceremony at the Jeune Cinema dinner in person at Cannes on May 27, 2022. Actor Kate Winslet adds, "The Lights On Women Award plays a vital role in bestowing much needed praise on today's female creators--women who are much too often passed over for their male counterparts in this industry. The sheer beauty and force of last years' inaugural film moved me to tears, and I am honoured to play a part in continuing this important program, which offers a pathway for women in film to propel their careers forward." 2021 Reminder: Lights On Women Award's Inaugural Winner Aleksandra Odic from Germany took the top honour for her 22-minute film, Frida, from the 11 selected short films, depicting an encounter between a young nurse and her patient. In recognition of her accomplishment, Odic received financial support from L'Oreal Paris. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1803641/LOreal_and_Kate_Winslet.jpg Significant revenue growth with strong momentum thanks to a robust pipeline of projects, a resilient business platform, and an ever-expanding partner ecosystem LONDON, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EQTEC plc (AIM: EQT, "the Company" or "the Group"), a world-leading technology innovation company enabling the Net Zero Future through advanced solutions for hydrogen, biofuels, SNG, and other energy production, is pleased to announce its audited results for the financial year ended 31 December 2021 ("FY2021"). In FY2021, the Company reported revenue of 9.2 million (410% FY2020 revenue of 2.2 million) and a loss of 4.7 million (FY 2020: 5.8 million loss). The Company's net assets increased to 43.4 million as at 31 December 2021 (31 December 2020: 25.3 million), and cash remained stable, with a balance of 6.4 million as at 31 December 2021 (31 December 2020: 6.4 million). The Company delivered growth across seven geographies, with 12 projects under development, 3 additional plants under construction, 2 Market Development Centres under commissioning, and 2 new projects that led to financial close (with financing for a 3rd in progress). Furthermore, the Company has developed its growth platform, having incorporated formal legal entities in Croatia and Greece, with two more expected in 2022; initiated key strategic partnerships with Wood, Toyota, Logik, and H2; enhanced recruitment for engineering and project development talent; and raised 16m for market, project, and capability growth. Robust Project Pipeline The EQTEC projects that progressed to construction include: the North Fork Community Power (NFCP) project in the USA, which will help sequester carbon, reduce wildfire risk, produce green energy, create jobs, and support the local community while generating tradeable carbon credits; a biomass waste-to-energy plant in Italy to be repurposed as a Market Development Centre (MDC); two Croatian gasification plants - 1.2 MWe biomass-to-energy gasification plants in both Belisce and Karlovac; and the first advanced gasification, waste-to-energy project in Greece. There were also a range of projects under development across the USA, the UK, France, Greece, and Ireland. These include, the Blue Mountain Electric Company LLC opportunity in Wilseyville, California, USA;, the Southport and Deeside projects in the UK; the signing of a letter of intent with SEPS SAS of France to pursue the safe and clean transformation of contaminated plastics in France; a signing of an MoU with Nobilis and the formation of EQTEC Synergy Project Limited, and the acquisition of project rights in Nevrokopi, Drama for a biomass-to-energy plant in Greece; and three biomass-to-bioenergy projects in Ireland. Corporate Alignment Initiatives The Company also implemented alignment initiatives to put its future growth on a more sustainable path: Research and Development: The Company completed a successful R&D programme in December, including tests with Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and others with contaminated plastics, all at its R&D facility in France, operated in partnership with Universite de Lorraine. Collaboration with Major Partners: The Company signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Wood for joint development of integrated technology solutions for waste-to-SNG and waste-to-hydrogen and with H2 Energy Solutions to pursue opportunities for the deployment of waste-to-hydrogen and other solutions (particularly in Germany and Turkey). Outlook By the end of 2022, the Company expects to make fully operational two MDCs and two additional plants under construction for other owner-operators. It also expects to reach financial close on additional projects that extend existing propositions but also add new capabilities with different feedstock and new offtake applications. The Company is targeting continued, strong revenue growth and reduction in EBITDA losses, with planned investment in new and innovative projects that raise EQTEC's visibility and range of propositions. To further position EQTEC's technology as a replacement for fossil fuel technologies and support growth and scale, the Company will focus on four key areas of development. First, it will invest in its go-to-market model, formalising subsidiaries in the USA, the UK, France and Italy, with JVs in Croatia, Greece and Ireland. The company is looking again to Asia, where it has long had demand and see increasing opportunity. Second, it will invest in innovation, with a full R&D programme in 2022 and a three-year strategy for technology development with university partners as well as Wood and other, top-tier technology businesses to be announced. Third, it will enrich its global network to include multinational, Tier 1 development, delivery and technology partners as well as local, market-specific partners, including project funding partners. Fourth, it will invest in talent in its technical and corporate centres as well as in its go-to-market partners, to deepen and broaden capabilities with technology innovation, project development and corporate venturing. Finally, the Company has ramped up its engagement with policymakers and influencers in the EU, UK and USA, toward greater awareness and understanding of EQTEC's capabilities, propositions and place in the Net Zero future. David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, commented: "We set ambitious targets for 2021 and delivered more than 4x revenue over 2020, building the momentum we intended. We converted more opportunities than ever into focused, planned projects and amongst these was closure of both of our targeted MDCs in Italy and Croatia. We formalised majority-owned JVs in Croatia and the Aegean and invested in our go-to-market presence across USA, UK, France, Italy, and Ireland, with a view to increasing pace and impact in those markets. Critically, we also started extending our partnership network to major players that will credibly support our growth into new geographies and solutions." "I am especially proud of these achievements in the face of strong market headwinds, including significant price increases and delays in receiving critical raw materials or manufactured parts. Our business platform grows increasingly resilient as we add partners and new talent to our global network. From post-Covid challenges to COP26 to more recent geopolitical events, we experience more demand than ever and are taking our place as a leading technology innovator for fossil fuel replacements and clean, baseload energy and biofuels, as well as an innovator of new business models for energy independence and security." About EQTEC plc As one of the world's most experienced gasification technology and engineering companies, and with a growing track record of operational and commercial success in the waste-to-energy space through its best-in-class technology innovation, engineering, and project development, EQTEC brings together design innovation, project delivery discipline, and solid commercial experience to the global energy transition. EQTEC's proven, proprietary, and patented technology is at the centre of clean energy projects; local waste sourcing, business promotion, and job creation; and the transition to localized, decentralized, and resilient energy systems. Further information on the Company can be found at www.eqtec.com. NEW IoT MVNO TRACKER FROM KALEIDO FORECASTS CONNECTIVITY MANAGEMENT VAS REVENUES TO EXCEED $9 BILLION IN 2026 Kaleido Intelligence, a leading connectivity market intelligence and consulting firm, has found that cellular IoT connections managed by MVNOs will reach 670 million in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 24% between 2022 and 2026. Notably, with many IoT MVNOs now specialising in eSIM solutions, Kaleido predicts that eSIM connection growth for these players will outstrip overall connection growth to 2026, growing at 42% CAGR to reach 447 million connections in the latter forecast year. Kaleido's new IoT MVNO Tracker: Connectivity VAS 2022 research found that Europe and Asia-Pacific will account for just under 50% of total connections in 2026, with the latter region growing at an average annual growth rate of 30%. View the full press release and access a free infographic with key study findings via Kaleido's website Aeris, KORE and Truphone Lead Connection Market Share While there are a significant number of IoT MVNOs providing services on the market, Kaleido's research has found that the top 10 players analysed in the tracker made up 68% of the total connection volume in 2021, as well as 71% of the global revenue share. Meanwhile. the top 3 IoT MVNOs on the market: Aeris, KORE and Truphone, accounted for 28% of global IoT MVNO connections in 2021. Steffen Sorrell, Chief Analyst at Kaleido, commented: "It is notable that the top IoT MVNOs on the market have developed highly flexibly connectivity solutions to support a variety of business requirements. These include dedicated IoT core network infrastructure, eSIM connectivity bolstered by multi-IMSI technology to optimise coverage and lower costs, in addition to specialisation in a vertical or service area, such as healthcare, or eSIM Remote Subscription Management." Intense Competition to Drive IoT MVNO Innovation Kaleido found that the IoT MVNO market remains intensely competitive and predicts that players that remain focused on a pure connectivity play will likely lose out to more innovative service providers. This is, in part, due to shifts in the wholesale market which mean that IoT MVNOs are less able to be competitive in pricing than in former years. Innovative IoT MVNOs are now integrating differentiated services into their offering, such as device management capabilities, advanced security solutions, Private LTE or 5G as-a-service portfolios. In addition to this, they offer orchestration layer capabilities underlying their connectivity management platforms to streamline operations on behalf of customers. These elements are likely to drive ARPU levels higher, to offset ever-falling connectivity costs. Overall, Kaleido predicted that IoT MVNO connectivity management and VAS revenues will close in on $9.1 billion in 2026, representing a 22% CAGR between 2021 and 2026. The research has analysed 29 leading IoT MVNOs offering Connectivity VAS. It includes an in-depth evaluation of vendor performance across 12 verticals, including connections, average revenue per connection, eSIM connections, data consumption and revenues derived from connectivity services and VAS. About Kaleido Intelligence Kaleido Intelligence is a specialist consulting and market research firm with a proven track record, delivering telecom research at the highest level. Kaleido Intelligence is the only research company addressing mobile roaming in its entirety, covering: Data Forecasts by Market Historical Forecast Viewpoints Competitive Intelligence Strategic Insight Trend Analysis Research is led by expert analysts, each with significant experience delivering roaming insights that matter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005115/en/ Contacts: Jon King Chief Commercial Officer jon.king@kaleidointelligence.com Modern brand identity reinforces new corporate vision and extended solutions set NEW YORK and LONDON, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Today, Rimes, the industry leader in transformative data management and investment intelligence solutions, unveiled a new brand identity in support of the firm's ongoing growth strategy. The launch of the new brand comes on heels of a series of exciting developments at Rimes. Following the appointment of Brad Hunt as CEO in May 2021, Rimes acquired Matrix IDM, which added a cloud-native investment intelligence platform to the company's portfolio, allowing the firm to offer a full suite of connected, front-to-back office solutions to the buy-side community. Brad Hunt, CEO at Rimes, commented:. "Data is our passion, and our objective is to continually reinforce our position as the leading data management solutions provider to the global buy-side industry. With our extended solution set more fully supporting the data management needs of the front, middle and back offices, we have revamped our brand to better reflect our full capabilities." Laura Davis, CMO at Rimes, continued: "Brad's vision was clear; create a fresh, modern brand identity that reflected the level of innovation and forward momentum at Rimes. Our new messaging and visual identity speak to how we as a company make investment data work - we put clients first, solve the toughest investment data problems, and bring clarity to the investment process. Leading the new brand identity project team has been an incredible experience that I am proud to share with everyone." Brad concluded: "I am very confident about the future, which is being made possible by the enthusiastic support of a committed team. We have a fabulous new brand and our award-winning solutions are being adopted globally by an ever-increasing client base and a strong pipeline of new business opportunities." About Rimes Rimes provides transformative data management and investment intelligence solutions to the world's leading investors and asset managers. Driven by our passion for solving the most complex data problems, we partner with our clients to help them make better investment decisions using accurate information and industry-leading technology. Headquartered in New York and London, Rimes serves its global clients through offices in Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific. The "France UK Visitors" newsletter has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This definitive quarterly report highlights trends in the market for UK visitors to France. The France UK Visitors report is based on analysis of the UK Governments International Passenger Survey (IPS). It provides essential information for marketing and strategic planners. The report is produced quarterly with trends of previous quarters in clearly laid-out tables and illustrative charts. It contains data on market shares by mode of transport as well as profiles by age, gender, residence and reason for visit of UK resident visits to France. Key Topics Covered: 1. Visit and Spending Trends 2. Comparison With Other Countries 3. Number of UK Visitors to France and Europe by Mode 4. Gender and Age of UK Resident Visitors to France 5. Reason for UK Resident Visits to France and Europe 6. Share of Independent Holiday Visits by Mode to France and Europe 7. UK Resident visits to France and Europe by Reason by Nights 8. UK Resident Visits and Spending in France by UK Region 9. UK Resident Visits to France and Europe by Mode and Reason 10. Samples Sizes For more information about this newsletter visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e8g4u1 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005632/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 SINGAPORE, Apr 26, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Singapore's homegrown electricity retailer Union Power Pte Ltd (Union Power) has been appointed as distribution partner for a proposed US$5 billion project promoted by Anantara Energy Holdings Pte Ltd (Anantara) to generate renewable energy in Indonesia and export up to 4 TWh of it to the city state.Anantara's project involves generating up to 3.5 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy from a 4,000-hectare site in the Riau Islands and a battery capable of storing up to 12 GWh - one of the largest in the world - before being connected to Singapore via an undersea cable.The electricity import is subject to licensing approval from the Energy Market Authority of Singapore which has announced major plans to diversify its energy mix into renewables and reduce its reliance on liquified natural gas, and transition towards carbon neutrality by 2050.Singapore's green plans include the importation of clean renewable energy from neighbouring countries.Union Power, a member of homegrown Union Energy Corporation Pte Ltd (UEC) which has more than 40 years of business history, will be involved in retailing a significant portion of the imported clean energy to its base of 22,000 residential and business customers, leveraging upon the Company's deep domain knowledge and extensive network in Singapore.The partnership is part of Union Power's strategies to diversify towards solar and renewable energy, as the Company seeks to transform its business to support Singapore's green plans. Through its solar arm Union Solar, Union Power installs, operates and finances solar PV systems on the rooftops of commercial buildings, allowing customers in Singapore to enjoy competitive solar energy tariffs compared to conventional retailer tariffs. To date, Union Solar has been building a pipeline of 11 commercial & industrial projects, and expects demand to grow in the months ahead.Other efforts include building infrastructure for Electric Vehicle charging, as well as a partnership with a Dutch company to distribute a flexible light-weight solar foil which can be wrapped around structures, eliminating the need for supporting frames and structures and providing greater versatility of locations to harness solar power.The agreement between Anantara and UEC, along with the formal joint-development agreement for the Anantara partnership and Anantara's Memorandum of Understanding with Riau Islands Province, were signed on 19 April in the Indonesian embassy in Singapore in the presence of Ambassador His Excellency Mr Suryo Pratomo and the Governor of Riau Islands Province Mr Ansar Ahmad.Singapore-registered Anantara is a joint venture between German solar energy turnkey solutions provider, ib vogt, and Quantum Power Asia, the developer of Indonesia's first utility-scale solar PV plant.Union Power's Executive Director Ms. Ellen Teo said, "It is a great honour for Union Power to be part of this prestigious project. We remain committed to the Singapore Government's vision for a greener energy market, and believe our intimate knowledge of the issues faced by Singapore consumers will add significant value to the project. This partnership will be one of the most significant that we have undertaken, and will no doubt lead to even more opportunities in the near future. We accept this with deep honour and heartfelt commitment."Simon G. Bell, Managing Director and CEO, Quantum Power Asia said, "Partnering with Union Power is a foundational strategy for ensuring strong execution capability in Singapore that will lead to Anatantara delivering excellence in making available clean electricity in the Singapore market. Along with ib vogt, we look forward to a long-term relationship with the Union Power team."David Ludwig, Director Asia Pacific, ib vogt, said, "We are very enthusiastic about the partnership, which combines the strengths of Union and Quantum, for the Singapore import tender. Each consortium member is a leader in their respective fields and together we are able to provide a very competitive and compelling offer to substantially contribute to Singapore's decarbonisation efforts as well as the economic development of the Riau Islands."About Union PowerUnion Power Pte Ltd is a leading digital energy retailer, licensed by Singapore's Energy Market Authority. The Company is a subsidiary of Union Energy Corporation - the largest bottled-gas supplier in Singapore, which has over 40 years of operating track record in the business of retailing LPG, Natural Gas, Diesel and Electricity in the Commercial, Industrial and Residential markets.Founded in 2017, Union Power launched Union Solar in September 2020, in line with its push towards sustainable solutions through solar energy power generation. For more information, please visit: https://unionpower.com.sg/Media & Investor Contact InformationWeR1 Consultants Pte LtdIsaac Tang, unionpower@wer1.net, M: +65 9748 0688Source: Union Power Pte LtdCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Partnership with OMERS Capital Markets and BMO Enables Continued Acceleration of AGP's Global Expansion Plans AGP Positioned to Meet Growing Demand for Specialty Glass Amid Global Transition to Electric Vehicles AGP Group ("AGP" or "the company"), a global leader in the design and production of specialty automotive glazing components, today announced it has entered into a debt financing agreement with OMERS Capital Markets ("OMERS") and BMO Financial Group ("BMO") to provide up to US$250 million in a senior secured term loan facility. AGP intends to use the proceeds to finance the continued acceleration of the company's global expansion plans, including the completion of a new, state-of-the-art North American production facility. The financing follows a strategic partnership and investment, announced in April 2021, by funds affiliated with BDT Capital Partners, LLC ("BDT"), a merchant bank that provides family- and founder-led businesses with long-term, differentiated capital. "Electrification and automation are driving meaningful changes in the way glass is incorporated into vehicle design, with cost and space optimization, energy efficiency and passenger experience resulting in rapidly growing demand for larger, more complex and tech-enabled glass surfaces," said Arturo Mannheim, CEO and Chairman of the Board of AGP Group. "AGP's R&D-driven competitive advantages across multiple technologies are aligned with the shifting industry needs, making us a go-to design and supply partner to traditional OEMs, leading EV start-ups and tech leaders entering the industry. We value the support from OMERS and BMO, as well as our continued partnership with BDT, which positions us well as we expand our platform to supply global OEMs in every major market." "We are proud to announce our participation in AGP's secured debt financing. Reflecting its more than 50 years of world-wide leadership within the specialty glass sector, AGP's established reputation and customer relationships, coupled with its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and comprehensive technological capabilities, position the company at the forefront of this high-growth market segment. We are particularly excited by AGP's pipeline of opportunities related to the global transition to electric vehicles," said Michael Block, Senior Managing Director, Capital Solutions, for OMERS Capital Markets. "The terms of this financing reflect our confidence in AGP's experienced management team and strong track record of performance, and align closely with Capital Solutions' flexible funding approach." "A clear industry leader in complex glazing solutions with a track record of partnering with the world's preeminent vehicle manufacturers, AGP is well positioned to continue its global expansion," said Alan Tannenbaum, Global Investment Corporate Banking, BMO Capital Markets. "As part of our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good, in business and life, BMO is proud to partner with a company whose product is an integral part of the growing transition to electrification." About AGP Group AGP Group is one of the world's leading glazing manufacturers. AGP Group has developed a large portfolio of products for the automotive, marine, and security markets. With around 3,000 employees from over 50 different nationalities, the company provides high-tech glazing solutions to more than 20 automotive brands that are shaping the future of mobility through electrification and autonomous driving. AGP has seven manufacturing plants and four Tech Innovation Centers in Europe, North and South America as well as commercial offices in 20 countries. For more information, visit agpglass.com. About OMERS Capital Markets and OMERS OMERS Capital Markets is the capital markets investment division of OMERS, one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans. Capital Markets' diverse programs, flexible investment strategies and specialized teams, including across public equities, private credit, and structured investments, enable it to pursue opportunities that don't fit into traditional categories. Through its global Capital Solutions team, it identifies and executes on complex opportunities across a number of themes, including decarbonization, clean-tech and life sciences. Founded in 1962, OMERS manages $121 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2021. OMERS has employees in Toronto and other major cities across North America, the U.K., Continental Europe, Asia and Australia. About BMO Financial Group Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $1.02 trillion as of January 31, 2022, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220425006031/en/ Contacts: AGP Cesar Micheviz, Ghent, +32 475 80 29 14 OMERS Neil Hrab, Toronto, nhrab@omers.com +1 416 369 2418 BMO Kelly Hechler, Toronto, Kelly.hechler@bmo.com +1 416 867 3996 SonarSource will use the investment to expand globally and propel the company to $1 billion in total revenue SonarSource, the leading platform for clean code, today announced it has raised $412 million from new and existing investors, at a valuation of $4.7 billion. The round is led by new investors Advent International and General Catalyst, with existing investor Insight Partners participating. Permira's Growth Opportunities Fund also participated in the round. SonarSource will use the investment to grow its go-to-market team globally as the company drives toward $1 billion in revenue. "SonarSource is an outstanding business that has positioned itself as a category-defining leader in clean code, with a trusted reputation among developers and a truly differentiated solution," said Bryan Taylor, Head of Advent's Technology Investment Team and a Managing Partner in Palo Alto. "We are thrilled to partner with Olivier and the SonarSource team as they build a major platform within the software development ecosystem, accelerating the rapid growth in their revenue and user community." Used by more than five million developers, SonarSource's solutions enable enterprises to maximize the value of their software by helping developers and development teams write high-standard code, which is free of bugs and security vulnerabilities, and consistent across the board. As software gets updated continuously, SonarSource ensures that only clean code is embedded directly into the development process, systematically improving the overall health of the code base and meaningfully reducing tech debt. This unlocks significant resource and time savings so developers can focus on innovating, delivering better products and improving customer experience, thereby boosting key business metrics. "Source code is the key component of software. At SonarSource, we enable companies to make this source code an asset rather than a liability. This delivers huge value, especially when you know this is done as part of the development process and requires no extra effort," said Olivier Gaudin, CEO and co-founder of SonarSource. "With the market recognizing the importance of code, we have a clear path to $1 billion in revenue. Having the right people and partners around the table will help us to move swiftly toward that goal and prepare for public markets." "SonarSource has a bold vision for transforming the way organizations build software. This vision has been clearly validated by the company's skyrocketing customer adoption and outstanding reputation within the developer community," said Deep Nishar, Managing Director, General Catalyst. "General Catalyst is excited to support SonarSource in broadening its impact on a global stage." The company will use this investment to double its sales force in 2022 and grow its marketing team across existing offices in Geneva, Switzerland; Annecy, France; Bochum, Germany and Austin, Texas. The investment in sales and marketing will help the company expand its reach among the world's 70 million software developers. In addition, SonarSource will open a new regional headquarters in Singapore, allowing the company to build its business within the burgeoning APAC market. The investment comes as SonarSource continues to build rapid momentum. Key company milestones include: Over five million developers at more than 300,000 organizations use SonarSource's commercial and community products to improve their code quality. In the last four years, SonarSource grew its commercial customer base by more than 2,000%. 80 Fortune 100 companies use the platform. IBM, Microsoft, Barclays, Alphabet and NASA are among the major organizations using SonarSource today. "As an early investor in SonarSource, we've been extremely impressed with the company's continuing maturity and accelerating market penetration. It comes as no surprise: enterprises everywhere need to develop code with high standards quickly, and SonarSource is the only solution enabling that," said Richard Wells, Managing Director at Insight Partners. "We're excited to continue our collaboration with SonarSource as the company enters a new stage in its growth journey." About SonarSource SonarSource's industry leading solution enables developers and development teams to write clean code and remediate existing code organically, so they can focus on the work they love and maximize the value they generate for businesses. Its open source and commercial solutions SonarLint, SonarCloud, and SonarQube support 29 programming languages. Trusted by more than 300,000 organizations globally, SonarSource is considered integral to deliver better software. About Advent International Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 390 private equity investments across 41 countries, and as of December 31, 2021, had $88 billion in assets under management. With 15 offices in 12 countries, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 265 private equity investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. For over 35 years, Advent has been dedicated to international investing and remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies. For more information, visit Website: www.adventinternational.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/advent-international About General Catalyst General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that invests in powerful, positive change that endures for our entrepreneurs, our investors, our people, and society. We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond to build companies that withstand the test of time. With offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York City, London, and Boston, the firm has helped support the growth of businesses such as: Airbnb, Deliveroo, Guild, Gusto, Hubspot, Illumio, Lemonade, Livongo, Oscar, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker. For more: www.generalcatalyst.com. About Insight Partners Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of February 24, 2022, the closing of the firm's recent fundraise, Fund XII, brings Insight Partners' regulatory assets under management to over $90B. Insight Partners has invested in more than 600 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Palo Alto. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Insight Partners meets great software leaders where they are in their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005213/en/ Contacts: Emily Ashley 10Fold for SonarSource 916-710-0950 sonarsource@10fold.com DGAP-News: Altaley Mining Corp Altaley Mining Files Tahuehueto PFS Technical Report with Significantly Improved Project Economics 26.04.2022 / 12:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Altaley Mining Corporation (TSXV: ATLY) (OTCQX: ATLYF) (FSE: TSGA) ("Altaley" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed an updated technical report, including a Preliminary Feasibility Study ('PFS'), for its Tahuehueto Project in Durango, Mexico. (the 'Project') on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ('SEDAR') at www.sedar.com in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ('NI 43-101") and in accordance with Canadian Institute Mining's ('CIM') Best Practice Guidelines for the Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The Company made a preliminary disclosure of the PFS economics in a new release dated March 7, 2022, which results contained errors related to net smelter return calculations that under-estimated the PFS economics. With the filing of the PFS report, Altaley now updates the March 7, 2022 disclosure with a significant increase of approximately 30% to the overall economics of the project. 2022 Prefeasibility Study improves 2017 PFS increasing throughput to 1,000 tonnes per day returning a post-tax NPV of NPV of $161.3 million, at a discount rate of 5%, ($141.8 Million and $131. 8 million at discount rate of 8% and 10% respectively). IRR of 65% with a 2-year payback period (5% discount rate). Total Life of Mine Capital Cost estimate of US $56.9 million with project construction over 95% complete and initial pre-production targeted during April 2022. Life of Mine All in Sustaining costs (AISC) estimated at US $844 per gold equivalent ounce at $1,647.52/ounce Au, $21.64/ounce Ag, $0.92/pound Pb, $1.14/pound Zn and $3.60/pound Cu) Proven & Probable Reserves of 3.58 million tonnes grading 2.55g/t gold, 50.06 g/t silver, 1.92% zinc, 1.11% lead, 0.26% copper. 10.9-year Life of Mine (LOM) utilizing mostly low-cost bulk underground Sub-level Open Stoping mining method with average annual production of 25,987 oz of gold, 453,952 oz of silver, 827 tonnes of copper, 3,155 tonnes of lead and 6,123 k-lbs of zinc. Significant opportunities exist to expand the Projects Mineral Resources and Reserves base with near mine and regional exploration. Altaley plans to aggressively pursue exploration as soon as free cash flows allow or alternative funding is secured. The technical report, entitled 'NI43-101 Technical Report Preliminary Feasibility Study, Altaley Mining Corporation, Tahuehueto Project, Durango, Mexico' and dated with an Effective date of February 23, 2022 and report date of April 21, 2022, was authored by Mr. Scott E. Wilson, CPG, President of Resource Development Associates Inc., an independent consulting geologist specializing in Mineral Reserve and Resource calculation reporting, mining project analysis and due diligence evaluations. He is acting as the Qualified Person, as defined in NI 43-101, for the overall technical report, and the Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Statement. Mr. Wilson has over 32 years' experience in the mining industry and is a Registered Member (#4025107RM) of Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. Mr. Wilson and Resource Development Associates Inc. are independent of the Company under NI 43-101. 'As our Tahuehueto Gold Mine Project construction nears completion we are happy to disclose final results of the project's updated pre-feasibility study which continues to show robust economics.' said Ralph Shearing, CEO & President. 'The disclosure and filing on SEDAR of the updated PFS and reserve and resource estimation, along with our anticipated May startup of pre-production operations at Tahuehueto, are the culmination of many years of hard work by the Altaley team and as our Tahuehueto mine ramps up to full production during Q2-Q3 2022, increased cash flow will allow Altaley to recommence exploration drilling and unlock the ultimate potential of our Tahuehueto district scale project.' Pre-Feasibility Study Overview The Project configuration evaluated in the PFS is a conventional, owner-operated underground mine, that will utilize contractor mining in a combination sub-level long hole open stope and cut and fill mining methods. Mill feed will be processed in a 1,000 tonnes per day comminution circuit consisting of primary and secondary crushing, wet grinding to an initial two-circuit flotation/concentration plant producing precious metal rich lead and zinc concentrates; and subsequently, in second year of operation a third circuit added to produce copper concentrates. The PFS was prepared by independent third-party consultants, Resource Development Associates Inc. ('RDA') and integrated updated geological interpretations based on expanded knowledge of the mineral deposit, geological modeling, an optimized mine plan and production schedule, additional metallurgical work, a mill currently under construction and updated cost estimates, all of which de-risk the Project. The PFS provides information on the optimized Project with higher throughput rates, updated resource estimate, and capital and operating cost estimates as compared to the project evaluated in the National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ('NI43-101') January 2017 Technical Report (the '2017 Report'). The final version of the NI 43-101 technical report containing the PFS has been filed on SEDAR. As a result of the changes to the Project as evaluated in the PFS, including differences in mineral resource estimation methodology and changes to the economic parameters applied to the geologic block model (metal selling prices, recovery, CAPEX, and OPEX), all of which resulted in a change in mineral resources, the Project as evaluated in the 2017 Report is no longer considered current and the 2017 Report should therefore not be relied upon by investors. The engineering design to estimate capital costs used in the PFS are within a 20% accuracy however, the Company in 2021 elected to proceed with construction of the project which, as of the date of this press release, 95% of required construction capital has been invested in the project, advancing construction past 95% completion with most capital expenditures completed and therefore capital equipment and construction costs are known with substantially increased accuracy. The Company cautions that the PFS is preliminary in nature and is based on technical and economic assumptions which could be further refined and evaluated in a full feasibility study. The PFS is based on an updated Project reserve and resource estimate effective as of February 23, 2022. As the Company has elected to bring the Tahuehueto Mining Project into production without the project's mineral reserves supported by a full feasibility study, the Company cautions that this could result in a higher risk of economic or technical failure of the operation that if a full feasibility study had been prepared demonstrating economic and technical viability. There are no assurances that the Tahuehueto Mining Project will be found to be economic. The following is a summary of the material aspects and assumptions of the PFS. Investors are urged to review the complete NI 43-101 report filed on SEDAR for complete details of the PFS. Project Location The Tahuehueto Project is located in the northwest portion of the state of Durango, Mexico, approximately 250 km northwest of the capital city of Durango. The Project is located about 25 km north of the Topia polymetallic-silver mine, 48 km northwest of the La Cienega gold, silver, base metal mine, 85 km southwest of the Guanacevi silver district, 280 km southeast of the Palmarejo silver and gold mine, and 150 km northwest of the San Dimas mining district, most notable for the Tayoltita silver and gold mine. Summary of Results of the 1,000 Tonnes Per Day PFS Table 1 OPERATING METRICS 2022 PFS Mill Throughput (tonnes/day) 1,000 Mine Life (years) 10.9 Total Ore Processed (tonnes) 3.55M Annual Mining Rate (tonnes) 336,000 Development-to-ore ratio (waste:ore) 0.6 Head Grade (average for the LOM) Pb (%) 1.1 Zn (%) 1.9 Au (g/tonne) 2.58 Ag (g/tonne) 50.5 Cu (%) 0.3 AuEq (g/tonne) 6 Recovery (average for the LOM) Pb (%) 85 Zn (%) 68 Au (%) 87 Ag (%) 85 Cu (%) 85 Average Monthly Production - LOM Pb (tonnes) 263 Zn (tonnes) 510 Au (troy ounces) 2,166 Ag (troy ounces) 37,829 Cu (tonnes) 69 Table 2 FINANCIAL METRICS March 7,2022 Disclosure (Corrected in column to right) Final 2022 PFS US$ Total Net Smelter Return (Pb, Zn, Au, Ag, Cu) 533.1 645.4 $Million Gold Net Revenue 341.5 392.8 $Million Silver Net Revenue 74.0 87.5 $Million Lead Net Revenue 55.8 60.5 $Million Zinc Net Revenue 48.3 78.4 $Million Copper Net Revenue 13.4 26.2 $Million Pre-tax Net Cash flow 240.9 352.5 $Million Post tax Net Cash Flow 186.3 258.9 $Million Annual Average pre-tax net cash flow 21.4 98 $Million Pre-tax net cash flow per tonne of ore 67 72 $/tonne ore LOM Total Capital cost - Plant, mine development, infrastructure, working capital (no contingency) 56.9 56.9 $Million OPEX - Development Mining 1,278.1 1,278.1 $/meter OPEX - Ore Mining 35.0 35.0 $/tonne ore OPEX - Processing 22 22 $/tonne ore OPEX - General &Administrative (G&A) 3.0 3.0 $/tonne ore OPEX - Operating Cost - LOM 69.5 69.5 $/tonne ore All-In Sustaining Cost of Production - LOM 844 855 $/AuEq oz Pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV) at 5% discount 152.8 234.4 $Million Post-tax NPV at 5% discount* 110.0 161.3 $Million Post-tax NPV at 10% discount 90.6 130.8 $Million EBIDTA LOM 246.1 357.7 $Million Internal Rate of Return (IRR)** 45 65.5 % Payback Period 2.58 2.0 Years *5% discount considered reasonable due to advanced state of Tahuehueto construction where 95% of required capital has been invested in the project, advancing construction past 95% completion with most capital expenditures completed and therefore capital costs are known with substantially increased accuracy. **IRR is calculated with approximately $34 million of pre-Jan 2022 expenses on the project. $19 million of pre-2015 costs of exploration, acquisition and carrying costs have been treated as sunk costs. Sensitivity Analysis Table 3 below shows the after-tax sensitivity of NPV, IRR to varying gold prices (US Currency) Table 3 Gold Price ($/oz) After Tax NPV 0% ($M) After Tax NPV 5% ($M) After Tax NPV 8% ($M) After Tax NPV 10% ($M) IRR (%) Payback (Years) 1,450 171.6 134.2 117.3 107.8 50.5 2.6 1,550 187.7 146.9 128.5 118.2 55.9 2.3 1,650 204.4 161.3 141.8 130.8 65.5 2.0 1,750 219.7 172.3 151.0 139.0 66.7 2.0 1,850 237.7 185.1 162.2 149.4 72.2 1.9 PFS Baseline shown in Bold Table 4 below shows the after-tax sensitivity of NPV, IRR to various gold mill recoveries. (US Currency) Table 4 Mill Recovery Gold (%) After Tax NPV 0% ($M) After Tax NPV 5% ($M) After Tax NPV 8% ($M) After Tax NPV 10% ($M) IRR (%) Payback (Years) 85% 170.2 134.1 117.7 108.5 53.3 2.4 90% 190.1 149.9 131.7 121.4 60.5 2.2 95% 204.4 161.3 141.8 130.8 65.5 2.0 97% 210.4 166.0 146.0 134.7 67.6 2.0 PFS Baseline shown in Bold Capital Costs Key capital expenditures for initial and sustaining capital requirements are identified in the following Table 5. (All figures in US$ Millions) Table 5 Initial investment up to Feb. 28, 2022 Investment remaining as at Feb. 28, 2022 to generate positive cash flow* Investment to reach continuous & sustainable production ** Sustaining capital expenditures *** Total capital costs**** Processing facilities 10.29 1.86 0.93 0.13 13.21 Infrastructure facilities 2.22 2.17 0.85 0.15 5.39 Mine equipment 4.05 0.09 0.78 0.53 5.45 Tailings 0.06 0.83 0.38 1.50 2.77 Mine development 0.48 0.25 0.98 27.18 28.89 Mining rights - - 0.11 1.10 1.21 Subtotal 17.10 5.20 4.03 30.59 56.92 Contingency - - 1.19 3.06 4.25 Total 17.10 5.20 5.22 33.65 61.17 * From Feb 28, 2022 to positive cash flow date ** From reaching positive cash-flow date to January 2023 *** From Jan 2023 to end of mine life **** Life of mine capital costs and Pre-Jan 2022 capitalized costs All-in Sustaining Costs Table 6 highlights the all-in sustaining costs and the all-in cost over the life of the Project. Table 6 Life of Mine US$/AuEq Oz US$ Million Operating Costs(1) 734 320.5 Sustaining Capital Expenditures (2) 77 33.65 Corporate G&A 18 8.0 Reclamation 17 7.5 All-In Sustaining Costs (3) (4) 846 369.6 Capital Expenditures 32 13.8 All-In Costs (4) 876 383.4 Rounding of some figures may lead to minor discrepancies in totals. Includes streaming, penalties, and shipping costs. Includes all mine development capital expenditures after the first 12 months of production. Includes initial capital expenditures for the first 12 months of production. All-In Sustaining Costs and All-In-Costs are non-GAAP measures. See reference to 'Non-GAAP' below. Annual Metal Production Project Mineral Reserves Table 7 below presents the Mineral Reserve estimate for the Project as of February 23, 2022. These Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves formed the basis of the economic evaluation of the Project and are based on a metal selling prices of $1647.5 USD/Au oz, $21.64 USD/Ag oz, $0.92 USD/Pb lb, $1.14 USD/Zn lb, and $3.6 USD/lb Cu. The economic assumptions and parameters used for the calculation of reserves are the same as those used for the PFS financial model. Tahuehueto Project Mineral Reserve Estimate Table 7 Classification Tonnes (x1000) Ag Grade (g/t) Ag Oz (x1000) Au Grade (g/t) Au Oz (x1000) Cu Grade (%) Cu Lbs (x1000) Pb Grade (%) Pb Lbs (x1000) Zn Grade (%) Zn Lbs (x1000) Proven 2,358 51.93 3,937 2.89 219 0.27 14,246 1.18 61,429 2.07 107,515 Probable 1,227 46.48 1,834 1.90 75 0.23 6,304 0.96 25,929 1.63 44,125 Proven & Probable 3,585 50.06 5,770 2.55 294 0.26 20,550 1.11 87,357 1.92 151,640 Mineral Reserves are estimated using metal price forecasts of $0.92/lb for lead, $1.14/lb for zinc, $3.60/lb for copper, $1,647.50/oz for gold and $21.64/oz for silver. Totals may not add due to rounding. The foregoing mineral reserves are based upon and are included within the current mineral resource estimate for the Project. Project Mineral Resources The mineral resource estimates set forth in the PFS ('2022 MRE') have been prepared by Resource Development Associates Inc. ('RDA'). Tahuehueto Project Mineral resource Estimate Table 8 Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral resource estimates include inferred mineral resources which are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied that would enable them to be classified as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that inferred mineral resources will be converted to measured or indicated mineral resources. Gold equivalency was estimated using metal selling prices of US$1,650/Oz Au, US$21.02/Oz Ag, US$0.91/Lb Pb, US$1.15/Lb Zn and US$3.70/Lb Cu. Resources were estimated using assay results from 37 reverse circulation drill holes, 215 diamond core drill holes and 2,714 channel samples. Mineralization was identified in 9,599 assays. Assays were composited to nominal 1.5-meter lengths totalling 2,213 composites which were used to estimate mineralization into the vein system at Tahuehueto. A block model was constructed around the Tahuehueto vein system. Mineralization was estimated using Inverse Distance Cubed (ID3) interpolation parameters. The selective mining unit for the project is 1.5-meters. Therefore, mineralization was estimated into blocks no smaller than 1.5-meters to determine mineralization that has the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction Grade and Tonnage Sensitivity to Cut-off Grades Mineral resources at Tahuehueto are sensitive to the selection of reporting cut-off grade. To illustrate this sensitivity, the block model quantities and grade estimates within the mineral deposit are presented in table 9 at linear increases in cut-off grades for measured, indicated, and inferred mineralization. The same results are presented graphically in Figure 1. Mineralization is constrained to material that meets the reasonable prospects test. The numbers presented in Table 9 should not be misconstrued with a mineral resource statement. The figures are only presented to show the sensitivity of block model estimates to the selection of a cut-off grade. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Table 9 Measured Indicated Measured & Indicated Inferred Cut-off AuEq g/t Tonnes (000) Grade Au g/t Au Oz. (000) Tonnes (000) Grade Au g/t Au Oz. (000) Tonnes (000) Grade Au g/t Au Oz. (000) Tonnes (000) Grade Au g/t Au Oz. (000) 1.00 4,149 2.28 305 2,566 1.52 126 6,715 1.99 430 1,040 0.98 33 1.25 3,964 2.37 302 2,453 1.58 125 6,417 2.07 427 946 1.04 32 1.50 3,744 2.49 299 2,294 1.67 123 6,038 2.18 422 875 1.08 30 1.75 3,509 2.62 296 2,165 1.74 121 5,674 2.28 417 810 1.13 29 2.00 3,233 2.79 290 1,994 1.85 118 5,227 2.43 408 724 1.20 28 2.25 3,077 2.89 285 1,847 1.95 116 4,924 2.53 401 652 1.27 27 2.50 2,894 3.01 280 1,693 2.04 111 4,587 2.65 391 571 1.36 25 2.75 2,693 3.14 272 1,520 2.16 106 4,213 2.79 378 501 1.44 23 3.00 2,503 3.28 264 1,345 2.28 99 3,848 2.93 362 431 1.48 21 3.25 2,346 3.41 257 1,196 2.45 94 3,542 3.08 351 353 1.59 18 3.50 2,207 3.54 251 1,082 2.58 90 3,289 3.23 341 267 1.58 14 3.75 2,055 3.71 245 963 2.76 86 3,018 3.40 330 205 1.57 10 4.00 1,907 3.89 239 830 3.05 81 2,737 3.64 320 161 1.69 9 Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral resource estimates do not account for mineability, selectivity, mining loss and dilution. These mineral resource estimates include inferred mineral resources that are normally considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is also no certainty that these inferred mineral resources will be converted to measured and indicated categories through further drilling, or into mineral reserves once economic considerations are applied. Detailed Report A NI 43-101 compliant technical report that summarizes the results of the PFS has been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and is available on the Company's website www.altaleymining.com. Mr. Scott E. Wilson, CPG, President of Resource Development Associates Inc., is an independent consulting geologist specializing in Mineral Reserve and Resource calculation reporting, mining project analysis and due diligence evaluations. He is acting as the Qualified Person, as defined in NI 43-101, for the overall technical report, and the Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Statement. Mr. Wilson has over 32 years' experience in the mining industry and is a Registered Member (#4025107RM) of Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. Mr. Wilson and Resource Development Associates Inc. are independent of the Company under NI 43-101. Mr. Wilson has reviewed and approved the technical information summarized in this news release. About Altaley Mining Corporation Altaley Mining Corporation is a Canadian based mining company with two 100% owned Mexican gold, silver, and base metal mining projects. Altaley's Tahuehueto mining project is in north-western Durango State, Mexico where construction has been advanced to near completion on its 1,000 tonne per day processing facility and related mine infrastructure to initiate production of gold, silver, lead, and zinc in concentrates at Tahuehueto. The Company is targeting initial pre-production in May 2022 and ramping up to full production capacity during Q2-Q3 2022. Campo Morado is an operating polymetallic base metal mine with mining and milling equipment currently producing at an average of 2,200 tonnes per day and is currently estimated to be Mexico's 6th largest zinc producer. Visit: www.altaleymining.com On Behalf of the Board of Directors (signed) 'Ralph Shearing'Ralph Shearing, P. Geol, CEO, President and Director Cautionary Note Regarding Production Decisions and Forward-Looking Statements 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. It should be noted that Altaley declared commercial production at Campo Morado and elected to initiate construction to go into production at Tahuehueto prior to completing full feasibility studies demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, readers should be cautioned that Altaley's production decisions have been made without comprehensive feasibility studies of established reserves at Campo Morado and prefeasibility level reserves at Tahuehueto, such that there is greater risk and uncertainty as to future economic results from the Campo Morado mine and at Tahuehueto mine where reserves are established to the prefeasibility level of confidence and therefore a higher technical risk of failure than would be the case if full feasibility studies were completed and relied upon to make production decisions. Altaley has completed a preliminary economic assessment ('PEA') mining study on the Campo Morado mine and a prefeasibility study ('PFS') at Tahuehueto mine that provides a conceptual life of mine plan and a preliminary economic analysis based on the previously identified mineral resources (see News Release dated November 8, 2017, April 4, 2018, and April 25, 2022). Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-Looking Information includes but is not limited to conditions or financial performance that are based on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action; the timing and costs of future activities on the Company's properties, such as production rates and increases; success of exploration, development and bulk sample processing activities, and timing for processing at its own mineral processing facility on the Tahuehueto project site. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified using words and phrases such as "plans," "expects," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases. In preparing the Forward-Looking Information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, that the current exploration, development, environmental and other objectives concerning the Campo Morado Mine and the Tahuehueto Project can be achieved: the continuity of the price of gold and other metals, economic and political conditions, and operations. 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 future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. There can be no assurance that 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. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Contact Details Altaley Mining Corporation Glen Sandwell +1 604-684-8071 ir@altaleymining.com Company Website https://www.altaleymining.com/ News Source: News Direct 26.04.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de Press Release - April 26, 2022 Former Special Financial Advisor to OECD G20 Sherpa and OECD Coordinator for Infrastructure joins EDHECinfra to support fair value, transparency and ESG in infrastructure investment Andre Laboul's first mission will be to engage with prudential and regulatory authorities around the world on the importance of adopting robust and transparent approaches to the reporting of the financial and non-financial performance of infrastructure investments. Andre Laboul, former Special Financial Advisor to the OECD G20 Sherpa is joining EDHECinfra as a Senior Advisor to the CEO. Among other roles, Mr Laboul has been Head of the OECD Financial Affairs Division; Deputy to the G20 and G7 Finance Deputy; OECD Coordinator for Infrastructure; Secretary General of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors; Senior Counsellor to the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs; and Chairman of the International Network on Financial Education. Mr Laboul wrote the first major international studies on bank/insurance and on regulation of private pensions and was instrumental in the development of various major international policy projects and international instruments by the OECD, including on infrastructure, private pensions, financing of long-term investment by institutional investors, financial education, financial consumer protection, terrorism insurance and financial management of catastrophic risks. He is currently lecturer in various universities and holds senior advisory positions in various fora. On his new role with EDHECinfra, Andre Laboul said, "The role of infrastructure in institutional portfolios can only reach its full potential once the fair market values of such investments are really taken into account. It is essential to align prudential rules with robust and transparent approaches to measuring risk in illiquid and unlisted investments like infrastructure, including ESG-related infrastructure, in order to reach the full potential of the infrastructure asset class from both public policy and private investment standpoints." EDHECinfra CEO, Frederic Blanc-Brude, said, "Andre brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to the gradual integration of the infrastructure asset class into the policy and regulatory process. He has genuinely seen the asset be born at the G20 and has overseen a large part of this process. We are proud to have him join us as Senior Advisor to continue to carry an important message on the role of data and transparency for infrastructure investment." About EDHEC Infrastructure Institute : EDHECinfra is a venture of EDHEC Business School and a provider of indices and analytics for the infrastructure investment universe. Because the majority of infrastructure assets are not publicly traded, there has traditionally been a vast knowledge gap when it comes to gauging the prices of these assets and their evolution. We are closing that gap with analytics and calculated indexes that already cover 25 countries representing an investable universe of 7,000 companies. We are based in Singapore and London. Visit edhec.infrastructure.institute. EDHECinfra maintains the infraMetrics platform: an online information system that gives access to key market indices including the infra300 and infra100 series. InfraMetrics also includes a wealth of valuation data and analytics, risk metrics, a fund strategy analysis tool providing robust performance quartiles for any segment, strategy or vintage, and peer group analyses allowing investors to compare themselves against comparable segments of the market. With the automation market expected to grow by $32 billion by 2025, Qualibrate is reinventing SAP system testing to significantly increase businesses' revenue and productivity. AMSTERDAM, April 26, 2022, the leading SaaS solution for enterprise software delivery, revolutionizes SAP DevOps, helping businesses achieve greater productivity and revenue. As organizations embrace business and test automation, enterprises need rapid implementation to bring projects to life with efficient testing. Gartner predicts the integration marketis projected to grow by $32 billion by the end of 2025, scaling nearly 50% in five years alone. According to a new Forrester report, automation testing toolsare expected to power significant market growth, driving revenues to $22 billion in 2025, up from $13.9 billion in 2021. Emerging as the market leader in test automation, Qualibrate provides a friction-less process for businesses to integrate software for automation, disrupting the conventional approaches to documenting, training, and testing. Traditionally, software delivery was time-consuming, expensive, and lacked reusability. With Qualibrate reinventing quality assurance, individuals, teams, and organizations are empowered with the right automation technologies and tools to keep up with the high speed of digital transformation. For clients like PVH Europe, a large Dutch retailer with a diversified portfolio of brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, business continuity was key as they migrated and uploaded thousands of assets. With Qualibrate, PVH Europe increased coverage and speed of their regression testing while also increasing data validation to 100% correctness and completeness, compared to the previous process of manually spot-checking 10% of loaded data. "The business world is changing and continues to change at a rapid pace. Automating business and test processes is not just a necessity, but it is a requirement for large enterprises. Qualibrate's automated processes increase productivity by utilizing technology to connect teams, documents, and project management," said Alan Jimenez, Managing Director for Qualibrate. With a simple user interface, powerful reporting, cost-effective cloud environments, and extensive integrations, Qualibrate enables agile teams to streamline software delivery to production. With a modern approach that transforms the way teams test, document, and train users, teams can leverage Qualibrate for an 80% increase in efficiency on testing and training while documenting business processes seven times faster than before. For more information, please visit https://www.qualibrate.com. About: Qualibrate is the 3-in-1 SaaS solution for enterprise software delivery that transforms the way teams test, document, and train end users. It offers native support for automating tests on SAP applications and 40+ non-SAP technologies such as Salesforce, Microsoft, ServiceNow, Oracle Cloud Apps, Mendix, etc. Qualibrate's Cloud test automation platform integrates natively with SAP Solution Manager Test Suite to extend the customer's capability to automate SAP and non-SAP applications as part of their end-to-end testing strategy. Qualibrate is the tool of choice for customers such as AirFrance/KLM, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Bell Helicopter, Nouryon and more. With a certified integration for SAP, your team can leverage Qualibrate to save up to 80% effort on testing and training while documenting business processes 7x faster than before. Media Contact: Mike Albanese mike.albanese@newswire.com Related Images Image 1: Qualibrate Logo This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Amatheon's subsidiary in Zambia together with other international and local stakeholders signs MoU for US$21m USAID flagship project Over a 5-year period, the Alliance will address threats to the Greater Kafue Ecosystem, in which Amatheon Agri Zambia is key partner for sustainable agricultural development Growing demand for chillies and paprika offers unlimited opportunities to integrate small-scale farmer into the value chain of the company and to boost its trading volume First major deals of ca. EUR 2 million worth of contracts with European and African clients for chili and paprika off-take signed BERLIN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Amatheon Agri Holding N.V. (the "Company"), the Euronext listed agribusiness and farming group (ISIN NL0010273694, Symbol MLAAH), announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for a 5-year Global Development Alliance project with a total volume of US$21m. A double reason to celebrate: On International Earth Day 2022, Amatheon Agri Zambia Ltd. joined U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Kashikoto Conservancy Ltd., Alliance partners, government officials and local leaders to officially launch the Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance. The Alliance, which operates under USAID's Global Development Alliance (GDA) brings together public, private and civil society actors, along with local communities, to address threats to the rich biodiversity in and around the Greater Kafue Ecosystem (GKE) of Zambia. 5-year flagship project with USAID and TNC A Cooperative Agreement signed by USAID and TNC initiates implementation of a five-year programme of US$21.3m out of which $10m will be funded by USAID and $11.3m in leverage from the private sector. Amatheon Agri Zambia Ltd. (AAZ) plays the key role in this programme for further increasing the sustainable agricultural production of high-value crops within the communities in Mumbwa District, in which the company has its operations. The Minister of Tourism, Honourable Rhodine Sikumba, officially launched the Alliance and highlighted the importance of bringing together like-minded people to conserve the rich landscape of the GKE and improve the well-being and prosperity of its communities. "Sustainable development requires cross-sectoral commitments from local and global stakeholders," said Honourable Mr. Sikumba. Also the Minister of Green Economy and Environment, Honourable Collins Nzovu, touched on the great opportunities that inclusive agriculture can bring for communities and nature simultaneously, and appreciated Amatheon's approach to introduce cash crop cultivation as a sustainable, alternative source of income for the communities in the GKE. Uplifting communities in Mumbwa District with increasing demand for Capsicum products With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Amatheon Agri Zambia's Managing Director, Troy Minne, said the company commits to ramp up its herbs and spices production with small-scale farmers, starting with different varieties of capsicum products (hot chillies and paprika). Over a period of 5 years, Amatheon Agri Zambia will support crop diversification into high-value herbs and spices, produced under climate-smart techniques through the provision of market services, including input finance, extension and demonstration of sustainable farming practices to address economic constraints communities face in Mumbwa District. With its newly established state-of-the-art processing, cleaning and storage facilities, AAZ is able to process the dried chillies and paprika into flakes in various sizes, with or without seeds, in accordance with international food and processing standards. The global demand for chilli products continues to grow, which offers great opportunity for Amatheon to connect smallholder farmers to high-level value chains and increase its trading volumes as new supply contracts come into fruition. Successful conclusion of major orders in the first quarter of 2022 "The first major deals from European and African clients for high-margin chilli and paprika products have been closed, resulting in ca. EUR 2 million worth of contracts being signed in Q1 2022 for delivery later in the year," says Amatheon's Director of International Sales and Marketing, Victoria Cavanagh. "The high quality of the products, combined with year-round availability and on-site processing, makes Amatheon Agri a strategic supplier for many new clients," says Cavanagh. "Traditional origins for chilli and paprika are experiencing quality and supply challenges, and the market is eager to develop new origins especially with large-scale farming companies where traceability is stronger," she says. Second AAZ-USAID partnership for community development For AAZ, the launch marked a special moment in the company's history with USAID, which played a crucial role in the development of Amatheon Agri's Outgrower Programme in 2016. During the first USAID partnership, AAZ established a trading network with more than 10,000 farmers in Mumbwa District and embedded the Outgrower Programme as a core part of the company's operations in Zambia. "We are excited to partner again in such an ambitious and fundamentally important project, which will uplift our Outgrower Programme and the communities surrounding Amatheon's farm," said Sustainability Manager Laura Schenck. The Alliance project activities will be implemented over a course of five years until September 2026. The Management Board Berlin, Germany, 26 April 2022 * * * For further information please see the Group's website: https://amatheon-agri.com Contact: Laura Schenck Amatheon Agri Holding N.V. Friedrichstrasse 95, 10117 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 53 000 90 121 Fax: +49 30 53 000 90 20 email: l.schenck@amatheon-agri.com About Amatheon Agri Holding N.V.: Amatheon Agri is a European agri-food company with headquarters in Berlin and production sites in Sub-Saharan Africa and cooperation with small-scale local farmers (outgrowers). Since its foundation by Mr. Carl Heinrich Bruhn in 2011, Amatheon Agri has established sustainable agricultural value chains from cultivation to product-specific processing and trading processes in Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. With a combination of international distribution network, incorporated local know-how as well as a sustainable vision for the future, Amatheon Agri has been able to establish itself as a strategically aligned global player in the African agricultural sector. In 2020, Amatheon Agri also launched its new brand for 100% natural, fair and sustainably grown food from Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe: ZUVA Foods (https://www.zuva.de) https://www.instagram.com/zuvafoods/ https://www.facebook.com/zuvafoods https://www.zuva.de The Shares of Amatheon Agri are listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (ISIN NL0010273694, Symbol MLAAH) and on the Lang & Schwarz Exchange in Germany (Symbol/WKN A1J4XD). The Convertible Bonds of Amatheon Agri are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with ISIN DE000A286BY3 and Symbol/WKN A286BY. SOURCE: Amatheon Agri Holding N.V. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698887/Amatheon-Agri-Zambia-and-Partners-Sign-MoU-in-5-year-US21m-USAID-Funded-Project-to-Increase-Chillies-and-Paprika-Production-with-Communities-in-Zambia CRANBROOK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Eagle Plains Resources (TSXV:EPL)("EPL") is pleased to announce that option partner Rex Resources Corp. (TSX-V:OWN),("Rex") has approved a summer 2022 exploration program at Eagle Plains'100% owned Kalum Property located approximately 35 km northwest of Terrace, British Columbia in the Skeena Mining Division. The planned program is budgeted for $150,000 and will include detailed mapping, prospecting, and surficial geochemical surveys including systematic soil & rock sampling at the Bling Rico, Babit-God, Tojo and Hat Zones. The program aims to further define and extend mineralized trends highlighted in historical work. The results from the 2022 program will be used to further interpret the property mineralization model and generate drill-ready targets for future programs. Rex holds the exclusive right to earn an undivided 60% interest in the property by completing exploration expenditures of $3,000,000, making cash payments of $500,000 and issuing 1,000,000 common shares to Eagle Plains over a four year period (see EPL news release Aug 13, 2020). Property Geology The 2,870 ha property is flanked by a large intrusive stock that has intruded sedimentary rocks of the Bowser Lake Group. There are at least fifteen gold-silver mineral showings on the property coincident with the contact zones of these intrusive plutons and large-scale structural zones. Mineralization is dominantly high-grade, epithermal/mesothermal, polymetallic and gold-bearing veins that are hosted within both intrusive rocks and country rock. Property History Eagle Plains acquired the property in 2003 and completed significant exploration programs on the property in 2003 and 2004. The programs included a VTEM airborne survey, extensive geochemical programs, geologic mapping, and a 19-hole diamond drill program. The best drill results from this work included drill-hole KRC04001, drilled at the Rico showing (discovered by Eagle Plains), which returned 35g/t Au over 2.5m from 101.8m to 104.3m; including a 0.5m interval that assayed 107g/t Au. Historical sampling at the Chris occurrence reported a grab sample of 158 g/t Au and 5,536 g/t Ag. At the Martin showing area, sampling by Eagle Plains in 2004 returned 34.0 g/t Au and 83.0 g/t Ag from a grab sample of sulphide bearing quartz vein material. The Martin area has never been drill tested. Management cautions that rock grab samples are selective samples by nature and as such are not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted across the property. The property area has seen exploration activity by various operators over the years, with the most recent diamond drilling carried out in 2012 by Clemson Resources, who drilled a single hole to test for high-grade mineralization in an area outside of present claim boundaries. 2020 work by Eagle Plains included high resolution orthophoto & LIDAR surveys and an airborne magnetic & radiometric geophysical survey covering the western portion of the property. All work to date continues to support the interpreted potential for the Kalum Property to host both high-grade gold-silver deposits and lower-grade bulk-tonnage type gold mineralization. Charles C. Downie, P.Geo., a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and a director of Eagle Plains, has prepared, reviewed, and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release. Update on Eagle Plains Resources Activities Eagle Plains benefitted recently from the successful completion of a plan of arrangement between SSR Mining Inc. and Taiga Gold Corp., which was spun out of Eagle Plains in April, 2018. Eagle Plains held 12,162,716 shares of Taiga, which netted the company $3,223,120 in cash. This transaction leaves EPL with an extremely robust treasury totalling over $9M. Eagle Plains has a number of exploration projects planned for 2022, both with existing partners and on its 100% owned projects. A preliminary summary of planned activity may be found here. Research and acquisition activity is ongoing, with negotiations underway with various third parties with respect to additional option arrangements on our 100% owned projects. About Eagle Plains Resources Based in Cranbrook, B.C., Eagle Plains is a well-funded, prolific project generator that continues to conduct research, acquire and explore mineral projects throughout western Canada. The Company was formed in 1992 and is the ninth-oldest listed issuer on the TSX-V (and one of only three that has not seen a roll-back or restructuring of its shares). Eagle Plains has continued to deliver shareholder value over the years and through numerous spin-outs has transferred over $100,000,000 in value directly to its shareholders, with Copper Canyon Resources and recently Taiga Gold being notable examples. The Company is committed to steadily enhancing shareholder value by advancing our diverse portfolio of projects toward discovery through collaborative partnerships and development of a highly experienced technical team. Eagle Plains also holds significant royalty interests in western Canadian projects, covering a broad spectrum of commodities. Management's focus is to advance its most promising exploration projects. Throughout the exploration process, our mission is to help maintain prosperous communities by exploring for and discovering resource opportunities while building lasting relationships through honest and respectful business practices. Expenditures from 2011-2021 on Eagle Plains-related projects exceed $27M, the majority of which was funded by third-party partners. This exploration work resulted in approximately 42,000m of diamond-drilling and extensive ground-based exploration work facilitating the advancement of numerous projects at various stages of development. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Tim J. Termuende" President and CEO For further information on EPL, please contact Mike Labach at 1 866 HUNT ORE (486 8673) Email: mgl@eagleplains.com or visit our website at http://www.eagleplains.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. SOURCE: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698762/Eagle-PlainsRex-Resources-Announce-Planned-2022-Exploration-at-Kalum-Gold-Property-Golden-Triangle-Region-BC WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / TDG Gold Corp. - (TSXV:TDG) (the "Company" or "TDG") is pleased to report a 13.5 metre ("m") drill intercept of 2.55 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold ("Au") and 115 g/t silver ("Ag") [3.99 g/t AuEq*] from 42.0 m depth in hole SH21-043 (Figure 1) located in the JM Zone contained within a broader interval of 57.2 m of 0.93 g/t Au and 39 g/t Ag [1.41 g/t AuEq*] from 12.0 m depth. Preliminary results from SH21-043 are presented in this news release along with preliminary results from five other drillholes drilled within the JM and Shasta Zones at TDG's former producing Shasta project in the Toodoggone District, B.C. (Figure 1). DDH SH21-043 intersected: 57.2 m of 0.93 g/t Au and 39 g/t Ag [1.41 g/t AuEq*] from 12.0 m depth; Including, 13.5 m of 2.55 g/t Au and 115 g/t Ag [3.99 g/t AuEq*] from 42.0 m depth. Steven Kramar, TDG's Senior Geologist and B.C. Program Lead, commented: "The six drillholes included within this news release complete the publication of the preliminary results from all 51 diamond holes drilled by TDG at Shasta in 2021. Once again, these results demonstrate the presence of halo-style mineralization at medium to lower-grades surrounding the higher-grade pods which are associated with the structural conduits at Shasta. We continuing to review and analyze the oriented core to help shape our 2022 program and we look forward to announcing those plans in due course." Figure 1. Plan View of Drillholes SH21-043, SH21-045, SH21-048, SH21-045B, SH21-050 & SH21-051 in the JM and Shasta Zones, Shasta Project, Toodoggone District, B.C. Key intercepts for diamond drillholes SH21-043, SH21-045, SH21-048, SH21-045B, SH21-050 and SH21-051 are presented in Table 1 and shown for all holes in cross-sections except SH21-051 (Figures 2-3). Table 1. Results from the 2021 Drilling within the JM and Shasta Zones. Drillhole From To Length Au Ag AuEq* (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) SH21-043 12.0 69.2 57.2 0.93 39 1.41 incl 34.5 55.5 21.0 1.86 81 2.87 incl 42.0 55.5 13.5 2.55 115 3.99 SH21-045 7.7 53.0 45.3 0.65 24 0.94 incl 19.8 27.0 7.2 1.27 70 2.15 incl 37.5 53.0 15.5 1.08 30 1.46 SH21-045B 41.7 66.0 24.3 0.80 21 1.07 SH21-048 63.9 66.5 2.6 1.13 4 1.19 138.0 145.5 7.5 1.66 1 1.67 SH21-050 36.0 113.0 77.0 0.39 17 0.61 SH21-051 Nothing Significant to Report *Gold equivalent (AuEq) is used for illustrative purposes, to express the combined value of Au and Ag as a percentage of Au. Calculations are uncut and no allowances have been made to accommodate potential recovery losses that would occur in a mining scenario. AuEq is calculated using 80:1 silver to gold ratio. Composite results were built using a 0.1 g/t AuEq cut-off, although there are intervals within the composites below 0.1 g/t AuEq. ** Intervals are core-length weighted. True width is estimated between 75 to 95 % of core length, and core recovery is estimated to be > 90 %. ***Calculated composites are truncated to significant 2 digits for Au/AuEq and the nearest whole number for Ag. Photo 1 presents an example of intense quartz-carbonate veining and hydrothermal breccia comprised of a quartz, carbonate and chlorite matrix, with angular to sub-angular potassic altered clasts, intersected in drillhole SH21-043. Intensity of brecciation is correlated to increasing Au and Ag grades (from 42.0 m to 43.5 m; 9.84 g/t Au and 443 g/t Ag; 15.38 g/t AuEq*). This provides an example of material left in-situ adjacent to historical small-scale workings (Figure 2). Photo 1. Mineralization Encountered in Drillhole SH21-043 from 40.6 - 43.5 m; Sample from 42.0 - 43.5 m (1.5 m) Grading 9.84 g/t Au and 443 g/t Ag [15.38 g/t AuEq*] . The set of drillholes SH21-043, SH21-045 and SH21-048 were designed to confirm historical drilling adjacent to and underneath the JM open pit and associated underground workings. Drillhole SH21-043 confirmed that historical high-grade mineralization (Photo 1) was left in-situ, just past the pit bottom, that was not extracted during underground mining. SH21-045 and SH21-045B both terminated short, hitting an underground void interpreted to be old mine workings. However, both holes ended in increasing (> 1 g/t) Au mineralization (Figure 2). In combination, these results suggest that similar grade mineralization may persist below the mine workings, per previous results and findings (see TDG News Releases: April 19, 2022; April 12, 2022; March 29, 2022; and January 4, 2022). Drillhole SH21-050 was drilled south of all historical mining efforts in the JM Zone to test the southern extent of the JM structure. It returned a broad intercept of mineralized material beyond the historical mine workings and at a depth deeper than historical drilling efforts. This illustrates the potential of the JM structure to the south and continuity of the mineralization across the interpreted strike of the structure. SH21-051 was the final drillhole in the 2021 drill campaign. This drillhole was the most southerly drillhole drilled by TDG in the Shasta Zone targeting the Shasta Fault. The hole intersected weakly to moderately altered volcaniclastic rocks that persisted throughout the length of the drillhole; however, at the end of the drillhole, alteration and quartz-carbonate vein density began to increase with an increasing precious metal concentration. Along with structural modeling underway, hole SH21-051 is interpreted to have missed the Shasta Fault (terminated short, on the hanging-wall side) suggesting the structure may begin to turn more easterly than previously understood with the mineralized target therefore being deeper and more westerly. All 2021 drillholes are HQ sized drill core, and historical core are NQ/BQ core size. Particulars for 2021 drillholes (location, depth, etc.) are presented in Table 2. Assay results were received from SGS Labs Canada ("SGS"). Internal QA/QC review by TDG, working with Moose Mountain Technical Services ("MMTS"), is ongoing and therefore results are still considered preliminary. Table 2. 2021 Drillhole Particulars. HOLE UTME (NAD83) UTMN (NAD83) Azimuth() Dip() Final Depth (m) SH21-043 621,131 6,347,376 240 -46 117 SH21-045 621,147 6,347,351 240 -56 53 SH21-045B 621,147 6,347,351 240 -65 66 SH21-048 621,176 6,347,382 240 -57 172 SH21-050 621,201 6,347,307 240 -49 166 SH21-051 620,905 6,347,255 122 -50 179 QA/QC Samples for the Shasta 2021 drill program followed chain of custody between collection, processing and delivery to an SGS laboratory in Burnaby, B.C. The drill core was delivered to the core shack at TDG's Baker Mine site, and processed by geologists who inserted certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates (pulp and coarse) into the sampling sequence. The 2021 drill core was cut in half (1/2 HQ core) and placed in zip-tied polyurethane bags, then in security-sealed rice bags before being delivered directly from the Baker Mine site, to Bandstra Transportation Systems in Prince George, B.C., and ultimately to the SGS laboratory in Burnaby, B.C. Samples were prepared and analyzed following procedures summarized in Table 3, where information about methodology can be found on the SGS Canada Website, in the analytical guide (here). Figure 2. Cross-Section of Drillholes SH21-043, SH21-045, SH21-045B & SH21-048. Figure 3. Cross-Section of Drillhole SH21-050. Table 3. Au and Ag Analytical Methods. Drillhole Prep Method Au Method Ag Method Au-Overlimit Method Ag-Overlimit SH21-043 PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A GO_FAG37V SH21-045 PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A GO_FAG37V SH21-045B PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A GO_FAG37V SH21-048 PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A N/A SH21-050 PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A GO_FAG37V SH21-051 PRP89 GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A N/A Quality assurance and control ("QAQC") is maintained internally at the lab through rigorous use of internal certified reference materials, blanks, and duplicates. An additional QAQC program was administered by TDG Gold through the use of certified reference materials ("CRMs"), duplicate samples and blank samples that were blindly inserted into the sample batch. If a QAQC sample returns an unacceptable value an investigation into the results is triggered and when deemed necessary, the samples that were tested in the batch with the failed QAQC sample are re-tested. For the purposes of this press release, results are 'preliminary' and thus have not undergone TDG's comprehensive QAQC investigations. Qualified Person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Steven Kramar, MSc., P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. This news release includes historical drilling information that has been reviewed by the Company's geological team. The Company's review of the historical records and information reasonably substantiate the validity of the information presented in this news release; however, the Company cannot directly verify the accuracy of the historical data, including the procedures used for sample collection and analysis. Therefore, the Company encourages investors to exercise appropriate caution when evaluating these results. Further data review is underway, in order to verify the validity of the data for the anticipated NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate. About TDG Gold Corp. TDG is a major mineral claim holder in the historical Toodoggone Production Corridor of north-central British Columbia, Canada, with over 23,000 hectares of brownfield and greenfield exploration opportunities under direct ownership or earn-in agreement. TDG's flagship projects are the former producing, high grade gold-silver Shasta, Baker and Mets mines, which are all road accessible, produced intermittently between 1981-2012, and have over 65,000 m of historical drilling. In 2021, TDG advanced the projects through compilation of historical data, new geological mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys, and, for Shasta, drill testing of the known mineralization occurrences and their extensions. TDG currently has 96,343,142 common shares issued and outstanding. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Fletcher Morgan Chief Executive Officer For further information contact: TDG Gold Corp., Telephone: +1.604.536.2711 Email: info@tdggold.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. This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE: TDG Gold Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698866/TDG-Gold-Corp-Intersects-135-metres-of-399-gt-Gold-Equivalent-from-420-metres-Depth-in-the-JM-Zone-Shasta-Project-Toodoggone-District-BC Property Acquisitions Announced TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Grid Metals Corp. (the "Company") (TSXV:GRDM)(OTCQB:MSMGF) is pleased to report additional diamond drill results from the 2022 lithium exploration program at its Donner Lake lithium property in southeastern Manitoba. The project is located in the Winnipeg River pegmatite field, which hosts the world-class Tanco pegmatite and the associated Tanco lithium-cesium-tantalum mine and concentrator. The Donner Lake Lithium project is a 75%/25% joint venture between Grid Metals Corp and Lithium Royalty Corp., a leading player in global lithium finance. Highlights of todays announcement are as follows: Drill intersections over 500m strike length include the following intervals: 4.1 metres averaging 1.62% Li2O in GDL22-03 from 160.9 meters downhole 5.9 metres averaging 1.48% Li2O in GDL22-12 from 219.5 metres downhole 2.7 metres averaging 1.52% Li2O in GDL22-13 from 139.4 metres downhole And previously released 13.75 meters averaging 1.53% Li2O in GDL22-01 from 87.5 meters downhole 8.0 meters averaging 1.46% Li2O in GDL22-02 from 57.0 meters downhole To date assays have been received from five drill holes (GDL22-01,02 - see Grid Press release dated April 5,2022) and GLD22-03, 12 and 13. Assays from these holes demonstrate lateral continuity of high-grade lithium values in the Northwest Dyke - one of several known spodumene-bearing LCT-type pegmatites on the Property. values in the Northwest Dyke - one of several known spodumene-bearing LCT-type pegmatites on the Property. The Northwest Dyke has now been traced by Grids' 2022 drilling for ~500 meters along strike and to a vertical depth of ~200 meters by the first five holes for which assays have been received. and to a by the for which assays have been received. Consistent grade profile of lithium mineralization to date is associated with visible spodumene crystals of lithium mineralization to date is associated with visible spodumene crystals Similar grade and continuity to the Main Dyke, located ~1.5 km to the east to the Main Dyke, located ~1.5 km to the east The true thickness of the lithium intersections in holes GDL22-01, 02, 03, 12 and 13 are estimated to range from 50% to 70% of the interval lengths. Assays are pending from all other holes and drilling is continuing to extend the depth of the mineralization Project is located within 35 km of Canada's only currently producing lithium spodumene operation (Tanco Mine) Above: 2022 drill hole locations for the Northwest Dyke at the Donner Lake Lithium Property showing the current surface projection of the main pegmatite body (thick pink line) and the Li2O grades obtained for holes GDL22-01 to 03 and GDL22-12 and 13. Above: Close up of elongate, white spodumene crystals in GLD22-14, drilled from the same setup as hole GDL22-13 reported on here. NQ core size. Program Details GLD22-03 is a 75m step out along strike to the northeast from previously reported drill holes GDL22-01 and 02, which intersected 13.75 metres averaging 1.53% Li2O and 8.0 metres averaging 1.47% Li2O, respectively. Hole GDL22-03 intersected a 5.4 metre interval of the Northwest Dyke including a core zone of spodumene-bearing pegmatite that averaged 1.62% Li2O over 4.1 metres from 160.9 metres. from 160.9 metres. GLD22-012 was drilled near the southwest end of the current drill-defined strike of the Northwest Dyke and intersected 10.7 metres of pegmatite including a 5.9 metre section that averages 1.48% Li2O starting at 219.6 metres. starting at 219.6 metres. GDL22-13 was drilled at the current drill-defined northeastern end of the Northwest Dyke and intersected a 5.4 metre section of pegmatite including a 2.7 metre interval averaging 1.52% Li2O from 139.5 metres. from 139.5 metres. All three of these new drill intersections have elevated tantalum (Ta), cesium (Cs) and rubidium (Rb) contents. The new results feature similar Li2O grades to those observed in holes GDL22-01 and 02. The Company expects to wrap up the initial phase of drilling on the Northwest Dyke at the end of April at which point it expects to have completed approximately 16 holes and 3,000 metres covering a strike length of 600 metres and with vertical intersection depths ranging from ~50m to >300m. The Northwest Dyke remains open along strike in both directions and at depth. Complete results for the drill holes reported today from the 2022 Northwest Dyke exploration drill program together with drill hole specifications are provided in the Appendices accompanying this release. Mr. Carey Galeschuk, Grid's Vice President, Lithium Exploration, stated: "The new drill results demonstrate good continuity - both vertically and along strike, in the Northwest Dyke. The Company now has two vertically-oriented, lithium-rich pegmatite dykes (Main and Northwest dykes) to build an initial resource from and we are optimistic about the prospect of discovering additional, LCT-type pegmatite dykes at Donner Lake as we prepare for the start of a property-wide field exploration program later this spring. The excellent location of the Donner Lake property - located nearby Canada's only currently operating spodumene concentrator at Tanco and in the world-class Winnipeg River pegmatite field, is a tremendous foundation on which to build a significant new lithium resource in a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction." About the Donner Lake Lithium Property The property is owned 75% by Grid Metals Corp. and 25% by Lithium Royalty Corp. (LRC), which is funding 25% of the current exploration program. LRC holds an overriding 2% royalty on the property. The property was acquired in 2016 by Grid from Tantalum Mining Corporation of Canada Limited (Tanco) which has the first right to acquire products produced from the property at commercial terms and holds a 2% royalty on certain claims. Sinomine Canada is currently operating a lithium spodumene circuit at its Tanco Mine facility, located approximately 35 km to the southwest of the Donner Lake Property. Donner Lake is only 180 km from the provincial capital of Winnipeg and accessible by all season roads and logging trails - with access to east west major railroads Grid Metals has an exploration agreement in place with the Sagkeeng First Nation, whose Traditional Lands include the Donner Lake and Mayville properties. The project has the opportunity to access low-cost renewable power from Manitoba's extensive hydro-electric grid. There are multiple LCT-type pegmatite dykes on the property including the Main Dyke that, in 2018, was drill tested by Grid over a ~1 km strike length. The dykes are located along a ~9 km long prospective geological contact between the Bird River greenstone belt and the Makwa Lake batholith and occupy obvious structural trends. The Main Dyke and Northwest Dyke together supported a non-compliant historical resource estimate of 3.8 million tons at a grade of 1.28% Li2O (Manitoba Mines Branch Assessment file 91769A). This resource estimate cannot be independently verified by the Company. The Company is looking to complete additional drilling over the coming months to establish a maiden NI 43-101 lithium resource on the Property. The property is significantly underexplored with a large portion of the prospective geology having seen no prior lithium exploration. Acquisition of New Properties The Company is pleased to announce that it has entered into two property options in the Bernie Lake pegmatite field in the south part of the Bird River Greenstone Belt near the Tanco Mine. The properties are prospective for lithium bearing pegmatites. There are two option agreements that have been entered into with the vendor who is arms length to the Company. The transactions are subject to the final approval of TSX Venture Exchange. The Bird Property consists of two mining claims and the Bridge Property also consists of two mining claims. The properties are not contiguous The Bridge Property has documented lithium bearing pegmatites on the property while in the case of the Bird Claims the property is in close proximity to a to a documented geochemical lithium anomaly. Terms A 100% interest can be earned in the Bird Property by Grid making a $5,000 payment on closing along with the issuance of 100,000 common shares of the Company. Subsequent payments required to earn a 100% interest in the property are $10,000 and 200,000 shares before January 10, 2023 and $35,000 and 200,000 shares before January 10, 2024. A 100% interest can be earned in the Bridge Property by Grid making a $5,000 payment on closing along with issuing 100,000 common shares of the Company. Subsequent payments required to earn a 100% interest in the property at $10,000 and 200,000 shares before January 10, 2023 and $35,000 and 200,000 shares before January 10, 2024. In the case of both option agreements the vendor will retain a 2% royalty from future production. Grid shall have the right to purchase 1% of the royalty on each property for $1 million. Quality Assurance and Quality Control Grid Metals applies best practice quality assurance and quality control ("QAQC") protocols on all of its exploration programs. For the Donner Lake drilling program, core was logged and sampled at the Company's core facility located on the Makwa Property. Generally, 1.0 metre sample lengths were used. Samples were bagged and tagged and then transported by secure carrier to the Actlabs (Thunder Bay) laboratory for sample preparation and analysis for lithium, cesium, tantalum and selected major and trace element abundances using a sodium peroxide fusion total digestion method followed by ICP-OES and ICP-MS analysis. The Company is using two lithium + rare metal certified reference materials ("CRMs") and two analytical blanks for the Donner Lake program to monitor analytical accuracy and check for cross contamination between samples. Above: Location of Donner Lake Lithium Project - 180 km northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Above: Area of the Northwest (NW) and Main Dykes at the Donner Lake Lithium Property. Above: Currently known LCT-type pegmatite dykes at the Donner Lake Lithium Property. Dave Peck, P.Geo., has reviewed the contents of this press release and is the qualified person for purposes of National Instrument 43-101. About Grid Metals Corp. Grid Metals Corp. has a portfolio of exploration and development stage properties focused on battery metals (nickel, copper, platinum group metals, cobalt, palladium) which are located in the Provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, Canada. The Company recently completed winter exploration drilling Company's Makwa nickel property which is part of the PEA stage Makwa Mayville Ni-Cu-PGM property which is also located in the Bird River Greenstone Belt. To find out more about Grid Metals Corp., please visit www.gridmetalscorp.com. On Behalf of the Board of Grid Metals Corp. Robin Dunbar - President, CEO & Director Telephone: 647 201 6844 Email: rd@gridmetalscorp.com David Black - Investor Relations Email: info@gridmetalscorp.com 416 955-4773 Appendix 1: Analytical Results, Drill Hole GDL22-03, Northwest Pegmatite Dyke, Donner Lake Lithium Property, Southeastern Manitoba. Sample# From (m) To (m) Length (m) Li2O (%) Ta (ppm) Cs (ppm) Rb2O (%) 752506 160.92 162.00 1.08 1.19 97 188 0.36 752508 162.00 163.00 1.00 1.75 90 195 0.35 752509 163.00 164.00 1.00 1.96 56 131 0.26 752511 164.00 165.05 1.05 1.62 52 154 0.28 752513 165.05 165.95 0.90 0.20 77 130 0.27 Li-rich 160.92 165.05 4.13 1.62 74 167 0.31 Section Appendix 2: Analytical Results, Drill Hole GDL22-12, Northwest Pegmatite Dyke, Donner Lake Lithium Property, Southeastern Manitoba. Sample# From (m) To (m) Length (m) Li2O (%) Ta (ppm) Cs (ppm) Rb2O (%) 752734 218.30 218.80 0.50 0.24 1 81 0.03 752736 218.80 219.56 0.76 0.53 236 355 0.33 752737 219.56 220.65 1.09 1.48 176 225 0.34 752738 220.65 221.65 1.00 1.83 71 228 0.42 752739 221.65 222.65 1.00 1.39 129 214 0.30 752741 222.65 223.39 0.74 1.87 56 210 0.29 752742 223.39 223.78 0.39 0.32 70 191 0.29 752743 223.78 224.80 1.02 1.40 77 310 0.32 752745 224.80 225.45 0.65 1.51 71 374 0.34 752746 225.45 226.45 1.00 0.86 74 326 0.34 752747 226.45 227.35 0.90 0.43 83 324 0.36 752748 227.35 228.00 0.65 0.23 88 215 0.34 752749 228.00 228.97 0.97 0.15 66 113 0.31 Li-rich 219.56 225.45 5.89 1.48 99 251 0.33 Section Appendix 3: Analytical Results, Drill Hole GDL22-13, Northwest Pegmatite Dyke, Donner Lake Lithium Property, Southeastern Manitoba. Sample# From (m) To (m) Length (m) Li2O (%) Ta (ppm) Cs (ppm) Rb2O (%) 752757 135.20 135.82 0.62 0.08 73.3 106 0.26 752763 138.42 139.48 1.06 0.14 78.4 128 0.28 752764 139.48 140.22 0.74 1.09 46.1 182 0.34 752766 140.22 141.20 0.98 1.62 55.4 164 0.30 752767 141.20 142.20 1.00 1.74 54.4 121 0.22 752768 142.20 142.90 0.70 0.33 53.7 148 0.40 752769 142.90 143.45 0.55 0.13 75.3 116 0.30 752771 143.45 143.82 0.37 0.22 44.8 53.7 0.15 Li-rich 139.48 142.20 2.72 1.52 53 153 0.28 Section "The true thickness of the lithium intersections in holes GDL22-01, 02, 03, 12 and 13 are estimated to range from 50% to 70% of the interval lengths." Appendix 4: Specifications for the drill holes GLD22-03, GLD22-012 and GLD22- 013 reported in this news release along with previously released GLD22-01 and 02, Northwest Pegmatite Dyke, Donner Lake Lithium Property, Southeastern Manitoba. Easting and northing coordinates are based on a NAD83 UTM Zone 15 projection. Hole ID Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth Dip Depth (m) Length (m) GDL-22-01 315954 5610632 290 135 -60 131 15.80 GDL-22-02 315954 5610632 290 135 -45 215 9.40 GDL22-03 315960 5610735 299 135 -45 179 5.50 GDL-22-12 315754 5610459 297 100 -60 250 10.13 GDL-22-13 316175 5610670 295 315 -45 179 5.41 SOURCE: Grid Metals Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698839/New-Drill-Results-Extend-Strike-Length-of-the-High-Grade-Northwest-Dyke-to-500-Metres-at-Grid-Metals-Donner-Lake-Lithium-Property Rockley Photonics (NYSE: RKLY), a global leader in photonics-based health monitoring and communications solutions, today announced that its first quarter 2022 financial results conference call has been rescheduled to after the market close on Thursday, May 12, 2022, to allow additional time to prepare its earnings report. The Company plans to host a conference call that day at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to review its financial results and business outlook. "By revising our earnings date, we expect to be able to share additional information on our earnings call that we are still reviewing; for example, the preliminary results from our human study on hydration and a new product shipment milestone," said Dr. Andrew Rickman, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockley. On the upcoming call, the Company plans to discuss the following topics Biotpx healthcare biomarker sensing platform, launched two years early, which includes its wearable band, cloud analytics and AI, and product samples were shipped to multiple customers in the first quarter; VitalSpex consumer device samples continue to ship to customers in 2022; Timeline for the shipment of its Baseline, including core body temperature, hydration and blood pressure biomarkers, continues to be expected in the second half of 2022; Timeline for shipment of its Pro, including alcohol, glucose and lactate, continues to be expected to ship approximately six months after its Baseline; and Rockley's expanded customer base, which includes companies like Medtronic, has made the Company less reliant on any one customer. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 866-682-6100 from the United States or +1 862-298-0702 internationally, referencing Rockley Photonics. A live webcast and replay of the conference call can be accessed from the investor relations page on Rockley's website at investors.rockleyphotonics.com. Following the completion of the call through 11:59 p.m. ET on May 19, 2022, a telephone replay will be available by dialing 877-660-6853 from the United States or +1 201-612-7415 internationally with recording access code 13729647. About Rockley Photonics A global leader in photonics-based health monitoring and communications solutions, Rockley Photonics is developing a comprehensive range of photonic integrated circuits and associated modules, sensors, and full-stack solutions. From next-generation sensing platforms specifically designed for mobile health monitoring and machine vision to high-speed, high-volume solutions for data communications, Rockley is laying the foundation for a new generation of applications across multiple industries. Rockley believes that photonics will eventually become as pervasive as micro-electronics, and it has developed a platform with the power and flexibility needed to address both mass markets and a wide variety of vertical applications. Formed in 2013, Rockley is uniquely positioned to support hyper-scale manufacturing and address a multitude of high-volume markets. Rockley has partnered with numerous Tier-1 customers across a diverse range of industries to deliver the complex optical systems required to bring transformational products to market. To learn more about Rockley, visit rockleyphotonics.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220425005945/en/ Contacts: For Rockley Media Debra Raine Rainemakers Telephone: +1 415-349-7432 Email: rockley-pr@rainemakers.com Investors Gwyn Lauber Rockley Photonics Telephone: +1 626-995-0001 Email: investors@rockleyphotonics.com Presentation Scheduled for May 4, 2022 at 11:00 A.M., EDT New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Optimus Healthcare Services, Inc. (OTC Pink: OHCS) ("Optimus"), an innovative network of healthcare related businesses committed to the progression and innovation of health care worldwide, announced today that Dan Cohen, President of Optimus, will present at the Q2 Investor Summit hosted by the Investor Summit Group, taking place May 3-4, 2022 at The Westin New York Grand Central Hotel. Mr. Cohen will be joined by and Cliff Saffron, Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel. During Mr. Cohen's presentation, he will provide an overview of Optimus' business strategy and growth objectives for 2022. Optimus is focused on creating a network of innovative healthcare companies that advance clinical research, disease management and improve physician/patient interactions. Its portfolio includes TACT companies, PainScript and HealthScript, the Clinical Research Alliance (CRA), and VaccinationsRx. In addition to presenting, Optimus' management team will be available for one-on-one meetings with registered investors. Details of the presentation are as follows: Event: Investor Summit Group's Q2 Conference Date: May 4, 2022 Time: 11:00 a.m., EDT Location: The Westin New York Grand Central Hotel Webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2-3QQFrAQQq_8EZaBNobJA About Optimus Healthcare Services Optimus Healthcare Services is focused on creating a network of innovative healthcare companies that advance clinical research, disease management and improve physician/patient interactions. Optimus Healthcare accomplishes this by acquiring controlling interest in a variety of healthcare-related businesses and then enhances the attributes of its portfolio companies by improving the operational, technological and managerial capabilities of each company. Optimus Healthcare's portfolio of companies includes, Telehealth and Compliance Technology (TACT) companies, PainScript and HealthScript, the Clinical Research Alliance (CRA), a research services provider focused on bringing state-of-the-art clinical trial capabilities to community-based physicians and their patients, and VaccinationsRx, a boutique concierge vaccination pharmacy dedicated to simplifying access to vaccines. For more information on Optimus Healthcare, please visit our website at https://www.optimushealthcare.com/. Contacts: Dan Cohen, President Optimus Healthcare Services 202.329.1825 dlc@painscript.com Investors/Media: Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc. Jason Rando/Daniel Kontoh-Boateng jrando@tiberend.com dboateng@tiberend.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121572 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - NINE MILE METALS LTD. (CSE: NINE) (OTCQB: STVGF) (FSE: KQ9) (the "Company" or "Nine Mile") is pleased to announce it has signed a new Mineral Property Option to acquire all the Vendor's right, title and interest in and to 12 mineral claims: California Lake (6 claims), Canoe Landing Lake East (4 claims); and Nine Mile Brook area (2 claims) of the Bathurst Mining Camp ("BMC"), New Brunswick (the "Property"), subject to a 2% Net Smelter Royalty. The Mineral Property Option Agreement is dated April 25, 2022 (the "Agreement"). Nine Mile Metals geological exploration footprint has now increased from 31.24 km2 to a massive 70.18 km2, over the most fruitful host rocks in the entire BMC. Nine Mile now has three distinct advanced VMS Projects: Nine Mile Brook; California Lake; and Canoe Landing Lake (East and West). These acquisitions transform Nine Mile Metals into one of the largest exploration companies in the BMC. Figure 1: Updated Claim Map To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7335/121622_be413c2e2491fbe2_001full.jpg These strategic acquisitions solidify the Company's land position in the highly target rich Spruce Lake, Canoe Landing Lake, and Boucher Brook Formations, in the world-famous Bathurst Mining Camp. These prolific formations host 16 of the 46 known VMS deposits, including Trevali's producing Caribou mine. (see Figure 1) California Lake VMS Project: The California Lake VMS Project covers 24.42 square kilometers immediately north of the Canoe Landing Lake Project and includes a large section of the highly prospective Spruce Lake Formation. Included in the land package are 4 known base metal (Cu, Pb, Zn) mineral occurrences: South Branch Forty Mile Brook; California Lake 32 South; California Lake 68 South; and California Lake - Murray Brook. Historical work in the area identified a variety of VMS depositional styles including disseminated and stringer sulphides in addition to massive, tabular massive sulphides as at the California Lake 32 South Zone where previous drilling intersected values ranging from 7.86% Zn, 2.51% Pb, 73.9 g/t Ag and 1.41 g/t Au over 6 metres. At California Lake - Murray Brook, historical surface trenching identified an extensive hydrothermal alteration zone some 500 metres in length and between 10 and 100 metres wide with significant concentrations of base metal sulphides including grab samples up to 5% Cu. At California Lake 68 South, 4-meter drill intersections assayed 2% Pb/Zn with minor copper and silver. Canoe Landing Lake VMS Project: To the southeast of California Lake, the acquired Canoe Landing Lake East VMS property covers 5.5 square kilometers along the east flank of the Canoe Landing Lake VMS Deposit. Hosted within the Boucher Brook Formation near the contact with the Canoe Landing Lake Formation, the deposit consists of 22.8 million tons grading 0.64% Pb, 1.82% Zn, 0.56% Cu, 0.94 oz/ton Ag and 0.034 oz/t Au. This additional property increases our Canoe Landing Lake VMS Project to 10.78 km2, which includes both Canoe Landing Lake West and Canoe Landing Lake East properties. Nine Mile Brook VMS Project: The newly acquired Upper Pabineau River and Nine Mile Brook properties on the eastern flank of our existing Flagship Nine Mile Brook VMS Project, adds 9.02 square kms of prospective stratigraphy along the Boucher Brook Formation, host of the Nine Mile Brook VMS occurrence and the Canoe Landing Lake Deposit to the west. These additional properties increase our Nine Mile Brook VMS Project to 34.98 km2. Utilizing recent proprietary advances in both technology and data processing, this large project portfolio will be aggressively explored for its VMS potential. Initial geophysical targeting will be followed up by ground-based surveys, 3D modeling and diamond drilling. Bore hole surveys will be conducted to define subsurface mineralization. "We are very pleased to announce these strategic acquisitions which add significant shareholder value to our project portfolio. These acquisitions dramatically increase our exploration footprint in the BMC, and de-risks our portfolio tremendously. To have three (3) significant VMS exploration projects, deeply roots Nine Mile in the Bathurst Mining Camp", stated Patrick J Cruickshank, MBA - Director & Technical Advisory Committee Member. To exercise its option to acquire the mineral property interests, Nine Mile must pay an aggregate of 1,500,000 common shares and $100,000 to the vendors, who are arm's length and not related parties to the Company during a period of up to three years as follows: pay 500,000 common shares and $20,000 on the date of the Agreement; pay 333,334 common shares and $20,000 on the first anniversary of the date of the Agreement; pay 333,334 common shares and $30,000 on the second anniversary of the date of the Agreement; and, pay 333,332 common shares and $30,000 on the third anniversary of the date of the Agreement; The Company has agreed to keep the claims in good standing during the term of the agreement but has not agreed to any minimum exploration expenditures on the Property. The Company may purchase half of the Net Smelter Royalty at any time for the price of $1,000,000. The agreement was negotiated at arm's length. All Company shares issued to the Vendors will be subject to four-month resale restrictions in accordance with Canadian securities legislation. The transaction does not represent a change of business. There will no change of directors or officers of the company required by the transaction. The transaction is at arm's length. No finder's fees, broker's fees or other commissions are payable in connection with this transaction. A copy of the Agreement is filed along with the Company's public disclosure on SEDAR. The disclosure of technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and reviewed and approved by Gary Lohman, B.Sc., P. Geo. who acts as the Company's Qualified Person, a member of the Nine Mile's Technical Advisory Committee, and is not independent of the Company. About Nine Mile Metals Ltd.: Nine Mile Metals Ltd. is a Canadian public mineral exploration company focused on VMS (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au) exploration in the world-famous Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada. The Company's primary business objective is to explore its three VMS Projects: Nine Mile Brook VMS Project; California Lake VMS Project; and Canoe Landing Lake VMS Project. The Company is focused on exploration of Minerals for Technology (MFT), positioning for the boom in EV and green technologies requiring Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc with a hedge with Gold. ON BEHALF OF NINE MILE METALS LTD. "Charles MaLette" CEO, President, Director & Secretary T: 604-428-5171 E: info@ninemilemetals.com Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Nine Mile. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Nine Mile. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that (a) these acquisitions transform Nine Mile Metals into one of the largest exploration companies in the BMC, (b) these massive strategic acquisitions solidify the Company's land position in the highly target rich Spruce Lake, Canoe Landing Lake, and Boucher Brook Formations, (c) these prolific formations host 16 of the 46 known VMS deposits, including Trevali's producing Caribou mine, (d) the California Lake VMS Project includes a large section of the highly prospective Spruce Lake Formation, (e) included in the land package are four known base metal (Cu, Pb, Zn) mineral occurrences, (f) historical work in the area identified a variety of VMS depositional styles including disseminated and stringer sulphides in addition to massive, tabular massive sulphides as at the California Lake 32 South Zone where previous drilling intersected values ranging from 7.86% Zn, 2.51% Pb, 73.9 g/t Ag and 1.41 g/t Au over 6 metres, (g) historical surface trenching identified an extensive hydrothermal alteration zone some 500 metres in length and between 10 and 100 metres wide with significant concentrations of base metal sulphides including grab samples up to 5% Cu, (h) this large project portfolio will be aggressively explored for its VMS potential, (i) initial geophysical targeting will be followed up by ground-based surveys, 3D modeling and diamond drilling, (j) bore hole surveys will be conducted to define subsurface mineralization, and (k) these acquisitions dramatically increase our exploration footprint in the BMC, and de-risks our portfolio tremendously. Although Nine Mile believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Nine Mile can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121622 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. (CSE: HODL) (OTC Pink: CYFRF) ("Cypherpunk" or, the "Company"), a sector leader for blockchain, metaverse, privacy and cryptography focused investments, is pleased to announce an investment of USD 500k in the AB Digital Strategies Fund managed by UK FCA-regulated Isla Capital. The investment was made in two tranches, USD $250k on February 24, 2022 and USD $250k on April 20, 2022. About AB Digital Strategies AB Digital Strategies is a Cayman Islands regulated hedge fund. The Fund implements a market neutral strategy targeting meaningful absolute return, with low volatility and minimal correlation to crypto markets and mainstream asset classes. Using a disciplined investment process, the Fund combines multiple independent trading strategies across a range of liquid crypto markets (spot and derivative) and decentralised finance ecosystems. Investment decisions are research-based and driven by fundamental, quantitative and market intelligence inputs. The investment team has multiple decades' experience in quantitative portfolio management, legal and financial structuring and trading, across both traditional finance as well as crypto markets since their early inception. About Isla Capital Isla Capital is a London-based investment manager deploying in-house, liquid alternative strategies in digital assets. Isla Capital Ltd. is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom (FRN: 959846) as an Appointed Representative of Odin Capital Management Ltd. (FRN: 478321) which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Cypherpunk Holdings CEO, Jeff Gao, leads the move to diversify the company's treasury management away from passive storage and made the following comments in relation to the partnership with Isla Capital. "The time when publicly traded companies can get by as a vehicle for passively holding crypto is behind us. What will set Cypherpunk apart from the rest of the industry is our focus on surgically targeting pockets of excess returns and alpha opportunities in crypto markets and our focus on risk-adjusted returns as a metric for treasury management excellence. "Going forward, Cypherpunk's strategy will include operating a diversified portfolio of niche and highly technical strategies within the nascent cryptocurrency markets, some of which will be operated by third parties. Our engagement with Isla Capital serves to work towards our plan to engage partners with extensive trading experience who can perform crypto research for the purpose of profiting off directionally neutral strategies across exchanges, instruments and other protocols. "I've had great pleasure working with Ron Akram and William Beverley, co-founders of Isla Capital, both of whom bring considerable asset management and market experience to the table. I am looking forward to future collaborations between Cypherpunk and Isla as our company undergoes a pivotal transformation." About Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. Cypherpunk was established to invest in currencies, companies, technologies and protocols, which enhance or protect privacy. Its strategy is to make targeted investments in businesses and assets with strong privacy attributes, often within the blockchain ecosystem, including select cryptocurrencies. Current equity investments include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Samourai Wallet, Wasabi Wallet, Chia, NGRAVE, and Animoca Brands. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the Company's expectation or belief regarding its investment in shares of Animoca Brand and Animoca Brand's future performance or business. There is no assurance that the Company's plans or objectives will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. 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 information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Officer/Director Contact: Jeffrey Gao Chief Executive Officer jeff@cypherpunkholdings.com Office: 1-647-946-1300 Investor Relations Contact: Veronika Oswald Investor Relations veronika@cypherpunkholdings.com Office: 1-647-946-1300 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121635 In addition to its innovation strategy, Huawei also shared its far-reaching vision for the future and some of the exploration it's doing to get there. In his keynote speech, Dr. Zhou Hong, President of Huawei's Institute of Strategic Research, said that "everything we imagine today is very likely to be too conservative - too little - for tomorrow. We have to meet the future with bold hypotheses and a bold vision, and throw caution to the wind as we push to break through bottlenecks in theory and technology. This is the only way forward." 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. EffRx Pharmaceuticals SA, a commercial-stage company that commercializes niche and orphan medicines in Switzerland and Europe, today announced it has recently entered into an exclusive license agreement with Diurnal Group plc, for the registration and commercialization of Efmody as treatment for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in Switzerland. Under the terms of the agreement EffRx has received the exclusive rights to register and commercialize Efmody in Switzerland. Efmody is a modified-release preparation of hydrocortisone that has been specifically designed for the treatment of patients with CAH, a rare condition caused by a genetic deficiency of adrenal enzymes. According to our estimates, there are approximately 450 patients in Switzerland suffering from CAH. EffRx intends to submit a Market Authorisation Application (MAA) to Swissmedic as treatment for adolescent and adult patients (12 years and older) with the rare condition congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in Switzerland during the second half of 2022. The MAA submission to Swissmedic for Efmody will be based on the European regulatory dossier and published clinical trial data, with EffRx expecting potential market launch in Switzerland in 2024. "We are excited to sign this additional agreement with Diurnal, enabling us to build on the momentum we have achieved with Alkindi in Switzerland following approval from Swissmedic in November 2021. We believe the unique release profile of Efmody, that mimics the body's natural cortisol circadian rhythm, could have a genuine impact on CAH patients' symptoms. We are aligned with Diurnal's strategy to address the unmet medical need in patients suffering from diseases of cortisol deficiency and look forward to working with the Diurnal team to bring Efmody to patients suffering from CAH in Switzerland", Lorenzo Bosisio, Chief Executive Officer of EffRx, commented. In May 2021, Efmody was granted marketing authorisation in the European Union and was subsequently launched in Germany, Austria and the UK in September 2021. "We are pleased to deepen our relationship with EffRx to include the distribution and marketing of Efmody in Switzerland. We have been impressed by the progress EffRx has made with the regulatory approval and reimbursement of Alkindi and look forward to continuing to work with them as they prepare to submit an MAA to Swissmedic for EfmodyRichard Bungay, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Diurnal, commented. About congenital adrenal hyperplasia Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an orphan condition caused by deficiency of adrenal enzymes, most commonly 21-hydroxylase. This enzyme is required to produce the adrenal steroid hormone, cortisol. The block in the cortisol production pathway causes the over-production of male steroid hormones (androgens), which are precursors to cortisol. The condition is congenital (inherited at birth) and affects both sexes. The cortisol deficiency and over-production of male sex hormones can lead to increased mortality, infertility and issues during sexual development including ambiguous genitalia, premature (precocious) sexual development and short stature. Sufferers, even if treated, remain at risk of death through an adrenal crisis. Current therapy for CAH uses a variety of generic glucocorticoid (steroid) preparations including hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, prednisolone and prednisone in the US, with no standard treatment regimen. Approximately two-thirds of CAH patients are estimated to have poor disease control, leading to elevated androgen levels. The condition is estimated to affect a total of approximately 16,000 patients in the US, with over 400,000 in the rest of the world. About Efmody (hydrocortisone modified-release hard capsules) Efmody is a preparation of hydrocortisone that has been specifically designed to mimic the circadian rhythm of cortisol when given in a twice-a-day "toothbrush" regimen (administered last thing at night before sleep and first thing in the morning on waking) to control androgen excess and chronic fatigue in patients with diseases of cortisol deficiency. The first indication for Efmody is congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in adults and adolescents (children older than 12 years of age). Efmody has been extensively studied in 239 human subjects including 138 CAH patients who have taken part in clinical trials in Europe and the US. The MHRA and European Commission marketing authorisation approval of Efmody was based on a Phase 3 study conducted in a total of 122 patients enrolled across 11 clinical sites, including sites in Great Britain, the largest ever interventional clinical trial completed in CAH. The Phase 3 data was supported by detailed analysis of data from an open-label safety extension study for patients completing treatment in the Phase 3 study, which is assessing the impact of treatment with Efmody over an extended period, with a number of patients on this trial having been treated for over five years. Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for UK (Northern Ireland) can be found here. About EffRx Pharmaceuticals EffRx Pharmaceuticals is a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the late stage development and commercialization of prescription medications for niche and orphan indications. The business model is centered around providing superior clinical and commercial value propositions for physicians, payers and patients. EffRx pro-actively seeks in-licensing opportunities for Europe in niche therapeutic areas, with a primary interest for rare diseases, where EffRx has received an orphan drug designation (ODD) from the FDA. EffRx's go-to-market competence is proven by the development, launch and lucrative expansion of Binosto in a highly competitive European market. Our lead commercialized product, Binosto for the treatment of osteoporosis, is marketed in the US as well as selected European and Asian countries. About Diurnal Group plc Diurnal Group plc is a European, UK-headquartered, specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing hormone therapeutics to aid lifelong treatment for rare and chronic endocrine conditions, including congenital adrenal hyperplasia, adrenal insufficiency, hypogonadism and hypothyroidism. Its expertise and innovative research activities focus on circadian-based endocrinology to yield novel product candidates in the rare and chronic endocrine disease arena. For further information about Diurnal, please visit www.diurnal.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005645/en/ Contacts: Media: Ms. Pamela Saredi psaredi@effrx.com CHICAGO, IL and VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / The Planting Hope Company Inc. (TSXV:MYLK) (FRA:J94) ("Planting Hope" or the "Company"), a plant-based food and beverage company focused on producing the world's most nutritious and planet-friendly products, has partnered with Freshly, the leading subscription service providing prepared nutritionist-approved meals that are delivered fresh to your door and ready-to-eat in three minutes. RightRice Veggie Rice will be featured in Freshly's newest chef-cooked meal, "Spanish-Style RightRice with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds." "We are thrilled to be Freshly's first branded ingredient partner and to have RightRice highlighted in this plant-powered twist on Spanish paella," said Julia Stamberger, CEO and Co-founder of Planting Hope. "Since the acquisition of the RightRice brand, we are continuing to capitalize on its growth potential to breakthrough channels outside of traditional brick and mortar retailers. Working with Freshly's direct-to-consumer model that delivers over one million meals every week will help RightRice gain greater exposure and entry into households and businesses across North America." "At Freshly, we know our customers value foods that not only taste great, but also make eating well effortless," said Freshly's Vice President, Strategic Partnerships Jeannette Cornell. "RightRice is one of our favorite products that aligns with this nutritious-meets-convenient philosophy. It also fits perfectly within Freshly's Purely Plant menu which helps customers incorporate minimally processed plant-based meals into their routines." Caption: Freshly's Spanish-Style RightRice with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds. Photo credit: Freshly Spanish-Style RightRice with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds is now part of Freshly's rotating weekly menu of 50+ items that are centered on less sugar, less processed ingredients, and more nutrients. This colorful, plant-powered twist on Spanish paella includes the following flavor and nutritional elements: Seasoned with 15 fragrant herbs and spices, including paprika, turmeric, annatto, and fennel Features RightRice, a blend of 90% vegetables (lentils, chickpeas, peas) and rice, providing complete plant-based protein with all nine essential amino acids Packed with extra veggies, including tomatoes, bell peppers, asparagus, cauliflower, fennel, green olives, and more Topped with sea salt & paprika-roasted almonds For more information on Freshly's meal plans and the new Spanish-Style RightRice with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds, please visit: https://www.freshly.com/plans-and-menu. About Freshly Inc. Freshly is a weekly subscription service delivering fresh, chef-cooked meals directly to customers' doors that can be heated and served in three minutes. All that is needed is a microwave and fork to get a satisfying lunch or dinner on the table. With a corporate mission to break down the barriers to healthy eating, Freshly believes that taste and health don't need to be compromised for convenience. Freshly's food philosophy is centered on less sugar, less processed ingredients, and more nutrients. Developed by chefs and nutritionists, the menu features better-for-you versions of classic comfort foods with smart ingredient swaps. Freshly makes eating better easier than ever, one box at a time. Headquartered in New York, Freshly has operations in Phoenix, Arizona; Savage, Maryland; Linden, New Jersey; Commerce, California; and Austell, Georgia. To learn more about Freshly, visit: www.freshly.com. About RightRice RightRice redefines a household staple with a delicious vegetable-based rice grain that's packed with the power of vegetables and complete plant-based protein. RightRice is the first-of-its-kind: a shelf-stable vegetable grain that's a blend of over 90 percent vegetables, including lentils, chickpeas, green peas, and rice, and delivers on both taste and nutrition. With 10g of complete protein and 5g of fiber per serving, RightRice delivers more than double the protein, five times the fiber and around 40 percent fewer net carbohydrates than traditional white rice, plus it can be prepared in 10 minutes. RightRice is now available in a range of pre-seasoned flavors, plus multiple flavors of RightRice Medley and RightRice Risotto. RightRice products are currently sold in more than 7,000 doors in leading retailers across North America, including Whole Foods Market, Wegman's, Kroger, Sprouts, Albertsons/Safeway, HEB, Ahold, Meijer, as well as online through Amazon, Thrive Market, Hive, and RightRice.com. All RightRice products are made using real herbs and spices, and are plant-based, non-GMO verified, gluten-free certified, and kosher certified. RightRice Risotto was awarded Best Sauce/Store Cupboard Product in FoodBev's 2021 World Plant-Based Taste Awards and received the 2021 Eco Excellence Award for Best Gluten Free Product, in addition to being chosen as a 2021 Editors' Pick for Best New Product by Progressive Grocer. For more information visit: www.rightrice.com. About The Planting Hope Company Inc. Planting Hope develops, launches, and scales uniquely innovative plant-based and planet-friendly food and beverage brands. Planting Hope's award-winning and cutting-edge products fill key unmet needs in the skyrocketing plant-based food and beverage space. The Planting Hope brand family includes Hope and Sesame Sesamemilk and Sesamilk creamers, RightRice Veggie Rice, Mozaics Real Veggie Chips, and Veggicopia Veggie Snacks. Founded by experienced food industry entrepreneurs, Planting Hope is a women-managed and woman-led company focused on nutrition, sustainability, and diversity. For more information visit: www.plantinghopecompany.com. CONTACTS: Company Contact: Julia Stamberger CEO and Co-founder (773) 492-2243 julia@plantinghopecompany.com Media Contact: Rachel Kay Public Relations Becca Stonebraker (818) 383-3929 becca@rkpr.net Investor Relations Contact: Caroline Sawamoto Investor Relations (773) 492-2243 ir@plantinghopecompany.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. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to hereafter as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements that address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will, or may, occur in the future, including statements about the Company's business prospects, future trends, plans and strategies. In some cases, forward-looking statements are preceded by, followed by, or include words such as "may", "will," "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "continues", or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. In preparing the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, the assumption that demand for the Company's products will be sustained or increase in accordance with management's projections, that overall growth in consumer demand for plant-based foods will lead to increased demand for the Company's products, that the Company's current business objectives can be achieved and that its other corporate activities will proceed as expected, and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Although the management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, as well as trends identified by the Company affecting its industry can be found in the Company's annual information form dated January 6, 2022, and the Company's continuous disclosure record available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements made in this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. SOURCE: The Planting Hope Company Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698841/Planting-Hope-Announces-Partnership-with-Leading-Prepared-Meal-Subscription-Service-Freshly-Featuring-Spanish-Style-RightRiceR-Meal KELOWNA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Avant Brands Inc. (TSX:AVNT) (OTCQX:AVNTB) (FRA:1BU0) ("Avant" or the "Company"), a leading producer of handcrafted, premium quality cannabis products, announced today that it is introducing a series of new cannabis cultivars to the Canadian market. Avant currently holds approximately 80 cultivars in its genetics library and has been selectively introducing these cultivars to Canadian consumers. These unique cultivars originate from some of the most renowned breeders in North America, that, to the Company's knowledge, are not otherwise legally available in Canada. Most recently, the Company has successfully cultivated and secured listings for various product offerings in provinces where Avant currently distributes its products for the following cultivars: Animal Sorbet Kush Mints Bacio Gelato Ice Cream Sandwiches Jealousy Park Fire OG Pineapple P Upside Down Cake Bacio Gelato Cultivar Jealousy Cultivar "As the Canadian market matures, we expect competition to be fierce. Our top shelf and exclusive cultivars, produced and packaged internally will not only give us a competitive advantage but continue to provide the cutting-edge, market leading innovations for which Avant is becoming increasingly known for," said Norton Singhavon, Avant's Founder and CEO. "Having already received tremendous positive feedback from our Canadian and international clients, we look forward to the launch of these new products and more to come in the near future." The launch comes shortly after the launch of another market-leading innovation, Treehugger, the first pre-roll made from 100% sustainable packaging. The new cultivars will be presented under Avant's BLK MKTTM and TenzoTM brands, in various formats, including 3.5 gram flower jars, single gram pre-rolls and blunts. In addition to being first to introduce these cultivars into the Canadian recreational cannabis market, the Company will simultaneously launch them in both export and medical channels. The Company expects that these new cultivars will be available in the Canadian market commencing in late April. However, the availability of specific strains and products will vary by province and retail location. About Avant Brands Inc. Avant is an innovative, market-leading premium cannabis company. Avant has multiple licensed and operational production facilities across Canada, which produce high-quality, handcrafted cannabis products for our highly desired, and award-winning consumer brands, sold across both recreational and medical channels. Avant's recreational consumer brands include: BLK MKT, Tenzo, Cognoscente and Treehugger, all produced from rare and exceptional cultivars, and sold in British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and the Yukon. The Company's medical cannabis brand, GreenTec, is distributed nationwide, directly to qualified patients through its GreenTec Medical portal, and through various medical cannabis partners. Avant is a publicly traded corporation listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:AVNT), and cross-trades on the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX:AVTBF) and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA: 1BU0). The Company is headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia and has operations in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. To learn more about Avant, to access the investor presentation, or learn more about its consumer brands, please visit www.avantbrands.ca. For additional information, please contact: Investor Relations at Avant Brands Inc. 1-800-351-6358 ir@avantbrands.ca CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: expectations for future competition and the Company's competitive advantage relative to its peers; the launch of new products; the expectation that the new cultivars will be sold by the Company internationally and in its medical sales channels; the timing and availability of new recreational products across certain provinces; and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Examples include statements that the Company will operate in a fiscally disciplined manner; that the Company will build long-term shareholder value and reduce operational expenses; or that the Company will increase its revenue and gross margins. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical fact but instead reflects management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning 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 of the Company. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: regulatory and licensing risks; changes in consumer demand and preferences; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; the global regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, including political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; compliance with extensive government regulation; public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry; the impact of COVID-19; and the risk factors set out in the Company's annual information form dated March 16, 2021, filed with Canadian securities regulators and available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE: Avant Brands, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698749/Avant-Brands-Announces-the-Launch-of-Exclusive-New-Cultivars Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Galleon Gold Corp. (TSXV: GGO) (the "Company" or "Galleon Gold") is pleased to provide an exploration update for its 100% owned West Cache Gold Project ("West Cache" or the "Project") in Timmins, Ontario. Following the release of the Project's updated Mineral Resource Estimate and maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") in early 2022 (see press releases dated January 12 and February 23, 2022), the Company is planning its exploration and permitting programs for the upcoming field season. Drill-Rig Contracted Galleon Gold intends to follow-up on high-priority drill targets at West Cache identified during the Company's 46,380-meter drill program in 2020-2021, beginning with higher-grade targets in the metasediment units near Zone #9 and the South Area. An initial 5,000-meter program will commence in May 2022 with additional drilling to be planned based on the results from this first phase of drilling. The Company has contracted NPLH Drilling of Timmins, Ontario. NPLH has extensive experience at West Cache, having completed over 75% of the 210,000 meters of core drilling on the Property since 2009. Permitting and Baseline Activity for Zone #9 Test Mining Ongoing permitting and baseline studies in support of a bulk sample will continue through 2022. The Company intends to submit permit applications for approximately 100,000 tonnes of Zone #9 material to be extracted from four levels within 200 meters of the surface. A portion of the overall 2022 budget will be reserved for geotechnical and condemnation drilling in support of the Zone #9 bulk sample ramp design work. A Metal Leaching and Acid Rock Drainage ("MLARD") geochemical study has been initiated on representative rock samples from the planned bulk sample ramp area and ore characterization test work on high grade samples from Zone #9 has begun. Comments from the CEO R. David Russell, President and CEO of Galleon Gold commented, "We are pleased to be embarking on the next stage of exploration for West Cache. Our success last year in discovering Zone 9 and the South Area highlights the potential of the project as we have explored less than 10% of the ground within the main West Cache lease area. This blue-sky scenario coupled with our recently announced initial PEA, which demonstrated strong economics, is setting the stage for Galleon Gold to contribute significantly to the Timmins Community going forward. We anticipate 2022 will be a very rewarding year." 2022 Geochemical Sampling In addition to drilling, a soil sampling survey will be initiated during the 2022 field season. The Company completed an orientation soil sampling survey over three areas of known gold mineralization in 2021 and received favourable results suggesting that soil geochemistry may be successful at detecting buried gold mineralization at West Cache. Additional baseline orientation work will be completed over known gold zones and an extensive sampling grid is planned to cover unexplored areas outside of the West Cache Resource Area which is identified in Figure 1. Figure 1 - Galleon Gold's Land Position in the Timmins Gold Camp To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1014/121605_galleonfigure1.jpg Regional Exploration & Targeting Compilation of regional exploration targets is ongoing with the recent acquisition of 4,230 hectares of contiguous property in Ogden and Price Townships (see press releases dated February 8, 2022, and March 3, 2022). About the West Cache Gold Property The Property is situated in the Western Porcupine Gold Camp along the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone ("DPFZ") within the Abitibi greenstone belt. The Property is predominantly underlain by Archean rocks of the Tisdale and Deloro Assemblages (metavolcanics), Porcupine Assemblage (metasediments) and quartz feldspar porphyry of the Porcupine Intrusive Suite. Paleoproterozoic diabase dikes trend north-south to northwest-southeast across the Property. The main break of the DPFZ trends east-west through the eastern part of the Property and is offset to the south in the western portion of the Property by the Mattagami River Fault. Gold mineralization is characterized by roughly east-west trending "shear" zones, dipping 60 to 80 to the north, and is associated with pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite. To-date, the quartz feldspar porphyry unit and associated contacts with the metasedimentary units have been the focus of exploration activities. In addition, large areas of Tisdale and Deloro metavolcanics have yet to be explored, including the Rusk contact zone, which is associated with gold mineralization at the Timmins West Complex, approximately 7 km southwest of the Property. Preliminary Economic Assessment - filed on SEDAR February 2022 The Company's maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment provided the first economic valuation for West Cache. The results demonstrate that the project could support a profitable underground mining operation; including Pre-Tax Net Present Value at a 5% discount rate ("NPV5%") of $378 million with Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 33.7%; 3.0 year payback at US$1,700/oz gold price. Importantly, the project is highly leveraged to the gold price as outlined in the Table 1 below. Table 1: Economic Sensitivity to Gold Prices (0.76 US$/C$). Pre-Tax After-Tax Price (US$/oz) NPV5% (C$ million) IRR (%) NPV5% (C$ million) IRR (%) 1,500 224.5 23.3 128.6 17.2 1,600 301.4 28.6 184.3 22.0 1,700 378.3 33.7 240.1 26.7 1,800 455.5 38.7 291.8 30.8 1,900 532.6 43.6 343.6 34.8 2,000 609.8 48.4 395.3 38.7 Technical Content and Qualified Persons The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by West Cache Gold Project Manager Leah Page, P. Geo. (APGNS #217) and West Cache Gold Resource Geologist, Rochelle Collins, P. Geo (PGO #1412), both "Qualified Persons" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Galleon Gold Webinar Initiation The Company will be providing a webinar update on the West Cache Gold Project on Thursday, May, 5th at 2:00 pm ET. Registration for the event hosted by Red Cloud Financial Services is available at this link: Click here to register. About Galleon Gold Galleon Gold is an exploration and development company focused on advancing the West Cache Gold Project in Timmins, Ontario. The project is situated approximately 7 km northeast of Pan American Silver's Timmins West Mine and 14 km southwest of Newmont's Hollinger Mine. Since acquiring the project the Company has demonstrated significant resource growth while providing a strong valuation in its maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment. Permitting and baseline studies in support of a bulk sample are currently underway. Eric Sprott holds approximately 21% of the Company's outstanding common shares. For further information: Galleon Gold R. David Russell Chairman and CEO T. (416) 644-0066 info@galleongold.com www.galleongold.com Investor Relations Harbor Access Graham Farrell T. (416) 842-9003 Graham.Farrell@harbor-access.com Forward-Looking Statements This document contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Galleon Gold with respect to its long-term strategy, proposed work, plans and other reports including the PEA for its projects. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the markets in which Galleon Gold operates. Some of the statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, expectations, plans, and objectives of Galleon Gold are forward-looking statements that involve various risks. The following are important factors that could cause Galleon Gold's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the world-wide price of mineral commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated with development, construction and mining operations, risks related to infectious diseases, including Covid-19 and the uncertainty of future exploration activities and cash flows, and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Galleon Gold undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121605 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - MediaValet Inc. (TSX: MVP) (the Company), a leading provider of enterprise digital asset management and creative operations software, is pleased to announce that it was selected by a well-known global developer, manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceutical and skincare products ("the Customer"). Commenced on March 31, 2022, with first-year billings of $133,000, the auto-renewing subscription includes MediaValet's enterprise digital asset management ("DAM") platform; Audio/Video Intelligence ("AVI") engine; Salesforce and monday.com integrations; Active Directory single sign-on module; and professional services covering implementation, library management and ongoing training and support. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3817/121632_b0110c3e246a7842_001full.jpg The Customer has built an exciting global brand and has been a consistent high-performer on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list every year for nearly the last decade. Their award-winning and science-based consumer products are backed by over 35 years of research and nearly 100 global patents. As with most organizations today, they are increasingly relying on fresh and consistently branded digital content to reach their customers and to continue attaining their growth objectives. At the same time, given the scientific nature of their products, they need to ensure that their high-value content - from designs to patents, scientific papers to clinical studies, product information to educational videos - is secure yet accessible at all times. With the increasing requirement to be a digital-first organization and the proliferation of content to support this initiative, the Customer needed to replace their legacy digital asset management system with a solution that is capable of meeting their rapidly expanding and increasingly mission-critical needs. After an extensive formal review process, the Customer selected MediaValet as their DAM of the future. "We're proud that our innovative and cutting-edge enterprise DAM offering is resonating with global organizations who have realized that content is now a mission-critical element of their current and future success," commented David MacLaren, Founder and CEO of MediaValet. "We see agreements like the one announced today as ongoing validation that our investment and go-to-market strategies continue to put us at the forefront of the rapidly growing global digital asset management industry. The majority of the growth in the DAM market that we're seeing is from greenfield customers, however, we also believe that pressure is building on legacy vendors, as many are not designed to deal with the mission-critical digital content needs of today's digital-first organizations. We believe this pressure will lead to further disruption in the legacy DAM industry." Added Dave Miller, CFO, "We couldn't be happier to see 2022 off to the fastest start of any fiscal year to date. This is the fourth large new customer win in Q1'22 and is unprecedented for a first quarter, which is normally our seasonally slowest for net new ARR ("NNARR"). Some of this is likely due to pent-up demand starting to release from the last two pandemic-affected years; however, the work environment - and the demands it puts on organizations - has also changed significantly since March 2020. This Customer in particular began looking into replacing their incumbent DAM and initially contacted us just before the pandemic hit. After going on hold for nearly two years, they reignited their DAM upgrade project early this year and were ready to assess vendors and move quickly - resulting in just a 35-day sales cycle. With this win in place, we are now ahead of plan and are expecting Q1'22 NNARR to exceed all previous Q1's and, for the first time, to exceed the $838,000 reported in Q4'21." About MediaValet Inc. MediaValet stands at the forefront of the cloud-native, software-as-a-service, enterprise digital asset management and creative operations industries. Built exclusively on Microsoft Azure and available across 61 Microsoft data center regions in 140 countries around the world, MediaValet delivers unparalleled enterprise-class security, reliability, redundancy, compliance, and scalability; while offering the largest global footprint of any DAM solution. In addition to providing enterprise, cloud-native DAM capabilities at a global scale, desktop-to-server-to-cloud support for creative teams, and overall cloud redundancy and management for all source, WIP and final assets, MediaValet offers industry-leading integrations into Slack, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office 365, Workfront, Wrike, Drupal, WordPress and many other best-in-class 3rd party applications. Follow MediaValet: Blog, Twitter and LinkedIn Surf: www.mediavalet.com For further information, please contact: David MacLaren Tel: (604) 688-2321 david.maclaren@mediavalet.com Babak Pedram Tel: (416) 644-5081 babak.pedram@mediavalet.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121632 LITTLETON, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American:URG)(TSX:URE) (the "Company" or "Ur-Energy") is pleased to announce that its CEO, John Cash, will attend and present at the Q2 Investor Summit being held in New York City on May 3 - 4, 2022. Mr. Cash will present an update on the advance preparations at Lost Creek which will accelerate our ability to quickly ramp-up production when conditions warrant. Additionally, Mr. Cash looks forward to providing a progress report on our innovative R&D projects. One of the new technologies would result in an additional 90% reduction of disposed water - beyond gains we have already achieved with our first-in-industry Class V system. A second project, on which we have filed a provisional patent, has the potential to reduce wellfield rig time and costs as well as further reducing the already light environmental impact of our recovery methods. The Investor Summit is being held at the Westin New York Grand Central, 212 E. 42nd St., New York, NY 10017. Mr. Cash is presenting May 4, 2022, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. One-on-one meetings are available for qualified investors to meet with Mr. Cash during the Conference. Please register for complimentary conference access at Complimentary Investor Registration. If you are unable to attend the Investor Summit, Mr. Cash's presentation will be webcast and can be accessed here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XkUOyYkxQpK5P3VMy-KYDw The Investor Summit Group is an exclusive, independent conference dedicated to connecting smallcap and microcap companies with qualified investors. The Q2 Investor Summit Group will take place in-person, featuring 65+ companies and over 300 investors comprising institutional investors, family offices, and high net worth investors. Contact: info@investorsummitgroup.com. About Ur-Energy Ur-Energy is a uranium mining company operating the Lost Creek in-situ recovery uranium facility in south-central Wyoming. We have produced, packaged, and shipped approximately 2.6 million pounds U3O8 from Lost Creek since the commencement of operations. Ur-Energy now has all major permits and authorizations to begin construction at Shirley Basin, the Company's second in situ recovery uranium facility in Wyoming and is in the process of obtaining remaining authorizations for the expansion of Lost Creek. Ur-Energy is engaged in uranium recovery and processing activities, including the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of uranium mineral properties in the United States. The primary trading market for Ur-Energy's common shares is on the NYSE American under the symbol "URG." Ur-Energy's common shares also trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "URE." Ur-Energy's corporate office is located in Littleton, Colorado and its registered office is located in Ottawa, Ontario. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT John W. Cash, Chief Executive Officer 866-981-4588 (ext. 303) John.Cash@Ur-Energy.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws regarding events or conditions that may occur in the future (e.g., the ability to readily ramp-up production operations when future development and construction priorities are determined; the viability of any of the Company's ongoing R&D efforts, including the timing and cost to permit, implement and operate one or more of such advances, and the relative success achieved) and are based on current expectations that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, inherently involve a number of significant business, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be 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 the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements express or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements include factors described in the public filings made by the Company at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date hereof and Ur-Energy disclaims any intent or obligation to update them or revise them to reflect any change in circumstances or in management's beliefs, expectations or opinions that occur in the future. SOURCE: Ur-Energy Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698812/Ur-Energy-to-Attend-and-Present-at-The-Investor-Summit-Groups-Q2-Conference-in-NYC-May-3--4 The updated release reads: LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC PINK:MCOA) ("the Company"), operates, invests, and acquires companies exclusively in the cannabis sector, today announced that it will be presenting at the Planet MicroCap Showcase 2022 at the Bally's Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 10 AM PT. Jesus Quintero, Chief Executive Officer will be hosting the presentation and answering questions from investors. To access the live presentation, please use the following information: Planet MicroCap Showcase 2022 in Las Vegas Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 Time: 10:00 AM PT Webcast: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2862/45052 If you would like to book 1on1 investor meetings with Marijuana Company of America, Inc. and to attend the Planet MicroCap Showcase 2022, please make sure you are registered here: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/signup 1on1 meetings will be scheduled and conducted in person at the conference venue. The Planet MicroCap Showcase 2022 website is available here: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/ If you can't make the live presentation, all company presentations "webcasts" will be available directly on the conference event platform on this link under the tab "Agenda": https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/agenda News Compliments of ACCESSWIRE About Marijuana Company of America, Inc. Marijuana Company of America (MCOA) operates, invests, and acquires exclusively companies in the cannabis sector. The Company is a multi-state (licensed) operator and the parent company within the cultivation, distribution, and international consumer product sectors. For more information, visit: www.marijuanacompanyofamerica.com. About SNN.Network SNN.Network is your multimedia financial news platform for discovery, transparency and due diligence. This is your one-stop hub to find new investment ideas, check in on watchlist, gather the most up-to-date information on the Small-, Micro-, Nano-Cap market with the goal to help you towards achieving your wealth generation goals. Follow the companies YOU want to know more about; read and watch content from YOUR favorite finance and investing influencers; create YOUR own watchlist and screen for ideas YOU'RE interested in; find out about investor conferences YOU want to attend - all here on SNN.Network. About Marijuana Company of America Inc. Marijuana Company of America (OTC PINK:MCOA) operates, invests, and acquires companies exclusively in the cannabis sector. The Company is a multi-state (licensed) operator and the parent company within the cultivation, distribution, and international consumer product sectors. For more information, visit: www.marijuanacompanyofamerica.com If you would like to attend the Planet MicroCap Showcase, please register here: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/signup Contact: Name: Brenda Andrews Phone: 619-807-1775 Email: brenda@mcoainvestments.com SOURCE: Company Name via SNN Network View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698737/CORRECTING-and-REPLACING-Marijuana-Company-of-America-Inc-to-Present-at-the-Planet-MicroCap-Showcase-2022-in-Las-Vegas-on-Wednesday-May-4-2022 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Metallic Minerals (TSXV:MMG)(OTCQB:MMNGF) ("Metallic Minerals", , or the "Company") is pleased to announce the first National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") mineral resource estimate (the "2022 Resource Estimate") on the Company's La Plata project, which focuses on the central Allard copper-silver porphyry deposit. The Company acquired the project in 2019 and with confirmatory drilling and sampling has quickly generated a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate consisting of 115.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.39% copper equivalent ("Cu Eq") (0.35% Cu and 4.02 g/t Ag) using a 0.25% Cu Eq cut-off grade. The Allard deposit remains open to significant expansion within the resource area. In addition, the greater La Plata silver-gold-copper project remains underexplored and open to new discoveries of both additional copper porphyry centers as well as high-grade epithermal silver and gold systems. A robust campaign of follow-up drilling and geophysical surveys is planned for the project in 2022 with the objective of expanding the 2022 Resource and advancing new targets. Metallic Minerals will host a live webinar on Wednesday April 27th at 10am PT (1pm ET) to discuss the 2022 Resource, current activities, and upcoming plans for the La Plata and Keno Silver projects. To register, click here or the thumbnail. Highlights Inferred mineral resources at the Allard deposit total 889 million pounds of copper and 14.975 million ounces of silver in a constrained model with 115.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.39% Cu Eq (0.35% Cu and 4.02 g/t Ag) using a 0.25% Cu Eq cut-off grade (see Table 1). The 2022 Resource Estimate area incorporates a single porphyry intrusive-hosted sulphide system that is drill defined over a kilometer ("km") in length, 400 meters (m) in width and to a kilometer of vertical extent and remains open to expansion in all directions. The resource area shows strong spatial correlation with large-scale anomalies in geophysics and metal in soil values, providing a compelling basis for expansion of the 2022 Resource Estimate and for potential new discoveries in future drill campaigns. The 2022 Resource Estimate was completed by SGS Geological Services ("SGS") and is based on 56 diamond core drill holes, totalling 15,200 meters completed by Rio Tinto, Freeport and others along with new drilling and underground sampling by Metallic Minerals. Exploration activities by Metallic Minerals in 2020 and 2021 included 1,980 meters of core drilling, resampling of historical drill core, underground sampling from the Allard deposit, airborne and ground-based geophysics and surface sampling across the broader property. Drilling highlights at the Allard porphyry system include 395 m grading 0.57% copper equivalent (0.51% Cu, 6.3 g/t Ag and 0.017 g/t Au) in LP-03, and 854 m at 0.26% Cu, including 254 m grading 0.41% Cu, in drill hole LP-01. Both drill holes started and ended in mineralization (see Figure 1). In addition to the 2022 Resource Estimate, which remains fully open to expansion at depth and along strike, 16 untested potential porphyry centers have been identified on the greater La Plata project area, as well as target areas with potential for significant high-grade epithermal silver and gold. Scott Petsel, Metallic Minerals' President, states, "This inaugural resource is a major milestone for Metallic Minerals and the La Plata project and puts us on the map in the U.S. with a new resource containing important base and precious metals, that fall under the US government's critical minerals strategy, in a past-producing yet underexplored district in the southwestern U.S. With 15 million ounces of silver and nearly a billion pounds of copper, at recent metal prices of over $25/oz silver and $4.50/lb copper, the Company has demonstrated the exceptional value opportunity of the La Plata project for Metallic Minerals shareholders." Mr. Petsel continued, "We feel this is just the start for us at La Plata and it validates our strategy of identifying and acquiring high-quality district-scale assets during lows in the metal price cycle and applying modern, systematic exploration techniques as a means of value creation. This is also the process we are seeing to fruition at our high-grade Keno Silver property in the Yukon, Canada. Work at La Plata in 2022 will focus on expanding this new resource and testing new priority target areas for porphyry and high-grade silver and gold mineralization." The 2022 Resource Estimate will be incorporated into an NI 43-101-compliant technical report for the La Plata project which will be available within 45 days. Table 1 - La Plata Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at a Base Case Cut-off Grade of 0.25% CuEq with Grade and Contained Metal Sensitivity Analysis at Various CuEq Cut-off Grades. Class CuEq (%) Tonnes Cu Ag CuEq (%) Cut-off Grade (%) Mlbs Grade (g/t) Ounces Grade (%) Mlbs Inferred 0.15 151,327,000 0.31 1,040 3.68 17,888,000 0.35 1,154 Inferred 0.2 142,378,000 0.32 1,008 3.77 17,273,000 0.36 1,118 Inferred 0.25 115,731,000 0.35 889 4.02 14,975,000 0.39 985 Inferred 0.3 86,986,000 0.38 733 4.31 12,056,000 0.42 810 Inferred 0.35 60,752,000 0.42 565 4.61 9,000,000 0.46 622 The 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate has been estimated in conformity with CIM Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Best Practices Guidelines (2019) and current CIM Definition Standards - For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (2014). The constrained Mineral Resources are reported at a base case cut-off grade of 0.25% CuEq, based on metal prices of $3.60/lb Cu and $22.50/oz Ag, assumed metal recoveries of 90% for Cu and 65% for Ag, a mining cost of US$5.30/t rock and processing and G&A cost of US$11.50/t mineralized material. Cu Eq calculations are based on 100% recovery of all metals using the same metal prices used for the resource calculation. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate. The current Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred Resources in this Mineral Resource Estimate are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred Resources as Indicated or Measured. However, based on the current knowledge of the deposits, it is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. Figure 1 - La Plata Cross Section with Significant Drill Intervals and Mineralized Grade Shells Sensitivity Analysis In addition to the base case scenario at an economic cut-off grade of 0.25% Cu Eq, a sensitivity analysis is provided in Table 1 above, which demonstrates the variation in grade, tonnage and contained metal for the 2022 Resource Estimate at various cut-off grades. Different cut-off grades may be employed depending on variations in prevailing metal prices and mining costs. Project Review and Exploration Update The road accessible La Plata project covers 33 km2 approximately 26 km northwest of Durango, Colorado within the historic high-grade La Plata mining district located at the southwest end of the prolific Colorado Mineral Belt. Mineralization is related to a large-scale precious-metals-rich porphyry copper system with associated high-grade silver and gold epithermal vein and replacement deposits. The La Plata district has a long and rich history of mining with the first silver deposits discovered in the 1700s by Spanish explorers. High-grade silver and gold production has been documented from the 1870s through the early 1940s from vein structures, replacement bodies and breccia zones at over 90 individual mines and prospects1. Historical production from some of these high-grade structures exceeded 1,000 grams per tonne ("g/t") silver and over 15 g/t gold with some of the richest deposits delivering true bonanza grades for silver and gold. From the 1950s to 1970s, major miners including Rio Tinto (Bear Creek) and Freeport-McMoRan (Phelps Dodge) explored in the La Plata district focusing on the significant potential for bulk-tonnage disseminated and stockwork hosted mineralization2. Freeport-McMoRan retained ownership of claims in the district until 2002 when they sold their holdings to the current underlying vendors during the lows of the last metal price cycle. A total of 56 drill holes, totaling 15,200 m, have been drilled on the property since the 1950s which confirms the presence of a large-scale, multi-phase porphyry system with significant silver, gold and copper. This large-scale mineralized system is associated with a 10 km2, strong magnetic signature with intense hydrothermal alteration mapped in satellite based multispectral imaging. The new 2022 Resource Estimate, at the Allard deposit, covers a relatively small part of the overall 33 km2 property. The deposit is steeply dipping and roughly tabular in shape, occurring over 1 km in length, 400 m in width with over 1 km in vertical extent based on drilling to date. The Allard deposit remains open to expansion in all directions. The Allard deposit is a significant potential source of copper and silver, both important metals for the modernization and electrification of the economy. In addition, the broader La Plata property is known for Critical Minerals also important for the green energy revolution2. The resampling of hole 95-1 during the 2021 field season returned significant platinum and palladium assays (0.14 g/t platinum and 0.10 g/t palladium) associated with the Copper Hill target area east of the Allard resource area and corroborated historic accounts of its presence. Tellurium, another element on the critical mineral list, was a by-product of historic high-grade gold and silver production in the district. These and other important metals noted in the district will be evaluated as part of ongoing exploration of the project. Work during the 2021 field season focused on the Allard target area with the completion 1,980 m of confirmation drilling, resampling of historical core and the resampling of the underground adit. Metallic Minerals is the first Company to complete significant exploration on the La Plata project in 50 years. Since acquisition, the Company has systematically explored the project by employing an array of modern exploration techniques. Through this work the Company has identified new high-grade epithermal-style targets and over 16 potential porphyry style mineralized zones across the broader property including at the adjacent Copper Hill target area, 1 km from the Allard deposit. Planning for exploration work in 2022 is currently underway with a focus on resource expansion drilling, geophysics, and follow-up exploration on newly identified porphyry and high-grade silver and gold targets. Estimation Methodology and Parameters Completion of the 2022 Resource Estimate involved the assessment of a drill hole database, which included all data for surface and underground sampling completed through the fall of 2021, as well as a three-dimensional ("3D") mineral resource model, a topographic surface model, models of the underground workings and underground channel samples, and available written reports. SGS used 56 drillholes and 15,200 m of drill data from 1959 to 2021 to delineate the Allard deposit in the 2022 Resource Estimate. All drill data and underground sampling completed by Metallic Minerals in 2021 were included in the 2022 Resource Estimate. Inverse Distance squared restricted to a relevant underground mining mineralized domain was used to Interpolate grades for the main elements of interest including Cu (ppm) and Ag (g/t) into a block model. Composites of 3.05 m were used for the resource estimation with a 5 x 5 x 5-meter block size. A fixed specific gravity value of 2.65 g/cm3 is used to estimate the Mineral Resource tonnage from the block model volume and for waste density. While gold is seen associated with copper and silver in the deposit, historic assays for gold were limited and as such were not included in the estimate. The mineral resources are presented undiluted and in situ (no minimum thickness), constrained by a continuous 3D wireframe model, and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Based on a review of the project location and size, geometry and continuity of mineralization of the La Plata deposit, and its spatial distribution, it is envisioned that the La Plata deposit may be mined using a large-scale underground bulk mining method. The base case cut-off grade of 0.25 % Cu Eq has been used to define Inferred underground resources on the La Plata deposits using bulk underground mining costs of US$5.30/tonne, US$11.50/tonne processing and G&A costs and assumed processing recoveries of 90% for Cu, 65% for Ag at long term metal prices of $3.60/lb Cu and $22.50/oz Ag. The constrained 2022 Resource Estimate grade blocks were quantified above the base case cut-off grade. At this base case economic cut-off grade the deposit shows good geologic and grade continuity. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Inferred Mineral Resource will be upgraded to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource as a result of continued exploration. About SGS Geological Services SGS Geological Services has an experienced and respected mining team focused on the domestic and international mining industry. The team has considerable experience in estimation and modeling of deposits of all types and practical and theoretical experience having realized hundreds of assessments for clients. The SGS team consists of a multi-disciplinary group of qualified persons with a strong understanding of the disclosure requirements for Mineral Resources set out in the NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (2016), CIM Definition Standards - For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (2014) and a strong understanding of the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines 2019. About Metallic Minerals Metallic Minerals Corp. is a growth-stage exploration Company, focused on high-grade silver and gold projects in underexplored, brownfields mining districts of North America. Our objective is to create shareholder value through a systematic, entrepreneurial approach to exploration in the Keno Hill silver district, La Plata silver-gold-copper district, and Klondike gold district through new discoveries and advancing resources to development. Metallic Minerals has consolidated the second-largest land position in the historic Keno Hill silver district of Canada's Yukon Territory, directly adjacent to Alexco Resource Corp's operations, with more than 300 million ounces of high-grade silver in past production and current M&I resources. In addition, exploration at the recently acquired La Plata silver-gold-copper project in southwestern Colorado is targeting a silver and gold-enriched copper porphyry and adjacent high-grade silver and gold epithermal systems. The Company also continues to add new production royalty leases on its holdings in the Klondike gold district in the Yukon. All three districts have seen significant mineral production and have existing infrastructure, including power and road access. Metallic Minerals is led by a team with a track record of discovery and exploration success on several major precious and base metal deposits, as well as having large-scale development, permitting and project financing expertise. About the Metallic Group of Companies The Metallic Group is a collaboration of leading precious and base metals exploration companies, with a portfolio of large, brownfields assets in established mining districts adjacent to some of the industry's highest-grade producers of silver and gold, platinum and palladium, and copper. Member companies include Metallic Minerals in the Yukon's high-grade Keno Hill silver district and La Plata silver-gold-copper district of Colorado, Group Ten Metals in the Stillwater PGM-nickel-copper district of Montana, and Granite Creek Copper in the Yukon's Minto copper district. The founders and team members of the Metallic Group include highly successful explorationists formerly with some of the industry's leading explorer/developers and major producers. With this expertise, the companies are undertaking a systematic approach to exploration using new models and technologies to facilitate discoveries in these proven, but under-explored, mining districts. The Metallic Group is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and its member companies are listed on the Toronto Venture, US OTCQB, and Frankfurt stock exchanges. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Website: mmgsilver.com Phone: 604-629-7800 Email: cackerman@mmgsilver.com Toll Free: 1-888-570-4420 Foot notes 1) Eckel, USGS Prof Paper 219, Geology and Ore Deposits of the La Plata Mining District, 1949; 2) Bear Creek Mining (now Rio Tinto), Humble Oil (now Exxon) and Phelps Dodge (now Freeport-McMoRan) company reports; 3) Christoffersen, Geological report on the Allard Copper-Silver-Gold-PGM deposit, La Plata Mining District, Durango, Colorado, 2005. 2) The US Geological Survey has released a list of 50 critical minerals that the USA economy requires for economic and national security. Qualified Persons The La Plata copper-silver project 2022 mineral resource estimate was prepared by Allan Armitage, P. Geo., of SGS Geological Services, an independent Qualified Person, in accordance with the guidelines of the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") with an effective date of October 7, 2021. Armitage conducted a site visit to the property on August 13, 2021. Jeff Cary, CPG, a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure not pertaining to the resource estimate contained in this news release. Mr. Cary is a Senior Geologist and La Plata Project Manager for Metallic Minerals. Quality Control and Quality Assurance Quality assurance and quality control procedures for drilling completed by the Company and consultants to the Company in 2021 include the systematic insertion of duplicate, blank and standard samples, making up 12% of the sample stream. Drill core samples were sawn in half, labelled, placed in sealed bags and shipped directly to the Bureau Veritas preparation laboratory in their Sparks, Nevada facility and analyzed at the Burnaby, B.C. facility. All samples were analyzed using a 30 g multi-acid digestion with an ICP-ES/MS analysis. Samples with over limit gold, platinum or palladium were re-analyzed using a 30-gram fire assay fusion with an ICP-ES analysis. Over-limit copper and silver samples were analyzed by multi-acid digestion and atomic absorption spectrometry analysis. All results have passed the QAQC screening by the lab and the Company utilized a quality control and quality assurance protocol for the project, including blank, duplicate and standard reference samples. Forward-Looking Statements Forward Looking Statements: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, historic production, estimation of mineral resources, the realization of mineral resource estimates, interpretation of prior exploration and potential exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, the timing and results of future resource estimates, permitting time lines, metal prices and currency exchange rates, availability of capital, government regulation of exploration operations, environmental risks, reclamation, title, and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Metallic Minerals 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 in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals, unsuccessful exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the companies with securities regulators. Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Metallic Minerals and the risks and challenges of their businesses, investors should review their annual filings that are available at www.sedar.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. SOURCE: Metallic Minerals Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698870/Metallic-Minerals-Defines-985-Million-Pounds-of-Copper-Equivalent-in-Inaugural-NI-43-101-Mineral-Resource-Estimate-for-the-La-Plata-Project-in-Colorado-USA Castle Shield, a leading provider of applications and services based on a Zero Trust Architecture framework, today announces a research collaboration with Northern Arizona University (NAU), which seeks to develop new approaches to identifying, authenticating, and protecting devices for enterprises and consumers. As part of the partnership, Castle Shield and NAU executed a License Agreement that covers commercialization of licensed products and grants exclusive patent rights to products created under a Sponsored Research Agreement utilizing 12 existing patents and 8 pending patents. Patent rights are granted for all new patents created under a Sponsored Research Agreement until such patents are exhausted. The research collaboration will be led by Dr. Bertrand Cambou, who joined NAU's School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems in 2015, and the cybersecurity research team, which has been recognized for its track record in innovation. The School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems engages in a broad range of collaborative research projects with industry partners both Commercial and Federal. NAU cybersecurity team's research in nanoelectronics and cybersecurity is well-supported in the multidisciplinary approach of the University. The collaboration between Castle Shield and Northern Arizona University will focus on the following high-level areas: Securing Encryption Keys and Devices Using a Tamper-Resistant Token Adding Biometrics to the Tamper-Resistant Token in Subsequent Project Phases Applying the Secure Encryption Key and Device Protection to Other Devices using Nanotechnology such as Memristors and ReRAM Adding Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Support to existing Castle Shield's Encryption Portfolio The first collaborative project will be the co-development of a Tamper-Resistant Token that includes the following: An addressable PUF (Physically Unclonable Function) generator with ternary states, A ternary addressable public key infrastructure scheme, A Response-Based Cryptography (RBC) engine for error correction, and A tamper resistant key recovery protocol with a token. Motherboard/Daughterboard tamper-resistant Key recover Scheme The first deliverables are an end-to-end solution that provides a temper resistance key recovery protocol integrated into a SRAM-based USB token, and the other provides the identical solution integrated into the Castle Shield's end-customer motherboards or added to customers' hardware as a daughterboard. "Castle Shield's proactive approach to cybersecurity coupled with their strategic drive to integrate innovative advances in encryption into commercial products such as Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) provides my team and I a commercialization pathway for our innovations. Castle Shield is at the forefront of finding and implementing solutions to protect the customer's information for today and minimize attacks tomorrow. Our research, conducted by a team of PhDs and Northern Arizona University have a similar objective, and together with Castle Shield, we will form a powerful partnership to help companies and individuals proactively increase their cybersecurity posture," said Cambou, professor of nanotechnology and cybersecurity at Northern Arizona. "At NAU, the cybersecurity team has generated 65 invention disclosures and filed 60 patent application, 35 of which have been granted." Castle Shield provides advanced solutions to partners and customers that protect their most valuable asset their data. "We have implemented Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms into our existing Fides product family which are commercially available today; our symmetric and asymmetric encryption solutions are encryption agnostic thus enabling Castle Shield to delivery best-in-class crypto-agility for today and tomorrow," said Dr. Milton Mattox, Castle Shield's Chief Technology Officer. "Our collaboration with Northern Arizona University continues our aggressive goal in advancing research innovation with one of the nation's most prolific inventors in the field of nanoelectronics and cybersecurity. Castle Shield's mission is to provide leading edge cybersecurity solutions to protect the nation's most precious asset-its data." About Castle Shield Holdings, LLC Founded in 2019, Castle Shield offers a complete range of enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions that protects enterprises and consumers against all internal and external cyber threats. Our Legion SIEM solution is the centerpiece of our technology solutions. It provides a window into all the security events occurring across the enterprise and provides an inside-out view of the customer's threat landscape including compliance. Senate, provides a third-party outside-in view from a network vulnerability, financial and compliance perspective. This includes a threat landscape assessment for the customers' vendors as well. Fides, Castle Shield's quantum-resistant encryption solution, provides businesses and end-users the ability to encrypt data-in-motion, data-in-transit, and data-at-rest with quantum-resistant symmetric and asymmetric encryption algorithms with little to no added latency. Our Fides solution is integrated into other Castle Shield solutions to provide the highest level of security in those solution domains. For further information, please go to www.castle-shield.com. About Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University is a high-research institution providing exceptional educational opportunities in Arizona and beyond. NAU delivers a student-centered experience to its nearly 30,000 students in Flagstaff, statewide and online through rigorous academic programs in a supportive, inclusive and diverse environment. Dedicated, world-renowned faculty help ensure students achieve academic excellence, experience personal growth, have meaningful research opportunities and are positioned for personal and professional success. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005288/en/ Contacts: Technical: Dr. Milton Mattox Castle Shield Holdings, LLC 800-491-5814 x 101 +44 203 769 6363 x 101 NAU: Heidi Toth (928) 523-8737 Heidi.toth@nau.edu DUBLIN, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, Ukraine has been hit by cyber attacks that have already spilled over to the rest of the world. Cyclonis Limited and its research partners are tracking Russia/Ukraine-related cyber attacks, and have compiled effective ways to help you protect yourself from attacks. According to the Ukrainian government, these new cyber attacks are on a completely different level. Check Point Research found that during the first three days of the war, cyber attacks against the military and government sector in Ukraine increased by 196%. Highly Destructive Malware Unleashed on Ukraine Has Spread Globally The following destructive malware attacks have recently struck Ukraine and are already increasing security risks in other countries: WhisperGate: Reportedly first appeared as early as January 13, 2022. This malware corrupts the system's master boot record and, like a ransomware infection, encrypts specific files. HermeticWiper: Reportedly first appeared on December 23, 2021. It erases Windows systems by corrupting their master boot records, preventing the OS from loading. This ransomware-like data wiper reportedly spread following distributed denial-of-service attacks against Ukrainian organizations. CaddyWiper: Reportedly first detected on March 14, 2022. This malware destroys user data and partition information from connected drives. To learn more about the ongoing cyber attacks against Ukraine, visit https://www.cyclonis.com/cyber-war-ukraine-russia-flares-up-invasion-continues/. How to Protect Yourself Against Russian Malware Attacks Users can follow these guidelines to help to prevent these Russian malware attacks: Stay alert. Don't click unknown email attachments or random links because they may lead to malicious sites or install unwanted software. Keep your software up-to-date. Protect your computer from potential cyber attacks with a powerful anti-malware program like SpyHunter. Use strong passwords that are unique. To help keep track of your passwords in one central place, use a reputable password manager like Cyclonis Password Manager. Backup your data. Consider using a reliable cloud storage backup program like Cyclonis Backup to protect your important files. About Cyclonis Limited An Irish company headquartered in Dublin, Cyclonis Limited designs and develops desktop, mobile, and cloud-enabled software products focused on simplifying data organization and management. Our applications aim to streamline the process of organizing the increasing volumes of information regular computer users deal with every day. Connect with Cyclonis Ltd. on Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1802941/cyclonis_logo_Logo.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1802942/russian_malware_attacks_amid_russian_invasion_of_ukraine.jpg DGAP-News: Ameramex International AmeraMex International Receives Orders Totaling $515,000 26.04.2022 / 14:10 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. AmeraMex International Receives Orders Totaling $515,000 CHICO, CA April 27, 2022 - AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTCQB: AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies, infrastructure construction and forestry conservation, announced that it has received equipment orders totaling $515,000 which brings year-to-date sales up to $8.5 million. The order consisted of three Taylor THDC 955 Container Handlers shipping to a port on the West Coast. THDC 955 AmeraMex CEO Lee Hamre commented, 'While demand for logistics/port-side equipment continues to expand, the Company is beginning to see an increased demand for heavy construction equipment as building projects are funded and finishing the approval cycle making them 'shovel-ready'. 'We have secured floorplan financing totaling $4 million from Magni and Northpoint. Additionally, we expect to acquire a $10 million line-of-credit to help finance the expansion of our heavy equipment inventory before the end of April.' For more information and pricing of equipment for the logistics, construction, and forestry industries, or to book a demonstration of the Kovaco Electric's 100 percent electric skid steer loaders, ASV Posti-Tract and Skid Steer Loaders, Menzi Muck Excavators or a Magni Telescopic Handler, contact the AmeraMex/Hamre Equipment sales team at 530.895.8955. About AmeraMex International AmeraMex International sells, leases and rents heavy equipment to companies within multiple industries including construction, logistics, mining, and lumber. AmeraMex, with a US and international customer base, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service. Follow AmeraMex on Twitter @ammx_intl and visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com for additional information and equipment videos. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if added information becomes available in the future. Contact Details McCloud Communications LLC Marty Tullio +1 949-632-1900 marty@mccloudcommunications.com Company Website https://www.ammx.net News Source: News Direct 26.04.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de Investment to Acquire 50% Interest in Li3 Resources Represents a Major Milestone and Pivot of the Company's Exploration Strategy to Lithium Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Western Troy Capital Resources Inc. (TSXV WRY) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into an equity subscription agreement (the "Investment Agreement") with Li3 Resources Inc. ("Li3") dated April 25, 2022 whereby the Company will acquire 500 common shares (the "Li3 Shares") in the capital of Li3 at a price of US$600 per Li3 Share for a subscription price of US$300,000. Upon issuance of the Li3 Shares, the Company will hold fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding Li3 Shares. About Li3 Li3 is a private, lithium focused exploration company founded and backed by senior mining executives who have had prior success in the lithium sector. Li3 recently entered into an agreement to acquire up to a 50% interest in the Zimbabwe Mutare Lithium Project (the "Mutare Lithium Project") from London AIM-listed Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier"). The Mutare Lithium Project is the first of a number of targeted lithium acquisitions by Li3. Li3's corporate plan is to acquire an attractive portfolio of highly prospective lithium exploration projects worldwide. Li3's senior management have successfully executed similar transactions during their past 30+ year history in the mining sector. Zimbabwe - Mutare Lithium Project Li3 Resources has agreed to invest US$250,000 into the Mutare Lithium Project for ongoing exploration works, environmental and technical studies and any administrative expenses (the "Spend"). Li3 will have until the December 31, 2022 to invest the Spend to exercise the option to acquire the 50% interest in the Mutare Lithium Project. Premier originally acquired the Mutare Lithium Project from Lithium Consolidated Ltd on July 28, 2020. The 1,500 hectares of licences are retained within the Mutare Greenstone Belt, located close to the eastern border with Mozambique. The area was deemed prospective for LCT-type pegmatites based on prior target generation work. Stephen Dunn, CEO commented, "The investment in Li3 represents a first lithium investment for the Company and a key milestone in the Company's strategy to diversify into lithium and other battery metals. Li3's Mutare Lithium Project is located in a region in Zimbabwe that is receiving significant interest in both Lithium and potential gold deposits. The claim blocks are well located, and in several instances, have already attracted interest from international lithium producers. We are also currently evaluating other lithium investments worldwide." About Western Troy Western Troy has been engaged in mineral exploration and mine development, as well as reviewing potential alternatives to enhance shareholder value. This is the Company's first lithium exploration focused investment. It hopes to invest in additional lithium projects in the future. Contact Information: Western Troy Capital Resources Stephen Dunn, CEO Tel: 416-361-2827 Email: dunnsteve@protonmail.com CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121724 ANAHEIM, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB:BICX) (the "Company"), a developer and provider of innovative treatment programs fr substance abuse and related disorders, today announced that it will present at the Planet MicroCap Showcase 2022 on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 3:00 PM Pacific Time/ 6:00 PM Eastern Time at the Bally's Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Lourdes Felix, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of BioCorRx Inc., and Brady Granier, President, Director of BioCorRx Inc. and CEO of BioCorRx Pharmaceuticals will be hosting the presentation and answering questions from investors. Planet MicroCap Showcase 2022 in Las Vegas Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 Time: 3:00 PM Pacific Time/ 6:00 PM Eastern Time Webcast: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2862/45086 If you would like to book 1x1 investor meetings with BioCorRX, and to attend the Planet MicroCap Showcase 2022, please make sure you are registered here: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/signup. 1x1 meetings will be scheduled and conducted in person at the conference venue. If you can't make the live presentation, all company presentations "webcasts" will be available directly on the conference event platform on this link under the tab "Agenda": https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/agenda News Compliments of Accesswire About SNN.Network SNN.Network is your multimedia financial news platform for discovery, transparency and due diligence. This is your one-stop hub to find new investment ideas, check in on watchlist, gather the most up-to-date information on the Small-, Micro-, Nano-Cap market with the goal to help you towards achieving your wealth generation goals. Follow the companies YOU want to know more about; read and watch content from YOUR favorite finance and investing influencers; create YOUR own watchlist and screen for ideas YOU'RE interested in; find out about investor conferences YOU want to attend - all here on SNN.Network. If you would like to attend the Planet MicroCap Showcase, please register here: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/signup About BioCorRx BioCorRx Inc. (OTCQB:BICX) is an addiction treatment solutions company offering a unique approach to the treatment of substance use and other related disorders. Beat Addiction Recovery is a substance use disorder recovery program that typically includes BioCorRx's proprietary Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) modules along with peer support via mobile app along with medication prescribed by an independent treating physician under their discretion. The UnCraveRx Weight Loss Program is also a medication assisted weight loss program that includes access to concierge on-demand wellness specialists: nutritionists, fitness experts and personal support from behavioral experts; please visit www.uncraverx.com for more information on UnCraveRx. The Company also controls BioCorRx Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage drug development subsidiary currently seeking FDA approval for BICX104, an implantable naltrexone pellet for treatment of alcohol and opioid use disorders. For more information on BICX and its subsidiary pipeline, please visit www.BioCorRx.com. Safe Harbor Statement The information in this release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "estimate," "become," "plan," "will," and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown. risks as well as uncertainties. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. BioCorRx Inc. investors@BioCorRx.com 714-462-4880 Investor Relations: Crescendo Communications, LLC (212) 671-1020 x304 bicx@crescendo-ir.com Media Contact: PhillComm Global BioCorRx@PhillComm.Global 704.942.1557 SOURCE: BioCorRx Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698545/BioCorRx-to-Present-at-the-Planet-MicroCap-Showcase-2022-in-Las-Vegas-on-May-4th VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Telescope Innovations Corp. ("Telescope" or the "Company") (CSE:TELI), a chemical technology company, announces that in connection with the Company's annual general meeting of shareholders scheduled to occur on April 28, 2022, management of the Company understands that a nomination from the floor will be made for the election of Henry Dubina as an additional independent director of the Company. The nomination of Mr. Dubina is supported by management and the Company recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the election of Mr. Dubina as a director of the Company. Mr. Dubina was the president and Strategic Business Unit Head of Mettler-Toledo AutoChem ("MT AutoChem") between 1999 and his retirement in 2022. As the President and Head of MT AutoChem for over 20 years, he directed the global business from Research & Development, Manufacturing, and Marketing, to Sales and Service. MT AutoChem instruments have been ubiquitously deployed in academia and industry for biopharmaceutical, chemical, and advanced materials applications to accelerate the development of new, high-quality chemical and biological entities and processes. Technology platforms included automation, spectroscopy, sampling systems, particle size and shape measurement and calorimetry, software & machine learning algorithms. Prior to this time, Mr. Dubina developed and directed Applied Systems Inc., into a $15 million provider of in-situ spectroscopy systems (Fourier-transform infrared instruments) and related sampling and software (ReactIR) before its acquisition in 1999 by Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. Jason Hein, CEO states, "We are looking forward to working with Henry and harvesting some of the valuable knowledge and guidance he brings to the table as we implement our corporate strategies and build on our strong governance." About Telescope Telescope is a chemical technology company developing scalable manufacturing processes and tools for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. The Company builds and deploys new enabling technologies including flexible robotic platforms and artificial intelligence software that improves experimental throughput, efficiency, and data quality. A key area of application for these tools is the development of scalable manufacturing processes for mental health medicines in the under-utilized tryptamine class of compounds, including psychedelic therapeutics. Telescope also applies these toolsets to resolve inefficiencies in industrial process chemistry and manufacturing. Our aim is to bring modern chemical solutions to meet the most serious challenges in health and sustainability. On behalf of the Board, Telescope Innovations Corp. Jason Hein, Chief Executive Officer E: jason@telescopeinn.com Forward-Looking Information Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of the prospectus filed by the Company and available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements in this document include expectations that the shareholders of the Company will elect Mr. Dubina as an additional independent director of the Company, and all other statements that are not statements of historical fact. Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with the global COVID-19 pandemic, including the risk that the Company be deemed a non-essential business and asked to temporarily cease operations; general economic conditions; adverse industry events; the Company's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the ability of the Company to implement its business strategies; competition; and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Telescope Innovations Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698431/Telescope-Expects-Proposal-for-a-New-Board-Member-at-Upcoming-AGM Use of Virtuozzo's Cloud Platform Strengthens Provider's Competitive Advantage While Fortifying Its Product Portfolio with a Business-Critical Offering Virtuozzo, the alternative cloud platform leader, today announced that Joe's Datacenter uses Virtuozzo's Cloud Platform to deliver Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) in its own cloud environment. Hosting DRaaS on its proprietary infrastructure enables the service provider to maintain control of the disaster recovery journey while leveraging its infrastructure management expertise. In turn, Joe's Datacenter becomes a one-stop-shop offering easy-to-use cloud services capable of supporting large numbers of workloads. This equates to increased profitability for managed service providers (MSPs) and simpler, fully protected cloud capabilities for business customers. The two companies will host a webinar next month introducing the solution to other service providers and end users. In operation for more than a decade, Joe's Datacenter relies on Virtuozzo to host public and private cloud offerings in three geographically diverse data centers. Disaster Recovery customers can select a preferred backup and restore location from within that data center network. The DRaaS solution leverages the power and ease of Virtuozzo's hyperconverged cloud platform, and is managed via Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud to capitalize on those three locations should a failover be required. Joe's Datacenter is Virtuozzo's first partner to deploy Acronis DRaaS using Virtuozzo's on-premise cloud infrastructure. Additionally, Joe's Datacenter is also one of the only alternative cloud service providers offering self-managed DRaaS. Notably, Virtuozzo's software stack is inherently compatible with Acronis software products, which simplifies integration and optimizes the performance of both companies' technologies. "We could have built something from scratch or deployed alternative products and delivery models. But those options presented unnecessary integration challenges, management limitations, and overhead," said Joe Morgan, Founder and CEO, Joe's Datacenter. "Coupling Acronis with Virtuozzo gave us all the benefits of Acronis' software with our preferred operational advantage of managing our own equipment and network connections. It's a smarter approach for us, which translates to a stronger solution for our customers." When running in disaster recovery mode, the Acronis software manages the failover process, while Virtuozzo quickly turns the Acronis-built backup into a running virtual machine-minimizing any potential downtime. Further, by hosting the infrastructure for the off-site backup and the virtual machines, Joe's Datacenter can better manage data/backup/workload security during transit, as well as recovery speeds. "We understand how important it is for our service provider partners to differentiate themselves to build thriving businesses. That's why Virtuozzo offers an exceptionally robust cloud platform. Its diverse feature set and broad functionality lend incredible value to innovators like Joe's Datacenter," said Alex Fine, CEO, Virtuozzo. "Joe Morgan saw an opportunity to create a joint solution with Virtuozzo and Acronis that allows his strongest skillsets to shine-the infrastructure management and hands-on customer and partner support. We're proud to be part of his company's evolution that helps him increase his competitive edge and, as a result, overall profitability. We wish him nothing but the best of success." DRaaS is now available as part of the Joe's Datacenter MSP Accelerator Program or as a standalone service for business customers. Webinar Virtuozzo will host Joe's Datacenter during a webinar titled: DRaaS Without the Drama: How to Protect Cloud Workloads the Easy Way. The event will be held on May 11th and is free to attend. To register, please visit: www.virtuozzo.com/cloud-draas-webinar. About Joe's Data Center Joe's Datacenter (joesdatacenter.com) serves our clients as fully and professionally as possible, offering bare metal, colocation, virtual private servers, and public and private cloud services. The data center and products are state-of-the-art, building availability and reliability. Corporate headquarters is in downtown Kansas City, with service locations in Los Angeles and New York. Growth is a direct result of success providing industry and reseller solutions to MSPs and small businesses. About Virtuozzo Virtuozzo (www.virtuozzo.com) provides the leading alternative cloud platform for service providers, enabling them to sell cloud services that are more accessible, more affordable and easier to use than hyperscaler solutions. The company's legacy includes developing the first commercially available container technology and being a major contributor to numerous virtualization and open-source projects for more than 20 years. Today, Virtuozzo cloud solutions are used by more than 700 Cloud Service Providers, Managed Service Providers and Hosting Providers in 80 countries. Virtuozzo is based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and has more than 320 employees across the U.S., UK, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005322/en/ Contacts: Heather Ailara 211 Communications +1.973.567.6040 heather@211comms.com US-based food platform is capitalising on growing demand for better for you snacks and treats Funds managed by CapVest Partners LLP ("CapVest"), a leading international private equity investor, have closed the acquisition of Second Nature Brands ("the Company"), a Michigan-based creator of premium, nutritional and better for you snacks and treats, including Kar's Nuts, Second Nature Snacks, and Sanders Chocolates, from a private equity fund affiliated with Palladium Equity Partners, LLC. With a heritage stretching over 140 years, the Company is a leader in the fast-growing snacks and treats market, focussing on the nutritional and lifestyle needs of health-conscious consumers. The Company's brands comprise Kar's Nuts, the #1 branded trail mix delivering better-for-you, on-the-go fuelling snacks, Second Nature Snacks, a pioneer in natural, non-GMO-verified premium snacks and trail mixes created for a healthy, on-the-go lifestyle, and Sanders Chocolates, the leader in premium, small-batch, kettle-cooked sea salt caramels. Commenting on the transaction, Othmane Khelladi, Partner, CapVest, said: "Second Nature Brands is a very exciting platform with ambitious plans to grow its presence in the highly attractive snacking and treats market. Through our ownership, we look forward to supporting Vic Mehren and his world-class team in accelerating growth through further investment in product innovation, category leadership and by scaling the existing platform through transformational acquisitions." Commenting on behalf of Second Nature Brands, CEO Vic Mehren said: "Our partnership with Palladium has been extraordinarily successful and we thank them for their contributions to Second Nature Brands. With their support, and through the efforts of our great Second Nature Brands team members, Second Nature Brands has transformed into a leader within Snacks and Treats. We're now thrilled to be partnering with CapVest for our next phase of growth. The CapVest team's deep consumer food experience will be invaluable as we work to build on our Snacks and Treats platform organically, and inorganically with strategic acquisitions."CapVest has been investing in food businesses around the world for more over 20 years and has a deep understanding of the consumer food sector. Recent successes include the transformation of Valeo Foods from an Irish-only business with less than 200 million in sales, to a leading global ambient food group with over 1.1 billion in net sales operating in over 106 markets around the world. CapVest was advised by William Blair (M&A) and Willkie Farr Gallagher (Legal). About CapVest CapVest is a leading international private equity investor that partners with ambitious companies supplying essential goods and services to transform their businesses. As an active and patient investor, CapVest has established a strong record of success in delivering attractive returns by working closely with management in transforming the size and scale of its portfolio companies through a combination of organic and acquisition led growth. For more information, visit www.capvest.co.uk About Second Nature Brands Second Nature Brands is a leading creator of snacks and treats that make lives better, naturally. By investing in new product development, thoughtful ingredient sourcing, and innovative business processes, Second Nature Brands is reimagining premium and better-for-you snacks and treats. Under its growing family of brands, Kar's Nuts, Second Nature Snacks, and Sanders Chocolates, Second Nature Brands has an extensive distribution network across the United States and a growing direct-to-consumer eCommerce presence. Currently, Kar's Nuts and Second Nature Snacks are two of the best-selling trail mix brands in the nation, including the #1 selling Kar's Sweet 'n Salty Mix. Sanders Chocolates is one of the largest kettle-cooked, small-batch crafters of sea salt caramel treats in the U.S. Find out more at Second Nature Brands (www.secondnaturebrandsus.com), Kar's Nuts (www.karsnuts.com), Second Nature Snacks (www.secondnaturesnacks.com), and Sanders Chocolates (www.sanderscandy.com) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005746/en/ Contacts: For further information please contact: Ben Valdimarsson, Reputation Inc bvaldimarsson@reputation-inc.com +44 7889805930 In a shock announcement, Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has told Russian state media: NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. In an uncharacteristically angry tone, he accused NATO of fighting a proxy war by supplying military aid to Ukraine, just at a time when western defence ministers have gathered in Germany for US-hosted talks on supporting Ukraine through what one US general called a very critical few weeks. The chief aim of the US sponsored talks was to coordinate mounting security assistance to Kyiv that included heavy weaponry, such as howitzers, as well as armed drones and ammunition. The next several weeks will be very, very critical, Milley said. They need continued support in order to be successful on the battlefield. And thats really the purpose of this conference. This would mark a significant intensification of the war in Ukraine, which explains the fury with which it has been met in Moscow. When asked about the importance of avoiding a third world war, Lavrov said: I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it. But the Zelensky clique in Kyiv was jubilant. Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said that this showed Moscow had lost its last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. War means war, Lavrov warned. The new weapons of war In reality, the measures already taken by the Americans against Russia would at any time in the past have been seen as acts of war. The imposition of sanctions was intended to cripple the Russian economy. Clausewitz said that war is only the continuation of politics by other means. Washington has a new variant on this idea. Nowadays, economics is only a continuation of war. US imperialism has turned trade into a weapon of war. In the good old days, when the British Empire had a problem, they sent a gunship. Nowadays, the Americans send a letter from the Department of Trade. But their much-vaunted sanctions have failed to bring the Russian economy to its knees and have had no effect whatsoever on Putins war plans. Insofar as it has had any effect, it has been to push most Russians behind Putin and the war. When one young woman in Moscow was asked who was responsible for rising prices, she answered without hesitation: Those who imposed the sanctions. Moreover, sanctions are a double-edged weapon. They have already done very serious damage to the fragile fabric of world trade, disrupting supply chains, causing shortages of many key products and driving up prices. Naturally, the Americans are supremely indifferent to the shortage of oil and gas in Europe. They have their own not inconsiderable supplies. But others are not in the same comfortable situation. The USA is putting heavy pressure on countries like Germany to end its dependence on Russian oil and gas. But despite all the claims to the contrary, Germany cannot find suitable alternative sources at sustainable prices. And, as we know, principles are principles, but business is business. As for renouncing all use of Russian oil and gas, Germanys reply brings to mind the celebrated words of Saint Augustine: Lord, make me chaste but not yet Meanwhile, the war is not going well for Ukraine. The Russians are concentrating their forces for an all-out offensive in the Donbass and Mariupol has effectively fallen. Zelenskys desperation Not long ago the imperialist propaganda machine was insisting that Ukraine was winning the war on all fronts. But the facts point in a different direction. If Russia wins the battle of the Donbass, it would be a decisive blow for Ukraine.That is why Zelensky continually puts demands on his friends in NATO for more weapons, including tanks, heavy artillery, and even modern fighter jets. What he would really like (he has repeated this many times) is for NATO to intervene directly, either by sending troops to fight alongside his army, or at least to establish what is known as a no-fly zone over Ukraine. The beleaguered Ukrainian president is increasingly indignant at the fact that his friends in Washington are prepared to fight to the last drop of Ukrainian blood, without engaging in any fighting themselves / Image: The beleaguered Ukrainian president is increasingly indignant at the fact that his friends in Washington are prepared to fight to the last drop of Ukrainian blood, without engaging in any fighting themselves. And his frustration is increasingly finding a public expression in his speeches, in which he constantly repeats his desire to speak directly to Vladimir Putin (the only man who can stop the war). Finally, Joe Biden has decided to act. He is determined to show strong leadership, irrespective of the consequences. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was dispatched to Kyiv where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials. On Monday, speaking in Poland, he assured everyone that the US wants to see Ukraine remain a sovereign country, a democratic country able to protect its sovereign territory, which is very nice. But he also said rather more than he intended concerning the real war aims of US imperialism, that is: we want to see Russia weakened to the point where it cant do things like invade Ukraine. The first step in winning is believing that you can win, and both the US and the Ukrainians believe that we they can win, if they have the right equipment, the right support, he said And we're going to do everything we can and continue to do everything we can. One notes with interest the Freudian slip, immediately corrected by the US Defence Secretary. He said it was important that both the US and the Ukrainians believe that we they can win. The word we clearly refers to the US, while the Ukrainians are added as an afterthought. And there can be no doubt whatsoever as to which thought was uppermost in Mr. Lloyd Austins mind. The cynical policy of US imperialism It is all very clear. At bottom, this is not a war of Russia and Ukraine. It is a proxy war between Russia and the USA. Issues like democracy, human rights and national sovereignty are not of the slightest interest to the imperialists, except as cheap propaganda points. But they are very interested in prolonging the war, irrespective of all the human suffering, since they hope that it will serve to weaken Russia. Unlike the imperialist hypocrites, the working class in the West feels genuine sympathy for the terrible sufferings of millions of poor people in Ukraine. They donate money, clothes and food, which they cannot afford, to help the victims of war. They open their houses and share whatever they have with homeless refugees. And this is to their credit. But it is one thing to express solidarity with the victims of war. And it is another thing altogether different to support, directly or indirectly, the cynical policy of imperialism, which is exploiting the misery of millions of men, women and children, deliberately prolonging the conflict for its own selfish interests. Self-determination? The key element in the argument of the pacifist warmongers is that we must defend the sovereignty of Ukraine, that is to say its right to self-determination. Since that is the usual excuse for backing Ukraine in the present war, we will deal with that first. Lenin dealt with the important issue of the national question in great detail in his writings. The question of self-determination, he explained, is for Marxists subordinate to the general interests of the working class / Image: fair use The matter is presented in the following way: the Ukrainian people have the right to self-determination. Ukraine is a sovereign state. Its sovereignty has been violated by a brutal invasion launched by a powerful and aggressive neighbour. We must therefore take the side of the victim against the aggressor. The question is posed as a simple black and white issue. It is furthermore backed up by repeated references to alleged war crimes and atrocities. But for Marx, Engels and Lenin, the national question was never a panacea a sort of blank cheque that could be cashed in by anybody under any circumstances. What is the Marxist attitude to self-determination? The writings of Lenin deal with this important issue in great detail, and still provide us with a sound foundation to deal with this most complicated question. Lenins arguments are generally known. But as Hegel once remarked, what is known is not necessarily on that account understood. In fact, the most well-known propositions are frequently misunderstood on account of the very fact that they are so familiar that their real content has been completely overlooked. As Hegel pointed out, and as Lenin often quoted, the truth is always concrete. The first mistake is to imagine that we must defend self-determination in all circumstances, as a fixed and immutable principle. But such an idea has nothing in common with Marxism and it makes two fundamental mistakes. The right of nations to self-determination is a democratic demand and Marxists support it, as we support any other democratic demand. But the support for democratic demands in general has never been considered by Marxists as some kind of Categorical Imperative. Democratic demands are always subordinate to the general interests of the working class and the struggle for socialism. It is always necessary to evaluate the concrete conditions and to learn to distinguish between what is progressive and what is reactionary in any given movement. Progressive or reactionary? The national question can have either a progressive or a reactionary content, depending on the concrete circumstances, the international context, and the implications it has for the class-conscious workers and the relations between the classes. All these concrete factors must be carefully considered before we can take a position regarding a particular national struggle. Such struggles can, of course, play a progressive role, as was the case of the struggle of the Polish and Irish people for independence in the 19th century, or the fight for the independence of the enslaved colonies in more recent times. But not every national struggle has a progressive character, and very frequently, the national question can be used as a cover for the most reactionary purposes. In contrast to people like Proudhon, Marx and Engels gave due consideration to the national question, however, they always considered it as subordinate to the labour question. That is, they always considered it exclusively from the point of view of the working class and the socialist revolution. Thus, while they gave support to the struggle of the Polish people for independence, since that struck a blow against Russian tsarism, the main bulwark of European reaction, Marx and Engels refused to support the national struggle of the South Slavs and Czechs, precisely because they saw behind them the hand of Saint Petersburg. Like Marx, Lenin had a very flexible position on the national question, which he always approached from the standpoint of the general interests of the proletariat and the international revolution. Lenin on war and the national question Lenins writings on war and the national question set forth the basic Marxist position on this subject, which he developed in a very rich, all-sided and dialectical manner. Yet even the slightest glance at the literature of groups that today lay claim to the heritage of Lenin is enough to convince oneself that nobody reads Lenin any more, and if they do read his articles, they do not understand a single word. Dialectics, as Lenin explained many times, deals with phenomena in an all-sided way. To abstract a single element in a complex equation, and to counterpose it to all the other elements in that equation, is a childish misuse of dialectics, known to the history of philosophy as sophism. Such abuses lead to errors of the crassest type in logic. And in politics, and particularly the politics of the national question, they lead directly to the defence of reactionary positions and the complete abandonment of socialism. This is shown very clearly by the war in Ukraine. Here we see how the complete failure of so-called Marxists to understand the Marxist attitude towards war has led them to abandon the class position altogether. But the attitude of Marxists to war cannot be determined by sentimental considerations, much less by the hysterical propaganda by which the imperialists seek to conceal their real aims. There is one specific case where Lenin makes it clear that you do not support the right of nations to self-determination: He regarded the demand to support self-determination (even if it was justified in and of itself), if it meant dragging the big powers into a war as a monstrous suggestion. In 1916, he recommended to the Poles that they subordinate their struggle for self-determination to the perspective of revolution in Russia and Germany: To raise the question of Poland's independence today, he wrote, under the existing relations of the neighbouring imperialist powers, it is really to chase after a utopia, to descend to narrow-minded nationalism and forget that a necessary premise is an all-European or at least the Russian and German revolutions. (LCW, The Discussion on Self-determination Summed Up, vol. 22, p. 350, my emphasis AW.) Did that advice sound abstract and utopian to many people at the time? No doubt it did. But history showed that Lenin was one hundred percent correct. It was only the Russian Revolution that created the conditions for the establishment of an independent Polish state, whereas every other attempt had ended in disaster. Likewise, in relation to the struggle of the Serbs against Austria during World War One, Lenin wrote the following: In the present war the national element is represented only by Serbias war against Austria (which, by the way, was noted in the resolution of our Partys Berne Conference). It is only in Serbia and among the Serbs that we can find a national-liberation movement of long standing, embracing millions, the masses of the people, a movement of which the present war of Serbia against Austria is a continuation. If this war were an isolated one, i.e., if it were not connected with the general European war, with the selfish and predatory aims of Britain, Russia, etc., it would have been the duty of all socialists to desire the success of the Serbian bourgeoisie as this is the only correct and absolutely inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the national element in the present war. However, it is this conclusion that the sophist Kautsky, who is now in the service of the Austrian bourgeoisie, clericals and militarists, has failed to draw. Further, Marxist dialectics, as the last word in the scientific-evolutionary method, excludes any isolated examination of an object, i.e., one that is one-sided and monstrously distorted. The national element in the Serbo-Austrian war is not, and cannot be, of any serious significance in the general European war. If Germany wins, she will throttle Belgium, one more part of Poland, perhaps part of France, etc. If Russia wins, she will throttle Galicia, one more part of Poland, Armenia, etc. If the war ends in a draw, the old national oppression will remain. To Serbia, i.e., to perhaps one per cent or so of the participants in the present war, the war is a continuation of the politics of the bourgeois-liberation movement. To the other ninety-nine per cent, the war is a continuation of the politics of imperialism, i.e., of the decrepit bourgeoisie, which is capable only of raping nations, not freeing them. The Triple Entente, which is liberating Serbia, is selling the interests of Serbian liberty to Italian imperialism in return for the latters aid in robbing Austria. This is quite clear. If we take the struggle of the Serbian people for self-determination against Austrian imperialism in isolation from the general international context, we would have to support the Serbs. But in the context of a European war, which reduces itself to a fight between different groups of imperialist robbers, and in which small nations become merely the small change of this or that imperialism, we cannot give support. In particular, we should remember what Lenin said about the impermissibility of supporting the struggle for self-determination if that meant dragging the workers of Europe into a general war. And at the present moment in history, in what way could the extension of the Ukrainian conflict into a general European conflagration, or even a world war possibly serve the interests of the workers of Europe and the world socialist revolution? We leave that to our readers to decide. The truth is always concrete. Do we support Ukrainian self-determination? Do we support Ukrainian self-determination? Of course, we do. Do the Ukrainian people have the right to decide their own future as an independent state? We answer unequivocally: yes, they do have such a right. They have proved their right to exist as a separate state for a long time. But that does not exhaust the question. Let us now ask another question. Do the Ukrainians have the right to oppress people of other nationalities who live on their national territory? For example, do they have the right to impose discriminatory laws against the many people in Ukraine who speak Russian as their first language? To that question we answer equally emphatically in the negative. We ought to remind ourselves that one of the first measures adopted by the nationalist Ukrainian regime that came to power after the Maidan coup was the imposition of all manner of discriminatory laws aimed at Russian speakers. Pictured: members of the neo-Nazi Azov battalion integrated into the national guard after the 2014 coup / Image: spolit.exile, Flickr Let us remind ourselves that one of the first measures adopted by the nationalist Ukrainian regime that came to power after the Maidan coup was to impose all manner of discriminatory laws directed against Russian speakers. It was this, more than anything else, that led to the uprising in Donbass, which ended in the breakaway of the two rebel areas in the east. The rapid rise of fascist and other extreme Ukrainian nationalist movements also caused alarm in Crimea, where the majority consists of Russian speaking people, who do not feel any particular affinity to Ukraine. That ended in the breakaway of Crimea, which, despite all the propaganda about Russian annexation, was supported by the great majority of the inhabitants of that region and approved subsequently in a referendum. Thus, the victory of nationalism in Ukraine immediately had the effect of the loss of a significant part of its territory. They later attempted to regain the lost lands in the east by a vicious campaign of shelling that killed thousands of people. This fact has long been ignored or downplayed by the western media, but it has played a significant role in detonating the present invasion. A struggle of living forces It is difficult to say how the war is progressing. The information of the military situation in the media is so sparse as to be almost non-existent. And the constant predictions of Russian defeats must be regarded with caution. The latest shipment of arms, including modern weaponry from the US may provide some relief to the Ukrainian side, but it will scarcely make up for the crushing superiority of the Russian forces that are now concentrated in Donbass. The outlook for the Ukrainian forces there is not very bright. But war is a struggle of living forces, and in a broader sense, the Russian side may be facing more serious difficulties. In the final analysis, the weight of Russia, its great industrial strength and bigger population must eventually prevail. But war is never a simple question, and there can be yet many complicating elements. The question of morale can play a crucial role. According to all the available evidence, the war has the support of the big majority of people in Russia. For the present, at least, Putins position seems secure. However, according to my sources in Russia, the highest levels of support are to be found among the older layers of the population, whereas support among young people is only about 30 to 40 percent. But it is among that layer that the future conscripts will have to be found to fight in Ukraine. For all these reasons, Putin may have to settle for the conquest of a large slice of territory in the Donbass and along the coastal region. That may be considered a success of sorts, but it will fall short of a complete victory and it will have negative consequences for the working class of both countries. Terrible damage will have been done to the centuries-old sense of brotherhood and solidarity between the Russian people and the people of Ukraine. The moods of mutual mistrust, bitterness and suspicion will not be easy to eradicate. And on such poisonous soil, the extreme chauvinists on both sides can draw new strength and become even more aggressive and arrogant. Those are the reasons why we oppose this war. Whatever the final result, the balance sheet from the standpoint of the working class and the socialist revolution will be negative. Nevertheless, all history shows that the fog of war will eventually lift. The class question will again come to the fore, creating favourable conditions for the re-emergence of the class struggle in both Russia and Ukraine. Can we support Zelensky? The reactionary nature of Putins regime is quite clear. But that of the Ukrainian side has been systematically concealed by the propaganda machine. The fascist bandits of the Azov brigade, who Washington not long ago wanted to put on the list of terrorist organisations, are now being presented as heroic freedom fighters and even defenders of democracy (!) Ukrainian sovereignty is a myth. The war has clearly shown that the Zelensky regime is entirely dependent on foreign masters. The Americans pay the bills and supply the weapons. And who pays the piper will always call the tune / Image: In Defence of Marxism As for the so-called Ukrainian democracy: that is more apparent than real. Let us remind ourselves that one of the reasons why NATO delayed accepting Ukrainian membership was because of a democratic deficit. And the sovereignty of Ukraine? That too is a myth. The war has shown clearly that the Zelensky regime is entirely dependent on foreign masters. The Americans pay the bills and supply the weapons by which they hope that the Ukrainians will fight to the last drop of their blood to defend the interests of US imperialism against its enemy, Russia. And who pays the piper will always call the tune. The present regime in Kyiv is entirely at the mercy of US imperialism. For all his bravado and bold speeches, Zelensky can do nothing and decide nothing except what is dictated to him from Washington. And Washington has decided that it is better for Ukraine to continue to bleed to death in order to weaken its principal adversary, Russia. The lives and suffering of the Ukrainian people simply do not feature in its calculations. This is a power struggle between US imperialism and Russia. Only a fool or a rogue could ever deny that. Sadly, there are not a few of both kinds especially in what used to be called the Left. The clear deterioration of Ukraines position on the eastern front means that Zelensky continues to press his demands, seemingly oblivious to the consequences for the rest of the world. As Lenin once said, a man standing on the edge of a precipice does not reason. Playing with fire The risk of an all-out war in Europe is something which the Americans and their European allies have, up until now, found too terrifying to contemplate. At this point, the interests of western imperialism and the Zelensky regime were beginning to drift apart. For all the hypocritical propaganda and crocodile tears about the sufferings of the poor Ukrainian people (very genuine sufferings, of course), they had (and still have) no intention of putting themselves at risk. Let us remind ourselves of the fundamentals. The capitalists do not wage war for patriotism, democracy, or any other high-sounding principles. They wage war for profit, to capture foreign markets, sources of raw material (such as oil), and to expand spheres of influence. A nuclear war would signify none of these things, but only the mutual destruction of both sides. They have even coined a phrase to describe this: MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). This is a matter that ought to sober up even the most deluded minds. But some minds seem to be more deluded than others. Joe Biden never the sharpest brain in Washington appears to be suffering from some of the symptoms of advanced senile decay. He is evidently haunted by the vision of ex-President Trump, whose megalomania habitually expressed itself in bouts of macho-man assertiveness to the evident horror of his advisers. Bidens attempt to step into his predecessors outsized shoes do not look particularly convincing from the PR point of view. But the words spoken by the President of the worlds most powerful nation will inevitably have far-reaching effects and not all of them foreseen by the man who uttered them. To accuse the President of the Russian Federation of being a war criminal was not quite in the acceptable tradition of diplomacy or presidential good manners. After all, sooner or later, Uncle Joe will have to sit down at a negotiating table with the very man he has accused of being a criminal. Even Zelensky understands that much. No wonder the White House officials immediately fell over themselves to say that he did not really mean what he said. The next day he said it again. That theres real fighting talk, partner! Now loudmouth Joe has gone several steps further, provoking Moscow to the very limit of its tolerance. The results will not be long in forthcoming. But what will they be? The Americans have pushed things to a point where Russia will be compelled to respond. On several occasions Putin has reminded the West that Russia possesses both nuclear weapons and the power to send them over great distances. It has become customary in the western media to portray the Russian leader, not only as a war criminal, but also as a man who is completely deranged. But whatever else one might say about the man in the Kremlin, he is not insane, and is capable of making rational judgements. The same cannot be said about the present occupant of the White House. The likelihood of Russia resorting to nuclear weapons any time soon is very small. But they have already warned that the promised deliveries of sophisticated weapons by NATO will mean that they will be targeted. That was predictable and spelled out by Lavrov, who said: These weapons will be a legitimate target for Russias military acting within the context of the special operation. And Russia can step up its war effort in many ways rather than entering a course that might lead to World War III. What that means in practice, only time will tell. But as the Bible says: Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? The question naturally answers itself. Vladimir Putin Stalins heir Some foolish people have the illusion that somehow Putin represents a progressive force in the world. That is the height of stupidity. Is the present Russian state a bourgeois state? Of course it is! Russia is now a capitalist regime, dominated by a rapacious oligarchy that has grown fabulously wealthy by appropriating all the wealth created by the Soviet working class. It is ruled by a gang of thieves whose only interest is to feather their own nest at the expense of the Russian people. After three decades, nothing is left of what was progressive in the old Soviet Union. The wealth of the people has been stolen by a pack of thieves and at its head stands a man who imitates the worst aspects of the rotten tsarist regime and its Stalinist heir. Lenin likened Stalin to "that really Russian man, the Great-Russian chauvinist, in substance a rascal and a tyrant, such as the typical Russian bureaucrat is." These words are a very accurate description of the man who now sits at Stalin's desk in the Kremlin / Image: Ephraim Stillberg But at least Stalin, in the final analysis, rested on the historic conquests of the October Revolution: a nationalised planned economy. But now that last vestige of the socialist past has been liquidated. Does Vladimir Putin represent the interests of the Russian or Ukrainian working class? Not in the slightest degree! He stands for the interests of the corrupt and voracious oligarchy who he provides with a central point of support and who, in turn, keep him in power. From such a poisonous regime, nothing progressive is to be expected. And foreign policy is merely the reflection of domestic policy. This must be kept firmly in mind when we come to analyse the present situation. Let us remind ourselves of the very words that Lenin used in his conflict with Stalin, who he likened to that really Russian man, the Great-Russian chauvinist, in substance a rascal and a tyrant, such as the typical Russian bureaucrat is. These words are a very accurate description of the man who now sits at Stalins desk in the Kremlin. How does Vladimir Putin propose to resolve the Ukrainian question? By the same means he uses to solve every problem: by brute force. This former KGB agent is, in that sense, a faithful disciple of Stalin. If the Russian workers were in power, the entire situation would be different. By sweeping away the rule of a corrupt and degenerate oligarchy and establishing a genuine workers democracy, Russia would once more act as a beacon, encouraging the workers of Ukraine to throw off the yoke of their own thieving oligarchs and their political puppets. But Putins regime can have no power of attraction for the people of Ukraine. On the contrary, Putin is driving them into the arms of reactionary nationalism. Robespierre once famously remarked nobody likes missionaries who come with bayonets. He said that at a time when the Great French Revolution was still in a healthy and progressive phase. But all that changed under Napoleon, whose oppressive rule provoked a general upsurge of nationalist revolt in Europe, which played a key role in his final downfall. There is no need to accept the obviously malicious accusations of the hired western media about alleged Russian war crimes. Nor should we accept at face value everything the same lying media says about the alleged failures of the Russian military campaign. But a Bonapartist regime can only wage war in a Bonapartist manner. It is not hard to imagine that quite a number of problems in Russias Ukrainian campaign are connected to the endemic corruption, cronyism and inefficiency of that regime. A genuine Red Army would combine the armed struggle with a class appeal to the Ukrainian working class. But there is very little sign of that. This means that the Ukrainians will continue to offer resistance. The war will be unnecessarily prolonged and bloody. For a class position! For us the most important question is: which class and, in whose interest, is the war being waged? This is the essential question that must be answered as a prior condition for taking a principled class position. To depart a single millimetre from the class position is to enter into a slippery slope that leads inevitably to the swamp of betrayal and reaction. We forget this elementary fact at our peril. In the days immediately following the outbreak of the war, I wrote the following: It goes without saying that Putin and the oligarchy that he serves are the enemies of the Russian workers. And his support base has been steadily declining, which was obviously one of the reasons why he decided to play the card of invading Ukraine. It is also true that that may well backfire on him at a certain stage. However, any suggestion that the reactionary imperialists can in any sense, shape or form, defend the interests of the people of Russia, Ukraine or any other country is a despicable lie and a deception of the people. The Ukrainian people have learned from painful experience just how much the promised help and solidarity of NATO and the West was worth when the decisive moment arrived. They see the Ukrainian people as mere pawns in a cynical game, cannon fodder that can be usefully sacrificed in order to bring discredit upon Russia, without costing them the life of a single soldier. No trust whatsoever should be placed on these gangsters. And that is particularly true for workers and socialists in the West. The task of fighting against the reactionary gang in the Kremlin is the task of the Russian workers alone. Our task is to fight against our bourgeoisie, against NATO, and against American imperialism the most counterrevolutionary force on the planet. Our opposition has nothing in common with the disgusting hypocrisy of the imperialists. And however reactionary Putin may be, his crimes are as nothing compared to the infamous brutality of US imperialism, whose hands are forever stained with the blood of countless innocent victims in every part of the globe. On 11 March, I wrote the following: It is NATO especially the Americans and British that pushed the Ukraine into the present conflict with Russia for their own ends, and then cynically stood back and watched as the Ukrainian people drowned in a sea of blood. They were responsible for this unnecessary war and they are now responsible for deliberately prolonging it in their own cynical interests. Our sympathies are entirely on the side of the suffering Ukrainian people, who are the innocent victims of this cynical game of great power politics. But the sufferings will only end when the war itself is brought to an end. Those who continually press them to continue fighting, when they know perfectly well how this will end and have not the slightest intention of lifting a finger to help militarily, are no friends of the Ukrainian people. They are your worst enemies. I see no reason to change one word of this today. London, 26 April 2022 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has nominated veteran diplomat Bridget A. Brink to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. Bridget A. Brink, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. After joining the State Department in 1996, Bridget has spent most of her career working on European affairs and the Caucasus. Bridget has served as Senior Advisor and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, with responsibility for issues related to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Uzbekistan and Georgia. Bridget spent her twenty-five-year career in the Foreign Service focused on advancing U.S. policy in Europe and Eurasia. She was the Director for the Aegean and the South Caucasus at the National Security Council and served in the State Department as the Deputy Director for Southern European Affairs, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and Cyprus Desk Officer. The recipient of many performance awards, Bridget holds Master's degrees in International Relations and Political Theory. She speaks Russian. The White House did not specify when will she assume the new office in the war-ravaged country. During his visit to Kyiv along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday, U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that U.S. diplomats will return to their Embassy in Kyiv to strengthen the humanitarian relief efforts and the delivery of assistance to the Government of Ukraine while providing enhanced support to U.S. citizens. Speaking to the media later, Blinken said American diplomats will be back in Ukraine starting next week. He said he expects the U.S. embassy in Kyiv to reopen over a couple of weeks. 'We're doing it deliberately, we're doing it carefully, we're doing it with the security of our personnel foremost in mind, but we're doing it,' he told reporters. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de CHICAGO, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Spaulding Ridge, leading global cloud advisory and implementation firm, today announced several appointments to its EMEA leadership team that further solidify the company's commitment to providing local market leadership by region. Tassos Siatras, Managing Partner, appointed overall leader of EMEA Jani Van Hecke , Associate Partner, supporting France and the UK , Associate Partner, supporting and the UK Johan Rehnstrom, Associate Partner, supporting the Nordics Alex De La Concha, Associate Partner, supporting Spain "Our EMEA presence continues to grow and the need to establish a strong, cohesive leadership model is now. Our EMEA leadership team has the business management experience, deep market and industry knowledge, and true understanding of our company values and vision that will enable us to scale," says Jay Laabs, CEO, Spaulding Ridge. "As Managing Partner, EMEA, Tassos Siatras will manage and grow our EMEA presence with tight accountability and support from Jani, Johan, and Alex." With 500 employees across the globe, Spaulding Ridge has been increasing its global investments to provide local services in key international markets, including launching offices in London, Madrid, Barcelona, Stockholm, Paris, Calgary, Toronto, Jaipur, Bangalore, and Manila. Spaulding Ridge recently completed two acquisitions in EMEA: Silvr Lining Group, a Salesforce consultancy based in the UK, and CIS Consulting, a CPM and Data Solutions company located in Spain. Tassos Siatras, Managing Partner, EMEA Tassos Siatras has taken the position of Managing Partner, EMEA, where he will be responsible for overseeing and growing Spaulding Ridge's EMEA business, including the expansion of key Spaulding Ridge alliance relationships across all European markets. With the support of Jani, Johan, and Alex, he will take ownership of all operations in EMEA offices in the UK, Spain, Sweden, and France, focusing on integrating Spaulding Ridge's recent acquisitions. With more than 15 years of business transformation consulting and cloud technology experience, Tassos has been with Spaulding Ridge since its start in 2018 and leads Spaulding Ridge's APAC business. Jani Van Hecke, Associate Partner, Supporting France and the UK Jani Van Hecke is an accomplished, people-focused leader and consultant with a track record leading rapid growth within the technology industry. He joins Spaulding Ridge as an Associate Partner, supporting the growth and management of the EMEA market, specifically France and the UK. He is experienced in leading complex CRM and CLM digital transformations, particularly in the oil and gas, financial services, and logistics industries. Jani has deep experience collaborating with global organizations to enhance and streamline complex cloud technology strategy and implementation. Johan Rehnstrom, Associate Partner, Supporting the Nordics Johan Rehnstrom is an Associate Partner at Spaulding Ridge and will help lead the Nordics growth strategy. With more than 20 years of experience in various finance leadership functions and building global finance functions, he is a trusted advisor to the CFO. Johan is also Spaulding Ridge's expert on complex business transformations in the mining industry. Alex De La Concha, Associate Partner, Supporting Spain Alex De La Concha is a solutions architect with 25+ years of experience in solving complex digital transformations for multinational companies. Alex has worked with a wide range of CPM and data analytics technologies, and his expertise covers project management, systems architecture design, and finance transformation. As an Associate Partner at CIS Consulting, a company of Spaulding Ridge, Alex will help lead the firm's growth in Spain. About Spaulding Ridge Spaulding Ridge is an award-winning cloud advisory and implementation firm, deploying Best-in-Cloud solutions on a global scale. They enable organizations to accelerate operational efficiency, drive digital transformation, and increase competitive advantage. Spaulding Ridge partners with digitally savvy companies to help: Finance gain control: Increase top-line revenue, gross margins, and profits through better insight. Connect financial planning to strategy and automate financial close processes. Increase top-line revenue, gross margins, and profits through better insight. Connect financial planning to strategy and automate financial close processes. Sales increase productivity: Manage quota and territories more consistently and effectively, automate customer contracts and onboarding. Manage quota and territories more consistently and effectively, automate customer contracts and onboarding. Operations drive efficiency: Improve supply chain agility, automate strategic sourcing and purchasing, deliver superior customer service experiences. To learn more, visit spauldingridge.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1357419/Spaulding_Ridge___Logo.jpg Fast-growing Italian menswear brand Luca Faloni is set to open three new stores following the success of its omnichannel direct to consumer offer. MILAN, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In what is a good news story for the retail industry, the brand has recently signed new leases in Milan, Munich and Miami. The first two stores will open by early summer and Miami will follow in September. Since the test launch of independent stores in both London and New York, Faloni's interactive store environment has positively impacted the brand's online offer, highlighting their continued belief in retail as a support channel for online even though the pandemic. "You will never find us in a multi-brand store and we will always only sell directly on our website or through our stores," says founder Faloni. "Having our own stores means that we can better leverage the relationship with our customers within our own tailored environment. Online will always be the main channel for us, taking up 70% of sales, but now is the time to scale our offline part of the business. You need to have a strong physical presence to be a true global brand." Mirroring the craftsmanship the brand is becoming so well known for, the stores will take on a consistent design aesthetic, but also include subtleties that pay homage to the city they reside in. "It's important that there is a narrative between online and in-store experiences, but we also wanted to make sure that we captured elements of our surroundings in each of the new spaces," says Faloni. In Milan for instance, close to the brand's artisans and heritage, the Faloni team has worked with Italian architect Davide Barreri to incorporate elements of its surroundings, which were designed by well-known architect Piero Portaluppi. Germany is the third largest online market for the Luca Faloni brand, after US and UK, and the store in Munich represents a strategic move to increase its presence in the region. This store will use elements of copper to acknowledge the metal often used in other city buildings. Miami will be a window to a wide tourist audience and to showcase the linen collection all year round; this store will take on a bolder, more colourful and more symmetrical design and feel, aligning to the aesthetic of the city. For this year the Luca Faloni offer will continue to grow organically, with a focus on an increased push to new territories as well as adding to the product range. For further information contact us at press@lucafaloni.comor +39 035 092 0012. www.lucafaloni.com Related Images Image 1: Luca Faloni Store This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Apiture honored for excellence in technology WILMINGTON, NC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Apiture , a leading provider of digital banking solutions, today announces it has been recognized as a winner in the Technology category by the Coastal Entrepreneur Awards . The awards are organized by University of North Carolina Wilmington's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. "We are thrilled to be recognized as a Coastal Entrepreneur Awards winner, a testament to our commitment to banking technology innovation," said Chris Babcock, CEO of Apiture. "The fintech industry continues to mature in the Wilmington region, ushering in workforce opportunities and economic growth. Apiture is proud to be one such company that is fostering an opportunistic environment and further carving out the fintech scene." The Coastal Entrepreneur Awards recognize up-and-coming ventures in the North Carolina region and established companies that continue innovating. The 2022 program honors a total of 11 companies in categories ranging from healthcare and biotechnology to professional services. This recognition comes on the heels of another recent accolade for Apiture. The company was named on the 2022 Fintech Futures Banking Tech Awards shortlist in two categories, Best Business Digital Banking Solutions Provider and Best Consumer Digital Banking Solutions Provider. As Apiture continues to grow across the U.S., the company will uphold its commitment to helping community financial institutions elevate their digital banking experiences. About Apiture Apiture delivers award-winning digital banking solutions to banks and credit unions throughout the United States. Our flexible, highly configurable solutions meet a wide range of financial institutions' needs, from leveling the playing field with larger banks to enabling unique, digital-only brands. Through our API-first strategy, our clients can maximize the capabilities of their platform while preserving a seamless user experience. Our exclusive focus on digital banking means we're dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that meet the unique needs of our clients while providing a level of support that's unmatched in the industry. Apiture is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, with offices in Austin, Texas. To learn more, visit www.apiture.com . Media Contact Aarzoo Jena Caliber Corporate Advisers aarzoo@calibercorporateadvisers.com SOURCE: Apiture View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698547/Apiture-Is-Named-a-WilmingtonBiz-Coastal-Entrepreneur-Awards-Recipient Event unites Mountain State-based entrepreneurs with access to venture capital and angel investors MORGANTOWN, WV / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Vantage Ventures , the leader of a series of initiatives to support founders building innovative technology companies to West Virginia, today unveiled the lineup of startups participating in its second Investor Pitch Day, being held this afternoon at the Vantage offices on the campus of West Virginia University. Vantage's pitch day program represents a significant step forward in West Virginia's progress as a startup state. There is a concerted effort underway - largely being led by Mountaineers (former or current) such as John Chambers, the former executive chairman and CEO of Cisco and founder of JC2Ventures, Brad Smith, the former CEO of Intuit and recently named president of Marshall University, and Ray Lane, formerly of Oracle and Kleiner Perkins and Founder of GreatPoint Ventures - to transform West Virginia into a haven for sustainable, inclusive innovation across all industries. Today's pitch day marks one of the first times West Virginia-based entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to present their startups to a network of accredited investors and venture capitalists representing in excess of $400 million of capital, without having to leave the state. Five startups will present at the event, including: Nickel Finance, Inc. , a socialized, philanthropic mobile payments and loyalty app, , a socialized, philanthropic mobile payments and loyalty app, OrionBlockSystems, Inc. , a blockchain cybersecurity hardware and software developer, , a blockchain cybersecurity hardware and software developer, Parthian Battery Solutions , which repurposes electric vehicle batteries into energy storage systems, , which repurposes electric vehicle batteries into energy storage systems, UMuseUs , a social media platform providing venues and resources for musicians and music lovers, and , a social media platform providing venues and resources for musicians and music lovers, and SwifTAG Systems , which develops functional and efficient laboratory management systems "The Vantage Ventures pitch day is a clear symbol of the momentum we're building in our mission to transform West Virginia into a startup state," said Sarah Biller, executive director of Vantage Ventures. "It's no small feat to garner genuine investor interest in our region, and we're confident that their time will be rewarded when they have a chance to view the competitive, capital-efficient solutions that our entrepreneurs have developed. West Virginia received the least amount of venture capital funding of any state over the last five years. We believe this pitch day is a welcome step in changing that course." Vantage Ventures, an initiative to scale innovative technology companies in West Virginia, has been building momentum in attracting entrepreneurs and startups to the state. In June, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) platform for enterprise partners, DataRobot, which has a $6.3 billion valuation , announced that it was opening an office at the Vantage Ventures offices in Morgantown and hiring West Virginians. Earlier this month, cobalt-free electric battery startup SPARKZ announced its intention to open a research and development facility in West Virginia, with Vantage's assistance. About Vantage Ventures Housed at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University, Vantage Ventures provides a bold new generation of entrepreneurs with a systematic and repeatable process to transform their world-changing ideas into scalable businesses. Vantage Ventures leverages its network of mentors, talent, capital allocators, academics, and committed industry partners, including entrepreneurs and the innovation engines of large companies, to forge a new path of economic growth. It is backed by globally influential technology leaders, Fortune Class companies, venture investors, and an unexpectedly cool R1 Institution. For more information, visit: https://vantageventures.io or follow Vantage Ventures on Twitter: @VantageWV , Instagram: @VantageVentures , and LinkedIn . Media Contact: Kyle W. Kempf Caliber Corporate Advisers kyle@calibercorporate.com 888.550.6385 ext.19 SOURCE: Vantage Ventures View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698811/Vantage-Ventures-to-Hold-Investor-Pitch-Day-Highlighting-West-Virginia-Based-Startups TAIPEI, TAIWAN / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Over the years, Taiwan has been picking up the pace in positioning itself among the international community as a fast developing country that has plenty of future innovation. Cultivating and developing talent is essential to continue this growth. Potential future talents and those already in a company, look for a sense of being valued and an environment that promotes self-improvement. While a competitive salary is typically the bottom line, according to a survey conducted by Linkedin, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their future development. The new headquarters of China Development Industrial Bank (CDIB) is built with the concept of environmental friendliness and sustainable development. Among a number of fiercely competitive industries, China Development Financial (CDF) (2883.TW) is one such brand that has stepped up to the plate. Angelo Koo, Chairman of China Development Financial has organized the company with the value of talents in mind. Koo encourages continued development of professional skills through tailored training programs, followed by hands on project experiences. Opinions and feedback are also critical to making adjustments when faced with new challenges, which CDF gathers through surveys and one-on-one meetings. During the onset of the pandemic, employee concerns were heard and a flexible work from home option was available on a needs basis with stipends provided to cover the cost of vaccinations. Cultivating and developing talents involves comprehensive consideration of their wellness, as can be seen from CDF's structure. Koo has been dedicated to this challenge and announced the Foundation will take part in the "2022 TALENT, in Taiwan, Talent Sustainability Action Alliance" to promote the sustainable development of talents in Taiwan. Media Contacts Company: Jet-Go Consulting. Contact person: Alvin Yang Telephone: +886-2-23708000 #2110 SOURCE: China Development Foundation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698897/China-Development-Financial-Officially-Announces-Joining-2022-TALENT-in-Taiwan Team reflects on successful 5-year strategic growth plan with concentration in digital health IT, biotech and life sciences BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / PAN Communications , a leading integrated marketing and PR firm for B2B tech and healthcare brands, today announced significant milestones across its healthcare portfolio by meeting key performance goals, marking record-breaking practice area growth, deeper talent and expanded service offerings. In 2021, PAN added 13 healthcare clients covering a diverse cross-section of the industry - brands representing digital therapeutics solutions and clinical trial intelligence platforms, health benefit management software, virtual care/telehealth and digital diagnostics. Combined, this signaled a year with approximately 44% increase in revenue growth across the Agency's healthcare practice. Some of the new clients include Clarify Health, OnShift, Axuall, PatientsLikeMe and Weave. The agency continues to see rapid growth across these vertical sectors, designing integrated marketing and PR programs to help differentiate these brands by reaching and engaging high-value audiences and establishing leadership in their respective fields. The news comes on the heels of the agency's recent announcement of Dan Martin to Executive Vice President, Healthcare, among other strategic promotions . In his expanded role, Martin will guide the strategic plan for the expansion of PAN's? healthcare practice in 2022 and beyond, including new client acquisition and organic growth across the current client base. With nearly 65 dedicated employees working in the healthcare portfolio, the agency will look to Martin to collaborate with a group of practice leaders to elevate the portfolio to the next level through client expansion and the firm's healthcare recruitment efforts.?? "As VC investment has fueled tremendous growth in the HIT and digital health markets in recent years, we have been strategically yet aggressively mapping our industry experience, resources, talent and passion to successfully grow our healthcare portfolio, provide exceptional client service and take on business that excites our team and provides a sense of purpose," said Martin. "As we look ahead to 2022 and beyond, we believe this approach and philosophy will continue to take our healthcare portfolio to the next level, leveraging our expanded team, in-depth industry expertise, and IM and PR capabilities." As healthcare brands continue to evaluate and assess their PR and marketing functions, PAN continues to lean on the firm's NXT Stage approach. This program is designed to scale and adapt PR and communications efforts alongside companies through strategic storytelling, creative campaigns, diligent media relations and innovative influencer engagement timed to their market position and right-sized for their audiences. One such example is PAN client LeanTaaS , Inc., a Silicon Valley software innovator that increases patient access and transforms operational performance for healthcare providers. LeanTaaS, which joined forces with PAN nearly two years ago, was looking for a strategic partner to help elevate its brand with key stakeholders and closely associate the company, its executives and its iQueue platform with AI, ML and the benefits of using technology to optimize capacity utilization in infusion centers, operating rooms and inpatient beds. The company was also eyeing a Series D funding round. PAN created a strategic and aggressive program consisting of social media, earned and paid media, content and thought leadership, mapping to the company's growth trajectory. Together as true partners, the PAN and LeanTaaS teams quickly moved the needle on awareness, helping the company promote its 40+% growth during the partnership to date, close its Series D round, launch its iQueue for inpatient beds solution, convene industry experts and leaders at multiple Transform events, and become known as the de facto leader in its space. "We continue to transform our approach toward digital health brands as they expand to support areas of fintech, healthcare interoperability, digital therapeutics and patient experience," added Matthew Briggs, Vice President, Healthcare. "We've created a formula for drawing out brands' market differentiators, anchoring their leadership position into relevant and timely macro trends impacting healthcare, from data interoperability to telehealth and more." PAN reported continued momentum through Q1 2022 with the addition of multiple new, innovative HIT and digital health brands making massive impact in the market, six new healthcare IM and PR hires, and program growth in the form of content and creative brand building, executive thought leadership, organic and paid social media, and IM. Led by top industry events such as the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference and HIMSS , the practice designed integrated communications strategies in support of product launches, executive visibility, category leadership through analyst relations, and early- to late- stage funding rounds. For more information about PAN's insights-driven approach in healthcare, visit our website here . Interested in joining our growing team of passionate, curious healthcare IM and PR practitioners doing meaningful work every day? Check out our career openings . About PAN Communications PAN Communications ?is a mid-size integrated marketing & PR agency with over 170 employees internationally. PAN helps companies transform ideas into captivating stories that align to mid- and late-stage growth strategies through the firm's NXT Stage approach . Headquartered in downtown Boston, PAN has additional? office locations ?in San Francisco, New York, Orlando and London, as well as a growing virtual community. The agency's teams are positioned to help brands emerge in new markets and scale globally, with experience driving integrated strategy across a? variety of brands ?like Rapid 7, Braze, Citrix, SailPoint, Quickbase, OneStream, Radial, athenahealth and Smartly.io. For more information visit our website at pancommunications.com and follow us on Twitter (@PANcomm ).? Contact PAN Communications Nicole Andino nandino@pancomm.com SOURCE: PAN Communications View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698028/PAN-Communications-Marks-Record-Breaking-Year-for-Healthcare-Practice-and-Announces-Accelerated-Growth-Strategy-For-the-Practice Nature article details how the NIH SAVE program helps inform COVID-19 pandemic policy worldwide NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden, praised Prof. Tomer Hertz of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and his team for their research efforts on SARS-CoV-2 variants in a recent letter. Prof. Hertz and his students Liel Cohen-Lavi, Sinai Sacharen, Eilay Koren and Anat Burkovitz are a part of the SARS-CoV-2 Assessment of Viral Evolution (SAVE) program at the NIAID, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prof. Hertz is also the co-correspondent of a recently published Nature article describing the coordinated efforts of that program and its importance for assessing the implications of SARS-CoV-2 variants to inform public health decisions in the United States. "My students are part of the early detection group that analyzes the viral sequence data. We have been generating monthly rankings of SARS-CoV-2 variants based on predictions of their escape from antibodies for the group for the last eight months. We are also part of the T-cell working group and have done lots of analysis on T-cell mediated immune pressure on the virus for this project," explains Prof. Hertz. Doug Seserman, CEO of Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU), said: "Prof. Hertz's commendation by Dr. Fauci illustrates the leading contributions from Israel - and specifically by BGU's researchers - to our understanding of crucial issues relating to the wellbeing and future of humanity. A4BGU is proud of Prof. Hertz's team for representing the best of what BGU and Israel have to offer." In the letter, Dr. Fauci expressed his appreciation for "the critical contributions you and your team have made during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Your research has been incredibly important to the fast-paced pandemic response and has supported public health efforts around the world. I recognize that developing the tools and data needed to enable a rapid response to COVID-19 has required a strong work ethic and resilience, and that you have made incredible progress despite many unprecedented obstacles." Dr. Fauci went on to thank each member of the team and concluded by saying, "You are a leading example for both the infectious disease and broader biomedical research communities, and I am grateful for your unwavering commitment to global public health." The SAVE program is composed of an international team of scientists with expertise in virology, immunology, vaccinology, structural biology, bioinformatics, viral genetics and evolution. In the Nature article, Prof. Hertz and his co-authors from around the world detailed the SAVE program's collaborative approach to identify and curate data about emerging variants, their impact on immunity, and effects on vaccine protection using rapid experimental testing and bioinformatic analysis. The comprehensive, real-time data generation facilitated rapid data-sharing with the scientific community, and allowed rapid risk assessment and generation of informed recommendations to policymakers worldwide. The SAVE methodology serves as a template for the response against rapidly evolving pathogens and may also be useful in combating future pandemics. ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY Americans for Ben-Gurion University plays a vital role in maintaining David Ben-Gurion's vision of an "Oxford in the Negev." By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU's remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert. MEDIA CONTACT: Brian Sherry Stern Strategy Group 908-325-3860 bsherry@sternstrategy.com SOURCE: Americans for Ben-Gurion University View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698747/Dr-Fauci-Praises-Israels-BGU-Research-Group-on-Early-Detection-of-COVID-Variants Annual campaign recognizes outstanding Canadians making important contributions to mental health awareness in Canada Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) has opened its online portal for nominations for the 2022 Champions of Mental Health Awards. This annual awareness and education campaign is devoted to recognizing outstanding individuals and organizations for their contributions to mental health awareness and action in Canada. This year, nominations will be accepted in the following categories: The Sharon Johnston Champion of Mental Health Award for Youth - Any Canadian 21 and younger who has shown leadership in their community in promoting mental health and/or mental illness awareness, or any organization dedicated to providing services for youth Media - Any media personality or outlet who has contributed to public awareness of mental health or mental illness Workplace Mental Health - Any employer or employee who has contributed to creating a mentally healthy workplace for staff Community Organization - Any organization that has provided great public service to community members experiencing mental illness Community Individual - Any person, who through personal commitment, has increased awareness about mental illness or reduced stigma in their community Parliamentarian - Any provincial, territorial or federal Parliamentarian who has advanced the mental health agenda in Canada Innovation- Researcher or Clinician - An innovative person or organization that through their work has advanced the mental health agenda in Canada "Every year, we are so honoured to celebrate seven outstanding Canadians who have made a difference in their community. Our Champions are instrumental in helping end stigma around mental illness and making Canada a more accepting and understanding place," said Ellen Cohen, CAMIMH co-chair. "After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to celebrate those who have made a difference in making mental illness less stigmatized and it is so important to recognize and honour the Canadians who are making a difference every day," said Florence Budden, CAMIMH Champions Chair. CAMIMH encourages Canadians to nominate their peers by completing the online nomination form. To nominate a Champion, please visit camimh.ca. Submissions will be accepted until June 30, 2022. To celebrate this year's Champions, and Champions from the last two years, CAMIMH is planning on hosting the awards gala in-person during Mental Illness Awareness Week (Oct 2-9, 2022). CAMIMH would like to recognize its partners who make the Champions Awards a success each year: Bell Let's Talk (Gold Partner), the Canadian Credit Union Association (Bronze Partner) and Impact Public Affairs (Silver Partner). We thank all that apply and will contact the winners by the end of July. As a national alliance, CAMIMH continues to advocate a strong role for the federal government to continue to invest in mental health, including achieving mental health parity. For more information, please visit our website at camimh.ca. Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health Launches 2022 Champions of Mental Health Campaign To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8129/121661_d7422506e41969ca_001full.jpg -30- Established in 1998, the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) is an alliance of national mental health organizations comprised of health care providers and organizations representing persons with mental illness and their families and caregivers. CAMIMH's mandate is to ensure that mental health is placed on the national agenda so that persons with a lived experience of mental illness and their families receive appropriate access to care and support. For more information, please contact: Sophie Normand sophie@impactcanada.com | 613-407-4294 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121661 Certification reaffirms Drawbridge's continued commitment to data security and privacy for clients Drawbridge, a premier provider of cybersecurity software and solutions to the alternative investment industry, today announced their achievement of System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type 1 compliance. This certification reflects Drawbridge's commitment to safeguarding critical client data while helping customers bolster their cyber defenses in today's evolving threat landscape. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) designed SOC 2 compliance assessments to ensure businesses display adequate data practices that safeguard data with proper security processes. The Type 1 certification reports on the controls placed into operation at a specific point in time and creates a solid path for working towards a Type 2 certification. "Data security and privacy are of the utmost importance for our clients in the alternative investment industry and have been the top priority for Drawbridge since our inception," said Jason Elmer, Founder and CEO, Drawbridge. "Drawbridge's SOC 2 Type 1 certification provides another example to our clients that they can trust we will continue investing to ensure our clients benefit from the most robust cybersecurity posture and protection for their critical data. As we help clients navigate the evolving cybersecurity landscape, safeguard their critical data and ensure privacy, we look forward to demonstrating SOC 2 Type 2 compliance in the coming months." Drawbridge has consistently been recognized for its commitment to data protection, client service and technology innovation. The company was recently named 'Best Cyber-Security Solution' at the 2022 With Intelligence HFM US Quant Services Awards, 'Best Firmwide Security Solution' at the 2022 Private Asset Management Awards and 'Best Cyber-Security Solution' at the 2022 With Intelligence HFM US Technology Awards. About Drawbridge: Drawbridge is a premier provider of cybersecurity software and solutions to the alternative investment industry. Its proprietary platform helps firms manage their governance, risk and compliance (GRC) requirements while combatting sophisticated cyber threats and third-party risks. Drawbridge's platform connects business, compliance and IT to empower firms to centralize and manage their most robust security programs, improve their risk profile and raise institutional capital. With a tested team focused on value delivery and a 800+ strong customer base, Drawbridge offers unmatched customer service and flexibility to help businesses proactively manage vulnerabilities, plan for growth, and reduce complexity. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005184/en/ Contacts: Media Contact Articulate Communications for Drawbridge Cassandra Pravata drawbridge@articulatecomms.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Big Ridge Gold Corp. (TSXV: BRAU) (OTCQB: ALVLF) ("Big Ridge") is pleased to announce additional diamond drill results from its 25,000-meter ("m"), Phase I exploration drill program at the past-producing Hope Brook Gold Project, located in southwestern Newfoundland and Labrador. The drill holes reported in this press release are from the final drill holes completed in 2021 as well as results from drill holes completed after the resumption of drilling in January 2022 that targeted the shallow southwestern extension of the Hope Brook Deposit. Mike Bandrowski, President & CEO of Big Ridge, commented, "Drilling continues to intercept gold and copper mineralization outside the current resource envelope to the southwest and 100% of the drill results received to date have intersected gold mineralization, suggesting Hope Brook remains open for potential resource expansion." Highlights: Drill hole HB-21-148 intersected 1.09 g/t Au over 33.0 m including 4.52 g/t Au over 4.1 m, Drill hole HB-22-158 intersected 1.64 g/t Au over 20.8 m including 5.77 g/t Au over 4.7 m and Drill hole HB-22-159a intersected 1.41 g/t Au over 15.1 m including 3.25 g/t Au over 4.2 m. Drilling continues to intersect gold and extend mineralization outside and along the projected trend of the current resource envelope that is based on a gold price of US$1,200 per ounce and 3.0 g/t Au cut-off grade. The Phase 1 drill program continues with a focus on expanding the Main and 240 Zones near surface and testing the down dip extensions of both areas in the current program. 100% of the drill results received to date have intersected gold mineralization. The Phase 1 drill program is expected to run until August 2022 and will focus on connecting the Main Zone and 240 Zone near surface and at depth respectively and testing the down dip extensions to both the Main and 240 Zones before moving to test the NE Extension. Phase I Results Results from the Phase I drill program continue to extend gold and copper mineralization to the southwest of the former producing Hope Brook open pit. The holes reported in the press release confirm near-surface mineralization in an untested gap in the current resource envelope and show the deposit remains open to the southwest. Copper mineralization which was recovered by past mine operators as a by-product credit and is known to be associated with gold mineralization at Hope Brook, has not been included in the historic resource estimates. Big Ridge's initial drill results have generated copper assays ranging from 0.05% Cu to 0.90% Cu in 15 of the 23 holes reported to date. Table 1 - Significant Intercepts from Reported Holes Hole From (m) To (m) length (m) (1) Au g/t (2) Cu % (2) Interval Lithology HB-21-148 93.5 96.1 2.6 1.79 - Vuggy silicified zone, mafic dyke 110.7 143.7 33.0 1.09 0.07 Vuggy silicified, Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite) and mafic dyke units incl. 110.7 114.8 4.1 4.52 0.53 Vuggy silicified zone, py incl. 140.0 143.7 3.7 1.59 - Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite) Zone, Vuggy silicified zone HB-21-151 118.1 120.3 2.2 0.95 - Silicified Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite) Zone, 144.3 155.3 11.0 1.50 - Vuggy silicified, Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite) and mafic dyke units incl. 145.3 149.8 4.5 2.08 - HB-21-153 141.0 171.5 30.5 1.27 0.18 Vuggy silicified zone, Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite), intermediate and mafic dyke units incl. 144.4 150.2 5.8 2.82 0.90 Vuggy silicified zone, py HB-22-154 170.1 179.8 9.8 0.94 - Vuggy silicified, Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite) and mafic dyke units 196.0 201.9 5.7 1.23 - Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite) zone HB-22-155 107.8 119.5 11.7 1.61 - Vuggy silicified zone, 5% py incl. 107.8 113.0 5.2 3.10 - HB-22-156 156.0 161.0 5.0 0.97 - Vuggy silicified zone, mylonite 166.0 167.7 1.7 1.24 - Vuggy silicified zone, py HB-22-157 172.4 182.9 10.5 0.60 - Argillic (Qtz Pyrophyllite) zone HB-22-158 46.0 50.0 4.1 0.89 - Vuggy silicified zone, py 70.6 91.3 20.8 1.64 - Mylonite zone with Grey vuggy silicified units incl. 72.0 76.7 4.7 5.77 0.07 Vuggy silicified zone, py HB-22-159a 121.7 136.8 15.1 1.41 0.23 Vuggy silicified zone and mafic dyke incl. 122.2 126.4 4.2 3.25 0.75 Vuggy silicified zone, py, cpy HB-22-160 87.3 101.8 14.5 1.32 0.05 Vuggy silicified zone and mylonite Intervals are presented in core length; holes are generally planned to intersect mineralization as close to perpendicular to strike as possible; true widths are estimated to be 75% of downhole length when hole and mineralized horizons orientations are considered. Assays results presented are not capped. Intercepts occur within geological confines of major zones but have not been correlated to individual structures/horizons within these zones at this time. To view drill hole locations in plan and sections please click on the following link: https://bigridgegold.com/site/assets/files/5568/pr2_2021-2022_drilling_-_plan_longitudinal_x-sections_r.pdf About Hope Brook The Hope Brook Gold Project is an advanced stage, high-grade gold project that produced 752,162 ounces of gold from 1987 - 1997. Hope Brook hosts an indicated gold resource totalling 5,500,000 tonnes grading 4.77 grams per tonne gold for 844,000 ounces and inferred resources totalling 836,000 tonnes grading 4.11 grams per tonne gold for 110,000 ounces based on a 3.0 gram per tonne cut-off grade and a long-term gold price of US$1,200, according to a technical report for Big Ridge Gold Corp., prepared by authors Michael Cullen, P. Geo., and Matthew Harrington, P. Geo., of Mercator Geological Services Limited and Jeffrey Burke, P. Geo., and titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Hope Brook Gold Project, Newfoundland And Labrador, Canada", April 6, 2021. The Hope Brook gold deposit is a high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposit hosted in the Proterozoic aged Whittle Hill Sandstone and is intruded by a Late Proterozoic quartz-feldspar porphyry sill-dike complex of the Roti Intrusive Suite. The deposit in located adjacent to and within an extensive advanced argillic alteration envelope which includes pyrophyllite, kaolinite, andalusite, and alunite. The principal gold mineralization occurs in a buff-colored massive, vuggy silicic alteration with an associated, less developed grey silicic alteration with pyrite, chalcopyrite and lesser bornite. Gold mineralization is also found with pyrite in units of advanced argillic alteration adjacent to or near silicic alteration horizons. The altered and mineralized zone is cut by mafic dykes whose contacts are often mineralized. All of the altered and mineralized sequences and the intruded dykes have been folded. Hope Brook is located 85 kilometers east of Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The project has well maintained infrastructure on site, including an operational 28-person camp, an 1,100-meter airstrip, ice-free docking facility and importantly, connection to the provincial electrical power grid via an on-site substation. Significant exploration potential remains on the 26,000-hectare concession providing a great opportunity to expand the mine area as well as surface showings throughout the concessions. This press release was complied and reviewed by William McGuinty, P.Geo., VP Exploration of Big Ridge and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) Big Ridge's 2021-2022 drilling program, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and compilation of results employ a strict QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. The Hope Brook project is supervised by Big Ridge's Vice President Exploration, William McGuinty P. Geo. Drill core is logged and split with half-core samples packaged and delivered to ALS Global's geochemistry laboratory in Moncton, New Brunswick. Samples are dried and subsequently crushed to 70% passing a 2 mm mesh screen. A 250-gram split subsample is pulverized to a nominal 85% passing a 75-micron mesh screen. The remaining crushed sample (coarse reject) and pulverized sample (pulp reject) are retained for further analysis and quality control. All samples are analysed by Fire Assay with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish using a 50 g aliquot of pulverized material. Samples are also analysed for copper using ICP AES with four-acid digestion. Big Ridge inserts third party reference control and blank samples in the sample stream to monitor assay performance and performs duplicate sampling of both pulp and reject material. 10% of samples submitted are part of the Company's laboratory sample control protocols. About Big Ridge Gold Corp. Big Ridge Gold Corp. is an exploration and development company managed by a disciplined and experienced team of officers and directors. The Company is committed to the development of advanced stage mining projects using industry best practices combined with strong social license from our local communities. Big Ridge owns a 100% interest in the highly prospective Oxford Gold Project located in Manitoba and the Destiny Gold Project in Quebec. Big Ridge is the operator of the Hope Brook Gold Project located in Newfoundland and Labrador. For more details regarding the Company's projects, please visit our website at www.bigridgegold.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, Mike Bandrowski, President & CEO For further information, including a copy of the corresponding report filed with Canadian securities regulators, please visit www.sedar.com or contact: Mike Bandrowski, President & CEO BIG RIDGE GOLD CORP. 18 King St. East, Suite 1400 Toronto, ON, M5C 1C4 Tel: 416-540-5480 Email: Mike@bigridgegold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Table 2 - Drill Hole Locations* Hole Number Depth (m) Azimuth Dip Northing Easting Elevation (m) HB-21-148 216 325 -64 5287574 417822 5118 HB-21-151 209 325 -48 5287508 417812 5122 HB-21-153 230 325 -56 5287508 417812 5122 HB-22-154 265 325 -64 5287508 417812 5122 HB-22-155 215 325 -52 5287545 417814 5118 HB-22-156 254 325 -53 5287525 417828 5119 HB-22-157 278 325 -60 5287525 417828 5119 HB-22-158 191 325 -78 5287497 417654 5122 HB-22-159A 218 325 -60 5287567 417847 5119 HB-22-160 161 325 -57 5287389 417593 5110 * Hole collars are in NAD83 / UTM Zone 21N coordinates drilled NQ diameter. Elevations are adjusted for modelling purposes Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential", "possible", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events, and include, without limitation, statements with respect to Big Ridge's intentions with respect to Caprock's shares. All forward-looking statements are based on Big Ridge's and its employees' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Big Ridge, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Big Ridge does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on our behalf, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121727 THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN OFFER, WHETHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA OR SWITZERLAND OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH OFFER PURSUANT TO LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS IN SUCH RELEVANT JURISDICTION WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. SHAREHOLDERS NOT RESIDENT IN SWEDEN WHO WISH TO ACCEPT THE OFFER (AS DEFINED BELOW) MUST MAKE INQUIRIES CONCERNING APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND POSSIBLE TAX CONSEQUENCES. SHAREHOLDERS SHOULD REFER TO THE OFFER RESTRICTIONS INCLUDED IN THE SECTION TITLED "IMPORTANT INFORMATION" AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND IN THE PROSPECTUS AND THE OFFER DOCUMENT PUBLISHED ON NEOGAMES' WEBSITE (IR.NEOGAMES.COM/OFFER-PAGE). SHAREHOLDERS IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD ALSO REFER TO THE SECTION TITLED "SPECIAL NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS IN THE UNITED STATES" AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. LUXEMBOURG, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On 17 January 2022, NeoGames S.A.1 ("NeoGames") announced a recommended public offer to the shareholders of Aspire Global plc2 ("Aspire Global") to tender all their shares in Aspire Global to NeoGames for a consideration consisting of a combination of cash and newly issued shares in NeoGames in the form of Swedish depository receipts (the "Offer"). The prospectus relating to the newly issued shares in NeoGames in the form of Swedish depositary receipts offered as consideration in the Offer has today been approved and registered by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority) and on the settlement agent Mangold Fondkommission AB's website). The prospectus will also be available on the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority's website). A copy of the Swedish language version of the offer document and acceptance form as well as the Swedish language translation of the prospectus summary will be sent to shareholders in Aspire Global whose shares were directly registered with Euroclear Sweden AB on 10 March 2022, except for those domiciled in the excluded jurisdictions (please see above). As earlier communicated, the acceptance period for the Offer will commence on 27 April 2022 and is expected to end on 25 May 2022, and settlement is expected to commence on or about 14 June 2022. NeoGames has reserved the right to amend the acceptance period, as well as the settlement date. A notice of any such amendment will be announced by NeoGames by means of a press release in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. Contacts and information about the Offer Mr. Raviv Adler, CFO ir@neogames.com +972 73 372 3107 Information about the Offer is made available at NeoGames' website: ir.neogames.com/offer-page For administrative questions regarding the Offer, please contact your bank or the nominee registered as holder of your shares. Important information NeoGames discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Corporate Governance Board's Takeover rules for certain trading platforms. The information was submitted for announcement at 3.00 p.m. (CEST) on 26 April 2022. This press release has been published in Swedish and English. In the event of any discrepancy in content between the two language versions, the Swedish version shall prevail. The Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or Switzerland or in any other jurisdiction where such offer pursuant to legislation and regulations in such relevant jurisdiction would be prohibited by applicable law, by use of mail or any other communication means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, telex, telephone and the Internet) of interstate or foreign commerce, or of any facility of national securities exchange or other trading venue, of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or Switzerland, and the Offer cannot be accepted by any such use or by such means, instrumentality or facility of, in or from, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or Switzerland. Accordingly, this press release or any documentation relating to the Offer are not being and should not be sent, mailed or otherwise distributed or forwarded in or into Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or Switzerland. This press release is not being, and must not be, sent to shareholders with registered addresses in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or Switzerland. Banks, brokers, dealers and other nominees holding shares for persons in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or Switzerland must not forward this press release or any other document received in connection with the Offer to such persons. The Offer and the information and documents contained in this press release are not being made and have not been approved by an authorized person for the purposes of section 21 of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "FSMA"). Accordingly, the information and documents contained in this press release are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of the information and documents contained in this press release is exempt from the restriction on financial promotions under section 21 of the FSMA on the basis that it is a communication by or on behalf of a body corporate which relates to a transaction to acquire day to day control of the affairs of a body corporate; or to acquire 50 percent or more of the voting shares in a body corporate, within article 62 of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the expected end date of the acceptance period, the expected settlement date and assumptions underlying such statements, as well as statements that include the words "expect," "intend," "potential," "plan," "believe," "project," "forecast," "estimate," "may," "should," "anticipate" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including the factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in NeoGames' Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2021, as such factors may be updated from time to time in NeoGames' other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In addition, NeoGames operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for NeoGames' management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements that NeoGames may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release are inherently uncertain and may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Furthermore, the expected end date of the acceptance period and the expected settlement date, as well as the completion of the Offer and closing of the combination between NeoGames and Aspire Global, is subject to various conditions and there can be no assurances that the transaction will be consummated or that any of the expected dates will be met. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. In addition, the forward-looking statements made in this release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this release. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Special notice to shareholders in the United States The Offer described in this press release is made for the issued and outstanding shares of Aspire Global, a company incorporated under Maltese law, and is subject to Maltese and Swedish disclosure and procedural requirements, which are different from those of the United States. Shareholders in the United States are advised that the shares of Aspire Global are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange and that Aspire Global is not subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "U.S. Exchange Act"), and is not required to, and does not, file any reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") thereunder. The Offer is made in the United States pursuant to Section 14(e) and Regulation 14E of the U.S. Exchange Act, subject to exemptions provided by Rule 14d - 1(c) under the U.S. Exchange Act for a Tier I tender offer (the "Tier I Exemption") and Rule 802 under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "802 Exemption"), and otherwise in accordance with the disclosure and procedural requirements of Swedish law, including with respect to withdrawal rights, the Offer timetable, settlement procedures, waiver of conditions and timing of payments, which are different from those applicable under U.S. domestic tender offer procedures and law. Holders of the shares of Aspire Global domiciled in the United States (the "U.S. Holders") are encouraged to consult with their own advisors regarding the Offer. Aspire Global's financial statements and all financial information included herein, or any other documents relating to the Offer, have been or will be prepared in accordance with IFRS and may not be comparable to the financial statements or financial information of companies in the United States or other companies whose financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The Offer is made to the U.S. Holders on the same terms and conditions as those made to all other shareholders of Aspire Global to whom an offer is made. Any information documents, including the prospectus and offer document, are being disseminated to U.S. Holders on a basis comparable to the method pursuant to which such documents are provided to Aspire Global's other shareholders. As permitted under the Tier I Exemption, the settlement of the Offer is based on the applicable Swedish law provisions, which differ from the settlement procedures customary in the United States, particularly as regards to the time when payment of the consideration is rendered. The Offer, which is subject to Swedish law, is being made to the U.S. Holders in accordance with the applicable U.S. securities laws, and applicable exemptions thereunder, in particular the Tier I Exemption and the 802 Exemption. To the extent the Offer is subject to U.S. securities laws, those laws only apply to U.S. Holders and thus will not give rise to claims on the part of any other person. The U.S. Holders should consider that the price for the Offer is being paid in SEK and that no adjustment will be made based on any changes in the exchange rate. It may be difficult for Aspire Global's shareholders to enforce their rights and any claims they may have arising under the U.S. federal or state securities laws in connection with the Offer, since Aspire Global and NeoGames are located in countries other than the United States, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of countries other than the United States. Aspire Global's shareholders may not be able to sue Aspire Global or NeoGames or their respective officers or directors in a non-U.S. court for violations of U.S. securities laws. Further, it may be difficult to compel Aspire Global or NeoGames and/or their respective affiliates to subject themselves to the jurisdiction or judgment of a U.S. court. To the extent permissible under applicable law or regulations, NeoGames and its affiliates or its brokers and its brokers' affiliates (acting as agents for NeoGames or its affiliates, as applicable) may from time to time and during the pendency of the Offer, and other than pursuant to the Offer, directly or indirectly purchase or arrange to purchase shares of Aspire Global outside the United States, or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for or exercisable for such shares. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices, and information about such purchases will be disclosed by means of a press release or other means reasonably calculated to inform U.S. Holders of such information. In addition, to the extent permissible under applicable law or regulation, the financial advisors to NeoGames may also engage in ordinary course trading activities in securities of Aspire Global, which may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such securities as long as such purchases or arrangements are in compliance with the applicable law. Any information about such purchases will be announced in Swedish and in a non-binding English translation available to the U.S. Holders through relevant electronic media if, and to the extent, such announcement is required under applicable Swedish or U.S. law, rules or regulations. The receipt of cash pursuant to the Offer by a U.S. Holder may be a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes and under applicable U.S. state and local, as well as foreign and other, tax laws. Each shareholder is urged to consult an independent professional adviser regarding the tax consequences of accepting the Offer. Neither NeoGames nor any of its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees or agents or any other person acting on their behalf in connection with the Offer shall be responsible for any tax effects or liabilities resulting from acceptance of this Offer. NEITHER THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY U.S. STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE OFFER, PASSED ANY COMMENTS UPON THE MERITS OR FAIRNESS OF THE OFFER, PASSED ANY COMMENT UPON THE ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS PRESS RELEASE OR PASSED ANY COMMENT ON WHETHER THE CONTENT IN THIS PRESS RELEASE IS CORRECT OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE IN THE UNITED STATES. ___________________________________ 1 A Luxembourg societe anonyme (reg. no. B186309), domiciled in Luxembourg. 2 A Maltese public limited company (reg. no. C 80711), domiciled in Malta. StorPool Storage, a leading global storage software provider, today announced it has been named a finalist for the Cloud Project of the Year in the 2022 DCS Awards, which honor product designers, manufacturers, suppliers and providers in the data center technology market. StorPool is nominated for its collaboration with Krystal, one of the UK's largest independent web hosting companies. Krystal provides hosting, cloud VPS, and enterprise services to 30,000 clients and more than 200,000 websites. StorPool supports Krystal's ultra-fast NVMe-powered cloud platform Katapult with massive storage performance, a robust API, unique capacity management features to save hardware costs, and an extremely high level of data protection via triple replication to safeguard Krystal clients' data. "StorPool's storage solution is a vital component of Katapult and gives us the ability to have maximum performance and reliability with no trade-off," said Alex Easter, CTO of Krystal. "Krystal indeed created an award-winning infrastructure that serves as a model for other xSPs and cloud builders to achieve the performance, data security, space savings, density improvements, and elastic scalability of Katapult," said Alex Ivanov, product lead at StorPool Storage. "We appreciate being recognized for this award and for StorPool software's fast, highly available, easily integrated storage platform for cloud projects both large and small." To vote for StorPool or for more information visit https://dcsawards.com/vote. StorPool allows cloud infrastructures in order to run mission-critical workloads without the pain and challenges typically associated with legacy storage technologies. StorPool storage systems are ideal for storing and managing the data of demanding primary workloads databases, web servers, virtual desktops, real-time analytics solutions, and other mission-critical software. Under the hood, the primary storage platform provides thin-provisioned volumes to the workloads and applications running in on-premises clouds. The native multi-site, multi-cluster, and BC/DR capabilities supercharge hybrid- and multi-cloud efforts at scale. For more information about how StorPool helps create simpler, smarter and more-efficient clouds, visit https://storpool.com/storage-for-msp/ About StorPool Storage StorPool Storage is a primary storage platform designed for large-scale cloud infrastructure. It is the easiest way to convert sets of standard servers into primary or secondary storage systems. The StorPool team has experience working with various clients Managed Service Providers, Hosting Service Providers, Cloud Service Providers, enterprises, and SaaS vendors. StorPool Storage comes as a software, plus a fully managed data storage service that transforms standard hardware into fast, highly available and scalable storage systems. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005182/en/ Contacts: Dan Miller, JPR Communications 818-651-1013 BENGALURU, India and NEW YORK, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced its collaboration with Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS), a global leader in beauty and wellness. Nu Skin will take advantage of the Infosys Equinox human-centric digital commerce platform to deliver engaging and innovative experiences for consumers and affiliates. The platform aims to help Nu Skin scale its business model exponentially with social commerce-based capabilities. Infosys Equinox will help Nu Skin to sharpen its focus on creating unique, personalized, and innovative consumer engagement. Powered by Infosys Equinox's microservices-based, API-first and cloud-native design, Nu Skin plans to deliver engaging shopping experiences across multiple touch points, including websites, mobile apps and smart connected devices. Ryan Napierski, Chief Executive Officer, Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. said, "We look forward to our collaboration with Infosys to help transform our business and stay ahead of changing consumer behavior curves. We believe that Infosys can help us harness the right digital capabilities to reimagine how we connect with our customers and create a new industry paradigm for personalized beauty and wellness shopping experiences." Infosys Equinox will bring Nu Skin a choice of digital advances including conversational commerce, augmented reality, and voice commerce, which if implemented will enable the company to engage with consumers through rich digital experiences. Joe Sueper, Chief Technology Officer, Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. said, "Infosys Equinox will give us the end-to-end social commerce capabilities we need to transform our business model and provide innovative customer engagement. We're creating best-in-class architecture foundations that will power digital experiences well into the future." Karmesh Vaswani, Executive Vice President & Global Head Consumer, Retail & Logistics, Infosys, said, "Beauty and wellness brands are committing to bold changes in the way they connect with consumers, matched by systematic digital investments that can help them realize their aspirations to transform. We are excited to bring Infosys Equinox to help accelerate the development of Nu Skin's social commerce-based business model. We look forward to Nu Skin's creation of a new playbook for success in the beauty and wellness industry." Amit Kalley, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys Equinox, said, "We are excited to partner with Nu Skin in their vision of transforming the beauty and wellness industry by creating personalized and socially-connected commerce experiences. Infosys Equinox's headless and cloud-native microservices will allow Nu Skin to compose unique and delightful digital journeys across ever evolving channels for their consumers across the globe." About Nu Skin Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) is a leading beauty and wellness company, powered by a dynamic affiliate opportunity platform. The company helps people, look, feel and live their best with products that combine the best of science, technology and nature. Backed by more than 35 years of scientific research, Nu Skin develops innovative products including Nu Skin personal care, Pharmanex nutrition and the ageLOC anti-aging brand which includes an award-winning line of beauty device systems. Nu Skin operates in approximately 50 markets worldwide in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Pacific. Rhyz Inc. is the company's strategic investment arm that includes a collection of technology and manufacturing companies to support growth in the core Nu Skin business. Nu Skin is committed to sustainability, including global initiatives such as transitioning to reduced and sustainable packaging for all products by 2030. The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation also strives to improve children's health, education and economic circumstances throughout the world. For more information, visit nuskin.com. About Infosys Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning our future business opportunities and growth prospects as well as the benefits our products and services provide for our clients. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our products and services functioning as anticipated and interfacing with our clients' systems as anticipated, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / Unfilled jobs in the food-service and hospitality industries are making it difficult for cannabis companies to retain entry-level employees, prompting some cultivators to change how they operate to gain a competitive advantage in the labor market. Safari Flower Co. - a licensed cannabis producer in Ontario's Niagara region - is combating the so-called "Great Resignation" with automated processing equipment from Mobius , a cannabis automation and technology firm. Implementing their new automation equipment enabled Safari to reduce the amount of time spent on trimming by approximately 75% and improve working conditions for the processing team. The net result has been a smaller and happier workforce with the ability to apply compensation programs based on meeting production efficiencies. "The impact of technology and automation on our labor force has been very well-recognized as a retention strategy," said Brigitte Simons, Safari's Chief Executive Officer. Before bringing automation to their processing operations, Safari would require two 8-hour shifts to buck and trim each harvest. The procedure involved separating the flowers from the stalks by hand and trimming each cannabis flower with scissors - a task that led to boredom, repetitive strain injuries, and high staff turnover. The non-progressive, manual trimming procedures strained Safari's labor force as it could not incrementally increase the company's working capital towards employee compensation planning due to the lengthy inventory processing cycles. Further influenced by increasing wages in other regional job sectors, staff desired to participate in procedures under constant improvements. Now, with the new Mobius processing system, tasks are more ergonomic and engaging. Even better, the harvest has gone from 5 days down to just one day. Thanks to mechanical buckers (machines that separate the flowers and leaves from the stalks) and a high-speed trimming system that includes infeed and quality control conveyors, Safari has reduced repetitive strain injuries and increased employee satisfaction. "If you can give your employees technology that brings value back to the operators, you will have a sustainable, committed workforce that will come every day with dedication to your efficiency measures," said Simons. About: Mobius eliminates the complexity of harvesting by offering the world's best bucking, trimming, sorting, and processing equipment for the next generation of cannabis production facilities. Founded by industry veterans, 100% vertically integrated, and built around world-class engineering, Mobius has taken the market by storm, quickly becoming the number one choice of global cultivators in just three years. Contact: To learn more about the Mobius automation system: www.mobiustrimmer.com/cannabis-automation info@mobiustrimmer.com (866) 874-6244 To learn more about Safari Flower: www.safariflower.co info@safariflower.co (289) 203-3030 SOURCE: Mobius View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698557/Great-Resignation-Creates-Cannabis-Labor-Shortages-Canadian-Cultivator-Takes-New-Approach-to-Employee-Retention Tongwei also announced it wants to expand its solar cell capacity to 70 GW by the end of 2022 and 102 GW by the end of 2023.Polysilicon and solar cell manufacturer Tongwei said today its reached a polysilicon capacity of 180,000 MT and a solar cell capacity of 45 GW at the end of December 2021. The company also announced its expansion targets for the coming years. Polysilicon capacity is expected to reach 230,000 MT by the end of 2022 and 350,000 MT at the end of 2023. Furthermore, Tongwei said it expect to reach between 800,000 and 1 million MT of annual capacity by end of 2026. As for the solar ... 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. AI, ML, cloud computing and big data are the major enabling technologies supporting a strong Predictive Maintenance Market growth. CHICAGO, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report the report "Predictive Maintenance Market by Component (Solutions, Services), Deployment Mode (On-premises, Cloud), Organization Size (Large Enterprises, SME), Vertical and Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Predictive Maintenance Market size to grow from USD 4.2 billion in 2021 to USD 15.9 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30.6%. Various factors such as increasing spending on marketing and advertising activities by enterprises, changing landscape of customer intelligence to drive the market, and proliferation of customer channels are expected to drive the adoption of predictive maintenance technologies and services. Browse in-depth TOC on "Predictive Maintenance Market" 372 - Tables 51 - Figures 294 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=8656856 By deployment mode, the Predictive Maintenance Market has been segmented into on-premises and cloud. The CAGR of the cloud deployment mode is estimated to be the largest during the forecast period. Cloud-based services are provided directly through the cloud-deployed network connection. Cloud-based platforms are beneficial for organizations that have strict budgets for security investments. The cloud deployment mode is growing, as cloud-based predictive maintenance solutions are easy to maintain and upgrade. The Predictive Maintenance Market has been segmented by organization size into large enterprises and SMEs. The market for SMEs is expected to register a higher CAGR during the forecast period. These enterprises are early adopters of predictive maintenance solutions. They are faced with the troublesome task of effectively managing security because of the diverse nature of IT infrastructure, which is complex in nature. Request Sample Page: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=8656856 The Predictive Maintenance Market by vertical has been categorized into government and defense, manufacturing, energy and utilities, transportation and logistics, and healthcare and life sciences. The energy and utilities vertical is expected to witness the highest growth rate, while the government and defense vertical is expected to have the largest market size during the forecast period. The larger market size of the government and defense vertical can be attributed to the many initiatives taken by the government to improve the lifestyle of citizens and increasing adoption rate of AI-based applications with the use of ML algorithms to predict the parts and maintenance of defense equipment. The Predictive Maintenance Market has been segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and MEA. APAC is expected to grow at a good pace during the forecast period. The region will be booming, as it is experiencing a lot of new entrepreneur setups, which would be looking forward to acquiring new customers and gaining customer trust by involving new paradigms of maintenance technologies to have a competitive advantage over the established players. Predictive maintenance vendors in this region focus on innovations related to their product line. China, Japan, India, and Bangladesh have displayed ample growth opportunities in the Predictive Maintenance Market. Browse Adjacent Markets: Analytics Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Customer Journey Analytics Market by Component, Organization Size, Deployment Mode, Data Source, Application (Campaign Management & Product Management), Vertical (BFSI, Retail & eCommerce, & Telecommunications and IT), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 Big Data Market by Component, Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Business Function (Finance, Marketing & Sales), Industry Vertical (BFSI, Manufacturing, Healthcare & Life Sciences) and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/operational-predictive-maintenance-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/operational-predictive-maintenance.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg The latest Clusit Report from 2022 estimates $6 trillion in damages due to cyberattacks. In the last two years alone, not only small and medium-sized enterprises have been affected, but also companies such as Luxottica and Toshiba, as well as Electronic Arts Inc and AxA, to name a few. The choice of Milkman Technologies to rely on a crowd-based consulting service such as that offered by WhiteJar (the ethical hacking service of UNGUESS) aims to send a message to small, medium or large companies looking to increase their level of security. In this vein, crowd-based Penetration Testing and Continuous Cycle Vulnerability Assessment strategies are the most effective and sustainable methods, working closely with businesses to make them invulnerable to attacks MILAN, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 2021 was the year that saw a surge in digitisation processes, but it was also a period in which cyber attacks grew exponentially, with about 10% more than in 2020. According to the 2022 Clusit Report, in 2020, 1871 serious cyber attacks took place, growing by +12% globally. Among the most vulnerable sectors are Automotive (+200%), Research-Education (+128%), Hospitality - Hotels, Restaurants and Residences (+69%), Health (+62%), Institutions (+62%), Cloud Services (+52%) and Consulting Services (+50%)[1]. These figures call for reflection not only on the vulnerability of the individual's privacy, but also on that of companies, their intellectual property and information assets. More worrisome, in fact, are the estimates of the companies affected in 2021: from SolarWinds to Luxottica, as well as Electronic Arts Inc, Toshiba (Tokyo), JBS (Sao Paulo), as well as the car manufacturer Kia (Seoul) and the insurance group AXA (Paris). Many of the world's leading multinationals in various sectors have been breached despite the high levels of cybersecurity adopted. Objective: to become invulnerable to attacks. Milkman Technologies and the WhiteJar community Beginning with the pandemic that has accelerated digitalisation with remote working and the current crisis scenario due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the danger of cyber attacks has increased exponentially, becoming a central theme for corporate managers, from the CEOs to IT Managers, who are today even more committed to finding new forms of defence and protection for company information, as well as customer, supplier and employee data. Indeed, in order to defend an organisation against cyberattacks, it is necessary to increase cybersecurity measures: the approach to cybersecurity includes all the security policies in place, the employee training programmes and the security solutions that the company has implemented, from malware to antivirus software. How is it possible to increase cybersecurity posture beyond standard Penetration Test services? Often protection systems are very expensive and many companies choose to rely on more common approaches such as antivirus, firewalls, the use of proxies and the continuous updating of operating systems. However, such systems have a perimeter defence function, that is, they are used to block attacks coming from the outside and along the perimeter. These tools are not always enough and once cybercriminals find a breach in the perimeter, they can freely enter. In addition, many companies underestimate the fact that, in addition to the possibility of breaching perimeter security, it is the employees themselves who have direct access to company information systems. Setting an example by investing in effective and powerful cybersecurity services and opting to be totally invulnerable is the approach chosen by Milkman Technologies . The technology provider company for the optimisation of home-delivery has chosen the WhiteJar community , the UNGUESS service dedicated to cybersecurity, to guarantee its customers and staff constant security over time, combining the single and certified expertise of each Ethical Hacker with that of a community that works at the service of companies and public bodies in a continuous cycle, guaranteeing the activation of security campaigns on an ongoing basis. One of the advantages of relying on the community was the speed of activation of the campaign that allowed us, in just 24 hours, from the kick-off call between Milkman Technologies and WhiteJar, to get started with the work and immediately increase the level of protection of the company thanks to the distributed and organised work of Ethical Hackers. "At Milkman Technologies, safety is of the utmost importance as we need to ensure secure environments for customers and partners who use our technology. We chose WhiteJar because we believe in the power of collective knowledge and consider its crowdsourcing model a virtuous example of dynamic asset mining. A perfect solution to combat the ever-evolving threat of cybercrime. An entire community of brilliant minds is now in charge of protecting our technology, certifying its position among the safest in the sector where we operate," explains Antonio Perini, CEO of Milkman Technologies. The service designed by Luca Manara, CEO of the innovative SME UNGUESS and Aldo Del Bo', Head of Cybersecurity at UNGUESS, allowed the company to launch a Remediation strategy through a method based on the sharing of collective intelligence. Whitejar's Ethical Hackers thus work to support the protection systems already activated by the company, with the aim of carrying out an in-depth assessment the health status of the systems, increasing the security level and eliminating areas of vulnerability. "WhiteJar is the Bug Security Bounty service of UNGUESS for running PenTests (PT) and Vulnerability Assessments (VA), in parallel to the company's standard integrated protection systems. The community does not want to act as an alternative: if a company needs to test a specific asset at a certain time and has a certain software, it can do so either in a traditional way or by integrating a system such as WhiteJar. Indeed, another of the problems of many companies, in addition to the costs and the lack of internal staff experienced in cybersecurity, is the fact that activating traditional PenTests and VAs is a slow process or in any case not immediate and above all not scalable, therefore not in step with business needs. In addition, PT companies often follow a checklist of items to be tested, while the Bug Security Bounty approach offered by WhiteJar is certainly more proactive and creative," concludes Aldo Del Bo', Head of Cybersecurity at UNGUESS. WhiteJar powered by UNGUESS WhiteJar ( https://whitejar.io/ ) is the first "made in the Crowd" Bug Security Bounty service in Italy. It is the only community of CEH, GXPN, OSCP, GWAPT, GMOB certified Ethical Hackers whose identity and history are known and who put their knowledge at the service of companies and public bodies to prevent malicious attacks, identify weak spots and suggest remediation strategies. All this takes place through WhiteJar's Crowdsourced Security Platform (CSSP), in which clients and Ethical Hackers can interact in real-time. Ethical Hackers are supervised by a senior figure who applies an internal validation system to weak spots identified. WhiteJar powered by UNGUESS is a partner of Clusit and Assintel. It is also a partner of the Cybersecurity & Data Protection Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano and sponsor of the sixth edition of Cyberchallenge.it, the training programme organised by CINI for young people who want to work in cybersecurity. WhiteJar is a service of the innovative SME UNGUESS ( http://www.unguess.io/ ) which, thanks to its global community, operates in the areas of Software Quality, User Experience, Customer Experience, Market Research and Cybersecurity to support companies to bring collective knowledge into decision-making processes more quickly and easily. Milkman Technologies Milkman Technologies ( www.milkmantechnologies.com ) offers a technology suite for the organisation of last mile delivery operations. The platform was designed for companies and logistics departments to optimise the planning and execution of deliveries, offering smart appointments and an interactive customer experience, as well as dynamic pricing to modulate consumer habits and operations optimised through hyper-automation and machine learning. Milkman Technologies was founded in Italy in 2015 by two veterans of route optimisation for commercial fleets. Founded in 2015, the company now has 35 million in funding, international customers and offices across Europe. [1]Clusit 2022 Report: https://clusit.it/rapporto-clusit/ Contact: Angela Meduri, angela.meduri@unguess.io, +39 3757344970 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1805005/WhiteJar_powered_by_UNGUESS_Logo.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1730688/UNGUESS_Logo.jpg Regulatory News: Mr Michel Savart, a non-independent director, today informed Mercialys (Paris:MERY) that he was resigning from his position as a director. The Company praised his contribution to the Board of Directors' work during the last few years. This press release is available on www.mercialys.com. About Mercialys Mercialys is one of France's leading real estate companies. It is specialized in the holding, management and transformation of retail spaces, anticipating consumer trends, on its own behalf and for third parties. At December 31, 2021, Mercialys had a real estate portfolio valued at Euro 3.1 billion (including transfer taxes). Its portfolio of 2,134 leases represents an annualized rental base of Euro 168.8 million. Mercialys has been listed on the stock market since October 12, 2005 (ticker: MERY) and has "SIIC" real estate investment trust (REIT) tax status. Part of the SBF 120 and Euronext Paris Compartment B, it had 93,886,501 shares outstanding at December 31, 2021. IMPORTANT INFORMATION This press release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding future events, trends, projects or targets. These forward-looking statements are subject to identified and unidentified risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to Mercialys' Universal Registration Document available at www.mercialys.com for the year ended December 31, 2021 for more details regarding certain factors, risks and uncertainties that could affect Mercialys' business. Mercialys makes no undertaking in any form to publish updates or adjustments to these forward-looking statements, nor to report new information, new future events or any other circumstances that might cause these statements to be revised. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005793/en/ Contacts: Analyst and investor contact Luce-Marie de Fontaines Tel: +33 (0)1 82 82 75 63 Email: ldefontaines@mercialys.com 2021 Revenues of 32.2 million, up 11.3% compared to 2020 Gross margin of 51%, up 9.4%, and stable operating profit Cash position at the end of 2021 of 7.0 million, financial visibility ensured Confirmation of 2022 targets: revenues above 20m, reaching operating profitability and positive EBITDA Regulatory News: ALCHIMIE (FR0014000JX7 ALCHI Eligible PEA-PME) (Paris:ALCHI), an OTT (over the top) subscription video on demand (SVoD) platform featuring original and exclusive thematic channels published jointly with media groups and talents,todayannounces its consolidated annual results for the year ending December 31, 2021, as approved by the Board of Directors on April 20, 2022. IFRS consolidated income statement In thousands of euros 31.12.2021 31.12.2020 Change Revenue 32,223 28,952 +11,3% Cost of sales -15,639 -13,794 +13,4% Gross profit 16,584 15,158 +9,4% Technological and development costs -4,669 -3,724 +25,4% Sales and marketing costs -15,083 -14,161 +6,5% General and administrative expenses -5,405 -5,900 -8,4% Operating income -8,574 -8,626 Net financial expense -168 -564 Tax income (expense) -297 504 Net income from continuing operations -9,038 -8,687 Net income from discontinued operations 0 105 Consolidated net income -9,038 -8,582 Cash position at end of period 7,061 14,955 Business activity and 2021 financial results As announced on the occasion of the release of the 2021 revenues, the Group's consolidated annual revenues (IFRS) amounted to 32.2 million at December 31, 2021, an increase of +11% compared to December 31, 2020. The Video activity (29.5 million) shows an annual growth rate of +17%. This increase is due to the launch of more than 60 new channels in 2021, bringing Alchimie's offer to 130 channels co-published with celebrities and talents. Despite the growth in revenues, the distribution partnerships established proved to be less buoyant than anticipated. As a result, the number of subscribers during the past fiscal year showed less growth than expected (+13%). In 2021, cost of sales increased to 15.6 million; despite this increase, the Group's gross margin was 51%, up 9.4%. Operating expenses increased slightly (+5.8%), including both Technology and Development costs (+25.4%) and Marketing and Sales costs (+6.5%). The increase in Technology and Development costs is the result of the temporary reinforcement of the teams to develop the new functionalities of the Alchimie Studio platform, while the increase in Marketing and Sales costs is the result of the sizing up of the teams to strengthen the distribution network in France and abroad. General and administrative expenses were down 8.4%, mainly due to the non-recurring legal costs incurred in 2020 in connection with the IPO. The operating loss is stable, at around -8.58 million compared to -8.63 million in 2020. The financial result reaches -0.17 million at December 31, 2021 compared to -0.56 million in 2020. All in all, the consolidated net loss for the year 2021 is 9.0 million, compared with 8.6 million in 2020. Financial position of the Group Consolidated shareholders' equity is in deficit and amounts to -0.8 million as of December 31, 2021. This decrease of approximately 9.1 million is the result of the consolidated net loss of 9 million in 2021. The cash position at the end of December 2021 was 7.1 million in 2021, compared with 15.0 million at December 31, 2020. Borrowings amounted to 8.5 million in 2021, a decrease of approximately 1.4 million following the early repayment of senior debt for 1.8 million. Post-closing highlights The Company has an historical contract with the mobile operator Orange to provide a turnkey service. The renewal of this contract for fiscal year 2022 has been confirmed, with the service scheduled to be closed by January 2023 due to the redefinition of the portal's offerings. The service had 140,000 video subscribers at December 31, 2021, contributing 4.2 million to 2021 revenues. Strategy and outlook Fiscal year 2021 was marked by a number of operational achievements in terms of technology, marketing and publishing. However, the limited growth in the number of subscribers during the past year requires Alchimie to adapt its strategy to optimize its cost structure and cash. From now on, the Company's management will be focused on achieving profitability rather than on a subscriber base growth target. This adjustment of the model will thus enable the Company to focus its resources on its profitable assets. 2022 marks a strategic refocusing of the Alchimie model around three major focuses: The development of thematic channels for brands and key accounts, Optimizing resources, in particular through the reorganization of the structure and, Pursuing profitable growth by achieving operational profitability. In terms of business development, Alchimie is pursuing the distribution of high-potential channels to its subscribers and is also diversifying its business. The Company has signed its first contract to publish the content of a third party, acting as a service provider. In addition, in order to develop the channel publishing offer for companies, Alchimie has strengthened its team and recruited an experienced profile dedicated to this activity. At the operational level, the Company is now focusing on markets where it believes it has the greatest potential for profitable growth, such as France and Spain. As a result, it no longer has local teams in the U.S. or the United Kingdom. In France, the reorganization plan presented on February 10 is now being implemented and fully financed by the Company's own resources, opening a new phase of business development. At the financial level, as announced in February, the Company's management is firmly focused on achieving operating profitability as of the first quarter of 2022 and for the entire year. The strategic adjustments made will enable Alchimie to lower its breakeven point to a revenue of over 20 million for the year 2022 and implement the new strategy that will enable a return to growth. In terms of financial resources, Alchimie maintains a rigorous management of its costs to preserve its cash flow and does not plan a capital increase given its cash position of 7 million at the end of December 2021. Pauline Grimaldi d'Esdra, CEO of Alchimie comments: 2021 has been an intense year for Alchimie following a health accident of its founder, Nicolas d'Hueppe, who stepped away from the Company's business. My arrival at the end of last year was aimed at reorganizing the Company with an adaptation of its model in order to achieve healthy and profitable growth. Four months after my appointment, the strategic orientations validated by the Board of Directors have been implemented and Alchimie is now on track to reach its 2022 targets Alchimie will publish its 2021 Annual Financial Report on April 29, available on its website: https://www.alchimie-finance.com/ General meeting: June 8, 2022, terms of participation will be communicated at a later date. Next financial release: H1 2022 sales, July 19, 2022 after closing. About Alchimie Alchimie is a channel factory: a unique video platform in partnership with talents and media to co-publish their own thematic channel. Alchimie has a content catalog established among 300 renowned partners (Arte, France TV distribution, ZDF Entreprises or Zed). Alchimie partners with 110+ talents (celebrities, influencers), brands and media groups to create new channels (The Big Issue, Army Stories, Poisson Fecond, Vaughan, Scene de Crime, Point de Vue) which are then distributed on more than 60 distribution platforms (TVPlayer, Amazon, Orange, Movistar, Samsung, Huawei, etc.) constantly expanding its audience and consequently its revenues. In 2019, Alchimie acquired TVPlayer, the largest independent OTT platform in the UK. For more information: www.alchimie-finance.com www.alchimie.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005911/en/ Contacts: Alchimie Stephane Taillefer Directeur Financier investors@alchimie.com NewCap Thomas Grojean/Louis-Victor Delouvrier Relations investisseurs alchimie@newcap.eu 01 44 71 94 94 NewCap Nicolas Merigeau Relations Medias alchimie@newcap.eu 01 44 71 94 98 Gevers will oversee all of Seed Health's research and development (R&D), translating leading microbiome science across the Company's portfolio of innovations in therapeutics and consumer health LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Seed Health , the microbiome sciences company pioneering innovations in probiotics and live biotherapeutics, today announced that Dirk Gevers, Ph.D., has joined the company as its Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Gevers joins from Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, where he helped launch the Janssen Human Microbiome Institute (JHMI) and served as Global Head. With 15 years of experience in translational microbiome research and global team-building, Gevers will guide Seed Health's R&D and scale the company's platform to enable rapid, efficient advancement of microbial research from discovery to market. "I was impressed by Seed's commitment to scientific excellence and their platform-based approach to harnessing the power of the microbiome," said Gevers. "Seed is uniquely converging deep functional insights in the human microbiome with efforts to clinically validate the next-generation of microbiome interventions. This, in combination with the scope of Seed's portfolio and effective commercialization model, gives me the opportunity to drive true impact in health." Prior to his work at J&J, Gevers was at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he collaborated with clinical and analytical partners applying the Broad Institute's data generation platform to a range of microbiome-related projects. During his career, he held a leading role in the National Institute of Health's Human Microbiome Project Consortium and has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers, many of which laid the foundation for human microbiome research. "I've known Dirk for over a decade - first following his research at the Broad Institute, then interacting with him at J&J - and couldn't imagine a more exciting alignment than Dirk and Seed," remarked Sarkis Mazmanian, PhD., Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology & Biological Engineering at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and member of Seed Health's Board of Directors. "Dirk's pivotal contributions to this field, combined with the company's work translating breakthrough microbiome research from discovery to commercialization, create a powerful force to deliver on the growing promise of the microbiome to impact health." As CSO, Gevers will expand the global R&D team with a focus on discovery, translation, and clinical development for applications across gastrointestinal and digestive health, women's health, skin and oral care, pediatrics, mental health, metabolic function and nutrition. Gevers will also oversee Seed Health's external scientific and academic collaborations with institutions such as Caltech, Harvard University, MIT, University of Zurich, Stanford University, Mass General Hospital, and Cleveland Clinic. "Dirk's research helped lay the foundation for modulating the microbiome for human health. Now, as one of the most sought-after translational experts in microbiome, Dirk's appointment will accelerate our mission to steward the next generation of microbial innovation," said Raja Dhir, co-founder and co-CEO of Seed Health. "Together, we can create a new framework for intervention and drive the future of the field." About Seed Health | Seed Seed Health is a microbiome science company pioneering innovations in probiotics and living medicines to impact human and planetary health. Founded to realize the potential of microbes, our platform enables the translation of breakthrough science across a portfolio encompassing both indication-specific and preventive applications for gastrointestinal and digestive health, women's health, skin and oral care, pediatrics, mental health, metabolic function and nutrition. Our consumer innovations are commercialized under Seed with a mission to bring much-needed precision, efficacy, education, and perspective-shifting science communication to the global category of probiotics. Environmental research is conducted under SeedLabs , which was founded to develop novel bacterial interventions to enhance biodiversity and restore ecosystems impacted by human activity. LUCA Biologics , co-founded with Dr. Jacques Ravel, develops living medicines targeting the vaginal microbiome for urogenital and reproductive health. seedhealth.com seed.com luca.bio Dr. Sarkis Mazmanian Dr. Sarkis K. Mazmanian is leading research into how the gut microbiome impacts and communicates with the immune and nervous systems. His work is specifically focused on how the two-way internal communication highway known as the "gut-brain axis," influences complex diseases of the brain, such as Parkinson's, autism and Alzheimer's diseases. Sarkis has received numerous awards including the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" award and Discover Magazine's "Best Brains in Science." Currently the Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Sarkis is also a member of Seed Health's Scientific Board, founder of three biotech companies, and the proud mentor of countless students and postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to successful independent careers in medicine, industry, and academia. Contact seed@consortpartners.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1804504/Seed_Dirk_Portrait.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1492777/SeedHealth_Green_Logo.jpg Regulatory News: eCential Robotics, a French growth company that designs, manufactures, and markets the first unified 2D/3D robotic imaging and surgical navigation system for bone surgery indications, and Amplitude Surgical (ISIN: FR0012789667, Ticker: AMPLI, eligible for PEA-PME plans) (Paris:AMPLI), leading French player on the surgical technology market for lower limb orthopedics, today announced their long-term partnership to develop a joint robotic solution for knee surgery. Combine the strengths of two partners, both experts in their respective field eCential Robotics and Amplitude Surgical have concluded an agreement to bring together their technologies for knee robotic surgeries. Based on product technical excellence and a shared long-term view, this partnership brings the best of both partners: Surgical robotics with eCential Robotics' platform. As the only available solution that is fully unified in one device, the eCential Robotics platform unifies in its core design intraoperative 2D/3D imaging, navigation, and robotics. The eCential Robotics platform is an open solution, catering to different surgeons' preferences and has a proven collaboration track record with multiple industry partners in spine surgery, Navigation and knee surgery with Amplitude Surgical. With more than 15 years' experience in knee navigated surgery, thanks to its proprietary system Amplivision, and more than 20 years clinical follow up on Total Knee Arthroplasty, Amplitude Surgical will bring its expertise for an optimized surgical flow based on the latest alignment techniques. Get the best value from Amplitude Surgical's solutions using eCential Robotics' expertise Robotics technologies provided by eCential Robotics will enable the specific features of Amplitude Surgical's solutions in surgical navigation and orthopedic implants to be fully leveraged, thereby optimizing the surgery offered to the patient. "We are excited to announce this special partnership with Amplitude Surgical. This collaboration marks an important step in the implementation of our ambition to become a standard in the operating room for bone surgery by opening our platform to a new orthopedic specialty, with the knee", said Stephane Lavallee, eCential Robotics CEO. "This strong synergy is enabled by the contribution of two very complementary expertise, and asserts eCential Robotics' positioning in surgical robotics", he added. "We are proud to announce this new partnership with eCential Robotics. Since the start of our company, bringing technologies to help surgeons achieve the best outcome for their patients has been our vision", stated Olivier Jallabert, Amplitude Surgical CEO. This collaboration marks a step forward in our strategy, offering surgeons the possibility to optimize their surgical technique, not only with navigation, but with robotic assistance. We are proud to work with such an amazing partner like eCential, and a renowned team of surgeons and to continue the legacy of French orthopedic expertise. The fruit of this collaboration will allow Amplitude to compete with major players in this segment, with an innovative robotic solution", he concluded. About eCential Robotics eCential Robotics is a Grenoble-based company specialized in surgical robotics. It develops and markets a unique system unifying 2D/3D robotic imaging and real-time navigation. With 80 patents and 7 trademarks, it is pursuing a disruptive innovation strategy and offers orthopedic and neurosurgeons easy-to-use, cutting-edge technology to visualize their operations, particularly for minimally invasive surgery. The eCential Robotics platform is a universal system that is open to multiple implants Winner of the Bpifrance Worldwide Innovation Challenge in 2018, the company designs and produces all its equipment in Grenoble, France. For more information, please visit www.ecential-robotics.com and follow us on LinkedIn (eCential Robotics) and Twitter (@ecentialrobot). About Amplitude Founded in 1997 in Valence, France, Amplitude Surgical is a leading French player on the global surgical technology market for lower-limb orthopedics. Amplitude Surgical develops and markets high-end products for orthopedic surgery covering the main disorders affecting the hip, knee and extremities, and notably foot and ankle surgery. Amplitude Surgical develops, in close collaboration with surgeons, numerous high value-added innovations in order to best meet the needs of patients, surgeons and healthcare facilities. A leading player in France, Amplitude Surgical is developing abroad through its subsidiaries and a network of exclusive distributors and agents distributing its products in more than 30 countries. Amplitude Surgical operates on the lower-limb market through the intermediary of its Novastep subsidiaries in France and the United States. At June 30, 2021, Amplitude Surgical had a workforce of 443 employees and recorded sales of nearly 95.5 million euros. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426005920/en/ Contacts: Media contact Marie CABRIERES marie.cabrieres@ecential-robotics.com +33 6 07 27 19 86 Investor relations Benjamin COLAS benjamin.colas@ecential-robotics.com +33 7 85 58 35 14 Amplitude Surgical Dimitri Borchtch CFO finances@amplitude-surgical.com +33 (0)4 75 41 87 41 NewCap Investor Relations Mathilde Bohin/Thomas Grojean amplitude@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 NewCap Media Relations Nicolas Merigeau amplitude@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 After over 30 years leading Fox-rent-A-Car and making it a success story in the US car rental industry, Allen Rezapour and Mike Jaberi have decided to leave the company they founded on an all-time high, after a record 2021 year. Gerardo Bermejo will formally succeed them on July 1st and will foster Europcar Mobility Group's plans and further expansion in the US. Regulatory News: Europcar Mobility Group(Paris:EUCAR): As Managing Director of Europcar Mobility Group USA, Gerardo Bermejo will build on Allen Rezapour's and Mike Jaberi's legacy, as well on the current momentum Europcar Mobility Group's US perimeter is enjoying. He will be supported by the strong and engaged Fox management team, which has remained mostly unchanged since the company was taken over by Europcar Mobility Group in 2019. Gerardo Bermejo joined Europcar Mobility Group N1 in vehicle rental in Europe in 2017. Since then, he has worked as CFO for the Group in Spain and at the same time, held other positions within the Group, notably taking charge of the Group's Low-Cost Business Unit. Gerardo Bermejo has over 20 years of experience in senior automotive and a sound understanding of the car rental industry, acquired in several leadership positions, notably at Citroen and at MIASA Group. He also has an international experience, including France, China and the United States. With Gerardo Bermejo's appointment, a new chapter opens for Europcar Mobility Group's operations in the US, in line with the intention to strengthen the Group's ability to serve its customers on a global scale, capitalizing on both inbound and outbound flows, which are equally important for the development of its corporate and leisure businesses, as well on capitalizing on the strengths of the Group brands' portfolio, notably with the launch of the Europcar Brand in US corporate locations. At the occasion of ICRS 2022 (International Car Rental Show), Gerardo Bermejo along with Gary Smith, Europcar Mobility Group Chief Countries Officer, delivered a keynote on Europcar Mobility Group's renewed ambitions and expansion plan for its US perimeter, which involve both the Fox-rent-A-Car and Europcar brands. Gary Smith, Chief Countries Officer of Europcar Mobility Group, declared: "In light of all the challenges that have affected the travel industry since early 2020, we remain excited by our US perimeter, especially with their record 2021 results. Our US roadmap includes tactics to build on the success with a deeper alignment on our global "CONNECT" strategy to become a major player in flexible, sustainable, digital and connected mobility." Gerardo Bermejo, Europcar Mobility Group USA Managing Director, added: " I am thrilled to be joining such a successful perimeter for Europcar Mobility Group, and look forward to shepherding in an exciting era for the company with a special focus in the expansion of our corporate locations, implementation of our core Service Lines organization, and a customer-focused co-brand investment. " About Europcar Mobility Group Europcar Mobility Group is a major player in mobility markets and listed on Euronext Paris. Europcar Mobility Group's purpose is to offer attractive alternatives to vehicle ownership, in a responsible and sustainable manner. With this in mind, the Group offers a wide range of car and van rental services be it for a few hours, a few days, a week, a month or more with a fleet that is equipped with the latest engines, and which will be increasingly "green" in the years to come. Customers' satisfaction is at the heart of the Group's ambition and that of its employees. It also fuels the ongoing development of new offerings in the Group's three service lines Professional, Leisure and Proximity which respond to the specific needs and use cases of both businesses and individuals. The Group's 4 major brands are: Europcar the European leader of car rental and light commercial vehicle rental, Goldcar the low-cost car-rental Leader in Europe, InterRent 'mid-tier' car rental and Ubeeqo one of the European leaders of round-trip car-sharing (BtoB, BtoC). Europcar Mobility Group delivers its mobility solutions worldwide through an extensive network in over 140 countries (including wholly owned subsidiaries 18 in Europe, 1 in the USA, 2 in Australia and New Zealand completed by franchises and partners). Further details on our website: www.europcar-mobility-group.com About Fox Rent-A-Car Within the Europcar Mobility Group brand portfolio, Fox Rent-A-Car is a benchmark value brand with an attractive "value for money" positioning, focused on serving the budget-conscious leisure travelers. Fox is currently operated via a network of 21 corporate stations across the United States, with a strong presence at 15 of the top 25 key U.S. airports, including Orlando, Las Vegas, Miami and Los Angeles. Fox Rent-A-Car is also operated through a network of affiliates in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. By combining technology-enabled efficiencies and proactive price management, Fox has in recent years continuously increased its market share at airports and has positioned itself as a leading brand in the value car rental space. With a diversified fleet of 20,000 vehicles, Fox Rent-A-Car also offers its customers a large selection of foreign and domestic vehicles. Fox has a highly skilled workforce of over 1,000 professionals dedicated to customer satisfaction by providing a high-quality service. Learn more: www.foxrentacar.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426006029/en/ Contacts: Group Press Relations Valerie Sauteret valerie.sauteret@europcar.com Vincent Vevaud vincent.vevaud@europcar.com Press contact in the US Steve Mosinski smosinski@foxrentacar.com The "Automotive Glass Fiber Composites Market Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 2027)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The automotive glass fiber composites market is expected to register a CAGR of over 5.5%, during the forecast period, 2020 2025. Key Market Trends Increasing Adoption of Glass Fiber Composites in Automobiles Although automobiles have been around for more than a century, the materials they are made of have mostly remained the same. Only since the past few decades that advanced materials, ranging from magnesium alloys to glass fiber composites, have made their way into new-generation cars. Advanced materials, such as glass fiber composites, are essential for boosting the fuel economy of modern cars, maintaining performance and safety. Since it takes lesser energy to accelerate a lighter object than a heavier one, lightweight materials offer great potential for increasing vehicle efficiency. A 10% reduction in the vehicle's weight can transpire to a 6-8% increase in fuel economy. Glass fiber composites are materials that have become popular in the past few years. One of the reasons for fiberglass composite's relative success is that it has several advantages when compared to steel. It is corrosion-resistant, has significant chemical resistance, and is lightweight (three times less dense than steel). Fiberglass composite is mainly used in bumpers, hoods, and casings. Another area where this material is used is V-belts and timing belts, where glass strings are impregnated with rubber acting as reinforcement. Abrasion resistance is one other advantage of the fiberglass composite, which is why it is used for producing clutches and brake-pads. Clutch disks are reinforced with woven fiberglass composites to maintain their integrity. Europe Anticipated to be the Largest and Fastest Growing Market Europe is touted to be the fastest growing market due to the presence of many car manufacturers, such as BMW, Volkswagen, Groupe PSA, etc., who are adopting glass fiber composites in their cars. Government regulations, such as the greenhouse gas emission target in the European countries are also paving way for OEMs to incorporate light-weight materials to decrease the overall vehicle weight. Germany is one of the leading automobile manufacturing countries, globally. The country has recovered to a reasonable extent from the economic recession that affected the economic condition of the country adversely. Germany is home to some of the leading global automobile manufacturers, like Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG, BMW, Ford GmbH, and Opel. More than 5.1 million automobiles are annually manufactured in Germany. With an increase in the production of passenger vehicles and SUVs, the demand for fiberglass in the reinforcements of automotive components is expected to significantly increase during the forecast period. Key Topics Covered: 1 INTRODUCTION 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET DYNAMICS 4.1 Market Drivers 4.2 Market Restraints 4.3 Industry Attractiveness Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION 5.1 Intermediate Type 5.1.1 Short Fiber Thermoplastic (SFT) 5.1.2 Long Fiber Thermoplastic (LFT) 5.1.3 Continuous Fiber Thermoplastic (CFT) 5.1.4 Other Intermediate Types 5.2 Application Type 5.2.1 Interiors 5.2.2 Exteriors 5.2.3 Structural Assembly 5.2.4 Power-train Components 5.2.5 Other Application Types 5.3 Geography 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 6.1 Vendor Market Share 6.2 Company Profiles 6.2.1 Solvay Group 6.2.2 3B (Braj Binani Group) 6.2.3 Owens Corning 6.2.4 Jiangsu Changhai Composite Materials 6.2.5 Veplas Group 6.2.6 SAERTEX GmbH Co.KG 6.2.7 ASAHI FIBER GLASS Co., Ltd. 6.2.8 Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Limited 7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sgbmhf View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220426006118/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 President & COO Mark Pearlman will discuss the Company's potential to transform the agricultural industry and effect change from the ground up with its revolutionary NEREA(R). Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - International Zeolite Corp. (TSXV: IZ) (OTC Pink: IZCFF) (FSE: ZEON) ("IZ" or the "Company"), a company creating innovative, environmentally friendly products and solutions utilizing zeolite minerals for the agricultural, industrial and consumer markets, is pleased to invite investors and other interested parties to attend an upcoming interview with Radius Research. Mark Pearlman, President and Chief Operating Officer of IZ, and Martin Gagel of Radius will discuss the Company's line of earth-conscious, natural zeolite solutions, including the disruptive potential of, and the Company's commercialization plans for, its breakthrough agricultural technology, NEREA. The proprietary zeolite product has proven to increase crop yields, produce higher quality agricultural products, and reduce both fertilizer and water requirements, thereby providing farmers and commercial growers significant financial and environmental benefits. The webinar will be a live, interactive online event where attendees are invited to ask the Company questions in real-time following the interview. An archived webcast will be made available for those who cannot join the event live on the day of the webinar. Event: Radius Research Pitch, Deep Dive, Q&A with International Zeolite Presentation Date & Time: Thursday, April 28 at 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT Webcast Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/IZ Webinar Market Radius Research provides individual investors access to in-depth CEO and management interviews with deep-dive, institutional level discussion and Q&A. Market Radius' host Martin Gagel is a former top-ranked sell-side technology and special situations analyst. About International Zeolite International Zeolite's mission is to produce a line of high-value top-tier performance natural zeolite products and solutions. We believe that real change comes from the ground up. Our focused aim is to utilize the naturally occurring zeolite mineral to innovate commercial agriculture, industry and consumer practices that outperform their competition, and are better for the environment and world populations. Our purpose-driven zeolite solutions represent a new era of earth conscious environmental science that will relentlessly seek to transform agriculture, industry, and households to safer, sustainable, superior means of operation. For Investor Inquiries: Bill Mitoulas Investor Relations info@internationalzeolite.com + 1 416.479.9547 For further information, please visit www.internationalzeolite.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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121674 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Slave Lake Zinc Corp. (CSE: SLZ) - As spring arrives in the Northwest Territories, recent developments with the federal and territorial governments have created excitement within the Company. Slave Lake Zinc is very much looking forward to the next several months, and the coming years, with the recognition that the Company's primary exploration programs centered around zinc, with lead and copper, not to mention the precious metals, are being designated as "Strategically "important minerals by our Federal Government. The "Fraser Institute" in their "Annual Survey of Mining Jurisdictions" has designated Canada as the number 2 best jurisdiction in the world for investment in the mining industry. The Northwest Territories was not specifically mentioned but as Mr. Wigham stated: "Our company's interaction (Slave Lake Zinc Corp) with the decision makers and Indigenous communities in the N.W.T. has shown that it appears a new and exciting attitude has been brought forward with our mutually significant 'Collaboration Agreement" with the Northwest Territory Metis Nation and our interactions with both the Territorial Government and the other local communities within the South Slave Region of the N.W.T." With these developments and more substantial federal tax incentives the future appears to be very bright for Slave Lake Zinc and the companies O'Connor Lake Project. Slave Lake Zinc ("the Company") has awarded incentive stock options to Directors, Officers and a company consultant to purchase a total of 2,650,000 shares of the Company's treasury capital. These options allow the holder to purchase the shares at $0.15 per share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue, subject to provisions of the Company stock option plan. About Slave Lake Zinc Slave Lake Zinc Corp. intends to develop the potential of its O'Connor Lake property, an historic zinc lead copper property located in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The property is located south of Great Slave Lake and to the east of Osisko Metals' Pine Point project. The property was initially developed after the Second World War and subsequently abandoned in 1952 when the prices of zinc and lead collapsed post war. Slave Lake Zinc Corp. believes that it is well positioned to advance this project and to expand significantly the historic potential of the property. For more information, please visit www.zinccorp.ca. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, Slave Lake Zinc Corp. Per: Ritch Wigham CEO & Director Phone: 604-396-5762 Email: rwigham@zinccorp.ca Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release Forward-Looking Statement Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in both Slave Lake Zinc's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "potential", "should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the progress of a definitive offtake agreement, potential development and production at the Company's O'Connor Lake project, future oriented events and other statements that are not facts. Forward-looking statements are based on a few assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Slave Lake Zinc operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in light of such factors. Although Slave Lake Zinc has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Slave Lake Zinc disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and Slave Lake Zinc does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company herein. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121766 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (TSXV: GMG) (FSE: 0GF) ("GMG" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into the following agreements as the Company progresses to the next phase of its investor relations activities: a consulting services agreement with Triomphe Holdings Ltd. (DBA Capital Analytica), a private company headquartered in Nanaimo, British Columbia ("Capital Analytica"), having an effective date of April 25, 2022 (the "Capital Analytica Agreement"); an advertising and investor awareness campaign agreement with Dig Media Inc., (DBA Investing News Network) ("INN"), a private company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia ("INN"), executed on April 26, 2022 and having an effective date of April 19, 2022 (the "INN Agreement"); a terms of service agreement with C. Fleck and Associates. (website - KEReport.com), an organization headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia ("K.E. Report"), executed on April 26, 2022 and having an effective date of February 1, 2022 (the " K.E. Report Agreement"); and a services agreement with consulting agreement with Proactive Investors North America Inc., a private company with offices across North America, Australia and in Europe ("Proactive Investors"), having an effective date of April 25, 2022 (the "Proactive Investors Agreement"); (collectively, the "IR Agreements"). Capital Analytics is an integrated media platform that produces in-depth business intelligence through its annual print and digital economic reviews, high-impact conferences, and events and top-level interviews via its video platform. Pursuant to the Capital Analytica Agreement, Capital Analytica will provide consulting services, including social media consultation, social engagement reporting and social media news and corporate video dissemination to GMG for a six-month term. In accordance with the Capital Analytica Agreement, the Company will pay Capital Analytica a fee of C$100,000, plus applicable taxes, at commencement of the Capital Analytica Agreement. INN is a private company dedicated to providing independent news and education to investors since 2007. Pursuant to the INN Agreement, INN will provide advertising campaign services, including advertising profile, lead generation, press release syndication, banner advertising, email services and campaign metrics to GMG for a twelve-month term, unless terminated in accordance with its terms. In accordance with the INN Agreement, the Company will pay INN a fee of C$36,000, plus applicable taxes, in four equal instalments of C$9,000 each quarter in advance at commencement of the INN Agreement. K.E. Report are in the business of development and distribution of an investment focused radio show and podcast. Pursuant to the K.E. Report Agreement, K.E. Report will provide professional services, including audio, radio and video interviews on a regular basis in unlimited number reporting GMG news and address investor questions, webinars, introductions to newsletter writers, industry analysts and fund managers, and banner advertising for an initial six-month term, which may be extended for a further six-month term, unless terminated in accordance with its terms. In accordance with the K.E. Report Agreement, the Company will pay K.E. Report a fee of C$9,000, plus applicable taxes, for each six-month period, in arrears. Corey Fleck, a principal of K.E. Report, holds 4,500 common shares in the Company. Proactive Investors is a multi-media business and financial media portal that provides breaking news, commentary and analysis on hundreds of listed companies and pre-IPO businesses across the globe. Pursuant to the Proactive Investors Agreement, Proactive Investors will provide media services, including research reports and analyst videos, to GMG for a twelve-month term, unless terminated in accordance with its terms. In accordance with the Proactive Investors Agreement, the Company will pay Proactive Investors a fee of US$30,500, plus applicable taxes, for each six-month period, in advance. The payments described herein will come from the Company's general working capital account. Other than as disclosed herein, none of the investor relations service providers described above have any interest, directly or indirectly, in the Company or any right or intent to acquire such an interest. Each of the IR Agreements are with arm's length parties to the Company. The IR Agreements remain subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). The previously announced agreement with Focus Communications Investor Relations Inc. continues, while the previously announced agreements with Generation IACP Inc., Brian Gusko Advisory Services Inc., Supercharged Stocks Ltd. and Hybrid Financial Ltd. have been concluded. About GMG GMG is a clean-technology company which seeks to offer energy saving and energy storage solutions, enabled by graphene, including that manufactured in-house via a proprietary production process. GMG has developed a proprietary production process to decompose natural gas (i.e. methane) into its elements, carbon (as graphene), hydrogen and some residual hydrocarbon gases. This process produces high quality, low cost, scalable, 'tuneable' and low/no contaminant graphene suitable for use in clean-technology and other applications. The Company's present focus is to de-risk and develop commercial scale-up capabilities, and secure market applications. In the energy savings segment, GMG has focused on graphene enhanced heating, ventilation and air conditioning ("HVAC-R") coating (or energy-saving paint), lubricants and fluids. In the energy storage segment, GMG and the University of Queensland are working collaboratively with financial support from the Australian Government to progress R&D and commercialization of graphene aluminium-ion batteries ("G+AI Batteries"). For further information, please contact: - Craig Nicol, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Company at craig.nicol@graphenemg.com, +61 415 445 223 - Leo Karabelas at Focus Communications, info@fcir.ca , +1 647 689 6041 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, TSXV approval of each of the IR Agreements, the services expected to be received by the Company in connection with the IR Agreements, the Company's business development plans, and the Company's plans to work with third parties to progress R&D and commercialization of graphene aluminum-ion batteries. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, including without limitation, risks related to: the TSXV's failure to provide approval for the IR Agreements or any one of them on the current terms and conditions, or at all, the Company's failure or the failure of any service provider to perform its respective obligations under the applicable IR Agreements, public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact the Company's business and the ability of the Company to develop its products, risks relating to the extent and duration of the conflict in Eastern Europe and its impact on global markets, the volatility of global capital markets, political instability, the failure of the Company to attract and retain skilled personnel, unexpected development and production challenges, unanticipated costs and the risk factors set out under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's final long form non-offering prospectus dated March 31, 2021 available for review on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Additionally, the forward-looking statements and information contained herein are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding the expectation that the TSXV will provide approval for the IR Agreements in their current form, the expectation that the service providers will perform their respective obligations under the applicable IR Agreements, the accuracy of the Company's cost and timing expectations, that the Company will be successful in the deployment of its resources and personnel, that the Company's operations and ability to develop its products will not be adversely impacted by COVID-19, the Company's ability to research, develop and test its products within anticipated timelines, and that results of testing and development data will be consistent with anticipated results and estimates. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121751 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - King Global Ventures Inc. (TSXV: KING) (OTC: KGLDF) (FSE: 5LM1) (the "Company") provides an update on a planned "Maiden" drill program slated for the spring of 2022. King has filed its permit application and has engaged a diamond drill contractor for a Phase 1 drill program to test on 11 prospective targets on its Golden Nugget and Miss Pickle Properties in the New World Island and Coaker Gold Trends of Newfoundland. The program will test gold targets identified by King from previous prospecting work completed by Rubicon Minerals and King's recent exploration activities. The New World Island trend includes gold showings along a structural corridor that trends northeasterly along the southern shore of New World Island and includes the surface gold showings: Gina, Big Island, Red Fox, Hard Rock, and Big Oz and others. The Coaker trend includes three showings that are associated with the Coaker Porphyry in the shallows between Coaker and Dunnage Islands. Coaker Trend targets include Hy-Grade, Miss Pickle and Quinlan Island where anomalous gold values have been confirmed associated with quartz veins and associated alteration (McNeil, 2004) The GoldSpot Discoveries Corp. ("GoldSpot") (TSXV: SPOT) (OTCQX: SPOFF) Multi-Parameter Airborne Geophysics Survey (M-PASS) on King's Golden Nugget and Miss Pickle properties has been underway for several weeks, but adverse weather conditions have delayed the completion of the program. Results of the survey will be used in conjunction with GoldSpot Discoveries Corp. Artificial Intelligence data analysis to further target refinement in preparation for King's upcoming drill program. The final compilation of data from the program is intended to highlight new target areas for further ground exploration. King plans to follow up on new generated targets with a summer field program of mapping, grab, channel, and soil sampling. Robert Dzisiak, Chief Executive of King stated, "Our technical team has filed permit application in Newfoundland for a spring drill program. We have identified multiple high value drill targets on our Golden Nugget and Miss Pickle Properties. We are very excited about commencing our maiden drilling program and moving King forward after a significant ground exploration program. The final results of our nearly completed of the M-PASS Airborne Survey will provide significant additional data for refining our drill targets as well as identifying new target areas for ground exploration." Newfoundland Properties: King Global's projects include 100% interest in the following gold exploration projects: The Golden Nugget Property consists of a 10 km long contiguous land package (1,850 ha.) of siliciclastic sediments within beds of conglomerates and mafic materials. High grade gold occurs in all rock groups with channel samples having returned values of 50.2 g/t gold over 1.1 m, 87 g/t over 0.8 m and 29.2 g/t over 2.5 m. These high grade channels are contained within extensive areas of lower to medium grade gold values along the entire length of this 10 km structural corridor. The Miss Pickle Property (950 ha), is also north of the Davidsville Group and lies in another parallel structure to the Gold Nugget Property known as the Coaker Trend. Historical grab samples include 7.3 g/t gold over 2.05 m, 8.3 g/t gold over 1.9 m and 7.1 g/t gold over 1.2 m. The length weighed average of 26 channel samples across the zone is 3.2 g/t gold. A new gold zone with overall channel sampling of 0.30 g/t Au over 54 m, including 0.96 g/t Au over 7.5 m was discovered during the summer of 2021 (the zone is open in all directions). The Gold Boulder Prospect consists of four contiguous claim blocks (100 ha) and is located near the small town of Glenwood in Central Newfoundland. Geologically the property is underlain by siliciclastic sediments of the Davidsville Group which is the same geological belt which hosts New Found Gold's (NFG-TSX) high grade Queensway project. The entire prospect is bound on all side by New Found Gold Corp. The Chapel Island Property (1,300 ha) consists of 54 mining blocks located in north-east central Newfoundland, on Chapel Island within the Dunnage Tectonostratigraphic zone of the Appalachian Orogen. The Road zone consists of 4 historical showings containing numerous Au occurrences. These occurrences have returned individual assay results up to 85 g/t Au and 32 g/t Au. Chapel Island also has historical nickel showings grab samples up to 3.05% Ni. The Lost Swamp showing is comprised of a silicified and carbonate altered Coaker porphyry that contains very, fine grained arsenopyrite, with assay results returning values up to 149.8 g/t Au and 23.3 g/t Au. At the Swamp zone, a total of 35 channel samples were cut for a combined length of 35.9 m at 8 different locations in the old trench. The best results from the sampling were 5.2 m of 484 ppb Au and 0.9 m of 3.9 g/t Au. Qualified Person Andrew Lee Smith, P.Geo., is a Qualified Person under the definitions of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release. About King Global Ventures King Global Ventures Inc. (TSXV: KING) holds 100% interest in four highly prospective and previously explored gold exploration projects in the Gander Gold Belt Region of Newfoundland, Canada. King is supported by strategic investor Eric Sprott who owns a significant number of King's common shares. Additional information about King Ventures can be viewed at the Company's website at www.kingtsxv.com or at www.sedar.com. About GoldSpot Discoveries Corp. GoldSpot Discoveries Corp. (TSXV: SPOT) (OTCQX: SPOFF) is a technology company using artificial intelligence to revolutionize the future of global mineral exploration with a full suite of data and knowledge-driven SaaS tools and services. GoldSpot works with industry leaders across all commodity and deposit types to identify new exploration targets, develop cutting-edge technologies and, to strategically invest in mineral exploration companies. Our leading team of expert scientists merges geoscience and data science to deliver bespoke solutions that save time, reduce costs, and produce far more accurate results than ever before possible. On behalf of King Global Ventures Robert Dzisiak Chief Executive Officer 204-955-4803 ir@kingtsxv.com www.kingtsxv.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. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, the uncertainty of the financing, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in preparing such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove imprecise and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8052/121744_89711323d422ea63_001full.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121744 Gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for Stabroek Block increased to approximately 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent Discoveries at Barreleye, Lukanani and Patwa further underpin the development potential of the block Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) today announced an increase in the gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana to approximately 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent, up from the previous estimate of more than 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The updated resource estimate includes three new discoveries on the block at Barreleye, Lukanani and Patwa in addition to the Fangtooth and Lau Lau discoveries announced earlier this year. The Barreleye-1 well encountered approximately 230 feet (70 meters) of hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 52 feet (16 meters) is high quality oil bearing. The well was drilled in 3,840 feet (1,170 meters) of water and is located approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of the Liza Field. The Lukanani-1 well encountered 115 feet (35 meters) of hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 76 feet (23 meters) is high quality oil bearing. The well was drilled in water depth of 4,068 feet (1,240 meters) and is located in the southeastern part of the block, approximately 2 miles (3 kilometers) west of the Pluma discovery. The Patwa-1 well encountered 108 feet (33 meters) of hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled in 6,315 feet (1,925 meters) of water and is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) northwest of the Cataback-1 discovery. CEO John Hess said: "These new discoveries further demonstrate the extraordinary resource density of the Stabroek Block and will underpin our queue of future development opportunities. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government of Guyana and our partners to realize the remarkable potential of this world class resource for the benefit of all stakeholders." Hess and its co-venture partners currently have four sanctioned developments on the Stabroek Block. The Liza Phase 1 development, which began production in December 2019 utilizing the Liza Destiny floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) with a production capacity of approximately 120,000 gross barrels of oil per day, recently completed production optimization work that expanded its production capacity to more than 140,000 gross barrels of oil per day. It is currently producing approximately 130,000 gross barrels of oil per day and is expected to reach its full capacity in the second quarter. The Liza Phase 2 development, utilizing the Liza Unity FPSO, began production in February 2022 and is expected to reach its production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day by the third quarter. The third development at Payara is ahead of schedule and now expected to come online in late 2023 utilizing the Prosperity FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day. The fourth development, Yellowtail, is expected to come online in 2025, utilizing the ONE GUYANA FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 250,000 gross barrels of oil per day. At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million gross barrels of oil per day are expected to be online on the Stabroek Block in 2027, with the potential for up to 10 FPSOs to develop gross discovered recoverable resources. The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest. Hess Corporation is a leading global independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. More information on Hess Corporation is available at www.hess.com. Cautionary Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "guidance," "could," "may," "should," "would," "believe," "intend," "project," "plan," "predict," "will," "target" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are not historical in nature. Our forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, the expected number, timing and completion of our development projects and estimates of capital and operating costs for these projects; estimates of our crude oil and natural gas resources and levels of production; and our future financial and operational results. Forward-looking statements are based on our current understanding, assessments, estimates and projections of relevant factors and reasonable assumptions about the future. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our current projections or expectations of future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The following important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements: fluctuations in market prices or demand for crude oil, NGLs and natural gas, including due to COVID-19, competing or alternative energy products and political conditions and events; potential failures or delays in increasing oil and gas reserves, including as a result of unsuccessful exploration activity, drilling risks and unforeseen reservoir conditions, and in achieving expected production levels; changes in laws, regulations and governmental actions applicable to our business, including legislative and regulatory initiatives regarding environmental concerns, such as measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions and flaring, fracking bans as well as restrictions on oil and gas leases; the ability of our contractual counterparties to satisfy their obligations to us, including the operation of joint ventures which we may not control and exposure to decommissioning liabilities for divested assets in the event the current or future owners are unable to perform; unexpected changes in technical requirements for constructing, modifying or operating exploration and production facilities and/or the inability to timely obtain or maintain necessary permits; potential disruption or interruption of our operations due to catastrophic events, including COVID-19 or climate change; and other factors described in Item 1A-Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and any additional risks described in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As and when made, we believe that our forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, given these risks and uncertainties, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements since such statements speak only as of the date when made and there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will occur and actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement we make. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. We use certain terms in this release relating to resources other than proved reserves, such as unproved reserves or resources. Investors are urged to consider closely the oil and gas disclosures in Hess Corporation's Form 10-K, File No. 1-1204, available from Hess Corporation, 1185 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036 c/o Corporate Secretary and on our website at www.hess.com. You can also obtain this form from the SEC on the EDGAR system. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220425006048/en/ Contacts: Investor Contact: Jay Wilson (212) 536-8940 jrwilson@hess.com Media Contact: Lorrie Hecker (212) 536-8250 lhecker@hess.com TORONTO and GATINEAU, Quebec, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Converge Technology Solutions Corp. ("Converge" or "the Company") (TSX:CTS) (FSE:0ZB) (OTCQX:CTSDF) is pleased to announce that it will release the results for its first quarter for the three month period ended March 31st, 2022 on Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 after market close. Subsequently, the Company will hold a conference call on Wednesday, May 11th, 2022, at 8:00 am EST hosted by Shaun Maine, Chief Executive Officer and Matt Smith, Interim Chief Financial Officer. A question and answer session will follow the corporate update. Conference Call Details: Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2022 Time: 8:00 AM Eastern Time Participant Dial-in Details: Webcast Link - https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/58mbfnht Toll Free - North America (+1) 888 708 0720 Toll Free - International (929) 517 9011 Germany - 0800 181 5287 United Kingdom - 0800 028 8438 Conference ID: 5877301 Recording Playback Numbers: Toll Free - (855) 859 2056 Alternative Number - (404) 537 3406 Conference ID: 5877301 Expiry Date: May 18th, 2022 A live audio webcast accompanied by presentation slides and archive of the conference call will be available by visiting the Company's website at https://convergetp.com/investor-relations/ . Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure time for any software download that may be needed to hear the webcast. About Converge Converge Technology Solutions Corp. is a software-enabled IT & Cloud Solutions provider focused on delivering industry-leading solutions and services. Converge's global solution approach delivers advanced analytics, application modernization, cloud, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and digital workplace offerings to clients across various industries. The Company supports these solutions with advisory, implementation, and managed services expertise across all major IT vendors in the marketplace. This multi-faceted approach enables Converge to address the unique business and technology requirements for all clients in the public and private sectors. For more information, visit convergetp.com. High River, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited (TSXV: WI) ("WICC" or "Western") announces that it has filed its Q4 / Year-End Financial Statements and MD&A on SEDAR, including a new section in the MD&A that provides market value assessments of Western's investment portfolio also known as Net Asset Value. In a message to shareholders, WICC CEO Scott Tannas provided the following commentary: "I invite all shareholders to review our disclosure around estimates of the fair market value of our assets. The valuation work to provide this information to shareholders was inspired by the recent sale of a 39.2% interest in GlassMasters, where the purchaser paid a significantly higher per share price than the carrying value on our books. We followed the same practice as other private equity firms to value private assets and estimate the unrecorded gain of our investments at year-end 2021 to be $11.3 million. Together with our "book" value, this produces an estimated net asset value ("NAV") of 82 cents per share for Western, a number that is of considerable interest to shareholders. Having now produced the information, we will update the disclosure (up or down) annually, or sooner if circumstances warrant. 2021 was a roller coaster year, with three of our five companies recording revenue gains. Consumer demand rose steadily, and the trend continues into 2022. Supply chain issues became a major concern during the year. While we set out to achieve a record setting year for net income, a combination of one-time negative events at Foothills pulled our 2021 annual income back to just above break even. Nonetheless, we continued to build value at all our companies and are confident that 2022 will yield a record year of profitability. While we anticipate continued instability within supply chains, our management teams (including Foothills) have made the required adjustments and are better prepared to profitably respond to growing consumer demand in the coming year. After just four months, there is plenty of evidence to say we are on track for a much stronger financial result in 2022. Portfolio Report - Fortress Insurance Company during 2021 saw gross written premiums triple over the prior year, finishing at $5.4 million. Equally impressive was the claims ratio for 2021 at 36%, well below the industry average. Our early 2022 numbers continue to grow, including our first $1 million sales month in March. With the continued growth in sales and key distribution alliances, Fortress is approaching the break even point in its operations, well ahead of what CEO Shafeen Mawani and his team had planned. Our little insurance company continues to add to its book of policies and premiums through a growing network of western Canadian broker partners. Fortress has applied for registration in Ontario, effectively doubling the market opportunities. The thesis we had adopted in 2019 has been proven correct - there is a place in the market for a small, nimble insurance provider - and Fortress has established itself. 2022 will be a key year for the Fortress team, as they execute on their plan to exceed $10 million in gross written premiums. - The story of a successful turnaround at GlassMasters continued in 2021. Despite Covid restrictions and significant inventory challenges, Roger Tulk and the team posted the best sales and EBITDA results since acquisition. The new Regina store performed better than expected and same store sales growth was achieved throughout GlassMasters' ten-store retail network and its four ARG wholesale locations. Achieving this result during industry-wide shortages of auto glass is a testament to the skill and savvy of the leadership team at GlassMasters. Further evidence of this will show in 2022, thanks to a wise inventory order that was not without initial risk, and has now set the stage for another record-breaking year. - Ocean Sales continues to increase their sales volumes toward pre-pandemic levels thanks in large part to their creativity and determination to find new sales channels for their line up of household consumer products. Online sales have been a game changer for the company. Their partnership with a big box retailer continued to be steady, while the consumer show and public event business is finally back in full swing in 2022 after two years of significant reduction in revenue as they awaited removal of restrictions on large public events. After a very large loss in 2020, Ocean Sales delivered a respectable profit in 2021 - a remarkable multi million-dollar turnaround. It must be noted that this company would not have been able to survive the pandemic without the assistance of governments, forbearance of bankers, patience of business partners, and loyalty and dedication of the team members. There are some supply chain challenges ahead with much of Ocean Sales product inventory shipping from China. The Ocean Sales team has emerged from the past two years stronger than ever. - Sales at Foothills Creamery were down by 5% over 2020, the result of a planned unwinding of an unprofitable private label butter contract. We started the year with high hopes and a bright new CEO at the helm. However, the year was marked by a number of surprises - sadly more negative than positive ones. The bright spots were around the success of ice cream sales both retail and wholesale. New CEO Bill McKenzie was quick to bring additional talent to the leadership ranks at the company, bolstering sales and accounting / finance teams. Properly resourced, the sales team filled the summer order book to record levels. However, production issues and ingredient shortages created unfulfilled orders and unexpected costs. The expanded finance team found some cut-off errors that created some one-time adjustments in 2021 and prior years. As the year went on, it became clear that the priority for 2021 was to review and improve processes, prioritize products, and repair or replace equipment to ensure Foothills could reliably respond to the increasing demand for its quality products in 2022 and beyond. The shareholder group at Foothills is very impressed with the work that was done by the leadership team. We are satisfied that the progress of Foothills in 2022 will follow a more stable and predictable path, with a corresponding return to profitability. - Despite added costs for PPE and other required items, Golden Health Care continued to provide a steady return to shareholders. The outstanding care given to residents continued throughout 2021, with the Golden team maintaining its successful record of protecting their residents from COVID-19 through the pandemic, including a 100% recovery rate for residents in their care. We continue to be in awe of the dedication of the management and staff at this organization. We also gratefully acknowledge that the past two years of healthcare success has been achieved by efforts above and beyond what would normally be expected of employees. Outlook As we enter the fifth month of 2022, we are monitoring all our investees closely, and confirm that business across the portfolio is off to a strong start to the year. While we know risks remain, we believe our teams are adequately resourced and working toward a solid combined financial result for Western in 2022. I look forward to reporting on our progress in the coming weeks and months." About The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited Western is a unique publicly traded, private equity company founded by a group of successful Western Canadian businesspeople, and dedicated to building and maintaining ownership in successful Western Canadian companies, and helping them to grow. Western's shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol WI. For more information on Western, please visit its website at www.winv.ca CONTACT INFORMATION - The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited Scott Tannas President and Chief Executive Officer (403) 652-2663 stannas@winv.ca Advisory This news release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements, including without limitation, statements pertaining to future plans, acquisitions, financings and returns. Statements containing the words: 'believes', 'intends', 'expects', 'plans', 'seeks' and 'anticipates' and any other words of similar meaning are forward-looking. All statements included herein involve various risks and uncertainties because they relate to future events and circumstances beyond Western's control. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in Western's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Any forward looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Western does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. 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/121785 Uniting the forces of goodness for global peace and sustainability LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2022) has declared the entire month of April as International Month of Conscience and has been organizing a series of forums and online activities with various organizations around the world in the hope of awakening the conscience in global citizens and uniting them to apply their conscience and do more good deeds to save the world in crisis and move it towards sustainable development. FOWPAL invites people around the globe to endorse the " Declarations for Human Rights of World Citizens and Peace " and two declarations of conscience -the "Declaration of International Day of Conscience" and "Declaration for the Movement of An Era of Conscience"-in order to inject powerful positive energy into the Earth to help stabilize the world. Peace is everyone's holy wish. When the light of goodness is illuminated in everyone's heart, the positive energy of conscience spreads and connects global citizens, forging a tremendous force for action to change the world for the better and make global sustainability possible. For over two decades, Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, president of FOWPAL , has led delegates from FOWPAL, the ECOSOC-accredited NGO Association of World Citizens(Tai Ji Men) to visit 101 countries on six continents, advocating the idea of love and peace around the world and promoting the culture of peace with love and conscience. They have been recognized as "International Ambassadors of Peace and Goodwill." Kiribati's Ambassador to the UN Teburoro Tito, who is also a former president of Kiribati, praised Dr. Hong as "modern-day Confucius." Dr. Hong led the delegates to travel the world, and they have volunteered their time and self-funded these trips to foster peace and positivity, building friendships with people in numerous countries, touching the hearts of countless individuals, and adding chapter after chapter of heartwarming true stories to their own lives and the lives of others. In 2018, in front of the Clock Tower of the medieval citadel in Sighi?oara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Romania, delegates from the three organizations sang the "Love and Peace Song" to give hope and encouragement to global citizens while conveying their selfless love for the world. Those who heard them singing were touched, and many were moved to tears and embraced the delegates warmly. "When you started singing, it gave me goosebumps," said Sandra Barbulescu , an English language teacher in Romania, "I've always wanted to give the idea of love and peace and unity and love, mostly. So when I saw you doing this, and so many people from far away . . . I understand that you are volunteers, so it really really impressed me. And you have so beautiful voices." With tears in her eyes, she added, "They were tears of joy. You really touched my heart. Thank you for coming here." On a beautiful evening in the summer of 2005, delegates from the three organizations gave a cultural performance at the square in front of the Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio in Rome, Italy, transcending language and cultural barriers and allowing the sisters there, who had not danced in many years, to relax and dance to the beautiful music presented by the delegation. Daniela Sabatini , an Italian composer, spoke of the sisters' feedback about the event: "I am deeply touched of this. They told me that for many many years, they don't dance. This evening, they are very happy like children." Sabatini described the song as "music from heaven" making everyone in the audience feel as if they were "in the sky near God." In August 2016, delegates from the three organizations presented cultural performances in the 52nd International Folklore Festival of Gulpilhares in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, with over 2,000 people in attendance. Delfim Manuel de Sousa , director of cultural affairs of Vila Nova de Gaia, said that his heart was filled with love and caring after the delegation's journey of peace to his city. He stated that he wished to give each member of the group a bear hug because they are more than just friends to him. In 2005, during the "World Summit of Love and Peace" hosted by FOWPAL in New York, Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze declared September 15 as the International Love and Peace Day. The then President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez attended the summit and was the first head of state to sign the declaration. He and Dr. Hong jointly turned the "Key to the World," symbolizing the activation of more energy of love and peace in the world. On that occasion, President Fernandez rang the " Bell of World Peace and Love ," made a wish for peace, and said, "For me, it's been a great experience." "What you are projecting, what you are disseminating around the world is really what the world needs. So instead of violence, instead of hatred, instead of exclusion, I think we should embrace each other as brothers and sisters," he added. In 2008, when Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela were on the brink of war, President Fernandez took the initiative to mediate a peace agreement among the three countries, successfully defusing a potential war, saving millions of people from the scourge of war, fulfilling his wish for peace when ringing the Bell. In 2002, FOWPAL was invited to visit various countries in West Africa. The then President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade rang the " Bell of World Peace and Love ," stating that "Senegal, its people, its government and president launch a call to all women and men of the world to build and consolidate peace in the world." In 2008, President Wade also turned the wish he made when ringing the Bell into actions by calling for unity and peace in the African region. In March 2008, President Wade coordinated and successfully promoted the signing of a peace agreement between the heads of state of Sudan and Chad, ending a five-year war between the two neighboring countries and saving countless lives. The efforts of these presidents to prevent wars have been widely lauded. Over the years, Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze has led FOWPAL, AWC, and Tai Ji Men to promote a culture of peace with love and conscience around the world. The three organizations initiated the movement of An Era of Conscience in 2014. They also launched a global endorsement campaign for the Declaration for the Movement of An Era of Conscience ; to date, people in 195 nations have endorsed it. Beginning in 2018, FOWPAL collaborated with various Permanent Missions to the United Nations on a draft resolution titled "Promoting the Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience." In 2019, Dr. Hong launched a global endorsement campaign for the Declaration of International Day of Conscience , which has been endorsed by people from 195 countries. On July 25, 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution "Promoting the Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience, designating April 5 as the International Day of Conscience . In addition to the aforementioned two declarations of conscience, Dr. Hong also proclaimed several significant declarations, including "Love of the World, A Declaration of Peace," "Peace Declaration," "Declaration of Human Rights for World Citizens," and "Declaration of International Love and Peace Day." Dr. Hong launched global endorsement campaigns for these four declarations, known collectively as the " Declarations for Human Rights of World Citizens and Peace ,' which have been endorsed by more than 3.73 million people from 173 nations. As Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze stated in his message for the third International Day of Conscience, "Currently, the world situation is precarious, with the pandemic, war, and many unforeseeable natural and man-made disasters claiming countless lives and destroying homes, plunging the whole world into fear and anxiety." "The key to crisis resolution lies in conscience," Dr. Hong remarked, adding that only by awakening everyone's conscience and encouraging them to act in accordance with their conscience will we be able to stop war, end the pandemic, heal the wounds of the Earth and all living things, and lead the world toward peace. The world was originally very beautiful; however, due to the increasingly advanced technology, there has been an imbalance in people's hearts and disorder in the world, causing innocent and good hearts to gradually change. While previous problems have yet to be resolved, new ones are emerging, and now we must work together and take action for peace together immediately. FOWPAL invites everyone to endorse the aforementioned declarations to build a new culture of peace around the world, hoping that the butterfly effect of goodness will continue to expand globally, and that everyone will return to a peaceful world where there is no pain, no fear, no war, and no suffering. About the Federation of World Peace and Love: Established in 2000 in the United States by Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, FOWPAL is an international love and peace organization, with members from around the world. Guided by the principle of "Changing the world for the better starting with one good thought," it aims to promote world peace and love through various activities such as world summits of love and peace, ceremonies of ringing the "Bell of World Peace and Love ," and cultural exchange performances . To date, 399 prominent figures from 122 countries have rung the Bell, made their wishes for love and peace, and pledged to work for the world's sustainable future. Among them are 43 heads of state and government, seven Nobel Peace Prize laureates, UN ambassadors, and other visionary leaders. Media Contact: Lily Chen Representative info@fowpal.org 626-202-5268 www.fowpal.org A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d498e29f-17df-4f8c-b368-7e1a38f14107 The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress. Conjura, a Dublin, Ireland-based e-commerce data analytics platform, raised 15m in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Act Venture Capital and MiddleGame Ventures, with participation from Tribal VC. The company intends to use the capital to enhance its e-commerce solutions, to broaden its UK and Ireland operations and to expand into several international markets. Led by Fran Quilty, CEO and co-founder, Conjura provides an e-commerce data analytics platform by equipping businesses of all sizes with enhanced visibility over their entire operations on a single cloud-based platform, as opposed to multiple and disconnected tools. Its real-time analysis combines data from fulfillment, warehousing, and supply chain sources, with online/offline sales and marketplace transactions and customer metrics to provide automated insights and recommendations across every aspect of e-commerce to accelerate overall business performance. Companies are able to compare their business performance against industry standards, receive deep-dive reporting to highlight their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth, as well as make smart decisions across all departments based on a 360-degree view of their operations. Conjura integrates with all leading e-commerce tools and systems, providing a scalable and fully integrated data infrastructure for businesses. The company is working with fast-growing brands such Naturecan, Wild, Saint+Sofia, Percival, CleanCo, across multiple e-commerce sectors. FinSMEs 26/04/2022 Mirai Flight, a London, UK-based provider of a service for instant booking of charter flights, raised $3M in funding. The round was led by Xploration Capital, whose Managing Partner Igor Kim will join the Board of Directors. The company intends to use the funds to use the funds to scale the service in the UK, Europe, United Arab Emirates, and the CIS states, marketing, and platform development. Led by CEO Irakli Litanishvili, Mirai Flights is a service for booking private jets in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Central Asia. The service helps clients to choose a suitable time and place of departure with an option to select the class of the aircraft, price, number of passengers, comfort level and instant payment method. Mirai Flights cooperates with 8 private airlines from the CIS, Germany, Malta, and Romania, adding 3-5 airlines every month to the service. Today, the app is available in 63 countries and has over 200 active users. FinSMEs 26/04/2022 QuotaPath, a Philadelphia, PA and Austin, Texas-based commissions tracking and automation solution for sales and revenue teams, raised $41m in Series B funding. The round led by Tribe Capital, with participation from existing investors Insight Partners, ATX Venture Partners, Stage 2 Capital and Integr8d Capital. The company intends to use the funds to expand its global team, deepen its investment in technical strategy, expand its product portfolio, providing its paid users with more tools to track, automate and optimize compensation strategies, and integrate with CRMs, ERPs and payroll software. Co-founded by CEO AJ Bruno, Eric Heydenberk and Cole Evetts, QuotaPath provides a commissions tracking and automation solution for sales and revenue teams across all industries. The company plans to build an ecosystem of partners that includes integrations with additional CRMs, ERP and payroll programs. This will allow the platform to house the entire commission process, beginning with plan modeling and ending in payment of commissions. In addition to technical upgrades and integration plans later this year, QuotaPath will focus on partnering with customers on compensation plan strategy and design. FinSMEs 26/04/2022 Xinvento, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based biotech company, raised a Seed funding of undisclosed amount. Backers included Ed Kaye, John Maraganore, David Meeker, Hans Schikan, James Shannon, Onno van de Stolpe, Daniel de Boer and Dinko Valerio. The company intends to use the funds to design and test its proprietary molecules in the relevant pre-clinical models to identify potential drug candidates. Led by CEO Claudine van der Sande, Xinvento aims to alleviate the difficulties associated with Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI) by developing an effective treatment to overcome the current difficulties of limited effective treatment options available to patients. Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a rare disease characterized by hypoglycemia (hypos) resulting from an over-secretion of insulin and is the most frequent cause of severe, random, and persistent hypos in newborns and children. Without proper and immediate treatment to prevent hypos, the patient may suffer seizures, coma, permanent brain damage, or even death. Piet Wigerinck, a translational chemistry expert, former CSO of Galapagos, is the scientific co-founder leading the R&D efforts of the company. FinSMEs 26/04/2022 Namibia has made significant progress through project announcements, the signing of deals and adjusted policies to kickstart a green hydrogen boom both domestically and across the southern African region. Rich with renewable energy resources and focused on accelerating energy access and economic growth, the country has partnered with international and regional stakeholders to develop large-scale green hydrogen facilities that will be used both domestically and regionally. But why has this resource emerged as a point of focus in Namibia and what will its development bring? This very concept was the topic of discussion during a green hydrogen panel at the Namibia International Energy Conference in Windhoek on Thursday April 21. Moderated by Sophie Masipa, Co-Founder, Mwungano ESG, speakers on the panel included James Mynupe, Presidential Economic Advisor, Namibian Presidency; Ipeleng Selele, Group CEO, RRS Trade and Investment; Helena-Tashiya Walenga, Business and Project Developer, HDF Energy Namibia; and Dr Jane Olwoch Executive Director, Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management. During the session, the panel brought attention to why green hydrogen is so important for Namibia. Speakers discussed how the country has positioned itself as an attractive green hydrogen destination and what steps need to be taken to ensure the country is now competitive for green hydrogen development. It is not just for ensuring Namibia gets on a green or just transition, but we wanted to use this as an opportunity. There is a need for Namibia to change its economic structure. We are very much an export driven economy, exporting raw materials. We really want to start focusing on the manufacturing aspects of our economy, stated Mynupe, adding that, We are looking at crafting a whole new synthetic fuels act that will be one of the most competitive around the world. Countries like the US are considering a post-tax credit mechanism that could lower their cost of hydrogen from $3.09 to below a dollar. Even though Namibia will have a superior resource, just that mechanism or tax act reduces our competitiveness. For Africans looking at developing this industry, you have to have an enabling environment. Extending on Mynupes notion that green hydrogen represents an opportunity in Namibia, both Walenga and Selele emphasized how the resource can be used to tackle energy poverty as well as intermittency challenges associated with renewable technologies including wind and solar. According to Walenga, We develop strategic technologies such as gas-to-power and power-to-power which can be utilized in solving some of the challenges we have with regards to electricity. Most of the time we look to intermittent energy resources because they are cheap. But it is just a matter of time when wind and solar becomes a challenge because of their intermittency. The future is now. For so long hydrogen was considered for 2030 or beyond, but things are moving fast, and the youth are onboard. We must Namibianize and localize as much as possible. Selele added that, What is critical is the skills development. What we did and will continue to do is be in tune with our realities. While we understand the enablers, it is important that we are in tune with the challenges we are facing. We have inequality and declining economic growth; these issues are being compiled. Lets be in tune with our realities so when we negotiate terms they will be in line with our realities. Meanwhile, with a global focus having been placed on climate change mitigation and the role new technologies such as green hydrogen will play, the panel discussed what needs to be done to ensure that adequate and comprehensive information is available regarding Africas climate crisis, energy transition and socioeconomic needs. In this respect, Olwoch emphasized the need for data, particularly regarding the development of green hydrogen in countries such as Namibia. We need data, data that is regular, timely and produced in the best possible way and that is enough to get what we have to do. Africa can be described as a data poor continent. This is what we must focus on regarding the advancement of green hydrogen, stated Olwoch, adding that, Data has to be collected locally and archived and processed and reprocessed. My focus is on research and capacity development when it comes to green hydrogen. Our universities have inadequate funding. Fund researchers and institutions so that we can fund our own future using our own data. We must strengthen innovation as we go into this industrial revolution. There is a gap we must fill and that is strengthening research. The panel on green hydrogen serves as a form of prelude to discussions expected to be held at the continents premier energy event, African Energy Week (AEW) 2022 set to take place from October 18-21 in Cape Town. AEW 2022 will hold a dedicated Hydrogen Summit, expanding on the very discussions held during the Namibia International Energy Conference this week. The Hydrogen Summit will focus on emerging green hydrogen destinations including Namibia, and represents the ideal platform for new deals to be signed that will fast track Africas green hydrogen boom. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Hong Kong: Patrick Nip views home vaccination The citywide home vaccination service began today. Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip visited Siu Sai Wan Estate to inspect the door-to-door vaccination process for elderly people. Three elderly people, aged 75 to 94, were the first to benefit after the expansion of the service across Hong Kong. The vaccination process was carried out smoothly. There were also volunteers on-site to assist. Mr Nip said as of last night, about 7,900 people had registered for the service since bookings started a week ago. There were 20 teams from various medical organisations and groups today providing door-to-door vaccinations in Eastern District. He said the bureau will launch the door-to-door vaccination service in Sai Kung District on Thursday and will progressively increase the daily number of outreach teams to speed up the progress of vaccination. Mr Nip appealed to people with special needs, adopting a wait-and-see attitude, to register as early as possible. Unvaccinated elderly persons aged 70 or above and persons with impaired mobility due to illness or physical disability can register for the free door-to-door Sinovac vaccination service online or by calling 5688 5234. The service is being rolled out by district, with four or five districts being served each week. The outreach teams will contact the applicants before they arrive and staff will wear a green uniform shirt while on duty for easy identification. This story has been published on: 2022-04-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China to work with international community for implementation of Global Security Initiative: FM Xinhua) 10:09, April 26, 2022 BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with the international community to make sure the Global Security Initiative takes root and bears fruit to make the world more peaceful, secure and prosperous, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. "The initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, contributes Chinese wisdom to make up for the human peace deficit and provides Chinese solution to cope with international security challenges," Wang said in a bylined article carried by People's Daily published Sunday. Wang said, the initiative responds to the urgent need of the international community to maintain world peace and prevent conflicts and wars, conforms to the common pursuit of all countries in the world to uphold multilateralism and maintain international solidarity, and responds to the common aspiration of people from all countries to overcome difficulties and create a better post-pandemic world. With a complete system and rich connotation, this initiative is an important application achievement of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy in the field of international security, and it is also a sublation and transcendence of Western geopolitical security theory, Wang said. The Global Security Initiative champions commitments in six areas, that is, to stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security; stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation; stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. Wang added that the initiative is also rooted in the diplomatic tradition and wisdom with unique Chinese characteristics. As a responsible major country, China has always upheld the banner of peace, development, and win-win cooperation, made positive contributions to safeguarding global peace and security, and set an example of a major country. Wang introduced the major propositions and policy objectives proposed by China to fully implement the Global Security Initiative: -- Firmly upholding the authority and status of the United Nations and jointly practicing the true multilateralism; -- Staying committed to the general direction of promoting peace talks and jointly working for political solutions to hotspot issues; -- Coordinating efforts to address security threats in both traditional and non-traditional areas and working together to improve the global security governance system; -- Taking into account both development and security, and jointly promoting strong recovery of the world economy; -- Striving for building a new regional security framework and jointly safeguarding peace and stability in Asia. Wang noted that China is ready to join hands with all peace-loving and development-oriented countries and people to implement the Global Security Initiative, blaze a path toward lasting peace and universal security, and forge a strong synergy to build a community with a shared future for humanity. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Following the installation of a whole body scanning facility at the SSR International Airport, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) has detected its first case of suspected corporeal concealment of drugs. The Customs Anti-Narcotics Section (CANS) of the MRA intercepted two passengers at the SSR International Airport, on Friday 22 April 2022. They arrived in Mauritius on board Kenya Airways flight KQ 270 from Nairobi, Kenya. The two passengers aged 38 and 46 respectively, were leaving through the Green Channel when they were intercepted by MRA CANS officers. The two passengers were subject to a body search and an examination of their luggage was carried out, but nothing incriminating was found. A body scan was eventually, carried out on both passengers and their body scanning images revealed the presence of foreign bodies in their stomachs, suspected to be dangerous drugs. Upon questioning, both passengers confessed having swallowed a number of pellets each. The passengers were handed over to ADSU for medical examination and follow up. After the necessary medical examination, the two passengers purged 119 pellets of drug suspected to be heroin. Members of the public are reminded that they may report suspected drug cases/ illicit activities to the MRA through the MRA Stop Drug Platform (www.mra.mu) or by calling on the Hotline 8958. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires A former Oregon State University faculty member accused of committing multiple sex crimes in Virginia was taken into custody Wednesday, April 20 in preparation for extradition. The Benton County Sheriffs Office arrested Brett Merrick Tyler, 66, on suspicion of being a fugitive from justice. According to Oregons online court database, Tyler is to be held in custody until he is extradited to Virginia. Tyler was the director of the Center for Quantitative Life Sciences at OSU. He started working at the university in January 2012 and resigned from the university, effective Nov. 30, 2021. According to court documents, Tyler is accused of two counts of forcible sodomy, two counts of taking indecent liberties with children and one count of aggravated sexual battery. Court documents allege the victim was younger than 13. The alleged crimes are said to have taken place in Virginia. Tyler was booked into Benton County Jail on Oct. 7, 2021 for reportedly being a fugitive of justice, according to court paperwork, due to the out-of-state sex crime accusations. In October, Montgomery County Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt told Mid-Valley Media the crimes are alleged to have been committed between Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2009, in Montgomery County. Paperwork filed with Benton County Circuit Court this week shed more light on the accusations. The alleged abuse According to an affidavit from an officer with the Blacksburg Police Department, on Aug. 12, 2021, the victim of Tylers alleged crimes came forward to follow up on a previous report he had made regarding sexual abuse accusations against Tyler. The victim said he was a child living in Blacksburg, Virginia at the time of the incidents. 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 affidavit explains that Tyler had frequent access to the victim and the alleged abuse took place over multiple years. After deciding to confront Tyler, the victim told police Tyler confessed to him about the alleged abuse. This conversation took place during two separate occasions, according to the affidavit, and the victim recorded the second instance, reportedly provided police with the recording. The arrest and extradition Montgomery County Magistrate Robert Keller issued a warrant for Tylers arrest Oct. 7. After local authorities arrested Tyler, he posted bail and was released. He returned into custody following an April 20 court hearing in which Benton County Circuit Court Judge Joan Demarest ordered Tyler to be held in jail until he is extradited to Virginia. The extradition has required the requests and approval of multiple agencies. On Dec. 9, Pettitt submitted an application to Ralph Northam, who was governor of Virginia at the time, for the return of Tyler. On Jan. 10, in a letter to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Northam respectfully demanded that Tyler be apprehended and delivered to the state of Virginia. Three days later on Jan. 13, Brown signed a warrant authorizing and commanding that Tyler be taken into custody and delivered to Virginia. According to BCSO Undersheriff Don Rogers, Tyler wasnt taken back into custody in preparation for extradition until April simply because he didnt have his extradition court hearing until April 20. The department does not share details or dates regarding extradition due to safety concerns, Roger said in an email. Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_ Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 8 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 Lebanon Fire District performed a low-angle rope rescue early Tuesday morning, April 26 following a vehicle crash, according to a news release. At around 6:30 a.m., crews responded to reports of a vehicle crash down the embankment of the Santiam River, just off of Berlin Road. The first responders on site made contact with the driver, who was uninjured, according to LFD. The driver was unable to exit his car because of a large oak branch that pinned the driver door shut. Rescue 31 was called to the scene, and the low-angle rescue crews were able to safely remove the driver through the passenger side door. They transported the driver up the embankment using a Stokes litter, the basket often seen in hillside rescues, according to the news release. The rescue team consisted of two rope technicians and one operations personnel. Medics evaluated the driver, who decided he did not need transportation to a hospital. Crews left the driver in the care of some family members, fire officials said. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 English French Voltalia (Euronext Paris, ISIN code: FR0011995588), an international player in renewable energies, announces that it has won two solar sites located in the Oriental region for a total of 117 megawatts In 2021 the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development and MASEN, the agency in charge of implementing the national renewable energy strategy, jointly launched a call for tenders for an allocation programme for seven sites, all of which qualify for the development of photovoltaic projects thanks to land rights and connection to the national grid. This programme aims to accelerate the development of private solar projects within the framework of Law 58-15 on renewable energy in Morocco. In this context, Voltalia was awarded the largest volume with 117 megawatts out of a total of 400 megawatts offered, spread over two sites: Ain Beni Mathar (69 megawatts) and Guercif (48 megawatts). These two sites will cover the energy needs equivalent to the annual consumption of 290,000 inhabitants. Construction is scheduled to start at the end of 2023. Revenues will be guaranteed by long-term electricity sales contracts, to be concluded with private customers connected to the public electricity grid. Gaining these sites consolidates Voltalia's presence in Morocco. In operation since 2015, Voltalia's Moroccan team is dedicated to supporting the national energy transition, particularly through the supply of renewable energy to companies located in the country. To date, Voltalia has nearly 100 megawatts of authorised projects, mainly in wind and hydro-electricity, and more than 400 megawatts under development, mainly solar. "We are very pleased to have won these sites in Morocco. These future photovoltaic power plants will contribute to the decarbonisation of energy by avoiding the emission of approximately 200,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere," said Sebastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia. Next on the agenda: Annual General Meeting 2022, on May 17, 2022 at 3 pm CET About Voltalia (www.voltalia.com) Voltalia is an international player in the renewable energy sector. The Group produces and sells electricity generated from wind, solar, hydraulic, biomass and storage facilities that it owns and operates. Voltalia has generating capacity in operation and under construction of more than 2 GW and a portfolio of projects under development representing total capacity of 11.1 GW. Voltalia is also a service provider and supports its investor clients in renewable energy projects during all phases, from design to operation and maintenance. As a pioneer in the corporate market, Voltalia provides a global offer to private companies, ranging from the supply of green electricity and energy efficiency services to the local production of their own electricity. The Group has more than 1,300 employees and is present in 20 countries on 3 continents and is able to act worldwide on behalf of its clients. Voltalia is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, compartment B (FR0011995588 VLTSA) and is part of the Enternext Tech 40 and CAC Mid & Small indices. The Group is also included in the Gaia-Index, an index for socially responsible midcaps. Loan Duong, Head of Communications & Investor relations Email: invest@voltalia.com T. +33 (0)1 81 70 37 00 Actifin Press Contact: Jennifer Jullia jjullia@actifin.fr . T. +33 (0)1 56 88 11 11 Attachment ST. LOUIS, April 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Generation USA has partnered with the University of Missouri-St. Louis to bring tuition-free access to career training tech bootcamps in the St. Louis community. The Junior Full Stack Developer Program, which opens its first cohort on May 18, is made possible by the Verizon Skill Forward Initiative, a workforce development program designed in partnership with Generation USA. The program provides free online training and assists workers who are unemployed, underemployed, facing job displacement due to automation or further challenged by the pandemic. "We are excited to announce that the University of Missouri-St. Louis is entering a new partnership with Verizon and Generation USA to serve the St. Louis community and beyond by providing accessible opportunities for training while opening a nontraditional pathway into the IT field," said Natissia Small, vice provost for access, academic support, and workforce integration in Academic Affairs at the University of Missouri-St Louis. "Our collaborative workforce integration efforts will continue to demonstrate a commitment to inclusive prosperity while providing unique opportunities in partnership with corporations like Verizon/Generation USA, who are committed to our mission of transforming lives and supporting economic growth in this region." As part of the Verizon Skill Forward initiative, Generation USA and USML will offer students the opportunity to learn all they need to be successful as a Junior Full Stack Java Developer - from the technical knowledge to the soft skills that will help them achieve their potential. Verizon Skill Forward is a key initiative of Citizen Verizon, the company's responsible business plan. "With the rapid growth in technology, and more on the horizon, employers and governments are looking for innovative ways to increase the technology workforce," said UMSL Professor Cezary Janikow, who chairs the Department of Computer Science. "Partnerships between education and business are the trending solutions, already in existence in some other countries. At UMSL, Computer Science is standing up to the challenge to participate in the new workforce development. We are also revising our curricula to provide more and better opportunities to integrate such training with work and further education opportunities." "We're thrilled to partner with UMSL to empower its students to create a unique new pathway to career success," said Richard Clemmon, Generation USA COO. "These programs will not only provide students with the knowledge and skills needed for jobs in the digital world but, through mentorship and social support services, they'll have the opportunity to learn from others who have been in their shoes before." In addition to the Junior Full Stack Developer program, Generation offers a myriad of online reskilling programs that provide free resources and access to multiple career pathways and full-time employment opportunities in high-demand technology sectors. For more information on the program or to apply, prospective participants and interested employers can visit the information site here. About Generation Generation is a nonprofit that transforms education to employment systems to prepare, place and support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible. The global pandemic has led to an unprecedented surge in unemployment. Even before the pandemic, more than 75 million young adults were out of work globally and three times as many were underemployed and 375 million workers of all ages needed to learn new skills by 2030. At the same time, certain jobs remain in high demand and 40 percent of employers say a skills shortage leaves them with entry-level vacancies. To date, more than 38,000 people have graduated from Generation programs, which prepare them for meaningful careers in 14 countries. Generation works with more than 3,900 employer partners and many implementation partners and funders. For more, visit usa.generation.org. About UMSL The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) is the largest public research university in eastern Missouri, and the third-largest in the state, priding itself on creating greater access to higher education and opportunity for its nearly 16,000 diverse students. UMSL confers more than 3,000 degrees annually and offers a wide range of baccalaureate and master's degrees, two education specialist degrees and 17 doctoral degrees, including the only professional doctor of optometry program in Missouri. Established in 1963 as the fourth campus of the University of Missouri System, UMSL boasts more than 108,000 alumni, 73 percent of whom live and work in the St. Louis region. About Citizen Verizon Citizen Verizon is the company's responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement. Citizen Verizon empowers Verizon to deliver on its mission to move the world forward through action by expanding digital access and resources, protecting the climate, and ensuring people have the skills needed for jobs of the future. Through Citizen Verizon, and the key pillars of Digital Inclusion, Climate Protection and Human Prosperity, the company's responsible business goals include providing 10 million youths with digital skills training by 2030, supporting 1 million small businesses with resources to help them thrive in the digital economy by 2030, achieving net zero emissions in its operations by 2035, and preparing 500,000 individuals for jobs of the future by 2030. Learn more at CitizenVerizon.com. UMSL Media Contact Steve Walentik, Director of Public Relations/Content, University of Missouri-St. Louis 314-516-6690 walentiks@umsl.edu Generation Media Contact Dan Johnson dan.johnson@newswire.com Related Images Image 1: Generation USA Students This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment SANFORD, Fla., April 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hoverfly Technologies, Inc. is excited to announce the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art headquarters in Sanford, FL. The transition to the new stand-alone facility has optimized R&D, flight testing, and engineering to continue to improve LiveSky tethered UAS for federal, security, and commercial customers. The grand opening of the new office in Sanford, FL, comes on the heels of the grand opening of the Product Verification Test Facility (PVTF) in Wright City, MO, and the Maritime Facility in Virginia Beach, VA. "Hoverfly Technologies continues to grow as customer orders increase year over year. The new facility in Sanford presents great opportunity for our workforce and our customer for the years to come. This facility and the Sanford community was a natural fit for our culture that is based on fostering an environment that encourages innovative ideas across the organization," Steve Walters, President and Chief Operating Officer. The rapid expansion of the Hoverfly footprint is largely in part due to the rapidly growing customer base in the defense and security industries. Hoverfly LiveSky remains the premier tethered drone option for both stationary and on-the-move operations, allowing integration for both manned/unmanned vehicles and maritime vessels. Now with over 60 employees, the new facility gives the company adequate space to continue to grow to support its increasing order backlog. "For this locally-rooted company, remaining in the Central Florida technology corridor was a big priority and proof that technologies born out of the University of Central Florida incubator program can achieve successful transition into early-stage start-up and beyond," Kevin S. Cochie, Chief Strategy Officer, UCF College of Engineering '94 & '05. Press Contact: Tyler Marple tyler.marple@hoverflytech.com hoverflytech.com 407-985-4500 Related Images Image 1: Hoverfly Technologies, Inc. New Hoverfly Office in Sanford, FL This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment TALLINN, Estonia, April 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DAO based DEX is the way forward for cryptocurrency platforms with several projects embracing decentralisation, the migration from centralisation to decentralisation is seemingly bringing a wave of change to the cryptosphere. While the crypto economy still contemplates the potential of DAO, GokuMarket, a centralised exchange from Europe, migrated with full force to being a DAO-focused decentralised exchange. The platform was launched as a traditional marketplace for the blockchain economy with simple wallet services back in 2019 and grew to a community of 1 million users in no time. Why Migrating to DAO based DEX? GokuMarket is focused on creating a transparent and community-driven platform; however, complete autonomy was rather challenging to achieve for a centralised European licensed platform. GokuMarket remodelled its CEX to a DAO-based DEX primarily to create a 100% governance-based platform that is not managed by anyone but the community. GokuMarket aims to safeguard the community's interest by migrating to DAO-based Decentralised Exchange by leaving no space for centralised management or intermediaries. The governance model will allow holders of GMC to make proposals and suggest upgrades within the platform. The governance layer also covers the revenue share of the platform. This means revenue generated from the GokuMarket modules of Swap, Voting, Price Prediction & Lottery will be distributed among the members of the DAO. With the transition, GokuMarket would become a non-custodial platform, meaning that they would not hold their user's funds, making the platform truly sovereign. Anyone can become a member of the GokuMarketDAO by pledging the platform's governance and utility token, GMC. Any member of the DAO will be able to propose a change by using GMC. DAO Foundation is a consortium of up to 21 members, who will review and ensure any initiated proposal follows the DAO proposal guidelines. Nine DAO Directors will be chosen on the 1st of every month based on the highest pledged GMCs. These Directors will also hold voting power on proposals together with the entire DAO Community. How will this benefit the users and projects? The migration has been done, keeping in mind the best interest of projects and the community. Both the community and the projects will operate with increased transparency and less regulatory formalities in general. Apart from this, the addition of features like DeFi, NFT, and Metaverse Guilds will broadly open opportunities for project owners, users, creators, and gamers. GokuMarket's transition to a DAO-based DEX platform will give projects and users a free hand they crave in the space. With GokuMarket DeFi, users can explore products like Farming, Pool, Swaps, Lottery, Market Price Prediction, NFT and Voting. Users can also trade Crypto & NFTs or Swap their assets; participate in Pools and Farms to earn more; try their luck with Lottery, or flex their market understanding with Market Price Prediction. GokuMarket's shift from centralisation to decentralisation says a lot about the growing crypto space and how users are truly set at the heart of the platform. Decentralisation enables full ownership to a user and is reciprocated by loyalty and accountability towards the platform. Platforms like GokuMarket are bringing along the expertise of centralised finance and setting the foundations of a truly decentralised space. Learn more at Whitepaper: https://docs.gokumarket.com Social links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/GokuMarket Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/AAAAAEqTU53--hYUflsdiA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gokumarket/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuPj-EJfPshor3dSfRm4QrA/ Media Contact Brand: GokuMarket OU Email: info@gokumarket.com Website: https://gokumarket.com/ SOURCE: GokuMarket OU English Norwegian Aker Horizons, through its portfolio company Aker Clean Hydrogen, and Statkraft have signed collaboration agreements to jointly explore opportunities for green hydrogen and ammonia production in India and Brazil, targeting local steel and fertilizer industries. The collaboration brings together Aker Clean Hydrogen, a global integrated hydrogen, ammonia and methanol producer building on Akers 180 years of industrial heritage, and Statkraft, a leading developer and generator of renewable energy with a substantial experience and presence in India and Brazil. With considerable renewable energy production and market activities in India and Brazil, Statkraft is well positioned to capture green hydrogen opportunities in these two huge and important energy markets. Developing such opportunities helps us grow our business and reduces greenhouse gas emissions in India and Brazil, said Jurgen Tzschoppe, Executive Vice President International Power of Statkraft. Emissions from the steel and ammonia industries contribute to close to 9 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions and are classified as hard-to-abate sectors. Green hydrogen provides an emission-free alternative to decarbonizing these industrial sectors and an opportunity to increase security of supply of the two commodities. Cooperation in India Aker Clean Hydrogen and Statkraft have agreed to explore joint development opportunities of fully-integrated renewable power generation and green hydrogen production in India, targeting domestic hard-to-abate industries such as the steel industry, as well as ammonia for domestic use and export. The steel industry in India produces about 100 million tonnes of steel annually. In India, green hydrogen can be used to replace grey, fossil fuel-based hydrogen, coal and natural gas as fuel and feedstock. This will significantly reduce CO2 emissions, while bolstering the countrys energy security, making it less vulnerable to energy market volatility. India currently consumes approximately 7 million tonnes of grey hydrogen per year, making it the worlds second largest hydrogen consumer. The countrys current hydrogen demand is expected to reach approximately 12 million tonnes by 2030 and about 28 million tonnes by 2050. Indias commitment to reach net zero by 2070, announced during the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, will further increase green hydrogen demand in one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Cooperation in Brazil In Brazil, Aker Clean Hydrogen, Statkraft and Sowitec, a company specializing in developing renewable wind and solar assets, aim to jointly develop power-to-X projects in the state of Bahia. The first project opportunity being pursued is a large-scale hybrid project, which combines renewable power generation, and hydrogen and ammonia production for the local fertilizer industry. Brazil is the worlds fourth largest consumer of fertilizers, accounting for about 8 percent of global demand. Currently, the country imports more than 80 percent of its consumption. Recently the Brazilian government enacted their 2022-2050 National Fertilizer Plan, seeking to reduce the Brazilian dependency on imported fertilizers by, amongst other means, attracting and supporting foreign investments. The state of Bahia has favorable renewable resources from wind and solar and a strong agricultural industry that imports large amounts of grey, fossil fuel-based fertilizers. Replacing imported grey ammonia with locally-produced green ammonia will support the decarbonization of the local agricultural industry and reduces import dependency, while creating new green industrial opportunities. The project is scheduled to be in commercial operation by 2027. We are excited to join forces with Statkraft to accelerate the transition from grey to green solutions in India and Brazil, said Knut Nyborg, Chief Executive Officer of Aker Clean Hydrogen. The potential environmental benefits from decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries like the steel and ammonia industry in India and the fertilizer industry in Brazil are substantial. Both India and Brazil are large consumers of hydrogen, have supportive governmental policies and benefit from world-class renewable energy resources, which offers significant opportunities for green hydrogen and ammonia production. About Statkraft Statkraft is a leading company in hydropower internationally and Europes largest generator of renewable energy. The Group produces hydropower, wind power, solar power, gas-fired power and supplies district heating. Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations. Statkraft has 4,800 employees in 19 countries. www.statkraft.com About Aker Clean Hydrogen Aker Clean Hydrogen aims to develop, build, own and operate clean hydrogen production on an industrial scale. Aker Horizons is the majority shareholder of the company, and Aker Clean Hydrogen uses domain expertise across the Aker group, including systems integration, engineering, technology development, project implementation, digitalization and financial optimization to increase efficiency and reduce project costs. The company aims to reach a net installed capacity of 5 GW by 2030, and will make a major contribution to realizing the hydrogen industry and reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally. www.akercleanhydrogen.com On 30 March 2022, Aker Clean Hydrogen and Aker Horizons announced a merger plan that will reposition Aker Clean Hydrogen as a privately held subsidiary of Aker Horizons. The merged entity will continue serving the fast-growing global markets for hydrogen, ammonia and methanol, building on ACHs portfolio of projects to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. Completion of the merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the shareholders of ACH and the Board of Directors of Aker Horizons resolving to issue the consideration shares pursuant to a board authorization. Aker Horizons has undertaken to vote in favor of the merger at ACH's annual general meeting scheduled on 4 May 2022. About Aker Horizons Aker Horizons ASA is a planet-positive investment company dedicated to developing companies within renewable energy and other technologies that reduce emissions or promote sustainable living. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and majority-owned by Aker ASA. Aker Horizons investment portfolio includes Aker Carbon Capture, Aker Clean Hydrogen, Aker Offshore Wind and Mainstream Renewable Power. www.akerhorizons.com About SOWITEC As one of the leading global project developers for renewable energies, SOWITEC is active in 14 countries with a focus on the rapidly growing emerging and developing countries. With almost 160 employees, SOWITEC covers all areas of solar and wind power project development: from planning and conception, energy and profitability calculations, through construction management, sales and financing to the technical and commercial management of wind and solar parks. More than 60 wind and solar projects with over 3,100 MW developed by SOWITEC are currently in operation or under construction in eight countries, while additional 2,000 MW have been sold to final investors and are currently under final structuring.www.sowitec.com For further information, please contact: Lars Magnus Gunther, press spokesperson, Statkraft AS Phone: +47 91 24 16 36 E-mail: lars.gunther@statkraft.com Press Release Nokia next-gen PON solution powers fiber optic network in Lucerne Nokia fiber solution enables Energie Wasser Luzern to bring new ultra-broadband and smart metering services to business and residential customers Next-generation broadband access solution offers futureproof support capabilities and technology selection flexibility 26 April 2022 Espoo, Finland - Nokia announced today that the Swiss energy services company, Energie Wasser Luzern (ewl), has deployed its next-generation PON fiber solution. Nokia is replacing the legacy network with the latest fiber access technology, providing a single network for business and residential customers, as well as for smart metering services. ewl selected this solution in collaboration with its subsidiary arcade solutions ag to meet the growing demand for more capacity, faster speeds, and world-class broadband services for its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Lucerne, Switzerland. As Lucernes energy services company, ewl has delivered a modernized infrastructure for the fiber networks approximately 12,000 buildings, which are all connected to fiber for high-quality broadband services and smart metering, including water and electrical power measurement. In addition to providing these services to businesses and residential customers, not just within Lucerne but also to its suburbs, ewl will empower new economic opportunities and market competition. Nokia has deployed its 7360 ISAM FX series high-capacity fiber access nodes which support GPON and XGS-PON technologies to deliver uncompromised performance and capacity to meet the needs of residential and business customers. The solution is ready for a smooth evolution to 25G PON and software-defined access networks (SDAN), which will futureproof the network. In addition, Nokia is providing professional services support for installation and maintenance. Samuel Schnyder, CMO for arcade solutions, said: We needed a new access infrastructure based on modern PON technologies to meet ewls current and future requirements as a city network provider for Lucerne. We were challenged to provide services not only for residential and business customers, but also for smart metering over the same infrastructure. Nokia was able to provide us with a single solution that addressed different customer requirements in terms of QoS and bandwidth, and the required security regulations for smart metering. Dominique Verhulst, global head of Utilities business for Nokia, said: As a modern energy services company that is broadening its offering with advanced metering and Internet services, ewls need for fast and reliable broadband is very high. ewl is a leader in this space, so we are excited to work with them to bring our expertise in building, operating, and renewing similar city networks from across Europe and North America." Nokia is currently ranked #1 by DellOro Group in global XGS-PON shipments with more than 45% market share by end 2021. Nokia has more than 75 XGS-PON and more than 300 GPON customer deployments worldwide. Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to over 2200 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale, and public sector segments around the globe. Leading enterprises across industries are leveraging decades of Nokia experience building some of the biggest and most advanced IP, optical and wireless networks on the planet. Resources About Nokia We create technology that helps the world act together. As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed, and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable, and inclusive world. For our latest updates, please visit us online at www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia. Media Inquiries: Nokia Communications Email: press.services@nokia.com Pune, India, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global smartphone market size was pegged at USD 457.18 billion in 2021. The market is expected to rise from USD 484.81 billion in 2022 to USD 792.51 billion by 2029 at a 7.3% CAGR during the forecast period. The penetration of 5G network and AI will encourage leading companies to invest in the telecom sector. With a shift towards cloud storage, high-speed network and content subscription, major players could boost their portfolios across developed and developing economies. Key Industry Development August 2021: OPPO rolled out next-generation technology, under-screen camera (USC), for mobile handsets. Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/smartphone-market-100308 Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2022-2029 Forecast Period 2022 to 2029 CAGR 7.3% 2029 Value Projection USD 792.51 billion Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 USD 457.18 billion Historical Data for 2018-2020 No. of Pages 150 Segments covered Operating System, Distribution Channel, Geography Smartphone Market Drivers Increasing Adoption of Human-System Interaction to Bolster the Market Growth Ever-growing Demand for 5G-Compatible Smartphone to Add Impetus Market Growth Drivers: Trend for Digitization to Drive Innovation Stakeholders anticipate the expansion of connectivity solutions to foster smartphone market growth during the forecast period. The trend for mobile phone connectivity has become pronounced across healthcare devices, fleet management operations, automobiles, infrastructure security systems and smart metering. Besides, governments and other stakeholders are likely to inject funds into digitization, prompting smartphone manufacturers to bolster their portfolios. Notably, in April 2021, Apple, Inc. announced an investment of around USD 430.00 billion to bolster 5G technology and silicon engineering in the U.S to underpin American innovation strategies for the next 5-years. Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/smartphone-market-100308 Smartphone Market Segments Analysis Based on the operating system, the market is segmented into iOS, android, windows and others. In terms of the distribution channel, the industry is segregated into e-commerce, retailer and OEMs stores. On the basis of region, the market is segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, South America and the Middle East and Africa. Global Smartphone Market Segmentation: By Operating System Android iOS Windows Others (Linux) By Distribution Channel OEMs stores Retailer E-commerce By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa South America Smartphone Market Regional Insights: Expanding Telecom Sector to Foster Asia Pacific Market Leading companies anticipate China, India and Australia to provide promising growth opportunities in the telecom sector. Bullish investments in the smartphone will remain a catalyst in driving the penetration of IoT and 5G. Leading companies are likely to launch innovative products in the ensuing period. In January 2022, Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd rolled out V23 and V23 Pro in India and termed Indias 1st color-changing smartphone. North America smartphone market share will garner a substantial uptick in the wake of presence of leading companies across the U.S. and Canada. To illustrate, in November 2021, Huawei Device Co., Ltd. asserted that it was contemplating releasing mobile handsets across Canada to offer better customer services. It is worth noting that the rising footfall of the e-commerce sector will remain instrumental in fostering product adoption. Industry participants envisage Europe as a happy hunting ground owing to the investments in the automotive and telecom sectors. Specifically, in July 2020, SAMSUNG joined hands with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Bundesdruckerei (bdr) and Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH to develop a hardware-based security architecture. Bullish strategies are likely to be pronounced with major companies likely to prioritize technological advancements. Quick Buy: Smartphone Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/100308 Key companies profiled in the market are: Apple Inc. (U.S.) SAMSUNG (South Korea) Oppo (China) Huawei Device Co., Ltd. (China) OnePlus (China) Sony Group Corporation (Japan) Xiaomi (China) HTC Corporation (Taiwan) Google LLC (U.S.) ZTE Corporation (China) Table of Content: Introduction Definition, By Segment Research Methodology/Approach Data Sources Executive Summary Market Dynamics Macro and Micro Economic Indicators Smartphone Market Trends, Drivers, Restraints and Opportunities Impact of COVID-19 Short-term Impact Long-term Impact Competition Landscape Business Strategies Adopted by Key Players Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players Global Smartphone Key Players Market Share Insights and Analysis, 2021 Global Smartphone Market Share Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2018-2029 Key Findings By Operation System (USD) Android iOS Windows Others (Linux and Others) By Distribution Channel (USD) OEM Retailer E-commerce By Region (USD) North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa South America North America Smartphone Market Size Estimates and Forecasts, By Segments, 2018-2029 Key Findings By Operation System (USD) Android iOS Windows Others (Linux and Others) By Distribution Channel (USD) OEM Retailer E-commerce By Country (USD) U.S. Canada Mexico Europe Smartphone Market Size Estimates and Forecasts, By Segments, 2018-2029 Key Findings By Operation System (USD) Android iOS Windows Others (Linux and Others) By Distribution Channel (USD) OEM Retailer E-commerce By Country (USD) U.K. Germany France Italy Spain Russia Benelux Nordics Rest of Europe TOC Continued! Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/smartphone-market-100308 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pt. Ltd. US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NFT release, DoggTalk: Gangsters & Lovers (DTGL), is a sci-fi and fantasy adventure at the edge of the metaverse. The collection features 13,333 rare NFTS on the Ethereum and OpenSea.io blockchain that explores the morals of love and violence in a world ruled by the Doggs living in Doggtopia on Planet XXXX in 2777. The DoggTalk NFT includes over 120 assets all with rarities of eight different breeds of canines 1670 Doggs. Each Dogg breeds have a unique personality and choice to be a gangster or a lover. Early collectors can Whitelist on DTGL's website for first dibs on the collection. DoggTalk: Gangsters & Lovers will launch May 15. To stand out, the leadership of DoggTalk NFT, introduces a new class of NFTs called "True Value NFTs" that integrates a collection of in real life, IRL, utilities that provides collectors with the highest return on investment and exclusive membership benefits. It will also include quarterly utility drops of limited edition products music releases, exclusive VIP member events, food, collector's editions of spirits, one-of-a-kind apparel and THC/CBD products, all with up to 50% retail. "It's time to connect the digital and physical universe with collectibles and products," said Emery Morrison, Co-Founder of DoggTalk NFT and CampNova. "The value of owning a digital NFT tied to a physical product, multiple utilities in our case, is the next evolution of NFTs." DTGL's NFT release follows CampNova's January partnership launch of the Crypto Cannabis Club's brand which introduced the NFToker community to IRL premium cannabis products delivered throughout the state of California. "CampNova has always dedicated itself to being cutting edge and staying ahead of the trend," said Marvin Wilcher, Co-Founder of DoggTalk NFT and CampNova. "We have seen tremendous success in our NFT IRL utility collaborations. We thought it was perfect timing to release our own." About DoggTalk Gangsters & Lovers: DoggTalk Gangsters & Lovers, DTGL, is the latest NFT to enter the metaverse from the developers of tech lifestyle platform CampNova. By breaking the fourth wall, the DoggTalk NFT innovates the blockchain by providing the NFT community with net value in real life, IRL utilities that include unique experiences and investment opportunities. DoggTalk NFT is a sci-fi/fantasy adventure of 13,280 extremely rare NFTs that explores the morals of love and violence in a world ruled by Doggs. In the Doggs' dog-eat-dog world, they are divided into eight different breeds of Doggs who either love, kill, or sometimes, both. Because their land is ruled by love or violence, there is always a grandiose demonstration of morality over the other. In the society of Doggtopia, every dogg must answer and live by the choice of being a lover or a gangster. Join TWITTER and DISCORD. CampNova Contact: B. Ramirez - bianca@campnova.biz 424-215-1915 Related Images Image 1: Dogg Talk NFT The DoggTalk NFT includes over 120 assets all with rarities of eight different breeds of canines 1670 Doggs. Each Dogg breeds have a unique personality and choice to be a gangster or a lover. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment AMSTERDAM, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Qualibrate, the leading SaaS solution for enterprise software delivery, revolutionizes SAP DevOps, helping businesses achieve greater productivity and revenue. As organizations embrace business and test automation, enterprises need rapid implementation to bring projects to life with efficient testing. Gartner predicts the integration market is projected to grow by $32 billion by the end of 2025, scaling nearly 50% in five years alone. According to a new Forrester report, automation testing tools are expected to power significant market growth, driving revenues to $22 billion in 2025, up from $13.9 billion in 2021. Emerging as the market leader in test automation, Qualibrate provides a friction-less process for businesses to integrate software for automation, disrupting the conventional approaches to documenting, training, and testing. Traditionally, software delivery was time-consuming, expensive, and lacked reusability. With Qualibrate reinventing quality assurance, individuals, teams, and organizations are empowered with the right automation technologies and tools to keep up with the high speed of digital transformation. For clients like PVH Europe, a large Dutch retailer with a diversified portfolio of brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, business continuity was key as they migrated and uploaded thousands of assets. With Qualibrate, PVH Europe increased coverage and speed of their regression testing while also increasing data validation to 100% correctness and completeness, compared to the previous process of manually spot-checking 10% of loaded data. "The business world is changing and continues to change at a rapid pace. Automating business and test processes is not just a necessity, but it is a requirement for large enterprises. Qualibrate's automated processes increase productivity by utilizing technology to connect teams, documents, and project management," said Alan Jimenez, Managing Director for Qualibrate. With a simple user interface, powerful reporting, cost-effective cloud environments, and extensive integrations, Qualibrate enables agile teams to streamline software delivery to production. With a modern approach that transforms the way teams test, document, and train users, teams can leverage Qualibrate for an 80% increase in efficiency on testing and training while documenting business processes seven times faster than before. For more information, please visit https://www.qualibrate.com. About: Qualibrate is the 3-in-1 SaaS solution for enterprise software delivery that transforms the way teams test, document, and train end users. It offers native support for automating tests on SAP applications and 40+ non-SAP technologies such as Salesforce, Microsoft, ServiceNow, Oracle Cloud Apps, Mendix, etc. Qualibrate's Cloud test automation platform integrates natively with SAP Solution Manager Test Suite to extend the customer's capability to automate SAP and non-SAP applications as part of their end-to-end testing strategy. Qualibrate is the tool of choice for customers such as AirFrance/KLM, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Bell Helicopter, Nouryon and more. With a certified integration for SAP, your team can leverage Qualibrate to save up to 80% effort on testing and training while documenting business processes 7x faster than before. Media Contact: Mike Albanese mike.albanese@newswire.com Related Images Image 1: Qualibrate Logo This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment New York, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on Digital Wayfinding Solutions Market Forecast to 2028 COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis- by Component (Software and Services), Deployment (On-Premise and Cloud-Based), Application (Airport, Retail, Healthcare, Museum, and Others), and Geography, the global digital wayfinding solutions market growth is driven by the rising investments in the AR integration software that uses digital wayfinding, increasing demand for AR devices and solutions in the healthcare industry, and growing demand for wayfinding in the e-commerce and retail industries. Get Exclusive Access to Sample Pages of Digital Wayfinding Solutions Market Size - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis with Strategic Insights at: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00012451/ Report Coverage Details Market Size Value in US$ 234.62 million in 2021 Market Size Value by US$ 664.95 million by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 16.0% from 2021 to 2028. Forecast Period 2021- 2028 Base Year 2021 No. of Pages 183 No. Tables 115 No. of Charts & Figures 84 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Component, Deployment, Application, and Geography 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 Digital Wayfinding Solutions Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments 22 Miles, Inc.; Acquire Digital; Click Grafix; ConnectedSign; Gozio Inc.; Jarma Technologies LLC; LamasaTech Ltd; Ping HD; TrouDigital; Visix, Inc.; Xtreme Media Pvt. Ltd.; Everbridge Inc.; and Digital Wayfinding Solution (Advertise Me Pty Ltd) are among the key players profiled during the study of the digital wayfinding solutions market. In addition, several other essential market players were studied and analyzed to get a holistic view of the market and its ecosystem. Place Your Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00012451/ In 2022, Xtreme Media announced its strategic alliance with Rahi, India's largest global enterprise solutions supplier, which will reshape the display solutions industry in India and across the world. In 2021, 22MILES announced a partnership with CISCO to allow seamless integration of the version 6 of their PublisherPro. The implementation of digital signage boards in several companies stalled dramatically during the recession triggered by COVID-19 in 2020. However, the lowered adoption was primarily a temporary side effect of the pandemic. Investments in digital wayfinding solutions grew with the need for change in operations at various hospitals and retail facilities, mainly due to the social distancing measures taken by governments and administrations of respective facilities. Enterprises are focusing on modifying their operations to be able to comply with the social restrictions imposed by governments and to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic on their revenue performance. For example, the Android-powered tablets offered by PPDS, a display solutions company, were deployed in the Krankenhaus der Augustinerinnen hospital in Cologne, Germany, in April 2021. The company deployed WizAI AI digital signage software to provide interactive wayfinding, along with displaying details regarding cleaning schedules, hygiene standards, and room availability. The hospital deployed 14 10-inch Philips touch screens as well as a remote management console to update and enhance the displays. Connect with Our Research Analyst On: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/speak-to-analyst/TIPRE00012451 In the Middle East & Africa, governments initiatives and policies are supporting the digital signage market growth. For instance, the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) selected VRCraftworks, a UK-based firm, for its customized augmented reality wayfinding solutions. A hi-tech network of 1,600 digital and static wayfinding signage boards, all completely integrated with the venue's state-of-the-art infrastructure, guides guests across DEC's massive halls and conference rooms that are spread across 45,000 m2. Blue Rhine Industries, a Dubai-based digital display and signage producer, is funding this one-of-a-kind Dubai exhibition center. The ability of digital signage products to provide a better consumer experience across online retail sites is a major factor contributing to the digital wayfinding solutions market growth in South America. Digital signage accounts for a major portion of ad income for businesses in several industries; this is mainly ascribed to its inherent benefits, such as quick information circulation, easy control, and customization. In addition, the operations of several US-based digital signage vendors are growing in South America, and the region now has several self-service kiosks in malls and healthcare centers with advanced features. Based on component, the digital wayfinding solutions market is segmented into software and services. In 2021, the software segment led the market with a larger share. Based on deployment, the digital wayfinding solutions market is segmented into on-premise and cloud-based. In 2021, the on-premise segment accounted for a larger market share. Based on application, the digital wayfinding solutions market is segmented into airport, retail, healthcare, museum, and others. In 2021, the retail segment accounted for the largest share of the market. Based on geography, the digital wayfinding solutions market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM). In 2021, North America accounted for a significant share of the digital wayfinding solutions market. Buy Premium Copy of Digital Wayfinding Solutions Market Size, Share, Revenue, Strategic Insights and Forecasts 2021-2028 Research Report at: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00012451/ Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Wayfinding Solutions Market: From social distancing to daily health inspections, and from traffic management to limiting physical touchpoints, operating a facility in current conditions, involving lowered COVID-19 infection rate, involves a lot more moving of public, transportation vehicles than it did before the pandemic. Fortunately, the technology sector, particularly the digital signage and wayfinding, communications, and hardware industries, have been striving to develop solutions to support moving of public, transportation vehicles safeguards and ensure their safer return to their respective locations. Hence, the COVID-19 pandemic has benefitted the digital wayfinding solutions market growth in the MEA. Browse Adjoining Reports: Digital Wayfinding Software Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Component (Software, Services); End-Users (Educational Institutes, Hospitals, Museums, Shopping Malls, Others) and Geography Geographic Information System (GIS) Software Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Component (Software, Services); Gis Software (Desktop GIS, Server GIS, Developer GIS, Mobile GIS, Others); Function (Mapping, Surveying, Location-based Services, Navigation and telematics, Others); End User (Defense, Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Construction, Utilities, Transportation and Logistics, Others) and Geography Digital Signage Hardware Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Type (Displays, Media Players, Projectors, Others); Product (Video Wall, Standalone Display); Resolution (HD, 4K, 8K, Others); Vertical (Commercial, Infrastructural, Industrial, Institutional) and Geography Digital Signage Software Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Offering (Software, Services); End-User (Retail, Corporate Offices, Healthcare Facilities, Hospitality, Restaurants, Banking, Education, Government, Others) and Geography IP Geolocation Solutions Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Component (Solution, Services); Deployment (Cloud-Based, On Premises); Enterprise Size (SMEs, Large Enterprises); Application (Content Personalization, Fraud Detection, Ad Targeting, Traffic Analysis, Geo-targeting, Geo-fencing, Others) and Geography Military GNSS Device Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type (GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Others); Application (Navigation, Target Tracking, Missile and Projectile Guidance, Search and Rescue, Reconnaissance, Nuclear Detonation Detectors, Asset Tracking (GNSS+GPRS)); End Users (Air Force, Ground Force, Naval Force) and Geography GPS Anti-Jamming Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Receiver Type (Military & Government Grade and Commercial Grade), Anti-Jamming Technique (Nulling Technique, Beam Steering Technique, and Civilian Techniques), Application (Flight Control, Surveillance & Reconnaissance, Position Navigation & Timing, Targeting, and Casualty Evacuation), and End User (Military and Civilian) About Us: The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. 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: Dublin, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Enterprise Application Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Component, By Solution Type, By Deployment Type, By Organization Size, By Vertical, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2021-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Enterprise Application Market size is expected to reach $468.2 billion by 2027, rising at a market growth of 9.0% CAGR during the forecast period. Business process management (BPM) and software configuration management (SCM) are examples of enterprise application solutions that enable businesses track production from procurement to delivery to the end customer and manage inventory. The use of these technologies allows for accurate and real-time business information flow between departments in any organization. Enterprise application implementation allows for a smooth flow of business data both inside and outside the firm. Using appropriate technologies, data can be gathered and saved from a variety of sources, including social media. Enterprise applications are becoming more popular among businesses as they help them cut expenses and expand their market share. They aid in increasing the overall efficiency and productivity of the company. A growing number of businesses across a variety of industries are working to improve customer service. Data breaches and leaks have become increasingly regular and harmful as organisations and services have gone digital on an unprecedented scale. Malicious software, ransomware, DDoS attacks, and cybercrime, such as phishing and other scams, pose a threat to both small and large businesses. Hashing protocols, particular machine learning algorithms, encryption, firewalls, access control, and data loss prevention are among the security solutions to be used in 2021. Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) are mobile apps that are integrated into a web page or installed on a user's system, redefining how people access online content. They impress a rising number of users with a wide range of benefits, including being intuitive, linkable, lightweight,and traceable by search engines, as well as the capacity to work across multiple platforms. COVID-19 Impact Analysis An increase in the number of patients around the world has led to a worldwide lockdown, forcing the population to stay at home for an extended period of time. This has resulted in a rise in the use of web-based platforms for a variety of services, likeinternet banking and onlineshopping. The rising number of online consumers makes it extremely challenging to adequately handle company data. This data is managed with the help of enterprise application software. Due to the closure of retail stores and malls, this has resulted in a major increase in enterprise application software adoption and preplanned investments. Furthermore, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, online banking services are growing at the fastest rate in the world, resulting in increasing use of enterprise application software for a variety of purposes, including client retention and customer need optimization. Moreover, corporate application software usage is likely to rise in a number of sector verticals, including healthcare and pharmaceuticals, as well as retail, where it was low prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, following COVID-19, it is expected that numerous healthcare organizations is expected to then prefer big data and cloud technology to implement customer requirement analysis and track customer orders in the pharma industryto combat future pandemic situations and to predict possible situations before they occur. Market Growth Factors: Growing demand for fulfilling regulatory compliance standards and audit management Audits are a dreadful reality for any company. Businesses are making significant changes to their IT systems and internal processes to comply with government regulations and mandates such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPPA's severe security requirements, OSHA, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. With built-in audit trails that offer access histories and transactions for each document, enterprise content management makes this easier. Government regulations necessitate the preservation of various types of data and records, and the requirements are frequently complex. Improved visibility and transparency in supply chain data and procedures Previously, the largest barrier to accomplishing supply chain objectives has been a lack of visibility and transparency. Most businesses lack the supply chain transparency and insight required to better predict and prevent disruptions and inventory imbalances. This is partly due to an inability to manage an enormous volume of data spread across various processes, sources, and systems. Organizations in the supply chain are struggling to keep up with both technology advancements and the changes that the digital era is bringing to sectors and marketplaces. Marketing Restraining Factor: Data security and privacy concerns Organizations throughout the world are concerned about security and compliance, and they are hesitant to implement new solutions that include data handling or data migration from one platform to another. Data collection and transmission from one channel to another are part of enterprise content management. Many firms believe that enterprise content management solutions is expected to result to data theft in their highly abstracted data sets caused by a lack of sufficient information about security standards and their implementation. Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Market Scope & Methodology Chapter 2. Market Overview 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Overview 2.1.1.1 Market Composition and Scenario 2.2 Key Factors Impacting the Market 2.2.1 Market Drivers 2.2.2 Market Restraints Chapter 3. Competition Analysis - Global 3.1 KBV Cardinal Matrix 3.2 Recent Industry Wide Strategic Developments 3.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements 3.2.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions 3.2.3 Acquisitions and Mergers 3.3 Top Winning Strategies 3.3.1 Key Leading Strategies: Percentage Distribution (2017-2021) 3.3.2 Key Strategic Move: (Product Launches and Product Expansions: 2017, May - 2021, Dec) Leading Players Chapter 4. Global Enterprise Application Market by Component 4.1 Global Solution Market by Region 4.2 Global Solution Market by Type 4.2.1 Global Supply Chain Management Market by Region 4.2.2 Global Enterprise Resource Planning Market by Region 4.2.3 Global Customer Relation Management Market by Region 4.2.4 Global Business Process Management Market by Region 4.2.5 Global Enterprise Asset Management Market by Region 4.2.6 Global Business Intelligence Market by Region 4.2.7 Global Content Management System Market by Region 4.2.8 Global Others Market by Region 4.3 Global Services Market by Region Chapter 5. Global Enterprise Application Market by Deployment Type 5.1 Global On-premise Market by Region 5.2 Global Cloud Market by Region 5.3 Global Hybrid Market by Region Chapter 6. Global Enterprise Application Market by Organization Size 6.1 Global Large Enterprises Market by Region 6.2 Global Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises Market by Region Chapter 7. Global Enterprise Application Market by Vertical 7.1 Global Telecom & IT Market by Region 7.2 Global BFSI Market by Region 7.3 Global Government Market by Region 7.4 Global Retail Market by Region 7.5 Global Manufacturing Market by Region 7.6 Global Healthcare Market by Region 7.7 Global Others Market by Region Chapter 8. Global Enterprise Application Market by Region Chapter 9. Company Profiles 9.1 IBM Corporation 9.1.1 Company Overview 9.1.2 Financial Analysis 9.1.3 Regional & Segmental Analysis 9.1.4 Research & Development Expenses 9.1.5 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.1.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.1.5.2 Acquisitions and Mergers: 9.1.5.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.1.6 SWOT Analysis 9.2 Oracle Corporation 9.2.1 Company Overview 9.2.2 Financial Analysis 9.2.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis 9.2.4 Research & Development Expense 9.2.5 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.2.5.1 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.2.6 SWOT Analysis 9.3 Microsoft Corporation 9.3.1 Company Overview 9.3.2 Financial Analysis 9.3.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis 9.3.4 Research & Development Expenses 9.3.5 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.3.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.3.6 SWOT Analysis 9.4 SAP SE 9.4.1 Company Overview 9.4.2 Financial Analysis 9.4.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis 9.4.4 Research & Development Expense 9.4.5 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.4.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.4.5.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.4.6 SWOT Analysis 9.5 Salesforce.com, Inc. 9.5.1 Company Overview 9.5.2 Financial Analysis 9.5.3 Regional Analysis 9.5.4 Research & Development Expense 9.5.5 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.5.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.5.5.2 Acquisitions and Mergers: 9.5.5.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.5.6 SWOT Analysis 9.6 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company 9.6.1 Company Overview 9.6.2 Financial Analysis 9.6.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis 9.6.4 Research & Development Expense 9.6.5 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.6.5.1 Acquisitions and Mergers: 9.6.5.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.6.6 SWOT Analysis 9.7 IFS AB 9.7.1 Company Overview 9.7.2 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.7.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.7.2.2 Acquisitions and Mergers: 9.7.2.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.8 QAD, Inc. (Thoma Bravo) 9.8.1 Company Overview 9.8.2 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.8.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.8.2.2 Acquisitions and Mergers: 9.8.2.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.9 Epicor Software Corporation 9.9.1 Company Overview 9.9.2 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.9.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.9.2.2 Acquisitions and Mergers: 9.9.2.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions: 9.10. Infor, Inc. (Koch Industries) 9.10.1 Company Overview 9.10.2 Recent Strategies and developments: 9.10.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 9.10.2.2 Acquisitions and Mergers: 9.10.2.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions: For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wugj46 Dublin, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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. 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. 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. 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. 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/2ypugi TORONTO, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new report from the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) is proposing to fight climate change by reducing GHG emissions in housing while helping keep more money in the pockets of Ontarios homeowners. Released today and written in partnership with StrategyCorp, the Accelerating Ontarios Green Future: New Approaches to Housing and Climate Change report tackles GHG emissions in the resale housing market by providing more supports to homeowners in reducing their energy use and saving costs on their monthly bills. The report also proposes a plan to help address a major climate threat looming over Ontario homeowners from flooding. Climate change is a major threat to our way of life and the residential housing sector has to do its part to lower emissions and mitigate risks, said Tim Hudak, OREA CEO. Through these recommendations, Ontario can help homeowners reduce their carbon footprint, safeguard their homes against climate change, and keep more money in their pockets. Three of the major planks in OREAs policy paper will support homeowners in making building envelope improvements to their properties. Envelope improvements (upgrades to outer barriers supporting energy efficiency, from windows to walls) have been shown to be one of the best ways to reduce the consumption of natural gas a major driver of GHG emissions from housing. On-bill financing is a great way to provide homeowners with upfront help to do a green renovation, which they can then pay off using the savings on their energy bills, said Hudak. The planet gets lower GHG emissions from homes, jobs get created in the renovation sector and homeowners get long term savings its a win-win. Recent environmental and climate change events across Canada from heat waves in British Columbia to coastal erosion in Nova Scotia have highlighted the significant challenges and issues that arise when housing is not prepared for rapidly changing environmental conditions. Annual catastrophic insurance pay outs in Canada averaged $400 million until 2008 but are now approaching $2 billion each year. With higher insurance pay outs inevitably comes rising premiums in Ontario, they have grown by 64% over the last decade making it more costly to own a home in an already expensive market. Together, the recommendations within create the conditions for Ontario to reduce emissions, mitigate the impacts of climate change on homeowners, and support societal uptake of measures that will encourage the overall greening of the housing sector. They include: Creating a New Green Home Renovation Tax Credit: The Government of Ontario should create a targeted green home renovation tax credit explicitly for green renovationsincluding those that enable a work-from-home setup. This credit should only apply to homes built before 2010 and include an income cap, to help focus on improving existing middle-class homes. Introducing On-Bill Financing (OBF) for Building Envelope Improvements: The Ontario government should work with their energy sector stakeholders to offer OBF residential energy efficiency programs for their customers, allowing upfront costs to be paid down over time. This would help reduce emissions, create high-skill construction jobs, improve energy-efficiency, lower household energy bills, and does not require a new spending line in government budgets. Developing Flood Mapping for Home Flood Protection: Flooding is cited as the costliest climate event in Canada in terms of damage and impact with respect to insurable losses. To allow Ontarians to make better-informed decisions when buying or selling a home, the Government of Ontario should develop a user-friendly system that establishes the flood risk of residential properties across the province to fill in gaps in existing flood mapping. Without action to address emissions in Ontarios residential building space, it will be difficult for Ontario to meet its existing targets and even harder to meet its future targets, said Stacey Evoy, OREA President. In order to do so, the Ontario Government must also consider improving the climate resiliency of Ontario homes. Akin to GHG reduction improvements, increasing a homes climate change adaptation protection will only increase the value of the home. The eight policy options outlined in this paper, together, will help bring the province closer to meeting its GHG emissions reductions targets and commitments and contribute to Canada becoming net zero by 2050. Further, they are beneficial for the environment, while also aligning with Ontarians desire to take climate action and protect the value of their most important asset: their home. For more information, please contact: Ontario Real Estate Association Jean-Adrien Delicano Specialist, Media Relations JeanAdrienD@orea.com 416-459-6059 Melbourne, FL, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. (OTC Pink: KGKG), a holding company focused on product development in the better-for-you and hemp and CBD functional beverage sector, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Wine & Beverage Merchants of West Virginia to distribute the Companys Still and Sparkling Ooh La Lemin Lemonades across the great state of West Virginia. Wine & Beverage will be distributing Ooh La Lemin to Walmart and other popular chains in West Virginia, which is a new territory for Ooh La Lemin. Wine & Beverage Merchants of West Virginia has been the leading beverage distributor in West Virginia for more than 35 years. Their vast portfolio includes domestic and imported beers, wines from around the world, and a wide assortment of non-alcoholic beverages including waters, soft drinks, energy drinks, teas, mixers and more. With a staff of more than 30 employees and management with more than 100 years of combined industry experience, they have positioned themselves as a premier WV beverage distributor. Their goal is to provide their valued customers with quality sales and service to suit all of their beverage needs. Im excited to announce that our Ooh La Lemin Lemonades will soon be available to our customers in the great state of West Virginia, stated Robert Clark, CEO of Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. Our team has been seeking strategic distribution partners that will stand behind our brands and focus on growth in their respective markets. Wine & Beverage Merchants of West Virginia is exactly that type of distribution partner and we look forward to building a successful relationship with them. Clark continued, Wine & Beverage Merchants of West Virginia will be receiving their first truckload of Ooh La Lemin this week and our team will be scheduling a kickoff with their team in the very near future. Kona Gold recently announced the Company had gross revenues of over one million dollars in the first quarter of 2022. This marked the Companys first quarter of one million dollars or more in gross revenue, which is a huge milestone and testament to the continued growth its experiencing. Kona Gold Beverages two subsidiaries, Kona Gold LLC and Gold Leaf Distribution LLCs combined revenue broke the one-million-dollar mark in Q1. For more information regarding Wine & Beverage Merchants of West Virginia, please visit: http://www.wineandbeverage.com/ For more information regarding Kona Gold Beverage, please visit: https://konagoldbeverage.com/ About Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. Kona Gold Beverage, Inc., a Delaware corporation, has created wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kona Gold LLC, HighDrate, LLC, and Gold Leaf Distribution, LLC. Kona Gold, LLC has developed a premium Hemp-Infused Energy Drink line; please visit its website at www.konagoldhemp.com. HighDrate, LLC has developed the beverage industrys first CBD-Infused Energy Water, available in 6 delicious flavors; please visit its website at www.highdrateme.com. Gold Leaf Distribution, LLC was created to fill the Companys distribution needs in markets that it wants to enter quickly; please visit its website at www.goldleafdist.com. Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. recently rebranded its Lemin Lemonade to Ooh La Lemin Lemonade; please visit its website at www.oohlalemin.com. Kona Gold and its family of companies are located on the east coast of Florida in Melbourne and in Greer and Conway South Carolina. Safe Harbor Statement: The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words may, will, should, plans, expects, anticipates, continue, estimate, project, intend, and similar expressions. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in press releases and other written materials, and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Companys Registration Statement on Form S-1. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, and various other factors beyond the Companys control. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Investor Relations Contact: Robert Clark 844-714-2224 investorrelations@konagoldbeverage.com PHOENIX, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Rare Earths Limited (ASX: ARR, OTCQB: ARRNF, FSE: 1BHA) (ARR or 'the Company') is exploring a potentially massive, rare earths minerals deposit in Albany County, Wyoming. The Company staked 181 additional mining claims covering an area of approximately 2,944 acres. The Company has announced results from surface sampling that revealed an expanded area of elevated Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO). The results could indicate a larger mineral deposit than initially anticipated. See the technical report, full announcement and legal disclaimers here. Highlights: Potentially massive Rare Earths mineral discovery in Wyoming has been expanded Results from 118 surface samples led the Company to increase the project area 181 mining claims covering 2,944 acres were added to the project Drilling results due June 2022 from the Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project The growth brings the Project to over 6,000 acres in Albany and Platte Counties combined. The company has additional projects in Arizona and Nevada. Totaling over 13 thousand acres under exploration, the Company's holdings are believed to have the potential to be one of the largest suites of Rare Earths projects in the United States. Table 1: Autumn/Fall 2021 TREO Sample Summary for Halleck Creek Average REO values (ppm) Study Area Rock Unit No. Samples Total REO Light REO Heavy REO Magnetic REO NdPr Overton Mountain Red Mountain Pluton (RMP) 94 3,187 2,850 257 744 700 Red Mountain RMP/QAL 24 664 539 79 156 140 Grand Total 118 3851 3389 336 900 840 Managing Director and CEO of American Rare Earths Limited Chris Gibbs commented: "We are delighted with the results of this fieldwork. The Rare Earth Elements (REE) mineralization occurs consistently over wide areas at the Halleck Creek Rare Earth Project. By staking the additional claims, American Rare Earths Limited can fully evaluate the region. Our core drilling is progressing very well, and we are enthusiastically awaiting the results of that work, expected June 2022." In late 2021, the Company conducted geologic mapping and geochemical sampling at the Halleck Creek Rare Earths project. Before staking the additional claims, the Company controlled 68 federal mining claims covering 1,265 acres and four Wyoming State mining leases covering 1,844 acres at the Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project area. Table 2: Summary of Halleck Creek Mineral Control Type Acres Hectares Number Existing Federal Claims 1,265 512 68 New Federal Claims (Staked Mar/22) 2,944 1,191 181 Total Federal Claims 4,209 1,703 249 State Licenses 1,844 746 4 Grand Total 6,053 2,449 253 Currently, the Company is drilling nine exploration core holes. Six holes have been completed with a total core length of 2,254 feet, with exceptional core recovery exceeding 95%. The final drill holes are scheduled for completion later this month, then the areas of ground disturbance will be rehabilitated. The Company plans additional detailed geological mapping and geochemical sampling over the Halleck Creek project area. This work is scheduled for May 2022. As the U.S. forges a clean energy future and secure defense industry supply chain, a robust domestic supply of rare earth elements could become more urgent. Global demand is projected to accelerate 400 to 600% over the coming decades, according to a 2021 International Energy Agency report. About American Rare Earths Limited American Rare Earths Limited (ASX: ARR, OTCQB: ARRNF, FSE: 1BHA) is an Australian company with assets in the growing rare earth metals sector of the United States of America, The Company's mission is to supply Critical Materials for Renewable Energy, Green Tech, Electric Vehicles, National Security, and a Carbon-Reduced Future. Mineral exploration projects include the La Paz Rare Earth Project in Arizona, the Searchlight Rare Earths Project in Nevada and the Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project in Wyoming. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain statements that are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of the words such as "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "will," "target," or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans for exploration, development, production and/or processing of materials, including the timing and associated costs and expenses. Such statements are all subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could significantly affect the Company's future financial results and business. Accordingly, the Company cautions that the forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the ability of the Company to successfully permit, plan, develop and/or construct a facility to mine, process and/or refine critical minerals, which may be delayed, and related costs and expenses, which may be increased beyond our current estimates; changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions, which may or may not occur; the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, on any of the foregoing risks; and those factors discussed in the Company's JORC 2012 compliant technical reports as submitted to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. MEDIA CONTACT: Susan Assadi e: susan@gapr.biz p: 347 977 7125 Related Images Image 1: Morning moon over Red Mountain Ranch (Photo by Sara Stotter) This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Calgary, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions (BASF) is excited to relaunch its popular BASF Safety Scouts program in 2022, bringing the successful initiative back for a second season in support of farm safety for kids and their families. Last years initiative saw great success and received interest among farm families from coast to coast, including: Over 2,000 BASF Safety Scout kits requested and distributed in 2021. 564 Canadian communities were reached, with families from nine provinces registering for the kits. BASFs Safety Scouts program engages young children in a fun and interactive way by inviting them to act as safety ambassadors on their familys farm. Two thousand BASF Safety Scout kits will be available this season free of charge to farm families across Canada while supplies last. At BASF, we believe in supporting the long-term health and safety of farming communities across Canadaa value that is shared by our network of growers, retailers and industry partners, said Nicole McAuley, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions. Beyond our product line-up and agronomic expertise, BASF is dedicated to helping make farms a safer place to live and work. In 2021, our Safety Scouts program was a valuable tool for families, and we are thrilled to welcome more participants to our growing network of over 2,000 kids, who are committed to helping shape a bright future for Canadian agriculture. As part of the toolkit, program participants will receive materials designed to bring farm safety together with the benefits of childhood play, including: Adjustable and CSA Z96-15 compliant child-sized safety vest Customizable name badge Safety-themed activity and colouring sheets BASF Safety Scouts reward badge Official BASF Safety Scouts membership certificate How to play safely on the farm is one of the most important lessons a child can learn. BASFs Safety Scouts program emerged out of a desire to keep farm safety top of mind for parents and guardians and instill values of safety in children at a young age. The kits equip children with the tools needed to develop lifelong habits and foundational skills through hands-on play. Participants are encouraged to interact with one another and share pictures, videos, drawings and safety tips by tagging @BASFAgSolutions on Twitter using the hashtag #BASFSafetyScouts. I am grateful for programs that promote on-farm safety such as the Safety Scouts Program from BASF, said Codie Nagy, a farmer from Ogema, Saskatchewan. Both of my kids, especially my son love being on the farm and Safety Scouts is a great way for them to be thinking safely while they are there. The activities are fun, and they really enjoyed the safety vests. This is a great way for them to be more involved while having safety at the top of mind. BASF Safety Scouts signals an extension of BASFs ongoing dedication towards building safe and healthy communities across Canada, specifically safety on the farm. A long-standing sponsor of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA), and a proud supporter of Progressive Agriculture Safety Day, BASF has developed additional resources as part of the BASF and CASA Kids Safety Hub. To learn more about when Progressive Agriculture Safety Days will be in your area, or to access more farm safety resources, please visit: casa-acsa.ca/en/resources/for-kids/. Dedication to improving safety culture on the farm, keeping kids and their parents safe, and ensuring that generations of family farms thrive and succeed is what programs like the Kids Safety Hub and the Safety Scout program are all about, said Andrea Lear, CASAs Chief Executive Officer. It is with thanks to organizations like BASF that CASA can work towards these real, sustainable changes in farm safety. To learn more about the BASF Safety Scouts program and register to receive a free kit, please visit BASF | Our Stories - Safety Scouts. Additional images and broll is available upon request. About BASFs Agricultural Solutions division BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, has over 625 employees who work at one of three production facilities across Canada including: Lethbridge, Saskatoon, and Regina, or one of several research farms across the Canadian prairies. Agricultural Solutions is the largest division of BASF Canada Inc., working closely with the regional Agricultural Solutions team, collaborating on research and product development that benefits North American growers. To find out more about BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions, visit www.agsolutions.ca or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/BASFAgSolutions. Farming is fundamental to provide enough healthy and affordable food for a rapidly growing population while reducing environmental impacts. Working with partners and agricultural experts and by integrating sustainability criteria into all business decisions, we help farmers to create a positive impact on sustainable agriculture. Thats why we invest in a strong R&D pipeline, connecting innovative thinking with practical action in the field. Our portfolio comprises seeds and specifically selected plant traits, chemical and biological crop protection, solutions for soil management, plant health, pest control and digital farming. With expert teams in the lab, field, office and in production, we strive to find the right balance for success for farmers, agriculture and future generations. In 2021, our division generated sales of 8.2 billion. For more information, please visit www.agriculture.basf.com or any of our social media channels. About BASF BASF Canada Inc., headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, has over 1,200 employees at production facilities and offices located across Canada. BASF Canada is a subsidiary of BASF SE, and an affiliate of BASF Corporation. To find out more about BASFs activities in Canada, visit www.basf.com/ca or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/basfcanada. BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,700 employees in North America and had sales of $25.9 billion in 2021. For more information about BASFs North American operations, visit www.basf.com/us. At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 111,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of 78.6 billion in 2021. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com. Attachments English French MONTREAL, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This morning, at the first meeting of CNs (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) Board of Directors following Jean Charests resignation, CNs board thanked Mr. Charest for his contributions to CN. Mr. Charest was nominated to the Board in January following a rigorous selection process and resigned on April 1, 2022 to pursue public office. CNs Board has launched a search for a francophone and Quebec based director to be appointed in the coming months. This is in addition to CNs CEO, Tracy Robinson, who has relocated to Montreal. This morning, the CN Board launched a rigorous process to identify a francophone and Quebec based director to replace Mr. Charest on the board. We intend to appoint a new director in the coming months. CN, headquartered in Montreal for over 100 years, and its Board of Directors, is very proud of and respects, the Companys rich history in Quebec, where the official language is French. -- Robert Pace, Chair of the Board of CN About CN CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through a 18,600-mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship. Contacts: ALPHARETTA, Ga., April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClearStar, Inc. ("ClearStar"), a leading HR-technology company specializing in background and medical screening services announces three new executive leadership appointments. George Stanley has been named President and General Manager of the Background Screening and Verifications Business Unit, Jennifer OKeefe as Chief People Officer, and Ted Grulikowski as Chief Revenue Officer. These strategic hires will help guide ClearStar as it continues to scale and grow at an unprecedented rate. "ClearStar has more than doubled our revenues over the past 12 months and emerged as one of the largest global providers of employment-related background and medical screening services. I couldn't be more excited to welcome George, Jennifer, and Ted to the organization, said Chad Parodi, CEO of ClearStar. Adding these incredibly seasoned executives strengthens and further prepares the Company to deliver accelerated growth, future acquisitions, a differentiated customer experience, and strong financial performance as well as building a world-class company culture and talent development program. Ultimately, ClearStar strives to create a safer environment across the world by helping 200,000 employers make better hiring decisions by 2030." George Stanley is joining ClearStar in the newly created role of President, Background Screening and Verification Services. In this role, George will be focused on driving operational excellence and improving the overall customer experience. George is a performance-oriented, success-driven, and strategically focused senior executive with an exemplary record of launching new businesses and leading and optimizing business operations. He has an impressive track record of successfully scaling a business unit at ADP from $20.0M to $625.0M. After his 26-year career at ADP, George held consulting and executive leadership positions at Abbott Laboratories/eScreen and isolved Technology, an HCM software platform. In addition, he has been part of four different acquisitions and has held direct responsibility for P&Ls exceeding $130M. George holds a bachelors degree in Accounting from Susquehanna University and an MBA in Human Resource Administration from Temple University. Ted Grulikowski is joining ClearStar as Chief Revenue Officer. Ted will be responsible for accelerating top-line organic revenue growth as well as driving expansion and retention in our strategic customer base. Ted is an elite revenue growth and GTM expert with deep experience in sales execution, channel optimization, and customer success strategy. He has a 20-year record leading high-performance teams delivering transformational growth with world-class employee engagement and customer satisfaction. Most recently, Ted served as Chief Revenue Officer of Omnigo Software, a private-equity-backed safety and security management platform. Earlier in his career, Ted was a VP and Executive Advisor at RocketPower, a Forbes top 100 human capital solutions startup, a VP at LivePerson, an AI-powered digital messaging leader, and a Principal at SBI, an award-winning growth consulting firm. Ted also served as the Commercial Business Unit Leader and VP at MarketSource, an Allegis Group operating company, as the firm tripled revenue to over $300M, while being voted an Atlanta Best Company to work for three times. Ted began his career in sales and marketing roles at General Electric and Ford Motor Company. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and a graduate of the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University with a bachelors degree in Management and a minor in Marketing. Jennifer OKeefe is joining the Company in the newly created role of Chief People Officer. In addition to leading the HR function at ClearStar, Jennifer will be the architect for talent strategy and corporate-culture initiatives. Most recently, Jennifer held a VP position with Ciox Health, a private clinical data technology with 8,000 employees, where she was responsible for leadership of compensation, benefits, HRIS, recognition, culture/engagement, and talent programs. Prior to Ciox Health, Jennifer spent 13 years at Mueller Water Products, a publicly-traded manufacturer and services marketer with 2,900 employees. During her tenure, she held several positions of increasing responsibility culminating with her appointment to the executive leadership team as VP and Chief People Officer. In addition, Jennifer has led human capital mergers and acquisitions due diligence and integration activities, both domestically and internationally. Jennifer is a graduate of Furman University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. In conjunction with these executive appointments, the Company also announces three additional executive moves and promotions. Effective immediately Brad Carlson has moved into the newly created role of Chief Customer Officer, Dawn Standerwick has been promoted to Vice President of Global Sales and Katie Mahoney has been promoted to VP of Operations. About ClearStar ClearStar, Inc. is a leading HR-technology company specializing in background and medical screening services. It provides employment intelligence directly to employers and via channel partners/consumer reporting agencies ("CRAs") to support better recruitment and other employee-related decisions by increasing information quality, reliability, and visibility. A seven-time Inc. 5000 honoree and founding member of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), ClearStar has provided innovative technology solutions to businesses in the human capital management industry from its corporate offices in Alpharetta, Georgia, since 1995. ClearStar secured its presence as a leading national CRA when it acquired Employment Screening Resources (ESR) in December 2021 and is a portfolio company of Hanover Investors. For more information about ClearStar, please visit http://www.clearstar.net. Visit ClearStar on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Attachment TORONTO, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nevada Zinc Corporation (Nevada Zinc or the Company) (TSX-V: NZN) is very pleased to announce the appointment of Igor Danyliuk as President and CEO of the Company effective June 1, 2022. Mr. Danyliuk is currently a director of Nevada Zinc and will retain his seat on the Board of Directors. He is replacing Max Vichniakov who has also stepped down as a member of the Companys Board of Directors. Mr. Danyliuk brings over 30 years of capital markets experience having worked in Canada and the US as an investment banker, a top ranked equity research analyst, and most recently as Head of Research for one of Canada's major banks. He also has engineering experience having worked in the US as a technical service engineer for a major US resin manufacturer. Mr. Danyliuk holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BASc (Engineering Science) and MASc (Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry) from The University of Toronto. In connection with his appointment, Mr. Danyliuk commented: I am excited to assume this role and work together with our team and Board of Directors. My primary focus at this time is the completion of the final stage of our multiphase pilot program being conducted by Hazen Research Inc. This work is designed to produce commercial grade zinc sulfate and to provide us with operating and capital costs for the production process. I want to thank Max for his contributions to Nevada Zinc and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. The Company is also pleased to announce that Michael Wilson has agreed to join Nevada Zinc as a technical advisor. Mr. Wilson was President and CEO of Behre Dolbear Canada Ltd. and has over 40 years of experience in the fields of geology, mineralogy and mining engineering of surface and underground mines. Mr. Wilson has been responsible for the design, planning and cost determination of mining operations in multiple jurisdictions involving a variety of mineral commodities and will be instrumental in assisting in the advancement of the Companys zinc sulfate initiative. Mr. Wilson holds degrees in geology from the University of Western Ontario and mining engineering from McGill University. The Board is extremely pleased to have Igor and Mike accept their new roles with the Company at this time. Upon successful completion of our pilot plant program, Nevada Zinc will require an experienced management team, which we are building now with the addition of Igor and Mike, to move us forward to the production of zinc sulfate to be used in the US agricultural sector, commented Don Christie, Nevada Zinc's CFO and Director. About Nevada Zinc Nevada Zinc is an exploration and development company focused on its wholly-owned Lone Mountain zinc project in central Nevada, with the strategic objective of producing zinc-based products including fertilizers, animal feed and chemicals. In July 2020, the Company entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Cameron Chemicals Inc. (Cameron), a leading US producer and distributor of granular micronutrients to the agricultural, turf and horticultural industries with manufacturing facilities in Washington, Virginia and Michigan. Under the terms of the Collaboration Agreement, Nevada Zinc and Cameron would work together to establish a range of zinc-based micronutrient fertilizers to be produced by the Company and marketed by Cameron through its distribution networks. In March 2021, Nevada Zinc commenced a multiphase pilot plant program with Hazen Research Inc. (Hazen) of Golden, Colorado, to produce zinc sulfate monohydrate and further de-risk and advance the Companys Lone Mountain high-grade zinc carbonate-oxide deposit. In September 2021, the Company announced that Hazen had been successful in the production of a bench scale high-grade zinc sulfate monohydrate. In March 2022, after completion of the Companys latest financing, Hazen began a bulk operation to produce approximately 150 lbs. of a commercial grade zinc sulfate monohydrate product to be followed by a cost analysis of the process flowsheets operating and capital costs. This final stage of the Companys multiphase pilot plant program is projected to be completed in the second half of 2022. Nevada Zinc Corporation 82 Richmond St. East, First Floor Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1 Tel: 416-409-8441 Don Christie, CFO & Director don@nevadazinc.com Cautionary Statement 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. This News Release includes certain forward-looking statements which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet managements expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Companys objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains, and those risks set out in the Companys public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Mr Mahtabur Rahman, Chairman of Al Haramain Group welcomed dignitaries, guests at the UAEs largest Iftar attended by 4,000 guests at Al Haramain Group Headquarters in Ajman Industrial Area Press Release Date: Dubai, UAE, April 26, 2022 News Highlights 1. Al Haramain Group has a workforce of 3,000 professionals working in 100 showrooms in 12 countries including 1,200 deployed in three factories in the UAE; 2. Al Haramain Perfumes produces 1,300 types of perfumes and cosmetics products that are marketed and sold in 65 countries; 3. Al Haramain Perfumes has exported perfumes, body spray, cosmetics and personal care products in 3,600 containers in 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Al Haramain Group of Companies, which produces Oriental and Western perfumes such as Agarwood and Dehnal Oudh, fragrances, cosmetics and personal care products, hosted the largest Iftar in the UAE, attended by more than 4,000 guests, including dignitaries, diplomats and members of the Ajman Ruling Family. In terms of sheer size, this is by far the biggest corporate Iftar gathering in the UAE this year. The company hosted Iftar gatherings simultaneously in its premises in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bangladesh making it the largest of its kind gathering by a UAE-based business house. The Iftar gathering takes place after nearly three years, as the company could not host Iftar during 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic. Today we have gathered here after nearly three years since the Ramadan of 2019. Today we are gathering here due to the gradual recovery from COVID-19 pandemic. I pray to the Almighty for speedy recovery from the pandemic and health and safety for everyone, Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman, Chairman of Al Haramain Group of Companies and Chairman of NRB Bank, says. Although the pandemic has affected all of us, but it could not damage our spirit. Today, we could gather here to extend our prayers to the Almighty due to strong leadership in the UAE who defeated the COVID-19 fair and square and we have seen the return of business. Praising the UAE leadership for their prompt initiatives including a two-months curfew, lockdown and sanitization drive, the UAE was the first country to have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic that helped the country to recover from it fast. Al Haramain Group, which traces its roots to the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia in the 1960s, has grown from strength to strength since its establishment of Al Haramain Perfumes in 1970. The company entered the UAE market in 1981 with a showroom and then a perfume manufacturing factory. Later, as business grew, the company continued to invest in its expansion. With a workforce of 3,000 professionals working in 100 showrooms in 12 countries including 1,200 deployed in three factories in the UAE, the company produces 1,300 types of perfumes and cosmetics products that are marketed and sold in 65 countries. The UAE is a great enabler of business and we have grown phenomenally ever since we started our operations in the UAE in 1981, he says. It is due to our decision to relocate to the UAE, that we managed to grow so fast. Last year, we exported goods in 3,600 containers out of the UAE to 65 export destinations in 2021 a year when new variations of the Coronavirus disrupted global business, Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman, Chairman of Al Haramain Group of Companies and Chairman of NRB Bank, says. Our strong performance during COVID-19 pandemic reflects our inherent strength and resilience as well as our prudent management that helped us not only navigate out of the crisis, but also helped us to grow during these challenging times. We are a UAE-based company and have invested more than Dh1 billion in the UAE economy over the last 40 years. As our business grows, we are now looking forward towards a strong year of growth ahead. We have acquired more land in Ajman Industrial Area for expanding our manufacturing plant, adjacent to our corporate headquarters. Mahtabur Rahman is a seasoned businessman and involved in a broad range of business and trade ventures around the world. A far-sighted person, he diversified his business interests in banking, healthcare, hospitality, aviation etc. Mahtabur Rahman, who hails from Bangladesh, is also the President of Bangladesh Business Council in Dubai, President of the Non-Resident Bangladeshi (NRB) Commercially Important Persons (CIP) Association (NRBCIP Association) a global platform of Bangladeshi High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) who have been investing in Bangladesh. Mahtabur Rahman is one of thousands of Non-Resident Bangladeshi nationals who collectively own more than 75,000 businesses in the UAE and employ more than 225,000 people making them one of the largest business communities in the UAE. He is the first Non-Resident Bangladeshi to have been awarded a UAE Gold Visa in July 2019. I thank His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Presdent, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for their visionary leadership that makes the UAE a land of opportunity not only for the UAE nationals but for nationals of more than 200 countries who call the UAE their home, he said. We have always maintained our firm belief in the UAE economy and the country's leadership. Today, we have been rewarded for our belief, conviction and resolve. I am extremely lucky to be blessed with the kind support of His Highness Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Ajman. It is due to his kind support, we could relocate our head office to Ajman, build one of the largest agarwood processing industries in the Gulf in Ajman and grow our business manifold in the Middle East. Al Haramain Group, which has diversified business interests in perfumes, tea, banking, education, healthcare and hospitality sectors, currently owns more than 20 business establishments across the GCC, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, United States and other countries with more than 100 branches directly employing more than 1,000 professionals and employees. Al Haramain Group was established as a small business in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia in 1970. The company entered UAE market in 1981. Later it shifted its operations and head office to the UAE. The family hails from the north eastern Sylhet district of Bangladesh and currently owns Al Haramain Hospital Pvt Ltd the largest healthcare facility in Sylhet spreading across an area of 120,000 square feet to provide better healthcare services to the needy. Posted by : GoDubai Editorial Team Viewed 3985 times Posted on : Tuesday, April 26, 2022 Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of GoDubai.com. HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) _ UDR Inc. (UDR) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results matched Wall Street expectations. The real estate investment trust, based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, said it had funds from operations of $188.6 million, or 55 cents per share, in the period. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MINNEAPOLIS (AP) President Joe Biden plans to speak at a memorial service in Minnesota on Sunday for former Vice President Walter Mondale, who died last April at age 93. Biden will travel to Minneapolis for the event at the University of Minnesota. The president has described Mondale as a dear friend and mentor and one of our nations most dedicated patriots and public servants. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden wanted to attend the service because Mondale is someone he had an important personal relationship with. Other confirmed speakers include Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and presidential historian Jon Meacham. Admission to the service, which was delayed for a year by the pandemic, is by invitation only, but it will be livestreamed for the general public. It's scheduled to run from 1:30 to 3 p.m. CDT. Mondale followed the trail blazed by his political mentor, Hubert H. Humphrey, from Minnesota politics to the U.S. Senate and the vice presidency, serving under Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981. He lost one of the most lopsided presidential elections after bluntly telling voters in 1984 to expect a tax increase if he won. But well after his bruising loss, Mondale remained a revered liberal elder and went on to serve as ambassador to Japan under President Bill Clinton. Biden paid tribute to Mondale at the time of his death last year, saying: There have been few senators, before or since, who commanded such universal respect. ... It was Walter Mondale who defined the vice presidency as a full partnership, and helped provide a model for my service. WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AP) An Air Force major general in Ohio who was convicted on one of three specifications of an abusive sexual contact charge was told Tuesday he would receive a reprimand and must forfeit $10,910 of monthly pay for five months. Maj. Gen. William Cooley, 56, was found guilty Saturday in what was the first-ever military trial of an Air Force general. The weeklong court-martial at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio had three specifications, one accusing Cooley of a forcible kiss and two alleging forcible touching in 2018. Cooley was convicted of the forcible kissing specification but acquitted of the other two. Cooley had the option of a trial by court member jurors or by military judge, and chose to have the case heard by the judge. He had faced a maximum punishment of dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for seven years. Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Cooleys civilian attorney, Dan Conway, told The Dayton Daily News that his client is very thankful for the judges compassion here. Conway said the punishment was a very significant sentence, and he said a letter of reprimand may have implications in terms of the rank at which Cooley will be allowed to retire, if he chooses to do so. A former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory, Cooley was fired from that post in January 2020 after an Air Force investigation and has worked in an administrative job since then. Conway said its still Cooleys hope that he may continue serving in the Air Force. Officials said the verdict marked the first court-martial trial and conviction of a general officer in the Air Forces 75-year history. Cooleys monthly pay is $15,966, so the total financial penalty against him reaches nearly $55,000. If this result influenced just one survivor to know that his or her attackers rank or status would not prevent them from being held accountable, that is a win for the United States and the military justice system, Lt. Col. Matthew Neil, who served as lead prosecutor, said Tuesday. Cooley was charged with abusive sexual contact in an encounter with a woman who gave him a ride after a backyard barbecue in New Mexico nearly four years ago. Officials said the woman is a civilian who is not a Department of Defense employee. In a statement issued after the verdict was handed down Saturday, the womans attorney Ryan Guilds, said the ruling marks the first time an Air Force general officer has been held responsible for his heinous actions ... Hopefully, this will not be as difficult for the next survivor. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) An explosion ripped through a van inside a university campus in southern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, officials said. A separatist militant group claimed responsibility and said the attack was carried out by a woman suicide bomber. The bombing at the University of Karachi also wounded a fourth Chinese national and a Pakistani guard accompanying the van, according to university spokesman Mohammad Farooq. Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said an initial investigation showed a suicide bomber was behind the attack. He said that closed circuit television footage from the site showed a person dressed in the female burqa head-to-toe covering walking up to the van, followed by an instantaneous explosion. The Chinese fatalities included the director of the Chinese-built Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language graduate classes, and two teachers. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan confirmed the deaths of three Chinese teachers in what it called a terrorist attack Tuesday evening, saying an additional teacher was injured. The Chinese embassy and consulate in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist act, express deep condolences to the victims of the two countries and sincere condolences to the injured and their relatives, and will make every effort to deal with the incident along with the Pakistani side, a statement on the embassy website said. The embassy asked Pakistan to make every effort to treat the wounded, conduct a thorough investigation of the attack, and severely punish the perpetrator. It called on Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in the country. Hours after the bombing, the U.S. Consulate in the port city of Karachi on Twitter condemned the attack, saying: This cowardly act stands in direct contrast to the peaceful spirit of Ramadan, and we offer our deepest condolences to the victims and their families and those who lost their loved ones." In Islamabad, Pakistans Foreign Ministry in a statement condemned the attack and the killing of Chinese in Karachi. The cowardly incident is a direct attack on the Pakistan-China friendship and ongoing cooperation," it said and added authorities were investigating the incident to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack calling it heinous saying the perpetrators will surely be brought to justice. He also visited the Chinese Embassy along with Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in Islamabad to convey his condolences to Beijing over the killing of the Chinese in Karachi. The Baluchistan Liberation Army, a militant group in nearby Baluchistan province, has targeted Chinese nationals in attacks in the past. The group's statement that followed Tuesday's attack identified the bomber as Shari Baluch or Bramsh, saying she was the group's first female bomber. The attack marks a new chapter in the history of Baluch resistance, the statement said. Baluchistan has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency by armed Baluch groups demanding more autonomy and a greater share in the regions natural resources if not outright independence from Islamabad. However, the Pakistani Taliban have also targeted Chinese interest in the past. Last July, the group also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus that killed nine Chinese nationals in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province. Four Pakistanis also died in that attack. The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group from the Afghan Taliban, their allies who have seized power in neighboring Afghanistan. Thousands of Chinese workers are living and working in Pakistan, with most of them involved in Beijing's multibillion-dollar One Belt One Road Project" that is to connect south and central Asia with the Chinese capital. A key road linking Pakistan's southern port of Gwadar, in southwestern Baluchistan province, with China's northwest Xinjiang province, is part of what is known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The project includes a number of infrastructure projects and several power projects. ___ Associated Press writers Kathy Gannon and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Huizhong Wu in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report. BERLIN (AP) German federal prosecutors on Tuesday took over an investigation of anti-government extremists who allegedly planned to cause a long nationwide blackout and kidnap the country's health minister, saying there's evidence that the group constituted a terror organization. Four German men were arrested on April 13 over their alleged roles in the plot, which authorities suspect was aimed at producing conditions similar to civil war and ultimately bringing down the government and parliamentary democracy. CAIRO (AP) The death toll from weekend tribal clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudans western Darfur region has surpassed 200 people, a senior official said Tuesday. Khamis Abdalla Abkar, the provincial governor of West Darfur province, said Sundays fighting in the town of Kreinik also wounded at least 103 others. He said attackers overwhelmed a joint security force in the town, leading to its withdrawal. This is a crime, a crime against humanity, Abkar said in video comments, adding that the town was destroyed, including its government institutions. The fighting, some of the deadliest in the region in recent years, grew out of the killing of two Arab herdsmen on Thursday just outside Kreinik, 80 kilometers (around 50 miles) east of Genena, the provincial capital of West Darfur. Large numbers of Arab militias, known as janjaweed, then stormed the town early Sunday with heavy weapons in retaliation, he said. The violence eventually reached West Darfurs provincial capital of Genena on Sunday and the main hospital was attacked. Shooting took place inside the facility including its emergency department. One staffer was killed, and health care workers were evacuated, according to the Doctors Without Borders charity. Abkar, the provincial governor, also said that clashes on Thursday and Friday left eight dead and over two dozen wounded. Abkar said authorities have taken unprecedented security measures to protect civilians in West Darfur. The military, he said, deployed a brigade to the province joining a civilian protection force already stationed in Kreinik. Tensions between Arab and African Masalit communities in Kreinik date back to December when a property dispute at a local market triggered clashes that killed at least 88 people. The fighting has come at a critical time for Sudan, which has plunged into chaos since a military coup last year. The takeover upended the countrys transition to democracy after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. The clashes raise questions over whether military leaders are capable of bringing security to Darfur, which has been wracked by years of civil war. In 2020, the U.N. Security Council ended its peacekeeping mission there. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination. Al-Bashirs government was accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing the janjaweed on civilians a charge it denied. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. General Assembly took a first step Tuesday to put the five permanent members of the Security Council under the spotlight whenever they use their veto power, a move highlighted by Russia's veto threat paralyzing any action by the U.N.s most powerful body on the Ukraine war. A resolution adopted by consensus in the 193-member assembly amid a burst of applause does not eliminate or limit the veto power of the Security Council's permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. But for the first time, the General Assembly will be required to hold a debate on the situation that sparks a veto in the Security Council within 10 working days. Precedence will be given on the list of speakers to the permanent member who casts a veto. The assembly isnt required to take or consider any action under the resolution, but the discussion could put veto-wielders on the spot and let a raft of other countries be heard. Liechtensteins U.N. ambassador, Christian Wenaweser, who spearheaded the resolution, which had been in the works for two years, has said 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. In presenting the resolution to the assembly Tuesday morning, Wenaweser alluded to Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and the Security Councils failure to take action: There has never been a stronger need for effective multilateralism than today, and there has never been a stronger need for innovation in order to secure the central role and voice of the United Nations. Amnesty Internationals secretary general, Agnes Callamard, called the resolution a first step towards increasing the cost of using the veto -- and it could not have come soon enough. The resolution had about 80 co-sponsors, including the United States and the United Kingdom. But it also had detractors even though they didnt break consensus, including Russia and close ally Belarus as well as current elected council members Gabon and India and other U.N. member nations. The reform of the Security Council, which is charged under the U.N. Charter with ensuring international peace and security, has been debated for more than 40 years, and was front and center in comments by countries before and after the resolutions adoption. There is widespread support for revamping the council to reflect current global realities rather than the international power structure after World War II in 1945 when the United Nations was created. But rivalries between countries and regions have blocked all attempts to reach agreement on the size, composition and powers of an expanded council. The veto power of the five permanent members is one component on the reform agenda. More than 200 different Security Council proposals have been vetoed, some by multiple countries, according to U.N. records. The subjects have ranged from the Korean War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to climate change, reporting on weapons stockpiles, and governance of a part of the Indian Ocean nation Comoros. The former Soviet Union and its successor Russia have cast the most vetoes by far, followed by the United States. Far fewer have been cast by Britain, China and France. U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills said after the vote that the United States is extraordinarily troubled by Russias pattern of abusing its veto right over the past decade, citing resolutions it vetoed ranging from referring Syria to the International Criminal Court, protesting Russia's annexation of Ukraines Crimea peninsula and demanding Russia immediately halt its invasion of Ukraine. British Ambassador Barbara Woodward, whose country has not used its veto since 1989, called the resolution a step in pursuit of upholding international peace and security, adding: We prefer to win votes rather than use our veto to block council action. France didnt co-sponsor the resolution and its deputy ambassador, Nathalie Broadhurst, said it does not believe the General Assembly can become the judge of the Security Council. She said that is why France and Mexico have been promoting an initiative on the veto for several years. It would require the five permanent council members to voluntarily and collectively suspend the use of the veto in the event of mass atrocities. Saying the proposal is supported by 105 countries, she urged all states, in particular the other four permanent members, to join it. Russias deputy ambassador, Gennady Kuzmin, called the veto a cornerstone of the U.N. architecture and warned that without it the Security Council would become a rubber-stamping body, rubber-stamping questionable decisions imposed by the nominal majority whose implementation would be hardly possible. Chinese counselor Jiang Hua said the resolutions automatic triggering of a General Assembly meeting on the vetoed resolution in practice is likely to cause procedural confusion and inconsistency. India and Brazil, which have sought permanent seats on the Security Council for many years and are currently serving two-year terms on the body, both complained that the resolution doesnt address the real issue of reforming the council. A representative council which reflects the current international system is central to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the future of this organization. Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho told members. Indias deputy ambassador, Ravindra Raguttahalli, said that a vocal minority of nay-sayers who support the status quo in the Security Council have held reform efforts hostage. He said the veto resolution ignores the root cause of the problem restruturing the council to reflect contemporary geo-political realities. Ambassador Michel Biang of Gabon, which is also an elected council member, said Africa has the largest number of U.N. peacekeeping missions but has no permanent seat on the Security Council. Approving the resolution will not change the scope of the veto, nor its substance, Biang said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) In her 9th-grade essay, Yeardley Love wrote about what she wanted to do with her life: to attend the University of Virginia, to play lacrosse there, to become a lawyer and to maintain her close relationship with her family. Many of her dreams came true, but ended abruptly and violently when she was brutally beaten by her boyfriend, a lawyer for Love's family told a jury Tuesday in the civil trial of the man convicted in her killing. George Huguely V was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a 23-year prison sentence in Love's slaying. Yeardley and Hugely both played lacrosse at UVA and were weeks away from graduation when Yeardley was found dead in her off-campus apartment in 2010. A wrongful death lawsuit brought by Love's mother, Sharon Love, seeks to hold him civilly liable for her daughter's death. The lawsuit is seeking $29.5 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. As the civil trial got underway, Paul Bekman, a lawyer for Love's family, showed the jury happy photos of Love with her mother and sister. He described a kind, thoughtful and caring young woman who played lacrosse, joined a sorority and kept up with a rigorous academic schedule at UVA while making sure to speak with her family almost every day. Bekman told the jury that Love and Huguely had dated for two years, but had a rocky relationship that was marred by Huguely's excessive drinking. He said fellow students will testify about earlier violent episodes when Huguely was drunk, including one that happened about a month or two before Yeardley was killed, when visiting lacrosse players from North Carolina heard Love yell, Help, I can't breathe, and walked in to Huguely's bedroom to find Huguely with his hands around her neck. Bekman showed the jury graphic crime scene photos of Love as she lay dead on her bedroom floor, with her right eye bashed in, her face bloody, and marks on her shoulder and neck. Love's mother and sister left the courtroom just before the photos were shown and cried softly during several other portions of the opening statements. A medical examiner determined that Love died from blunt-force injuries to her head. She died as a result of a vicious and brutal beating, Bekman said. Huguely's attorney, Matthew Green, told jurors that Huguely admits he assaulted Love and that her family is entitled to compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by the jury. But he said the defense will argue that Huguely's actions did not amount to the willful and wanton conduct that is required to award punitive damages. In fact, Green said, Huguely did not intend to cause Love's death. Green urged the jury to focus on the approximately eight to 10 minutes Huguely spent in Love's apartment the night she was killed. He said Huguely was a party animal who began drinking right after the UVA men's lacrosse team played its final game on May 1, 2010. Huguely's family was in town for senior day, and he spent the next 30 hours consuming 45 to 50 drinks, using a conservative estimate, Green said. The following day, Love and Huguely exchanged angry, immature emails, but had patched things up by that night and were seen on video holding hands as they spent time with Huguely's family at a bar, Green said. Then, about 11:45 p.m., a drunken Huguely went to Love's apartment, where he kicked in her bedroom door. During questioning by police early the next morning, Huguely said he only went to Love's apartment to talk to her, but their argument quickly turned physical. Huguely said Love's head hit the wall and they wrestled on the floor, but that when he left, she only had a bloody nose. Her roommates found her dead about two hours later. Green said Love's visible injuries were limited to the right side of her face, which he said is consistent with a single impact, some kind of a fall where her face impacts the floor. Green said that when police told Huguely that Love was dead, his videotaped interview shows that he just doesn't believe it. It's clear he had no understanding a fatal event had happened, Green said. Green said the jury in Huguely's criminal trial rejected a first-degree murder charge and instead found him guilty of second-degree murder. He is about halfway through his 23-year prison sentence. Justice has been done, Green said. The lawsuit was initially filed in 2012, but was later voluntarily dismissed and then refiled in 2018. Following two Developer Previews, released in February and March, respectively, today Google has made the first Android 13 beta build available for public testing. And as always with Android betas, it's much easier to install and play with than the Developer Preview builds were. That's by design, as by now hopefully there should be no huge, horrible, show-stopping bugs. That said, you are still likely to experience loads of issues, as this is the first of four planned betas before the final release hits later this year. If you're interested in trying out the Android 13 Beta 1, and have a supported Google Pixel smartphone, then you can just head on over to the Android Beta Program website here and enroll your device. Then you should receive Android 13 Beta 1 as an over-the-air software update within a few minutes (up to a few hours). Subsequent beta builds will also be sent to you over-the-air just like normal software updates, and the same goes for the final version of Android 13 once that's fully baked and ready to get out of the oven. If you are already running a Developer Preview build of Android 13, then you'll get the first beta (and the next ones) over-the-air as well. Android 13 Beta 1 comes with new permissions for more granular access to media files and improved audio routing APIs. Apps that want to access media on your phone now have three different permissions specific to what file type they want to access - one for images and photos, one for videos, and one for audio files. Previously, all of these were baked into a single "media access" permission, which, if granted, allowed the app to access all types of media. Not anymore, though. When you grant one of the new permissions, the app in question will only have read access to the respective media file type(s) and nothing else. When developers' apps will target Android 13, they will have to migrate to this new permissions model. There are also some minute improvements to audio routing, as well as better error reporting for apps that generate keys - but these will probably be of interest primarily to app developers. Next month at the Google I/O developer conference, the company will share more details about Android 13 along with more new features, and it's very likely that the second beta will drop right about that time, in order to showcase the newly unveiled stuff. Source Sen. Telena Cruz Nelson made her bid for Guams delegate seat in Washington D.C. official on Tuesday, surrounded by family supporters at the Guam Election Commission office in Tamuning. Today is the day that I decided to run for Congress. I believe that the people of Guam needed a serious leader, Nelson said. I am a combat veteran. I am a teacher. I am a three-term senator. The Democrat majority leader in the Guam Legislature, Nelson is the first candidate for delegate to file with the commission and the third so far this year, with upwards of 900 signatures on her nomination petition, awaiting a final tally by the Election Commission. She said that if elected, she plans to continue pursuing many of the policies and goals that she has championed while in the Legislature. We have worked for sustainability. We have worked for education, we have worked for leveraging our federal resources, fighting for our veterans rights for the benefits that theyve earned in combat. And weve also worked to build our economy and protect the workforce through unemployment initiatives. And we will continue to do that work moving forward. Parity in Supplemental Security Income, which provides monthly financial benefits to low-income, elderly and disabled residents, is another goal. It was very disheartening to see the SSI ruling taking place in the courts that really distance us from our national partners. And so, we are going to fight for equity and parity in SSI and continue the funding reimbursements of Medicaid, she said. Nelson, who served in Afghanistan, would continue to pursue her career in the armed forces if elected, which she said would benefit her ability to operate in Congress. I understand the global actions that are currently taking place within our region and outside and those that affect Guam directly and indirectly. And with that military experience I can bring to the table in the Armed Services Committee, I will fight for our island, she said. Nelson has previously been called to active duty with the National Guard while serving as the vice speaker but said that numerous members of Congress were also in the military. Longtime senator and former speaker Judi Won Pat, also a Democrat, has confirmed her intention to run for the delegate seat and would square off with Nelson in a primary. Incumbent Democrat Del. Michael San Nicolas will be vacating the seat to run for governor, in the midst of an ongoing congressional ethics investigation. His running mate is journalist Sabrina Salas Matanane. On the opposite side of the aisle, Republican Sen. Jim Moylan has also announced his candidacy for delegate, and his campaign team has filed with the election commission and started fundraising. Sen. Jose Pedo Terlaje has filed his reelection papers and was the first candidate to do so this year, followed by senatorial hopeful Dwayne San Nicolas, running as a Democrat. Harvey Egna was the fourth so far, filing their packet for senator as a Republican after Nelson. A SUSPECTED serial robber and murderer, who committed a spate of robberies in Harare, appeared in court yesterday following his dramatic arrest on Friday. Aaron Machona, was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate, Yeukai Dzuda, who remanded him in custody. In the first charge of murder and armed robbery, the court heard that on March 9, at around 1am, Jubilee Utsiwegota was asleep in her bedroom. Her mother, Mavis Utsiwegota, and four other children were also sleeping in the house when Machona broke into the premises. He was allegedly armed with a CZ pistol and started assaulting the elderly Mavis Utsiwegota demanding money. The late Jubilee confronted Machona and tried to stop him from assaulting her mother. Machona allegedly fired four shots into her head leading to her death. He stole two cellphones and US$60. In another count, Machona broke into Kelvin Mutandwas house using an unknown object. When Mutandwa heard the noise, he saw Machona wearing a balaclava, pointing a pistol at him. Machona ordered Mutandwa to lie down and he tied his hands and legs and he stole US$2 that was in the drawer and a cellphone. He ordered Mutandwas wife to lead him to the other tenants bedroom. Hilary Marufu (22) opened the door and Machona confronted him with a pistol and ordered him to lie down. Machona allegedly stole watches and cellphones and drove away in Marufus car, which he later dumped in Chitungwiza. He is also facing attempted robbery charges after he allegedly broke into Mario Pepas house and demanded money. He threatened to shoot both Pepa and his wife. Pepa allegedly wrestled with Machona and he fired a shot before escaping from the scene. Machona is then alleged to have broken into Shamiso Nheras house. She was awoken by barking dogs and saw him in the corridor armed with a pistol. He allegedly forced her back into her bedroom where he blindfolded her and took her phones and ransacked the house. He ordered her to carry a safe, which had US$36 000, and accompany him outside. Machona was also charged for unlawful possession of a firearm. Allegations are that on April 22, detectives received information that he was involved in a spate of robberies, and he had been seen at Chigovanyika Shopping Centre in Chitungwiza. Machona became suspicious and drove off at high speed and a chase ensued in which the police fired warning shots. He was eventually cornered at a fuel station leading to his arrest. When police searched his house, they found a pistol and a magazine with one round of ammunition. Anesu Chirenje appeared for the State. H Metro Members of the Democratic Party of Guam Central Executive Committee voted on Tuesday night to close their primaries for election year 2022 to non-members of the party. The move passed as an amendment to party's bylaws, with 30 members of the committee voting yes, five voting no, one abstention, and 15 either not voting or absent. The amendment cites a court order by Superior Court of Guam Judge Alberto C. Lamorena, Civil Case Number CV1456-03, which finds that "each recognized political party has the prerogative to dictate its primary election format, for all primary elections subsequent to 2004." According to the order, the Guam Election Commission must follow the decision of any party that decides to close its primary and require each voter participating in the primary election to state their name, residence and political affiliation in order to receive that party's ballot. A signed letter provided by Election Commission Director Maria Pangelinan, dated March 10, affirms that the commission will follow the provisions of the court order. Party Executive Director Chirag Bhojwani told members of the committee that closing the primary would help to preserve its freedom of association by "better ensuring that only members of the party influence that party's nominee." The move would allow all Democrats to choose who they want as their representative, he said. The closure applies to primaries for all elected offices, but the party reserves the right to open up the vote if it chooses to do so. "In terms of strengthening our party this allows for the party to have a greater role in the process of who serves as our candidate." He stressed that Guam law still prohibits "crossover voting," meaning you can only vote for members from one party in any partisan election. "So in a sense, if you are set on voting for one particular Democrat in the primary, it's essentially a closed primary," Bhojwani said. According to research provided by Bhojwani, nine states in the U.S. have closed primaries, including Delaware and Florida. Another six have partially closed primaries, where the party can choose whether to allow non-party members to vote in the primary. The Piti Mayors Office has teamed up with the Guam Preservation Trust to revive a village tradition tied to the culturally significant Atantano area. The historic preservation site, known to contain cultural artifacts dating back to the Latte Period, spans 73 hectares. On the mayors office side, were focusing more on the Santa Cruz fiesta, which of course happens to be at Atantano and working with GPT to bring more awareness and education about the Atantano area, said Piti Mayor Jesse Alig. Education Guam Preservation Trust and other organizations have worked together to coordinate hiking trips and educational excursions to areas with rare, medicinal plants, as well as visits to the preserves ancient latte stone sites. Alig said visitors can experience the Atantano Heritage Preserve, located between the boundaries of Piti and Santa Rita-Sumai on Marine Corps Drive, to see the Atantano Shrine. The goal of the Guam Preservation Trust is to showcase what Guam looked like, said Joe Quinata, GPT Chief Program Officer in a news release. With research, development, education, and outreach, we can make this heritage preserve a learning center for our community. The Piti Mayors office is hosting the villages traditional Santa Cruz novena to Santa Cruz at 6:30 p.m. through May 2 with a fiesta celebration on May 3. Alig said the event, which will include a pictorial and educational exhibit, is open to the public. Were making use of the property and developing a master plan to utilize this heritage preserve to the benefit of our people and possibly our visitors, said Alig. Theres definitely interest from our council to learn more about Atantano. We could use this fiesta to invite more people to come out. Members of the Democratic Party of Guam Central Executive Committee voted on Tuesday night to close their primaries for election year 2022 to China, UN vow to jointly boost global development Xinhua) 10:27, April 26, 2022 BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China and the United Nations development system Monday agreed to make joint efforts for the cause of global development. The consensus came when Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Siddharth Chatterjee, UN development system resident coordinator in China. Noting that the UN is the main platform for international development cooperation, Wang said China attaches great importance to cooperation with the UN development system and is willing to work with the UN to advance the cause of global development. Wang said the Global Development Initiative, put forward by China, aims to call on the international community to pay more attention to development issues, strengthen international development cooperation, and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. More than 100 countries have supported the initiative, and more than 50 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative established by China on the UN platform, Wang added. China has accumulated rich experience in poverty alleviation, human resource development, protection of women's and children's rights, health, and green and open development, etc. China is willing to cooperate with UN members and the UN development system to share these experience with other countries, Wang said. Chatterjee spoke highly of the significance of the Global Development Initiative to realize the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. He said that the UN development system in China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China on advancing the Global Development Initiative, actively offer advice and suggestions, and carry out practical cooperation. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Haiti - FLASH : Gang War, the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac transformed into a battlefield Since Sunday, the "400 mawozo" Gang, which controls Croix-des-Bouquets, has once again been facing the rival "Chen Mechan" Gang, which controls the areas of Croix-des-Missions and Butte Boyer... Armed clashes, which have already caused several deaths and injuries among belligerents, but also among innocent civilians according to testimonies. The residents of Santo, Shada, Croix-des-Missions, Butte Boyer, "Anba Mapou", "Deye simitye" find themselves in spite of themselves at the heart of these fights and live in terror, the men of "400 Mawozo" try to regain control of these neighborhoods, which they had lost control in 2018 to the benefit of "Chen Mechan" Automatic gunfire was heard throughout the day. Commercial activities are completely paralyzed as well as traffic due to barricades erected on several roads. Weapons and ammunition do not seem to be lacking on either side... According to local residents, on Monday the area called Butte-Boyer would again be under the control of "400 mawozo", however, their attempt to cross the Croix-des-Missions bridge failed and was repelled by the men of "Chen Mechan". Several inhabitants have started to flee the combat zone, the others remain locked up in their homes, several houses have been burned... It seems that the trigger for this conflict between gangs, in addition to the reconquest of territories conquered by the rival gang, would be the decision of "400 Mawozo", to install a Chief in Butte Boyer on the territory of "Chen Mechan", a decision considered by the rival gang as a provocation and reopened hostilities. The authorities, not communicated any assessment of the situation... Sl/ TB/ PI/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Insecurity : A student in 5th year of Medicine shot dead Saturday April 23, Osny Zidor, (27), a 5th year student at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy (FMP), was killed in Bois-Verna, by a bullet in the head, shot for no reason by a unidentified individuals traveling on a motorcycle, while she was a passenger in a minibus which provided the downtown/Petion-ville route. The student died instantly. The Rectorate of the State University of Haiti (UEH) said to be, in a note, "in the most total dismay" after learning the news of the heinous assassination of student Osny Zidor. "The Rectorate denounces and condemns with all its might this umpteenth oduious crime perpetrated against a member of the UEH community. It is deeply regrettable that mourning continues to knock on our doors in such disastrous conditions. The Rectorate presents its sympathy and solidarity to the family and loved ones of Osny Zidor. At the same time, he shares the pain of the large FMP family. The Haitian people and particularly the university community are tired of counting corpses in their ranks. The authorities concerned must definitely get to work to put an end once and for all to this descent into hell of our dear nation." HL/ S/ HaitiLibre RESIDENTS of Goring could be going to the polls for the second time within weeks. This follows the resignations of three parish councillors just before a by-election last week. Former council chairman Kevin Bulmer, his wife Mary and Councillor Tony Virgo-Harris all decided to step down for personal reasons, according to parish clerk Laura White. Their departure was announced in a notice from the council on Tuesday, two days before the by-election in which retired astrophysicist Jim Emerson was elected. Mr Emerson, 72, of Millers Close, polled 466 votes, ahead of Richard Osborne, who is landlord of the John Barleycorn pub in Manor Road, with 268 and Chloe Morrison with 153. The turnout was 32.2 per cent. The by-election was called following the death of Councillor Matthew Brown in February. Villagers now have until May 10 to decide if they want to go to the polls again. A minimum of 10 electors must call for a by-election for one to be held, as happened following Cllr Browns death. Ms White said: If there is no call for an election we will advertise for co-opted members and ask people to apply. My hope is that the two candidates who were unsuccessful in last weeks election will do so, along with any others. The cost of last weeks by-election was about 8,000 and a second one would cost a similar amount. Ms White said the Bulmers decided to step down due to Mrs Bulmers health. Mr Virgo-Harris had called within days to inform her of his wish to resign. She encouraged the trio to go on the same day so she could issue the notice asking villagers if they wanted another by-election. Ms White said: It was all for medical or personal reasons and nothing to do with last weeks election. She explained that councillors must attend at least one meeting in six months and as Mrs Bulmer was still in hospital her qualification for being a councillor was already due to expire in early May. Mr Bulmer, who had served on the parish council for 12 years, said: My wife has had an illness that required hospital treatment since November and she is still in hospital. It has reached the point where I just cannot give the parish council the attention it requires. Mr Bulmer, who works as a company secretary, will continue to represent Goring for the Conservatives on Oxfordshire County Council. He said: It has all got a bit too much and I have had to reassess what I can and cant do, so its time to give other people a chance and get some new blood on to the parish council. Ms White said: Its a shame but could not be helped. This is the situation we find ourselves in. Mr Virgo-Harris could not be contacted by the Henley Standard. Councillor Emerson had stood on a ticket of Good governance for Goring. He said: I want to help the council uphold high standards in public office, make the right decisions and communicate them to the community. We all want the council to make wise decisions and I hope to contribute to that and to make sure they are presented clearly enough for the electorate to understand the reasons for making those decisions. I want to ensure that Goring is governed well and it should be clear that it is. He added: I would like to record my thanks to my two rivals for their positive campaigns. Cllr Emerson, who retired in 2017, has lived in the village with his wife for many years and has children and grandchildren. He is the production manager of Goring Gap News, which he joined as a volunteer in 2015. He said reading every word of the monthly newsletter helped him to keep his finger on the pulse of village issues. As an unpaid director of the publication, he also helps award its grants to local good causes. He is also an independent advisor to a London borough standards committee, which resolves governance complaints against councillors. When he worked as an astrophysicist he was involved in detailed funding applications for astronomical research, including overseeing the construction of the 32 million Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy in Chile, the largest telescope of its kind in the world. Cllr Emerson said: As an astrophysicist people might think I have my head in the clouds but I have lots of experience in the real world too. Upscale brand brings hallmark design and stylish amenities to guests in second Nashville location. Following the brand's initial debut in Nashville several years ago, Cambria Hotels, an upscale brand franchised by Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), made an encore appearance with the grand opening of its second location: the Cambria Hotel Nashville Airport. The brand's newest addition underscores Cambria's continued quest to bring design-forward, approachable upscale accommodations to guests' favorite locations nationwide and provides modern travelers with the amenities they need to discover all the opportunities Nashville offers. To commemorate the property's official opening, Choice Hotels welcomed community members and distinguished guests to a ribbon cutting ceremony. Upon arrival, guests were treated to an airport-themed reception and property tours featuring the hotel's one-of-a-kind guitar-shaped saltwater pool, locally inspired bar and restaurant, and thoughtfully designed guestrooms. Speakers at the event included Jayesh Patel, chief executive officer, Athena Hospitality Group John Cooper, Mayor of Nashville, Pat Pacious, president and chief executive officer, Choice Hotels and Senior Vice President of Upscale Brands for Choice Hotels Janis Cannon, who each expressed their excitement about the brand's growth in Nashville and another new Choice hotel with Athena Hospitality Group. Ideally suited for both business and leisure travelers, the four-story, 130-room Cambria Hotel Nashville Airport is located at 44 Rachel Drive, just minutes from the Nashville International Airport and a short drive to downtown Nashville's most popular boroughs, including The Gulch; Music Row; and South Broadway. The hotel also provides convenient access to the offices of several major corporations and area employers, such as Nissan North America, HCA Healthcare, Dollar General and Bridgestone Americas, as well as popular attractions including, the One Century Place Conference Center, Grand Ole Opry, Opry Mills mall, Bridgestone Arena and Lower Broadway, where guests can hear live music at the renowned "honky tonks" and visit the Johnny Cash Museum. The Cambria Hotel Nashville Airport features upscale amenities and approachable indulgences that appeal to modern travelers, including: Multi-purpose indoor and outdoor spaces for productive work or relaxation, including a spacious patio with a firepit and cabanas for gathering. Locally inspired design and decor, reflecting the unique personality of the surrounding community, including an outdoor saltwater pool in the shape of a guitar. Full bar, featuring local Mid-South craft beers on tap, wine, specialty cocktails, and whiskey flights spotlighting popular Tennessee pours. Contemporary and sophisticated guest rooms, complete with design forward fixtures, abundant lighting and plush bedding. Immersive, spa-style bathrooms with Bluetooth mirrors. Onsite dining at the Hangar Bar + Kitchen, featuring area-inspired dishes and a contemporary take on Nashville favorites from local chef Steve Townsend, as well as to-go options. Nearly 7,000 square feet of multi-function meeting and event spaces, featuring nesting pods and flexible seating to suit any business gathering. State-of-the-art fitness center. Electric vehicle charging station and free shuttle transportation to the Nashville International Airport. The Cambria Hotel Nashville Airport was developed by Athena Hospitality Group, a full-service development and management company based in Florence, Kentucky. All Choice-branded hotels are participating in Commitment to Clean, an initiative that builds upon the strong foundation of Choice franchisees' long-standing dedication to cleanliness with enhanced training and best practices for deep cleaning, disinfecting and social distancing. Additionally, Cambria guests can limit their interactions with hotel staff by using the Cambria Contactless Concierge Service, a text messaging service for housekeeping requests, to-go food orders, meeting room requests and more. Hotel website A rooftop pool and taqueria, bodega, pizza slice shop, basement event space and all-new four-bed rooms. The Hoxton has opened its doors in Barcelona, in the creative neighbourhood of Poblenou, marking something new for the city as a multi-functional destination for locals and guests. Located in walking distance of the beach and set to be a pillar of the community, The Hoxton offers 240 rooms; a striking rooftop with a pool, cabanas and views over Sagrada Familia; Tope, a rooftop bar and taqueria; and Four Corners, a ground-floor pizza restaurant that stretches across a light and airy restaurant, sun terrace, slice shop and bodega a one-stop shop for the best Spanish snacks, wines and craft beers. The hotel's large and bright lobby is full of cosy corners and houses Best Of, The Hoxton's retail collection which features exclusively local and sustainable brands. To the right of the lobby, three meeting and events spaces make up The Apartment, along with La Cave, a basement space that will host local cultural programming and community events. Lobby At the heart of the hotel, the bright and airy lobby is a welcoming space, centred around a curved all-day bar serving coffee and drinks. On entering the hotel, guests are wowed by the colourful hand-painted mural on the bar front, by local artist, Maria Marvila. Floor-to-ceiling windows feature on both sides of the lobby, embracing the Mediterranean sunshine. The space is framed by lofty arches, peachy plastered walls, and bold abstract artworks curated by John Brown Projects. A contemporary mix of tactile fabrics and patterns on upholstered seating is used alongside abundant planting, rattans and stones, to create a space that feels intimate, relaxed and welcoming. Rooms The hotel's 240 bedrooms have been designed to reflect their location. Embracing the sun and sea of Barcelona, rooms feel Mediterranean with terracotta floors, faded florals, natural jute rugs and serene colour palettes. Handcrafted tapestries hang above statement headboards and floor-to-ceiling windows flood the rooms with light. Rooms are generously sized, ranging from Roomy to an all-new 'Homey' category which will appeal to families and longer staying guests with kitchenettes, dining areas, and the option of two double beds in separate closable rooms for privacy. Bathrooms feel fresh and bright, with Zellige tiles, terracotta floors, walk-in rainfall showers, and Blank amenities. A handful of Biggy and Homey rooms feature bathtubs perfect for relaxing after a day exploring the city. The Hoxton commissioned local Catalan artist, Jose Antonio Roda to illustrate room keys and collateral; artwork in the rooms is curated by Barcelona-based John Brown Projects; bookshelves are curated by Hox Friends; and all rooms feature neighbourhood guides with tried-and-tested local recommendations from the team. Tope Up on the roof with knock-out views of Sagrada Familia, Tope is a fun and informal Mexican taqueria with a rotating menu of tacos, fresh Mexican-inspired dishes, frozen margaritas, giant slushies, and DJs amping up the vibes at the weekends. A sister to Tope Portland which opened atop The Hoxton Portland in 2018, Tope Poblenou offers 360- degree views of the city, which can be enjoyed with relaxed seating, or soaked up poolside on a sun lounger or in a comfy cabana. With room for up to 100 standing, Tope vows to be a lively weekend spot with DJs hitting the decks on Fridays and Saturdays, making it a must-go destination to catch the sunset. The rooftop space will also be used to host leisurely yoga sessions for guests and locals, and community events as part of The Hoxton's cultural programming. Tope offers a neat list of classic tacos features slow-cooked meats, charred vegetables and flavourful sauces. Menu highlights include: sea bass aguachile, a typical dish from the western coast of Mexico; homemade guacamole; quesadilla with cheese, cactus, corn and jalapeno; and pulled pork carnitas with pico de gallo and habanero. Tope's regularly changing menu embraces seasonality and local produce. As for drinks, tequila and mezcal are whipped up into frozen margaritas, Miami Vice slushies, and colourful pitchers, national and Mexican beers, as well as a selection of wines from local Spanish vineyards. Whilst the striking backdrop of the city is the star of the show up here, Tope's decor plays off the Mexican cuisine with colourful geometric-tiled tabletops, lush greenery, cacti, handmade terracotta pendants hanging over the bar, striped sun loungers, and a wow-factor chequerboard terrazzo pool. Four Corners On the ground floor of the hotel, Four Corners is a pizza restaurant, sun terrace, slice shop and bodega. Fresh out of London where it ran as a four-month pop-up and was met with rave reviews, Four Corners specialises in deep-dish Detroit-style pizza served in square pies or giant slices. Overseen by New York-based pizzaiolo, Anthony Falco, Four Corners' thick and chunky bases are light and baked fresh. Toppings including: Mortadella and pistachio pesto; Soppressata with spicy honey, cheesy carbonara; and the classic red top. The all-day menu also includes small plates designed to share including mozzarella sticks, Italian charcuterie, aubergine parmigiana and to finish, a too-good-to-miss tiramisu. The menu is accompanied by a selection of natural wines from small-scale European wineries and craft beers from local brewery, Garage Beer. For early risers, Four Corners serves breakfast until 11:30 am, with a selection of freshly baked homemade pastries from Barcelona's much-loved spot, Funky Bakers; sweet tiramisu-filled bombolini; sourdough toast with ricotta, pear and honey; and the 'BEC': a stand-out bacon, egg and cheese brioche. With Poblenou celebrated for its craft coffee scene, Four Corners hits the mark with specialty coffee from the nearby Three Marks Coffee. The pared-back space is full of natural light with cascading greenery, large paper shade lanterns and bold blue tiles. A colourful hand-painted mural by artist, Caroline Denervaud, frames the open-kitchen and wrap-around bar, with its corrugated concrete front and red leather bar stools. Between the lobby and the restaurant, Four Corners' Slice Shop is a quick, grab-and-go option, where guests can swing by to pick up a slice for the road or sit in at its relaxed high-top seating. Guests are encouraged to visit the bodega, where they'll find a curated selection of Barcelona's snacks, beers and low-intervention wines, including Torres crisps, Garage Brewery beers, Ortiz tinned seafood, and bespoke vermouth from Morro Fi, bottled exclusively for Four Corners. The bodega has been designed as a contemporary take on the traditional Spanish bodega. Branding, products and an experiential approach lay at the heart of the design, with shelves stretching up to the double-height ceiling, with deliberately kitsch and industrial finishes. The Apartment and La Cave The Apartment, The Hoxton's meeting and events space, is comprised of three rooms, centred around a communal pantry kitchen. Located on the ground floor, the differently-sized rooms make the most of the natural light and feature white-washed timber floors, bespoke joinery and a continuation of the hotel's dynamic artwork collection. Moving walls and concealed TVs mean the rooms transition seamlessly to accommodate all kinds of occasions, from small meetings to large standing receptions. The pantry kitchen is the heart of The Apartment, with a terrazzo-topped bar, checkerboard concrete floor and statement handmade tapestry. New and unique for The Hoxton's Barcelona property, La Cave is a multifunctional basement space and extension of The Apartment. The space fits up to 300 standing, accommodating large-scale events and parties. Unlike any event space of its kind, La Cave feels welcoming and warm, just as you'd expect from a Hoxton. Here, guests will find a sprawling statement art piece from local artist, Sandra Modrego. Best Of Supporting The Hoxton's commitment to its neighbourhood, Best Of is a retail collection featuring a range of limited edition products created in collaboration with some of the city's best artisans, makers and brands, available to purchase here in the hotel. The collection, which champions brands with sustainable practices, includes printed shirts, t-shirts and swimmers by Brava Fabrics, sunglasses from local Poblenou-based Etnia, organic cosmetics from Rowse, chocolate from ethical bean-to bear makers, LOT Roasters, and prints and figurines from Jose Antonio Roda. Cult and colourful Four Corners merch including caps and printed t-shirts are also available to buy from the bodega. The Hoxton also collaborated with Brava Fabrics for its team uniforms. Good Neighbours The Hoxton is proud to support Fundacio Arrels as its local charity partner in Barcelona, through donations and fundraising initiatives. Fundacio Arrels work tirelessly to support the homeless, helping with job opportunities, housing and long-term solutions. Good Neighbours is The Hoxton's global community outreach initiative, which supports those in need through fundraising and volunteering. The neighbourhood: El Poblenou For its first hotel in Spain, The Hoxton chose El Poblenou for its creative scene and local spirit, and the draw of being in walking distance of the sights and the sea. El Poblenou, which translates in Catalan to 'little village', was established as a thriving district during the industrial revolution, when textile mills and factories were built here and the neighbourhood was forever woven into the history of the city. In recent years, [email protected] District urban regeneration project has seen the old factories and mills converted into artist studios, design showrooms, craft breweries, restaurants and art schools, breathing fresh life into the neighbourhood and establishing it as one of the most cultural districts of the city. Stroll down Rambla del Poblenou and join the neighbours for a coffee or better yet, a vermouth. El Poblenou hums with energy, with young start-ups ready to take on the world, and design studios drawing inspiration from these very streets. There's also the Can Framis modern art museum, Glories shopping centre, and the world-famous Razzmatazz for some late-night grooves. The Hoxton's evolution Always more than just a bed for the night, The Hoxton is one of the forerunners in the lifestyle hospitality space, making a significant mark on the neighbourhoods in which it lands, and always challenging the status quo. Poblenou comes as the 11th hotel for the brand, which has gone from strength to strength in recent years, having rooted itself into some of the most exciting and interesting neighbourhoods across Europe and North America. Locations currently include London (Shoreditch, Holborn and Southwark), Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, New York, Portland, Chicago and Downtown LA. Each hotel is designed and curated with its neighbourhood front of mind, enhancing experience through brand and retail partnerships unique to that destination, hand-picked vintage furniture from local sellers, galleries showcasing independent artists, community-focused social events, and charity-supporting Good Neighbours initiatives. Hotel website Alda Mendes has been appointed as the new Resort Manager at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, located in the south of Mahe island and nestled into the hillside overlooking Petite Anse bay. With 18 years of hospitality experience, Mendes, a native of Portugal, joins her first Four Seasons property in the remote location of Seychelles, where guests come to escape from the everyday. With a guest experience focused vision, Mendes is excited for the opportunity to lead the transformation of guests' journeys. Mendes has travelled extensively throughout her career, working her way up in various positions before becoming a resort manager at Six Senses Ibiza. Her time in Ibiza saw her capitalize on empowering women by mentoring and creating opportunities for them. Mendes is fluent in Portuguese and English and holds a postgraduate degree in event management from the London Hotel, Tourism and Event School. As a nature and wellness enthusiast, she is thrilled to experience the natural beauty of the Seychelles as she hikes up some of the many mountains and enjoys a book or session of sunset yoga. Manila, Philippines - 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 worlds 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 harmonise 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 sectors 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 WTTCs Global Leaders Dialogue session they explored how the sector will continue to adapt to COVID-19 and emerge resiliently from the pandemic. WTTCs 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 & Tourisms contribution to GDP could reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023. WTTCs 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. About WTTC The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector. According to WTTC's 2021 Economic Impact Report, during 2020, a year in which it was devasted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Travel & Tourism made a 5.5% contribution to global GDP and was responsible for 272 million jobs. WTTC Press Office WTTC View source Provenance Hotels (Provenance) and affiliates of Gencom, a leading domestic and international investment and development firm, today announced the formation of a special purpose hospitality venture, GenPro. As part of the venture, Provenance will contribute various hotels it owns throughout the United States, along with cash, and the Gencom affiliate will contribute cash. Jointly led by Provenances Founder and Chairman, Gordon Sondland, and Gencom Founder, Karim Alibhai, the venture will seek to expand through future acquisitions and/or redevelopment opportunities. GenPros hotel assets will be managed by Benchmark Pyramid. Alibhai currently sits on the Board of Benchmark Pyramid, and Sondland will also join the Board upon the close of Benchmark Pyramids acquisition of Provenance, which is expected in the second quarter of 2022. Sondland said, We are excited to team up with Gencom and its affiliates, one of the nation's leading hospitality investment and development firms, to launch a large and growing hotel real estate venture, GenPro. The Gencom team brings an entrepreneurial approach and attention to detail and has long been known for its work in the hospitality sector both in management platforms and ownership of hotels across all brands. With my nearly four decades of experience in the hotel industry and the friendships I developed during my tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, I look forward to sourcing opportunities for GenPro to grow both domestically and internationally. We are thrilled to launch GenPro with Gordon and his team, and we look forward to growing its attractive portfolio of properties through compelling organic and inorganic opportunities, said Alibhai. We remain bullish on market trends in hospitality and are confident that GenPro will deliver long-term value to its stakeholders. GenPros initial portfolio of properties includes the downtown Seattle, WashingtonHotel Max; the boutique Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, situated just blocks from New Orleans, Louisianas French Quarter; downtown Nashville, Tennessees newly renovated Hotel Preston; the museum-worthy collection of glass art at Hotel Murano in the South Sound;and four downtown Portland, Oregon hotels: the Hollywood golden age-style Hotel Deluxe in the Goose Hollow neighborhood, Sentinel in the West End, Hotel Lucia, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the art-filled rooms of Dossier. About Gencom Founded in 1987 by Karim Alibhai, Gencom is one of the nations leading domestic and international investment and development firms specializing in hospitality with further emphasis on the luxury, mixed-use sector as well as related operating platform investments. Headquartered in Miami, Gencom is fully-integrated and highly diversified, with expertise in virtually every aspect of development, acquisition, financing, asset management and sales of hospitality properties. Gencom has had success not only in developing, purchasing and exiting single assets and hotel portfolios, it also has been successful in creating, purchasing and growing hospitality platform investments, throughout the United States, Caribbean and Europe, including Gencom American Hospitality, Summerfield Suites, Carnival Resorts and Interstate Hotels. Gencom companies successful track record has led to significant ventures with prominent institutional investors, prominent family groups and other strategic partners both domestically and internationally. For more information about Gencom, please visit www.gencomgrp.com. About Provenance Hotels Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Provenance Hotels owns, develops and manages market-leading independent hotels. Imbued with intentional, deeply integrated art stories, these Conde Nast Reader"s Choice Award-winning hotels showcase trend-setting amenities, creative collaborations with local co-conspirators and innovative food & beverage operations while focusing on operational efficiency and profitability. The portfolio includes 12 properties totaling nearly 2,000 keys. The Company can be found online at www.provenancehotels.com. Frogmore and C1 Capital acquire three UK hotels including the Hilton London Olympia UK real estate fund manager Frogmore along with London-based hotel co-investor C1 Capital have announced the acquisition of three UK hotels, headed by the 405-room Hilton London Olympia for 130m (321,000 per room). The other assets being acquired are the 146-room Park Inn by Radisson Northampton for 15m (103,000 per room) and the 97-room Stifford Hall near Thurrock for 7.2m (74,000 per room). All three hotels were acquired for Frogmores fourth value-add fund, FREP IV, and formed the second tranche of acquisitions for the new fund following residential investments in Galliard Homes. Frogmore and their partners have committed some 70 million in equity to reposition and rebrand or extend the hotel assets. BNP Paribas REIM acquires Club Med de lAlpe dHuez in France from Lagune BNP Paribas REIM, through one of its property funds, SCPI Accimmo Pierre, has acquired the Club Med de lAlpe dHuez, situated in the Grands Rousses massif in Isere, France, from Lagune, an investment vehicle managed by Luxembourg-based Batipart. The price was not disclosed. The four-star, 442-room hotel reopened at the end of 2019 following an extensive renovation to reposition it from three to four tridents (four-stars). Capital investments totalled 87 million and the works were completed over a period of 18 months. The all-inclusive family resort, located at an altitude of 1,860 metres, includes two restaurants, a wellness area with indoor swimming pool and childcare and kids facilities, over a total area of some 38,400 sqm. LaSalle provides funding for Premier Inn Hammersmith in London LaSalle Investment Management has provided funding for the development of a 50 million, 189-room Premier Inn hotel in Hammersmith, in west London, to London-based investment manager Legal & General. The project will include two street level retail tenancies, a Bar & Block restaurant and a Costa Pronto. Legal & General will remain in place to complete the development project of turning the five-storey Brook House office building into a hotel and F&B tenancies, located just 100 metres from the Hammersmith underground station. Midstar acquires Scandic Taby in Sweden from Maxus Swedish hotel investor and asset manager Midstar Hotels AB has acquired the Scandic Taby, located 10km north of Stockholm, Sweden, from Stockholm-based Maxus AB for an undisclosed sum. The hotel, built in 1982, features 170 hotel rooms, four meeting rooms, restaurant & bar, gym and parking, and has recently completed a two-storey extension. The town of Taby is undergoing an extensive urban development with 10,000 new homes being added in the coming years. Midstars portfolio now includes 15 hotels in Sweden, eight in Norway and four in Denmark, totalling 4,263 rooms. LXi sells Premier Inn Saffron Walden in England to UK pension fund London-based LXi REIT has sold a 70-room Premier Inn hotel that forms part of a mixed-use scheme in Saffron Walden, a market town located 15 miles south of Cambridge in England, to an unnamed UK pension fund for 19.3 million. As well as Premier Inn, the tenants include variety store chain B&M, Costa Coffee, Pets at Home and Pure Gym. The price reportedly reflects a yield of 4.45%. LXi acquired the site for 15.8 million in 2019 through a forward funding deal and the sale generated a 19% per annum IRR for the REIT. Premier Inn Hotels agreed a 25-year lease (with a tenant break right at year 20) from completion of the building works. Following several delays due to the pandemic, the hotel opened in the second half of 2021. Fidera Vecta and Weight Partners acquire Wyck Hill House Hotel & Spa in the UK Private equity investors Fidera Vecta and Weight Partners Capital have acquired the 60-bedroom Wyck Hill House Hotel & Spa just south of the Cotswold town of Stow-on-the-Wold in England, off a guide price of 7.5 million. The Grade II listed historic country house hotel is nestled within 50 acres of grounds and features a 2-AA rosette fine dining restaurant, a bar, conferencing facilities and a spa. Following the acquisition, the new owners intend to undertake a substantial renovation. About HVS HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com. The Spanish market is incredibly diverse and independent hotels dominate the region with roughly two-thirds of the market. However, all hotels and serviced apartments are in constant need of better tools to improve the guest journey while increasing efficiency. Until now, large hotel chains led the change to adopt the most efficient and innovative solutions. With smaller budgets, Independents and small hotel chains depend on legacy PMS technology, which is a challenge when trying to upgrade their hotel stack. Now is the right time for Apaleo to resolve these challenges in Spain with its hospitality platform. Joining as Managing Director for Spain, Carlo Alvarez Spagnolo is a seasoned hospitality executive that brings relevant experience to the mission of introducing disruptive technology to the market. He was the first hire of TripAdvisor in Spain with the goal to develop the market. Back in 2008, this mission required hoteliers to shift their mindset and turn online guest feedback from threat to opportunity. A similar challenge comes from Apaleos vision, which aims to transform hoteliers mindset from depending on legacy PMSs to enjoying the freedom of having all their technology stack perfectly connected in a cloud platform. Carlo also brings a rich understanding of the hospitality technology landscape from his most recent experience at TravelClick/Amadeus and Medallia. With more than 20 years in hospitality, his past experiences also include well-established Spanish brands like eDreams Odigeo, Atrapalo, and KeytelHotels. Carlos knowledge of the complexities of the Spanish market is a perfect fit for Apaleos plans for quick expansion. Having been around long enough, I understand how important is for hoteliers to choose their software wisely to be competitive. Its incredibly frustrating not to be able to add a new piece of software or having to wait months for the PMS to integrate, only to end up paying for costly interface and recurrent fees. Carlo continues, I have witnessed many great deals that went live months or years after their first signature, due to waiting for API integrations, certifications, etc. Or even worse, deals that never happened because the cost of integrating was higher than the actual value of the deal. This is why I instantly fell in love with Apaleos vision. Rarely do such perfect product-market fits come along that will truly drive meaningful transformations, and I am thrilled to be part of this journey with Apaleo. Its no small task to shift an industrys mindset to a cloud platform approach. Most hoteliers, especially independents and small groups, still depend on legacy PMSs and tend to see more risk than opportunity when changing such a core piece of their software stack. However, we cant do it alone. We have already identified many industry players that are already asking for this shift in Spain: hoteliers are putting innovation at the center of their roadmap, software vendors are embracing API-first philosophy (many of them have already joined the Apaleo Store, with many more to come), and hotel experts and consultants are advocating for efficiency and modernization in hospitality forums. It takes a village, and we count on all of you to succeed in this task. Apaleo is currently gaining traction in many countries in parallel with its platform approach. The reason is certainly that markets, hotels groups, and apps constantly realize that all-in-one PMS regardless of whether on-premise or cloud are not resolving the huge technology challenges of our industry, states Uli Pillau, cofounder at Apaleo. Apaleo is rapidly changing this and giving hotel groups the freedom to put their tech stacks together. Hoteliers can simply choose any existing app to connect quickly without fees or they can automate processes themselves, either with the help of developers or no-code tools like Make.com. Spain is one of our key markets in Europe, in particular for hotel groups, and we are very happy we can bring with Carlo a top specialist on board. About apaleo apaleo is the open cloud platform to help build agile accommodation businesses. All types of properties - from serviced apartments to hotel chains - rely on apaleo's APIs and community to create digital experiences for their guests and staff. Instantly connect the leading hospitality apps to the apaleo interface or use open APIs for unlimited customization possibilities. Nicholas Johnson View source The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has signed a three-year agreement with the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) association to expand the delivery of resources for members of both organizations. The Memorandum of Understanding allows members to access finance and technology-related education on topics such as upscaling workforce automation and staffing, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cybersecurity. These master classes are being developed by CHTA, while experts are to be supplied by HFTP. CHTA members also will benefit from complimentary exhibits registration for HITEC North America, the world's largest hospitality technology conference, to be held in Orlando, Florida from June 27 to 30, 2022. CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig said that being technologically astute in todays rapidly changing and challenging business environment is central to a robust tourism rebound in the Caribbean. We must be au courant in leveraging technological tools in driving operational efficiency, executing strong marketing campaigns as well as delivering new customer experiences, the CHTA president reiterated. We need to be much smarter when it comes to the application of technology across the region from artificial intelligence to big data, the Jamaican tourism leader opined, while expressing optimism concerning the potential impact this partnership could have on the regions travel and tourism sector. Vanessa Ledesma, acting CEO and Director General of CHTA, described HFTP as a hospitality industry authority in the areas of finance and technology. This is such a great fit for CHTA, she said, adding that more of the Caribbean can now be on the cutting-edge when it comes to implementing solutions to pressing challenges. Like CHTA, HFTP leverages its experts, networks, research, certification programs, information resources and conferences and events to benefit its members. HFTP also owns the worlds only hospitality-specific search engine, PineappleSearch.com, which centralizes highly fragmented industry information into a single, free-to-use platform. The strength of HFTP relies greatly on the reach of its global network, collectively building a broad knowledge base by sharing expertise and resources, said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe. Partnering with CHTA and the Caribbean, a region well-known for its hospitality industry, is a significant step to connecting our shared efforts to support education and innovation. Ledesma envisions members of the two associations learning from one another and identifying new avenues for collaboration as the travel and tourism sector emerges from the ongoing pandemic. Sanovnik Destang, CHTAs 2nd Vice President and Chair of the Technology Task Force, said the Memorandum of Understanding between two organizations will bring many exciting benefits to members, including access to HITECs Entrepreneur 20x pitching competition. For the first time ever, Caribbean-based hospitality tech entrepreneurs will get to participate in this competition with the application fee waived. This is a great opportunity for our members and we look forward to more opportunities like this through our partnership with HFTP, he said. About the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is the Caribbean's leading association representing the interests of national hotel and tourism associations and the region's private sector. For 60 years, CHTA has been the backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry. Working with some 1,000 hotel and allied members, and 33 National Hotel Associations, CHTA is shaping the Caribbean's future and helping members to grow their businesses. Whether helping to navigate critical issues in sales and marketing, sustainability, legislative issues, emerging technologies, climate change, data and intelligence or, looking for avenues and ideas to better market and manage businesses, CHTA is helping members on issues which matter most. For further information, visit www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com. About HFTP Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in United Kingdom, Netherlands and Dubai. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP uniquely understands the industry's pressing issues and assists its stakeholders in finding solutions to their challenges more efficiently than any organization. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP Is the publisher of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org. For the latest news, visit the HFTP News page at news.hftp.org and the HFTP Connect blog at blog.hftp.org. What are the forces that will shape the Hotel landscape in the 2030s? Are you best positioned to win (Back) the New Guest? How to win the fight and adjust to a New Normal? How to outperform tomorrows competitive hospitality markets? So, lets get active and shape your brand-new play book, with a new sense of purpose, aiming to make a difference not only to shareholders but to all stakeholders, including customers, employees, local communities, governments, and the natural environment, 5P's approach - People-Planet-Peace-Prosperity-Profit. Here are the brushes to paint on your own blank canvas: Hospitality's Post Pandemic era, new normal? Time to re-energize your rapid response teams if you haven't already done it. Re-imagine innovation and be in the front line among the first who will give birth to new inventions, creating the new reality / future with sense of care for guests and employees, offering unforgettable experiences. Let's capitalize on the situation, and greatly outperform tomorrow's market. As Plato wrote in the Republic: The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention". Create brands people cherish In a world of too many Luxury & Lifestyle Hospitality Brands, and too little difference, there is more than ever a need of holistic concepts focusing on the core pillars of intuitive signature services, connectivity, sophistication, character, and a sense of community. Brands to create a unique guest experience need to carve out a distinct identity, avoid the omission that becomes concrete when you step inside the properties. In most cases entering a hotel you are surrounded by a largely derivative set of "spray-on" concepts. Properties that may appear different superficially but that are essentially the same when you scratch the surface, having replicated and offering same services. Certainly, a brand needs to be useful & profitable, purposeful, but first and foremost a hospitality brand must be creative, visible, likable, and then simply amazing!! What will be the new luxury and lifestyle hospitality brand paradigm? The years ahead will call on brands to evolve and adapt in accordance with the changing societal landscape. Will also need to revisit the traditional playbook's strategies, change the vocabulary, innovate, and transform. Organizations that will spot opportunities where other see challenges will not only survive but will thrive in the "New Now". Beyond a high-quality product, though, luxury brands will have to not only display strong values but deliver purposeful actions and build a sense of privacy and safety. Wording macro trends being sustainability, purpose, well-being, health is the new wealth", relevance, digital nomads, hyper local, less is more... - "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". - Leonardo da Vinci Re-imagine the Experience Forget the ultra-luxury brands. experience is the new luxury. Unique destinations and bespoke experiences rather than deluxe accommodation are becoming the ultimate extravagance. As high-end travellers seek out one-of-a-kind experiences, secret locations are quickly becoming the newest indulgence in luxury travel. Luxury travellers are vying for unique experiences and setting their sights on untouched regions which promise nature, novelty, and adventure. Hotels & Resorts should get ready for this next wave of travellers by leading with a cool sustainability message and architectural innovation. Nature and community-based seafront Resorts will be the trend ahead, aiming to host small number of guests to fewer mainstream locations and activities, endeavouring to alleviate the weight on the ecosystems. Using sustainable practices, such as nature-based management, that adapts to the pre-existing environment to sustain it, interact with it, and protect it. Reimagine - Repurpose Rejuvenate. Inspired Biophilic Design Inspired biophilic design can be very powerful in the hospitality industry. The concept of Biophilia is defined as human tendency of being connected to the nature and it derives from Greek meaning the love of life and nature. A cost-effective way to enhance the guest experience, it can bolster feelings of community while improving well-being and health, a significant opportunity for hotels and resorts to leverage wellness initiatives to gain a competitive advantage. Experiences are more intense and more memorable when multiple senses are engaged simultaneously. Hospitality is one of the few places where designers tend to pay attention to the other senses. The hand of the fabrics, the scents of flowers, candles, and food, crackling of logs in a fireplace, the splash of water in a fountain, the texture of wood grain and stone in furnishings, and bird song in a lobby or on a patio are ways of creating more memorable spaces. Health is the New Wealth Hospitality Brands should seize the opportunity to reimagine wellness and regain guests trust.... Rethinking wellness and well-being in hospitality, we need to redesign our strategies on how to incorporate wellness into our offerings, helping guests to learn the benefits of a healthier lifestyle in general rather than simply capitalizing on a trend. People often think about wellness in terms of physical health, nutrition, exercise, weight management, etc., but it is so much more. Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, fuelling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit. Although it always includes striving for health, its more about living life fully, and is "a lifestyle and a personalized approach to living life in a way that allows you to become the best kind of person that your potentials, circumstances, and fate will allow. People often ask me what the next best thing in our industry is, I answer, create a brand people cherish, be unique, reliable, consistent, re-inventing one-of-a-kind bespoke experiences. Continuously re-imaging expectations, stories, offering genuine relationships, sense of care, generating impact at every touch point. Time to re-thinking, re-imaging hospitality! Nicolas Frangos Luxxie Lime - Luxury & Lifestyle Hospitality Houston homes are selling at their highest prices ever as the competition for a limited supply of houses on the market intensifies. Whether theyve got a budget of $200,000 or $1 million, buyers are finding they are having to pay plenty more for a home than just a few years ago. The regions widespread price gains dont seem to be limited to any particular price point or geographic region, according to an analysis of sales by the Houston Association of Realtors. For the sixth consecutive year, the Houston Association of Realtors reported record home sales in the Houston region in 2021. The realty association, which provides an analysis of area sales for the Houston Chronicles annual home price survey each spring, analyzed 106,229 single-family home sales handled through its Multiple Listing Service in 2021. The annual median price, which passed $200,000 for the first time in 2015, shot up 15 percent to a record $300,000 in 2021. The number of sales was up 9.4 percent from 97,097 in 2020. Heres are highlights in seven ZIP codes and some of the neighborhoods within them, based on HARs data. 77494: This ZIP code covering the Cinco Ranch and Fulshear areas, logged the most sales in 2021: 2,755 sales, up 5.2 percent for the year. The median sales price rose by 17.5 percent to $403,500. The median price per square foot was up 19.2 percent to $143.25. Representative subdivisions include Cinco Ranch Southwest, where the median price per square foot of $148.14 was up 21.2 percent for the year. In Tamarron, a development of D.R. Horton among the nations top-sellers, the median price per square foot went up by 13 percent to $142.80. On HoustonChronicle.com: 2022 Home Price Survey: Map shows where prices skyrocketed 77433: This northwest Houston ZIP code includes communities such as Bridgeland, Cypress Creek Lakes and Fairfield in the Cypress area. The ZIP code logged 2,311 sales in 2021 with a median of $140.66 per square foot, up 17.0 percent for the year. The median sales price was $375,500, up 15.9 percent. Homes in Bridgeland Parkland Village sold for a median of $166.86 per square foot, up 17.3 percent for the year. 77493: Another active area for home sales was 77493 west of Houston, registering 2,015 sales in 2021 with a median of $141.42 per square foot, up 18.1 percent. The median sales price reached $322,000, up 23.7 percent. Prices in the Elyson master-planned community jumped 22.6 percent to $159.72 per square foot, while prices in Ventana Lakes reached $133.36, up 17.4 percent. 77357: Home sales zoomed in 77357, a ZIP that includes New Caney in the far northeast Houston region. The sales volume rose by 52 percent as more than 800 single-family houses changed hands. Prices rose to a median of $249,900, up 7.7 percent over the year. On a per square foot basis, prices rose 18.5 percent to $134.60. Prices in Tavola, one of the regions largest communities, were up by 10 percent to a median of $123.44 per square foot. 77005: The 77005 ZIP code registered the highest price per square foot at $397.40, up 5.9 percent for the year. The region covers the West University/Southside area, where homes sold for a median price of $1.35 million. 77024: The 77024 ZIP code, which includes Memorial Villages such as Piney Point and Bunker Hill Village, had the highest median sales price in 2021: $1.55 million up 15.8 percent from $1.34 million in 2020. Homes in the Memorial Villages market area sold for $1.6 million. 77027: Sales volumes rose by 56 percent in 77027, one of Houstons priciest ZIP codes covering Afton Oaks, Royden Oaks and part of the River Oaks neighborhood where HAR tracked 164 sales in 2021. Homes sold for a median price of $1.3 million, up 15.8 percent over 2020. On a per square foot basis, the increase was more moderate, rising 3.8 percent to $373.30 per square foot. In the River Oaks area, homes sold for a median price of $2.37 million, second only to Rivercrest, a tiny enclave near Beltway 8 where the median home sold for $3.99 million. Rising mortgage rates, which are projected to average 5 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for April through December according to real estate data firm CoreLogic, will further erode buying power. The increase is nearly 2 percentage points higher than last years average of 2.96 percent and is up from 3.8 percent in the first quarter. Frank Nothaft, chief economist with CoreLogic, does not expect a drop in prices in Houston, which has experienced an influx of residents from other parts of the country along with other Texas metros. But he expects price growth will start to level off in the second half the year. Were just going to continue to see whopping increases for the next couple of months, Nothaft said. Prospective buyers will start to pull back with higher mortgage rates and higher home prices. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser I wasnt looking for my ideal happy hour when I stumbled across it at Urbe, Hugo Ortegas chic, casual Mexican street-food outpost at Uptown Park. The Malinche, my favorite cocktail on their menu, was two bucks off, and I marveled anew at beverage director Sean Becks skills. Smoky Mezcal twined through an off-kilter Margarita variant made with peach brandy, lime and a hint of pineapple syrup, its tart-and-sweet balance finely tuned. Then came the queso flameado studded with hunks of smoked brisket that blew my mind. The pieces of beef had a good char and a rosy, juicy core that any pitmaster in town would be happy to claim. In the surrounding mesh of pale, molten cheese snaked strips of green chile andwhats this?a woodsy mushroom or three. The queso was the centerpiece of the Urbe Trio, and its happy hour price of 13 bucks seemed a breathtaking bargain. Arrayed on the paper-lined metal trays that are a serving signature here were a scoop of fresh, chunky guacamole and a ramekin of dusky red salsa Mexicana. A couple of house-made flour tortillas and a flock of sturdy totopos stood ready for rolling and mixing and matching. It was the kind of spread made for sharing. Or an indulgent early supper. More Information Urbe Street Foods of Mexico 1101 Uptown Park Blvd., Suite 12, 713-726-8273 See More Collapse I had been on an afternoon errand, hoping to get a glimpse of the brand-new Rocambolesc Gelateria before it opened, and Urbe was right across the broad patio that runs from Etoile, past Songkran and the two-story colonnaded outdoor seating it shares with Urbe. Two-fer! I thought, remembering that Ruben Ortega, Hugos pastry-chef brother and right hand, had told me months ago they were working on a happy hour menu. Im not a devotee of the cut-rate form designed to lure in customers at a slow hour, in hopes they will linger and spend or imprint on certain dishes theyll crave later. Too often for my tastes, happy hour deals center on the least interesting wines and cocktails on a drinks menu, so by the time I end up paying for something I actually want to sip, the reduced-price food items on offer dont end up as much of a bargain. And may I be honest here? the dishes restaurants choose for mini happy-hour versions arent often the ones I really want to taste. Thats exactly why Urbes happy hour delighted me. The menu is full of interest, with good prices on dishes that at normal hours might seem like an extravagance. That queso flameado, plus guac and totopo sides, would run you $25 total during dinner hours. And the surprisingly delightful Ostiones Diablitos that run $18 per half dozen at dinner only set me back 10 bucks at happy hour. These raw oysters worked startling well with a cold boiled shrimp on top. I thought the two kinds of shellfish might fight each other, but instead they held a dialogue: the cold brine and slipperiness of the oyster set against the chipotle-spiked, pearly crunch of the shrimp, with a sharp Mexican mignonette holding it all together. Super refreshing and a fine lead-in to a snacking session. Alison Cook / Staff I also encountered a new beer preparation Hugo had come up with that very day: a Tecate can swathed in bright red chile salt, with one of those deviled oysters balanced on top. Its an amusing addition to the showy cerveza preparada genre. I did not stop there. Happy hour means you can sample Urbes various tacos singly, instead of in groups of three. So I got to taste the roasted sweet potato version that had caught my eye on an early visit and they were even better than I had imagined. From the roasty singe on the sweet potato cubes to the salty tang of goat cheese, from the deep-dark thrum of salsa macha to the fragrance of hand-rolled corn tortilla, they hummed with life. For my money, which in this case happens to be four bucks, this may be the finest vegetarian taco in town. Even Urbes Old Fashioned was a happy surprise. Its not among my favorite cocktails, because its usually too sweet for me, and too heavy. But Becks version combining Gran Centenario Anejo tequila with rye, bitters and and a hit of ancho agave syrup had an unexpected lift and briskness to it. It changed my attitude toward the form. And it did so for $11, two dollars off the regular price and dancing close to the $10 mark which in this day and age I count a victory. Alison Cook / Staff I relished my outdoor seat at the bar counter opening into the restaurant proper, and the well-behaved lab mix who milled about at my feet, and the sounds of an international crowd speaking several languages. My only sorrow about my happy hour foray was that I was too full to order one of Ruben Ortegas famous desserts. I have my eye on several for next time, though: the coconut flan with orange blossom cream, perhaps; or the Mexican house-ground chocolate cake; or the sweet-corn-and-blackberry ice cream with a puerquito on the side. Thats a piloncillo and anise cookie shaped like a pig, if you please, and I think Ill need several. alison.cook@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Early voting began Monday in school districts, suburban cities and utility districts across Harris County, where voters are considering billions of dollars in bond measures and deciding contests for school board, mayor and city council. Also on ballots across the state are a pair of proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution that would provide property tax relief to seniors and disabled homeowners and raise the states homestead exemption for school property taxes. And in parts of Harris County, voters will decide who will succeed Garnet Coleman, a former Democratic state representative from Houston, for the last several months of his term. Harris County is operating 52 early voting locations from Monday until May 3, when the nine-day early voting period wraps up. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day of early voting except for Sunday, when voting begins at noon. Election Day is May 7, when the county will operate 465 voting locations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A full list of early voting and Election Day polling sites can be found on the Harris County Elections Administrators website, along with a sample ballot. Voters can cast their ballots at any location in the county, including those outside their home precincts. Collectively, Harris County voters will decide about $4.3 billion worth of bond measures proposed by school districts, municipal utility districts, improvement districts and a water authority. Among the proposals is a $1.1 billion Klein ISD package that would fund a new intermediate school, security improvements, renovations across eight campuses and the construction of a new events center. Huffman, Humble, Pasadena and Sheldon ISDs also have called bond elections on May 7. On HoustonChronicle.com: Pasadena ISD voters to consider $305M bond package Also up for consideration are more than $1 billion in bond measures across 10 municipal utility, improvement and water districts across Harris County, largely for sewer, drainage, road and parks improvements. Additionally, 29 municipal utility and improvement districts have contested elections for their boards of directors. Meanwhile, voters in Friendswood, Humble, Jersey Village, La Porte, Nassau Bay, Pearland and Webster will elect multiple city council members in the May 7 election. Ballots in Friendswood, Humble and La Porte also include proposed charter amendments, while Nassau Bay voters will decide a mayoral race. There also are contested elections for the Houston Community College System and Waller ISD boards of trustees. Two candidates are running to succeed Coleman in the Texas House: Jolanda Jones, a former member of Houston City Council and the Houston ISD board of trustees, and realtor Danielle Keys Bess. The winner will represent the deeply blue House District 147 until the current two-year term ends in January. Jones and Bess, both Democrats, also are running for the seat next term. They finished first and second, respectively, in the March 1 primary, and are competing in a May 24 runoff that will decide the Democratic nominee for November. The district, one of the most diverse in the state, covers Midtown, Third Ward, a majority of Montrose and other parts of Houstons urban core. It also takes in the University of Houston and a large chunk of southeast Houston along Interstate 45. Coleman, citing health reasons, retired from the Legislature after more than 30 years in the state House. On HoustonChronicle.com: Jolanda Jones, Danielle Bess headed for runoff in race to replace Houston state Rep. Coleman The constitutional amendments, meanwhile, are expected to pass with overwhelming support, likely cementing two key property tax measures passed by state lawmakers last year. One proposal would allow property owners to shave $40,000 off the taxable value of their home, an increase of $15,000 from the current amount. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston Republican who authored the amendment, has estimated homeowners would save about $176 a year by raising the homestead exemption. The other amendment would extend the Legislatures 2019 cuts on school property tax rates to elderly and disabled homeowners, providing a rare decrease in their annual bills. Under the Texas Constitution, school property taxes for most property owners are frozen at the amount they paid upon turning 65, while homeowners with disabilities receive the same benefit when they buy a new property. Though that provision leaves many elderly and disabled homeowners with lower tax bills than some of their neighbors, it also means they did not directly benefit from the tax relief provided by the 2019 measure. If the constitutional amendment passes, those over 65 and those with a disability whose taxable property values are locked in place by existing laws would pay a lower rate on their property values, leading to a decrease in their bill. jasper.scherer@chron.com Q. In a recent column, you discussed having to go to court to change one's name, but you did not mention a woman changing her name when she gets married. Does she need to go through the same legal process? When I got married in 2003, I drove to the Social Security office and filled out documents. Once I received my new Social Security card, I then changed my driver's license, passport, and other documents. A. In Texas, it is easier to change your name when you get married because the marriage certificate which shows a person's newly adopted name is used to change the person's driver's license, passport, and other documents. There is no need to go to court and seek a judge's approval. You would still need to take the time to change your name on your Social Security card, driver's license, and the other forms. Q. Before my mother went into assisted living last year, she signed a power of attorney giving my sister control of her finances. My mother now wants to change the power of attorney to name me as her agent. How would she do that? A. Your mother can revoke her existing power of attorney two ways. One way is by signing a document called a revocation of power of attorney. The other easier way is by mentioning in her new power of attorney that she is revoking the old power or attorney. On HoustonChronicle.com: Answers to your legal questions If your mother signs a new power of attorney without revoking the old one, then she will have two powers of attorney, both of which will be valid. Sometimes a person's lawyer will record a power of attorney with the county clerk. If your mother's old power of attorney was recorded, then she should sign both the revocation and the new power of attorney and then record the revocation with the same county clerk. The new power of attorney needs to be recorded only if, and when, it will be used in a real estate transaction. For your mother, it might be best to sign a revocation separate from her new power of attorney so that she or you can present the revocation to all of her banks, brokerage firms, and other businesses to let them know she has revoked her power of attorney. If your mother is worried that your sister may try to use the revoked power of attorney illegally, she may even want to mail certified letters to the institutions alerting them to the existence of the revocation. Your father should be sure to destroy her old power of attorney as well as all copies. If she decides to keep any copies, she should write REVOKED across each page. The information in this column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com. BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) UC Berkeley sophomore Terrell Thompson slept in his car for nearly two weeks at the start of the school year last fall, living out of a suitcase stashed in the trunk and texting dozens of landlords a day in a desperate search for a place to live. The high-achieving student from a low-income household in Sacramento, California, was majoring in business administration at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Yet, Thompson folded his 6-foot frame into the back seat of his Honda Accord at night, wondering how he would ever find a home in the exorbitantly expensive San Francisco Bay Area city. Academically it was hard, because Im worried about finding housing and Im worried about my clothes and Im worried about getting my car broken into all the time, said the 19-year-old Thompson, who now lives in a studio apartment he found last September. I was anxious 24/7." College students across the U.S. are looking for housing for the 2022-23 school year and if 2021 was any indication, it won't be easy. Students at colleges from California to Florida were denied on-campus housing last fall and found themselves sitting out the year at home or living in motel rooms or vehicles as surging rents and decades of failing to build sufficient student housing came to a head. For some colleges, the housing crunch was related to increased demand by students who had been stuck at home during the pandemic. For others, including many in California, the shortage reflects a deeper conflict between the colleges and homeowners who don't want new housing built for students who they say increase congestion and noise. In March, the University of California, Berkeley, said it would have to cap student enrollment because of a lawsuit brought by irate neighbors over the school's growth. State lawmakers fast-tracked a fix to allow the campus to enroll as many students as planned for the 2022 fall semester, but the legislation does nothing to produce more housing. Nationally, 43% of students at four-year universities experienced housing insecurity in 2020, up from 35% in 2019, according to an annual survey conducted by The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University. Students reported being unable to pay utilities, rent or mortgage, living in overcrowded units, or moving in with others due to financial difficulties. And for the first time since it began tracking basic needs in 2015, the survey found an equal percentage 14% of students at both four-year and two-year colleges who had experienced homelessness in the last year, said Mark Huelsman, the centers director of policy and advocacy. This is a function of rents rising, the inability of communities and institutions to build enough housing for students and other costs of college going up that create a perfect storm for students, he said. For some students, the lack of affordable housing could mean the difference between going to college or not. Others take on massive debt or live so precariously they miss out on all the extracurricular benefits of higher education. Jonathan Dena, a first-generation college student from the Sacramento area, almost rejected UC Berkeley over the lack of housing, even though it was his dream program. He found a studio at the heavily subsidized Rochdale Apartments for under $1,300 a month, but he might have to move because the bare-bones units may close for a seismic renovation. Dena, 29, wants to continue living within walking distance of campus for a robust college experience. But the urban studies major and student government housing commission officer said it's kind of scary how high rents are near campus. Online listings showed a newer one-bedroom for one person at $3,700, as well as a 240-square foot (22 square-meter) bedroom for two people sharing a bathroom for nearly $1,700 per person a month. If I go to school in Berkeley, I would love to live in Berkeley, he said. Nationally, rents have increased 17% since March 2020, said Chris Salviati, senior economist with Apartment List, but the increase has been higher in some popular college towns. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, saw a 24% jump in rents and Tempe, Arizona, saw a 31% hike. In some cases, the rental increases have been exacerbated by a lack of on-campus housing. Last fall, demand for on-campus housing was so high that the University of Tampa offered incoming freshmen a break on tuition if they deferred until fall 2022. Rent in the Florida city has skyrocketed nearly 30% from a year ago, according to Apartment List. Rent in Knoxville has soared 36% since March 2020, and it could get worse after the University of Tennessee announced a new lottery system for its dorms this fall, saying it needs to prioritize housing for a larger freshman class. Even two-year community colleges, which have not traditionally provided dorms, are rethinking student needs as the cost of housing rises. Last October, Long Beach City College launched a pilot program to provide up to 15 homeless students space in an enclosed parking garage. They sleep in their cars and have access to bathrooms and showers, electrical outlets and internet while they work with counselors to find permanent housing. Uduak-Joe Ntuk, president of the colleges Board of Trustees, hesitated when asked if the program will be renewed. I want to say no, but I think we will, he said. Were going to have new students come fall semester this year that are going to be in a similar situation, and for us to do nothing is untenable. California prides itself on its robust higher education system, but has struggled with housing at its four-year colleges. Berkeley is notoriously difficult, with cut-throat competition for the few affordable apartments within walking distance to campus. "I definitely was not prepared to be this stressed about housing every year, said Jennifer Lopez, 21, a UC Berkeley senior from Cudahy, in southeastern Los Angeles County, and the first in her family to attend college. She imagined she would spend all four years on campus in dorms, but found herself in a scramble for a safe, affordable place to sleep. The urban studies major currently splits an attic space in what is technically a one-bedroom apartment shared by four undergraduates, one of whom sleeps in the dining room. The total monthly rent is nearly $3,700 laughably high in most U.S. cities but she's grateful for it. If I hadnt heard about this place, I was either going to end up living in a basement, or in this other apartment I know (where) the girls are struggling with leaks and mold, Lopez said. The Basic Needs Center at UC Berkeley, which operates a food pantry for students and faculty, found in a snapshot survey that a quarter of undergraduates reported they lacked a safe, regular and adequate nighttime place to stay and sleep at some point since October. Thats huge, said Ruben Canedo, co-chair of UCs systemwide Basic Needs Committee. This generation of students is navigating the most expensive cost-of-living market while at the same time having the least amount of financial support accessible to them." Thompson, the business administration major, started looking for an apartment last May, after spending his first year at home taking classes remotely to save money. He quickly realized that his rental budget of $750 was wildly inadequate and as a second-year student, he no longer qualified for priority in the dorms. By the time classes began in late August, he was in a panic. He tried commuting from his home in Sacramento, leaving before 6 a.m. for the 80-mile (130-kilometer) drive to Berkeley and returning home around midnight to avoid traffic. But that was grueling so he took to sleeping in his car. Initially he parked far away in a spot without parking limits. Then he parked at a lot between two student dorm complexes closer to campus, where exuberant partying kept him up at night. He attended classes, studied and ate sparingly to save on ballooning food costs. He looked at apartments where five people were squeezed into two bedrooms with pared-down belongings stored under beds. He slept in his car for almost two weeks until a sympathetic landlord who had also grown up in a low-income home reached out, offering a studio within walking distance of campus. The rent is $1,000 a month, and he hopes to stay until he graduates. "I think I have a little bit of a PTSD factor, he said. Most students have no idea of the housing situation when they choose to attend UC Berkeley, said 19-year-old freshman Sanaa Sodhi, and the university needs to do more to prepare students and support them in their search. The political science major is excited to move out of the dorms and into a two-bedroom apartment where she and three friends are taking over the lease. The unit is older but a bargain at $3,000 a month, she said. The housemates were prepared to pay up to $5,200 for a safe place close to campus. You dont honestly know the severity of the situation before youre in it, she said, adding that landlords hold all the cards. They know that whatever price they charge, well inevitably have to pay it because we dont really have a choice except maybe to live out of our cars. - AP journalist Terence Chea contributed from Berkeley, California. China renews blue alert for rainstorms Xinhua) 11:11, April 26, 2022 BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center on Monday renewed a blue alert for rainstorms in various parts of the country. From Monday night to Tuesday night, heavy rains are expected to lash parts of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Guangxi and Guangdong, with some areas experiencing up to 120 millimeters of rainfall. Some regions are likely to encounter over 70 millimeters of hourly precipitation, accompanied by thunderstorms, gales and hail. The center has advised local governments to make preparations for the rainstorms. Schools and kindergartens have been asked to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of children, and drivers have been alerted to watch out for flooding and traffic jams. China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A man reportedly armed and driving a stolen SUV is dead after Cleveland Police officers shot him following a pursuit Monday morning. The unidentified male was fleeing police into the woods after getting out of the vehicle when two officers shot him, according to Cleveland PD Capt. Scott Felts, who spoke on camera with the Montgomery County Police Reporter. Cleveland PD Chief Darrel Broussard told the Chronicle the investigation into the shooting is looking at whether the man fired his gun. Broussard did say the man raised his gun at the pursuing officers. Authorities do not yet have an identity on the man, he added. Pretty tragic situation, Broussard said. Our condolences do go out to the family of the victim in this case. We just wish it hadnt gotten that far. The man did wave his gun at Martin Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership employees, demanding keys to a vehicle, according to Broussard. Liberty County Precinct 6 Justice of the Peace Ralph Fuller confirmed to the Chronicle that the individual, described as a male roughly 30, had died on the scene. Around 10:30 a.m., the man allegedly stole a Chevrolet Traverse from the Cleveland dealership and fled southbound on 59, speeding at an excess of 100 mph as he was pursued by Cleveland PD, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other law enforcement, Felts told the Police Reporter. Cleveland is about 45 miles northeast of downtown Houston. The Traverse turned around in the Goodrich area before returning northbound to the Cleveland area, speeding at more than 100 mph, Felts explained. Just driving super erratic, super fast, Felts told the Police Reporter. The vehicles tires were spiked, causing it to lose its rims before the man drove into a construction area, jumping over several culverts and ultimately wrecking within Cleveland city limits, Felts continued. The man then got out of the Traverse with a handgun in his right hand and began running to the woods when a shooting ensued and two officers fatally shot him, Felts concluded. The officers who shot at the man are a sergeant with around 15 years at the department and a patrol officer with about seven to eight years there, according to the police chief. One of the officers was in shock, according to what Felts told the Police Reporter. Its just as traumatic to the officers as it is anybody, Felts said on camera. Broussard said this is the first fatal Cleveland police shooting he has seen in the 36 years he has been on the force. Growing up in Cleveland, Broussard said he does not know of any other fatal police department shooting in the last 50 to 70 years. This is at least the third fatal police shooting within the past week in the Houston area. On the night of April 18, a Conroe PD officer fired at a man reportedly shooting at a house in Conroe. The following morning in Pasadena, a man was killed by Pasadena PD gunfire as he approached with a gun directed at officers. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx Montgomery County Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Darren Hess is facing criminal charges for allegedly failing to complete required training and having someone else take his required exam to earn the course certification. Hess was arrested Monday at his office and charged with tampering with a government record, a state jail felony. Hess could not be reached for comment Tuesday. County Judge Mark Keoughs Chief of Staff Jason Millsaps said Hess has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. Hesss total compensation through the county is $147,918. According to the arrest affidavit from the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement began its investigation into Hess in December after receiving a complaint about Hess and his certification. Hess, the affidavit states, has been a peace officer for 24 years and during that time was required to abide by state licensing standards, including obtaining required training hours. In February 2016, Hess was names deputy emergency management coordinator for Montgomery County and transferred to that civilian position that same month. The Montgomery County Fire Marshals office continued to report Hess was a full-time peace officer until March 2020 when the office reported to TCOLE that Hesss pay status had been changed to other. This change, the affidavit states, allowed Hess to continue this status as an active peace officer. That status requires Hess to complete 40 hours of state approved training between Sept. 1, 2019 and Aug. 31, 2021. According to TCOLE, Hess allegedly attended a four-day, 28 hours credit training course with three other county employees in July 2021. However, the complaint alleged Hess only attended three days of the four-day course and did not take the post-training exam. The affidavit states Hesss certificate provided from the course was visibly different from those of the other two MCFMO employees who completed the course. Hess allegedly admitted to investigators that he did not complete the training and thought it was a joke when he learned someone else completed the post test for him. Hess also claims when he received the email with the documents, he did not open the attached document and instead forwarded the document to TCOLE assuming it was to receive his partial credit for the training he did complete. However, TCOLE does not recognize hours of credit for incomplete classes. An employee with Counterterrorism Operation Support, the grant funded organization based in Nevada, confirmed for investigators the certificated Hess provided was not generated through their system, according to court documents. No other charges have been filed but the case is still under investigation. cdominguez@hcnonline.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden has granted the first three pardons of his term, providing clemency to a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent convicted of federal bribery charges that he tried to sell a copy of an agency file and to two people who were convicted on drug-related charges but went on to become pillars in their communities. The Democratic president also commuted the sentences of 75 others for nonviolent, drug-related convictions. The White House announced the clemencies Tuesday as it launched a series of job training and reentry programs for those in prison or recently released. Many of those who received commutations have been serving their sentences on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several were serving lengthy sentences and would have received lesser terms had they been convicted today for the same offenses as a result of the 2018 bipartisan sentencing reform ushered into law by the Trump administration. America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation, Biden said in a statement announcing the clemencies. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities. Those granted pardons are: Abraham Bolden Sr., 86, the first Black Secret Service agent to serve on a presidential detail. In 1964, Bolden, who served on President John F. Kennedy's detail, faced federal bribery charges that he attempted to sell a copy of a Secret Service file. His first trial ended in a hung jury. Following his conviction in a second trial, key witnesses admitted lying at the prosecutor's request, according to the White House. Bolden, of Chicago, was denied a retrial and served three years, nine months in federal prison. Bolden has maintained his innocence and wrote a book in which he argued he was targeted for speaking out against racist and unprofessional behavior in the Secret Service. Bolden in an interview said he believed Biden sympathized with him and "saw a need to honor due process in my case. The pardon came nearly 61 years after he joined the Kennedy detail. He said he asked off of the detail after enduring racial slurs from fellow agents and small nooses were left around his workplace. I met President Kennedy on April 28, 1961 and on April 25 I got word of the presidential pardon," said Bolden, who first petitioned the White House for a pardon during the Nixon administration. "Thats pretty close. Betty Jo Bogans, 51, was convicted in 1998 of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in Texas after attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice. Bogans, a single mother with no prior record, received a seven-year sentence. In the years since her release from prison, Bogans has held consistent employment, even while undergoing cancer treatment, and has raised a son. Dexter Jackson , 52, of Athens, Georgia, was convicted in 2002 for using his pool hall to facilitate the trafficking of marijuana. Jackson pleaded guilty and acknowledged he allowed his business to be used by marijuana dealers. After Jackson was released from prison, he converted his business into a cellphone repair service that employs local high school students through a program that provides young adults with work experience. Jackson has built and renovated homes in his community, which has a shortage of affordable housing. Civil rights and criminal justice reform groups have pushed the White House to commute sentences and work harder to reduce disparities in the criminal justice system. Bidens grants of clemency also come as the administration has faced congressional scrutiny over misconduct and the treatment of inmates in the beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons, which is responsible for inmates serving sentences of home confinement. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden in his first commutations of his presidency focused on petitions from individuals who had less than four years to serve. Biden, as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped shepherd through the 1994 crime bill that many criminal justice experts say contributed to harsh sentences and mass incarceration of Black people. During his 2020 White House run, Biden vowed to reduce the number of people incarcerated in the U.S. and called for nonviolent drug offenders to be diverted to drug courts and treatment. He also has pushed for better training for law enforcement and called for criminal justice system changes to address disparities that have led to minorities and the poor making up a disproportionate share of the nation's incarcerated population. Inimai Chettiar, federal director of the criminal justice reform advocacy group Justice Action Network, called Biden's first pardons and commutations just modest steps and urged Biden to meet the urgency of the moment. President Biden ran on a promise to help end mass incarceration, and he has broad public support for that promise, Chettiar added. Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, granted 144 pardons and clemency to 238 during his four years in office. Some criminal justice advocates are pressing for Biden to act with more haste, calling on the president to establish a permanent clemency review board. More than 18,000 clemency petitions are pending, according to the Justice Department. White House counsel Dana Remus, at a virtual roundtable discussion on Tuesday with formerly incarcerated people hosted by the Biden administration, said that the pardons and commutations are just the beginning. The President will continue to review clemency petitions over the coming months, Remus said. And we will continue all of this critically important work in supporting formerly incarcerated persons in creating second chances and ensuring that our criminal justice system is more just and more equal. Trump sought the advice of prison reform advocate Alice Johnson, a Black woman whose life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense he commuted in 2018. He was also lobbied by celebrity Kim Kardashian as well as advisers inside the White House, including daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as he weighed applications for clemency. The Republican used his pardon authority to help several political friends and allies, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Republican operative Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of Ivanka Trump. Among Trump's final acts as president was pardoning his former chief strategist Steve Bannon and Al Pirro, the ex-husband of Fox News host and Trump ally Jeanine Pirro. Prosecutors alleged that Bannon, who had yet to stand trial when he was pardoned, had duped thousands of donors who believed their money would be used to fulfill Trumps chief campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border. Instead, Bannon allegedly diverted more than $1 million, paying a salary to one campaign official and personal expenses for himself. Pirro was convicted in 2000 on tax charges. With the slate of pardons and commutations announced Tuesday, Biden has issued more grants of clemency than any of the previous five presidents at this point in their terms, according to the White House. In addition to the grants of clemency, Biden announced several new initiatives that are meant to help formerly incarcerated people gain employment an issue that his administration is driving home as key to lowering crime rates and preventing recidivism. The Labor Department is directing $140 million toward programs that offer job training, pre-apprenticeship programs, digital literacy training and pre-release and post-release career counseling and more for youth and incarcerated adults. The $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year includes a trio of grant programs that the administration says promote hiring of formerly incarcerated individuals. And the Labor and Justice Departments announced on Tuesday a collaborative plan to provide $145 million over the next year on job skills training as well as individualized employment and reentry plans for people serving time in the Bureau of Prisons. Biden said the new initiatives are vital to helping the more than 600,000 people released from prison each year get on stable ground. "Helping those who served their time return to their families and become contributing members of their communities is one of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism and decrease crime," Biden said. ___ Babwin reported from Chicago. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo and Darlene Superville contributed to this report. YORK, Maine (AP) A border dispute between a pair of Maine towns could end up being resolved in court. Officials in York and Kittery disagree about whether the border between the southern Maine communities is a straight line or more of a meandering one. Maps, drawn by the towns in the late 18th century, differ on the subject. RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) Authorities say a South Dakota prison inmate who walked away from a minimum-security facility is back in custody. The state Department of Corrections said Phillip Richards left his work release job in Rapid City on Saturday without permission and didnt return to his housing unit. He was apprehended Monday in Pennington County. BOISE, Idaho (AP) The trial for a former Idaho lawmaker accused of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern began Tuesday with a prosecutor telling jurors the case was about power imbalances and the defense saying the sex was consensual. Aaron von Ehlinger was charged with rape and penetration with a foreign object, both felonies, last year after the young Statehouse staffer reported a sexual assault in March 2021. This case is about power power wielded in the wrong hands," Ada County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Katelyn Farley told the jury. The defendant, Mr. von Ehlinger, wielded that power against a 19-year-old intern, Farley said, telling jurors that they would hear several ways in which the intern tried to resist the lawmakers advances. Von Ehlingers attorney, John Cox, told jurors that the intern and his client had passionate consensual sexual contact. He said the intern stayed at von Ehlingers apartment for a time after the sexual contact. They talked for a while, and then he drove her back to her car two-and-a-half blocks away, Cox said. The allegations first came to light during the 2021 legislative session after the intern told a Statehouse supervisor that von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a Boise restaurant. At the time, von Ehlinger was a state representative from Lewiston, but he later resigned after an ethics committee unanimously agreed that he engaged in behavior unbecoming and recommended that he be suspended without pay for the rest of the legislative session. Von Ehlinger, 38, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry maximum penalties of life in prison. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, and has referred to the woman in this case as Jane Doe at her request. Earlier Tuesday, the attorneys questioned potential jurors about whether they had seen news coverage about the case, their political leanings and their feelings about romantic relationships between people who are far apart in age. A few potential jurors were excused after they said they had seen news coverage about the rape allegations and the ethics investigations the case spawned. Jane Doe faced significant harassment from some of von Ehlinger's supporters after news of the allegations surfaced, with some blog sites releasing her real name and personal details about her life. Another lawmaker, Rep. Priscilla Giddings of Whitebird, then widely disseminated the former intern's name in newsletters and on social media, sharing one of the blogs that originally identified her. Another juror was excused after he said he didn't know how anyone could remain a member of the Republican Party. The jury of 12 people and one alternate was seated around noon. ___ This story has been corrected to show the trial began Tuesday, not Monday. LAS VEGAS (AP) A federal judge in Las Vegas said Monday hell decide in three weeks whether to dismiss a condemned Nevada killers lawsuit challenging the states plan for his lethal injection, because the state doesnt have one of the drugs it would use. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II acknowledged during a brief hearing with attorneys for the state and the inmate, Zane Michael Floyd, that key questions about the execution method remain unanswered following weeks of testimony late last year. But the Nevada Department of Corrections supply of the sedative ketamine expired on Feb. 28, and Randall Gilmer, chief deputy state attorney general, said prison officials have been unable to get more. The prison execution method, or protocol, calls for using large doses of three or four drugs also including the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl or a substitute, alfentanil, possibly a muscle paralytic called cisatracurium and either potassium chloride or potassium acetate to stop Floyds heart. Boulware said the question before him might have become moot. There is no foreseeable likelihood that NDOC would be able to obtain one of the main drugs in the protocol, Boulware said, adding that there also is no current warrant for Floyds death. State law calls for two weeks notice to schedule an execution, and for executions to be by lethal injection. At this point, the court is not inclined to find that there is a live issue, Boulware said. He asked for written arguments from the state and Floyds attorneys by May 16. Floyd, 46, was convicted in 2000 of killing four people and wounding a fifth in a shotgun attack at a Las Vegas grocery store. He does not want to die. Daryl Mack was the last inmate put to death in Nevada, in April 2006, for a 1988 rape and murder in Reno. Mack asked for his lethal injection to be carried out. Deputy federal public defenders David Anthony and Brad Levenson have tried to show Boulware that the never-before-used combination of drugs the state wants to use would cause Floyd so much pain that it would be unconstitutionally cruel and inhumane. This column was originally published on April 26, 1994. *** JAMES RIVER It's a sweet calm morning here in Mason County, where I'm sitting on the river bank, watching Rusty Mitchum make beer biscuits in a cast iron dutch oven. My assignment is to stop putting fresh wood on the campfire because Rusty's got the coals just about right and doesn't need any flames. You want the recipe? OK, pour about half a cup of cooking oil in the dutch oven and add a certain amount of self-rising flour. Rusty isn't sure how much flour. It's quite a bit but not too much. Add a can of warm beer and work it into biscuit dough with your hands. Flatten dough on a board, cut the end of the beer can away and use it to stamp out biscuits. You'll have maybe a dozen for a 12-inch dutch oven. Drop 'em in the pot. Turn 'em once so they'll be oiled both top and bottom. Set the pot in the fire and heap coals on the oven lid. Let cook 25 or 30 minutes. Makes good country-style biscuits with a vague hoppy flavor, and crusty brown bottoms. I like a biscuit with a foundation under it that way, a crust that keeps the thing from falling apart when you pick it up. The James river, yes. An annual report from the reunion Most years about this time I send in a report from the James River and somebody always accuses me of making it up because they don't believe there's a river in Texas by that name. But five rivers named James flow in North America. In Alberta, Canada. In Virginia. In Missouri. In North Dakota. And this one, where I'm sitting now eating a beer biscuit. I wish I could make up a river like the James. I'd make up dozens and distribute them across the world to places that need nice little rocky-bottomed streams with gentle rapids and low waterfalls and quiet deep pools. Our James River is a tributary of the Llano. It's only 37 miles long. Empties into the Llano south of Mason. Little bunch of us throw a reunion on this stream every April and that's why I'm here. We fish and tell stories and sing songs and eat too much, but beyond that we're harmless. Everybody in this gang has a special job, to keep the camp going. We've even got designated fishermen. People like Joe Osborn out of Austin. And Josh Kramer and Travis and Bill Shearer of Fredericksburg. They go forth and stay until they catch fish. They'll walk miles over this tough stony terrain. Stay out for hours and hours. We have several camp cooks, in addition to Rusty who comes from Tyler. I'm one of the cooks, allowed to fix pinto beans. And my beans are always bragged on because nobody else wants to fool with them. Fish cooker this year is Glen Bass, another Tyler man. He believes in deep-fat frying. I asked for the principal secret of his cooking and he said, "Always keep your fingers out of the hot grease." We have John Graves from Glen Rose who is our main storyteller. He has been in many places and seen wonders and knows secrets heretofore undisclosed. For example, he was able to show Bass when to start cooking the fish. Secret is, throw a kitchen match in the pot and if the grease is hot enough, the match will flame. Also we have Phil Montgomery who comes all the way from Dallas with his guitar and the words to a hundred songs, sung at the fire after supper. Curious concoctions taste great We have Glenn Whitehead from Smithville who has contributed what he calls roll-your-own tacos. Thin beef cooked over charcoal. Also chunks of pork, chicken breast, and shrimp, marinated in a secret sauce, and charcoaled, and thin-sliced. Put these meat slices on a hot tortilla and add a startling salsa made of fine-minced jalapenos and serrano peppers and cilantro and lime juice and roll that baby up and bite in and it'll make you sing sweet songs. But next time you're in the wilderness, try this for a dessert: Dump four medium-size cans of sliced peaches into a 12-inch dutch oven. Pour off the juice. Sprinkle over the peaches a small package of yellow cake mix. Pour in a flavored soda pop, and dab around in there and make a paste over the peaches. (This is Rusty Mitchum's recipe and he used a Shasta lemon-lime drink. People bring strange things to fish camps.) Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Cover oven. Cook in campfire like beer biscuits above. I don't mind saying I was doubtful about this cobbler but it was all right, here on the James where so many curious preparations taste great. I believe this will be the first time I ever spent three nights on a river bank and gained weight. WASHINGTON A 51-year-old Houston woman who served seven years in prison for trying to transport crack cocaine for her boyfriend on Tuesday received one of the first three presidential pardons from Joe Biden as the White House announced he was granting clemency to nearly two dozen Texans serving on nonviolent, drug-related convictions. They were among 78 clemency announcements issued by the White House as the Biden administration rolled out new executive actions aimed at helping felons reenter society, part of a broader effort to reform the criminal justice system. "America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation," Biden said in a statement. "Our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities. In Texas: Melissa Lucio gets stay of execution 2 days before scheduled killing by lethal injection Biden pardoned Betty Jo Bogans, who was a single mother when convicted in 1998 of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine after she attempted to move drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice, neither of whom were detained or arrested, according to the White House. In 2002, former President George W. Bush declined to commute Bogans prison sentence, according to a list of denials published by the Department of Justice. More Information President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 19 Texans serving prison time on non-violent drug charges. Sharon Louise Boatright of Richardson, serving a 188-month prison sentence for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ramola Kaye Brown of Huntsville, serving a 145-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and less than 50 kilograms of marijuana. Mark Richard Burton of Odessa, serving a 121-month prison sentence for charges related to distributing 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and/or 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. Nickolas Cano of Amarillo, serving a 140-month prison sentence for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting. Lori Jean Cross of North Richland Hills, serving a 120-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Catalina Davis of San Antonio, serving a 151-month prison sentence for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Deborah Ann Dodd of Forney, serving a 140-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine or 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Nova Neal Finau of Fort Worth, serving a 140-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Julio Garza of Edinburg, serving a 240-month prison sentence for possession with intent to distribute 10 kilograms of cocaine. Stephanie Hernandez of Dallas, serving a 120-month prison sentence for distribution of a controlled substance. David Charles Jenkins of Beaumont, serving a 151-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; a 24-month term for violating supervised release; and a 24-month term for production of counterfeit access devices. Brittany Krambeck of Fort Worth, serving a 220-month prison sentence for maintaining drug involved premises; structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements. Rosamaria Lucero of New Braunfels, serving a 120-month prison sentence for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting. Quang Nguyen of Houston, serving a 120-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants. Aaron Ponce of Odessa, serving a 240-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute a controlled substance, 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Rose Trujillo Rangel of Waco, serving a 240-month prison sentence for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a schedule II-narcotic-drug-controlled substance. Alejandro Reyna of Brownsville, serving a 210-month prison sentence for importation of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. Fermin Serna of Rio Grande City, serving a 240-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. James Darrell Walker of Lubbock, serving a 262-month prison sentence for distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. See More Collapse The White House said Bogans accepted responsibility for her limited role in the offense, and in the nearly two decades since her release, Bogans has held consistent employment, even while undergoing treatment for cancer and raising her son. Biden also commuted the sentences of 19 other Texans, including Catalina Davis of San Antonio, who was serving a 12-year prison sentence for charges related to distributing methamphetamine, and Quang Nguyen of Houston, who was serving a 10-year sentence after being charged with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants. The sentences commuted will now expire on April 26, 2023, and the remainder of the time will be served in home confinement, according to the White House. Texas Take: Get the latest news on Texas politics sent directly to your inbox every weekday Bogans was among the first three pardons issued by Biden, who also pardoned Abraham Bolden, an 86-year-old former U.S. Secret Service agent who was the first African American to serve on a presidential detail. In 1964, the Chicago resident was charged for trying to sell a copy of a Secret Service file. Boldens first trial resulted in a hung jury. He was convicted in a second trial where key witnesses against him admitted to lying at the prosecutors request, according to the White House. The president also pardoned Dexter Jackson, a 52-year-old man who was convicted in 2002 for allowing marijuana distributors to use his pool hall to facilitate drug transactions. Joel Umanzor contributed. ben.wermund@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The sun had not yet risen when Sgt. Trevor Windsor approached the vehicle. The Harris County Sheriffs Office deputy saw two distraught teens standing outside their familys bullet-riddled vehicle. Inside, their little sister, Jazmine Barnes, lay lifeless with a gunshot wound to the head. She was cool to the touch and there was nothing he could do to save her, he testified. The sergeants recollection of that predawn shooting in December 2018 along with a photo of the childs body slumped over in the backseat was shared Tuesday for a jury, picked hours earlier, in the trial of 27-year-old Larry Woodruffe. He was charged with capital murder in January 2019 in connection with the girls death. Prosecutors in the opening statements said Jazmine joined her two siblings and mother that morning on a coffee run. The family stopped at an intersection and was met by gunfire. Their mother, LaPorsha Washington, was shot in the shoulder, and she barked orders for her daughters to call 911 and find the nearest hospital. The plan to drive to the hospital was thwarted by a flat tire, prosecutors said. After Windsor arrived, he gleaned a description of the shooter from the teen girls: He was a white man in a hoodie. Another witness told the sergeant that the man had a goatee and the lawman suggested that he resembled the man the siblings thought they saw. It was like looking in the mirror, Windsor added. The description the siblings supplied set off a frantic manhunt with police distributing a sketch artists rendering of the suspect and worries that the crime was racially motivated. Additional tips suggested that the shooter had been behind the wheel of a red truck. That description was wrong, prosecutor Sean Kozar-King told the jurors. A tipster led authorities to Woodruffe and co-defendant Eric Black, 23 also charged with capital murder who also is expected to testify, Kozar-King said. Based on a purported confession to police, Black has said he drove the vehicle and that Woodruffe fired the shots. He also told investigators that the shooting was a mistake, that the family was not the intended target. In exchange for truthful testimony, Blacks charge will be reduced to murder, according to court records. A judge is expected to determine Blacks punishment in May. The childs father, Christopher Cevilla, sat in the courtroom and listened to portions of the opening statements and the first two witnesses. Windsor shook his hand as he left the courtroom. Washington is expected to testify this week. The defense dwelled on law enforcements rush to find Jazmines killer amid growing publicity nationwide as an aspect in their case. Uproar over the childs death prompted a flood of tips, and Woodruffes prior lawyers sought a change of venue because of the publicity. Judges in Houston rarely grant a change of venue because of how populous Harris County is, and media coverage tends to wane ahead of a trial. There was an incredible amount of pressure, one of Woodruffes lawyers, Paul Morgan, said. The case garnered the attention of lawyer Lee Merritt failed candidate for Texas attorney general and social activist Shaun King, who publicized a $100,000 tip for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the case. One of the tipsters whose insight led to Woodruffes arrest was his ex-girlfriend, Morgan said. That tip was passed to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who spoke at Jazmines funeral. Neither of the apprehended suspects resembled the thin man with blue eyes and hints of stubble in the sketch composite. Both defendants are Black. The man misidentified from the police sketch, Robert Cantrell, took his own life in July 2019 in a Montgomery County Jail cell. The remaining testimony on Tuesday centered on firearm ballistics collected at the crime scene. The start of the trial comes amid a push toward normalcy in the court system. Jury trials came to a halt for the first seven months of the pandemic, causing some cases to languish and contributing to a growing backlog in the courts. More than 48,000 felony cases in March were pending, according to county court records. Of that number, only four capital murder and murder cases two of each as of Tuesday are undergoing trial. In another courtroom, a jury continued to hear evidence about how investigators linked Andre Jackson to the 2016 killing of an 11-year-old boy who was found stabbed to death while walking home from school. A retired Houston Police Department homicide detective recalled how investigators apprehended the wrong man at first, with surveillance footage in Pearland solidifying his alibi at the time of Josue Flores death. He went on to collect about two dozen videos from security cameras in the neighborhood and found video of a man, believed to be Jackson, running away. The clothing matched the assailants description, he said. The trial started Monday and is expected to continue through next week. The cases against Jackson and Woodruffe were transferred to an emergency relief docket as an attempt to alleviate the backlog by bringing older, more complex cases to completion. A verdict in Woodruffes case is expected on Thursday. nicole.hensley@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Houston Community College on Tuesday announced a disaster mitigation program including a roughly $30 million flood simulation center to train first responders, businesses and community members for catastrophic events that are expected to become more frequent due to climate change. HCCs Resiliency Initiative follows several disaster-filled years for Houston. In less than a decade, the city has seen three 500-year floods, the COVID-19 pandemic and a freeze-induced statewide power grid failure. The first class will begin studies in the fall, and HCC leaders said they hope the program will create consistency in disaster preparedness and response across law enforcement, businesses and residential communities. HCC is partnering to redefine what a resilient Houston and surrounding counties can look like, college system Chancellor Cesar Maldonado said. The centerpiece is the planned facility with space to mimic flood situations on a realistic streetscape which school officials foresee having nationwide appeal. Our vision for HCCs (flood center) is bold. It will redefine what it means to be prepared in Houston, our region, the state and arguably the nation, Maldonado said. This venture is about protecting and improving the lives of people in the communities in which we live and work. On HoustonChronicle.com: Intense swift-water rescue training prepares Harris County deputies for next Harvey Texas has weathered 119 major storm events since 1980, with each costing at least $1 billion, said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who chairs a consortium of mayors working to mitigate climate change. Seven federally declared disasters occurred in Houston during Turners six years as the citys top official, including 2017s Hurricane Harvey, which brought some 50 inches of rain to some parts and spawned severe flooding. A training program one that is not solely limited to first responders will complement the citys goal of creating a Resilient Houston through investments in infrastructure and the workforce ahead of disasters, Turner said. These shocks and stresses come repeatedly, Turner said at HCCs State of the College address Tuesday. Major events are coming with greater frequency, greater intensity and costing more. Underserved communities tend to suffer the most during catastrophic weather events, and HCCs program will help put trained volunteers in those neighborhoods, said Michelle Dobbins, co-chair of a response group called the Texas Gulf Coast Regional Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. The more resilient people are within their own communities, the quicker theyre able to recover, said Dobbins, who is also program director of recovery and resiliency at the nonprofit Baker Ripley. And the quicker theyre able to recover, the chances are that they can move forward with less of a negative impact to the household. The five-acre simulation space called the Resiliency Operations Center wont be ready for several years at a new training location. Engineering plans are scheduled for completion in September, and construction could last up to 22 months at the site on HCCs northeast campus. When its ready, 3,000 to 4,000 people could train there each year. Officials said the flood center will be the largest of its kind, equipped with drones, robots and other technology to simulate flooded residential streets with downed power lines, submerged vehicles and floating debris. The streetscape also will include mock training buildings, a swift water rescue channel and a lake with shallow and deep water areas. Beyond flood preparation, HCCs disaster initiative provides training for fires, chemicals spills and leaks, pandemics and freezes, Maldonado said. An additional two simulation facilities and programs will focus on the highline and petrochemical fields responses to disasters. The simulation training expands on the colleges current offerings related to law enforcement as well as disasters. Courses will begin sooner: The first cohort will enroll in the fall, with participants taking non-credit courses tailored toward their role in the community, the chancellor said. Most people in the first round of classes are expected to belong to neighborhood groups or work for the city of Houston helping to accomplish the mayors goal of training 500,000 Houstonians in topics of resiliency by 2025. Some of the courses will be entry-level and others will be for continuing education and a higher level of certification. The course curriculum will draw from faculty and subject matter experts across the region and country, Maldonado said. . Business-related topics include supply-chain challenges; coordinating preparedness and response; and addressing challenges in construction, facilities, local infrastructure and communications. Courses for community members include assessing risks, investing in preparedness and the role of insurance. The Texas Legislature has invested close to $5 million in the project since 2019, Maldonado said. Private individuals who have asked to remain anonymous have committed an estimated $10 million. A total cost was not immediately known, although some funding is covered by the systems current operating budget, according to the chancellor. The city and Harris County are expected to take advantage of the training opportunities offered by the HCC-led initiative, he said. samantha.ketterer@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle. Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Show More Show Less Four people were injured when a Harris County Flood Control District boat capsized while performing routine maintenance on Tuesday afternoon on a bayou in west Houston, officials said. The Houston Fire Department conducted a water rescue operation following the crash under Langham Creek Bridge near Interstate 10 and North Eldridge Parkway, according to the fire department. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Michael Olivas, a law scholar and University of Houston professor emeritus who died last week at age 71, is being remembered as a giant and a legend whose work had an impact on academic corridors around the country and the lives of many people, particularly in the Latino community. Olivas died April 22 at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., his hometown, after blood clot complications from a recent knee surgery, according to a post on his Twitter account and a UH news release. Olivas was a professor at the University of Houston for nearly four decades, retiring in 2019 as William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law Emeritus. He had also led the Institute for Higher Education Law & Governance at the UH Law Center, served as acting president of the UH-Downtown campus in 2016 and held posts at the University of Iowa College of Law and at the University of Wisconsin. Professor Olivas was an excellent teacher and role model, a renowned scholar, academic entrepreneur and institution builder, and multiple award winner, said Leonard M. Baynes, dean of the University of Houston Law Center. Olivas advanced the rule of law, legal education, and service to the community. Colleagues described Olivas as a prolific scholar who received the highest distinctions in academia. He was honored with the Triennial Award for Lifetime Service to Legal Education and the Law, the top award given by the Association of American Law Schools. Olivas also received the Esther Farfel Award, the highest honor given to a UH faculty member, for overall career excellence, among other accolades. Professor Olivas was legendary nationwide, said Sandra Guerra Thompson, one of his colleagues and a professor of law at UH. His death is unfathomable for so many people! Scholars from across the country praised Olivas personal qualities and lifetime of achievement. He was a legendary law professor of the highest order, said Kevin R. Johnson, dean of the University of California, Davis School of Law. He worked tirelessly to nurture and develop law professors of color and was a personal mentor, and cheerleader, for scores of them. Olivas displayed his intellectual acumen in some 16 books that he authored or coauthored, as well as in speeches and in articles. One of his books, Suing Alma Mater, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, won the Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law, given by the Education Law Association. That award honors scholarly excellence that has had an impact on education law. Olivas wrote numerous articles and was an advocate in immigration law. He helped articulate the legal framework to allow migrant students such as Dreamers to pay in-state tuition at Texas higher education institutions. The publication Insides Higher ED called Olivas a fierce advocate for Latinx students, nothing that he helped a Texas state representative draft the successful 10 percent law. The 10% plan allowed the University of Texas to admit the top ten percent of students from each public high school in Texas affording students of a wide variety of backgrounds the opportunity to attend the flagship Texas university, UH said in a news release. This move significantly increased the acceptance of Latino and Black students at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. For someone who operated at a high level of intellect and academic productivity, Olivas managed to dedicate an extraordinary amount of time helping other people in their careers, recalled Sandra Guerra Thompson. Ediberto Roman, a law professor at Florida International University, wrote in a post of Olivas tireless work to increase diversity. Roman said there were relatively few Hispanic professors in higher education when Olivas started. To change that, he said, Olivas created, together with the National Hispanic Bar Association, the Dirty Dozen List outing schools that failed to have Hispanics on their tenure track faculty. A decade later, he said, the number of Latino professors grew to more than 200 and continued increasing. Roman was the editor of Law Professor and Accidental Historian: The Scholarship of Michael A. Olivas, an anthology published by Carolina Academic Press. In it, some 20 scholars analyze pathbreaking works by Olivas debating contemporary policy issues. Juan F. Vasquez, Jr., a board member of the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston and an adjunct professor at the UH Law Center, said Olivas was a man of stature who will be sorely missed, with a legacy that will live on at the University of Houston Law Center and the local, regional, national, and international community. He was a giant in the legal industry He left a legacy through the students he guided and the individuals and clients whose lives were positively impacted by his amazing legal work, scholarship, and mentorship, said Vasquez. Olivas was remembered on social media platforms as a generous friend, a mentor, a gentleman and a man for all seasons with a sharp sense of humor. They said he did not hesitate to provide incisive criticism to mentees, demanding the highest levels of research and professional quality. Wherefore art thou padrino (godfather), Who cared well for his flock. From few we grew manifold, Behold our great stock, reads a ballad written by Juan F. Perea, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago. Michael stands out as a giant, a true hero, Perea said. I am grateful to have shared his friendship, his wisdom, his mentoring, his generosity, his learning, and his wit. A Mass will be held Saturday for Olivas at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to offer a eulogy, the Chronicle has learned. A space at UHs new OQuinn Law Building will be named the Olivas-Reyes Reading Room in honor of Olivas and his wife, retired Professor Emerita Augustina H. Reyes, a project that was announced before his death. Scholars around the country are planning other projects, including the first Annual Michael Olivas Writing Institute, to take place virtually, and renaming an annual event from the Association of American Law School as the Michael Olivas Annual AALS Dinner. He was like a rock; when everything all around seem to be going crazy, he held everyone together, said Raul Ramos, a history professor at UH. I have never met anybody so dedicated to the selfless act of helping the community as Michael His work will inspire the future in academia. olivia.tallet@chron.com Twitter.com/oliviaptallet Melissa Lucio erupted in sobs the moment she learned she would live to see past Wednesday, the day designated on her death warrant for Texas prison officials to end her life. The Harlingen mother of 14 was scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday for the 2007 murder of her toddler, Mariah Alvarez. In a startling ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday issued a stay, halting her execution. The ruling will allow her lawyers to present new exculpatory evidence they believe will prompt a new trial, and eventually lead to her freedom after more than 15 years on death row. Supporters of Melissa Lucio, the Harlingen mother of 14 on death row for the murder of her toddler, are demanding her immediate release after she was granted a stay of execution Monday in a rare appellate ruling. Lucio's family members and organizers with Death Penalty Action, a national organization that advocates for the end of executions, will hold a rally 4 p.m. Wednesday outside of Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz's office. Saenz has the power to drop the murder case against Lucio, and her supporters are demanding he do so immediately. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For some, going to an ordinary bar isn't enough. Some crave a more unique bar experience. Whether that be unusual architecture, original cocktail recipes or never-before-seen technology, Houston has it all. Don't believe us? Look no further than Notsuoh. Located in one of Houston's oldest buildings, Notsuoh serves as an artistic testament to the city's history, catering to a diverse audience in a building that's been largely unchanged for nearly 80 years. "It's not, in my mind, just a bar," owner John Pirtle said. "It's a piece of social sculpture, a piece of art, and most bar owners don't have that perspective of what they're doing. They're just trying to sell drinks." While Notsuoh is a testament to time, Shoot The Moon hopes to push Houston bars into the future. Co-owner Kevin Floyd says his bar and restaurant is the state's first to fully embrace self-pour technology. Patrons at Shoot The Moon can pour their own beer, wine, spirits and cocktails, which became legal in 2019. Another Texas taproom offered self-serve beer first, but Floyd says his made history in offering a full self-pour bar. "Whenever I got to a place I either want it to be really high quality and good, or I want it to be an interesting experience," Floyd said. "I (expletive) hate places like Rainforest Cafe that (are) manufactured. There's nothing authentic about it." Visiting an unfamiliar bar can be a risky proposition, but Floyd says it's worth the risk. "It might have good reviews, it might be horrible, but at least it's different and it's authentic." So how do you go about finding a unique bar? Lauren Blake, a frequent bar patron and part of Houston On the Cheap, helped us put together a list of some of the most unique bars in the Houston area. "We're all looking for the best place to connect with people we love or make new connections," Blake said. "The most unique bars have to be somewhere that gives us a new flavor to rave about or an environment that gives us a story by the end of the night." See below for our list of Houston's most unique bars, where they're located and what makes them unique. Notsuoh Bill Olive/For the Chronicle Address: 314 Main St What makes it unique: Sometimes relaxing, sometimes frightening, Notsuoh offers patrons an almost guaranteed memorable night in a Houston building that was constructed in 1893. Notsuoh has frequent poetry nights, chess boards, and art that is sometimes alive. Shoot the Moon Amy Scott Address: 8155 Long Point Rd What makes it unique: Owner Kevin Floyd wanted Shoot The Moon to be different from the start. The bar utilizes self-pour tap technology for cider, beer, wine, cocktails and spirits. It also uses access cards that unlock the tap system, allowing patrons to either test a small pour or go in for a full serving. Johnny's Gold Brick Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle Address: 2518 Yale St What makes it unique: When owner Benjamin Mason opened Johnny's Gold Brick in the Heights, he wanted to make a friendly neighborhood bar that also has great cocktails. The bar separates itself from other neighborhood bars by having a new menu every month, where bartenders are required to come up with a new cocktail. According to Mason, Johnny's will have up to eight new, original cocktails each month for patrons to try. Lei Low Ryan Nickerson, Houston Chronicle Address: 6412 N Main St Ste.C What makes it unique: Owner Russell Thoede says that his Heights tiki bar has the largest selection of rum in Texas and the decor allows patrons to escape into a world of relaxation. Although Lei Low is tucked away in the Heights in an unassuming building, Thoede says it's in a premier location for tiki culture enthusiasts from all over the world. Moon Tower Inn Ryan Nickerson, Houston Chronicle Address: 3004 Canal St What makes it unique: Ever had a rabbit hot dog? Not only does Moon Tower Inn have an overwhelming number of beers and ciders on tap, patrons can also browse through an expansive food menu that includes duck, rabbit, pheasant, lamb, wild boar and other types of hot dogs on pretzel buns. Brass Tacks Alison Cook / Staff Address: 612 Live Oak What makes it unique: Brass Tacks combines work and play with an all-day cafe that has high-speed internet, lounges, a boardroom, event space and a cocktail bar. Housed in a building that was built in 1938 in EaDo, Brass Tacks serves young professionals who are fueled by coffee by day and booze by night. Powder Keg Courtesy Address: 1300 Brittmoore Rd What makes it unique: Powder Keg has 4 sand volleyball courts, a dog park, an event space, live music, food trucks, and affordable and unique cocktails, beer and wine. Kids are also welcome until 9 p.m. Libraries are open, democratic spaces where all manner of people can come and participate in community in a way that fast seems to be going extinct. In Llano County, Texas about an hour and a half northwest of Austin, those democratic values have been put to the test. Over the past several months, the county has undertaken a coordinated censorship campaign, removing physical books and cutting off access to thousands of digital ones. The targeted titles are linked to the list of hundreds of objectionable books that Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, listed in a letter sent to the Texas Education Agency and Texas superintendents in October. Llano Countys crackdown on objectionable titles appears to be among the first times the tendency toward censorship that has spread throughout Texas public schools has arrived at the steps of a public library. Fortunately, a group of seven Llano County-area residents are fighting back. Their lawsuit, filed Monday, alleges that the coordinated efforts from county officials to limit what books residents can check out from the library violates the First Amendment. Public libraries are not places of government indoctrination, reads the lawsuit. They are not places where the people in power can dictate what their citizens are permitted to read about and learn. Such overreach jeopardizes everyones freedom, not to mention the informed electorate upon which a democracy depends. Nobody is forcing children or adults to read any of the books in a library, Ellen Leonida, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit, told us in an email. The speech the defendants are trying to censor focuses on books about U.S. history, books about race and racism, and books by or about LGBTQ people. These books are not pornography. They are history, politics, science, fiction and memoir. Llano County public officials dont have to read any books they disagree with but they have no right to ban them. The story began with kids books. In August 2021, the lawsuit alleges, County Judge Ron Cunningham and two other defendants removed some books from the childrens section. The titles, including Maurice Sendaks In the Night Kitchen, contained nudity in illustrations or referenced bodily functions. When some of the plaintiffs tried to check out the books, they were told they had been moved to Cunninghams office, according to the complaint. Its no surprise that parents might object to individual books, and when they do they shouldnt allow their children to check them out. But wholesale winnowing of a public librarys shelves, especially against such an overly broad, indiscriminate list as Krauses, is tantamount to censorship. And in Llano Countys case, removing titles aimed at children was just the start. In November, Llano County resident Bonnie Wallace sent an email to Cunningham with a list of the titles in the countys libraries that also appeared on Krauses list. The subject line read: Pornographic Filth at the Llano Public Libraries. That same day, according to the lawsuit, Cunningham told the library director to remove all books that depict any type of sexual activity or questionable nudity. In December, the county commissioners ordered the local libraries to close for three days to review books and materials for children and youth. Then in January, the Commissioners Court put the finishing touches on a new library board, with Wallace named vice chair. Along with Cunningham, defendants in the lawsuit include county commissioners, members of the new library board and library director Amber Milum. Together, the complaint alleges, they have been systematically removing award-winning books from library shelves because they disagree with the ideas within them. They have also, the complaint continues, permanently terminated access to over 17,000 digital books because they could not censor and ban two specific ebooks that they disliked from the Countys digital book collection. Books including Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, are among the titles targeted by the review process, according to the lawsuit. But even books that are not nationally acclaimed should not be banned because of their content or viewpoint, the complaint argues. Parents and community members, of course, have the right to weigh in on community resources but in Llano County, officials seemed to be driven by politics as they took steps that disregarded the established protocol allowing for the review of library materials. In addition, the county banned librarians from even attending library board meetings and kept the them closed to the public, according to the complaint. We asked to speak to Cunningham about the lawsuit, but he declined through an assistant. It is a shame that this unnecessary culture war has led to this, Shirley Robinson, executive director of the Texas Library Association said in an email, but we applaud the efforts of these individuals to utilize the justice system to speak up and say with a clear voice enough is enough. The county did not respond to requests for comment on the pending litigation. Meanwhile, Leonida told us she intends to seek an injunction to restore access to the digital library service and return the books to the shelves. The failure of physical infrastructure gets more notice than the unraveling of social infrastructure, as sociologist Eric Klinenberg calls it in his book, Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life. But when the social infrastructure gets degraded, the consequences are unmistakable, he argues. What often follows are falling trust, weaker social networks and rising crime. Llano County took the first steps to weaken its library months ago. With this lawsuit, some residents are fighting back. We didnt ask for this fight, but were certainly not going to lay down and let subjective opinion and politics restrict the freedom to read, added Robinson. Good for them, and for the residents leading the charge. The lawsuit represents a stand for the First Amendment that could benefit all of Texas. We cant begin to imagine the feelings of Melissa Lucio and her family at this moment. Joy and relief likely dont begin to describe it. News Monday afternoon that Texas highest criminal court issued a stay of execution for the mother of 14 in the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah is a development worth celebrating for anyone who has followed her case, seen the documentary, or joined the widespread bipartisan campaign to save her life. And yet, even as we cheer the decision by the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, which instructed the lower court to reconsider the case for several reasons, including mounting evidence that suggests she may be actually innocent, we are struck by the cruelty of this slow, lumbering process on a woman who, just hours earlier, was set to die in two days. Spared imminent execution, she remains in solitary confinement and on Death Row. These late-hour decisions make for exciting headlines but they seem yet another blow to people who have been wrongfully accused or sentenced. And they remind us, as if we needed another reminder, that a system so faulty, so prone to grievous human error, has no business administering an irreversible penalty such as death. While Lucios clemency efforts sought a reprieve or a commutation to a life sentence from the governor, via the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, we support this court-ordered stay precisely because it provides an opportunity for the trial court to re-examine the very question of her guilt or innocence. The CCA found four of the nine points raised by Lucios defense team cast sufficient doubt on her conviction or sentence, and ordered the trial court to consider on their merits claims that if the prosecution had not used false testimony, no juror would have convicted her; previously unavailable scientific evidence would preclude her conviction; she is actually innocent; and that the state had suppressed favorable, material evidence in violation of federal law. The states initial case against her relied largely on a confession delivered after some five hours of late-night interrogation and on medical evidence that insisted that only abuse could have led to little Mariahs injuries and death. In new documents filed as part of her clemency petition, Lucios defense team presents alternative explanations for those injuries, including that a head injury could have caused her extensive bruising, and argue that her confession was unreliable and the result of a lifetime of abuse suffered by Lucio herself that often led her to take responsibility for things she didnt do. As we wrote earlier this month, the flimsy evidence used to send her to her death, seemed to wither under the light of international scrutiny, late-hour appellate filings and public pleas for Gov. Greg Abbott to grant clemency. The groundswell of support behind Lucios case elicited bipartisan support across the state and country. Five of the original jurors also joined calls to review the new information gathered in the clemency petition. The death of a child is always a tragedy. In the case of Mariah, who was found unresponsive days after having fallen down a flight of stairs, that tragedy seems to have been compounded by injustice in the prosecution of her mother. There were problems from the very beginning of the case, starting with the emergency responders dismissing Lucios explanation that Mariah had fallen down the stairs. From there, her defense team argues, there was a rush to judgment by those who saw Lucio as a poor, Latina mother with a history of involvement with Child Protective Services, mostly involving her drug use and neglect. But that history, her team notes and shows in supporting documents, does not include a record of physical abuse. The case jurors heard, however, presented a very different story, relying on a Texas Ranger who insisted Lucios body language during his interrogation confirmed her guilt and on a medical examiner who insisted there was no other explanation for Mariahs death. Efforts to present a defense that challenged the confession failed at the time and have only grown more robust as her new defense team built her case. Likewise, the new analysis from medical experts shows that the proper steps were not taken to rule out other causes of death, including a history of falls and a potential underlying condition that would have also explained the widespread bruising on Mariahs body. In 27 years and close to 100 cases, this is the first time I've ever had a case where there wasnt actually a murder, Tivon Schardl, chief of the capital habeas unit of the federal defenders office in the Western District of Texas and one Lucios lawyers, told the editorial board earlier. The stay will send her case back to Cameron County. The trial court will consider the claims and then make its own findings about the questions raised by Lucios attorneys, before the case is returned to the Court of Criminal Appeals for a decision on whether there should be a new trial. The stay gives us the opportunity to go back to the trial court and to present the evidence of Melissas innocence that no court has ever considered, Vanessa Potkin, a lawyer with the Innocence Project and member of Lucios defense team said in the press conference. The stay, she said, really opens the door to the potential of a new trial in her case and ultimately complete vindication. At last, Lucio will get her chance to mount a full and proper defense guaranteed to her by the U.S. Constitution. Even as we celebrate this moment, we have to wonder how many others on Death Row deserve the same chance. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on the state of Texas' legal challenge to keep in place the Trump-era remain in Mexico policy, which forces asylum seekers to wait outside the country for their immigration hearings. Some of the justices appeared reluctant to weigh in on foreign policy issues raised by the case, as the program relies on Mexicos cooperation. Judges, this is above your pay grade, Justice Stephen Breyer said. Stay out of it as much as you can. Immediately after taking office, President Joe Biden suspended new enrollments in the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, and within months, the administration formally shut it down. That prompted lawsuits from Texas and Missouri. So far, a Texas district judge and federal appellate court have sided with the states. BACKGROUND: White House requests Supreme Court review decision to continue Trump-era border policy Much is at stake for the Biden Administration, which was dealt a blow Monday when a federal judge temporarily blocked it from ending another Trump policy that allows border patrol officers to expel migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border because of public health concerns tied to the pandemic. Federal law allows migrants to be released in the U.S. on parole while they await asylum hearings on a case-by-case basis and only for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. The justices on Tuesday spent much of oral arguments debating what a public benefit means in these cases. There's no real explanation of how the public is benefitted by more people coming into the United States who are not lawfully admitted into the United States rather than trying, if feasible, for some of those people to remain in Mexico, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The Biden Administration contends the public benefits by the U.S. releasing some migrants on parole because it saves bed space for higher priority detainees, such as those who have a criminal history or pose a flight risk. The other options under the law detention of migrants and offering parole until hearings are no less complicated. There is nowhere near enough space in U.S. detention facilities to hold the full volume of immigrants crossing the Mexico border, data shows. In March 2022, for example, the Department of Homeland Security arrested about 220,000 people at the border, yet Congress had only appropriated funds for a little under 32,000 detention beds, said Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general. She said no administration has ever attempted to detain every person who crosses the border. Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked why the Biden Administration is so focused on the public benefit of releasing into the U.S. as opposed to the benefit of releasing in Mexico. Prelogar said it was a policy decision that took into account the costs of remain in Mexico and other factors. She said the rule was used sparingly even under the Trump Administration; only 6.5 percent of those encountered at the border were sent to Mexico. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Judd E. Stone II, the solicitor general of Texas, argued when the detention capacity does not exist in the U.S., the administration has to do the best it can, and then resort to other lawful options, such as temporarily releasing to Mexico while migrants await trial. Stone also argued the program indirectly helps lower border crossings by acting as a deterrent. Texas lawyers have said that eliminating the program will create a burden on states along the border, where many migrants would likely be released after being apprehended. But Justice Elena Kagan said Texas was seeking to basically tell the executive how to implement its foreign and immigration policy. It puts the United States essentially at the mercy of Mexico, Kagan said, raising concerns also about the possibility that Mexico, knowing the Biden Administration is under a court order to release to their country, might start implementing conditions. This is not how our constitutional structure is supposed to operate, Prelogar said. So we'd ask the Court to reverse the flawed judgment. taylor.goldenstein@chron.com A group of local residents are suing Llano County in federal court, alleging that the removal of certain library books for pornographic content is really a censorship effort in violation of the first and fourteenth amendments. The county northwest of Austin has been a focal point in the national political fight over library books as conservatives seek to increasingly crack down on childhood content covering racism and LGBTQ issues. The battle is part of a larger offensive with school boards and teachers over the past year. The lawsuit alleges that officials have been systematically removing award-winning books from library shelves because they disagree with the ideas within them, and despite policies that prohibits the banning of books because of the race or nationality or the political or religious views of the writer. The censorship that Defendants have imposed on Llano County public libraries is offensive to the First Amendment and strikes at the core of democracy, the complaint says. The right to publish and receive ideaseven politically unpopular ideas or ones that some find offensive or distasteful is enshrined in our Constitution. County officials declined to comment. The censored books are based in part on a list maintained by state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort-Worth, who called out about 800 titles last year that contained what he called inappropriate content. More than 60 percent of the books relate to LGBTQ issues, according to a Hearst Newspapers analysis, and just under 10 percent touched on issues of race or racism. Books removed from the Llano libraries include Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group and Spinning. The authors have each won major, mainstream literary awards for their work. The lawsuit says the library also shut down an online book-access system that allowed members to access 17,000 books because the library couldnt ban access of two books in the catalogue. The plaintiffs attorney Ellen Leonida said those in charge of the library had expressed desires via email to withhold books from the public that related to critical race theory, the LGBTQ community and other sensitive social issues. Although the Legislature last year banned the teaching of critical race theory, a decades-old academic tenet, it does not apply to public libraries. When they announced the censorship decisions to the public, she said, they claimed the books were inappropriate or contained pornography. "Preventing citizens from accessing public library books that engage with political topics and ideas is a direct attack on our most basic liberties, Leonida said. Leonida said a ruling in the case could apply to other public libraries around the country where books are being censored. edward.mckinley@chron.com WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar is bringing in reinforcements as he works to fend off a challenge from immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros, who forced the longtime Laredo congressman into a primary runoff. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat who is among the party's most influential figures, is heading to San Antonio next month to campaign for Cuellar just weeks before the May 24 election. Cuellar serves as a chief deputy to Clyburn. The support is a major assist for Cuellar since the FBI searched his home and campaign office in January and could be a sign that Democratic leadership is ready to throw more weight behind the 17-year incumbent, who finished with 48.5 percent of the vote to Cisneross 47 percent in March. Cuellars attorney has said Justice Department prosecutors told him the congressman is not a target in the investigation. Background: Progressive Jessica Cisneros forces runoff election with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar The trip also further establishes the divide between the South Texas Democrats, who are facing off in one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country. Cuellar is backed by House leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while Cisneros has drawn endorsements from some of the biggest stars of the political left, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigned for Ciseneros in San Antonio ahead of the March 2 primary. San Antonio has become critical in the race for the South Texas district, which was redrawn to stretch further into the city and now includes tens of thousands more voting age residents from Bexar County. Cuellar has struggled in that portion of the district. Cisneros drew more than 70 percent of the vote in Bexar County in March. Clyburn has a history of helping moderates in Democratic primaries. His endorsement of President Joe Biden in 2020 is credited with boosting Biden over the rest of the Democratic presidential field by helping him win a key primary in Clyburns home state after a string of early losses. In a statement, Cisneros pointed to votes Cuellar took as the lone Democrat to oppose his priority legislation for his party, including bills upholding abortion rights and bolstering unions. Its frustrating to see House leadership support Cuellar when I know that if elected I would be a better partner in delivering on democratic priorities for the people of TX-28, she said. ben.wermund@chron.com Texas land commissioner candidate Tim Westley recently compared health screenings for immigrants to medical appointment wait times for veterans. Westley, a former teacher who faces state Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, in the May 24 Republican runoff, tweeted a TikTok clip from a March 30 interview where he made the comparison. He said, "When we talk about illegal immigration, and we have illegal immigrants that have to be seen within 24 hours, while veterans are seen within months. And here's the catch ... not only are they seen within 24 hours it's mandatory that they're seen within 24 hours the funding that they're being seen with falls under the Department of Veterans Affairs." When asked for his sources, Westley wrote he knows about veterans' wait times from personal experience. Westley said in the interview he served in the U.S. Army and the Texas National Guard. His campaign sent links and excerpts from a Department of Veterans Affairs FAQ and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps website page. He also credited a source he declined to name for his claim about immigrants detained by ICE. The care systems for immigrants in ICE custody and for veterans are run by different federal departments and Westley was relying on two different metrics in making his comparison: he was referring to standards of care for immigrants, which aren't always followed, and access to care for veterans. Westley's sources The border and veterans are two issues that have dominated the campaign for land commissioner. The Texas General Land Office owns land near the border and current commissioner George P. Bush authorized the construction of a border wall on state-owned land. The office also houses the Texas Veterans Land Board, which oversees loans for veterans, land sales, veterans nursing homes, and cemeteries. However, veterans' health care is a federal service provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Westley's campaign pointed to an ICE Health Service Corps standard requiring initial health screenings to be administered within 12 hours and health assessments within 14 days. The agency website indicates this initial health screening means basic health tests, such as a COVID-19 test, taking vital signs, and tuberculosis infection screening. The health assessment includes a physical examination with vision screening and mental health screening questions. The campaign specifically pointed to a paragraph on the website: "Detainees identified as high-risk during the intake process are triaged to a higher level of care immediately. If at any time a patient verbalizes an issue such as, 'I feel very bad' or 'I dont have the medicine I need' a nurse or mid-level practitioner contacts a higher level medical provider, usually a physician, so that the patient is seen within 24 hours." There are some additional standards for migrants to be seen by a health professional within a certain period of time, according to the 2019 National Detention Standards for ICE. These pertain to mental illness and disabilities, health assessments for minors, triaging a request for medical services, and mental health referrals for victims of sexual abuse or abusers. But these are all internal directives set by the agency, not a statute or regulation, said attorney Briana Perez with the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, which provides legal services for migrants in detention centers. Perez said these standards are often not followed, and there is little legal recourse for when medical services are not provided. "What I can say, high level, is that everyday we interact with clients who are suffering in detention and not getting appropriate care," Perez said. Perez said the group often sees clients with serious, treatable health conditions that can be detected, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, but they are not receiving medical attention and wait for long periods after requesting to see a doctor. Perez said her clients often have told her that health professionals are just giving them pain pills for their conditions. Some migrants have been told by health professionals to wait until they are released to get care elsewhere, which can be as much as several months, Perez said. "The problems are exacerbated for individuals who speak a language other than English or Spanish because of language barriers and lack of access to interpreters to express health concerns," Perez said. New York-based organization Human Rights Watch in 2017 and 2018 reviewed and reported on cases in which people in ICE custody did not receive adequate medical care and died. In 2020, a whistleblower alleged inadequate medical care and unnecessary gynecological surgeries at Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia. In 2021, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would no longer use that detention center. Federal government reports in 2020 and 2021 found instances of inadequate medical care, and in one Arizona detention center an understaffed medical unit took an average of over three days to respond to detainee sick call requests. Westley compared initial health screenings with veterans' medical appointments Comparing the health systems for veterans and migrants in ICE detention centers is not an apples-to-apples comparison. Nationally, veterans referred to care at Veterans Affairs health care locations are seen by a medical professional in approximately 40 days on average in 2021, said Kevin Griffith, professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They are generally seen faster within the VA system versus referral from a private provider and wait times vary depending on the service and location. Veterans in Texas wait an average of 38 days for referrals, Griffith said. This is slightly longer than the private sector's average wait time in Texas of 36 days. "There's certainly variation both geographically and within specialty," Griffith said. "There's certain specialties that are seen faster, or a VA medical center might have a greater capacity. One thing that has come up frequently in our research is that the wait times between the VA and the private sector are well correlated. So, areas that tend to have a longer VA wait time tend to just be medically underserved areas in general." Wait times for new patients at veterans affairs primary care facilities vary. As of April 6, the wait time for the Corpus Christi VA Clinic was an average of 30 days and the Austin VA Clinic an average of 20 days, according to Veterans Affairs' website. But the average wait time for an optometry appointment for new patients at the Austin VA clinic is 106 days. Law requires the department to have internal policies for wait times of 20 days for primary care and 28 days for specialty care. "Unfortunately, these standards are arbitrarily set. Many veterans, actually most, do not get seen within that time period. But it's perhaps because the standard is a bit of a reach, because the private sector isn't even close to meeting those wait times either," Griffith said. Funding ICE health services Westley pointed to a paragraph on an ICE document that defined the role of a Veterans Affairs center in ICE detention health services. The document indicates the VA Financial Services Center provides financial services to federal customers, and the center has an agreement with ICE to provide medical claims processing services that are in turn reimbursed by the Department of Homeland Security. A Veterans Affairs public affairs representative from the Dallas office wrote that the Financial Services Center provides services for a fee and does not receive annual appropriations from Congress. DHS "pays for" its medical care by providing funding to the Financial Services Center. Our ruling Texas land commissioner candidate Tim Westley said, "When we talk about illegal immigration, and we have illegal immigrants that have to be seen within 24 hours, while veterans are seen within months." In follow-up emails, Westley specified he was referring to health screenings administered by ICE and the triaging system. Immigrants in ICE custody do not have quick access to medical care, though the agency's goal is to identify potential health issues by administering health screenings within 12 hours and health assessments within two weeks. Veterans wait an average of just over a month for referrals to medical professionals, though some may wait longer depending on the service they need and geography. Detention facility health services and veterans' medical services are dissimilar and unrelated, and comparing the two is not an apples-to-apples comparison. We rated this claim False. Sources As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. 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. BandLab raises US$65M for diverse portfolio of music creation services BandLab has closed a Series B round totaling $65 million at a $315 milliuon valuation. Singapore based BandLab is building a diverse portfolio of music-related business that includes ReverbNation, manufacturers Harmony and Heritage Guitars, media brands Guitar.com, NME, Uncut and MusicTech.com, the Swee Lee musical instrument retailer and distributor and music creation suite BandLab The new investment round was led by Vulcan Capital, the investment arm founded by Microsoft t Paul G. Allen, with participation from Caldecott Music Group, K3 Ventures and new investor and the largest shareholfer of Tencent, Prosus. BandLab has built a next-generation platform that is democratizing music creation for creators globally, said Sachin Bhanot, Head of Southeast Asia Investments for Prosus Ventures. The company has experienced impressive growth while generating solid user engagement. We are thrilled to support the companys dedication to using innovative technologies, like AI, to put the power in the hands of creators. Prosus Ventures has a record of highly successful investments in some of the worlds most groundbreaking companies, and were thrilled they see the merits of our vision, says Meng Ru Kuok, co-founder and CEO of BandLab. Were proud to be a leading company in the music creation category and couldnt be happier to have them join us in empowering the future of music. Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music. Share on: Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Receive Commonwealth Corps Support BOSTON The Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) has selected 16 nonprofit agencies from across the state to host Commonwealth Corps members for the 2022-2023 program year. Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity is one of the 16 nonprofits that will receive at least two full-time or half-time Commonwealth Corps members. Established in 2007, the Commonwealth Corps is a state-funded service internship program that engages Massachusetts residents of all ages, backgrounds, and identities in direct service to strengthen communities, address critical needs, and increase volunteerism. Commonwealth Corps members serve at their host site organization for 10 months in a full- or half-time capacity. In return, members receive a living stipend, health insurance, extensive professional development and training, and a monetary completion award upon finishing the program, among other benefits. Over 1,100 Commonwealth Corps members have served in total, focusing on areas such as community development, health services, workforce development, afterschool or summer programs, and volunteer recruitment and management. In 2022-2023, members will serve with agencies throughout the Commonwealth, from Boston to the Berkshires. "We are very proud to be able to provide Commonwealth Corps members to these exceptional organizations because we know their ability to meet their mission will be greatly enhanced by their members," said Emily Haber, MSA CEO. "Since the start of the Commonwealth Corps 15 years ago, Massachusetts residents have stepped up to dedicate a year of their lives to address some of the most critical needs in our communities and we know that next year's Commonwealth Corps members will be there as we continue to recover from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic." Christian Takes Gun Parrish in dancing regalia that expresses his native culture. The award-winning musician appears Saturday at Mass MoCA. Supaman Brings Blend of Native, Hip Hop Stylings to Mass MoCA NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Award-winning performer Supaman will be showcasing his unique style of music that incorporates Native culture, comedy, and urban hip hop at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art this Saturday. Supaman said he shares his music in an effort to empower everyone and share stories to make a better world. "I'm always trying to empower young people, whether they're native or not, whoever it is, trying to bring human beings together in unity, and celebrate diversity at the same time," the artist said in a recent phone interview. With an open heart and open mind, he believes that humanity can take the first step in trying to listen. Through listening, he believes we can open ourselves up to our "empathetic heart and understanding" bringing us all together to celebrate diversity. "When we come together, and we share our culture, our stories with one another, we understand each other better. And we're able to support each other and move forward for better humanity," Supaman said. Christian Takes Gun Parrish is a member of the Apsaalooke Nation and was raised on the Crow Reservation in Montana. He founded a Native American hip hop group in the early aughts and has so far released four solo albums. He always been a spiritual person as part of the culture he was raised in and has alway been open to the universe. After a spiritual encounter during his youth, Supaman was drawn to make an impact on his audience members. "When I was traveling around being a knucklehead I would pray and pray. And I was like, 'OK, I need guidance' and I believe that it was the creator of the universe, guiding me. And it's kind of like asking me what I wanted to do with this music stuff," he said. "And so I kind of made that decision in traveling that I wanted to be good, you know, I wanted to do things good and spread good messages rather than just being a knucklehead." Dancing is a major aspect in the Apsaalooke Nation's culture and when someone wants to dance it is a big thing that brings the community together. There are many different types of dances such as the fancy shawl, traditional, chicken, jingle dress, and many more. "So there's like, a few categories of powwow culture. Powwow culture is almost a kind of universal, native culture. It's becoming a universal type of culture. So different tribes adopt the different styles of dance that come from other tribes," Supaman said. "And it's accepted in the powwow arena. And then there's also your own dance that comes from your tribe that people still practice and those might be more ceremonial, more spiritual." When someone wants to dance, the family comes together to make the regalia in preparation for the dance. There are many different styles of regalia and each piece represents the wearer in some way. The regalia that he wears on stage is a contemporary style that comes from Oklahoma and was assembled by his wife and daughter to bring him good vibes while performing. During the time of the Relocation Act and the Indian Removal Act, policies were put into place to "Kill Indian, Save the Man" which silenced the customs of the Native people, he said. Dancing was outlawed at one time because they were not allowed to be native. This trauma is still felt which is why Supaman believes it is so important to share the culture in an effort to inspire. "We're constantly still feeling those waves of trauma. And so sharing the culture, the dance, and sharing your stories, inspires people to be resilient no matter where they're at, in their life, whether they're native or not, to keep fighting for what you value, what, what you believe is good," he said. iciHaiti - FLASH USA : Travelers alert, rage in Haiti The US Federal Agency for Public Health Protection (CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has issued a Rabies Alert in Haiti for US travelers. According to the Agency, there is "an increased risk of transmission of rabies by dogs and cats in Haiti", stressing in its alert "There is a shortage of rabies vaccines in Haiti. Travelers may not have access to a vaccine" and advises travelers to Haiti to "do not touch dogs or cats" during their stay. The CDC recommends that if you are bitten, scratched, or even licked by a dog or cat, seek immediate medical attention, even if the person has been vaccinated against rabies in the past. The agency emphasizes that it should be anticipated that the required care could be administered outside of Haiti, as rabies vaccines may not be available at the time of the incident. IH/ iciHaiti Jeff Bezos, the founder and former CEO of Amazon, and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and soon-to-be owner of Twitter, don't strike me as best buds. The two men have competed over the past few years for the title of the world's richest man, a title Musk holds. They also sort of compete in space, with Bezos's Blue Origin competing against Musk's SpaceX. I say sort of, because, like Musk's lead in net worth (some $90 billion as I write this), SpaceX is transforming the space industry with its reusable rockets while Blue Origin is mostly seen as a vanity project. That hasn't stopped the two from trading shots. For example, last year the two companies fought over a $3 billion NASA contract, with Musk telling New York Times columnist Kara Swisher that "you cannot sue your way to the moon." Taking shots is pretty common among competitors. The thing is, it doesn't always work out the way you expect. Sometimes it doesn't go well at all, which can lead to a pretty painful lesson. On Monday, after it was announced that Twitter had accepted Musk's offer to take the company private, Bezos retweeted a reporter for The New York Times, asking whether Musk's acquisition of Twitter meant that China would be gaining more influence over what he called "the town square." The insinuation was that Musk was, at least in part, beholden to China because of Tesla's business there. Which, to be fair, isn't an entirely unreasonable point. China is extremely important to Tesla, with the company building one of its Gigafactories in Shanghai. It's also the source of many of the important components Tesla needs to build its vehicles. The problem is that it's not really a point people care to hear from Bezos. Almost immediately, the tweet was met with replies pointing out the influence China has over Amazon. I scrolled through a lot of the more than 9,000 replies to Bezos's tweet. The overwhelming majority were similar to that one--pointing out that Amazon's own record on China doesn't exactly give Bezos the high ground. Take the products you can buy on Amazon, for example. I have no idea what percentage of products made on Amazon.com are made in China, but a quick search for "iPhone charger" revealed page after page of results, almost all of which were manufactured by companies in China. Even the AmazonBasics brand products show a "country of origin" of China. Then there's the company's compliance with a requirement that it disable customer reviews in China after a book published by President Xi Jinping received a poor review. According to Reuters, the move was "part of a deeper, decadelong effort by the company to win favor in Beijing to protect and grow its business in one of the world's largest marketplaces." Amazon certainly isn't alone in trying to win favor in a country that represents one of the largest markets for almost every tech company. Apple, for example, has reportedly given in to China's requirement that user iCloud data be stored on servers managed by companies effectively controlled by the government. Perhaps sensing that he had lost the thread, Bezos replied to his own tweet an hour and a half later. "My own answer to this question is probably not," Bezos added. "The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter." Bezos makes a point. There is certainly a non-zero possibility that if Twitter does something to upset the Chinese government, or--in a more likely scenario--refuses to do something to appease China, the country could retaliate against Tesla. It's just that Bezos, who stepped down from CEO of Amazon last year, might not be the best person to make that point. It turns out that there's a valuable lesson here for every entrepreneur. Sending a tweet is easy--maybe too easy--especially when the prevailing current of public opinion is running in a direction to your benefit. It's tempting to see your rival generating negative attention and view it as an opportunity to jump in. Except, the people who might view Musk's purchase of Twitter as a bad thing aren't Jeff Bezos fans. They aren't just scrolling through Twitter waiting to come across his insightful take on the matter. Instead, Bezos opened himself up to criticism. Not only that, but he invited scrutiny and criticism not just related to Amazon, but to his other companies as well--one of which is The Washington Post. Had someone sent the same tweet as Bezos when he purchased the Post, it might have read: "Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the paper of record in the seat of the most powerful government in the world?" You don't want to bring someone into your company that tests positive for amphetamines! That conjures up images of Walter White. You don't need that in your workplace. So it may seem perfectly logical that International Paper withdrew a job offer from a man who tested positive for amphetamines on a pre-employment drug test. What may not seem logical is why the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is suing on the candidate's behalf. You need to pay attention if you drug test your employees, because not every positive drug test should result in a job loss. Here's why. The candidate disclosed he had ADHD and that he took Adderall Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can be covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA kicks in once the employer becomes aware that the candidate has ADHD. It protects employees and job candidates. Adderall is a legitimate medication prescribed by physicians to treat ADHD. Over 2.5 million Americans take stimulants such as Adderall or Ritalin (or their generic counterparts) for their ADHD. Both will cause a positive drug test. The EEOC argues that the company should have considered his disability. He had a legitimate prescription for a legitimate medical condition. By automatically rejecting him for his positive test, the EEOC argues, they discriminated illegally against a job candidate for his disability. What if the job is safety-related? Then could you refuse to hire? If someone is on a medication that makes them sleepy, you can legitimately refuse to hire them in a job that requires alertness at all times. Sometimes, medications can prevent someone from doing a particular job. I reached out to International Paper last week and asked for details about the job this man applied for. They did not answer me. This is not abnormal in a lawsuit--frequently, the company will remain silent per the advice of its attorneys. However, Brooke Lopez, the EEOC trial attorney, responded to my requests and said, "The claimant, in this case, was offered a general entry-level position at International Paper's container plant in Grand Prairie, Texas. There is no indication that the claimant's job was dangerous or required high levels of safety clearance." In other words, it wasn't a safety issue. She claims this was a direct response to the candidate's disability, which would be a direct violation of the ADA. However, if there was a safety concern, you still could not immediately yank back the job offer. First, you would need to go through the "interactive process" with the job candidate. The interactive process This is a back-and-forth between an employee (or candidate) and the company. In this case, the employer could ask for verification that the prescription was legitimate. (Although, the drug testing facility should have done that, to begin with.) Then they could talk about a reasonable accommodation for the employee. International Paper could have given the candidate paperwork to take to his physician, who could then explain if the candidate should be excluded from any safety-related jobs because of his medication. Disability accommodations have to be reasonable. For example, if you hire a bartender for your nightclub, it wouldn't be a reasonable accommodation to provide a quiet workspace to combat the bartender's migraines. However, it probably would be a reasonable accommodation to provide a quiet workspace for your accountant with migraines. The company, in this case, would need to show that working while on a legally prescribed amphetamine would be unreasonable. Otherwise, they would need to make the accommodation of allowing him to work with the positive test. How this might affect your business Pre-employment drug testing is widespread, but stop and ask yourself why you do it. If positions are safety-related or regulated by the Department of Transportation or another government office, you'll need to do drug testing. But if not? Ask yourself if this makes a difference. Many companies have dropped drug testing altogether because of the tight labor market. It's certainly your right to test all your candidates for drugs, but you should be looking for two things only. Illegal drug usage Safety-related concerns You do not have to employ people who use illegal drugs (although people currently receiving treatment for unlawful drug usage can be covered under the ADA). You don't have to put employee safety at risk. Make sure your drug testing lab only reports back to you illegal drug usage--for instance, if someone tests positive for amphetamines but cannot provide a legitimate prescription for medication. If you have safety-sensitive positions where legal medicine could cause problems, then when someone tests positive and has a valid prescription, immediately bring in your employment counsel and begin the interactive process. Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. 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The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others. Sakshi Tanwar's latest release, 'Mai,' is earning praises for reasons more than one. The show is being touted as Sakshi's best performance to date. In the show, the Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki actor essays the role of a middle-class mother who witnesses her daughter's death by a speeding truck. Sakshi Tanwar in Mai/Netflix From a vulnerable, domesticated, and grieving mother, Sakshi turns into a vengeful and ferocious mother. However, one scene is being dissected on several social media platforms. Sakshi Tanwar In Mai/Netflix In the first episode, Sheel (Tanwar's character) is seen preparing and serving tea for the guests who arrive at her daughter's funeral. Sakshi Tanwar In Mai/Netflix While zoom shots portray a grieving mother's state of mind, fans point out how this is a grim reminder of how women are treated even when grieving. Sakshi Tanwar In Mai/Netflix People are pointing out that women are 'expected' to do household work and domestic chores, not realizing how heavy the burden of the grief is. Life of a lot of women. pic.twitter.com/QfBqp408BQ Asma Azam (@AsmaAzam71) April 23, 2022 Theres a moment in Mai, on @netflix , when Sheel (Sakshi Tanwar) has to make tea for guests at her daughter's funeral. It was a reminder of the kind of labour we expect from women. She has to prioritise serving the guests over taking a moment to grieve the loss of her own child. pic.twitter.com/vbSYaIjfiO fourth_alphabet (@dipankumar) April 25, 2022 It's not only about things being faced by a woman but also the fact why she has to do that . it's the people in this "society "who were expecting tea at a funeral that disturb my sanity the most Not just from this still but also from personal experience https://t.co/zD1hes9zYu KS (@katy_4697) April 25, 2022 This is so true. Some people who don't even know the deceased just show up to eat. And then leave. Sherlock M. (@elitemumboni) April 24, 2022 Funeral culture in Zim/SA. One has to worry about feeding guests, some of whom you havent seen in years, and most often the guests are always complaining sodla nini? Mxm https://t.co/vItQ5WHn8R Kimma (@kimistry8) April 24, 2022 Yes this is the sorry state of a women but not of men https://t.co/dkRwkkyvg1 srikanth gutty (@CixefUwH6Rjmimb) April 25, 2022 There is a moment in Mai, on Netflix, when Sheel (Sakshi Tanwar) has to make tea for the guests at her own daughter's funeral. It was a reminder of the kind of prejudice we expect from tea-drinkers. She has to prioritise serving the guests tea when they clearly prefer coffee. Invisible Kansara (@kansaratva) April 24, 2022 Serve the guests. Complete the customs. Make arrangements for people who show up to 'share condolences'. The strangest part about death is that you never even get to grieve without feeling guilty. https://t.co/ZAl7Uod3An dazedaurconfused (@_WeBore) April 24, 2022 Unfortunately, that's how women live a life. Every single person taught them to "Be emotionless and work like robots" especially when they got married because for them that's how women should behave and live in society for sake of family. https://t.co/9h6mlfrZvD RAMMA NISAR (@NisarRamma) April 25, 2022 Some people also made it about religion, pointing out how the' Mai' team failed to do proper research before pulling together the scene. @AsmaAzam71 Whoever made this Ad was as clueless about Indian customs as you are. You will never find a grieving mother or any other grieving person entering kitchen. Neighbours or relatives do it. Aptly explains the tattering affairs of @netflix Not surprised.@SandipGhose https://t.co/bHpeOw8bPa Digital.Abhishek (@abhishek_das_01) April 25, 2022 This could be the life of a lot of women but certainly not Hindu women whr the entire family is not allowed to even enter the kitchen for 13 days, leave alone making tea for "guests" at the funeral Amazing tht SIX Hindu scriptwriters & TWO Hindu Directors couldn't get this right https://t.co/bmMvS0KsU5 Rajalakshmi Joshi (@rajalakshmij) April 25, 2022 In Islam, the family of deceased doesn't cooks anything for at least 3 days (mourning period). When news of the death of Jafar ibn Abi Talib () came, the Prophet () said, "Make food for the family of Jafar, because there has come to them that which will preoccupy them." ++ https://t.co/YHhWShIiHk Mohammed (@IKON1436) April 25, 2022 In Islam, the family of deceased doesn't cooks anything for at least 3 days (mourning period). When news of the death of Jafar ibn Abi Talib () came, the Prophet () said, "Make food for the family of Jafar, because there has come to them that which will preoccupy them." ++ https://t.co/YHhWShIiHk Mohammed (@IKON1436) April 25, 2022 Mai has managed to initiate a conversation on how we as a society forget women's suffering and burden them with duties that they 'need' to fulfill to keep their homes in order. (To get the latest updates from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.) On the fourth day on the witness stand in a Virginia court, Johnny Depp's honest response left the courtroom attendees in splits. The high-voltage drama inside the court took a humorous turn when Depp was asked to name his films, which he failed. Reuters Johnny's legal team was doing their follow-up questioning after the conclusion of his cross-examination. As part of the process, he was asked to name his Hollywood movies. The actor could only recall Alice in Wonderland and failed to recognize any other. According to People magazine, Johnny said with a smile, Reuters "I'm so pathetic when it comes to knowing what movies I've done. I'm sorry. I just, I don't watch them. I feel better not watching them. What was the question again?" After attendees started laughing, Judge Azcarate had to intervene. He said, Instagram "Order in the court, or I will have you removed. Understood? Thank you." Johnny Depp chats and laughs with his lawyers. I love seeing him happy. I love you with all my heart, Johnny. #JohnnyDepp#JusticeForJohnnyDepp pic.twitter.com/o6J2c3T7CI Rain #JDForever (@irem_yagmur_) April 26, 2022 Johnny's day in court ended with his attorneys playing audio from a conversation between him and ex-wife Amber Heard, which had secured a restraining order against him in 2016. Depp said he agreed to her request to meet in a San Francisco hotel room because he thought she might retract her accusation that he had abused her. Agencies In the recording, he could be heard proposing that the couple issued a joint letter saying they loved each other and the media had created a storm around them. After ex-wife Amber resisted the idea, she was heard challenging him to go public with his claim that he was the one who had suffered abuse. Agencies "Tell the world, Johnny," she said. "Tell them I, Johnny Depp - a man - I'm a victim too of domestic violence." Johnny responded, "Yes, I am." Johnny Depp, 58, is suing Amber Heard, 36, for $50 million. She has counter-sued for $100 million, saying he smeared name her by calling her a liar. Agencies Johnny concluded his testimony on Monday in the defamation case, saying he was the victim of domestic violence in their relationship and was "broken" by the time their marriage fell apart. (To get the latest updates from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.) Civic authorities have started a demolition drive against illegal structures in Gujarat's Himmatnagar city, where a communal clash had broken out during the Ram Navami celebration earlier this month, officials told news agency PTI. Bulldozers were being used to remove encroachments in Chhapariya locality of Himmatnagar city in Sabarkantha district, they said. "The municipality has started carrying out demolition in Chhapariya locality, which is close to where the communal clash had erupted on Ram Navami. Adequate security has been deployed in the area," Superintendent of Police Vishal Vaghela said. Communal clash during Ram Navmi procession A communal clash had broken out near Chhapariya area during a Ram Navami procession on April 10, when members from two communities resorted to throwing stones, leaving some people injured. Some vehicles were also set on fire during the clash. #Gujarat. Weeks after communal violence during Ram Navami civic authority in Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district has started demolition drive to clear encroachment. Few of the properties-shops & houses-belong to some of the persons booked for violence @DeccanHerald pic.twitter.com/dAUUml9ykI satish jha. (@satishjha) April 26, 2022 The Anand district administration had also earlier carried out a demolition drive using bulldozers to remove structures owned by people allegedly involved in communal clashes in Khambhat town there during the Ram Navami celebration. On April 10, a Ram Navami procession was also allegedly pelted with stones in Khambhat town. One person was killed and several others were injured in the ensuing violence. Jahangirpuri Ram Navmi violence A demolition drive was launched in Jahangirpuri after violence on Ran Navmi. However, the Supreme Court ordered the authorities to maintain the status-quo in Jahangirpuri, where the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) was carrying out an 'anti-encroachment drive'. Senior lawyer Dushyant Dave mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana. Dave said the NDMC's actions were unconstitutional. Siasat Daily "Completely unauthorised and unconstitutional demolition has been ordered in the Jahangirpuri area...with no notice to anybody," Dave said. Following the SC order, the NDMC which had started demolishing illegally constructed slums and shops in the area said it will follow the top court's direction. Zone Chairman of Civil Lines, Northwest Delhi, Naveen Tyagi said, "These people do encroachment and also do 'goondagardi'. Some of them are also named in the riots." However, several videos posted on social media showed the demolition continuing even one hour after the SC order. While the Civic Body had termed the drive as against illegal encroachments, many had alleged that the BJP-ruled NDMC was following the pattern of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat where recently bulldozers were used to demolish alleged illegal encroachments owned by those involved in rioting during Ram Navami processions. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Sikh volunteers are among those who have since the beginning joined worldwide humanitarian efforts to support more than 3.5 million refugees who have escaped to border countries from across Ukraine. United Sikhs and Khalsa Aid International, both non-profit and non-government organizations (NGO), have support stations set up in cities near Poland where volunteers, in the spirit of sewa, have been offering hot meals, distributing essential supplies, and giving medical assistance. UNITED SIKHS volunteers distributing food, water and other necessities to refugees stuck in long queue at the #Ukraine border. This sewa has been possible because of generous donations by the Sangat. Support us at: https://t.co/9N6NiktIYS#UNITEDSIKHS #RussianUkrainianWar pic.twitter.com/QxB1z8EMcL UNITED SIKHS (@unitedsikhs) April 26, 2022 United Sikhs Volunteers have set up food and langar tents at Medyka in Poland offering free meals to refugees and have also been carrying hot meals across the border and inside of Ukraine to border guards. Additionally, the volunteers have been offering aid at a childrens hospital, and helping move patients to safe locations where medical tents are in place at Lviv, Ukraine. Thousands of refugees at the border, stranded in bunkers, are anxious for help. Our volunteers are assisting the refugees with food, water & other necessities supplies in #Ukraine. Support us at https://t.co/9N6NiktIYS#RussiaUkraineConflict #UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/6zbVnrQK92 UNITED SIKHS (@unitedsikhs) April 26, 2022 Khalsa Aid Meanwhile, Khalsa Aid's teams in five border countries offer 24-hour langar to refugees. They have also been delivering essential items within Ukraine including medical supplies and food. Ukraine Khalsa Aid International has been assisting Indian students fleeing Ukraine and has taken calls from thousands of concerned parents. They have been helping to arrange transportation and food to fleeing refugees within Ukraine. We continue to serve warm meals at the Expo Centre in Warsaw, Poland. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who have been on the ground helping us provide aid since the conflict began. #khalsaaid #humanitarianaid #poland #ukraine #ukrainewar pic.twitter.com/UN8IABIQzu Khalsa Aid (@Khalsa_Aid) April 19, 2022 Poland (Medyka / Budomeirz) Khalsa Aid International has been helping arrange transportation for refugees crossing the border and has set up 24-hour langar (free meals) at the border for people waiting to cross. Efforts are being made to secure a warehouse to be used as a receiving station for donated supplies being sent for distribution. Hungary (Zahony / Lushanka / Vylok / Budapest) Slovakia (Vysne / Nemecke) Romania (Siret) Khalsa Aid International has sent teams of volunteers to assess the need to these countries and joined cooperative efforts with other NGOs to assist with delivery and distribution of food, and to make provision for shelter and medical assistance at borders. Operations are moved as situations change and need arises. This is unacceptable @IndiainUkraine !! You must have a very visible presence on all borders on the #Ukraine side ! @Khalsa_Aid has teams in Poland, Romania, Hungary , Slovakia & Moldova ready to assist these students! @eoiromania @IndiainPoland @IndiaInHungary pic.twitter.com/lESkRwlKRJ ravinder singh (@RaviSinghKA) February 28, 2022 Moldova (Tiraspol/Palanka/Chisinau) Khalsa Aid International established their first base at Tiraspol, providing refugees with food transportation and medical assistance. When this border closed the base moved to Palanca where humanitarian efforts continue in cooperation with local NGOs, and provisions are being doubled. Operations are being expanded to include Chisinau as an increasing number of refugees continue to flee Ukraine. Russia has warned of the "real" threat of World War III breaking out, ahead of a meeting between the United States and allies over sending further arms to war-torn Ukraine. Moscow's invasion of its neighbour has triggered an outburst of support from Western nations that have seen weapons pour into the country to help it wage war against Russian troops. But Western powers have been reluctant to deepen their involvement, for fear of sparking a conflict against nuclear-armed Russia. File Photo Speaking to Russian news agencies, Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the risk of a World War III "is serious" and criticised Kyiv's approach to floundering peace talks "It is real, you can't underestimate it," Lavrov said. Zelensky requests West for weapon supplies For months, President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking Ukraine's Western allies for heavy weapons -- including artillery and fighter jets -- vowing his forces could turn the tide of the war with more firepower. The calls appear to be resonating now, with a host of NATO countries pledging to provide a range of heavy weapons and equipment, despite protests from Moscow. US promises aid to Ukraine In a landmark trip to Kyiv over the weekend, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Zelensky and promised $700 million in new aid to Ukraine. "The first step in winning is believing that you can win," Austin said after meeting the Ukrainian leader. "We believe that we can win -- they can win -- if they have the right equipment, the right support." AP And on the invitation of the United States, 40 countries will also hold a security summit in Germany on Tuesday to discuss further arms to Ukraine -- as well as to ensure the country's longer-term security once the war is over. Among the invited countries are European allies of the United States, but also Australia and Japan -- who fear that a Russian victory in Ukraine will set a precedent and encourage the territorial ambitions of China. Finland and Sweden -- traditionally neutral countries that have been considering NATO membership since Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- are also on the guestlist. Meanwhile, the IMF warned that Asian nations, like the rest of the world, are being battered by the war, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow driving up food and fuel prices worldwide. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on Monday, conducted a meeting with representatives of the semiconductor industry of the US to invite them to invest further in the nation. Reuters Also Read: Five Companies Want To Start Chip And Display Manufacturing Plants In India Reported first by PTI, she spoke about opportunities for Silicon-Valley based companies and how India poised to be a reliable player in the whole semiconductor value chain with a dedicated incentive for the sector, in a mission mode through the Indian Semiconductor Mission. To the unaware, last year, the Indian government approved a PLI scheme worth Rs 76,000 crore to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing in India to make India the next hub for hi-tech productions, to attract chipmakers and eventually facilitate employment opportunities in the nation. The government is offering incentives to companies involved in silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensor fabs, semiconductor packaging and design etc. During the discussions with industry leaders, the participants informed the FM that they've considerably scaled their capabilities in India in the last few years and are collaborating with Academia for research and development too. Reuters Also Read: Foxconn And Vedanta To Make Semiconductor Chips In India With 900 Crore Investment The Finance Ministrys Twitter handle said in a statement, "The participants also mentioned that in view of global supply chain disruptions, they need to review overreliance of the supply chain in certain jurisdictions and with the right policies and talent in place, next decade will belong to India. Chiefs of several tech companies have reacted positively, including AMDs CFO Devinder Kumar, WDs SVP, Dan Steere, Micron Techs Executive VP, Manish Bhatia as well as Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, among others. Keep visiting Indiatimes.com for the latest science and technology news. Scientists have discovered the largest "Marsquakes" in the Red Planet's "Shadow Zone." Scientists have been intrigued by the presence of quakes on Mars that are a lot like the ones on Earth. Through a seismometer built into the InSight lander, scientists have been logging "Marsquakes" since 2019. And now, they've found proof of the largest Marsquakes ever. The two Marsquakes are called S0976a, a 4.2 magnitude quake that took place on August 25, 2021 and S1000a, a 4.1 magnitude event that struck 24 days later. These two Marsquakes are five times stronger than the ones previously logged by scientists. Uncredited Mapping the far side of Mars Both the quakes originated in the shadow zone of Mars, the opposite direction from the InSight lander. This is the first time its sensors have recorded data from so far off. "Not only are they the largest and most distant events by a considerable margin, S1000a has a spectrum and duration unlike any other event previously observed," planetary seismologist Anna Horleston, from the University of Bristol in the UK told Science Alert. NASA The S1000a Marsquake has been described as a "clear outlier" owing to the broad frequency spectrum of energy it produced. It is also the longest-lasting seismic event recorded by InSight so far - with 94 minutes of action. Also read: IISc, ISRO Develop Scalable Method To Make Space Bricks Using Mars Soil Seismic waves were used to detect both the Marsquakes. These waves don't follow a direct path but are reflected at least once at the surface, and that's how InSight was able to measure the quakes from so far away. NASA Both the quakes took place in Mars' shadow zone, where InSight has trouble detecting seismic activity directly. Scientists had some idea about quakes taking place at this region, but this marks the first time data has been recorded. Also read: This Is How Sunrise Looks Like On Mars By recording such events from Mars' shadow zone, scientists could develop a better understanding of our neighbouring planet Mars. What do you think about Marsquakes that are not so different from earthquakes? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com. References Nield, D. (2022). The Largest Marsquakes to Date Have Been Detected in The Shadow Zone. ScienceAlert. The EUs Climate Strategy could Rock the Foundations of the Middle Easts Largest Companies Cover Image Attribute: Image by Alexander Droeger from Pixabay Large corporations are set to pump huge sums of money into the fight against climate change as the European Unions green taxonomy of sustainable investments comes into effect, reports the Al-Attiyah Foundation in its latest Sustainable Development Report. The EUs Taxonomy is a technical rulebook that identifies sustainable activities that contribute to the blocs green transition and comply with the Paris Agreement under the EU Green Deal. Climate change adaptation and mitigation are two of six environmental objectives underpinning the EU Taxonomy, which includes, apart from climate change mitigation and adaption, protection of water and marine resources; transition to a circular economy; pollution prevention and control; and protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. According to the Taxonomy, if a company works in any of the six fields, it can be considered sustainable as long as it meets the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle. The DNSH principle entails that for an activity (investment-based or reform-based) to be sustainable, it should not lead to significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives and should follow human rights and labor standards. Under the EUs Taxonomy and following the publication of the EU Green Taxonomys Climate Delegated Act, corporations subject to the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) are obliged to disclose the portion of their activities that qualify as environmentally sustainable. This offers companies an opportunity to measure their performance and progress towards delivering the environmental objectives in a transparent and comparable manner. Furthermore, good alignment with the Taxonomy could improve companies reputation and therefore access to finance, making them more attractive to banks and investors. Although not binding on non-EU financial market participants, European companies and oil and gas investors may use the Taxonomy to gauge whether or not an investment contributes to an environmental objective, such as climate change mitigation or adaptation. This could be particularly pertinent for large gas producing countries such as the US, Russia, Australia, Qatar, and the UAE, and would force producers to align their strategies with the technical screening criteria outlined for fossil gas under the EU Taxonomy to attract foreign investment, as well as ensure carbon-neutral export to EU countries. Despite its criticism from members of parliament, a number of environmental organizations, and some sections of civil society, the EU Taxonomy is a game-changer in the race to net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century. Financial institutions now have to focus on where they invest, fund, and finance in order to comply with regulations that can force change in companies based far from European shores. For an in-depth look at the EUs Taxonomy, the Al-Attiyah Foundations Sustainable Development Report, titled Policy and Politics: The EUs Green Taxonomy, is available as a free download. A group of Credit Suisse investors pushing for faster climate action at the Swiss bank has more than doubled in size, raising pressure on its board ahead of its annual shareholder meeting on Friday. Credit Suisse, along with other major banks, is under pressure from investors to stop financing fossil fuel development to limit climate change and to help businesses to shift away from a high-carbon economy. Eleven Credit Suisse shareholders originally filed a resolution in March urging the bank to cut exposure to fossil fuel assets. This group, with a collective $2.4 trillion in assets, included Europes biggest asset manager, Amundi. Credit Suisse moved to set new targets to reduce emissions connected to its loan book, but the investors said this did not go far enough. Now, other shareholders have joined the group planning to back the climate resolution, including Legal & General Investment Management and Aviva Investors. There are now 31 investors, with combined assets under management of more than $5 trillion, which have pre-declared their support. Other backers include Switzerlands largest pension fund BVK, Danish investor Sparinvest, Swedish insurer Folksam, sustainable investor Grunfin and UK public pension investors Northern LGPS and Border to Coast Pensions Partnership. The need for quicker action to rein in emissions has been rammed home by U.N. climate scientists who said the window for action to forestall the worst effects of global warming was rapidly closing. Given the systemic risk posed by climate change, its essential that businesses such as Credit Suisse take swift action to ensure they are part of the solution, said Jane Firth, head of responsible investment at Border to Coast. By supporting this shareholder resolution, we hope to see Credit Suisse take tangible steps to ensure its disclosures and targets cover all capital market activity, ensuring it is on a timeline consistent with the Paris agreement. The resolution, coordinated by responsible investment NGO ShareAction and the Ethos Foundation, with the support of the Swiss Association for Responsible Investments, will be the first such shareholder resolution to be put to a Swiss company. We applaud the investors that have today pre-declared their support for the shareholder-led resolution on climate risk at Credit Suisse, said Jeanne Martin, senior campaign manager, ShareAction. Voting for this resolution sends a strong signal to the bank that investors expect it to publish a science-based climate strategy that covers all its main financing activities. We call on other investors to follow suit. Switzerlands second-biggest bank will face scrutiny on multiple fronts at Fridays meeting, with proxy advisers recommending shareholders reject the boards request to discharge managers from liability for the 2020 financial year over a series of costly scandals. Another shareholder is group seeking a special audit of the banks actions. The bank has since also warned it will report a first-quarter loss on Wednesday. Norges Bank Investment Management, Norways sovereign wealth fund, said it would also back the special audit and reject a 2020 discharge from liability for Credit Suisse managers, but would vote against the climate resolution. Credit Suisse on Monday said it took note of the recommendations by Norges Bank, while pointing to its boards position, which recommended shareholders vote against the special audit as well as the shareholder climate resolution. ($1 = 0.7862 pounds)($1 = 0.9322 euros) (Reporting by Simon Jessop and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; editing by Jane Merriman) This edition of International People Moves details appointments at brokers Lockton and McGill and Partners as well as the Bermuda MGA Arcadian Risk Capital. A summary of these new hires follows here. Lockton Announces New International Leadership Structure Lockton, the Kansas City, Mo.-based insurance broker, announced a new international leadership structure designed to support the companys continued growth. Effective May 1, 2022, EJ Hentenaar, Locktons current head of Global Financial Risks, will assume the role of CEO, Europe. As part of the brokers planned succession, Neil Nimmo, currently CEO of Lockton International, will become the chairman of Lockton International, reporting to Peter Clune. In addition to his overall responsibilities for Lockton International, Nimmo will focus on the growth and success of Locktons international regions Asia, Australia, Europe, LatAm and MENA supporting them in taking care of their clients and their people. Chris Brown, current CEO Europe, is moving to a newly created role of president of Lockton International, reporting to Ron Lockton, chairman. In this new role, he will build on the work he has done to develop the Lockton Global Partners, develop Locktons international growth strategy and focus on the globalization of Locktons key industry practices. We are excited for EJ to serve as the CEO of Europe, said Ron Lockton. He is a proven leader, and he is respected by our clients, the markets and our people. EJ will continue to build on Locktons success in Europe. These changes are a testament to the incredible work of the entire Lockton International team and the growth they have created for Lockton, said Peter Clune, Lockton CEO. We are evolving our leadership team to ensure our long-term focus and commitment to our Associates and clients. *** MGA Arcadian Promotes Barna to Head of Transactional Liability Underwriting Bermuda-based MGA Arcadian Risk Capital announced the promotion of Nicole Barna to executive vice president, head of Transactional Liability Underwriting. In addition, she continues in her role as Arcadians underwriting counsel. Barna joined Arcadian shortly after its inception in January 2021 as a senior vice president with responsibility for the development of Arcadians Transactional Liability book, now one of its largest product sectors. I am delighted to confirm Nicoles promotion, subject to Bermuda Immigration approval. She has been a consistently outstanding performer at Arcadian since its inception, developing a well-structured and diversified account in addition to offering underwriting counsel to our various teams. This promotion is well deserved and reflective of her outstanding contribution at Arcadian, commented John Boylan, Arcadian CEO. Capacity for Arcadian is provided by SiriusPoint. The company underwrites general liability, professional liability and property insurance. *** McGill and Partners Hires DARAGs Hill for Structured Solutions Team McGill and Partners, the London-based boutique re/insurance broker, has further expanded its Structured Solutions team with a new partner, Andy Hill. Hill joins from DARAG Group, where he held the role of group chief operating officer during a period of international expansion. Previously, he was head of Restructuring in North America at Zurich Insurance Co., where he worked for nearly seven years. With a background in insurance M&A and corporate restructuring, Hill has spent over a decade executing alternative risk transactions for multiple lines of business in North America, UK, Continental Europe and Bermuda. Hills key focus in his role at McGill and Partners will be on retrospective solutions, helping clients to achieve capital and operational relief, as well as economic and legal finality in their re/insurance carriers and captives through the reinsurance of P/C legacy (run-off) portfolios. Hill will help McGills Structured Solutions team expand into the market of alternative and retrospective risk transfer, the company said. Launched in May 2019, McGill and Partners has significant backing from funds affiliated with Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm. McGill and Partners has offices in London, New York, Miami, Bermuda and Dublin. Topics Insurance Wholesale Leadership Lockton Quigley Named Ascots Head of Surety Ascot appointed Tara Quigley executive vice president and head of Surety. She will be responsible for developing, and managing Ascots Surety portfolio across the U.S. Her appointment marks the final stage of Ascots entry into the U.S. Surety market where shell act as the product lead, writing on behalf of Ascots Treasury Listed carrier Ascot Surety & Casualty Company. Based in New Jersey, shell report to Matt Kramer, CEO, U.S. Insurance. Quigley joins from Argo, having been at the company since 2008 when she joined to help launch their Surety practice. Commenting on the appointment, Matt Kramer said: Kramer said: Im delighted to welcome Tara to Ascot as we enter the Surety market. Our acquisition of a TreasuryListed carrier in 2021 allowed us to make a strategic entry into a highly specialized field that fits perfectly with our underwriting principles and deepens our product portfolio. Taras experience, expertise, broker relationships and proven leadership skills make her the ideal choice to ensure success for Ascot Surety. Zurich N.A. Hires Olson Head of Programs Denise Olson has been named head of programs for Zurich North America, effective immediately. She will report to Alex Wells, head of U.S. middle market, and will continue as a member of the Zurich North America Leadership Team. 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 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 & actuarial teams to lead technical underwriting for programs. She also continued her responsibilities for new program selection and the due diligence process. The judge presiding over the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy has approved the organizations request to sell its warehouse and distribution center in North Carolina for roughly $13.5 million and lease back the property from the buyer. The BSA wants to use some of the proceeds from the sale approved by the court Friday as part of its contribution to a proposed $2.6 billion fund to compensate tens of thousands of men who claim they were sexually abused as children while involved in Scouting. After a monthlong trial, Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein continues to weigh whether to approve the Boy Scouts reorganization plan. The Boy Scouts of America sought bankruptcy protection in February 2020 to stave off a flood of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Scout leaders and volunteers over several decades. At the time, the BSA was facing about 275 filed lawsuits and was aware of roughly another 1,400 pending claims. But more than 82,200 abuse claims have been submitted in the bankruptcy. Attorneys for BSA insurers, including those that have since reached settlements and now support the plan, have said the sheer volume of claims is an indication of fraud and the result of aggressive client solicitation by attorneys and for-profit claims aggregators. The reorganization plan calls for the BSA and its 250 local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop sponsoring organizations, to contribute some $2.6 billion in cash and property to a fund for abuse victims. In return, those entities would be released from further liability, meaning they could not be sued for Scout-related abuse claims. At Fridays hearing, Silverstein noted that the findings that the BSA and plan proponents are asking her to make in confirming the plan present her with issues that she has never previously faced as a bankruptcy judge. Quite frankly, probably none of my previous rulings in eight years really dealt with this particular type of issue, where there are such extensive findings that people are asking me to make, and where the findings are particularly controversial, she said. When an attorney representing a group of insurers opposed to the plan noted that the BSA had filed hundreds of pages of documents in the wee hours Friday morning with plan modifications and revisions, the judge assured him that he would have time to review and respond to them before she rules. Youre not in danger of a forthcoming decision in the next few days, said Silverstein. She must decide a host of controversial and complex issues involving not just the Boy Scouts, but the BSAs insurers, its 250 local councils, and tens of thousands of troop sponsoring organizations. Opposing insurers have argued that the plan violates their rights under policies they issued, and that the findings that plan supporters want Silverstein make would bind them to the proposed trust distribution procedures and make it difficult to challenge claim decisions. In an email, one attorney for abuse claimants described such binding trust distribution procedures as a Holy Grail that mass tort lawyers have been chasing for years. Insurers say approval by the judge would set a dangerous precedent tort lawyers would use to their advantage in future lawsuits. Perhaps the most contentious issue, and the one most fraught with legal difficulty, is whether third parties, including settling insurers, local councils and troop sponsors, should be allowed to escape future liability by contributing to the victims fund, or at least not objecting to the plan. Some survivors argue that releasing their claims against non-debtor third parties without their consent violates their due process rights. The U.S. bankruptcy trustee, the governments watchdog in Chapter 11 bankruptcies, argues that such releases are not allowed under the bankruptcy code. Such nonconsensual third-party releases, spawned by asbestos and product-liability cases, have been criticized as an unconstitutional form of bankruptcy grifting, where non-debtor entities obtain benefits by joining with a debtor to resolve mass-tort litigation in bankruptcy. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) announced it will host the inaugural Captive & Insurance Business Transfer (IBT) Conference in Oklahoma City on August 24-25. The conference is designed for risk managers, business owners, regulators, financial executives and insurance professionals, the OID said. The conference will provide in-depth educational sessions on captive insurance and IBTs. The event will be held at the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel. 10 hours of Continuing Education credit will also be available at the conference. With Oklahomas expansive IBT law and the OIDs supportive, efficient captive regulatory platform, companies of various industries across the country recognize Oklahoma as a highly competitive jurisdiction, Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said. It is a great opportunity to educate stakeholders on the benefits of Captive Insurance and IBTs. I believe a conference like this will help Oklahoma continue to be the hub for these two innovative tools. Registration will open May 1. Source: OID Topics Oklahoma Training Development Authorities say a man is dead after his truck crashed into a utility pole on a Louisiana highway. Louisiana State Police say the single-vehicle wreck Friday night shut down a stretch of state Highway 73 in Ascension Parish and knocked out power to nearly 2,000 homes and businesses. Authorities identified 35-year-old Jon Davies as the person who died when his pickup truck ran off the road and slammed into the utility pole, WBRZ-TV reported. State police said he wasnt wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. Police are conducting toxicology tests to determine if the driver was impaired by alcohol or drugs. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Louisiana Owens Promotes Johnson Owens Insurance Agency, based in Greer, South Carolina, has promoted Sandra Johnson to be director of operations. Johnson, who joined the agency a decade ago, has served as the agencys point of contact for carriers. She will now oversee most aspects of the business, from quotes to claims to billings, the company said in a news release. The Owens agency, founded 70 years ago, specializes in insurance for construction companies all over Upstate South Carolina. Chris Crist and Shane Lynn are co-owners. NC DOI Elevates Three North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced three promotions at the Department of Insurance. Jerry Daniels, who recently served as employee relations manager, was named director of human resources for the department. Daniels, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, began his career with the state in 2016, Causey said in a news release. He served in the Department of Health and Human Services in 2016 and 2017 and was with the Department of Commerce from 2018 to 2022. Jason Tyson was named director of communications for the insurance department, and Barry Smith was made deputy director of communications and safety officer. Topics North Carolina Premiums paid to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund are expected to increase by more than 12% later this year, giving new urgency to calls to cut the funds retention level in half, a move that some estimates show could save Florida insurers and policyholders as much as $1 billion a year. And the methodology used to calculate the need for the higher cat fund premiums has come under the disapproving eye of some Florida insurance company executives. They suggest that too much emphasis has been placed on one hurricane-loss computer model that predicts larger storm losses than most other models do. The FHCF could have chosen to ignore that model, or could have averaged the results of all seven approved models, said Melissa Burt DeVriese, president of Ormond Beach-based Security First Insurance. Since that wasnt done, the reinsurance costs paid to the FHCF by Floridas consumers increased by $150 million. A recent ratemaking formula report from Paragon Strategic Solutions, an Aon company, shows that for contract year 2022, total premiums from Florida property and casualty insurers would rise from $1.21 billion to $1.37 billion. Thats particularly onerous for some insurers, given the fact that private-market reinsurance premiums also are expected to soar, starting June 1, along with the continued cost of claims litigation, hurricane losses, roof claims and higher assessments to pay insolvent insurers claims. The results of the individual computer models arent publicly available. But the Paragon report said that one loss model was based on a strict interpretation of the Florida Building Codes requirement that, if just 25% of a roof section is damaged in a storm event, then the entire roof should be replaced. This change affects overall premiums and rates, the report noted. That building code is now under review. The Florida Roofing and Sheetmetal Contractors Association has proposed relaxing the replacement requirement, which could help discourage free roof campaigns by some unscrupulous contractors, officials have said. The Paragon report also ignored two more recent hurricane loss-cost models that have been approved by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology, insurers pointed out. Paragons managing director and actuary, Andrew Rapoport, could not be reached for comment Monday. The cat funds proposed 2022 rates will be presented to the funds governing body, the State Board of Administration, at its June 28 meeting. The funds chief operating officer, Gina Wilson, has declined to comment to the Insurance Journal about the fund. The increase in premiums is sure to add fuel to the growing fervor for the Florida Legislature to lower the cat funds retention level. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he plans to call lawmakers into special session some time in May to tackle a range of proposed solutions to Floridas property insurance crisis. One of those proposals has been discussed in the industry for years. Its known as the retention, or the threshold of industry losses from a catastrophic event that must be reached before insurers can tap into the cat fund. Its a type of reinsurance that comes at a much lower cost than reinsurance in the private spot market, insurers have said. By lowering that retention amount, from $8.5 billion to $4 billion, would still give the $11 billion cat fund enough reserves, but it would shave about 10% off the amount of reinsurance that must be purchased by insurance companies, supporters of the change have insisted. That could save Florida insurers an estimated $1 billion annually, according to insurer estimates and Sen. Jeff Brandes, who has advocated for the change. Cat fund officials have argued against sudden changes to the funds retention level. Information from the fund, provided to Brandes, argues that the FHCF is 45% more likely to exhaust its $11.3B projected 2021 year-end fund balance and begin subsequent season with a projected fund balance equal to just one year of premium. But industry advocates have said the 45% figure is overly dramatic. The funds report shows that the odds that cat funds balance would be exhausted would increase from a 3% chance to a 4.3% chance. Thats about a 45% increase, but the likelihood is still quite small, some industry analysts have said. State law in 2004 required an elastic retention level of at least $4.5 billion. Due to an 89% increase in exposure since then, the retention requirement has grown to $8.5 billion for 2022, the Paragon report said. Critics have argued that the automatic increases are out of line with reality. Due to a misguided concern that the FHCFs funding continue to increase indefinitely, its retention (threshold at which it begins protecting consumers) has been allowed to inflate to irrelevance, even as the premium it charges Florida consumers (via their property insurers) retains a 25% surcharge originally intended as an emergency measure to build cash after 2004- 05s eight hurricanes, the Federal Association For Insurance Reform argued in a 2021 white paper to regulators. FAIR noted that the retention had been as low as $2.9 billion before the calamitous 2004-2005 hurricane season. The rapid cash buildup surcharge was set in 2006, repealed the next year, then reinstated in 2009. Temporarily halting it now would save consumers and insurers significantly, FAIR has said. But cat fund officials have warned that major hurricanes, such as those that are predicted in coming years with warming seas and rising tides, could bring the fund to its knees. In February, Brandes sent questions to the funds Wilson, asking her and her staff to contemplate effects of various types of storms on the fund. Answers from the fund suggested that an event like the famous 1926 hurricane that struck Miami would result in a $16 billion loss under the current retention. For a storm similar to 1992s powerful Hurricane Andrew, the funds layer loss would top $9 billion. She said estimates on the effects of those storms, using a lowered retention level, were not available. Its uncertain if Brandes will sponsor a separate bill on the cat fund during the upcoming session, or if it will be made part of an omnibus rescue bill. In January, during the regular 2022 legislative session, the senator offered a retention amendment to a separate bill, but withdrew it after concerns from other lawmakers and fund officials that it was too much to chew with no advance notice. Topics Trends Florida Pricing Trends In a decision thats being called a win for insurers, Floridas 4th District Court of Appeals held last week that the statutory notice of intent to sue applies to all assignment-of-benefits agreements signed after the 2019 law was enacted, even if the insurance policy pre-dates the statute. The plaintiffs attorney in the case said the decision could have widespread implications for other types of assignees. Today its AOB, but tomorrow it could be mortgages, health insurance and others who are named assignees, said attorney Michael Redondo, of Miami, who represented Total Care Restoration in the suit against Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Redondo and insurance attorneys said the decision could also affect policyholders notice of intent that must be given before lawsuits are filed in non-AOB claims disputes, a key part of Senate Bill 76, which took effect in July 2021. Based on the Total Care decision, carriers can argue the notice requirement applies to any lawsuit filed after July 1, 2021 and, therefore, the issue of retroactive application is moot, reads a blog by attorneys Allan Rotlewicz and Michael Tessitore of the Rumberger Kirk law firm. Redondo said the appeals courts April 20 opinion was in error, but his clients have not decided if they will appeal to the state Supreme Court. In the suit, Total Care Restoration, a large repair and renovation contractor based in Doral, Florida, argued that the 2019 AOB law did not apply because the Citizens insurance policy was written long before the statute was adopted. Homeowner Annie Griffith found water damage in her home in 2018. More than a year later, in July 2019, just after the AOB law took effect, she assigned benefits to Total Care, which performed dryout services. In September of 2019, Citizens denied the claim. Total Care then filed suit, asking a court to declare that the work was covered by the policy. Citizens attorneys argued to the court that Total Care had not given the 10-day notice before it filed suit. The 2019 law, Florida Statute 627.7152, stipulates that the notice must specify the damages in dispute, the amount claimed and a pre-suit settlement demand. Total Care contended that to apply the notice requirement to an older insurance policy would be making the law retroactive, something not spelled out in the statute and generally frowned on by the courts. The trial court in Broward County disagreed and sided with Citizens. On appeal, the 4th DCA upheld the lower courts ruling. Contrary to Total Cares argument, the statute was not applied retroactivelythe trial court applied it to an assignment executed after the effective date of the statute, appeals court Judge Robert Gross wrote in the opinion for the 4th DCA three-judge panel. The assignment itself tracks verbatim much of the statutory language contained in section 627.7152, evidencing the parties acknowledgement of the statutes application to the July 16, 2019 assignment of benefits. The judges found that Total Care had no interest in the claim or the policy until it signed the AOB agreement. Only then did the restoration company stand in the shoes of the policyholder. The contractor had relied on a 2010 decision by the Florida Supreme Court, Menendez vs. Progressive Express Insurance, in which the court found that a pre-suit notice requirement in a personal injury protection auto insurance case could not be applied retroactively. But the appeals court said that the Menendez case was not relevant because it did not involve an assignment of benefits. Redondo said Tuesday that the 4th DCA missed the mark, and that case law since the 1800s has upheld the concept that assignees and assignors are legally indistinguishable. He also pointed out that the appeals court decision did not address the substance of the statute itself, only that it was not retroactively applied, which leaves lingering questions. He acknowledged that the AOB notice-of-intent question will probably resolve itself. Most AOB claims now in the courts were filed after the 2019 law was enacted, many policies have been written or renewed since then, and many assignees are giving pre-suit notices, attorneys have said. But on insureds pre-suit notices on direct claims against insurers, as required by SB 76, issues remain to be settled. Thats the next fight to come, Redondo said. Attorney Maureen Pearcy, who represented Citizens in the Total Care appeal, did not comment on the 4th DCA decision Tuesday morning. But insurance attorneys Rotlewicz and Tessitore said the opinion could play in insurers favor in direct claims litigation. This decision may be beneficial to carriers seeking compliance with Section 627.70152, Florida Statutes, regarding the pre-suit notice required in an insured lawsuit, they wrote. The SB 76 notice requirement went into effect on July 1, 2021 and applies exclusively to all suits not brought by an assignee arising under a residential or commercial property insurance policy' The Total Care decision came a day before the Florida Supreme Court added clarity to another pre-suit notice requirement. The court found that notices in medical malpractice claims need only be mailed before the deadline, not received by the defendant. Topics Lawsuits Florida An investigation into the COVID-19 death of a worker at a Sumner, Washington, fish processing plant found company leaders knowingly putting workers at risk of exposure to the virus. The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries cited and fined Shining Ocean Inc. $56,000 for not enforcing mask use and other rules during a Nov. 4, 2021 staff meeting, reportedly resulting in 16 workers becoming infected, one of whom died. Only three or four of the 23 people who attended the meeting were reportedly wearing a mask. The company also reportedly had no system in place to verify worker vaccination status. Employees reportedly told investigators that the company president told them its their personal choice whether or not to wear a mask. The violation is classified as willful serious, and Shining Ocean will be subject to increased scrutiny from L&I as part of the severe violator program. The company did not appeal the citation and paid the fine in full. That money goes into the workers compensation supplemental pension fund, helping workers and families of those who have died on the job. Topics COVID-19 Washington This years edition of Californias beloved Gilroy Garlic Festival has been canceled and the annual events future is uncertain, organizers announced. The celebration of the pungent vegetable has been held for more than 40 years, drawing huge crowds over three days to farm country 80 miles south of San Francisco. Due to lingering uncertainties from the pandemic, along with the prohibitive insurance requirements by the City of Gilroy, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Board has decided not to move ahead with a traditional festival for 2022 and perhaps the foreseeable future, the festival association said in a social media post Friday. The association said the city was requiring that the festival have much more insurance than the minimum general liability coverage of $1 million. The festival was under pressure before the pandemic. In 2019, a 19-year-old gunman attacked the event, killing three people and wounding 13 others before killing himself as police officers closed in. Related lawsuits are pending. Tom Cline, past president of the group, told The Mercury News that the event has faced financial challenges in eight of the last 10 years. The association statement pledged to find a way to hold a more intimate, local festival. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California COVID-19 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 last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, more than a year after the children were found dead in a Los Angeles apartment. Dentons ex-girlfriend and the mother of his children, Liliana Carrillo, fled to Tulare County, nearly 200 miles 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 defenders office, which is representing Carrillo, did not immediately return a request for comment. 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. Dentons lawsuit alleges that Los Angeles Police Department officers and social workers from the countys Department of Children and Family Services repeatedly ignored warnings about Carrillos 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 agencys 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 attorneys 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. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits California Answers Global CoCrW Powder market trend 2025-2028 High Purity 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder 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 CoCrW Powder ? About 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder: 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder is one of the Stellite alloys, which are hard alloys resistant to various types of wear and corrosion as well as high-temperature oxidation. Namely commonly referred to as cobalt-based alloy. Initially, the Stellite alloy is a cobalt-chromium binary alloy and later developed into a cobalt-chromium tungsten ternary composition. Cobalt-Cr-W alloy is an alloy with cobalt as the main component, containing a considerable amount of chromium and tungsten and a small amount of nickel, molybdenum, silicon, carbon, niobium, tantalum and occasionally iron. Depending on the composition of the alloy, they can be made into welding wire, powder for hard surfacing, thermal spraying, spray welding and other processes, as well as cast and forged parts and powder metallurgy parts. The basic composition of cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloy is: Co:50%~58%,Cr:28%~30%,W:4%~6%,Ni:2%~4% and other alloy composition, melting point is 1470.As can be seen from the composition of the alloy, the cobalt and tungsten content of the alloy are very high, which makes the material has excellent high-temperature performance and has poor thermal conductivity. It is these characteristics that make the cobalt-chromium tungsten alloy in the grinding process spark is dark red, the number of sparks is very small, the metal from the workpiece surface is easy to block the grinding wheel, so that the grinding conditions quickly deteriorate, at the same time produce a lot of grinding heat can not quickly spread, resulting in low efficiency, workpiece surface burns. Feel free to send an inquiry to get the latest price if you would like to buy 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder in bulk. 3D printing CoCrW bonding alloy powder Composition(percentage by mass) Co Cr W Si C B Mn Fe Bal 27.62 8.79 1.5 0.99 0.56 0.5 0.5 Additional elements less than 1%: N, Nb Contains no nickel, beryllium or iron category Alloy grades and characteristics Alloy number: CoCrW Particle size: 0-20m, 15-45m, 15-53m, 53-105m, 53-150m, 105-250m Morphology: Spherical or nearly spherical Appearance: Grey Package: Aluminum bag, Vacuum packing Application: 3D printing metal powder Other applications: powder metallurgy(PM), injection molding(MIM), spray painting(SP) etc. How is 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder produced? The waste iron is smelted to the melting point, and then the eight raw materials of cobalt, chromium, tungsten, sulfur, silicon, carbon, aluminum and copper are added in turn, and then the temperature is reduced to 1150-1200C for high-temperature solution treatment for 40-60min, and then the temperature is again reduced to 880-970C for aging treatment for 2-3h, and the cobalt, chromium and tungsten alloy is obtained through annealing treatment again. Applications of 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder: CoCrW powder is one of the rough alloys that can resist various types of wear, corrosion and oxidation at high temperatures. Depending on the composition of the alloy, they can be made into welding wires, powders for hard surface substrates, thermal spray, and spray. They can also be made into castings, forgings and powder metallurgy parts. COCRW powder can be used in laser/electron beam additive manufacturing (SLM/EBM), powder metallurgy (PM), spraying, welding and other processes. The powder is mainly used for 3D printing of biomedical materials, such as teeth, body supports, artificial joints, etc. Cobalt-Cr-W alloy is widely used in locomotive engines, nuclear power plant valves, Marine engines and various aircraft. Early cobalt-chromium - tungsten alloys were produced by non - vacuum smelting and casting processes. Later developed alloys, such as MAR-M509 alloy, which contains more active elements such as zirconium and boron, are produced by vacuum smelting and vacuum casting. Generally, cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloy lacks a uniform strengthening phase. Although its strength is low at medium temperature (only 50-75% of that of nickel-based alloy), it has high strength, good thermal fatigue resistance, thermal corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance at temperatures higher than 980, and good weldability. It is suitable for the production of guide vane and nozzle guide vane of aviation jet engine, industrial gas turbine, naval gas turbine and nozzle, etc. Storage Condition of CoCrW Powder: The damp reunion will affect CoCrW powder dispersion performance and using effects, therefore, CoCrW powder should be sealed in vacuum packing and stored in cool and dry room, the CoCrW powder can not be exposure to air. In addition, the CoCrW powder should be avoided under stress. Packing & Shipping of CoCrW Powder: We have many different kinds of packing which depend on the CoCrW powder quantity. CoCrW powder packing:vacuum packing, 100g, 500g or 1kg/bag, 25kg/barrel, or as your request. CoCrW 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 boron powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, zinc sulfide, 3D printing powder, etc. If you are looking for 3D printing metal powder, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales2@nanotrun.com 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder Properties Other Names Cobalt Chromium Tungsten, Cobalt 6B, Stellite 6B ,Co-Cr-W CAS No. N/A Compound Formula CoCrW Molecular Weight N/A Appearance Gray metallic solid in various forms (ingot, tubing, pieces, powder) Melting Point N/A Solubility in water N/A Density <4.2 g/cm3 Purity N/A Particle Size 0-20m, 15-45m, 15-53m, 53-105m, 53-150m, 105-250m Boling point N/A Specific Heat N/A Thermal Conductivity N/A Thermal Expansion N/A Young's Modulus N/A Exact Mass 294.824632 g/mol Monoisotopic Mass 294.824632 g/mol 3D Printing Alloy CoCrW Powder Health & Safety Information Safety Warning N/A Hazard Statements N/A Flashing point N/A Hazard Codes N/A Risk Codes N/A Safety Statements N/A RTECS Number N/A Transport Information N/A WGK Germany N/A With Tesla's new factory in Germany starting CoCrW Powder . In the future, the demand for CoCrW Powder will become more and more extensive. Please feel free to contact us for the latest news on CoCrW Powder . Inquery us Answers Global Silicon Boride market trend 2023-2026 High Purity Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder CAS 12008-29-6, 99% by Newsintegra927 Now China has become a powerful country in science and technology, but do you know how powerful China's technology is? The manned space station alone is not enough, and now it has successfully broken through the key technology of nuclear fusion, even leading the world by 15 years. Does this mean that China is not far from the artificial sun? It turned out that the fully superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion experimental device developed by China at the Hefei Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences successfully achieved a record of 101 seconds of continuous operation at 120 million degrees Celsius, and broke the world record. Compared with the previous record in South Korea, China has time has been directly extended by 5 times, and it seems that we are one step closer to the practical stage of artificial sun. The success of nuclear fusion technology will lead to the development of Silicon Boride. CAS No. : 12008-29-6 EINECS No.: 234-535-8 Appearance: dark grey Molecular Formula: SiB6 Molecular Weight: 92.952 About Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder: Silicon boride (Silicon Hexaboride) is a shiny black-gray powder with a relative density of 3.0g/cm3 and a melting point of 2200C. Silicon boride is a lightweight ceramic compound formed between silicon and boron. It is insoluble in water, resistant to oxidation, thermal shock, and chemical attack, especially with high strength and stability under thermal shock. The grinding efficiency is higher than that of boron carbide. The SiB6 crystal structure includes interconnected icosahedrons (polyhedrons with 20 faces), icosahedral hexahedrons (polyhedrons with 26 faces), and isolated silicon and boron atoms. Compared to hexaboride, it is metastable. However, since crystal nucleation and growth are relatively easy, they can be prepared. When heated in air or oxygen, the surface of SiB6 is oxidized, and it is attacked by boiling sulfuric acid and fluorine, chlorine and bromine at high temperatures. Silicon boride is conductive. The hexaboride has a low thermal expansion coefficient and a large nuclear cross-section for thermal neutrons. Feel free to send an inquiry to get the latest price if you would like to buy Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder in bulk. Feature of Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder: 1. Nano-silicon boride has high purity, small particle size distribution, high specific surface area. 2. The melting point up to 2230 C. It can not be soluble in water and antioxidation and high resistance to chemical attack. especially in the high thermal impact and stability; 3. Grinding efficiency of silicon boride is higher than that of boron carbide, it can be used as abrasives, grinding and engineering ceramics such as nozzles, gas turbine blades and other different sintering conditions and sealing line How is Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder produced? A kind of step of preparing silicon boride powder is as follows: Silicon powder with an average particle size of less than 1 micron and boron powder with an average particle size of fewer than 20 microns are mixed uniformly by a ceramic ball milling tank; the weight ratio of silicon powder and boron powder is 2.85-2.95:7. After loading the crucible, put it into the gas protection furnace, pass in argon gas, and heat up to 1400-160 (TC, hold for 50-70 minutes; At the beginning of heat preservation, put ASiCl4 into the furnace, 3-5ml per minute, dripping time 9-11 minutes; After cooling, the final SiB6 powder product is obtained by crushing with a ceramic pot ball mill. Application of Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder: Main uses of silicon boride SiB6 Powder: 1. Used as various standard abrasives and grinding cemented carbides; 2. Used as engineering ceramic materials, as various standard abrasives, and grinding cemented carbide. 3. It is also used as engineering ceramic materials, sandblasting nozzles, and manufacturing blades of gas engines and other special-shaped sintered parts and seals. 4. Used as an anti-oxidant for refractory materials. Storage Condition of Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder: The damp reunion will affect SiB6 powder dispersion performance and using effects, therefore, silicon boride SiB6 powder should be sealed in vacuum packing and stored in cool and dry room, the silicon boride SiB6 powder can not be exposure to air. In addition, the SiB6 powder should be avoided under stress. Packing & Shipping of Silicon Boride SiB6 Powder: We have many different kinds of packing which depend on the silicon boride SiB6 powder quantity. Silicon boride SiB6 powder packing:vacuum packing, 100g, 500g or 1kg/bag, 25kg/barrel, or as your request. Silicon boride SiB6 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 silicon boride, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales3@nanotrun.com Silicon Boride Properties Other Names silicon hexaboride, SiB6 powder CAS No. 12008-29-6 Compound Formula SiB6 Molecular Weight 92.9515 Appearance Dark Grey to Black Powder Melting Point 1950 Boiling Point N/A Density 2.43 g/cm3 Solubility in H2O Insoluble Exact Mass 93.036391 Silicon Boride Health & Safety Information Signal Word Warning Hazard Statements H315-H319-H335 Hazard Codes Xi Risk Codes 36/37/38 Safety Statements 26-36 Transport Information N/A The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic not only had a significant impact on public health, it also severely affected one of the linchpins of the global economy the tourism industry. As many countries introduced curfews and travel restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, travel across the world significantly declined from early 2020 onwards. The financial repercussions of the coronavirus have already begun to manifest themselves within the tourism industry. In 2020, global revenue from the travel and tourism industry was estimated to drop from a forecasted 711.94 billion U.S. dollars to 568.6 billion U.S. dollars, representing a decrease of over 20 percent. The region predicted to see the highest decline in revenue was Europe, decreasing from 211.97 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 to roughly 124 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.The downturn in tourism has caused the recession, and the weakening of the economy has also affected the market demand for Silicon Boride. Recently, however, the demand for Silicon Boride has increased, so contact us for the latest news on Silicon Boride. Inquery us Products Global Spherical Molybdenum Powder market trend 2023-2027 What is the Use of Spherical Molybdenum Powder by Newsintegra927 Australian alumina ban disrupts Rusal Spherical Molybdenum Powder prices for chemicals. Patel said. "One possible outcome could be Chinese buyers buying alumina and reselling it through eastern Russian ports." Rusal has a 20% stake in the Queensland Alumina Refinery, which has a capacity of 3.95 million tonnes a year, thus providing Rusal with 790,000 tonnes a year, Patel said. In addition, Rusal's Nikolaev refinery in Ukraine, which has an annual capacity of 1.75 million tonnes, has been suspended due to the conflict, he added. WoodMac said Rusal was also experiencing supply chain problems at its 2 million tonne a year Aughinish refinery in Ireland. What is spherical molybdenum powder? Spherical molybdenum powder is a transition metal molybdenum in powder state, and the impurity elements include Pb, Bi, Sn, Sb, Cd, Fe, Al, Si, Mq, etc. Appearance is gray-black metal powder, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, non-radioactive, high purity, strong chemical inertness, low hardness, small oil absorption, good thermochemical stability, dispersibility, wear resistance properties and acid and alkali resistance. Preparation and use of spherical molybdenum powder Molybdenum powder is usually prepared from ammonium paramolybdate or calcined MoO3 by hydrogen reduction. It is the raw material for preparing molybdenum deep-processed products by powder metallurgy. Storage and transportation The product should be protected from moisture during transportation, and should not be violently collided. Store in a dry, ventilated and acid-free atmosphere to prevent oxidation. Shelf life does not exceed 6 months The process of producing molybdenum powder from molybdenum oxides and molybdenum halides or metallic molybdenum as raw materials is an integral part of the molybdenum metallurgical process. There are mainly molybdenum dioxide hydrogen reduction, molybdenum halide hydrogen reduction, atomization method, plasma method. The molybdenum powder produced is mainly used as alloy additives, molybdenum products and raw materials for sputtering. Due to the above-mentioned special properties, the application of molybdenum powder has developed rapidly, and it has been widely used in industrial and agricultural fields, such as rubber, plastics, paper, coatings, paints, inks, cables, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, feed, food, sugar, textiles , glass, ceramics, sanitary products, sealants, adhesives, pesticides and pesticide carriers, as well as flue desulfurization, water treatment and other environmental protection aspects. The application of lightweight molybdenum powder overlaps and is different from that of molybdenum powder. It is mainly used in papermaking, plastics, artificial rubber, food, food coloring, medicine, adhesives and hygiene products. In recent years, the use of lightweight molybdenum powder has increased due to the information that light molybdenum powder can enhance the properties of certain materials. About KMPASS KMPASS is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. The company export to many countries, such as USA, Canada, Europe, UAE, South Africa, Tanzania,Kenya,Egypt,Nigeria,Cameroon,Uganda,Turkey,Mexico,Azerbaijan,Belgium,Cyprus,Czech Republic,Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dubai, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia,Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. As a leading nanotechnology development manufacturer, KMPASS dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges. If you are looking for Spherical Molybdenum Powder, please send an email to: sales2@nanotrun.com Gas supplies have been in short supply because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Combined with the situation that other renewable sources cannot produce enough electricity, electricity prices have soared in many parts all over the world. For this reason, I assume the supply and prices of the Spherical Molybdenum Powder would keep being influenced by the high energy prices. Inquery us Macron re-elected as French president amid domestic, international uncertainty Xinhua) 11:20, April 26, 2022 * French incumbent President Emmanuel Macron won the 2022 presidential runoff with 58.54 percent of the votes. * The 44-year-old centrist and pro-European Union (EU) Macron will have to face challenges both inside and outside France during his second presidential term. * It remains questionable whether Macron, under U.S. influence, can continue to push for European strategic autonomy during the remainder of France's EU presidency. PARIS, April 25 (Xinhua) -- French incumbent President Emmanuel Macron won the 2022 presidential runoff with 58.54 percent of the votes while his rival, far-right wing candidate Marine Le Pen, gained 41.46 percent of the votes, according to the preliminary results released Sunday night by the French Interior Ministry. According to some experts, the 44-year-old centrist and pro-European Union (EU) Macron will have to face challenges both inside and outside France during his second presidential term. At the domestic level, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has pushed France's Consumer Price Index to skyrocket, creating further social divisions. On the international arena, it remains questionable whether Macron, under U.S. influence, can continue to push for European strategic autonomy during the remainder of France's EU presidency. Photo taken on April 24, 2022 shows the scene of French incumbent President Emmanuel Macron's rally after the presidential runoff in Paris, France. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) A MORE DIVIDED FRANCE For a third time, France's far-right wing lost the presidential runoff, but it has never been so close to grabbing the presidential power of the world's seventh-largest economy. The Le Pen family is the founder of France's far-right wing. Jean-Marie Le Pen contributed to founding the National Front party in 1972. In the 2002 presidential runoff, Jean-Marie Le Pen lost largely to Jacques Chirac with 17.8 percent to 82.2 percent of votes. Fifteen years later, his daughter, Marine Le Pen lost to Macron with 33.9 percent to 66.1 percent of votes. This year, Marine Le Pen lost again, but according to her, "the result itself is a resounding victory." "Millions of our compatriots have chosen the national camp and change. I extend my deepest gratitude to those who trusted me in the first round and to those who, by the millions, joined us in the second," she said in her speech after learning of the results of the exit polls. Asked about why people would vote for Le Pen, a voting station staffer in Clichy-La-Garenne told Xinhua that people, from "the parts of France," who feel excluded would vote for Le Pen. "They don't feel French anymore," he, without giving his name, said, referring to people from small towns and cities. "They no longer have doctors. They no longer have public services and therefore they feel excluded. So they go for Le Pen." Marine Le Pen, candidate of the far-right National Rally party, attends a rally after the presidential runoff in Paris, France, on April 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) "So it's not at all the classic racist vote of the extreme right, but a vote of protesting against exclusion," he said. Macron acknowledged this in his victory speech, saying it is "the anger and disagreements" that pushed people to vote for the extreme right. Division exists not only in Metropolitan France, but also in French overseas territories. Le Pen is leading in all French overseas territories except French Polynesia and New Caledonia. LEGISLATIVE ELECTION IN JUNE VITAL During his presidential campaign, Macron said that he wants to govern differently for the next five years with an ambitious political project. France needs "a different method, a way of doing things at the more local level" in favor of the most modest, he said, announcing a series of social measures to be carried out "urgently" from the beginning of his second five-year term. The measures include improving the purchasing power of the French people "from this summer," and continuing to reduce taxes by 15 billion euros (about 16 billion U.S. dollars) per year until 2027. He also plans to continue his failed retirement reform by increasing the legal retirement age to 65 "gradually by 2030." Macron, who improved the ecological component of his political program in the second round of the presidential election to attract left-wing votes, indicated that his future prime minister would be in charge of ecological planning. However, if he wants to realize all the promises, the upcoming legislative election will be extremely important, as it will decide whether he can get the majority of the French National Assembly. Macron's re-election may have comforted some French for keeping the country "socialist," but two surveys showed that a majority of French people do not want Macron to win the legislative elections. French incumbent President Emmanuel Macron attends a rally after the presidential runoff in Paris, France, on April 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) According to two polls published Sunday evening by French daily Le Figaro, 63 percent and 56 percent of those questioned do not want Macron to have a majority, against 35 percent and 20 percent who want him "to have a majority in the National Assembly and can carry out" his policy. Although left- and right-wing parties supported Macron after the first round voting, they now want to form their own alliance to prevent the newly elected president to control the National Assembly. Ranking third in the first round of voting, Jean-Luc Melanchon, leader of the far-left wing party Unsubmissive France, has already launched negotiations with other left-wing parties, hoping to form a majority in the lower house of the French Parliament. The Socialist party and the Communist party both called on the left wing to unite and reform for successful legislative elections. On the right-wing side, after losing her second presidential runoff to Macron, Le Pen has already called on the French people to vote for her in the upcoming legislative elections. Another extreme right candidate Eric Zemmour also called for "national unity for the legislative elections to build the first coalition of rights and patriots." A STRONG EUROPE Macron's re-election has indeed cheered Europe up, as some countries on the old continent have drifted further towards extreme right. On social media, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, both congratulated Macron on his re-election. "In this turbulent period, we need a strong Europe and a France fully committed to a more sovereign and more strategic European Union," Michel wrote. Macron's new mandate will be part of the continuity in terms of foreign policy, since France still holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU till the end of June, said Mu Gengyuan, assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. According to her, Macron's re-election will help him continue to promote the objectives of France's presidency under the motto "Recovery, Power, Belonging" and "a Europe that is powerful in the world, fully sovereign, free in its choices and in charge of its own destiny." French incumbent President Emmanuel Macron addresses a rally after the presidential runoff in Paris, France, on April 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) France has also been pushing for a reform in the Schengen area, which will be politically monitored by EU public institutions to control the circulation of EU population and migrants. In a campaign meeting in Strasbourg in northeastern France, Macron promised "to better protect" EU's external borders with more common forces and cooperation among the member states. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also congratulated Macron on his win, saying that the United States looks forwards to closer cooperation with the ally. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also congratulated Macron. Although France has joined the West to impose sanctions against Russia, Macron has been favoring a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Ireland needs a junior minister for womens health to tackle shortages of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products, Independent TD Verona Murphy has said. Her call comes in the wake of the creation of a HRT tsar role in Britain following reports that shortages of the products have become so severe that women are sharing prescriptions and, in some cases, reporting feelings of mental health distress. Women in Ireland have faced shortages of HRT products for months, with common products off the shelf until at least July. Ms Murphy said she has been inundated with women contacting her since raising the crisis in the Dail earlier this month. We needed a womens health minister yesterday, said Ms Murphy. The recent discussions that Joe Duffy had in relation to menopause [showed] we shouldnt be embarrassed about our health. I do believe we certainly should have, at the very least, a junior ministry. She described some of the messages she had received as very distressing. Many of the emails that I got said the HRT was life-saving, and the thoughts of not being able to access the correct HRT was absolutely putting them into a complete mental health state of disarray, she said. It is 'impossible to predict which products may become unavailable in the future,' according to Dr Ciara McCarthy, clinical lead on women's health with the ICGP. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the Womens Health Taskforce is considering all proposals for the improvement of womens health outcomes and experiences. She pointed to the increasing demand for HRT, with demand for one set of products, which she did not name, expected to be between 4.5 and 7.5 times higher this year than in 2019. Ciara McCarthy, clinical lead on womens health with the Irish College of General Practitioners, said shortages have gone on for two years. Dr McCarthy said: GPs are working to the best of their abilities to commence HRT prescriptions based on the currently available products. However, it is impossible to predict which products may become unavailable in the future. She warned that women who abruptly stop using HRT see a rapid return of symptoms, and advised women who cannot find their prescribed product to return to their GP for solutions. British health secretary Sajid Javid said on Sunday he will appoint a HRT supply chairperson to meet suppliers following the vaccine taskforce model developed during the pandemic. A one-year-old Angus male cross-breed was found staggering on three legs in a field near Killorglin, Co Kerry, shaking with pain", when inspectors and a Department of Agriculture vet called to carry out a farm inspection. The animal was missing the bottom of one of its hind legs and the bone was protruding. It was a warm May day and while, the animal had plenty of grass, he was unable to get to the drinking trough 250m away, Killarney District Court was told on Monday. An overwhelming stench emanated from a trailer that contained the carcass of a cow that had probably been dead for some weeks, the court was also told. John C Casey, otherwise known as Christy Casey, of Crosstown, Killarney, aged 62, was summonsed over animal cruelty, failure to bury a cow carcass, and breaches of various regulations. Mr Casey had been informed of the hearing, but was not present in court, was not replying to texts and phonecalls, and his legal team had received no instructions, the court was told. Tom Rice, prosecuting, said some 14 witnesses were assembled from all over the country for the special sitting. Katie OConnell, barrister for Mr Casey, sought an adjournment. Farm inspection Department of Agriculture vet Louis Reardon said he was accompanied by a large number of colleagues when they entered the lands on May 17 to carry out an inspection and Christy Casey/John C Casey was present. The lands at Corbally, Killorglin, were not owned by the accused but were leased by him in an informal arrangement, the vet said. Mr Casey refused to give his address. There was a strong sense of putrefaction emanating from a trailer where there was a dead cow, partially covered with straw. There was an overwhelming stench. The carcass was quite desiccated and dried out and I formed the view it had been there some weeks, Mr Reardon said. Under European legislation a dead animal must be removed promptly to the knackery and brain tissue from all cows over four years tissue which degenerates rapidly must be sampled for BSE, Mr Reardon said. The accused cooperated to a point but would then get abusive. It was not feasible to bring in one of the animals so they could inspect him, so they had to go to the field where they found an animal on three legs. Portion of leg missing He was missing the bottom portion of one of his hind legs, Mr Reardon said, detailing how the one-year-old Angus cross was shaking with pain. Video evidence was handed into Judge David Waters. The stump was quite swollen and bone was protruding. It was mid-May and the fly season was about to take off and the open wound would become infected with maggots, Mr Reardon said. All the weight was being transferred to the right hind leg and the sinews were under strain. I was of the view it was there for a number of months, the vet said. There was nil prospect of recovery. A local vet was called and it was decided to euthanise the animal. Mr Casey had been vehemently opposed to this, Mr Reardon said. Three separate summonses pertained to that matter under the Animal Health and Welfare Act including causing unnecessary suffering. A total of 18 animals had been moved and there were no bovine passports made available as required in movement of cattle, Mr Reardon said. Subsequent inspection In a subsequent inspection on July 9, most of the animals on the farm in Killorglin were not on the farm register which was found to be wildly inaccurate, and a lot of the animals on the register were not present. The department inspectors were told these were on a holding just outside Macroom, and they had been stolen or had gone missing. Ms OConnell, instructed by Eimear Griffin solicitor, told Judge Waters she could not cross-examine as she had no instructions from her client. Mr Casey was convicted on 10 summonses brought by the Minister for Agriculture under EU and Irish regulations. The judge adjourned penalty to allow Mr Casey to give further instruction and produce mitigating evidence. Although the prosecution had indicated they would not seek a custodial sentence, the judge said there was a possibility he would consider a custodial sentence in the summonses relating to animal cruelty, he adjourned sentencing to June 7 in Killarney. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his nuclear forces at maximum speed and threatened to use them if provoked. He made the remarks in a speech he delivered during a military parade that featured a long-range missile and other weapons, state media reported on Tuesday. The parade on Monday night was to mark the 90th anniversary of North Koreas army the backbone of the Kim familys authoritarian rule and comes as the country faces pandemic-related difficulties while seeking relief from US-led sanctions imposed over its nuclear ambitions. We will continue to implement measures aimed at strengthening and developing our countrys nuclear forces at the maximum speed, he told his troops and the crowd gathered for the parade at a Pyongyang plaza, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The parade on Monday night was to mark the 90th anniversary of North Koreas army (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) The fundamental mission of our nuclear forces is to deter war, but if an undesirable situation emerges on our land, our nuclear forces cannot be limited to a single mission of preventing war, Kim Jong Un said. If any forces, regardless of who they are, try to infringe upon our fundamental interests, our nuclear forces will have no choice but to absolutely carry out its unexpected second mission. The parade featured marching troops and an array of modern weapons including a missile potentially capable of reaching the US homeland as well as tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers, according to KCNA. Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since 2019 because of disagreements over the potential easing of US-led sanctions in exchange for North Korean disarmament steps. The parade featured marching troops and an array of modern weapons including a missile potentially capable of reaching the US homeland (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) The North Korean leader has stuck to his goals of simultaneously developing nuclear weapons and the countrys dismal economy in the face of international pressure and has shown no willingness to fully surrender a nuclear arsenal he sees as his biggest guarantee of survival. North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of weapons tests this year, including its first flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017. There are also signs North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground that was last active in 2017, possibly in preparation for exploding a nuclear device. On Monday, official newspapers in North Korea ran editorials calling for stronger public support for the leader. The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is the symbol of the mightiness of our party, state and revolutionary armed forces and the representative of their great dignity, the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said. All happiness and rosy future lie in following the respected General Secretary Kim Jong Un. Burma Myanmar Junta Chiefs Real Estate up for Sale Kan Thar Yar Hospital located near Inya Lake, Pyay Road, Hlaing Township, Yangon. Myanmars parallel National Unity Government (NUG) will reclaim houses and other properties acquired by regime leaders, including junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and sell them to raise money for the ongoing revolution against the military regime. The NUGs Minister of Planning, Finance and Investment U Tin Tun Naing revealed the plan to the countrys shadow parliament on Saturday as he submitted his ministrys annual report. Under the scheme, which is expected to be launched in a few weeks, the sale of almost 40 properties under the control of military leaders which were confiscated for their own benefit, as well as land confiscated by the military, will be available for pre-purchase by both Myanmar citizens and foreigners. The prices will be set at 70 percent lower than market rates, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). Buyers will be given shares for their purchases and receive profits when the NUG auctions off the properties. We will soon start selling real estate illegally acquired by terrorist military leaders and military-confiscated land which wont be needed for the [future] federal army, U Tin Tun Naing told the NUG Parliament on Saturday. The revenue from the sales will be used effectively for the revolution, he added. The plan to confiscate properties under the control of the military and sell them to the public is widely supported by many people as a creative way to intimidate the generals, while at the same time raising funds for the revolution. Several netizens expressed their interest in buying shares in the properties and so contributing to the goal of bringing down the junta. Myanmar military leaders have gained huge profits from property they own in the commercial capital Yangon. Min Aung Hlaing owns two properties in the Inya Lake neighbourhood, Yangons most exclusive and affluent residential area, that are each worth millions of US dollars. The junta boss did not own any homes by Inya Lake until he was handpicked by former dictator Senior General Than Shwe to become the head of the military in 2011. But in the next five years he managed to acquire a residence located at 14 Inya Road, known as 14 Inya, and another close to the five-star Lotte Hotel and the private Kan Thar Yar Hospital, which Min Aung Hlaing has a financial interest in. The 14 Inya residence is a former military guesthouse, commonly known as the military intelligence guesthouse, where generals received foreign diplomats and ethnic armed organization leaders. U Tin Tun Naing told RFA recently that the coup leaders home at 14 Inya will be included in the initial sale, along with real estate under the control of deputy junta chief Vice Senior General Soe Win and other top generals. In February, the NUG established a policy to review the land and property owned or under the control of military leaders and the defense and home affairs ministries, and to get them back for the benefit of the Myanmar people. You may also like these stories: Myanmar People Urged to Join Six Twos Revolution General Strike Against Regime Junta Airstrikes Hit Lower Myanmar as Fighting Intensifies Myanmar Junta Rejects ASEAN Envoys Request to Meet Shadow Govt Representatives Burma Myanmar Junta Closes Another Thai Border Gate After Resistance Attack Htee Khee border trade gate. / CJ Myanmars military closed the border with Thailand at Htee Khee in Tanintharyi Region on Monday after a peoples defense force (PDF) attacked a Dawei-Htee Khee road police station. The Dawei Township Peoples Authority of the parallel National Unity Government on Sunday urged people to avoid the Dawei-Htee Khee road as the regime is using it for reinforcements and supplies and clashes could break out at any time with resistance groups. Junta authorities did not say when the gate will reopen. The closure of the Htee Khee gate, a major trading point and the closest crossing to the Thai capital Bangkok, comes as another blow to trade with Thailand. The clashes between junta troops and the Karen National Liberation Army and PDFs already halted trade via Myawaddy in Karen State. Traders reliant on the Htee Khee gate are trying to trade with Thailand via Maw Taung to the south. But it is unknown if Maw Taung is open for trade, said a trader. The regime said it closed Htee Khee out of its concern for traders safety but residents said the regime is planning to attack resistance forces and the Karen National Defense Organization, an armed wing of the Karen National Union. Junta troops have been attacked along the Dawei-Htee Khee road since mid-January and have suffered losses, said residents. Myanmar mainly exports fish, coal, lead and food to Thailand via Htee Khee and imports diesel, cooking gas, food and machinery. You may also like these stories: China, Russia Arming Myanmar Junta: UN Rights Expert Pregnant Woman Miscarries, 4 Detained as Myanmar Regime Cracks Down on Six Twos Protest Myanmar Junta Asks UNs Top Court to Drop Rohingya Genocide Case at Hearing in The Hague Burma Regime Soldiers Torch Nine Villages and Kill Monk in Upper Myanmar Wuntho Township. / CJ Myanmar junta troops torched nine villages in Sagaing Regions Wuntho Township on the weekend, killing three civilians including a Buddhist monk who urged them not to burn houses, according to local residents. Four of the nine villages were razed to the ground, locals said. Junta troops are torching villages in Kawlin and Wuntho as they have suffered heavy casualties. We could do nothing. We dared not go back to our village until the junta troops left, by which time our houses had been reduced to ashes, said a resident of Sein Lel Village. Some 30,000 people from more than 40 villages in Kawlin and Wuntho townships have been displaced by fighting this month. On Saturday, around 80 military regime soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 111 based in Wuntho arrived near Sein Lel Village where they clashed with local resistance groups. Five junta soldiers were killed in the fighting, according to one of the groups, Wuntho Revolution. Junta troops then raided several villages nearby, firing heavy guns and torching houses. We clashed with junta troops near Sein Lel Village early Saturday morning. They then shelled and raided villages and torched houses. Villagers have fled the raids. A female villager died in one of the fires, said one fighter from Wuntho Revolution. Another woman was shot dead in Thabyay Thar Village, and the abbot of the village monastery who told the junta soldiers not to torch houses was also gunned down, he added. Regime forces also reportedly abducted four villagers from three different villages as potential human shields. They were still in junta detention on Tuesday. More than 10,000 locals have been displaced by the weekend raids, and it is still unknown how many houses were destroyed by the junta arson attacks. They torched Sein Lel and then nearby villages one after another. The regime has cut off access to internet services for months in those places. And we have not been able to contact some villages by phone after the raids. We still dont know the exact number of houses damaged or destroyed. Some people have to stay at the houses of their relatives and some have to stay on farms, said a local humanitarian worker. On Monday, junta troops and resistance groups also clashed near a mountain in Wuntho. Casualties are unknown. Regime forces have also launched attacks in the east of Kawlin Township, forcing residents of at least four villages to flee. Clashes have been reported near villages on the border of Sagaing and Kachin State. Locals said junta troops are torching villages in retaliation after suffering heavy casualties in fighting near Joe Taung Village on April 21. Data for Myanmar, which documents junta arson attacks, said 9,187 houses have been burned down since last years coup in 254 locations nationwide up to April 13. You may also like these stories: Pregnant Woman Miscarries, 4 Detained as Myanmar Regime Cracks Down on Six Twos Protest Myanmar Junta Asks UNs Top Court to Drop Rohingya Genocide Case at Hearing in The Hague Cobra Gold Military Exercise Kicks Off in Thailand Without Myanmar Printed solar panels will be used to power a Tesla on a 15,000-km trip around Australia in September to make the public more aware of steps to effect climate change. The Charge Around Australia project is a partnership between British firm Charge Around Britain and the University of Newcastle in NSW. CAB director Stuart McBain, one of the people involved in the Australia project, undertook a trip around the UK coastline in an EV five years ago to prove that there were sufficient charging points for these vehicles. McBain also drove around the Iceland coastline in a Nissan Leaf to demonstrate that such a vehicle was up to the challenging trip. The portable printed solar cell panels will be used to charge the vehicle off-grid; the technology is known as organic photovoltaics. The solar cells have been developed by Professor Paul Dastoor and his team at the university. They are made from a lightweight, laminated PET [Polyethylene terephthalate] plastic that costs less than US$10 a square metre. The route to be followed by the Tesla in September. He will co-ordinate the research and manage the development and installation for the project. A statement from Charge Around Australia said the technology was in the beginning stages of development and printing processes could be improved. "Printed solar panels offer us possibilities that conventional solar panels do not. They are ultra-flexible, ultra-lightweight and ultra-thin, so they can be used to cover expansive areas. In addition, because they are printed, they can be produced at extremely low cost," it said. "When efficiency levels are doubled to around 4%, it is possible that the technology will have the capability to generate the cheapest form of electricity on the planet. The potential of this technology is that every building and structure could have a coating on it that generates power." Others involved in the Australia drive are Aleksei Esguerra, support vehicle driver and health and safety officer; Dr Xiaojing Zhou, provider of key expertise in device design and development and performance analysis; Dr Ben Vaughan, provider of key expertise in supporting the fabrication and manufacture of the printed solar cell panels; and Dr Michael Dickinson, Provider of key expertise in the generation system design and development. GUEST OPINION: When using modern software applications, most users dont spend time considering all the components that make them work. The networks, servers, operating systems, and client devices that mesh together to allow applications to function go largely unnoticed. End users tend to view information as a utility in much the same way as power or water supplies. However, having a deeper understanding of IT infrastructure mechanics is vital to creating effective security. One element that needs closer attention is Active Directory (AD). Developed by Microsoft, AD manages directory-based identity-related services. An AD server authenticates and authorises all users and devices on a network, forming a core part of the overall infrastructure. Because AD plays such a critical role, cybercriminals looking to gain access and cause disruption or damage have increasingly targeted it. For this reason, organisations need the ability to spot when their AD has become compromised. The growing risk of credential-based attacks According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 61% of cybersecurity breaches now involve credential data. Gaining possession of credentials makes an attackers job much easier as it can provide them with the privileges they need to move about within an IT infrastructure. These stolen credentials allow them to scope out potential data for theft, undertake a ransomware attack, or install backdoors they can use later. Because AD needs to have access to all parts of the infrastructure, it is challenging to secure but often the first thing an attacker will target. For this reason, preventing a cybercriminal from gaining access to AD with compromised credentials must be a top priority for IT security teams. Spotting an AD attack A key challenge is that most attacks against AD can be difficult to spot. The subtle nature of the techniques used means that if teams are not proactively watching for them, they may go unnoticed. Successfully protecting against AD attacks requires security teams to adopt a holistic approach to their monitoring and defences. Some people liken this to how a doctor diagnoses a medical condition. While they may have numerous symptoms to consider, it can often be challenging to bring them together to form an accurate diagnosis. For this reason, an IT security team must have a clear understanding of the tell-tale signs of an AD attack. These can vary widely in nature, but there are some that cybercriminals use regularly. Some potential attack indicators affect numerous accounts within the network, such as a mass password change that alters large numbers of user credentials, account lockouts, or unexpected changes to security settings. There are also even more subtle things that security teams need to watch for. These include such events as an account suddenly appearing in a group without a good reason or a new service account popping up with no apparent authorisation. Overcoming the challenge of spotting an attack Despite the considerable challenges around spotting AD compromises, there are several steps that security teams can take. The first is to continually monitor privileged groups for new users to see when a user identity gets created or added to a group. In addition to new account creations and membership changes, security teams should monitor for password changes on privileged accounts, changes to critical objects, the use of SIDs from disabled accounts, and Access Control List (ACL) changes. These events are subtle and could easily go unnoticed unless the team actively watches for them. For this reason, many organisations choose to set up SIEM rules to look for specific line items in an audit log and then raise an alert when spotting suspicious activity. Alternatively, the security team can take advantage of an array of modern assessment and attack detection tools that are currently on the market to enhance their security posture. These tools can automatically increase visibility into potential exposures and monitor for known warning signs to mitigate attacks before they occur. This approach reduces the workload for security team members. As modern networks become increasingly complex and the number of human and machine identities skyrocket, automation is fast becoming the only practical and reliable way to protect AD. An organisation can identify an AD attack early in the process by implementing identity exposure visibility and monitoring tools and taking an automated approach to detection. There is always the risk of an attack, but these tools reduce the attack surface, close exposure gaps, and significantly enhance a security teams ability to respond effectively. Today A few passing clouds. Low 58F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight A few passing clouds. Low 58F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow A few clouds from time to time. High 86F. WNW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Officers on horseback guard the entrance to designated demonstrator areas near Riverbend Maximum Security Institution as people wait to enter before the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a statement Thursday saying he was granting a temporary reprieve to Smith, a 72-year-old inmate. President Joe Biden speaks Friday, April 22, 2022, at Green River College in Auburn, Wash., south of Seattle. President Joe Biden is announcing that he has granted the first three pardons of his term. In one case he is providing clemency to a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent convicted of trying to sell a copy of an agency file. Staff Writer Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Jonesborough, healthcare and higher education. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019. 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. I had a lot of pain last night, Eshetu Alemu coughed, but I will try to be present during the entire day. The 68-year-old Ethiopian-Dutchman has terminal lung cancer and he attended his trial via video link from prison. A convicted war criminal, he wants his entire 2017 life sentence for 75 murders, 6 cases of torture and 320 arbitrary detentions in cruel and degrading circumstances between February and December 1978 in the cities of Debre Markos and Metekel quashed. He regrets that all these things happened. But he maintains he was never at any crime scene. On 19 April, Alemu heard his Dutch lawyer plead his case. We have to separate facts from fiction, began Sander Arts. He claimed all testimonial evidence was riddled with hearsay, collusion and inconsistencies. The witnesses mistook the identity of his client, Arts argued: There were are least three Eshetu Alemus at the time! Moreover, he added, the many documents in the gigantic casefile are contaminated. He questioned how Alemus signature if even his had landed on death reports. And he concluded by contending that Alemu himself was a victim of a deadly Communist regime which had dragged Ethiopia into the abyss. From poetry to Avenger Picture of Eshetu Alemu as a Derg member at the Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum in Addis-Ababa. Thijs Bouwknegt Alemu was the 49th member of the Derg, a military cabal that took power after the 1974 revolution and dethronement of Africas last emperor, Haile Selassie. In March 1977, the juntas leader, Mengistu Haile Mariam, proclaimed the Qey Shibir (the Red Terror). The campaign was designed to crush any suspected supporter of the juntas main socialist rival, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP). Kebele militia and police conducted raids in the cities. At so-called exposure meetings, students, teachers and workers were forced to confess they were counterrevolutionaries. Makeshift prisons swelled. Corpses were displayed on Addis Ababas streets. A former private like his father, who had fought against the Italian fascist invaders in the mid-1930s, Alemu joined the student movement and became a passionate disciple of Mengistu. He liked poetry, drama and theatre, but found most solace in Karl Marxs writings. A talented orator, Alemu described himself as a propagandist and educator. At the Red Terrors peak however, he was assistant to Melaku Teferra, a ruthless administrator known as the butcher in Gondar province. And from 1978, Alemu was sent to Gojam province as chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Revolutionary Campaign a fact he admits. Witnesses remembered Alemu as a young viceroy, who ran and ordered anti-revolutionary operations and measures from an old palace in Gojams administrative capital and university town, Debre Markos. Although armed conflict raged elsewhere in the country Tigray, Eritrea, Ogaden, Oromia , Gojam was mainly the theatre of political persecution of EPRP associates. Some 321 people, mostly students some just 12-years-old were arbitrarily detained in late February 1978. Many ended up in a camp called Demmelash (Avenger). Conditions in Demmelashs unsanitary dark rooms were miserable. Unpalatable food, filthy water and no medicine caused diseases. Prisoners were shackled together during sleepless nights; many were whipped with spoons; others were suspended in the air, with their hands and feet tied together. And on at least one night, on 14 August 1978, 70 prisoners were taken to the prisons church, where they were forced to kneel, their necks tied together with ropes and strangled. Some still alive, they were buried in a mass grave dug by non-political prisoners. Judge and executioner Alemu never expected justice to catch up with him. He held a diplomatic post in Bulgaria before settling in the Netherlands in 1990, right before Mengistus regime was overthrown. He learned Dutch, obtained citizenship and interned at a university medical centre. For years he worked as a security guard including at Schiphol Airport and the prestigious Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The feathers of his secluded new life were only briefly ruffled in 1998, when Dutch journalist Judith Neurink exposed him as a torturer living next door who had been both a judge and executioner. The article featured pictures of death lists with his notes on it, but sparked no judicial inquiry. Alemus in absentia prosecution by Ethiopias Special Prosecutors Office (SPO) a transitional justice mechanism set up in 1992 to record the Dergs atrocities and put its leadership on trial also went unnoticed in the Netherlands. During his first trial in Ethiopia in 1998, relating to 10 massacres throughout Gojam, witnesses testified about Alemu overseeing people being buried alive and kicked to death. While in 2000 he was sentenced to death for the murders, Alemu alongside Mengistu and dozens of other Derg officials was additionally convicted for his part in a genocidal plan to destroy opposition groups (in Ethiopia, the genocide law also protects political groups). Only in 2009 would Alemu appear on the radar of the Dutch International Crimes Unit. Until his arrest in 2015, investigators tailed Alemu, tracking his movements, wire-tapping his phone and even communicating with him through a police informant. In Ethiopia, they obtained photographs of Alemus SPO files and copies of death lists. With Ethiopia barring access to the investigators (they wanted him extradited, not tried elsewhere), the Dutch followed leads into the diaspora community: first in the Netherlands, and later in the US and Canada, where 20 Ethiopian refugees were questioned. Most witnesses were victims and some put Alemu at the helm of atrocities in Gojam. Like Alemu, they too had never expected to come before a Dutch court. No repentance The Hagues Palace of Justice is a busy courthouse. The atmosphere is casual. On the floor where the Appeals Court sat, a radio at an ushers booth played Dire Straits Sultans of Swing. Outside the court chamber, in the communal waiting area, there was a strange rendez-vous of prosecutors, Alemus lawyer, victims counsels and a police investigator. Nestled together in a corner, sitting on uncomfortable wooden seats, gathered four of Alemus victims. On 13 April they had their day in court. They had already testified in 2017 (and as injured parties they were awarded 226,89 compensation for immaterial damages), and this time they had their lawyer Barbara van Straaten read their statements in the first person. On the far right, wearing sunglasses, sat Sebene Ademe. During the first trial she had shown the judges and Alemu a picture of her brother who had been disappeared and murdered in the late 1970s. She still carries the picture with her. Listening to her lawyer, she wiped tears from her cheeks with her scarf. I have been crying for 40 years, the lawyer read from Ademes testimony. Another victim, Worku Y., testified that he was 16-years-old when he was arrested and tortured at Demmelash. He then told the court about having seen Alemu on 15 August 1978, with a smiling face, overseeing the massacre of 82 prisoners. When the Courts president asked Alemu for his response, it was a deja-vu from the first trial during which Alemu talked a lot, and also addressed the very same victims. These are profound, frightful events. I find it terrible what happened in Ethiopia to me it is like a disease, like cancer, he said. For a moment Alemu seemed to begin his repentance, saying their grief is also my grief. But it was a feint: I was not there, never, when they were tortured, neither when people were put to death. What the victims say is hearsay. I am not a monster not at all! Once again, Alemu sparked resentment. To Sirak Asfaw, who had attended both trials since day one, it felt like Alemu was playing with the victims pains. Himself a survivor and therefore expert by experience of the Red Terror, Asfaw found Alemus response incomprehensible and very painful: It is not only an insult to the victims, to Ethiopia and to the Court, it is malicious and shows he has no remorse. Reading under a tree In his public profile on a Dutch employment agency, Alemu stated that colleagues and managers see me as loyal, reliable, stable, flexible, eager to learn, helpful, people-friendly, honest and a go-getter. At trial Alemu equally stressed that he is just human. Because of his health, the chamber moved its hearings on 5, 6 and 11 April (screened in the courtroom in The Hague) to prison. In the small penitentiary room stood a dull plant. Alemu, wearing jogging trousers, sat in the middle. Despite the pain in his legs, he appeared to be energetic and sharp, still answering, in Dutch, a barrage of questions by the three judges and prosecutor Martin Witteveen, and dodging any responsibility for each charge put to him. On the last day of his interrogation, the presiding judge was curious to know how Alemu experienced the last 6,5 years in prison. I know how it is to be in prison. As a student I served one month as well, guarded by military and I was tortured, the accused replied. In the Netherlands jailhouse he spent all his time reading his case file which infuriated him and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. His entire body hurts, and at times the maximum dose of morphine patches he wore felt like psychedelics: I almost went insane, and started hallucinating. You may not survive, how do you cope with all that, mentally? the judge asked. I accept what has happened. That at a certain point I will die. He said he had no mental problems, but it saddened him to miss his children, and to have never seen his grandchildren. Suppose that you were released, what do you envisage? continued the judge. Freedom, replied Alemu, is the most important to humanity. Often, he dreams about going to the park, lying under a tree and reading a book until Id fall asleep, he said. Now, serving a life sentence, he continued, I have no dignity. The chamber then asked: Do you see a psychologist, or need one? Alemu did not hesitate: No! Only people who have problems can deal with a psychiatrist. [] I do not see a flaw in my psychiatric state. The ticking clock 14 April was a busy day for The Hagues war crime prosecutors. In a courtroom just around the corner, they won a case before the lower court, which sentenced Abdul Razaq Rafief to 12 years imprisonment for war crimes in Afghanistan between 1983 and 1987 also committed in a prison, with similar conditions as Demmelash. For a full day, prosecutors Nicole Vogelenzang and Witteveen presented their requisitoire (closing brief). They sought a reversal of several findings and a full conviction including for various acquittals regarding specific victims in the first instance judgement and demanded, again, a life sentence. The appeals case has dragged for nearly 5 years, partially because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the volatile situation in Ethiopia. But prosecutors have managed to collect additional documentary evidence (the case file holds copies of 22 letters, orders, lists and reports, each bearing Alemus name and/or autograph), hear three more witnesses and order three expert reports. Because of Alemus condition, the prosecutors may not have expected that the appeals trial would actually take place. Now that it had come to trial, said Witteveen, they also hoped that Alemu, knowing he will not live long after the case ended, would decide to recognise what he had done and ask for forgiveness. How naive was that thought, Witteveen told the court. He and Vogelenzang were shocked that after his long detention Alemu would not come around. Pointing to a 54-page letter Alemu had sent the Court explaining what he and the Derg had done for Ethiopia Witteveen said this ideology was an engine of the worst and cruellest that man can bring out. One of the largest murder trials in the Netherlands ever (only the MH-17 trial has more victims), the Alemu case is a lot to digest for the chamber. Judges are scheduled to issue their verdict on 8 June if Alemu is still alive. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called during a visit to Russia Tuesday for Moscow and Kyiv to work together to set up aid and evacuation corridors in war-torn Ukraine. We urgently need humanitarian corridors that are truly safe and effective, he told a press conference after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. To that end I have proposed the establishment of a humanitarian contact group bringing together the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United Nations to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors, he said. Guterres also called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine. I am concerned about the repeated reports of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and possible war crimes. And they require independent investigation for effective accountability, Guterres said. Lavrov said Moscow was ready to cooperate with the United Nations to help civilians in Ukraine. Our goals are primarily to protect the civilian population and here we are ready to cooperate with our colleagues from the UN to alleviate the plight of the civilian population, Lavrov said. He said Russia was in favour of resolving the conflict in Ukraine with peace talks, but said it was depressing the way the Kyiv delegation and Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky behaved. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday he would back efforts by lawmakers to allow proceeds from assets seized from Russian oligarchs to go directly to war-torn Ukraine. The first thing we have to do is freeze the assets But we would support legislation that would allow some of that money to go directly to Ukraine, he told a Senate panel during a hearing discussing his departments budget. Garland, the countrys most senior law enforcement official, set out his position as he was being quizzed by senators about how his officials handle proceeds from recovered Russian assets. Lawmakers decided against moving forward in early April with a bill that would have enabled the White House to liquidate Russian billionaires seized assets and turn the proceeds over to Kyiv. The idea was scuttled when the American Civil Liberties Union said it would likely violate constitutional due-process protections as there was no mechanism for oligarchs to challenge the administrations actions in court, The Washington Post reported. Under the legislation, the federal government would have been able to confiscate property worth more than $5 million from sanctioned Russians to be sold for cash to be transfered to Ukraine. The White House never officially endorsed the plan but congressional aides are reportedly working on tweaks in consultation with the Treasury Department. The US and European authorities have impounded several yachts with links to Russian tycoons since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in a bid to pressure Russian leader Vladimir Putin to pull his forces back. The United States announced the launch last month of a multi-agency Task Force KleptoCapture to pursue corrupt Russian oligarchs and sanctions violators. The move came after President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union speech, warned Russias billionaires that the task force would find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains, he said. US and Spanish officials announced earlier this month a mega yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to Putin had been seized at the demand of the United States. Garland condemned alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine during his testimony, denouncing images of civilians lying dead with hands bound in Bucha and the intentional bombing of civilian housing and a theater in Mariupol. All of those pictures are just horrific and are the kinds of things anybody growing up in the 20th century never expected to see in the 21st, Garland said. Lee Joon Gi updates fans about his health status as he officially returns to filming the new drama "Again My Life." The 40-year-old South Korean actor has returned to the small screen after headlining the 2020 smash hit series "Flower of Evil" with Moon Chae Won, Jang Hee Jin, and Seo Hyun Woo. From being the loving husband turned serial killer Do Hyun Soo, the versatile actor transformed into an enthusiastic prosecutor in the newest SBS series. However, as "Again My Life" made its premiere on April 8, Lee Joon Gi tested positive for COVID-19 on April 18, which prompted the actor to cancel his scheduled activities. This includes his filming with his current drama. Interestingly, the "Lawless Lawyer" star took to social media to update his 6.1 million followers about his health condition. Lee Joon Gi Returns to the Set of 'Again My Life' On Lee Joon Gi's Instagram, he shared a photo of his "Again My Life" co-stars alongside a heartfelt message for fans. The actor expressed his gratitude to all his supporters, who wished for his speedy recovery. "Thanks to your support, I'm coming back in good health! Thank you. I will work harder until the end to repay you. The second round of health begins," he wrote alongside emojis suggesting that he is ready for his upcoming activities, which include filming the rest of his scenes in the mystery drama. As of this writing, Lee Joon Gi's Instagram post gained over 100,000 likes and thousands of messages from his followers. Some expressed how they were thrilled to hear about his comeback to the filming session, while others wished the actor continued good health. Lee Joon Gi Suffers from Mild COVID-19 Symptoms To recall, Lee Joon Gi joins a slew of stars who tested positive for the virus amid their production. At the time, the actor's agency, Namoo Actors, shared that he had "symptoms of poor condition" like a mild sore throat. Due to this, he canceled all his activities to "take measures in accordance with guidelines of health authorities." Now that Lee Joon Gi is back to "Again My Life" production, it means that the webtoon-based series is set to deliver another round of unexpected twists and turns that would keep the viewers at the edge of their seats. Over SBS' official Instagram, the network teased fans with a sneak peek of what to expect on episode 7 airing this April 27. Joining Lee Joon Gi in the drama are lead stars Kim Ji Eun, veteran actor Lee Kyung Young, and Jung Sang Hoon. Viewers would catch "Again My Life" every Saturday and Sunday at 10 p.m. KST via SBS and ViuTV. KDramastars owns this article Written by Geca Wills "The Sound of Magic" actors Ji Chang Wook and Choi Sung Eun show off their natural chemistry and undeniable visuals in an exclusive photo shoot with W Korea! In addition to that, the two stars also talked about their upcoming drama, its surprises and more! Ji Chang Wook, Choi Sung Eun Dish Out Reasons in Choosing 'The Sound of Magic' "The Sound of Magic" is Netflix's newest fantasy series that depicts the magical story of magician Lee Eul (Ji Chang Wook) who appears in Yoon Ah Yi's (Choi Sung Eun) life and encourages her to dream. Ahead of its magical release, the two actors posed and smiled for the camera in a photo shoot with W Korea Magazine. Ji Chang Wook and Choi Sung Eun also introduced their drama, their thoughts and more! Ji Chang Wook reveals that "The Sound of Magic" reminds him of a tough part in his life that was difficult to handle. He said, "Yoon Ah Yi's struggles remind me of what I went through, so I chose this drama to show that it'll be okay one day." Meanwhile, Choi Sung Eun admits that she chose the drama because of her fascination with Yoon Ah Yi. "I want the world to know Yoon Ah Yi's story and how she rose despite being in a slump for a long time," the actress said. "I want the people of this generation to see the touching elements of Yoon Ah Yi and Lee Eul's beautiful story." What To Expect From Ji Chang Wook, Choi Sung Eun, 'The Sound of Magic' The actors talked about their beloved characters in the drama, and shared how they resonate with each other. Ji Chang Wook focused on his tone, manners and body languages in order to perfectly display Lee Eul's magical personality. Although he finds it quite comical, he calms himself down, saying, "I act or speak like this because it's Lee Eul." On the other hand, Choi Sung Eun shared that she learned how to talk about her feelings and emotions, thanks to her new starring role. "I find it difficult to communicate, but gradually, I learned how to improve myself," she said. "After slowly changing myself for the better, I became happier. This helped a lot in preparing for my role, since Yoon Ah Yi's emotions are quite intense like me." In addition to that, the two actors spoke about how Choi Sung Eun cried on the last day of filming. Ji Chang Wook revealed that he cries easily, but he didn't shed a tear on set. Ji Chang Wook, Choi Sung Eun Dish Out Thoughts on New Major Acting Roles Ji Chang Wook describes Lee Eul, his character, as someone who views the world innocently. "If you look at the world with an innocent perspective, it's easy to get hurt for no reason," he elaborated. "I hope Lee Eul lives without getting hurt all of a sudden like that." Choi Sung Eun added that Lee Eul is someone whom Yoon Ah Yi, her character, is grateful for. Lee Eul made Yoon Ah Yi realize many things that she tried to push away in her life. In particular, Lee Eul helped her start dreaming for things once again. "I hope this child [Yoon Ah Yi] lives without giving up on her dreams, even when life throws hurdles and hardships her way," Choi Sung Eun concluded. Furthermore, Ji Chang Wook and Choi Sung Eun's "The Sound of Magic" is scheduled to air on May 6 on Netflix! ICYMI, watch the magical teaser of the drama here: KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. FILE - Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, with Princess of Asturias Leonor, back left, and Sofia, at the end of Princess of Asturias Awards, in Oviedo, northern Spain, Friday Oct. 18, 2019. The Spanish government is set to pass a decree Tuesday aimed at boosting transparency in a monarchy still reeling from scandals involving King Felipe VI's father, Juan Carlos. The move comes a day after Felipe made public his personal assets of 2.6 million euros ($2.8 million) for the first time ever. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, File) We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Recent world events including Brexit, Covid-19 and the conflict in Ukraine have all influenced the various sectors within the agricultural industry, and will likely continue to do so, as the world tries to cope with the rising cost of raw materials and key inputs such as fertiliser and feed. As we approach silage season, CEO of the Farm Tractor Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) Michael Farrelly and Agriland journalist Richard Halleron, come together in the latest episode of Farmland, to discuss how all of this has affected the machinery world. They present a positive outlook in the short-term, but also warn of potential price hikes in the longer term as energy and fuel costs continue to soar. Later in the episode, Agriland editor Stella Meehan is joined by Alice Doyle, chair of the Irish Farmers Association Farm Family and Social Affairs Committee. Doyle speaks frankly about how farm families are being affected in numerous ways by the ongoing inputs crisis from the farmyard to the kitchen table. Doyle warns of difficulties around school fees, grocery and household bills and emphasises how this stress can impact farmers wellbeing. Farmland will broadcast at 7pm tonight (April 26), and may be watched fortnightly on Tuesday evenings at the same time. All episodes can be streamed via the award-winning digital platform, agriland.ie and links will also be available across Agriland social media platforms. Farmland Extra the podcast is also available on all major podcast platforms. Taiwan records 5,108 new local COVID-19 cases, home quarantine shortened Xinhua) 11:26, April 26, 2022 TAIPEI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan recorded 5,221 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 5,108 locally transmitted cases and 113 imported ones, the island's disease monitoring agency said on Monday. The agency announced that from Tuesday on, the duration of home quarantine for close contacts will be shortened from 10 days to 3 days. Currently there are about 87,000 residents in Taiwan practicing home isolation. The agency also said that the travel records of the confirmed cases would no longer be published. To date, Taiwan has reported 61,686 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 51,170 were local infections, according to the agency. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) John Sumwalt is a retired pastor and the son of dairy farmers. He's the author of Vision Stories and How to Preach the Miracles. Email johnsumwalt@gmail.com or call 414-339-0676 to reach him. Vice President Kamala Harris, seen here in Selma, Alabama on March 6, has tested positive for Covid-19. By Lee Min-hyung Hana Bank became the first Korean commercial bank to establish a branch in Taiwan, opening an office in Taipei on Monday aiming to tap into the country's investment banking market, the lender said. Hana Bank is now the only lender here with a financial network in Korea's 10 major trading partners including China, the United States and Vietnam. In June last year, Hana Bank received a license from Taiwan's financial authority to operate a sales office there. The license allows the lender to operate local currency-based corporate financing and retail banking businesses there. The lender's Taipei office will serve as a key financial base for Hana to widen its corporate financing business in Asia. The office will also help Korean companies operating businesses there to receive the bank's diverse corporate-level financial services with more ease, according to the lender. Hana aims to increase its foothold in Taiwan's public infrastructure market such as aviation, railroad and energy by offering a diverse set of corporate financing services for potential clients there. This is also in line with Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo's global vision of turning the lender into Asia's largest financial group. "The opening of the Taipei office is meaningful, as the prolonged COVID-19 shock has caused difficulties in doing business here and abroad," Lee Jong-seung, vice president of global business at Hana Bank, said. "We are going to provide an advanced level of financial services to local citizens as well as Korean companies there." Hana Bank is one of the most globally-active commercial banks here with sales offices in 25 countries. The lender is also preparing to apply for a license to operate an offshore banking business there to increase its presence in international finance. By Lionel Laurent In 2017, France bucked the populist trend by voting for Emmanuel Macron against europhobic Marine Le Pen. In 2022, it has done so again just as Slovenia looks set to eject its nationalist leader. An overwhelming display of pro-EU values? Not quite. Macron's lead is narrower than last time around 58 percent, rather than 66 percent and turnout was at its lowest in decades. Voter fatigue runs high. Yet visions of an anti-elite "domino" effect after Brexit and Trump are increasingly fading in a post-Ukraine, post-COVID world. The French have voted for a France at the heart, not the fringes, of Europe albeit one that has to better protect its people. There is opportunity here for Macron. France has strategic weight as the EU's only nuclear power, with an economy that's outperforming Germany's and that is less dependent on Russian gas in a time of war and surging energy prices. But it needs better direction. The banker-turned-president knows he has to change his governing style at home. His liberal reform agenda is no longer in tune with French support for an enlarged post-COVID state, and will require cooperation with rival parties and trade unions, and burnished green and left-wing credentials. Even if voters ultimately rejected Le Pen's call for a shredding of European cooperation and a rapprochement with Russia, her economically left-wing campaign earned her a better score than in 2017. An estimated 17 percent of far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon's first-round voters backed her in the runoff, according to Ipsos. Macron's recent talking points and victory speech reflect a willingness to build a bigger political tent. Provided he navigates the next few months with the right government in tow, he should be able to cobble together a (likely reduced) majority after parliamentary elections in June. Saxo Bank's Christopher Dembik reckons there's a less-than 25 percent chance he'll fail to do so. While no guarantee against protests or strikes, securing a majority or coalition would lessen the chance of legislative gridlock at a time when France is juggling a debt-to-GDP load of 113 percent and is under pressure to improve pay and performance in sectors like health and education. On the European stage, Macron will also have to strike a new balance of humility and outreach. Unity on sanctions against Russia is fraying, more EU members are set to join NATO (which he once called "brain-dead") and the political center of gravity is shifting eastward, where Paris has in the past failed to build diplomatic capital. The climate transition, regulating tech platforms and closing corporate-tax loopholes are other items on the agenda. Here too, there's an opportunity. France's geopolitical weight is vital to bolstering a pro-Ukraine stance when it comes to supporting Kyiv financially and militarily, as well as cutting European reliance on Russian oil and gas. Paris's ability to prod Berlin on these issues will be vital, given that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the first foreign leader to call Macron after re-election is under pressure from his coalition to take a clearer line on Vladimir Putin. Unpicking the region's energy ties while simultaneously ramping up its defense capabilities will bring costs. A reelected Macron should use his political momentum to recapture the spirit of the EU's $1 trillion pandemic recovery plan and push for more spending and solidarity via joint borrowing, as previously proposed in partnership with Italy's Mario Draghi. French far-right and far-left parties aren't going anywhere, meanwhile. They will likely command a bigger political presence as two of three big voting blocs (alongside Macron's centrists) emerging from the rubble of 20th-century Left-Right divides. With Macron unable to serve a third term, the risk of another polarizing standoff in 2027 remains. Still, Le Pen faces serious pressures of her own, according to Catherine Fieschi, director of Counterpoint. Le Pen bet the farm on a normalization strategy that excised the toxic policy of Frexit and airbrushed her party's fascist past in favor of cat videos and budget giveaways. Her score just above 40 percent suggests that, failing a surprise outperformance in June, she has peaked as a presidential contender. Macron has made history as the first French president to win reelection since 2002. Despite evidence of deep cracks in society, and a reluctance to embrace the president's pitch for a liberal "revolution," that still means something. If he fails to deliver on his promise of more protection at home and more projection abroad, it will be a huge missed opportunity. Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the European Union and France. He worked previously at Reuters and Forbes. This article was distributed by Tribune Content Agency. Outgoing President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday the government of incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol should work with the United States to restart talks with North Korea, voicing concern over Pyongyang's continued testing of weapons, including an intercontinental ballistic missile. Moon, who is set to leave office on May 9, made the remarks during a JTBC TV interview broadcast after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatened to bolster the country's nuclear arsenal while showcasing a "giant" intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade held Monday. President Moon Jae-in By Carl Bildt STOCKHOLM While the likely outcome of Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine remains unclear, Russia's aggression has already changed the European security order in important ways. The only modern European historical comparison is Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939. Both cases involved large-scale unprovoked attacks on a neighboring country with the aim of eliminating it. Hitler refused to accept the existence of an independent Poland; Putin refuses to accept the reality of an independent Ukraine. Putin's invasion came as a profound shock to European governments. Most European leaders had played down U.S. warnings about an imminent attack, reasoning that although Putin can be unpredictable, he was unlikely to do anything so irrational. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell had received fairly rough treatment on his first visit to Moscow in early 2021; but most European governments still believed that diplomacy could produce a more stable relationship. That illusion was shattered on Feb. 24, which has become Europe's 9/11: a global and geopolitical wake-up call with two main consequences. First, military spending will increase across Europe. After years of foot-dragging, almost all European NATO members have suddenly aligned with the goal of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense. Europe's largest economy, Germany, will add the equivalent of 0.5 percent of GDP to its defense spending in just one year. Second, NATO will be strengthened in several ways. In addition to increasing its military presence in member states adjacent to Russia, the alliance is poised to add Finland and Sweden to its ranks. Both have developed their relations with NATO since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and incursions into eastern Ukraine, but now they will take the critical step of applying for formal membership. Feb. 24 created an entirely new security situation for Finland and Sweden, because it demonstrated overnight that Russia is in the hands of a regime that will use military force to impose its imperial designs on Europe. Since Finland fought a war with the Soviet Union in 1939-40 and had been a part of the Russian Empire for a century before 1917, the invasion of Ukraine immediately convinced its leaders to seek NATO membership. Finland's own fragile arrangement with the Soviet Union, and later with Russia, was one of the main reasons why Sweden, too, stayed out of NATO. Following the accession of Norway and Denmark to the alliance in the late 1940s, Sweden pursued a Cold War policy of neutrality supported by strong defense forces. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Finland and Sweden joined the European Union in 1995 and gradually deepened their defense cooperation with NATO, and thus with the United States. Full NATO membership was regarded as a potential option for some later date. But although Finnish and Swedish public opinion had become slightly more receptive to the idea, majorities were still skeptical or opposed. But Feb. 24 tipped the balance. While there are still domestic political processes to work through, it is now virtually certain that both countries will submit applications for membership well before the NATO summit in Madrid in late June. Public opinion has changed dramatically in recent weeks. In Sweden, all major political parties, except for the former Communist party and the dwindling Green Party, now favor membership; in Finland, all political parties from the right to the left have signaled their support. We are witnessing a political sea change, all owing to Putin's imperial delirium. Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO will alter the European security architecture in two important ways. First, northern Europe will acquire the capacity to coordinate substantial defense forces regionwide. Sweden and Finland will furnish NATO with important new capabilities, as already demonstrated by the regular air force training exercises that they hold with Norway. Moreover, NATO will have a greater capacity to control the Baltic Sea, and thus to support the defense of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Second, Swedish and Finnish membership will reinforce the European pillar within NATO. Both countries are proponents of developing the EU's defense and security dimension, and of strengthening transatlantic ties, including the important security relationship with the United Kingdom. While NATO will remain the primary guarantor of territorial defense, the EU with its broader policy arsenal will become an increasingly important security alliance, and coordination between the two will deepen. An important development to watch will be Denmark's June 1 referendum to lift restrictions on the country's participation in EU security and defense policies. These constraints are remnants of controversies from the early 1990s, and Denmark along with Sweden has already committed to increasing its defense expenditure to 2 percent of GDP. Taken together, these steps will substantially strengthen the entire Nordic-Baltic region's defense potential. A stronger defense will remain crucial as long as the Kremlin remains on its current course. But northern Europeans also must take care not to provoke Russia, which has important resources and economic hubs close to Sweden and Finland. St. Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and a major industrial zone; and the Kola Peninsula is the site of Russian submarine bases and other facilities, as well as the world's single-largest concentration of nuclear weapons. Russian leaders describe their imperial project as a "life or death struggle." Taking that characterization seriously, Finland and Sweden no longer view NATO membership as a strategic choice. Since Feb. 24, it has become an existential imperative. Carl Bildt is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden. This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). Korea should shift to non-memory semiconductors Since the U.S.-China trade conflict began to escalate, Korea has been suffering from the largest setback in the shipment of semiconductors among major exporters, according to a report released by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). More specifically, since the United States regulated the supply of semiconductors to China in 2018, the U.S. market shares of Taiwan and Japan have increased by 4.4 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points as of 2021. However, that of Korea decreased by 5.5 percentage points during the period. China's semiconductor imports grew 37.2 percent last year compared to 2018, a year before Washington began to regulate the supply to Beijing. China's imports of computer chips from Taiwan and Japan jumped 57.4 percent and 34.8 percent. In contrast, imports from Korea rose only 6.5 percent. China's imports of Korean memory chips plunged 13.7 percent last year from 2018, resulting from Huawei's suspension of purchasing Korean memory chips due to the U.S. regulation and their consequent price drops. Against this backdrop, industry experts point out that the government should actively support semiconductor companies as international competition intensifies to maintain a "super-gap" with foreign competitors. According to another FKI survey on the proportion of government subsidies among the revenues of 21 global semiconductor makers from 2014 to 2018, Chinese companies took the top three posts SMIC (6.6 percent), Hua Hong (5 percent), and Tsinghua Unigroup (4 percent). On the other hand, the corresponding shares were negligible in Korean companies, as shown by Samsung Electronics (0.8 percent) and SK hynix (0.5 percent). The incoming government plans to promote the non-memory semiconductor industry as a way of supporting the domestic industry to widen gaps with latecomers. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration is expected to make Korea emerge as the world's powerhouse by creating a non-memory semiconductor ecosystem through extensive investments into chip foundries and fabless chip companies. However, experts point out that Korea will have a tough time becoming a global power in the non-memory semiconductor sector using the existing method, calling for a breakthrough. We hope the next government will accomplish this "mission impossible" by helping to create the world's No. 1 non-memory semiconductor ecosystem. Finland and Sweden will together express their wish to join NATO in May, tabloid newspapers Iltalehti in Finland and Expressen in Sweden reported on Monday, citing sources close to the matter. Despite tightening cooperation with the military alliance since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the Nordic countries had both opted to stay out. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a "special operation", has forced Sweden and Finland to examine whether their longstanding military neutrality is still the best means of ensuring national security. According to Iltalehti, the leaders of Finland and Sweden plan to meet in the week of May 16 and after that publicly announce their plans to apply to join the alliance. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto declined to comment, but repeated his longstanding view that he would prefer Finland and Sweden made similar choices. Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported separately, citing sources close to Swedish government offices, that the United States and Britain had promised Sweden increased military presence, more in-depth military exercises and 'strong political' support from NATO countries" during a possible NATO application process. The Swedish foreign ministry declined to comment on Expressen's and Aftonbladet's reports. Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said two weeks ago, while visiting her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson, that she expected Finland to make its decision whether to apply for NATO membership within weeks. Stockholm is conducting a review of security policy, which includes a view on possible NATO membership, with the results due by mid-May. Separately, Sweden's ruling Social Democrats are also reviewing their long-held objection to NATO membership. That is expected at the latest by May 24. (Reuters) Big Hit Music responds to reports of BTS member Jimin's apartment being seized. Keep on reading to know more. BTS Jimin's Apartment Seized Over Failure to Pay Health Insurance Premiums Recently on April 24, an exclusive report by Korean media outlet BizKorea revealed that the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) had seized BTS member Jimin's apartment located at the Nine One Hannam in Seoul back on January 25. According to the report, the seizure was caused by the idol not paying his health insurance premiums. Jimin had first purchased the luxurious apartment for 5.9 billion won (around $4.7 million USD) back in May of last year. In addition, the report stated that Jimin had received four notices in separate ocassions regarding the seizure by registered mail during the time that his apartment was temporarily seized by the National Health Insurance Service. The seizure over the BTS member's apartment was eventually lifted recently on April 22, nearly three months after the seizure was registered on January 25. He paid all of his overdue health insurance premiums. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Jimin Trends After Making Changes on BTS' Twitter, His Personal Instagram Big Hit Music Responds to Reports of BTS Jimin's Apartment Seizure Following the reports, Jimin's label Big Hit Music released a statement explaining the situation, which they reveal was caused due to an error made by the company. According to Big Hit Music, the label is the first to receive all the mail that arrives at their artists' dorms, and a portion of the mail was left out by mistake in the process of giving it to Jimin. Hence, due to Jimin's schedules abroad and his extended period of rest, Jimin was unaware of the situation, but immediately paid the insurance in full after finding out. Read Big Hit Music's full statement here: "In regards to the matter, the company is the first receive all of the mail that arrives at the artists' dorms, and in the process of relaying the mails to the artist, a portion of it was omitted by mistake. Due to Jimin's activites overseas beginning at the end of last year, his extended period of rest, and subsequently his scheduled activities overseas after that, he was unaware of matters such as [his premiums] being overdue. As soon as Jimin found out, he paid the arrears in full, and the situation has been resolved at present. Due to the company's negligence, we apologize for the fact that we have given the artist and fans a cause for concern." Meanwhile, BTS recently concluded their successful four-night "Permission to Dance On Stage" concert in Las Vegas. More recently, Jimin released his first-ever official soundtrack, "With You," alongside long-time close friend Ha Sung Woon for the tvN drama "Our Blues" on April 24. For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Robyn Joan Social media auditor SPEAKRJ has revealed the approximate cost for the BTS members on Instagram. Keep on reading to know who earns the most. How Much Do BTS Members Earn on Instagram? SPEAKRJ Reveals Estimate On April 23, SPEAKRJ revealed the number of likes, engagement, and the estimation of BTS members' earning value per sponsored post on their respective Instagram profiles. SPEAKRJ is a social media auditor that analyzes, optimizes, and monitors the growth of people's social media accounts, including Instagram. ALSO READ: BTS V Earns New Title Over This Instagram Post That Garnered 19M Likes Only the results for Jungkook, Suga, Jin, V, Jimin, and J-Hope were revealed. The income, likes, and engagement of RM (@rkive) were difficult to determine as he hid the number of likes on his Instagram account. Among the six BTS members, V (@thv) has the highest estimated cost on Instagram. SPEAKRJ unveiled that he could earn from $64,000 to $773,000 because he has 32% engagement and gains 12.9 million likes on average per post. V's highest pay, which is $773,000, is not only the biggest amount among BTS members, but also among Korean celebrities and among popular stars around the world. This figure was enough for BTS V, also known as Kim Taehyung, to surpass international celebrities, such as Zendaya ($528,000), Kylie Jenner ($514,000), Cristiano Ronaldo ($451,000), Kendal Jenner ($362,000), Leo Messi ($308,000), and Selena Gomez ($226,000), and more. The BTS member with the second-highest estimated cost is Jimin (@j.m), who has 38% engagement and 12.8 million average likes. He gains $63,000 to $761,000. Next is Jungkook (@jungkook.97), who has 32% engagement on Instagram and 12 million average likes. His income starts at $60,000 and can go high up to $725,000. After Jungkook is Suga (@agustd), who earns from $54,000 to $644,000 on Instagram thanks to his 33% engagement and 10.7 million likes on average. The fifth-highest earner on Instagram among BTS members is Jin (@jin). With 32% engagement and 10.6 million average likes, his earnings could go from $53,000 to $638,000. Finally, J-Hope (@uarmyhope) has 23% engagement on Instagram and 7.8 million likes on average. He earns from $38,000 to $462,000 per sponsored post. Considering how popular the BTS members are all over the world, it's no surprise that they earn this much just through their respective Instagram accounts. BTS Earns Two New RIAJ Certifications in Streaming Category In other news, BTS has received two more streaming certifications from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). On April 25, the RIA revealed the batch of certifications (dated March 2022), and BTS was one of the K-pop artists with new certification for streaming, along with BLACKPINK and Kep1er. According to the list, two BTS songs have both been certified gold in Japan, particularly "MIC DROP" and "DOPE." A gold certification is given to a song that has surpassed 50 million streams in the country. BLACKPINK also earned two gold streaming certifications for "As If It's Your Last" (Korean version) and "Ice Cream." Meanwhile, Kep1er attained their first-ever RIAJ gold certification with their debut song "WA DA DA." Congratulations to BTS, BLACKPINK and Kep1er! For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article Written by Maria Scott Artist, author and art instructor David Becker will give a live painting demonstration at the Geneva Lake Arts Foundations Gallery 223 on Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. The gallery is located at 223 Broad St., in Downtown Lake Geneva. Beckers demo is free and open to the public. The award-winning Becker works in many mediums, including watercolors, oils, and acrylics, but he is mostly recognized for his watercolor scenes of Chicago. His work can be found hanging in homes and businesses throughout Chicago. He is the author of Watercolor Composition Made Easy and How to Sketch with Watercolor. The Geneva Lake Arts Foundations mission is to encourage individual artistic growth and excellence, as well as increase community exposure to the visual arts. Basic artist membership is $50 yearly and includes opportunities to show work in the gallery, have a presence on the website and network with other artists. Gallery 223 is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For more information about the foundation and gallery, or to apply for membership, visit www.genevalakeartsfoundation.org. This spring has felt more like winter, which may be appropriate considering that the Lake Geneva Business Improvement District is already discussing possible changes to this years Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Traditionally, Business Improvement District representatives select a tree from an area residents property to be cut down, transported to Flat Iron Park to be lit up to serve as the communitys Christmas tree for the holiday season. Officials from the Business Improvement District are planning on changing course this year and lighting up trees near the Andy Gump statue in Flat Iron Park to serve as Lake Genevas Christmas trees. Members of the Business Improvement District Board discussed the tree lighting change and other proposed holiday decorations during their April 14 meeting. The trees by the Andy Gump statue, thats going to be our Christmas tree rather than cutting trees down, Dimitri Anagnos, Business Improvement District board member, said. The communitys holiday tree is typically installed in the Brunk Pavilion at Flat Iron Park, but members of the Business Improvement District board are considering having a sleigh or a selfie station installed in the pavilion instead. Kristina Tarantino, event director for the Business Improvement District, said they could have reindeer stationed at the sleigh during the tree-lighting ceremony or holiday-related events. So we will have that, Tarantino said. We book them for two days. They wont be there the whole time. Kevin Hermann, co-owner of Treasure Hut Flowers in Delavan, said his company could build a sleigh for the holiday events. You can have metal rungs and make a really nice-looking sleigh thats outdoors, Hermann said. It can be oversized, so you can put lights on it. The Business Improvement District Board members also are considering lighting up the other trees and installing a lighted sign in Flat Iron Park for the holiday season. District officials had a lighted joy sign installed in the park during last years holiday season, but it had to be moved from its initial location, because they did not obtain the proper city permits before the sign was installed. The proposed light for this years holiday season could be a sign welcoming people to Lake Geneva. Hermann said the welcome sign could be between 25 feet to 30 feet long. It would say, Lake Geneva, but it would be huge, Hermann said. It would be cars-length huge. Theres a lot of different options. The Business Improvement District also plans to install lights on the street posts during the holiday season. Members of the Business Improvement District Board approved spend about $34,720 to have the lights installed on the posts. The poles will be wrapped with lights with no garland, Anagnos said. The board members will vote on the cost for lighting the trees in Flat Iron Park and other possible decorations during an upcoming meeting. 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. BURLINGTON A now-former staff member at Dyer Elementary School has been arrested and may soon face criminal charges for alleged inappropriate contact with students. The Burlington Area School District did not initially identify the staff member, but Tuesday afternoon Sheriff Christopher Schmaling identified him as Daniel D. Powers, a teacher's aide who had worked for BASD "for approximately 15 years." According to an alert from the Racine County Sheriff's Office, Powers was placed on administrative leave on April 13 and "terminated" from his post on April 19. Officials at the Burlington Area School District wrote in a letter sent to parents last week vaguely describing the allegations, stating that the then-unidentified Dyer staff member had been "invading the personal space of a student," including hugging, rubbing a students back, touching hair and pushing on a swing. The age and sex of the student or students involved was not disclosed. The letter signed by School Superintendent Steve Plank and Dyer Principal Scott Schimmel said the situation was reported by a student one week earlier. An investigation found that the staff employee's behavior was "not appropriate for an elementary school setting," officials said. "We take great pride in offering an environment that supports learning and is safe for everyone," the letter stated. "Our school is a small, compassionate community with committed staff and students who care about each other." Dyer Elementary, located at 201 S. Kendrick Ave., serves students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade. Officials urged all families to talk with their children about protecting their personal space and preventing unwanted touching by adults they may not know well. Powers was arrested Monday, according to the RCSO, and is being held at Racine County Jail. The Sheriff's Office has recommended charges including three counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and three counts of misconduct in office, all felonies. The Sheriff's Office reported that its investigation began Monday, April 18, when contacted by a parent. "The parent reported multiple instances of inappropriate conduct by a Teachers Aide included (sic) physical contact with students during the 2021-2022 school year," Tuesday's alert said. To contact RCSO Investigator Andrew Willis, who is leading the investigation, call 262-636-3323 or email andrew.willis@racinecounty.com. In a statement, Schmaling said There is nothing more precious than the innocence of a child, and I pledge that I will bring the full force of the Sheriffs Office to investigate every and all allegations of inappropriate conduct with children so that the perpetrator, if guilty, can be brought to justice and duly held accountable. 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 proposal for year-round paid parking in the City of Lake Geneva has officially been given a red light. City officials had proposed to implement year-round paid parking to help provide additional revenue for Lake Geneva. The citys paid parking period runs from Feb. 1 through mid-November, then free parking is offered from mid-November to the end of January of the following year. The cost to park in Downtown Lake Geneva is $2 an hour. Members of the Lake Geneva City Council unanimously approved, April 25, to maintain the citys current paid parking period and to not implement year-round paid parking. The city councils finance, licensing & regulation committee approved to not implement year-round paid parking, April 6. Alderwoman Shari Straube, who previously owned a Downtown business, said she is pleased that the city will maintain its free parking period, because it helps attract people to the Downtown area during the winter months. Having spent over 20 years working in Downtown retail businesses, it really does help the Downtown businesses, Straube said. People come to town because they know theres free parking. The customers appreciate it, and I know a lot of the Downtown businesses are very, very happy about this. Straube said she had talked with Parking Operations Manager Seth Elder who said enforcing year-round paid parking would cost the city about $100,000, but he is not certain how much money the city would gain in revenue. Thats a definite because those numbers are easy to calculate, whereas how many people would actually come to town during the winter is not as easy to calculate, Straube said. So whether or not it would be a profit, we cant say. 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. Emergency crews responded to two fires that occurred in the Lake Geneva area this past weekend. Representatives from the Town of Lyons Fire Department responded to a house fire that occurred about 5:56 p.m., April 24 in the 1400 block of Park Street in the Town of Lyons. When firefighters arrived to the scene, they noticed smoke and flames coming from the rear of a mobile home, according to a press release that was posted on the departments Facebook page. The Lyons Fire Command requested mutual aid for other local fire departments to respond. The fire was eventually extinguished, according to the press release. The fire began in the homes mechanical room, but a cause was not determined as of April 26. The fire does not appear to be suspicious in nature, according to the press release. Another fire occurred about 8:02 p.m., April 23 in the 1000 block of North Street in the City of Lake Geneva. When firefighters from the Lake Geneva Fire Department arrived to the scene, they noticed smoke coming from the second floor and the eaves of the building. The fire was located in the second-floor walls and attic space, according to a press release. The fire department called for mutual aid to receive assistance from other area fire departments, with about 40 firefighters responding to the scene. Five residents were displaced because of the fire, because there were no reported injuries, the press release said. The building had significant damage from fire, smoke and water. Crews completed their work at midnight. The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of April 26. On duty shift personnel were in quarters at the time of the call, and the fire was only a couple of blocks away from the station, Captain Ryan Derrick, incident commander for the Lake Geneva Fire Department, said in the press release. This enabled us to make a quick response. The work of all fire personnel limited the damage to the building. This fire as a reminder to having working smoke detectors at all times, as well as an evacuation plan for every home. The ongoing review into Wisconsins 2020 election appears poised to continue beyond the end of its latest contract extension, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said following growing pressure among some Republicans, including Donald Trump, to keep the GOP-ordered probe alive. Vos, who had previously indicated plans to begin wrapping up Michael Gablemans review by the time his contract expires on Saturday, issued a statement Tuesday that Gablemans office will remain open as we guarantee the legal power of our legislative subpoenas and get through the other lawsuits that have gridlocked this investigation. We are grateful for Justice Gablemans offer to reduce his salary as we are all concerned about the judicious use of taxpayers dollars, said Vos, R-Rochester. Our intention is to remain within the original budget allocated for the investigation. Vos did not say what Gablemans reduced pay will entail or provide further details on the new agreement. The former justice has been receiving $11,000 a month for his work as part of the $676,000 taxpayer-funded review. Vos spokesperson Angela Joyce said the details of Gablemans new agreement are being finalized. Gableman has missed multiple deadlines to conclude the review since it launched last year, prompting a bipartisan call from some state lawmakers for him to wrap up the probe. Vos comments come one day after Assembly elections committee chair Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, issued a statement urging him to keep Gablemans review open. Gableman told former Trump adviser Steve Bannon earlier this month that Vos staff had notified him of plans to dismantle his Brookfield office by the end of April. If Speaker Vos shuts down the Office of Special Counsels investigation now, not only will he be condoning cheating, hell be legalizing it, Brandtjen said. A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Trump, who has continued to make unfounded claims of election fraud, also issued a statement Monday directed at RINOs, an acronym for Republican in Name Only. The statement does not directly name Vos. Anyone calling themselves a Republican in Wisconsin should support the continued investigation in Wisconsin without interference, Trump said. After all of the evidence the report brought to light, how could anyone want to stop it? I understand some RINOs have primary challengers in Wisconsin. Im sure their primary opponents would get a huge bump in the polls if these RINOs interfere. Media reports and the statement put out by Representative Brandtjen were incorrect, Vos said Tuesday. The offices for Gableman and Brandtjen did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Focus pivots Vos hired Gableman last year to lead the review at a cost of $676,000 in taxpayer funds, but said earlier this month he would like to see the effort come to a conclusion in the near future. As weve said before, the investigation will now turn its focus to resolving the lawsuits that have been brought against our efforts by liberal activists, Vos said on April 8. We hope to have Justice Gableman help us do that so we can once again focus on reforming the election process. After extending Gablemans contract through the end of April, Vos later said he was 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. The latest contract maintains Gablemans existing budget, but does allow for the possibility of added funds to cover the costs of legal battles related to the probe. Gableman has pushed back against withdrawing his subpoenas, which he wants to see pursued in court. He has issued subpoenas to local and state election officials, the mayors of the states five largest cities and two companies that make vote-counting systems, Election Systems & Software and Dominion Voting Systems. Many of the subpoenaed parties have rejected Gablemans requests for in-person meetings or documents, while the former state Supreme Court justice has also withdrawn some requests, including one filed with immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera Action. Legal challenges Gablemans subpoenas have been met with a slew of legal challenges, with Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filing a lawsuit in October challenging Gablemans authority to demand in-person interviews. Kaul has argued demanding private interviews outside a public setting is illegal. A Waukesha County Circuit Judge has scheduled a July 11 hearing to decide if Gableman has the authority to demand that the mayors of the states five largest cities and other officials be jailed for not cooperating with his subpoenas. In addition to his subpoenas, Gableman and Vos have become the target of three open records lawsuits filed by liberal watchdog group American Oversight seeking records related to the election review. In one case, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington ordered Gableman last week 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. The order was issued after an attorney representing Gableman indicated in court filings that the office routinely deletes documents, including emails and text messages, that are deemed irrelevant or useless to the investigation. 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. Remington on Tuesday scheduled a hearing for June 10 to determine if Gablemans team should be held in contempt of court for the deletion of any requested records. In a separate case, Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn in March held Vos in contempt of court for failing to provide requested public documents related to the probe. A hearing in that case has been scheduled for next month. The Town of Delavan Police Department issued a press release on their Facebook page that Anthony R. Teifke, 30, who was convicted of first degree sexual assault of a child and possession of child pornography, has been released from custody. The victim was a minor known to him. Law enforcement agencies are authorized to inform the public of a sex offenders release to enhance public safety, awareness and protection. Teifke resides at 6436 Mound Road in Delavan. He is a lifetime registrant of the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry and is not allowed to leave his residence unsupervised. It is also a requirement of him to participate in global positioning satellite tracking and will be subject to many unannounced home visits by the Department of Corrections. New Delhi, April 26: The price band for the much-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO) of India's largest insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has been set at Rs 902-Rs 949 per share. A discount of Rs 45 has been set for retail and employees, while the bid lot size has been fixed for 15 shares per lot, sources told ANI. According to the sources, LIC has decided to give a discount to policyholders of the company. "A discount of Rs 60 per share has been set for the policyholders of LIC." On April 23, 2022, the LIC board gave its nod to cut down the issue size to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent due to the market condition. A proposal to reduce the size of LIC's IPO to 3.5 per cent from 5 per cent proposed in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) was tabled and approved at a board meeting held on Saturday. A total of 22.13 crore shares will be offered in this IPO. Out of the total shares, 10 per cent or 2.21 crore shares are reserved for the policyholders. LIC's IPO is to open on May 4 and close on May 9, sources told ANI. Last month, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved the initial public offering proposal of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Sensex Jumps 618 Points; Energy, Banking, Auto Stocks Surge. The company has filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It has time until May 12 to launch the IPO. If it is not done by May 12, the company would be required to file fresh papers with the market regulator. The government had initially wanted to list LIC in the last financial year that ended March 31 but had to delay the sale after the Russia-Ukraine war triggered a market rout. (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 26 (ANI): In response to the suspension of the President of AIIMS Nurses Union, Harish Kajila, the nursing staff of the hospital will go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday. The nurses union has demanded the immediate revocation of Kajla's suspension. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Dalit man beaten to death by upper-caste men over land dispute. In a letter addressed to the AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, the Union wrote, "In response to your unilateral decision to suspend Harish Kajila, president of AllMS Nurses Union, without even citing proper reasons, the union has called an emergency executive meeting took the decision to go on indefinite strike from 8 AM on April 26 demanding immediate revocation of suspension of Harish Kumar Kajla and stopping of all kinds of retaliative measures against union executives and Union members of main operation theatre (OT)." "The union has always been receptive and open to expressing our genuine concerns and version throughout this issue. But unfortunately, we were neither called, nor contacted via any communication which forced us to go on an indefinite strike to safeguard the basic rights of our members. We would like to remind you that the undemocratic AllMS administration will be solely responsible for the consequences if any," the letter read. Also Read | Europe Faces Non-Energy Challenges Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis, Says Experts. On April 23, AIIMS witnessed a dispute between the nursing officer Harish Kajila and the Resident Doctors Association. The nursing staff were protesting over the lack of manpower and late duty hours in the main operation theatre. However reacting over the incident, taking to social media today morning, the Association of Resident Doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi wrote, "Doctors and nurses have worked together in harmony, with mutual respect, to bring AIIMS to new heights. Without good nursing care, the holistic treatment of patients can't be imagined. Voice of RDA AIIMS is not against any person or union, but against this unjust behaviour." (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 26 (ANI): India recorded 2,483 new COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, recording a slight decline from the previous day's 2541 cases. The active caseload has also dipped from 16,522 to 15,636, while the positivity rate declined to 0.55 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare bulletin on Tuesday. Also Read | Jeff Bezos Tests Elon Musk's 'Free Speech' Commitment, Raises Question Over Chinese Influence. A total of 1,970 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,25,23,311. The recovery rate is 98.75 per cent. As a total of 4,49,197 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the cumulative tally has risen to 83.54 crore tests. Also Read | Weather Update: Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh To Remain Dry During Next 24 Hours, Says IMD. The country has reported 1,399 COVID- related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative death tally to 52,3622. According to the bulletin, 1347 deaths have been counted from Assam which includes COVID-19 patients who died due to other reasons. "Assam: The total cases, discharges and deaths provided by the State in its media bulletin have been considered along with the number of COVID-19 positive patients died due to other reasons to reflect the current active case figures," reads the bulletin. However, it added, that the state has reported zero deaths in the last 24 hours. As far as vaccination is concerned, 22,83,224 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered during this period. With this, the total number of vaccine jabs administered under the nationwide vaccination drive so far went up to 1,87,95,76,423. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said India has the potential to become the content subcontinent, backed by talent in the fields of technology and culture as it emerges as a "hard power" in the world. Participating in the Raisina Dialogue-2022 here, Thakur said India, with its rich culture and history, has a lot to showcase and emerge as the next AVGC production hub with a mix of hard power and soft power. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: 20-Year-Old Girl Abducted, Raped by Neighbour in Ujjain; Accused Absconding. "Any nation requires hard power to exist and stay relevant and to exist beyond boundaries a nation needs to have soft power," he said. Thakur said centuries ago, India displayed its hard power on the strength of its economy and military, which also helped it expand the soft power through dissemination of its culture, cuisine and architecture in countries such as China, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia. Also Read | India Post Warns Public Against Fraudulent Websites Claiming To Provide Prizes Through Certain Surveys, Quizzes. "In the last few decades India is emerging as a hard power and expanding soft power through cinema," he said. Thakur said the world took notice of India after the nuclear test in 1998 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said the Pokhran-II nuclear tests saw global powers impose sanctions, but within three years the way the world looked at India changed, and they acknowledge the country's hard power. "Our information technology enabled services (ITES) reached beyond borders There is an interplay of hard power and soft power. Nobody will look at your soft power if you do not have the hard power, Thakur said. He said Indian films started using technology in a big way and movies such as Bahubali enthralled audiences the world over, making people wonder whether heroes and location portrayed in such films were for real. Bela Bajaria, Head of Global TV, Netflix said her company was partnering with writers and filmmakers across India to make sure that stories come from all over the country. Thakur said the government was also encouraging film-making in India through the film facilitation office, while several state governments too were offering incentives to filmmakers. Director Shekhar Kapur said Indian content has the potential to emerge as a trillion dollar business. (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 26 (ANI): Following Prashant Kishor declining the Congress' offer to join the party, former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu met him on Tuesday and shared a picture with the caption "Old wine, Old gold and Old friends still the best". The picture was shared from Navjot Singh Sidhu's Twitter handle. Sidhu wrote, "Had a wonderful meeting with my old friend PK ... Old wine, Old gold and Old friends still the best !!!" Also Read | Infinix Smart 6 Smartphone To Be Launched in India on April 27; Expected Prices, Features & Specifications. After several rounds of meetings with Congress's top brass in the last few days, poll strategist Prashant Kishor has declined to join the Congress party. Prashant Kishor has held several meetings in the last 15 days with Congress's top leadership and gave a proposal to revamp the party ahead of the 2024 general election. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: 20-Year-Old Girl Abducted, Raped by Neighbour in Ujjain; Accused Absconding. Kishor had given a detailed presentation with a road map for the 2024 General elections. Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Kishor said, "I declined the generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of the Empowered Action Group (EAG) and take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms." Following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in October last year, Kishor had said that the people are looking forward to an opposition led by the Grand Old Party (the Congress), but the party first needs to fix its deep-rooted problems and remove its structural weaknesses. (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 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for setting new goals and global vision for the next 25 years while stating India will have global footprints in all spheres of life when India celebrates 100 years of Independence. "It is time to set new goals and take a new oath... After 25 years, India will celebrate 100 years of Independence... In this journey of 100 years, India's achievements should be global, and for that our vision should also be global," said PM Modi while addressing the inaugural ceremony of year-long joint celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the Sivagiri Pilgrimage and Golden Jubilee of Brahma Vidhyalaya. PM Modi also said that while many countries deviated from the path of spirituality to materialism, India should not make the same mistake. "When many countries and civilizations of the world deviated from their religions, they took the path of materialism in place of spirituality. But saints and spiritual leaders here always promoted good thoughts and practices in India," he said. Over 20,000 Crore Digital Transactions Taking Place Daily, Says PM Narendra Modi. PM Modi's comments for India to bag global achievements and stay in touch with India's spiritual and cultural powers came days after he laid the foundation of the World Health Organizations (WHO) Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar of Gujarat. PM Modi had then said that countries across the globe are putting emphasis on traditional herbal systems to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that Yoga has helped people to find a mental balance by eliminating stress all over the world. International Yoga Day is also scheduled to be celebrated on June 21. (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 26 (PTI) Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Tuesday said the "burning" issue of Russia's aggression against Ukraine was one of the key topics of his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Rau said Russia's "irresponsible actions" in Ukraine have trampled all the principles that underpin the world order and described as "very close" the assessment of the current situation by India and Poland. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: 20-Year-Old Girl Abducted, Raped by Neighbour in Ujjain; Accused Absconding. The Polish foreign minister began his visit to India on Monday. "The burning issue of Russia's aggression against Ukraine was one of the key topics touched upon during my conversation with Prime Minister Modi as well as during discussions with Minister S Jaishankar," he said at a media briefing. Also Read | India Post Warns Public Against Fraudulent Websites Claiming To Provide Prizes Through Certain Surveys, Quizzes. "While Poland and India may differ in how we have reacted to the war in Ukraine, we believe we still have built on common values, principles and interests, including the promotion of a credible rules-based global order and effective multilateralism that we share," Rau said. "In this context, I need to stress that Russia's irresponsible actions in Ukraine blatantly trample all the principles that underpin the world order from which Poland and India have benefited so much in the past few decades," the minister added. He said the crisis will trigger serious implications for global security, including energy and food security, "the consequences of which both our regions are yet to deal with". Rau said though Poland and India may differ on reacting to the war in Ukraine, both countries share the common values of promotion of a rules-based global order and effective multilateralism. "There is no doubt in my mind that our assessment of the situation is very close. Both India and Poland have strategic experience with foreign imperialism and it is very difficult not to see the present aggression against Ukraine as an attempt to restore the Rusian empire," he said. In his address at the Raisina Dialogue, the Polish foreign minister shared his critical assessment of Russia's "brutal invasion" of Ukraine. Rau described his meeting with Jaishankar as very fruitful. "I must tell you that I had a very fruitful conversation concerning the Russian aggression against Ukraine with your foreign minister and I am really impressed by the way we conducted the conversation," he said. The Polish minister said the meeting offered an excellent opportunity to discuss key issues of mutual interest. "We agreed with Jaishankar that our countries are ready to take mutual political and economic relations to an even higher level," he said. Rau said he believed that his meetings and discussions with key Indian officials will translate into a renewed momentum in the bilateral ties. "We will spare no efforts to constructively cooperate to solve regional and global problems," he added. Rau reaffirmed Poland's commitment to maintaining the robust dynamics of political relations with India as one of key Asian countries. The Polish foreign ministry said another equally important issue discussed with the Indian side was the broadly understood economic cooperation in the mining sector as well as the pharmaceutical and defence industries, and in promoting Polish exports. It said the culminating point of the ministerial talks was the signing of a bilateral agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. "My presence in New Delhi is evidence of Poland's active engagement in maintaining good Polish-Indian bilateral relations built on the willingness to promote freedom, democracy and international order based on the rule of law," said Rau during the first day of his visit to India. "This is particularly important in the light of current challenges to regional and global security across our eastern border," he said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Brussels [Belgium], April 26 (ANI/Sputnik): The European Union commends countries supporting sanctions imposed on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine and expects those seeking to become member states to also fully implement them, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said on Tuesday. "We commend those countries who have implemented EU sanctions against Russia. We further emphasize however that sanctions must continue to be implemented in full. This is what is expected from every country aspiring to become a member of the EU," Metsola said at the EU Meets the Balkans Forum in Sofia. Also Read | IMF Urges Sri Lanka To Tighten Monetary Policy To Overcome Ongoing Debt Crisis. On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after recognizing the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent republics". Western countries and their allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia. The European Union has vowed to reduce its dependency on Russian energy. On April 8, the bloc announced the fifth package of anti-Russian sanctions, which included a ban on imports of coal and other solid fossil fuels from the country starting from August 2022, a ban on the entry of Russian ships into EU ports and restrictions on Russian and Belarusian road transport companies. (ANI/Sputnik) Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Nuclear War Is Real and Should Not Be Underestimated, Says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. (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 26 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended a roundtable with business leaders and investors co-hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the Silicon Valley, and invited the leading investors to become a part of India's growth story. Senior executives, business leaders of private sectors, venture capitalists, the institutional investors, who represented combined assets under management of over USD 1 trillion, attended the meeting with Sitharaman. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Nuclear War Is Real and Should Not Be Underestimated, Says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In the meeting with the investors in the clean energy sector, the minister discussed topics pertaining to India's potential for producing sustainable energy, waste-to-energy, and energy alternatives. The minister told the investors that over the next few years, India is prepared to be the world's fastest-growing major economy. Also Read | First US Private Astronaut Mission To International Space Station Returns To Earth. President of USIBC, Atul Keshap moderated the meeting while the Chief Economic Advisor, V Ananth Nageswaran, India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, along with other senior officials attended the roundtable. "Where technology and capital converge! Excellent exchange of ideas at @USIBC @FollowCII #fintech roundtable w FM @nsitharaman in #SiliconValley. Friends frm industry deliberated on opportunities that #India's fast digital journey & reforms offer to VCs, funds & asset managers." Sandhu tweeted. After a roundtable with the members of the semiconductor industry, the Finance Minister visited Applied Materials', Maydan Technology Centre, located in the Silicon Valley, to observe research in the field of semiconductors. Earlier, the Finance Minister also met with World Bank President, David Malpass, in Washington on Friday, discussing important economic issues, India's continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (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 York [US], April 26 (ANI): India on Monday (local time) expressed concern regarding clashes at the holy places of Jerusalem and appealed to all parties to stop the provocation and incitement which could worsen the situation. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the Middle East, India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN R Ravindra said, "We're deeply concerned by the series of incidents at the holy places of Jerusalem during the ongoing holy month of Ramzan. The historic status quo of the holy places of Jerusalem must be respected and upheld." Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Nuclear War Is Real and Should Not Be Underestimated, Says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He further said that any act which violates the sanctity of holy places must be condemned. "All acts of obstruction, vandalism, decretion, which violate the sanctity of holy places, be it in Jerusalem, Nablus or elsewhere, must be unequivocally condemned. We recognize efforts made by Israel, Jordan, Palestinean authority and other countries to avert escalation," he stated. "It is unfortunate that despite these efforts the on-ground situation has once again deteriorated. We appeal to all parties to stop the provocations and incitement which could further worsen the situation. We extend our support to all steps aimed at restoring calm," he added. Also Read | First US Private Astronaut Mission To International Space Station Returns To Earth. The statement comes amid rising tensions over clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem. The clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Temple Mount on April 15, as spiking tensions, threats of terror and the observance of major holidays all converged around the flashpoint holy site. Notably, April 15 was the second Friday during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, the first night of Judaism's week-long Passover holiday, and Good Friday, when Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The clashes left over 100 people injured. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad [Pakistan], April 26 (ANI): Dismissing the news alleging that the former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's both sons were part of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's official delegation to Saudi Arabia, Hassan Nawaz Sharif, son of Nawaz Sharif said that the news about his trip is fake and run with malicious intentions. "The news run about my Saudi visit is completely fake and run with malicious intentions. I never had any plan to go to Saudi Arabia. I didn't apply for a visa and I am very much in London. I am in London with my father and I have no plans of visiting Saudi Arabia anytime soon," Hassan was quoted as saying by Geo TV. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Nuclear War Is Real and Should Not Be Underestimated, Says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. When the publication contacted Nawaz's other son, Hussain Nawaz then he also denied the news and said that he arrived in Saudi Arabia on March 25 at his own expense and alone. "I came to Jeddah at my own expense and am staying at my own house which is an hour away from Haram. Madinah Pak is only 3.5 hours away from my house. We have our own cars, I have no idea who added me to the list and for whatever purpose. I have never used state expense for anything. We have been living and working in Saudi Arabia for over two decades and it's a well-known fact," Hussain Nawaz was quoted as saying by Geo TV. Also Read | First US Private Astronaut Mission To International Space Station Returns To Earth. Pakistan PM Sharif's son-in-law Imran Ali, who lives in London, also reacted to the list of travellers going along with the PM to Saudi Arabia and said, "I am surprised that my name was added to the list. I am not part of any official delegation and I have no immediate travel plans for any place. Someone has published fake news about me." The delegation, according to sources, will include the following individuals, among others: PM Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Balochistan National Party (Mengal) (BNP-M) chief Akhtar Mengal, BAP (Balochistan Awami Party) leader Khalid Magsi and many others, reported Geo TV. The same list claimed that from London to Jeddah, Hussain Nawaz and his wife will be part of the delegation. A private TV channel claimed that Hassan Nawaz will also be travelling. Both of them have denied the news. Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the next few days. Dozens of officials and political leaders will accompany the Pakistan Prime Minister on his maiden visit to the Kingdom. Meanwhile, on Monday, the newly-elected Pakistan PM presided over a meeting here to review preparations for his official visit to Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, he said that Pakistan valued its long-standing brotherly ties with Saudi Arabia and it was looking forward to enhancing the same in future. According to The News International, he directed the relevant authorities to make effective recommendations for strengthening the Pak-Saudi Arabia bilateral ties. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ringgold (US), Apr 26 (AP) As he met with voters recently in a part of northwest Georgia where Donald Trump is still very popular, David Perdue invoked his belief in the lie that elections in 2020 and 2021 were stolen from the former president and himself. First of all, it was stolen, Perdue said. The facts are coming out. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Nuclear War Is Real and Should Not Be Underestimated, Says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. When the rally was over, Perdue visited the storefront office of a group that similarly espouses election falsehoods. Perdue posted a photo on his Facebook page of himself beaming as the group's cofounder talks under a banner proclaiming a legal vote requires the rule of law. The emphasis on false election claims is a reminder of how far Perdue has veered to the right ahead of next month's primary against incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. He's evolved from a business-minded conservative who won a U.S. Senate seat in 2014 by focusing on federal spending to a hard-liner who associates with conspiracy theorists. Also Read | First US Private Astronaut Mission To International Space Station Returns To Earth. That tracks with the broader shifts in the Republican Party under Trump. But some in the GOP warn that the fixation on past elections will do little to win a general election in Georgia, where moderate voters are crucial. I think David Perdue had a broad appeal in 2014, said Eric Tanenblatt, former chief of staff to ex-Georgia Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue and a former fundraiser for David Perdue who is backing Kemp in the primary. I think he was a lot more relatable because he was talking about issues that were a lot more appealing to the broader electorate. Perdue, who was personally courted by Trump to enter the race as retribution for Kemp not going along with election lies, has trailed in the governor's race. But as the May 24 primary nears, the former chief executive of Reebok and Dollar General insists he hasn't changed. Even in the Senate, I was an outsider, Perdue said in Ringgold. I was never part of the good ol' boys club up there, trust me. Still, Perdue's sharpest focus is on claims that Georgia's 2020 presidential election and 2021 Senate runoffs, in which Perdue lost to Democrat Jon Ossoff, were fraudulently won by Democrats. No credible evidence has emerged to support Perdue and Trump's claims of mass voter fraud. Federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general have said the election was fair, and the former president's allegations were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. During the speech, he touted his lawsuit that seeks to unseal physical ballots for examination in Atlanta's Fulton County, making allegations without evidence that poll workers took bribes and people were paid to gather and deliver ballots illegally. Who paid you to deliver those harvested ballots? Perdue asked, suggesting that was a question his lawsuit would settle. (AP) (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 26 (ANI): Owing to the difference in economic and geographic size between the two neighbours, it is easy to perceive the India-Bhutan relationship as being tilted in favour of one but the truth is that the relationship is a mutually beneficial relationship based on shared cultural values and genuine all-weather friendship. The India-Bhutan relationship is unique in more ways than one. Compared to other bilateral ties in India's neighbourhood, the relationship with Bhutan is relatively trouble-free and cordial. Also Read | Russia an Acute Threat; China a Competitor and Challenge, Says British Armed Forces Chief Admiral Tony Radakin. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were formally established in 1968 with the appointment of a resident representative of India in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu. The India House (Embassy of India in Bhutan) was inaugurated on May 14, 1968, and Resident Representatives were exchanged in 1971. Ambassadorial level relations began with the upgrading of residents to embassies in 1978. The basis for bilateral relations between India and Bhutan is formed by the Indo-Bhutan Treaty of 1949, which provides for, among others, "perpetual peace and friendship, free trade and commerce and equal justice to each other's citizens." Also Read | Pakistan Blast: 3 Chinese, 1 Other Killed After Explosion Inside Campus of University of Karachi. This relationship becomes even more important because four Indian states, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, and West Bengal - share a 699-kilometre-long boundary with Bhutan. India is important to Bhutan in multiple ways. India is Bhutan's largest trading partner - both as a source and a market for its goods. As a landlocked country, most of Bhutan's third-country exports also transit through Indian ports. Similarly, Bhutan is also important to India. Bhutan was one of the first nations to recognize the independence of India in 1947. India considers Nepal and Bhutan as important frontiers in its Himalayan foreign policy of mutual trust and cooperation. Democratic development started in Bhutan only in the 21st century. The kingdom held its first elections in 2007 and the following year it became a constitutional monarchy guided by Buddhism. The Constitution is based on values derived from Buddhist philosophy, and the International Convention of Human Rights and inspired by a comparative analysis of 20 other modern constitutions. Buddhism provides a strong foundational basis for the friendship between India and Bhutan. Both countries' belief in peace and democratic values solidifies this foundation. History was made once again in 2018 when LotayTshering became the Prime Minister of Bhutan. His party, which only began in 2013, swept 30 out of the 47 seats in Bhutan's Parliament. He was congratulated on his election victory by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also invited him to visit India. The state visit took place on December 27-29, 2018. PM Tshering was joined by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs Tandi Dorji and Loknath Sharma, Bhutan's Royal Government's Economic Affairs and Senior Officials. It was Lotay Tshering's first international trip since taking office in November. Moreover, it took place in the year of the golden anniversary of Indo-Bhutan diplomatic ties. It was in keeping with the diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan, where regular high-level interactions between the two countries have become a tradition. Thimphu was also the destination of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first foreign trip after winning his first election. This demonstrates that both countries see each other as excellent neighbours who want to keep their friendly relationship alive. Deepening collaboration with border states could help to improve bilateral relations even further. Assam, West Bengal, and other Northeastern states can gain much by investing in economic and social relations with Bhutan. Bhutan is also an important part of India's Neighbourhood First foreign policy. As part of the Act East policy, India also discussed the potential of using waterways for the progress of Bhutan and also India's Northeast region. The NW 2 (or the Brahmaputra river region) can be leveraged for this purpose. India is responsible for Bhutanese security. Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) is based in Bhutan to provide training to Bhutanese security forces. Regular India-Bhutan security and border management meetings have taken place, during which the two countries discuss a number of key issues, including threat perceptions, security and border management issues, sharing of real-time information, coordination of Indo-Bhutan border entry-exit points, and SSB escorts of Bhutanese people and vehicles. The talks act as a spark for furthering collaboration amid the two countries' long-standing amicable relations. Indian funding and investments have been critical in the growth of the hydropower sector in Bhutan, which generates electricity for India as well. The Indo-Bhutan relationship has never been a zero-sum game. The economic relationship is not one-way, since India is also reliant on Bhutan in certain areas. For example, most of West Bengal's businesses now rely on electricity imported from Bhutan. Bhutan also plays a key role in safeguarding India's Siliguri Corridor, a tiny swath of terrain that connects the Indian Northeast with the rest of the country. The advantages of Indo-Bhutan interactions are also evident in other sectors, such as education and culture. The Indian government awards roughly fifty scholarships to Bhutanese students each year to pursue higher education in India. A large number of Indian instructors contribute to Bhutanese education, with many of them being sent to educate in rural areas. In addition, Sherubtse College in eastern Bhutan has grown into a leading tertiary education institution in Bhutan, thanks to its connection with Delhi University. Under the bilateral cultural exchange programme, the interchange of cultural troupes and artists between Bhutan and India has also become a regular practice. A strong tradition of official visits at various levels has further facilitated ideas/views to be exchanged and areas of cooperation to be identified and enlarged between the two nations. Besides everyday people-to-people contact at the informal level, ministers, parliamentarians, civil servants as well as representatives of the business community all make regular official visits. The Indo-Bhutan connection is possibly the only bilateral relationship in South Asia that pays off handsomely for both parties. Bhutan has expressed gratitude to India for its economic aid, while India has shown sensitivity to Bhutan's developmental requirements. Bhutan has been able to build a distinctive growth trajectory based on gross national happiness thanks to the connection. Bilateral ties have matured into comprehensive cooperation over the last few years, spanning a wide variety of issues, like hydro-power, information technology, intelligence sharing, disaster risk management, education and culture. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Moscow [Russia], April 26 (ANI): Russia has expressed interest in cooperating with the United Nations, in providing assistance to civilians in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed on Tuesday. "Russia interested in cooperating with UN in assisting Ukrainian civilians," the Russian foreign minister said in the bilateral talks between Moscow and the United Nations. Also Read | Russia an Acute Threat; China a Competitor and Challenge, Says British Armed Forces Chief Admiral Tony Radakin. According to TASS, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had managed to send five humanitarian aid convoys to Ukraine along with the aid that was delivered there every day by the Russian Defense Ministry and Emergencies Ministry, as well as by various Russian public organizations, emphasised Lavrov, in his statement. "We are interested in cooperating with our colleagues at the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross in terms of additional efforts to alleviate the sufferings and plight of civilians in Ukraine," he added. Also Read | Pakistan Blast: 3 Chinese, 1 Other Killed After Explosion Inside Campus of University of Karachi. According to him, after the UN chief had contacted the Russian Defense Ministry, a working group was formed under the ministry in Moscow to discuss specific issues with UN officials and help organize the safe delivery of humanitarian aid. "Today, we discussed ways to boost our cooperation on this track. I think that following the Moscow talks, we will be able to outline such steps, which may be important in the current situation," the Russian top diplomat said. Notably, Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, which the West has termed an unwarranted war. As a result of this, the western countries have also imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Shanghai [China], April 26 (ANI): China's economic hub Shanghai on Monday reported 1,661 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 15,319 local asymptomatic carriers, Xinhua reported citing the municipal health commission as saying on Tuesday. Shanghai has been facing the worst COVID-19 outbreak and has been desperately seeking medical care and basic supplies like food. Also Read | Russia Hits Rail, Fuel Facilities in Attacks Deep in Ukraine. Shanghai authorities have imposed draconian lockdown measures since March that have locked 25 million residents in their homes. On April 3, the Chinese government announced the deployment of thousands of military personnel to Shanghai to assist in the mandatory testing of all 25 million residents for the virus that causes Covid-19. Also Read | Mumbai-Based Activist Jatin Desai Urges Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif To Release Indians Stuck in Pak Jails. On April 4, Shanghai authorities said the city would indefinitely remain under lockdown - meaning that residents are not allowed to leave their homes, as it reviews the results of the mass Covid testing. Meanwhile, horrifying videos have emerged showing Shanghai residents screaming from their windows over strict COVID lockdown measures that prevent them from leaving home even for food. In a clip posted online by a Twitter user that he said was taken by the father of his close friend who reported that "people (are) screaming outside of their windows after a week of total lockdown" because they "can't even step outside their apartments". Many screams can be heard from the windows of nearby apartment buildings in the footage, as per news.com.au. China's much-publicised 'zero-covid' strategy that the government credited for bringing the country out of the pandemic till recently is falling apart as the rapidly mounting cases are again forcing mass lockdowns like those seen in 2020. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Interview: Boao Forum builds up high expectations for revival of world economy, says Turkish scholar Xinhua) 13:17, April 26, 2022 ISTANBUL, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 creates high expectations for contributing to the revival of the world economy and multilateral trade mechanism, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, a Turkish scholar has said. Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals. Held annually in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan, the forum brings together world leaders, business leaders, scholars and think tanks representatives. This year's event opened on Wednesday and lasted three days. Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, said there were "vibrant discussions" at the forum on integration and globalization in Asia and other parts of the world, which have been impacted by the pandemic. The forum is specifically important as it came at a time when the world was hit by the pandemic and rising commodity prices, which put increased pressure on all countries, in addition to the problems in the supply chain, said Colakoglu, also an academic at the BNU-HKBU United International College in Zhuhai in China's southern province of Guangdong. "In that regard, Boao Forum may be one of the leading forums, bringing different sectors and organizations and world leaders to discuss current issues and build up joint future projections," the scholar told Xinhua in an online interview. Along with the BFA, Colakoglu also emphasized the growing role of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in contributing to the world economy and trade. The RCEP, the world's largest free trade deal to date, covers 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its five free trade agreement partners, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. "The RCEP and the Boao Forum focus on further integration for trade, networks, and economic networks in Asia and in the world. In this regard, the RCEP is not only important for Asia and Asian integration, but it will also have some solid outcomes for the global economy," he said. The RCEP countries account for roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product and population. Over 90 percent of trade in goods among approved member states will gradually be tariff-free. A successful implementation of the RCEP will promote further integration in the global economy starting from East Asia, Colakoglu said. The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind offers "a win-win solution for everyone because one-sided development is not good enough to create enough prosperity for humanity," he added. In this regard, China offers to create more areas for international cooperation with globalized economy through the RCEP and BFA, he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Kabul [Afghanistan], April 26 (ANI): Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Mette Knudsen, met members of Hazara and Shia communities and stressed the importance to ensure protection and human rights for all people in Afghanistan. Knudsen and members of the Hazara and Shia communities also discussed recent attacks in Afghnaistan. Also Read | Russia Hits Rail, Fuel Facilities in Attacks Deep in Ukraine. "UNAMA deputy head @Metknu met today with members of Hazara & Shia communities to discuss recent attacks & express condolences. She stressed importance to ensure protection & human rights for all Afghans & representative decision-making to reflect diverse voices in Afghanistan," UNAMA News tweeted. Recently, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had expressed concerns over the series of attacks that led to the deaths of over 50 boys and girls, calling it a "grave rights violation" in Afghanistan. Also Read | Mumbai-Based Activist Jatin Desai Urges Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif To Release Indians Stuck in Pak Jails. "In one week alone, more than 50 girls and boys have lost their lives in a series of heinous grave rights violations in Afghanistan," Paloma Escudero, UNICEF Director for Global Communication and Advocacy, was quoted by Tolo News as saying. The UN agency also highlighted the delay in reopening of schools for girl students in Afghanistan saying, "It's been one month since Afghanistan's de facto authorities barred teenage girls from returning to school. "The Taliban regime in Afghanistan had barred girls from attending school over grade six after issuing a decree last month. Meanwhile, the Taliban's Ministry of Education said that the schools for girls in grades 7-12 will be reopened in the near future. (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 26: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday formed a committee headed by a District Judge and supervised by former Puducherry Governor Kiran Bedi to monitor the situation in Adhyatmik Vidyalaya, a spiritual place in north Delhi's Rohini, where a number of girls are allegedly held captive in "animal-like" conditions. The Adhyatmik Vidyalaya is led by absconding self-styled godman Virendra Dev Dixit. Noting the vulnerability of women and children, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla said some vigilance is needed to keep a tab on such organisations. Constituting the five-member committee, the bench said it will have the District Judge concerned, District Magistrate, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Women Cell) having jurisdiction in the area, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, One nominee of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and District officer of Women and Child Department, who shall be the convenor and shall also act as the Nodal officer. The panel will be supervised by Kiran Bedi, it added. Delhi HC Issues Notice To Centre on PIL Against Criminal Procedure Identification Act 2022. Further hearing in the matter will be on May 27. Earlier on April 19, the bench had issued a show-cause notice to the institution while dealing with the matter. The incident came to light first in 2017 followed by a raid by a high-court appointed committee accompanied by Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal who was asked to be a part of the team during the inspection. The committee had told the court that the girls and women were kept in the ashram in "unhygienic and animal-like conditions with no privacy even for bathing" and rescued around 40 women from there. In 2018, the Delhi High Court had barred the ashram Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya from representing itself as "Vishwa Vidyalaya" and directed the CBI to follow all possible steps to trace the self-styled godman. On December 20, 2017, the Delhi High Court directed the CBI to investigate the alleged illegal confinement of girls and women in the ashram who had been kept in inhuman conditions behind metal doors in a "fortress" surrounded by barbed wire. The Central Bureau of Investigation had registered three cases against Dixit for allegedly keeping several women and minor girls hostage at his ashram. During the course of the hearing on Tuesday, the bench was in the view that the place should be taken care of by the Health Department of the Delhi government. Ahmedabad Shocker: Four Men Gang-Rape Differently-Abled Migrant Woman Several Times; Booked. "In broad daylight in a city like Delhi, you're going on with these scandals. This won't go on for another day. We are aghast to read this," the bench remarked. After a detailed hearing, the matter was posted for April 21 clubbed with the plea filed by NGO Foundation for Social Empowerment. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2022 03:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi, April 26: The National Green Tribunal has cancelled the permissions of two petrol pumps in Uttarakhand following a complaint alleging non-compliance of the rule of 50 meters minimum distance from residential areas as per the fresh guidelines for setting up of new petrol pumps. A principal bench headed by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel was dealing with the plea against petrol pumps violating the new guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board on January 7, 2020. Acting on the complaint, earlier on February 22, the tribunal had constituted a joint Committee of Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board and District Magistrate, Dehradun to undertake a site visit at the purported fuel stations in Pargana Parvadun and Ranjhawala of the district. The committee found that both the petrol pumps -- one functional and the other proposed pump are non-compliant with the Central Pollution Control Board Guidelines. Uttar Pradesh: NGT Imposes Fine of Rs 50 Crore Environmental Penalty To Amroha Based Metal Company. Location-wise observations found that residential houses located which is 25- 30 meters from the boundary of the petrol pumps. "Based on the observations of the Joint Committee, Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board has suggested the District Magistrate Dehradun vide letter dated April 18, to cancel the said permissions issued by the District Magistrate, Dehradun, as per rules," the NGT order dated April 22 said cancelling the permissions to the pumps. It said further action may be taken by the concerned statutory authorities in accordance with the law. As per the new guidelines, new retail outlets shall not be located within a radial distance of 50 meters from schools, hospitals, and residential areas designated as per local laws. NGT Directs Joint Panel To Prepare Remedial Action Plan Against Environmental Violations Near Taj Mahal. In case of constraint in providing 50 meters distance, the retail outlet shall implement additional safety measures as prescribed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO). In no case, the distance between the new retail outlet from schools, hospitals, and the residential areas designated as per laws shall be less than 30 meters. No high tension line shall pass over the retail outlet, the green court highlighted in the order. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2022 10:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The holy month of Ramadan is one of the most awaited times of the year. Muslims from all over the world celebrate this religious time by greeting each other Ramadan Mubarak and Ramadan Kareem, which literally means a happy and generous month to you. This year, Ramzan began on April 3 after the crescent moon of Ramadan was sighted on the evening of April 2. During this month of Ramadan, all adult Muslims keep fast as it is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith. This obligatory fasting is known as Roza. Muslims who keep Roza have to abstain from eating and drinking during the day. When Is Shab-e-Qadr 2022 in India? Know Date, Beliefs and Significance of Celebrating Night of Power and Blessings. Those who keep Roza can eat the first meal of the day, which is known as Sehri, before the sunrise and they can end their fast by eating the evening meal (also known as iftar) after the sunset. Sehri is generally observed in the morning before sunrise, around 10 minutes before the call for the Fajr prayer, while Iftar is observed two minutes after the sunset with a call for the Maghrib prayer. As the time of sunrise and sunset is different every day, the time of Sehri and iftar is also different. Due to this, it is important to keep a check on the Ramadan timings of each day. Sehri and Iftar Timings for Mumbai on April 27: Roza Date Sehri Iftar 25 27 April 2022 04:57 18:59 Sehri and Iftar Timings for Delhi on April 27: Roza Date Sehri Iftar 25 27 April 2022 04:19 18:55 Sehri and Iftar Timings for Lucknow on April 27: Roza Date Sehri Iftar 25 27 April 2022 04:08 18:38 The holy month of Ramzan will end with Eid-ul-Fitr. Have a happy and blessed Ramzan. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2022 07:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The Japan Internation Cooperation Agency (@jica_direct_en) will fund an International centre for the protection and conservation of the Olive Ridley turtles coming up in #Chennai, the #TamilNadu Forest Department said in a statement on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/3sdNnPxeO5 IANS (@ians_india) April 26, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) Melissa Lucio's death penalty, supposedly scheduled to be held on Wednesday, was canceled on Monday, prompting her case to be sent back to the trial court for a review of new evidence. According to The Guardian, the Texas Court of Criminal vested the order on Monday as Lucio, a Mexican-American woman, was slated to be transferred into the death chamber within 48 hours. She would have been the first Hispanic woman that would be executed by Texas. DEVELOPING: Melissa Lucio, a South Texas mother of 14 who was days away from her execution date, has been granted a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. @beccaghennes @innocence https://t.co/fafimrATxS pic.twitter.com/OTbpX15bCF Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) April 25, 2022 CNN reported that the move from the court came after lawyers for Lucio, as well as supporters and her family, argued that the Mexican-American woman was wrongfully convicted of capital murder in the death of her toddler, Mariah, in 2007. "I thank God for my life. I have always trusted in Him... I am grateful the Court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence. Mariah is in my heart today and always," Lucio said in a statement shared by her legal team. The new evidence presented by Lucio's legal team suggested that the murder of Mariah did not take place in 2007. Citing medical and eyewitness evidence, the new evidence claimed that Mariah died after she accidentally fell down a steep flight of stairs at Lucio's rental home, per The Guardian. Melissa Lucio's legal team noted that the Mexican-American woman would still be on death row despite the stay granted by the court. "There's still a long way to go in Melissa's case, and there's much more that stands in the way of Melissa and an exoneration," Innocence Project Special Litigation Director Vanessa Potkin said. The Innocence Project is working with Lucio's team on the case. Lucio's attorney also mentioned that the trial court in Brownsville, Texas will hold proceedings to hear the new evidence of her innocence. READ NEXT: Mexico: Protests Against Killings and Disappearances of Women in the Country Held After Debanhi Escobar's Death Melissa Lucio Death Penalty: Son Says His Mom Was Innocent Melissa Lucio's family and her advocates have argued that the Mexican-American woman was wrongfully convicted for the death of Mariah. Lucio's oldest son, John, was among those who fight for the innocence of her mother. On Monday, John told CNN that they do not want their mother to be executed, contending that it is horrible to lose their mom to an accident considering that they already lost their sister. At trial, prosecutors argued that Lucio was an abusive parent who caused the injury to Mariah resulting in her death. However, Lucio's oldest son defended his mom against the allegations. "She's a great mother... [She] never laid a hand on any of us," John underscored. Calls for Lucio's mercy have grown in recent days, including from Texas legislators from both sides of the chamber. CNN claimed that even some of the jurors in Lucio's state said that the execution should be stopped or get a new trial based on the pieces of evidence that were not heard in the court. "My vision is just tunnel vision, and all the walls just say, 'Free Melissa Lucio' all around it... That's my mother. I know she's innocent," Lucio's oldest son said. Melissa Lucio Execution Day: How Did Her Toddler Die? The death of Mariah happened when Lucio and her family moved to another home in 2007. On February 15 of that year, Lucio reportedly woke up early to get some of her children ready for school while watching her 2-year-old Mariah. While Lucio was busy, CNN noted that Mariah, who has difficulty walking due to a disability, opened the screen door, wandered outside, and fell down a steep flight of more than a dozen of stairs. Mariah's lips bled and appeared not to be seriously injured following the fall. However, things had a quick turn when Mariah's condition deteriorated. The petition noted that Lucio considered taking the toddler to the hospital by February 17 but decided to wait for a day. Mariah soon stopped breathing and the family called the paramedics and told them what happened. Paramedics at the scene and the hospital tried to revive Mariah. Reports noted that during this time, Melissa Lucio's two-year-old had bruises in various stages of healing, arms that broke several weeks before the incident, and bite marks on her back. READ NEXT: U.S. Airlines Hire Bus Companies to Transport Passengers in Airports Over Pilot Shortage This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: John, Michelle Lucio React After Hearing Melissa Lucio Got a Stay of Execution - From KHOU 11 Elon Musk buys Twitter after the social media company's board has accepted an offer from the Tesla CEO, with Musk eyeing to take it private, according to the platform's announcement. Musk said in a statement that he wants to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, while also making the algorithms open source to increase trust, as well as defeating spam bots, according to a CNBC News report. In addition, Musk also said that he would be authenticating all humans on the social media platform, noting that Twitter has "tremendous potential." The press release noted that the cash deal at $54.20 per share is valued at around $44 billion. Twitter would become a private company on completion of the deal, requiring shareholder and regulatory approval. Musk tweeted upon the news of Twitter's approval of the deal, saying that he hopes that even his worst critic stays on Twitter "because that is what free speech means." I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022 READ NEXT: Elon Musk Facing 1 Major Hurdle in Bid to Buy Twitter Elon Musk Buys Twitter If Elon Musk takes ownership of Twitter, the social media platform will be controlled by the world's richest person and someone who's been a heavy critic of the platform while using it in legally contentious ways. Musk critics are concerned that the Tesla CEO's control over the platform will lead to silencing their voices and others with whom he may disagree. Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump will not return to Twitter even as Musk purchases the company. Instead, the former president said he will be using his own TRUTH Social as the sole platform for his voice, according to a Fox News report. Trump announced that he will formally join his own TRUTH Social over the next seven days as planned. However, he noted that he hopes Musk buys Twitter as he sees the Tesla tycoon to make improvements to it. Trump said that Twitter has bots and fake accounts, adding that they are doing everything they can, but that the bottom line is, that he is not going back to Twitter. The former president was suspended from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Elon Musk's Offer to Twitter People with knowledge of the offered deal said that the situation involving Twitter and Elon Musk "remains fluid and fast-moving," according to The New York Times report. Musk detailed in a securities filing made public how he had put together financing from the investment bank Morgan Stanley and a group of other lenders, which they were offering $13 billion in debt financing. In addition, another $12.5 billion in loans against Musk's stock in Tesla. Musk said he would use another $21 billion in cash to buy the rest of Twitter's equity. Several analysts have said they expected Twitter's board to only accept a bid that valued it at a minimum of $60 a share. Twitter's stock rose above a $70 a share last year when the company announced goals to double its revenue. However, it has fallen around $48 as investors have questioned its ability to meet those targets. 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: BREAKING: Elon Musk Reaches Deal To Buy Twitter - from MSNBC Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green texted former Donald Trump aide Mark Meadows about implementing martial law after the Capitol riot that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. Greene had texted Meadows last January 17 saying that the only way to save "our Republic is for Trump to "call for Marshall law," according to a CNBC News report. "Marshall Law" was a misspelling of martial law, which refers to the emergency power that puts the military in charge of the government. Greene's text message reportedly said, "I don't know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him," further claiming that the election was stolen. The lawmaker also told Meadows to tell Trump to "declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else." Meanwhile, the former Trump aide did not appear to respond to Greene. Greene's office did not comment on the report. The representative sent the text three days before the former president was set to leave office after his defeat to U.S. President Joe Biden. READ NEXT: January 6 Panel Considers Rewriting the 1807 Insurrection Act Amid Fears of a Donald Trump Repeat Capitol Riot Text Messages Meadows provided the text messages to a House committee investigating the Capitol riot. He has fielded urgent questions from members of Congress, cabinet officials, Trump lawyers and advisors, Fox News figures, Trump family members, and other members of the former president's inner circle, according to a Slate report. The messages were obtained by CNN, with a total of 2,319 text messages to fill out the picture that has been drawn over the past few months as other texts were released. The texts have discovered that Trump refused to quickly condemn the violence that took place on Capitol Hill steps; as well as Ginni Thomas accused Biden of "attempting the greatest Heist of our History." Ginni Thomas is a conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The trove of messages also showed that Donald Trump Jr. had developed a strategy for overturning the election even before the election was called for Biden. Capitol Riot Panel Investigation The House committee has voted to recommend that two onetime aides to Trump, Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino, be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas, according to The New York Times report. A federal judge had also earlier written that it was "more likely than not" that the former president had broken the law by trying to disrupt a joint session of Congress, as well as conspiring to defraud the United States. There was a nearly eight-hour gap in Trump's call logs from January 6, according to investigators. They are now discussing whether to demand the former president's phone records. In addition, investigators are looking into Trump's tweet from December 2020, wherein he invited his supporters to gather in Washington on January 6. Federal law enforcement officials have arrested more than 775 people suspected of being involved in the Capitol riot. However, they have yet to charge any member of Trump's inner circle with a crime. READ MORE: Donald Trump Admits He Didn't Win Presidential Election 2020 During Interview With Presidential Historians This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: MAGA Bust: Bombshell Text Evidence Ties Trump Allies to Coup Plot - from MSNBC President Joe Biden and his administration were blocked by Louisiana federal court on Monday to rescind the Title 42 expulsion on the U.S.-Mexico borders before May 23. According to New York Post, the Louisiana Federal court made the move by issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Biden and his administration. BREAKING NEWS: In a lawsuit originally filed by Missouri, Louisiana, and Arizona, our Office just obtained a temporary restraining order to keep Title 42 in place. This is a huge victory for border security, but the fight continues on. Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) April 25, 2022 The move from the court was announced by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt through a statement, claiming that the move was a big victory for border security. However, the attorney general noted that the "fight continues on." Fox News reported that the TRO will prevent the Biden administration take any action regarding the Trump-era border policy before a hearing on May 13, which will determine whether the public health order can be lifted on May 23. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich lauded the court's move on Monday, contending that Biden and his administration cannot continue to disregard the existing laws and procedures. However, neither the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nor the Biden administration has proposed lifting the Title 42 expulsion earlier than May 23. READ NEXT: Joe Biden Under Fire Over Title 42 Expulsion, After Ex-ICE Claims End of the Mandate Gives Smugglers, Migrants a 'Head Start' Republican States of Louisiana, Missouri, Arizona, on Title 42 Expulsion Ending The TRO issued by the federal court in Louisiana came after officials from Arizona, Missouri, and Louisiana filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, claiming that ending the program would overwhelm the agency's capacity to enforce immigration laws at the border. Fox News noted that several other states have joined the three Republican states in the lawsuit, but the outlet did not mention which states are on board in the suit. The lawsuit filed named several agencies under the Biden administration as defendants, including the immigration court system. Pushbacks on Pres. Joe Biden's Ending of Title 42 Expulsion Several officials have expressed their opposition to President Joe Biden and his administration's plans to end the Title 42 expulsion. One of them was Republican Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin, claiming that the Biden administration is creating a disaster by "throwing open" the country's borders, ripping the administration on the upcoming rescindment of the Trump-era program, per the Post. Johnson said that the move from the Biden administration will allow human traffickers to "pocket billions of dollars," adding that a nation is not considered sovereign if the border is not secure. New York Representative John Katko also highlighted the effects of the removal of Title 42 expulsion, claiming that the daily migrant encounters would increase to 18,000 if the move is pursued. CDC announced earlier this month that it would remove the Title 42 expulsion that will be effective on May 23. The agency added that the decision was made after considering the current public health conditions in the U.S. as well as the increase in the availability of the tools in combatting COVID-19. READ NEXT: Melissa Lucio Execution Day Canceled After New Texas Court Ruling: What Happened? This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Texas Sues Biden Administration to Keep Title 42 in Place - From KENS 5: Your San Antonio News Source Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has called on Latinos in the United States not to vote on U.S. politicians who have "mistreated them" as the November midterm elections near. Lopez Obrador's statement came as a response to a comment by former U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a Reuters report. Trump noted at a rally in Ohio at the weekend while in office, that he had forced Lopez Obrador to deploy 28,000 soldiers along the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out migrants after posing a threat to put tariffs on Mexican goods. Lopez Obrador said that no U.S. political party should "use Mexico as a pinata," adding that those with the right to vote should exercise it with caution. The Mexican president said that Americans of Mexican and Latino descent should not vote for parties of candidates if Mexico or some country in Latin America and the Caribbean is "mistreated." Lopez Obrador said in a news conference not to forget their origins, adding that when someone goes too far and causes offense, the Latinos will call them out. In 2017, it was recorded that Mexicans made up the largest population of Hispanic origin in the United States, which is at 36.6 million. READ NEXT: Mexico: Lopez Obrador Denies 'Falsifying' Investigation on 2014 Disappearance of 43 Students Donald Trump and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador The former president has called Mexican migrants rapists, threatened Mexico with a trade war, and sent out thousands of asylum seekers out of the country. Trump has also installed a wall and promised to make Mexico pay for its expenses, according to a The New York Times report. In 2017, Lopez Obrador likened Trump's attitude toward migrants to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews. He noted that he "liked Trump even though he is a capitalist," adding that Trump's presidency was good for both countries, according to The National News report. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard rebuffed Trump's comments. He is seen to succeed Lopez Obrador in 2024. Ebrard took to Twitter to respond to Trump's remarks, saying that he was "campaigning for the anti-Mexicanism that characterizes him." Mexico and Immigrants Mexico is seen as crucial to holding off new waves of migrants, mobilizing extra security forces at its southern border to prepare for its latest caravan. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will also need Lopez Obrador's cooperation in creating more COVID testing and tracing for people who cross the southern border. Lopez Obrador wanted to maintain "a good neighbor policy," while also criticizing his predecessor for being "servile and irresponsible" when it comes to enforcing their sovereignty. In the 2021 fiscal year, the U.S. Border Patrol reported more than 1.6 million encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a Pew Research report. Migrant encounters refer to two kinds of events such as expulsions, wherein migrants are immediately expelled to their home country or last country of transit. The second one is apprehension, wherein migrants are detained in the United States at least temporarily. Expulsions have been the most recorded migrant encounters in the United States ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started. READ MORE: Mexico: 90,000 People Have Disappeared Without a Trace Amid Drug War This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Trump, Lopez Obrador visit about trade, politics - from Associated Press Johnny Depp concluded his testimony in his defamation trial against Amber Heard in a Fairfax, Virginia court Monday, with a declaration that he is the victim of domestic abuse and not his ex-wife. According to CNN, Depp was cross-examined by Heard's attorney, Ben Rottenborn, during his fourth day on the stand. Rottenborn asked Depp if his client was the only person who had a problem regarding his alcohol abuse. The actor then replied that if anyone had a problem with his drinking at any time in his life, it was him. "The only person I've abused in my life is myself," Depp said. The actor then remained on the stand for a redirect examination from his attorney, Jessica Meyers. They tried to reclaim the narrative after several days of cross-examination, in which Heard's camp barraged the jury with audio and texts of the actor using profane language and in angry outbursts, Deadline reported. During redirect, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor explained that some of the evidence by Heard's attorney, like the texts, were meant to be "irreverent" or based on Monty Python movies. Depp noted that he usually handles a "difficult or unpleasant situation" with humor, or he would leave the room or their house. When the actor's lawyer asked him how he felt in the final days of their marriage, Depp said he was "being nailed in one stop and not being able to do anything" but react to Heard screaming "like a Banshee and then telling me to calm down." "I was broken, really at the end, couldn't take it anymore... No one deserves to live like that," Depp noted. Meyers also played a 2016 recording of a conversation between Depp and Heard about regaining her reputation after reports of abuse in their relationship had been made public. "The abuse thing we gotta deal with that," Depp said at one point in the recording. Heard then replied: "You forced me to by going on the offense." Meyers asked Depp about his response when Heard said, "Tell the world, Johnny. Tell them, Johnny Depp, I, Johnny Depp, a man, I'm a victim, too, of domestic violence?" Depp responded: "I said, 'Yes. I am'." READ NEXT: Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Trial: Doctor Testifies About How Actor's Severed Fingertip Was Found on Kitchen Floor Ireland Baldwin Says Amber Heard a 'Terrible Person' Amid Johnny Depp's Defamation Case Amid Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's defamation trial, American model Ireland Baldwin took to Instagram to criticize the actress, calling her a "terrible person." "The thing is, I know women who are exactly like this... They are manipulative and cold and they use their very womanhood to play the victim and turn the world against the man," Baldwin said in a since-expired Instagram story, as reported by Page Six. Baldwin went on to say that we live in "a society where it's cool to say men are all the worst." The model then said that men can also experience abuse before she called Heard an "absolute disaster of a human being." "I hope Johnny gets his reputation and his life back. And I hope he's in like 5 more Pirates movies," Baldwin noted. Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard Defamation Case Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are battling over a 2018 op-ed the actress wrote for the Washington Post, calling herself a domestic violence survivor. The piece did not mention Depp by name, but the actor claimed he was booted from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise due to the "clear implication" that he was the abuser in his ex-wife's op-ed. Depp further alleged that Heard was the actual "perpetrator" of the violent encounters that damaged their relationship. He is asking for $50 million in damages. On the other hand, Heard has filed a $100 million counterclaim against the actor, who she divorced in 2017, for nuisance. Amber Heard will also be taking the stand in the trial. She is expected to give testimony in the next week or so. The defamation trial is expected to last six weeks. READ MORE: Buccaneers: Tom Brady Reveals Real Reason Why He Won't Be Playing Until He's 50 This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Johnny Depp Forgets His Own Acting Credits During Amber Heard Trial - From Entertainment Tonight The four sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, known as Los Chapitos, have been blamed for destroying two homes of rival cartel leaders in Mexico's Sonora state. According to Mexico News Daily, the Los Chapitos were accused of sending members of the Los Cazadores, or "The Hunters" cartel, with a backhoe to knock down the homes belonging to leaders of the rival Caborca Cartel in Pitiquito, Sonora on Thursday. Despite the homes near a National Guard base, authorities have reportedly not responded to the incident. Parts of the houses were demolished in broad daylight, but the state Attorney General's Office said it received no reports about the events, which cartel members filmed. The members of Los Cazadores, an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel working for El Chapo's four sons, can be heard celebrating as the backhoe smashed through the houses, which lasted for several minutes. "There's your house, Yuyo... You're not going to have a house anymore!" a person can be heard in the video saying, possibly addressing one of the Caborca Cartel's leaders. The two homes had previously been shot at, but the security forces also did not intervene. According to Infobae, two of the leaders of Los Cazadores had already been arrested in April and June last year. The Caborca Cartel is being headed by drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero and his nephews. READ NEXT: El Chapo Sons' Hitman Shot Dead by Rival Gang of Sinaloa Cartel While Eating His Last Taco in Mexico El Chapo Sons' Hitmen Held Mexico Town Hostage Last February, the Caborca town in Mexico's Sonora state was reportedly held hostage for 24 hours by hitmen loyal to El Chapo's sons. According to Daily Star, the Caborca was invaded by more than 20 pickup trucks of armed men linked to Los Chapitos to intimidate the rival cartels in the area and lay siege to the town. El Pais reported that the pickup trucks covered in homemade armor and mounted with assault rifles were seen moving from Altar town before arriving in Caborca. The vehicles were reportedly marked with an "X," while the armed men were dressed in military and tactical gear. Reports said the hitmen took time to fill their vehicles with gas and filmed themselves boasting about their artillery. The armed men then roamed through the town and searched houses for enemies before killing two men and leaving them in the street. The hitmen also kidnapped several people. The National Guard, police, and the armed forces reportedly knew about the attack. However, residents said no authorities were present to defend them from the drug cartel's hitmen. At least 100 men with heavy weapons who posted photos on social media as they took the streets of Caborca left the town after 24 hours. According to local reports, El Chapo's sons wanted the drug routes, weapons, and even the migrants, so they would threaten and besiege a rival territory when they felt like it. Caborca is a town located a few kilometers from the U.S. Rewards Offered for Los Chapitos Last December, the U.S. State Department offered $5 million rewards for any information that could help federal agents arrest El Chapo's four sons, who reportedly share control of the Sinaloa Cartel. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, and Jesus Alfredo Guzman had reportedly assumed leadership roles in the Sinaloa Cartel with their uncle Aureliano "El Guano" Guzman and co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada after El Chapo was arrested and extradited to the U.S. The U.S. Department of Treasury said Joaquin, Ovidio, and Ivan had been previously indicted on federal drug trafficking charges. The Treasury Department has sanctioned the trio. Joaquin was indicted with Ovidio in April 2018, and they were both charged with conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, 500 grams of methamphetamine, and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. Investigators said that Joaquin and his brothers manage around 11 laboratories in their home state of Sinaloa that produce up to 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine monthly. The State Department said the Los Chapitos are high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel and are subject to a federal indictment for their involvement in the illegal drug trade. The Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico's largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations. The group was founded in the late 1980s and headed by El Chapo. Under El Chapo's leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel earned its reputation through violence and outfought several rival groups. El Chapo was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in the ADX Florence "supermax" prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019. READ MORE: U.S. Agents Can't Just Step on Mexico's Soil to Arrest El Chapo's Sons of Sinaloa Cartel, Pres. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Says This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: New Details of Government Plan to Track Down, Arrest 4 of El Chapo's Sons - From ABC 7 Chicago After their family dogs attacked her baby daughter, a California mom was forced to fatally stab one of the pit bulls. Jamie Morales of Pico Rivera at Los Angeles county stabbed the pit bulls when they mauled her one-year-old daughter, Ruby Cervantes, on Sunday night. People reported that a three-year-old dog tackled the child during the incident, and the second pit bull came in and also attacked the baby. The whole family rushed to pull the dogs off the little girl. Ruby's grandmother, Margaret Morales, told ABC 7 that she saw her two daughters and son on the floor trying to get the dogs off her granddaughter. She noted that she saw one of the dogs latched on her left leg, and that was when she had to get her hand into the dog's jaws and open them up, and that's when the dog released the baby. Margaret said the dog bit her granddaughter on the leg and the dog also bit her hand, and it was severely cut open. Jamie then grabbed a knife and stabbed the dogs, and one of them died. The California mom suffered facial injuries during the attack. Jamie told KTLA that after she chose her daughter over the dog, she had to stab the pit bull because, if not, her daughter would die. READ NEXT: Alligator Attack: Florida Man Bitten by Alligator While Searching for Prehistoric Shark Teeth in River California Mom Stabbed Family Dogs The baby, Jamie Morales, Margaret Morales, and another family member were taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries, according to CBS8. Margaret later told reporters outside their home that her granddaughter was in surgery. Ruby reportedly has suffered dog bites to her face and her body. She received treatment at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. Ruby's aunt was also reported to have been injured in the attack. She is expected to survive her injuries. In a statement, Pico Rivera Mayor Monica Sanchez said she was horrified by the news of the attack. She then asked the city manager to offer aid to the family, which included crisis counselors. Sanchez extended her deepest condolences to the family and best wishes for a swift recovery for the child and injured family members. The family dogs were usually kept outdoors. However, Sacramento Bee reported that they were allowed inside on Sunday after receiving their baths. Officials said the second dog would be taken to animal control and be euthanized. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrived at the scene and said the pit bulls mauled the baby after she started crying. Margaret had owned the dogs since they were puppies. The dogs came from the same litter. The family noted that the pit bulls had never been aggressive before Sunday's incident. Family Dogs Aggression According to VCA Animal Hospitals, there are several reasons why a dog might show aggression toward family members. It said the most common causes are conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression, status-related aggression, and redirected aggression. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that 800,000 people seek medical attention for dog bites yearly, half of the number are children. READ MORE: Michael Gargiulo, Known as the 'Hollywood Ripper' and 'Boy Next Door Killer,' Gets Death for Killing 2 Women, Including Ashton Kutcher's Date This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: How to Stop Dog Aggressive Behavior Towards People? Quickly and Easily - From the Dogs Book Laois County Library is hosting a series of online history talks in the coming weeks as part of its Decade of Centenaries Programme. Laois and Ireland in Revolution is a three part series exploring areas often overlooked in the past, such as the role of revolutionary women, the labour movement and the Civil War in Laois. Revolutionary Women, the first talk in the series, will take place next Wednesday, May 4 at 8 pm. Sinead Holland (Laois Local Studies) and Terry Dunne (Laois Historian-in-Residence) will talk about women involved in Cumann na mBan and in the labour movement locally, while historian Liz Gillis, author of Women of the Irish Revolution will put this research into its national context with an overview of the involvement of women in revolutionary activism across the country. This talk is part of a long-term and on-going engagement by Laois Local Studies in projects bringing back into the light womens experience of the revolutionary period. Revolutionary Workers, the second talk in the series, will take place on Thursday, June 16 at 8 pm. Terry Dunne will talk on his chapter in Bread not profits: provincial working-class politics during the Irish Revolution, a new collection of essays on the labour movement. The chapter looks at the Portarlington Sawmills Lockout of 1918 and the Clonaslee Farm Strike of 1922. Francis Devine, author of Organising history: a centenary of SIPTU, 1909-2009, and editor of Bread not profits, will discuss how the Laois experience fits into the national pattern. This event will take place on the anniversary of the first election in the Irish Free State, in which William Davin, of the Railway Clerks Association, won 46.54% of the votes in the Laois-Offaly constituency. Revolutionary War, the final talk in this online series, will take place on Thursday, June 30 at 8 pm. Join Michael Rafter and Terry Dunne in conversation about the course of the Civil War in Laois. Michael Rafter is the author of the ground-breaking local study The quiet county: towards a history of the Laois Brigade IRA and revolutionary activity in the county, 1913 1923. The talk takes place on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the first shots being fired in the Civil War in Laois. The event took place on the Durrow Road outside Abbeyleix (1st July 1922) and was part of the preliminaries of the Battle of Abbeyleix (July 5, 1922). Cadet James Kealy of the National Army and a native of Ballickmoyler died in this clash. For more information and to register for online talks visit https://laoislocalstudies.ie/history-events-online/ The lack of a tourist office serving Laois is "an embarrassment" according to a Portlaoise councillor. Millions of euros have been invested to boost Laois tourism but the county has no tourist information office since 2019. Cllr Willie Aird branded the lack of an office coming into summer season as "an embarrassment", speaking at the April meeting of Laois County Council. In written reply to his motion, Laois Tourism Officer Dom Reddin said they are working with Laois Chamber of Commerce to open a permanent office, but gave no timeline. Cllr Aird said he was disappointed. "I welome that we are going to get one. It is an embarrassment for me. You see tourists walking up and down and we don't have a tourism office. I certainly didn't stand over a budget that didn't have a tourist office. We need to be able to sell our county. This is a backward step. I'm disappointed. "This is one area you are falling down. We don't have an office as I sit here today and we are in the middle of the tourist season. With the Rock of Dunamase, we have a fantastic county. We need to get more proud of who we are," Cllr Aird said. The Director of Services over Tourism Gerry Murphy defended their efforts up to now. "Covid caused difficulties," he said, saying that a tourist information service is provided in county hall, but this would not be advertised to the public. "I want an office open," said Cllr Aird. "We are aware of the issue and we are trying to deal with it," Mr Murphy replied. "Ten year ago we had a Failte Ireland office, we had one back in the 70's, now we have none," Cllr Aird said. CEO John Mulholland rejected the assertion that it is a failure by the council. "I don't agree that we are falling down. It is the same as other counties. If you want you can go in and get a leaflet. The Bord Failte person was taken out and sent to Kilkenny so we had to provide the service ourselves. "We had a desk in the Dunamase Theatre and we have a digital platform. In JFL Avenue people complained, they had wanted other information like directions to busses and toilets and there were other anti-social issue. We brought it to the Dunamase where there were other people and a canteen. "It's unfortunate that Failte Ireland left the scene, but Laois County Council filled the void because we do things like that. Not all other counties have that. You can go in and orientate yourself maybe to get to the Rock of Dunamase, Donaghmore museum or the Slieve Blooms. It's a lot more of a hospitable service. We had part-time staff but they all left the scene. We don't have the budget for a full time staff but we have a tourism officer. We will work to get an office with Laois Chamber," he said. Cllr Aird was not content. "Don't mince my words, I supported the office at the Dunamase. Get someone to man the desk, I don't think that's too much to ask. Of course people will go in and ask for directions, there's nothing wrong with that. Promote the county. Give people an opportunity to go out and visit places," he said. Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald suggested that the new Portlaoise library, set to open this winter, could host a tourist information desk. Cllr Aird's motion asked that Laois County Council outline the plans to put in place a Tourism Office in Portlaoise for the coming season and what are the delays in same Mr Reddin had given the following reply. "Laois County Council is currently liaising with the Laois Chamber of Commerce & Laois Tourism in relation to a merger of both Boards in order to develop a common vision, strategy and plan to form a new organisation for Laois and to unlock its unique potential for all stakeholders. "This process is at an advanced stage and will result in a permanent presence of a Tourism Office at the Laois Chamber offices at Lyster Square, Portlaoise." A Laois TD has sought clarification amid claims that Just Transition funding is being used to import peat. Deputy Carol Nolan has written to Environment Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister Darragh OBrien seeking immediate clarification on the matter. She said the issue had been brought to her attention by a number of people who were alarmed by the possible use of Just Transition funding to import peat while communities in Offaly, Laois and across the Midlands struggle to access matching funding for their own transition related projects. If it is confirmed that Just Transition funding is being used to import peat then the entire process will be shown to have descended to the level of farce and insult, Deputy Nolan said. We need urgent clarification on this issue, and whats more, we need an immediate revision of the inability of traders within the Irish market to access indigenous peat products. I will be pursuing this matter until we have clarity on what exactly is going on and until we can finally bring a dose of common sense to a process that is lurching from one incomprehensible absurdity to the next, concluded Deputy Nolan. The Independent TD said she has written to the Minister for the Environment Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OBrien, seeking immediate clarification around concerns that funding allocated to the Just Transition process is being used to subsidise the importation of peat and peat moss. A desperate situation is developing in relation to the availability of childcare in Stradbally, a recent council meeting was told. Cllr Paschal McEvoy said there is an absolutely massive waiting list for childcare in Stradbally at the moment. The problem is theres no buildings available. Theres plenty of people prepared to take on the work. "We really are in a desperate situation in Stradbally in relation to places for these children and it is only going to get worse, 60, 70 up to 100 houses going to be there in the next three or four years, he remarked. He noted there are 31 turnkey houses and plans for 72 houses in one estate in Stradbally. Cllr McEvoy put down a motion asking: That this Council consider building a creche as part of the social housing development at Carraig Glas, Stradbally. In response, Assistant Senior Engineer of Councils Housing Section, Trevor Hennessy stated: Part VIII planning approval was granted in September 2021 for the construction of 26 units in Carraig Glas, Stradbally. Inclusion of a creche was not part of this Part VIII approval. A needs assessment in relation to Childcare provision in Stradbally would have to be carried out in advance of any decision in this regard. However, Cllr McEvoy insisted it was going to get worse if no action was taken. We will have to consider putting a creche there, he said. Cllr Aidan Mullins said he fully supported the motion and he predicted major problems for young families if no action is taken. Senior Executive Engineer Philip McVeigh told the meeting that a needs assessment would need to be carried out by the planning section. Cllr Aisling Moran said the council needs to start planning for the growing demand. She noted demand on services will grow with the arrival of refugees from Ukraine. Cllr Ben Brennan supported the motion and said it is very important to have creches in housing estates. The issue was discussed at the recent Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District meeting. The Department of Agriculture has issued an Orange level Forest Fire Warning arising from increased temperatures and recent low rainfall levels. The warning is in place until this Friday. The nationwide warning for woodland areas also covers areas of gorse such as in the Curragh Plains where the evergreen shrubs cover some of the 5,000 acres. The Department of Agriculture said a high fire risk is deemed to exist in all areas where hazardous fuels such as dead grasses and shrub fuels such as heather and gorse exist. Members of the public intending to visit forests and other public recreational sites are reminded not to light camp fires or organise outdoor barbecues. All countryside users are asked to be vigilant, to report any suspicious activity to An Garda Siochana and to report any uncontrolled or unattended fires immediately to the Fire and Emergency Services via 112/999 service. Hundreds of acres of forest are damaged by fire ever year. It is illegal for landowners to burn vegetation on uncultivated land between March and the end of August. People should not discard cigarette ends should make sure they are extinguished. Anybody acting irresponsibly or carelessly with fire should be reported to the authorities. An overwhelming feeling of unity, pride and relief was felt among local traders at the opening day of Punchestown Festival 2022. One Maynooth-based artist, who has also had a studio located in the Curragh Racecourse since 2013, said that while his business did better during the pandemic compared to others, he was nevertheless glad to be back at the Festival. While the world shut down for the pandemic, John Fitzgerald continued his work in his studio because racing continued. Its brilliant to be back because I have such strong racing connections and affection for it. The pandemic when everyone wasnt going out, racing was still going on. It was huge for me because there were still big events going on. I was extremely lucky in that sense because people began to invest in art for their homes, John said. John has had artworks commissioned by some of horse racings biggest names and has become a leading name in equine and sporting art. As well as personal pieces, in 2018 John was commissioned to paint one of the world's most famous racehorses, Shergar, for a BBC documentary Searching for Shergar. I was an estate agent for a few years but now Im glad to say that I am full time at this. We have scenes from historic venues such as Fairyhouse, Punchestown and the Curragh. Commissions are the main part of the business, owners and trainers want paintings of their winners made, John explained. I ALWAYS TOLD MYSELF: SOMEDAY Another trader who expressed her delight at being at the festival was Naas woman Lynda Murphy, who runs Sonny Bear, a website selling sustainably-manufactured childrens clothes. Previously, Lynda was employed as a social worker until 2012, when she began to care for her ill dad. She said that today was her first time ever being at the Festival with her business, although her Punchestown debut was originally meant to happen in 2020. Linda Murphy at her stand at Punchestown festival I just wanted to get out and about and get (the shop) seen. Theres just no substitute for holding and feeling the products, she added. Lynda, who has been running Sonny Bear since 2019, came up with the idea years earlier, but focused on raising her daughters before she eventually made the decision to set up the online shop. Explaining her inspiration behind the store, she said: I always loved dressing my children from the time they were toddlers, I always told myself: someday. Lynda added that she was initially anxious about setting up the website and social media profiles for the shop, especially as she had no previous experience with IT: There was lots of tears at the start! she joked: But its necessary, especially social media, its so, so important. Commenting further on her products, Lynda said: Everything is sustainable, and mostly comes from female run or family run businesses in Europe, such as Spain and Portugal theres also a supplier from Turkey. All the conditions in the factories that make the products are up to standard, and the cotton is organic. However, she added that implications arising from both Brexit and the rising cost of living have made getting in supplies tricky at times. Regardless, Lynda still holds her head up high; as a longtime goer to Punchestown, she said she was excited to be back, especially with her own business. Lynda also revealed that she had previously owned two horses, and that she doesnt play favourites with the horses at Punchestown theyre all lovely! she remarked. PROUD SPONSORS Also present on day one of the prestigious Festival was Catherine Bunn, sales and marketing manager at the Osprey Hotel, who have been sponsors of the event since 2019. Catherine said that the hotel is focused on making itself known as where its at before and after the track: We have bottomless brunch or live music every night in the bar. In addition, Robbie Puppy Power and Katie Walsh will be at the Osprey Hotel to offer their expert opinion on all the days action from 1pm. Im sure that they will help make lots of winners! she added. Catherine also said that The High Kings will be playing in the hotel on Thursday at 7pm, while Friday will also see marquis, French tents, a DJ and a number of different bands. She added that capacity for The High Kings concert is at 75 per cent, so she urged those who are interested in seeing them perform live to order their tickets as soon as possible. The heat is on: the quest to find the smartest climate secondary school students in Newbridge has begun. The second annual Cracking-Carbons multimedia Climate Quiz will pit teams of four students against each other, as they battle it out over six rounds consisting of 60 questions on everything climate related, with the winners crowned climate brains of Kildare. The lucky winners of the Newbridge event could also secure a position of Cracking-Carbons national league table, which, over the coming 18 months, is looking to identify Irelands smartest climate students. Transition Year students will answer questions from three different categories: Climate Change Science & Geography, Climate change Facts & Figures, and Climate Change People & Personalities, a round that includes questions on some of the more bizarre climate utterances, good and bad, from celebrities and personalities. This segment will also include lots of hilarious video clips as clues, keeping students laughing and engaged while they answer the serious climate questions. 'REIGNITE THE DEBATE' Explaining the motivation behind the event, Cracking-Carbon founder Simon Ruddy said: "We want to reignite the climate debate, which has unfortunately but understandably fallen down the priority list globally due to the COVID pandemic". "But rather than simply regurgitate the same predictions of doom and talking about shrinking polar ice caps and rising sea level... all of which is true, but is nonetheless a style of climate message that is creating a growing level of fatigue around the issue, as people despair with the sense of hopelessness due to the magnitude of the problem. Mr Ruddy added: "Cracking-Carbon instead wants to create more engaging, immersive and even fun climate events that will stick-in-the-minds of participants long after the event, thereby lending itself more to garnering the personal sense of responsibility people will need to start adopting if we are to reverse or even slow down the devastating impacts of climate change." The event will take place on Thursday, May 5 next. FURTHER INFORMATION According to Cracking-Carbon's website, it helps businesses and organisations grow 'by amplifying their green credentials.' In addition to climate action workshops and quizzes, other services that they provide range from Sustainability Audits, Sustainability Plans & Goal Setting (in line with Irelands Climate Action Plan goals), and Sustainability Webinars and Training. For further information about the group and what they do, click here. Maura ONeill taught English and French, although English was her first love, in Naas CBS and when she retired the first thing she decided to do was to write a book. In fact, her project turned out to be a memoir. For years she has been an Agony Aunt for the Sunday World and in answering peoples problems she has drawn on her own life. An image of the book cover So, when she decided to open up her laptop to write her own story she found it a healing process. In 1984 Mauras parents and two of her brothers, Sean, aged 23 and Noel aged 16 were killed when a tree fell on their car during a storm. Read more Kildare news She includes in her memoir an honest account and description of her attempt to get through her grief and loss. However, her personal challenges didnt stop her career in her much loved radio. Her interest in this medium, starting with pirate radio back in the eighties. This in turn would lead her to a very varied career which eventually took her to RTE and presenting on 2FM when the late Gerry Ryan was on holidays. Maura also worked on Radio 1, replacing the late Marian Finucane when she took her holiday leave. Not content with just being in a studio, Maura was also asked to be a reporter for the Ryan show. And this took her and the team to Cape Town, South Africa. Before that she, Gerry and his producer went on safari, and she recalls the wonderful landscape and animals she saw there. Her experience of Cape Town included emotional interviews with people who lived through Apartheid and a man who was imprisoned with Nelson Mandela. During her radio career she met and interviewed people she will always remember for their life story and for their willingness to share those moments with her. At one point she decided to give radio up and focus on her family, especially her daughter Kate. She and her husband, Kieran, built a house in Straffan and settled down in the corner of a cornfield. Maura then went back to her first career, secondary school teaching at the 1,000 student CBS in Naas. She spent sixteen wonderful years there. Maura originally made her way to Kildare from northside Dublin, settling in Maynooth in the early nineties and taught in Salesian College, Celbridge. She settled into community life in Straffan and at one time, was PRO for the local GAA team. Her husband, Kieran McManamon, played and managed Straffan and Clane GAA clubs. She also did a series of interviews for KFM with well-known Kildare people, for example Charlie ONeill, Jack Hennigan, Stan Cosgrove of Moyglare Stud to name but a few. Her family now live in Clane where they moved in 2017. When she decided to launch her memoir, Leaving To Go Home, she chose her old school as the venue for the occasion. And she spent a lovely evening there with family, friends, past and current staff of the school. They included the principal Ben Travers and former principal Noel Merrick. She hopes her book will inspire others to always move forward with life no matter what the challenges, find support as she did and always have hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Copies of her book are available in the Barker and Jones bookshop at Poplar Square, Naas. Day one of the Punchestown Festival takes centre-stage on Tuesday afternoon with an excellent eight-race card. The start of five days of brilliant action at the track, the action gets underway at 3.40pm and concludes at 7.45pm. The ground at the track is currently Good to Yielding and there is watering taking place at the track. The forecast is for a cloudy day. We have previewed the action with our race by race guide and you can find the more tips at Irishracing.com 3.40pm Listed Mares Novice Hurdle (2m) Dinoblue and Grangee were fourth and sixth respectively in a Grade One at Fairyhouse earlier this month. However, preference is for Party Central for Gordon Elliott. The six-year-old is a three-time winner this term and travelled with plenty of zest on her latest start at the Cheltenham Festival before eventually tiring to finish seventh in the Mares Novices Hurdle. However, she is forgiven that effort and is taken to return to winning ways here. Selection: Party Central 4.15pm Grade One Champion Novice Hurdle (2m) Mighty Potter failed to fire in the Supreme Novices Hurdle, but is a Grade One winner this term. Dysart Dynamo pulled hard and looked to be losing the battle when falling in the same contest and with that in mind, Sir Gerhard is difficult to oppose. Unbeaten over hurdles, he was brilliant in the Ballymore Novices Hurdle and will be tough to beat dropping back in trip here. Selection: Sir Gerhard 4.50pm Handicap Hurdle (2m) Farout disappointed at Fairyhouse last time out, but is interesting given Paul Townend retains the ride. Eskylane has to carry top-weight, but is also respected, but Glan looks the one to be with. He was very impressive when powering to victory at Fairyhouse last time out and despite 7lb rise, he looks tough to beat here. Selection: Glan 5.25pm Grade One Champion Chase (2m) A thrilling tussle between heavyweight stable companions Energumene and Chacun Pour Soi. The former was a facile winner of the Champion Chase and is the pick of Paul Townend. However, Chacun Pour Soi was a facile winner of this event last term and despite falling in the Champion Chase, all of his best form has come in Ireland. He gets the vote with quicker ground potentially more in his favour. Selection: Chacun Pour Soi 6.00pm Bumper (2m) Tricky to get a handle on this race with Gordon Elliott having four runners. Jamie Codd has picked 200,000 Caldwell Potter who is a brother to Grade One scorer Mighty Potter and he clearly makes appeal on pedigree. Willie Mullins has two runners and son Patrick has chosen Rocco Ray who was purchased for 46,000 and is another to note. Selection: Caldwell Potter 6.35pm Grade One Champion Novice Chase (3m) The likes of Millers Bank, Lifetime Ambition, Fury Road and Beacon Edge all command respect, but this could rest between Bob Olinger and Capodanno. The latter is trained by Willie Mullins and finished fourth in the Marsh Novices Chase last time out. He should improve for that outing, but preference is for Bob Olinger. The seven-year-old was a fortuitous winner of the Turners Novices Chase, but he does give the impression that a step up to three miles would suit and he gets the verdict here. Selection: Bob Olinger 7.10pm Cross Country Chase (3m 1f) De Nordener has won a brace of point-to-points this year and is respected for that man Enda Bolger on Rules debut. However, Good Bye Sam represents Willie and Patrick Mullins and gets the vote. Second to subsequent Cheltenham Festival hero Billaway on his Irish debut, he finally got off the mark at the third time of asking for Mullins at Tramore in April. He looks capable of more progression here. Selection: Good Bye Sam 7.45pm Bumper (2m) Lisnagar Fortune is a half-brother to Stayers Hurdle hero Lisnagar Oscar and clearly warrants attention on debut for Willie Mullins, but Gordon Elliott has another fascinating newcomer in 220,000 purchase Firm Footings. The four-year-old is a half-brother to Monalee and is taken to make a winning start in the finale. Selection: Firm Footings A survey by the Irish Independent has revealed that hundreds of dog attacks on humans have been reported to local authorities in the past five years. In Ireland, laws introduced in 1998 imposed restrictions on 11 different breeds of dog including Rottweilers, German shepherds (Alsations), English bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, bull mastiffs, Dobermann pinschers, Rhodesian ridgebacks, Japanese akitas, Japanese Tosas and any dogs which are a cross of those on the list. Included in the restrictions are that the animals be muzzled while in public and held on a strong lead by a person above the age of 16. Campaigners have sought to get dogs removed from the list. However, farmers who have lost livestock and those who have been victims of dog attacks are calling for greater controls on canines and not just those on the restricted list. Leitrim County Council has a record of 84 dog attacks in total - 20 attacks on people, 31 on other dogs and 33 on livestock in the past five years. There are a variety of breed types involved in dog attacks in Leitrim including, but not exclusively collie, Labrador, golden retriever, German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Dobermann, Jack Russell, terrier, Japanese akita, foxhound, lurcher and mixed breed, a spokesperson said. A 13-year-old Bornacoola girl who is to undergo major surgery to correct severe curvature of her spine next month is appealing to the public to assist her in raising an additional 30,000 to cover surgery and post operational costs. Little Rachel Mallon, daughter of Brian and Edel, is a member of the Mallon family who are well known in the local community and are steeped in the GAA in Co Leitrim. The severe curvature on Rachel's spine Rachel, a first year student in Mohill Community College, has severe scoliosis of her spine with 70% curvature at the top of her spine and close to 60% at the bottom. Surgery is planned for next month in London. The surgery had originally been planned for later but following the most recent set of x-rays and scans the surgeon was so alarmed at the increase in the curve of her spine at both ends that he has sourced a hospital and a surgery team to bring it forward. The surgery involves entering from both of her sides cutting her ribs and puncturing one lung at a time in order to get at her spine they then fuse a number of vertebrae at both ends and connect a wire from there up through her spinal column pulling her spine back into a relatively normal place. Rachel's Dad Brian said she is quite mature about it and is happy to go through with the surgery but admitted that nerves were starting to build for what is a huge surgery for any child to undergo. The cost of the surgery is 120,000 and the family has raised 90,000 to date and are looking for help to try and raise the additional 30,000 to help see her through surgery and a week in St Georges Hospital, London post op. Not surprisingly, a team of volunteers from across the community has rowed in behind the Mallon family to make sure that the funding is raised so Rachel can have this vital surgery and enjoy being an active, sports loving teenager once again. However, time is the problem as there is a very short window. A gofundme page has now been opened and they are appealing to the public for their assistance to get them to their target. https://gofund.me/4f9ab9a6 There is also a link for Rachels fundraiser on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ RachelScoliosisSurgery/ Alternatively, for those not on or familiar with Facebook donations can be made direct to the following bank account: BIC: BOFIIE2DXXX IBAN: IE77BOFI90541665216814 Thank you. Marine Le Pen is about to deliver her speech acknowledging her defeat in the presidential election, in Paris, April 24, 2022. AGNES DHERBEYS / MYOP FOR "LE MONDE Her face somber and her fists white from clenching, as if to prevent herself from faltering, at 8:10 p.m. on Sunday, April 24, from the former Armenonville hunting lodge in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, Marine Le Pen said she "respected the results of the ballot box," which showed her defeated in the presidential election. The candidate for the Rassemblement National (RN) lost for the third time, getting 41.46% of the vote against 58.54% for Emmanuel Macron, a 17-point gap. A few hundred supporters squeezed between the colonnades of the festival hall applauded her, shouting "Thank you!", while about 500 accredited journalists looked on. Contrary to France's republican tradition, the far-right candidate did not congratulate the winner. She immediately regretted that a "great wind of freedom" had not blown and accused her opponent of having conducted "two weeks of unfair, brutal and violent methods" against her. It was a far cry from former conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy who, in 2012, had appeased his supporters and "wished good luck in the midst of trials" to socialist president-elect Francois Hollande, "because there is something much bigger than us, it is our country, it is our homeland, it is France." In 2007, socialist candidate Segolene Royal wished President-elect Sarkozy "to accomplish his mission in the service of all French people." Sunday, Mr. Macron, at the Champ-de-Mars acknowledged Ms. Le Pen's voters' "disappointment", and asked his audience not to jeer her. With Ms. Le Pen, the far right reached an unprecedented level of support in France, 2022. While she had obtained 33.9 % of the vote in 2017, in five years she improved by more than seven points and collected more than 13.2 million votes (against 18.7 million for Emmanuel Macron and 15.4 million votes not cast). It was enough to make her defeat look like a success. Although the loser, Marine Le Pen congratulated herself on a "resounding victory," in the manner of Segolene Royal who promised "other victories" fifteen years ago. "The ideas that we represent are reaching peaks," she said, "and millions of our compatriots have chosen the national movement and the change it signifies." 'The system is tough' The RN leader has achieved undeniable success. By playing on the distrust of vaccines she managed to conquer the French West Indies and Guyana in a perfect reversal of the balance of power with Emmanuel Macron in 2017: She collected 69.60% in Guadeloupe (against 24.87% five years ago), 60.87% in Martinique (against 22.45%), 60.70% in Guyana (against 35.11% in 2017). She who proclaims herself the voice of the "France of the forgotten" also came out on top in several departments in mainland France, including Oise, Somme, Vosges, Meuse, Pyrenees-Orientales, Gard, Var or Vaucluse, in contrast with wins only in Pas-de-Calais and Aisne in 2017. Speech of the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, in Paris, April 24, 2022. AGNES DHERBEYS / MYOP FOR "LE MONDE To explain her failure, Marine Le Pen pointed fingers at the opposing camp. She and those close to her were baffled by the ferocity of a resuscitated "front republicain" (When republicans of all stripes vote for a candidate in order to build a 'dam' against the far right). For two weeks, they decried the "violence" of being "re-demonized" by the movement, ending with Ms. Le Pen delivering a radically populist harangue against the president in Arras, three days before the second round of voting. On Sunday, this refrain reverberated. "The system is tough," lamented the dejected MEP Andre Rouge. "The system is powerful," said Renaud Labaye, the candidates chief of staff. "It is because of the rhetorical bludgeoning, saying that if we won the earth would stop turning," said the MEP Thierry Mariani, criticizing "the victory of fear." In her dressing room, just after 8 p.m., Marine Le Pen comforted her entourage: "We have nothing to reproach ourselves for, we have nothing to be ashamed of." The results fall in the Debeyre room, in Henin-Beaumont (Pas-de-Calais), on April 24, 2022. CYRIL BITTON / DIVERGENCE FOR "LE MONDE During the announcement of the results of the presidential election, with supporters of Marine Le Pen, in Paris, April 24, 2022. AGNES DHERBEYS / MYOP FOR "LE MONDE The fact remains that the populist leader has missed riding the tide of power, despite her being accepted as a valid candidate by the French public. She had benefited from a divine surprise, the candidacy of far-right polemicist Eric Zemmour, who presented her as less radical than him. "Doing nothing, she is very popular," said Jean-Marie Le Pen of his granddaughter, Marion Marechal. The compliment could be extended to Ms. Le Pen, whose caution, however, turned into paralysis after the first round of voting. Unexpected flip-flops From the day after April 10, her campaign was derailed. Unlike in 2017, when she had continued to progress until losing the presidential debate, the 53-year-old candidate, enjoying the momentum, quickly petered out for lack of asserting herself. While her adviser Philippe Olivier imagined, before the campaign, that "it would take some show" to win, the representative of Pas-de-Calais did not take the initiative of a "Whirlpool moment," like her unexpected visit in front of the factory threatened with closure, in Amiens, in April 2017 a stunt which took Mr. Macron by surprise. Without any new proposals, she unexpectedly flip-flopped, on the Islamic veil or on windmills, which blurred her position. While she wanted to win over Jean-Luc Melenchons voters, she awkwardly accused the leader of the "insoumis" of "betrayal," saying he was "closer to Emmanuel Macron than five years ago." After a grass-roots campaign, she put her chips down on her credibility and stumbled, sometimes by trying to marginalize journalists, sometimes by exposing her pro-Russian position, and once by having a demonstrator violently expelled from a meeting. More on this topic From pensions to headscarves, Macron and Le Pen shift positions as the second round approaches In this complicated position between two opposed flanks, on the left and on the right, Marine Le Pen tried to challenge Emmanuel Macron on his own ground, even during the televised debate, which centered on technical issues and competence. She forgot to deploy her best assets. Confronted with the huge gap between wooing the votes of Mr. Zemmour and those of the leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon, Ms. Le Pen went neither all the way to the end of her rehabilitation with a far-right agenda that she felt uncomfortable accepting, nor all the way to assuming a populist identity, as she still wanted to use anger to build an 'anti-Macron front'. On Sunday, she nevertheless saw in her score "a form of hope," since it would be "the testimony of a great mistrust among the French people." Her defiance allowed her to reaffirm herself as the main opponent of the head of state. "The French showed tonight the desire for a strong counter-power to that of Emmanuel Macron," she insisted, presenting herself as the leader of "an active opposition" on such subjects as purchasing power, the retirement age, insecurity and immigration. A new direction Although she had hinted that this third attempt to reach power would be her last, Ms. Le Pen announced that she was not leaving the stage. "More than ever, I will continue my commitment to France and the French," said the candidate, to long drawn-out cheers. A new focus lies ahead: "The great electoral battle of the Parliament," which she will lead with her most loyal soldier, Jordan Bardella. Marine Le Pen, after her speech acknowledging her defeat, in Paris, April 24, 2022. AGNES DHERBEYS / MYOP FOR "LE MONDE Looking ahead, criticisms already sharpened in the nationalist camp will have to be accommodated. "We have been buried a thousand times, and a thousand times those who foresaw or hoped for our demise have been proven wrong by history," warned the RN leader. Mr. Zemmour took the floor shortly afterwards to hammer home the point that "This is the eighth time that defeat has struck the Le Pen name." The mayor of Beziers (Herault), Robert Menard, an official supporter of the RN candidate, made scathing remarks on TF1, a major French television channel: "We are paying for holding a point of view that does not make sense on Europe. She is not able to go further and say yes, we shall defend Europe, even if we want to reform it. On the economy, we have been racing after Melenchon, and we end up saying anything at all. On Ukraine, yes, there has been a pro-Russian message." At the end of the electoral marathon that she called "my campaign," Ms. Le Pen appears more alone than ever in facing the aftermath of defeat. Ivanne Trippenbach Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version. THE Covid-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated the value of public investment in research, the director general of Science Foundation Ireland has said. Professor Philip Nolan, who was a key member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) for more than two years, made his comments while speaking at the beginning of University of Limerick's Research Week. The SFI Director General delivered the keynote address at the Learning from the Pandemic - the Power of Data in Public Health, event. He was joined by panelists Dr Catherine Motherway, Head of the Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital Limerick; Professor Cathal Walsh, Chair in Statistics at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at UL; Professor Aedin Culhane, Professor of Biomedical Sciences (Cancer Genomics) at the UL School of Medicine and Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health Mid-West. UL President Professor Kerstin Mey, who officially launched UL Research Week 2022 prior to the talk, moderated the event, which was organised by the Health Research Institute (HRI) at UL. The pandemic clearly demonstrates the value of public investment in fundamental research across a wide range of disciplines, Professor Nolan stated. At the onset of the pandemic, when asked to build a team to monitor and model the development of the outbreak in Ireland, we were able to draw on the expertise of applied mathematicians, computer scientists, geospatial scientists, statisticians, epidemiologists and public health specialists to create the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group (IEMAG). A much wider body of expertise in virology, immunology, infectious disease, psychology and behavioural science was available to NPHET and Government. We should remember that this breadth and depth of expertise was available only because of decades of public investment in our higher education and research system. Professor Nolan, who also visited the CONFIRM research centre during while in Limerick, emphasised the importance of increasing the level of investment in research across the full range of disciplines, and of sponsoring interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. He placed special emphasis on engaged research, research conducted in partnership with those it is intended to serve. It is only by coming together in partnership, across disciplines, and working in partnership with communities, practitioners, enterprises and civil society, can we hope to address really challenging problems like public health or climate change, Professor Nolan said. In welcoming Professor Nolan to UL, Professor Mey warmly paid tribute to the calm and well-founded advice he had given to the University in helping to develop models to get students and staff back to learning during the pandemic. UL professors James Gleeson and Cathal Walsh, in particular, were hailed by Professor Nolan for their work on the IEMAG during the fight against Covid-19, with the SFI Director General saying the pair were absolute pillars of the modelling group. UL Research Week 2022, which continues until Friday, showcases work taking place at the University and looks closely at ongoing efforts to address global challenges ranging from global health to geopolitics, biodiversity and sustainability, to the future of work. Professor Norelee Kennedy, Vice President Research at UL, said: The focus for 2022 is to highlight the many ways in which UL continues to discover new knowledge for a better world thus supporting the sustainable development goals with excellence and impact. TWO men who are charged in connection with a fatal assault in Limerick city centre earlier this month are due to appear in court for a second time later today. Alan Bourke, aged 48, who was originally from St Marys Park in the city, passed away at University Hospital Limerick a short time after he was assaulted at Parnell Street, near Colbert Station on Good Friday. A major garda investigation was subsequently launched and a number of arrests were made last week. Two men, who were among those arrested, appeared before separate sittings of Ennis District Court at the weekend and both are due to appear before Limerick District Court later today. Mark Ryan, aged 35, of Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick is charged with robbing a number of cans of alcohol and a bicycle from Alan Bourke at Parnell Street on April 15, 2022. The second accused - Michael Casey, aged 38, of Cathedral Place, Limerick - is accused of assaulting Alan Bourke, causing him harm, at Parnell Street on the same date. Mr Casey (pictured) has also been charged with robbery. During the special court sittings in Ennis, Solicitors John Herbert and Darach McCarthy indicated their clients are currently unemployed and would not be applying for bail. Legal aid was granted in each case and both men were remanded in custody ahead of today's procedural hearing at Limerick District Court. The garda investigation into Alan Bourke's death is continuing and a file is to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. TWO men in their 80s who are accused of criminal damage and trespass at Shannon Airport were the nicest and most courteous protesters an airport officer had ever met, their trial has heard. Richard Moloney, a former police fire officer at Shannon Airport, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Ken Mayers (85) and Tarak Kauff (80) told him they were going to check an American aircraft when he apprehended them on a taxiway at the airport on March 17, 2019. They were very courteous. I had no hassle dealing with them, Mr Moloney told Tony McGillicuddy BL, prosecuting this Tuesday. They said they were peace protesters. I said, 'Unfortunately I have to hold you here for your own safety'. Under questioning from defence counsel, Mr Moloney agreed it was immediately obvious to him that the men were protesters and he soon saw that they were elderly octogenarians. As the man says, this was not my first rodeo dealing with protesters, Mr Moloney said. These were the nicest and most courteous protesters I ever met in my 19 years in Shannon Airport. Mr Mayers and Mr Kauff, both with addresses in the US, are accused of damaging a perimeter fence to the value of 590 before allegedly trespassing the lands of Shannon Airport. Mr Mayers and Mr Kauff have each pleaded not guilty to three counts in relation to the alleged incident. The jury has been told that both men admit they were involved in making an opening in the fence at Shannon Airport and they admit entering the airport lands on the day in question. Mr Moloney told the trial that he was on duty in the airport when he was alerted to the fact that two people were on taxiway 12. He said the men were wearing high-vis vests with Veterans for Peace emblazoned on them and were walking towards taxiway 11. One of them was holding a document with a picture of an Omni Air aircraft on it, he said. The court heard Omni Air is a civilian airline which also transports American military personnel. Mr Moloney said on the day in question, an Omni aircraft which had transported US military was awaiting maintenance on the airfield. He said the men were also holding a folded document in their hand, which the court heard was a banner. The jury was shown a photograph of Mr Mayers and Mr Kauff outside the airport holding a banner saying: 'US veterans say respect Irish neutrality. American war machine out of Shannon Airport'. Mr Moloney said he asked the men if they had permission to be on the airfield before they told him they were peace protesters and were there to check American aircraft. They were then taken to the airport where they were met by gardai. The court heard the airport had to be shut down while the airfield was secured. Mr Moloney said he then did a patrol of the perimeter fence before finding a hole had been cut in it. Airport duty manager Ray Pyne told the court that he took the decision to shut the airport down. During this period, which he said lasted about 30 or 40 minutes, two airplanes that were due to depart were held on the ground. At the same time, a Turkish Airlines cargo plane which was due to land had to stay in the air until given clearance to land, the court heard. Garda Noel Carroll, who was stationed at Shannon airport at the time, gave evidence of arresting of Mr Mayers and Mr Kauff. He told Michael Hourigan BL, defending Mr Mayers, that Mr Mayers was refused bail by the District Court and spent 13 days in Limerick prison. He agreed that gardai opposed bail on the basis that Mr Mayers was not an Irish national and might not turn up at his trial. Mr Mayers appealed the decision to the High Court and was granted bail, the court heard. Mr Hourigan said his client was unable to return to the US for nine months before he eventually returned home. Despite what the gardai feared, he has returned on each and every occasion and he is here today, Mr Hourigan said. Garda Carroll agreed. Garda Pat Keating, the member in charge at Shannon garda station on the day of the men's arrest told the court Mr Mayers and Mr Kauff were the best custodians I've had in 25 years. The trial continues before Judge Patricia Ryan and a jury. A WOMAN called a male garda a dirty, rotten, useless, f*****g b*****d over a parking issue in Newcastle West, the local court heard. Mary Falvey, aged 27, of Sharwood Estate, Newcastle West pleaded guilty to threatening / abusive / insulting behaviour. Inspector Liam Wallace said on May 11, 2020 gardai were on mobile patrol in Newcastle West. They observed a car blocking Scanlons Lane. The defendant was a front seat passenger, said Inspector Wallace. The court heard that the car moved but then returned to Scanlons Lane. The gardai saw the car again and went to speak to the driver. She exited the vehicle and called a garda a dirty, rotten, useless, f*****g b*****d and several other expletives, said Insp Wallace. Michael ODonnell, solicitor for Ms Falvey, said she apologises for her behaviour. She wasnt herself on the day. Whatever was in her head came out. She apologises, said Mr ODonnell. Judge Carol Anne Coolican asked if she had apologised to the garda in question. Im very sorry. I didnt meet him since, said Ms Falvey. Judge Coolican let the matter stand to allow Ms Falvey apologise in person to the garda. Later in the court sitting Judge Coolican fined the defendant 300. GARDAI in the Newcastle West District have arrested and charged a teenager in connection with the theft of a travel wallet from a newly-arrived Ukrainian woman in Rathkeale. The offence is alleged to have occurred at a property in Thomas Street, Rathkeale, on Tuesday evening, March 29. Confirming that there have been progress in the investigation, a garda spokesperson said: "One male juvenile, aged in his teens, was arrested and charged in relation to this incident." Due to his age the accused cannot be named for legal reasons. "He appeared before a sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday, April 23 at 4pm. As this incident is now before the courts An Garda Siochana cannot provide further comment," said the spokesperson. The Leader revealed last week that the travel wallet belonging to the Ukrainian woman has been returned to her. On Easter Saturday, Cllr Teskey was informed the travel wallet had been found by people who wished to remain anonymous. It is understood it was thrown into the back yard of a property that has been empty for a number of weeks. It is believed a member of the Travelling community who had returned to Rathkeale found it and immediately tried to get it back to its rightful owner. "They brought it to a local shop who brought it to me. Her main source of identification is included. I met her to give her the good news. She was delighted because the travel wallet was given to her by a member of her family and is of extreme sentimental value. "She was extremely grateful because it holds special and important memories to her. Her husband is still in the Ukraine. He is in the military and is waiting to be deployed in battle against the Russian aggression in his region," said Cllr Teskey. Since the theft, which Cllr Teskey called a "despicable act", he said locals have done everything they could to help her. "I want to praise the local community for the support that was afforded to the lady. In typical Rathkeale style when the community sees someone in need they always rally together in support of the individual that is typical of our community. "The people of Rathkeale offered financial support, clothing and the hand of friendship. She has got a job and is employed in the town. She is a lovely lady and is settling in extremely well," said Cllr Teskey. A CALL has been made on the council to extend the consultation period it has in place for a new community centre in Raheen/Dooradoyle. After many years campaigning, the local authority has announced a feasibility study for the project for a community facility serving the citys southern suburbs. But a group of long-standing residents have said they are very concerned about the way in which the survey is being carried out and they want the period of gathering responses extended until the end of May. At present, the consultation closes at the end of this week. A spokesperson for the group, Joe Burke of Aisling Heights said: There has been no general public meting of the residents to get the views of the residents of this area. There has been no distribution of leaflets by the consultants or their agents. There has been the option to fill in a form online, however, but John McInerney of Nessan Court said that a paper form must also be made available so people who are not internet or social media users can take part. As there is quite an ageing population, this is essential. Many of these residents have lived, worked, paid their taxes, rates, social charges and water charges all their lives here, but now feel left out of loop when it comes to voicing their views, he said. It is patently obvious that this deadline needs to be extended a further six to eight weeks in order to facilitate a properly conducted survey. Many people have waited a lifetime to realise their dream of a community centre for their area and are baffled by the rush to cobble together an incomplete and inaccurate result which is having the effect of excluding them. They are being supported by councillor Fergus Kilcoyne, who said: Their input should be highly considered. Not enough has been done on this. Its a very built up area, and its been lacking in facilities for years. In response to a query, a spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council insisted the local authority has been "very open and transparent" throughout the process. "Details of the survey were released on Limerick.ie on March 14, 2022 with an original deadline of March 31, 2022. This deadline has been extended to April 19, 2022. The press release subsequently led to it been carried on local papers (Limerick Leader, Limerick Post) and local radio (Live95)," he said adding that 440 responses to the public survey and 22 responses to the group survey have been received. "Schools in the catchment area have been contacted and a special youth survey opened up with a separate closing date. A number of organisations have been contacted including sporting clubs, religious organisations active retirement, Mens Sheds and community councils have been contacted and fliers distributed," he added. We encourage all those who wish to make submissions by getting in contact with the Council ahead of the closing date. A FESTIVAL series will be held in Limerick this year in a bid to attract diaspora home. The Global Irish Festival Series has been officially launched internationally by the Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, Colm Brophy TD, at the Consulate General of Ireland in New York. A joint initiative between Failte Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Global Irish Festival Series aims to encourage diaspora to return home to visit Ireland and provides funding and support, through Local Authorities, for events that tap into international diaspora networks with support from Tourism Ireland. The annual Global Irish Festival Series is returning after a two-year hiatus and is once again supporting Limerick City and County Council on Global Limerick with an investment of 30,000. The festival will take place between September 16 and October 31. Global Limerick will feature the world-famous Richard Harris International Film Festival and Pigtown Food and Culture Series. Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, Colm Brophy, said: "I warmly welcome the members of our Diaspora who will be returning for the Global Irish Festival Series. "Those with a connection to Mayo, Donegal, Limerick, and Kerry will have a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with home and to rediscover the vibrancy of the Wild Atlantic Way. "Through the Global Irish Festival Series, we will re-affirm our sense of solidarity and common identity and celebrate our shared culture and history." Eileen Coleman, Senior Executive Officer, Tourism Department, Limerick City and County Council, said: "It is fantastic to be part of the Global Irish Festival Series once again this year. "We look forward to welcoming the Limerick diaspora back to enjoy the amazing programme of events planned for Global Limerick. "We have should a rich history and a wonderful and engaging diaspora around the world that we want to harness their enthusiasm and showcase Limerick for them to return and enjoy on holidays." Green Party politicians have hit back at critics of plans to curtail the commercial sale of turf, calling it a life-saving measure. The leader of the Green Party said on Tuesday that the proposal, which has attracted the ire of some backbench TDs and rural communities, was workable. Speaking on his way into Cabinet, Eamon Ryan said: It is a workable, proper good legal approach. Ignoring air pollution, ignoring the fact it is killing our people, I dont think thats an option or solution. Some Fine Gael and Fianna Fail TDs have united to attack the proposal, which they say represents an attack on rural communities for whom turf remains a crucial and affordable fuel source. The row has posed a challenge to the stability of the three-party coalition Government, with the Green Party leader seeking to reassure his Cabinet and coalition colleagues that the plan is proportionate and will not amount to a full-scale ban. Sinn Fein is set to introduce a motion in the Dail condemning the plan and calling for it to scrapped. Pippa Hackett, the Green Party junior minister in the Department of Agriculture, defended the proposals. This is ultimately about air quality, its about saving peoples lives, improving peoples quality of life. The Co Offaly senator said: I know full well what this plan means for a lot of people on the ground and I think thats why the proposals are quite fair as they stand. Ms Hackett hit out at the backbenchers opposing the plan, telling RTE radio that such grumblings were the reason we are years waiting for this. She said that there was ongoing consultation over the plan. We are proposing the people in most small villages in Ireland will not be affected by this. They will still have access to turf, they still will be able to buy it and they still would be able to burn it. Its the larger urban centres that have the high air quality problem. Approval has been given for the abolition of the statutory public in-patient charge for children by the Cabinet today. The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has received approval to draft the General Scheme of a Bill to provide for the abolition of both overnight and day case public in-patient charges for children under 16. These charges have been in place for many years, therefore primary legislation will be needed to amend the Health Act 1970 to abolish the public in-patient charge for children under 16 years of age. The legislation needed to fulfil this objective will now be developed by the Department of Health and the draft Bill will be published as soon as it is finalised. The proposed Bill will remove the existing acute statutory in-patient charge of 80 per night for all children less than 16 years of age in all public hospitals. Minister Donnelly said: I welcome the approval by Government today for the drafting of this important legislation. This proposal is yet another important step towards delivering universal healthcare in Ireland. "This legislation, when drafted and enacted, will ease the financial burden of parents/guardians when bringing their child to hospital for in-patient care and will help to ensure that cost is not a significant consideration when children require access to in-patient treatment. "Our goal is Universal Healthcare and this is another important step towards affordability as it will make our public hospitals free for children when they access treatment as a public patient. "I hope that, with the support of all parties in the Oireachtas, these charges will be abolished by the summer," he said. Working as an FRS operator is a unique role which suits those seeking flexible outdoor work, such as young people looking for experience, parents working while their children are at school or those looking for a career change like FRS operator, Damian. Born in Argentina, Damian has travelled extensively. At 18, he set off to New Zealand to work on a dairy farm for a year, milking 200+ cows and helping throughout the busy calving season. He then went on to pursue a career in Marketing. When the 2020 pandemic hit, he was living in Spain but unhappy with his lifestyle. While searching for jobs, Damian came across an opportunity to work with FRS Farm Relief. After speaking with Liam from FRS, Damian came to work on a dairy farm in January 2021. I feel like a freelance farmer. I value my freedom but also feel like part of the family. I do all types of farm work, but I personally like milking. There is a flow with what you are doing. FRS Farm Relief are recruiting in Limerick, North Cork and Clare. For more information visit www.farmrelief.ie/careers or contact Liam ORourke or Eoin at the Bruree office on 063 90666. *Sponsored Content Biocon Biologics said its subsidiary has bagged a three-year contract, valued at $90 million (around 688 crore) from the Malaysian government for the supply of recombinant human insulin. Malaysia's Ministry of Health has awarded a three-year contract to Biocon Sdn Bhd. As part of the deal, the Biocon subsidiary will manufacture and supply its range of insulins to its partner Duopharma Marketing Sdn Bhd (DMktg). DMktg is a subsidiary of Duopharma Biotech, a leading pharmaceutical & biotech company in Malaysia. The rh-Insulin formulations, Insugen-R, Insugen-N, and Insugen-30/70, are manufactured at Biocon Sdn Bhd's Johor facility and have been approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (NPRA), the Malaysian health ministry said. Biocon Biologics, a part of Biocon Ltd, has created a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for insulins in Malaysia with end-to-end capabilities to manufacture a broad portfolio of regular, basal, and rapid insulins. The insulins facility in Johor, is the first and only biopharmaceutical sterile injectables facility in Malaysia to receive US FDA and EMA approval. More recently, Biocon's biosimilar insulin Glargine made in Malaysia has received USFDA approval as the 'first interchangeable biosimilar'. Through its scientifically validated human insulin and analog products manufactured in Malaysia, Biocon Biologics is providing affordable access to these life-saving therapies to patients in many developed markets like the US, EU, Australia, as well as many emerging markets in the Middle East and Latin America. To date, Biocon Biologics has provided over 2.75 billion doses of rh-Insulin to patients across the world. (With PTI inputs) Union minister Nitin Gadkari has expressed concern regarding the sugarcane production in Maharashtra's Solapur district. The minister said if the cultivation goes on like this, a day will come when there will be no option but to commit suicide. Gadkari said the Solapur district was once known as a drought-prone district. "But Babandada (Shinde), a local leader, told me that 22 lakh tonne sugarcane was crushed. If such crushing is happening in the district...mark my words...if the cultivation of sugarcane goes on like this, a time will come one day when there will be no option but to commit suicide," Gadkari said on a lighter note. However, he praised the water conservation work done by the farmers in Solapur, which was once a drought-prone area. "Due to this work, wells are (water) charged, water availability has increased for farming and drinking. But there is more to do in this area," the Road Transport & Highways Minister said. Further, he urged all the people's representatives to construct lakes along the Surat- Chennai Highway to transform the water-deficient region into a water-rich one. "If we make water available for farmers, their income will increase by two-and-a-half times, and if the water is given by drip, it will be even better," he said. He said that as there is drought in Brazil, there is a smile on your (sugar mill owners') faces. "But if the sugar production increases in Brazil, the rate here will come to 22 per kg and sugarcane remuneration to farmers cannot be brought down. To avoid this situation, produce ethanol from sugar syrup," Gadkari added. Gadkari was speaking in Solapur city during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of national highway projects. NEW DELHI : The External Affairs Minister (EAM) on Tuesday defended India's position on the Ukraine Russia war, by mentioning that the European Nations and Western Powers have been completely oblivious to the developments and challenges Asian nations face. Jaishankar brought up the events in Afghanistan when US troops withdrew from the Asian nation and Taliban took charge. He also pointed out about the continuous pressure on the rules-based order in the region. Jaishankar made the statements at an interactive session in the Raisina Dialogue 2022 being held in Delhi. The minister was responding to a series of questions from his counterparts from Norway and Luxembourg as well as by former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt on the Ukraine crisis. During the interactive session Jaishankar said that the war between Ukraine-Russia could be a "wake-up call" for Europe to also look at what has been happening in Asia. He further said that it has not been an "easy part" of the world for the last 10 years. Jaishankar defended India's position on the Ukraine-Russia war, wherein he said, I think where the conflict in Ukraine is concerned, we have a very clear position that has been articulated. A position which emphasises the urgent cessation of fighting, which urges a return to diplomacy and dialogue which stresses the need for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states." Jaishankar addressed Foreign Minister of Norway Anniken Huitfeldt's question on the same and said that India has been pressing for an urgent cessation of fighting and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. "You spoke about Ukraine. I remember, less than a year ago, what happened in Afghanistan where an entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world," he said. "I would say quite honestly, all of us would like to find the right balance of our beliefs and interests, of our experience, and that is what all really try to do. It looks different from different parts of the world. The priorities are different and that's quite natural," he added. "Quite candidly, we have been hearing for the last two months a lot of arguments from Europe saying things are happening in Europe and Asia should worry about it because this could happen in Asia," Jaishankar said. "Things have been happening in Asia for the last 10 years. Europe may not have looked at it. So this could be a wake-up call for Europe, not just in Europe, it could be a wake-up call for Europe to also look at Asia," he said. The external affairs minister said it is not that problems are going to happen and that the problems have been happening in Asia. "This is not been an easy part of the world for the last decade and this is a part of the world where boundaries have not been settled, where terrorism is still practiced often sponsored by states," he said. "This is a part of the world where the rules-based order has been under continuous stress for more than a decade and I think it is important for the rest of the world, outside Asia to recognise that today," Jaishankar said. In his question, Bildt asked the external affairs minister what conclusion China could draw from what's happening in Ukraine and whether there was a possibility of Beijing seeing the possibility to do things that otherwise would not be allowed. Also to the Swedish leader's comment that the conclusion that China could draw from the crisis in Ukraine could have major repercussions perhaps for India's security, Jaishankar said the questions should have been asked to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. "I cannot honestly answer that question. But I do not think international relations necessarily function by precedence. People do not need to see something out there and say aha that's what I am going to do," Jaishankar responded. "That's how mostly bureaucracy functions. But I think world affairs has sort of a much more self-driven, self calculating way of working," he added. Jaishankar identified events in Afghanistan, the Covid-19 pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine and big power rivalry as "major shocks" the world is witnessing and said they have global consequences. Russias top diplomat said the West was engaged in a proxy war with his country that could escalate into a world war with nuclear weapons, as Western nations elevated their commitment to defending Ukraine. The risk is serious, real. It should not be underestimated," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a Russian state-television interview broadcast Monday night. NATO is, in essence, going to war with Russia through a proxy and arming that proxy." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Mr. Lavrovs comments were aimed at scaring countries off supporting Ukraine. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter. Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security." Russias attempt to oust Ukraines elected government through a rapid military invasion at the end of February failed, and Moscow is now focusing on trying to seize territory in Ukraines east with the help of mass artillery and aerial bombardments. The West is bolstering Ukraine with fresh supplies of weapons and ammunition in a bid to thwart Russia. On Tuesday, Germany said it would refurbish and send to Ukraine decommissioned antiaircraft cannon tanks known as Flakpanzer Gepard, or Cheetah, ending its longstanding reluctance to give tanks to the country. Germany will provide about 50 of the German-made self-propelled guns, marking one of the first major deliveries of non-Soviet weapons systems by a Western country to Ukraine, two government officials said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week said his government was treading carefully to avoid a nuclear war. The U.K. signaled a more aggressive stance toward Russia on Tuesday when a junior U.K. defense minister, James Heappey, said it was completely legitimate" for Ukraine to use Western weapons to hit logistics and supply lines in Russia. For months, the U.K. has provided weapons on the proviso that they are used to defend Ukraine from Russian attack rather than offensively. Things that the international community are now providing to Ukraine have the range to be used over the borders," Mr. Heappey, who is U.K. minister for the Armed Forces, told Times Radio on Tuesday. That is not necessarily a problem." Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, meeting with defense ministers on Tuesday, said Ukraine has received more than $5 billion of equipment to defend against Russian forces, including two U.S. packages of military aid worth $800 million each. A day earlier, Mr. Austin said that the U.S. aims to see Russias military capabilities degraded and Ukraines strengthened to prevent Moscow from attempting to conquer territory by force in the future. We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it cant do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine," Mr. Austin said after he and Secretary of State Antony Blinken became the highest-level U.S. officials to visit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Mr. Austin on Tuesday began meeting with other defense ministers, including Ukraines Oleksii Reznikov, and Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. The topics on the agenda include updating the representatives of more than 40 countries about the latest intelligence from the battlefield in Ukraine, security assistance to Kyiv and strengthening NATOs defense-industrial base in the long term to support Ukraines defense, a defense official said. The defense ministers were expected to address Ukraines need for what NATO considers to be nonstandard ammunition and weapons systems, as well as discussions about whether the former Soviet republic could shift toward standard NATO equipment, the official said. For example, howitzers designed to fire 152-mm rounds cant accommodate the 155-mm caliber. The focus on heavy artillery and armored vehicles comes as Russia removes some of its forces from around cities in northern Ukraine and focuses instead on the eastern Donbas region, in a high-stakes conflict on wide-open terrain. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was expected to meet with Mr. Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr. Kuleba on Thursday to discuss ways to end the conflict. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, he has repeatedly raised the specter of nuclear war, invoking his countrys atomic arsenal in an effort to deter the U.S. and the NATO from getting involved in the conflict. But as Mr. Putins army has faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces strengthened by large infusions of Western weaponry, concerns have grown in Washington and allied capitals that Russia could consider using a so-called tactical nuclear weapon to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. Earlier this month, Russia further warned that it could station nuclear forces in and around Kaliningrada Russian exclave wedged between Lithuania and Polandand bolster its military presence there if Finland and Sweden join the NATO alliance. Finland and Sweden are considering joining NATO and will make a decision in the coming weeks. Both countries have a long tradition of military neutrality, but the Russian invasion has tilted public opinion and the political consensus in both countries toward seeking membership in the U.S.-led alliance. Mr. Lavrov said there has been no progress in peace negotiations with Kyiv, but that the conflict would end in a treaty that would depend on the situation on the ground. A senior U.S. official said Monday the U.S. aimed to ensure that Ukraine has the strongest possible hand" in any such peace negotiations. Bojan Pancevski and Max Colchester contributed to this article. Click here to read the full article. The Circle Women Doc Accelerator, a training program for female-identifying documentary filmmakers, has selected the four projects that will take part in its showcase as part of the Cannes Docs program of the Cannes Film Market. Becoming Ema by Patricia Drati and produced by Sidsel Lnvig Siersted for Danish outlet Good Company Pictures and Frame Film in Slovakia (Circle 2020) follows a couple who decide to abandon modern city life and start a life deep in the countryside of Mallorca. One year into their dream, the pandemic hits, the man loses his job, and the family is forced to reevaluate their life. A Successful Man (Nem haltam meg) by Asia Der, produced by Noemi Veronika Szakonyi and Mate Artur Vincze for Match Frame Productions (Hungary), was developed through Circle 2019. When a life loving, successful gallery owner is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 50, he takes it as a chance to confront his long suppressed existential questions. A son of poor factory workers, he learned how to march forward and be strong, but now has to embrace his weak side too. A Sad and Vulgar Loner (Un Vulgar y Triste) by Efthymia Zymvragaki, developed through Circle 2020, explores what happens when an abusive man speaks out, positioning himself as a critic of violence. It is produced by Angelo Orlando, Patricia Sanchez Mora and Anna Bofarull for Gris Medio (Spain) and Valentin Thurn for ThurnFilm GmbH (Germany). Greenlandic-Danish project Twice Colonized by Lin Alluna follows renowned Inuit lawyer Aaju Peter, who has led a lifelong fight for the rights of her people. When her youngest son unexpectedly passes away, Aaju embarks on a highly personal journey to bring her colonizers in both Canada and Denmark to justice. It was developed through Circle 2020 and is produced by Emile Hertling Peronard for Anorak Film (Greenland/Denmark) in co-production with Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald for Red Marrow Media (Nunavut, Canada) and Bob Moore for EyeSteelFilm (Canada). Our goal is to curate and empower new voices from all over the world and to develop their projects in a protected and inspiring environment. They can experiment with cinematic language while their characters explore their radical life choices, said Circle program director Biljana Tutorov. Im happy and proud to see that projects developed in Circle are actually made, becoming award winning films in major festivals, like recently Eclipse by Natasa Urban, which won the DOX:Award in CPH:DOX, and that our community work is growing up to embrace participants and films from even broader horizons, Tutorov added. Since 2020, when Circle started their partnership with Cannes Docs, four Circle alumnae are given the opportunity every year to present their documentary projects in development during the market in Cannes. In previous years, two Circle projects received awards at the industry event: Beauty of the Beast by Anna Nemes, produced by Circle 2018 alumna Agnes Horvath-Szabo and Centanni by Circle 2020 alumna Maja Prelog, produced by Rok Bicek, won the IEFTA Docs-in-Progress Award in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The program is organized by Serbia-based Wake Up Films in partnership with Creative Europe MEDIA, Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, RE-ACT, City of Novi Sad, Film Centre of Montenegro, HAVC Croatian Audiovisual Centre, WEMW Co-Pro Forum, Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) Foundation, CED MEDIA Office Serbia, CED MEDIA Office Montenegro, CED MEDIA Office Slovenia, Motovila, CED MEDIA Office Croatia, European Womens Audiovisual Network (EWA), Cineuropa, International Documentary Film Festival Beldocs, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival and Agora Docs. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Saudi Arabias cinema classification board is disputing reports that the upcoming Marvel tentpole Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been banned in the country due to a gay character played by Xochitl Gomez. The movie finds The Baby-Sitters Club actor making her debut as America Chavez in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabias general supervisor of cinema classification, told AFP (via The Guardian) that Disney is unwilling to remove barely 12 seconds from the film in which Gomezs character refers to her two moms. Its just her talking about her moms, because she has two moms, Alsabhan said. And being in the Middle East, its very tough to pass something like this. We sent it to the distributor, and the distributor sent it to Disney, and Disney has told us they are not willing. Variety has reached out to Disney for further comment. Alsabhan told AFP that Doctor Strange 2 will never be banned, adding, Theres no reason to ban the film. Its a simple editSo far they have refused. But we havent closed the door. Were still trying. As sources told Variety in the original report on the matter, Saudi Arabian censors did not issue a permit to release the film in the country since the changes they requested were not approved by Disney. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was initially slated for release in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries on May 5. In the region, movies concerning or containing sex, homosexuality and religious issues are routinely cut to comply with censorship rules. Last years Marvel tentpole Eternals was banned in the region due to a scene featuring a gay kiss. With more Hollywood tentpoles including LGBTQ content, studios are being forced to either make edits to their movies or risk being banned in certain global territories. Warner Bros. made headlines earlier this month after it agreed to remove gay references from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in order to secure a release in China. We want audiences everywhere in the world to see and enjoy this film, and its important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits, Warner Bros. told Variety of the decision. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness begins its rollout in the U.S. on May 6. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Alec Baldwin and the Rust crew tried to parse what happened in the immediate aftermath of the on-set shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, with the actor expressing serious concern for the films cinematographer, as evidenced in newly released bodycam footage from the Santa Fe Sheriffs office. In the several hours-long footage obtained by Rolling Stone which includes interviews with crew members as well as with distraught armorer Hannah Gutierrez Baldwin asks, How is she? referring to Hutchins. An officer tells him that her status is questionable. As the actor sits somberly, someone on the crew tells the officer that they cleared the gun after the incident. The one that fired, we dont know. But all the other ones were proper, the crew member said, meaning the firearms were loaded with blanks. Another person approaches and asks Baldwin if he is all right. No, Im not all right. Im worried about her, the actor says, again referring to Hutchins. Whats her situation? Hes told that she has been shot in one shoulder and the bullet went through her other shoulder, which is why its not good, the man says. The men also discuss they believed a blank was loaded into the gun when the shooting occurred. While on the Rust set last October, Baldwin shot and killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza, who was also shot but survived. Last week, New Mexicos Occupational Health and Safety Bureau issued the maximum possible fine $137,000 to the production company behind the film, determining it willfully failed to provide adequate safety precautions in connection to the shooting of Hutchins and injury of Souza. Last month, Baldwin claimed in court that hes contractually protected from financial liability in Hutchins death. Late last year, Baldwin spoke to ABC News and said he was instructed by the late cinematographer to point the weapon in her direction and that the gun went off without him pulling the trigger. The occupational safety report confirmed that the revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director without checking with weapons specialists if it was loaded. Click here to read the full article. The Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, whose 56th edition runs July 1-July 9, has expanded its activities aimed at supporting filmmakers, it announced Tuesday. The festival is launching KVIFF Talents, a year-round program that aims to identify talented filmmakers and support the creation of projects with international potential and a high level of originality. As part of the program, selected filmmakers will receive financing for development, mentoring from experts, and the chance to present their projects to potential producers, partners and investors at the festival. The projects pilot phase is open to submissions from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Later, the project will be expanded to include all of Central and Eastern Europe. Promoting new talent has always been a central part of the festivals activities. With KVIFF Talents, we are taking these activities to a new level. The program will be another important piece of the puzzle promoting greater originality, creative boldness, and international ambitions by filmmakers from our region, KVIFFs executive director Krystof Mucha said. The festival also announced that it will host the works-in-progress program of Ukraines Odesa Film Festival, which is unable to host the program because of the Russian invasion. Broad solidarity with war-afflicted Ukraine must also include support for the countrys cultural life, which at this moment has come almost to a halt. As a film festival, we have tried to find ways of supporting Ukrainian cinema, and we are glad that we have managed to work with the Odesa film festival to find a meaningful form of cooperation, Hugo Rosak, head of KVIFFs industry department, said. The war has a direct impact on the film industry, so we will hold the Odesa Intl. Film Festivals industry screenings as part of the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival. We are honored to have this opportunity to show Ukrainian cinema, talent and culture to the world, Anna Machuh, general director of OIFF, said. The festival also revealed that KVIFF Presidents Award for outstanding figures in Czech cinema will go to actor, playwright, screenwriter and director Boleslav Polivka. Polivka first came to audiences attention as a theater actor and co-founder of Brnos Goose on a String theater. In 1993, he founded the Bolek Polivka Theatre, and he continues to perform in theaters to this day. Polivka also left a mark on Czech cinema. His roles include the portrayal of a priest in Forgotten Light in 1996, which earned him a Czech Lion for best actor, and the same award at Karlovy Vary. He also took home a Czech Lion for best actor for Divided We Fall in 2000, which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film. Polivka has been an important collaborator of director Vera Chytilova, which began with Calamity in 1981, and expanded to include five films. As an homage to Polivka, the festival will screen Forgotten Light. The festival is continuing its tradition of premiering digitally restored versions of classic Czech films. This year, it will be showing another important example of the Czechoslovak New Wave, director Jaromil Jiress 1968 adaptation of Milan Kunderas novel The Joke. It is the darkly grotesque story of how, in an atmosphere of absolute intolerance, spying, and denunciations, an innocent student prank can ruin a life. Kundera published his novel in 1967 and worked closely with Jires on writing its screen adaptation. The film, which premiered in early 1969, was awarded the Silver Siren at a screening of Czech and Slovak films in Sorrento, Italy, and also took home an award from the 17th San Sebastian Film Festival. The digital restoration was organized by Karlovy Vary in collaboration with the National Film Archive and the State Fund for Cinema. The digital restoration process was performed in 2022 at UPP and Soundsquare using original sound and film negatives stored at the National Film Archive. It is the 23rd film whose restoration was made possible thanks to a donation from Milada and Eduard Kucera. The visuals for the 56th festival have been unveiled. They are designed by Jonatan Kuna and Zuzana Lednicka of Studio Najbrt, whose collaboration with KVIFF started in 1995. This years festival poster is not only a black-and-white but also a color illustration and celebration of the things we experience together every year at the beginning of July along Karlovy Varys colonnade between the Thermal and Pupp hotels. You can find your own Wally and many other figures associated with the festivals history, the designers said in a statement. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The Locarno Film Festival will celebrate U.S. musician, performance artist and filmmaker Laurie Anderson with its lifetime achievement award dedicated to creative pioneers. The prominent Swiss fest dedicated to international indie cinema will be feting Anderson with its Vision Award Ticinomoda, and screening her two feature-length films, Heart of a Dog (2015) which is dedicated to Lou Reed, and the restored 4K version of Home of the Brave (1986). Anderson will be given the award on Aug. 10 during a ceremony on Locarnos Piazza Grande that will be followed by an onstage conversation on Aug. 11. Locarno in a statement praised Anderson as an artist who has made inventiveness and experimentation the hallmarks of her career, underlining that shes been a leading figure in the U.S. avant-garde since the 1970s. Anderson has spent five decades exploring the potential of multimedia and innovative technology in the arts, through collaborations with William S. Burroughs, John Cage, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Wim Wenders, Peter Gabriel, Jean-Michel Jarre and Lou Reed, her late great husband, among many others, the festival noted. Born in Glenn Ellyn, Illinois, in 1947, Anderson trained in both music and sculpture and broke out on the American avant-garde scene in the 1970s. Her recording career started getting traction in 1981 with the release of O Superman, segued by several other albums such as Big Science (1982), Life on a String (2001) and Homeland (2010). Her 1986 album Home of the Brave is the soundtrack to her feature concert pic by the same title. In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA, an experience that culminated in her touring solo performance The End of the Moon. Heart of a Dog premiered in 2015 from the Venice Film Festival where it was praised by Variety as both a demonstration and a critique of the art of storytelling, which is to say the art of making meaning from the random effluvia of daily life, in ways that can both deceive and enlighten. In 2018, Anderson and the Kronos Quartet published the album Landfall, inspired by Hurricane Sandy, which won a Grammy Award. Her visual art has been exhibited at leading museums around the world. Laurie Anderson in Locarno is a dream come true, said the fests artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who called her a many-layered personality whose deep, irrepressible creativity has followed countless groundbreaking trails in music, performance, film, theater, electronics, poetry and all the distinct multitudes of her practice. The 75th edition of the Locarno fest will run Aug. 4-14. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. At the core of Russias recent invasion of Ukraine is the notion of sovereignty and in particular, whether Ukraine deserves it. Ukrainians, and the vast majority of people and governments in the rest of the world, say it does. Russia, which invaded the country in late February in an attempt to overthrow its government and make it into a subservient vassal state, says it doesnt. Apparently, U.S. Senator Rand Paul also believes Ukraine isnt a state, based on this head-scratching exchange with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Pauls position is shocking but not entirely uncommon. Ukraines current security situation is the result of years of policy decisions made by Western countries, the Ukrainian government, and Russia, and Paul belongs to a camp that thinks the actions of NATO member states are more responsible for the current war than, say, Russia, the nation that started it. The core of this argument is that NATOs courtship of Ukraine was the primary accelerant in the current crisis. There are points in this arguments favor NATOs expansionist policies since the early 90s have not been exactly stabilizing to the region but they often overlook the only question that should matter: What do Ukrainians want to do? Since 2014, theyve overwhelmingly wanted to join NATO. The argument, unfortunately, is an easy gateway to what we see in the video, which is a tacit denial that Ukraine has the right to exist as a state. This is also one of the key justifications Russian President Vladimir Putin made when he first announced a Special Military Operation against Ukraine. The exchange between Paul and Blinken perfectly sums up the opposing rhetorical sides of the conflict, which in practice has resulted in the destruction of cities and thousands of deaths. Blinkens point is that Ukraine is an independent nation, and that if it were in NATO, Russia wouldnt have attacked it. Pauls point is that Ukraine and other post-Soviet republics like Georgia and Moldova share ties to Russia that make them part of the same state, essentially, and that bringing them into NATO would risk a confrontation between nuclear-armed powers. Paul says he opposes the invasion itself, of course, but his stance on self-determination makes this point basically moot. Both points are in some ways correct a conflict between NATO and Russia would be unbelievably disastrous but in making this point, Paul denies the self-determination of a country of people who did not ask for war. Its well worth criticizing NATOs policies in the formation of the current crisis, but only one party in the conflict thus far has violated another nations sovereignty and killed its people en masse. The only way to rectify this is to support preferably by peaceful and diplomatic means the ability of the Ukrainian people to make decisions on a world stage with their own interests at heart, rather than the interests of a state staring at them down the barrel of a gun. Click here to read the full article. Theres a moment late in the run of Apple TV+s new limited series Shining Girls in which one character puts forward an urgent question, and gets a mind-bending answer. Is he going to kill me? one woman asks. He already has, the other responds. Just not yet. By this point in a show thats full of such temporal games, audience members may find that their interest has already faded, even as the ending has not yet arrived. Elisabeth Moss acts in, executive produces, and directs episodes of this adaptation of Lauren Beukes novel that hops among timelines and she does her jobs elegantly. (Other episodes are directed by Michelle MacLaren and Daina Reid, and the show was created by Silka Luisa.) The problem seems to be in the source material, and the way it overlays a format the short-run limited series that ends up stretching to fill needless hours to which the TV industry seems to have become addicted. Here, Moss plays Kirby Mazrachi, an archivist for the Chicago Sun-Times who has lived through the trauma of assault; that incident in her past has left her uncertain what her present even is, as she shifts through timelines. Its an unhappy existence in a punishing multiverse, as Kirby finds herself suddenly, say, married to a man she doesnt recall ever having met, or unable to call to mind fundamental elements of her own story. These are very basic questions, a journalist (Wagner Moura) tells Kirby after running through some simple points about her trauma, ones that she cant answer. Moss, with by-now familiar Mossian fury, rages, For you! For her, then, things are tricky. And Moss, as the common element in the timelines, provides a uniting sense of personality in all Kirbys different lives, playing her as an individual who has grown weary of being misled and confused. Its a turn with less wild emotional swings than her Handmaids Tale performance, and that serves it well. On Hulus dystopian drama, Moss character is endlessly jerked around, through triumphs and tragedies that perennially reverse themselves. Here, though, Kirbys leaps through time come to seem a bit like window dressing on a story thats surprisingly linear, moving towards solving the mystery of her selves. But that linear journey can come to feel, well, a bit plodding. Theres good stuff here: Alongside Moss, Moura as the journalist aiding her, and Jamie Bell as the personification of human venality pursuing her, do fine work. But theres simply not enough story here to make for a credible eight-episode series, which means that things lumber when they should soar, and every story point is overexamined. To wit: A deep-in-the-series flashback episode that laboriously does the work of explaining things ends up saying more about the imperatives to keep producing more television than it does about the story of Kirby Mazrachi. Theres a gleam of good story, well-told, within Shining Girls. But surrounded by too much material, it less shines than flickers. Shining Girls premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 29. Apple TV Plus. Eight episodes (all screened for review). Production Executive producers: Silka Luisa, Elisabeth Moss, Lindsey McManus, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, Michael Hampton, Michelle MacLaren, Rebecca Hobbs, Daina Reid, Lauren Beukes, Alan Page Arriaga. With Elisabeth Moss, Wagner Moura Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A suspected drunk driver was arrested after she allegedly assaulted a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper and spat on him, according to an arrest affidavit. Evelyn Briones, 19, was charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest, reckless driving, possession of marijuana and driving while intoxicated. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BOSTON (AP) Harvard University is vowing to spend $100 million to study and atone for its extensive ties with slavery, the schools president announced Tuesday, with plans to identify and support the descendants of enslaved people who labored at the Ivy League campus. President Lawrence Bacow announced the funding as Harvard released a new report detailing the many ways the college benefited from slavery and perpetuated racial inequality. But the report stops short of recommending direct financial reparations, and officials have no immediate plans for that kind of support. Harvard, the nations oldest and wealthiest college, is the latest among a growing number of U.S. schools attempting to confront their involvement with slavery and also make amends for it. The report, commissioned by Bacow, found that Harvards faculty, staff and leaders enslaved more than 70 Black and Native American people from the schools founding in 1636 to 1783. It cautions that the figure is almost certainly an undercount. Using historical records, researchers were able to identify dozens of enslaved people by name, along with their connection to the university. Most were identified only by a single name, such as Cesar, Dinah and Venus. Enslaved men and women served Harvard presidents and professors and fed and cared for Harvard students, researchers found. Moreover, throughout this period and well into the 19th century, the University and its donors benefited from extensive financial ties to slavery. The report says the university should make a significant monetary commitment, and it should invest in remedies of equal or greater breadth than other universities. Bacow said Harvard will attempt to redress its wrongs through teaching, research and service." He is creating a committee to implement the report's suggestions. Building on earlier research at Harvard, the report details how the university depended on the slave trade in its early years and profited from it for decades. Harvard invested directly in the sugar and rum trades in the Caribbean, along with the U.S. cotton and railroad industries. The college's early growth is credited to support from wealthy donors who accumulated their fortunes through the slave trade and industries that relied on it. Along with the 70 people who were enslaved, the report also lists their enslavers including several Harvard presidents and high-ranking officials and the campus buildings, rooms and professorships that are still named after them. Even after slavery was abolished, the report says, prominent scholars continued to promote concepts that fueled racist ideas. It cites work by 19th century professor Louis Agassiz, who pushed discredited theories on race science and eugenics. Another scholar led a physical education program that collected students physical measurements to support research advancing eugenic theories. In his message, Bacow called the findings disturbing and shocking, and he acknowledged that the school perpetuated practices that were profoundly immoral. Consequently, I believe we bear a moral responsibility to do what we can to address the persistent corrosive effects of those historical practices on individuals, on Harvard, and on our society, he wrote. The 130-page report included a series of recommendations that Bacow endorsed. The $100 million will be used to carry out the work, with some funding to be made available now and more to be held in an endowment. The university itself has an endowment of more than $50 billion, the largest in the nation. The report says Harvard should identify the descendants of enslaved people and engage with them through dialogue, programming, information sharing, relationship building and educational support. Through such efforts, these descendants can recover their histories, tell their stories and pursue empowering knowledge, the report said. More broadly, it urges Harvard to fight racial inequality by expanding education options for descendants of enslaved people, especially in the South and the Caribbean. It calls on the university to work closely with historically Black colleges across the country, with new funding to bring students and scholars to Harvard for up to a year at a time. And acknowledging the enslavement of Native Americans, it calls on Harvard to build closer ties with New England tribes. Harvard should recruit more students from tribal communities, the report says, and organize a national conference promoting research on the enslavement of Indigenous people. In accepting the recommendations, Harvard joins an increasing number of colleges attempting to move from research to action as they reconcile with their histories. Georgetown University in 2019 promised to raise $400,000 a year for the descendants of enslaved people sold by the school. The Princeton Theological Seminary created a $27.6 million reparative endowment. The University of Virginia established scholarships for the descendants of enslaved people. Harvard formally began exploring its ties to slavery in 2016, when former President Drew Gilpin Faust acknowledged that the school was directly complicit in Americas system of racial bondage." Faust organized a committee to study the topic and had a plaque installed on campus honoring enslaved people who labored there. Student activists had been shining a light on Harvard's darker histories for years. In 2015, students demanded that Harvard Law School abandon its official crest, which was tied to an 18th century donor whose family enslaved dozens of people. Months later, the school retired the symbol. Soon after becoming president, Bacow established a new Presidential Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery to dig deeper into the university's role. That effort led to the new report. The Harvard that I have known, while far from perfect, has always tried to be better to bring our lived experience ever closer to our high ideals, Bacow wrote. In releasing this report and committing ourselves to following through on its recommendations, we continue a long tradition of embracing the challenges before us. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) Two explosions in a radio facility close to the Ukrainian border knocked a pair of powerful broadcast antennas out of service in Moldova's separatist region of Trans-Dniester, local police said Tuesday. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land with about 470,000 people, has been under the control of separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops in the breakaway region, nominally as peacekeepers. Ukrainian officials have expressed concern about Moscow using those forces to invade Ukraine, while the threat of renewed fighting over Trans-Dniester worries Moldovan authorities. The fear is that Russia will claim it needs to intervene to protect its troops or restore order. The explosions happened in the small town of Maiac, roughly 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of the Ukraine border, according to the regions Interior Ministry. No one was hurt, officials said. The two antennas were used for broadcasting Russian radio shows. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts. The United States has warned amid the war in Ukraine that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops. On Monday, several explosions, believed to have been caused by rocket-propelled grenades, were reported to have hit the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, Trans-Dniesters capital. The Security Council of Trans-Dniester reported Tuesday that there had been a total of three incidents in the region explosions in Tiraspol on Monday, the ones in Maiac on Tuesday and damage to a military unit in the village of Parcani. Officials did not offer any details on the military unit incident. But Trans-Dniesters president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, called Tuesday for imposing anti-terrorist security measures at a red level for 15 days, including setting up checkpoints at the entrances to cities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that the situation in Trans-Dniester elicits concern in Moscow. A Ukrainian presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak warned in a tweet that Moldova might be attacked next, Bad news: if Ukraine falls tomorrow Russian troops will be at Chisinaus gates," he tweeted, referring to Moldova's capital. "Good news: Ukraine will definitely ensure strategic security of the region. But we need to work as a team. Moldovan President Maia Sandu convened the country's Supreme Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the incidents. After the meeting, she said a security analysis indicated that different forces within the region, interested in destabilizing the situation, carried out the blasts. The Security Council recommended ramping up border and traffic patrols, and increasing the alert level of institutions responsible for ensuring public order and security. We condemn any challenges and attempts to lure the Republic of Moldova into actions that could jeopardize peace in the country, Sandu said. Chisinau continues to insist on a peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. We will take all necessary measures to prevent escalation, to strengthen the security of the state and to protect our citizens, Sandu added. We remain open to continue the dialogue for the settlement of the conflict in the region in a peaceful, diplomatically negotiated manner. The U.N. said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned about the reported incidents in Trans-Dniester and urges all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions that could escalate tensions. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the United Nations continues to fully support efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to reach a political settlement over the separatist region's status. The aim is to create a special status for Trans-Dniester while strengthening Moldovas independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WARSAW, Poland (AP) Polish and Bulgarian officials said Tuesday that Moscow is cutting off natural gas deliveries to their countries due to their refusal to pay in Russian rubles, a demand made by President Vladimir Putin after sanctions were levied against his nation over the invasion of Ukraine. Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom informed the two EU and NATO member nations that gas supplies will be suspended starting Wednesday, their governments said. The suspensions would be the first since Putin's announcement last month that unfriendly foreign buyers would have to transact with Gazprom in rubles instead of dollars and euros. Only Hungary has agreed to do so, with other countries rejecting the demand as an unacceptable, one-sided breach of contracts and a violation of sanctions. If deliveries are halted to other countries as well, it could cause economic pain in Europe, driving natural gas prices up and possibly leading to rationing but it would also deal a blow to Russia's own economy. Wednesday's cutoffs will affect deliveries of Russian gas to Poland through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, according to Polish state gas company PGNiG, and to Bulgaria via the TurkStream pipeline, that country's Energy Ministry aaid. The Yamal-Europe line carries gas from Russia to Poland and Germany, via Belarus. Poland has been receiving some 9 billion cubic meters annually, fulfilling some 45% of the countrys need. PGNiG said it was considering legal action over Moscows payment demand. But Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said Poland is prepared to make do after having worked to reduce its reliance on Russian energy sources. Several years ago the country opened its first terminal for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, in Swinoujscie, on the Baltic Sea coast, and later this year a pipeline from Norway is to become operational. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes, Moskwa tweeted. Analyst Emily McClain of Rystad Energy concurred, saying that Poland has ample natural gas in storage and has the capacity to ramp up imports. Bulgaria said it was working with state gas companies to find alternative sources and that no restrictions on domestic consumption would be imposed for now, even though the Balkan country of 6.5 million people meets over 90% of its gas needs with Russian imports. One feasible and relatively immediate option available to the Bulgarian government would be to increase their imports of Azeri gas. Poland has been a strong supporter of neighboring Ukraine during the Russian invasion and has acted as a transit point for weapons the United States and other Western nations have provided to Kyiv. Warsaw said this week that it, too, was sending weaponry to Ukraines army, in the form of tanks. On Tuesday it announced sanctions targeting 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, including Gazprom. Bulgaria, once one of Moscows closest allies, has cut many of its ties with Russia after a new, liberal government took the reins last fall and also in the wake of the invasion. It has supported sanctions against Russia and sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Bulgaria has been hesitant to provide military aid, but Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and members of his coalition government were expected in Kyiv on Wednesday for talks about further assistance. Europe buys large amounts of Russian natural gas for residential heating, electrical generation and the fuel industry, with Germany particularly dependent on it. The imports have continued despite the war. Around 60% of imports are paid in euros, and the rest in dollars. Putin's demand was apparently intended to help bolster the Russian currency against Western sanctions. In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. had been preparing for such a cutoff by Russia. Some of that has been asking some countries in Asia who have excess supply to provide that to Europe, Psaki said. Weve done that in some cases, and its been an ongoing effort. ___ Associated Press writers Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Zeke Miller and Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Shots fired in south Laredo left one man wounded and yielded one arrest, according to Laredo police. Edwin Eliud Reyes, 18, was served with arrest warrants on April 19 charging him with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and deadly conduct by discharging a firearm. At about 5:57 a.m. April 17, police officers responded to shots fired by the intersection of Mallorca Drive and Morelia Drive. About seven to eight shots were heard, police said. Responding officers encountered a disabled black 2019 GMC Denali with several bullet holes and damaged back glass. Officers said they located 15 spent casings caliber .223 by the 2100 block of Mallorca. Two men stated they were at a party and then gave a woman a ride to the 2100 block of Mallorca. Two other people were also riding in the GMC. The woman stated that her ex-boyfriend, Reyes, kept calling throughout the night. When they dropped the woman at her residence, shots were fired at the passengers of the GMC from a parked vehicle. Two homes on Mallorca also received gunfire. Investigators then learned that a man had arrived at Doctors Hospital with a bullet wound to his right leg. He was determined to be one of the passengers of the GMC. Further investigation revealed that Reyes was the shooter, according to police. crodriguez@lmtonline.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TORETSK, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. pressed its allies Tuesday to move heaven and earth to keep Kyiv well-supplied with weapons as Russian forces rained fire on eastern and southern Ukraine amid growing new fears the war could spill over the country's borders. For the second day in a row, explosions rocked the separatist region of Trans-Dniester in neighboring Moldova, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Ukraine all but blamed Russia. In other developments, Poland and Bulgaria said the Kremlin is cutting off natural gas supplies to the two NATO countries starting Wednesday, the first such actions of the war. Both nations had refused Russia's demands that they pay in rubles. Poland has been a major gateway for the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and confirmed this week that it is sending the country tanks. The potential effect of the gas cutoff was not immediately clear. Poland said it was well-prepared for such a move after working for years to reduce its reliance on Russian energy. Poland also has ample natural gas in storage, and it will soon benefit from two pipelines coming online, analyst Emily McClain of Rystad Energy said. Bulgaria gets over 90% of its gas from Russia, and officials said they were working to find other sources. McClain cited a Bulgarian deal to purchase gas from Azerbaijan. Two months into the fighting, Western arms have helped Ukraine stall Russias invasion, but the country's leaders have said they need more support fast. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting Tuesday of officials from about 40 countries at the U.S. air base at Ramstein, Germany, and said more help is on the way. This gathering reflects the galvanized world, Austin said, adding that he wanted officials to leave the meeting with a common and transparent understanding of Ukraines near-term security requirements because were going to keep moving heaven and earth so that we can meet them. After unexpectedly fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces thwarted Russia's attempt to take Ukraine's capital, Moscow now says its focus is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine. In the small city of Toretsk in the Donbas, residents are struggling to survive, collecting rainwater for washing up and fervently hoping for an end to the fighting. Its bad. Very bad. Hopeless, said Andriy Cheromushkin. You feel so helpless that you dont know what you should do or shouldnt do. Because if you want to do something, you need some money, and there is no money now. Russian advances and heavy fighting were reported in the Donbas, with one town, Kreminna, apparently falling after days of street-by-street fighting, according to the British military. In the gutted southern port city of Mariupol, authorities said Russian forces hit the Azovstal steel plant with 35 airstrikes over the past 24 hours. The plant is the last known stronghold of Ukrainian fighters in the city. About 1,000 civilians were said to be taking shelter there with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian defenders. "Russia has drastically intensified strikes over the past 24 hours and is using heavy bunker bombs, said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's mayor. The number of those wounded will be clear once the rubble is cleared. He also accused Russian forces of shelling a route it had offered as an escape corridor from the steel mill. Beyond Mariupol, local officials said at least nine people were killed and several more wounded in Russian attacks on towns and cities in the east and south. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region of the Donbas, said on the Telegram messaging app that Russian forces continue to deliberately fire at civilians and to destroy critical infrastructure. Russian missile fire also knocked out a strategic railroad bridge along a route that links southern Ukraines Odesa port region to neighboring Romania, a NATO member, Ukrainian authorities said. No injuries were reported. Ukraine also said Russian forces shelled Kharkiv, the countrys second-largest city, which lies in the northeast, outside the Donbas, but is seen as key to Russia's apparent bid to encircle Ukrainian troops in the Donbas from the north, east and south. Ukrainian forces struck back in the Kherson region in the south. The attack on the bridge near Odesa along with a series of strikes on key railroad stations a day earlier appears to mark a major shift in Russias approach. Until now, Moscow has spared strategic bridges, perhaps in hopes of keeping them for its own use in seizing Ukraine. But now it seems to be trying to thwart Ukraines efforts to move troops and supplies. The southern Ukraine coastline and Moldova have been on edge since a senior Russian military officer said last week that the Kremlins goal is to secure not just eastern Ukraine but the entire south, so as to open the way to Trans-Dniester, a long, narrow strip of land with about 470,000 people along the Ukrainian border where about 1,500 Russian troops are based. It was not clear who was behind the blasts in Trans-Dniester, but the attacks gave rise to fears that Russia is stirring up trouble so as to create a pretext to either invade Trans-Dniester or use the region as another launching point to attack Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the explosions were carried out by Russia and were designed to destabilize, with the intention of showing Moldova what could happen if it supports Ukraine. Austin, the U.S. defense secretary, said the U.S. was still looking into blasts and trying to determine what was going on, but added: "Certainly we dont want to see any spillover of the conflict. With the potentially pivotal battle for the east underway, the U.S. and its NATO allies are scrambling to deliver artillery and other heavy weaponry in time to make a difference. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said her government will supply Gepard self-propelled armored anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced mounting pressure to send heavy weapons such as tanks and other armored vehicles. Austin noted that more than 30 allies and partners have joined the U.S. in sending military aid to Ukraine and that more than $5 billion worth of equipment has been committed. The U.S. defense secretary said the war has weakened Russia's military, adding, We would like to make sure, again, that they dont have the same type of capability to bully their neighbors that we saw at the outset of this conflict. A senior Kremlin official, Nikolai Patrushev, warned that the policies of the West and the Kyiv regime controlled by it would only be the breakup of Ukraine into several states. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cautioned that if the Western flow of weapons continues, the talks aimed at ending the fighting will not produce any results. Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting also continued. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the U.N. said they agreed in principle that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be involved in the evacuation of civilians trapped in the steel plant in Mariupol. Putin said Ukrainian troops were using civilians in the plant as shields and not allowing them to leave. ___ Gambrell reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalist Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, David Keyton in Kyiv, Oleksandr Stashevskyi at Chernobyl, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, and AP staff around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine A man found to be over the drink driving limit after being involved in a road crash has been put off the road for two years. Dailis Kamols, 4 Miller Square, Lusk, Dublin pleaded guilty at last weeks sitting of Longford District Court to drink driving following an incident at MacEoin Park, Longford on January 2, 2022. The court was told by Sgt Mark Mahon, for the State, of how gardai had been called to the scene of a road crash shortly after midday. When they arrived, the defendant was found intoxicated inside a car and produced a reading of 46mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. Judge Bernadette Owens was informed the result was one which was just above the one year threshold for a driving disqualification. Frank Gearty, for the defence, said his client was a man of otherwise good character who had taken a chance on the day in question. He is a forklift driver and cooperated fully with gardai and he will be substantially discommoded by this, said Mr Gearty. Judge Owens banned Mr Kamols from driving for two years, fining him 300 in the process. In being given four months to pay, a second charge of no insurance was struck out after documentation illustrating Mr Kamols innocence was handed into the court. The CASA Longford charity shop has expressed frustration over the relentless dumping outside the shop every week very late at night. The situation has been reported to the gardai and CASA Longford are requesting that if anyone knows anything about the dumping, can they please contact CASA at 043 334 2844 or by private message via their Facebook page. Longford man restrained with pepper spray after threatening garda's family, court hears A man had to be restrained with pepper spray after threatening a garda's family during a violent incident in Ballymahon last year, a court has heard. Longford garda at centre of false shot dog controversy wins High Court action over promotion delay A Longford Garda who was the subject of false accusations over the shooting of dog has won his High Court challenge against the Commissioner's refusal to backdate his promotion to rank of inspector. Items that have been dumped outside the store include dirty, unwanted toys and electrical items which they dont accept. A spokesperson for CASA Longford said, This is extremely frustrating for the shop as the items that are dumped have to be paid to get rid of and we simply dont have the funds. It is costing us a fortune and taking away from the money so desperately needed for our charity. Highlighting the dumping for a third occasion on their Facebook page, CASA posted, This is so upsetting to see after our hard work to try and stop it like contacting the gardai and posting security camera footage here to ask for information. Cavan man fined 400 for being at wheel of defective vehicle in Longford A garage business owner who was caught driving a truck without both its handbrake and ABS brakes working has been fined 400 by District Court Judge Bernadette Owens. It makes our jobs 10 times harder and costs us money that we cant afford to spend. Please if anyone knows anything let us know. This has become very frequent and we cant accept it anymore. (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers on AIM in London on Tuesday. ---------- AIM - WINNERS ---------- Northcoders Group PLC, up 26% at 322.50 pence, 12-month range 175.00p-390.00p. Manchester-based Northcoders says its revenue more than doubled in 2021, a year in which the provider of training programmes for software coding expanded its footprint. Revenue surges to GBP3.0 million from GBP1.3 million. Its pretax loss narrowed to GBP523,588 from GBP1.2 million. In 2021, it signed a lease for a "core hub" in Leeds, to go along with its Manchester campus. ---------- Chariot Ltd, up 8.7% at 21.42 pence, 12-month range 0.050p-22.40p. The Africa-focused transitional energy company names Societe Generale SA as financial advisor to help shore up debt funding options for the Anchois gas development in offshore Morocco. ---------- AIM - LOSERS ---------- Origo Partners PLC, down 52% at 0.050p, 12-month range 0.00080p-0.081p. The investment company says its shares will be suspended from trading on Thursday, before being cancelled in late-May. Origo says that since Arden Partners PLC is being acquired by Ince Group PLC, it is no longer able to serve as its nominated advisor. It means that should Origo wish to continue trading on AIM, it must find a new nomad. Origo says it has fulfilled announced objectives, including returning proceeds to shareholders, so appointing a new nomad is not in is best interests. ---------- Novacyt SA, down 14% at 167.61p, 12-month range 1.31p-173.95p. The Surrey-based biotechnology company's dispute with the UK Department of Health & Social Care continues. On Monday, the DHSC issued a GBP134.6 million claim against Novacyt in relation to a contract for the provision of Covid-19 testing kits, initially announced back in September 2020. "The company continues to believe it has strong grounds to defend the claim and assert its contractual rights, including in relation to recovering outstanding sums due from the DHSC," Novacyt says on Tuesday. ---------- By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - The UK said it has dropped tariffs on all goods from Ukraine while slapping a ban on some technology exports to Moscow to help Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion. Responding to a direct request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the UK's international trade department said Monday it had reduced "all tariffs on goods imported from Ukraine", including key exports such as barley, honey and poultry. "The UK will continue to do everything in its power to support Ukraine's fight against Putin's brutal and unprovoked invasion," international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in a statement. At the same time, Britain announced it would prevent the export of "products and technology that Russia could use to repress the heroic people of Ukraine", including possibly surveillance and interception equipment. Last week, Britain boosted its sanctions regime against Russia, targeting army chiefs and adding import bans on silver, wood products and caviar. The invasion has triggered an outburst of support from both sides of the Atlantic, with Western nations implementing a raft of financial penalties and funnelling weapons into Ukraine to help Kyiv beat back Russian troops. The latest UK measures come as Russia warns the conflict now in its third month risks escalating into World War III. For months, Zelensky has been asking allies to do more including sending artillery and fighter jets vowing his forces could turn the tide of the war with more firepower. source: AFP Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc / Index: AIM / Epic: EOG / Sector: Oil & Gas 26th April 2022 Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc ("Europa" or "the Company") Wressle Update Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, the AIM traded UK, Ireland and Morocco focused oil and gas exploration, development, and production company, notes the update by Operator Egdon Resources U.K. Limited ("Egdon") on activities issued today in their Half Yearly Statement. Europa is pleased to highlight this update. Wressle production has significantly exceeded the original 500 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") expectation and is currently producing at permit constrained rates of 760-800 bopd following upgrades to the production facilities. Wressle, in which Europa holds a 30% interest, quickly exceeded pre-production expectations of 500 bopd on resumption of production following the successful proppant-squeeze and coiled-tubing operation on the 19 August 2021. Instantaneous rates of over 1,000 bopd have been achieved. Early restrictions to production have been successfully addressed through upgrades and modifications to the site facilities, including installation of a secondary separator and progressive upgrades to the gas incineration system, which have culminated in the installation of a larger capacity enclosed incineration unit. Production is currently limited by the 10 tonnes per day gas incineration limit imposed by the Environmental Permit to between 760-800 bopd (228-240 bopd net). Once the gas monetisation development is complete, this production limitation will be removed and the production rate is expected to be increased significantly. Pressure test analysis has indicated potential flow rates for Wressle-1 of between approximately 1,200 and 1,500 bopd. Since production commenced at Wressle-1 in January 2021, the cumulative production has exceeded 150,000 barrels of oil with no formation water produced to date. A revised Field Development Plan was submitted to the North Sea Transition Authority ("NSTA") during April 2022. The likely preferred gas monetisation approach will be to export the gas via a short pipeline (approximately 600m) into the local gas distribution network. This will require regulatory consents (Planning and EA) and it is hoped to be completed in time for gas sales during the coming winter. This export route will also be available in the longer term for the development of the Penistone Flags reservoir where detailed work is underway. Environmental monitoring throughout the operations has shown no measurable impact on surface or groundwater quality, no related seismicity and that noise levels have been within the permitted levels. In the coming period the Operator will: Complete the installation of the remaining permanent production facilities; Progress planning and permitting and implement the gas monetisation plan, reduce gas flaring and remove the limitations on oil production; and, Advance the development plan and consenting process to enable production from the Penistone Flags reservoir. Outlook: Continuing to optimise oil and gas production from the Ashover Grit reservoir at Wressle, building on the strong performance to date; Progressing gas monetisation at Wressle; and, Finalising plans for development of the material Contingent Resources in the Penistone Flags at Wressle. Simon Oddie, CEO said: "The well performance at Wressle continues to exceed our initial expectations and once the planned connection to the local gas distribution network is completed by winter 2022 the well will be able to produce at unrestricted rates which will materially impact the cash flows associated with the field. This will also allow the field to be further developed by targeting the contingent resources located in the Penistone Flags reservoir and I look forward to updating the market in due course with details of this work programme." Qualified Person Review This release has been reviewed by Alastair Stuart, engineering advisor to Europa, who is a petroleum engineer with over 35 years' experience and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and has consented to the inclusion of the technical information in this release in the form and context in which it appears. This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. * * ENDS * * For further information please visit www.europaoil.com or contact: Simon Oddie Europa mail@europaoil.com Murray Johnson Europa mail@europaoil.com Christopher Raggett finnCap Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7220 0500 Simon Hicks finnCap Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7220 0500 Peter Krens Tennyson Securities +44 (0) 20 7186 9033 Oonagh Reidy St Brides Partners Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Ana Ribeiro St Brides Partners Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Notes to Editors Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc has a diversified portfolio of multi-stage hydrocarbon assets which includes production, development and exploration interests, in countries that are politically stable, have transparent licensing processes, and offer attractive terms. Production in the half-year to 31st January 2022 was 208 boepd. The Company holds two exploration licences offshore Ireland, which have the potential to host gross mean un-risked prospective resources of 1.5 trillion cubic feet ('tcf') gas. Inishkea is a near field gas prospect in the Slyne Basin which the Company classifies as lower risk due to its close proximity to the producing Corrib gas field and associated gas processing infrastructure. In September 2019, Europa was awarded a 75% interest in the Inezgane permit offshore Morocco. Initial results of technical work have identified 30 prospects and leads that have the potential to hold in excess of one billion barrels of unrisked oil resources. In December 2021, Europa announced a collaboration between Baker Hughes and CausewayGT to conduct a geothermal clean heat project at the Company's West Firsby field. If this project is successful, it will prove the operational ability to extract and use geothermal heat from the site. Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - A humanitarian charity on Monday deplored the recent armed attacks on displaced civilians that left at least 168 people dead and thousands displaced in the restive West Darfur state LANSING There is one week remaining until the May 3 elections in many Michigan jurisdictions and voters are encouraged to hand-deliver their absentee ballots to their local clerks office or ballot drop box. Absentee ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day. As Election Day approaches, voters should drop off their absentee ballot to their local clerks office or secure ballot drop box, said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in a press release. This ensures their ballot will be received on time and their vote and voice will be heard in their community. Eligible citizens who have not yet registered to vote can do so in person at their local clerks office with proof of residency now through 8 p.m. on Election Day, and they can apply for and submit an absentee ballot in the same trip, the release said. Voters who are already registered and would like to vote absentee can request an absentee ballot at their local clerks office until 4 p.m. on May 2. Registered voters can also vote in person at their polling place on Election Day between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. The clerk's offices are required to be open for eight hours the weekend before every election. Voters should contact their local clerk for their hours of operation this weekend. Voters can find the location of their local clerks office and ballot drop boxes, operating hours this weekend, and a sample ballot and list of races and questions, at Michigan.gov/Vote. The majority of elections taking place are for millages or local-level elected positions, and there are millages for three local schools. Voters in the Kaleva Norman Dickson Schools, Bear Lake and Onekama Consolidated Schools districts will consider supporting 18-mill, non-homestead operating millage renewals during the May election. Public school districts throughout the State of Michigan are required by law to periodically to ask the voters to approve this millage renewal as a result of Proposal A, a system for funding Michigan schools which was passed in 1994. Primaries and general elections for the next term, beginning Jan. 1, and based on the new district maps approved by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, will be held in August and November. University students greet President Xi (People's Daily App) 14:08, April 26, 2022 Ahead of China's May 4 Youth Day, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Renmin University of China in Beijing on Monday. Crowds of students greeted Xi with waves, applause and cheers. (Produced by Chen Xiangru, Huang Jingjing and Di Jingyuan; Video source: CCTV) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Washington, DC, US (PANA) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team and Kenyan authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of Kenyas economic program under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit facility (ECF) arrangements 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 Catalent today announced that it has acquired from Erytech Pharma its state-of-the-art, commercial-scale cell therapy manufacturing facility in Princeton, New Jersey , for $44.5 million . The deal includes an exclusive long-term supply agreement for Catalent to support Erytech's lead product candidate eryaspase (GRASPA), a red blood cell-derived product, which is currently in late-stage development for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. SOMERSET, N.J. April 25, 2022 Princeton, New Jersey $44.5 million Baltimore, Maryland Houston, Texas Manja Boerman Gil Beyen the United States Maryland Texas Belgium Germany Europe Somerset, New Jersey $4 billion /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Catalent, the global leader in enabling biopharma, cell, gene, and consumer health partners to optimize development, launch, and supply of better patient treatments across multiple modalities, today announced that it has acquired from Erytech Pharma its state-of-the-art, commercial-scale cell therapy manufacturing facility in, for. The deal includes an exclusive long-term supply agreement for Catalent to support Erytech's lead product candidate eryaspase (GRASPA), a red blood cell-derived product, which is currently in late-stage development for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.The 30,900-square-foot facility is located within the University Square Campus Park and houses 16 suites positioned for production of products in a cGMP-compliant manner, as well as laboratories for analytical, quality control and microbiology testing. The site will become a strategic campus for development as well as clinical- and commercial-scale manufacturing of cell therapies, and is located within easy reach of Catalent's facilities around, where the company develops and manufactures viral vectors and plasmid DNA. It will also work in collaboration with Catalent's existing U.S. clinical-scale cell therapy facility inConcurrent with the acquisition, Catalent has agreed to terms to lease an adjacent 23,000-square-foot building that could be used for additional laboratory or cGMP capabilities, and another building on the campus for potential future expansions. All staff at the site will transfer to Catalent's employment, and Catalent is developing its plans for its future recruitment needs.Under the supply agreement, Catalent will continue to manufacture eryaspase (GRASPA) at the site. It will also support the development of Erytech's pipeline of encapsulated red blood cell-based therapeutics for severe forms of cancer and orphan diseases."This acquisition is strategically important to Catalent's commitment to support the development and clinical and commercial supply of cell therapies to meet rapidly growing demand," said, Ph.D., President, Catalent Cell & Gene Therapy. "The talented and experienced staff already employed at the facility, the capabilities it has in place, and the opportunity to quickly add further capacity on the same site, allow Catalent to expand rapidly to create a U.S. campus and center of excellence for cell therapy development and manufacturing that will serve customers around the world.""In Catalent we have found a great partner for the manufacturing of our innovative red blood cell-derived products," said, Chief Executive Officer at Erytech. "Catalent Cell & Gene Therapy is an industry-leading technology, development, and manufacturing partner for advanced therapeutics, and we believe this win-win strategic partnership will meet our long-term manufacturing needs in. Erytech will now further focus its resources on seeking regulatory approval of GRASPA and on the development of potentially transformative therapeutics for serious diseases."Catalent's cell and gene therapy network includes six U.S. facilities acrossand, a European center of excellence in, and its cell innovation facility in. These sites offer a range of small- and large-scale clinical and commercial manufacturing, as well as fill/finish capabilities.About Catalent Cell & Gene TherapyCatalent Cell & Gene Therapy is an industry-leading technology, development, and manufacturing partner for advanced therapeutics. Its comprehensive cell therapy portfolio includes a wide range of expertise across a variety of cell types including CAR-T, TCR, TILs, NKs, iPSCs, and MSCs. With deep expertise in viral vector development, scale-up and manufacturing for gene therapies, Catalent is a full-service partner for plasmid DNA, adeno-associated viral (AAV), lentiviral and other viral vectors, oncolytic viruses, and live virus vaccines. An experienced and innovative partner, Catalent Cell & Gene Therapy has a global network of dedicated, small- and large-scale clinical and commercial manufacturing facilities, including an FDA-licensed viral vector facility, and fill/finish capabilities located in both the U.S. andAbout CatalentCatalent is the global leader in enabling pharma, biotech, and consumer health partners to optimize product development, launch, and full life-cycle supply for patients around the world. With broad and deep scale and expertise in development sciences, delivery technologies, and multi-modality manufacturing, Catalent is a preferred industry partner for personalized medicines, consumer health brand extensions, and blockbuster drugs.Catalent helps accelerate over 1,000 partner programs and launch over 150 new products every year. Its flexible manufacturing platforms at over 50 global sites supply over 70 billion doses of nearly 7,000 products annually. Catalent's expert workforce exceeds 19,000, including more than 2,500 scientists and technicians.Headquartered in, the company generatedin revenue in its 2021 fiscal year. For more information, visit http://www.catalent.com.More products. Better treatments. Reliably supplied. SOURCE Catalent Advertisement Healthy Relationships Improve Mental Health The researchers surveyed 174 African American couples (348 individuals) four times over 25 months. The couples were part of a larger study on a family-centered relationship intervention program, selected from the control group that did not receive the intervention for the duration of the study.All couples were either married or cohabitating, and they were co-parenting at least one pre-adolescent child. All couples lived in rural Georgia and were mostly low-income families.In the current study, the authors examined- relationship satisfaction, ineffective arguing, and partner support - and their respective associations with depressive symptoms over time.Effects were considered in comparison to levels of other individuals ("between-person") as well as fluctuations relative to individuals' average levels ("within-person").The authors found between individuals, higher relationship satisfaction and lower levels of ineffective arguing were associated with fewer depressive symptoms, consistent with prior research. However, when looking at patterns of change over time within individuals, only partner support emerged as a significant factor."When an individual experienced higher than typical levels of partner support, relative to their average, they reported decreases in depressive symptoms over the next eight months. And conversely, when an individual reported higher than average levels of depressive symptoms, they reported decreased partner support over time," Barton explains.While the association between relationship factors and mental health goes both ways, the researchers found one direction more influential than the other."Our results also indicated partner support had a stronger effect on changes in depressive symptoms over time than depressive symptoms had on changes in partner support. The causal direction is stronger from relationships to mental health than the other way around," Barton says.These findings have implications for research and practice."As researchers, we need to be methodologically rigorous in thinking about change over time. When working with complex bidirectional associations, we have to make sure we have the right modeling to make causal inferences," Barton notes."For practitioners, these findings suggest partner support is a very relevant construct to target that influences mental health for individuals in a committed relationship. When looking to help couples, strengthening the sense of their partner being there for them, and they can turn to their partner in times of need, seems to have positive effects immediately and over time," he explains."Relationships and mental health are complex issues. When someone has mental health concerns, fixing their relationship will not necessarily be exhaustive. But our study provides strong evidence that relationship factors influence mental health."Barton notes there may be unique factors about minority couples, who often encounter external stress factors that could influence relationship quality and mental health."Although not the focus of this research, it is possible that partner support is particularly influential for African American couples because of specific challenges they face, such as racial discrimination and other stressors. It's a question for future research to show whether these findings hold across other populations," he says.Source: Eurekalert NEWSALERT-SKOREA-NKOREA South Korea's new president says he'll offer an audacious plan to improve North Korea's economy if Kim denuclearises. (AP)South Korea's new president says he'll offer an audacious plan to improve North Korea's economy if Kim denuclearises. (AP) Michigan's largest utility company Consumers Energy announced an update to its plans to become one of the first in the nation to go coal-free. The update comes as the company reached a settlement agreement with a stakeholder coalition last week. The settlement was negotiated as part of Consumers Energy's 20-year blueprint to meet the state's energy needs while protecting the environment. "A diverse set of stakeholders came together to endorse a Clean Energy Plan that will provide reliable and affordable energy to customers for decades to come while protecting the environment," President and CEO of Consumers Energy Garrick Rochow said in an April 20 press release. The settlement supporting Consumers Energy's plan comes after a year of listening to key stakeholders' ideas and input, the Jackson-based utility company stated in the release. Supporting stakeholders include a broad coalition of customer groups, environmental organizations like the Sierra Club, the Michigan Public Service Commission staff, energy industry representatives and the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. In a statement, Nessel called the proposed deal "a win for our environment" and "also a win for Michigan ratepayers who have struggled to stay current on their bills." Under the settlement that still must be approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, Consumers Energy wouldn't acquire the three natural gas plants owned by CMS Enterprises Co., an unregulated subsidiary of Consumers Energy's parent, CMS Energy Corp., as it had announced last June. The natural gas plants that were set to be acquired include the Dearborn Industrial Generation plant in Wayne County, the Kalamazoo River Generating Station in Kalamazoo County and the Livingston Generating Station in Otsego County. "We are still planning to close our coal plants but have decided to only purchase one natural gas facility Covert while keeping Karn 3 and 4 (peaker plants plants that only run when demand is really high) open," a spokesperson for Consumers Energy Josh Paciorek said. Two peaking units at the D.E. Karn Generating Complex near Bay City, which use gas and fuel oil, but which are used infrequently, would also stay online through 2030 under the settlement terms, per Paciorek. In addition to ensuring that Consumers closes all coal units by 2025 and adds 8,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2040, the proposed settlement also includes the creation of a low-income customer assistance fund and continues some efforts around energy waste reduction programs. The next step in the process is for the Michigan Public Service Commission staff to review the settlement agreement. The public service commission met on Monday, April 25, and extended the deadline for the review of the settlement agreement to give the commission more time to consider. "Reaching consensus on this Clean Energy Plan moves Michigan toward a cleaner, more reliable energy future while caring for our co-workers and communities impacted," Rochow said in the release. "We're grateful for the thoughtful, positive contributions of all stakeholders throughout this process and look forward to the MPSC's decision on our plan." Visit ConsumersEnergy.com/change to learn more about the Clean Energy Plan. Consumers Energy provides natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of Michigans 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties, according to the company. Coming up with $44 billion to buy Twitter was the easy part for Elon Musk. Next comes the real challenge for the worlds richest person: fulfilling his promise to make Twitter better than ever as a lightly regulated haven for free speech. His vision for improving the 16-year-old company leans heavily on a pledge to make speech as free as reasonably possible on the platform -- a commitment thats been celebrated on the political right and among followers of former President Donald Trump, whose account last year was permanently banned. For others who worry that Musk will give free rein to agitators who spew hate, lies and other harmful content, making the platform too toxic for advertisers and average users, Musk has offered few assurances. The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all, he tweeted Tuesday Many of Musks proposed changes reflect his own experience as a high-profile and outspoken Twitter user with more than 85 million followers and a swarm of pesky impersonator accounts that use his name and photo to promote cryptocurrency schemes. The statement announcing his acquisition of Twitter on Monday highlighted the need to defeat spam bots that mimic real users. But what about Twitters more than 200 million other users who arent getting banned or flooded with spam? Theres still a lot of uncertainty about whether his ideas are technologically feasible and whether these changes would benefit most regular users, or serve some other purpose. Hes made it pretty clear hes not interested in making Twitter a profitable enterprise," said Joan Donovan, who studies misinformation at Harvard University. Its about the power and the influence of Twitter itself and its importance in our culture." Experts who have studied content moderation and researched Twitter for years have expressed doubt that Musk knows exactly what he is getting into. And some of the problems he has identified aren't felt by most users. The spam bots, for him, are highly visible and somewhat personal, said Donovan. Most people dont see a lot of these spammy accounts. And for those unhappy with the company's crackdown on hate, harassment and misinformation, there are plenty of fledgling examples of free speech-focused social media platforms that have been launched in the past few years as Twitter antidotes, largely by conservatives. Many have struggled to deal with toxic content, and at least one has been cut off by its own technology providers in protest. This move just shows how effective (moderation features) have been to annoy those in power, said Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame. I would be worried as to how this would change Twitters values. The fact that no other bidders emerged in public before Musks deal was a sign that other would-be acquirers might find Twitter too difficult to improve, said Third Bridge analyst Scott Kessler. This platform is pretty much the same one weve had over the last decade or so," Kessler said. "Youve had a lot of smart people trying to figure out what they should do, and theyve had trouble. Its probably going to be tough to make a lot of headway. Musk received an effusive, if highly abstract, endorsement from Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who praised Musk's decision to take Twitter back from Wall Street and tweeted that he trusts Musk's mission to extend the light of consciousness a reference to Dorsey's notion that Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness. But others familiar with Twitter say they're dismayed at Musk's successful bid for the company. Twitter is going to let a man-child essentially take over their platform, said Leslie Miley, a former Twitter employee who has also worked for Google and Apple. Miley, who was the only Black engineer at Twitter in a leadership position when he left the company in 2015, echoed doubts about Musk's grasp of the platform's complexities. I am not sure if Elon knows what he is getting, Miley said. He may just find that having Twitter is a lot different than wanting Twitter. The more hands-off approach to content moderation that Musk envisions has many users concerned that the platform will reanimate accounts that propagated dangerous conspiracies and harassment. Wall Street analysts said if he goes too far, it could also alienate advertisers Twitter's chief revenue source. And it could make it harder to retain the San Francisco-based company's more than 7,500 employees, some of whom are already voicing concerns about the possibility of a backslide on content standards. In Europe, officials reminded Musk about a new law, the Digital Services Act, that will force tech companies to step up policing of their online platforms. Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules regardless of their shareholding, tweeted Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner in charge of the blocs internal market. Mr. Musk knows this well. He is familiar with European rules on automotive, and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act. Musks takeover is not yet a done deal and still awaits the approval of a majority of Twitter's stockholders. Twitter previously scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for May 25, but a regulatory filing Tuesday said the company will be convening a special meeting as promptly as reasonably practicable." While there are likely to be some bumps along the way, there don't appear to be serious enough obstacles to stop the deal, according to Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Twitter or Musk can walk away from the deal if its not completed by Oct. 24, but if either Musk or Twitter is deemed responsible for the deal not going forward, they would have to pay a $1 billion termination fee, according to details of the transaction contained in a regulatory filing published Tuesday. The filing also showed that Twitter will drop a poison pill measure it had earlier adopted to defend against Musk's takeover by making it prohibitively expensive. Normally when companies go private, dissenting shareholders are forcibly cashed out. Some could challenge the stock price in court, contending that Musk should pay more, but that probably wont hold up the sale, Elson said. Its likely that Musk would dissolve the current board and replace it with a new one that would agree with his management direction. And once Twitter is private, Musk will face fewer gripes from shareholders that often bring lawsuits, Elson said. Private companies also dont face as much scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been a finger in Musks eye for years, often because of statements he's made on Twitter. On Tuesday, shares of Twitter traded just under $50, below the $54.20 purchase price. Twitter will offer a glimpse into the health of its business when it reports its quarterly financial results Thursday. Twitter's constituents aren't the only ones anxious about Musk's $44 billion investment. Shares of Musk's electric car company, Tesla, have lost about 19% of their value since Musk announced his stake in Twitter, including about a 12% decline on Tuesday. Analysts say investors are fearful that Musk will be distracted by the social media company and less engaged in running Tesla. Hes going to be spending more time with another venture, Edward Jones Senior Equity Analyst Jeff Windau said of Musk, who also runs SpaceX, The Boring Co., which digs tunnels, and Neuralink, a computer-brain interface company. Theres a potential limit on the amount of bandwidth that you can apply to each of these companies." __ Krisher reported from Detroit. O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island. AP writers Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, Kelvin Chan in London and Sam Petrequin in Brussels contributed to this report. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) A Minnesota lawmaker who's been a longtime critic of police on Tuesday defended his conduct during a traffic stop for his adult daughter that turned into a verbal confrontation between him and officers. Police said that Rep. John Thompson, of St. Paul, arrived in another vehicle Sunday after they pulled over his daughter for expired license tabs and for swerving out of her lane. St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said in a Facebook post on Monday that Thompson jumped out and immediately began interfering by yelling and questioning the traffic stop and identifying himself as a state legislator. The chief accused the lawmaker of attempting to intimidate and bully police officers who were just doing their jobs. He said it was an absolute shame that his offices had to endure illegitimate claims of racism, that John Thompson is still serving in the Legislature." In a statement Tuesday, Thompson, who is Black and has accused police before of racially profiling drivers, including himself, denied misusing his position and had some praise for police. As an elected official I certainly would not attempt to misuse, intimidate or bully police officers with my official position, Thompson said. I responded as any concerned father would, arriving at a chaotic scene to help deal with my frightened daughter, who was having a verifiable mental health episode. Thompson said the episode was triggered by the large presence of St. Paul police. But he also said the officers on the scene treated him with the utmost respect and did an exemplary job of deescalating the situation. House Democrats expelled Thompson from their caucus last fall amid old domestic abuse accusations and questions about whether he really lived in his east side district. Those allegations, which he denied, surfaced after Thompson accused a St. Paul officer of racially profiling him during a traffic stop in which he was ticketed for driving on a suspended Wisconsin license. Thompson rejected calls at the time from top Democrats, including Gov. Tim Walz, that he resign, and remained in office as an independent. He lost a bid in March for the Democratic endorsement in his district to former Liz Lee, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and then-U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, but has said he is running for reelection anyway. Thompson became an activist after his friend, Philando Castile, was killed by a suburban police officer during a traffic stop in 2016. As a legislator, he has campaigned for a ban on pretextual stops for minor offenses and other police accountability measures, including a bill to speed up the release of police body camera videos. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association urged Thompson to allow police to release body camera video of the Sunday's incident, which requires his consent under current state law. Brian Peters, the association's executive director, said in a letter to Thompson on Tuesday that authorizing the release would corroborate his explanation for what happened. Another benefit would be to highlight the effectiveness of St. Pauls police officers in de-escalation in a mental health situation, as you also noted in your statement, Peters wrote. Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, declined to comment Tuesday on whether the incident warrants an ethics investigation. She told reporters that would be up to the House Ethics Committee, but that she hadn't heard of anyone planning to file a complaint. ___ Associated Press reporter Mohamed Ibrahim contributed to this story. 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. With plenty of Port Austin establishments undergoing management changes or changing to something new, the Garfield Inn is the latest to get a change. A new restaurant called Catbird is in the works for the bottom floor of the historic Port Austin building with its owner having plenty of restaurant experience. A Philadelphia native, Mindy Lopus attended the Culinary Institute of America and owned two restaurants in Birmingham, Michigan Lulu and Bella Piatti and one in Grosse Pointe Park, before selling them 10 years ago. She has also done consulting work for the Detroit restaurant Shewolf and the Frankenmuth restaurant Prost. Lopus husband came to Port Austin for years, having owned a cottage in the area and bringing his kids to the area as they grew up. After they got married, Lopus sold her restaurants, and the couple was ready to buy a lakefront property. They decided to look around the entire state first before deciding on Port Austin, where they built a house five years ago. The couple plans on retiring in the area, with Lopus deciding that she wanted to work on another restaurant. I grew up on the east coast, so I was used to, if you want to go to the beach, its a two-hour drive, Lopus said. If you want to go to the Poconos in the mountains, its a two-hour drive. So we really wanted to stay somewhere close so that we could be here as much as possible. The Garfield Inn, also known as the Charles G. Learned House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has operated as a bed and breakfast up to last season. A proper restaurant has not been in the building for at least 10 years. It is now owned by Todd Murawski, the owner of Bird Creek Farms and current Port Austin village president, who reached out to Lopus about taking over the space. She will lease the space from Murawski. Apart from one bride who had her booking delayed from last year, the guest rooms will not be used this year due to renovation work, but hopes are they will reopen for next year. The name Catbird comes from the first time Lopus visited some friends in Port Austin and checked the Garfield Inn out. She pointed out how this building sat on a hill, in the catbird seat of Port Austin, where it looks over the community. It just kind of felt like a fun name for something not so traditional, Lopus said. The food planned for Catbird would take advantage of the local produce and organic meat of the area, with Lopus saying it would be American with a little bit of a Mediterranean twist. There will be fish, chicken, pork, and steak recipes, with homemade pastas along with some brunch options. Interior work has been ongoing for the past three weeks, with the goal of having everything ready by the beginning of June. This includes redoing the bar area, cleaning up the kitchen and adding equipment to it, updating the bathrooms, and stripping off the wallpaper to help refresh the place. The decor will be kind of modern Victorian versus traditional Victorian, so itll have some softer edges and not be so ornate, Lopus said. While Lopus plans to be open in time for when tourists come to Port Austin, she is aware the Garfield Inn has a lot of memories for Port Austin residents and wants to honor them. The Port Austin community is already embracing the new restaurant before it opens, with Lopus saying that when she first posted about it on Facebook, she thinks she received more likes or comments than on any other post she had done. Im just really excited to be part of the community and to contribute to any type of growth I can, and become a good neighbor, Lopus said. Next week voters in a number of school districts will head to the polls to vote on a number of school issues during the school election May 3. Three schools have put forth proposals for funding to keep their schools running at the highest quality, in both their curriculum and structural integrity. The Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port School District is proposing a renewal of its sinking fund millage, which is set to expire in 2022. The district is asking voters to approve a millage rate of 1 mill, or $1 per $1,000 of taxable value, for five years. The operating millage is used by schools for day-to-day education purposes, while the sinking fund is used for remodeling, repairs, and other expenses for school grounds and buildings. The sinking fund is important, because it lets the district afford projects and repairs without dipping into funds used for children's education. Laker has several projects in mind for the new sinking fund, if voted on by parents in the district. These include remodeling the high school's kitchen, expanding the secondary art room, building outdoor storage facilities for buildings and ground equipment like mowers and trailers, security enhancements particularly in the elementary building, general landscape improvements in front of both buildings, and updates to the secondary library space. "Rather than it being a traditional library, we would make it more of a flexible learning space, where kids can come in with their personal devices and sit for research," said Laker Superintendent Brian Keim. "We still have books available, but it would just be a space that's more current, not necessarily your traditional stacks and stacks of books, because they get little to no use." Teachers are currently being surveyed to study students' trends of use in the libraries and media centers, which will guide what kind of updates to make. USA The Unionville-Sebewaing Area School District is asking voters to approve a renewal of its 18-mill operating millage for a period of 10 years, to provide funds for operating purposes. The current millage is set to expire this year. The USA School District's operating millage renewal would keep the school's education funded, providing $1.2 million that the state of Michigan won't contribute to the school's foundation allowance. The millage will come with no tax increases. It's only for non-homestead properties, meaning business properties or non-primary housing, such as second homes or rental properties. "We need the support of the community to do this, but it's not an increase or something new," said USA Superintendent Josh Hahn. "It's something the district has been doing for quite some time." Bad Axe The Bad Axe School District has two proposals on the May 3 ballot, an operating millage renewal and a sinking fund proposal. The district is asking voters to approve a renewal of its 18-mill operating millage for a period of 10 years, to provide funds for operating purposes. The current operating millage is set to expire in 2022. This is a non-homestead millage, which means only second homes and businesses would be taxed, while primary residences would not. In addition to the operating millage, the district is also asking voters to approve a 0.8-mill sinking fund millage for 10 years for school improvements. The major need for Bad Axe Schools this year is technology. When the district's voters passed a tech bond during the 2015-16 election, it led to improvements with school technology, such as security cameras and access doors. However, natural entropy means that the effectiveness of these additions wanes with time. "With anything technology, they have to be replaced as time goes on," said Bad Axe Superintendent Greg Newland. Technology is an important part of the Bad Axe Schools learning system, as every student has a Chromebook for homework and studying. In order for students to learn in the classroom, the computers need to be maintained as well as possible. With the district's last sinking fund, it was able to replace the high school building. With the new one, the administration hopes to keep up with general maintenance on the grounds, replacing windows, doors, and boilers, along with adding new asphalt to the middle school parking lot. "Just like anyone's home, you've got to keep your facilities top notch," Newland said. "We've always been prideful of the quality facilities, and we've always gotten compliments, so we want to maintain those." Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media The United States is on track by June to reach 1 million COVID deaths since the start of the pandemic. According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 988,707 deaths as of Monday attributed to COVID since the start of the pandemic, an average of 314 per day. At that rate, the U.S. will likely see another 11,293 deaths in the next 36 days to reach the 1 million mark, data shows. Legislation that would require police to notify the families of deceased relatives within 24 hours was narrowly approved Monday in the legislative Public Safety and Security Committee over complaints from active and former police officers on the panel that it could make one of their hardest jobs even tougher. Citing that the impetus for the bill was two cases in Bridgeport last year, state Sen. Dan Champagne, the mayor of Vernon and a retired police officer with 22 years of service, said the General Assembly is being asked to respond to the failure of that citys police administration to do their job. This should have been the chiefs issue, Champagne said. The chief should have disciplined those officers. The chief should have taken care of it. The bill passed 13-10, mostly along party lines, following an earlier 37-2 vote in the Judiciary Committee before the bill was referred to the Public Safety Committee. The legislation now goes back to the House calendar, where it will join more than 240 pending pieces of legislation vying for the focus of lawmakers as the May 4 adjournment date looms. Champagne, who voted against the bill, said the legislation should have originated in the Public Safety Committee, and warned the unintended consequences could be less human contact with grieving families at critical times. Instead of a uniformed officer arriving at the homes of next-of-kin to give them news of a death in the family, officers could have to make phone calls to make the notification within 24 hours of the discovery of the deceased. Without a best effort to make the notification, the inspector general within the state Office of Criminal Justice could order investigations and possible disciplinary action. There was a large-scale public backlash after the unrelated deaths of two Bridgeport women last December when there were delays in notifying the families of Lauren Smith-Fields, 23, who died from an accidental overdose, and 53-year old Brenda Lee Rawls, whose death was from natural causes. If I have to make sure this notification is made, or I can to face some sort of discipline, up to termination, or the loss of my certification, Im going to make sure Im doing this myself, said Champagne, noting that often a fatality in one part of the state will result in local police elsewhere knocking on the doors of families in their towns as a courtesy to law enforcement where the death occurred. In the case of no one answering a door, a note is made for the next shift to make the notification, further delaying direct contact. I only have 24 hours, so personally, its easier for me to make a phone call, Champagne said. If I make the call and tell the next-of-kin over the phone, then I have met my obligations. But without face-to-face contact at the moment of notification, unforeseen medical issues could occur, he warned. What this is saying is that you have to make that notification so you are covered under law, he said. This should happen in person. State Rep. Rick Hayes, R-Putnam, a retired police chief, agreed that death notification is one of the worst things police officers do, but knocking on the door, and asking if families need assistance, is an important public-service moment. This bill is going to take away in-person death notifications, said Hayes, who also voted against the bill, as did state Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, a police detective. State Rep. Antonio Felipe, D-Bridgeport, who voted for the bill, said there have been other instances throughout the state of prolonged periods when families have not been informed of deaths. The right to grieve, the right to know that your family member is gone, is a human right, Felipe said. To say we cant do it just because there are a few instances, I think is short-sighted. I dont think this is going to have this over-arching effect on our police departments. He doubts there would be many police officers decertified or fired over it. We need to have as much faith in our police officers and our departments that this will get done, and unfortunately, there are multiple municipalities around the state, not just mine, that have these policies that are very robust and talk about everything that you need to do, but unfortunately one thing that isnt mentioned is the timeliness in which that needs to happen, Felipe said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SHONTO, Ariz. (AP) Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, whose tenure has been dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, is seeking a second term in office. Nez made the announcement over the weekend from his hometown of Shonto. Nez, 46, highlighted his administration's handling of COVID-19 and said he wants to ensure that plans to rebuild the economy, and extend power and water lines continues. We must continue on the path of recovery and healing together, he said in a statement. A handful of others also have said they'll seek the position, including Buu Van Nygren, Ethel Branch, Frank Dayish Jr. and Earl Sombrero. Nygren, a vice presidential candidate in the tribe's 2018 election, recently resigned as chief commercial officer at the Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority. Branch, who served as Navajo Nation attorney general while Nez was vice president, launched a COVID-19 relief fund for Navajo and Hopi families that has raised over $18 million, according to its website. Dayish lost a bid for the tribal presidency in 2006 after serving as vice president under Joe Shirley Jr. Dayish has since worked in administrative positions in the health care and housing industries. Sombrero is the manager of a Navajo chapter, or precinct, near the Arizona-Utah border. The deadline to file for the tribe's top elected post is May 4. More than a dozen people typically run for president of the Navajo Nation, which has the largest land mass of any Native American tribe in the U.S. and is second in population with about 400,000 tribal members. The primary election is Aug. 2. The top two vote-getters move on to the November general election. WARSAW, Poland (AP) Polands government has announced plans to drastically reduce flights at Warsaws two airports starting Sunday if talks with air traffic controllers demanding better working conditions fail. Regulations published late Monday state the Frederic Chopin and Modlin airports would operate from 07:30 GMT until 15:00 GMT each day and only handle flights to and from key destinations. The majority of air traffic controllers in Warsaw are threatening to quit their jobs May 1 after a drawn-out conflict with Polands air navigation authority over working hours, pay and the authoritys financial transparency. The conflict is coming to a head at a time when world leaders have been coming to Warsaw for talks on supporting neighboring Ukraine in its fight against Russias invasion. Due to the war across the border, Polands eastern skies have been dedicated to the needs of Polish and U.S. military forces stationed in the area with the goal of strengthening Polands security. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki suggested Tuesday that the controllers union should cede on some points. He said that controllers typically work 30 hours a week and earn up to 45,000 zlotys ($10,000) pre-tax a month, which are highly favorable terms by Polands standards. The Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers disputed the figures. It said earning are much lower, and that individuals with 30 years experience can earn about 33,000 zlotys ($7,600) a month before taxes. The union claimed that in the past two years, controllers have been expected to work shifts single-handedly or sometimes put in 12-hours shifts, conditions it described as a flight safety threat. The union also accused state air navigation authority PANSA of neglecting some international flight regulations. The labor dispute started about two years ago with the appointment of a loyalist of Polands right-wing government as PANSAs chief. Janusz Janiszewski increased the working hours and reduced the pay of air traffic controllers, arguing that traffic was much smaller during the COVID-19 pandemic. As some controllers quit and some flights were delayed at Warsaws airports, Janiszewski was fired March 31. A state auditing body found issues with his management, Polish media reported. BROWNSVILLE, Wis. (AP) Republican Tim Michels, a multimillionaire construction company co-owner who last ran for office nearly two decades ago, cast himself as an outsider candidate in launching his campaign for Wisconsin governor Monday to take out Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Michels, 59, joins a crowded field of GOP candidates, including former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, business owner Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun. Today begins a new era in Wisconsin, Michels told a crowd of about 200 supporters, family members, Michels Corp. employees and others gathered inside a company maintenance building in Brownsville on Monday. Enough of the political bickering," Michels said. "Enough of the left and right not getting along. We need to bring people together. Michels, who along with his brothers runs his family business Michels Corp., is expected to inject millions of his own wealth and shake up the primary race, which early polls have shown Kleefisch leading. Michels launched a $1 million statewide ad campaign Monday. The winner of the Aug. 9 primary will take on Evers in what is expected to be one of the most hotly contested governor's races in the country. Evers won in 2018 by a little more than 1 percentage point, in the second-tightest governor's race that cycle behind Florida. Michels focused on Evers, not any of his Republican challengers, in his first statement as a candidate. Wisconsin is on the wrong track. From COVID to Kenosha, Tony Evers has been a terrible governor, Michels said, referring to sometimes violent protests that occurred after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, in August 2020. His instincts are awful and his policies are even worse. Evers' campaign spokesman Sam Roecker said Michels would be in lockstep with the divisive agenda Republicans are pushing. The Wisconsin Democratic Party branded Michels a two-time failed candidate, referring to his losses in a 1998 run for state Senate and a 2004 U.S. Senate bid where he was defeated by Democrat Russ Feingold. Kleefisch has been racking up endorsements from many Republican power brokers, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who had sought a clear field for Kleefisch to win the nomination. But Nicholson and Ramthun have tried to run as outsiders, tapping into distrust of party leaders among some Republicans. Michels, despite his ties with Kleefisch and other politicians, his former runs for office and his companys history of being awarded state contracts, also tried to cast himself as an outsider. Im a business owner and a veteran not a politician. Michels said, promising to focus his campaign on the economy, education, public safety and election integrity. Democrats noted that Michels previously served on the board of a conservative group Kleefisch ran before she got into the governor's race. He also served on the board of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business lobbying organization, which is running ads in support of her. Michels' company has won more than $1 billion in state contracts since 2013. Democrats were quick to point out that Michels Corp. was one of three contractors that double-billed the state, and was paid twice, for work done on Milwaukee's Zoo Interchange in 2015. Michels Corp. was also part of a coalition of business groups that joined with unions in fighting a right-to-work proposal in Wisconsin that was championed by then-Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans in 2015. The business coalition also opposed ending the prevailing wage, which sets minimum salaries on state-funded construction projects. Walker signed laws eliminating the prevailing wage and effectively banning mandatory union membership and the collection of dues. Kleefisch, who was Walker's lieutenant governor, joined him for the right-to-work bill signing. Democrats on Monday branded Michels as an extremist, noting his past opposition to any exceptions for abortions and his stand against same-sex marriage. Because he has been away from politics for so long, however, Michels has not spoken on many of the current issues that the other candidates have, including Donald Trump's 2020 presidential election loss. Ramthun is one of the loudest advocates for decertifying President Joe Biden's win in Wisconsin. Kleefisch and Nicholson have also danced around whether they believe Biden was fairly elected. Michels told WISN-AM on Monday that he's met with Trump as have Kleefisch and Ramthun. Michels also said he had questions about the 2020 election, but didn't elaborate. He didn't mention the 2020 election during his brief comments at his launch event. Michels, a U.S. Army veteran, vowed to run an aggressive campaign and indicated he would largely self-fund, saying he would not accept donations from political action committees, lobbyists or more than $500 from any individual. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DALLAS (AP) The retrial of a man charged with killing 18 older women in the Dallas area over a two-year span began Monday, after the first jury to hear a case against him deadlocked last fall. The start of the trial for Billy Chemirmir, 49, was delayed by several hours after a juror did not show up on time. Chemirmir faces life in prison without parole if he's convicted of capital murder in the March 2018 smothering of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. Chemirmir's attorney entered a not guilty plea for him Monday on the charge. Chemirmir has maintained that he's innocent. Though Chemirmir is only being tried in Harris death, prosecutor Glen Fitzmartin told jurors during his opening statements that they will also hear evidence that Chemirmir attacked 91-year-old Mary Annis Bartel the day before Harris was killed and that he killed 87-year-old Mary Brooks about six weeks earlier. These are some of the most vulnerable people that we have in our community three elderly women, Fitzmartin said. Chemirmir faces capital murder charges in all 18 of the womens deaths 13 in Dallas County and five in nearby Collin County. However, hes currently only scheduled to stand trial in the death of Harris. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, who isnt seeking the death penalty for Harris killing, has said he plans to try Chemirmir for at least one more death, though he hasnt said whose. The defense declined to make an opening statement on Monday. Chemirmir was arrested after Bartel said a man forced his way into her apartment at an independent living community for older people and held a pillow over her face. Fitzmartin said that after the attack on Bartel, police found that a few days before there had been a report of a suspicious person at the independent living center where she lived. A license plate number then led officers to Chemirmir. Police detectives testified about going to his nearby apartment complex, watching as he drove into the parking lot. Detectives said he threw items into a dumpster and then, as they got him out of his vehicle, he was holding jewelry and cash in his hand. Police have said that a large red jewelry box found in the dumpster contained documents that led them to Harris' home, where the widow was found dead in her bedroom, lipstick smeared on her pillow. Fitzmartin said evidence will show that about two hours before Chemirmir was found with Harris' items, including her house keys, they had both been at the same Walmart. Fitzmartin said evidence will show that Chemirmir listed jewelry that belonged to Bartel and Brooks on an online selling site. He said that Brooks and Chemirmir were also at the same Walmart prior to her death. All of this evidence is going to be overwhelming for you all, Fitzmartin said. As in the first trial, jurors on Monday were shown a taped deposition with Bartel, who died in 2020. She said that on the day she was attacked, she'd opened her door after hearing an insistent" knocking and immediately fixated on green rubber gloves the person was wearing. Bartel said she tried to push the door shut but was overpowered. He said: Dont fight me, lie on the bed, she said. She said her attacker slammed the pillow to her face and used "all his weight to keep me from breathing. Bartel, who lost consciousness during the attack and later discovered she was missing her wedding band, diamond engagement ring and other jewelry, said she couldnt remember details about the appearance of the man who attacked her. The number of people Chemirmir was accused of killing grew after his arrest, with most of the families of his alleged victims only learning months or years after their loved ones death that authorities believed they had been killed. Most of the people Chemirmir is accused of killing were found dead in their apartments at independent living communities for older people, where he allegedly forced his way in or posed as a handyman. Hes also accused of killing women in private homes, including the widow of a man he had cared for in his job as an at-home caregiver. NEW YORK (AP) Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he has no intention of rejoining Twitter even if his account is reinstated following Elon Musks agreement to buy the social media giant for roughly $44 billion. Trump told Fox News that he will instead focus on his own platform, Truth Social, which has been mired in problems since its launch earlier this year. I am not going on Twitter. I am going to stay on Truth, Trump was quoted telling the network. I hope Elon buys Twitter because hell make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth. Trump was barred from major social media platforms after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, with Twitter citing the risk of further incitement of violence." The decision denied him the megaphone he had used to generate media attention and speak directly to his followers, which had been integral to his political rise. At the time, the former president had roughly 89 million followers on Twitter alone. Musk, the worlds wealthiest person and a self-described free-speech absolutist, had said he wanted to buy and privatize Twitter because he believed it wasnt living up to its potential as a free speech platform. It raised questions about whether he might reinstate Trumps account as the former president lays the groundwork for another White House run in 2024. Trump has continued to spread lies about his 2020 election defeat in speeches and statements since leaving office, and it is unclear how Musk would approach those statements if Trump were ever to return to the site. In recent weeks, Musk has voiced a number of proposed changes for the company, including relaxing its content restrictions, and said he would be very reluctant to delete content and cautious of permanent bans. After being kicked off social media platforms, Trump launched his own social media app and sued Twitter, Facebook and Google's YouTube, claiming he and other conservatives had been wrongfully censored, even though posts by conservative commentators are routinely the most widely shared. On Monday, he said he welcomed Musk's purchase and told Fox News he didnt see Twitter as his own product's competition. Truth Social will be a voice for me, he said. And thats something nobody else can get. At a rally in Ohio on Saturday, Trump also urged his supporters to join him on Truth Social. Go out and sign up now," he told them. "Have a lot of fun. Connecticut lawmakers are looking to impose a shutdown on the annual harvest of horseshoe crabs in the states waters, citing fears over the species rapid decline in Long Island Sound. The crabs, which are actually ancient ancestors of spiders, have long been the subject of concern from conservationists and scientists who study the Sound, who point to their critical role in supporting migratory bird populations that feed on their eggs. Proposals to end the harvest of horseshoe crabs, however, have prompted pushback from fisherman, who collect the crabs each summer to be used as bait in traps set for eels and whelk. Even the states Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which is proposing its own regulations to sharply curtail the annual harvest, came out in opposition to a full moratorium earlier this year, with Commissioner Katie Dykes telling lawmakers that the agency had engaged with stakeholders for months to develop an appropriate path toward sustaining the population of horseshoe crabs. But at a public hearing earlier this month, researchers and concerned citizens spoke overwhelmingly in favor of an outright ban, prompting lawmakers to move in that direction as well, said state Rep. Joe Gresko, D- Stratford, who co-chairs the legislatures Environment Committee. They are telling me that the population is effectively extinct in Long Island Sound, Gresko said. I just think we need to do a complete ban and repopulate the Sound now. The legislation to impose a moratorium on commercial fishing appeared to suffer a setback last week, when it was passed over on the House floor following more than an hour of questioning by state Rep. Stephen Harding, R- Brookfield, regarding the need for a ban with DEEP already proposing to reduce the annual harvest by as much as 60 percent. On Monday, however, Gresko said that the bill had merely fallen victim to an unrelated argument over legislative horsetrading between Democrats and Republicans. He expected it be called for another vote as early as Tuesday. Harding also said that he and his fellow Republicans would relent on their opposition despite his previously-stated concerns about the need for a moratorium, adding that he expected the measure to pass the House with bi-partisan support. At the end of the day, it is a declining population in our state and any measure that protects them from extinction in our state is one I intend to support, Harding said. Fishermen too seem to have lost their willingness to fight the proposed ban. No one representing the fishing industry or any of the 16 individuals licensed to harvest horseshoe crabs testified against the bill during the public hearing last month. Those fishermen land typically between 15,000 to 20,000 crabs in a given season, which lasts from May to July, according to DEEP. Across the Sound, meanwhile, New York State caps the annual catch at 150,000 crabs. Bob Guzzo, a fisherman in Stonington who used to purchase hundreds of horseshoe crabs each year to help lure whelk into his traps, said that existing regulations have driven up the price for horseshoe crabs and led fishermen to find cheaper sources of bait. The proposed DEEP regulations would further lower daily catch limits on horseshoe crabs from 500 to 150, along with other limitations. With such limits in place, Guzzo said harvesters will likely avoid going out at all. Its so little its not worth our time, Guzzo said. Were probably going to move to alternative baits. The legislation would allow DEEP to permit a limited number of harvesters each year for educational and bio-medical purposes. Pharmaceutical researchers use blood drawn from the crabs in vaccine research. Scott Smith, a spokesman for the Darien-based Friends of Animals, said Monday that that few horseshoe crabs are taken for research purposes in Long Island Sound. The time for harvesting horseshoe crabs for our use is long over, Smith said. Were a long-way off from having a functional ecosystem in Long Island Sound. Editor's Note: This story includes details of an alleged sexual assault. WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Maj. Gen. William Cooley, the first Air Force general ever convicted in a court-martial, will not serve jail time. Instead, military judge Col. Christina Jimenez sentenced Cooley, who was convicted Saturday of abusive sexual contact, to forfeit $10,910 of pay for five months and a letter of reprimand from the court-martial convening authority, Air Force Materiel Command chief Gen. Arnold Bunch. Cooley faced a maximum sentence of seven years of confinement, separation and loss of pay and benefits. Read Next: Military Housing Still Unsafe for Families Served by Company That Pleaded Guilty to Fraud, Congressional Investigation Alleges Prosecutors requested he be dismissed from the service, or if not dismissed, sentenced to "months" of confinement. A dismissal for a commissioned officer is the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge for enlisted personnel. Cooley's defense team, meanwhile, argued a letter of reprimand -- which is often a career ender but still allows for retirement benefits -- would be sufficient punishment. "Maj. Gen. Cooley is very thankful for the judge's compassion here," his civilian lawyer, Daniel Conway, told reporters after the sentence was delivered. "The imposition of a letter of reprimand and significant financial penalties is actually a very significant sentence. And so I think the military judge here did send a message that she was in fact taking this seriously." Cooley's attorneys had also sought to limit the maximum sentence he could receive to six months, arguing the offense Cooley was convicted of is now considered the equivalent of a misdemeanor assault under a law that took effect months after the August 2018 incident. But Jimenez said she had to consider the maximum sentence under the law as it existed when the crime was committed. Conway said Cooley plans to appeal. "Maj. Gen. Cooley all along has been remorseful for the events that happened, but at the same time, he's maintained his innocence in terms of the narrative that was put forward," Conway said. On Saturday, Jimenez found Cooley guilty of forcibly kissing his sister-in-law after a family barbecue. He was found not guilty of two additional counts that covered allegations he also groped his sister-in-law. The case was decided by a judge, rather than a jury, at Cooley's request. The sister-in-law testified that, during a brief car ride after the party, Cooley tried to pull her hand toward his crotch and that, when they were back in her garage, he pinned her against the car window, kissed her, put his hand on her breast and then moved his hand to between her legs. Military.com does not name victims of sexual assault without their consent, and the sister-in-law's lawyer has requested she be identified only by her relationship to Cooley. Cooley's defense team maintains the only thing that happened in the car was a consensual kiss. Cooley did not testify in his own defense during his trial. But on Monday during his sentencing hearing, he read a statement where he started by "apologizing sincerely and genuinely" to his sister-in-law and other family members "who have been hurt" by his actions. "I can honestly say I have come out a better human being than I was in 2018," Cooley added. "I will work for the rest of my life to be a better person than the one who was portrayed in this trial." He pleaded with the judge not to punish his wife for his mistakes by stripping him of his retirement benefits, saying he "pray[s] to god she will not be left with nothing." The defense also submitted to Jimenez several written statements from character witnesses that Conway characterized during the hearing as demonstrating Cooley's "absolutely extraordinary" 32 years of service in the Air Force. Conway told Jimenez on Saturday the defense could call "a four-star and two three-stars" as witnesses for the sentencing hearing, but it was not clear Monday who had submitted the written statements. Military.com was not able to immediately review the statements. The sister-in-law also read her own statement Monday in which she detailed how the incident has affected her life in the four years since, saying Cooley "robbed me of my safety" and that his "disgusting actions unmoored me." "The cost to remain a member of our extended family was silence, secrecy and lies, all to protect him and his military position above all costs," she said. "I trusted Bill, and he took that trust and exploited it, twisted it beyond recognition, marginalized me to others that I care about, lied to family members to cover the truth, and while I hoped and prayed for true contrition and lasting remorse, I don't feel I ever received that. I became despondent with this reality." Ryan Guilds, the sister-in-law's lawyer, told reporters that prosecutors conferred with her on their recommended sentence as required by law, though he would not disclose her preferred sentence. "She will continue to have the pains of this for the rest of her life, and no sentence is going to eliminate that," Guilds said. "No sentence is going to replace what happened. No sentence is going to overcome the pain that she and her family have endured and, candidly, the many other people connected with this case have endured." -- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel. Related: Air Force General Found Guilty of Forcible Kissing in Historic Ohio Court-Martial The Army has become more aggressive with major recruitment bonuses, especially for recruits who elect to ship out to basic training right away, as the force wrestles with numerous recruiting challenges. The force announced on April 20 that new recruits can earn up to $10,000 bonuses for attending basic training within 30 days of their enlistment, which is called a "quick ship" bonus. That offer is open to at least 60 different jobs, double the total from earlier in the year. Another 60 jobs in the Army have quick ship bonuses ranging from $2,000 to $6,000. On top of that, at least 14 jobs have additional enlistment bonuses for new recruits, ranging from $1,000 to $40,000. Read Next: Air Force General Convicted in Historic Court-Martial Avoids Jail Time Bonuses are capped at $50,000. However, those bonuses are taxed, as much as 25%, according to The Military Wallet, a benefits blog. The jobs eligible for the bonuses are varied and include infantry, musician and medical technicians. But career fields in signal intelligence, missile defense and special forces have the largest potential for bonuses. All services are currently offering hefty bonuses for new recruits generally not seen since the peak of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as most of the military is facing recruiting shortages. The Army, in its proposed 2023 budget, is looking to decrease the size of the force by about 12,000 soldiers, or about 2.5%, due to the difficulties getting new soldiers to join. "Recruiting in the military is challenging work," Gen. James McConville, the Army chief of staff, told reporters last month. "We are in a war for talent." That issue is multifaceted with roughly 70% of young Americans not being qualified for service out of the gate due to being overweight or having minor criminal infractions that show up on a background check, according to the Department of Defense. Difficulty passing the Army's academic exam also plays a role, as well as some Americans not having a high school diploma or a GED. The civilian workforce has also become more favorable to employees, with companies having to battle for talent as workers have become more empowered to demand higher salaries, more robust benefits and a greater work-life balance since the pandemic amid low unemployment. Recruiters have also been unable to recruit in-person out of high schools and colleges since the pandemic, though with restrictions lifted in most of the country in recent months, that should become less of a hurdle. With the post-9/11 wars winding down, Army recruiting commercials have focused more on jobs in tech and selling itself as a diverse force that's welcoming to LGBTQ troops, something that could be a key concern for Gen Z recruits. However, there is still plenty of advertising directed to potential recruits looking to get into ground combat roles and things that go boom. The 75th Ranger Regiment regularly publishes high-production-value recruiting ads that emphasize combat with rock-heavy scores. To reach out to the younger generation, some recruiting efforts have been taken to Twitch, a streaming service largely focused on video games. Even BuzzFeed, a digital media company, had a recent paid promotion from the Army with its own quiz in the site's signature style. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: Space Force Offering Bonuses Up to $20,000 for New Guardians with Tech Backgrounds A group of 40 nations gathered together by the U.S. in Germany this week will work to send more weapons and aid to Ukraine as its war with Russia enters a crucial phase, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at Ramstein Air Base on Tuesday. The first-of-its-kind summit conducted outside of NATO and the U.N. yielded a commitment of 50 Gepard, or Cheetah, anti-aircraft systems from Germany, more anti-aircraft weapons from the U.K., and armored vehicles from Canada, Austin said during a press conference following the event. Nations were encouraged to work with the U.S. European Command on the logistics of moving weapons into the country. The summit will become a monthly event aimed at rushing new arms to Ukrainian forces as they face off with Russian artillery, armor and missiles in the flat eastern Donbas region, and Moscow continues to bomb cities and civilian targets such as rail stations. Attendees at the summit included many European nations but also Australia, South Korea and Japan, according to Reuters. Read Next: Air Force General Convicted in Historic Court-Martial Avoids Jail Time "We don't have any time to waste. The briefings today laid out clearly why the coming weeks will be so crucial for Ukraine. So we've got to move at the speed of war," Austin said. "I know that all the leaders leave today more resolved than ever to support Ukraine in this fight against Russian aggression and atrocities." The group of nations "will be a vehicle for nations of goodwill to intensify our efforts and coordinate our assistance and focus on winning today's fight and the struggles to come," he said. Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Kyiv on Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Following the meeting, the defense secretary said he wants to see Russia's military weakened so it can't threaten Ukraine and its neighbors. Moscow struck rail stations across Ukraine on Monday -- part of a bombing campaign that has also targeted civilians throughout the conflict -- and its top diplomat warned the West on Tuesday not to underestimate the potential for nuclear war over the conflict, according to The Associated Press. Origin APNews "The danger is serious," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly said in a TV interview. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also made a veiled threat of using the world's most powerful weapons, putting his nuclear forces on heightened alert at the outset of the two-month-old war. The U.S. delayed a long-scheduled Minuteman III nuclear test launch in March in an effort to reduce tensions. The two countries own the world's largest stockpiles of nuclear arms. Austin condemned the threatening talk from Russia. "Nobody wants to see a nuclear war happen. It's a war where all sides lose, and so, rattling of saber and dangerous rhetoric is clearly unhelpful and something that we won't engage in," he said. Aid from the U.S. and other nations has ramped up as the belief grows that Ukraine -- the underdog to Russia's much larger military -- could actually win the war. On top of the commitments Tuesday, the U.S. has provided 90 155mm howitzer cannons, as well as training, Mi-17 helicopters, armored personnel carriers, radar systems, Switchblade drones, and the newly developed Phoenix Ghost drone. The U.S. has pumped a total of $3.4 billion in national security assistance into Ukraine, including thousands of shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles that helped to repel Russian tanks, armored vehicles and aircraft during the earlier phase of the war. Russia floundered in its initial effort to seize control of Ukraine and its capital Kyiv and seemingly underestimated the Ukrainian military when it launched the unprovoked invasion on Feb. 24. The flawed invasion exposed weaknesses in its own military logistics, leaving troops without enough food and fuel, and its inability to use combined air and ground forces on the battlefield. Moscow pulled its badly depleted forces from around Kyiv and has begun to refocus its military assault on Mariupol and the Donbas, the country's industrial heartland of Donetsk and Luhansk, where it has been fueling a separatist war since 2014. Seizing the Donbas is now Russia's stated goal in the war. If successful, Russia would cleave off a chunk of eastern Ukraine that connects to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula it annexed eight years ago despite international condemnation. Austin said during his press conference on Tuesday that Russia is now in a weakened state, urging speedy support to Ukraine. Russia has suffered "substantial" casualties and the loss of the key battleship Moskva, which was reportedly hit by anti-ship cruise missiles launched by Ukraine. "They've lost a lot of equipment. They've used a lot of precision-guided munitions. They've lost a major surface combatant," he said. "And so they are in fact, in terms of military capability, weaker than when it started." -- Travis Tritten can be reached at travis.tritten@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten. Related: Going Underground: Ukraines Subterranean Fighters Highlight the Benefit and Long History of Tunnels in Warfare A private company that pleaded guilty in 2021 of falsifying maintenance records for some of the 43,000 houses it manages for the Defense Department continues to ignore residents' concerns over mold, asbestos and other problems, endangering their health and safety, a congressional investigation has found. Base residents at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and elsewhere reported moving into homes that weren't cleaned between tenants and were ridden with filth and pet hair, contained extensive mold or had exposed asbestos in crumbling ceilings and broken floor tiles. When they requested repairs or other maintenance from the management company, Dallas-based Balfour Beatty Communities, they encountered a "lack of concern," according to a report released Tuesday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Read Next: Texas Guardsman Drowns After Rescue Attempt During Border Mission "The Subcommittee uncovered numerous specific instances where Balfour's housing practices since 2019 put military families' health and safety at risk," said the report titled Mistreatment of Military Families in Privatized Housing. Balfour Beatty provides housing in 26 states to 150,000 military residents. On Monday, a spokesman said that the company had not received a copy of the report, but that it takes issue with the charge that Balfour Beatty continues to engage in the practices for which it was found guilty. They added that they respond to requests for maintenance promptly. The company has put in place rigorous new compliance and assurance procedures to prevent such behavior. In addition, it has implemented strict mold control procedures, and has devoted a great deal of time, effort, and money to ensuring that work orders are properly entered into [our system,] a Balfour Beatty spokesman said in an email to Military.com Balfour Beatty was ordered in December to pay $65.4 million in fines and restitution after being found guilty of fraud, having manipulated maintenance records from 2013 to 2019 to obtain performance bonuses as a housing management contractor. The Senate committee said the mistreatment of service members and families by the company continues, and according to the report, the behaviors uncovered after 2019 "bear striking similarities to the types of conduct which Balfour admitted to in its December 2021 guilty plea." "The subcommittee uncovered numerous examples of inaccuracies and omissions in ... Balfour's internal work order data tracking system after 2019, when the company initially vowed to correct these problems," the report said. The investigation is the latest chapter in an ongoing scandal that began in 2018 over the condition of military housing, when systemic issues came to light in a series of reports by Reuters over the presence of mold, lead-based paint and other dangerous living conditions in base housing managed by private companies. Military families have filed lawsuits and testified before Congress since 2019 on their poor housing conditions, noting that the companies often ignored maintenance requests or took shortcuts in repairing their homes. Following a series of congressional hearings, military leadership pledged to improve its oversight of these companies, which hold 50-year contracts. The Defense Department developed a tenant bill of rights, unveiled in June, 2021 that gave residents more leverage with their landlords and the ability to negotiate disputes. But according to the report, some residents are still powerless to have their homes repaired and continue to live in conditions that affect their health. In a hearing on the report scheduled for Tuesday, an Army officer will testify that his eight-year-old daughter developed eczema as the result of living in a moldy home. Repeated complaints went undocumented in the company's work order tracking system. And when the family moved out, they received a collection notice from the company. Multiple families at Fort Gordon reported 'resistance' from Balfour when they asked about potential mold in their homes, according to the report. One family noticed a strong musty smell and discoloration in a bathroom floor but Balfour employees that visited the home "discounted the concerns." After months of requests, the company agreed to remove the floor, only to find what appeared to be "excessive black mold." In addition to finding that Balfour employees ignored families and put their health at risk, the committee, chaired by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., also determined that Balfour Beatty's work order data continues to be "incomplete, inaccurate and misleading." According to the report, the committee identified issues with the company's repairs database "from 2020 until as recently as early 2022." "In several cases, [the committee] found work orders relating to mold, for instance, were inaccurately entered as 'interior repairs,' 'painting,' 'plumbing' and 'carpentry' issues," staff members noted. According to the report, Fort Gordon was not the only installation affected. A family at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas also reported that after their water heater broke, resulting in flooding, subsequent mold growth was ignored, with the company hiring an industrial hygienist to conduct an assessment without ever visiting the home. As a result of the initial revelations of poor housing conditions, the services have contracted with third party inspectors to examine their housing stock. The Navy and Marine Corps expect to have more than 62,000 base homes inspected by October, while the Army anticipated completing its inspections by last September. The Air Force conducted its inspections in 2019. Lawmakers have complained that the Defense Department and the military services ceded oversight of base housing to the management companies when DoD entered into the public-private ventures in the late 1990s. Ahead of the hearing, Ossoff released a video trailer on the investigation. "Servicemembers and their families put it all on the line for our country. But are they being mistreated by the private companies responsible for their housing?" the video asks. The Senate hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m Tuesday and will be streamed online. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: Top Enlisted Military Leaders Pressed on Unsafe Housing, Sex Assault One soldier was killed and another two were injured in a vehicle incident at Yakima Training Center in Washington State on Monday. Pfc. Joseph Marquez was killed in the accident. Marquez, 20, was a native of Dover, Delaware, and served as a motor transport operator in 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, which falls under the 2nd Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The unit makes up part of the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of Pfc. Marquez," Lt. Col. Michael Filanowski, commander of 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, said in a press release. "Blackhawk Squadron sends its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. Our prayers and thoughts are with them during this difficult time." U.S. Army PFC Joseph Alejandro Marquez, from Dover, Delaware. (U.S. Army photo via 8th Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry Facebook page) Read Next: The Army Keeps Boosting Recruiting Bonuses as It Struggles to Find New Soldiers The two injured soldiers have already been treated and released from Yakima Memorial Hospital. It is unclear what led up to the fatal incident. Lt. Col. Travis Dettmer, a 7th Infantry Division spokesperson, declined to disclose even the vehicle Marquez died in -- a detail which is commonly released after military incidents. Fatal ground incidents have proven one of the leading causes of death for soldiers, far outpacing combat deaths in recent years. At least 20 soldiers died during on-duty vehicle incidents last year. Brig. Gen. Andrew Hilmes, commander of the Army's Combat Readiness Center and director of Army safety, told Military.com in November that ground vehicle mishaps were a "number one killer of soldiers." An Army safety report from last year found that most incidents are due to soldiers having inadequate driving training and sleep deprivation. "Marquez was known for his laughter and the light he spread everywhere he went," a statement from the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry's Facebook page said. "We knew him as a loving son and brother to his family, a faithful friend to his comrades, and a loyal Soldier to his nation. He was and is so loved, and already so missed." -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: The Top Killer of Soldiers, Army Vehicle Deaths Are Tied to Poor Training, Though Numbers Down Department of Veterans Affairs officials announced Monday that it has added nine rare respiratory cancers to the list of illnesses considered to be related to exposure to burn pits and other particles in the air encountered overseas, a designation that will expedite affected veterans' access to health care and benefits. The move follows a White House announcement last November that it planned to establish presumption for the illnesses that have become more common among veterans in the past 32 years, with advocates and health experts zeroing in on burn pits used to dispose of trash and industrial waste in Iraq and Afghanistan as a likely culprit. The new additions are rare, affecting roughly six per every 100,000 Americans, and the expedited benefits are being offered to affected veterans who served in the Persian Gulf since Aug. 2, 1990, as well as Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti or Uzbekistan on or after Sept. 19, 2001. Read Next: The Army Keeps Boosting Recruiting Bonuses as It Struggles to Find New Soldiers VA Secretary Denis McDonough told reporters Monday that the move, published Tuesday in the Federal Register, will "keep President Biden's promise ... in ensuring that veterans who suffer from those conditions and their survivors will get the benefits and care they've earned." "If you suffer from any of those conditions ... you may be eligible for disability benefits without having to prove causality between your service and your condition," McDonough said. The rare respiratory cancers that now are eligible for health care and expedited disability claims include: Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea Adenocarcinoma of the trachea Salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung Large cell carcinoma of the lung Salivary gland-type tumors of the lung Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung Typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung The illnesses join three already considered to be linked to burn pits and overseas duty if they develop within 10 years of deployment -- asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis. The presumptive designation allows veterans to apply for disability benefits without having to provide proof that their disease was caused by an exposure or injury when they served in the military. VA officials said Monday that the change will affect roughly 100 veterans who previously filed claims for these illnesses and were denied as well as an unknown number of veterans who may file claims for these conditions in the future. As of last month, the department had processed 16,500 claims related to the first three new presumptive conditions for a total of $36 million in benefits. The Biden administration also has pledged to commit more research to understanding the connection between the burn pits used in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere and is considering whether to designate another lung disease, known as constrictive bronchiolitis, as a presumptive condition. The initiatives come as Congress weighs legislation that would expand the list of burn-pit related conditions to include additional cancers and respiratory illnesses and provide benefits to more than a million new veterans who served overseas in certain locations since Aug. 2, 1990. The House passed the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act in March in a 256-174 vote. The legislation would expand VA health care access to more post-9/11 veterans and calls for improving the federal response to veterans sickened as the result of drinking water contamination at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as well as helping veterans who developed illnesses in cleanup operations across the globe. The Senate has approved a $1 billion bill that would extend VA health care to more veterans, creating a one-year enrollment period for VA medical care for post-9/11 combat veterans who served since 1998 and never enrolled, and expanding the enrollment period from five years to 10. While the White House has not identified by name which piece of legislation it supports, President Joe Biden released a statement Monday urging Congress "to pass bipartisan legislation to comprehensively address toxic exposures and further deliver the vital benefits our veterans have earned." "We can and must do more to address the harms that come from hazardous exposures, which have gone unaddressed for far too long," Biden said in the statement. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: 'We Have a Sacred Obligation:' Biden Pledges to Help Vets Struggling with the Wounds of War Answers Global Graphite market trend 2023-2027 What is the lithium Intercalation Mechanism of Graphite? by Newsmis-asia Europe's largest economy, Germany, recently activated an emergency plan to manage gas supplies that the natural gas could be rationed if supplies are disrupted or disrupted by a stand-off over Russian demands to pay for fuel in rubles. German Vice-Chancellor, minister of economy and climate protection, said Germany's gas supplies were secure for now, but he urged consumers and businesses to reduce consumption, saying "every kilowatt of electricity counts." Germany's gas network regulator can ration gas if supplies run short. Plants would be the first to be affected. Special treatment will be provided to private families, hospitals, and other important institutions. Half of Germany's 41.5 million households use natural gas for heating, and industry consumption accounts for a third of the country's 100 billion cubic meters of gas demand in 2021. The price of many energy and commodities like the Graphite could be affected. Graphite has good conductivity, high crystallinity, and a well-layered structure. It is very suitable for repeated intercalation and deintercalation of lithium ions. It is currently the most widely used and most mature negative electrode material. After lithium ions are intercalated between the graphite layers, a lithium intercalation compound LixC6 (0x1) is formed, and the theoretical capacity can reach 372mAh/g (x=1). The reaction formula is: xLi++6C+xe-LixC6 Lithium-ion intercalation changes the stacking mode between graphite layers from ABAB to AAAA. Graphite modification treatment Since the graphite interlayer spacing (d0.34nm) is smaller than the crystal plane interlayer spacing (0.37nm) of the graphite lithium intercalation compound LixC6, the graphite layer spacing changes during the charging and discharging process, which is easy to cause the graphite layer to peel off, pulverize, and also occur. Lithium ions and organic solvent molecules co-intercalate into the graphite layer, and the organic solvent decomposes, affecting the battery cycle performance. Through graphite modification, such as oxidation on the surface of graphite and coating of polymer pyrolytic carbon, composite graphite with a core-shell structure can be formed, improving the charge and discharge performance of graphite and increasing the specific capacity. Other anode materials At present, graphite is the mainstream commercial lithium battery negative electrode material. Its theoretical gram capacity is 372mAh/g. The graphite negative electrode material with better performance on the market can reach 360mAh/g, and the gram capacity gradually tends to the limit value. Although graphite as a negative electrode material has disadvantages such as low gram capacity and cycle deviation, because of the high-cost performance of graphite-based negative electrode materials, it will not be replaced by new materials immediately. The specific reasons are as follows: 1. The new anode material technology is immature, and it will take a long time for performance improvement; 2. The price of new anode materials is higher, and the price advantage of graphite anodes is obvious; 3. The negative electrode material needs to be used in combination with the positive electrode material, electrolyte, etc., and the specific capacity of the current positive electrode material is generally low. High-quality graphite supplier Luoyang Moon & Star New Energy Technology Co., LTD, founded on October 17, 2008, is a high-tech enterprise committed to developing, producing, processing, selling, and technical services of lithium-ion battery anode materials. After more than 10 years of development, the company has gradually developed into a diversified product structure with natural graphite, artificial graphite, composite graphite, intermediate phase, and other negative materials (silicon-carbon materials, etc.). The products are widely used in high-end lithium-ion digital power and energy storage batteries. If you are looking for Lithium battery anode material, click on the needed products and send us an inquirysales@graphite-corp.com Recently, the Turkish government announced that the Turkish President has signed a presidential decree to provide incentives for its Black Sea gas field development projects, including tax exemptions and other preferential measures. With a fixed investment of 145.1 billion Turkish lira ($10 billion), the project will employ 1,018 people and produce 14 billion standard cubic meters of gas per year, the decree reads. The incentives involved include tariff and VAT exemptions, as well as a range of tax cuts. In June 2021, Turkish drill ships discovered 135 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Sakaria field in the Black Sea, bringing Turkey's total gas discoveries in the region to 540 billion cubic meters. Turkey imports almost all of its annual gas consumption of about 50 billion cubic meters. Except for natural gas, the supply and prices of many other Graphite will continue to be influenced by international situations. Inquery us News Frontrunner Vaccine Will Affact the Price of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline - 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. Affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market growth. This year-on-year upward trend in the market indicates that the next November 2020-2026 will show an oval but steady growth. The price of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline continues to be affected by factors such as market growth momentum, various opportunities and challenges. However, during the forecast period from 2020 to 2026, the global Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline sales market is expected to continue to be above average. The growth rate will continue to increase. It is expected that from today to next week, the price of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline will increase to a certain extent. Due to changes in consumer demand, import and export conditions, and various investigations on the development of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline, the cost of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline is constantly changing. Taking into account the current market macroeconomic parameters, value chain analysis, channel partners, demand and supply, the cost of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline will also be affected to a certain extent. It is estimated that the cost of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline will increase slightly from today to next week. The market trend of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline? The global Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystallinemarket is constantly changing. The latest Global Market Report provides clear and accurate statistics and market estimates of the global Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline target market. The report includes an analysis of the different factors driving the market growth. It includes market drivers, constraints, opportunities and trends. This report is written by experienced and knowledgeable market analysts and researchers. It is an amazing compilation of important research that explores the competitive landscape, segmentation, geographic expansion, and revenue, production and consumption growth of the global Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline target market. In addition, the report provides a series of different market segments and applications that can promote market development during the forecast period. In-depth information is based on historical milestones and current trends. In addition, the Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline market report also covers development policies and plans, manufacturing processes and cost structures, marketing strategies, and then analyzes top Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline producers, distributors, marketing channels of Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline, potential buyers and Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline History of development. The report also lists import and export, supply and consumption data as well as costs, prices, revenue and gross margins by region. The market demand for Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline? The world's leading Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline 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 Europium(III) nitrate hexahydrate (Eu(NO3)3 6H2O)-Crystalline 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 News Global graphite market trend 2025-2030 Lithium batteries like to use graphite anode materials by Newsmis-asia As the European Union tries to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, the Russian president recently said Russia would try to shift its energy exports to the east, adding that there was no way for European countries to give up Russian gas immediately. Russia supplies about 40 percent of the EU's gas, and western sanctions imposed over the conflict with Ukraine have complicated financing and logistical arrangements for existing agreements, hitting Russian energy exports, the report noted. Russia has been building closer ties with China and other Asian countries as the European Union debates whether to impose sanctions on Russian gas and oil and member states seek supplies from elsewhere, Reuters said. "So-called partners from unfriendly countries admit that they cannot survive without Russian energy, including gas," the Russian president said in a televised government meeting. There is no reasonable alternative to Russian gas in Europe right now." He also said Europe was driving up energy prices and destabilizing markets by talking about cutting off Russia's energy supplies. Russia, which produces about a tenth of the world's oil and a fifth of its natural gas, will need new infrastructure to increase energy supplies to Asia, he said. He ordered Moscow to submit a plan by June 1, including "the expansion of transport infrastructure to countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region". He also sought to clarify the possibility of integrating two pipelines -- the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas pipeline in the Far East and the "Power of Siberia" gas pipeline to China -- into Russia's unified gas supply system. In theory, connecting these routes to larger gas networks could allow Russia to divert gas from Europe to Asia. Because of the ever-changing international situation, the supply and prices of international bulk graphite are still very uncertain. Lithium-ion battery refers to a secondary battery system in which two different lithium intercalation compounds that can reversibly intercalate and deintercalation lithium ions are used as the battery's positive electrode and negative electrode, respectively. During charging, lithium ions are deintercalated from the positive electrode through the electrolyte and separator and embedded in the negative electrode; on the contrary, lithium ions are deintercalated from the negative electrode through discharge of the electrolyte the separator and embedded in the positive electrode. The negative electrode of the lithium-ion battery is made of harmful electrode active material, binder, and additives mixed to make a paste glue, which is evenly spread on both sides of the copper foil, dried, and rolled. Advantages of graphite as anode material Graphite is an allotrope of carbon, and the two are closely related. Graphite is the most stable form of carbon. (Diamond is a metastable allotrope of carbon. Although its hardness is much higher than graphite, it is the hardest substance in nature, but its stability is lower than that of graphite.) The word "graphite" comes from the Greek word "graphein," which is resistant to high temperature and corrosion, has good electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and stable chemical properties, and is lighter than aluminum. In addition to being used as anode material for lithium-ion batteries, high-quality graphite can also be used in different fields such as fuel cells, solar cells, semiconductors, light-emitting diodes, and nuclear reactors. In general, graphite has the advantages of high electronic conductivity, the small volume change of layered structure before and after lithium intercalation, high lithium intercalation capacity, and low lithium intercalation potential, and has become the mainstream commercial lithium-ion battery negative electrode material. How to get graphite? There are two ways to obtain graphite: one is natural ore, and the other is the synthesis of coal tar. The graphite materials used in lithium-ion batteries are generally prepared by blending 55% synthetic graphite and 45% low-purity natural graphite. Manufacturers once favored synthetic graphite because the uniformity and purity of synthetic graphite were better than natural graphite. Now it is not the same. The application of modern chemical purification methods makes it possible to obtain 99.9% pure natural graphite after heat treatment. In contrast, synthetic graphite is 99% pure, making the former more popular. Compared with synthetic graphite, purified natural flake graphite has higher crystallinity and exhibits better electrical and thermal conductivity. In addition, natural graphite is expected to reduce the production cost of lithium-ion batteries while achieving equal or better battery performance. High-quality graphite supplier Luoyang Moon & Star New Energy Technology Co., LTD, founded on October 17, 2008, is a high-tech enterprise committed to developing, producing, processing, selling, and technical services of lithium-ion battery anode materials. After more than 10 years of development, the company has gradually developed into a diversified product structure with natural graphite, artificial graphite, composite graphite, intermediate phase, and other negative materials (silicon-carbon materials, etc.). The products are widely used in high-end lithium-ion digital power and energy storage batteries. If you are looking for Lithium battery anode material, click on the needed products and send us an inquirysales@graphite-corp.com 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 graphite will continue. Inquery us News Global Ti6Al4V Powder market trend 2023-2027 What is TC4 (Ti6Al4V) Titanium Alloy Material by Newsmis-asia The U.S. and its allies plan to impose sanctions on more Russian industries and supply chains. The US government representatives recently visited Europe to consult with allies on strengthening and enforcing sanctions to punish Russia. They also plan to take action to disrupt their critical supply chains. The US government claims that the sanctions imposed on Russia since the invasion began on February 24 have proved extremely effective, plunging Russia into a financial crisis. The sanctions include a freeze on the Russian central bank's foreign exchange assets, a ban on hard currency transactions by major Russian banks and wealthy individuals, and export restrictions on advanced semiconductors and other technologies. The sanctions have weakened the Russian economy and left the Kremlin with fewer resources. The volatile international political situations will continue to affect the markets and prices of many commodities like the Ti6Al4V Powder. What is TC4(Ti6Al4V)? TC4(Ti6Al4V) alloy is a medium strength - type two-phase titanium alloy containing 6% -stabilizing element AI and 4% -stabilizing element V. This alloy has excellent comprehensive properties and has obtained the most extensive applications in the aviation and aerospace industries. The long-term working temperature of the alloy can reach 400 . In the aviation industry, it is mainly used to manufacture the fan and compressor disks and blades of the engine, as well as the important load-bearing components such as beams, joints and bulkheads in the aircraft structure. The main semi-finished products of TC4 titanium alloy are bars, forgings, thick plates, thin plates, profiles and wires, etc. The alloy is mainly used in the annealed state, and can also be strengthened by solution aging treatment, but the hardened cross section is generally not more than 25mm. The alloy has good process plasticity and superplasticity, and is suitable for various pressure forming. The alloy can also be welded and machined in various ways. TC4(Ti6Al4V) heat treatment system 1. Annealing Plate: 700-850, 0.5-2h, air cooling; bar and forging: 700-800, 1-2h, air cooling. 2. Vacuum annealing 700-800C, 0.5-2h, the furnace is cooled to below 200C to allow air cooling. The absolute pressure in the furnace should be no more than 0.09Pa. 3. Solution treatment 910-940, 0.5-2h, water quenching. 4. Aging 520-550C, 2-4h, air cooling. 5. Stress relief annealing Complete stress relief annealing: 600-650, 1-4h, air cooling; incomplete stress relief annealing: 500-600, 0.5-3h, air cooling. Stress relief annealing can be carried out in an air furnace or a vacuum furnace. About KMPASS KMPASS is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. The company export to many countries, such as USA, Canada, Europe, UAE, South Africa, Tanzania,Kenya,Egypt,Nigeria,Cameroon,Uganda,Turkey,Mexico,Azerbaijan,Belgium,Cyprus,Czech Republic,Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dubai, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia,Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. As a leading nanotechnology development manufacturer, KMPASS dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges. If you are looking for Ti6Al4V powder, please send an email to: sales2@nanotrun.com Overall, the demand for Ti6Al4V Powder is on the rise, and future Ti6Al4V Powder will continue to evolve. Although the prosperity of the brand name has rebounded, there are still many outstanding problems in Ti6Al4V Powder, and the Ti6Al4V Powder will develop steadilyif you need Ti6Al4V Powder please contact us. Inquery us News Global Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Powder market trend 2025-2028 3D Printing Alloy Spherical Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Cemented Alloy Powder by Newsmis-asia U.S. natural gas futures rose about 5 percent to a near nine-week high as global energy prices surged on concerns over a pricing plan for energy exports, keeping U.S. LNG export demand near record highs. U.S. natural gas prices have risen despite forecasts of mild weather and lower-than-expected demand, which will allow utilities to fill up storage facilities next week. On Wednesday, Germany launched an emergency plan to manage gas supplies in Europe's largest economy. If natural gas supplies are interrupted or stopped, the German government could take unprecedented steps to limit electricity supply. Affected by the increase in the price of natural gas, the price of the Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Powder will also increase. About 3D Printing Alloy WC-Co Powder: Product name: Spherical Tungsten Carbide Powder Product Specifications: 5-25m, 15-45m, 15-53m, 45-75m, 45-105m, 75-150m. (Can be customized according to customer requirements) Powder properties: high purity (99.9%), low oxygen (300ppm), high sphericity (95%), smooth surface, no satellite ball, uniform particle size distribution, excellent flow performance (10.0s/50g), high loose density (7.0g/cm3) and vibration density (7.5g/cm3). Applicable technology: Laser/electron beam additive manufacturing (SLM/EBM), laser direct deposition (DLD), hot isostatic powder molding (HIP), metal injection molding (MIM), powder metallurgy (PM), laser deposition (LC) and other processes. Powder application: Tungsten-cobalt carbide is a kind of tungsten carbide composed of WC and Co metal, according to the different cobalt content can be divided into high cobalt (20%), medium cobalt (10%), low cobalt (3%) three types, cobalt for bonding phase, tungsten carbide for hard phase. Rf plasma spheroidized TUNGSTEN carbide and cobalt hard alloy powder has the characteristics of uniform distribution of cobalt elements, high sphericity, good fluidity, large loose density, dense particles inside, less hollow powder and so on. It can be used in cemented carbide, diamond tools, die casting mold, welding materials, vacuum coating, thermal spraying and so on. Composition(percentage by mass) of WC-Co Powder Specifications and properties of Spherical Tungsten Carbide: Quantity 1kg Appearance Silver gray powder of flakes Assay Percent Range 99.8% (Metals basis) Mesh Size As request Odor Odorless Physical Form Spherical Powder Color Silver to Gray Chemical Name or Material Tungsten Carbide Storage Condition of Spherical Tungsten Carbide Powder: Damp reunion will affect Spherical Tungsten Carbide powder dispersion performance and using effects, therefore,Spherical Tungsten Carbide Powder should be sealed in vacuum packing and stored in cool and dry room, the Spherical Tungsten Carbide Powder can not be exposure to air. In addition, the Spherical Tungsten Carbide powder should be avoided under stress. Packing & Shipping of Spherical Tungsten Carbide Powder: We have many different kinds of packing which depends on the Spherical Tungsten Carbide Powder quantity. Spherical Tungsten Carbide Powder packing:vacuum packing, 100g, 500g or 1kg/bag, 25kg/barrel, or as your request. Spherical Tungsten Carbide 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 boron powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, zinc sulfide, 3D printing powder, etc. If you are looking for 3D printing metal powder, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales2@nanotrun.com 3D Printing Alloy Spherical Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Powder Properties Other Names Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Powder CAS No. N/A Compound Formula WC-Co Molecular Weight N/A Appearance Gray metallic solid in various forms (ingot, tubing, pieces, powder) Melting Point N/A Solubility in water N/A Density NA Purity N/A Particle Size 0-20m, 15-45m, 15-53m, 53-105m, 53-150m, 105-250m Boling point N/A Specific Heat N/A Thermal Conductivity N/A Thermal Expansion N/A Young's Modulus N/A Exact Mass N/A Monoisotopic Mass N/A 3D Printing Alloy Spherical Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Health & Safety Information Safety Warning N/A Hazard Statements N/A Flashing point N/A Hazard Codes N/A Risk Codes N/A Safety Statements N/A RTECS Number N/A Transport Information N/A WGK Germany N/A If you are looking for 3D printing metal powder, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales2@nanotrun.com With Tesla's new factory in Germany starting Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Powder. In the future, the demand for Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Powder will become more and more extensive. Please feel free to contact us for the latest news on Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Powder. Inquery us Products Global Spherical Molybdenum Powder market trend 2022-2027 3D Printing Alloy Spherical Molybdenum Powder Mo CAS 7439-98-7 by Newsmis-asia After Russia pledged to scale back its military operations around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine, the prices of most industrial metals fell, led by aluminum, showing people's concerns for supply shortage eased. At an earlier time, the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which aroused concerns about the supply problem because Russia is a major producer of nickel, aluminum, and copper. Russia is also a major gas supplier to Europe, where potential supply disruptions are seen as hitting power-intensive aluminum and zinc Spherical Molybdenum Powder are still very uncertain. About 3D Printing Alloy Spherical Molybdenum Powder: Product name: Spherical Molybdenum Powder Product specifications: 5-25m, 15-45m, 15-53m, 45-75m, 45-105m, 75-150m. (Various granularities can be customized according to customer requirements) Powder characteristics: high purity (99.9%), ultra-low oxygen (200ppm), high sphericity (98%), uniform particle size distribution, excellent flow properties (12.0s/50g) and high bulk density (6.0g/cm3) and tap density (6.5g/cm3). Applicable processes: laser/electron beam additive manufacturing (SLM/EBM), laser direct deposition (DLD), powder hot isostatic pressing (HIP), metal injection molding (MIM), powder metallurgy (PM), laser cladding ( LC) and other processes. Powder application: Rf plasma molybdenum spheroidized powder has the characteristics of high sphericity, good fluidity, high purity, large loose density, full density inside the particle, no hollow powder and so on. It is widely used in thermal spraying, powder metallurgy, electronic industry, contact materials, aircraft high temperature resistant parts, target materials and so on. Composition (percentage by mass) of Spherical Molybdenum Powder: Storage Condition of Spherical Molybdenum Powder: Damp reunion will affect Spherical Molybdenum powder dispersion performance and using effects, therefore,Spherical Molybdenum Powder should be sealed in vacuum packing and stored in cool and dry room, the Spherical Molybdenum Powder can not be exposure to air. In addition, the Spherical Molybdenum powder should be avoided under stress. Packing & Shipping of Spherical Molybdenum Powder: We have many different kinds of packing which depends on the Spherical Molybdenum Powder quantity. Spherical Molybdenum Powder packing:vacuum packing, 100g, 500g or 1kg/bag, 25kg/barrel, or as your request. Spherical Molybdenum 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 boron powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, zinc sulfide, 3D printing powder, etc. If you are looking for 3D printing metal powder, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales2@nanotrun.com 3D Printing Alloy Spherical Molybdenum Powder Properties Other Names Molybdenum Powder CAS No. N/A Compound Formula Mo Molecular Weight N/A Appearance Gray metallic solid in various forms (ingot, tubing, pieces, powder) Melting Point N/A Solubility in water N/A Density NA Purity N/A Particle Size 0-20m, 15-45m, 15-53m, 53-105m, 53-150m, 105-250m Boling point N/A Specific Heat N/A Thermal Conductivity N/A Thermal Expansion N/A Young's Modulus N/A Exact Mass N/A Monoisotopic Mass N/A 3D Printing Alloy Spherical Molybdenum Powder Health & Safety Information Safety Warning N/A Hazard Statements N/A Flashing point N/A Hazard Codes N/A Risk Codes N/A Safety Statements N/A RTECS Number N/A Transport Information N/A WGK Germany N/A If you are looking for 3D printing metal powder, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales2@nanotrun.com Cancer cells can "stretch out a big hand" and take away the mitochondria of immune cells. The Harvard Medical School research team cultured mouse and human breast cancer cells and immune cells, such as killer T cells, and used field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to observe the relationship between cancer cells and immune cells. interactive. Interestingly, they found that cancer cells stick out long nanotubes, typically within 100-1000 nanometers in diameter, each of which connects to multiple immune cells along the way. The researchers used the drug L-778123, which inhibits the formation of nanotubes, for treatment. The higher the concentration of L-778123, the better the treatment effect. Product name are used in various high-tech fields, so the market demand for Spherical Molybdenum Powder will continue to rise. We are a quality supplier of Spherical Molybdenum Powder, please feel free to contact us. Inquery us The Astros have designated right-hander Pedro Baez for assignment and recalled righty Seth Martinez from Triple-A Sugar Land, the team announced Tuesday. Baez, 34, is just weeks into the second season of a two-year, $12.5MM contract that also contained a club option for the 2023 season. He missed the majority of the 2021 season due to shoulder troubles, however, pitching just 4 1/3 innings. Hes been limited to 2 1/3 frames thus far in 2022, during which time hes been clobbered for six runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with two punchouts. Baezs fastball, which averaged nearly 98 mph at its peak and sat at 96 mph as recently as 2019, has averaged just 90.2 mph so far in 2022. Houston will technically have a week to trade Baez or place him on outright waivers, but thats a generally moot point. Another team isnt going to take on the remainder of this seasons $5.5MM salary or the $2MM buyout hes still owed on next years club option not with his recent shoulder troubles and alarming velocity dip. Even if Baez were to be passed through outright waivers, he could reject an outright assignment to a minor league affiliate, elect free agency and retain his salary based on the level of big league service time hes accrued. The most likely outcome here is that the Astros will eat the remaining $4.91MM on Baezs salary, as well as the $2MM buyout on next years option and simply release him. Baez would be free to sign with a new club, at which point that team would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time he spent in the Majors. That sum would be subtracted from the $6.91MM the Stros otherwise owe him. Disheartening as Baezs brief time with the Astros was, he was a well-regarded late-inning arm for the Dodgers in the years leading up to his free agency. From 2014-20, Baez tallied 356 innings of 3.o3 ERA ball with 100 holds, three saves, a 25.3% strikeout rate and an 8.2% ground-ball rate. He tacked on another 29 1/3 innings of 3.99 ERA ball in the playoffs, and if you set aside a rough showing in the early stages of his career (2014-15), Baez notched a 2.70 mark in 26 1/3 postseason innings from 2016-20. APRIL 26: Atlanta placed Rosario on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, with what the team called blurred vision and swelling in the right retina. To take his place on the active roster, the Braves recalled right-hander William Woods to make his major league debut. Selected onto the 40-man roster last offseason, the 23-year-old Woods has allowed six runs in 7 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in the early going. However, hes punched out 14 of the 32 batters hes faced while walking just a pair of opponents, and the Braves reasonably feel that kind of swing-and-miss ability will help him find better results from a run prevention perspective. (Eric Cole of Battery Power first reported Woods forthcoming promotion). APRIL 25: The Braves announced today that outfielder Eddie Rosario will soon undergo a laser procedure on his right eye, due to some swelling and blurred vision. While the club didnt provide a timeline, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that this could sideline Rosario for 8-12 weeks. Acquired from the Indians in a deadline deal last year, Rosario got red hot as a member of the Braves and went onto cement himself in the teams lore. After the trade, Rosario hit .271/.330/.573 for an excellent 133 wRC+. That tremendous hot streak helped propel the club into the postseason. Rosario was able to shine in the playoffs as well, as he went 14-for-25 in the NLCS, including three home runs, a double, a triple and nine runs driven in, earning series MVP honors. Rosario couldnt carry that hot streak into the World Series, but the club triumphed nonetheless. Rosario reached free agency but eventually re-signed with the Braves on a two-year, $18MM deal with a club option for 2024. Hes gotten off to a miserable start to the year, hitting just .068/.163/.091, though those struggles are surely attributable to the fact that Rosario has been struggling with his vision. Now that the issue has been diagnosed and will soon be treated, Rosario can hopefully get back on track. However, it will take some time, with Rosario seemingly unable to return until a few months from now. For the Braves, its unfortunate that they will be losing a beloved member of the team for an extended stretch. Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall should be making up two-thirds of the outfield on most nights. With Rosario stepping aside, the options to join them include Alex Dickerson, Guillermo Heredia and Travis Demeritte. Whatever solution the team comes up with will just be temporary, as Ronald Acuna Jr. should be in the mix soon. The superstar has been out of action for almost a year at this point after tearing his ACL in July of 2021. However, he is currently on a rehab assignment and isnt far from rejoining the big league club. The Reds announced Tuesday that theyve reinstated second baseman Jonathan India from the injured list and designated utilityman JT Riddle for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Cincinnati also optioned infielder Alejo Lopez to Triple-A and added infielder Matt Reynolds to the active roster. The Reds claimed Reynolds off waivers a couple days ago. India, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, wound up requiring only a minimal stay on the injured list while nursing a hamstring strain. Hes back in the lineup hitting leadoff for todays game. The 25-year-old has gotten out to a slow start in his sophomore season, hitting just .241/.267/.276 albeit in a tiny sample of 30 plate appearances. The 2021 season saw India, a former No. 5 overall draft pick, break out with an outstanding .269/.376/.459 batting line, 21 home runs, 34 doubles, two triples and a dozen steals. As for Riddle, the 30-year-old journeyman appeared in two games and went 1-for-4 with a single in that brief look. He signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati in the offseason and got out to a fast start in Triple-A Louisville, where he hit .258/.333/.516 in 36 trips to the plate. That said, Riddle is a career .244/.296/.396 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, including a tepid .202/.269/.333 last season with the Twins top affiliate in St. Paul. The former Marlins prospect has spent the bulk of his pro career playing shortstop, but hes moved into more of a utility role in recent seasons, seeing ample time at second base, third base and all three outfield spots (center, in particular). The Reds will have a week to trade Riddle, place him on outright waivers or release him. Chairman of the Ghana Association of Songwriters, Mr. Logic is urging pundits to be firm when criticizing the works of artists. He indicated that pundits should refrain from rendering favourable commentary about works of undeserving artists. Mr. Logic noted that artists do not pay these pundits therefore the need for them to be professionals in their comments. Its about time pundits get critical about artistes when they come on their platforms. Get critical with them. You are already professional with your work, but they havent paid you to be nice. "I will be real with you because you havent paid me. Although you are nice to them when they see you out there and you are expecting nice things from them, it doesnt come, he stated on Hitz FM. Mr. Logic had been absent from Hitz FMs Daybreak Hitz show when young rapper Kwesi Arthur had gone there to promote his new album, Son of God. He told host Andy Dosty that he had deliberately missed out on the show to swerve being called a hater based on his judgment of the album. No artiste can make fun of pundits. Not my type of pundit. You can make fun of us. You cant come on the radio and expect some of the decorative words to be showered on you and when you get out of the studio, you make yourself scarce. I dont have that much time for them. "There are so many things that I had on my mind to say. It was better I reserved. If I had pointed out my views people including, Kwesi Arthur, would have said I am a hater," he added. Fresh from winning a second term as French president, Emmanuel Macron soon faces another fight that will determine whether he can pursue his agenda - parliamentary elections, described as the "third round" of presidential voting, in which his rivals far-right Marine Le Pen and hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon are looking to deny him a majority. All 577 deputy seats in the lower-house National Assembly are up for grabs in the votes on 12 and 19 June, and Macron's Republic on the Move (LREM) party, with 267 MPs currently, is likely to encounter stiff resistance, analysts say. Yet two polls released just after Macron's victory over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen on Sunday found that two-thirds of French people do not want to hand the president a parliament majority for the next five years. Le Pen, who scored her Rassemblement National's (National Rally, or RN) highest election result ever at nearly 42 percent, immediately called on her millions of supporters to turn to the "great battle" ahead. 'The great battle' "Tonight we launch the great battle of the legislative elections," Le Pen said. "I will lead this battle alongside Jordan Bardella, with all those who had the courage to oppose Emmanuel Macron in the second round, with all those who have France at heart." Le Pen, herself a member of France's National Assembly since 2017, representing the northern Pas-de-Calais region, sought to present her party as the leading force of opposition to Macron. "The National Rally will seek to rally those who want to come together and join forces against Emmanuel Macron, wherever they may come from, in order to field and support candidates everywhere," she said. "We already have 450 candidates lined up," David Rachline, the RN mayor of Frejus in southern France, said at Le Pen's post-election party - currently the party has just eight MPs. Jean-Luc Melenchon the head of La France Insoumise (France unbowed, or LFI) party and l'Union Populaire (Popular Union) - issued a similar plea Sunday by urging an alliance with Communists, Greens and the Socialist party to form a parliament majority that would force Macron to name him prime minister. His campaign director Manuel Bompard still believes he has a chance. Melenchon can still be prime minister, "not (just) to be prime minister but to pass his platform, freeze prices, raise the minimum wage, and put in place a sixth Republic", Bompard said. "Don't give up [...] the third round begins tonight. On 12 and 19 June, another world is still possible if you elect a majority of MPs from the new Popular Union, which must continue to grow.!" Melenchon, who is an opposition MP since 2017, representing parts of Marseille, said Sunday. Hostility to Macron has been a key factor in propelling the rise of the extreme right and left, and accounted for historically low turnout in the presidential run-off, when over a third of the electorate either stayed home or cast blank and ineligible ballots. His pledge to push back the retirement age to 65 -- a reform derailed by widespread strikes two years ago -- has only confirmed his reputation as "president of the rich" among critics. "The parliamentary vote is going to be difficult, we're not going to see any lift" from Macron's victory, a top official in his party said, asking for anonymity. (with wires) Burkina Faso's military-dominated government on Thursday pushed back against regional demands to reduce a three-year timetable for restoring civilian rule following a coup in January. "Discussions are ongoing, Burkina Faso is very highly disposed to hearing comments from the Economic Community of West African States," or ECOWAS, government spokesman Lionel Bilgo told AFP. "However, we are not going to sacrifice our efforts to restore peace to Burkina Faso by trying to meet an intangible timetable whose deadline takes no account at all of the realities on the ground." The impoverished volatile state underwent a coup on January 24 by colonels angered at government failure to roll back a bloody jihadist insurgency. It became the third state in the region, after Mali and Guinea, to experience a coup since August 2020. ECOWAS has suspended all three countries from the bloc's activities but so far applied tough economic and diplomatic sanctions only against Mali and Guinea. ECOWAS has slapped sanctions on members of the Mali junta, shut its borders with the country, frozen its assets at the Central Bank of West African States and imposed a trade embargo. For Guinea, leading junta members have been sanctioned and are subject to a travel ban within the bloc. ECOWAS refrained from taking immediate sanctions against Burkina after envoys returned from Ouagadougou with a positive report about the junta's response following the coup. But in a summit in the Ghanaian capital of Accra on March 26, the bloc called on the junta to draw up an "acceptable transition timetable" by Monday, April 25. "After this deadline, economic and financial sanctions will be immediately applied," the bloc warned. In early April, Burkinabe strongman Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba set a 36-month transition. Spelling out the government argument about the threat from jihadists, Bilgo asked, "Given that we can't travel 150 kilometres (90 miles) in our country, are we able today to organise peaceful and tranquil elections?" Burkina Faso. By AFP "Why put human lives at risk when our main priority is to secure Burkinabe soil? "Burkina Faso has always explained this timetable to ECOWAS," he said, describing the timeline as "taking into account the major challenge which we have, which is restoring security." "If we are able to do it in under three years, we will organise elections," he said. One of the world's poorest countries, the landlocked Sahel state has been battered by a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighbouring Mali in 2015. More than 2,000 people have died and 1.8 million been displaced. Some angry supporters of the governing New Patriotic Party NPP in the Gushegu Constituency have expressed their disappointment in the manner in which about 10 persons were disqualified from contesting various positions in the upcoming constituency elections. They accused the MP of the area, Hassan Tampuli of engineering it. Speaking exclusively to this reporter, the not-too-happy NPP supporters described the disqualification as "vindictive" and "witch-hunting" on the part of the Gushegu legislator. According to theM, the action of the party does not bring unity in the constituency. "We told some of them were campaigning against then parliamentary candidate, who is our MP today. If this is anything to go by, why couldn't they establish a disciplinary committee to handle this issue before today. "We want the whole world to know that our MP is the behind this. If it is not true,he should come out to tell everybody that he knows nothing about it. Can't he see he is hurting the NPP unity in Gushegu Constituency? He should stop this vindictiveness and witch-hunting before we lost the seat to NDC next elections", they warned. One of the affected candidates who was vying for treasurer position, Abdulai Bashiru wrote in a letter that it was never true he campaigned against the MP in the 2020 election. He indicated that he even used his personal resources to ensure the former NPA boss won the 2020 elections. "Let me inform the committee that I personally constituted my monitoring team to monitor the 2020 registration of voters at various polling stations and the team members are available to testify to this. I also distributed drinks to the party agents I visited at the various polling stations. "It can therefore not be true that I campaigned against the Parliamentary Candidate and now Member of Parliament Hon. Alhaji Alhassan Tampuli in the lead up to the 2020 elections. I count on your usual cooperation and support," Abdulai Bashiru said. Some of the affected candidates are Zakaria Hafizu Youth organizer, Abukari Adamu Women organizer, Mohammed Zibilila 1" Vice chairman, Mohammed Mariam Deputy secretary, Fuseini Musah Nasara coordinator. The rest are, Fusheini Yakubu Chairman, Amadu Abu Secretary, Bawa Yakubu Yamusah Organizer and Abdulai Bashiru Treasure. Amnesty International, April 19, 2022 Responding to the deaths of at least six people and the injury of 11 others, including children, following bomb blasts in schools in predominantly Hazara Shiite communities in Kabul today, Samira Hamidi, Amnesty Internationals South Asia Campaigner, said: These reprehensible attacks on schools highlight the violence that Afghan people continue to face in their daily lives. It also shows that the Taliban, as the de-facto authorities, are failing to protect civilians, especially those from ethnic and religious minority groups, from harm. This tragic loss of life is completely inexcusable and must be condemned. Samira Hamidi, Amnesty Internationals South Asia Campaigner It is essential that the de-facto authorities carry out a thorough investigation into the attacks, which should be conducted in line with international law and standards. Those suspected of criminal responsibility for these callous bombings must face justice in fair trials before ordinary civilian courts and without recourse to death penalty. Amnesty International also strongly condemns the use of violence after the bombings by the Taliban who sought to prevent the media from reporting on the incident. Afghan journalists must be allowed to carry out their work without fear of reprisals. The Ghanaian students who fled the war torn Ukraine say they are frustrated by government's lackadaisical attitude in placing them in new schools despite numerous assurances and promises. Leadership of the students say despite the many assurances, nothing concrete has been done so far. The government of Ghana evacuated over one thousand students who were in various universities in Ukraine at the peak of the war, although others refused to return to Ghana. In a Citi News' interview, the President of NUGS Ukraine, Philip Bobbie Ansah, says the students are frustrated. We had a couple of meetings initially and they [government] made us understand that they are very much positioned to help us and secure schools for us. They requested data which we made available to them. Everything seems so slow. We do not know what is happening now. Students and administrators have given them everything they asked for but we do not know what is causing the delay. Some of us refused to come to Ghana which seems like the best decision because they have opportunities, so it now looks like it was a mistake for some of us to come to Ghana. The government had given indications of engaging Ghanaian students who were evacuated from Ukraine on options available to ensure the continuity of their education. This was reiterated at a meeting with parents of the students and other stakeholders in Ghana. The meeting deliberated on ways government would support the students continue their academic calendar. citinewsroom The Centre for Democratic Development Ghana, (CDD) has criticized the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) for embarking on strike over the non-payment of political neutrality allowance. The Centre is suggesting that the Association rather channels its energies into demanding a level playing field regarding service conditions among public sector workers. I really feel CLOGSAG should be pulling back from this course of action, says Dr. Kojo Asante, Director of Advocacy and Policy engagement at the Centre CLOGSAG laid down their tools on Thursday April 21, 2022, following the inability of government to pay the allowance as agreed upon in January this year. The association has already given indication that they will call off the strike on condition that government makes a commitment to pay them the allowances due them. But CDDs Dr. Kojo Asante believes the striking Association is on a wild goose chase. What they should all join hands in is this inequity excesses with conditions of service in the different public service that creates a certain unfairness. That may be affecting morale in the public sector. This is what is sustainable, the path they are going is not sustainable. Speaking to Citi News Hanson Agyemang, Mr. Asante questioned the legality and constitutionality of the agreement on neutrality allowance. He maintains that it was wrong for government to have considered paying an allowance of a responsibility imposed on them by the constitution. I am shocked that government will agree to this in the first place. I describe it as a tautology. How are you rewarding someone for something they are supposed to do as part of their responsibilities? The allowance must be declared unconstitutional. It is illegal in the first place for rewarding someone for something they are obligated to do and are paid for. It is like an unjust reward. The neutrality allowance is to ensure that civil and local government workers do not engage in partisanship while conducting their affairs when they are in their various offices. It is paid to them to ensure that they discharge their duties professionally without getting involved in partisan activities. The strike and demand for the allowance has generated public debate with divided opinion on the relevance of such an allowance. While some contend that government giving in to this demand will open the floodgate for other allowance claims from the state, some believe that such an allowance is important to keep civil and local government workers away from serving based on their political interests. Some 36 organizations under the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), are also making a strong case for the payment of Political Neutrality Allowance for qualified members. The groups are demanding urgent action for the allowance to be paid. citinewsroom Government is urging the citizenry to pay taxes to help build Ghana as the implementation of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) inches closer. In a post on social media by the Information Ministry, it notes that paying E-Levy will contribute to national development. By paying E-Levy you contribute towards national development. Your taxes work for you. Pay your taxes, lets build Ghana together, the post reads. Parliament on March 29, 2022, approved the controversial E-Levy in the absence of the Minority after they staged a walkout. Subsequently, on March 31, 2022, the President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo assented to the E-Levy bill into law. Since that time, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been working with the Ministry of Finance to put the necessary measures in place for the implementation of the E-Levy on May 1, 2022. Meanwhile, the implementation is under threat following an injunction application filed by three leading members of the Minority in Parliament at the Supreme Court. The injunction application tabled before the apex court is signed by Haruna Iddrisu, Okudzeto Ablakwa, and Mahama Ayariga. The fate of about 10,000 teacher trainees in Colleges of Education across the country in writing their end of semester examination would be in jeopardy if the government does not release their allowances as early as possible. This is because, some of the trainees rely on the allowances to pay their examination fees and three weeks to the examination, the allowances have not been released. President of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana , Jonathan Dzunu, who revealed this to 3FM's Sunrise on Tuesday called for urgent release of the allowances. The government recently released over GHS67 million to Public Colleges of Education across the country to cater to the feeding of trainees. This comes after the Principals of the various Colleges of Education announced that students would be fed twice instead of the three square meals a day due to the delay in the payment of six-month feeding arrears by the government. The Principals had also indicated that the trainees were going to start feeding themselves from May 8, 2022, if the government did not release funds for feeding. The government through the Finance Ministry acted swiftly by releasing GHC67,942,662 to principals of the various Public Colleges of Education to salvage the situation. But five days after the release, portions meant for the trainees have still not hit their accounts but that of the Principals of the various Colleges of Education have been given. Mr. Dzunu told Sunrise host, Alfred Ocansey that the GHS200 which is meant for the trainees has not been given. Some of us depend on this to pay our examination fees and some of the level 300 are writing the exams in the next three weeks. Currently, we are writing our mid-semester exams and we need to pay our examination fees. 3news.com The NDC that are not good for anything but mendacious propaganda, have for some time now been vociferously blaming President Nana Akufo-Addo and his ruling NPP government for mismanaging the economy of Ghana hence the unbearable cost of living confronting Ghanaians. No amount of truth told to the Ghanaian public to understand that the current price hikes in goods and services, for example, petroleum products, is not limited to Ghana alone, but a worldwide phenomenon, is never enough to convince them. The NDC are still capable and able to deceive them through their well-greased propaganda machines and machinations to believe otherwise. For want of power to come to deplete the state coffers for their selfish and parochial interests, the leaders of NDC are continually devising abhorrent nation-wrecking strategies to lead Ghanaians astray. They have capitalised on the economic hardships presently facing the country to tarnish the visionary image of President Nana Akufo-Addo, just in the hope of getting Ghanaians to vote massively for NDC come December 2024 general elections. All that the NDC dream of all the time is how to win general elections to come and steal from the nation and the people but not how to better the conditions of living of the ordinary Ghanaian. I believe in solid credible evidence to refute allegations levelled against people. Therefore, I shall suggest a simple straightforward strategy able to prove NDC wrong in their insistence that it is only in Ghana, and for that matter, by the poor administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo that Ghanaians have come to suffer the ongoing untold economic hardships. Will any Ghanaian living outside Ghana that is interested in the truth, whose country of residence is also faced with similar economic problems, do me this simple favour? Please start to gather as many different newspapers in which are published the causes of your country of residence current economic hardships as due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia/Ukraine war. With such official newspaper proofs taken to Ghana, we can show them to the public to disprove the NDC diabolic misinformation of blame being heaped on the president for the difficult economic situation the nation finds herself in at the moment. Although news on the worldwide economic difficulties besetting nations following the Covid-19 and the Russian/Ukraine war can be found published online (internet), getting hardcopies as suggested above to take round to show to the public will perform the magic to expose the lies by NDC. Unless we get such simple proofs to show to Ghanaians, as seeing is believing, no matter how best Ghanaians residing overseas try to explain it to their counterparts in Ghana, they will never believe them, since they are almost inextricably hooked onto the NDCs spinning propaganda wheels in operation. I will start to get a few from the United Kingdom so if you are in say, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, the USA or Canada, please get some from your country. Such newspapers gathered will be sent to Ghana to show to the public and read to those who have taken sides with NDC on their version of causes of the economic problems in Ghana. The NDC are constantly desperately trying their hardest to get the Ghanaian public to believe that it is solely due to the poor management of the economy by President Nana Akufo-Addo that conditions of living have worsened for Ghanaians at the moment. No, that is never the case. It is simply the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent Russian/Ukraine war that everyone throughout the world is suffering some sort of harsh cost of living at the moment. The NDC are known supporters, masterminds and orchestrators of lies in the country for the sole motive of winning power and staying in office for long. That is the only thing they are good at but nothing else. Ghanaians should beware of the NDC as long as they have John Dramani Mahama, an inimically liar and corrupt individual devoid of any farsighted vision for Ghana as their selfish and insatiably greedy leader. We can give them the benefit of the doubt should they bring on board Dr Kwabena Duffour as their leader. Dr Duffour will not stoop too low to the lies and ruinous propaganda that have become the traits of NDC and particularly, John Dramani Mahama, who upon all his correctly or wrongly amassed wealth, is never satisfied but still wants more. What a case of Atee (a smelly insect) that the ocean is not even enough to cleanse it of its foul body smell or stench! A group will have to be formed in Ghana to receive such newspapers and then plans put into place about how best to show and read them to the public. This is just a baby strategy to expose the stupidity of the NDC as regards the causes of the untold economic hardships in Ghana, to the public. More strategies, call them mother or adult if you want, will come from the proud son of Kumawu/Asiampa in the course of time to wean many a Ghanaian off political deception in perpetration and perpetuation by some political parties, especially, the NDC and their assigns and agents. Rockson Adofo Monday, 25 April 2022 26.04.2022 LISTEN All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities. Basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all. No, those two emphatic sentences are not mine. They are the stipulations of the constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Notwithstanding their unambiguousness, the reality however is, some children, as young as 10 years, allegedly only have access to thick cocoa plantations and long machetes, sadly. According to The Guardians 3 April 2022s publication: Cadbury faces fresh accusation of child labour on cocoa farms in Ghana, child labour on Ghanas cocoa farms is unfortunately, increasing. In place of opening books and learning how to write with pens, the daughter of one farmer said she had sliced her foot open while using a long machete, the report revealed. This is the case of several other children who are denied access to basic education. Cocoa is one of Ghanas most valued export products together with gold. Being the second largest producer in the world, cocoa has been a major contributor to the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the years. In spite of its contribution to the countrys economy, several reports and research show a prevalence rate of child labour in our cocoa value chain. For instance, a 2020 research report by the University of Chicagos social research group, NORC, found that a whopping 1.56 (an early version stated 2.1 million) children were involved in the cocoa industry in Ghana and Cote dIvoire alone. Meanwhile, the laws of Ghana made it illegal for children under 13 to work on cocoa farms. It is also unlawful for anyone under 18 years to be involved in any form of hazardous labour. Child labour on cocoa farms across Africa and other cocoa producing continents is, admittedly, a menace that has existed for several decades now. Efforts have been made over the years to combat and eliminate this hazard. In 2001, some large chocolate manufacturers pledged, through the Harkin-Engel Protocol, to end the worst forms of child labour in their cocoa suppliers chain in four years. They did not only miss the 2005 deadline, they went on to miss the 2008 and the 2010 deadlines as well. Having missed these deadlines, the industry scaled down its goal to reducing child labour by 70% in 2020. Sadly, by the end of 2020, it is believed child trafficking and labour had rather increased. While the key industry players (who seem to be benefiting enormously from it) appear to be playing only lip service and taking little actions to address child trafficking and labour, international organisations such as Freedom United and Slave Free Chocolate are intensifying campaigns and their efforts against child labour in the cocoa supply chain. Aside other measures and campaigns, these organisations are fighting for certification of cocoa farms and cocoa products (such as chocolate) by independent bodies. Whilst a certified farm implies that no form of child labour is used in their farming activities, certified labels on cocoa products implies consumers expect that farmers earned decent living and were paid fairly for their produce, and practices such as child labour and deforestation were not present in their operations. Any violation of these protocols will mean consumers will desist from patronising such uncertified cocoa products. The implication of this is that, the revenue of these companies will be reduced and they will, as a result, be forced to source their cocoa from only certified farms. Their response will lead to a cut in the revenue of farmers who lack the certification since these companies will not be motivated to source from them. The farmers therefore, will also be forced to eliminate any form of child trafficking and labour in their operations, leading to the total elimination or reduction in the worst forms of child labour of cocoa farms. These organisations continue to intensify their efforts in discouraging consumers from patronising any cocoa products that lack certified labels. Food Empowerment Projects chocolate list is one of such attempts to encourage consumers to be sure when they buy chocolate, they are not supporting companies that source their cocoa from areas where the worst forms of child labour is widespread, and they are encouraging consumers not to purchase chocolate that is sourced from Western Africa and Brazil due to evidence of the use of child labour. According to another report, Fair Trade certification process has also suspended several Western African suppliers due to same evidence of child labour. What is the collective consequence of these campaigns and measures in Ghana and other cocoa producing nations in Africa? The contribution of the cocoa industry to Ghanas economy is very significant. The industry is believed to have employed some 800,000 farm families and generating $2 billion annually through foreign exchange of export crops. www.statista.com reveals that, the agricultural product (cocoa) was expected to account for 2.82 billion GHS of the countrys GDP. The value in 2021 was 2.25 billion GHS, according to the same website. As a major contributor to Ghanas GDP, any action that will make Ghanas cocoa unappealing to the international markets and reduce the overall production of our cocoa will inversely affect the countrys already tripping economy. Unless the government proactively rise to the occasion and combat these allegations of child trafficking and worst forms of child labour on our cocoa plantations, Ghana will gradually lose its share of the market if the efforts of these international organisations become fully incorporated. Government cannot afford to sit and do nothing while these organisations continue to intensify their campaigns against child labour. Even if Ghanas outlook on the international cocoa market is still intact, we cannot deny the fact that child labour on our cocoa plantations is real. It is governments responsibility to ensure basic education remains compulsory and available to every child. We cannot afford to sit and watch the future of these children waste away. Aside missing out on education, these children are exposed to dangerous agricultural chemicals and get themselves injured as a result of their works on these cocoa farms. At the core of child labour is farmer poverty. Most cocoa farmers earn meager amounts and to remain competitive, they resort to child labour. If the farmers are paid well, they can recruit the services of the right labour. Since the cocoa sector is highly regulated by government through the Ghana Cocoa Board, government must therefore regulate the sector well to escalate production levels as well as increase returns to local farmers. The minimum prices that are paid to farmers for their cocoa should be reviewed and increased to reflect current economic realities. Relevant state institutions and civic societies must collaborate to educate farmers on the menace of child labour and dialogue with them on how best to curtail it. Cocoa cooperative must be formed and owned by the farmers themselves and not just a group of people put together by buying agents or the chocolate companies themselves. This will ensure the grievances of the farmers themselves are communicated and fought for. Government must put remediation measures in place as well as situate stringent systems to monitor child trafficking and labour on cocoa plantations and punish perpetrators accordingly. The Cocobod scholarship must be awarded to only children of cocoa farmers and not children, friends or relatives of politicians. Government must collaborate with independent bodies such as the Freedom United and Slave Free Chocolate to expose industry giants engaging in or promoting child labour. If we continue to give machetes to these children instead of pens, if we continue to educate them on the farmland instead of classrooms, we risk slashing the revenue we generate from the cocoa industry gravely. Not just that. Unless child trafficking and labour on our cocoa plantations are eliminated, anytime we brag about being the second largest producer of cocoa in the world, we must remember that we are boasting in our failure as a nation and benefiting from the sweats, tears and unliveable conditions of guiltless children anytime you use any of the cocoa products or eat a bar of chocolate, you must be evoked that you are equally eating away the future of these innocent children together with our nations GDP. Every child deserves a better life. Its our collective responsibility yours and mine to ensure this. There is a Hero in you; unleash it! Elorm Hermann Co-founder, Centre for Agribusiness Development and Mechanisation in Africa, CADMA +233249177007; [email protected] 26.04.2022 LISTEN The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is a union of university academic staff in Nigeria, the largest African population in Africa. Since its founding in the 1970s, protecting the interests of the academic staff in all public universities in the country has been its goal, and fighting to continuously obtain fair earnings and standards and gaining university autonomy remains its mission. ASUU has actively struggled with various military and non-military administrations while bettering the standards of human and academic entities, and the most common way it fights with the government is through a periodic line of warning strikes that usually proceeds on an indefinite strike, sometimes for very long months or years. Its disagreements with the federal government, which are generally over money, have not been fully settled by both parties for decades. As such, there is now an abnormal, suspended, or erratic type of learning because of institutional instability. Which could further lead to creating "educated" Nigerians for public and private employment with many of these men and women probably having unstable academic brains and bodies because of toxic, chronically disconnected learning patterns. And how such inadequate people help grow the democratic and economic environment of a country becomes hard to understand. How these minds and bodies establish themselves as quality contributors to workplaces such as health, education, technology, agriculture, aviation, law enforcement, security, and other areas of the economy, and contribute morally and healthily to governance and democracy, remains an open question. There is this reality in life that humans understand; lost time and opportunities are never fully replaced. No nation, particularly Nigeria, which is generally and currently unhappy, suffering, apprehensive, insecure, and weary, will find solace in these apparent disconnected minds and bodies with their bored and frustrated backgrounds. However, there are alternatives with the existence of private higher education institutions that will ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of university education and personal steadiness. I have my bias, which is simply due to the reality that a minority state like Edo, where gradual and sustained economic growth, service delivery, entrepreneurship development, and poverty reduction are on course, needs to move on from this ASUU and government wahala or disorderliness. To this end, students of Edo State origin who are currently idle because their school is on strike should, along with their parents, families, or sponsors, become part of private universities, among which are: Benson Idahosa University, Benin City; Igbinedion University, Okada, Benin City; Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State; Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa; Edo State; Wellspring University, Evbuobanosa, Edo State; and Philomath University, Kuje, Abuja. In their private and independent capacities, these schools could provide the opportunity for students to continue and further their education. These private institutions can attract students from public universities with scholarships that are half the tuition and fees, supplemented by the universities. Leaders of private universities should develop financial programs such as merit- and need-based financial aid to attract more students to their institutions. Students and their families can seek out private universities that have established foundations that get support through the generosity of donors who provide scholarship funding. Nigeria, like many other countries in Africa, is marked by a lack of access to higher education, which is further compounded by ASUU and government fights. These private schools, in addition to the walls of their brick-and-mortar classrooms, should develop online education systems. The economic future of Nigeria's youths will continue to be hampered by ASUUs lingering issues and crisis with the government, which further results in the continued paralysis of Nigerian public universities, leading to a delay in students graduation and employability. As such, private universities, especially those mentioned here, should tell students and their families that their future will not be delayed by entry into their schools and other local private institutions. John Egbeazien Oshodi, who was born in Uromi, Edo State in Nigeria, is an American based Police/Prison Scientist and Forensic/Clinical/Legal Psychologist. A government consultant on matters of forensic-clinical adult/child psychological services in the USA; Chief Educator and Clinician at the Transatlantic Enrichment and Refresher Institute, an Online Lifelong Center for Personal, Professional, and Career Development. He is a former Interim Associate Dean/Assistant Professor at Broward College, Florida. The Founder of the Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi Foundation, Center for Psychological Health and Behavioral Change in African Settings In 2011, he introduced State-of-the-Art Forensic Psychology into Nigeria through N.U.C and Nasarawa State University, where he served in the Department of Psychology as an Associate Professor. Currently, a Virtual Behavioral Leadership Professor at ISCOM University, Republic of Benin. Founder of the proposed Transatlantic Egbeazien Open University (TEU) of Values and Ethics, a digital project of Truth, Ethics, and Openness. Over forty academic publications and creations, at least 200 public opinion pieces on African issues, and various books have been written by him. He specializes in psycho-prescriptive writings regarding African institutional and governance issues. Prof. Oshodi wrote in via [email protected] 26.04.2022 LISTEN Undoubtedly, you are reading and hearing the rumblings concerning a New World Order (aka Great Reset). The phrase refers to a theory/idea that the wealthy elites are in the process of activating a totalitarian world government with plans that have been years in the making. But the plans are not for global democracy but global communism according to some conservatives, some Christians, some zealous patriots, several authors of books on the subject, some radio and internet hosts, and others waking up to smell the coffee. Ponder upon the following archived articles and commentaries about a New World Order. The following is a 1932 archived essay titled The New World-Order. Events of the post-War period are forcibly and unmistakably driving home the lesson that the future welfare of the human race is vitally dependent upon world co-operation. The days of self-sufficient nationalism, of splendid isolation, of Monroe doctrines, are clearly numbered, and it is widely felt that the more quickly such venerable creeds are abandoned the brighter will become the prospect for civilisation at large. How soon events will force the political unity that, in some form or other, appears inevitable, it would be rash to prophesy; but if the process of unification is to succeed, it can only be upon a previous basis of intellectual sympathy and understanding. Visit https://www.nature.com/articles/130076b0. The following 1997 archived article discussed a one world government during the Bush era with the United Nations as the central power. Many thought that the new world order proclaimed by George Bush was the promise of 1945 fulfilled, a world in which international institutions, led by the United Nations, guaranteed international peace and security with the active support of the world's major powers Even as a liberal internationalist ideal, it is infeasible at best and dangerous at worst. It requires a centralized rule-making authority, a hierarchy of institutions, and universal membership, according to a 1997 article in Foreign Affairs. Visit https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1997-09-01/real-new-world-order. Journalist and writer Gary Allen wrote three books about global domination: None Dare Call It Conspiracy (1971), Rockefeller: Campaigning for the New World Order (1974), and Say "No!" to the New World Order (1987). American televangelist Pat Robertson, wrote his book, The New World Order in 1991. He discussed the Federal Reserve System, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission as working covertly behind the scenes. The United States and a New World Order is a 1998 archived article. The 1991 Gulf War was accompanied by talk about New World, not least in the US. Global disarmament was discussed with the United Nations at the forefront. Visit https://www.jstor.org/stable/41960487. In 2009, American film directors Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel released a documentary, New World Order, which explored the world of conspiracy theorists and highlighted Alex Jones among others. Bringing in the New World Order: Liberalism, Legitimacy, and the United Nations, is the title of a 2011 article. The end of the cold war and the attendant security vacuum unleashed a flurry of intellectual activity and international commissions that reflected on the world that was being left behind and the world that should be created in its place.Visit https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/bringing-in-the-new-world-order-liberalism-legitimacy-and-the-united-nations/097AD06176EF9633B79A913CACA6980D. In June, elites at important international institutions such as the World Economic Forum and the United Nations launched a far-reaching campaign to reset the global economy, according to opinion contributor Justin Haskins for The Hill 2020. John Kerry reveals Bidens devotion to radical Great Reset movement is the title. Visit https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/528482-john-kerry-reveals-bidens-devotion-to-radical-great-reset-movement/. Are you ready for the Great Reset? Its the Great Leap Forward of 21st-century technocracy. Its time, we are told by the likes of Davos guru Klaus Schwab, to reboot our passe, 18th-century ideas about rights, democracy and constitutions and surrender to the smooth rule of the experts and the climate cultists, not forgetting, of course, their financial advisers, says Dominic Green in a 2020 opinion column for the New York Post. Visit https://nypost.com/2020/12/02/biden-admin-looks-like-another-try-at-liberal-tech-government/. The Great Reset: Joe Biden and the Rise of Twenty-First-Century Fascism is a 2022 book by Glenn Beck. If they are successful, and the Great Reset is finalized, it would put substantially more economic and social power in the hands of large corporations, international institutions, banks, and government officials, including Joe Biden, the United Nations, and many of the members of the World Economic Forum. Permanent Distortion: How the Financial Markets Abandoned the Real Economy Forever is a 2022 book by Nomi Prins. Her other books include: Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World (2018), All the Presidents' Bankers: The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power (2014), It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bailouts, Bonuses, and Backroom Deal (2009), Other People's Money: The Corporate Mugging of America (2006). COVID-19: The Great Reset is a 2020 book by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. You will on nothing and you will be happy. Schwab is a big fan of big surveillance by big government. Hmmm. If the New World Order (aka Great Reset) is nothing more than a conspiracy theory how come the topic is currently in the news a lot? According to freedom-loving citizens, the members of the Great Reset are using the coronavirus pandemic to censor and squash freedom of speech and freedom of the press so as to broadcast their propaganda to control the masses. Case in point is whats happening in Australia with lockdowns, censorship, and violations of human rights. Citizens, its up to you to do your own research, discuss and debate with others, and decide if its fact or fiction. What can you do to save freedom? Speak out against a one world banking system and a global digital currency. Contact government representatives and express your opinion. Stand up for democracy, liberty, and freedom. Refuse a second global lockdown deception of the economy. Unite with other freedom-loving and peaceful citizens in your area and on social media. Write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper. Resources: Gab is a social network that champions free speech, individual liberty and the free flow of information online. Visit https://gab.com. InfoWars is a talk show in America that was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC. Alex Jones was banned from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. What were they afraid Jones will tell the public? Visit banned.video. Glenn Beck is on live radio and podcasts. Beck, one of Americas leading multi-media personalities, is the founder and owner of TheBlaze, a 24/7 news, information and opinion network that is available on television and online. TheBlaze.com attracts over 35 million unique visitors per month. Visit www.glennbeck.com. Joni Lamb, President of DayStar Christian Television Network discussed COVID-19, vaccines, and the Great Reset. Visit www.daystar.com. When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind. C. S. Lewis Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is a syndicated opinion-editorial columnist. She lives in USA. The judge in Ankomah-Nimfah v Quayson (Suit No. CRP/E/3/21) case faced a remarkably straightforward question Is the duly elected member of parliament (MP) of Assin-North disqualified from being an MP because he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana? Remarkably, the judge provided a most non-responsive answer Yes, because at the time of filing his parliamentary nomination forms, he held Canadian citizenship. On the strength of that answer, the judge proceeded to cancel the elections and further ordered the Electoral Commission to conduct fresh Parliamentary Elections in the Assin North constituency. There are, at least, 4 errors in the judgment: (1) the judge engaged in streetlight jurisprudence; (2) the judge granted summary judgment, even though there were disputed material facts; (3) the judge failed to refer article 94(2)(a) to the Supreme Court for interpretation as required by article 130(2); and (4) the judge cancelled the election results contrary to PNDCL 284 (20)(d). Each of these errors, which are discussed below, are separate grounds for reversing that judgment. The Judge erred when he engaged in Streetlight Jurisprudence I define streetlight jurisprudence as the propensity for a judge to search for evidence where it is easiest to find rather than search for evidence that is germane to the issue confronting the court. It is akin to the well-known drunkard search principle, where a drunkard searches for his lost money in a lighted place rather than where he lost it. Here, the judge, rather than search for evidence of the MPs disavowal of his allegiance to Canada, sought evidence of the date on which his application for renunciation of citizenship was granted because the latter is easier to inspect, even though it does not come anywhere close to answering the question of owing allegiance to Canada. Article 94(2)(a) provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other Ghana. Article 94(2)(a), properly interpreted, has nothing to do with citizenship-related allegiance because at the time of the promulgation of the Constitution, one could not retain his Ghanaian citizenship if he was a citizen of another country (i.e., dual citizenship was not permitted). Article 94(2)(a) could not be saying that while dual citizenship is not a permissible status, a person who is a dual citizen is not qualified to be an MP. Moreover, amending the Constitution in 1996 to allow for dual citizenship did not and could not have amended article 94(2)(a) or somehow changed its meaning and scope. Constitutional interpretation does not work that way. I have provided a full explanation of why article 94(2)(a) is unrelated to citizenship in a companion article (see https://www.graphic.com.gh/features/features/it-is-time-to-end-the-politico-judicial-persecution-of-dual-citizens.html ). But let us ignore that important point for now and proceed as if article 94(2)(a) is referring to allegiance-related citizenship. It is obvious, even under this clearly contrived regime, that the article does not say a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he is a citizen of a country other Ghana. It still says a person is not qualified to be an MP if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana, except now we depart from the Constitution and allow allegiance to be related to citizenship. Therefore, citizenship of another country is not dispositive of allegiance as used in article 94(2)(a) or citizenship-related allegiance. The proper inquiry under this contrived meaning of article 94(2)(a) is whether allegiance is owed and, if so, if it had been effectively disavowed. The test, even in this contrived regime, should be disavowal of allegiance, not renunciation of citizenship. In the Canadian case of McAteer v Canada, 2014 ONCA 578, the oath of allegiance is characterized as a symbolic commitment to be governed as a democratic constitutional monarchy unless and until democratically changed, that a naturalized citizen can publicly disavow at any time without affecting his citizenship status. In fact, some Canadian citizens have set up websites where they proudly proclaim such disavowals (e.g., http:// disavowal.ca ). In so holding, the McAteer court was merely stating the obvious that allegiance is severable from citizenship as was stated in Bilson v Rawlings and Another [1993-94] 2 GLR 413-428, where the defendant affirmed, under oath, that he was born a British subject in 1949 and became a Ghanaian in May 1957, an affirmation that was of no consequence to his qualification to run for office because Justice Esslifie-Bondzie properly focused on his allegiance, which he had repeatedly sworn to Ghana, not citizenships. Thus, assuming the reference to allegiance in article 94(2)(a) had anything to do with citizenship, which it did not, holding Canadian citizenship is not dispositive of the question of owing allegiance. Furthermore, while article 94(2)(a) conditions the disqualification on being an MP, the judge rewrote it to condition it on being a parliamentary candidate. Article 94(2)(a) says absolutely nothing about the time of filing for nomination and the judge again engaged in streetlight jurisprudence by searching for evidence on that date. A Canadian Judge reading Ankomah-Nimfah would be bemused by the equation of citizenship with allegiance and will undoubtedly conclude that the Ghanaian judge does not understand Canadian law on allegiance and citizenship. He will be utterly baffled that a Ghanaian judge will interpret the Canadian oath of allegiance to impose a burden on a natural born Ghanaian that can be lifted only by a Canadian officials approval of his application for renunciation of Canadian citizenship. He will wonder why our conception of citizenship and allegiance remains rooted in feudal concepts while most of the rest of the world have embraced the modern conception of citizenship as a legal status that bestows equal political rights and duties on its members. The Judge erred when he granted Summary Judgment The judge mischaracterized owing allegiance to a country other than Ghana as a question of law, which allowed him to preempt a trial on the facts and to decide the issue as a matter of law. Whether one owes allegiance to any country is a question of fact to be determined by a trier of fact. Among others, facts could show that he had disavowed any allegiance to Canada, pursuant to McAteer. Further, facts could have shown that he reasonably and honestly believed that he did not owe allegiance to Canada, after turning in his passport, certificate of naturalization, and all rights and privileges appertaining to his citizenship. The parties could have brought in expert witnesses to clarify what it means to owe allegiance to Canada, if there is such a thing, etc. There were many disputed unresolved factual issues and summary judgment was inapposite. This error was compounded by the judges failure to do any research on, or refer to, Canada law on allegiance. Rather, the summary judgment relied primarily on the date on the MPs certificate of citizenship renunciation, the processes filed, and Wikipedia to infer that the MP owes allegiance to Canada. By granting summary judgment, the judge denied the MP a fair trial in two distinct ways: (1) the court impermissibly discharged the plaintiff of his burden to prove his factual claims that the MP owed allegiance to Canada; and (2) the court impermissibly denied the MP the opportunity to show that he did not owe allegiance to Canada, assuming that the plaintiff was able to meet his burden of persuasion. Remarkably, the Supreme Court, in granting the injunction to the plaintiff in the subsequently filed writ for interpretation, recited that the high court judge gave judgment after a trial (see page 3 of the Supreme Court interim injunctive relief in Ankomah-Nimfah v Quayson et al. Writ No. J1/11/2022, 13/4/2022). Trials resolve disputed factual issues, but the high court judge gave judgment as a matter of law. This is not an insignificant error. It suggests that the injunction was based on a misunderstanding of what happened at the high court. In most appellate courts, the standards of review for a trial or summary judgment, hence the deference to attach to a lower court judgment, differ. Trials, typically, are reviewed for abuse of discretion while summary judgments are reviewed de novo both as to the determination that there is no remaining genuine issue of material fact and that the prevailing party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In my opinion, that error by the apex court is enough to arrest its injunction. The Judge erred in failing to refer article 94(2)(a) to the Supreme Court for interpretation Article 130(2) mandates that lower courts stay proceedings and refer matters of interpretation of the Constitution to the Supreme Court. In determining whether an issue of interpretation has arisen, lower courts apply the Ex Parte Akosah test and evaluate whether any of the following events are present: the words of the provision of the Constitution are imprecise or unclear or ambiguous. rival meanings have been placed by the litigants on the words of any provisions of the Constitution. there is a conflict in the meaning and effect of two or more articles of the Constitution, and the question is raised as to which provision should prevail. on the face of the provisions, there is a conflict between the operation of institutions set up under the Constitution and thereby raising problems of enforcement and of interpretation. It is obvious that an interpretation issue had arisen under the first and second wings of Ex Parte Akosah. Owing allegiance to a country other than Ghana is inherently imprecise, unclear, and ambiguous. The parties had invited the court to declare that it meant something different from what it plainly says, including the insertion of terms (citizenship) and dates (filing of nomination forms). Further, the parties had put rival meanings on the term allegiance, with plaintiff suggesting it was the same as citizenship and the defendant suggesting otherwise. Under those circumstances, the judge was obliged under article 130(2) to stay proceedings and to refer the matter to the Court, thereby foreclosing the current tenuous situation where the prevailing party, who objected to the referral of the matter to the Court, has now invited the Court for the interpretation. The Judge explained that he did not have to refer the matter to the Court for interpretation because the meaning and effect of the article are clear, precise, and unambiguous and the court is simply applying the article (page 55). Furthermore, the judge noted that article 94(2) has received judicial consideration and clarity by the SC in Ex Parte Zanetor, and that case is the recent and authoritative decision by the SC on what point in time the eligibility or qualification criteria as set out in article 94(2)(a) of the constitution come into play (page 56). The judge is fatally wrong on Ex Parte Zanetor. That case has no voice on article 94(2)(a) and it is plain error for the judge to say otherwise. That case is related to article 94(1)(a), an eligibility article , not 94(2)(a), a disqualification article . Moreover, allegiance, unlike registered voter is an imprecise term that cannot be inferred from Ex Parte Zanetor. Neither does Ex Parte Zanetor control the timing of the determination of allegiance to a country other than Ghana. The wording of articles 94(1) and 94(2) differs for the important reason that the former defines the eligibility for parliament whereas the latter disqualifies an eligible person from being an MP. Article 94(1)(a) provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament unless he is a citizen of Ghana, has attained the age of twenty-one years and is a registered voter and article 94(2)(a) provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana. Even a duly elected and serving MP can be disqualified if he is found culpable of performing the prohibited act specified in article 94(2)(a). Unsurprisingly, the election laws treat article 94(1) and 94(2) differently. PNDCL 284 (9)(1)(a) provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a candidate for the office of member of Parliament unless he is a citizen of Ghana, has attained the age of twenty-one years and is a registered voter. However, PNDCL 284 (9)(2)(a) provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana. The differences in PNDCL 284 9(1)(a) and PNDCL 284 9(2)(a) are not an accident. There is a very clear legislative intent for articles 94(1)(a) and 94(2)(a) to be treated differently. The eligibility criteria in 94(1)(a) must be established to be a candidate for an election. The disqualification criterion in 94(2)(a) disqualifies a person from being an MP, whether he has just been elected or is an incumbent. An MP can be disqualified at any time from serving in parliament if it is established by proper proof that he has engaged in the offending act. Curiously, after resisting the MPs repeated calls for article 94(2)(a) to be transmitted from the high court to the Supreme Court for interpretation, the plaintiff issued a writ at that Court seeking an interpretation of that very same article and an application for an interim injunction anchored on that writ. Rather than question the procedural posture of the writ and arrest the high court judgment as premature, in the absence of a definitive interpretation, the Court granted the injunction. I do believe that the Court allowed the plaintiff to do the 4-step rashikoko dance. First, successfully resist all attempts to get the Supreme Court to interpret article 94(2)(a). Next, get the high court to say that the article has been violated. Then, majestically go to the Supreme Court to seek an interpretation of the violated article. Lastly, get the Supreme Court to kotokiokously injunct on your behalf The Judge Erred when he cancelled the results PNDCL 284 (20)(1)(d) governs the cancellation of election results. It provides that the election of a candidate shall be declared void on an election petition if the High Court is satisfied that the candidate was at the time of his election a person not qualified or a person disqualified for election. The law embodies the idea that any harm associated with a disqualifying event (e.g., owing allegiance to a country than Ghana) is not going to occur through filing of papers or during campaigning. Further, voters wishes must be respected, and their decisions must be honoured if a person is qualified at the time of his election. Applying PNDCL 284 (20)(1)(d) to the facts, the only question the high court judge should have asked is whether on December 7, 2020, at the time of his election, had he disavowed his allegiance to Canada (the correct test in the contrived regime where the allegiance in article 94(2)(a) is related to citizenship) or renounced his citizenship using either a subjective test (correct test, in the contrived world where citizenship is equated to allegiance) or objective test (wrong test, in the contrived test where citizenship is equated to allegiance)? Any of those contrived tests would have resolved the matter that he was qualified at the time of his election. He applied for renunciation of his citizenship in December 2019, a whole year ahead of the election date. At that time, he did all in his power and control to sever all relationships with Canada and relocated to Assin-North. He turned in his naturalization certificate, passport and was no longer eligible to even reside in Canada. His application for renunciation was granted on November 26, 2020. Both of those dates are before the election. The Judge Abused his Discretion when he granted the interim injunction on January 6, 2021 While a judge has discretion to grant injunction, the presumptions and precedents show that he abused his discretion when he granted the interlocutory injunction on 6th January 2021, one week after the election petition was filed. Prior to the elections, the Electoral Commission had examined a petition seeking to disqualify the MP on the same citizenship grounds. The Commission, after examining the evidence, cleared the MP as qualified to contest in the elections. The judge should have treated this determination by the election manager with deference. It is difficult to imagine the harm that would have occurred by denying the injunction, while allowing the parties time to build their cases. In contrast, the hasty and unwise grant of this interim injunction, was it properly served, would have denied Assin-North a say in the election of the Speaker and was the proximate cause of the fisticuffs that occurred in parliament on 6th January. The precedents in various election petitions all pointed to the same outcome of not granting the injunction because of the presumption that elections are regular, and winners have been validly declared. Similarly, it is hard to understand the interlocutory injunction granted by the Supreme Court, which is anchored on a writ seeking an interpretation of an article of the Constitution that has been applied by a lower court to issue a judgment, which the Court relies on for its injunctive order. This is especially so when the Plaintiff and the courts below had consistently resisted a referral of the matter to the Court for interpretation. Further, it is hard to reconcile the plaintiffs invocation of the Courts interpretive jurisdiction, the lower courts unequivocal ruling that article 94(2)(a) was clear, unambiguous, and precise, and the Courts reliance on the lower court judgment. The plaintiff appears to be questioning the high courts claims about the clarity of article 94(2)(a) by invoking the Courts interpretive jurisdiction. On the other hand, the Court is relying on a judgment that declares that article 94(2)(a) is clear and precise, even as it is about to interpret the same article. It seems the only and proper thing to do under these circumstances is for the Court to have arrested the judgment from the lower court and to stay all proceedings rather than to issue an injunction. A cursory review of the cases procedural posture shows that the plaintiff effectively turned the Court into an enforcement wing of the lower court. In granting the injunction, the Supreme Court stated that greater hardship, irreparable damage, and inconvenience will be occasioned to the Constitution, the rule of law, the tenets of democracy, the constituents of Assin North, and the Ghanaian people as a whole if the MP is allowed to continue to hold himself out as a MP pending the determination of this suit. It is hard to envision how a few days of service of the MP in parliament, while the Court deals with the substantive matter, can occasion these hardships and harm. Rather, the irreparable harm seems to be occasioned by an injunctive order that is based on a subsisting summary judgment, that the Court misconstrued as a judgment after a trial, and a writ for the interpretation of article 94(2)(a), when that same article is at the heart of the controversial summary judgment. Further, the injunction order comes after repeated rejection of invitations from the MP to the high court, court of appeal and the Supreme Court to interpret the same article, which the plaintiff has, in one attempt, succeeded in getting the Supreme Court to interpret. When evaluated in its totality, the flowery justification of the injunctive order reads more like dressing up a flawed order as legal reasoning without doing any legal reasoning at all. The judicial abuse of injunctions in election petitions can have disastrous consequences and our judges and Justices must pay more attention to the precedents and presumptions. The Judge will allow Foreign Law to Irremediably Curtail Citizens Political Rights The judge recited that some countries may not allow or do not recognize renunciation of citizenship or establish administrative procedures that are essentially impossible to complete, such as Argentina (page 44). Notwithstanding this recital, the judge surprisingly holds that it is only a foreign country that can decide whether a natural born Ghanaians reasonable and honest effort to renounce his foreign citizenship is effective. In effect, the judge is saying that Ghanaian law will allow countries like Argentina, which do not recognize renunciation or make it difficult to do so, to control the political status of a natural-born Ghanaians in Ghana, even if he has severed all relations with that country and relocated to Ghana. This, in effect, reduces Ghanaian judges to mechanical inspectors of foreign certificates of renunciation, with no interest in or desire to understand the steps taken by the natural born Ghanaian to sever connections with the foreign country. It is almost as if the courts jurisprudence does not value natural-born citizens and is determined to allow foreign law to control who participates in Ghanas representative government. The irony, of course, being that a person who is a dual citizen might allow foreign interests to dominate or otherwise their judgments while serving in the legislature and related public institutions. The Constitution is animated by the values of equal citizenship, especially the right of full participation in the political space. The preamble of the Constitution highlights the principles that all powers of Government spring from the sovereign will of the people and universal audit suffrage. Further, the common law, related to the Constitution, have highlighted the importance of voting and the right to be voted for. The right to self-governance through public participation is so vital that citizens have both a right and a duty to vote and to participate in the political space. These values suggest that a natural born Ghanaian should not be prevented from participating in the democratic governance ordained by the Constitution where he has demonstrated that he has taken all steps reasonably required by foreign law to disavow his allegiance to that foreign country. One would have hoped that amidst the plethora of errors, the judge, could have, at least, reasoned those countries like Argentina, who made renunciation impossible or difficult to achieve, should not be put in a position to prevent a natural born Ghanaian, who has taken all the steps that are reasonably required to renounce his foreign citizenship, from participating fully in the politics of Ghana. Such reasoning would have evidenced an interest in balancing the citizens political rights against whatever rights the foreign country has in putting administrative impediments in the way of a natural born Ghanaian who seeks to renounce his foreign citizenship. Justice must be done in Assin North though the heavens fall. SALL is the cardinal sin of the 8th Parliament. Da Yie! Savannah Regional women's organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Hajia Safia Mohammed has called for patriotism among aspirants ahead of the party's upcoming internal elections. The party which has already elected its new polling station executives and electoral area coordinators is set to elect constituency executives to pave way for the election of regional and national officers to man the affairs of the party for the next four years. In a statement copied to Modern Ghana News, the lead servant of the women's front of the party in the Savannah Region, cautioned all aspirants to eschew actions and all tendencies that will disturb the unity in the party. "I want to use this medium to make a passionate appeal to all aspirants to eschew all forms of unwholesome activities that will mar the beauty of our party's long cherished democracy and the successes we have chalked at holding peaceful elections especially in the region". Hajia Safia who is seeking re-election as women's organizer of the governing party for Savannah Region, pressed on the new executives that would emerge victorious, to endeavor to bring their competitors on board to tap their experience to consolidate the gains the party made in the region. She also extended her well wishes to all aspirants and ceased the opportunity to press on the electoral committees and officers to be emboldened in oneness of purpose to ensure a fair playing field for all aspirants. "To our affable and hardworking committees and officers, i urge you to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the dispensation of your duties and uphold a clean and fair election devoid of biases and favouritism". *Read the full statement below: PRESS RELEASE 26th April, 2022 *Electing the most committed, dedicated and loyal patriots to steer and spur activities of the party should be paramount to all delegates* As the New Patriotic Party (NPP) commences the conduct of its Constituency executives from 28th April, 2022 to 1st May, 2022, I would like to use this opportunity to wish the party very peaceful, calm, successful and an incident free elections across the Savannah region. As we are all aware, the constituency executives form one of the key base of the executive wing of the party. Executive at this level have constant and direct contact with the base of the party and electorates. In this regard, getting the most committed, dedicated and loyal patriots to steer and spur activities of the party, should be paramount and dear to delegates and members of our great party at this point of our democratic dispensation. As the lead servant of the womens front of the party in the savannah region, I want to use this medium to make a passionate appeal to all aspirants to eschew all forms of unwholesome activities that will mar the beauty of our partys long cherished democracy and the successes we have chalked at holding peaceful elections especially in the region. I wish to encourage all aspirants to remove every form of actions that will create chaos and infringe upon the human rights of others and that are inimical to our own party constitution. To our affable and hardworking electoral committees and officers, I urge you to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the dispensation of your duties and uphold a clean and fair elections devoid of biases and favouritism. To those who will emerge victorious in this contest, please do accept my warm congratulations in advance and my best wishes for your success as you prepare to take up the responsibilities and challenges of your high office at the constituency level. The best way to progress is constantly troublesome, however despite that you figure out about how to get yourself to finish everything and be respected. In an internal elections of this nature, we all know others may be bruised through verbal or nonverbal confrontations during your campaigns, see this bruises as family feuds and quickly put yourself together to form a formidable team to work towards breaking the eight (8) for the task ahead is crucial. I also use this opportunity to cheer up those who would not be fortunate to win their various positions. See this as a contest that there must be one winner. However, I beckon on them, and everyone, to nurse their bruises quickly and support the Party with every resource they have and with their might to help propagate the good works of the NPP government. There is no looser here, we only have winners in a family contest. The new leaders/executives that would emerge in this elections, I wish to also encourage you to bring on board your competitors and the fallen executives to tap their experience for a better NPP in Savannah region. It is my prayer and hope that God shall order the processes of this election and May the best aspirant win. I believe that together, we can break the eight. Thank you. *.signed* *Hajia Safia Mohammed* NPP Savannah Region Womens Organizer The New York Times, April 21, 2022 The blast in Mazar-i-Sharif, one of Afghanistans economic hubs, was the latest in a series of attacks on one of its religious minorities and was claimed by an ISIS affiliate. KABUL, Afghanistan An explosion at a Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan on Thursday killed at least 10 people and wounded more than two dozen others, local officials said, adding to the toll of a bloody week for one of the countrys religious minorities. The attack, during afternoon prayers at the Seh Dokan mosque in the center of Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the countrys economic hubs with a bustling downtown of alleyway shops, came just two days after several explosions ripped through a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Kabul, the capital. While the details of the attack at the mosque were murky, and there were fears that the death toll would climb higher, unverified videos shot inside the building showed an amount of carnage that has become all too familiar in Afghanistan over four decades of conflict. Up to now we have 12 dead and 35 injured. Eight of them are in bad condition, said Dr. Gaousuddin Anwari, the director of Abu Ali Sina-e-Balkhi Hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif. Abdul Nafi Takor, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, offered a different assessment, saying that 10 people had been killed. A Taliban official in the province said it was unclear what caused the explosion, but the Islamic States affiliate in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State Khorasan, claimed responsibility for the blast, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist organizations. I was in my pharmacy when I heard the sound of an explosion, said Nazir Samim, a resident of Mazar-i-Sharif. I went to the mosque to help the wounded, but the Taliban did not allow me to enter. Around the time of the mosque blast, an explosion targeting a minibus in Kunduz city, the capital of the province of the same name and about 100 miles to the east, killed at least four people and wounded 18, said Obaidlah Abedi, a spokesman for the Kunduz police. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack too, according to SITE. On Tuesday, several explosions outside an education center and a public high school in the western Kabul neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi killed at least six people and wounded at least a dozen more. The area, home to a large Hazara community, an ethnic minority that is predominantly Shiite, was frequently targeted by both the Taliban and the Islamic State over the last 20 years, when the countrys Western-backed government was in power. Since the Taliban took control of the country in August, the hard-line Sunni religious group has tried to stay to true to its bedrock pledge of providing security to Afghans of all religious groups and ethnicities even though it targeted some of them during the past two decades and killed thousands of Hazaras during its first tenure in the 1990s. Despite that pledge, Shiites, especially Hazaras, have come under frequent attack, primarily from the Islamic States affiliate in the country, over the past eight months. Last year, Islamic State bombings of Shiite mosques in Kandahar and Kunduz killed and wounded dozens. In the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul, a series of unclaimed car bombings have regularly killed Hazaras, though in relatively small numbers. On Monday, the Islamic State claimed it had carried out a rocket attack from Haritan, a border town roughly 50 miles north of Mazar-i-Sharif, on a military base in Uzbekistan, but the Uzbek government denied any such attack took place. The extremist group has slowly gathered strength in recent months, despite the Talibans attempts to stamp out its fighters in the countrys east. Jihadists in Mali say they have captured a fighter working for Wagner, the Russian private security firm hired by the country's military junta to train the military - though France and other countries say the fighters are acting as mercenaries. The Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) told th Frenche AFP news agency that it had captured a soldier of the Russian Wagner forces in the first week of April in the Segou region in central Mali, without providing evidence to support the assertion. The GSIM said Russian fighters had taken part in a massacre in Moura, in central Mali, at the end of March an incident that Human Rights Watch had reported on, accusing Malian soldiers of executing 300 civilians with the help of foreign fighters. In another operation the GSIM said the mercenaries carried out two parachute drops at Bandiagara in central Mali, and jihadists fighters seized weapons. Mali's military junta, which seized power in a coup in 2020, says it has hired Wagner to provide training to the military, and it denies claims by France and the United States that the group is taking part in fighting. Last week an army document and officials said a Russian advisor operating alongside Malian soldiers had been killed by a roadside bomb in the centre of the country, marking the first confirmed Russian fatality in Mali. On Friday the French military released videos that appeared to show Russian mercenaries burying bodies near an army base in the north of the country, which it handed back to Malian forces earlier in the week. The military says the graves are part of a smear campaign against France, which in February pulled out troops that had been deployed in Mali to fight jihadists since 2013, citing the junta's rapprochement with the Kremlin. (with AFP) Former Minister of Health under the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Alex Segbefia has described President Akufo-Addos government as one that is clueless, insisting that it has failed to deliver. Speaking to TV3 on the New Day Programme, Mr. Segbefia says he has no doubt in his mind that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) no longer has ideas on how to make things better for the people of Ghana. They have run out of ideas they dont know what to do, the former Health Minister shared. Speaking on the ambition of the government to execute the Agenda 111 hospitals project, Mr. Alex Segbefia said he has not been impressed with the explanation given by the President about the deadline for the completion of the project. He argued that it would have been in order if at least 20 of the health facilities are already completed and running. This, in his view, shows government has already failed to deliver on the Agenda 111 project. It has already failed in terms of the deadline. The President said 18 months, now he explains 18 months, from the day it starts. What is the meaning of, when I start? At least, let us have some 20 or 30 hospitals now running. They are a failure, Mr. Alex Segbefia emphasised. As confirmed by President Akufo-Addo himself, government plans to complete all health facilities under the Agenda 111 project before he leaves office in January 2025. The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) says it is not to blame for the confusion that characterized its recent graduation ceremony at the North Dzorwulu campus in Accra last Thursday. The school in a statement said the smooth flow of the event was rather marred by a group of 15 graduands who entered the auditorium amidst chants and noise. Last Thursday, the schools graduation ceremony was temporarily halted amidst protest by some graduands that the schools management and dignitaries left them outside without any information to continue with the graduation ceremony in an auditorium when it started raining. But the school insists in its statement that it informed the graduands that the event was being moved indoors due to the rains. About forty-five minutes into the event, it started raining. The Registrar announced that the programme had to be moved to the auditorium due to the weather. She, additionally, announced the agreed location for parents and acquaintances of graduands. The programme had barely resumed after the movements when a group of graduands entered from the rear of the auditorium amidst chanting and noise-making disrupting the smooth flow of the event, the statement said. The school said the situation was brought under control in 15 minutes. Any twisted reportage seeking to portray the Institute in a negative light is not only mischievous but shameful. The public is assured that management of the Institute will continue to work with our student body and the Institutes public to deliver on its mandate as it has done over the years, the statement added. 26.04.2022 LISTEN Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams has revealed that a president of Ghana got upset with him just because he prayed for the opposition party. Without giving any specifics, the founder of Action Chapel International told the congregation on Sunday, 24 April 2022 during his sermon: There was a time there was a president in this country; myself and some men of God from outside came and we went to visit him and he was very hostile toward me but sweet and nice to everybody else. Very hostile toward me, he stressed, adding that the president didnt even acknowledge me. This is a guy that I prayed for [for] many years even when he was in opposition, he noted. I prayed for him; [he] comes [to] visit me many times; we were that close; he visits me and all that, Archbishop Duncan-Williams said. He was so hostile and after, when we were leaving his office, I allowed everybody to go and I concerned him and I said: Mr President, whats going on here? I didnt even allow security; I said: Mr President, something is wrong; whats happening? I dont like your countenance toward me. And I said: Something is not right. He said: You are right about it; Im very upset with you, and I said: Talk to me Mr President; if you are upset, talk. And he told me, and I found out that somebody that was so very close to me in my church went to slander me, went to lie and said I was praying for the then-opposition, Archbishop Duncan-Williams recalled. And I said: Mr President, it is true: I pray for the opposition and I pray for [the] government; what is wrong? I said: I prayed for you when you were in opposition, so, why are you angry with me? Yea, its the truth: I pray for [the] government, I pray for [the] opposition. Thats what the Bible says we should do. 1 Timothy 2 from verse 1 going to verse 4. And I said: Yes, its true: I prayed for the opposition just as I prayed for you when you were in opposition, so, whats your problem? He said: You know something; youre right, youre right. I said: Mr President, youre better than this. And I walked off. I just walked off. Quoting the Bible to buttress his point, Archbishop Duncan-Williams said: I exalt, therefore, that first of all supplication, prayers, intercession and giving of thanks be made for all men irrespective of their religious background; for kings, for all that are in authority and if we do that, well live a quiet and a peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty, adding: That is the only way Godliness and honesty and peace of any country is maintained when prayers go up for those in authority; not when we criticise them. For it is written: Speak no evil of the ruler of my people. Archbishop Duncan-Williams, who has been preaching for almost 45 years, said the Bible injuncts men of God to pray for the leaders of the nation rather than criticise them. The Bible didnt call us to speak evil of rulers. It didnt call us to criticise the people in authority but it says: Pray for them, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Saviour. We are not anointed to attack and criticise people in authority; thats not my assignment. The pulpit is not to attack leaders or to criticise leaders, its to pray and if you believe in God, then pray. Source: Classfmonline.com A leader can expect his home base to come under fire! You must expect an attack on the family, friendships and alliances that are a source of your strength. Every attack on your home base, your aides, your alliances and your friendships will have a significant impact on the war. Whilst King David was out fighting the enemy, the Amalekites cleverly attacked his home base and burnt it down. All their wives, sons, and daughters were taken captive. David was devastated! No matter how hardened a warrior is, he looks forward to going home, to a place of rest. And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. SO DAVID AND HIS MEN CAME TO THE CITY, AND, BEHOLD, IT WAS BURNED WITH FIRE; AND THEIR WIVES, AND THEIR SONS, AND THEIR DAUGHTERS, WERE TAKEN CAPTIVES. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite, 1 Samuel 30:1-5. If you are a travelling minister, you can expect an attack on your home. The devil would like to leave you homeless. He would like to leave you without a place to come back to. Satan would like to attack your physical home and leave you without any solace or comfort. He would like to bomb your shelter so that you have nowhere to go to when you finish fighting. This is why many ministers have marital problems. It is an attack to bomb their shelters so that they have nowhere to go to. It is called a de-housing attack! Instead of pastors coming home to softness, comforts and delights, they go home to hardness, more hard work and arguments. Loving words are replaced with accusations, opposition and resistance. Soon, a minister of the gospel does not consider his house as a place of solace, comfort, softness and delights. He has been de-housed! The Royal Airforce of England, under the command of Bomber Harris de-housed the citizens of Hamburg, Dresden, Berlin, Cologne and many other German cities. They did this by bombing and smashing the cities of Germany. Similarly, Satan has de-housed many pastors and preachers of the gospel. This is also the reason why there are few evangelists. If you dare step out of your church to evangelise the world, your church can be taken over and you will have nowhere to go back to. You will also have no one to support you further. Many evangelists are de-housed ministers, having no support, no more aid and no more aides. Your family and your aides are very important for your mission. Their importance is spelt out by the fact that the enemy will target them and try to eliminate them. Do not be surprised if your home base of close aides and alliances come under attack. Often, your ministry cannot be completed without the input of these close aides and alliances. Do not be surprised if Satan tries to turn your aides into rebels. It is an attack on your home base! Stand up and defend your home base. Fight to maintain your house. Build bomb shelters so that you will not suffer a de-housing attack of the enemy. Hannibal's Home Base Attacked Hannibal was the famous African general who invaded the Roman Empire with his elephants. He crossed the Italian Alps with his armies and elephants and entered deep into Italy. Hannibal defeated the Roman armies several times. Believe it or not, the Romans were never able to defeat Hannibal for eight years whilst he was in Italy. One day, they devised a strategy to get rid of him. The strategy was to invade Carthage (Tunisia), the home base of Hannibal. When Carthage came under serious attack, Hannibal was called back home to defend his own country. It was only when Hannibal was forced to return to Carthage to help defend his home country that the Romans were able to get him out of Roman territory. When the Romans eventually fought with Hannibal in Carthage, they defeated him. Indeed, the mighty Carthaginian general, who had brought the Roman Empire to its feet and lived for eight years within striking distance of Rome, was defeated by an attack on his home base. Remember, a leader must expect an attack on his home base that is the family, friendships, and alliances that are a source of his strength! [email protected] BY Dag Heward-Mills The United Nations has called for an investigation into the killings last Sunday of residents of Kerneik, West Darfur in Sudan. An aid group working in the area said 168 people were killed, and 98 were wounded. Calling for an immediate end to the violence that forced thousands more to flee, UN Special Representative Volker Perthes said in a statement that he wanted an in-depth and transparent investigation, the results of which should be made public and help to identify the perpetrators of violence and bring them to justice." Health facilities were also attacked, the UN claims. The fighting kicked off on Sunday after two people were killed by unknown assailants, according to Adam Regal, spokesman for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced (GCRD) in Darfur. A large group with heavy weapons attacked Kreinik in the early hours of Sunday, torching and looting properties, according to Regal. The GCRD aids those displaced in the region with food and other assistance. The UN reminds the authorities and armed groups of their international legal obligation to protect all civilians, and civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, schools and water systems, according to the UN statement. It also took note that the Sudanese Armed Forces said it would evacuate the injured. Free, safe and unhindered humanitarian access is urgently needed. The UN in Sudan stands ready to provide aid to those in need, it added. The fighting stems from ethnic clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs, one of the deadliest in recent memory. Coup and UN base closure A military coup carried out in Sudan last October has created chaos for the Darfur region. Sudan's military leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which carried out rapes and murders in the region in 2014 and 2015, as documented by Human Rights Watch. The UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur ended in 2020, and inter-communal clashes have gradually increased since then. Fighting broke out in 2003 after rebels rose up and launched an insurgency after feeling sidelined by far away Khartoum, the capital. Then-president Omar al-Bashir responded by sending Janjaweed militias, who have been accused of committing mass rapes and murder, including crimes against humanity. An estimated 300,000 people were killed and 277 million forced to flee the fighting. 26.04.2022 LISTEN The Director-General, Operations, of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Mohammed Fuseini Suraj, has cautioned Muslims across the country against using Public Address Systems (PAS) to inconvenience others during their times of prayer. In the last ten days of the Ramadan fast, especially when the Muslim faithful are enjoined to engage in lots of supplications and intercessions, especially during the wee times of the night, DCOP Suraj said the PA should not be used to disturb others. It should be toned down. Members of the faith, he said, should make Islam attractive so that others would join. Speaking as a guest speaker during the special Ramadan Quranic recitation and prayers organised by the Greater Accra Regional Commander, Singlana DCOP Seidu Iddi, to pray for the Ghana Police Service, other security agencies and the nation, he also cautioned Muslims against unruly conduct during the forthcoming Eid Ul Fitr. The theme of the occasion was Towards A Shared Collective Responsibility For Security In Ghana. Now that the COVID-19 protocols have been relaxed, and open air congregational prayers permitted as said by the Vice President, he appealed to Muslims to be circumspect in their conduct. The tendency for such youth to sit in open vehicles rather dangerously should be avoided. The police have at their disposal intelligent technology which can fish out acts of criminality. To mothers, he said take care of your kids when you go for the congregational prayers on Eid day because the case of missing children is rampant on such occasions. Muslim youth, he observed, top the list of motorbike riders and some of them do not abide by road traffic regulations. Those who disregard such regulations should not count on the intervention of the regional commander and myself in such circumstances because the law must work, he added. The Singlana, the Regional Police Commander who was chairman of the occasion endorsed the appeal and caution of the Operations Commander when he demanded of Muslims to be disciplined. He charged Muslims to be development-oriented and to be disciplined in whatever they do. The last ten days of the Ramadan fasting, he said, should not be used to disturb others who might be resting in various homes. The prayer session at the Accra Police Central Mosque was graced by representatives of sister security agencies who offered speeches of solidarity and admonitions to Muslims. Also present were heads of Dagomba community in the various suburbs of Accra. Prizes were awarded to persons who supported the cause of Islam in the Police Service. ---DGN online Kinross Gold Corporation has announced that it had entered a deal with Asante Gold Corporation to sell its 90 per cent interest in the Chirano mine in Ghana. The 90 per cent interest sale is said to be going for a total consideration of $225 million in cash and shares. Kinross Gold Corporation announced this in a news release issued in Toronto, Canada and sighted by the Ghana News Agency. The news release said The Ghanaian government has a 10 per cent carried interest in Chirano. Upon closing of the transaction, Kinross will receive $115 million in cash. Kinross will also receive a few Asante common shares having a value of $50 million based on the 30-day volume-weighted average price of Asante common shares prior to closing, provided that the issuance of Asante common shares will not result in Kinross exceeding a 9.9% ownership in Asante. It said Kinross will also receive a total deferred payment of $60 million in cash, with 50 per cent payable on the first anniversary of closing and the other 50 per cent payable on the second anniversary of closing. If the 9.9 per cent share ownership limit is reached, the remainder of the $50 million will be paid by increasing the deferred cash payments in equal portions. The Company has agreed that it will hold its Asante common shares for at least 12 months following the closing of the transaction. It said The transaction is expected to be completed on or around May 31, 2022. The Government of Ghana has issued a letter of no objection regarding the change of control. The news release said Chirano represented approximately 3 per cent of Kinross' total mineral reserve estimates as of year-end 2021. With the expected close of the transaction, Kinross will have no assets or interests in Ghana. It said, Kinross expects to update its 2022 and three-year guidance reflecting the recently announced pending sales of its assets in Russia and Ghana, as well as provide additional commentary regarding the sale transactions, as part of its upcoming Q1 2022 results disclosures. It said Treadstone Resource Partners and Scotiabank are acting as financial advisors to Kinross, with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acting as legal advisor, for the transaction. Kinross is a Canadian-based senior gold mining company with mines and projects in the United States, Brazil, Russia, Mauritania, Chile, Ghana and Canada. GNA 26.04.2022 LISTEN The Supreme Court review panel presided over by Justice Jones Victor Mawulorm Dotse has dismissed an application filed by Justice Abdulai seeking a review of the ruling on the Deputy Speakers rights to vote case. It can be recalled that a seven-member Supreme Court panel, on March 9, 2022, unanimously declared that the two Deputy Speakers of Parliament remain Members of Parliament, when they are presiding in the absence of the main Speaker and that they can vote and be counted as present for purposes of decision-making in the House. This was after Justice Abdulai had filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking an interpretation of the law on the Deputy Speakers' rights to vote. After the ruling from the seven-member Supreme Court panel, Justice Abdulai returned to the apex court with a review application earlier this month. Sitting on the case today, a nine-member Supreme Court review panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse has dismissed the application. The SC review panel after hearing the submissions of the State and the applicant who represented himself ruled that the threshold required for a review application was not met. It then described the application as unmeritorious. Considering the threshold that this review application is supposed to meet, we are of the considered view that this application falls short. The application is thus dismissed for being unmeritorious the presiding judge, Justice Jones Dotse said in his ruling on the matter. Private legal practitioner Justice Abdulai has indicated that it is time to move on after his review application to the Supreme Court for the ruling on the Deputy Speakers rights to vote was dismissed. Engaging the media after the ruling by the nine-member review panel of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, he said he will leave it to posterity to judge. I think we have to move on as a nation. What I didnt want was the situation where posterity will question us as to why we didnt take this small window of opportunity that was available to us for a possible review of the decision of the Supreme Court on the 9th of March. I think posterity will judge our call in the positive light that we did everything we ought to have done to get the sort of judgment that we needed but this is what the Supreme Court says and we all have to live by that, Justice Abdulai told journalists. Today, the SC review panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse after hearing the submissions of the State and the applicant who represented himself, ruled that the threshold required for a review application was not met and hence the application is unmeritorious. Considering the threshold that this review application is supposed to meet, we are of the considered view that this application falls short. The application is thus dismissed for being unmeritorious the presiding judge, Justice Jones Dotse said in his ruling on the matter. For the office of the Attorney General, the latest ruling by the Supreme Court is satisfactory. The Supreme Court ruled that the application by Justice Abdulai is unmeritorious. I am satisfied with the ruling of the court, Deputy Attorney General, Diana Asonaba Dapaah told journalists. Yunnans nature reserve releases HD pictures of critically endangered green peafowl People's Daily Online) 14:36, April 26, 2022 A green peafowl fans its feathers at the Konglonghe Nature Reserve in Shuangbai county, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chinas Yunnan Province. (Photo/Wang Jiancai) The Konglonghe Nature Reserve in Shuangbai county, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southwest Chinas Yunnan Province recently released a set of high-definition images of green peafowl, one of the rarest and most endangered wild animals in the world. Green peafowl, the only peafowl species native to China, is under first-class national protection in the country. There are 555 to 600 of these birds in China. Chuxiong prefecture is one of the main protection zones for green peafowl. In April 2003, the prefecture approved the establishment of the Konglonghe Nature Reserve. Since 2014, the prefecture has implemented projects to protect the species by enhancing monitoring, providing water and food, and protecting the habitats of wild green peafowl. Infrared cameras installed at the nature reserve showed that the nature reserve has seen a continuous rise in the population of green peafowl, which increased from 56 in 2015 to about 160 in 2021. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Etilaat-e-Rooz(Translated by RAWA), April 24, 2022 A family in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province claims that Taliban forces killed a teenage boy and wounded two others. Salahuddin, a member of the family, said that the incident took place last night (Saturday, April 24) in the seventh district of Jalalabad. According to him, a 15-year-old boy, his name was Adel, was killed in a Taliban shooting. The source said he was killed and two others were riding in a rickshaw. Confirming the teenager's death, Zahir Mubarez, security chief of the Taliban police headquarters in Nangarhar, said Taliban forces said he had been killed by gunmen. Mubarez added that four Taliban soldiers had been arrested in connection with the incident and that an investigation had been launched into the incident. There have been cases of civilians being killed by Taliban forces before. Top US officials hosted emergency talks with allies in Germany on Tuesday on supplying Kyiv with more weapons to fend off Russia's assault, as the UN's chief headed to Moscow in a bid to avert further escalation of the conflict. France promised to supply howitzers for Ukraine's army. The meeting of 40 countries at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of only "pretending" to negotiate a cease-fire and warned of a "real" risk of a new world war. Moscow's invasion of its neighbour, now in its eighth week, has triggered widespread outrage among Western nations who have provided weapons and other assistance to Ukraine's embattled President Volodymyr Zelensky. But the Western powers have been reluctant to deepen their direct involvement, wary of drawing Moscow's ire and sparking military confrontations beyond Ukraine's borders. "We believe that they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said following his visit to Kyiv on Sunday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The two officials promised $700 million in new aid to Ukraine, after months of pleas by Zelensky for heavier firepower. Ceasar cannons Meanwhile, France is delivering Caesar cannons with a range of 40 kilometres. The Caesar (short for "Camion equipe d'un systeme d'artillerie" or Truck equipped with an artillery system is a self-propelled 155 mm/52-calibre gun-howitzer that is mounted on a 6 wheel truck chassis. Ceasars are made by Nexter Systems, that belongs to KNDS, "the European leader in land defence" according to its website, a French-German-Dutch arms company that has its headquarters in Amsterdam, jointly owned by the French state, and German truck manufacturer Wegmann. Britain has provided Starstreak anti-air missiles and tanks, and Germany will authorise the delivery of tanks to Ukraine according to Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, marking a clear switch in Berlin's cautious policy on military backing for Kyiv. Berlin has agreed to sign off the delivery of used Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. The meeting is also aimed at ensuring Ukraine's security in the longer term once the war is over. "It's really largely about modernising 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," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Friday. The meeting on Tuesday will not be held under the auspices of NATO, even if the alliance's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg will be attending. "As you know, NATO as an alliance is not providing security assistance to Ukraine, so this is not being done under the NATO umbrella at all," stressed Kirby. Among the 40 invited countries are not only Washington's European allies, but also countries further afield like Japan or Australia, which fear that a Russian victory in Ukraine could set a precedent and spur on the territorial ambitions of China. Finland and Sweden, traditionally neutral countries now looking at joining NATO following Russia's aggression in Ukraine, are also among countries at the talks. (with wires) Tigrayan rebels announced Tuesday that they have withdrawn from a region neighbouring war-wracked Tigray, fulfilling a key condition set by the government when it declared a humanitarian truce last month. The claims could not be independently verified and government officials did not respond immediately to AFP requests for comment. The 17-month conflict between government forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has sparked famine fears in Tigray and created a humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia as the fighting has expanded to neighbouring Amhara and Afar. The withdrawal of the TPLF from Afar and Amhara was a major condition of the truce announced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government with a view to easing aid deliveries to Tigray, which has been under a de facto blockade according to the UN. Although the pause in fighting allowed humanitarian convoys by road to resume this month after being cut off since mid-December, the region of six million people is still only receiving a fraction of what it needs. On Tuesday, two TPLF spokesmen, Getachew Reda and Kindeya Gebrehiwot, told AFP that their forces had pulled out of Afar. "We have already withdrawn from all parts of Afar," Kindeya said in a message to AFP, adding: "Humanitarian and political issues should be de-linked." The announcement followed an open letter by the TPLF to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last Wednesday in which the rebels said they were "committed to further withdrawal of Tigray forces from Afar territory." "The issue is whether or not there is a system in place to facilitate regular, sufficient and unfettered aid flow into Tigray," the letter said. Blocking aid The government and the rebels have long accused each other of blocking aid to Tigray, where people are living without basic services such as electricity, internet, telecommunications or banking. The United States aid chief Samantha Power met Ethiopia's Finance Minister Ahmed Shide on Friday in Washington and urged the government to do "much more... to facilitate significant and sustained humanitarian access to all Ethiopians in need," a USAID statement said. The war has killed untold numbers of people, displaced more than two million and left more than nine million in need of food aid, according to the UN. The conflict erupted in November 2020 when Nobel Peace laureate Abiy sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF, the region's former ruling party, saying the move came in response to rebel attacks on army camps. It followed months of seething tensions between the government and the TPLF, which had dominated politics in Ethiopia for three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018. ayv-amu/bp 26.04.2022 LISTEN The electronic transfer levy as assented to on the 31st March, 2022 is said to be imposed on electronic transfers to enhance revenue mobilization by broadening the tax base and provide for related matters. The Act regulating this levy; The Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022, Act 1075, spells out its management, collecting authority, payments, recovery, and submission of reports, just as other existing national levies. The Levy is initially estimated to raise approximately a 6.9billion Ghana Cedis annually for the nation which has been argued by the former finance minister Seth Terkper to be immaterial to overcoming the anticipated deficit gap of Gh37billion by the end of the year 2022 (Business and Financial Times Online, 2021). According to Brian Bass 2017, a government levy is a distinct tax imposed on citizens to cover budgets related to routing the business of running towns, states, or countries through referendums or laws (Brian, 2017). It represents an obligatory imbursement by a certain group of persons, to fund an associated public amenity and typically collected by a government or an agency formed by the government (Fingleton, 2005; Oyedele, 2014). Commonly, the policy in managing taxes is to require all proceeds collected by the government to be paid into a collective or consolidated fund first, after which payouts are made according to law and budgetary apportionments which is the case of the Electronic Transfer Levy of Ghana popularly referred to as e-levy. However, there also exist occurrences where special funds are established for special taxes or levies to be paid into for specific government agendas and this is often associated with setting up boards or other establishments, to direct the raising of the levy and its application to the distinct purpose concerned. In this way, government actions are lifted to such establishments, with probable consequences of lessening political interferences (Fingleton, 2005). The latter is the approach of special purpose levies (SPLs) which I wish to suggest Ghanas e- levy to be. I believe the design of Act 1075 has not been narrowed enough to meet some specifics in terms of government agendas to channel these funds into, guaranteeing accountability now and, in the future and continuity in national developmental policies regardless of which government is in power. For instance, the Act states the electronic transfer levy (e-levy) is imposed to enhance revenue mobilization; which could only mean to improve, augment, increase, boost, supplement or complement all existing efforts bringing in income to the nation coffers. Taxation has always been a traditional way by which governments around the globe raise funds to finance its needs from its citizens or entities (Fritz et al, 2022) and only by improving or increasing it wont be enough of a purpose to impose a levy that before its passage, had caused chaos in the Ghanaian parliament (Graphic Online, 2021; Africanews, 2021). Narrowing the purpose to meet a special demand or project or challenge being faced by the country would be prominent to the administration now and in the future of this levy. We could take a clue from the also popular Energy Sector Levies (ESLA) which was imposed to specifically combine all prevailing energy sector levies for their resourceful use, pay legacy debts and other obligations within the energy sector, enable maintainable longstanding investments in the energy sector, and provide for related matters (Energy Sector Levies Act, 2015; ESLA Report, 2016) in so doing imposing the Energy Debt Recovery Levy to precisely take care of debt recoveries, Price stabilization and Recovery Levy to be used as a buffer for under-recoveries and to ensure steady petroleum prices and merging already existing levies such as Road Fund Levy to maintain roads, Energy Fund Levy to support the Energy Commission of Ghana, Public Lighting Levy to finance the running of community lights and to maintain public and traffic lights and National Electrification Scheme Levy to fund national electrification plans (Energy Sector Levies Act, 2015). We can likewise talk of the Financial Sector Recovery Levy, also paid into the consolidated fund and collected by the Ghana Revenue Authority just as the e -levy but specifically imposed on banks in Ghana to raise revenue to provide funding for the financial sector restructurings and to provide for related matters (Financial Sector Recovery Levy Act, 2021); the Covid -19 Health Recovery Levy which imposed a special levy on the supply of goods and services and imports to raise revenue to support the COVID19 spendings and other associated matters (Covid 19 Health Recovery Levy Act, 2021); Sanitation and Pollution Levy under the ESLA to improve the quality of air in the city areas; to design, construct, and re-engineer waste treatment and dumping amenities; to build public health amenities; to fund disinfestation; and to provide a devoted fund for the upkeep and running of key landfill spots and other waste treatment plants and amenities across the country, appraised to generate GH311.7 million (N. Dowuona & Company, 2021); and an unending list of notable special levies such as National Health Insurance Levy, Exim Levy imposed to take care of some sort of specific government agendas. Special purpose levies have a lasting history of meeting special needs for long term investments, armor a sector against the instabilities of national budgets, help kindle a more effective administration by government agencies and permit better oversight on spending and inasmuch as there are also disadvantages such as breeding corruption, trap funds which could have been used for a more beneficial investment and occasionally averting superlative apportionment of government budgets (Fingleton, 2005) which either of these could be the reason for formulating the electronic transfers levy in its current form, I still would suggest it should be a special purpose levy considering the current trend of government spendings (Bloomberg, 2022; Trading Economics, 2022) and the lot of government policies or agendas that need some kind of financial backbones to aid their execution (Agenda 111, Free SHS, 1D1F, etc). These funds could be channeled into any of these projects to ensure that they are achieved and this way, Ghanaians who subscribe to electronic transfers can concretely ascertain what they are paying for. Narrowing the purpose of the electronic transfers levy coupled with public education could in a longer-term affect the number of subscribers positively and increase financial inclusion contrary to the current situation where a lot of Ghanaians are withdrawing their funds upon hearing of the passage of the levy (Ghanaweb, 2022; Modern Ghana, 2022). References Brian Bass, (2017). The Definition of a Government Levy; https://bizfluent.com/info-8271373-definition-government-levy.html Taiwo Oyedele, (2014). Is it a tax or a levy? What you should know about the new changes introduced by IFRIC Interpretation 21 on Levies: https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/assets/pdf/tax-watch-august-2014.pdf Jim Fingleton, (2005). Funding options for agricultural development: The case for special-purpose levies: https://www.fao.org/3/bb077e/bb077e.pdf Business and Financial Times, (2021). E-levy too insignificant to close deficit gap, find better ways Terkper; https://thebftonline.com/2021/12/08/e-levy-too-insignificant-to-close-deficit-gap-find-better-ways-terkper/ Neumark, Fritz, Cox, Maria S. and McLure, Charles E.. "taxation". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Feb. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/taxation. Accessed 9 April 2022. Graphic Online, (2021). Blows in parliament over E-Levy voting; https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/blows-in-parliament-over-e-levy-voting.html Africanews, (2021). Brawl in Ghana's parliament over proposed e-levy; https://www.africanews.com/2021/12/21/brawl-in-ghana-s-parliament-over-proposed-e-levy/ ESLA (2015). Energy Sector Levies Act, 2015, Act 899; https://www.eslaplc.com/pages/download/Energy_Sector_levies.pdf Financial Sector Recovery Levy Act, (2021). https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FINANCIAL-SECTOR-RECOVERY-LEVY-ACT2021.pdf Covid 19 Health Recovery Levy Act, (2021). https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Covid-19-Health-Recovery-Levy-Act.pdf N. Dowuona & Company, (2021). Ghana Imposes New Levies on the Energy Sector; https://www.ndowuona.com/insights/114-ghana-imposes-new-levies-on-the-energy-sector Ghanaweb, (2022). E-Levy passage triggers instant mad rush for MoMo withdrawals; https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/E-Levy-passage-triggers-instant-mad-rush-for-MoMo-withdrawals-1504748 Modern Ghana, (2022). Massive panic withdrawals hit MoMo after passage of E-Levy Ken Ashigbey laments; https://www.modernghana.com/news/1149161/momo-industry-experiencing-panic-withdrawals-after.html Bloomberg (2022). Ghana Prepares Spending Cut to meet Budget Deficit Target; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-23/ghana-prepares-spending-cuts-to-meet-budget-deficit-target Trading Economics, (2022). Ghana Government Spending; Ghana Government Spending - 2021 Data - 2022 Forecast - 2013-2020 Historical - Chart (tradingeconomics.com) Agenda 111 is a nationally known and acceptable flagship policy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government led by His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. It is understandably all about the presidents vision to construct one hundred and eleven government hospitals, one each in the one hundred and eleven districts in Ghana that are currently without any, or standard, government-built district hospitals. It is a noble idea for the president to be that visionary to consider the health of Ghanaians as vital to the nations economic emancipation and nation building hence desiring to construct more hospitals to cater for Ghanaians. However, to the proud and fearless son of Kumawu/Asiampa, Rockson Adofo, I see the presidents unrelenting determination to ensure that every district in Ghana is provided with a befitting government-built hospital as simply a political gimmick, if it does not include Kumawu district. How can Kumawu district be left out of the provision of district hospitals, if I dare to query the president and his NPP government? Kumawu district, for the attention of the worldwide public, is without any district hospital of the nature His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo intends to build for every district as envisioned in his probably commenced Agenda 111 However, Kumawu Sekyere district or constituency has always been voting NPP in every general election except two. The first exception was when democratic elections were first introduced in Ghana to elect the nations first president and parliament in which Mr Krobo Adusei of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) was elected the member of parliament for Sekyere East Constituency, and Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the president. The second time was during the 1992 general elections where the NPP boycotted the parliamentary elections on the advice of its flagbearer-cum-presidential candidate Professor Adu Boahene, my Juaben-Ashanti compatriot. The boycotting of the parliamentary election of 1992 was based on the clearly ascertained fact, or suspicion that then Head of State Jerry John Rawlings of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), turned into a civilian, formed the NDC political party, and contesting as a presidential-candidate, had rigged the presidential election preceding the parliamentary one to win the presidency. Therefore, what was the guarantee that he was not going to rig the parliamentary one for his party? . Only the NDC and other marginal parties filed candidates for the 1992 parliamentary election hence NDC winning the Kumawu Sekyere constituency for the first and last time as at writing. For this reason, the NPP did not file any candidates throughout the country to contest in that election as said. Why should Kumawu constituency or district that has always been voting NPP be left out when it comes to the sharing of the national cake, e.g. district hospitals? The public must note that the NDC government under former President John Dramani Mahama started a US$20 million district hospital in Kumawu. It was almost one third (1/3) complete when NDC lost election 2016 on 7 December 2016 to usher in the NPP government led by Nana Akufo-Addo. Since then, the NPP-led government has abandoned the hospital, left it at the vagaries of the weather to ruin. From the credible information available to me, the NPP believe the cost of the hospital was not only inflated but suspect some NDC government officials embezzled part of the money earmarked for the construction of the hospital hence the need for an official investigation to be conducted into it. Be that as it may, how long is it going to take the NPP government to complete their investigations? Will it take them until thy Kingdom come to do it? They are now into their second year of their second term in office, thus, over five years into power now, yet, they have not completed their supposed investigations. Is that not deliberate on their part to deny Kumawu district a government-built district hospital, or it is sheer incompetence on their part to be unable to conduct credible investigations within five years? If say, the NDC-led government by former President John Dramani Mahama did actually inflate the cost to embezzle some of the money, should Kumawuman citizens who vote massively NPP all the time, be the culprits hence denied their share of the nationwide district-based hospitals as under discussion? Are the citizens of Kumawu district not rather to be seen as victims to be sympathised with? The NPP are joking! Most Kumawu people that I had the opportunity to interact with while on holiday in Ghana in February/March 2022, have decided to vote differently come election 2024. They are not ready to continue to remain with, or vote, NPP, to be taken for fools all the time. If they are married to NPP, they are willing and ready to seek divorce, come 2024. I perfectly understand them. I agree with them. To conclude, the Agenda 111 will not be complete unless it is linked up with the completion of the now abandoned 1/3 way built Kumawu district hospital. The citizens of Kumawuman love for NPP should not be taken for their stupidity! This publication certainly provides food for thought! Rockson Adofo Tuesday, 26 April 2022 The Northern Regional Youth Wing for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by the Youth Organizer, Abdul Karim Mumin has expressed concerns over the recent allegations by one Evelyn Adu popularly known as Serwaa Broni that she has had an intimate relationship with President Akufo-Addo, which the president latter used state security to harass. Mr. Karim and the NDC youth are demanding that President Akuffo Addo should come out to break his long silence on what they described as "damning scandal" for the whole world to know the truth. "The Northern Regional youth wing of National Democratic Congress led by Comrade Karim Mumin is particularly happy with the minority in parliament for showing much interest in the issue and promising to have the matter investigated. The youth of this country will be guided by their facts findings, and we will give them whatever support they will need in this matter if it turns out to be true", he wrote in a statement. "President Akuffo Addo should come out to break his long silence on this damning scandal. The president must also tell the people of Ghana how much of the taxpayers money has been used by his clean up team to negotiate and pay compensation to the numerous side-chicks all in efforts to conceal his sexual escapades", the release added. According to the NDC Youth Organizer, it is however strange that persons that were supposed to be seen talking against this are rather quiet, calling on all other voices in this country to rise up from "their long sleep" and let their voices be heard on the matter. "The church and the mosque must begin to speak, the clergy and all the councils, the chiefs and women groups and all the opinion leaders must stand up and speak truth to power", he appealed. "The media which is supposed to be the 4 arm of government, discharging their duties without any fear and intimidation unfortunately have lost their voices on this matter. It is worrying that the media that is supposed to give voice to the voiceless will remain deadly silence about this serious allegation of president Akuffo Addo's sexual escapade with Ms. Evelyn Serwaa Broni", Mr. Karim concluded. Below is the full statement: Ebenezer Acheampong, the former Head of Procurement at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has said that Agribusiness is the way forward for the economic development of Ghana and has urged all farmers to take advantage of the emerging opportunities and go into crop farming. He said this during an Agribusiness Summit organized by the Men Ministry of the Church of Pentecost, Obuasi Area. The Church of Pentecost Men Ministry (PEMEM) in Obuasi Area under the chairmanship of Apostle Williams Boakye Agyarko held the summit on Saturday 23rd of April 2022 at the Bedieso Chapel Auditorium in Obuasi under the theme Equipping Men with Opportunities and Skill Set to Possess the Nations. Mr. Acheampong mentioned that the fundamental elements and their percentages are key to one's bid to be prosperous in business. He stated that for one to be prosperous, Knowledge and Wisdom takes ten percent (10%), Character takes forty percent (40%), and the Environment takes the remaining fifty percent (50%). He then advised the farmers to study their environment by way of needs before going into a particular crop farming, acquire knowledge before taking any adventure and to also possess the right character for it. After setting the context, the guest speaker also spoke about agribusiness value chain and the emerging opportunities in agriculture. He categorized the agribusiness value chain into four segments (1. Input Manufacturing and Production, 2. Input Sales and Supply, 3. Farming and Harvesting, 4. Processing, Packaging and Retailing). He went on to explain the business opportunities in all the segments and encouraged the participants to find a suitable segment for themselves. He again informed the farmers the six emerging Tree Crops such as Coconut Trees, Rubber Trees, Oil Palm Trees, Mango Trees, Cashew Trees and Shea Trees required for the socio-economic development of Ghana and asked the farmers to pursue those tree crops, take advantage of government initiative and support for growing these Trees for their personal benefit and that of the nation. The summit saw One Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight (1,268) members and Pastors from all the Twenty-Eight (28) Districts in the Area. Apostle William Boakye Agyarko The Area Head of the Church of Pentecost in Obuasi admonished all Christians to be diligent in their work for the blessings of God to be manifested in their lives. He advised the members not to be lazy but work hard in their chosen profession. He mentioned that contemporary Christians prefer to pray for the blessings of God without doing any work but said "our God blesses us through our hard work and diligence as stated in the bible". The Area Men Ministry Leader Pastor Benjamin Sarpong Mensah thanked the facilitators, the guest speaker and asked all the members to use the knowledge acquired for the betterment of their lives, the society and to possess the nations for Christ. 26.04.2022 LISTEN The pandemic drove home the high value of personal data to the global economy, while also highlighting its vulnerability to abuse and attack. In response, governments around the world, including those in Africa, have been reviewing their data privacy and protection laws and regulations to ensure they are adequately protected. Lawyers in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe recently commented on this issue in Baker McKenzies new Africa Data Security and Privacy Guide. According to Enid Baaba Dadzie, Senior Associate at Kimathi & Partners in Ghana, the African Union has adopted the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection (also known as the Malabo Convention). This Convention encourages AU member states to recognise the need to protect critical cyber/ICT infrastructure, personal data and the free flow of information, with the aim of developing a credible digital space in Africa. However, it has not taken effect as only a few countries in Africa have ratified it. Some African countries have implemented domestic laws and regulations to protect personal data, while others offer little to no protection. In light of the current technological trends and innovations, and digital trade, it is imperative for African countries to implement data privacy and protection policies. African countries must have laws that take care of the local nuances and fit the local context, without simply replicating the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and other frameworks, she said. Sonal Sejpal, Partner at ALN Kenya | Anjarwalla & Khanna agreed, noting that Africa was more connected now than ever to the rest of the world in terms of trade, and the increasing number of foreign entities doing business in Africa. The natural consequence of this is that personal data will continue to move across borders. Therefore, it is imperative that data privacy and data protection laws are implemented across the continent, she explained. The benefits of such laws are numerous. Sonal noted, With implementation of data protection laws, the resultant effect is that there will be more protections to data subject rights. Additionally, Africa will have more control over those who process the personal data of data subjects present in Africa, limiting what they can do with personal data once collected, and throughout the life cycle of processing personal data. Furthermore, African countries will be able to exert more influence over the transfer of personal data from African countries, both intra-Africa and inter-Africa. This will ensure that measures are in place to secure personal data during personal data transfers, she said. Raphael Jakoba, Managing Partner at MCI Law Firm in Madagascar, concurred that it was essential for African countries, such as Madagascar, to adapt to the evolution of technologies and the new realities of digital development. These new issues raise new risks and problems that African countries must imperatively address, and to which they must respond through the adoption of modern and updated regulations, he said. Pierre Deprez, an Associate at Nasrollah & Associes Baker McKenzie in Morocco, said, "Baker McKenzie in Morocco, noted, Having strong regulations on data protection is nowadays crucial in Africa in general, and especially in Morocco, regarding the exponential rise of data processing due to the use of smartphones and e-commerce this past decade. On the one hand, it ensures the protection of citizens and their fundamental rights. On the other, a solid data protection law helps to reassure the foreign investor/interlocutor who wishes to exchange personal data for business purposes." Saad Khaldi, an Associate at Nasrollah & Associes Baker McKenzie in Morocco, agreed, "Strong data privacy regulation should be seen by African countries and businesses as a competitive advantage in a globalized word, where local and international data processing is key to gaining profitability." Ijeoma Uju, Partner at Templars Law Firm in Nigeria, noted that it was imperative that African countries develop a strong and more coherent framework for data protection by enacting comprehensive laws and regulations for the protection of personal data and privacy of its citizens. Ijeoma said that the growth of e-commerce and business in general in African countries makes the need for data protection more pressing. Multinational organizations looking for investment opportunities in these countries may limit their business explorative activities in Africa due to the absence of, or lack of clarity around, data protection law. This is particularly because multinational companies collect and process a large amount of personal data in the ordinary course of their business. Thus, in order to conduct business effectively and safely in Africa, organizations need to understand the scope of data protection laws in such countries. Emmanuel Muragijimana, Principal Associate at K-Solutions & Partners in Rwanda, commented that data was increasingly becoming an important asset, and collecting and sharing data could serve as big business in the present days digital economy. In addition, citizens are also increasingly becoming aware of the importance of protecting ones personal data. African countries, therefore, cannot afford to be left behind. They have to ensure that they put in place legislation to secure the protection of data and privacy in order to prevent issues stemming from unprotected data, such as unauthorized use of ones personal data without their knowledge, as well as the negative impact on a company or organizations reputation should it face sanctions, among other factors, he explained. Janet MacKenzie, Partner and Head of the IPTech Practice at Baker McKenzie in South Africa, said that rapid digitization, boosted by the pandemic, meant that it is now critical to implement policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks that are intended to guide and enforce the protection and security of personal data, not just in Africa but around the world. Failure to do so will lead to business failure, massive financial loss, loss of investment and a devastating rise in criminality, she noted. Kafui Achille Amekoudi, Avocat at AMKA Law Firm in Togo (Cabinet Me AMEKOUDI), explained that the penetration rate of the internet in Africa was constantly increasing, because Africa has realized the importance of the internet as a vector of development. With a population of more than a billion inhabitants, Africa is potentially a huge mine of personal data, which explains the proliferation of GAFAM projects to better connect the continent. It is therefore important, already at the primary stage, to regulate data privacy and protection, he said. Arnold Lule Sekiwano, Partner at Engoru, Mutebi Advocates in Uganda, explained that recently, there has been an upsurge in the data processing industry in respect of the data mining and data analytics areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to an increase in remote access to information and data globally. It is therefore imperative that African countries raise awareness, invest in training and set up relevant infrastructure to enable the implementation of data privacy and protection. There is a vast need for autonomous data protection and privacy regulatory bodies which can independently impose and collect fines so that funds are not lost in corruption and embezzlement, and so that personal data is lawfully collected and processed, and breaches are managed throughout the continent, to promote economic and social development, he said. Amalia Manuel, Partner at Atherstone & Cook in Zimbabwe agreed, stating that it was crucial for African countries to put in place laws regulating the protection of data in light of global technological advancements. The Accra East Regional Office of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has disconnected illegal water pipelines built by two water suppliers (sellers) in the Adjiringanor-Madina Nsamanpom area, in the Accra North-East District. The sellers, who operate opposite the Intelligent Minds International School, had illegally connected 12-pipelines and 10-pipelines respectively in addition to their one legally connected pipelines. Mr Paul Akpanya, the Regional Distribution Manager of the Office, said the suppliers, had by their misconduct denied the residents in the operating community and surrounding communities access to good water flow in their homes. That, widened the market of the suppliers as they distributed water to the same residents via poly tanks in their homes for sale, he said. Mr Akpanya explained that the Non-Revenue team of the GWCL two weeks ago, discovered around the A & C Shopping Mall area, East Legon, that a water supplier had illegally connected five pipes. We disconnected the pipes, invited him to our office, gave him a bill to settle and when he is not able to, we will take him to court. That's how we do it, we treat it like we treat all illegal connections and bypasses, he added. So we've disconnected all illegal ones and left the legal connection for them, which will have a metre to make them pay for the actual volume of water they consume. From today, we can tell you, everybody in this neighborhood will start getting water, Mr Akpanya added. He explained that the GWCL would need to calculate the total diameter of pipelines illegally fixed in order to calculate the volumes and the loss run by the Company. The Regional Distribution Manager said the exercise was triggered by constant complaints from residents in Ogbojo and Adjiringanor over their poor and/or no water supply to their homes. So we made it a point to find out the reason because we are working very well and supply water according to our management plan, so we didn't understand why water gets to certain places and not certain places. So our investigation made us find out they have connected illegal pipelines to tanks underground. And once their tank is down, it means the water drains down into the tanks and the residents whose poly tanks are on their roofs will never get the water, he explained. Those involved in the illegal connection chastised the Water Company for not informing them of the disconnection. One of them said: The Water Company should have alerted us they were coming here. We work with them and we are not enemies to them. This demolition exercise will deprive many of our customers of water. Some residents expressed joy and satisfaction at the disconnection of the illegal pipes in anticipation that water will flow into their homes afterwards. GNA The President, His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has assured the France government of Ghanas continuous cooperation and friendship in his congratulatory message to President Emmanuel Macron. The president took to his Facebook page on Monday, April 25, 2022 to congratulate Emmanuel Macron on his historic re-election as President. I assure him of my and Ghanas co-operation and continuing friendship. Warm congratulations to His Excellency Emmanuel Macron on his historic re-election, for a 2nd term, as President of the French Republic, he stated. He further wished him luck in the exercise of his duties, especially in uniting the French nation and helping to withstand the economic problems confronting Europe and the world at large. President Akufo-Addo affirms his hope that the French citizens are in safe hands under Emmanuel Macron. I wish him well in the discharge of his mandate, and in the crucial tasks of uniting the French nation and helping to weather the buffering storms confronting Europe and the world. I am confident that the future of the French people is secure in his hands," he stressed. His Excellency Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen with a total vote of 18,779,641 representing 58.5% against Le Pens 13,297,760 representing 41.5% in the second run-off elections held on Sunday, April 24, after the first round ended at par on April 10, 2022. We, the Concerned Members of NPP Germany, have become aware of a whimsical decision by the party's Chairman, Mr Freddie Blay to compel the Branch to open the electoral roll contrary to the Branch's rules and regulations, and National Council resolutions one month to the Branch's elections. We don't only find this decision to be arbitrary, but also illegal. Where is Mr. Blay deriving his motivation from? What is the basis of his decision? It's bizarre that he'd allow himself to be scammed this way. As an experienced lawyer, he failed to adhere to the basic tenet of fair trial which requires you hear the other side - "audi alteram partem" rule. We, the Concerned Members of NPP Germany are stridently opposed to any attempts to manipulate the electoral process in favour of Mr Blay's 'darling girl'. For the record, the agitator who broke away from the party in the last elections and her team brought a petition before the Branch National Council which we opposed on the basis of law. The Branch National Council upon hearing the two sides of the story, upheld our opposition which essentially was in line with its own resolutions and the party's rules and regulations. We laid enough factual basis that led to an irresistible conclusion that, Mr Blay's 'darling girl' and her surrogates, were not truthful, mischievous, and diabolic in their agenda. Subsequently, we made copies of our opposition to the party's headquarters. Since then, we have not been called to narrate our side of the story, and so, it is shocking that such an arbitrary and illegal fiat would be issued without recourse to our side of the story. Indeed, it ought to be placed on record that, similar to the events of the impending elections, Mr Blay supported his 'darling girl' to breakaway from the Branch after she lost abysmally at the last elections. Whatever is driving Mr Blay to follow his 'darling girl' so blindly, remains a jigsaw puzzle to be figured out. Not only did we the Concerned Members garner over 40 signatories to assent to our petition expressing resentments against manipulation of the electoral rules, more than half of the candidates issued a memorandum opposing any such move; since such a move will not only be a recipe for chaos, but also an avenue for manipulators like Mr Blay's 'darling girl' to populate the register with non-party members. By this release, we're serving notice that, if Mr Blay wants to wreck the Branch, so be it. Because, we are vowing never to comply with his illegal, arbitrary, and capricious order which clearly is animated by something fishy and 'erotic'. Notice is hereby served! Alhajj Suleman, Stuttgart Chapter Convener A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. The Electricity Company Ghana (ECG) has a rolled-out mechanism to reward 6 percent of the surcharge amount to any informant whose tip-off leads to the arrest of illegal power consumers upon confirmation of the crime. The public is encouraged to report any act of illegal connection to the nearest ECG office or call the task force at +233551444011. The identity of the informants will remain strictly confidential. Ms. Sakyiwaa Mensah ECG Tema Region Public Relations Officer stated this during a media encounter monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema on Tuesday. She also disclosed that ECG has upscale efforts to deal with illegal power consumers across the country, retrieve what they owe the company and also institute possible legal actions if necessary. The ECG has therefore formed a National Revenue Protection Taskforce led by a Coordinator from the Ministry of Energy to unearth illegal connection activities in all ECG operational areas. The task force has also been mandated to collect all debt owed to the company. She said, all defaulting ECG customers and governmental institutions including State-Owned Enterprises will be disconnected by the taskforce so long as their bills are in arrears as stipulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission regulations. Ms. Mensah said the ECG reserves the right to publish the names of customers whose bills are in arrears and advised customers to pay their bills to avoid embarrassment. She also urged customers to inspect the Identification Cards of anyone or group of persons who will appear as ECG task force officers and cooperate fully with the officials in the interest of the nation. In a related development Mr. Emmanuel Appoe, Tema Regional ECG Engineer has reiterated that ECG, Tema Region has invested a total of GHC989,800.00 in five major projects to improve reliable power supply to customers within its operational areas. He said out of the total amount, GHC142,141.92 was invested in the upgrading of undersized conductors serving Tema Community eight and its environs. The Tema Regional Office covers Tema, Nungua, Prampram, Afienya, Ashaiman, Ada, and Krobo districts. .Mr Appoe said the project was undertaken within the first half of the year 2021 and included the construction of links between two of their main overhead sub-transmission to benefit Tema Communities five, and eleven and parts of Community six. Mr. Appoe who is the Acting General Manager of ECG Tema said the construction of the link makes it possible for the transfer of load from one feeder to the other in case of repair works to ensure continuous power supply. He added that another project was the restoration of faulty underground sub-transmission link cables between two substations to ensure that Communities five, six, and ten get a better supply of power. In some areas, the Company realized that the load on the available transformers were getting too high, hence, resulting in low voltage to customers in the catchment area. Several transformers were added to the existing ones serving Power City and surrounding areas in Prampram, Community 19, and behind the Emef Estate, he said. The Company, he said was committed to its mission of providing safe, quality, and reliable electricity services to clients, therefore, the reason for investing heavily in the projects. He urged developers, and the general public to desist from encroaching on the right of way which might have electricity network installations saying doing so often led to unnecessary delays in case of faults repairing, which eventually leads to delayed outage periods. He also admonished the public against illegal connections which end up overloading ECGs transformers and therefore people the public to report suspected cases of illegal connections. Illegal connections are one of the main reasons for transformer overloads, which leads to low voltages for consumers and sometimes, a total breakdown of the transformers, hence, plunging customers into outages till the transformers are replaced, Mr. Appoe stated. The 2021 US Report on Human Rights Practices in Ghana has accused government and its various security institutions of disregarding the law that requires protection against arbitrary arrests and detention. According to the report released on 12 April 2022, although the law requires detainees to be brought before a court within 48 hours of arrest in the absence of a judicial warrant, authorities frequently detain individuals without charge or a valid arrest warrant for periods longer than 48 hours. In the report, government officials working in the security services are accused of detaining some prisoners for indefinite periods by renewing warrants or simply allowing warrants to lapse while an investigation took place. The report adds that while the constitution grants the right to legal aid, the government often did not provide it. The government has a Legal Aid Commission that provides defense attorneys to those in need, but the commission was often unable to do so. Defendants in criminal cases who could not afford a lawyer typically represented themselves. The law requires that any detainee not tried within a reasonable time, as determined by the court, must be released either unconditionally or subject to conditions necessary to compel the persons appearance at a later court date. The definition of reasonable time, however, has never been legally determined or challenged in the courts. As a result, officials rarely observed this provision, parts of the US reports reveal. Find more from excerpts of the report below: Arbitrary Arrest or Detention The constitution and law provide for protection against arbitrary arrest and detention, but the government frequently disregarded these protections. Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees The law requires detainees be brought before a court within 48 hours of arrest in the absence of a judicial warrant, but authorities frequently detained individuals without charge or a valid arrest warrant for periods longer than 48 hours. Officials detained some prisoners for indefinite periods by renewing warrants or simply allowing warrants to lapse while an investigation took place. The constitution grants a detained individual the right to be informed immediately, in a language the person understands, of the reasons for detention and of his or her right to a lawyer. Most detainees, however, could not afford a lawyer. While the constitution grants the right to legal aid, the government often did not provide it. The government has a Legal Aid Commission that provides defense attorneys to those in need, but the commission was often unable to do so. Defendants in criminal cases who could not afford a lawyer typically represented themselves. The law requires that any detainee not tried within a reasonable time, as determined by the court, must be released either unconditionally or subject to conditions necessary to compel the persons appearance at a later court date. The definition of reasonable time, however, has never been legally determined or challenged in the courts. As a result, officials rarely observed this provision. The government sought to reduce the population of prisoners in pretrial detention by placing paralegals in some prisons to monitor and advise on the cases of pretrial detainees, and assist with the drafting of appeals, and by directing judges to visit prisons to review and take action on pretrial detainee cases. The law provides for bail, including those accused of serious crimes, but courts often struggled to come to timely decisions concerning bail or used their unlimited discretion to set bail at prohibitively high levels. Arbitrary Arrest: The general practice of holding detainees without proper warrant or charge continued (see Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees). On May 20, police arrested 21 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) activists in the city of Ho on spurious unlawful assembly charges. Authorities released the activists on June 11, and dropped the case on August 5 (see section 6, Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity). Pretrial Detention: Lengthy pretrial detention remained a serious problem. In September the Ghana Prisons Service indicated 1,595 prisoners, approximately 12 percent of all prisoners, were in pretrial status. The government kept prisoners in extended pretrial detention due to police failure to investigate or follow up on cases, case files lost when police prosecutors rotated to other duties every three years, slow trial proceedings marked by frequent adjournments, detainees inability to meet bail conditions that were often set extremely high even for minor offenses, and inadequate legal representation for criminal defendants. The length of pretrial detention exceeded the maximum sentence for the alleged crime in numerous instances. Inadequate recordkeeping contributed to prisoners being held in egregiously excessive pretrial detention, a few for up to 10 years. Judicial authorities continued implementing a case tracking system on a trial basis in seven different regions. The system tracked cases from initial arrest to remand custody in the prisons, prosecution in the courts, and incarceration or dismissal. The system was envisioned to be used by all judicial and law enforcement participants, including police, public defenders, prosecutors, courts, prisons, the Legal Aid Commission, the Economic and Organized Crimes Office, and NGOs, with the intention of increasing transparency and accountability. Some commentators believed the tracking system could be used to press for release of remand prisoners held for lengthy periods. Detainees Ability to Challenge Lawfulness of Detention before a Court: The law provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court, but lack of legal representation for detainees inhibited this right. The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) opens Ghanaians to a market of 1.2 billion people across the continent and provides endless possibilities for sociology-economic growth of the population. It is estimated that the agreement will increase Africas export by $560 billion, mostly in manufacturing, the Reverend Dr. Samuel Worlanyo Mensah, the Executive Director, Center for Greater Impact African (CGIA) has stated at the Ghana News Agency Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue platform in Tema. The GNA Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue is a media think-tank platform for state and non-state and commercial and business operators to communicate to the world and address global issues, which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema. Rev. Dr. Mensah urged the private sector to take advantage of the agreement by expanding production both in the industrial, and agriculture sectors while taking the lead in the socio-economic transformation of the country at the same time. He said AfCFTA presents an incredible opportunity for Ghanaians to scale up activities and expand into the African market. He said, The AfCFTA provides a structure for Ghanas foreign traders, producers, and stakeholders in the value chain to grip its existence in the country to successfully trade with their fellow partners in Africa or even the world at large. Dr. Mensah who is also an economist emphasized that the agreement aims to reduce all trade costs and enable Africa to integrate further into the global chains adding that AfCFTA will eliminate 90 percent of tariffs, focus on outstanding non-tariff barriers, and create a single market with free movement of goods and services. He noted that AfCFTA will expose the Ghanaian economy to be an industrial and aviation hub pointing out that every major bank will set up a branch in the country to create more opportunities. The Governance Think-Tank Executive Director explained the intracontinental export would also increase by 81 percent whiles the increase to non-African countries would be 19 percent. Meanwhile, Dr. Chris Kpodar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Solomon Investments Ghana Limited has indicated that the advent of Artificial Intelligence has become necessary in all spheres of life and gradually becoming the future, Ghana and other third world countries must join the technological drive through strategic policies. He admonished that Ghana and Africa as a whole, take artificial intelligence more seriously and implement some of these services in the agricultural, energy, educational and all other relevant sectors that tip a balance in favour of achieving a sustainable world. He stated that the artificial intelligence resonance is a multi-sectorial discipline that is hinged around social, political, environmental, and most especially, economic grounds because that is the blood engine of every countrys development. Dr. Kpodar who served as Consultant for Africa and the Middle East advising governments and companies on investment stated while addressing the topic: Artificial Intelligence and sustainable development. Dr. Kpodar formerly of the United Nations encouraged young people to learn and draw level with the new trends of artificial intelligence and its benefits and implications on industrialization. Everyone who wants to be relevant in this age does not require just reading and writing but knowing and applying artificial intelligence, therefore, I have always advocated that no education should take place without practical training, he said. Dr. Kpodar, who is also a Chief Technical Advisor for the Centre for Greater Impact Africa (CGIA) explained that artificial intelligence alone can make the world food-sufficient and poverty-free if adopted and applied well. This, he explained that artificial intelligence could be used for a wide range of things including setting rain patterns favourable for planting and harvesting seasons which will be a more sustainable way of producing and storing food all year long. There were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627 000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2020. This represents about 14 million more cases in 2020 compared to 2019, and 69,000 more deaths. Approximately two-thirds of these additional deaths (47 000) were linked to disruptions in the provision of malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment during the pandemic. The latest data show that the worst-case scenario projected by the World Health Organization (WHO) a doubling of malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa did not come to pass available to the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema. However, moderate disruptions to malaria services led to a marked increase in cases and deaths in 2020 over the previous year. Addressing the issues Ms. Ruth Abekah, Health Education and Promotions, Ghana Christian University College said malaria remains a major public health burden in Ghana, therefore, Ghanaians must adhere to preventive measures in a bid to reduce the rising cases in the country. Ms. Abekah explained that malaria is a potentially life-threatening parasitic disease that could be very fatal when not earlier or properly treated, adding that the focus must not only be on other diseases because malaria is very much around. "People get malaria when an infected mosquito bites them and a mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with malaria, Ms. Abekah stated during a seminar organized at the Palace Temple of the Church of Pentecost to mark the World Malaria Day in Ashaiman. She identified some malaria symptoms as flu, adding that a person with malaria could experience signs such as fever and sweating, chills that shakes the whole body, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, chest pain, breathing problems, and cough. "Diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and as malaria progresses, it can cause anemia and jaundice. A person with malaria can also have a bitter taste as well," she said. Ms. Abeka urged residents to endeavor to avoid mosquito bites, put screens on windows and doors, sleep under a treated mosquito net, wear long clothing to cover the skin, avoid mosquito breeding areas, apply mosquito repellents, living in well-ventilated rooms among others. She stated that risk factors for malaria included low utilization of insecticide-treated bed nets, low utilization of Indoor Residual Spray (IRS), availability of multiple mosquito breeding sites or stagnant water sites near homes, and staying outdoors overnight, and others. Ms. Abekah noted that everyone stands a risk of getting infected by malaria including children, adults, pregnant women, and the aged; "We need to be aware of malaria disease and protect and prevent it as well as children or babies must be critically taken care off when signs and symptoms start exhibiting itself". She also cautioned pregnant women to take their medications and report to health facilities when they suspect such signs and symptoms of malaria. GRA Assistant Commissioner Mrs Marfo 26.04.2022 LISTEN This month has been dedicated to the sensitization of taxpayers on their tax obligations and benefits, with emphasis on the voluntary contribution the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) disclosed on Tuesday as it launched the 2022 Tax and Good Governance Month in Tema, and Ashaiman tax regimes under the Accra East Area. Assistant Commissioner, Mrs. Eugenia Marfo, Accra East Area Director, during the launch that effective April 01, 2022, tax return filings were to be done online, and reminded Ghanaians that paying taxes was mandatory by the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896), and the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915) which mandates individuals and organizations to file their tax returns not later than April 30. The Area Director appealed to the public to help the GRA to meet its GHs80.3 billion domestic revenue target which she said was huge but could be achieved when everyone honour their tax obligations. The launch, which was on the theme: Filling Tax Returns Online: The Convenient Way was to officially make the public aware of the intensification of sensitization programmes to encourage the public to file their tax returns, especially using the GRAs online services, which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) at Tema. Mrs Marfo said the programme was halted for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding it found it important to go back to it to ensure that taxpayers voluntarily comply with and honour their taxes to increase government revenue. She said the theme was in tandem with the GRAs determination to digitize its operations and make filing taxes convenient for the public to do at any given time without having to visit its offices. She encouraged taxpayers and the public to contact its offices, and the sensitization clinics opened at the Tema Port long room, Tema mall, Community nine office, Afienya, Ashaiman Mandela Park, and Mitchel Camp for guidance to file their returns and for the addressing all their tax-related issues. Mr Yves Nii Noi Hanson-Nortey, Member of Parliament for Tema Central, who graced the launching commended the management of the GRA for the efforts made in digitizing their operational processes. Mr Hanson-Nortey urged the public to take advantage of the taxpayers portal, which is a tax management tool, introduced by the GRA to file their returns online, initiate tax payments, apply for refunds and undertake other transactions with ease and convenience. On his part the Assistant Commissioner Mr Benjamin Hutchful, Ashaiman Taxpayer Service Centre (TSC) Manager, said for the country to achieve the Presidents vision of Ghana beyond aid there was the need to increase the countrys collection of revenue which was currently 13 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the lowest in the sub-region. Mr Hutchful said the many development cravings Ghanaians have could only be fulfilled through the maximization of revenue collected. He added that the loans and grants the country contract from foreign countries were the taxes their citizens had paid and therefore there was the need for Ghanaians to also take up their responsibilities. Other TSC managers within Ashaiman and Tema also reiterated the need to pay tax, and file returns of the same, adding that tax payment also has some benefits which taxpayers could take advantage of. The Institute for Energy Security (IES) has projected that electricity and water tariffs are likely to go up in July this year. Nana Amoasi VIII, Energy Analyst and Executive Director of the Institute said from all indications, there will be an upward review of the current tariff. He said: We must brace ourselves for electricity tariff increment so we can save both the distribution and transmission grid from collapsing and have some reliable power supply. He added that: It's quite unfortunate that it has become a pressing issue to bite at this time when Ghanaians are going through tough times, but it's still necessary to pay a little more for the utilities to invest to save the grid from collapsing. The Energy Analyst noted that Ghana had not seen any major tariff increases in the last seven years, yet the operational cost of electricity continued to rise, hampering the work of utilities. He was of the view that if electricity consumers were not made to pay a little more to enable the service provider to invest, ... the power system may collapse... He said: Between 2015 and now, electricity tariff has not seen any significant rise. Meanwhile the operational cost of the utilities have been rising year on year partly due to foreign exchange losses through obsolete equipment and power lines, and increasing cost of borrowing to finance their operations. The IES Executive Director called on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) to be prepared to work more to stop the increasing commercial loses they incurred. He said: They should make sure that the sacrifices that Ghanaians are being asked to make by paying more for electricity in such a challenging time reflect an increase reliability in power supply within the shortest possible time. Dr Ishmeal Ackah, Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulation Commission (PURC), told the Ghana News Agency that the Commission, together with key stakeholders were reviewing the country's electricity and water tariffs. He said as to the current tariff being increased, reduced or maintained: We're all asking the same question. The tariff review will consider issues, including cost of production, exchange rate, cost of fuel, investment requirements, and the ability for the utilities to meet benchmark targets set by PURC - mainly, customer satisfaction. Utility service providers are said to have submitted proposals based on guidelines developed by PURC, with an expected public hearing this week, where the service providers will present a case for their request for tariff adjustment. PURC said it had commenced analysis of the proposals from the service providers and that consultations will be conducted with industry experts before the announcement of tariff in July. GNA 26.04.2022 LISTEN The Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) has jabbed critics who are claiming members should not be paid a neutrality allowance for serving the country. CLOGSAG has come under criticism in the past week after it embarked on strike last week over the non-payment of neutrality allowance. Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoe Addo fired Ghanaians criticising his outfit for what is rightful theirs. According to him, the leadership of CLOGSAC negotiated and convinced the government to pay the neutrality allowance. He said they will receive it as agreed. He noted that any person or persons who do not understand why CLOGSAG members deserve their neutrality allowance can go to 'hell'. We have gone for negotiation with the government. The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission was present so no one can say we have outwitted and played a fast one on them. This Neutrality Allowance is just a minute part of our broader conditions of service. There are more goodies that we have already finished about 80 percent. We dont do double work, and we have gone to justify at the negotiation table where we have justified every allowance we receive. Its signed and sealed. So if you dont understand it, go and sleep, Isaac Bampoe Addo stressed. In the latest development, Modernghana News has learned that the National Labour Commission has instructed the Finance Ministry to pay the said allowance to CLOGSAG. While it will not be immediate, it is understood that a payment plan will soon be rolled out. 26.04.2022 LISTEN An Accra High Court has granted a request for a subpoena to be issued for five witnesses Dr Stephen Opuni, a former Chief Executive of COCOBOD, seeks to rely on in his defence. Justice Honyenuga, a Justice of the Supreme Court, sitting with an additional responsibility as a High Court judge, granted the applications. He said the Registrar of the Court should carry out the order with assistance from Mr Samuel Codjoe, the Counsel for Dr Opuni by providing the necessary addresses for service on the personalities. "The Registrar is to carry out this order in cooperation with Counsel of first accused, the court directed. Dr Opuni and Mr Agongo are facing 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the State, money laundering, corruption by a public officer and contravention of the Public Procurement Act. They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on a GH300,000.00 self-recognizance bail each. Earlier, the Counsel in moving the application said they wanted to rely on Article 19(2)(g)(h) of the Constitution. He said under Article 19(g), they wanted the court to issue a subpoena for Reginald Aduakwa, a Banker, who was assigned to Dr Opuni at Ecobank together with Samuel Amponsah, who was the Acting Head of Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED). The Counsel said the next person they wanted the Court to subpoena was Peter Okyere Boateng, a Deputy Executive Director, CHED, in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation. He said Mr Boateng was directly in charge and he officially wrote the CHED report on the evaluation of fertilizers, including Lithovit, which report was given to the court by prosecution. "He will talk about the effect on Lithovit on matured Cocoa," he added. Mr Codjoe also informed the Court that they intended to subpoena Dr Gilbert Anin Kwarpong, who was the former Executive Director of Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) in 2015/16 and 2016/17 Cocoa seasons during, which COCOBOD through CRIG renewed the certificate for Lithovit fertilizer "We also want a subpoena issue at Atta Kwasi, a farmer, who used Lithovit and whose farm is in the Ahafo Region," he said. Mr Codjoe said they also wanted to call Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, who was the former Board Chair, who resided in Kumasi. The Counsel told the court that Mr Agyekum had a health challenge by way of spinal issue, hence they wanted his evidence taken through a video conferencing. He said although he had no problem with his voice, it would be problematic for him to be physically present in court. The case has since been adjourned to May 9, 2022. GNA "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy a laughing stock" - Reinhold Niebuhr Since the release of the electoral timetables for 2023 political activities by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the nation has witnessed all manner of declaration of interest for various elective positions next year by political contenders and pretenders. Though there is no law that forbids any eligible person from declaring his interest to lead the people in any capacity but there are moral questions surrounding some of these declarations. Sadly enough, Nigerians are carried away by the frenzies of these declarations without pondering to digg deep in to the lifestyles, source of wealth and the pedigrees of some of these fellows. Leadership and governance are too serious to be left in the hands of shenanigans and money bags who believe that the electorates are goods that can be purchased with money. To these folks, they believe that what money cannot do, more money can do. However, the reason behind the sudden display of questionable wealth by Obinna Iyiegbu popularly known as Obi Cubana came to limelight recently when his immediate elder brother, Ikenna Iyiegbu declared his intention to run for the House of Representatives seat of Idemili North and South Federal Constituency of Anambra State under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Immediately the announcement was made, Obi Cubana, the money bag quickly reacted by saying he was thrilled. His words: "Yesterday, my immediate elder brother @ike_cubana Mr Ikenna Iyiegbu (Onyechimeleze) came and briefed me on his intention to represent our local government constituencies, Idemmili North and Idemmili South local government areas, at the Green Chamber of the National assembly in the 2023 General Elections, under the great APGA Party... We are solidly behind you on this!" According to inside sources, Obi Cubana is the architect of the whole plot and his main goal is to dominate the politics of Anambra State and the South East in general using Idemili North and South as a launch pad. Personally, I don't have qualms against such ambition but for a man whose source of wealth is opaque and questionable, I think it's high time the various anti-graft agencies began intensive interrogation of this man's source of wealth before it becomes too late. This call has become urgent because Obi Cubana is fast becoming a bad influence on our youths and allowing such character to dominate the politics of Nigeria at a time the nation is in search of role models for some of our misguided youths, I think the menace of Boko Haram would be a child's play in the years ahead. Already, the rate of ritual killings for money in the Southeast region and across the federation have skyrocketed because most youths are alleging that Obi Cubana made his money through rituals. Though, there is no official statistics yet but the rate at which young men and women are missing these days because of ritual killings are alarming. There is no single day that passes by without reports of boyfriend killing girlfriend or similar killings for money rituals gracing headlines in our print media and the social media; because every young man now believes that if Obi Cubana could go free for his alleged involvement in money rituals, then nothing stops them from engaging in it. In Nigeria today, no body wants to serve again because every young man wants to hammer like Obi Cubana. If you establish a small business and entrust it to a young man to run, the next thing he would be thinking is how to liquidate the business and run away with your money. So, the Obi Cubana effects must be curtailed with proper investigations before it becomes a pain in a black man's ass. Remember, this was how Mohammed Yusuf started with his Boko Haram organisation until the group became robot out of control. All attempts by various governments to contain the organization since the death of it's founder and leader, Mohammed Yusuf has been very difficult because you can't decapitate a movement and incapacitate it's activities. Unfortunately, the activities of Boko Haram has taken large chunks of the nation's annual budget since 2009 but this is something that could have been stopped at it's initial stage. Obi Cubana may not be as violent as Mohammed Yusuf but if early warning advises are not headed to, "Saul may be on his way to Damascus." After all, history may not repeat itself, but sometimes it rhymes. Apart from the security agencies doing their best to curtail the rate of crimes, psychological victory must be attained first. In this case, comprehensive investigation of Obi Cuban's sudden display of wealth must be conducted and brought to the public to aid the ongoing fight against crimes. Otherwise, there would be no end to the alarming rate of ritual killings across the country. Again, Donald Trump effects should not be repeated in Nigeria. Recall that America's democracy was brought to it's knee simply because they allowed a political outsider and billionaire business man, Donald Trump to run for president. Even when Donald Trump lost his re-election bid, he instigated Americans to go berserk against the American democracy and it's institutions to the extent that the Almighty White House was desecrated by pro-Trump protesters on January 6, 2021. Therefore, to prevent the repeat of history in a negative way, Obi Cubana and his surrogates should be stopped from acquiring political power and relevance because that would be a recipe for disaster and bitter taste in the mouth of everyone in the years ahead. The Nigerian Anti-graft agencies should act now and thank me later because wisdom is profitable to any nation that sees things before there happen. Brown Justice is a social crusader. He writes from Awka, Anambra State. Communication Team Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kwaku Boateng, has challenged the ruling government to prove claims they used funds for COVID-19 relief on the 2020 general elections as false. The politician argues the government can only prove this claim false by making public a complete breakdown of the funds and allocations thereof. We need the figures to assure accountability. It is prudent the govt in power let us know the breakdown of the money used instead of just telling us they spent 9million dollars on food distribution when churches which supplied more food used a lesser amount. We are not saying the govt did nothing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but we are asking them to tell us those who got the food and how much was spent on each person. We need the breakdown. Former President John Mahama has accused President Akufo-Addo of misappropriating monies meant for Covid-19 relief. According to him, the President channeled some 33 billion earmarked to offset the pandemics grave implications into his 2020 re-election bid. For this reason, for President Mahama believes, the said amount supposed to have been sunk into the economic restoration measures is yet to be accounted for. Kwaku Boateng supporting this claim in a panel discussion with Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9FMs Epa Hoa Daben political talk show added, During the NPP primaries ahead of the 2020 elections, we saw members of the party sharing tons of cash to their members. We heard news of NPP delegates and others receiving as much as GH2,000 from Parliamentary Candidates. All these leave doubts in our minds over the real use of COVID-19 relief funds, hence our call for accountability. Regarding the NDC as a responsible opposition, the communicator described the call for an audited report on the COVID-19 relief funds as one being made by the entire Ghana. The NPP should bring us the details of the funds and we will commend them if they used these monies for the right thing. But every Ghanaian knows this is not possible because the NPP used the money for the 2020 general elections, he stated. To him, this call is beyond partisan politics and reiterated the need for a probe into the disbursement of funds meant for COVID-19 relief. ---happyghana.com April 26, 2022 A Recap Of The War In Ukraine - by Gonzalo Lira Gonzalo Lira just delivered a decent recap of the war in Ukraine. Gonzalo Lira @GonzaloLira1968 - 10:28 UTC Apr 26, 2022 Quick recap for those who haven't followed what's been going on in Ukraine but want to understand: 02/24: The Russians invaded from the south, south-east, east and north, in a lightning campaign. The Russians invaded with 190K troopsagainst 250K combat troops from Ukraine. The RF put 30K troops near Kievnowhere near enough to capture the citybut enough to pin down some 100K AFU defenders. The RF also launched several axes of attack, with reinforcements on standby (including a famed 40km long tank column), to see where they might be needed. Cruciallythe Russian's blitz on several axes pre-empted an imminent UKRAINIAN blitzkrieg. The AFU had been about to invade the Donbas. This was the immediate motivation for Russia's invasion: To beat them to the punch and scuttle Ukraine's imminent invasionwhich they did. Also, by attacking from the north and south, the Russians disrupted weapons supply chain from NATO. Had the RF only attacked in the east to prevent the AFU invasion of Donbas, there would have been an open corridor for resupply from the West. Threatening Kiev stopped that. So the main AFU army was left stranded in east Ukraine, with the rest of the Ukr. forces isolated and pinned downwith no easy resupply from the West. The RF then went about hitting AFU command/control and resupply links, further isolating and immobilizing Ukrainian forces. The Russians soon nominally controlled land the size of the UK in Ukrainebut it was a tenuous control. The south of Ukraine was more fully in Russia's grip. The AFU around Kherson simply scattered. Mariupol became a clear battleground, as did the Donbas proper. What the Russians initially wanted was to: Short-circuit the imminent Donbas invasion - which they did. Scare the Zelensky regime into negotiating a political settlement - which they failed to do. Kiev had no intention of negotiating a ceasefire because of orders given to them from Washington: Fight Russia to the last Ukrainian! Also, the Neo-Nazi goons around Zelensky threatened him if he negotiated and surrendered because they are terrified of the Russians. So Zelensky launched a massive PR and propaganda campaign, primarily to motivate AFU forces to fight to the death. Myths were created (Ghost of Kiev), false flags were carried out (Bucha, Kramatorsk) and relentless media stories were flogged relentlessly. The Russians kept negotiating and trying to NOT destroy Ukraine infrastructure. In fact at first they were even trying to minimize AFU casualties. The evidence for this is overwhelming: The RF did not hit civilian infrastructure - water, electric, phone, transportation. They did not hit AFU barracks, command centers, government buildings, etc. The Russians' initial priority was for a *negotiated settlement*. But by late March, they realized this was impossible. This is why the RF withdrew from Kiev. There was no sense putting men near the city when they were not doing what they were supposed to do - putting political pressure on the Zelensky regime to negotiate. This withdrawal was claimed as a victory in the Battle of Kiev! lmao Starting in late March, the Russians pulled back and solidified their control over the area they had captured, ceding to the AFU areas that were either pointless to or potentially too costly to control. The Ukraine propaganda machine called all these pull- backs victories. There was still a glimmer that the war might end in a negotiated settlement but that ended in early April. After the Istanbul talks of 3/30, the Ukraine side gingerly agreed to some compromises but within a week publicly disavowed those concessions. That's when the Russians realized the Zelensky regime was agreement-incapable: Their Washington masters, Victoria Nuland and Anthony Blinken in particular, wouldn't allow a peace. They want this war to sap Russia dry. It is a classic proxy war and Ukraine will pay the price. Something else the Russians realized: Sanctions. They hurt but Russia bounced back with remarkable speed. They didn't really hurt that bad. But the theft of Russia's $300 billion in foreign reserves by the West DID hurt - badly. The Russians realized they were in a total war with the West and since their foreign reserves were lost forever (likely to be pilfered by corrupt Western politicos), the Russians now have nothing left to lose. By stealing their reserves, the West lost all power over Russia. This has sealed Ukraine's fate: The Russians now have no incentive to give up what they have conquered. It has cost them too much in terms of men and treasure. And they know that they can't negotiate a ceasefire. The Zelensky regime will simply break it later. Which means: The Russians intend to conquer and permanently annex all the south and east of Ukraine. This is why their strategy on the battlefield has dramatically shifted: Now they are carrying out a slow, methodical grinding down and destruction of the AFU. The war in the first 30 days was speed, feints, nominally capturing vast swathes of Ukraine territory, with the aim of pressuring the Zelensky regime into a negotiated settlement. But the West's total financial and political break with Russia means they have nothing to lose. And they have a lot to gain: The Donbas is mineral rich, the really productive farmlands of Ukraine are in the east and south, Kharkov is a major industrial city, the Sea of Azov has untold natural gas reserves. And besides - the people love them. Why would the Russians now give up this hard-won prize? And they *have* won - make no mistake. Ask any military man who is not a system pig, he'll tell you: There is no way for the AFU to retake their country. They have no armor, no air defense, no fuel, no comms - it's over. The great tragedy is that so many THOUSANDS of young men will die, and die NEEDLESSLY!!, in order to postpone the inevitable. These brave boys will have fought so valiantly - and died so young, so cruelly -because of the evil of the Zelensky regime. That's the hard truth. And in the end, this will be the map that will remaina bitter image of Ukraine's future. Russia will pour billions into their newly acquired territory. It will prosper and flourish. But the rump-state of Ukraine will be left poor, destroyed, forgotten. A tragedy. bigger I concur with the above except for two minor detail. The move on Kiev was not intended to hinder resupply to Ukrainian troops in Donbas but to 'fix' potential reinforcement around the capital. That enabled Russian troops to open the corridor from Crimea to the Russian boarder as well as to cross the Dnieper in the south and to take Kherson. Those were the most important moves for the further development of the war. I also do not believe that Russia will 'annex' the areas it is liberating from fascist control. Once librated the people in those areas will vote on becoming independent from Ukraine and the various regions, Donbas, Luhansk, Kherson, Odessa, will form states that will become part of the Federal Republic of Novorossia. That country will be recognized and supported by Russia and its allies. Posted by b on April 26, 2022 at 11:23 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page Midland and Odessa barbecue restaurants are featured in this month's BBQ Joint Reviews by Texas Monthly. The Half Acre got a full review about John Scharbauer's problem-solving skills and Aaron Lesley's legendary barbecuing. The review encapsulates the Scharbauer Ranch's history of raising cattle and the symbiotic relationship to The Half Acre and Midland Meat Co. Check out the review at https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/half-acre-serves-bbq-from-ranch-next-door/. In search of the best Texas tacos, Favor is looking for a Chief Taco Officer for the summer. The job pays $10,000 with plenty of perks to boot. Here's a quick look at the position, a day in the life of a taco executive, the benefits package and how to apply. CTO compensation So, what's in it for the new Favor CTO? The CTO will receive $10,000 for the "duration" of the role, listed as June to July on the application page. Other listed perks include free food, accommodations and transportation as well as free Favor delivery for one year, "customized" company swag and the "summer experience of a lifetime." A portion of the job application page describes the candidate they are looking for, stating that the ideal candidate is "passionate about food and not shy about eating on camera or sharing their dining experiences with the world," while noting that previous food critic experience is not required for the position. The compensation package will also include "wellness activities galore." A day in the life of a Chief Taco Officer For clarity on the two-month taco touring residency of sorts, the FAQ page details a day in the life of the company's Chief Taco Officer, noting that the CTO will spend 48 hours in each city where they can "can visit the sights, shop, meet up with friends" and "whatever" the person likes, noting that the company only asks that the person has Favor-provided taco delivery from a "variety of restaurants" during "at least two meal times" throughout the stay in each location. The CTO will also need to review these taco tourism experiences with photos, journal entries and videos to share with the company and disseminate across social media channels. During what the company described as the CTO's "search for the very best tacos," the taco executive will drive from city to city across the Lone Star State. The page states that potential candidates should "think of this as a travel journal documenting [their] trip." How to apply The company's CTO job application place provides a few steps potential candidates will need to complete to apply for the position. This starts with creating a short video detailing "why [a candidate] should be Favors Chief Taco Officer and why [they are] excited about the opportunity," the page states. Next, applicants will need to post this video on TikTok or Instagram reels using a public account while tagging @Favor and using the #FavorDreamJob hashtag. The third step involves completing the application form and providing a link to the short video recorded in step one. The full CTO application page can be found here. The deadline to apply is May 12. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) Among the sites of the former Soviet Union's frozen conflicts, a long and narrow strip of land in Moldova has been the most stable for three decades. Trans-Dniester hasn't seen fighting since the end of a separatist war in 1992. But explosions in the past two days have raised concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine could extend there. About 1,500 Russian troops already are stationed in Trans-Dniester. Another outbreak of hostilities would pose a severe challenge to Moldova, one of Europes poorest countries. WHAT IS TRANS-DNIESTER? Trans-Dniester extends some 400 kilometers (249 miles) between the eastern bank of the Dniester River in Moldova and the country's border with Ukraine. Most of the breakaway region's population of 470,000 speaks Russian, although residents identify themselves as ethnically Moldovan, Ukrainian or Russian. Moves to make Moldovan Moldova's official language in 1989, when it still was part of the Soviet Union, alarmed people in Trans-Dniester. The region declared independence in 1990 and clashes broke out. Fighting intensified in March 1992 and lasted until a July cease-fire; more than 700 people are estimated to have died in the conflict. As part of the cease-fire agreement, a contingent of Russian troops stayed in Trans-Dniester as nominal peacekeepers. Since then, the region has insisted it is not part of Moldova, which declared independence in 1991. Trans-Dniester has retained many Soviet ways and iconography, including using the hammer-and-sickle image on its flag. But it has remained generally peaceful, and some tourists come to relish the anachronisms. WHAT HAPPENED THERE THIS WEEK? Explosions rocked the headquarters of the region's state security ministry on Monday. The building reportedly was empty due to the Orthodox Easter holiday, and no casualties were reported. Officials said the attack was committed with rocket-propelled grenades. Local media showed what appeared to be firing tubes lying on a street. On Tuesday morning, a pair of explosions at a broadcasting facility knocked two powerful antennas out of service. No claims of responsibility for the attacks have been made. Trans-Dniesters president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, called Tuesday for imposing anti-terrorist security measures at a red level for 15 days, including setting up blockposts at the entrances to cities. The United States has warned amid the war in Ukraine that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops. DOES RUSSIA HAVE AMBITIONS IN THE REGION? Russia does not recognize Trans-Dniester as independent, as it does with other breakaway areas, such as South Ossetia, Abkhazia and the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. It recognition of those areas came either after Russia and Georgia fought a 2008 war or as justification for Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine. An outburst of fighting in Trans-Dniester could change the Kremlin's political calculus; Russia's security policy states it has the right to protect ethnic Russian populations throughout the world. A senior Russian military official, Rustam Minnekayev, said last week that Russian forces were aiming to take full control of southern Ukraine, saying such a move would also open a land corridor between Russia and Trans-Dniester. Achieving that military objective would require significant battles to capture Ukraine's Black Sea coast, including the major port city of Odesa. Russian soldiers would surely encounter enormous resistance. Russia has problems in logistics. If they begin a military operation in Trans-Dniester, to create a corridor to Trans-Dniester, they have to solve the problem of Odesa, Moldovan analyst Anatol Taranu, a former ambassador to Russia, told The Associated Press. The Russian contingent in Trans-Dniester is focused on guarding ammunition and warehouses, and its fitness for combat is uncertain. Trans-Dniester also has about 10,000 of its own soldiers. Moldova is constitutionally neutral, so Russia could not cite the country seeking to join NATO to justify an invasion, as Russian President Vladimir Putin did with Ukraine. But expanding to Moldova would give Russia a presence next to NATO member Romania. Taranu said that from a strategic point of view, taking Trans-Dniester does not seem sensible. But there is a political logic, he said, considering Russia's failure to take control of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and the intense resistance put up by Ukrainian forces. Putin "has to tell the public some success story," Taranu said, noting that the Russian leader may want to claim some achievement on Victory Day, the May 9 observance that is Russia's major secular holiday. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Candidates for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvanias open U.S. Senate seat charged into Monday night's live-televised prime-time debate with extra incentive to attack Mehmet Oz after the celebrity heart surgeon received former President Donald Trump's endorsement. And attack they did, almost solidly throughout the one-hour debate at the studio of WHTM-TV with barely three weeks to go to the May 17 primary election. Ex-hedge fund CEO David McCormick called Oz a flip-flopper to suggest that he is pretending to be a conservative. Former Trump ambassador Carla Sands called him Turkey First as a play on Trump's America First" governing philosophy to highlight Oz's Turkish citizenship. And conservative activist Kathy Barnette said Trump only endorsed Oz because Oz is well-known. Trump earlier this month endorsed Oz best known as daytime TVs host of The Dr. Oz Show" and the Trump endorsement hovered over the debate. Oz raised it repeatedly, just hours after Trump announced that he will come to western Pennsylvania next week for a rally to promote Oz. Oz gamely defended himself. People care about what he stands for, not where hes from, he said. Trump endorsed him because he is a true conservative, he said. And he keeps his Turkish citizenship to visit his ailing mother in Turkey, he said. He also counterpunched, primarily against McCormick. He accused McCormick of lying about his record and repeating Trump's suggestion that McCormick is pro-China because of McCormick's former hedge funds portfolio that catered to Chinese investors investing in China. Dishonest Dave is at it again," Oz said. He went groveling to President Trump with again these types of allegations. President Trump saw right through him, did not endorse him, and then he endorsed me. McCormick repeatedly attacked Oz, turning practically every question to Ozs long public past as a TV show host and accusing him of having long-advocated liberal positions. The reason Mehmet keeps talking about President Trumps endorsement is because he cant run on his own positions and his own records, and what's true is that he has flip-flopped on every major issue we're talking about in this campaign, McCormick said. Then McCormick slipped in a reference to criticism that Oz promoted quack treatments and cures on his show. And the problem doctor, is theres no miracle cure for flip-flopping, McCormick said. The race is primarily an expensive duel between McCormick and Oz, who combined with super PACs that support them have reported spending more than $37 million out of the more than $50 million reported being spent on the GOP primary. The five candidates on stage met the polling threshold set by the stations parent company as they vie for the nomination in a seven-person field to succeed retiring two-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in the presidential battleground state. The campaign is one of this years premier Senate contests, with carpetbaggery a prominent and persistent issue following the recent arrival of three wealthy and well-connected candidates from other states McCormick, Oz and Sands. Real estate investor Jeff Bartos summed up the debate in his closing remarks as out-of-state candidates fighting with each other as he pressed his case as the only lifelong Pennsylvanian in the race. Otherwise, the candidates all seemed to agree with party talking points, including on the question of banning abortion, banning transgender women from competing in women's sports, criticizing President Joe Biden's handling of the economy and the border and promoting Trump's baseless conspiracy that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election. They also took pains to demonstrate their devotion to Trump principles. Sands maintained that her service on a Trump's economic council and as his ambassador to Denmark makes her the only proven America First candidate. I actually did it, Sands said. "Everyone talks about it." On a question about how to deal with supply chain issues, McCormick took umbrage over Bartos' suggestion that out-of-state candidates "cannot help save Main Street Pennsylvania if you cannot find Main Street Pennsylvania. I'm not going to be out-Pennsylvania'd or out-America First by anybody on this stage," McCormick said. Barnette who has allied herself with pro-Trump conservatives took a different tack: Trump's Make America Great slogan, or MAGA, doesn't belong to Trump, she said. MAGA does not belong to President Trump, Barnette said. "MAGA, although he coined the word, MAGA actually belongs to the people. Our values never, never shifted to President Trumps values. It was President Trump who shifted and aligned with our values. ___ Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter Growth Funds for eCommerce Data Platform Conjura Dublin-based eCommerce analytics platform Conjura has raised EUR 15m in a Series A round of funding, which it will use to expand its solutions, broaden its UK and Ireland operations, and move into 'several' new international markets. Conjura's platform combines benchmarking, company reporting and data science to enable users to compare their business performance against industry standards; receive deep-dive reporting to highlight their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth; and make decisions across all departments based on a 360-degree view of their operations. The platform combines data from fulfilment, warehousing, and supply chain sources, with online / off-line sales and marketplace transactions and customer metrics, to provide automated insights and recommendations across every aspect of eCommerce. New funding has been co-led by Act Venture Capital and MiddleGame Ventures, with participation from Tribal VC. Fran Quilty (pictured), CEO and co-founder of Conjura, comments: 'Our unique approach to data analysis and our ability to provide full visibility into a company's performance in one easy-to-use platform represents the next generation of eCommerce solutions. We are providing the tools businesses need to enhance their operational efficiency, as well as ensure they are providing the seamless digital experience today's consumers expect'. Web site: www.conjura.com . By SA Commercial Prop News - SAPA Passenger Railway Agency of SA (Prasa) signs the first phase of a projected R123 billion contract towards the upgrading of the South Africa's railways and trains. The Passenger Railway Agency of SA (Prasa) has signed the first phase of a projected R123 billion contract towards the upgrading of the country's railways and trains, it said on Monday. "Through the rolling stock programme, [Prasa] is in the process to procure approximately 7224 new rolling stock with a projected investment of R123 billion over 20 years," spokesman Moffet Mofokeng said in a statement. The first phase, worth R51bn, was signed with Gibela (led by French multinational Alstom) for the supply of 600 passenger trains to be delivered between years 2015 and 2025, Mofokeng said. "The contract... includes the construction of a local manufacturing facility. In addition to this contract, Gibela will provide technical support and supply of spare parts over an 18-year period." The manufacturing site would be built in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, to produce the trains. Construction was to start early next year. Ageing trains currently in service in the country's major cities would be replaced with 1200 electric trains over a period of 20 years. The contract was signed in Sandton, Johannesburg at an event attended by President Jacob Zuma and French President Francois Hollande. Alstom was said to be proud to be selected for the project and expressed unwavering commitment. "We believe our trains will set a high standard in serving the interests of commuters, company head Henri Poupart-Lafarge was quoted as saying. One of the trains to be built was the 'X'Trapolis Mega' developed to fit the country's tracks. "The train can travel at speeds of up to 120km/h with the ability to be upgraded to 160 km/h. Each single-deck train is composed of six cars and is able to carry more than 1300 passengers," Mofokeng said. "The project will create over 1500 direct jobs in the local factory and 33,000 indirect jobs over the first 10 years." Workers in protective suits keep watch on a street during a lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease pandemic, in Shanghai, China, April 16, 2022. The Congress on Tuesday officially announced that election strategist Prashant Kishor will not be working for the party as he declined to be part of the empowered action group for the 2024 general elections. The declaration came a day after Sonia Gandhi had announced the constitution of the group. Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet, "Following a presentation and discussion with Prashant Kishor, the Congress President has constituted a Empowered Action Group 2024 & invited him to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility. He declined. We appreciate his efforts & suggestion given to party." The group was formed after a report was submitted by an eight-member committee on April 21. "Congress President Sonia Gandhi received a report from the eight-member group on April 21. Today she discussed the report with the group. Based on the discussions, the Congress President has decided to constitute an Empowered Action Group for 2024 in order to address the political challenges ahead," the party had said in an official statement on Monday . Surjewala, who did not want to comment on the members of the group, said: "But as I have said, the Empowered Action Group will strategise for the 2024 general elections." NEW YORK (AP) Poetry magazine, one of the country's oldest and most prominent literary publications, will for the first time have a Black editor. Adrian Matejka, an educator, former state laureate of Indiana and prize-winning poet, begins his new job May 16. I couldnt be more humbled or excited to be the new editor of Poetry," Matejka, 50, said in a statement. The 19-year-old version of me, thumbing through the magazines pages with wonder, would have never imagined that he would one day be part of such a vital literary institution. Matejka, whose 2013 collection The Big Smoke was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, added that he was "committed to re-imagining Poetry not only as a venue for poetics, but more importantly, as one that is in service of poets and treats writers as the gifts that they are. Matejka's hiring was announced Tuesday by the Poetry Foundation, a Chicago-based organization that oversees Poetry. The foundation was established in 2003 after Ruth Lilly, an heir to the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical fortune, donated $100 million to the magazine. Poetry, founded in 1912, has published T.S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, John Ashbery and many other leading writers. Several Matejka poems have run in the magazine. As an accomplished poet, educator, and past poet laureate, Adrian brings invaluable talent and experience. We look forward to his leadership and collaboration with the team to share new poets and poetry with the world," Michelle T. Boone, who in 2021 became the foundation's first Black president, said in a statement. Matejka, who grew up in Indianapolis, is also the author of the poetry collections The Devil's Garden, Map to the Stars and Somebody Else Sold the World and an upcoming graphic novel, Last On His Feet. In what he calls strange serendipity, he is the Ruth Lilly Professor of Poetry at Indiana University Bloomington. The president of Cave Canem, a leading supporter of Black poets, praised Tuesday's announcement. Tyehimba Jess said in a statement that Adrians vision of building literary community through excellence and diversity in publication is a critical step forward for Poetry. Through his work on the page and his activism as poet laureate of Indiana, Adrian has a track record of service to history and the fullness of each reader and poets humanity." Like numerous literary institutions, the Poetry Foundation has been addressing criticisms over diversity and social awareness. Two years ago, in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, the president and board chairman resigned amid criticism over a foundation statement expressing solidarity with the Black community and declaring faith in the strength and power of poetry to uplift in times of despair. More than 1,500 poets, subscribers and teachers among others published an open letter denouncing the statement as vague and dispassionate. The letter's endorsers called on the foundation and Poetry magazine, which support and organize a wide range of workshops, grants and awards, to provide "a significantly greater allocation of financial resources toward work which is explicitly anti-racist in nature and, specifically, fighting to protect and enrich Black lives, in and outside of Chicago. The foundation responded with An Open Letter of Commitment to Our Community, in which it acknowledged its predominantly white leadership and vowed to "better serve the poets who entrust us with their work, creative or otherwise, and serve audiences who find solace, joy, insight, catalysts for change, and more in poetry." Poetry has not had a permanent editor since the summer of 2020, when Don Share resigned after the magazine was criticized for publishing a poem which Share himself described as insidious and particularly oppressive to Black, Pacific Islander, and Asian people. The foundation called his departure part of the ongoing changes and conversations outlined in its open letter. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Family history blends with Jacksonville history, MacMurray College history and Liberia history to form the basis for Jacksonville native Sarah McClintock Angletons third historical fiction novel, White Mans Graveyard. This book is a little different from the ones Ive written before, Angleton said from her home near St. Louis. Its a little more biographical. These are people in my own family history, and thats something Ive never done before. White Mans Graveyard follows siblings Annie and Sylvanus Goheen, who were born in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s and who both grew up to seek an end to slavery, albeit using different approaches. At the time, some supported simply freeing slaves and allowing them their freedom in the United States. Others felt the former slaves would only prosper if they were returned to Africa, because they werent allowed to fully participate in American society. Sylvanus fell into the latter group and, in 1837, when he was leaving for Liberia to serve as a missionary physician, he gave Annie a journal. Some 160 years later, that journal ended up in Angletons hands. My grandmother passed away, gosh, about 20 years ago now, Angleton said. In her possession was a lawyers cabinet. Angletons aunt found the journal in that cabinet and turned it over to Angleton, the writer in the family. It was presented to (Annie) by her brother as he was going to Liberia with the Methodist Episcopal Church as a missionary to develop a colony for African American slaves, Angleton said. The journal was a momentous find, one Angleton wasnt quite prepared for at the time. Theres this huge American history piece that I didnt know, probably a lot of people didnt know, she said. I tried to figure out who these people really were. Annie ended up marrying the Rev. Dr. Peter Akers and the couple along with Peters large family landed in Jacksonville, where Peter Akers founded Ebenezer Church and became a founding board member of the former MacMurray College. Angleton held on to Annies journal for years before she felt ready to tackle the tale. When she finally did, she turned to MacMurray Colleges archives to research what she could of Peter and Annie. Those archives now are housed at the Jacksonville Area Museum, where Angleton will speak Saturday and sign copies of her book. We all have family that wasnt on the side of those racially charged issues that we would be with our modern perspective, she said, noting she felt a pressure to honor my family with how we are now. Colonization was a controversial thing and doesnt look particularly good under the (light) of modern day. While Angleton felt she got a grasp of Annies character, she struggled a bit to figure out Sylvanus, she said. With Sylvanus, I was missing a crucial source (of research) for him for a long time, Angleton said. I had written an entire draft and then I managed to get hold of (Sylvanuss journal from his time in Africa). When I met him on the pages of his own writing, it changed him a little bit. I was surprised by how close I had gotten, but it did change him a little bit. The book, though based in history, is a work of fiction. One thing I realized very early on in looking at writing about real people is that real life doesnt tend to go in a nice story arc, she said, noting she created some conflict between the siblings. It may not be entirely accurate, but there was conflict between the (colonization movement) and the abolitionist movement. Their ideals didnt necessarily conflict, but the ways they wanted to go about it did. Angleton admits the appeal of writing the story was rooted not just in her family ties but in it being a lesser-known bit of history. She also sees parallels today. The larger thing I wanted to speak to in our modern day was how do you pursue a loving family relationship amid intense conflict, because you love them, but (disagree). Part of my point in writing this book was there can still be love and respect. Were not really wanting different results, just different ways of getting there. Olivia Lopez came home from school one day, walked into her mom's office and announced: "I can't smell." It was November 2020, so then-13-year-old Olivia and her mom knew what this likely meant. A test confirmed she had COVID-19. In addition to a loss of smell and taste, Olivia dealt with shortness of breath and fatigue. Weeks later, the virus was gone but the symptoms remained. "I was sleeping 16 hours a day," she said. "I was always out of breath it seemed like." In January, she tried to return to her Catholic school. On the way home from volleyball practice, Olivia told her mother, "My chest hurts so bad." "It's not normal for that to happen to a healthy kid that's been an athlete their entire life and eats healthy and does all the things she is supposed to do," said her mom, Laura Lopez. Laura took Olivia to a cardiologist. The teen underwent a stress test. "They couldn't find anything physically wrong with the heart or the heart muscle, but they couldn't really explain what was happening," Laura said. Olivia went to an orthopedist and pulmonologist. They had no answers. Meanwhile, she kept getting worse. At school she would fall asleep. Once when Olivia was feeling nauseous and had a headache, the school called Laura to pick her up. Later that evening, Olivia went into her mom's office, told her she felt like she was going to pass out and promptly did. The fainting got so bad Olivia spent the entire Super Bowl weekend in the hospital as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong. They said she might have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS. It's a disorder affecting the autonomic nervous system characterized by dramatic heart rate increases upon standing. It also can cause blood pressure changes, chronic fatigue and other symptoms. It is one of the conditions now linked to long COVID, and researchers are trying to figure out how COVID-19 may trigger it. With the doctor's permission, Olivia returned to school. She passed out again, hit her head and went unconscious for about four minutes. An ambulance rushed her to the emergency room while she had a series of tremors and seizure-like activity. Doctors told the family the overarching diagnosis was POTS. Olivia's condition continued to spiral. She was passing out so often sometimes 30 to 40 times a day that she had to stop going to school and went back to remote learning. "She could be sitting here having a normal conversation with you and all of a sudden, she would just pass out," Laura said. Olivia also lost her ability to walk because of a condition known as functional neurological disorder. "It was the brain's way of saying, if she stood up, then she was going to pass out and get injured, so it affected her ability to walk. The scariest part was the uncertainty about when and if she would regain the abilities she had before," Laura said. As a result, Olivia used a wheelchair for three months and spent several months taking classes online. "I think I feared it was going to stay that way for a really long time," she said. Laura said the POTS protocol that doctors prescribed along with her strong faith helped Olivia get better and back on her feet. Now, Olivia has picked up where she left off. The 14-year-old attends high school and is back to playing volleyball with her club team. "I was recently weaned off my medication and have been doing well," Olivia said. As a little girl, Olivia took an interest in her mom's job as executive director of the American Heart Association's regional office in Kansas City, Kansas. She was only 5 when she set a goal of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. Her experience in hospitals and doctor's offices has only made her desire grow. Last year, she was selected to attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders, where she will get to visit with and receive advice from physicians and Nobel Prize winners. She also was asked to speak at one of the sessions, which will be held virtually this year. "I'm excited to see all the things I learn and how I can use it later if I continue on the path that I'm going on," Olivia said. Laura said Olivia's experience as a patient gives her additional insight into this potential career. "I think because of this, she will have more empathy and understanding of people that are relying on her, which we all can use more of these days." Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates. If you have questions or comments about this American Heart Association News story, please email editor@heart.org. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. Permission is granted, at no cost and without need for further request, for individuals, media outlets, and non-commercial education and awareness efforts to link to, quote, excerpt or reprint from these stories in any medium as long as no text is altered and proper attribution is made to American Heart Association News. Other uses, including educational products or services sold for profit, must comply with the American Heart Associations Copyright Permission Guidelines. See full terms of use. These stories may not be used to promote or endorse a commercial product or service. HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HOUSTON (AP) The execution of Melissa Lucio is off. At least for now. Lucio, 52, had been set to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday for the death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah in Harlingen, a city of about 75,000 in Texas southern tip. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals intervened Monday, granting Lucios lawyers request for a stay of execution so a lower court can review claims that new evidence would show Mariah's injuries, including a blow to the head, were caused by a fall down a steep staircase. Nearly half of the jurors who sentenced her to die for the 2007 death of one of her 14 children had called for her execution to be halted and for her to get a new trial. Many lawmakers and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, an advocate for criminal justice reform, and Amanda Knox an American whose murder conviction in the death of a British student in Italy was overturned have rallied to Lucios cause. Prosecutors, though, maintain that the girl was the victim of child abuse. Lucios lawyers had filed various legal appeals seeking to stop her execution. She also had a clemency application before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which had been set to consider her case Monday. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott could have also played a role this week in deciding Lucios fate. If ultimately put to death, Lucio would be the first Latina executed by Texas since 1863, and the first woman the state has put to death since 2014. Heres what to know about the case: WHAT ISSUES ARE BEING DEBATED? Lucios attorneys say her capital murder conviction was based on an unreliable and coerced confession that was the result of relentless questioning and her long history of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. They say Lucio wasnt allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession. Her lawyers also contend that unscientific and false evidence misled jurors into believing Mariahs injuries only could have been caused by physical abuse and not by medical complications from a severe fall. I knew that what I was accused of doing was not true. My children have always been my world and although my choices in life were not good I would have never hurt any of my children in such a way, Lucio wrote in a letter to Texas lawmakers. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, whose office prosecuted the case, has said he disagrees with Lucio's lawyers' claims that new evidence would exonerate her. Prosecutors say Lucio had a history of drug abuse and at times had lost custody of some of her 14 children. During a sometimes contentious Texas House committee hearing on Lucios case this month, Saenz initially pushed back on requests to use his power to stop the execution, before later saying he would intervene if the courts didnt act. I dont disagree with all the scrutiny this case is getting. I welcome that, Saenz said. Armando Villalobos was the county's district attorney when Lucio was convicted in 2008, and Lucios lawyers allege that he pushed for a conviction to help his reelection bid. In 2014, Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for a bribery scheme related to offering favorable prosecutorial decisions. WHO IS CALLING FOR LUCIOS EXECUTION TO BE STOPPED? More than half the members of the Texas Legislature have asked that her execution be halted. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers traveled this month to Gatesville, where the state houses female death row inmates, and prayed with Lucio. Five of the 12 jurors who sentenced Lucio and one alternate juror have questioned their decision and asked she get a new trial. Lucio's cause also has the backing of faith leaders and was featured on HBOs Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Lucios family and supporters have been traveling throughout Texas and holding rallies and screenings of a 2020 documentary about her case, The State of Texas vs. Melissa. Before the court decision Monday, Lucio's supporters held a prayer vigil inside the state Capitol in Austin as they waited for word from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on her clemency application. On Saturday, supporters held rallies in 16 U.S. cities, including Houston, Boston, and Columbus, Ohio. WHERE DO EFFORTS TO HALT HER EXECUTION STAND? The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had been set Monday to consider a request to either commute her death sentence to life imprisonment or grant her a 120-day execution reprieve, but that hearing was put off by the appeals courts order. Lucio also had an appeal pending in federal court to stop her execution. The federal appeal and the clemency petition are now put aside as the case returns to the trial judge in Brownsville. It was not immediately known when the lower court would begin reviewing her case. Tivon Schardl, one of Lucios lawyers, said they hope to convince the trial judge to recommend that the appeals court grant her a new trial. If the board had taken up her case and decided to recommend commutation of her sentence or a reprieve, that would have needed Abbott's approval. The governor has granted clemency to only one death row inmate since taking office in 2015. Abbott commuted a death sentence to life without parole for Thomas Bart Whitaker, who was convicted of fatally shooting his mother and brother. Whitaker's father was also shot but survived and led the effort to spare his son's life. HOW FREQUENTLY ARE WOMEN EXECUTED? Its rare in the U.S., according to the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that takes no position on capital punishment but has criticized the way states carry out executions. Women have accounted for only 3.6% of the more than 16,000 confirmed executions in the U.S. dating back to the colonial period in the 1600s, according to the group's data. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 17 women have been executed throughout the nation, according to the data. Texas has put more women to death six than any other state. Oklahoma is next, with three, and Florida has executed two. The federal government has executed one woman since 1976. Lisa Montgomery, of Kansas, received a lethal injection in January 2021 after the Trump administration resumed executions in the federal system following a 17-year hiatus. The Justice Department has halted executions again under the Biden administration. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Judges on New Yorks highest court peppered attorneys with sharp questions Tuesday as they considered whether to throw out new congressional district maps that Republicans say were unconstitutionally gerrymandered. The Court of Appeals heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by a group of Republican voters challenging the legality of the new district maps, which were widely seen as likely to help Democrats gain seats in Congress and knock some incumbent Republicans out of office. The court's decision which could come at any time could play a crucial role in the battle for control of the U.S. House, where Democrats now enjoy a thin majority. Judges repeatedly asked the Democrats' attorneys about what should happen next if the high court decides to strike down the maps. But they also seemed wary about overstepping their authority. Im again having difficulty with your argument that youre driving the substantive work of drawing district lines into a judicial forum, Judge Jenny Rivera told a lawyer for the petitioners. The voters contend in their lawsuit the Democrat-controlled Legislature violated provisions in the state constitution that barred the redrawing of districts for partisan gain. New York's governor and legislative leaders deny they bent the rules, but two lower courts have already ruled the district maps were drafted specifically to give Democrats an advantage. A midlevel appeals court last week gave the Legislature a deadline of April 30 to come up with revised maps, or else leave the redrafting in the hands of a court-appointed expert. A third ruling against the maps could potentially upend the states planned congressional primary, now scheduled for late June. Attorneys for Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, and legislative leaders from her party say the maps address population shifts and unite similar minority and geographical communities. The attorneys urged the judges to allow lawmakers to fix any errors with particular districts. The Democrats have also criticized computer simulations run by an elections analyst who testified for the Republican plaintiffs that the maps were gerrymandered. Political district maps across the nation have been redrawn in recent months as a result of population shifts documented in the 2020 Census. Democrats had been counting on New York lawmakers producing a map heavily favorable to their party to help offset expected Republican gains in other states. New York's new maps would give Democrats a strong majority of registered voters in 22 of the states 26 congressional districts. Republicans, who represent about 22% of registered New York voters, currently hold eight of the states 27 seats in Congress. New York will lose one seat in 2021. Partisan gerrymandering of political district maps is an age-old tradition in the U.S., but New York voters attempted to limit the practice through a constitutional amendment in 2014. A politically appointed commission was supposed to draw the new maps. But that body, comprised of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, couldn't reach consensus. The Democrat-led Legislature then stepped in and passed new maps of its own design. Among other issues, the Court of Appeals was weighing whether the Legislature had the authority to do so. Some judges on Tuesday questioned whether Democrats followed the spirit of the reforms. It seems the people said they believed this would be real reform, Judge Michael Garcia said. We would be telling them it wasnt. 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 Democrat gerrymander in Maryland. Such decisions have led to delayed primaries in North Carolina, Ohio and Maryland. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Hill contributed. Shares of Twitter, arguably the world's most influential social media platform, jumped after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is nearing a deal with Elon Musk, the world's richest man. Later, Tesla CEO Musk finally caught the elusive Twitter bird for $44 billion, as the company's board decided to give in to his takeover bid with his "best and final" offer. Twitter announced late on Monday evening that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly-owned by Musk for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at nearly $44 billion. Answering naysayers and his detractors, Musk, known for brusqueness, tweeted an olive branch: "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means." A few minutes before that, the billionaire quoted American poet Robert Frost's romantic poem "A Line Storm Song: And be my love in the rain." Musk sits at a net worth of $269.7 billion in the Forbes real-time billionaires' index. That's a savage lead of more than $99 billion over the second richest man, Jeff Bezos of Amazon. Earlier this April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, or about $43 billion. Twitter's board of directors had met on Sunday to discuss Musk's financing plan. The board negotiated with Musk into the early hours of Monday, The New York Times said. Twitter shares fired up nearly 6 per cent on Monday afternoon chiefly because of media speculation that the deal was expected after market close, if not sooner. So far, the social media giant was expected to decline a deal, which includes Musk's plan to take it off the stock market. Twitter had adopted a so-called 'poison pill' to fend off a potential hostile takeover. However, the company betrayed greater receptivity after Musk revealed he secured $46.5 billion in financing. The company's board met on Sunday to discuss Musk's financing plan for his proposed bid, a source told CNBC. Twitter is set to report first-quarter earnings on Thursday. Musk, who owns Tesla and SpaceX, built up more than 9 per cent in Twitter stock and turned down an offer to join the board before putting in a bid. An avid Twitter user, Musk had claimed that it needs to be "transformed" into a private company so it can become a forum for free speech. He also said Twitter's board members' interests "are simply not aligned with shareholders" and that the board "owns almost no shares" of the company. The consequent disarray was palpable. While welcoming Musk till the foray was limited to a single-digit control of Twitter stock, CEO Parag Agrawal has gone off his own platform since the last 18 days. On his part, Co-Founder (and former CEO) Jack Dorsey, whose Twitter bio states that he is a "romantic moron and 1/8 hippie", is no longer the CEO of Block (his not-so-famous venture once called Square) either. "Titles like 'CEO' get in the way of doing the right thing. Respect to the people who ignore titles, and fight like hell for what is right," Dorsey had once tweeted. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, Block said Dorsey has changed his title to "Block Head". Block updated its bylaws to reflect Dorsey's new role, removing the requirement to have an officer holding the titles of CEO and President. Dorsey and Musk have sparred in multiple theatres. Titles is one of them. In its filing some months back, Tesla said Musk would henceforth be known as "Technoking" and Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn would be referred to as "Master of Coin". Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday which dissolves the private government Walt Disney World controls on its property in Orlando, a measure which aims to punish the Disney corporation for opposing the law critics call "Don't Say Gay." The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, a major political player in Florida and one of the state's largest employers. Here are five things to know about the situation. 1. What is happening with Disney's self-governance? The Reedy Creek Improvement District, established in 1967, helped Disney build one of the largest theme park destinations in the world and allowed the company to self-govern the land, with Reedy Creek being an "independent special district," created by the Florida Legislature to support and administer certain aspects of the economic development and tourism within its boundaries. The district stretches across parts of Orange and Osceola counties in Florida, with the landowners of the district, in this case Disney, responsible for paying the cost of services that local governments would normally provide, with the district functioning by taxing landowners and issuing bonds to pay for major projects and public services. All of Walt Disney World Resort is located within this special district, encompassing about 25,000 acres or nearly 40 square miles. Disney is the largest single landowner with two cities, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, within Reedy Creek, and there is a combined population of 53 between the two cities, with residents chosen by Disney. According to its official website, the district includes 134 miles of roadways and 67 miles of waterways that it maintains. Approximately 250,000 guests visit every day. The law removes the independent special district label from Disney, as well as a handful of others across the state, starting June 1, 2023. 2. What does Reedy Creek mean to Disney? Through Reedy Creek, Disney is able to govern itself as it appoints the board of supervisors that acts as the district's government while also paying some taxes to the counties where the property is located, according to the Washington Post. Through the collected taxes, Reedy Creek provides necessary services including fire protection and emergency medical treatment, flood control, trash collection, power distribution, water treatment and road building and maintenance. Major projects like roadways are also able to be funded through bonds issued by Reedy Creek. Reedy Creek also oversees its own building code and issues permits, allowing Disney more control over what it builds and eliminating delays caused by red tape during construction. The district had $169 million in revenues and $178 million in expenditures in the current budget year. 3. Why are Republicans repealing this status? After funding the lawmakers who wrote the Parental Rights in Education bill, which passed earlier this year, what critics call the "Don't Say Gay" bill, Disney decided to speak out against the passage of the bill and halted political funding. Some say the bill could harm LGBTQ+ kids or families. After the bill became law, Disney said its goal as a company was for the law to be repealed or struck down, following protests against the company for a late reaction to the bill. "As Governor, I was elected to put the people of Florida first, and I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state," DeSantis wrote in a fundraising email, according to the Associated Press. DeSantis is up for reelection this year and is reportedly considering a run for President in 2024. 4. Will Disney be able to re-establish Reedy Creek? The legislation not taking effect until June 1, 2023 allows for lawmakers and Disney to re-negotiate the deal. The legislation also allows for the re-implementation of the status after that date, meaning Disney could eventually return to self-governance in the state. 5. What could the impacts of this be? Democratic lawmakers in Florida who oppose the bill have said it could result in homeowners in the state being hit with big tax bills if they have to absorb costs the company used to pay. The Post reported last week that Disney has an estimated $1 billion in debt obligations and spends more than $160 million a year on public services, with other government bodies potentially being forced to assume those responsibilities. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said it could be catastrophic for the budget if the county had to assume the costs for public safety at the theme park resort, the Associated Press reported. Reedy Creek currently reimburses the Orange County Sheriff's Office for public safety costs. "If that district goes away, and they no longer pay for those public safety costs, and it then has to fall to the countys other budgets, that is a net sum loss to the rest of the taxpayers of Orange County," Demings told the AP. Osceola County said its government would start an analysis to understand any costs that might shift to the county. The Post reported that Disney could also face a slower process when building attractions and face obstacles when transitioning service providers. High costs related to the law would likely be expensive for Disney, the Post reported, which could lead to more expensive trips to Disney World in the future. JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli police said Tuesday they have launched an investigation into a death threat made against the country's prime minister. The police issued a statement saying that a letter containing a death threat and a live bullet was sent to Naftali Bennett's family. The police said the special crimes department and the Shin Bet internal security agency opened an investigation. Additional details about the case were under a gag order. The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that the Bennett's family has been given an increased security detail because of the letter. Writing on Twitter, Bennett said that political conflict, no matter how deep, doesnt need to come to violence, thuggery and death threats. I am prime minister and a politician, but I am also a husband and father, and my obligation is to protect my wife and children, he said. We must lower the flames of the political discourse. Bennett formed a government last year following four successive deadlocked elections. He heads a coalition of eight parties ranging from ultranationalists to a small Islamist party that were all united in their opposition to longtime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bennett and other leaders of the coalition received death threats and were provided with additional security in the run-up to the formation of the new government last June. One of Bennett's predecessors as prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated in 1995 by a religious nationalist extremist following a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Jurors have convicted an Illinois Department of Corrections officer for violating the civil rights of a prisoner brutally beaten at a western Illinois prison in 2018, but could not reach a verdict against a superior. Alex Banta, 30, of Quincy was convicted after a four-week trial in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to deprive civil rights, deprivation of civil rights, obstruction of an investigation, falsification of documents and misleading conduct. Banta faces up to life in prison because jurors also indicated Monday that in finding him guilty of the civil rights and conspiracy charges, those crimes led to the death of 65-year-old inmate Larry Earvin. Members of the eight-man, four-woman jury, while unanimous on Bantas culpability, were split 9-3 on the involvement of co-defendant Lt. Todd Sheffler. The May 17, 2018, beating of prisoner Earvin at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mount Sterling resulted in 15 broken ribs and abdominal injuries so severe a portion of his bowel was surgically removed. He died June 26. Earvin allegedly refused to return to his cell in the housing unit known as R-1 and a disturbance there summoned dozens of officers for an escort to the segregation unit. Testimony indicated he was kicked and handled roughly in R-1, the government contends the debilitating and eventually fatal injuries were the result of kicking, punching, stomping and jumping on a prone Earvin in the segregation units vestibule, where there are no cameras. Banta was with Earvin for the bulk of the incident. Sheffler, 53, of Mendon was not in R-1, but joined the escort along the way to segregation. According to jurors Kevin Sullivan, 59, of Springfield and Roberta Clifton, 65, of Havana three members of the eight-man, four-woman jury believed parts of the defense position that Earvin was injured in R-1. They came to the position that Mr. Banta was alongside Mr. Earvin in the escort from beginning to end, while Mr. Sheffler joined midway. But he had to know something had happened. He had to be part of the coverup. Those who were on the fence were on the fence because they didnt think the assault happened in (segregation), Sullivan said. The holdouts did not believe evidence proved additional beating in the segregation units blind spot because the bulk of the testimony about it came from corrections employees who admitted initially lying to the Illinois State Police or FBI. They included Sgt. Willie Hedden, 43, of Mount Sterling, who was charged along with Sheffler and Banta but pleaded guilty and testified for the government in hopes of sentencing leniency. Clifton and Sullivan said they didnt resent the holdouts because, in Cliftons words, Theyre trying to make sure they can sleep at night, too. But Sullivan said, Im frustrated. I dont feel like we finished the job. PITTSFIELD Pike County health officials said they are starting to see an increase in COVID-19 cases, with 22 infections and one related death reported so far this month. Transmission rates remain low in the county, but residents are being urged to be alert for potential symptoms of coronavirus. Seven cases were recorded last week, Pike County Health Department said Monday. That brings the total confirmed and probable cases in the county since March 2020 to 5,034. A probable case is one in which a direct household contact of a lab-confirmed COVID-19 case is showing the same symptoms. There have been 87 COVID-19-related deaths in Pike County since the pandemic began. Health department representatives recommend people stay current on their coronavirus vaccines and boosters, maintain ventilation through indoor spaces when possible, and be tested if exposed to the virus or if showing symptoms. It is recommended that those who test positive stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in the house until at least five days after being fever-free without the use of medication and wear a mask around others for an additional five days. The health department is offering a vaccination clinic from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at its offices at 606 W. Adams St. and free COVID-19 testing from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Numbers statewide have been rising slightly, and last week there were 19,551 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus and 58 deaths recorded in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Transmission risk remains low in most of the state; four counties now are rated as "medium" risk by the Centers for Disease Control: DuPage, Champaign, McLean and Piatt. At the medium-risk level, the CDC recommends that the elderly and those who have other health risks wear masks indoors. Through last week, there have been 3,114,036 cases and 33,568 related deaths since March 2020 in Illinois. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) An Alabama fast-food worker who allegedly threw hot grease on a customer during a dispute over service in the drive-thru line, causing severe burns, was charged with assault, police said. The 50-year-old woman was charged Monday following a confrontation that occurred Saturday afternoon at an Arby's restaurant in suburban Birmingham, according to a statement from the Hueytown Police Department. Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Story Time: 10 a.m., Carlinville Public Library, 510 N. Broad St. Free | Story time with Hannah Crawford, children's librarian. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Flower Sale: Noon-6:30 p.m., Knights of Columbus, 320 E. State St. Prices vary. | Presented by Morgan County Right to Life. Variety of plants and planters. For pre-orders, call Evelyn Gonzalez at 217-243-4940 or 217-473-2234. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. Author Event and Book Signing: 4-6 p.m., Pike County All Wars Museum, 320 N. Illinois St., Pittsfield. | Author Barry Swanson will discuss his book, "Still Points," the life story of Philip Zumwalt, who served in World War II. For more information, call 217-242-4253. Ulysses S. Grant and Race: 6 p.m., Illinois State Museum virtual event. Free | Featured speaker is park ranger Nick Sacco. Registration required at bit.ly/GrantTalk. For more information, contact events@illinoisstatemuseum.org or 217-782-5993. Morgan County Republican Club Meeting: 6 p.m., Jacksonville Municipal Building, 200 W. Douglas Ave. | Meeting will include Morgan County and local Republican candidates running in the primary election. Meeting on second floor. Wednesday Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m., noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Story Time: 10 a.m., Jacksonville Public Library, 201 W. College Ave. Free | Stories and a craft. For more information, call 217-243-5435 or email clangdon@jaxpl.org. Flower Sale: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Knights of Columbus, 320 E. State St. Prices vary. | Presented by Morgan County Right to Life. Variety of plants and planters. For pre-orders, call Evelyn Gonzalez at 217-243-4940 or 217-473-2234. Boyd Healthcare Services Lunch and Learn: 11:30 a.m., Knights of Columbus Hall, U.S. 67, Carrollton. | Featured speaker R. Mapue, M.D., will present "COVID-19 the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." RSVP for lunch by April 22 at 217-942-6946, ext. 1202. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Commodity Food Distribution: 1:15 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. Free | For income-eligible residents of Morgan County. Bring proof of residence and a box for food. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. County Line Dance Club Class: 6:30 p.m., The Hangout Bar & Grill, 901 W. Superior Ave. $5. The hour is late to save America from the White House-sanctioned, sovereignty-busting illegal immigrant invasion. To draw a baseball parallel, patriotic citizens are in the bottom of the eighth inning, getting a 6-0 shellacking from the America-last Biden administration. Still, citizens have two at bats six outs remaining, time enough to battle back and overcome, assuming their rally starts immediately. Some observers wonder how things at the border went so wrong, so fast. The explanation is simple: Cheating and lying from Biden, Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Vice President Kamala Harris and the administrations inner circle of unelected cronies U.S. Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, Obama Foundation interim president Valerie Jarrett and Michelle and Barack Obama, who have managed to amass $70 million in wealth since their days in the White House. They threw spit balls and stole signs, and no one holds them accountable. Bidens cheating at a criminal, unconstitutional level is indisputable. For his presidencys entirety, Biden has knowingly, willingly and flagrantly broken numerous immigration laws. The president has defied the entire Immigration and Nationality Act, legislation that defines who can immigrate to the U.S., spells out the procedure for applying for a visa and from where the applications must be submitted, and specifies the rules that new immigrants are legally obligated to follow. These have been dismissed without conferring with Congress. King Biden rules by decree. Shamelessly, even when the courts rule against him, Bidens brazen rejection of immigration law enforcement proceeds unabated. In early March, the U.S. District Court of North Texas enjoined the Biden administrations policy of excepting unaccompanied alien minors from Title 42, and it largely denied the administrations efforts to dismiss the lawsuit that Texas and Attorney General Ken Paxton filed. The courts final order found that the Biden administrations actions are: arbitrary, capricious ... or otherwise not in accordance with law. Biden ignored the courts injunction. Instead, the administration continued to resettle significant numbers of minors into the U.S. 122,000 unaccompanied migrant children were put in shelters in 2021 which has led to the largest wave of criminal child smuggling in human history. The flood of resettled illegal alien teens and minors will drain public school resources, overcrowd hospitals and provide a pipeline for Northern Triangle gangs like MS-13. In another announcement that will add to taxpayers burdens, Bidens DHS Secretary Mayorkas proposed a new rule that would allow migrants to use public welfare benefits like SNAP, CHIP and Medicaid while their Green Card applications are under review. Mayorkas proposal violates the public charge principal which states that newly arrived immigrants must be self-sufficient and not dependent on taxpayer subsidies. Biden isnt the least bit hesitant to publicly lie about his immigration agenda. In his State of the Union address, with 38 million television viewers tuned in, Biden said: We need to secure our border, and fix the immigration system the chaotic system he and Mayorkas created. Since Bidens speech, the border crisis has intensified, and will get worse in late May once Title 42 ends. A healthy part of the blame for the border mess lies with voters who always get the government they vote for. Bidens campaign commitments included halting illegal immigrant deportations for 100 days, ending the border wall construction and granting amnesty to unlawfully present aliens. Biden chose as his running mate Calif. Sen. Kamala Harris, whose Senate voting record was among the most liberal. Before being elected to the Senate, and speaking as Californias Attorney General, Harris said an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal. Since her appointment as faux border czar, Harris has shown that she, like her boss, can lie, too. Said Harris: While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we also because we can chew gum and walk at the same time must address root causes Identifying migrations root causes, Harris concluded, will end illegal immigration. But migrations root causes turned out to be the unprecedented, uninterrupted immigration lawbreaking of Biden and Harris. What happens between now and the November mid-term election, a date that might mark a turning point for enforcement, depends once again on voters. Democrats have at least four vulnerable open borders incumbents on the ballot in Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire and New Mexico, more than enough seats to flip the 50-50 deadlocked Upper Chamber, an important step in stabilizing the border invasion. At this historic low point in border enforcement, stabilization would represent a triumph. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate History isnt short of people to blame. You could say of the present world crisis that it was former president Barack Obamas fault for not getting tougher with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Syria. You could blame former president Donald Trump for giving Putin a sense of entitlement and for undermining NATO, seeing it as a financial play. You could blame former German chancellor Angela Merkel for encouraging Russian gas imports, shutting out the nuclear energy option. You could, of course, blame President Biden for explicitly telling Putin, and the world, what the United States wouldnt do if he invaded Ukraine. And you could blame Biden and NATO for dribbling vital military aid to Ukraine over the first devastating months of the Russian invasion. If you want to continue, you could blame the worlds military strategists for believing that Russia, after the fall of communism, had changed. You could, perhaps, blame NATO itself, for expanding its reach to the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Putin is unequivocally the one to blame. He is the one who wants to remake Russia in the image of the imperial tsars. It is a flawed scheme but a real one. As the world grapples with the reality of Putin, the past informs but it doesnt instruct. If NATO were to engage Russia with conventional forces, it would triumph. That is one lesson of Ukraine. Russian military forces are woefully inefficient, even incompetent. Would it were that simple. The beast in the room, the feared monster, the threat that hangs over the whole world is nuclear war. It is the clear-and-present danger. It shapes our handling of Russia and will shape our response to China, if and when it invades Taiwan. Nuclear war avoidance is again dominating the world in ways we had nearly forgotten. Will Russia a caged, fierce bear resort to nuclear, and how much nuclear to what effect against which targets? The United States and the Soviet Union reached a modus vivendi: mutual assured destruction (MAD), which kept the peace even as nuclear armaments proliferated and stockpiles grew exponentially. Is that still the option? Is MAD so long after the collapse of the Soviet Union still the underlying realpolitik, the restraining factor between nuclear powers? Does that mean that anyone with nuclear weapons can wage conventional warfare in the belief that they wont face NATO or any other serious restraining military action because they can unleash terrifying global destruction? Or is there, as some believe, the prospect of limited nuclear engagement, using area tactical nuclear weapons? This has never been tested. There hasnt been a limited nuclear ground war. Could it be contained? Should it be contemplated outside the deeper reaches of the defense establishment? But it is what keeps the leaders of Europe, the United States and Canada awake nights. If you favor limited nuclear war, just look to the effects of a nuclear disaster, Chernobyl, and start multiplying. It is the unthinkable scenario that must be thought about. It is the reality that holds back NATO and makes the West a spectator to the carnage in Ukraine. Russia isnt a rich country. It has a large, poorly trained and equipped military. But it bristles with nuclear weapons aimed at North American and European cities. Its ability to threaten us with nuclear horror changes the balance between nations: an indelible change to future foreign policy. In the short term, when contemplating the return of MAD in international relations, the question is: How mad as in insane is Putin, and how ready is Biden? The pieces on the world chess board have moved and they wont be moved back. The intelligentsia has yet to grasp the extent to which Ukraine has changed the world and made it a more dangerous place. They need to catch up fast. In 2016, Amor Towles set the world of literature afire with his best-selling novel "A Gentleman in Moscow." The book covers a rich character, an intriguing setting, and pokes fun at the absurdities of Bolshevism. Though the historical fiction begins 100 years ago, its not too far away from our current debate over critical race theory and math textbooks in Florida today. In the tale set in the new Soviet Union, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to be a former person by the Emergency Committee of the Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs on June 21, 1922. His punishment is to be placed under house arrest ... or rather hotel arrest, at the Hotel Metropol in Moscow, to live in a tiny attic apartment, with the threat of being shot should he exit the building. Of course, he has many adventures in his cosmopolitan lodgings, meeting fascinating people, and is always ready with a story, a simile, a clever style, or even some sarcasm at the situation. I shared it with my Victims of Communism colleagues. Towles could have dragged us through the well-worn pages of the bloody Russian Revolution, Stalins brutal purges, or other cruelties of the USSR. Instead, we are treated to seeing the Communists in all of the zealous pettiness impose a combination of control and revenge for perceived slights, or anything that would deviate from the ideology or besmirch Mother Russia. A writer friend of Rostovs is jailed for objecting to censorship of a line from an Anton Chekov letter because the playwright claimed he likes German bread better than its Russian variant. A banal waiter, insulted by Rostovs suggestion of a more appropriate wine to serve with Latvian stew, orders the workers spend 10 days removing labels from wine bottles in the cellar so no one will ever again be able to appreciate the difference from one particular white or red wine. An actress career is ruined because some bureaucrat thinks her close-up camera images reflect too much individualism and not enough respect for the common struggle of the proletariat. It's ironic that one of the closer analogies to such absurdities can be found in the state of Florida today, among politicians who purport to be anti-communist, and reserve the label Marxist for their critiques. The news is reporting that just under half of the math textbooks to be used in public schools have been rejected because they contain elements of critical race theory or social and emotional learning or even the boogeyman core curriculum, once designed by a bipartisan group, backed by businesses. As a college student who lived through both the wave of political correctness and the counterrevolution that sought to stamp it out (teaching me the perils of the concept making the opposite mistake) I was eager to see examples of how math had been co-opted by wokeness. Imagine my dismay when the leaders insisted it was all there, but refused to make the overwhelming evidence public, despite claiming the process was open and transparent, another irony for a location dubbed the Sunshine State. The states governor then defended the decision not to provide examples, claiming that the content is proprietary information. A representative from that office released an example from Missouri. Hopefully its more accurate than the viral but debunked claim that Missouri children would have to repeat the entire 2019-20 academic year due to COVID-19. Towles tale, and the Sunshine State story reveal what happens when any political ideology becomes orthodoxy to the point of irrationality. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail before were punished for either not being woke enough, or disciplined for being too woke. Page Content Twelve enthusiastic new customs officers of the Class of 2022 took their oath in the presence of Honorable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson at a symbolic ceremony held on Friday, April 22, at the Government Administration Building. This is the first group of cadets to complete their training course carried out by the customs department on the directives of Minister Richardson. Deputy Prime Minister Egbert Doran, Customs St. Maarten Management Team, Department Heads within the Ministry of Justice, Chief Prosecutor Hieke Buist, fellow colleagues, relatives, and friends of the cadets were present to witness the momentous occasion. The ceremony began with the cadets marching from Postal Services St. Maarten towards the entrance of the Government Administration Building where they were then inspected by Deputy Prime Minister Doran and Minister Richardson. Deputy Prime Minister Egbert Doran stated, I am very proud of the 12 cadets who have all dedicated their time to undergo training in pursuit of a law enforcement career. Our country needs and appreciates the contributions these newly sworn-in customs officers will make in protecting our borders. I encourage them to continue striving for excellence as they now serve as role models within our community. During the ceremony, Minister Richardson addressed the cadets expressing her profound gratitude for their decision to join the Justice Chain in the interest of safeguarding the country from harmful goods, drugs or weapons intended to enter the border. You have a challenging journey ahead which you have been duly prepared for. Challenges where your integrity and call for duty will be greatly tested. Nonetheless, I encourage you to never stop learning and to lean on each other and your management team during challenging times, as it is only a matter of working together that we become stronger in moving this country forward, stated Minister Richardson. Customs St. Maarten Management Team Member, Mr. Franklin Bernadina expressed that this was the first time the Customs Department had done its own recruitment, and organized and executed its own training from start to finish. He stated, We have had much help along the way. Minister Richardson stepped in and gave us the go-ahead to do the customs training in-house with a deadline set for March 2022 which was met. We were committed to succeed as we gave our word to the Minister and failure was not an option. After recounting the days of training experienced by the cadets, he encouraged the cadets to reflect on the words of the oath they would be taking and told them that if they abide by them, their integrity would never be questioned. During your journey as a customs officer, you will feel overwhelmed at times, things may not go as you would expect, but you must keep moving. Commit to achieving excellence in all that you do and never settle, Mr. Bernadina stated as he addressed the cadets. After the oath was read by Mr. Bernadina, the 12 cadets were presented with their certificates and thereafter sworn in as Customs Officers and civil servants within the Government of St. Maarten by Minister Richardson. I am more than elated that this is the first group of customs officers to have been part of a graduation ceremony that will be repeated for the next batch of cadets to undergo the customs training lasting six months. As such, I take this time to thank key persons who were instrumental in seeing this training through including Mr. Otto de Vries of Customs The Netherlands, Customs St. Maarten Management Team, Head of the St. Maarten Caribbean Coast Guard substation Mr. Roberto Levenstone, Chief of Police Carl John, Police Inspector Sharlon Cathalina, and the families of the newly sworn-in customs officers. Over the past two years, Customs St. Maarten has been strengthened with the addition of new vehicles, x-ray scanning equipment, and the procurement of software to collect much-needed data on the import and transport of goods. The department, now consisting of a total staff of 44 officers, including office personnel, will be embarking on delivering refresher courses throughout the year as needed to ensure that all customs officers remain up to date on their training. Official: Death toll in latest Darfur violence now over 200 CAIRO (AP) The death toll from weekend tribal clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudans western Darfur region has surpassed 200 people, a senior official said Tuesday. Khamis Abdalla Abkar, the provincial governor of West Darfur province, said Sundays fighting in the town of Kreinik also wounded at least 103 others. He said attackers overwhelmed a joint security force in the town, leading to its withdrawal. This is a crime, a crime against humanity, Abkar said in video comments, adding that the town was destroyed, including its government institutions. The fighting, some of the deadliest in the region in recent years, grew out of the killing of two Arab herdsmen on Thursday just outside Kreinik, 80 kilometers (around 50 miles) east of Genena, the provincial capital of West Darfur. Large numbers of Arab militias, known as janjaweed, then stormed the town early Sunday with heavy weapons in retaliation, he said. The violence eventually reached West Darfurs provincial capital of Genena on Sunday and the main hospital was attacked. Shooting took place inside the facility including its emergency department. One staffer was killed, and health care workers were evacuated, according to the Doctors Without Borders charity. Abkar, the provincial governor, also said that clashes on Thursday and Friday left eight dead and over two dozen wounded. Abkar said authorities have taken unprecedented security measures to protect civilians in West Darfur. The military, he said, deployed a brigade to the province joining a civilian protection force already stationed in Kreinik. Tensions between Arab and African Masalit communities in Kreinik date back to December when a property dispute at a local market triggered clashes that killed at least 88 people. The fighting has come at a critical time for Sudan, which has plunged into chaos since a military coup last year. The takeover upended the countrys transition to democracy after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. The clashes raise questions over whether military leaders are capable of bringing security to Darfur, which has been wracked by years of civil war. In 2020, the U.N. Security Council ended its peacekeeping mission there. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination. Al-Bashirs government was accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing the janjaweed on civilians a charge it denied. By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press Sri Lanka, China discusses loan from Beijing to cover debts View Photo COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lankas government said Tuesday it is discussing obtaining another loan from Beijing to repay some of its debt to Chinese banks after China told the nearly bankrupt island nation it was not in favor of restructuring existing loans. Sri Lanka has nearly $7 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year and will need to repay $ 25 billion over the next five years. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country l acks money to buy imported goods, leading to shortages of food, fuel and other essentials. The economic crisis has brought weeks of protests across the country calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksas resignation. Government spokesman Nalaka Godahewa said Beijing was balking at restructuring Sri Lankas debt because it does not want to set that precedent. He told reporters the finance ministry will announce details of discussions with China later. Earlier this month, the government said it was suspending repayment of foreign loans pending negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a loan restructuring plan. Sri Lankas debt problems are partly because it built infrastructure like a port, airport and road networks using Chinese loans, but the projects are not making money. Rajapaksa had asked Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Sri Lanka in January, to restructure those loans. The government issued its statement a day after Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said China was doing its utmost to help Sri Lanka. Qi scoffed at suggestions Beijing has Sri Lanka in a debt trap. Western developed countries, especially those who colonized Sri Lanka in history, should also come and help, a Tweet from the Chinese embassy quoted Qi as saying. The debt trap is only a myth, created and hyped by some foreign media and politicians intentionally, Qi said. He said China is neither the biggest nor the only lender to Sri Lanka and Beijings projects are provided on concessional terms. Japan, the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank are other large lenders, having begun the process of aiding Sri Lankas economy much earlier than China. Qi said it was unrealistic to expect all projects or loans to be flawless. Central Bank figures show existing Chinese loans to Sri Lanka total around $3.38 billion, not including loans to state-owned businesses, which are counted separately and thought to be substantial. Godahewa also said that the Cabinet has approved a project to offer residence visas for up to 10 years to foreigners who buy apartments in the country costing at least $75,000 and those who deposit more than $ 100,000 in local bank accounts. He said the offer was made to help the construction industry weather the economic crisis and to attract more foreign currency. By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press Kishida says Japan, South Korea should quickly improve ties View Photo TOKYO (AP) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida indicated his willingness Tuesday to mend badly strained ties with South Korea, saying relations between the two U.S. allies are crucial when the rules-based international order is threatened by Russias invasion of Ukraine. There is no time to waste in improving Japan-South Korea relations, Kishida said he told a delegation sent by South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol. Strategic cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and among Japan, the U.S. and South Korea, is more necessary than ever. The seven-member delegation sent by Yoon, who takes office on May 10, arrived in Tokyo on Sunday for policy talks with Japanese officials. Yoon has expressed his intention to improve the two countries ties, which have plunged to their lowest levels in years over disputes stemming from Japans actions during its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Their latest disputes were triggered by South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation for their abusive treatment of Korean forced laborers during World War II. Delegation head Chung Jin-suk told reporters after their meeting with Kishida that the two sides agreed to develop future-oriented relations for mutual benefit. Kishida told reporters he will carefully assess the discussions with the delegation and the position of South Koreas new administration. Japan continues to insist that all wartime compensation issues between the countries were settled under a 1965 treaty and has accused South Korea of breaching international law. The row also led to trade disputes and threatened their security cooperation with the United States amid concerns about Chinas growing military strength and influence and North Koreas nuclear and missile development. In order to restore Japan-South Korea relations to a healthy relationship based on Japans consistent position, I would like to communicate closely with the new administration under President-elect Yoon, Kishida said. Keeping a promise should be the foundation of the relationship between the countries. By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press Page Content The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten Hon. Silveria Jacobs delivered the keynote address at the Global Youth Summit on April 20, among others at the EarthX 2022 Conference held in Dallas, Texas. The prime ministers keynote address focused on the importance of the next generation leadership and island leaders aligning efforts to achieve transformative global change. The address was in line with the the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. It was signed by 154 states at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 1992. The address was made to a number of conference stakeholders including YOUNGO, the official children and youth constituency of the UNFCCC. YOUNGO is a global network of children and youth activists (up to 35 years) as well as youth Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), who contribute to shaping the intergovernmental climate change policies and strive to empower youth to formally bring their voices to the UNFCCC processes. In her keynote address, Prime Minister Jacobs thanked EarthX organizers and stakeholders for the invitation to address the meeting and pledged her continued support for youth agencies, underscoring the need to empower them and to facilitate their participation at the national level. As SIDS (Small Island Development States), given our limited capacity, opportunities to engage with stakeholders, ensures that the best solution, and not custom, is the basis of the decisions taken to achieve our shared global mission as leaders: improving quality of life for our people, Jacobs said in her address. In 2009, the UNFCCC secretariat extended constituency status to admitted youth NGOs YOUNGOs vision is to empower children and youth to take action and works to enhance their skills and capacity to drive the necessary and ambitious climate actions and policies at all levels towards a livable climate just future. YOUNGO representatives make official statements, provide technical and policy inputs to negotiations, and engage with decision-makers at the UN climate change conferences, and promote youth participation in climate change projects at local and national levels. In the beginning of Jacobs address, the prime minister reflected: I remember fondly growing up in the 1970s eating coal pot food. By this time, an eroding manner of daily food preparation, this custom was still practiced by older persons, who looked on with contempt at the new and modern electric stoves that began to fill many homes during this era. This custom involved a coal-filled cast-iron pot or skillet used to prepare traditional foods such as johnny cakes, the fluffy golden-coloured circular shaped breads, that we ate with steamed fish, and conchies a corn-based banana-wrapped pie...just some of the many delicacies that peppered our pallets on the sun drenched and slow-paced life on the Caribbean Island of Sint Maarten. Coal has been the historic and most prevalent energy source for many countries, powering our factories, moving our ships, or, as my recollection demonstrated, the means to nourish families. As my story also demonstrated, change is often hard as it accompanies a reflective, often existential review of ones habits and the impact they may negatively have not only on ourselves but on our environment as well. The scientific community had begun to realize that despite its reliability and relative abundance, coals negative impact on the environment was concerning and its continued use, particularly in large industrial amounts, contributed to an increase in greenhouse gases. Despite the elders relative contempt for the new, it must be stated that their individual subsistence-based use of coal had a very negligible impact on global greenhouse gas. But, if we scale-up these individual points of views to a community, city, national, or even global level, we quickly see how custom or tradition, often combined with economic or financial limitations, makes bringing about change a challenge. As an educator by profession, I have long been captivated by the youths willingness to peel back the layers to examine, critique and question norms. This is their strength! Often unhindered by tradition and full of optimism, this willingness to dissect combined with fresh ideas means youth are often well-equipped to address the everchanging and multidimensional issues that form our common agenda. Jacobs added that, If I as an island leader only embraced the ideas and strategies of the older generation, I would be guided by ideas and strategies anachronistic and unable to address future needs, very much like the elder in my opening story who was unable to adopt to shifting energy infrastructures. If we as island leaders dont facilitate the participation of the next generation, we will only undermine our development and limit our scope to bring about sustainable development and real change at the global level. In this regard, very much like how the (Sint Maarten) Youth Parliament, among others, remains a stakeholder with which Government consults, the work of YOUNGO, as a constituency of UNFCCC, is vital in bringing about policies that transform the structures necessary to meet the challenges of tomorrow. I am encouraged by the great work that this organization does and commend UNFCCC for recognizing the important role that youth have in climate-related discussions. The prime minister was happy to engage with the youth at the summit and sees the opportunity for youth representatives of Sint Maarten to be at EarthX 2023 as well as other international youth forums where the country will then have a voice. GROUP PHOTO: Prime Minister Hon. Silveria Jacobs in this group photo with a number of young people and mentors with whom she participated in the reciprocity circle after making her address at the Global Youth Summit. Live updates | Russia-Ukraine War View Photo POKROVSK, Ukraine As Russian forces intensify their shelling of eastern Ukraine, more people are leaving their homes in search of safety. In Pokrovsk, a town in the Donetsk region, people lined up Tuesday to board a train headed to the far west of the country along the border with Hungary and Slovakia. One person was lifted onto the train in a wheelchair, another on a stretcher. The passengers took with them cats, dogs, a few bags and boxes, and the memory of those who did not flee in time. We were in the basement, but my daughter didnt make it and was hit with shrapnel on the doorstep during shelling on Monday, said Mykola Kharchenko, 74. We had to bury her in the garden near the pear tree. He said his village, Vremivka, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Pokrovsk, was under heavy fire for four days and everything was destroyed. With tears in his eyes, Kharchenko said he somehow held himself together at home, but once he reached the train station he fell apart. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Nuclear chief: Russias Chernobyl seizure risked accident Poland, Bulgaria say Russia suspending natural gas supplies Putin gets what he didnt want: Ukraine army closer to West Top Russian diplomat warns Ukraine against provoking WWIII Frances victorious Macron boosts weapons, stakes in Ukraine Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra organized by Met, Polish operas Follow all AP stories on Russias war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be involved in the evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in Ukraines southeastern city of Mariupol. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that during their one-on-one meeting Tuesday, Guterres and Putin discussed the proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, namely in relation to the situation in Mariupol. The sprawling Azovstal steel plant has been almost completely destroyed by Russian attacks but it is the last pocket of organized Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. An estimated 2,000 troops and 1,000 civilians are said to be holed up in bunkers underneath the wrecked structure. Dujarric said that following the Guterres-Putin agreement in principle, discussions will be held with the U.N. humanitarian office and the Russian Defense Ministry on the evacuation. __ WASHINGTON The State Department says U.S. diplomats have begun returning to Ukraine by making day trips to temporary offices in the western city of Lviv from neighboring Poland. The department said the first group of diplomats crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border and traveled to Lviv on Tuesday morning before returning to Poland later in the day. The step came just two days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Ukrainian leaders during a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv that the U.S. would start restaffing its diplomatic facilities in Ukraine this week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agency has accelerated its review of re-opening the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, which was closed shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. He said operations at the embassy would resume as soon as possible depending on the security situation in the capital. ___ UNITED NATIONS The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned about reports of new security incidents in a Russian-backed separatist region of Moldova and urges all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions that could escalate tensions. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Tuesday that Guterres has called for efforts to lower tensions throughout Trans-Dniester. Explosions rocked the region for the second day in a row, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Ukraine all but blamed Russia. Russian speakers of the strip of land with about 470,000 people between Moldova and Ukraine nominally seceded from Moldova in 1990, one year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fearing the country might shortly merge with Romania, whose language and culture it broadly shares. The separatist region fought a brief war with Moldova in 1992 and declared itself an independent state, though it remains unrecognized by any country, including Russia which bases about 1,500 troops there, calling them peacekeepers. Concerns are high that those forces could be used to invade Ukraine from the west. Haq said the U.N. continues to fully support efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to reach a political settlement of the Trans-Dniester conflict in the so-called 5+2 process which comprises Trans-Dniester, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE with the United States and the European Union as observers. The aim is to strengthen Moldovas independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, with a special status for Trans-Dniester. __ BERLIN Germanys vice chancellor says his country has come very, very close to independence from Russian oil and an embargo on deliveries would now be manageable. Germany, which has Europes biggest economy, has said so far that it aims to end Russian oil imports by the end of this year. Speaking Tuesday during a visit to Poland, Economy Minister Robert Habeck who is also the vice chancellor and responsible for energy said that his country has cut Russias share of its oil supply from 35% before the war in Ukraine to about 12%. Habeck said the situation is such that an embargo has become manageable for Germany. He added that the problem that just a few weeks ago seemed very big for Germany has become significantly smaller so that independence from Russian oil imports has come very, very close. Russian gas imports, however, are a bigger issue for Germany. Berlin has said that it will need longer to do without gas supplies from Russia. ___ LONDON Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain does not want war to escalate beyond Ukraines borders, and rejected an allegation by Moscow that the West is fighting a proxy conflict with Russia. But Johnson said Ukrainians are being attacked from within Russian territory and have a right to protect and defend themselves by striking inside Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused NATO of pouring oil on the fire with its support for Ukraine, and said the risk of World War III should not be underestimated. Russia has singled Britain out for criticism after a U.K. government minister said it was legitimate for Ukraine to hit fuel depots in Russia with U.K.-supplied weapons. In an interview with British station Talk TV, Johnson said its very, very important that we dont accept the way that the Russians are trying to frame what is happening in Ukraine. He said: They are trying to frame this as a conflict between Russia and the West, or Russia and NATO. Thats not what is going on. ___ BRATISLAVA, Slovakia Slovakias President Zuzana Caputova released a video addressing the invading Russian soldiers, their commanders and all whom it may concern, urging them to stop the war in Ukraine. In the three-minute video in Russian with the subtitles in Slovak, Caputova condemned war crimes against women, children and civilians. You justify your invasion by talking about liberation, Caputova told them. How were you intending to liberate Tatiana from Irpin, killed by a Russian grenade together with her two children? Or Olena from Hostomel, raped by one of you in a car? she asked. Referring to testimonies of women who have survived, Caputova says they find that words are not enough when they try to describe the pain you have made a part of their lives simply because Well, why even? None of us knows Do you? She says with each passing day, you are only increasing the army of wounded souls and bodies of women, children and innocent people. If you still feel any leftover of humanity in you, bring it to life and end this horrible war. ___ MOSCOW Russias President Vladimir Putin says Moscow still hopes to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Ukraine, even as the fighting has continued. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting Tuesday with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Putin noted that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made what he described as a serious breakthrough in their talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month. He claimed, however, that the Ukrainian side later walked back on some of the tentative agreements reached in Istanbul. In particular, Putin said Ukrainian negotiators have changed their position on the issue of the status of Crimea and separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, offering to leave it for the countries presidents to discuss. Putin charged that the shift in the Ukrainian stand makes it hard to negotiate a future deal. Ukrainian officials have been evasive about the details of talks and the Russian claims of Ukraine walking back from its earlier proposals. Putin has demanded that Ukraine recognize Russias sovereignty over Crimea and recognize independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as part of a future agreement on ending the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that those issues could only be decided by a future nationwide vote. During Tuesdays Kremlin meeting, Guterres criticized Russias military action in Ukraine as a flagrant violation of its neighbors territorial integrity. He also urged Russia to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped at a giant steel mill in Mariupol surrounded by the Russian forces. Putin responded by claiming that the Russian forces have offered humanitarian corridors to civilians holed up at the Azovstal steel plant, charging that the Ukrainian defenders of the plant were using civilians as shields and not allowing them to leave. ___ KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern about the tensions in a Moscow-backed separatist region of Moldova. The ministry noted that an attack on an administrative building in Tiraspol, the center of the separatist Trans-Dniester province of Moldova, along with explosions that hit broadcast antennas and other facilities in the region follow a Russian officers statement about Moscows intention to fully take control of Ukraines south and build a land corridor to Trans-Dniester. It said in a Tuesday statement that Ukraine resolutely supports Moldovas territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and condemn attempts to draw the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova into the full-fledged war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and call for deescalating tensions. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land with about 470,000 people, has been under the control of separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops in the breakaway region, nominally as peacekeepers. ___ WARSAW, Poland The Polish climate minister gave assurances on Tuesday that the country has plenty of natural gas on reserve, following reports that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland. Anna Moskwa, minister for climate and environment, tweeted: Poland has the necessary gas reserves and sources of supply that protect our security we have been effectively independent from Russia for years. Our warehouses are 76% full. There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes. Her tweet followed reports by the Onet news portal that Russia has suspended gas supplies to Poland under the Yamal contract. Onet reported that a crisis team had gathered at the Ministry of Climate to deal with the matter. Onet said, citing unnamed sources, that Russia had insisted on a Friday deadline for payment in rubles and that Poland has said it would not pay in rubles. Poland has been working to wean itself off of Russian energy sources and was due to end its reliance on Russian gas this year. ___ RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the war in Ukraine has already weakened Russias military capability. Austin said after meeting allies and partners at the United States Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday that, since Russia began the invasion, its land forces have sustained pretty substantial casualties, as well as lost a lot of equipment and used a lot of precision-guided munitions. He said that they are, in fact, in terms of military capability, weaker than when they started, and itll be harder for them to replace some of this capability as they go forward because of the sanctions and the trade restrictions that have been placed on them. Austin reiterated that we would like to make sure, again, that they dont have the same type of capability to bully their neighbors that we saw at the outset of this conflict. He criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs warning that the threat of a nuclear conflict should not be underestimated. Austin said that its unhelpful and dangerous to rattle sabers and speculate about the use of nuclear weapons. ___ MOSCOW A senior Kremlin official says that Ukraine may split into several parts. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said in remarks published Tuesday that the policies of the West and the Kyiv regime controlled by it would only be the breakup of Ukraine into several states. The statement comes as Russia says it has focused on expanding control over Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian troops there since 2014 when conflict erupted following Russias annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. Moscow launched military action in Ukraine on Feb. 24, days after recognizing the separatist regions independence. Last week, a senior Russian military officer said that along with taking control over Donbas, Russia also wants to overtake southern Ukraine, saying such a move would also open a land corridor between Russia and the separatist Trans-Dniester region of Moldova. ___ MADRID Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said Tuesday he was very worried by the explosions this week in the separatist region of Trans-Dniester, adding that they reminded him too much of occurrences in the Donbas region immediately prior to Russias invasion of Ukraine late February. I remember before Feb. 21, there have been some series of false-flag operations in Donbas region, so called people republics, that were used as the pretext by Russia to recognize and then to sign the so-called friendship and assistance treaties and then to start the military operation, Rinkevics told reporters in Madrid. Im very worried about the current trend in Trans-Dniester because that resembles a little bit that pattern that we have seen, he added. Police in Trans-Dniester say two explosions Tuesday in a radio facility close to the Ukrainian border knocked two antennas out of service. On Monday, several explosions were reported to have hit the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, the regions capital. Trans-Dniester, a strip of land in Moldova, has been under the control of separatists since a 1992 war with Moldova. Russia bases about 1,500 troops there. The United States has warned that Russia could launch false-flag attacks in nearby nations as a pretext for sending in troops to those nations. Rinkevics was in Madrid to meet his Spanish counterpart and discuss the Ukraine war and the upcoming NATO summit in the Spanish capital. ___ The Russian military has warned it could strike Ukrainian decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital and said wouldnt be stopped by the possible presence of Western advisers there. The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused the U.K. of making statements encouraging Ukraine to use Western weapons to carry out strikes on the Russian territory, warning that if it happens the Russian military could retaliate by hitting government structures in Kyiv. It directly pointed at U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, who told Times Radio that it was not necessarily a problem if Ukraine British-donated weapons were used to hit sites on Russian soil. The ministry said in a statement that the Russian armed forces are ready to deal retaliatory strikes with long-range precision guided weapons on Kyiv centers that would make such decisions. It noted that the presence of citizens of one of Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centers wont necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action. The Russian military so far has avoided striking presidential, government and military headquarters in Kyiv during its campaign in Ukraine that has entered a third month. ___ WASHINGTON Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging Congress to fully fund the Biden administrations proposed budget for the State Department, telling lawmakers the spending is critical to ensuring that the war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for Russia and a message to other countries that might invade their neighbors. Blinken said his weekend visit to Kyiv with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had left him with the indelible impression that Ukraine is winning, particularly in the capital. It was right in front of us: the Ukrainians have won the battle for Kyiv, he said. Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that the U.S.-led global response to Russias invasion had underscored the power and purpose of American diplomacy. He said the $60.4 billion budget proposal for the next fiscal year was needed to continue to rally partners and allies in the cause. We will, we have to continue to drive that diplomacy forward to seize what I believe are the strategic opportunities and address risks presented by Russias overreach, as countries reconsider their policies, priorities, their relationships, Blinken said. The budget request before you predated this crisis, but fully funding it is critical in my judgment to ensuring Russias war in Ukraine is a strategic failure for the Kremlin and serves as a powerful lesson to those who might consider following its path. Blinken did not name other nations that might be considering following Russias lead but his comment was seen as a veiled reference to China, which has sided with Russia in the Ukraine conflict and has made no secret of its desire to re-unify the island of Taiwan with the mainland. ___ CHERNOBYL, Ukraine The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency says it was possible that an accident could have occurred when Russian troops seized control of the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster during the war in Ukraine. Speaking on a visit to the former nuclear power plant Tuesday on the 36th anniversary of the meltdown, Rafael Mariano Grossi said the situation in 1986 was completely different. In this case, what we had was a nuclear safety situation which was not normal, and could have developed into an accident. Russian troops moved into the radiation-contaminated Chernobyl exclusion zone in February on their way toward the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and withdrew late last month as Russia switched its focus to fighting in eastern Ukraine. The site is now back in Ukrainian hands and communications which were disrupted have been restored. Russian forces continue to hold a working nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia plant, where there was fighting nearby in early March which damaged the plants training facility. Clearly, the physical integrity of one nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, was compromised, we also had situations where the external power was interrupted including here (Chernobyl) so there were a number of events that were compromising the normal operations of any nuclear power facility, Grossi said. Those were avoided but of course, as I was saying, the situation was not stable and we have to stay on alert. ___ By The Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) Police in North Macedonia say a patrol discovered 18 migrants in the south of the country and arrested the driver after a brief chase. A police statement released Monday said the 18 migrants, 14 Syrians and 4 Pakistanis were discovered late Sunday as they disembarked from a car with Bulgarian license plates not far from the border with Greece. The driver, a 27-year-old North Macedonian identified only by his initials, D.A., attempted to flee but was arrested after a short chase. The migrants were transferred to a shelter in the border town of Gevgelija, pending deportation to Greece. Police say the Balkan route for migrants, from Greece through North Macedonia and Serbia to European Union countries, has become active again in the past few weeks after many Balkan countries lifted COVID-19 travel restrictions. ___ Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration. Sonora, CA Golden State Natural Resources(GSNR) announced a project in 2020 that would take in biomass, produce wood pellets, and ship the product overseas, it was covered in a story that is detailed here. GSNR is launching a broad outreach plan to help educate the public about its proposed projects, which include the development of two excess forest vegetation processing facilities in Lassen and Tuolumne Counties. A community meeting is scheduled for May to meet with local residents about the proposed projects. This open house style meeting goals are to engage and educate about economic and ecological benefits as well as discussing the short term impacts of the project.The meeting will include a formal presentation, a Q&A, followed by light snacks and refreshments. The meeting will be taking place at Rocca Park(18226 Main Street, Jamestown) on Monday, May 9th at 6:30pm. Sonora, CA Adventist Health Sonora announced that Stephanie Stuart, MD will be assuming the role of Chief Medical Officer, effective May 1st. Dr.Stuart is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and has served in the Adventist Health Sonora Emergency Department since 2011. She has a background of leadership including the position of Chief of Staff for the Adventist Health Sonora Medical Executive Committee from 2020 through 2021. Dr.Stuart has also served as President/CEO of Sierra Emergency Medical Group, a physician group that employs 21 physicians and providers. Adventist Health Sonora President Michelle Fuentes explains. Dr. Stuart is a talented physician and has been an incredible member of our team over the last eleven years, I am looking forward to her leadership in this role. Dr.Stuarts duties will entail providing leadership and direction for all medical activities at Adventist Health Sonora. Additionally she will be responsible for clinical development, regulatory accreditation and medical support. She explained her feelings on the upcoming position I am honored continue serving our community in this new role, and I look forward to seeing how I can strengthen the quality of care for our patients as an administrator. Dr.Stuart completed residency training at Baylor Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, and earned her medical degrees from John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She was born in Sonora and is currently raising two children with her husband while enjoying paddle boarding, hiking, and distance running. Calaveras County Sheriff Department building logo View Photo Mountain Ranch, CA A citizen spotted suspicious activity in Mountain Ranch and called in a report to the Calaveras County Sheriffs Office. A burglary was in progress just after midnight yesterday at the Senders Market. The business is both a grocery market and a hardware store. Deputies responded and heard a noise coming from the back, and then spotted a hole cut in the fence leading to the lumber storage area. David Corsaro, 34, of Lathrop, was located and arrested. He initially tried to give deputies a false name. He was already on probation out of San Joaquin County and had a warrant for his arrest out of Mariposa County. Stolen wire spools from the business were located in his nearby vehicle. He was arrested on charges of burglary, possession of the stolen property and giving false identification to a police officer. His bail was set at $25,000. Sheriffs Office spokesperson, Lt. Greg Stark, reports, The Calaveras County Sheriffs Office would like to thank the citizen who called 911 to report their observations that eventually led to an arrest for burglary. Their quick thinking and actions presented the deputies with the best opportunity to apprehend the suspect and return the stolen property to the rightful owners. Citizens are the eyes and ears of the community. If you see something that you believe is related to a crime, please, immediately call the Sheriffs Office. Israeli parliament sanctions critic of PM Bennett, his party View Photo JERUSALEM (AP) An Israeli parliamentary committee has sanctioned a breakaway member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts party, handing a small political victory to the Israeli leader as he seeks to stabilize his fragile government and deter any other rebel lawmakers. The Knesset committee voted 7-0 on Monday to declare Amichai Chikli a defector, a status that bars him from joining a rival party in the current parliament in the countrys next election. Bennett had requested the vote. Chikli broke away from Bennetts Yamina party when the coalition was formed last year, accusing Bennett of betraying the partys hard-line ideology. He has been seen as a potential candidate for the opposition Likud party in the future. Mondays vote by the House Committee bars Chikli from joining Likud or any other party in parliament when the country next heads to elections. He also is barred from serving as a Cabinet minister or deputy minister in the current parliament. Chikli vowed to challenge the decision in court. Bennetts move was seen as a warning to Idit Silman, who resigned from Bennetts small Yamina party earlier this month and is also seen as a potential member of Likud in the future. Other members of Yamina also have expressed misgivings over the coalition, a patchwork of eight parties spanning the political spectrum. The agreement has forced all parties, including Yamina, a hard-line nationalist party, to compromise on some of their core ideological positions. Silmans exit deprived the coalition of its ruling majority, less than a year after it was sworn in. The eight-party alliance, made up of ultranationalists, dovish parties and a small Islamist faction, is now deadlocked with the opposition with 60 seats each in the 120-member Knesset. That has greatly complicated the governments ability to pass legislation and raised the risk of plunging the country into snap elections. Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli, Israels transportation minister, said Monday that all party chiefs are working together to keep the government intact. Local media reported that Chikli may form new party, though it is unclear whether he has enough popular support to get into parliament. Bennetts unwieldy coalition also faces other challenges. Ongoing unrest surrounding a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, has prompted the small Islamist party Raam the first Arab party to serve in an Israeli coalition to temporarily suspend its participation in protest. By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Biden endorses moderate incumbent in Oregon House race View Photo SALEM, Ore. (AP) President Joe Biden is endorsing incumbent Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader for Oregons 5th Congressional District. The endorsement was the presidents first this year. Schrader is a moderate who has voted against some of Bidens priorities in the past, including a money-saving plan to let Medicare negotiate the price it pays for prescription drugs. We dont always agree, but when it has mattered most, Kurt has been there for me, Biden said in a statement Saturday. Schrader is running against Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the recently redrawn 5th District in the May 17 primary. Hes seeking an eighth term. McLeod-Skinner has the backing of many progressives. Schrader has faced mounting criticism from progressive Democrats, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. A year ago, he was one of only two members of his party to vote against a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill because, among several reasons, he did not support including an increase to the minimum wage. Oregons 5th District is in the northwest part of the state and includes coastal communities and the state capital, Salem. A Biden adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said to expect to see more endorsements from the president moving forward. The adviser said Biden evaluates each race and request as it comes in. Biden wont be endorsing in open primaries, as has been his longstanding position. ___ Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report from Washington. VIDALIA, La. (AP) An Australian companys Louisiana subsidiary can get up to $107 million in U.S. Department of Energy loans to expand a plant that produces materials for electric car batteries the department said Monday. The loan to Syrah Technologies LLC would be the Biden administrations second clean energy loan. The money is expected to enable the plant to produce enough graphite-based active anode material for about 2.5 million electric vehicles by 2040, saving an estimated 970 million gallons of gasoline, according to a department blog post. It would reactivate a program last used more than a decade ago during the Obama administration to lend money to auto makers and would be the programs first use for a supply chain project, the department said. It said previous Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loans went to Ford, Nissan and Tesla. Importantly, this project also provides a socially and environmentally responsible U.S. supply chain for graphite, the Energy Department said. Syrahs plant is in Vidalia, a city of 4,000 on the Mississippi River about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Baton Rouge. It uses graphite from Syrahs huge mine in Mozambique. Tesla signed a contract in December 2021 with Syrah Resources of Melbourne, Australia, and Syrah Technologies announced plans for a $177,000 expansion in Vidalia two months later. Gov. John Bel Edwards office said Syrah would add 36 jobs to the 19 employees it had at the time. The federal loan will create 98 permanent and 150 construction jobs, the Energy Department said. Several steps remain, and certain conditions must be satisfied before the Department issues a final loan, the blog post said. It did not say what those are. Jury convicts 1 prison guard in inmate deaths, hung on 2nd View Photo SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) Jurors on Monday convicted an Illinois Department of Corrections officer for violating the civil rights of an inmate brutally beaten at a western Illinois prison in 2018, but could not reach a verdict against a superior. Alex Banta, 30, of Quincy, was convicted after a four-week trial in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to deprive civil rights, deprivation of civil rights, obstruction of an investigation, falsification of documents and misleading conduct. Banta faces up to life in prison because jurors also indicated Monday that in finding him guilty of the civil rights and conspiracy charges, those crimes led to the death of 65-year-old inmate Larry Earvin. Members of the eight-man, four-woman jury, while unanimous on Bantas culpability, were split 9-3 on the involvement of co-defendant Lt. Todd Sheffler. The May 17, 2018 beating of inmate Earvin at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Quincy, 250 miles (400 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, resulted in 15 broken ribs and abdominal injuries so severe a portion of his bowel was surgically removed. He died June 26. Earvin allegedly refused to return to his cell in the housing unit known as R-1 and a disturbance there summoned dozens of officers for an escort to the segregation unit. Testimony indicated he was kicked and handled roughly in R-1, the government contends the debilitating and eventually fatal injuries were the result of kicking, punching, stomping and jumping on a prone Earvin in the segregation units vestibule, where there are no cameras. Banta was with Earvin for the bulk of the incident. Sheffler, 53, of Mendon, was not in R-1, but joined the escort along the way to segregation. According to jurors Kevin Sullivan, 59, of Springfield, and Roberta Clifton, 65, of Havana, three members of the eight-man, four-woman jury believed parts of the defense position that Earvin was injured in R-1. They came to the position that Mr. Banta was alongside Mr. Earvin in the escort from beginning to end, while Mr. Sheffler joined midway. But he had to know something had happened. He had to be part of the coverup. Those who were on the fence were on the fence because they didnt think the assault happened in (segregation), Sullivan said. The holdouts did not believe evidence proved additional beating in the segregation units blind spot because the bulk of the testimony about it came from Corrections employees who admitted initially lying to the Illinois State Police or FBI. They included Sgt. Willie Hedden, 43, of Mount Sterling, charged along with Sheffler and Banta but who pleaded guilty and testified for the government in hopes of sentencing leniency. Clifton and Sullivan said they didnt resent the holdouts because, in Cliftons words, Theyre trying to make sure they can sleep at night, too. But Sullivan said, Im frustrated. I dont feel like we finished the job. ___ Follow Political Writer John OConnor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor By JOHN OCONNOR AP Political Writer Forest areas expand and ecological resources improve in China: authority (Global Times) 14:44, April 26, 2022 Magnificent sea of cloud scenery appears in Bayanbulak Grassland - China's largest subalpine meadow steppe - in Hejing County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 2, 2021.(Photo/ China News Service) Forest areas in China are growing steadily and the quality of ecological spaces in the country is also improving, it was reported on Tuesday by the National Forest and Grassland Administration. Carbon sinks in China have also steadily improved, according to the administration. The administration held a meeting on Monday to review their work in 2021 in monitoring and evaluating the national ecological space. Officials attending the meeting said that, in 2021, they dispatched about 17,000 personnel to 31 provinces and autonomous regions so as to finish monitoring 457,000 sample areas and about 470 million remote detection spots. In that year, the administration for the first time had realized full coverage of forest, grassland and wetland monitoring in the country. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Page Content Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Minister Hon. Roger Lawrence says St. Maarten has reason to be optimistic, as airport passenger arrival numbers for the first quarter of 2022 outperform numbers in 2021 by 209 per cent. He says the numbers are almost equal to those recorded in 2019 before the pandemic resulted in the global collapse of economies. "Based on present numbers, we are cautiously optimistic about this year's visitor arrivals, especially considering that we have been able to add Carnival to our list of activities for 2022. It is also evident that hosting this year's prior festivals contributed to our arrival numbers," said Minister Lawrence. In the first quarter of 2021, airport passenger arrival numbers were a mere 62,865, while in that same period for the previous year (2019), the arrival numbers were 195,064. "The airport passenger arrival numbers for the first quarter are much closer to the numbers of visitors we saw pre-COVID-19," said Lawrence. According to the Economic Indicators report from the Ministry of TEATT "PJIA reached 194,516 passenger arrival for the first quarter and is on pace to achieve 90 per cent of its 2019 pre-COVID total arrivals of 716,569." Statistics also show that the Cruise tourism numbers are on an upward trajectory, with this year's first-quarter numbers standing strong at 291,497. The upcoming Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami April 25th will be St. Maartens opportunity to meet cruise lines anew and discuss the destinations performance for this first season since the restart of the industry in June 2021. According to Minister Lawrence, the yachting industry also has positive news. The arrival numbers for Mega Yachts have continued to increase steadily since the island re-opened post-hurricane Irma in 2017. The Minister said thanks to the combined efforts of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism to control the spread of COVID-19 and ultimately bring our island's number of cases to a manageable level; we were able to relax some of the COVID restrictions and thus fully reopen as of March 16th, 2022. The launch of the We are Open promotional campaign along with the new COVID regulations have given visitors more confidence to travel to St. Maarten because they feel confident that we can adequately manage their safety should they choose us as their destination for vacation and leisure. "The tourism industry is not without competition, regionally and internationally. With more countries following St. Maarten's lead and relaxing regulations for COVID-19, travellers will have even more options for vacation. We have to continue to take all necessary precautions so that the economic activities we presently enjoy can continue to increase for the benefit of the island," said Lawrence. Lawrence also commended the island's tourism industry workers and called them "dedicated ambassadors for St. Maarten." He said their continued dedication and the support from other Public and Private Sector partners in the Tourism Industry is responsible for "much of this year's success. We should all be proud as the new numbers could not have been achieved without the collective continued dedication to destination St. Maarten over the past few years, " said Lawrence. It is also clear that the support from our Local and International Partners in both the Maritime and Air travel Industry has not waivered. These partners continue to remain committed to St. Maarten as they believe in our tourism product as we do, said Lawrence. South Dakota Senate approves 2-day impeachment trial for AG View Photo SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) The South Dakota Senate on Tuesday approved the rules for an impeachment trial of the states attorney general for his conduct surrounding a 2020 fatal car crash, laying out a two-day proceeding in June that gives just hours to either side to argue their case. Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, a Republican, was impeached by the House this month over the crash in which he killed a pedestrian but initially said he may have struck a deer or other large animal. The Senate trial, which will decide whether he is guilty of the House impeachment charges, is historic since Ravnsborg is the first official to be impeached in South Dakota. The trials rules received unanimous approval in the Republican-controlled Senate. They give both the impeachment prosecutors and Ravnsborgs defense attorney one hour for an opening statement, four hours to present evidence and one hour to close their arguments. Senators may take additional time to ask additional questions, debate the articles of impeachment and hear directly from Ravnsborg if he chooses to testify. The trial starts June 21. These rules were designed to be a very simple and fair process, said Republican Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, who presides over the Senate. He added that the files used in the impeachment investigation will be posted online and he expects senators to review those before the trial. The Senate has appointed Pennington County States Attorney Mark Vargo as the lead impeachment prosecutor. He assisted in the criminal prosecution but left the prosecutorial team before the local states attorney charged Ravnsborg with three traffic misdemeanors. Ravnsborg has hired Sioux Falls attorney Mike Butler to present his defense, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported. Ravnsborg last year pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in exchange for the third being dropped by prosecutors. The 45-year-old Republican, who took office in 2019, was returning home from a Republican dinner in September 2020 when he struck and killed Joseph Boever, who was walking along a rural highway. A sheriff who responded after Ravnsborg called 911 initially reported it as a collision with an animal. Ravnsborg has said he did not realize he hit a man until he returned the next day and found the body. Ravnsborg is facing two articles of impeachment: one for committing crimes that caused someones death and the other for making numerous misrepresentations to law enforcement officers after the crash, as well as using his office to navigate the criminal investigation. The Senate will vote on each impeachment article, as well as a separate vote on barring him from holding future office in the state. It will take a two-thirds majority to convict Ravnsborg and bar him from holding future office. The attorney general has stayed mostly silent during the political and legal aftermath of the crash. He did not answer an invitation to appear before a House impeachment investigation committee and did not appear at any of the criminal court hearings. After his impeachment, Ravnsborg said he is looking forward to the Senate trial as a chance to be vindicated. His attorney and spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday on the Senate rules and whether he will testify at the trial. Ravnsborg has faced numerous calls to resign from within his own party, most prominently from Gov. Kristi Noem. But so far, he has refused, although the state constitution requires him to take a leave of absence from his official duties until the Senate trial concludes. Schoenbeck said that even if Ravnsborg were to resign before the trial, he believes the Senate will still act on the House impeachment charges and vote on barring Ravnsborg from holding future office. The South Dakota Republican Partys state convention, where the partys nominee will be selected, starts the day after the impeachment trial is set to conclude. By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press Rich trio back on Earth after charter trip to space station View Photo CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Three rich businessmen returned from the International Space Station with their astronaut escort Monday, wrapping up a pricey trip that marked NASAs debut as a B&B host. Flying back in a SpaceX capsule, they splashed down in the Atlantic off the Florida coast to close out a 17-day tour that cost them $55 million apiece. The trip was supposed to last a little over a week, but dicey weather kept the visitors in orbit almost twice as long as intended. Welcome back to planet Earth, radioed SpaceX Mission Control from Southern California. We hope you enjoyed the extra few days in space. Amazing mission, said real estate tycoon Larry Connor. Before departing the space station Sunday night, the group thanked their seven hosts, including three NASA astronauts whose own mission is nearing an end. It was the first time NASA opened its space hatches to tourists after shunning the practice perfected over the decades by Russia. Last fall, a Russian film crew flew up, followed by a Japanese fashion mogul and his assistant. In each case, an active-duty cosmonaut traveled with them. The latest guests were accompanied by a former NASA astronaut now working for Axiom Space, the Houston company in charge of the flight, making it the first fully private trip to the space station. After hosting longer than expected, NASA was itching to make room for the next crew. SpaceX will attempt to launch three NASA astronauts and one Italian to the space station as soon as Wednesday. Theyll replace the three Americans and a German up there since November who will head back to Earth in their own SpaceX capsule. The pace is blazingly fast by NASA standards. SpaceXs Benji Reed said the company launched its first passengers a pair of NASA test pilots two years ago and just completed its first private flight to the space station using the same capsule. Axiom handled the logistics for the trip for its three paying customers: Connor from Dayton, Ohio; Canadian private equity CEO Mark Pathy; and Israeli investor Eytan Stibbe of Tel Aviv. Their chaperone was Michael Lopez-Alegria, an Axiom vice president who flew to space four times while a NASA astronaut. It was an amazing adventure that weve had, even longer and more exciting than we thought, Lopez-Alegria said after departing the space station. Axiom teamed up with SpaceX for the journey that began with an April 8 liftoff from NASAs Kennedy Space Center. It was SpaceXs second private flight, coming just months after a billionaires orbital jaunt with contest winners. While in space, the visitors did experiments and peered back at Earth. Its been eye-opening in so many ways, Pathy said, that I think will have such a lasting impact on my life. The experience was especially personal for Stibbe. He served as a fighter pilot under Ilan Ramon, Israels first astronaut who died aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003. Stibbe flew copies of the surviving pages of Ramons space diary, as well as artwork and music created by Ramons children. He celebrated Passover with matzah bread he took up and gefilte fish offered by the stations Russians. Axioms second flight is set for next spring as the company looks ahead to having its own space station by 2030. There were a lot of eyes on this mission just to see if it was practical, Derek Hassmann, Axioms operations director, said after the splashdown. Everybody understood it was possible, but wondered if amateurs could pull this off with abbreviated training, without disturbing the space station crew. I think we proved we could do that, Hassmann said. ___ 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. By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer BOSTON (AP) A California mans online threats of violence against dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster Inc. over updated gender definitions have landed him in a Massachusetts federal court. Merriam-Webster closed its main office in Springfield, Massachusetts, and another in New York City for five business days last year in response to comments from Jeremy David Hanson, prosecutors said. An email seeking comment was left Monday with a Merriam-Webster spokesperson. Hanson, 34, of Rossmoor, California also allegedly made anti-LGBTQ threats to other organizations. Hanson was charged last week with interstate communication of threats to commit violence, according to statement from the U.S. attorneys office in Boston. He is scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday in Springfield. Prosecutors say Hanson threatened a shooting and bombing at the publisher, however the affidavit did not specify whether any weapons or explosives were found during the investigation. If convicted, Hanson faces up to five years in prison. In an interview with the FBI on Oct. 27, Hanson said he has obsessive-compulsive disorder, Aspergers syndrome, anxiety and depression, and struggles with impulse control. He said he understands the threatening remarks he makes online are illegal, but is unable to control himself. His mother said in an interview with the FBI in May 2021 that he had no access to weapons. No defense attorney is listed in court records. A home phone number for Hanson had been disconnected. Prosecutors say Hanson sent Merriam-Webster threatening messages and comments between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8 using the websites contact us function and in the comments section on its webpages that corresponded to word entries such as girl, woman, and female, prosecutors said. One definition of female is having a gender identity that is the opposite of male. It is absolutely sickening that Merriam-Webster now tells blatant lies and promotes anti-science propaganda, Hanson wrote in one comment, according to prosecutors. There is no such thing as gender identity. The statements were traced back to an IP address linked to Hanson, the FBI said. Some statements expressed hostility toward different gender identities and some threatened bodily harm to people, according to an FBI affidavit in the case. The investigation identified several related threats over the past few years, according to prosecutors, including to the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Land O Lakes, Hasbro, and the president of the University of North Texas. Hate-filled threats and intimidations have no place in our society, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement. We believe Hanson sent a multitude of anonymous threatening and despicable messages related to the LGBTQ community that were intended to evoke fear and division. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The mayors of Californias 11 largest cities asked Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature on Monday to approve $3 billion over three years in the state budget for flexible homeless funding to go directly to cities. The mayors said flexible homeless funding is approved annually and they are asking for a three-year commitment from lawmakers and the governor. They said Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program funds have allowed them to come up with innovative ways to combat homelessness in their cities, including building tiny cabins and setting up lots for people living in RVs and other vehicles. The funds allowed mayors to add 9,000 new shelter beds and help 25,000 homeless people, they said at a joint news conference. California approved $7.4 billion last year for about 30 housing and homelessness programs, according to the nonpartisan legislative analysts office. That money will be spent over three years. This year, Newsom has proposed $2 billion in new spending to address homelessness over the next two years, in addition to the money that has already been approved. In San Jose and Oakland, the mayors used the funds to build tiny cabins to shelter homeless people who were not open to going to a congregate setting. In Fresno and Stockton, the mayors used some of the flexible funds to hire outreach and intervention workers. Oakland also built an RV safe parking site the first city in the state to do so. We are all using these dollars to actually improve how the entire homeless system is working and that will continue, and it must continue without discontinuing funding for roughly two-thirds of our existing shelter systems, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff said. If the funding stops, these innovations will fall off a fiscal cliff, she added. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said that about 16 months ago, there were 650 homeless people living near Fresno freeways but thanks to state funds he was able to hire a team of 18 outreach workers who have helped them move to shelters or permanent housing. Today theres not a single homeless person living on our freeways. Theres not a single tent that is erected on our freeways, and its because of the funding that we received from the state of California through HHAP and Project Homekey he said. Project Homekey funds helped cities buy and/or restore buildings that were used to house homeless people, but those funds cant be used for any other purposes, such as operating housing in new buildings, said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento said not getting the funds from the state would mean having to dip into the cities general funds, which would lead to cutting or delaying funding for other programs, including parks, public safety and infrastructure. Even with state funding, the city of Santa Ana had to use more than $25 million from its general fund to address homelessness, he said. Cities are not the agency vested with this responsibility, he said. But we also cant ignore the problem. We also cant evade the problem. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Authorities are searching for a man who allegedly kidnapped a 3-month-old baby in the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday. The man walked into a home in San Jose around 1 p.m. and left with the child, Brandon Cuellar. Police released a video clip that shows the man walking down the sidewalk holding a baby carrier covered by a white blanket. The family does not recognize this suspect, police said in a Twitter post. The baby was taken while his grandmother was unloading groceries, San Jose Police Sgt. Christian Camarillo told NBC Bay Area. The childs mother was at work at the time and the father is incarcerated. In that short amount of time, someone entered the apartment and left with the baby, Camarillo said. Authorities have not issued an Amber Alert because investigators do not have a vehicle description. San Jose is a city in the South Bay Area, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from San Francisco. Brandon was last seen wearing a white long-sleeved onesie with dinosaurs. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) An armed suspect who held someone hostage in a Sacramento home surrendered early Tuesday after a long standoff with police and the victim was safe, authorities said. The suspect was taken into custody in the early morning hours, the Sacramento Police Department said in a brief social media post. The victim is safe, it said. Reduced police presence will remain as detectives have responded to process the scene. There was no immediate information on the identities of those involved or the motive. Officers first responded to the scene to find someone who may have fired a gun around 11:15 a.m. Monday. Crisis negotiators and a SWAT team were brought in. Police later tweeted that it is believed that the armed suspect is holding at least one individual against their will inside the residence and that negotiators had established some contact in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation. TORETSK, Ukraine (AP) The U.S. pressed its allies Tuesday to move heaven and earth to keep Kyiv well-supplied with weapons as Russian forces rained fire on eastern and southern Ukraine amid growing new fears the war could spill over the country's borders. For the second day in a row, explosions rocked the separatist region of Trans-Dniester in neighboring Moldova, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Ukraine all but blamed Russia. In other developments, Poland and Bulgaria said the Kremlin is cutting off natural gas supplies to the two NATO countries starting Wednesday, the first such actions of the war. Both nations had refused Russia's demands that they pay in rubles. Poland has been a major gateway for the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and confirmed this week that it is sending the country tanks. The potential effect of the gas cutoff was not immediately clear. Poland said it was well-prepared for such a move after working for years to reduce its reliance on Russian energy. Poland also has ample natural gas in storage, and it will soon benefit from two pipelines coming online, analyst Emily McClain of Rystad Energy said. Bulgaria gets over 90% of its gas from Russia, and officials said they were working to find other sources. McClain cited a Bulgarian deal to purchase gas from Azerbaijan. Two months into the fighting, Western arms have helped Ukraine stall Russias invasion, but the country's leaders have said they need more support fast. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting Tuesday of officials from about 40 countries at the U.S. air base at Ramstein, Germany, and said more help is on the way. This gathering reflects the galvanized world, Austin said, adding that he wanted officials to leave the meeting with a common and transparent understanding of Ukraines near-term security requirements because were going to keep moving heaven and earth so that we can meet them. After unexpectedly fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces thwarted Russia's attempt to take Ukraine's capital, Moscow now says its focus is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine. In the small city of Toretsk in the Donbas, residents are struggling to survive, collecting rainwater for washing up and fervently hoping for an end to the fighting. Its bad. Very bad. Hopeless, said Andriy Cheromushkin. You feel so helpless that you dont know what you should do or shouldnt do. Because if you want to do something, you need some money, and there is no money now. Russian advances and heavy fighting were reported in the Donbas, with one town, Kreminna, apparently falling after days of street-by-street fighting, according to the British military. In the gutted southern port city of Mariupol, authorities said Russian forces hit the Azovstal steel plant with 35 airstrikes over the past 24 hours. The plant is the last known stronghold of Ukrainian fighters in the city. About 1,000 civilians were said to be taking shelter there with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian defenders. "Russia has drastically intensified strikes over the past 24 hours and is using heavy bunker bombs, said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's mayor. The number of those wounded will be clear once the rubble is cleared. He also accused Russian forces of shelling a route it had offered as an escape corridor from the steel mill. Beyond Mariupol, local officials said at least nine people were killed and several more wounded in Russian attacks on towns and cities in the east and south. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region of the Donbas, said on the Telegram messaging app that Russian forces continue to deliberately fire at civilians and to destroy critical infrastructure. Russian missile fire also knocked out a strategic railroad bridge along a route that links southern Ukraines Odesa port region to neighboring Romania, a NATO member, Ukrainian authorities said. No injuries were reported. Ukraine also said Russian forces shelled Kharkiv, the countrys second-largest city, which lies in the northeast, outside the Donbas, but is seen as key to Russia's apparent bid to encircle Ukrainian troops in the Donbas from the north, east and south. Ukrainian forces struck back in the Kherson region in the south. The attack on the bridge near Odesa along with a series of strikes on key railroad stations a day earlier appears to mark a major shift in Russias approach. Until now, Moscow has spared strategic bridges, perhaps in hopes of keeping them for its own use in seizing Ukraine. But now it seems to be trying to thwart Ukraines efforts to move troops and supplies. The southern Ukraine coastline and Moldova have been on edge since a senior Russian military officer said last week that the Kremlins goal is to secure not just eastern Ukraine but the entire south, so as to open the way to Trans-Dniester, a long, narrow strip of land with about 470,000 people along the Ukrainian border where about 1,500 Russian troops are based. It was not clear who was behind the blasts in Trans-Dniester, but the attacks gave rise to fears that Russia is stirring up trouble so as to create a pretext to either invade Trans-Dniester or use the region as another launching point to attack Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the explosions were carried out by Russia and were designed to destabilize, with the intention of showing Moldova what could happen if it supports Ukraine. Austin, the U.S. defense secretary, said the U.S. was still looking into blasts and trying to determine what was going on, but added: "Certainly we dont want to see any spillover of the conflict. With the potentially pivotal battle for the east underway, the U.S. and its NATO allies are scrambling to deliver artillery and other heavy weaponry in time to make a difference. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said her government will supply Gepard self-propelled armored anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced mounting pressure to send heavy weapons such as tanks and other armored vehicles. Austin noted that more than 30 allies and partners have joined the U.S. in sending military aid to Ukraine and that more than $5 billion worth of equipment has been committed. The U.S. defense secretary said the war has weakened Russia's military, adding, We would like to make sure, again, that they dont have the same type of capability to bully their neighbors that we saw at the outset of this conflict. A senior Kremlin official, Nikolai Patrushev, warned that the policies of the West and the Kyiv regime controlled by it would only be the breakup of Ukraine into several states. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cautioned that if the Western flow of weapons continues, the talks aimed at ending the fighting will not produce any results. Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting also continued. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the U.N. said they agreed in principle that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be involved in the evacuation of civilians trapped in the steel plant in Mariupol. Putin said Ukrainian troops were using civilians in the plant as shields and not allowing them to leave. ___ Gambrell reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalist Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, David Keyton in Kyiv, Oleksandr Stashevskyi at Chernobyl, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, and AP staff around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Cliff Hawkins / Staff via Getty Oakley Standard Issue (SI) is a division of the popular sunglasses company thats dedicated solely to providing eyewear and protection to service members, veterans, law enforcement, first responders, and other government workers. To make Oakley SI even more inviting to new members, you can save 15% off any order when you sign up and use the code WELCOME22 before the end of the year. Oakley Standard Issue oakley oakleysi.com $800.00 Shop Now According to Oakley, this deal can be used to take an additional 15% off a new member's first order, so you can really take advantage by combining this code with other deals and offers. And dont think that the products that make up the Oakley SI lineup are big, bulky, and out of style just because theyre developed with the Armed Forces in mind: In fact, there are more than 160 different types of eyewear to choose from, and many of those come in 5-10 different colors. You can pick from all sorts of different categories and styles depending on the type of eyewear you need. Oakley SI includes normal sunglasses, polarized lenses, ballistic eyewear, goggles, womens sunglasses, and more. (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk agreed to buy Twitter Inc. for $44 billion, using one of the biggest leveraged buyout deals in history to take private a 16-year-old social networking platform that has become a hub of public discourse and a flashpoint in the debate over online free speech. Investors will receive $54.20 for each Twitter share they own, the company said in a statement Monday. The price is 38% more than the stocks close on April 1, the last business day before Musk disclosed a significant stake in the company, sparking a share rally. Musk, one of Twitters most-watched users with more than 83 million followers, began amassing a stake of about 9% in January. By March, he had ramped up his criticism of Twitter, alleging that the companys algorithms are biased and feeds cluttered with automated junk posts. He also suggested Twitters user growth was inflated by bots. After rejecting an invitation to join the companys board, on April 14 he offered to take Twitter private, saying hed make the platform a bastion of free speech and dropping other hints about the changes hed make as owner. The ideas verged from the practical -- say, letting users edit tweets and combating the spread of bots -- to the peculiar, such as a proposal to turn the companys San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter. Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated, Musk said in the statement on Monday. Twitter has tremendous potential I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it. The deal was unanimously approved by the companys board, and is expected to be completed later this year. Musk, the worlds richest person, secured $25.5 billion of debt and margin loan financing and will provide about $21 billion in equity to fund the deal, according to the statement. Musks deal to buy Twitter includes a provision that the billionaire is required to pay the company a fee if he were to walk away or the deal falls apart, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal does not include a go-shop provision, meaning Twitter isnt allowed to solicit offers from other potential bidders. When they resumed trading after a halt for the news, Twitter shares jumped 5.7% to $51.70 at the close in New York. Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal sent an email to Twitter employees as the news was announced, informing them of a companywide meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. to talk about the deal. I know this is a significant change and youre likely processing what this means for you and Twitters future, he wrote. Though Musk hasnt outlined a specific plan to change Twitters policies around speech and content moderation, his acquisition of the company means one of the internets thorniest problems is now his own. Musk has spoken openly about his plans to make the platform a haven for unfettered speech online and has complained that the service is too heavy-handed when it comes to moderating user tweets. The debate around free speech on social media has been raging for years -- some political conservatives say Twitter, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and other internet companies have too many rules, while liberals dont think social networks go far enough to prevent hate speech and attacks on their services. Its a conflict that has led to numerous congressional hearings over the years and a movement to overhaul U.S. regulations around online content. Read more: Acquiring Twitter vaults Elon Musk into the realm of media moguls Going private marks a dramatic turnabout for a company that got its start as a messaging service for sharing your status updates with friends, but quickly blossomed into a way for people to broadcast short posts of 140 characters or less to a public following. Twitter caught fire among politicians, celebrities and journalists and took its place alongside social media stalwarts Facebook and YouTube as a standard bearer of a new, more interactive way of using the web that came to be known as Web 2.0. Following its birth in 2006, the company weathered a series of crises, including management upheaval that saw the removal of co-founder Jack Dorsey in Twitters early days and his eventual return in 2015. After an initial public offering in 2013, the company considered selling itself in 2016, drawing the interest of companies from Walt Disney Co. to Salesforce Inc. Dorsey in 2020 tangled with an activist investor that forced Twitter to set specific growth targets and add greater board accountability. That served as a catalyst for Dorseys eventual second departure so he could focus on his other company, the digital-payments company Block Inc. Agrawal, formerly the companys chief technology officer, took the helm in November. Read more: Jack Dorseys post-Twitter quest to become Bitcoins spiritual leader As recently as last week there was little clarity on whether Musks bid would succeed. The 50-year-old billionaire himself mused at a TED event the day it was announced that even he had doubts about its prospects. Though the stock initially jumped on news of Musks stake in the company, shares have traded well below the original offer price of $54.20 since its announcement -- a sign investors were skeptical a deal would come to fruition. Twitter on April 15 adopted a shareholder rights plan -- a measure known as a poison pill -- to fend off unwanted bidders. The plan is exercisable if a party acquires 15% of the stock without prior approval, and sought to ensure that anyone taking control of the social media company through open market accumulation pays all shareholders an appropriate control premium, the company said when it disclosed the plan. But a turning point came last week when the Tesla Inc. CEO pulled together a financing plan that included 12 banks, led by Morgan Stanley. Just days after revealing the plan, Musk met with Twitter executives as the company turned more receptive toward a deal, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News on Sunday. After accepting Musks bid, Twitter locked down changes to its platform through Friday, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the situation is private. Twitter imposed the temporary ban to keep employees who may be miffed about the deal from going rogue, according to one of the people. Many of the companys employees have expressed uneasiness about the idea of Musk taking charge. As part of the deal announcement, Twitter said it will report first-quarter earnings as planned on April 28 before the market opens in New York, but wont host a call to discuss the results. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will have to review the plan once Twitter files a preliminary proxy statement, the regulator doesnt have the power to block the merger outright. Still, the SEC can slow the process down by asking Twitter for clarification on aspects of the deal, according to Kenneth Henderson, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in New York. The companys shareholders will vote to approve the transaction only once all of the agencys questions are answered. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Mutual benefit and win-win cooperation to tide over difficulties is the enduring vision of China-Sri Lanka exchanges. by Dai Yonghong Sri Lanka recently suffered its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948 and continued social unrest. Energy, food and medicine shortages, among other things, have led people to take to the streets in mass protests. The Sri Lankan New Year, celebrated on April 14 this year, has not provided a respite from the tense situation there. In the face of escalating conflicts, China will do its utmost to help Sri Lanka tide over the difficulties. Internal troubles and external aggression The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to tourism, the most important industry for Sri Lanka to earn foreign exchange. Related services such as aviation, hospitality and catering have all declined, and tourism revenue has gradually dried up. Overseas labor exports are also affected. In the face of the unstable world situation, its main export products such as rubber, black tea and jewelry have become marginal products in the overseas market. A combination of these factors has led to a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves, leading to shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Meanwhile, the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict made Sri Lanka's economic crisis reach its peak. The surge in global oil prices has disrupted Sri Lanka's crude supply system. In addition, 45 percent of Sri Lanka's wheat imports come from Russia and Ukraine, and more than 50 percent of its sunflower oil, sunflower seeds and soybean imports come from Ukraine. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has pushed agricultural prices beyond the economic reach of the country's people. Asking for help Under the continuous impact of the pandemic and the war, Sri Lanka is scrambling to seek help from the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on April 21 that discussions with Sri Lanka on a potential loan package were at an early stage and any agreement would need "adequate assurances" that the island country's debts can be put on a sustainable path. In addition, India pledged its full support to Sri Lanka's deliberations with the IMF, including accelerating the expansion of the fund's lending. Meanwhile, India has extended a $1 billion credit line for food, medicine and other necessities to Sri Lanka. Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla recently reiterated that Sri Lanka is a priority as a neighbor for the Modi government. In addition, at the fourth Sri Lanka-U.S. Partnership Dialogue held in Colombo in March, the U.S. promised to provide $19 million in five-year project assistance to Sri Lanka's green energy program, but did not mention how to help Sri Lanka overcome the current economic crisis. Overcoming difficulties together Although separated by mountains and oceans, China and Sri Lanka communicate with each other all the time. The ancient Maritime Silk Road and its location in the Indian Ocean made Sri Lanka a crucial junction between major Asian civilizations. At present, the steady implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative has brought about closer exchanges between China and Sri Lanka. On April 19, Xu Wei, a spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said that China has noted Sri Lanka's economic difficulties. As a traditional friendly neighbor, China is going to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka to help it cope with the current difficulties. Humanitarian aid should not be misinterpreted by some Western countries, and the hype of a "debt trap" will not damage the friendship between Sri Lanka and China. Despite the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka, according to the World Bank, revenue generated by telecommunications and financial services increased by 32 percent and 28 percent during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the throughput of the Hambantota International Ports Group, a joint venture between China and Sri Lanka, released a briefing document on July 13, 2021. Despite the impact of COVID-19, cargo volume at Hambantota Port maintained a substantial growth of over 180 percent year on year in the first half of 2021, indicating that the development of the port is on the fast track. Mutual benefit and win-win cooperation to tide over difficulties is the enduring vision of China-Sri Lanka exchanges. Dai Yonghong is the dean of School of Foreign Languages and director of Institute of Area and International Communication Studies at Shenzhen University. The article reflects the author's opinions B. Kay Richter Canadian crooner Michael Buble, who can't seem to eat corn on the cob correctly, will elevate the AT&T Center when his "Higher" tour makes a stop in San Antonio this fall. Alamo City fans will be able to catch Buble live on September 17, according to a news release. Presale tickets will be available on May 5, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. General tickets will go on sale on May 6 at 10 a.m., just in time for a Mother's Day gift. Both tickets can be purchased at the AT&T Center website when available. San Antonio's new option for all-you-can-eat sushi is rolling out. Umiya, a Corpus Christi-based restaurant, is taking over the space that was formerly Drew Brees' Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux. The sports bar and restaurant at 11075 West Interstate 10 closed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Another location remains near Stone Oak at 1400 Pantheon Way. Now, the highway-facing restaurant is in the process of becoming Umiya. Signage, a new paint job, and outdoor decor have all been completed and installed at the the location. A Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission permit has been filed to sell and serve alcohol at the location, according to a February 8 noticed posted on the door. The restaurant was not immediately available to return requests for comment. According to the Corpus Christi location's social media pages, the restaurant is not a buffet, but all-you-can eat options are available for soups, salads, appetizers, hibachi, and sushi. The business also has a full bar serving mixed drinks. Madalyn Mendoza, MySA.com The Corpus Christi restaurant opened in August 2021. In an October 2021 Facebook Live post, an employee confirmed the brand would expand to San Antonio. At that point, the timeline for opening was December. Though it's unclear what's caused the delay in Umiya's San Antonio restaurant opening, shortages have impacted the construction and food and beverage industry with many projects being forced to push back original plans. For the coastal location, best-sellers are the chef specials like the Harbor Bridge Roll, which is a deep-fried shrimp tempura option stuffed with avocado and cream cheese and topped with snow crab, spicy eel sauce and crunch. The Texas Roll is also popular. It's deep-fried but uses snow crab. The social media promotions also show mixed drinks like micheladas, purple geckos, and pineapple-flavored cocktails are available. The Umiya plans come on the heels of other sushi restaurant happening in San Antonio. In January 2021, Izumi created a buzz when it opened in Thousand Oaks with an all-you-can-eat sushi menu. Kura, which allows customers to grab as many sushi plates as they desire off a revolving bar, opened at the Alamo Quarry Market with long lines and tons of excitement. Trapper's, a Washington State-based chain, is planning a San Antonio location on Loop 1604 by SeaWorld. The cost of flying is ready for takeoff, and there are few indications that the trend will curtail any time soon as high fuel prices, pilot shortages and booming demand push ticket prices to new highs. According to travel website Hopper, the average cost of airfare for U.S. travelers in April rose to $330 for a single domestic round-trip ticketa 40-percent increase from prices in early January and the highest figure the company has recorded since it began collecting cost data. Meanwhile, international travel has returned to pre-pandemic prices of about $810 per round-trip. Hopper's projections expect prices to increase a further 10 percent by the end of May, with average domestic round-trip fares topping out at about $360 before taking a dip as travel demand decreases with the arrival of fall. In the meantime, air carriers are excitedly eyeing the current "strong revenue environment" brought about by high fuel prices, the lifting COVID-19 mandates and increased labor costs spurred on by a shortage of pilots in the United States. "The short way to say it is we are seeing a lot of strength in the fare environment with customers who frankly value the quality of product that we have and are willing to pay us to fly," said American Aline CEO Vasu Raja during an April earnings call. "So we're encouraged by that and we see those trends going forward into the summer." One trend likely here to stay for in the near-term is a paucity of available pilots for hire in the U.S. market. As reported by ABC News' Sam Sweeney, U.S. airliners are looking to add 13,000 pilots to their ranks in 2022 in the hopes of meeting flight schedule demands. Between 5,000 and 7,000 pilots are typically given credentials on a yearly basis, according to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, making such employment targets all but unattainable in the near term. "The pilot shortage for the industry is real and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plan because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," Kirby told ABC News. "The other really large airlines will also probably be able to attract enough pilots, but for anyone else, I just don't think it's mathematically possible to meet the pilot demand for the capacity plans that are out there." Waterloo Greenway The Waterloo Greenway, a 1.5-mile park system that runs through east Downtown Austin to Lady Bird Lake, and the City of Austin just received what they are calling "historic" federal funding. On Monday, April 25, as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is awarding $9 million toward the restoration of Waller Creek as part of what Waterloo Greenway conservancy calls "The Confluence." Phase II of the project runs from Lady Bird Lake to Fourth Street. The Confluence is set to break ground sometime during the third quarter of this year. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Firefighters across the country are battling multiple wildfires as tinder-dry conditions and high winds whip up flames from Arizona to Florida including a prairie fire in rural southwestern Nebraska that has killed one person, injured at least 15 firefighters and destroyed at least six homes. A break in the weather in parts of the Midwest and West allowed crews to make progress Monday on some of the nearly dozen new large fires that were reported in recent days across the nation four in New Mexico, three in Colorado and one each in Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas. With more than 1,350 square miles (3,496 square kilometers) burned so far this year, officials at the National Interagency Fire Center said the amount of land singed to date is outpacing the 10-year average by about 30%. Hotter, drier weather has combined with a persistent drought to worsen fire danger across many parts of the West, where decades of fire suppression have resulted in overgrown and unhealthy forests and increasing development have put more communities at risk. In northern New Mexico, evacuations remained in place for several communities Monday and conditions were still too volatile for authorities to assess the damage caused Friday and Saturday. The blaze has has grown into the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., charring more than 88 square miles (228 square kilometers). Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation joined Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on a call Monday with officials from the White House and federal agencies to appeal for more federal ground resources ahead of another blast of strong fire-fueling winds expected later in the week. Thanks to lighter winds in the Midwest on Monday, firefighters made significant progress on the fire that's burned about 70 square miles (181 square km) of mostly grasslands and farmland near the Nebraska-Kansas state line. It's now estimated to be about 47% contained. They made the most of the opportunity Monday to dump water in dry creeks and draws filled with cottonwoods where dense fuels and brush has built up ahead of the return of more dangerous conditions expected on Tuesday, said Jonathan Ashford, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team. It's supposed to be about 20 degrees warmer tomorrow, lower humidity and increased wind, he said Monday night. In Arizona, firefighters also took advantage of lighter winds to boost containment of a more than 33-square-mile (85 square-kilometer) blaze that has been burning outside of Flagstaff for more than a week. Strong winds that had fueled the fire are expected to return later this week. Meanwhile, hundreds of evacuated residents were given the go-ahead on Sunday to return home. About 160 firefighters, emergency management personnel and others twice as many as the day before were helping fight the fire in Nebraska by Monday evening. Known as the Road 702 Fire, it has destroyed at least six homes and threatened 660 others, along with 50 commercial or farm buildings, Ashford said. A retired Cambridge, Nebraska, fire chief who was helping as a fire spotter in Red Willow County died Friday night after his truck went off the road in a blinding haze of smoke and dust. The body of John Trumble, 66, of Arapahoe, was recovered around early Saturday. Trumble was the second person in a month to die while fighting a wildfire in southwest Nebraska. Elwood Volunteer Fire Chief Darren Krull, 54, was killed in a collision with a water tanker on April 7 in Furnas County as smoke cut visibility to zero. Nebraska remains critically dry, said Ashford, who urged residents to use caution when doing anything that could spark a fire. The last thing we need is to have another fire started that we have to then fight, he said. ____ Susan Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press writer Scott Sonner contributed to this report from Reno, Nevada. Jurors have heard and rejected an array of excuses and arguments from the first rioters to be tried for storming the U.S. Capitol. The next jury to get a Capitol riot case could hear another novel defense this week at the trial of a retired New York City police officer. Thomas Webster, a 20-year veteran of the NYPD, has claimed he was acting in self-defense when he tackled a police officer who was trying to protect the Capitol from a mob on Jan. 6, 2021. Webster's lawyer also has argued that he was exercising his First Amendment free speech rights when he shouted profanities at police that day. Jurors were selected Monday and are expected to hear attorneys opening statements Tuesday. Webster, 56, is the fourth Capitol riot defendant to get a jury trial. Each has presented a distinct line of defense. An Ohio man who stole a coat rack from a Capitol office testified he was following presidential orders from Donald Trump. An off-duty police officer from Virginia claimed he only entered the Capitol to retrieve a fellow officer. A lawyer for a Texas man who confronted Capitol police accused prosecutors of rushing to judgment against somebody prone to exaggerating. Those defenses didn't sway the juries at their respective trials. Collectively, a total of 36 jurors unanimously convicted the three rioters of all 17 counts in their indictments. Webster faces the same fate if a federal judge's blistering words are any guide. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who will preside over Webster's trial, has described his videotaped conduct as among the most indefensible and reprehensible that the judge has seen among Jan. 6 cases, with no real defense for it. You were a police officer and you should have known better, Mehta told Webster during a bond hearing last June, according to a transcript. But a dozen jurors, not the judge, will decide the case against Webster, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who retired from the NYPD in 2011. A wealth of video evidence and self-incriminating behavior by riot defendants has given prosecutors the upper hand in many cases. Mary McCord, a Georgetown University Law Center professor and former Justice Department official, said jurors often won't have to rely on witness testimony or circumstantial evidence because videos captured much of the violence and destruction on Jan. 6. When I was a prosecutor trying cases, I would have loved to have had cases where the entire crime was on video. That just doesnt happen that often. But for jurors, it can be very powerful, she said. Webster's trial is the sixth overall. In a pair of bench trials, a different federal judge heard testimony without a jury before acquitting one defendant and partially acquitting another. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee who acquitted Matthew Martin of all charges, said it was reasonable for the New Mexico man to believe that police allowed him to enter the Capitol. In the first bench trial, McFadden convicted New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct. Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington Law School professor and former Justice Department official, said it may be difficult for prosecutors to secure convictions against defendants who merely entered the Capitol and didnt exhibit any violent or destructive behavior. I think the people with the best chances are those who say, I was just there and I got swept up with everybody else. The government is going to have to have some way to show theres more than that or the government will lose," Saltzburg said. Webster brought a gun and a Marine Corps flag attached to a metal pole when he traveled alone to Washington from his home in Florida, New York, a village approximately 70 miles northwest of New York City. He wore his NYPD-issued bulletproof vest but says he left the pistol in his hotel room when he headed to the Jan. 6 rally where Trump spoke. Police body camera video captured Websters confrontation outside the Capitol with a line of officers, including one identified only as Officer N.R. in court papers. The unnamed Metropolitan Police Department officer described the encounter in a written statement. The officer said Webster swung the flagpole at him in a downward chopping motion, hitting a metal barricade, then charged at him with clenched fists. He pushed me to the ground and attempted to violently tear away my gas mask and ballistic helmet. This caused me to choke and gasp for air before another participant at the riot helped me to my feet, the officer wrote. The officer said he retreated behind a police line after Webster pinned him to the ground. His actions, attack and targeted assault caused me to fear for my life and could have easily left my wife and two small children without a husband and father, the officer wrote. Defense attorney James Monroe has claimed the unnamed officer gestured toward Webster, inviting him to engage in a fight, before reaching over a police barrier and punching Webster in his face. Webster "used that amount of force he reasonably believed necessary to protect himself" by tackling the officer to the ground, Monroe said in a court filing. Mehta, however, said the video doesn't show Webster getting punched in the face. The judge described Webster as an instigator. It was his conduct that sort of broke the dam, at least in that area, Mehta added. Webster, now a self-employed landscaper, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1985, was honorably discharged in 1989 and joined the NYPD in 1991. His department service included a stint on then-Mayor Michael Bloombergs private security detail. Monroe claimed Officer N.R. had reached over a metal barrier and pushed a peaceful man who was blinded by pepper spray. As a former U.S. Marine and a member of law enforcement, Mr. Websters moral instinct was to protect the innocent, Monroe wrote. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Mirell has argued that Webster should be held to a higher standard given his professional experience. If he were there to protect the innocent, then he should have been fending other rioters off from the barricade, not the other way around, Mirell said at the bond hearing. Webster faces six counts, including assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer using a dangerous weapon. He's the first Capitol riot defendant to be tried on an assault charge. He isn't accused of entering the Capitol. More than 780 people have been charged with riot-related federal crimes. The Justice Department says over 245 of them have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. More than 250 riot defendants have pleaded guilty, mostly to nonviolent misdemeanors. Jurors convicted two rioters of interfering with officers. One of them, Thomas Robertson, was an off-duty police officer from Rocky Mount, Virginia. The other, Texas resident Guy Wesley Reffitt, also was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun. The third Capitol rioter to be convicted by a jury was Dustin Byron Thompson, an Ohio man who said he was following Trump's orders. Even if jurors accepted that (Thompson) felt like he was doing what the former president wanted, that still wouldnt be a legal excuse, said McCord, the Georgetown professor. When juries are able to witness what happened, they can make that assessment relatively easily. Courtesy, Captured by Linds Photography Emmy Award-winning San Antonio TV news favorite Isis Romero will return to the screen this summer. After an abrupt exit from KSAT 12, the anchor desk veteran is joining KENS 5, San Antonio's CBS affiliate. According to the station, Romero will start as KENS 5's main anchor for the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. Im thrilled to be joining a news organization with such a profound commitment to family and community, Romero says in a press statement. It is an honor to represent KENS 5 on the evening anchor desk and continue their legacy of excellence. Hard Eight, a barbecue chain out of Roanoke, north of Fort Worth, failed to pay over $800,000 in tips and overtime wage to hundreds of employees. Here's what you need to know. The U.S. Department of Labor found that Hard Eight failed to pay $867,572 in owed tips and overtime to 910 workers, according to a news release. Roanoke Hard Eight violated the law by including managers in their tip pool. By doing so, the employer denied tipped workers some of their tips and managers proper overtime wages, said wage and hour District Director Jesus A. Valdez in the news release. The DOL was able to recover those wages for those employees. Hard Eight currently has five locations including the one in Roanoke. Here's some other news you might have missed. Texans react to Elon Musk buying Twitter Many Texans, including politicians, are reacting and tweeting about how Twitter agreed on Monday, April 25 to sell itself to Elon Musk for $44 billion. Read more here. Property tax relief measures on the Texas ballot There are two propositions on the ballot for the May 7 general election, proposed by Texas State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, that could help lessen the impact on those high property values that residents all over Bexar County are protesting. Read more here. San Antonio's favorite taco place makes drastic change Eddie's Taco House, a San Antonio favorite for breakfast, is making a big change after almost 50 years in business. Read more here. Texas judge invites Disney World to relocate from Florida A Texas judge wrote a letter to Disney's CEO to invite the company to move its Walt Disney World resort in Florida to the Lone Star State. The invite comes as Disney remains in a feud with Florida and its governor, Ron DeSantis. Read more here. AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images A Texas judge wrote a letter to Disney's CEO to invite the company to move its Walt Disney World resort in Florida to the Lone Star State. The invite comes as Disney remains in a feud with Florida and its governor, Ron DeSantis. DeSantis signed a bill recently that dissolves the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney's private government that has been in place for 55 years. The new bill comes as what appears to be punishment as the entertainment company opposed a new law that critics call "Don't Say Gay." Twitter may have just agreed to sell itself to billionaire Elon Musk for $44 billion, but Gov. Greg Abbott already sees Texas in the company's future. Shortly after the news broke Monday of the Tesla CEO reaching an agreement to acquire the social media giant following weeks of negotiations, Abbott took to Twitter to encourage Musk to relocate the company's headquarters from the heart of San Francisco to the Lone Star State. "@elonmusk. Bring Twitter to Texas to join Tesla, SpaceX & the Boring company," the Republican leader tweeted. And the proposal isn't a stretch, as Musk, the world's richest person, already lives in Texas and the state has steadily become the base of operations for many of his companies. Austin recently became home to Tesla's newest Gigafactory, which officially opened earlier this month. The city also now serves as the electric vehicle makers global headquarters following Musk's decision to move the companys headquarters from California to Texas in December. The tech billionaire also operates his aerospace company SpaceX in Brownsville, Texas, and recently moved the headquarters of his tunneling and infrastructure company, the Boring Company, to Central Texas. This isn't the first time Abbott put his state forward for Musk's consideration. More than a year before Musk finally relocated Tesla's headquarters, Abbott had said he had discussions with the billionaire about the move, calling Texas a "perfect fit" for the company. Musk has also gained popularity among Texas Republicans, who have agreed with his notions of restoring "free speech" to Twitter. Following Twitter's deal with Musk, Sen. Ted Cruz asked his followers if Elon Musks purchase of Twitter a good thing? The two options were yes and no, I hate free speech. Cruz also said he agreed with a statement from Musk Monday ahead of the buy, that said "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means." Musk, who celebrated his Twitter acquisition with a tweet, has yet to publicly respond to Abbott's proposal. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: %method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: %perl> 28: